Brother, Am I Cute? [EN]: Chapter 189

I stepped onto the stage.

The crowd was overwhelmingly larger than the one in the small auditorium where Siha had danced.

Hundreds of eyes were fixed on the stage.

I glanced back anxiously, wondering if Siha might be scared.

His eyes were twinkling.

Siha looked around with ease, waving his hand.

It seemed like he was waving at someone in the distance.

People assumed he was waving at them and waved back.

I was relieved Siha wasn’t frightened.

I sighed in relief, and then I heard a commotion from behind.

“Wow! There are so many people!”

“I’m not scawed at all!”

“Huh? When did you guys follow me?”

I looked at the twins and then glanced at the empty seat.

Seung-joon’s mom looked flustered.

She seemed surprised that the twins had run off.

Just then, Hong Gwang-yeong approached with a microphone.

“Wow. We called for the Golden Maknae, and two more Kang In-dol members came out. It’s a real honor.”

“Huh?”

“First, let me ask the Golden Maknae. What’s the Golden Maknae’s name?”

“Lee Siha! Hyung is Lee Si-hyeok!”

Siha, you knew how to say Hyung’s name?!

No, that’s not it. Why are you saying Hyung’s name?

He’s answering well without even being asked.

Hong Gwang-yeong seemed to find Siha cute and nodded.

“Haha. You like your Hyung a lot?”

“Like Hyung. Red Hyung.”

“What’s Red Hyung?”

Siha gestured enthusiastically.

Flapping.

“Like this, like this. Ta-da-da-da-da. Red Hyung.”

He seems to be describing my all-around good qualities.

My image of being good at everything must be etched in Siha’s memory.

“I, I see. Hahaha! Anyway, you’re called the Golden Maknae because you’re good at everything. Would you like to show us a song or dance?”

“Sing!”

“Oh! You’re going to sing?”

“Ah-ah.”

“That’s what he says. Staff, the microphone here.”

“Hyung, togeva [together].”

“Okay.”

What? Before I knew it, Siha and I had microphones in our hands.

Seung-joon and Hana stuck close to Siha, pressing their cheeks against him.

Those twins are hopeless.

It’s good if they sing together like this.

“Then, what song would you like to do?”

“Siha sing.”

“No, I mean…”

Siha said ‘Ah-ah’ once and started singing.

“Dong-gu-bak! Orchard~”

A loud voice was heard from the front.

But somehow it’s a familiar voice. Park Kyung-joon.

“One shot!”

Starting with that, everyone around started singing along.

“Acacia. Flower lick~”

“Two shot!”

Excuse me? Everyone? This isn’t a drinking party.

Siha kept singing diligently without paying attention, but Hong Gwang-yeong stopped him.

“Wait. Just a moment. No, everyone. Have you really gone crazy? One shot, two shot in front of a child?”

They seemed embarrassed and chuckled.

“Ahem. I’m sorry. Are you good at rapping by any chance?”

“Rap?”

“Yes. You’re the Golden Maknae, so I thought you might be able to rap a little.”

“Ah-ah. Rap do. Siha do.”

“Oh! You can do it. Then let’s rap for our Hyungs [older brothers/male seniors] and Noonas [older sisters/female seniors].”

“Hyung, togeva.”

Ahem. I got caught not doing it.

I’m embarrassed for no reason. I would have done well if they had just asked me to host. Singing in front of people is embarrassing after all.

Moreover, rapping.

But did Siha know how to rap?

At that time, Seung-joon raised his hand.

“Then I’ll give you the beat. Bukchigi. Bakchigi [nonsense sounds mimicking a beat].”

“Hana will clap.”

Okay. Thank you.

I can just stick next to Siha and do it.

So Seung-joon repeated Bukchigi Bakchigi.

Clap clap clap.

When the nonsensical beat echoed on the stage, Siha opened his mouth.

In response, I brought the microphone to my mouth.

“Siha car. Red. Gooroom [cloud]. Gooroom. Sky. Get it.”

Question marks appeared in people’s heads.

He seems to be talking about what happened yesterday.

He’s saying he came to school and brought cotton candy that looked like clouds.

I quickly reinterpreted Siha’s words and spat them out.

“My car is dyed red. Clouds dyed in the sunset, clouds. It’s like it came from the sky.”

People looked like they were thinking, ‘Oh! That’s what it meant?’

That’s not what it means, you guys.

Surprisingly, this kind of interpreted rap was okay.

When I finished speaking, Siha continued to speak.

“Tadak. Tadak [onomatopoeia for a small sound]. Small. Sky went.”

“Tadak. Tadak. Small sparks. Gossip rising to the sky.”

“Tadak. Tadak. Shell left. Eat did.”

“Tadak. Tadak. Shell left behind. Eat that even if it’s just that, hands up!”

After singing up to here, Siha dropped the microphone from his mouth.

Looking at him, it seems like he can’t think of anything else.

I also thought it was a relief and sighed.

Hong Gwang-yeong next to me made a fuss with sparkling eyes.

“Wow! That’s amazing. The Hyung behind him is also amazing? He seemed like a real rapper. Do you know what the lyrics mean by any chance?”

How would I know that?

I couldn’t say that. Everyone had expectant eyes.

“Um. I put ‘gossip’ in the middle, and I sang it with rhymes like news articles focused on sensationalism are burning red. These days, people are trying to eat even the remaining ashes and raising their hands to the sky. Until someone dies. That’s what it means.”

“Oh! But the baby sang it with that meaning? Haha. You’re exaggerating too much!”

“Ahem.”

Ah~ It’s not working.

Still, I have to add some seasoning.

“Well, I didn’t say it that way, but wouldn’t even children feel something while watching that? Haha. Well, the imagination is up to you.”

“Anyway, he’s definitely the Golden Maknae. He sings well, raps well. And there’s a member next to him who’s working hard to match the rhythm. Haha.”

Hong Gwang-yeong glanced somewhere.

The staff in front made an X mark. Then he waved his arms in a circle.

Did something go wrong?

A look of trouble flashed across Hong Gwang-yeong’s face for a moment.

It was then.

“That’s not how you rap!”

“Lee Hana! That’s not how you dance!”

Eun-woo and Yoon-dong.

Before I knew it, the two of them were coming up on stage.

At this rate, the whole daycare center will come out.

I was thinking that for a moment.

Jong-soo grabbed Jae-hwi’s hand and dragged him up.

Everyone really came up.

Hong Gwang-yeong’s eyes lit up.

“Oh oh oh! The mascots representing Kang In University! Kang In Idols have all appeared on stage!”

“Kyaaaa! Cute.”

“The kids are so cute!”

Excuse me? Since when did the kids become idols representing Kang In University?

Hong Gwang-yeong ignored my dumbfounded expression and said.

“Ah. By any chance. Can you show us a song with the song ‘Full Moon’ this time? If you do, our student council will give books and snacks to everyone at the daycare center.”

The children’s eyes sparkled.

Yoon-dong and Eun-woo were itching to do it, and Jong-soo strongly insisted, ‘We have to do this!’

Hana and Seung-joon also seemed to want to come on stage and show something.

Only Jae-hwi muttered quietly, ‘Ah. I want to go down…,’ but the kids didn’t hear him.

Siha, having already done everything he wanted to do, handed the microphone to me and stuck to my leg, watching his friends.

Hey. Siha. You’re involved too…….

He had a very refreshing expression on his face.

Hong Gwang-yeong said.

“Everyone! Do you want to see it!”

“Yes!”

“That’s right. Daycare center everyone, will you do it?”

“Yes!”

“Thank you. Is the song ready over there?”

The staff made a big circle with their hands.

Hong Gwang-yeong nodded and said.

“Then let’s watch the children’s performance first!”

The children stood on the stage.

Oh? What should I do?

Instead of standing awkwardly, let’s move to the side of the stage.

That’s how the kids’ dance started.

***

I’m watching the kids dance from the side of the stage. I also took out my phone and filmed a video.

Somehow, they seem to be dancing better than when they did it in the small auditorium.

I guess they’re used to it now.

People are looking at them with faces that say they’re cute.

Still, the reaction is different when Yoon-dong dances.

Even I think he dances really well. Something about his groove feels different.

As I was watching, the back of the stage suddenly started moving busily.

‘Huh?’

It looked like a celebrity was getting out of the van.

The manager bowed his head and apologized for being late.

He said they came straight after their schedule, but they were late because of traffic.

‘Idols are different after all.’

They seem to shine somehow.

I don’t know if it’s because of the makeup or because they have popularity.

It feels like they live in a different world.

Hana would really like it if she saw them.

At that time, the children’s performance ended.

“Yes. Thank you for watching. Kang In-dol everyone. Thank you so much. Lastly, Golden Maknae Siha-nim. Do you have anything to say?”

Siha looked around, glanced at me once, and turned his head to the stage, looking at the other people once.

He seemed to be thinking about something, and then he opened his mouth as if he had thought of something to say.

“Hyung! Noona! Come again~”

The reaction was explosive.

“Kyaaaaak!”

“Come again! Come again!”

“So cute!”

“Please come again next year!”

“How much! How much do you need!!”

“Milky white Lee Siha!”

“Don’t go. Don’t go. Don’t go~”

There are some strange reactions mixed in, but this is a great success.

The children bowed and came down from the stage.

Siha ran to me and hugged me.

“Hyung!”

“Yeah. You did well. You did well. Let’s go to our seats and watch the idols. They’re here now.”

“Huh?”

Siha tilted his head.

He doesn’t seem to care about idols.

The children’s eyes are sparkling.

At that time, someone said from behind.

“Hello. Kids. You were really cute.”

The Shambles members greeted the Kang In University children.

Hana said excitedly.

“Shambles pretty. Really pretty. Princess. Princess.”

“Ahaha. Thank you. Would you like to come here after the performance? I’ll take a picture for you. I’m so grateful that you bought us time.”

“Wow!”

I knew from the idol’s words that we had bought them time.

Actually, I had expected it to some extent because of the busy appearance.

Only Hana is excited today.

“Ah! They’re calling us. See you later, kids.”

“Yes!”

We also quickly returned to our seats to watch the stage.

Shambles’ stage was flashy, but it didn’t catch my eye.

I was too curious about how Siha would react, so I was busy watching his face.

“Hyung. Swaying.”

“Haha. Yeah. It’s swaying, right?”

“Dance swaying.”

He’s already analyzing the dance.

Maybe he’ll become an idol later?

The manager is also there, so maybe he’ll make a scout offer to our Golden Maknae Siha.

He’ll give him a business card and say he wants to make him an entertainment trainee.

Of course, I’m not going to send Siha because he’s too young.

I’m too tired, so I keep having silly thoughts.

‘Siha took a nap, so isn’t he tired?’

He danced one more time, but his eyes are wide open.

Maybe the bright lights of the stage are preventing him from closing his eyes.

Or maybe the joyful atmosphere of the festival is chasing away sleep.

“Siha. It’s over. Shall we go home after seeing the idols?”

“Ah-ah.”

We all went to the back of the stage together, took pictures with the Shambles members, and got autographs.

Before the idols left, I gave them the Wi-Pad bag, saying it was a gift from Siha.

When I gave it to the four of them, they thanked me and bowed.

Hehehe.

Lee Siha. Are you watching? Alisa, are you watching too?

The remaining stock will only disappear from now on.

We bought you time, so you can accept this much aegyo [act of cuteness], right?

Let’s see the Golden Maknae effect.

“Siha. Shall we go now then?”

“Ah-ah.”

“You have to say goodbye to the kids.”

“Bye-bye.”

So we said goodbye and parted ways.

It was the busiest day of the festival, but the satisfaction was considerable.

A piece of unforgettable memories.

Even if he doesn’t remember it, I hope Siha will enjoy watching this recorded video someday.

The video on my phone doesn’t only show Siha.

The teachers who worked hard behind the scenes. The Korean language and literature friends who were preparing to cheer hard. The staff who were running hard behind the stage.

Does Siha know how much sweat is mixed in the flashy and joyful festival?

I hope he will realize it someday and have a grateful heart.

Just like Siha shouted ‘Thank you~’ on the small auditorium stage.

Just like he showed a heart.

I hope he doesn’t forget that heart.