I Became an Artist in a Romantic Comedy-Chapter 117

Unfortunately, I couldn’t join the student council. There was only half a year left. What was the point of joining now? And seniors couldn’t even join…

Because of this, the student council was disappointed, but they had to let me go.

Throughout the semester, I hung out with the others and spent time with my family.

Occasionally, I went on business trips to Drawing Korea, at the request of Uncle Hong Jin-Hoo. However, the tasks weren’t particularly difficult, so it was fine.

That being said, not everything was uneventful.

There were a few pieces of good news.

First, a new member had joined the Hong family. Hong Ye-Hwa had gained a younger sibling.

“Wow… that’s impressive.”

“Ahem. Be quiet.”

Raising a baby at that age must have been tough. I couldn’t help but admire Uncle Hong Jin-Hoo’s abilities.

Of course, Hong Ye-Hwa’s mother had complained a bit, saying she might need to be hospitalized again. But she had gotten much healthier and only needed to be hospitalized when giving birth.

The second piece of good news was that Lee Ji-Cheol’s granddaughter, Lee Soo-Rin, was getting married.

It was an arranged marriage, but they apparently fell in love at first sight when they met. As a gesture of congratulations, I sent them a painting.

It wasn’t a particularly good painting, just a portrait of the bride and groom. But they seemed happy with it, so I was relieved.

“I’ll miss her a lot. Chairman.”

“Recently, I’ve been practicing shooting. I’ve become quite curious about how strong my granddaughter’s husband is.”

“Chairman, people die when they’re shot.”

“Well, isn’t that just common sense?”

“?”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

Anyway, there it was. I wished good fortune to Lee Soo-Rin’s future husband. Of all people, he had to mess with that person’s granddaughter.

I didn’t know if he’d end up as a murder victim or run off for a romantic escape, but I hoped everything would be fine.

The third bit of news was related to me.

“Hmm. You seem to be fine. Maybe we can stretch the checkup intervals a bit. Have you been eating wild ginseng lately?”

“Even if there’s wild ginseng, I don’t think I’d eat it, but it’s good to hear that I’m getting better.”

The specialist was impressed as they checked my health. I’d been eating well and sleeping well lately, so I felt lighter.

“You didn’t show any progress for a while, but you’ve gotten much healthier recently.”

“It’s pure luck.”

It’s not like I’m completely healthy, but I’m probably at a better level than before. Or maybe not.

So, in the second semester, there were some pieces of good news. Of course, there were also some complaints from others.

“Ugh! I’m seriously exhausted!”

“The painting you chose, do it like you said!”

Teacher Lee Ah-Reum had recently gone overseas again and came back. She had gone to see [Paradise] once.

The [Paradise] in Atlantis had become popular, and under Teacher Lee Ah-Reum’s leadership, the viewing was allowed.

The fee for that was naturally high, which made Teacher Lee Ah-Reum, who was already wealthy, even richer.

And there was someone else who was complaining.

“The disciple you chose. Ack—.”

“Enough. Don’t annoy me and stay quiet.”

It was my mentor. I had no idea how they managed to gather the remaining masterpieces, but there were a total of six masterpieces hidden in Korea.

The government knew about it, and it was impossible to secretly transport them.

As a result, most of the news in the second semester revolved around the meetings between countries involved with the masterpieces. Since I didn’t know much about this, I simply watched from the sidelines.

Was it the Chairman’s help, or was it my mentor’s skill? I couldn’t say.

But in the end, my mentor was put in charge of managing all six masterpieces. I had visited them a few times to say hi, and now, I was sitting behind my mentor, making sarcastic remarks.

“Well, eventually, my mentor will step away from this.”

They couldn’t manage these paintings alone, so they would probably pass them on to the government or other countries. Of course, that would only be possible when it was safe to do so.

After all, Korea had already sold [Gumiho] to Japan.

For the time being, my mentor would be in charge.

I stood up from my seat, leaving my mentor behind, who was still troubled by all of this.

I suddenly remembered there was something I needed to do today. I’d forgotten about it.

‘Ugh. I feel like I’m going to get another round of scolding.’

Despite my worries, my feet moved steadily, and I walked toward my destination.

It wasn’t far, so I didn’t use public transportation.

And where I arrived was, of course, my mentor’s traditional Korean house. The tiled house on the mountain.

The evening glow was already starting, signaling the approach of night.

Considering the appointment was at 3 PM, I realized it was quite late.

A cold sweat ran down the back of my neck.

‘Stay calm. Pretend like nothing’s wrong.’

Carefully, I moved forward, telling myself that since it was already late, I might as well walk confidently.

“Get down.”

Tears or sweat, I couldn’t tell what it was, but it fell from my eyes. As a result, I ended up in an embarrassing situation on the floor.

Even with Choi Ye-Seo’s fierce glare, I tried to avoid eye contact and played it off nonchalantly.

“Haha... I didn’t mean to be late.”

“That’s a cowardly excuse!”

“Little sister...”

The people gathered here were me, Ha-Soo-Yul, Choi Ye-Seo, Hong Ye-Hwa, Lee Ha-Yoon, and even Teacher Lee Ah-Reum.

I was the only guy left, but when it came to dinner, there was nothing I could do.

Since I’d arrived late, I figured I might as well feel guilty, but at least they let me use the chopsticks.

Anyway, the reason we were all gathered here wasn’t anything special. It was just to have a final party for our high school days.

The second semester was coming to an end.

‘I should’ve called Lee Do-Yoon too.’

I sighed inwardly as I looked at the table in front of me. All the food here had been prepared by Teacher Lee Ah-Reum herself.

Pork neck, pork belly, and beef.

I wondered if we could eat all of this, but my eyes naturally turned to the three girls.

‘Maybe it’ll still be too little.’

Why don’t they gain weight? Where does all the food go...

I quickly stopped myself from staring. It was a bit much.

After eating dinner, it was almost time to sleep, which was unfortunate, but it was time to rest.

Of course, since I was the only guy, I thought about going home, but I couldn’t do that.

‘Everything’s fine, but... isn’t it a bit weird to sleep in the same room with them?’

Even with those vague thoughts, I sighed as I was pulled along by their hands.

‘I guess I’ll have to...’

That was when everything in front of me went dark.

***

Winter. The coldest time of the four seasons.

Korea’s winters seemed to be getting colder while paradoxically becoming warmer.

This contradictory thought had become a reality, and I had nothing to say about it.

“Do you really have to look so sulky on graduation day?”

“It’s because it’s cold. It’s cold.”

I sighed at Choi Ye-Seo’s comment. Then I let out a small laugh and stretched.

Ugh, it’s so cold.

“Ha... I can’t believe I’m becoming an adult.”

“You’re still 19, Auntie.”

“Wanna die?!”

As I bickered with Choi Ye-Seo, Ha-Soo-Yul and Hong Ye-Hwa approached from afar.

They were holding bouquets of colorful flowers in their arms and gifts in their hands.

It was probably an event gift from the juniors. I didn’t get one, though. The art department is so unfair.

‘...So what about Hong Ye-Hwa?’

Who gave her that? Noticing my gaze, Hong Ye-Hwa came over and awkwardly smiled.

R𝑒ad lat𝒆st chapt𝒆rs at free𝑤ebnovel.com Only.

“Haha... Uh, I got it from a junior I know.”

“I think Ye-Hwa is more popular than I am.”

“I think so too.”

“That hurts.”

Well, whatever. It’s a good day, so I shouldn’t let it spoil my mood.

The graduation ceremony had just ended.

We took photos, received gifts.

For some, it might have been a sense of liberation, while for others, it could have felt like the pressure of retaking exams.

A social gathering where all kinds of emotions collided.

This was the final chapter of high school.

‘Though I already got into university.’

With my grades, I was able to pick any university I wanted, and the others also had good results from the college entrance exam.

However, people like Choi Ye-Seo and Hong Ye-Hwa, who had already entered society, were still unsure whether they would go to university or not.

It seemed like they were thinking about it.

I was lost in thought when someone poked my cheek.

Ha-Soo-Yul was looking at me with her typical blank expression. Then she said:

“Let’s go. Graduation party.”

I looked at her slightly raised corner of her mouth and smiled faintly as I replied:

“Yeah. We shouldn’t be late.”

“Mm.”

At the main gate, there were families gathered, ours included.

I watched as the others ran toward their families, smiling.

What’s life, really? As long as we’re happy, that’s enough.

“Let’s go together!”

Really.

It was like a painting painted in various colors.