Chapter 41

41. MBS Acting Awards

At the entrance of the children's trampoline area, an employee asked Jung-tae.

"Are you not in elementary school?"

"I'm six years old."

"Okay, go in."

The employee also jokingly asked Si-woo.

"Is our little one not in elementary school?"

"Three~ years old!"

"Oh, you're three? Okay, you can enter."

After passing the age check, Jung-tae and Si-woo confidently stepped onto the trampoline.

Jung-tae's mother called Hyun-ju.

"Let's go over there and chat a bit."

"Is it okay to leave the kids unattended?"

"Of course, there are many staff members. When Si-woo went to kindergarten, didn't you follow to see if he was playing well?"

"No, I didn't."

"Staff members pay more attention to young kids like Si-woo. We can sit nearby and check on them from time to time."

Hyun-ju confirmed Si-woo, who had climbed onto the children's trampoline.

As Jung-tae's mother said, several staff members were watching Si-woo.

"Let's go. What do you want to eat? The drinks here are good, and the food is delicious too."

"I'll just have coffee."

Hyun-ju and Jung-tae's mother went to order their drinks.

Si-woo smiled as he watched the mothers' backs.

'Now it's just the kids and the people we'll see today. The CCTV is a bit annoying, but... it doesn't matter.'

"Yaaah~!"

While Si-woo was looking around the children's trampoline area, a boy threw a ball at Jung-tae.

Although it was a soft ball for children to play with, Jung-tae, who was hit on the back of his head, turned around with a surprised look.

A bigger boy was bending down to pick up another ball.

The staff member intervened.

"Our friend, if you throw the ball like that, you'll be asked to leave. Are you going to leave?"

The boy said,

"I didn't throw it at my brother, I threw it at my friend~!"

"You shouldn't throw it so hard at your friend either. Gently..."

While the staff member was warning the bigger boy, a ball flew towards him.

Whoosh~!

The ball flew over the boy's head and hit the back of a five-year-old boy standing behind him.

The staff member and the boy looked in the direction the ball came from.

It was Jung-tae.

The bigger boy got angry.

"Hey! I threw the ball to play with you~! Why did you hit my brother?"

Jung-tae, who had flinched when the ball missed and hit another child, stood up to the boy.

"I threw the ball to play with your brother too~"

"Really~! I'll hit your brother too!"

The bigger boy threw the ball he was holding hard.

The ball flew directly towards Si-woo.

The bigger boy had mistaken Si-woo, who had entered with Jung-tae, for Jung-tae's brother.

Jung-tae was startled and tried to block the ball with his arm, but it was too high.

Si-woo laughed as he saw the ball flying towards him.

'Jung-tae's aim is better.'

Just as Si-woo was about to catch it, a staff member's hand quickly came in and deflected the ball.

"I can catch it~ I can catch it~"

"Huh?"

The young female staff member, who had blocked the ball, smiled and patted Si-woo's head.

"Really? I thought I blocked it for nothing. You speak so well."

Si-woo smiled and said,

"Yep~ I speak well~"

"Our little one is three, right?"

When they entered, Si-woo had said he was three.

Si-woo thought for a moment and showed four fingers to the sister.

"Four years old."

'Maybe I can act more freely if I say I'm four.'

"Oh, you're four? I see."

Jung-tae, who had been listening, ran over and said,

"You're three~"

Si-woo, who saw his mother waving at the table, waved back and then spoke to Jung-tae in a gentle tone.

"Jung-tae hyung."

"What is it?"

"The ball is coming."

"What?"

Thud!

A ball hit the back of Jung-tae's head.

Si-woo was impressed again.

'That big kid has a talent for throwing balls.'

Jung-tae, who had been hit twice, picked up a ball from the floor and aimed it at the bigger boy, throwing it with all his might.

However, the ball fell short and hit the ground.

Si-woo's eyes became sad.

'...Why is he so bad at everything?'

The bigger boy laughed.

"You're really bad~! Why are you so bad~?"

The boy jumped towards Jung-tae and Si-woo.

As the trampoline's bounce increased, Jung-tae and the surrounding children lost their balance and fell.

'There's a big weight difference between Jung-tae and him. I need to step in.'

Si-woo, the only child who didn't fall, jumped and slowly approached the bigger boy.

"What? How can a kid bounce so well?!"

One of the male staff members exclaimed in surprise.

While all the other children were on the ground, Si-woo and the bigger boy faced each other in the center of the trampoline.

The two stopped jumping and looked into each other's eyes.

A quiet silence filled the children's trampoline area.

"You're good~!"

The boy spoke first.

"Yep. I'm good."

"How old are you?"

"Four!"

"Really? My brother is about the same age. I'm seven. I'll be going to elementary school soon."

Si-woo nodded.

Indeed, he was one year older than Jung-tae.

"Hyung! Don't throw balls at the kids, just bounce. Want to have a match with me?"

"You're so small... Okay! Sure! What's your name?"

"Si-woo."

"I'm Deok-gu~ Let's see who's better."

"Okay."

The staff members, who were standing by the trampoline, were curious about what these small kids were talking about.

As the staff and children watched, Deok-gu's heavy body suddenly jumped.

Bounce! Bounce! Bounce!

The trampoline wobbled due to Deok-gu's weight, but his jumps were very low.

Bounce! Bounce! Bounce!

'His balance is all off... I need to teach him how to bounce.'

Si-woo, who had studied bouncing online, said,

"Now it's my turn~!"

Si-woo pushed his feet down hard and used the trampoline's bounce to soar into the air.

Bounce-!

Si-woo's small body rose like a bird.

In mid-air, Si-woo met Deok-gu's eyes and spread his arms wide with a relaxed expression.

Bounce-! Bounce-! Bounce-!

Si-woo's body bounced like a ball between Deok-gu and Jung-tae.

Then, he did a split in mid-air and landed on his bottom, followed by a jump-!

Bounce-!

Next, he did a split kick with his short legs-!

Whoosh!

And after falling on his back, he got up and jumped again-!

Bounce-!

"Wow, wow!"

Deok-gu stopped jumping and opened his mouth wide.

It was amazing.

The other children also watched Si-woo, who was dominating the trampoline with his small body, with their mouths open.

However, the staff members had a different reaction.

"What are you doing so dangerously! Go closer and watch! Wait, didn't he say he was three earlier?"

"He's four~!"

The female staff member, who had been assigned to watch Si-woo, corrected the information and carefully walked into the trampoline area.

At that moment,

All the lights above the children's heads turned off, darkening the trampoline area.

The lights in the seating area were still on, so it wasn't completely dark.

All the children stopped moving.

A mirror ball on the ceiling started to spin.

And-

From the trampoline area speakers-

A grand prelude began to play.

As the tension-building prelude came to an end, a voice mixed with mechanical sounds captured the children's attention.

- Baby Lion~! Pum pum pum pum pum pum~! Pum pum pum pum pum pum~!

It was the disco version of the lion family song.

- Just a lion? No! Who are we?

The children in the trampoline area answered in unison.

"Dancing lions~!"

- Yes! Disco time~ Baby! Ah! Ki! Lion~! Tu ru ru tu ru~! Cute~! Tu ru ru tu ru~!

"Wow~!"

"Kya~!"

- Li! Dum! To! Ta! Ni! Dancing lions~! Wave~! Wave~!

Even the elementary school students.

"Wave-! Wave-!"

And the toddlers.

"Bu~! Bu~!"

Everyone lost their minds.

Jung-tae and Deok-gu also forgot the previous situation and started their wild jumps.

Si-woo, who was initially taken aback by the sudden change in atmosphere, was soon captivated by the rhythm that pierced his heart...

After a while, he let go of everything.

On the way out of the trampoline area,

Jung-tae was excitedly telling his mother.

"Mom! Si-woo is really good! No kidding!"

"R-Really?"

"Yeah! He's the best! He's so good! The staff members say he's a genius!"

"Better than you?"

"He's not even comparable to me! I'll learn how to bounce from Si-woo later!"

"Ha... Okay."

What a troublesome kid.

How could a 3-year-old in a stroller be so good at bouncing?

Since the children were all jumping wildly, Jung-tae's mother, who hadn't seen Si-woo properly, didn't understand her son's excitement.

Jung-tae, unlike when they entered, couldn't take his eyes off Si-woo.

It was almost like...

The look of a fan who has met a star?

Jung-tae's mother felt suffocated.

'But I have to maintain my position as the older brother. Sigh.'

As Si-woo and Jung-tae got out of the elevator and left the building, they saw Deok-gu and his family at the exit.

Deok-gu called out to his mother as soon as he saw Si-woo.

"Mom~! That's him! He's really good at bouncing! He's a bouncing monster!"

Si-woo, in the stroller, secretly smiled and gave a thumbs up to Deok-gu.

Deok-gu, moved, gave a double thumbs up.

Jung-tae's mother shook her head, thinking there was another kid like Jung-tae.

* * *

With the three consecutive home runs of the Pet World commercial, the movie "My Too Scary Wife," and the drama "The King's Path," Si-woo's popularity soared, easily surpassing the babies who appeared on popular parenting shows.

He had become a star child, not just a child of a star.

However, after "The King's Path," Si-woo led a normal and quiet life.

He only did a few kid modeling jobs once or twice a month, as planned.

Despite numerous offers, no additional schedule was set.

Do-jin and Hyun-ju wanted Si-woo, who was only 3 years old, to have a variety of experiences, such as playing with friends and going on family trips, rather than being busy with filming.

After having many conversations with Jung-tae's mother in September, Hyun-ju had a clear direction for Si-woo's activities.

Only do what Si-woo is interested in or what he has to do.

Hyun-ju chose a path completely opposite to Jung-tae's mother.

And in December-.

Si-woo, dressed in a well-fitted tuxedo, got into the back seat of a black van.

Today was the day to do what he had to do.

In the car, Seung-hyun, who was about to turn 16, was already seated.

"Hi~"

Seung-hyun waved his hand with a bright smile.

"Hi~ Hyung!"

Si-woo also greeted him.

Before closing the car door, Hyun-ju said to Seung-hyun,

"Actor Ryu Seung-hyun, please take care of Si-woo."

"Ah! Yes. Don't worry. I'll hold his hand tightly so he doesn't fall."

This was in front of the MBS Hall where the MBS Acting Awards were being held.

The car carrying Si-woo and Seung-hyun was scheduled to wait for about 10 minutes before dropping the two children off at the red carpet.

As the car door closed, Seung-hyun quietly spoke to Si-woo.

"Do you know who I am? Do you remember?"

"Yep! Deok-gu~!"

Seung-hyun's face brightened.

"Right, I'm Deok-gu! You're Deok-gu too. We're going to walk the red carpet together today."

"Yep~ It'll be fun~"

"Walking the red carpet is just about walking and taking photos. It's more fun to go inside and watch the awards ceremony. There are a lot of senior actors."

"Really?"

"Yep. Ah, I'm nervous. I'm also curious about which senior actor will win the grand prize."

Si-woo said,

"Grand prize~ Hyung should win~"

"Me?"

"Yep."

"Ah, if I win someday... it would be nice."

Seung-hyun, who had been staring at Si-woo, suddenly blushed and tickled Si-woo's side.

Si-woo laughed and wriggled.

As they were playing, the car arrived at the red carpet.

The host's voice was loudly announcing.

"Look, they're here! Who will arrive this time?"

Seung-hyun slowly got out of the car with Si-woo.

The most handsome middle school student in Korea, Seung-hyun, and the cutest baby, Si-woo, held hands and started walking in front of the fans.

"Kya-!"

"They're both so cute~!"

"They look like real brothers!"

Seung-hyun and Si-woo smiled beautifully and waved at the screaming fans.

"Yes! The popular child actor from the hit drama 'The King's Path,' which had the highest ratings this year, Ryu Seung-hyun, and our... the child actor who made the owners of chicken soup restaurants across the country smile this summer with his viral chicken soup eating video, Yoon Si-woo, are entering hand in hand. Let's welcome them to the stage for a photo session and a brief interview~"

Oh