Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: My Daughter Is a Genius Painter
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Everyone stood up from their seats and headed outside.
It had been such a long time apart that there were endless stories they wanted to ask about and share.
But with the sun setting and the day growing dim, they decided to save the unfinished conversations for another time.
Madam Yoon saw us all the way out to the front gate.
"So, where are you planning to stay tonight?"
"We're thinking of staying at a hotel in Seoul."
"Sigh, if it were up to me, I'd have you stay at our house, but it's in such a state."
At that moment, Ms. Yoon asked curiously.
"But you've been in Korea for quite a while now, so why are you living like this without any furniture?"
She wasn't being obvious about it, but it seemed she was genuinely concerned deep down.
Madam Yoon gave a wry smile in response to Ms. Yoon's question.
"I don't know how you'll take this, but the truth is, I haven't been able to sleep properly for the last few years."
"You... haven't been sleeping?"
"Yeah, it's not exactly insomnia, but... it's hard to fall asleep, I guess. So my sleep schedule is all over the place."
*'Ah, that's why when we arrived.'*
I'd thought it was odd that she was sleeping even during the day, but it must have been beyond her control.
Sleep is one of the most essential things for living, and if that's disrupted, quality of life plummets.
"Have you seen a doctor?"
Madam Yoon nodded at Ms. Yoon's question.
"Yes, I wondered if it was related to the illness I had before, so I went to psychiatry several times."
"And what did they say?"
Ms. Yoon's expression grew serious, as if she was worried.
"They said it was psychological, but they couldn't pinpoint it exactly."
"Hmm..."
If even the hospital couldn't figure it out, maybe there was no way to know—right then.
"But after all those counseling sessions at the hospital, I realized something."
"You figured it out?"
"After the sessions ended and I was leaving the hospital, it suddenly hit me. Like, 'Ah, could this be because of my current situation?' Regret, I suppose."
Everyone fell silent at Madam Yoon's continued words.
"The truth is, I've been thinking about the past a lot lately. What if I had chosen you and your father over work back then? I know it's too late for regrets, and I can't turn back time that's already passed. But in a corner of my heart, those memories are keeping me from sleeping. That was a few years ago, and that's when I decided to come back to Korea. I stopped going to the hospital after that."
Madam Yoon gently took Ms. Yoon's hand.
"This is my punishment for what I did."
Punishment—what a cruel word.
Of course, Madam Yoon's choices might look wrong in others' eyes.
But who could blame someone for choosing to live their own life?
Yet to call it punishment for someone like her.
Ms. Yoon, however, grew angry at Madam Yoon's words.
"Don't ever think that way."
"Huh? What?"
"Don't think of it as punishment."
Everyone was surprised by Ms. Yoon's words, spoken with furrowed brows.
It was hard to understand what part had upset her.
"If you think that way, it's too unfair. To time itself."
"Ti... time?"
"Yes. If you chose to live your own life, you should at least be living comfortably and well. That would make it a little less unfair. But if you're suffering like this and regretting the past, what are you going to do?"
"Evelyn..."
"So from now on, never think that way. You have to live happily, no matter what. Got it?"
At Ms. Yoon's words, I looked at her anew.
*'She knows how to comfort people too.'*
Someone might say it wasn't comfort, but Madam Yoon's face was brighter than ever.
It must have felt like her daughter acknowledging the choice she'd made in the past.
*'If you can't turn it back, at least don't regret it... something like that?'*
I'd known it all along, but Ms. Yoon really was cool.
"Alright. I'll try to sleep better from now on."
"Go to the hospital too."
"Ah, okay. I'll make an appointment and go tomorrow."
"Yes, and here."
Ms. Yoon held out her phone.
"Put in your number, Mom. I need to check if you actually go to the hospital tomorrow."
She could've just said she wanted to stay in touch, but it must've been too embarrassing to say it outright.
As if understanding that, Madam Yoon entered her number and saved it without a word.
"Call me every day to check. My memory's not great, so I forget things easily."
At the mention of memory, Ms. Yoon suddenly exclaimed.
"Ah! I remembered."
"What?"
"A really precious question I always wanted to ask you when I was little."
"There was something like that?"
"Yes. Daeun said it's like how she recalls photos, and it just came back to me like that."
Everyone grew curious at her words.
We'd already felt it was a shame to part ways like this, so it was fortunate the memory surfaced right before saying goodbye.
Daeun asked eagerly.
"But what is that memory?"
"Um, this was it."
Ms. Yoon looked at Madam Yoon and asked.
Like a child.
With a bright smile.
"Mom, do you love Evelyn?"
And after decades, she heard the answer to that question.
"Yes, of course. Mom loves Evelyn more than anyone in the world."
Clunk.
I'd insisted I was fine, but Officer Kim insisted on driving me home, so I had no choice but to accept the ride.
That was how we ended up heading home in his car.
Gulp.
Officer Kim was completely frozen, staring straight ahead.
*'That's why I said I'd go separately.'*
Actually, right before parting from Madam Yoon, there had been a little incident.
It was the conversation between Officer Kim and Madam Yoon, I suppose.
He'd been like that ever since.
He couldn't even look at Ms. Yoon in the passenger seat, just stiffly staring forward.
Ms. Yoon turned to me.
"Do you remember that painting you did a long time ago, by any chance?"
"Why suddenly?"
"Well, my daily routine starts every morning with admiring your paintings when I wake up."
*'Wow, that's some heavy pressure!'*
I almost said it, but managed to smile and brush it off.
"So?"
"There was one called 'A Letter to My Beloved Lover.'"
"Ah, that one. I remember."
I'd painted quite a few, but a few stood out in my memory.
One of them was the piece Ms. Yoon mentioned: "A Letter to My Beloved Lover."
"But why that one?"
"Were you in love when you painted it, artist?"
I wondered how many people had ever asked about my paintings like this...
*'Obviously none.'*
No one viewed my work that way. And naturally, no one asked questions like that.
Maybe only Ms. Yoon, who felt emotions through my paintings, could ask something like this.
"Yes. I think I painted it around the time we set our wedding date. Remember the flowers next to the woman writing the letter?"
"Yes. I do. I especially loved those flowers."
"The person who loved her most in the world drew those flowers."
Daeun, listening beside us, asked.
"Daddy! So Mommy drew those?"
"Yeah, that's right."
Daeun shot her hand up and shouted.
"Wow! Daeun wants to see it too!"
Hm, Hyorin probably didn't throw away the exhibition pamphlet, so if I look around the house, I should find it.
"I'll look for it at home and show you if there's a photo."
"Yeah!"
After replying, I turned back to Ms. Yoon.
"But why ask about that painting?"
"It's my favorite of all your works."
"'A Letter to My Beloved Lover'?"
Out of all those paintings, why that one? Right then.
"Yes. I've felt every other emotion at least once, but never the one in that painting."
Cough!
Ms. Yoon gave the answer, but Officer Kim, who was driving, had the reaction.
"So every time I see that painting, I think..."
I had a feeling what the answer would be, but it was polite to ask.
"W-what do you think?"
"I think I want to experience love."
Now she was openly looking at Officer Kim as she spoke.
Officer Kim, hearing that, was sweating bullets with his pupils shaking.
What she meant by those words.
Who she wanted to say them to, and with what feelings—everyone knew.
But love was never that simple.
If love were easy, would I have hesitated for so long?
*'It can't be done alone.'*
No matter how aggressively Ms. Yoon approached, if Officer Kim rejected her, love couldn't happen.
And judging by his reaction now.
*'He's feeling burdened.'*
Ms. Yoon probably overwhelmed him.
Of course—with someone as wealthy as an American billionaire liking you, it was understandable.
He'd instinctively compare their statuses.
But the question was whether Ms. Yoon could understand those feelings.
So, my role here was to create a situation where these two could open up honestly.
Right then, an unexpected person's arrival solved it all too easily.
"Uncle."
"Y-yes? Uh, y-yeah, Daeun? What?"
"Do you like the pretty auntie?"
"What!"
Whoa, Daeun, that's a straight fastball.
She couldn't understand adult love, so it was a question she could ask innocently.
Officer Kim seemed about to answer...
"I don't know yet."
He said.
What? So maybe Officer Kim did want to respond to Ms. Yoon's words.
The problem was he lacked the courage to say it face-to-face.
Whether she knew the situation or not, Daeun asked what we were all wondering.
"Why? Don't you like the pretty auntie?"
Zap.
Ms. Yoon glared at Officer Kim with wide eyes.
*'If you stare like that, no one can talk.'*
But even feeling her gaze, Officer Kim kept staring ahead.
"I don't dislike her. I just need time."
"If you don't dislike, then you like, right?"
"Hmm, not disliking doesn't mean liking."
"Um... that's hard."
Yeah, adult love is complicated.
Daeun's reaction was totally understandable.
The problem was Ms. Yoon was just as childish when it came to emotions.
*'Is she struggling too?'*
Ms. Yoon's face turned similar to Daeun's.
It was a bit off-topic, but seeing them both with the same expression was kinda cute.
Right then, at a stoplight, the car halted, and Officer Kim finally turned his head to meet Ms. Yoon's eyes.
He swallowed dryly and spoke.
As if with great resolve.
With eyes full of determination, he said to Ms. Yoon.
"So, what if we met a few more times? If you feel the same then..."
Ms. Yoon beamed and replied.
"Sure."
Hearing that, I...
Turned to Daeun, gave her a thumbs up, and mouthed.
*'Good job!'*