Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: The Family Signature
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The painting Daeun and I had done together was complete.
But something still felt missing.
What could it be? After pondering for a moment, I realized the reason.
'I forgot the signature.'
It had been so long since I'd painted that the thought of signing it hadn't even crossed my mind.
So, looking at Daeun, who was beaming proudly at the painting, I said,
"Shall we sign our painting?"
"Sign?"
She nodded.
"Yeah, painters usually write their names in small letters in the corner of their own works."
Daeun blinked at my words.
"But if Daeuni signs, it'll ruin the picture..."
Of course, she might think that way.
She'd never signed one before.
Putting a name that didn't match the painting would feel really awkward.
But Daeun didn't know.
She didn't know how much value a signature added to a painting...
Drip.
'There I go again, old habits.'
I was judging the painting not for what it was, but for its value.
At least for an artist expressing their ideals through art, that kind of thinking was off-limits.
"Ah! Daeuni saw it too! Daddy's painting has a name on it!"
Daeun must have remembered my work on display at Arnia Gallery.
She nodded.
"Right. Artists usually sign their own paintings. It's like saying, 'This is mine.'"
"Mine?"
"Yeah, yours, Daeun."
"Hee!"
Daeun grinned widely and turned back to the painting.
"Then Daeuni will sign it too!"
At that, I dipped a clean brush in black paint and handed it to her.
"Then just write your name in the bottom right corner here."
"Okay!"
With an enthusiastic reply, Daeun scampered over, took the brush from me, and crouched down to sign in the bottom right.
But then she just stared at the corner, fiddling with her tiny hand.
'Hmm?'
Why was she just staring at the corner?
Curious, I went over, crouched down next to her, and asked,
"Why? Can't write it?"
Still staring at the corner, she replied,
"Daeuni doesn't know her name..."
"You don't know your own name?"
"Yeah, don't know."
It didn't seem like a lie.
There was no reason for Daeun to lie without any motive.
For a child with perfect memory to not know—thinking about it, I suddenly recalled a conversation with Grandma.
When I'd asked about Daeun's kindergarten, Mom had said that in the year she turned five, she started kindergarten but couldn't go after less than a month.
Because of Hyorin's sudden death, she'd spent nearly half a year at the orphanage.
Since she hadn't formally enrolled, she probably hadn't gotten proper education.
'No way she doesn't know Hangul.'
Actually, on second thought, this was normal.
I'd searched what a five-year-old should know while living with her, so I had a rough idea.
Five was just around the age they started learning Hangul.
Scribble.
"It's okay. You might not know it yet."
"Daddy, tell Daeuni her name."
She must have seen her name at least once.
But if no one had properly taught her that it was hers, it was understandable.
So I picked up another brush with paint.
"Then shall we write Daeun together?"
"Yeah! Daeuni will write it herself on the picture!"
"Got it. Follow Daddy slowly then."
With that, I wrote her name on the plastic sheet we'd laid down to catch drips.
[Lee Dae Eun]
Luckily, her name wasn't too hard.
It was probably one of the easier ones for a kid to write.
And sure enough, Daeun followed along nicely, writing her name on the wall.
A bit crooked and wobbly, but that made it even more endearing.
Cute, and unmistakably a child's writing—anyone could see it.
Scribble.
Once she'd finished writing her name, she looked up at me and asked,
"How do you write Daddy's name?"
"My name, huh?"
"Yeah! Daddy's name!"
Was she planning to write mine for me?
I had my usual signature for my works.
That would have been appropriate here too.
'But no, it's not exactly the same.'
Sure, the accident didn't change who I was fundamentally, but five years had passed.
Even if I tried to paint exactly the same, it would come out feeling totally different from my past self.
So, was I the same person as back then?
'This might actually be better.'
If I'd been chasing past glory, I would've asked Jungeun Park, not Director Go Yunmi.
But I'd chosen her for Daeun's sake.
"My name goes like this."
Saying that, I wrote it again on the plastic.
[Lee Kanghyeok]
Nod!
Daeun diligently shifted her gaze back and forth, carefully writing my name.
She stuck her tongue out in concentration and perfectly wrote even the last character, "hyeok."
"All done!"
Seeing our names written so perfectly made them feel cooler than any signature on my previous works.
That was when it happened.
Step.
Footsteps approached from behind us, followed by a surprised voice.
"Wow! Even Daeun signed it!"
"Oh my, impressive. Daeun can sign now—she's a real painter!"
Turning at the voices of Professor Kwon and Painter Son Jeongsun, I saw everyone smiling warmly at our painting.
Then Aram Go spoke in disbelief.
"But this is really painted with Daeun, right? It's amazing."
At that, Daeun shrugged proudly.
"With Daddy! Daeuni painted it together! This super super pretty angel mommy! Daeuni did that!"
Not just the three of them, but even Officer Kim Sucheol's eyes widened.
"Wow, I thought maybe she just did the background when you said you painted together... My thinking was too narrow. I figured she was just tagging along with Dad, but another brilliant painter has joined us."
Hearing that made me feel inexplicably pleased.
And apparently, I wasn't the only one.
"Impressive."
"Indeed. I had no idea Daeun had such talent."
Painter Son Jeongsun gazed at Daeun with a beaming face, while Professor Kwon looked at her with a serious expression.
"Hehe."
Daeun, clearly delighted by the reactions, clasped her hands and smiled at me.
"Daddy, Daeuni did great, right?"
"You did great."
"Hee."
No one dislikes praise, not even a five-year-old.
No, maybe it hits even harder at five.
Just then, Aram Go pulled something from her shoulder bag.
"Oh, I brought this. Since it's the last day of work, I thought we should commemorate it somehow..."
Rustle.
What she took out was a Polaroid camera.
"Shall we all take a photo in front of the painting Daeun did?"
Everyone agreed enthusiastically.
"Sure!"
"Sounds good!"
"Perfect!"
"Wow! Picyuure!"
As we all responded happily, Officer Kim Sucheol took the Polaroid.
"Then everyone stand in front of the mural. I'll take it for you."
"Oh, I could do it."
"Nah, what do I know about photos? It's the painters who made this who should be in the shot."
"Oh, then..."
Officer Kim Sucheol smiled brightly, so Aram Go handed him the camera and hurried to the mural.
We all took our positions in front of the painting, with—of course...
"No room! Here, here! Room here!"
I'd assumed Daeun would take center, but she was pushing people aside to clear a big space in the middle.
Curious, I asked,
"Daeun, is someone coming here?"
Maybe she'd saved space for the officer? But she shook her head vigorously.
"Nope!"
"Then?"
Her next words drew gasps from all of us.
"This is Mommy's spot!"
Ah!
Looking at the mural where her gaze directed, the angel mommy fit perfectly into the space Daeun had made.
To think she'd planned to take a photo with Hyorin—her idea caught me completely off guard. Officer Kim, holding the camera, chuckled.
"If it's okay with you, Aram, could you move to the other side?"
"Oh! Sure!"
As Aram Go shifted per his request, the positions aligned perfectly: Daeun in the center, with me and Hyorin on either side in the painting.
Gulp.
'This kid...'
The moment hit me hard.
Sure, it was just a painting, but the face in Daeun's painting was unmistakably Hyorin's.
"Taking picture with Mommy and Daddy."
Scribble.
Daeun reached out as if to hold the painted mommy's hand.
Scribble.
Then she took my hand.
Officer Kim Sucheol, watching with a bright smile, shouted on cue.
"Okay, say cheese! One, two..."
Click!
And with that, we wrapped up our happy week of work with Daeun.
* * *
"You've all worked so hard. If you're free, I'd like to treat you to dinner. How about beef?"
"Beef? Does the budget cover a team dinner? With this many people, it's not cheap..."
Aram Go's question made Officer Kim Sucheol grin.
"Someone who couldn't join this project felt bad and sponsored the dinner for after we finished."
He glanced at me as he said it.
Probably none other than Director Go Yunmi footing the bill.
'Sometimes I really can't figure out what she's thinking.'
Well, whatever. No reason to turn down free beef.
I'd been wondering what to have for dinner anyway.
"Hee!"
Just then, I noticed Daeun giggling at the photo we'd taken.
'Is it that great?'
The photo Officer Kim had handed out really looked like we'd taken it with Hyorin.
Maybe the Polaroid effect made it feel that way, but it probably meant a lot to Daeun.
"That happy?"
Still staring at the photo, she nodded.
"Yeah, Mommy pretty."
As she gushed about her pretty mommy, I stroked her head and said,
"Then on the way home, shall we buy a frame and hang it up?"
Whoosh!
Her face lit up brighter than ever at the idea.
"Yeah! Yeah! Hang in Daeuni's room!"
"Yeah, it'll go great with your painting."
Nod! Nod!
I had a strong feeling her room was about to get even cozier.
As I watched her beaming happily,
Professor Kwon Woochul and Painter Son Jeongsun approached with smiles.
It had only been a week, but after all our talks, they felt like old friends.
This seemed mutual, as Painter Son Jeongsun said with a wistful look,
"It's sad that today is the end."
"Right. I wanted to work together more. Such a shame."
Their sincerity was clear.
"Thanks to you two, we worked comfortably. Thank you."
As I bowed in gratitude, Daeun bowed too.
"Thank you."
Maybe her greeting was adorable, because they gazed at her fondly before turning to me.
"No need to thank us—we enjoyed it. By the way, are you free this Friday?"
"Friday?"
That would be three days from now.
With the mural job done as Director Go assigned, I hadn't scheduled anything yet.
Nod.
"Yeah, nothing so far."
Painter Son Jeongsun's face brightened instantly.
Professor Kwon explained why.
"Oh, it's just that Painter Son here has a solo exhibition this Friday."
"Solo exhibition?"
"Gallery!"
At Daeun's word, Painter Son Jeongsun smiled.
"Oh, Daeun knows galleries?"
"Yeah! Know! Place with tons of paintings!"
Delighted by Daeun's response, Painter Son Jeongsun knelt down and asked,
"Then will you and Daddy come to Auntie’s solo show?"
Daeun turned to look at me. That look was clearly asking permission.
I'd planned to call the kindergarten tomorrow to hear about her situation...
'Kindergarten can wait a bit.'
A few more days wouldn't hurt.
Nod.
Smiling at her expectant eyes, I nodded, and Daeun beamed as she answered Painter Son Jeongsun.
"Yeah! Daeuni wants to see paintings!"
Painter Son Jeongsun smiled warmly.
"Thanks. With you there, it'll be a happy exhibition for sure."
"Hee!"
And just like that, we got invited to Painter Son Jeongsun's unexpected solo show.