Brother, Am I Cute? [EN]: Chapter 450

Extracurricular 25: The Light Under the Lamp (1)

The classroom after school can transform into a music room.

It might seem like our English conversations only happen five days a week, but that’s not entirely true.

Kang In-cho’s English class is interwoven with music.

Memorizing an English song called “Lemon Tree” is also part of the curriculum.

It’s a pop song that naturally utilizes head voice, nasal voice, chest voice, and so on.

Surprisingly, some mothers appreciate the after-school class content even more than the kids do.

It’s not just vaguely engaging in free talking; there’s structure and purpose.

“Shall we look at sheet music today?”

The teacher displayed sheet music related to Chopin’s pieces.

Of course, the children didn’t know how to read sheet music, so they simply tilted their heads in confusion.

“You don’t really know what it is, do you?”

“No!”

“Do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-si-do~ You know this, right?”

“Yes!”

“It’s a combination of that in various ways, marked in this sheet music. Shall we hear what sound this sheet music makes?”

“Yes!”

Classical music filled the classroom.

I chose a slightly faster piano piece rather than a calm one to maintain their attention.

These small details significantly affect the class, so capturing the children’s interest was crucial.

The sheet music seemed to flip quickly each time a key was played.

“Today, we’re going to express in English how you felt after listening to this Chopin piece.”

The reason for playing Chopin’s piece was simple and twofold.

The idea was to naturally expose them to classical music and help cultivate the children’s emotions.

You might say it’s a fancy and luxurious hobby, but if they listen to it naturally from a young age, it will provide a good foundation for musical appreciation.

It’s different from popular music, but not necessarily in a bad way.

The reason why words like musical change and innovation exist is because there’s a basic song or structure to build upon.

It’s important to remember things with your heart, not just your head, when you’re young.

I don’t know what the children will do when they grow up, but this kind of input will definitely be beneficial in creative fields.

That’s how important it was to lay the foundation now.

“Then, shall we freely talk about how this song made you feel?”

Silence fell.

The teacher nodded, as if he expected it.

It’s only natural that it’s difficult to express feelings in English at their age.

“Then, shall the class president, Jong-su, try?”

It’s almost a given that the class president will be nominated in these situations.

Jong-su said confidently.

“Um. very good. fast.”

“Wow. Good job.”

The homeroom teacher gave a thumbs up.

I wasn’t expecting some profound review anyway.

Just that much—the confidence to say something—was enough.

I had to let them know that language isn’t scary. It’s okay to make mistakes.

So what if you can’t communicate perfectly? It doesn’t matter if you only use what you know.

“Then, shall Seung-jun try next?”

“very good! fast! shooting star!”

“Wow. You did really well.”

I don’t know why he added “shooting star,” but I’ll praise him anyway.

It was important to praise them even if they said the same thing Jong-su said earlier.

You can say the same thing; there’s no pressure to be completely original.

The teacher guided the children so they could understand without feeling pressured to use complex vocabulary.

“Next.”

The teacher looked at Si-ha but then quickly averted his gaze.

If a child who excels in this class goes first, it makes it harder for the others who follow.

It becomes more difficult to speak up.

He was sending signals with sparkling eyes to be picked, but the teacher deliberately ignored him.

“Hana.”

Hana says confidently.

“very good! fast! shooting star! but better k-pop!”

“Wow. Is that amazing?”

Next is Eun-woo.

“Puhaha. very good! fast! shooting star! but better k-pop! fantastic baby!”

Next is Jae-hwi.

“Ugh. Very good fast? Um. What did you say? What did you say? I can’t remember everything.”

Jae-hwi trembled and looked around, his face a picture of desperation.

The teacher said, feigning surprise, “Hey guys? You don’t have to memorize everything that was said before and add to it, you know?”

“Re, really? Everyone in front of me did that, so I thought I had to do that too.”

“You don’t have to.”

I was trying to convey the idea that you could repeat what the person in front of you said, but it had somehow turned into a memorization game.

Add one more impression there.

How did it end up like this?

When I looked closely, the other children were also diligently memorizing what was said before.

No. This isn’t right.

“Ahem. You don’t have to memorize it. Got it?”

“Yes!”

It seems like the children have already memorized everything, but let’s move on.

Next is Yeon-ju.

“It was a performance I wanted to listen to with Jae-hwi.”

Yeon-ju smiled and looked at Jae-hwi.

Jae-hwi seemed to understand, and his face turned red for no apparent reason.

The teacher shouted inwardly, “What are you guys doing?”

“Yun-dong.”

“Let’s dance.”

Because he said it with an unexcited face, I couldn’t tell if he really wanted to dance or not.

“Next.”

In this way, the children diligently shared their impressions one by one.

There were children who were joking around, but it was a good time because all the English they knew came out.

Finally, Si-ha’s impression remained.

“I like that it’s fast. It’s a shooting star. K-pop is better. It’s fantastic. I want to listen to it with Jae-hwi.”

He said everything that 23 people had said.

No. Did he memorize all of this?!

“I want to listen to it with my older brother. I also want to dance together because I’m excited. I think my uncle would dance strangely.”

“Si-ha. It’s okay to stop now.”

“But I don’t think my uncle will like this music. I think he’ll tell me to turn it off quickly because he’s watching a drama.”

Today, TMI [Too Much Information] Si-ha appeared again.

Is that really a review of this music?

“Wow. Si-ha is good!”

“He’s really good at English.”

“I think Yeon-ju can do that much too.”

“He’s so good at blah blah.”

To the children who couldn’t understand the content, it seemed like he was showing off an amazing review.

Si-ha smiled softly and said confidently.

“My older brother. Is a translator!”

He meant that since his older brother is a translator, he is naturally good at English too.

“As expected. As expected.”

“Amazing.”

“Si-ha’s older brother is really amazing.”

The teacher thought to himself.

Now the children have come to recognize how great Si-ha’s older brother is.

Is this the right direction for the class? I think it’s different from the direction I was thinking of?

The intention is always invisible, like a hidden shadow.

***

The day of the art class.

Bae Sang-hyun sighed as he prepared.

I’m not sure if I’m getting any closer to the 8-year-old child.

I don’t know how to start a conversation, so I’m sticking to a prepared class.

Still, I take comfort in the fact that he seems to enjoy the prepared classes.

I know I shouldn’t be so reliant on this, but there aren’t many people to consult with.

-Bae Sang-hyun: I don’t really know what to say to an 8-year-old child. How can I get closer?

-Si-hyuk: You don’t have to say anything special. Did you eat today? You can just offer a simple greeting.

-Bae Sang-hyun: Is that really all it takes?

-Si-hyuk: You’re doing well now haha

I check the text, but I’m still suspicious.

Just greet him happily, ask how he’s doing, and occasionally ask if anything fun happened today.

Is that really all it takes?

Si-ha does most of the talking, and I don’t talk much?

Bae Sang-hyun was honestly feeling a sense of crisis.

I had no choice but to contact a friend who was close to his son.

Although he failed to turn him into a zombie due to cultural differences, he is still a father with a child, so shouldn’t he have something to say?

-Bae Sang-hyun: What kind of stories do you usually tell your son?

-Friend: Son? We often play catch, too.

-Bae Sang-hyun: I mean conversations other than sports.

-Friend: Tsk tsk. It’s fun to talk while playing catch. I also tell him fun episodes about catch.

-Bae Sang-hyun: They’re old stories, but are the kids having fun?

-Friend: What does it matter if they’re old stories? The fun doesn’t change. You know, no matter how much art has changed, the essential things haven’t changed at all.

-Bae Sang-hyun: Yeah. That’s right.

Bae Sang-hyun realized what his friend meant.

Yeah. After all, the zombie thing was just a cultural misunderstanding.

If I tell him fun episodes about people living, the child will enjoy listening.

My friend told me before that it’s important to connect with the kids.

Ding-dong-

The bell rang.

Bae Sang-hyun opened the door and greeted Si-ha.

“Hello. Si-ha.”

“Hello.”

“Please take care of me today, too.”

“Yes!”

“Si-hyuk, please take care of me, too.”

Si-hyuk smiled softly and shook his head.

“I don’t think I can sit in on the class today because I have work to do. Can I use the studio?”

“Ah. Yes. Please do.”

Si-hyuk sometimes doesn’t listen to the class and leaves like this.

He gives them time to be alone.

“Hyung [older brother/male friend]. Again? Are you very busy?”

“Yeah. Hyung has to earn money to feed everyone.”

“Uncle can work.”

“Uncle doesn’t have to work. He’s providing the house.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Then use Si-ha’s money if you run out of money later.”

“Okay. I understand. But that won’t happen.”

“No. You have to check under the lampstand too~”

“You have to knock on a stone bridge before crossing it [look before you leap]. It’s mixed up. It’s mixed up.”

“Ah, that’s right!”

Bae Sang-hyun watched this conversation carefully.

I wanted to say something fun, too.

“Then is there also a saying that stone bridges are dark? Hahaha!”

“???”

Question marks appeared in the heads of the two people.

Bae Sang-hyun lowered his eyes and stopped laughing.

“I’m sorry.”

Si-hyuk smiled belatedly, realizing that he was trying to be funny.

“Hahaha. That’s really funny. Hahaha.”

“Hyung. Is that funny?”

“…….”

Of course, it didn’t help as intended.

After a long time, Fact 폭 [Fact Bomb] Si-ha was activated for Hyung, too.

Bae Sang-hyun’s confidence dropped once more.

“Shall we go to class then?”

I had no choice but to say these words with difficulty.

“Yes!”

Si-ha answered brightly.

Bae Sang-hyun made a resolution to tell fun stories while teaching, using failure as a stepping stone.

“Today’s class is about sketching on black drawing paper. Now we’re going to change the drawing paper like this and draw. Watch how the colors come out.”

“Yes!”

Bae Sang-hyun’s class was always about color.

He didn’t touch or teach anything about drawing at all.

He already knew that Si-ha was doing some drawing, and even if he couldn’t, he had no intention of teaching him.

Only color. Color is important.

In fact, drawing is one of the skills that can be learned the fastest with effort.

But color sense cannot be learned quickly.

It’s as difficult as raising the Korean language or math area by two grades, not just one grade now.

From 600 points to 700 points on the TOEIC [Test of English for International Communication]. From 700 points to 800 points. Waiting for a gradual increase as much as breaking this wall is a tedious task.

The ability of color sense was so difficult to improve compared to the effort.

That’s why it was important to learn like this from a young age and become familiar with colors.

Even if Si-ha doesn’t work in art, I think this ability itself is precious and important.

He may work in the design field, or art may become a hobby later.

Just because you have talent doesn’t mean you have to make it a career.

“We’re going to draw using white like this.”

“Yes! It’s already night.”

“It’s night.”

“But it’s not completely night.”

“Um. That’s right.”

Black also has a bright density, so it wasn’t a pitch-black night.

“Shall we try it?”

“Yes!”

Si-ha grabbed the white paint and started drawing.

Only by drawing like this can you know what kind of color it is. Next time, you know how to draw and express it.

Bae Sang-hyun looked at the drawing and thought about fun stories.

“How is it? Is it fun?”

“It’s fun.”

“Really? What’s fun about it?”

“Changing it to white even though it’s black.”

It was a meaningful expression.

Bae Sang-hyun didn’t think too deeply.

“I keep using dark colors.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m a child of darkness.”

“?!”

“Hahaha.”

Bae Sang-hyun used the expression “children of darkness” that he heard from his teacher when he was young.

It was a word I always heard during the next class if I turned off the lights and slept during lunch time.

But Si-ha couldn’t sympathize.

“Zombie?”

“No. Forget about the zombie.”

Bae Sang-hyun blamed his friend in his heart.

You said it’s fun to hear old stories!