Chapter 187
Chapter 187
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 187
Chapter Title: Shabu-Shabu and the Special Lecture
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As we left the Baby Dinosaur Museum, I asked,
"Daeun, did you have fun?"
"Yeah! Tons!"
Daeun's smile brought one to my face too, and I said,
"Then since we had such a blast playing, let's go grab some food."
"Yeah! Shabu-shabu! Mommy wuvs it!"
"Yeah, what'd you say?"
"Shabu-shabu! Mommy's fave!"
Shabu-shabu, huh.
Her adorable pronunciation made me chuckle as I nodded.
"Right, let's go get some shabu-shabu."
And so we piled into Minji's car and headed to a shabu-shabu place just five minutes away.
We arrived and were able to sit right down at the table Minji had reserved.
Who would've thought she'd even made a reservation.
Impressed by her thorough preparation, I smiled and asked,
"I had no idea you'd reserved a spot."
"You'd know if you worked at a school too. You kinda have to do things like this."
"Ah... yeah."
Was it weird that I instantly got what she meant?
As Minji explained, I glanced over the menu.
"This place looks exactly the same as before."
"Yeah, it's pretty famous. The front's all you saw last time, but they've expanded to the back because business is booming."
"Got it."
Looking up at the back as she said that, I spotted a new hallway that hadn't been there before.
"Then we'll get the group shabu-shabu set. Speak up if you want anything else. I'm buying today."
Jungeun Park asked Minji in a slightly worried tone,
"But aren't you going overboard today? Dinner for this many won't be cheap."
"It's fine today."
"Fine today? What does that mean?"
At his question, Minji grinned and pulled a card she'd been carefully keeping in her pocket.
"When I said I'd be eating with Daeun, the professor gave me this card and told me to treat us to something nice."
"The professor did?"
"Yeah. She said she really wants to eat with Daeun but things have been so hectic she can't make it. So she just sent the card instead."
Haha, that sounded just like the professor.
No wonder Minji had been so confident. There was a good reason for it.
A sudden thought slipped out of me in a mumble.
"But this isn't some groundwork to get me to do that special lecture, is it?"
"Uh, yeah."
"What was that reaction?"
Earlier in the car, Minji had said they were still deciding who to invite for the lecture.
But her reaction just now made it feel like my name had already come up in discussions.
So I asked again.
"No way this is really that, right?"
"Ah, no. The professor really just couldn't make it herself..."
"Not even 1%?"
"...Well, maybe 1%."
Ha, seriously!
I'd just tossed it out there as a random thought, but it turned out to be spot on.
"So if I eat this, I have to do the lecture?"
Minji gave an awkward smile and said,
"But didn't you already agree to it earlier?"
I had reluctantly said yes because of Daeun's pleading.
Even so, I needed time to mentally prepare.
It felt like things were heading that way no matter what.
"But it's not really just for that reason. The professor just asked me to sound you out. It's not like she's buying dinner solely to rope you in."
"Really?"
"Really. You've been around the professor so long—how can you not know her by now?"
True. From what I knew of the professor's personality, she wasn't one for sneaky backroom deals.
She was the type to be upfront about it.
"Fine, then let's just eat. I'm starving after all that fun at the Baby Dinosaur Museum."
Daeun shot her hand up and chimed in,
"Daeun hungwy too!"
"Got it. I'll order right away."
Minji rang the bell to place the order, and soon after,
Delicious-looking food was laid out before us.
The broth looked rich at a glance, paired with fresh vegetables.
And today's star, the beef, filled the plates to the brim.
Daeun, who'd been eyeing the food, asked with a hint of confusion,
"Daddy!"
"Yeah?"
"Is this weally Mommy's fave?"
Yeah.
Judging by how much her eyes were trembling, something seemed off.
I asked again.
"What's wrong? Weird?"
Still staring at the food with shaking eyes, Daeun said,
"Daeun not wabbit!"
"Yeah, ra, rabbit?"
"Daeun caarnivore!"
Ah!
I finally got why she'd reacted that way.
The uncooked veggies on the table must've thrown her off.
I started to explain with a laugh, but then...
Heh.
A mischievous urge struck, and I said,
"You didn't know, Daeun?"
"Know what?"
"Mommy's actually a bunny."
Tremble.
Beam.
Daeun's face turned utterly adorable.
The next day.
Ding-dong.
While working in the studio with Daeun, I got a text from Minji.
It was about the special lecture.
'Next Wednesday? That's such a tight schedule.'
It was Saturday today.
Next Wednesday left precious little time to prepare.
She'd said they usually gave at least a week, two at most, notice.
But with graduation exhibitions and no luck finding a lecturer, things had been delayed repeatedly.
In the end, they'd turned to me for help when they couldn't find anyone else.
Bzzz-!
My phone vibrated with an incoming call.
It was Professor Im Hayoung.
"Ah, Professor, hello."
I picked up, and her voice came through the receiver, brimming with delight.
-Thanks, Kanghyeok. You've really saved me.
I smiled faintly at her tone and said,
"I hope I'm not being a bother..."
-What are you talking about? Don't you know how inspiring you are to the students? Just you showing up will be a huge lesson for them.
"Me, really?"
Even if I was helping, wasn't this going too far?
But the professor seemed to genuinely believe it.
-Our school's alum, the legendary Painter Kanghyeok Lee, coming to give a special lecture? Who wouldn't love that? Right?
"I'm not quite at legendary status..."
-Yeah, yeah, you'll see for yourself when you get here. No use me telling you.
Why did that sound even scarier?
Still, since the professor was insisting that much,
I figured there wasn't much to worry about, and asked,
"But what should I teach the students in the lecture?"
-Hmm, that's your area, but they've already covered plenty of drawing techniques in regular classes. Maybe share something from the professional side? That could be helpful.
Nod.
That did seem like it'd grab their interest.
From the students' perspective, real-world practical stuff would be way more intriguing than theory.
"Got it. I'll prepare some material on professional work and bring it along."
-Good. Don't overthink it—just come, chat with the students, and go. Nice and easy. Got it? Oh, and make sure to bring Daeun on lecture day.
She hadn't said it outright, but the professor clearly missed Daeun too.
"Yes, understood."
-See you at the lecture then.
"Yes, see you next Wednesday."
Click.
After hanging up, I looked over at Daeun, who was painting.
'Hmm, professional stuff, huh...'
I had a rough idea of what to talk about, but for a lecture, I'd need basic materials at least.
With that in mind, I pulled out the laptop I'd brought from home just in case and powered it on.
Last time I'd used it was to email Representative Yoon, so two months had passed already.
I turned it on and launched PowerPoint to make lecture slides.
'Ah, feels a bit awkward after so long.'
Back in university, I'd lived on PowerPoint for presentation classes.
How long had it been since I'd touched it?
'Hope I still have some old templates. That'd make it quick.'
If there were basic ones, I could tweak them easily.
So I checked my old files one by one, just in case.
That's when.
'Huh?'
One PowerPoint file caught my eye in the recent documents list.
The date showed it'd been made while I was in a vegetative state in the hospital.
'Did Hyorin make this?'
What was it for?
Curiosity piqued, I opened the file she'd created.
The contents on the screen shocked me.
'This is all about me.'
Hyorin's PowerPoint detailed my whereabouts after university graduation.
In excruciating detail, no less.
Three days flew by, and the morning of the special lecture dawned.
I'd already been tossing and turning at the thought of it, but something made it worse.
A phone call first thing in the morning.
-Kanghyeok! I'll be your chauffeur for the day!
"As if I don't know your shallow tricks."
-Ehehe! That's what friends are for—helping each other out like this.
"Help? Who's helping who? Me or you?"
-Don't be so cold over something like that. We scratch each other's backs. I drive you around, and you give me a scoop.
Sheesh, he was so upfront about it, I had nothing to say.
It suddenly hit me—there might be another reason Jungeun was so eager to tag along.
"Hey, be honest. You're using me as an excuse to see Minji, aren't you?"
-Wif... wif... wifey... ju... just... tu... tunnel...!
Click.
"Ha!"
Whoa, dodging it like that?
I had to admit, his crisis management skills were top-notch.
Come to think of it, it was hard to believe he was just after a scoop.
He could've gotten the story without coming along.
Still, I had no intention of stopping him.
With him driving, Daeun and I could head to school comfortably.
Plus, having him there might make me less nervous.
'Alright, time for me to get ready too.'
I hung up, quickly washed up, and prepped to head out.
Meanwhile, Daeun was rustling around at her desk with something, but I needed to get myself ready first.
Then I'd help her.
Whirr-!
I dried my wet hair and pondered what to wear.
It was a special lecture, after all—I couldn't show up looking sloppy.
I pulled out a suit I'd bought before and stood in front of the mirror.
'Hmm... feels a bit too formal.'
But I didn't have anything else suitable.
'No choice, I guess.'
Decision made, I straightened my clothes and approached Daeun, who was still rustling away by herself.
Just then, Daeun beamed and shouted,
"All done!"
"Huh? Done with what?"
Curious at her sudden yell, I asked, and she grinned wide.
"Daeun packed all her stuff!"
"Your stuff?"
"Yeah! Wook, bag!"
I'd wondered what she was up to—she'd been packing for the lecture trip.
Her initiative made me curious.
What on earth was in that bag slung over her shoulder?
Maybe her painting supplies?
"Daeun, can Daddy take a peek in your bag?"
"Yeah! Peek away!"
She thrust the bag forward.
I opened it with an intrigued look.
"Hmm... You were gonna bring these?"
It was stuffed full of stuffed animals.
"Daeun gonna show Daddy's stuffy fwiends to Daddy! Daddy supew supew special teacher! Magic!"