Chapter 17
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: World Cup Chicken Rush
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June arrived, and Korea started to get gradually hotter.
The Emergency Iron Troupe shut down the theater completely for a week under the pretext of a group vacation.
With no rehearsals to attend, I decided to enjoy some leisurely rest myself.
I had planned to rewatch that wizard movie series from my previous homeland, England, but that didn't happen today.
Slurp suck
I was sucking on the ice cream Daddy gave me, watching the people passing by.
"Siu-ya, aren't you hot?"
"Uung, I'm okay."
Daddy, who had been busily frying chicken inside the chicken shop, poked his head out and asked.
I shook my head side to side to say I was fine and put the ice cream back in my mouth.
"Hmm"
Ice creamthis stuff is the real deal.
I hummed a little tune as the chocolate flavor flooded my mouth.
Cool and sweet... it's so addictive, like a total temptress.
They say it's made by mixing chocolate that melts smoothly in your mouth with milk, and the taste is out of this world.
I really reincarnated well.
To think there's ice this delicious.
And apparently, it's not that hard to get.
I squeezed the bottom hard to suck up more ice cream.
Ice cream exists.
What a great world.
Ring ring
"Yes, Shiny Chicken, bringing you joy! Heehee Chicken here. Ah, yes. Half-and-half? We're backed up with orders right now, so it'll take about 50 minutes. Yes, yes, we'll make sure to deliver before the match starts!"
Mommy was frantically answering the phone.
Something about today being the World Cup.
An event where soccer players from countries around the world play with a ball.
For some reason, it's tradition to watch this match while eating chicken.
That's why Daddy's chicken shop had been getting calls non-stop since noon.
Can you deliver in time for the match?
Do you have a big screen at the shop?
All sorts of inquiries flooded in.
Thanks to that, Mommy and Uncle were out helping at the chicken shop too.
With no one home, I came to the shop with them.
It would've been fine to watch TV alone...
Mommy must've seen right through me.
She sat me down in the shade of the parasol out front, my lips pouting.
Instead, Daddy gave me ice cream to cheer me up.
Not bad at allI swung my legs back and forth, quietly watching the three of them work.
"Huh? Heehee Chicken? Let's watch the match here today."
"Yeah, come on in. They have a screen over there."
"You gotta watch soccer with chicken."
"Welcome! Table for two?"
Oh, customers.
Uncle dashed out right away to greet them.
I stared blankly at the customers coming in the entrance, and they stared right back at me.
Slowly curving thin smiles on their lips.
Slurp, suck
"Wow, boss. Is this your son?"
"Yeah, cute, right? This is the boss's kid. My nephew too. Heh heh."
"He's super cute! Baby, how old are you?"
"Five."
Gasp.
I only said my age, but the two customers who were about to enter clutched their chests and staggered.
"Dude, we're definitely staying here today."
This kind of reaction was routine now.
I was about to finish my ice cream without a second thought when I overheard some passersby.
"Huh. Look over there. That kid holding the ice cream. Isn't he too cute?"
They were all wearing matching red clothes, saying they were cheering for the World Cup or whatever.
What's that?
I noticed the devil-horn headbands they were wearing.
Some kind of ritual I didn't know about?
"Wow... he looks just like a doll. Baby, what are you doing here?"
"Huh? This is a chicken shop. Should we go in?"
Oh ho.
Look at that?
Hearing their reactions, I changed my plan.
"Chikin yummy! Shiny Chikin that brings happyness! Heehee Chikin!"
My loud shout made one, then two heads turn toward our shop.
They spotted me and started coming over, cooing about how cute I was.
This is working.
I beamed at the customers and said masissyo.
The passersby saw me clutching the ice cream and smiling brightly, their faces melting into smiles.
"How's this place?"
"Looks good! Baby, is it tasty here?"
"Yummy!"
I answered promptly.
The red-clad people laughed and filed into the chicken shop one after another.
"Welcome!"
"How many in your party?"
Daddy's shop filled up in no time.
"Can we sit outside here?"
"Yes, yes! I'll set it up right now."
Wow, this World Cup thing is incredible.
I thought it was full inside, but more people kept coming.
Orders were still pouring in over the phone too.
Seeing it packed, even more customers kept arriving, and eventually, they set up tables and chairs around me too.
While Uncle busily opened parasols, I worked hard at promoting.
"Really yummy."
"Yeah? Haha, boss, your son is super cute and smart."
"Oh? Ah, thank you."
Before long, the chicken shop was bustling inside and out.
To avoid getting in the way of the three hard at work, I sat in my spot out front.
"One more 500cc here, please!"
"Yes!"
"We'll have another half-and-half chicken!"
"Yes, please wait a moment!"
Mommy and Daddy were swamped but smiling brightly, looking thrilled.
Good.
Pleased with myself for smiling so well, I watched the scene proudly.
Filial piety achieved easily.
Looking at all the red-clad people crammed together, the term "Red Devils" naturally came to mind.
It was clear.
There was definitely some ritual here that only I didn't know about.
"Huh? Huh?"
"Woooah!"
"Goal! We wonnnn!"
Eek! What?!
Startled by the sudden cheers from the chicken shop and nearby stores, I covered my ears.
Everyone shouting at once like this!
Wondering what happened, I looked at the big screen everyone was staring at.
It showed South Korea 2 : Togo 1.
Under the dark night sky, colorful neon signs lit up the streets.
And amid them, the cheers of red-clad people echoed through the night.
Flip.
I flipped through the script Kim Sangcheol had given me with excited eyes.
This was the play Kang Yonghwi might be staging next, and it looked fun too.
The role I wanted most here...
Hm, this guy.
The protagonist was tempting, but the most intriguing character in this script was this supporting role.
Not that this body could play it yet at not-quite-five.
I imagined acting this role, then that one, spreading my wings of fancy, then looked up.
"Why hasn't he come."
Kim Sangcheol, who called me to the meeting room, said just one thing and left, and there'd been no word since.
'Someone wants to meet you.'
He said that with a villainous grin and left, leaving me insanely curious.
Was it his frog-like face?
Kim Sangcheol always had a bit of a villainous vibe, no matter what he said.
Though talking to him showed what a good guy he really was.
Slurp.
I glanced at the still-closed meeting room door and sipped the chamomile tea he'd left behind.
Back in my Noah days, even if someone wanted to meet me, it wasn't easy.
People in the Oscar Theater Troupe knew the Golden Mask was Noah Battenberg and had sworn to keep the secret, so that was fine, but revealing myself to outsiders was too risky.
Someone was desperately searching for the Golden Mask.
When rumors like that spread through London's streets, no one was more curious than me.
A renowned noble critic?
Or a playwright wanting to show me a script?
I wondered what they'd say upon meeting the Golden Mask, enough to lose sleep over it.
Even after tormenting Oliver for days to track down the rumor-monger, that was it.
I couldn't just step out and say, I'm the Golden Mask!
That unresolved regret still lingered.
But in this life, I could meet someone who wanted to see me.
This time, I'd definitely ask.
Why they wanted to meet me, what they felt from my performance, what they were curious about.
But the firmly shut meeting room door showed no sign of opening.
Might as well finish reading the script.
I pulled my gaze from the door and was about to turn to the next page.
Click.
"Uung?"
I looked up at the sound of the door opening.
And froze in place.
Because the one entering the brightly lit meeting room was someone I hadn't expected at all.
None other than him.
Richard Burbageor this man who was like his reincarnation.
For a moment, his radiant features overlapped with the one entering now.
Silence hung over the meeting room.
The man strode in and sat across from mehe was none other than actor Moon Heesung.
Seeing him in person, he was much bigger than on video.
Over 180cm tall, with a sturdy build honed by muscle.
And tiny me sitting before him.
It was the ultimate mismatch.
I looked up at the man who seemed three times my size, eyes sparkling.
Moon Heesung? He wanted to see me?
I pondered in my head what to ask him first.
He was the one who wanted to meet first, but now that he was here, I had a mountain of questions.
The drama His and Her Circumstances I watched to the end recently? Or Golden Family?
No, Do As I Please first.
I learned a lot about Korean culture from that drama.
Movies like Under the Cherry Blossom Tree or Their World...
Ah! I had to ask what he thought of that final scene in Mouse.
No, wait.
Here, maybe ask how he interpreted Shakespeare's Romeo?
I couldn't hold back the grin bubbling up.
This was going to be fun already.
What could I discuss with someone on par with Richard.
Alright, start with Romeo...
"Um, Siu, right?"
"Uung. Han Siu. Hello."
A reflexive bow popped out.
OopsI looked up, and Moon Heesung was smiling like he found it cute.
"Yeah, Siu. I'm Moon Heesung. Do you know me?"
"Uung. You did Womeo!"
"Huh? Ah, Sangcheol hyung must've shown you. How was it? Fun to watch?"
Fun to watch?
It was way more than that.
"What kinda Womeo did you do, uncle?"
"Huh? What kind of Romeo?"
"Uung. Womeo can be lotsa ways. Sad Womeo, mad Womeo, or silly Womeo?"
I tilted my head cutely, listing interpretations of Romeo.
Moon Heesung shut his mouth in surprise.
From the video, it seemed like he went the sad route...
But toward the end, his gaze at Juliet's death felt a bit off for that.
"As expected, I saw it right."
"Uung?"
I didn't catch his mutter.
I blinked like what?, and he shook his head like it was nothing.
"Haha, I'll tell you more about Romeo later. Anyway, Siu. About People in the Attic House. Rumors about that show are still huge."
Ah, so that's why he came.
The mystery of why Moon Heesung suddenly sought me out cleared a bit.
I nodded proudly.
"Do you remember that line from the final show?"
"Uung, the ad-lib?"
"...Yeah. So it was an ad-lib."
"Yes. Uncle Isub had a weally sad thing happen that day. So I did that."
"You came up with it yourself?"
"Ung? Of couwse. But theatew is supposed to be like that. Peopwe say so. Evewy day the acting's a wittle diffewent, and if something happens, it's not weird. Ouwww show was safe... safe... Ach."
What was it.
I forgot the word.
Lately, to understand scripts better, I'd been poring over Mommy's dictionary, but this body forgets even slightly hard words right away.
"Safe and sound?"
"Ah, ung! Wishing fow safety. All actows do that!"
Phew, finished the sentence.
Satisfied, I slurped down the chamomile tea.
Meanwhile, Moon Heesung watched me with a strange look.
What?
Did I say something wrong just now? I racked my brains.
No, I said it right.
Tilting my head, Moon Heesung pulled something from his pocket.
"Siu-ya, I have more I want to ask... Shall we exchange numbers?"
"Uung! Okay!"
Just what I wanted.
But... I don't have a number...