Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Painting Mom as an Angel
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Scratch-scratch!
It started with the underdrawing.
The base prep was already done, so we could jump straight into sketching without any extra work.
'Painting on a wall is definitely tricky.'
The surface was uneven, and the drawings were all different sizes. If you didn't arrange them properly, the whole composition would look off.
Maybe because of that, Daeun, who had been sketching smoothly at first, started to hesitate.
"Um..."
She'd only ever drawn on small canvases before, so trying to paint on such a big wall wasn't easy, for sure.
I smiled and asked her.
"Hey, Daeun. If it's okay with you, how about we draw it together?"
Her eyes went wide at that.
"You draw too, Daddy?"
"Yeah."
What? Did she think she had to draw this whole huge wall by herself?
That seemed to be exactly what she'd thought.
"Of course we can draw together. I told you earlier while we were resting. Let's do it as a team."
"Oh! Right!"
Remembering what I'd said late, she looked back and forth between the wall and me before speaking.
"Then Daeun will draw, and you tell me what to do."
"Sure, go ahead."
"So, um..."
Daeun started explaining the picture, pulling out every word she knew.
As I listened quietly to her, a thought suddenly struck me.
'I think I get why Director Go gave this job to me.'
If it was just about painting a mural, she wouldn't have used the sponsorship as an excuse.
She knew I'd be doing it with Daeun.
What Director Go wanted was for Daeun and me to complete the mural together.
She might seem gruff on the outside, but sometimes her deep feelings just shone through.
I grinned.
"So, big wings like this, and then...!"
"Daeun, take it slow. Daddy will help with whatever you want."
A mural made together.
You could think of it as just finishing one picture, but listening to Daeun made Director Go's gruff voice echo in my ears naturally.
It's the process that matters, not the result. A true artist shows the process through the finished work. Remember that.
Showing the process through the finished work.
I'd heard those words from her at my graduation exhibition, the first time I met Director Go.
Of course, back then, I didn't get it at all.
How could a finished work show the process?
I'd thought it made no sense, but at some point, I started to understand.
"Daddy! You get what Daeun said?"
She asked again, like she needed confirmation, and I nodded over and over.
"Of course. I understood everything you said. Alright, agreement reached—shall we keep sketching the underdrawing?"
"Yeah!"
Answering energetically, Daeun dashed to the center of the mural, grabbed a pencil, and stood ready.
She'd explained it at length, but as she'd said from the start, what she wanted to draw was Mom as an angel.
I'd handle the background, plus Daeun and Daddy, while Daeun would draw Mom as the angel.
I wondered if a five-year-old even knew what an angel was.
Scratch-scratch.
'Sure enough, a genius is a genius.'
Daeun was expressing Mom as an angel in her own unique style.
It was just an underdrawing, so not perfectly precise, but she nailed the human proportions without ever being taught, and nothing about the pose felt awkward.
Looking at her drawing, a question popped into my head.
'No way—did Hyorin teach her something like that?'
How could she express it so well without any lessons? No matter how I thought about it, Daeun's drawing was astonishing.
Then, suddenly.
Pfft.
I burst out laughing.
'What am I doing?'
Was this what they called an occupational hazard?
Without realizing it, I was analyzing the drawing of my five-year-old daughter.
Her style, the proportions, the techniques—everything.
What was the point of dissecting Daeun's picture like that? I felt pathetic.
'I still fall short.'
I'd sworn to view works from the heart, not judge them, and yet here I was.
A bitter smile escaped me at how I'd slipped back to my old ways after the accident.
Just as a tsunami of self-reflection and tangled emotions rocked my heart.
"Ah! Daddy!"
I came face-to-face with Daeun glaring at me with axe-like eyes.
"Y-Yeah? What?"
"No drawing while playing! We gotta show off Mom as an angel!"
She meant quit goofing off and draw already.
Scratching the back of my head at her words, I picked up my pencil.
"S-Sorry. Daddy'll draw fast now. So stop being mad..."
As I turned to glance at the underdrawing of Mom as an angel that Daeun had done.
'...Yeah.'
Clench.
I couldn't help but grip my fist tight.
To anyone else, it might just be a rough sketch, but at least to me... no, to Daeun and me, it was something special that hit deep.
Not just some shabby alley mural, but a heartfelt wish from father and daughter.
'Ah, really...'
If I had to name it, this picture would be called "Longing."
It looked so much like her that.
'I... miss her.'
...I missed Hyorin so much.
"Alright! Everyone, eat lunch and get back to it!"
Daeun called me over at the sound of Officer Kim Sucheol's voice from afar.
"Hey, Daddy!"
"Yeah, lunch already?"
I'd been so absorbed in drawing that time had flown by.
Why did it pass so fast?
"Feels like I just started sketching a bit ago, but it's already lunchtime, huh?"
"Yeah! Daeun's hungry!"
Even though we'd stuffed ourselves silly at the elders' feast, somehow hunger crept back in.
"Shall we head down and eat, then?"
"Yeah! Yay!"
With that, Daeun neatly put away her brush, grabbed my hand, and tugged.
"Daddy! Hurry!"
I grinned.
"Got it. But go slow so you don't trip."
And so we slowly made our way down the alley, hand in hand.
When we arrived.
"Over here!"
We found Aram Go, who'd come early and was helping Officer Kim Sucheol.
"This way!"
She pointed to chairs under a pre-set-up parasol.
"Just sit here a bit, and we'll have food ready soon. Officer Kim brought lunchboxes today."
"Oh, lunchboxes?"
"The ones Mommy makes!"
Aram Go smiled brightly and asked.
"Did Daeun's mom pack lunchboxes too?"
"Yeah! Mommy's food is the bestest!"
"Wow, Daeun must've been so happy."
Maybe from seeing Painter Son Jeongsun do it before, she didn't panic this time and just chatted naturally with Daeun.
Appreciating her thoughtfulness, I went over to help Officer Kim.
"Let me give you a hand."
"Oh, no need, but could you set out the soup and rice, one per spot?"
"Sure."
At his request, I pulled the soup and rice from the insulated bag and set them out.
Then, watching me, Daeun shot her hand up high.
"Daeun wants to help too!"
"You do?"
Officer Kim's eyes widened as he asked, and she nodded fast, sticking right by his side.
Zing.
Her eyes said I'd be a total criminal if I didn't let her help.
Seeing that silent pressure, Officer Kim smiled awkwardly.
"W-Wanna... help?"
"Yes!"
At the invitation, Daeun hopped in place, then looked up at him with sparkling eyes.
"Haha."
He glanced around, then spotted water bottles in a box.
Perfect for assigning to Daeun, since each lunchbox had one.
"Could you take the water bottles to the spots?"
"Yes!"
She answered vigorously and started carrying them off.
Such tiny hands—what could she do?
But watching her tote one at a time was the cutest thing.
Once the rice, soup, sides, and water were all set—thanks to Daeun—Aram Go looked around and said.
"By the way, Professor Kwon and Painter Son haven't shown up."
Come to think of it, I hadn't seen them since setup started.
"Their wall was deeper in than where you were working, Mr. Lee, right? Maybe they didn't hear."
"Yeah, but just a bit further in. They probably heard."
Officer Kim's voice wasn't exactly quiet.
They must have.
Just as I wondered why they hadn't come yet.
Step-step.
Footsteps echoed from the alley entrance, and the two appeared.
Both hands full of stuff.
"Oh! You're here!"
"Whoops, you already finished setting up."
"We said we'd be quick, but we're late."
As they approached, saying they were late, I asked.
"Were you out somewhere?"
They hadn't come from the alley.
Like when we first arrived, they were walking from the main road—must've gone shopping.
Painter Son Jeongsun smiled and replied to my question.
"Oh, we popped into the coffee shop up ahead for drinks. Thought they'd make a nice dessert after lunch."
Rustle.
With that, she set an opaque bag on the table.
Inside: coffee and snack breads for everyone.
"Wow, you got a ton."
"I grabbed this and that, and it added up. Oh! Daeun's share too."
At "Daeun's," she scampered over and stood by the bag.
"Do you like chocolate, Daeun?"
I hadn't spent that much time with her yet, but I knew for sure she went nuts for chocolate.
Look at her now.
"Yes! Yes! Daeun loves choco!"
Her eyes lit up like stars at the word.
Painter Son Jeongsun started pulling out the chocolate breads one by one.
"This is a chocolate roll."
"Wow!"
"This is chocolate croissant."
"Ooh!"
"And this one's chocolate..."
Painter Son... how much did you buy...?
I got her affection for Daeun, but she'd laid out over seven kinds already.
Was there a chocolate bread specialty shop around here or something?
"Oh, and here's one for Daeun's daddy too."
"Mine?"
Clink.
Turning at her words, I saw a takeout cup of Americano.
Same logo as the bread place, so I smiled and thanked her.
"I could've gotten it, but the bread too—thank you so much."
"No, I bought it because I wanted to."
Just then, Daeun, who had been staring at the breads with hands clasped and drooling, looked up and said.
"Daddy, I know that!"
"Yeah? What?"
"The one you hold and drink."
She mean the coffee? I held up my Americano.
"This?"
"Yeah! That one!"
"A! Me! Ki! Ra! No! Machi!"
Ame... kirano?
Did she think Americano was "Amekirano"?
At her words.
"Pfft."
"Amekira... Pfft-hahaha!"
"Hee-hee, right. Amekirano, Ameki... Pff-hh."
Laughter bloomed on everyone's faces, full of joy.
Including mine.
"Haha!"
Maybe thrilled by the reaction.
Daeun beamed around at everyone.
Utterly, blissfully happy.