Chapter 213
Chapter 213
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 213
Chapter Title: A Name Revealed
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The director asked for his name.
That meant she liked Horyeong's painting.
Maybe others wouldn't know, but Aram Go seemed to understand exactly what the director's question implied.
She bit down hard on her lower lip.
At that moment, Horyeong quietly stated his name.
"I'm Ahn Horyeong."
"Ahn Horyeong—are you an alum?"
"Yes..."
"And you submitted your graduation piece?"
"Yes, it should be there somewhere."
"Ah... I see."
Her "somewhere" suggested she had more to say, but she held back from asking.
After that exchange, no further conversation passed between them.
Everyone—from the students who'd come to rest to the others—just stood there watching us paint.
About thirty minutes later, Minji snapped out of it and spoke up.
"Come on, everyone, head to the exhibition hall. What are you all doing out here?"
"Oh, right..."
We'd completely forgotten about the exhibition, lost in appreciating Horyeong's painting.
At Minji's words, the students finally tore themselves away with reluctant steps, leaving just three people behind.
The director, Aram Go, and Professor Kwon, who had arrived at the studio late.
"Huh? What are you all doing here?"
"Oh, we were just looking at the painting."
"Oh, Horyeong! You were here?"
The professor approached with a smile as he said it, then gazed at Horyeong's painting, the one the other two had been studying.
A bright smile spread across his face.
"Nicely done."
Just one word of praise: "Nicely done."
But that single phrase carried layers of meaning.
To Horyeong, though, it seemed to hit differently.
"Really? You've never said that to me before."
"Because you've never done it well before."
"But why now...?"
"Because it's good now."
Horyeong glanced back at his painting again.
I hadn't seen Horyeong's work yet, since he was painting mine.
But if the professor was saying this, there had to be a real change.
I wondered just how different it was from before.
"Hoo..."
Surrounded by these reactions, Horyeong seemed even more tense than earlier.
The director looked at the two of them and said,
"Shall we give them some space? It feels like we're stopping them from painting."
"Oh, is that so? Sure, let's go."
"Aram, you too."
"Yes, Aunt..."
The director and the professor chatted as they left the studio.
Aram Go was the last to go.
She couldn't tear her eyes from Horyeong's painting until finally, with a sigh, she exited the studio.
The whirlwind of events had left me dazed.
But Horyeong...
He seemed different.
What was it? His face now brimmed with even more fighting spirit than before.
He looked at me and Daeun, then said,
"I'll paint hard."
It was hard to believe this was the same Horyeong who'd tossed aside his canvas and lounged at the easel, wasting time.
"Daeun did her best too!"
"Then I guess I have to step it up."
What mattered was the mindset, after all.
We bumped fists with each other and got back to painting.
Had two hours passed?
Honestly, finishing a painting in a single day like this was exhausting.
I'd rushed the underlayers, but perfecting the details took time.
Plus, my focus had slipped quite a bit.
But apparently, I was the only one struggling.
"All done!"
"Yeah, she finished."
"I've finished too!"
"Yes, Horyeong did as well."
Wow, what kind of concentration is that?
I stood up in disbelief and walked behind Daeun to check her work.
I had to admit it when I saw it.
"Wow, you really finished."
Sure, it needed some fine-tuning, but Daeun's painting was basically complete.
No—even without those touches, it was already stunning.
The painting she'd made for Horyeong was none other than a radiant smile.
A short-haired girl who looked just like Daeun beamed brightly, making anyone who saw it smile involuntarily.
"Amazing."
"Really."
"Yeah, for real."
After confirming Daeun's piece, I moved to check Horyeong's.
And finally, the mystery of everyone's reactions was solved.
In the middle of a flower-filled field stood a magnificent windmill.
It was vibrant without being gaudy, the colors rich but not overdone.
Even rushed, not a single stroke felt sloppy.
A true work of art.
"What do you think?"
To his slightly hesitant question, I laughed a bit hollowly and replied,
"Guess motivation really is key, huh."
"Yeah."
At that moment, Daeun came flying over and peered at Horyeong's painting.
She gasped in surprise.
"Wow! Uncle! Daeun is super shocked! You really painted this for Daeun!"
The emotion in the painting.
Daeun was reading the feelings embedded within it.
Horyeong scratched the back of his head at her words.
"Praise like that is embarrassing."
"No need to be embarrassed. This is your work, Horyeong."
Then, a good idea struck me.
"Or how about this?"
"What? What is it?"
"We've already painted them. Why not ask the professor and exhibit it? I checked earlier—the space is plenty open, so adding one more shouldn't be an issue."
It was a joint exhibition for the students anyway.
And exhibitions like this fell entirely under the professor's discretion.
If he approved, hanging it up would be no problem.
The studio door slid open, and Professor Kwon entered.
"Of course you can hang it."
"Pr-Professor!"
"Ah, you startled me. I came to grab something from the office and heard voices, so I popped in."
He stepped inside and examined Horyeong's finished painting.
Then he repeated himself.
"Nicely done."
"Th-thank you."
"This might actually be better to display. But there's one issue."
An issue?
"What is it?"
"Your original piece. Replacing it is fine, but hanging two might not fit the format."
At that, Horyeong shot to his feet.
"Oh, that's no problem. The one that's up already, I was just going to thr—"
He stopped mid-sentence, turning to look at Daeun.
Something shifted in his expression, and he changed his words.
"I'll keep the original one stored separately."
"Well, in that case, swap it out."
We'd unintentionally gotten approval.
"Let's go hang it, then."
I'd planned to ask permission anyway.
This worked out perfectly.
"Yes, Professor."
We hurried to the exhibition hall.
'Whoa, most people have left.'
It was past 4 p.m. now, so yeah, whoever was going to leave had left.
Most visitors here weren't really there for the art—they came to see the students who'd painted it.
Still, maybe because it was the first day, about half remained.
As we entered the hall, people swarmed over.
Mostly students, who bombarded Horyeong with questions upon seeing the painting he carried.
"What? Did you finish it?"
"You're hanging this?"
"Wow... you actually completed a painting?"
It was worth the shock.
A piece that usually took months, done in just hours.
Then Aram Go asked with a serious expression.
"You're really hanging that?"
Horyeong nodded slightly.
"Yeah, planning to."
"What about the original?"
"I'll take it down."
"Oh... you're taking it down."
Maybe because I knew her usual self, but...
This side of Aram Go felt utterly unfamiliar.
She hadn't smiled once while asking.
Meanwhile, Professor Kwon arrived and said,
"Alright, take down the original and put this one up."
"Yes, Professor."
At his words, Horyeong swiftly removed the wooden landscape that had been there and hung the new painting.
Did the commotion draw eyes?
People wandering the hall flocked to Horyeong's spot.
They all reacted with awe.
"Wow, this painting is awesome."
"Yeah, what is this? Did you just hang it?"
"There was an artist like this?"
The viewers buzzed with activity.
Some frantically made calls; others whispered among themselves.
Then one person asked,
"Excuse me, where's the student who painted this?"
"Oh, that'd be me."
"Ah, could I get your name?"
"M-me?"
"I'll take one too, please."
Do all art lovers have the same eyes?
Everyone viewed Horyeong's work positively.
Except for one person.
'Hm.'
Aram Go alone watched the scene with a stiff expression.
That's when the director, who'd stayed by my side, spoke up.
"You did well."
"Yes."
"That's your piece, isn't it, Kanghyeok?"
Minji couldn't have told her.
She really did have a sixth sense.
"I'd noticed the original one hanging there before. Guess it really was from a talented guy."
I just gave an awkward smile.
I hadn't taught him anything special, after all.
"I didn't do much. Horyeong's just good."
"A small realization can change someone's life. Like it did for you, Kanghyeok."
"Me?"
At my question, the director gazed back at Horyeong's painting and continued.
"Yeah. Back then, your pieces were full of that emotion too. The kind you pour in when painting for Hyorin."
My paintings always had Hyorin in them.
In a way, she was right.
Her words made me glance worriedly at Horyeong.
"But that's actually what concerns me a bit."
"What?"
"It's odd comparing us, but back then, I had Hyorin."
Sure, we'd been apart for a long time after graduation.
But Hyorin was always in my heart.
That's what let me paint like that.
Horyeong was different from me.
But...
"I don't think that's something to worry about."
The director saw it differently.
"Why not?"
"Because he's finally made up his mind."
"Made up his mind?"
She pointed to one spot.
There stood Aram Go, her face full of anxiety...
'No, wait.'
The tension from before was gone. She was smiling.
Brightly, as if relieved.
Then the director dropped a total bombshell.
"You didn't know, huh."
"Know what?"
"His name's Horyeong, right?"
Her next words left my jaw on the floor.
"I think Aram likes him."
"What?!"