I Became an Artist in a Romantic Comedy-Chapter 110

The young teacher’s voice got the children moving in a hurry.

Some kids tried to grab the tools too quickly and hurt their hands, while others tripped and fell.

The atmosphere teetered on the edge of chaos, but the teacher calmly restored order.

‘This is the kind of moment where Uncle Hong Jin-Hoo would be perfect. Then all the crying and chaos would just—poof—disappear.’

Uncle Hong Jin-Hoo might have looked a little scary, but he had a soft heart. Like a gentle bear, I guess.

The teacher, still managing the children, suddenly picked up her phone and made a call.

Before long, another teacher entered the classroom.

The orphanage actually had several small classrooms like this one.

The male teacher who came to assist briefly made eye contact with us but only nodded awkwardly before moving on.

‘Why not just ask us for help?’

The thought crossed my mind naturally.

Standing us here like decorative plants and calling in another teacher instead was a bit much.

It didn’t make sense to me, but I kept my mouth shut. They say “wage thieves” are the best employees, after all, and I wasn’t going to complain if I wasn’t being given work.

I wouldn’t mind finding a quiet corner to scroll through my phone in peace.

As I was thinking that—

Tap, tap.

Lost in thought, I was staring at the ceiling’s seagull pattern when a little girl came up and tugged on my sleeve.

“Huh?”

She pulled at me gently, tilting her head to gesture for me to follow.

Not sure what was going on, I decided to just go with her. Behind me, the other students still stood around awkwardly like props, watching in curiosity as I was dragged away.

“Can Unnie come too?”

Hong Ye-Hwa seized the opportunity to ask the little girl a question.

Maybe because of how pretty she was, the girl stared at her in a daze for a moment.

“You’re so pretty…”

“Thanks. But can I come too?”

At her second question, the little girl nodded vigorously, then turned to me with a bright smile.

“Unnie, you’re coming too!”

“Huh? Uh, sure. Whatever you say.”

I nodded absentmindedly, and the little girl beamed.

I didn’t have anything better to do anyway. Playing around with a kid sounded more like a healing activity than work.

As Hong Ye-Hwa and I followed the girl, we grew smaller and smaller in the distance.

Seeing us leave, the other students hurried to join the kids’ groups too.

The group the little girl led me to was full of energy.

“Hello, Nuna!”

An older boy greeted me cheerfully.

“Eonni? Your hair’s red!”

A younger girl added her observation.

“Heehee.”

And, of course, the little girl who brought me here was also grinning brightly. This group had a much better vibe than the others.

Of course, the boy seemed to have zero interest in me, which was a little sad.

‘Too bad for you, Hong Ye-Hwa isn’t interested either.’

I almost said it out loud.

The girl pointed at a chair with her finger, signaling me to sit there.

After rolling my shoulders once, I sat down. The little girl plopped herself to my left, while Hong Ye-Hwa sat to my right.

“Even babies seem to fall for your face, Ha-Eun.”

If it weren’t for Hong Ye-Hwa’s teasing smile, I might have actually felt good about it.

“I mean, my face is pretty impressive.”

I replied with a deadpan expression, prompting her to look at me in exasperation.

“At least smile a little. All the kids are staring at you.”

“The boy’s staring at you, though.”

The girls were focused on me, while the boy was fixated on Hong Ye-Hwa. It was chaos.

I sighed inwardly and looked around. So… what now?

My question was quickly answered by a voice from the front.

“Is everyone ready?”

Ready for what?

I blinked in confusion. No one had told me anything.

Seeing my puzzled face, Hong Ye-Hwa leaned in and whispered in my ear.

“They announced it in the group chat yesterday. Didn’t you see it?”

“Oh. I have all my notifications turned off.”

“Classic Ha-Eun.”

She looked at me in disbelief, then briefly explained the task.

In short, we were supposed to help the kids draw whatever they wanted and encourage them. Like a manager buttering up their boss.

‘Not hard at all.’

Kids tend to brighten up with just a little praise. It was a ridiculously simple mission.

Once again, the teacher asked if everyone was ready, and the kids shouted back excitedly.

Thus began a miniature version of an art class.

It was painful to think of it as a group project, but that was for later.

For now, we just had to let the kids draw whatever they liked.

“I saw you on TV!”

“Me?”

“Yeah! They said you’re really famous.”

“Who did?”

“The teachers!”

The little girl tilted her head, her expression completely innocent. I just nodded vaguely.

Yesterday, when I first arrived here, a few of the staff members had looked at me with curious eyes.

To the kids, I probably seemed like a celebrity—someone they’d only heard about but never seen in person.

‘Then again… technically, I am a celebrity, aren’t I?’

I’ve been on broadcasts and in the media.

Thinking about it, I realized I was closer to being a celebrity than not. Still, my roots were in art, so it felt a bit regretful.

“The teachers said you’re really good at drawing!”

“Did they now.”

Leaning on my elbow with my chin in my hand, I glanced at the little girl.

But my eyes naturally shifted to her drawing.

“A rabbit?”

“…A cat.”

Her face immediately crumpled into an almost-tearful pout.

“…Here, let me.”

Sighing, I placed my hand gently over hers to guide her strokes.

A big hand covering a tiny one. Just enough pressure—neither too light nor too firm. The girl’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Done.”

In no time at all, the rabbit-like scribble transformed into a proud-looking cat.

The brush dried quickly, so I had to dip it in the water regularly. If you didn’t, the strokes would feel scratchy and rough.

So I guided her hand to dip the brush into the water again and again, even as droplets splashed onto my clothes.

But it was worth it for the kids’ enjoyment.

Before I knew it, another little girl had joined us, watching intently.

I held her hand, too, and guided her drawing.

Lost in the moment, I didn’t even realize what was going on around me.

I was too content to care.

***

‘Hmm. At this rate, their clothes are going to get soaked.’

Watching Lee Ha-Eun play around with the two girls was both soothing and slightly annoying.

I couldn’t explain why, but I felt a twinge of something—jealousy? No. That would mean I’ve already lost.

Hong Ye-Hwa let out a small sigh, then turned to speak to the boy who was looking at her with sparkling eyes.

“…Want to just draw whatever comes to mind?”

Her voice was a little awkward, but for her, that was a pretty decent attempt.

The only men she’d been around in her life were her father, Lee Ha-Eun, and Lee Ha-Eun’s friend, Lee Do-Yun.

For someone who barely interacted with men at all, this was undoubtedly a tough situation.

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‘Maybe I should just swap places with Ha-Eun…’

She glanced over at me, probably debating whether she should suggest switching seats.

Our eyes met.

His face, as tired as usual, seemed to have improved lately. It was a small miracle, really.

Smiling faintly, I tilted my head in question, as if to say, What’s wrong now?

Seeing that vacant, slightly dumbfounded look on his face, I couldn’t help but laugh softly.

“Wow… I didn’t even do anything. That kind of hurts.”

“Ha-Eun, want to switch seats?”

The boy next to me looked devastated, but unfortunately for him, no one noticed.

“Sure.”

Lee Ha-Eun nodded casually and got up from his seat.

I also stood up and moved over to sit with the girls.

“Hi.”

“Hello!”

Luckily, the two kids didn’t seem to mind my presence. I couldn’t say the same for the other side, though.

“You don’t like having a guy here?”

Lee Ha-Eun smirked, chuckling to himself. Beside him, the boy looked like his entire world had crumbled.

I stared at Ha-Eun’s grin for a moment before turning away with a small smile of my own.

Work is work. I’d do my best.

For some reason, I felt really good today.

***

After the kids had left, with only the teachers and students remaining…

“Great job today! You must’ve been tired keeping up with the kids.”

A warm-looking older woman entered and handed out a light snack.

Since this was a state-run orphanage, the staff and facilities were well managed.

After some time, as lunchtime approached, the rest of the students got up and left the classroom.

They didn’t have anything else to do, so they were heading back.

However, two people stayed in their seats.

After asking the teachers a couple of questions, they received a cheerful reply.

“Well, can we stay here a bit longer? I’d like to use the leftover paint and draw a few things.”

“Oh, of course! Ha-Eun, your art would make such a lovely decoration for our orphanage!”

Apparently, the teachers had no objections, and they even seemed happy about it.

Hong Ye-Hwa and I moved to the back of the now-quiet classroom and began drawing.

We’d already filled up on snacks, so skipping lunch wasn’t an issue.

Though at one point, Hong Ye-Hwa’s stomach let out a loud growl.

I pretended not to hear it and focused on my painting.

‘Not that I’m drawing anything particularly impressive.’

It wasn’t like I was putting any real effort into it; it was the same kind of casual sketches I did during broadcasts.

“Ha-Eun.”

“Hm? What?”

After dipping my brush into the water and stretching, I turned to look at her.

“Do you want me to help you with your drawing?”

Smiling as she offered, I let out a small laugh and shrugged.

“That would be an honor.”

A faint blush appeared on her cheeks, her face softening into a warm, playful smile. It was nice to see.

And so began Hong Ye-Hwa’s one-on-one art lesson.

In the quiet, warm classroom…

It was fun.

That’s how I’ll remember it.