Brother, Am I Cute? [EN]: Chapter 343

“Hyung, aren’t I cute?”

The weekend arrived.

It was the day of the docent training, and I wondered if they would really let the kids do it as if it were the real thing.

There was no requirement to memorize the script.

They said it was just a guideline and that we didn’t have to follow the script exactly.

I guess a real docent wouldn’t do that, but it was more about getting a feel for it. It seemed like we were going for the experience.

“Siha, you’re going to take a class today. Like a university lecture.”

“Lecture?!”

Perhaps because he attended a daycare center in the university, Siha was more familiar with the word ‘lecture’ than ‘class’.

His eyes sparkled, and he seemed quite interested.

“Go with Hyung! Attend lecture?”

“Yeah. I’m attending a lecture. About how to be a docent!”

“Study with Hyung. Siha is a college student.”

I chuckled.

Which college student attends lectures at a children’s art museum?

Maybe Siha wanted to experience college life with me.

Unless he was an incredible genius who started college at a young age, that wouldn’t happen.

Well, if we went to free lectures, we could study together.

Though I doubted he would understand.

I expected he would just let the lecture flow in one ear and out the other, and then fall asleep.

The soft, gentle voices are hard for even adults to endure.

“Siha~”

“Siha~”

The twins ran over as we arrived at the museum.

Siha also ran to them and hugged them tightly. They could have just walked over and greeted each other, but the kids always ran when they saw each other from afar.

You guys met yesterday, too.

I could see the same thought in Seung-jun’s mom’s expression.

We didn’t say anything, but I think we were both smiling the same way when our eyes met.

“Let’s go quickly, Siha.”

Seung-jun took Siha’s hand and went somewhere.

Hana stood next to him and advanced in the same direction.

You guys know where you’re going, right?

“Going to the cafe?”

“Yeah!”

A college student getting a coffee at the cafe before a lecture. Is that the kind of vibe?

But was it real when they said they were going during the phone call?!

“Siha prepared ten thousand won [approximately $8 USD].”

When did Siha take out ten thousand won from his piggy bank? I didn’t hear a thing, but he took it out so well.

He must have taken it out when I was frantically making breakfast.

That was the only chance he had.

“When I get allowance, Mom always keeps it. So, I get it from Mom.”

“Hana entrusted it to Mom.”

I looked at Seung-jun’s mom, but she avoided my gaze.

Is all that allowance really being kept safe?

She probably already spent it all. On the kids’ insurance, or on snacks from the supermarket.

Either way, it would have helped with living expenses.

Even if it wasn’t a large amount.

“I put some in my piggy bank, too.”

“You don’t have to tell me that.”

“I just thought you might be curious.”

Seung-jun’s mom fanned herself with her hand, as if she was hot.

I understand. Isn’t that how it usually is?

Being tricked like that is only temporary. Kindergarten? Elementary school? Once they get to that age, they know that if money goes to Mom, they can’t get it back, so they’ll definitely put it directly into their piggy bank or bank account.

“Since we’re here, let’s buy something to drink and go in.”

“Okay.”

The kids were already ordering, having decided during the phone call.

“I want chocolate!”

“Hana wants strawberry!”

“Siha wants chocolate, and Hyung wants banana.”

“???”

Hey, Siha? Why banana for Hyung? I was thinking of getting an Americano?

He realized I was behind him and said brightly.

“Hyung. Siha ordered.”

“Yeah. Thanks. But why banana?”

“Siha wants to eat banana, too.”

“Ah, really?”

Did he leave the banana to me because he wanted to eat both? He’s a genius.

“And Hyung likes banana.”

“???”

“We ate banana juice together before.”

“That’s right.”

We had a banana latte together at the cafe.

If I had to choose, I do like it.

But you should still ask Hyung.

Actually, I didn’t mind anything. It was enough if Siha liked it.

“Mom. I want to buy snacks, too.”

“No, you can’t.”

“Hing. Hana will eat snacks, too. With Hana’s money.”

“No, you can’t.”

The scene of her not being able to buy snacks with her own money is right in front of me.

I asked Siha if he wanted to eat snacks.

“If you buy too many, the piggy bank food will disappear.”

It seems like he can’t let the change decrease. Then he shouldn’t have taken it out in the first place?

The reason was so cute. Piggy bank food.

“Piggy bank food is important.”

“If you buy it, Hana will have many.”

“That’s true.”

The ten thousand won bill becomes several one thousand won bills and coins.

Is the money being copied?!

Well, the actual amount of money will decrease, but as piggy bank food, it will increase.

Is it a feeling of competing with quantity over quality?

“Let’s go up now.”

We each stuck a straw in our drinks and went up to listen to the lecture while drinking.

It was the place where I had worked on body painting before, and we sat down in the chairs and waited for the teacher.

As soon as Yes, Teacher [a common way for children to address teachers in Korean] arrived, the lecture began.

“Hello, everyone.”

“Hello.”

“You all gathered here today to become docents. So, shall we first learn about docents?”

“Yes!”

“A docent is someone who guides and explains at the museum. So, you need to know much more about the artwork than what’s in this script. Do you know why? I’ll give a prize if you get it right.”

“Me!”

Seung-jun raised his hand confidently.

Does he really know?

“Yes. Tell me.”

“We use the 3-3-4 tactic, but we might use the 4-1-2-3 tactic in the second half, so we need to know a lot!”

“Pardon?”

He’s talking about soccer.

The meaning is somewhat correct, isn’t it? Using one tactic and then using another depending on the situation.

But Yes, Teacher is just rolling her eyes, wondering what that means.

It’s natural that she doesn’t understand when soccer talk suddenly comes up. And if you’re not interested in tactics, you don’t really know them.

“Ah, ha. Ah, ha. That’s a good answer.”

She definitely doesn’t know.

You can tell by her expression. Maybe the other mothers think the same thing.

“But it’s a little disappointing. So, I’ll give you this candy.”

“Yay!”

The candy was handed over.

Yes, Teacher says the answer.

“Sometimes, while explaining, you get unexpected questions. Questions arise. So, you need to know a lot to answer them well.”

I nodded.

I knew that would be the answer. It’s obvious.

“Siha also knows.”

“Really?”

“If they ask, ‘What is this?’ you just go ‘Pow, pow, pow’ like Hyung.”

“Yeah. He knows everything.”

“Siha knows.”

He definitely doesn’t know.

He probably just thought he could do it like Hyung, just get the feeling and go ‘Pow, pow, pow’.

Yes, Teacher takes out the script.

“Okay, here’s the script. It’s important to memorize this.”

“Yes!”

“But you don’t have to memorize it, just say what you remember. But there’s something important. You shouldn’t overlap with other docents who started earlier by talking too fast.”

“!!!”

“You need to omit or lengthen the explanations while following this script. That’s why you need to know a lot.”

Oh! It’s more serious than I thought.

Indeed, when there are many docents and each person is going in, speed is important.

You shouldn’t catch up to the docent who went ahead, and you shouldn’t be caught up by the docent who is coming behind.

That adjustment may require explaining a little more than the amount in the script, or deliberately slowing down the speech.

“There are some skills involved. You can linger here for a bit and then move on, or take your time.”

Various know-hows are being released.

Well, I don’t know if the kids will need it, but that’s probably how it really is?

Exhibitions aren’t limited to art, and there may be times when you have to explain panels.

If you’re too close, the voices overlap, which is a hindrance to the explanation.

It’s a fact you can understand with a little thought.

“Then, let’s end the explanation here and actually try it out?”

But I wonder if there’s anything that needs explaining in the kids’ artwork.

***

We came to the exhibition hall where the children’s artwork, body painting, was displayed.

It was already set up, and the heads were visible first.

The path also bends because partition walls were set up.

“Then, let’s divide into groups and do it. We’ll divide into listeners and presenters.”

Not everyone applied to be a docent, so there were few children, but there were also parents, so the number of people seemed large.

We were divided into groups of three.

We gathered with people we knew.

“Then, you’ve read the script, right? Let’s do it according to the script. But you don’t have to follow the script exactly.”

Each of the children’s works contained their own thoughts.

And what they expressed is written in the script.

Most of the paintings were recognizable at a glance, but some were strangely difficult to understand.

“Shall Siha do it?”

“Yeah. Siha, try it.”

The docent in front departs first.

Then, the docent has to be out in advance, so Siha came forward.

We are the audience waiting in front of Siha.

Another staff member kindly says, “You can go in in five minutes.”

They wouldn’t do this in reality, but it’s a docent experience.

Maybe this situation could happen.

There may be visitors who want to listen to the explanation continuously.

“Then, we will enter according to the docent’s guidance.”

“Hyung. Come quickly.”

“Siha. You shouldn’t actually tell them to come quickly?”

“Siha knows.”

“Yeah. Siha knows everything.”

“You have to greet them at first.”

“Hello. I’m Siha. I’ll explain this today.”

Good job. Good job. That’s our Siha.

“It’s a head. Let’s move on.”

“Wait a minute! The explanation?”

“Huh? I explained it.”

No. I can tell it’s a head just by looking at it. What about the painting? What about the appreciation time?

“Wow. Siha is doing great!”

“Siha is doing well. He’s already moving on.”

“???”

That? Saying it’s a head is doing well?

Um. Let’s just say he’s doing well.

“Let’s move on to the next one.”

A head painted all in black came out.

He remembered what we read together in the script and explained it.

“You can’t see it at night. It’s hiding. It’s hide-and-seek.”

The word hide-and-seek was not in the script.

He’s improvising, Siha is a genius.

“Let’s move on.”

He definitely remembered the line about moving on.

Well, the word moving on was the most common when reading the script.

Well, whatever. It’s just about getting the feeling.

Actually, it takes a lot of courage to explain in front of people you know, even like this.

Isn’t he doing well without trembling for the first time? He’s my brother after all!

“Next is Hana’s. There’s a butterfly.”

Come to think of it, Hana chose the head.

A face with a butterfly on the cheek.

“Butterfly, butterfly, fly over here. Swallowtail butterfly. White butterfly [popular Korean children’s song].”

Why the sudden song?

I don’t understand the pattern of guiding here at all! I told him to do it freely, but isn’t he being too free?

“It thought the butterfly was a flower and is sitting here.”

Let’s be careful with the pronunciation, Siha.

He’s saying that the flower drawn on the eye thought it was a real flower and sat here?

“Hana drew it beautifully. It’s pretty if you draw it on your cheek here.”

But doesn’t he have a lot to say about Hana’s work?

Is this the power of connections?

He tells a lot about the work of someone he knows.

And when we turn the corner, the torso comes out.

The first thing I felt was that there were the most torsos.

“Tada! Now it’s the torso.”

It feels like we’re coming to a new place.

“So many torsos!”

Siha’s impressions are also being said.

Well, it’s Siha’s first time seeing it.

Even though he saw it in the picture.

“Let’s take our time and look around.”

The explanation of too many torsos is omitted.

He’s using amazing skills. Siha. Honestly, you don’t remember what’s written in the script, do you?

Well, I don’t remember either.

I can roughly recall it just by looking at the picture.

No. I remember? Why do I remember? Did I read it too much?

I don’t remember the endings or anything like that in detail, but I mostly remember the explanations.

My memory isn’t bad.

To translate someone’s words, you need to remember a lot in your head to some extent.

Of course, a lot of instant memory is required.

As we were looking around, Siha stopped in the middle.

“It’s Seung-jun’s!”

The connection explanation is amazing.

I feel sorry for the other torsos that were skipped over for some reason.