Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Memories of the Emotional Painting
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Thanks to Daeun, the studio instantly turned into a sea of laughter.
"Too cute!"
"Aww! My heart hurts."
Maybe it was because it was something only a child could do, but smiles naturally spread across everyone's faces.
Even Professor Im Hayoung was no exception.
"Daeun must be curious about what kind of assignment I gave."
"Yes! Super duper curious!"
"Should I tell just Daeun, then?"
Rustle.
Soon, Daeun glanced over at us.
She had to know everyone was curious, and right as we wondered how she'd respond...
"Please tell it just to Daeun!"
"But really, everyone else is curious too."
Rustle.
At the question, Daeun looked at me and answered.
"Yes! Daeun will be the only one listening!"
"Can I ask why you want to hear it alone?"
At Daeun's following words, I blinked.
"Because Mommy might get embarrassed!"
"Yeah."
"What?"
Mom might get embarrassed?
I urgently asked Daeun what that meant.
"What do you mean by that?"
"No way! That's a secret!"
"Secret?"
A secret—she showed she absolutely wouldn't tell by covering her own mouth with her hand.
That's when the professor, belatedly understanding Daeun's words, spoke up.
"Ah, yeah. She might get embarrassed."
"What do you mean by that?"
When I asked in surprise, the professor smiled brightly and said,
"You haven't changed a bit since back then. You're exactly the same."
"Yeah?"
"Do you remember what assignment I gave you back then?"
Of course I did. Daeun had brought back those old memories, after all.
"Yes, you assigned us to paint a picture infused with emotion."
The assignment Professor Im Hayoung had given me was none other than to bring in a painting infused with emotion.
Back then, was there any task harder for me than that?
Apparently, Hyorin, who was listening beside me, felt exactly the same.
"To paint a picture infused with emotion?"
Not me, but Hyorin beside me was more shocked by the professor's words.
"Why are you so surprised?"
"You always struggled with putting emotion into your paintings. That's why."
Anyone would think she was my manager.
Somehow, we'd started hanging out from the beginning of the semester, and our relationship had continued to this day.
If this was fate, then it was fate.
"Struggling to put emotion into paintings... Is that really true?"
At the professor's question, I shook my head with a slightly stiff expression.
"It's not that bad."
"If it's not that bad, doesn't that still mean you struggle?"
It felt like she'd hit the nail on the head, but out of pride, I didn't want to admit it.
But the professor's reaction was odd.
"That's strange... You were good at it."
"Yes?"
Good at it?
I'd barely attended her classes after the beginning of the semester..., so she wouldn't have had a chance to see.
Even so, the professor still looked puzzled.
"Maybe you just don't know how to express it. Anyway, my assignment is this: If you paint it well and bring it in, your absences and tardies won't count. But if you're fine with an F, then don't bother. The choice is yours, Kanghyeok. I'll be looking forward to it."
Creak.
With that, the professor turned and left the studio.
As I quietly watched her retreating figure...
"Whew, this is bad."
Hyorin let out a deep sigh.
"There's plenty of bad stuff coming."
Honestly, it would be nice if the absences didn't count, but even if they did, it didn't matter.
But Hyorin didn't seem to think that way.
"You're really... Still, the professor gave you this chance thinking of you. Why are you only thinking about skipping it?"
"It's not that I plan to skip..."
"That's the same thing. You're thinking you'll just take the absences and be done with it."
Wow, she's sharp.
But I didn't admit to thinking that.
"No, I'm not thinking that."
At my words, Hyorin widened her eyes and asked back.
"You're really going to try painting it?"
"Uh, what?"
"You just said you're going to paint!"
"When did I..."
"You did, just now! I definitely heard you say you're going to paint."
No, I really never said that.
But Hyorin seemed to interpret my words as agreeing to paint.
"You made the right choice. Really, the right choice."
"Ah, no, I..."
Worried the misunderstanding would deepen, I tried to stop her.
"I'll help you."
"Huh?"
"I'll help you put emotion into your painting."
How? Exactly how was she going to help me?
"The professor said it too. That you're good, Kanghyeok. Since the professor said it, you can definitely do it."
No matter what, if I myself couldn't infuse emotion into paintings, how could I succeed at the assignment?
Even if Hyorin helped... it would be a waste of time.
I knew that better than anyone, so I shook my head to tell Hyorin. Or at least, I tried to.
But seeing her slightly excited expression, I couldn't say a word.
"For a painting, a landscape is best, right? Since you're painting anyway, somewhere with good air and clean water. Ah! I know a place—it's so pretty. How about tomorrow? It's about an hour by bus from here. Let's go together. We might get hungry, so I should pack some kimbap too!"
Was this an assignment trip or a picnic?
The conversation felt like it was veering off track, but since Hyorin's destination seemed to be out in the mountains and fields anyway...
Hyorin beamed at me and asked.
"Yeah? You have time tomorrow, right? You'll go with me?"
At her words, I couldn't possibly refuse.
In the end, I nodded helplessly.
"Got it. I'll go."
Rustle.
I awkwardly smiled at the uncomfortably close faces of Eunbi Kim and Haeun Park and pushed them away.
"You're too close."
Realizing their mistake, the two hurried back to their spots and asked.
"So?"
"So what?"
"No, you said you went the next day, right? Did you go?"
It had started with the professor's story, but she couldn't tell what happened after receiving the assignment.
So I'd taken over the story and continued.
"It's not that special..."
"Ah! That's what you think, sunbae. We're curious!"
"Super curious! Like, really really curious. This raw love story from college... Ugh, it excites tired students!"
Raw love story?
I didn't remember anything that special worthy of that label.
Just...
Smile.
'Fun, I guess.'
That day's memory was like a fragment of a pleasant old feeling that lingered.
And that memory stayed in my heart very comfortably.
"Tell us!"
"Yes! We want to hear!"
Normally, Aram Go would be the one stepping in to rein them in from the sidelines.
But she must have wanted to hear my story too.
She stood by the others, looking at me with expectant eyes.
With these three in front of me, I turned to Daeun beside me and asked.
"Daeun, but earlier you said not to tell because Mommy would be embarrassed. Is it okay to tell now?"
At my question, Daeun fidgeted uncomfortably.
"Ugh, nooo... Mommy will be super embarrassed..."
Daeun seemed to want to hear the story too.
The urge to protect Mom versus the desire to hear the story.
"I-It's okay!"
In the end, curiosity won the battle.
Smile.
"It's fine to tell."
"Yeah! M-Mommy said it's okay!"
It felt like she'd compromised with herself, but if my memory was right, there was nothing that embarrassing.
So I started the story without any burden.
"Alright, now that we have Daeun's permission too. Picking up where we left off—ah! Starting from the moment we got off the bus should work."
I recalled that moment from the past and spun the tale.
As if inviting everyone into the memory I shared with Hyorin.
Screech.
The bus dropped us off in a certain village in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province.
As the doors opened and we stepped down, we were first greeted not by paved asphalt, but by an unpaved road covered in sand.
Vroom!
The bus left us behind and went on its way, allowing me to take in the scenery of the place Hyorin had brought me to.
"Wow, what's this place?"
Two large mountains stood behind the village, and below them, the rice paddies and fields stretched out, growing diligently even now to bear fruit.
And the cozy little houses dotting the scene.
But this picturesque landscape had its crowning jewel.
That was...
"What do you think? Cool, right? I especially love that tree. Every time I come, it feels like it's welcoming me."
Nod.
I understood what Hyorin meant.
It was what you'd call a village guardian tree.
Standing like a dignified official at the village entrance, guarding the whole place—it was very striking.
But...
'Hmm.'
Something about this guardian tree felt different.
Hard to explain precisely, but... it felt like the tree was looking at me. At us.
"Want to look around first?"
"Uh, sure."
With those words, Hyorin pulled me away from the tree and began guiding me around the village.
I wondered if a small village like this had much to see.
"There's a stream here."
"Yeah, I don't remember everything exactly, but in spring, frogs are everywhere here. And isn't this alley super pretty?"
"Oh, yeah, it is."
"I love walking this path. Ah! Let's check this way too."
Hyorin guided us around the village with the bright expression of a kid showing off a favorite toy.
Following her, we toured the whole village and settled in one spot.
We'd climbed a bit up the hill behind, arriving at a spot straight out of a fairy tale.
Looking down from the back hill at our cozy village.
"What do you think? Pretty village, huh?"
"Yeah, I get why you wanted to come here."
If such a place existed, I'd recommend it to others too.
"But how do you know this place? Is it your hometown?"
Hyorin gazed down at the village as she spoke.
"Hmm, not sure if it's my hometown."
"You're not sure?"
"Yeah, it's just in my memories."
What did that mean? Right then...
Hyorin started sharing stories she never usually told.
"I'm actually an orphan."
"......"
It was the first time I'd heard this. I never imagined Hyorin was an orphan.
"I must have been about five when I went into the orphanage. I don't remember anything back then—I just stayed locked in my room crying all day. Too young for other memories..."
Hyorin continued her story, looking down at the guardian tree with a wistful expression.
"But my memories of playing here with that tree and in this village are crystal clear. So back in high school, I think, I searched every guardian tree in the country to find this place."
She didn't say it outright, but the message came through clearly: and that's how she found it.
Her story sparked a sudden curiosity.
'Why is she telling me this?'
Right then.
Rustle.
Hyorin looked at me and said,
"So, here's the thing—could you capture these feelings of mine in a painting? So I can pull out the memory of this place anytime."
Hyorin wasn't asking me to paint my emotions—she wanted me to paint hers.
Asking someone like me, who struggled to capture even my own emotions, to capture someone else's.
But I couldn't refuse Hyorin's request.
Nod.
"I'll give it a try."
Because I understood all too well what she meant by it.