There was a noticeable emphasis on ‘contract’ in Director Park’s tone. Ga-eul, who had been idly twirling the straw in her iced tea, suddenly looked up at Ki-tae.
The pen Ki-tae had been moving stopped, and he looked up, glancing between their expressions before letting out a deflated sigh.
Director Park had come in instead of sending refreshments, and Ga-eul, despite causing trouble, looked at him with hopeful eyes.
Ki-tae directed his gaze not at the director but at Ga-eul, who quickly averted her eyes.
She’s been avoiding me like this since earlier.
The corners of Ki-tae’s mouth lifted in a rare smile, though his eyes weren’t smiling.
“What should I do with this one?”
That troublesome little thing.
Recalling the paintings he had seen three weeks earlier, Ki-tae smirked at Ga-eul’s innocent expression.
‘I thought I’d just accept whatever she submitted, but…’
Her paintings bore a resemblance to Yoon Dae-ho’s work, inheriting his qualities. Ki-tae, a fan of Yoon Dae-ho’s art, found her work quite to his taste.
However, none of the paintings he had seen that day were the ones sold at the exhibition. He would have recognized it if it was part of the ‘Rose Garden’ series.
The red roses against the grey, weathered wall were vivid and lively, a stark contrast. That particular piece, one of Yoon Dae-ho’s most expensive sold works, remained clear in his memory, even after a decade.
Observing Ga-eul, Ki-tae asked softly,
“Yoon Ga-eul, why did you submit a piece from the ‘Rose Garden’ series for the competition? You could have submitted something else.”
Startled by his sudden question, Ga-eul, who had been chewing on her straw, replied in surprise.
“I wanted to showcase the series I promised with my father first, as it was my first time presenting my paintings. The time to fulfill that promise was approaching, and I wanted to proudly show to many people, and to my father, how much I have grown.”
Ga-eul spoke logically and calmly, but his question followed immediately.
“Is that the only reason?”
“Ne? Of, of course…”
“Are you sure?”
Ga-eul fell silent at his sharp question and then continued with composure.
“It’s a work I’ve been planning to complete since I made a promise with my father 14 years ago. I just decided to paint it for this occasion.”
Ga-eul thought she had convinced him, but he commented with a scoff.
“Don’t bother lying. Are you saying you suddenly decided to exhibit it only three weeks before submission, after not having such a plan until three weeks ago?”
“Ne?”
“Weren’t you just relying on your father’s fame because you weren’t confident?”
“What are you…”
“I visited your studio three weeks ago. To see what and how much you had painted.”
“……!”
Ga-eul’s face turned pale.
She hadn’t known he was aware… Realizing why he was angry, Ga-eul had no choice but to confess.
“…Yes, it’s true. I would have painted it when my skills were more developed, when I had more time. Not now.”
“So, why did you do it?”
“I had no choice… to meet the condition.”
Ga-eul looked away. She expected to be scolded.
Sure enough, his voice followed immediately.
“That work should’ve been done at the right time, not at this exhibition.”
Ga-eul responded defensively.
“But it wasn’t just for that reason…! That painting is very precious to me, something I couldn’t afford to ruin. I wasn’t just exploiting my father’s name…”
She continued with a shrunken voice.
“But if you think it’s unfair… I’ll accept it. I’m sorry for causing a commotion.”
At Ga-eul’s sincere apology, Ki-tae fell silent for a moment.
Then, he surprisingly said something quite different.
“Even without that painting, you could have done well. The series could have been painted when you were ready.”
“Ne…?”
Ga-eul’s eyes widened in disbelief.
But there was more.
“I acknowledge your ingenuity in attracting attention and submitting a work responsible enough for your choice.”
As Ga-eul blinked in surprise, Ki-tae spoke softly.
“That should be enough. Come to TS and show your potential.”
With those words, he called in his secretary to prepare a contract.
“We’ll take care of the contract after work, so wait.”
“……Ne!”
Ga-eul, who had been lost in thought, responded in surprise.
The possibility that she could have done well without her father’s series…
The fact that he had seen all her paintings and acknowledged them was still unbelievable to her. Her heart pounded with overwhelming emotion.
At a famous Korean restaurant’s private room, a dinner meeting of conglomerate chairmen was taking place.
As Baek-ho, the last to arrive, was led into the room by the staff, he received greetings from various sides.
“Have you arrived, Chairman Han?”
Among them, naturally, the most enthusiastic was Shin Min-cheol, the chairman of Daerim Construction.
“Sit in front of me. I’ll pour you a drink.”
“Ha ha, let’s do that.”
The homemade liquor, stored in a fine porcelain bottle, was poured into a full celadon cup. Shin Min-cheol burst into a hearty laugh as Han Baek-ho immediately downed a drink upon receiving it.
Then, as soon as Han Baek-ho emptied his cup, Shin spoke as if he had been waiting for this moment, eagerly having anticipated bringing up this topic.
“Do you know whom I saw recently?”
“Who did you see?”
“I saw the daughter of the painter Yoon Dae-ho. Ha ha, she draws really well, just like her father.”
“Oh, is that so…?”
At Shin Min-cheol’s words, Han Baek-ho slightly raised the corners of his mouth and popped a piece of yukjeon (Korean meat pancake) into his mouth before tilting his cup again.
The liquor tasted exceptionally good today, seemingly smoother than usual.
‘Ki-tae, this kid. He said he didn’t like it, but I knew it would turn out this way.’
Her talent is quite something.
Though Baek-ho had no doubt that one day she would elevate the gallery’s prestige just like Yoon Dae-ho did, he didn’t expect to hear about her so soon through Chairman Shin.
To Baek-ho, Ga-eul was the perfect figure to showcase. Having the title of Yoon Dae-ho’s daughter made her even more ideal.
He planned to bring Ga-eul back to the main house soon.
Ha ha ha ha!
Baek-ho’s laughter resonated loudly throughout the traditional Korean house.
My Step-brother Is Obsessed With Me (Female-dominant)
A gentle female protagonist vs pitiful in the early stage, and a sick male protagonist in the later stage
Cheng Songer transmigrated into the body of a vicious cannon fodder female supporting character with the same name as her in a female-dominant novel.
In the original story, the cannon fodder female supporting character was inhumane, committing domestic violence, gambling excessively, being lustful, and even wanting to sell her stepbrother to a brothel for money.
As luck would have it, she just happened to transmigrate at this time.
Seeing Cheng Qingzhi biting his lip, enduring the tears in his eyes, looking pitiful, her heart softened.
She stuffed the money back into the Madam’s hand and reached out to him.
“Brother, come home with me.”
