Chapter 114
Chapter 114
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: Angel from the Sky
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"'It's because of my father that I can't feel emotions.'"
No one here, especially not Daeun who had asked the question, followed up on that.
It couldn't be helped.
Her story had been quite serious, after all.
And so we spent quite a while in front of the mural, just looking at the painting.
Rep. Yoon had said she wanted to do so, and the officer had insisted we take photos of the other murals too, not just ours.
Thanks to that, we ended up staring at the murals right there for nearly an hour.
It was a length of time that could easily have felt boring, but Daeun kept finding interesting things even during that stretch.
"Daddy, Daeun remembers this from when we drew it!"
Well, she had spent a whole week painting like a maniac.
All day long, painting, layering on more paint, taking breaks, then painting again.
In the process, the whole alley had become familiar to us.
"Yeah. Back then, the grandmas here loved it too."
"Yeah! The grandmas gave Daeun so much yummy food! Daeun wants more!"
The grandmas had always packed us with food, worried we'd go hungry, and thinking back, it had been pretty fun.
Swish.
Even as Daeun and I chatted about everyday things, Rep. Yoon still couldn't tear her eyes away from the mural.
Then.
Swish.
A couple walked past where we were sitting.
"Wow, this is the place you were talking about."
"Yeah! That's right. They just did the mural here recently, so it's not crowded yet. Gotta take lots of pics now."
"Oh, really? Stand there for a sec. I'll take one of you."
Then the couple stood in front of the mural, taking pictures of each other.
As they struck all sorts of poses, trying to get the perfect cute shot.
Swish.
My eyes met those of the guy who seemed to be the boyfriend.
We were a bit apart from the couple, but in the narrow alley with no one else around, it was natural they'd notice us.
At that moment.
"Um..."
"Yes?"
"Could you maybe take a picture for us? We left our tripod behind."
"Oh, a photo?"
At the word "photo," I nodded with a smile.
"Of course I'll take it for you."
Having someone take a picture in front of the painting we made.
What a thrilling moment.
Daeun seemed to feel the same, grinning as she said,
"Daddy! Daddy's gonna take their picture!"
"Not just give it—I'm taking the picture. Right, Daddy's gonna snap it himself."
"Wow! Taking pictures in front of our painting! Yay!"
Hmm, somehow the one taking the photo was more excited than the ones being photographed.
Seeing our reaction, the couple tilted their heads.
"Well, it's our painting... Ah! Are you the ones who painted 'Angel from the Sky'?"
"A-An angel from the sky?"
Angel from the sky—a somewhat unfamiliar title for the painting—and the girlfriend laughed as she explained.
"Oh! You didn't know. On StarTalk, this one's being called 'Angel from the Sky.' It's getting super popular lately as a photo spot 'cause it's so pretty."
Then the boyfriend came closer and said,
"Wow, and to run into the artists right here. Could you maybe take a picture with us?"
"Sure."
"Ah! It's my first time meeting an artist! This is so cool—please, just one photo!"
Heh heh, what to do here.
Of course, we loved that they liked our painting, that they saw it as pretty, that they were thrilled to meet us.
But did we really deserve this kind of treatment?
Still, I soon found myself going along with it.
Pat pat.
Daeun brushed off her bottom and stood up.
Then she toddled over to the bewildered couple asking for a photo.
As if she were about to take it for them.
'No way she's gonna take it.'
It was amusing enough to make me chuckle, but if things kept going like this, the couple would be confused, so I spoke up first.
"If you're looking for the artist who painted it, this is the real one."
With that, I grabbed Daeun's shoulder and pushed her forward.
"Yes."
Seeing the couple's surprised faces, I smiled and explained.
"Look at the signature down there—it's a painting Daeun and I did together. This mural."
"Oh! So it's not just some random writing."
"Ooh! It's real! It says 'Daeun Lee' right here!"
At that, Daeun shot her hand up high.
"That's Daeun! Daeun drew it with Daddy!"
"Wow, that's amazing! So you drew this painting?"
"Yeah! Daeun drew Mommy here."
The word "Mommy" made everyone's jaws drop at once.
Whether from quick wits or not, they grasped the situation in an instant.
The image of the mother painted here really was an angel.
"S-So, should we all take one together?"
At the boyfriend's words, I smiled and said to Daeun,
"Then let's all take a picture together."
"Yeah! Daddy!"
And so we started to gather for a group photo... or so I thought, right then—
'Wait, who’s gonna take the picture?'
We hit a very basic snag. There was no one here to snap it for us.
Sure, Rep. Yoon was there, but had she ever even taken a photo before?
Probably not something she'd done, and it felt awkward to ask...
"Take our picture please!"
Eh!
Daeun beat me to it.
And Rep. Yoon answered casually, as if it were nothing.
"Sure."
Uh, um...
Rep. Yoon slowly stood up after that.
I went over to her and asked,
"Can you manage taking the photo?"
"Hmm, I've never done it before, but isn't it just point and shoot?"
"Y-You've never taken one?"
I'd asked in surprise, and she replied like it was no big deal.
"Yeah, I've been in a few photos, but taking them? First time."
I wanted to ask her right then: What kind of life have you been living?
But I couldn't actually say that.
Swish.
I went up to Rep. Yoon and gave her a quick rundown on how to take a photo.
"Fill the screen with the scene you want, then press and hold the white circle at the bottom of the screen."
"Simpler than I thought."
"Yeah, not hard at all. You'll do great."
Never imagined I'd be explaining how to take a photo like this.
'She'll be fine, though.'
I handed her the phone and hurried to the mural where everyone was.
Daeun and I stood holding the couple, all huddled together, looking at Rep. Yoon...
Click!
"Huh!"
"She took it al-already?"
No countdown of one-two-three, so everyone was caught off guard.
I laughed and asked again,
"Could you maybe give us a one, two, three signal before taking it next time?"
"Oh, one, two, three."
Swish.
Then Rep. Yoon raised the camera again and rattled off super fast,
"One-two-three."
Click!
Good grief, that speed would fluster even pro models.
Of course we had to retake it.
She was too quick; no time to prepare.
So inevitably, I asked Rep. Yoon again.
"Could you go a little slower?"
Right as I was saying that.
Step step.
The officer came down from above, where he'd finished taking his photos, and said,
"May I help out a bit?"
He went to Rep. Yoon's side, smiled, and explained kindly.
"You have to count slowly so they can get ready. Give time to open their eyes and fix their poses, right? Shall we try again?"
He explained as gently as if to a child, and Rep. Yoon's face, which had relaxed, flushed red again.
Still, she did what needed doing.
"Let's retake it. One, two, three."
Click!
Finally, we got one good shot.
"Take a few more in the same pose from here."
"A few more?"
"Yeah, even the same pose can have different vibes. Gives options to pick the best one. Go ahead."
At that, Rep. Yoon looked at everyone and said,
"A few more in the same pose. Ready, one, two, three."
Click! Click! Click!
She took about five more.
And with that, our photo session finally wrapped up.
"Thank you so much! I'll cherish these forever!"
The couple said that, then hurried up to see the other murals.
'Whew, that was a whirlwind.'
The couple's sudden appearance had us a bit flustered, but it livened up the mood.
Rep. Yoon seemed to enjoy her first time taking photos too.
"How was it, trying photography?"
"First time taking pictures, but it's more fun than I expected."
With that, Rep. Yoon pulled out her own phone and opened the photo app.
Maybe because she didn't hide it, I got a glimpse of her gallery too—and her claim of never having taken photos seemed true.
It was completely empty.
The officer standing nearby saw it too and asked in astonishment,
"N-No photos at all?"
"Yeah, never taken any."
"Heh heh."
How was one supposed to react to this?
She had more money than anyone in the world could envy—well, I didn't know the exact amount, of course.
But roughly speaking, you could tell she had plenty.
For someone who could boast of having it all, to never have done something this simple.
Who would believe it? Right then—
Daeun asked,
"Then Auntie!"
"Yes?"
"Picture with Daeun!"
"Together?"
"Yeah! All together!"
The officer lit up at that too.
"That's a great idea. Since you're here today, take a commemorative one with Daeun. Ah! Or maybe with Painter Kanghyeok Lee too—he collaborated on this painting."
With that, the officer held out his hand to Rep. Yoon.
"Hand me the camera, and I'll take it for you."
"..."
Did she have something to say?
Ah, maybe she was uncomfortable with photos? I asked,
"If it's too much, you don't have to."
Rep. Yoon shook her head firmly.
"No, it's not that."
Then she said something unexpected.
"If we're taking pictures together anyway."
Swish.
"Would you... join us?"
"Yes?"
"All of us together."
Well! Never pegged Rep. Yoon for this type! Staring straight ahead, saying it so boldly!
The bold suggestion caught even the officer off guard.
"M-Me? T-To-together would b-be g-great, I g-guess..."
He stammered badly in his fluster, until Daeun, fed up, grabbed his arm and said,
"All together! Picture!"
"Ah, w-wait! L-Let me set up the tripod first!"
"Wow! Group picture with everyone! Daddy, Daeun loves it!"
"Yeah, let's all take one together."
The officer hurriedly set up the tripod, while Rep. Yoon, I, and Daeun got in position in front of the mural first.
Then the officer joined us late, and once we were all lined up, he said,
"Here we go! One, two, three!"
Click!
In the photo that came out, everyone was smiling.
Even Rep. Yoon, who had suggested we all pose together.