Chapter 87

87. Top Star Route

Sumo and judo are not necessarily better just because one is strong.

The stronger one is, the more likely they are to lose control of their strength, causing them to lose balance.

Let alone a nine-year-old who has only been learning sumo for ten days.

Siwoo rotated his body while pulling his right shoulder out.

When he lifted the right leg that was entangled with Tae-seok, Tae-seok, who was trying to knock Siwoo over, lost his balance and spun around.

Pfft!

Leg Wrap and Spin!

By the time Tae-seok regained his senses, he was already lying on his back in the sand.

“Wowww!”

No one had expected this.

A roar of excitement erupted as the small seven-year-old boy instantly flipped his opponent.

Not only the girls who had come to cheer for Siwoo, but even the boys who were more interested in the sumo match jumped up from their seats all at once.

“Not bad!”

“What? How did he do that?”

“I don’t know, but it was really cool!”

The commentators were also excited.

“Did you see that! What kind of technique was that!”

“I studied sumo before coming here! It was too fast to see….”

The supervisor of Yanghwa Elementary School's sumo club, who had been considering recruiting Tae-seok after this shoot, was speechless at seeing him, a child of average weight for his age, being flipped by a kindergartener.

Tae-seok, weighing around 31 kg, was a child with a good sense of technique.

Even if Tae-seok had been complacent, it was truly an absurd result to be flipped by a kindergartener who was 6-7 kg lighter.

‘What, what! That kid! No, calm down. He must have only practiced that technique for the past ten days. And Tae-seok just got unlucky… probably.’

The Our Kids team was in a festive mood.

“Yeah! Siwoo is doing great! Just as I thought, the skills he showed during practice weren’t a fluke!”

Director Huh Min-guk shouted in triumph.

Coach Lee Gi-jun was also excited, clenching his fists.

“Siwoo is really smart! He’s like a sponge! A sponge! He absorbs everything! The supervisor of Yanghwa Elementary School is so surprised! Hahaha! Siwoo! Show us more! Let’s go to a party if we win today!”

Siwoo smiled brightly at the Our Kids team members and cheerleaders who were chanting his name, and proudly made a V sign with both hands.

“Wowww!”

The second round of the best-of-three match soon began.

Tae-seok, dismissing his previous defeat as a fluke, faced Siwoo again.

While the camera captured the expressions of Siwoo and Tae-seok, Tae-seok, with a red face, spoke up.

“That was because I let you go. I won’t this time.”

Siwoo, feeling playful, deliberately put on a sad expression and spoke in a cute, pleading tone.

“Why~ I’m just a kindergartener… you have to give me a little leeway, big brother~”

Tae-seok hesitated at his younger brother's charm and nodded.

“Okay! I actually gave you a lot of leeway last time. So I’ll give you a little this time.”

“Okay! Thanks, big brother!”

“Thanks? Whatever. I’m going to win anyway.”

Siwoo and Tae-seok grabbed each other’s belts and stood up.

Beep!

As the whistle blew, Tae-seok whispered to Siwoo.

“I’ll count to ten in my head. You can attack as much as you want until then. After that, no more leeway. Got it?”

“Okay! Got it.”

While he intended to give Siwoo some leeway, he also wanted to see if the technique that flipped him was a fluke.

Tae-seok, who had tightly grabbed Siwoo’s belt as taught by the supervisor, tried to take a defensive stance by pulling his hips back.

Just as he was about to count, Siwoo, seeing Tae-seok pull his hips back, let go of Tae-seok’s belt and slightly pressed down on his opponent’s body.

“…!?”

Just as Tae-seok was about to count to one, one of his knees touched the sand.

While Tae-seok was dazed, kneeling on one knee, another roar of excitement erupted.

“Wowww!”

Siwoo had completely defeated Tae-seok, 2-0.

“Ah~ What just happened! It was over as soon as it started! Yoon Siwoo! Amazing! A seven-year-old beat a nine-year-old!”

“Kim Tae-seok was trying to take a defensive stance by pulling his hips back and shifting his center of gravity to the back, but his body leaned too far forward! When Yoon Siwoo pulled and pushed Kim Tae-seok’s body, he just fell forward!”

“Wow, can a seven-year-old be this good at sumo! His profile says he’s a chess prodigy, and he shows a very clever brain in his play! Alpha Siwoo of the sumo ring! Yoon Siwoo!”

Listening to the excited commentators, PD Kim Jeong-soo couldn’t hide his rising smile.

This is a huge hit!

When he first recruited Yoon Siwoo, he never thought he would recruit a seven-year-old to strengthen the team.

He had hoped to attract young viewers by showing the cute face of a child grabbing a belt and doing sumo, creating a buzz.

But during practice, he unexpectedly found that Siwoo was good—

And in the actual match, he even won—

Against a two-year-older brother!?

This is an incredible promotional effect.

If things go well, they might even become a major variety show.

Thanks to Siwoo’s performance, the amount of screen time he was getting, which viewers had been hoping for, was naturally increasing.

PD Kim Jeong-soo was trying to maintain neutrality, but he felt like a company employee who had suddenly seen the stock he bought rise sharply, wanting to stand up and cheer.

“I have an eraser chance! Referee sir~ I have an eraser!”

Tae-seok, who had lost to Siwoo, the one he least wanted to lose to, raised his hand and shouted.

Using the eraser chance, Tae-seok erased his previous defeat, and the score between Siwoo and Tae-seok, which had been 2-0, reverted to 1-0.

PD Kim Jeong-soo was taken aback.

But rules are rules.

Determined to get one more chance, Tae-seok clenched his teeth and walked to the center of the sand.

Siwoo and Tae-seok grabbed each other’s belts without a word this time.

The sumo ring became quiet.

An intense tension filled the air, unimaginable for a children’s sumo match.

Beep!

As the whistle blew, Tae-seok lifted Siwoo, just like in the first round.

The difference this time was that he lifted with all his strength and, instead of gently placing him down as before, he hooked Siwoo’s right ankle with his heel just before Siwoo’s feet touched the ground.

It was a hook.

As Siwoo’s body fell backward, he extended his left foot backward and planted it in the sand.

Crunch!

Siwoo’s small foot was firmly planted in the sand.

Balancing himself, Siwoo freed his right foot from Tae-seok’s hook.

“…!”

Tae-seok, not giving up, lifted Siwoo again.

But as Siwoo lowered his small body and lowered his center of gravity, his body couldn’t be lifted easily.

From the start, it was a fierce battle, and the cheerleaders and staff watched the two boys with tense eyes.

The coaches of both teams shouted.

“Siwoo! You’re doing great! Don’t let him lift you! If you get lifted, it’s over!”

“Tae-seok! Use the technique the coach taught you yesterday! The grab and throw!”

The grab and throw is a technique where, when the opponent tries to lower their center of gravity to avoid being lifted, you grab their belt, pull their body close to your waist, and then push them over to the left.

Tae-seok, a child with a natural talent for sumo, immediately responded to the coach’s instructions.

But—

‘Grab and throw? The kid uses all kinds of techniques. But if you tell him and he attacks, he’ll get caught, right?’

The moment Tae-seok tried the grab and throw, Siwoo moved his body, disrupting Tae-seok’s balance, and then quickly extended his right leg.

Pfft!

“Huh?”

Tae-seok’s body fell backward.

* * *

– I watched the broadcast, and this kid is really smart. He follows instructions right away. That’s why he can memorize lines so well. ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ

– I sent him to film a variety show, but… he came back with a hero’s story…

– Counter-throw master ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ He flipped all the older boys with counter-throws ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Amazing! Really amazing! He’s small and cute, but standing alone at the end of the sumo match, he’s so powerful ㅎㄷㄷㄷㄷ

– I’m worried if Siwoo was tired ㅠㅠ There was a break in the middle, but he did most of the show alone ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

– Wow, he’s really good at sports. The kid is smart. He seems to learn anything quickly. With his looks, sports, and intelligence… When he gave the eraser chance to his opponent, I saw that even at seven, his character is already well-formed ㅠㅠ

– [Our Kids] When it ends, will we not see Siwoo for a while? I hope he gets a regular spot somewhere… but not if it’s too tiring. I don’t want to be greedy. Just let Siwoo work in a fun way.

Siwoo’s manager, Tae-woo, was smiling proudly as he read the comments.

“Our Siwoo always causes a stir wherever he goes. He’s a born star, so he can’t go anywhere quietly. Hahaha.”

After work, Tae-woo was enjoying a can of beer at home when he picked up the remote and turned on the VOD for [Our Kids Sports and Arts], quickly skipping to scenes with Siwoo.

While enjoying Siwoo’s performance, his phone rang.

It was PD Kim Jeong-soo from [Our Kids Sports and Arts].

“Hello, PD.”

“I’ve told you many times, but a regular spot is difficult. Siwoo has his own schedule, and he’ll be starting elementary school soon, so he needs to focus on his studies.”

“I’m sorry. Maybe later. I’ll bring it up with the company next year.”

Numerous calls were coming in from various places trying to recruit Siwoo.

Tae-woo rejected PD Kim Jeong-soo’s persistent advances and turned back to the TV.

Just then, his phone rang again.

Thinking it might be PD Kim Jeong-soo again, he checked the screen, but it was from the company.

“Yes. Ah~ So you finally decided to do that ad? Wow! Siwoo’s value is really skyrocketing. Siwoo also said yes. The game is very famous, and even the older kids at his taekwondo school play it. Yes, yes. A Siwoo game character? That would be cute. I’ll ask Siwoo’s mother.”

After hanging up, Tae-woo added the new schedule to Siwoo’s phone.

“This is the best treatment for an ad so far. He’s on the perfect path to becoming a top star. If he keeps growing well, he’ll become a legendary star.”

* * *

New York, Manhattan.

A blonde woman in her late 40s was sitting in her study, typing on her laptop.

After writing for a long time, making changes to her sentences, she seemed unsatisfied and closed the program, taking a sip of the cold coffee next to her.

After a short break, she decided to stop writing and do something else.

She decided to watch the new season of XOXO, which she had been meaning to watch but kept putting off.

The early seasons were incredibly entertaining.

But from the middle, the content became too provocative, and she eventually stopped watching due to fatigue.

However, hearing that the next season would be the last, she decided to watch the ending as a homework assignment and turned on XOXO.

This episode featured the protagonist, Elena, discovering her mother’s affair and having an emotional confrontation.

“Sigh, I’m tired. I don’t want to deal with such complicated family drama.”

Stressed from writing, she didn’t want to watch such sensitive content in a drama.

Just as she was considering turning it off—

The birthday party for the youngest daughter, Lucy, began.

“Lucy’s scenes are always the most peaceful.”

Extra children came out, giving Lucy birthday gifts and singing happy birthday, creating a happy atmosphere.

Then, Lucy, dressed in a dress, came down the stairs to play the piano for her friends—

An Asian boy walked down to escort her.

Seeing the boy’s smiling face, she slowly stood up.

A bright, radiant smile—

Too beautiful and gentle, yet with a mischievous charm—

A child with a mysterious allure that drew people in.

She picked up her phone and called someone.

The image of the Asian child character she had envisioned while writing the Halliwood series was now alive and moving on the TV.

Oh.