Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Forsythia Festival (2)
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Na and Seol-i's first stop was none other than the photo zone.
In truth, we'd just gone there because it was the closest spot, but it was more than worth it.
"Wowww...!"
There were so many forsythias greeting us that even Seol-i let out a gasp of admiration.
The photo zones were incredibly diverse, too. There were simple ones with forsythia as the backdrop, arch-shaped gates draped in bunches of the flowers, and even SNS-style aesthetic spots.
Seol-i's eyes sparkled as she took them all in one by one, then she turned to me with a question.
"Haneul, let's take pictures too! Pictures!"
I nodded without a moment's hesitation at her suggestion.
"Yeah, let's take some."
With that answer, I headed toward the photo zone.
But Seol-i and I were aiming for slightly different positions.
She went to the photo zone itself, while I headed to the spot where you'd take the pictures from.
"Haneul...?"
"I'll take the photos for you."
At my words, Seol-i shot me a little glare.
I tried to avoid her eyes, but before I knew it, she'd marched right up beside me.
-Squeeze
Grabbing my hand on the spot, Seol-i handed her phone to one of the nearby staff members and asked,
"If it's not too much trouble, could you take a picture of me and my friend?"
"Of course~ You two, go stand over there together~"
"Okay~ Haneul, come on!"
"Uh... uh, yeah."
Truth be told, I hadn't planned on being in the photos with Seol-i.
Honestly, I know my looks aren't exactly great.
If I had to describe it, they're kind of... aggressive?
Not ugly enough to call ugly, not handsome enough to call handsome—just the type that suits "fierce-looking."
When a high school boy with a face like that poses next to a cute, bubbly girl like Seol-i, it just feels like I'd be doing her a disservice.
Yet Seol-i dragged me along to the photo zone like it was no big deal and insisted we take pictures together.
Moved by the feelings of this unbelievably pretty girl, I inwardly thanked her and mimicked her by flashing a peace sign.
"Taking the picture now~ Ready~ One~ Two~ Three!"
-Click!
-Click click!
-Click!
The shutter sounded a few times, and Seol-i dashed back from the photo zone to grab her phone from the staff member.
She took it, trotted back to me, and started tapping away at the screen.
A moment later, a message popped up on my phone.
It was the photo from just now, sent via CocoaTalk.
The moment I saw the picture of Seol-i and me posing surrounded by forsythia, my first thought was...
"...So cute."
Seol-i was cute.
She was so cute I wanted to edit me out, crop in on just her, print it, and frame it or something.
The reason I wanted to cover myself up... well, you get it.
I couldn't forgive the fact that I was in this precious photo of Seol-i.
It bugged me that it kept me from fully enjoying her cuteness.
"The picture turned out great, right?"
"Yeah, it really did."
I nodded at Seol-i's question while gazing at the photo.
She giggled brightly and grabbed my hand again.
I wasn't sure when it started, but holding hands with Seol-i as we walked had become completely natural.
It felt the same now. Holding hands casually in a crowded place like this—it all felt so effortless.
Does Seol-i like holding my hand?
I do, of course. Her small, warm, soft hand gives me all sorts of good feelings.
But does she? I'm not sure.
Not that I want to ask.
Why not? Because it's better to just interpret it my way. No need to open Pandora's box.
Lost in such idle thoughts, I matched Seol-i's pace as we walked.
How long had we gone when we arrived at a spot swarming with people?
"Where's this?"
"Hm... hold on."
I peeked to see what everyone was doing, and the people inside the booth were all drawing pictures.
In that instant, I realized what kind of booth it was.
"Caricatures."
A caricature booth—for drawing portraits.
The moment it hit me, I instinctively took a step back. Then I asked Seol-i right away,
"Uh... Seol-i, can I sit this one out?"
"Huh? Why?"
"...I can't draw."
She probably knew it already, but I really, really can't draw.
Like, to the point where I could have a serious drawing contest with Dasom-i's scribbles. She might even beat me.
That's how bad I am.
In middle school art class, the teacher even said, "Haneul, the teacher will help you," and drew it for me.
And that was for a performance assessment grade.
Get the picture now?
Seol-i, on the other hand, draws pretty decently—in a cute way.
She doesn't do it often, but she's comfortably above average.
Maybe that's why she seemed subtly eager to try caricatures.
"I'll just watch from the side."
"Haneul should do it too."
"Let me just watch."
"No way! You have to do it with me!"
Faced with her utterly firm attitude, I had no choice but to surrender.
If Seol-i wants to, then we do it together. If that's what she wants.
Reluctantly, I joined Seol-i in the caricature drawing.
The moment we entered the booth, we were handed paper and pencils.
A nearby instructor started kindly teaching us how to draw caricatures.
"First, draw a circle, then add facial features inside. You can exaggerate a bit or make it cute..."
She went on like that, and Seol-i followed along, drawing something pretty. She nailed the face shape and added hair nicely.
And me?
"That's not right... Ugh... Urghhh..."
...I couldn't even draw a circle.
Seol-i, deep in her drawing, glanced at my face now and then before sketching more.
And on her white paper, a cool caricature was taking shape—unlike mine.
Before I knew it, the instructor finished explaining, and Seol-i was putting the finishing touches on hers. But I still couldn't even draw a circle or anything. I had no clue how to proceed.
Noticing me, the instructor came over to help.
"You're drawing your girlfriend here, right?"
"Girlfriend...?"
"I'll help you. You gotta give her a pretty caricature as a gift~"
"Uh... yeah...?"
While I was flustered, the instructor grabbed my hand and boldly drew lines for me.
Since she was guiding my hand, it came out a bit crooked, but way better than if I'd tried alone.
She even fixed the crooked parts with overlays.
Once I got a little more comfortable, she switched to just advising me—but soon I hit another wall.
When I snapped out of it, she was just drawing Seol-i's caricature herself.
A bit more time passed, and by the time I only had some basic finishing touches left that I could handle, the instructor said,
"You did great! Just finish it up now."
"...Thanks."
My self-esteem was in tatters. It was pathetic that even kids younger than me were doing caricatures while I struggled.
As I bitterly worked on the finishing touches, Seol-i kept sneaking glances at me from the side, like she'd done something wrong.
"...Seol-i?"
I called her name, and she flinched before bowing her head to me.
"......Sorry."
"Uh... for what?"
"Haneul... hates drawing... but I forced you..."
Her mumbling turned into something like a sob, and I hurriedly reassured her.
"No, it's fine. I actually had fun drawing it."
"You didn't..."
Seeing her shake her head vigorously brought a mix of thoughts rushing in.
Self-reproach for not hiding my feelings, gratitude toward Seol-i for noticing, awkwardness at how her soft heart made her feel so guilty...
All of it swirled together, leaving even me a bit confused, but I pushed it aside.
What mattered now was comforting this sweet girl who felt so bad.
"I'm really okay. I can't draw... but you drew one. Like this. That's why it was good. The drawing time."
I showed her the caricature I'd made—with the instructor's help (90% her work).
Alone, I never could've made something this cute and pretty. Thinking that way made me a little grateful for her intervention.
Seol-i looked at it, then turned to her own caricature.
And held it out to me.
"Haneul, here... a gift...."
"A gift?"
"Yeah... what do you think...?"
Unlike her tense voice, it was a high-quality caricature.
One infused with care and heart, different from mine.
Taking that incredibly thoughtful gift, the last traces of negativity in my heart vanished.
I held the caricature with both hands and answered Seol-i sincerely.
"Thanks, Seol-i. I'll... really treasure it."
Only then did Seol-i break into a small smile.
It was tiny, but brimming with joy.
......But Seol-i, I'm never drawing again from now on. Honestly, this was way too hard.