Chapter 107
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: The Square Poop Play
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The children's laughter rang out nonstop in high-pitched bursts.
It was coming from the Sunflower Class at Sunshine Nursery.
The volunteer club students from Cheongyeom Arts High had their square poop play in full swing.
Kids really do treat words like "poop" and "fart" as cheat codes.
Their giggles lifted my spirits too.
From my thirty-three-year-old perspective, the kids looked even cuter.
I was grinning so hard my cheeks hurt, so I glanced around—and everyone else was cracking up too.
The teacher, Chae Si-hyun, even my first-year classmates.
But...
Honestly... it was funny.
Everyone was genuinely losing it over Moon Woo-hyuk, who was giving his all as the square poop.
“Why am I shaped differently from everyone else?”
Moon Woo-hyuk had fully embodied the square poop.
Anyone would think Hamlet himself had flown in from England.
His melancholy acting was top-notch.
That's when the kids shouted with all their might.
“No! It doesn't matter what you look like, teacher says!”
“That's right! Cheer up!”
They were totally immersed, trying to instill hope in the square poop.
Moon Woo-hyuk put some intensity into his eyes at the sight.
It had been over ten years since he'd started musicals because of his dad.
Ever since kindergarten.
He'd been on countless practice stages and school evaluations, but he'd never gotten a reaction like this.
Audiences hanging on his every gesture, movement, and line—reacting, empathizing.
It was overwhelming.
The best audience response of his acting career.
He held back the tears welling up, thinking he'd made the right choice becoming a musical actor.
“He's gonna bawl any second now.”
Song Ha-na murmured softly, watching him.
I took a closer look, and sure enough, his eyes looked a little red...
Anyway, the play rolled on amid Moon Woo-hyuk's unprecedented performance and the kids' wild cheers and anticipation.
Near the end, Kim Sun-woo as the leaf called out to the square poop, Moon Woo-hyuk.
“Hey, Square Poop! Wanna be friends with me?”
At Kim Sun-woo's words, the poop slunk sideways bit by bit.
186 cm tall. Or maybe more now that vacation was over.
A giant like that in a poop costume, squatting and inching along.
“Pfft.”
A scene you couldn't see anywhere else.
A few volunteer club members couldn't hold it in—they turned away, stifling laughs.
Luckily, Moon Woo-hyuk, lost in his square poop role, was focused on the leaf Kim Sun-woo and missed it.
“Really? Can I be friends with you?”
The kids nodded through tears at his heartfelt acting.
“You can do it!”
“Go, Poop!”
Sniffles echoed from all over as they cheered on the square poop, Moon Woo-hyuk.
It was the first role he'd ever gotten cheers like this for while performing.
The moment square poop ascended to his life-defining character.
And so the play ended to the kids' cheers right up to the finale.
Clap clap clap!
Tiny hands clapped without end.
Moon Woo-hyuk, overflowing with emotion, nailed the curtain call.
The volunteer club members watching him were still secretly struggling to keep straight faces to the bitter end.
I'd pinched my arm so hard my left forearm was bright red.
“Wow, that was seriously epic.”
The teacher, who'd been watching from the back, clapped as she approached the club members.
“Hands down the best square poop play I've ever seen!”
Chae Si-hyun smiled at the rave review and bowed her head.
“Thank you.”
“The kid playing square poop was so good, I almost teared up.”
The teacher kept giving Moon Woo-hyuk thumbs-ups.
He was still wearing the poop costume.
He bowed to her in it.
His face was working overtime to manage his surging emotions—he couldn't even speak.
Then the kids swarmed the square poop Moon Woo-hyuk and yanked at his costume.
“Square Poop! Let's go find friends together!”
“No! Come find 'em with us!”
Song Ha-na and Kim Sun-woo's faces went pale watching.
“Uh. That's kinda risky.”
“Yeah...”
They knew Moon Woo-hyuk well—their expressions turned serious.
No matter how much the kids cheered him on, if they tugged and pestered like that, he wouldn't hold back with his temper.
Even if they were kids—he'd scold them good.
Worried the great vibe would shatter.
But then, the twist.
“Whoa, whoa. Kids. We can't do that.”
Shockingly, Moon Woo-hyuk didn't snap. He calmly tried to rein them in.
Song Ha-na and Kim Sun-woo, watching, gaped in total surprise.
“You're coming with me, Poop!”
“I grabbed first!”
Meanwhile, the kids ignored his pleas, fighting over who got to drag Moon Woo-hyuk off.
He was flailing in waves of emotion in the middle—no anger, just感动.
An experience like this was truly a first.
Kids fighting over him.
Sure, he'd seen kids who wanted to fight him, but never ones fighting with him in the middle.
Song Ha-na watched the scene and murmured under her breath without thinking.
“Man. You live long enough, you see it all.”
The teacher and I both turned to her at that.
Feeling our stares, Song Ha-na shot me a prim look.
“What. For me, right now—this moment—is the longest I've ever lived.”
Her tone was casual, but the rambling gave away her slight embarrassment.
Well, at seventeen, I'd thought I was all grown up too.
That's when someone said what no one else dared.
“Free time now. Go play with them.”
Chae Si-hyun said it to Moon Woo-hyuk, who looked a bit troubled.
“Man... what a pain.”
So why were his nostrils flaring like that if it was such a pain?
Moon Woo-hyuk pretended to give in and got dragged off by the kids.
The other members started playing with the kids too.
That's when a little girl clutched Song Ha-na's hem lightly, holding a doll.
Song Ha-na looked down at the hem she'd grabbed.
Was she about to laser the kid with a glare? Spit some venom?
I watched anxiously.
But against expectations, Song Ha-na bent her knees to meet the girl's eyes.
Not overly sweet, but with a lukewarm tone, she spoke.
“Why?”
“Sis.”
“Yeah.”
“My doll looks just like you!”
The girl showed off her doll.
Song Ha-na gave it a cold sidelong glance.
“This is an old doll. I'm prettier.”
The teacher panicked hard at Song Ha-na's bold claim.
No one else would say that to a kid.
But the girl blushed and nodded.
“Right! Sis is prettier!”
Even the mighty Song Ha-na seemed heartstruck by the cuteness—she lost her words for a moment.
A kid who could melt Song Ha-na's walls.
Kids' power is truly great.
The teacher and I watched in admiration from the side.
“If sis ties her hair, she'd be even prettier... Can I do it?”
“Sure. Specially today, I'll be your doll-play partner. The most expensive doll you'll ever have in your life.”
And so Song Ha-na started doll play with the girl in a corner.
I'd expected her to recoil from the kid, but this was unexpected.
The real surprise was something else.
“Why am I so unpopular?”
I'd been waiting, but no kid came to me.
I like kids well enough—why avoid me?
The teacher heard me and looked awkward, hemming and hawing.
“Well...”
“Well?”
“You stepped on the square poop on your way...”
Ah.
In the play, I'd played the normal person who steps on the square poop and freaks out.
But that's reality.
Stepping in poop feels gross.
I'd done the tough everyday acting.
They only remembered the square poop and ignored my method acting—such a shame.
“I see...”
If it was the role, nothing to do, but it stung.
Even Moon Woo-hyuk was swarmed by kids, Chae Si-hyun got along great without even acting.
Song Ha-na, who'd seemed kid-averse, was playing fine.
Feeling a pang of regret, I scanned the classroom corners.
One kid caught my eye, playing alone in a corner.
“What's that kid doing?”
“She's new, so she doesn't mix with the others well yet.”
“But why's she mumbling like that?”
“Memorizing lines from a picture book.”
Memorizing fairy tale lines?
“Hyun-woo's dream is to be an actor.”
Oh. An actor?
Instantly hooked.
“But the kids tease him for it, so he hates talking. Don't act like you know.”
I nodded at the teacher's warning.
Kids tease over the weirdest things.
I approached slowly.
“Hi?”
I greeted Hyun-woo nicely, but he ducked behind the teacher following me.
The teacher gently pulled him out from behind.
“Hyun-woo. Big bro wants to play with you.”
But Hyun-woo scowled and whipped his head away.
What? I didn't do anything—why the frown?
“Leave me alone.”
Ah. He must've reacted like this 'cause I stepped on the square poop too.
Awkward.
“Um...”
The teacher called me cautiously.
“I need to go prep lunch now. Can you watch Hyun-woo?”
“Sure. Go ahead.”
“Hyun-woo. Bro's not a bad guy. He dreams of being an actor too?”
She whispered it like a secret.
Hyun-woo perked up at that.
“Okay then.”
The teacher gave me a look, set Hyun-woo's hand down lightly, and left for lunch prep.
Just me and Hyun-woo in the classroom corner.
He had short sporty hair and chubby cheeks.
Pale skin, big eyes, red plump lips.
Super cute kid.
Without thinking, I poked his cheek with thumb and index finger.
“Squishy.”
So cute.
The soft feel healed me big time.
My hand moved first—I'd worried for a sec, but he didn't resist. Just stayed still.
Still frowning, but no rejection. Good.
He'd been hiding behind the teacher moments ago.
Didn't seem to hate me now.
Probably 'cause actor dream—his guard was down.
Hm, how to break the ice.
I glanced around and spotted the picture book he'd been reading.
*Belly Button Switcheroo? That book's still around.*
A few years from now, a celeb mentions it on TV and it blows up. I knew it.
Nothing beats that for winning kids over.
Even Moon Woo-hyuk got that roar with one poop costume—belly buttons ain't bad either.
No reason I can't pull it off.
I backed way up to the back door, arms behind like a waiter, bowed at the waist.
“Alright, guests. Please hang your belly buttons on the coat rack by the entrance.”
Hyun-woo's eyes sparkled wide at my acting.