Chapter 113
Chapter 113
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: Emotions in the Painting
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We started walking toward the mural again.
Not quickly like before, but very slowly, matching Director Yoon's pace.
Fortunately, she seemed able to handle this speed—her face looked much better.
'No... it really does look good.'
The pallor from earlier was completely gone, replaced by a flush across her entire face, perhaps from the effort.
And she kept glancing sideways, the atmosphere around her anything but normal.
From the reactions she'd shown before Officer Kim Sucheol returned, there was some strange tension flowing around Director Yoon.
Feeling that odd vibe, I asked her.
"Ms. Yoon."
"Yes?"
'She's startled.'
She was someone who usually didn't show her emotions, yet she jumped just from me saying her name.
Something was definitely up.
"You're not tired, are you?"
"Oh, no. Walking this slowly is more manageable than I thought."
"Still, if you start feeling worn out, let me know. We can rest a few more times on the way up."
"Yes, got it."
Hearing this, Officer Kim, who'd been listening beside us, chimed in.
"If you need my cardigan again, just say the word! My cardigan's always open for business. Haha!"
Oh boy.
At his words, Director Yoon's face turned an even brighter shade, like it might explode.
Was she really okay?
Even little Daeun noticed the change in Director Yoon's face.
"Auntie!"
"Yes, Miss Daeun."
"Does your face hurt?"
I nearly burst out laughing at Daeun's sudden question.
"Your face is super red, Auntie!"
"Yes."
She covered her face with both hands.
Then she offered an excuse that wasn't quite an excuse.
"Maybe it's the heat. It's not usually like this. Weird."
Just then, Officer Kim asked in a slightly worried tone.
"You're not coming down with something, are you? It could be from suddenly moving around so much, or maybe sweat leading to a cold. Hold on."
He gently placed his hand on Director Yoon's forehead.
She flinched!
She trembled slightly at his touch but didn't pull away.
He said,
"Hmm, no fever. Still, if you suddenly feel chilly, let me know. I can give you my jacket at least..."
He started to take off his cardigan but put it back on with an awkward smile.
"You're probably not comfortable with someone else's clothes, feeling a bit iffy..."
But Director Yoon didn't seem to mind.
"...Please give it to me."
"Pardon?"
"I'll... wear it if you give it to me."
Well, well. The vibe between them was definitely off—something was brewing.
As I watched the two from a short distance, wondering what was going on, Daeun suddenly asked.
"Daddy."
"Yeah?"
"Is the pretty auntie sick? Her face got even redder."
I smiled at Daeun and replied.
"That's not from being sick."
She looked up at me curiously.
"Then?"
"Well, it's like this. It's love."
It might be a hasty judgment, but to me, that's what it looked like.
It starts as mere interest, then grows uncontrollably with time.
That's love, and it's probably what Director Yoon was feeling right now.
"Lo... ve?"
I wondered if Daeun could understand. Still, someday she would.
Then Daeun asked again.
"Then Mommy and Daddy love each other too?"
"Of course. More than anyone else in the world."
"Really? Did Daddy's face get that red too?"
I wasn't sure about my face turning that red, but one thing was certain.
"My heart pounded like it would burst."
"Your heart?"
"Yeah. Daddy loves Mommy more than anyone in the world."
From the first time we met, through school, after marriage... even now, after losing Hyorin.
"A lot?"
"Yeah, a whole ton."
I loved Hyorin.
Time should have dulled that feeling, but instead, it grew stronger with each passing year.
Eek—!
Daeun seemed delighted by my answer.
She grinned ear to ear and threw her arms around me.
She hugged my legs tight and said.
"Daeun loves Daddy a ton too! A super ton!"
What a kid.
Hearing that made me think.
'I'm happy.'
Was there anyone happier than me in this world?
Just then, Director Yoon, who'd finally accepted the cardigan after some back-and-forth, looked at us with her face beet red and said.
"Sorry, we got held up talking. Let's head up."
Did she think we wouldn't notice just because she acted like nothing happened?
Everyone had already picked up on where their feelings were headed.
Not just me—even little Daeun.
But with them not quite grasping their own emotions yet, saying anything would be meddlesome.
Smiling at Director Yoon's words, I replied.
"Sure, let's go up."
Who knew how many times we'd said "let's go up" today? Hoping we'd make it in one go this time, I started walking.
After climbing very slowly for a good while, we finally arrived.
Tap.
"Auntie! This is the mural Daeun drew!"
Right in front of the mural Daeun and I had painted.
* * *
How long had it been since I'd come here?
The mural Daeun and I had painted was still pristine, just as we'd left it.
"Is this the piece by Painter Lee Kanghyeok and Miss Daeun?"
'Yeah, that expression.'
Every time she came to my exhibitions, she'd stand there like that for ages, just staring at the paintings.
I'd once asked if she was waiting for something, but Director Yoon would just shake her head.
Just like now.
Officer Kim asked Director Yoon, who was silently gazing at the painting.
"Do you enjoy looking at paintings?"
Come to think of it, we'd only introduced names—no one knew who she was or how she'd ended up with us.
From his perspective, the question was natural.
Director Yoon, eyes still fixed on the painting, replied.
"Yes, I like looking at paintings."
At her answer, Officer Kim smiled and joined her in gazing at it.
"I see. I see a lot of paintings too, traveling for business sometimes, but Painter Lee Kanghyeok and Daeun's work feels different somehow."
He looked so serious—it didn't seem like mere flattery, even with us there.
"Something about this painting... emotion."
Even Director Yoon, who hadn't looked away no matter what was said, turned at the word "emotion."
"You don't feel it in other paintings, but this one? It's full of longing or something."
Director Yoon's voice trembled slightly as she asked.
"H-...how?"
"Pardon?"
"How... do you sense that?"
Her question felt a bit out of left field, and Officer Kim scratched the back of his head with an awkward laugh.
"Haha, I was showing off too much. What do I know? I don't even know the stroke order for 'painting.' Sorry."
But Director Yoon genuinely wanted to hear his thoughts.
"Tell me."
"Sure."
"Do you feel emotion in this painting?"
It could pass as a casual question. Actually, it was casual.
But why did her words feel so desperate to me?
Maybe Officer Kim sensed it too—his expression grew serious.
He explained the emotions he felt in my painting as earnestly as he could.
"Hmm, it's hard to pin down exactly, but whether it's just this one or all of Painter Lee Kanghyeok's works, the moment I saw it, my breath caught. And I felt it: 'Ah, this was painted with such intense longing.'"
Director Yoon nodded.
"Yes. That's it."
"What do you mean?"
She turned to me and said.
"The artist who paints emotions."
The artist who paints emotions?
After saying something baffling, she walked straight toward me.
And asked.
"Painter Lee Kanghyeok. You know I don't collect any works except yours, right?"
"Oh, yeah... I heard about it somewhere along the way."
People who buy a lot of art naturally become well-known.
But Director Yoon never bought anyone else's work but mine.
Even Director Go had called her an utter mystery.
At my response, Director Yoon spoke in her usual expressionless tone.
"Now I think I know why. Why I did that."
Had she not even understood it herself until now?
Her tone suggested as much.
What she said next shocked not just me, but everyone around.
"I could only feel emotions strongly in Painter Lee Kanghyeok's works. Sadness, joy—those kinds of emotions."
I'd often thought whenever I saw Director Yoon.
How does she control her emotions so well?
But it wasn't control.
She couldn't.
'That's why she'd zone out staring at my paintings for so long at every exhibition.'
It was her way of soaking in as much emotion as possible from the paintings.
Then Daeun asked Director Yoon.
"So Auntie can't feel emotions?"
"No, I do feel them. They're just weak. Almost nonexistent, really. Doctors call my condition emotional expression disorder."
What if I had that illness?
No matter who I met or what I experienced, my heart would always stay calm.
Like a lake on a windless night—silent, without a single ripple.
As if I were an empty shell.
But if, in that state, I found a painting that evoked strong emotions...
...
A breeze stirs the still lake.
Waves ripple across it, as if someone tossed a stone.
Birdsong echoes in a silent mountain, the sun rises in a dark night sky, blue light shimmers.
If someone experienced that firsthand, they'd probably say.
'Time, which had stopped, starts flowing again.'
That's likely what Director Yoon felt seeing my paintings.
That's why she bought them.
They were the only paintings that made her time flow again.
"But..."
Daeun asked again.
"Why can't you feel emotions?"
It was a very fundamental question.
But instinctively, I knew.
Director Yoon could never answer Daeun's question.
If she could, she would've cured her illness.
But...
"It's because of one person."
Contrary to my expectation, Director Yoon knew.
The person who had stopped her time.
"My father."
Ah...
The moment we heard that, everyone's time stopped.