I Became an Artist in a Romantic Comedy

Chapter 2: Age Four and Mischievous (2)

Once I actually held the brush, I felt a strange mix of emotions.

The thrill of being able to draw again filled me with excitement, but there was also a hint of fear.

But since I already had the brush in hand, I might as well go through with it.

Whenever I put colors on paper, whether with paint or colored pencils, it felt satisfying. I was creating my own world on this blank canvas.

Imagining the shape of a shark, I started sketching it out smoothly.

Though a realistic image was out of reach due to limited tools, paint was good enough. As long as I captured the shark’s form, that would suffice.

Despite starting later than the others, I had already outlined the shark.

I hadn’t rushed—just outlined the shape.

I would have liked to at least sketch a base if I could. Should I go ask the counter for a pencil?

Shaking my head, I picked up the brush again.

“A true artist doesn’t blame their tools.”

A common saying, but frankly, even a master would complain about their tools.

If you lack teeth, you make do with your gums.

I squeezed some black paint onto the palette and held the brush by the opposite end.

Given the brush’s limitations, I planned to use the blunt plastic end to draw the gills and face.

I finalized the shape, sketched the contours, and formed a clear visual image.

Even from a quick glance, it looked unmistakably shark-like.

The lines curved cleanly from the fins to the angular tail. For the record, the shark had eight fins.

I drew sharp teeth and some jagged scars on its body.

After outlining it, I added some details to the background as well.

Sharks supposedly live in warm coastal waters. Although it’s underwater, I added sunlight, rocks, and seaweed, all things associated with the sea.

With these random sketches done, all that was left was to paint.

The shark’s upper body was a deep gray, and its underside a dull white. Fortunately, these weren’t complex colors.

I mixed more black paint with white on the palette to achieve the right shades.

As I adjusted the colors, I saw it slowly become the dark gray I needed, and the leftover paint gave me the dull white as well.

After mixing, I started painting the shark while pondering—could I make money with my drawings?

I hadn’t considered being an artist or illustrator, but if I posted my drawing process on YouTube…

“I’ll try it out someday.”

If only YouTube Shorts existed—it would be perfect, but that’s still ten years away.

In this frustrating world, the only interesting things are walks and drawing.

Feeling a bit down, I kept working and, before I knew it, the shark drawing was complete.

Instead of painting it thickly, I used water to give it a watercolor feel.

It looked soft but clear, as though the shark might burst off the page at any moment.

With the shark done, I darkened the remaining gray for the rocks.

I needed this for the rocks and the colors for the seaweed and starfish.

After soaking my brush in the cloudy water, I blotted it on a tissue to remove the excess.

After three dips, the color lightened enough, so I dabbed it in paint again and colored the rocks.

The rocks were weathered by the currents, broken and ground smooth. I used the back of the brush to add shading.

On top of the rocks, I painted some seaweed and starfish.

Green for the seaweed and red and blue for the starfish.

It was the birth of perfect RGB.

To add more depth, I painted the background a light blue and created the look of water currents.

The swaying seaweed and starfish clung tightly to the rocks.

And above it all, a shark swam gracefully.

Though it wasn’t hyper-realistic, it felt as vivid as something from Unreal Engine.

Lastly, I added sunlight to make the shark appear even brighter. Beautiful.

I was impressed with my work.

Dusting off my hands, I looked around the table.

Everyone else was still absorbed in their work. Looks like I was the first to finish.

I checked the time—about forty minutes had passed.

Since I wasn’t even trying very hard, I finished quickly.

I glanced at Mom’s drawing beside me.

It was a cute squirrel, hands on its hips, looking smug.

The sight made me chuckle. Mom always had a soft spot for cute things.

Looking over at the drawing in front of us, I saw a strange gorilla…? Or maybe a monkey?

It was Ha Soyul’s drawing. Above the primate, she’d drawn a small circle with squiggly lines to represent the sun.

“But are apes usually yellow?”

That conversation from earlier came to mind.

A tiger!

“Aha… hmm.”

If a tiger had limbs like that, it would certainly be a new discovery.

Maybe I should give it a scientific name?

Her mom’s drawing wasn’t much better.

Though I have to admit, it looked slightly more… manageable than Ha Soyul’s attempt.

“Phew… finally finished.”

The first person to finish among the three was Mom.

Holding up her cute squirrel drawing confidently, she showed it off.

“Tada! Look at this, sweetie. Mom drew it super well, right?”

“Oh, surprisingly well.”

“…Surprisingly?”

Mom raised her eyebrows, looking a little annoyed.

Shaking my head, I gave her a double thumbs-up.

“It’s amazing.”

“Hmm. Don’t underestimate me; I used to draw back in the day.”

It wasn’t just talk—she even promised to show me her old drawings at home.

“Phew… finished!”

The second to finish was Mrs. Yoo Ji-hye. But what was that supposed to be?

“Ahem! Well, I’m not very talented in drawing.”

“Oh, no, it’s really great!”

Ha, that fake smile. Anyone could see it was a bit of a smirk.

“I tried to draw a cat, inspired by my daughter’s tiger…”

Mrs. Yoo explained that, since her daughter wanted to draw a tiger, she decided to aim for a cat herself.

“Ma’am… just attaching two triangles to a circle doesn’t make it a cat.”

“…Stop.”

With Mrs. Yoo’s face turning red, I shifted targets.

The last person to finish was Ha Soyul.

Her drawing was, to put it mildly, hard to recognize as a tiger.

Even so, the two moms gave her sincere praise.

“Wow~! Did my daughter really draw this? You did amazing!”

“Right? She’ll be really popular at school someday!”

That’s more about her looks than her drawing skills, right?

“Heh.”

Soyul’s mood lifted as the adults praised her, a faint smile tugging at her lips.

“So, should we see what our son has drawn last?”

The three of them turned to look at the drawing in front of me with a nasal hum.

Then all three of their eyes went wide with amazement—well, two of them did.

“Wow, freaking—no, this is amazing! Whoa. No, really, this is incredible!”

Mrs. Yoo’s exclamation and…

“Wait, what…?”

Mom’s frozen reaction.

Neither of them could take their eyes off my drawing, awestruck.

Their reaction was only natural, and I couldn’t help but feel proud.

“Wow, Haeun, can I keep this?”

Mom gently held my drawing and asked. I shrugged since I didn’t mind.

“Go ahead. Just buy me some ice cream in exchange.”

“Of course!”

Mom smiled brightly and rolled up the paper. The paint had dried, so it was fine.

“How does he draw so well? It’s amazing.”

Mrs. Yoo murmured in a daze, then suddenly remembered her daughter was there.

“Uh, right.”

Ha Soyul was just staring, as if seeing the universe for the first time.

“Well then… should we head out?”

With Mrs. Yoo’s suggestion, we all got up.

I had a feeling Mom would be more persistent about my art from today onward.

I wouldn’t be surprised if she begged me to draw once we got home.

“Hey…”

“Hmm?”

Just as we left the café to head home, Soyul spoke up.

“I, um… I’m sorry about the last time.”

“Last time?”

I was a bit caught off guard by Soyul’s apology.

“Oh? Oh, right.”

“What happened?”

Mom seemed to know, and Mrs. Yoo realized too.

“Is it about the swing incident?”

Mom’s words brought me back to two weeks ago.

Soyul had wanted to swing, so she’d asked me to get off, wanting her turn.

I hadn’t minded, but I guess others saw it differently.

Other way, it looked like I took her swing.

I’d just moved over and gone home, but I’d heard that Mrs. Yoo had scolded her quite harshly. Just a light tap, though.

I’d only had the swing for about five minutes, so it must’ve seemed unfair.

“Well… yeah.”

I accepted the apology, but I felt a bit guilty since she hadn’t really done anything wrong.

It felt like she got scolded just for wanting to play, thanks to me.

Was that why she kept glaring at me earlier?

With my reply, Soyul’s face softened, and she beamed.

Thinking about it, kids might not always know how to apologize first.

Even adults struggle with it, so how would kids fare?

“Shall we go home, then~?”

Mrs. Yoo took the lead in a rather dad-like manner.

Soyul followed, and then Mom and I walked side by side.

“Haeun.”

“Yeah?”

Mom looked down at me, her eyes shining.

“You’re really talented at drawing, huh?”

“I know.”

“Heh. So, do you think you’ll keep drawing?”

Mom’s voice dropped a bit.

She sounded thoughtful and careful.

It seemed like she was already considering my future.

I fell into contemplation as well.

Honestly, I wanted to keep drawing. But the outcome from my past life still held me back.

But maybe…

“…How would my parents in this life react?”

In the end, I nodded. I decided to trust my parents. They wouldn’t pressure me to study non-stop.

“Yes, I can.”

Mom smiled, gently patting my head in response. I took off my chick hat, which was in the way.

The sunset looked especially beautiful in the sky.

Maybe I’ll start with a landscape once we get home.

***

A week after visiting the art café.

“Aaaahhh!”

Two in the morning.

A scream echoed from Mom’s room.