I Became an Artist in a Romantic Comedy

Chapter 79: [Gumiho] (Complete)

After finishing the work on [Siren], it was time for the second project.

The moment had arrived to transform the world of [Gumiho]. I estimated it would take about three months this time as well.

“But who knows? It might finish quickly, like [Siren].”

Unlike [Siren], which mainly used other techniques, [Gumiho] focused on watercolor—a painting method involving mixing water with pigments.

There are various techniques in watercolor, and among them, dry brushing and creating watermarks were particularly important.

Although every single step demanded precision, I was confident.

After all, this was about bringing my painting to life.

“But watercolor requires moving your body here and there… It’s tricky, you know.”

Sometimes, I would fix the canvas in place or lay it flat on a desk to work. That way, I could prevent the paint from flowing uncontrollably.

“Looks like I’ll be stuck in the studio for quite some time again.”

Hmm. Maybe I should take this opportunity to pay closer attention to Hong Yehwa’s painting.

I hadn’t been able to give it much thought recently, and it had been weighing on my mind.

Might as well make good use of this time.

‘And bring up the prize discussion while I’m at it.’

Since I had already mentioned it to teacher Lee A-reum last time, there shouldn’t be any major issues.

The real question was whether Hong Yehwa would accept it. That was an entirely separate matter.

I put down the brush in my hand and stretched my arms out.

I stared intently at the [Gumiho] in front of me, but nothing seemed to have changed. 

It looked like there was progress, yet it also felt stagnant.

“So much to do… and so little time…”

I sighed, but there was no one to listen. The studio was empty save for me.

Once I finished this project, I planned to enter the old school building.

‘Can I go there in the middle of the project? I probably need to finish everything first, right?’

I didn’t know how the magic behind the doodles worked, but it was undoubtedly created by my cursed master.

‘If I ever see him again, I’ll rip out his hair!’

Suppressing the anger rising from my gut, I got up from the chair.

Although it had only been three days since I started this work, I felt I had to stop for today.

My stamina couldn’t keep up.

Drawing day and night without rest was a surefire way to die of overwork and head straight to the afterlife.

If I had two bodies, this wouldn’t be a problem. But since I only had one, it was.

I took a deep breath and gently stroked the frame of [Gumiho].

“I’ll be back tomorrow. I need to go have dinner.”

Although there was no response, I felt as if the Gumiho was telling me to go well, as if it were watching me.

I covered [Gumiho] with a cloth and left the studio.

As I stepped out of Lee Ji-chul’s studio, the setting sun streaming through the building greeted me.

The golden light created a dazzling spectacle and painted the streets in a surreal hue.

“Ugh… I’m exhausted.”

I instinctively muttered, then quickly covered my mouth with my hand.

I never thought I’d complain about how hard painting was.

The eyes reflected in the glass window were wide open in surprise.

Still, it felt strangely familiar. Something similar had happened in a past life.

When I was painting [Gumiho], I had definitely fallen into a sense of ennui back then too. Just like now…

“…This is why you shouldn’t treat a hobby like work.”

It seemed I had started to think of painting as a job. There was a sense of compulsion, like I had to finish painting within a set time frame.

Though I wasn’t quite falling into a slump, I could sense that it might become a problem later.

‘Once I finish this project, maybe I should take a family trip somewhere.’

Moving my feet, I walked toward the street bathed in sunset light, mulling over what to do after the work was done.

Now that I thought about it, my family had traveled a lot within the country, but we hadn’t gone abroad much.

Our first trip to the U.S. earlier this year was about it. Judging by Mom and my little sibling’s reactions at Incheon Airport, it was obvious we hadn’t traveled much overseas.

‘Oh, right. There are two masterpieces in China. Maybe I can take care of those at the same time.’

…And just like that, my thoughts drifted back to work.

“Argh, oh well. The only option is to finish quickly and rest sooner.”

China had two masterpieces, and I had heard that next spring, the U.S. would loan one of its masterpieces to China.

That would mean I could see three masterpieces at once.

Although the information wasn’t certain, it was definitely good news.

This was something I’d need to discuss slowly with my family.

The sunset seemed unusually vivid today. Must have been my imagination.

“Watercolor is a technique where you don’t need to press down hard at all.”

“Yeah. Since it gets lighter when mixed with water, there’s no need to press excessively, right?”

“Exactly. But sometimes people unconsciously press harder because they want the colors to look richer.”

“Ah… I think I do that too.”

“It’s an unconscious habit, so it’s not a huge problem, but it’s still good to correct if you can.”

I was working on [Gumiho] while Hong Yehwa listened to my lecture.

Was this multitasking? She was practicing watercolor techniques while painting something herself.

“When using watercolor, it’s easier to think of it as ‘spreading the colors.’”

“Spreading the colors?”

Hong Yehwa paused her painting and turned toward me.

Her head tilted slightly to one side.

I rolled my eyes toward her, meeting her gaze.

Fortunately, it was time to clean the brush of its current color.

“Think about the difference between spreading paper and opening a book.”

“Uh… what?”

Her face showed signs of confusion, but I simply shrugged.

“Hmm. I don’t know…”

“Honestly, I didn’t understand at first either. It’s something I heard from someone.”

Yes, I had heard it. From that wretched master.

-“Watercolor is fundamentally the meeting of color and water.”

-“What does that mean?”

-“It’s too early for someone like you to understand, Sanya. I’ll explain later.”

-“I don’t think 15 is too young to understand.”

-“Hmm. Then solve this riddle, and I’ll tell you. What’s the difference between spreading paper and opening a book?”

-“If you don’t want to explain, then don’t, Master.”

Even now, I could hear the sound of that cursed master’s laughter in my ears.

Back then, did I solve the riddle?

‘Of course not. My perspective was different at the time. But now it’s clear.’

“When you open a book, at most, you see two pages. No matter how you look at it, it’s just two.”

“Then spreading paper is…?”

“One.”

“…Huh?”

No matter how you fold and unfold paper, it’s still one piece.

Books divide content and stories, but paper doesn’t do that.

There can only be one world, one story contained within.

But what if it wasn’t drawn? What if it was written instead?

The story would be complete, but unstable.

From a purely practical standpoint, a book filled with countless pages was undeniably more useful.

However, my teacher once said this:

“A book gives me knowledge, but a single sheet of paper can do nothing for me.”

“Could you stop with the cryptic nonsense and just eat? You’ve been on about this for thirty minutes now.”

“Yet, with that one sheet of paper spread out flat, so much can be accomplished.”

“You’re not even listening to me, are you? Miho is going to starve to death at this rate.”

“It could be used to sketch out future plans or simply to doodle.”

“Miho, let’s just eat.”

If the conversation had ended there, it wouldn’t have mattered. But my teacher left me with one final line before falling silent:

“Unfold the future and write it down on paper. Apply this to watercolor painting: as if painting with colored water on paper.”

What was that even supposed to mean? I didn’t get it then and said as much.

But as I began to see art with new eyes, I gradually came to understand.

Only then did I realize—it was all just meaningless babble.

I’d been completely fooled. I thought there had to be some profound meaning hidden in those words.

Later, I confronted my teacher about it, but he just laughed endlessly, saying it was hilarious that I’d fallen for it.

To make matters worse, he admitted he didn’t know what he’d meant either. Unbelievable.

Still… This is kind of fun.

As I shared the story, Hong Yehwa wore a puzzled expression.

“…You’re messing with me, aren’t you?”

Her glare turned on me. While I had been teasing her a bit, this felt a little unfair.

“No, seriously. ‘Unfolding it’ is the only way I can explain it.”

I guessed my teacher hadn’t been able to explain it properly either, which was why he rambled on like that.

“Well then, I’ll teach you the feeling. It’s too early to train your eyes.”

Hong Yehwa would likely awaken her artistic sense sooner rather than later.

I stood up from where I had been resting and positioned myself behind her.

Then, without hesitation, I rested my chin on her head and took her hand in mine.

The man’s hand resting over the back of her hand. Her face flushed slightly.

Guiding her hand, I brought the brush to the canvas.

And then—

Swiiish.

Slowly, under my will, the brush began to dance across the canvas.

Although it was her hand holding the brush, I was the one guiding its movement.

“Get used to this sensation.”

With those words, I let go of her hand. It had turned into an awkward sort of back-hug position, but as long as it produced results, it didn’t matter.

“This is your painting.”

In front of her was the finished piece.

“…Are a man’s hands always this soft?”

She murmured something under her breath, but it didn’t reach my ears. It seemed like she was earnestly trying to memorize the sensation in her own way.

“I used the same technique to express the [Forest of the Gumiho].”

After all, I was the one who had ‘unfolded’ that endless forest.

“Um… could you do it again? I still don’t quite get it.”

“I already sat back down.”

I said this, but I still moved to comply.

For some reason, the corners of her lips seemed to twitch upwards.

Well, maybe she was in a good mood about something.

Once again, I rested my chin on her head, taking the same awkward back-hug stance as before.

I couldn’t wait to see her grow quickly and enter competitions with Ms. Lee A-reum.