Chapter 35

Chapter 35

"So what if he was?"

Father, who had looked like he was about to ignore me and walk away, suddenly spun around and shouted.

His booming voice echoed through the narrow hallway.

At the far end, I could see my brother peeking in after hearing the commotion.

"He threw his family away because he wanted to paint those damn pictures. He earned honor, sure, but never money. His own family went hungry because of him."

"..."

"I had to grow up hearing people call me a kid without a father. Even on the rare occasions he came home from working, I still lived like I didn't have one. He'd be so obsessed with whatever unfinished piece he was making that he wouldn't even notice his own child standing beside him."

"..."

"So what changes just because he grabbed onto me later and said he regretted it? Time doesn't come back. The pain your grandfather gave me doesn't disappear either."

"..."

"And from where I'm standing, you're doing the exact same thing."

I clenched my teeth.

The emotions surging inside me were so strong that I spat my rebuttal out through them.

"No. Father. From where I'm standing, Grandfather and you aren't that different."

"What...?"

"Maybe in your eyes, I'm just like Grandfather. Someone who abandoned his family for art and left. But to me, Grandfather and you both did the same thing. You hurt your own child while being trapped inside your own circumstances."

"You little...!"

"Well, I suppose blood doesn't lie."

Father's hands were trembling with rage.

I even closed my eyes, prepared to be hit.

"Father!"

But my brother rushed over and stopped him.

"Are you seriously going to do this at my wedding too?"

"You're the eldest son! Whose side are you taking right now?"

"Whose side? I'm taking the side of our youngest brother, the one you used to ask about every now and then."

My brother's unexpected attitude shocked me enough that, for a moment, I forgot how much my chest hurt.

He caught my blank expression and gave a faint snort before turning back to Father.

"Father. I've thought about a lot of things while preparing for this marriage. And no matter how much the youngest left home, he's still our youngest."

"Hah! Hah! Unbelievable! I raise you both and now every single one of you turns against your father..."

"Honestly, Father, it's not like you simply hate art."

What?

What was he talking about?

"You only push art away because of your resentment toward Grandfather. You say you hate it, but even the way you decorate the house..."

"Enough! I don't want to hear it! Stop!"

Father stormed away like a bull that had been stung by a hornet.

He left the venue entirely and went home alone.

In the end, Mother had to attend my brother's wedding by herself.

The only fortunate part was that the candle-lighting ceremony was performed by the mothers of both families, so Father's absence wasn't especially obvious.

Still, I felt uncomfortable knowing Father had skipped my brother's wedding because of what happened with me.

My brother told me not to worry because he had been the one to land the final blow.

As if that could actually stop me from caring.

Is continuing to live without ever seeing my parents again really the best choice?

I'd lashed out because I was angry, but Father's description of someone who abandoned his family for art stabbed painfully into my chest.

Leaving home had been a desperate escape for me.

But from Father's perspective, maybe it really did look like I was repeating the same pattern he had hated in Grandfather.

Thinking that my desperation had never been properly communicated, and that time had simply passed that way, left me feeling suffocated.

Even after the ceremony ended, I remained seated without moving.

I didn't even notice the food on the table growing cold.

Several people who came over to introduce themselves as acquaintances of my sister-in-law noticed my gloomy mood and tactfully stepped away.

Everything tasted bitter.

Then my brother and his wife approached after changing clothes.

"Why aren't you eating? That's expensive meat. Don't leave any. Shove it into your mouth."

"Do you know how much I make in a year?"

"Why should I care? Does you being rich suddenly make good meat bad? Stop acting proud over nothing and eat."

"...Fine."

Only then did I cut off a piece of steak and put it in my mouth.

My sister-in-law, who had been watching me carefully, greeted me.

"...Thank you so, so much for the gift. Every guest who came told me they were jealous. You're basically a celebrity among the people around me."

"I'm glad you liked it."

I hesitated for a moment before apologizing to her.

"I'm sorry you had to see a family fight on such a good day. In the end, Father left without even staying for the ceremony...."

"Oh, how could that possibly be entirely your fault? From what the groom told me, he contributed plenty too. Don't apologize so much."

My brother shamelessly shrugged and stared off into the distance.

After exchanging a few more words, the newlyweds left to greet other guests.

At the time, I thought that would be the last time I ever talked with my sister-in-law about our family problems.

About a week after they returned from their honeymoon, my brother contacted me.

He asked whether I wanted to come over for a housewarming.

But when I listened more carefully, it turned out I would be the only guest.

In other words, they were simply inviting me over.

I immediately sensed that a serious conversation was coming.

I went to their newlywed home somewhat prepared.

But the person who ended up speaking seriously with me wasn't my brother.

It was my sister-in-law.

"I heard the details from your brother. Since I'm part of the family now, I think it's something I'm allowed to acknowledge."

"...Excuse me?"

"Are you planning to stay estranged from Father forever?"

My upper body instinctively leaned back.

My sister-in-law immediately waved both hands and said she wasn't trying to scold me.

"I'm genuinely just asking. What do you want to do? If you want to reconcile with Father, I'm willing to help."

"Why would you?"

"Mm. I'm not sure how this will sound, but unless my husband and I completely cut ties with his family too, I think Father and you need to repair your relationship if we're all going to function even vaguely like a family."

"..."

"If you intend to remain estranged forever, then my husband and I need to prepare ourselves for that too."

I stayed silent for a moment.

Then I turned toward my brother, who had been sitting there like an uninvolved third party.

He raised one eyebrow at me.

"Before I answer her, I have something to ask you first."

"What?"

"...What did you mean when you said Father doesn't actually hate art?"

"Oh. That?"

My brother rubbed the back of his head and sat up straighter.

"Mother told me Father once studied art because he wanted to repair his relationship with Grandfather."

"What? Seriously?"

"Yeah. He studied art and quietly went to exhibitions here and there. But apparently even after things got slightly better with Grandfather, the resentment never really disappeared. Maybe he thinks he was forced to study something he never would've cared about because of someone he hated."

"Ah...."

"Still, I guess it wasn't wasted. Father chooses everything from the interior design of the house to the smallest decorations himself."

"...That wasn't Mother?"

My brother stared at me like I was pathetic.

"You really don't pay attention to your family."

This time, it was my turn to shrug.

He sighed.

"Yes, yes. You're amazing."

"But then...."

"Hm?"

"Would Father still look at art if he had the chance?"

"You planning to show him a sculpture?"

"..."

Why did he have to read me so easily?

"...I'm more comfortable speaking through sculpture than with words."

"What kind of nonsense is that?"

"Oh! I understand that."

Thankfully, my sister-in-law jumped in.

"There are artists whose works never stop talking even though they barely say anything in real life."

My brother looked like he had decided there must simply be a world he didn't understand.

"But even if you make a sculpture and try to send him some message through it... will that really work?"

"I'm not confident."

"..."

"But I'm even less confident about talking to him directly."

"Wow. What a thing to be proud of."

Clap!

My sister-in-law suddenly brought her hands together, her eyes sparkling.

"Do you already have an exhibition space secured?"

"Excuse me? No."

"How about our museum? Why don't you hold an exhibition?"

I was startled for a moment.

Then I immediately adjusted my posture.

Agreeing too eagerly here would make me look like an amateur.

"That's something I'd need to discuss with Yeonwoo Guild. I have a support contract with them."

"You have a support contract...?"

"Yes. For sculpture-related activities."

"Wow...."

She looked slightly deflated for a second.

Then her expression became strangely determined.

"Then... could I get the contact information of whoever handles that?"

What began with my brother's wedding rapidly grew like a snowball.

Mostly because Shin Ha-gyeon came to my house in high spirits and started pouring out ideas about an exhibition.

He looked like a man who had been waiting for this exact opportunity.

"If you're planning to hold an exhibition, you'll need to make more works anyway. In that case, how about holding an auction afterward too?"

"You mean an exhibition followed by an auction?"

"Yes. More precisely, once the exhibition period ends, invitations would be sent only to people who expressed interest in purchasing specific works during the exhibition. Naturally, only works without owners, or pieces you're personally willing to sell."

It wasn't a bad proposal for me.

For one thing, most of my work so far had been commissioned.

I'd mostly created things for other people.

This would be an opportunity to focus entirely on making works I personally wanted.

And unlike commissioned sculptures, an auction only established a minimum price.

Depending on the bidding, the final price could vary wildly.

If things went well, it could become a chance to raise my name value as a sculptor.

An exhibition is basically a business card.

And auction prices are practically a measure of an artist's current reputation.

If the exhibition was successful, the auction prices afterward would probably rise compared to what they would've been before it.

Though I've never actually participated in an auction before....

Still, based on the prices of my previous commissions, I could at least imagine a rough range.

After thinking through the possibilities, I nodded to Shin Ha-gyeon.

"All right. Let's do it."

"For the venue, I think the private art museum [Oneul] would be ideal. I looked into it. The building is fairly large, it's located in Seoul, so access is good, and apparently several famous Korean painters regularly hold exhibitions there."

"Sure. Let's give my brother something to brag about."

"Hahaha! More importantly, the director there seems to be a fan of yours. And since your sister-in-law works there, I think they'll take good care of everything."

First my sister-in-law, now the director.

At this rate, was everyone working at that private museum secretly my fan?

"When would you like to schedule the exhibition? They asked us to tell them in advance. It seems they lock in their exhibition-space schedule about a year ahead."

"Mm... How many works do I actually have that I could exhibit right now?"

"There's <The Marriage of Eros and Psyche>, which [Oneul] already owns. If Badger Guild cooperates, there's <Pilgrim>. And...."

"Hm?"

"We can lend you Yeonwoo's sculpture too."

"Are you sure?"

Shin Ha-gyeon gazed wistfully out the window for a moment.

Spring had fully arrived.

"Yes. I think it'll be all right. The fact that I can now think about letting people who've lost family members receive comfort from Yeonwoo's sculpture, just as I did...."

"..."

"Wouldn't that mean I've recovered enough to think about other people too?"

Then he smiled and added,

"It's all thanks to you, Artist Do."

His smile looked genuinely relieved.

I smiled along with him before returning to the main topic.

"Then we can consider three works already secured."

"Exactly."

I already knew roughly how much exhibition space [Oneul] had from my sister-in-law.

Still, for a solo exhibition, I'd probably want at least six or seven pieces.

In other words, I needed to make three or four more.

"Don't worry. I haven't forgotten Yeonwoo Guild's commission rights for next year either."

Judging from Shin Ha-gyeon's shifting eyes, I could tell exactly what he was thinking.

"Oh. Was it that obvious from my expression? How embarrassing."

"The real issue is deciding when to hold the exhibition."

"You can give yourself some time. You'll need time to prepare too."

After some thought, we finally settled on a date.

The beginning of next summer.

"You look excited too, Artist Do."

Even though it meant I'd probably spend the entire year doing nothing but sculpting, I couldn't stop a small smile from appearing.

"Whatever happens during preparation... it'll still be my first exhibition."

For a while, I did nothing but gather materials.

Earth materials I could purchase through domestic brokers.

Gate materials obtained through the guilds I'd built relationships with.

I shopped indiscriminately.

The goal was simple.

Whenever inspiration struck, I wanted to immediately find a suitable material and start working.

One of the guards, who had watched workers carry materials in several times, eventually came over and spoke carefully.

"Wouldn't it be better to expand the building?"

"Yeah. Probably."

I wasn't agreeing just for the sake of it.

The situation genuinely called for it.

Until now, I'd been using the enormous multipurpose space attached to my house as both a material warehouse and workshop.

Stone and wood were stacked along one side, while I worked in the center.

But over the last few days, I'd bought almost nothing except enormous, extra-large materials.

Now even the actual workspace was filling up.

"For now, I guess I'll have to rent a large warehouse and store them there."

I sighed without meaning to.

I preferred my tools and materials to always be within arm's reach.

Once the spring rains pass, the heat comes. Then after that, monsoon season starts.

I can't exactly sculpt outdoors through all that.

There wasn't much choice.

Until I moved somewhere larger, I'd probably have to keep renting warehouse space.

And honestly, if I searched for a home large enough to store everything I'd just bought while still leaving plenty of workspace, I'd probably end up looking at factory sites.

Maybe it was simply better to keep a separate warehouse away from the house permanently.

Wait.

If I was going to need a warehouse long-term...

Why rent one?

Even after spending ridiculous amounts of money over the last several days, there was still an absurd amount sitting in my bank account.

I might as well buy one.

Not some bare warehouse with nothing but walls.

I should find one with temperature control and humidity control too.

Preferably somewhere not too far from Seoul.

I wasn't worried about finding a suitable property.

Kim Sang-hyeon had helped me obtain my current house.

And compared to back then, I now had far more connections and influence.

The thought of buying a warehouse and seriously stocking up on materials immediately improved my mood.

So this was what using money to cheer yourself up felt like.