Chapter 158
Chapter 158
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 158
Chapter Title: The Painting That Makes Me Happy
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Representative Yoon, who had gone out to buy drinks, returned.
And the moment she came back, she looked at the painting Daeun was holding and said,
"You've made your choice, I see."
"Ah, yes."
With that, Representative Yoon knelt down in front of Daeun and asked,
"How is this the painting that caught your eye?"
"Yes! Right away. Daddy told Daeuni to pick the one that makes her happy!"
"Is this the painting that makes you happy?"
"Yes!"
As she said that, Daeun hugged the painting with the happiest expression anyone could have.
"Daeuni is super super happy!"
Hearing that, I suddenly felt relieved.
I'd always worried about Daeun, who tried harder than anyone to understand the feelings in the paintings, but after today, it seemed like she'd become a kid who could look after her own heart.
Right now, more than anything, I wanted her to know she was the most important thing to me.
"Then you'll be even happier."
Yeah, happier than right now.
"Why?"
When Daeun tilted her head and asked, Representative Yoon sat down and brought over the plastic bag she'd set aside nearby, showing us the contents.
"You've picked out your painting. Now it's snack time."
"Wooow!"
Daeun's energy shot up at the word "snack."
Seeing her reaction, Representative Yoon asked,
"Are you happier now?"
What will she say?
At Representative Yoon's question, Daeun leaned the painting against the wall and shouted,
"Super super super happy!"
And just like that, we were all happy.
We left Representative Yoon's house and headed back to the company.
I'd thought it wouldn't take long, but two hours had already flown by.
We'd ended up taking more time than expected.
"I'm sorry. It took longer than I thought."
Representative Yoon apologized on our behalf, and David waved his hand in the air with a smile.
"No, it's fine since we were working anyway. Oh, right. That thing I mentioned earlier."
What she mentioned?
Oh, could she mean Daeun's dress?
"The dress?"
"Yeah. They said it's almost done, so you should go check it out."
I'd been curious anyway, so perfect timing.
At David's words, Daeun, who had been listening beside me, lit up.
"Daddy! Daeuni can see her dress!"
She must have been really curious.
And no wonder—she'd wanted to see it since we first talked about it, but we'd kept it a secret.
"Yeah, shall we go take a look together?"
"Yeah!"
"Haha, then follow me."
"Yes!"
And so we followed David to where Daeun's dress was.
Passionate people.
We passed by folks working on designs and various tasks, heading to the room farthest inside.
Click.
As we opened the door, the smell of fresh clothing wafted out.
This must be where they make the sample clothes.
Snip snip.
David strode right in and approached a man cutting fabric with scissors.
"Frank, is the sample done yet?"
Swoosh.
The man called Frank glanced over at the mention of sample production, his eyes landing on Daeun.
"Ah, this is the dress for the princess. I just finished it and was about to start something else."
Thud.
Frank set down the fabric scissors he was holding, took off his apron, and said,
"Wait here just a sec. I'll get the others—they said to call them when it's time for fitting."
"Ah, yes. We'll wait here."
"Got it."
They must have gone off to their own tasks since they didn't know when we'd show up.
Frank headed out to fetch the others, and I looked around the sample production area in fascination.
'So this is how clothes are made.'
It wasn't your everyday clothing shape. Strips of fabric in weird, chopped-up shapes hung in rows.
They probably sew those pieces together to make the clothes.
Watching clothes come to life was truly amazing.
But I wasn't the only one feeling that.
"Daddy! They're playing with doll clothes!"
Daeun seemed amazed too, constantly looking around in wonder.
"Yeah, it really is amazing, huh?"
"Daddy thinks it's amazing too?"
"Yeah, it's my first time in a place like this, so I'm super amazed."
"Wooow! Daddy and Daeuni think the same again!"
Sharing the same sense of wonder is a good thing, I guess.
At Daeun's words, Representative Yoon, who had been watching from the side, spoke up.
"Seeing Daeun really takes me back."
Yeah, memories from back then?
"When I was little, like her, I tried to find things in common too."
Representative Yoon acting like Daeun?
Hmm, hard to picture, but everyone was cute as a kid.
At Representative Yoon's comment, Daeun's eyes went wide as she asked,
"Like Daeuni?"
"Yes, probably around Daeun's age. Back then, my dad was the only one by my side."
A bit of a sad story.
But time turns any memory into a cherished one.
"For some reason, there was a time when I copied everything my dad did."
Representative Yoon seemed lost in thought, her expression blank but distant.
"That's probably when it started. When I first got interested in paintings."
"You saw paintings as a kid?"
"Yeah, my dad used to paint at home a lot back then."
Mr. Richard painting?
Hard to imagine, maybe because of our first meeting.
"After we ate and were about to part ways, he asked if we could meet alone sometime if you had time."
"Me? By myself?"
"Yeah, but don't worry. I said no. I couldn't make our guest uncomfortable."
"Ahaha..."
Well, she didn't have to shut it down so bluntly, but now that she'd said it, bringing it up again would just be awkward.
Click.
Just then, Frank returned with the others.
"They said to come to where we were before. Everyone's waiting there."
"Ah, okay. Then the dress..."
"We'll do the fitting here and head over. Anyone available to help with the fitting?"
At the word "fitting," I started to raise my hand.
But.
"I'll do it this time."
Representative Yoon stepped in.
"You, Representative Yoon?"
"Yes. Samples made here aren't like regular clothes—they need pins to adjust the fit. It might be tricky without experience."
It wasn't just slipping on a finished dress.
Makes sense—they'd started samples without Daeun's exact measurements.
They'd probably fit it while she wore it.
Yeah, something like that would be impossible for a first-timer like me, so asking Representative Yoon was right.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
"Don't worry—go on ahead."
"Daddy! Daeuni's gonna try on clothes with Auntie!"
"Yeah, listen to Representative Yoon."
"Yeah!"
"Shall we go then?"
"Yes!"
And so Representative Yoon and Daeun followed Frank into the inner fitting room.
Left alone, I gave David, who was standing there blankly behind us, an awkward smile and said,
"We... going?"
Using my broken English.
Everyone waited for Daeun to emerge in the dress, eyes full of anticipation.
Normally, we'd be chatting away, but without Representative Yoon to translate...
I just sat there on a conference room chair, awkwardly scanning the room.
'This is super tense.'
Should've learned some English if I knew it'd be like this.
David tried saying something now and then, but I couldn't understand, so...
He just smiled and kept quiet.
Swoosh.
We'd been enduring the awkward silence for a while when...
Murmur murmur—
Murmurs started coming from the direction of the sample room.
The buzz grew louder over time, and soon...
"Oh. My. God."
Daeun appeared around the corner, wearing the dress I'd designed.
Couldn't catch the exact words, but I knew it was awe.
And that awe was directed at Daeun in the dress I'd made.
'She's really pretty.'
Even as the designer, she was stunning.
Not sure if it was the colors or the pattern suiting her, but...
It complemented her skin tone perfectly and amplified her cuteness.
But the real magic was something else.
The touch of elegance behind her cuteness.
Like a rich family's daughter all dressed up—you could really feel it.
'I really nailed it, even if I say so myself.'
As I puffed up with pride at how adorable she looked...
"Huh?"
I noticed something odd.
Daeun, led by Representative Yoon's hand, had her eyes squeezed shut.
Why on earth? Just as I wondered, Representative Yoon whispered something in her ear and walked over to me.
"Sorry for the wait."
"No, you must have had it rough."
"I enjoyed it."
"But why are her eyes closed?"
Curious, I asked, and Representative Yoon said casually,
"She wanted to."
"Huh? What?"
If she's curious about the dress, she can just look, so why keep her eyes shut? Right then...
Representative Yoon explained.
"She wants to see Daddy's face."
"Pardon?"
"Daeun said she's curious about Daddy's expression when he sees her in the dress."
Oh, was that why she'd kept her eyes closed the whole fitting?
Her thinking was cute, but also kinda frustrating in a way.
"She could look at the dress first."
"She said she'd look after seeing Daddy's face."
Her logic was a bit beyond me, but Representative Yoon seemed to get it.
"I think Daeun wants to share emotions with her daddy."
"Emotions?"
"Yeah. Looking back now, I think I got into paintings because I was curious what my dad was thinking."
Sharing emotions.
Swoosh.
I turned to look at Daeun again.
Then Representative Yoon beside me said,
"Smile for her. Really brightly. She said to tell her when Daddy's looking."
With that, she called out to Daeun.
"You can open your eyes now."
Instantly, Daeun opened her eyes, squinted a bit from the brightness, then spotted me.
Me, grinning ear to ear.
"Daddy!"
Excited at finding me, she waved wildly and finally faced the dress she was wearing.
The one full of my love for her, maybe.
She beamed!
She smiled at me again.
I gave her the most loving look in the world right back.
And just like that, I showed her my heart once more.
At that moment, Representative Yoon beside me asked,
"If I marry Officer Kim and have a kid, will I be able to smile like Painter Lee Kanghyeok?"
Cough, cough!
'W-what did she just say...!'
Representative Yoon hit me with another zinger.