Brother, Am I Cute? [EN]: Chapter 404

Hyung, am I cute? 404

The Cannes Film Festival has begun.

Director Go Dong-soo’s movie, ‘Worker Ant,’ is about to be released.

From morning, the area was crowded with people and many reporters.

Among them was a Korean reporter, busy interviewing people.

The goal was simple: to gather stories specifically about Director Go Dong-soo, who was representing Korea this year.

Stories about other directors? Not needed.

After all, the Korean audience is primarily interested in Director Go Dong-soo’s activities, not those of other directors.

Of course, dedicated cinephiles might have broader interests.

But other outlets would cater to them; this reporter’s focus was solely on the Korean angle.

In today’s terms, it was all about ‘national pride’ content.

“How long have you been waiting?”

“I started waiting from 9 a.m.”

“Do you come to the Cannes Lumière Theater often?”

“Yes, I come often.”

Finding Director Go Dong-soo’s fans was easy.

Most were busy cutting out paper or cardboard and writing messages on them. All you had to do was approach anyone holding a sign related to ‘Worker Ant’ and start the interview.

With about five or six interviews, the opening segment of the video would be quickly assembled.

“Do you like Director Go Dong-soo?”

“Yes, I love him! I’m a huge fan. I especially loved the movie ‘Heart of a Girl,’ and I’ve made sure to watch all of Director Go Dong-soo’s movies since then.”

And then another interview with someone else.

“I’m really looking forward to the director’s new movie. ‘Worker Ant.’ It feels so relatable!”

So, the reporter and the cameraman continued collecting interviews.

The footage was satisfactory.

Just gathering this much material and watching the movie later would be enough.

Seeing so many people vying for tickets was always a spectacle.

The reporter turned to the cameraman.

“What do you think of Director Go’s work this time?”

“Well? Won’t he do well, as always? I’m just not sure how high of an award he’ll receive, though.”

“I hope he wins a good award. Ugh. I’m really looking forward to it. The actors are great, and I think it’s wonderful that they’re telling everyday stories.”

“Exciting, isn’t it?”

“But the translation has to be top-notch for it to be screened effectively.”

“He’ll take care of it. Go Dong-soo is fluent in English, too.”

“That’s true.”

So, the premiere happened, and the audience watched the movie.

Almost immediately after it ended, posts began appearing on social media.

-It’s truly the best! A masterpiece!

-It’s such a relatable story, and I loved how it was portrayed with humor!

-It really makes you think!

-There were so many directing choices and details that I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen the whole time!

The feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

However, regardless of the audience’s reaction, it was impossible to predict whether it would win an award at Cannes.

The jury consisted of directors and actors, including the director who won the Palme d’Or [the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival] last year and an actor who starred in that film.

And other directors’ works were also receiving great responses, so it was difficult to gauge the outcome based solely on critical evaluations.

There were also rumors that the famous director Arnold was attending this year’s Cannes, and he was a strong contender for the Palme d’Or.

In any case, the ultimate decision rested on how each jury member evaluated the films based on their own criteria.

“Where did Director Go say he was staying?”

“Well?”

“Don’t you have any informants? If we get a call to attend the awards ceremony, we need to find him immediately.”

“Hmm. You think he’ll definitely win an award? I’m not sure which one, though.”

Still, judging by the audience’s reaction, it seemed likely that he would win something. Both the reporter and the cameraman were confident about this.

“I need to contact someone I know. I heard he came here on a reward vacation in advance.”

“Wow. How did you hear that?”

“I’m not just a rookie reporter, you know?”

“Yeah, right.”

“No. You seem to know something, too?”

“I’m not just a rookie cameraman either.”

***

Awards ceremony day.

At lunchtime, Director Go Dong-soo received a call asking him to attend the awards ceremony.

That meant he was going to win an award.

Everyone cheered.

Director Go Dong-soo shared his inner thoughts.

“I hope they call me as late as possible.”

Kim Seok-hyun clasped his hands together and prayed to the sky.

“The later they call you, the better the award, so please call him early.”

“Hey!”

“Hahaha! Director. I’m just kidding. Oh! So, Si-hyuk is finally going to translate? Awesome!”

I smiled awkwardly.

It would be a lie if I said I didn’t think he would win an award. Just from my perspective, he made the movie so well that I thought he would get some kind of recognition.

“Um. Is the acceptance speech long?”

I simply asked what I was curious about.

Director Go Dong-soo shook his head.

“How long can it be? I’m not going to write a different acceptance speech for every award, so just go with a relaxed attitude. Unless you’re receiving the top award, you can’t speak for that long anyway.”

“Ah.”

“Just give a general greeting when you receive the award and make it short and sweet!”

“I see.”

Actor Kim Seok-hyun put his arm around my shoulder.

“Don’t talk about such boring things, and look at this social media. They’re praising the translation a lot.”

“Hey! Is me receiving an award a boring story?”

“Hey. You’ve already received awards often anyway.”

“Hey!”

I smiled and looked at the social media posts that actor Kim Seok-hyun showed me.

There were many screenshots of people searching his name.

I should pretend I didn’t see that.

Even if I were an actor, I would have searched my name.

-The translation was smooth and excellent this time!

-Not only that, but how should I put it? It was great because I could understand new words easily!

-I know a little Korean, but the subtitles were different from what I was hearing, so I laughed a lot. Suddenly, familiar references to Harvard and Oxford Universities came up, and I thought, ‘Wow, they translated it in a really accessible way!’

-I love these little touches!

I was embarrassed to receive praise.

Well, there might be people who were critical, but the ones captured were all positive.

“That’s good.”

“Right? That’s why I use social media.”

“But there’s also a spicy side. And a bitter side.”

“You have to filter that out yourself.”

Brain filtering? Only hearing good things?

“Anyway, we’re finally going to the awards ceremony! Now you have to prepare, too.”

“But when is the awards ceremony?”

“You should go in around 6 o’clock, right?”

I thought I could rest a bit and then get ready.

It’s time to put a custom suit on Siha.

Of course, he wore it once when we got it, but he hasn’t gone out anywhere in it.

“Then I’ll get ready. Ah, Director. Please tell me roughly what you’re going to say in your speech in advance.”

“Huh? Ah! I’m going to do it roughly like this.”

It was a standard speech.

The only difference was that he mentioned foreign directors and expressed his respect.

With this much preparation, there would be no problem even if I went up to the awards ceremony and translated.

“Ah, that’s roughly it. It’s normal.”

“I told you.”

“Then I’ll go up and get ready.”

“Okay! Come with me when I call you.”

“Yes!”

I have to loosen my mouth before speaking French.

I might not usually be nervous about this kind of thing, but since I’m standing in front of foreigners, I might make a mistake.

And I came as an interpreter, but if I hear that my pronunciation is bad, I might feel unpleasant.

I’m sure that won’t happen, though.

“Siha.”

“Hyung?”

Siha was drawing intently on his tablet.

Siha doesn’t let go of his favorite drawing, even after coming all the way here.

Maybe it’s because he’s not running around busily in many places on this trip, but he’s living leisurely and relaxed.

Drawing is a fun game for Siha.

“Uh. We’re going to eat dinner a little early. And we’re going to have an awards ceremony, so I’m going to get dressed up.”

“Awards ceremony, what’s that?”

“Huh? Ah! It’s giving an award for making a movie really well! Really well!”

“Do they stamp it, too?”

If they stamped ‘You did a good job’ on the hands of the directors at the Cannes Film Festival, it might be quite a groundbreaking awards ceremony.

But the prestige of these historic three major film festivals [Cannes, Venice, and Berlin] would not allow that.

“They don’t stamp it, but people say, ‘Wow, this person is the best!’ and stamp it in their hearts.”

“How?”

“This is going on TV.”

“!!!”

“Anyway, the clothes might be a little uncomfortable, but you have to wear a suit. And a bow tie.”

In fact, I’m more worried that he’ll be more uncomfortable with the bow tie than the suit.

“Go with Hyung?!”

“Yeah. With Hyung. The same thing.”

Yeah. Even if it’s uncomfortable, if it’s the same as Hyung, you’ll be very satisfied, right?

I overlooked something.

My uncle, who was lying limply on the bed, said.

“Siha. Is Uncle going with you, too?”

“Uncle’s okay.”

“What’s okay? What?!”

Anyway, Uncle seems to be fine with it.

***

I participated in the awards ceremony.

As I walked up the red carpet, flashes went off.

Uncle is probably inside, right?

He’s infiltrating as a security guard.

No, is it right to say infiltrating? Should I just say that I asked for cooperation and went in?

Anyway, it’s true that he’s inside.

But Siha in a suit and bow tie is so cute.

Cute is cute, but I wonder if I can go in with him like this.

I feel like people are wondering, ‘Who is that?’ I don’t think I should be here? Shouldn’t I be on the second floor?

I thought about that for a moment, but somehow I ended up sitting in a seat on the first floor.

The director is preparing to leave at any time.

“It’s starting.”

The awards ceremony began, and the directors who would receive awards were announced.

Director Go Dong-soo’s name was not on the list of names being called.

As the announcements continued, we became more and more nervous.

What is it? What is it? Before we knew it, we were only waiting for the Palme d’Or.

Director Arnold is also a nominee?

Could it be that there is no award?

When this thought crossed my mind, the chairman of the jury came forward and briefly shared the jury’s thoughts.

“They were all very good movies. This year was a great year for film.”

Pondering slightly.

“It was very difficult to choose, but the result was surprisingly unanimous. This year’s Palme d’Or is awarded to…”

The chairman of the jury smiles and says.

“Worker Ant!”

Wow! Clapping!

The cheers and applause were deafening.

Director Go Dong-soo’s face showed surprise and astonishment. And he stood up vigorously and shouted the loudest, ‘Aaaah!’

I also stood up, giving a standing ovation.

Siha also thought it was something great and clapped along.

Actor Kim Seok-hyun shouted.

“Hurry up and go out!”

Director Go Dong-soo nodded and went forward.

I also followed him as an interpreter.

The director received the award in the middle of the stage and went to the microphone.

Now he had to give the acceptance speech, but he couldn’t speak for a moment.

He was a little nervous because he hadn’t expected to receive the Palme d’Or.

Doesn’t this change the acceptance speech?

“Merci (Thank you).”

Clapping.

Director Go Dong-soo was definitely very embarrassed and started speaking at length.

“I have my interpreter behind me, but this friend didn’t even know that he would be interpreting the Palme d’Or’s acceptance speech. I didn’t expect it either. Before coming here, I said this to this friend: ‘Ah, I’m going to keep it simple, so don’t be too nervous and just enjoy it. I’m going to do the acceptance speech roughly like this.’ I said that, but now my mind is a blank slate.”

It’s very difficult if you start off so long.

I can’t help it.

I received the microphone in advance and conveyed the words in French.

Without missing a single detail. So that Director Go Dong-soo’s humorous tone and intonation could be conveyed effectively.

I’ve seen it a lot so far, and I’ve prepared how to convey it.

As expected, people burst into laughter.

I guess it was funny that his mind had become a blank slate.

“I really like French movies…….”

Telling the stories of the directors I respect was the acceptance speech I had originally decided on, so I translated it comfortably.

From this point on, Director Go Dong-soo seemed to have regained his composure and began to speak quite steadily, cutting off sentences well.

Well, sometimes it didn’t seem like that.

“I wanted to make a movie that was ordinary, relatable, and somewhat unique. There are many people who helped me with that. I would like to thank the artists such as cinematographer Lee Han-jin, Hong Seo-joon, and Choi Soo-young.”

If I had entrusted it to a regular interpreter, they would have said, ‘I can’t name each and every one of them, but I would like to thank the many artists.’

That’s what they usually do.

And the meaning would not have been easily conveyed.

But I’m different.

“Of course, I would also like to thank Lee Si-hyuk, the translator who is interpreting here. Thank you for taking on the excellent translation of the movie.”

I’m suddenly referring to myself, and I feel my face getting hot.

Please name someone other than me.

But people who knew that I was in charge of not only the interpretation but also the translation of the movie were surprised.

I don’t know what was so surprising.

If there was one person who reacted differently, it was Siha. From afar, Siha was putting his hands on his waist and sticking out his stomach.

I had to hold back my laughter slightly.

I could feel him saying, ‘My Hyung is amazing!’

“And.”

Thanks to the producer representative and the distributor.

The story of taking a camera with friends for the first time and nurturing dreams while going to college through high school.

Finally, the acceptance speech ended with the words that it was meaningful and truly an honor to receive such an award.

It was very long, but I interpreted it in fluent French, making the most of the unique humor and emotion.

The tone of voice was also matched to the director as much as possible.

Like a voice actor.

“Merci. Merci beaucoup. (Thank you. Thank you very much.)”

The director said French for the last time and went down.

That’s how the French interpretation was completely over.

I breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.

‘I hope I wasn’t too noticeable? The focus was all on the director. Yeah. The camera screen was all showing the director. I was just holding the microphone in the back.’

It didn’t take long to realize how wrong that assumption was.