Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Painting Happiness
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Everyone here began painting with the theme of happiness.
Scritch scritch.
In the quiet studio, the sound of pencils racing across canvases rang out pleasantly.
'Looks like they've all decided what to draw.'
Erina seemed to have known what she wanted from the moment the theme was announced, and Daeun thought for a bit before starting.
Aram, meanwhile, pondered for quite a while before she began.
That left just me as the last one.
'Hmm, what should I draw?'
Happiness was such an abstract concept that I struggled to decide.
Drawing the typical things that came to mind with "happiness" wouldn't win a popularity vote, but something too out-of-left-field would stray from the theme, so no.
People, objects, or maybe a very abstract landscape...
I mulled it over carefully.
We had more than two hours.
No need to rush. I could just take my time drawing what I wanted within that.
And so, I spent about twenty minutes thinking.
As I listened to the quiet sounds of pencils and brushes...
'Huh?'
I suddenly noticed Daeun's face, completely focused on her painting.
She squinted her eyes sometimes, leaned in close, then stepped back to look from afar—watching her various little habits.
Why did they all look so adorable?
'I wonder what Daeun's drawing.'
I was curious, but the rule was no peeking at each other's work until everything was finished.
Scritch scritch.
I just sat there quietly, watching Daeun paint.
And then...
'Ah!'
It hit me out of nowhere—what to draw.
Even before the accident—back when I was preparing for my scheduled solo exhibition—inspiration had struck like this a few times.
The funny thing was, those fateful ideas always received rave reviews.
Something unexpected bubbling up from my unconscious, maybe?
Not only did people love them, but I did too.
Painting them felt like meeting a new person or having a fresh experience, making it all the more enjoyable.
Swoosh.
I picked up my pencil.
And began carefully sketching out my idea.
Once the underdrawing was done, I didn't hesitate—I squeezed out paint and filled in the colors.
The painting of happiness filled with vibrant hues.
Swoosh!
With every stroke of my hand, the white canvas brimmed with happiness, and finally...
A smile.
The painting titled Happiness was complete.
'All done.'
Two hours and thirty minutes had passed since we started painting.
I was briefly stunned at how the time had flown by in the blink of an eye, but then everyone stretched long and languidly, standing up to loosen their bodies.
"Ugh! I'm done. It's been forever since I painted with such intense focus."
"Ah, same here. I've barely painted lately because of all the broadcasts, but today I was in total hyper-focus mode."
For the two of them, the process of painting mattered more than the results.
Well, today's painting session wasn't really about who came in first.
Of course, the one with the most votes would have their work exhibited alongside Daeun's in the solo show, but even if not, it wasn't a big deal.
Just then, Aram looked at her painting and let out an exasperated laugh.
"God, I'm ridiculous. I should be working this hard on my graduation piece. What am I even doing here?"
I could understand Aram's feelings.
That's why I could offer her some advice.
"You know who I am, right?"
"Ah, yes, Senior."
"Senior? Is this painter your senior from school, Aram?"
"Yeah, like an ancient fossil senior."
Fossil? That's a bit harsh...
At Aram's words, Daeun turned to me.
"Dad, what's a haseogi?"
"F-Fossil."
Calling me a fossil and making me explain it myself? That's too much... Of course, coming from the world's cutest Daeun, everything was forgiven.
"A fossil is when something's been buried underground for a long time and turns to stone."
Daeun's eyes went wide.
"Dad turned to stone?"
"No no, not literally stone—it's just a way of saying I've been graduated so long it's like I've turned to stone."
"Ohhh! I get it now!"
She doesn't.
She clearly didn't understand, but Daeun giggled like she did.
"Dad's a fossil."
'Should I explain it's actually meant to tease~?' I debated for a second, but nah—cute Daeun gets a pass.
I turned back to Aram and continued.
"As someone who wandered a lot back in the day, my advice is: sometimes you need the leisure to look elsewhere."
"Look elsewhere?"
"Yeah. You're not happy with your graduation piece right now, are you?"
"Yes."
Talk about spot-on.
"H-How did you know?"
"The graduation exhibition's coming up soon, and when I heard you'd slotted in a new piece, I figured, 'Ah, she's not satisfied with what she's got now.'"
At that, Aram—looking truly desperate—came right up to me.
"What should I do?"
I knew exactly what she was asking. If I were her, it'd be my top question.
"You want to start over even now, right? For the painting you'll show at the grad exhibition."
Her eyes widened like they might split open.
I gave a faint smile and shook my head.
"Like I said at first, try turning your gaze elsewhere. They call it a change of scenery, or refreshing the mood. It's crucial for artists."
This wasn't just empty comfort for Aram.
It was heartfelt advice straight from experience.
"I'm not saying copy exactly what I did. If you want to paint something else, do it. If you want to go somewhere else, go. The key is to step away from the painting you're working on now."
Aram's eyes trembled faintly. Smiling at her reaction, I added,
"Then you'll see something a little different. In the painting you've made."
Only she could discover what that was.
I wondered if my advice helped even a bit.
Swoosh.
Aram brushed back a lock of hair that had fallen over her forehead.
"Thanks. Truth is, I was agonizing over it the whole way here. Like, is this really what I should be doing? Is it okay to put out a piece I'm not happy with as my graduation work?"
Anyone would feel that way.
I certainly had, back at graduation.
"Hmm... Let me put it this way—it might make more sense."
Aram looked up at me.
With her gaze on me, I smiled brightly.
"Truth is, the piece Director Go selected? I painted it in one day."
Aram gasped, and even Erina, listening nearby, looked shocked.
A painting done in one day.
It was probably the most intense day of my life.
"You really painted it in one day?"
"Yeah."
"H-How?!"
Aram reacting like this made sense.
It was her graduation piece, after all.
Redoing it from scratch right before the most important exhibition, where one painting summed up four years of work.
"It's similar to your situation, Aram."
"Yes?"
"My painting didn't satisfy me."
Her face darkened. She must've imagined herself in that spot.
Smiling at her expression, I asked,
"Think it was tough?"
"Yeah, I'd be a wreck—couldn't even eat."
"Hmm, back then, I did skip meals over the painting."
"See..."
"But not because it was awful."
"Yes?"
Whatever Aram was imagining, it was clearly the opposite of what happened.
Time to correct her thinking.
"I was so happy—painting made me so happy I forgot to eat."
"So happy...?"
"Yeah. The piece before that one-day wonder? I'd slaved over it for nearly five months."
That was the key here. A full 'five months.'
"F-Five months?!"
"Can you imagine? Five months on one painting. I was so exhausted and fed up I wanted to quit."
I can laugh about it now, but back then? Brutal.
"But that agony vanished in one day. The painting I did that day comforted me."
That's why I called it happiness.
Five months of blood, sweat, and tears—and nothing satisfied, neither process nor result.
But the kicker? One day fixed it all.
"So right now, Aram, you need that refresh."
As I said it, I glanced at Daeun beside me.
"But Daeun."
"Yeah, Dad!"
"You know who advised me when I scrapped my five-month painting and started fresh?"
Daeun blinked rapidly.
She seemed to have figured it out.
"Mom."
Nod.
"Right. If not for Mom back then, I might've quit painting altogether."
Not just talk—I seriously considered it. Graduation season was hell for me.
"So Mom saved Dad?"
"Yeah, she did. Without Mom, the me today might not exist."
"Then Mom's super smart!"
I grinned wide.
"Yeah, Mom's my lifesaver."
Swoosh.
Aram, deep in thought, stared at her freshly painted canvas.
Then she turned to me.
"Maybe Daeun's my lifesaver."
Whoosh!
"Daeun?"
At that, Aram beamed and gazed at her painting.
"Yeah, I didn't realize at first, but thinking back—while painting this, no other thoughts crossed my mind. I was just purely happy. Like you, Senior."
Had the refresh worked?
Erina, who'd been listening, piped up curiously.
"Um, I'm dying to see what everyone painted—should we reveal now?"
I was about to suggest the same.
No one had dared approach, worried about accidentally glimpsing another's work.
I looked around.
"So, who should we start with?"
Everyone glanced around awkwardly.
With the vote on the line, no one wanted first place—or last.
It was instinct; nobody volunteered.
Then one person raised her hand.
Aram.
"I'll open mine first."
"Sure that's okay?"
"Yeah. I want to show you why I felt happy."
Aram's happiness-inspired painting.
"This is... what I painted."
Swoosh.
With that, she turned the canvas toward us.
A moment later, we all gasped at Aram's work.
"Wow..."
"Amazing."
"Auntie! It's so pretty!"
And I got why she'd said that.
Heh.
'Daeun really is her lifesaver.'
Daeun would love hearing this.
A ton.