Chapter 227
Chapter 227
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 227
Chapter Title: Daeun's Exhibition Frenzy
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I couldn't help but be shocked by President Jeong's story.
Who would have thought that most of the people here had come to see Daeun's artist exhibition.
No wonder there were more people than usual. There was a reason for it.
"Would you like to take a look at the article?"
With that, President Jeong showed me the article that Jungeun Park had posted yesterday.
There wasn't anything particularly special written in it.
It mentioned that this was probably the youngest solo exhibition in the country, including my name and Daeun's interview content.
And below that, the comments.
'Over a thousand.'
There were a whopping thousand comments.
The "youngest" title had certainly caught people's attention.
But the reaction that drew the most responses was the fact that all the works had sold out in just one day.
With the remaining period approaching, people were saying they wouldn't be able to see them anymore once it ended, so they had to visit the exhibition within the week.
A thousand comments saying exactly that.
"It's a huge hit, isn't it?"
"Yeah... I never imagined it would get this much reaction."
"I don't think you're the only one surprised, Painter Lee. I also thought there were a lot of visitors yesterday, but I didn't expect this kind of crowd. It seems Park the reporter's article really has influence. I plan to ask him for more coverage in the future."
More reaction than expected.
Just then, Daeun approached me with her face flushed bright red.
"Daddy! Did all these people come to see Daeun's pictures?"
"Yeah, everyone here came because they wanted to see Daeun's drawings."
"Wow! Daeun feels super good!"
Hugging her tight, she wriggled excitedly over and over.
I smiled back at her and asked President Jeong,
"By the way, with this many people, it must be chaotic even inside."
"That's exactly it. That's why I can't even go up and have to stay down here."
I glanced over.
At the escalator.
In case the surging crowd caused an accident.
The escalator going up was forcibly stopped.
Everyone was lining up on it, walking up very slowly.
Even if they made it up, could they actually get in right away?
"In a situation like this, I'm worried about whether we can even enter the exhibition hall."
At my words, President Jeong's eyes widened round.
"Why?"
"Well, obviously because of the number of people..."
"It's Daeun's artist exhibition."
"Yes."
"Does it make sense for the artist of her own exhibition not to be able to enter? If you want to go in, just say so. There's a back entrance, or if not, just say you're the artist and everyone will make way for you."
Gulp.
People would make way.
Well, reading the comments on the article, it seemed like they definitely would.
Since the article only had the interview without a photo, a lot of people were curious about Daeun's face.
It might be chaotic if we went up the main way, so maybe take the back route as President Jeong suggested...
"Daddy! It's Daeun's exhibition!"
"Yeah."
"Daeun wants to go up this way! Right now!"
...D-Daeun.
If we went up this way, we'd have to brace for quite a lot.
For example, being surrounded by an enormous crowd.
But Daeun really seemed to want to go up this way.
"How can I assist you?"
"You're going to help?"
"Yes, if Daeun and you, Painter Lee, are okay with it, I'll assign guards to escort you."
Even guards.
Did we really need to go that far?
But at Daeun's response, I could only give an awkward smile.
"Thank you!"
It looked like we'd have to head into the massive crowd after all.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
President Jeong's face was lit up with a smile that wouldn't fade.
He had mentioned the back way, but deep down, he probably wanted us to appear in front of the crowd.
Even if he denied it, today's star was Daeun, who had drawn all these people anyway.
"Shall we go, then?"
Men in suits emblazoned with the department store logo gathered around us.
At their movement, the gazes of everyone waiting to go up instantly focused on us.
"Who are those people? Celebrities?"
"Nah, doesn't look like celebrities. Never seen them before."
"But why do they have guards?"
"Wait, isn't that little girl the guy is holding—the Daeun Lee from the article?"
"Whoa! It's really her! Daeun Lee the painter! She's so cute!"
"Holy crap! The artist herself is here!"
Word that the artist had come in person started spreading from mouth to mouth.
It quickly reached the escalator and even upstairs.
Everyone looked at us.
And as if on cue, they began parting to make a path for us.
Under all those gazes, Daeun whispered,
"Daddy! Everyone's looking at us!"
"Of course. Daeun's the star today."
With guards surrounding us like this, it would be weirder if they didn't look.
Then, President Jeong, leading the way, spoke to the crowd.
"We're just going up for a moment."
And so, we slowly ascended the escalator in step.
With only room for two people, guards flanked us front and back, leaving the sides open.
Because of that, we inevitably brushed past people heading to the exhibition.
"Wow! I saw the article!"
"I'm so excited!"
"We'll enjoy it!"
"Thanks for drawing these!"
"She's really cute!"
"Did that kid actually draw these?"
"Amazing."
As we passed, people tossed out words of cheer one by one.
Daeun, cradled in my arms, tried her best to respond to each one.
"Thank you!"
"Daeun drew them!"
"Super super happy drawings!"
Even though no one would blame her for ignoring cheers while passing by.
I could feel Daeun's earnest heart.
By the time we reached the upper floor, greeting nonstop, she was panting a little.
And what she said was...
"Daddy! Daeun greeted everyone!"
"Good job."
"Really? Should Daeun say more?"
Her tension was a bit high from the hype, which worried me slightly.
But it was still better than being tense on the first day.
If she froze up from nerves, she couldn't do anything.
In a situation like this, high energy might actually be better.
Tap.
'Whew.'
Arriving upstairs, my breath caught.
The crowd below was just the tip of the iceberg.
Up here, it was packed so tight there was barely room to stand.
In this chaos, the exhibition hall...
'No joke.'
Maybe due to capacity limits, a long line snaked from the entrance.
One out, one in. Two out, two in.
In this setup, I wondered if everyone in line could see all the paintings today.
"Excuse us, coming through."
But President Jeong, intent on keeping his promise to guide us in, kept pushing through the crowd.
Tap.
And just like that, we reached the exhibition hall entrance.
That's when Daeun, still in my arms, spoke up.
"Daddy! Daeun has something to say to them! Put me down!"
"Yeah, putting you down now."
"Yeah! Put me down."
Well, we were almost there anyway, so no big deal.
What did she want to say?
I set Daeun down on the floor as she asked.
Then, suddenly, she bowed deeply toward the people in line and shouted,
"Daeun worked super hard on these drawings! Please look at Daeun's pictures!"
Her cry echoed through the quiet department store.
A moment later, as if responding to her call, the crowd shouted back.
"Will do!"
"We'll enjoy them!"
"Wow! So cute!"
"Thanks for the drawings!"
I felt chills run through my whole body without realizing it.
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We made it safely into the exhibition hall.
Inside, they were controlling entry at the door, so at least we could breathe.
Of course, that didn't mean it was empty.
It was filled to maximum capacity, so plenty of people.
"Please sign this!"
"Me too! A signature, please!"
"I became a total fan after seeing your work!"
"Your paintings are so cool! I fell in love with your art!"
Requests for signatures poured in, along with vivid reactions to the pieces.
Daeun looked thrilled, greeting each person one by one and scribbling her wiggly name on the papers they held out.
'Sometimes she really seems like an adult.'
She was only five, but it gave me this strange feeling, like she was already grown up.
She still had a long way to go before independence.
But someday, Daeun would leave my arms.
Once she hit elementary, middle, high school, and college, there wouldn't be time to chat like this.
She'd be busy with friends, and I'd be pushed aside at home.
Of course, I knew that was just the natural order of things.
But I was a dad.
Don't all fathers feel the same way?
Just then.
"Why are you acting up? Let's just look at the paintings and go."
"No! I wanna go play over there with Mari!"
"We've waited in this huge line, sweetie. Let's look a little and go."
"No!"
A mother's and child's voices rang out in the quiet exhibition hall.
At the unexpected child's outburst, everyone—visitors and even Daeun mid-signature—turned to look.
Maybe overwhelmed by the attention.
The mother kept bowing apologetically and said to the child,
"Fine, if you look at the paintings here, I'll buy you that toy you like."
"Really? A toy?"
"Yeah, we'll buy it right after. But no more fussing. Promise Mommy?"
"Okay! You'll buy it when we leave! Got it!"
"Sigh, alright. I'll buy it."
"Yay!"
It was a little boy.
He looked maybe one or two years older than Daeun at most.
Only after the toy promise did he settle down and wait quietly.
How long did they wait?
Finally, the mother and son entered the hall.
Maybe because of their earlier conversation, eyes naturally drifted their way.
They kept glancing at Daeun while she was being fussed over.
Then, something completely unexpected happened.
"Ugh! These paintings suck! They're so ugly! Why do we even have to look at this junk!"
It wasn't a full yell.
But the boy's voice carried clearly, as if spoken right next to everyone.
The visitors' faces crumpled.
Daeun looked at the boy who said it.
But the most flustered was the boy's mother.
"Hey, we had a deal. Why are you doing this?"
"Cuz they suck!"
"Shh! No toy if you keep it up."
The mood soured fast.
Finally, onlookers started chiming in.
"Ah, what the..."
"Why's that kid acting like that?"
"Seriously..."
One voice.
But to the mother and son, it felt like dozens of harsh words.
'What to do...'
Then, a guard handling entry approached the commotion.
"No disturbances here, please."
"Ah, s-sorry. He's not usually like this. W-we'll be quiet."
"Please do."
They got a warning.
But with the boy still uncalmed, the mother could only look helpless.
"Fine, let's go..."
Whether sensing her feelings or not.
The boy finally grinned.
"Yay!"
Just as they turned to leave the hall without properly viewing a single piece, hounded by stares.
Daeun approached the boy...
"Yeah, Daeun?"
She'd been right beside me moments ago—how'd she get there so fast?
Before I could stop her.
Daeun spoke to the boy.
Doing something totally unexpected.
"Hi! I'm Daeun Lee! What's your name?"