Brother, Am I Cute? [EN]: Chapter 409

Hyung, aren’t I cute? Episode 409

The atmosphere at a premiere doesn’t guarantee a movie’s success.

Neither do favorable reviews from critics or positive reactions from distributors.

In fact, the opposite is often true.

Director Go Dong-soo’s ‘Ant’ certainly received good reviews from critics.

As it was a premiere, the plot wasn’t discussed, but everyone was full of praise.

Many articles speculated whether it would surpass the break-even point, and if it would reach ten million viewers.

I’m curious too. Not just if it will reach ten million, but how quickly.

After all, it did win the Palme d’Or [the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival].

“Siha, what are you drawing?”

“Shhh! Siha’s almost done.”

She seems to be focused on her drawing.

It’s different from usual. It’s a drawing she started after filming the movie, and it seems like she’s finally finishing it.

She’s been working on it for quite a while this time.

I only let her draw for a set time, which makes it slower, but this time it’s been especially slow.

“Are you drawing something amazing? Is that it?”

“Siha thought about it when she filmed the movie.”

“Oh! Really? What did our Siha think about?”

“No! Later!”

“You want me to see it when it’s done, right?”

“Yeah.”

I took a peek and it was Pepe [a popular internet meme character].

She’s coloring it, so I shouldn’t disturb her. I’m a busy person too, Siha.

I sat next to her and did some translation work for the first time in a while.

It was a long novel, about three thick books’ worth. If a new book is published, I’ll probably be in charge again.

Work keeps coming in, so I seem to be making enough money.

And depending on the movie’s success, I might be working as Director Go Dong-soo’s interpreter, so I had to get some work done while I had the time.

So, we worked together.

The only sounds around us were the tapping of the keyboard and Siha diligently coloring with her pen.

Like white noise.

“Ugh!”

I was so focused that time flew by.

Siha said she was done and is lying on the floor, resting.

“Hyung. Siha’s all done. I recorded it all too.”

“Oh, really? What kind of drawing is it?”

“Pepe drawing.”

“I know that much.”

“Siha thought about it. I drew a Pepe with a camera in its eye.”

“???”

Siha jumped up and started explaining the drawing.

She seems to have her own intentions.

The first one is, of course, Pepe.

Just a normal Pepe. The original one she draws often.

It didn’t seem any different.

Siha zoomed in on the eye area.

“Huh?”

There was an eye drawn that sparkled like a camera lens.

It was definitely different from her usual black eyes, with a camera lens right there.

“It’s Director Pepe. His eye is a camera. Camera.”

“Wow. Amazing.”

“I put a camera in his eye, sshwoop.”

Siha showed me a side view of Pepe.

Inside Pepe’s head, there was a small camera drawn, like a cyborg.

Right in the eye area.

It felt a bit eerie, like a mechanical Pepe.

“There really is a camera.”

“This is inside Pepe.”

Wasn’t there supposed to be a heart and lungs inside Pepe?

It’s completely empty, with only a camera dangling there.

Well, it’s good that it’s focused.

Is that why it took so long to draw, thinking about this?

“Siha made a movie with the drawing.”

“I see.”

“Here’s Pepe making clothes. And here’s Pepe at the company. The company from Director’s movie.”

“Ooh!”

“This clothes are Pepe’s clothes.”

“That’s right?!”

“Next is Pepe making a cake and Pepe driving a garbage truck.”

“I see.”

“All together. All together.”

“!!!”

“Many people come out in Director’s movie. It’s fun. All different.”

I watched the movie with her, but I didn’t know if Siha understood these fun elements.

So, I didn’t know if she found it fun.

Of course, she might have been having fun just waiting for her scenes to come out.

There were also some comical scenes that kids would like.

Especially Kim Seok-hyun’s physical comedy.

“All the same but all different.”

Maybe that’s the theme that runs through the movie.

All the same office workers, but something different.

Something the same.

Maybe Siha grasped those elements.

Maybe she was able to see it because she didn’t know well.

Many people come out, families come out, someone misses their dad, someone meets their dad and complains that he smells.

How did those interwoven everyday lives appear in Siha’s eyes?

Maybe it’s contained in this drawing.

“Hyung. Should I upload it now?”

“No. I’ll edit it a bit and upload it. I understand Siha’s thoughts well.”

I might think she doesn’t know anything because she’s young, but maybe she sees better because she’s young.

Maybe those transparent eyes reflect the world well, like a camera.

I just stroked Siha’s hair.

This is Siha’s world.

***

After a long time, a video was uploaded to Sihapepe’s channel.

The original Pepe is standing, looking straight ahead.

[Hello. This is Sihapepe. It’s been a while.]

[Today’s drawing is titled ‘Kino-Eye’ [a film technique focused on showing life as it is].]

[Please enjoy watching.]

The coloring of Pepe’s eyes was done last, and she’s paying more attention to it than usual.

And through the completed coloring, we realize.

It’s exactly like a camera lens.

The completed Pepe’s eyes have camera lenses.

It was different from usual.

The video goes swoosh into that camera.

And a white background appears.

[Second drawing.]

To give certainty, Pepe’s side view comes out.

To emphasize that the eye is a camera, only a camera is drawn inside Pepe’s head.

[Third drawing]

A Pepe holding two pieces of cloth with scissors and a Pepe wearing a suit and tie are drawn.

On one drawing paper.

The colors of the two cloths that Pepe has are the same as the colors of the suit and tie.

A sign is drawn above the Pepe with the scissors.

[LSH]

And LSH is also engraved small on the suit pocket.

It implies that they are the same brand.

[Fourth drawing.]

A Pepe making a cake.

Leftover food like cream is put in a container.

Next to it is the side view of a food waste collection truck.

Inside, Pepe is driving the car.

The video was nearing the end with coloring, and there were no special explanatory subtitles.

However, it left only one line of text.

[Although the jobs are different, they can exist for each other.]

The video ended and signs for [Subscribe] and [Like] were floating around.

-Wow, Sihapepe doesn’t have many subtitles this time?

-Amazing!

-It definitely showed the concept of this drawing. The last subtitle did it all.

-But what is Kino-Eye in the video title?

Someone asked about the title of the video.

Replies were also posted, but there were already people explaining it in the comments.

That’s usually the case.

-Kino-Eye theory. Argued by Vertov [Dziga Vertov, a Soviet filmmaker].

To see the world more objectively, the camera machine should become the director’s eye.

You don’t have to think about it hard, just think of it as showing you my perspective.

Look up the details.

In my opinion, it’s not a new perspective, but I think the title was written just to show that this is how Sihapepe sees the world.

-Oh! Sihapepe!! But I don’t need to know. Because I already said what I wanted to say.

-That’s right

An interpreter also participated in the comments.

[I can’t say that it’s amazing that the Sihapepe artist said this and that’s what it means.

The greatness of Sihapepe is not there.

It’s in the composition of the scene!

The fact that the Kino-Eye theory is expressed with the eyes in the Pepe drawing!

In fact, you can know it without mentioning Kino-Eye, but it’s mentioned kindly.

It’s a word to realize it faster.

You can know that fact from the beginning of the story with the lens.

Let’s assume that there is no title.

More people may not have realized it just by looking at the first picture.

The second picture gives confidence that it is the Kino-Eye theory, which is definitely a visually shocking picture.

The message it gives us is clear.

‘Looking’

It’s giving us this message.]

I never gave that message.

It’s just ‘looking’ from Siha’s perspective.

[In the third picture, we saw ‘connection’.

In fact, they are two people who should not be in the same place.

A person who makes clothes.

A person who wears those clothes and goes to work.

However, Sihapepe says that the two people are not living in different worlds, but living in the same world, in that they are connected by clothes.]

I intended to connect the two, but Siha didn’t think about the production being in one place.

However, I thought it was a four-cut cartoon, so I had no choice but to put the two Pepes in one place because I was going to draw it in four.

[I was most shocked by the fourth picture.

Someone is making a cake that someone can eat deliciously.

Someone is disposing of that food waste.

This heterogeneous picture asks a philosophical question.

It makes you think a lot.

But still, it gives us a warm message.

A warm love that can exist for each other.

His paintings always show this warm heart.]

Si혁 thinks.

If I collect all of this person’s comments, wouldn’t a thesis come out?

***

A message came from Seo Soo-hyun.

-Seo Soo-hyun: Oppa! Oppa!

-Si혁: ?

-Seo Soo-hyun: I failed to get tickets for the audience premiere ㅠㅠ

-Seo Soo-hyun: Do I have to wait until the release? ㅠㅠ

-Si혁: It’s not long, so you can wait.

-Seo Soo-hyun: Oppa. Do you have a video of just Siha? Send it to me.

-Si혁: Why would I??? Are you going to post it on the group chat again?

-Seo Soo-hyun: (Frog emoticon hitting head with a chestnut and sticking out tongue)

-Si혁: I’m going to kill you. Seriously.

-Seo Soo-hyun: I’m not the kind of person who spreads things around???

-Si혁: Yeah. You’re not a person, you’re a frog ㅎ

-Seo Soo-hyun: This oppa is really!

-Si혁: You’re using a frog emoticon… At this point, aren’t you enjoying it?

-Seo Soo-hyun: (Frog emoticon with mouth censored and looking like it’s swearing)

-Seo Soo-hyun: Ah! Wrong button

Seo Soo-hyun deleted the message.

-Si혁: I caught you doing that on purpose, you know?

-Seo Soo-hyun: No… I really pressed the wrong button… Heeing [onomatopoeia for whining]

-Si혁: I told you to cry like a frog…

-Seo Soo-hyun: (Frog emoticon raising a censored finger)

-Seo Soo-hyun: Uh-oh? It went up wrong… Sry sry… ㅠㅠ;;;

-Si혁: I’ll see you. Come home.

-Seo Soo-hyun: Oppa… I have to work on YouTube? I’ll contact you later!!! Bye bye

-Si혁: Where are you going!! Come here when I’m saying it nicely…

-Seo Soo-hyun: (Hongdae [a district in Seoul known for its art scene] 맛집 [famous restaurant] cupcake gifticon [gift certificate])

-Seo Soo-hyun: Ribbit ribbit

-Si혁: Ha… I’ll let it go this time…

-Si혁: It’s not going over with a gift… It’s going over with ribbit ribbit…

As I was finishing the conversation, Siha runs over.

She hugs me tightly, calling for Hyung.

“Hyung. Hyung. Hyung.”

“Yeah. Hyung is here even if you only call me once.”

“Is Hyung going to work too?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Hyung always works with a notebook. But you go to work in the movie.”

“Ah… That’s right. Hyung goes to work too.”

“???”

“Didn’t you know? When I went abroad for work before, the company told me to go.”

“Hyung always used English?”

“Well, yeah.”

Because President Park Han-soo orders translation and miscellaneous work.

At the company, I do miscellaneous work and translation for a while.

If there is a contact from abroad, I respond in English.

It might not look so different to others.

“Hyung. But when does the movie come out?”

“Ah. It’s released on May 30th.”

“Release? Siha doesn’t know release, but knows thumbs up! Thumbs up!”

Siha raises her thumb.

Yeah. You know thumbs up?

Where did you hear that? People don’t use thumbs up these days?

“Uncle!”

Siha runs to her uncle.

I guess she thought her uncle should watch the movie when it’s released.

After all, he didn’t come to the premiere either.

“Why?”

Uncle is lying on the sofa with a sullen expression.

“Uncle! Are you going to watch the movie? You’re not busy.”

“I watched it?”

“Liar!”

“Really? Look. Uncle came to Siha’s premiere too.”

“Liar! Siha didn’t see Uncle.”

“No. There was an event at Siha’s premiere. Uncle took pictures too?”

“Really?!”

Siha, you believe that?

Uncle smiled and showed a picture.

A picture of Siha’s face looking strangely like a steamed bun.

That’s a picture I sent to the group chat before, but he really made his face like that with an app?

“You look terrible in the picture. Hahaha.”

“Ah? It’s not Siha’s face.”

“It looks like a steamed bun. Hahaha. Look, there’s steam rising from your head, right?”

“!!!”

He must have added effects with the app.

“It’s not Siha. It’s not Siha.”

“Hahaha. Other people must have seen Siha as a steamed bun.”

“Eing Eing! It’s not Siha!” [Eing Eing is onomatopoeia for crying]

He was an uncle full of thoughts of how to tease her.

Well, I knew he would tease her like that.