So, until closing time, Autumn walked around the botanical garden holding his hand.

His hand was unexpectedly warm.

And it seemed like his warmth had transferred to hers.

She still didn’t know why he brought her to the botanical garden, but Autumn had a pleasant time.

It was quite enjoyable. Despite the brief incident, the sight of flowers uplifted her spirits after a long while.

After hastily leaving the botanical garden at closing time, it was time for dinner. She couldn’t drink alcohol as he had instructed, so she didn’t have a single sip.

‘I wasn’t planning to drink anyway.’

Soon, the car arrived in front of the main building. Expecting him to leave right after dropping her off, he surprisingly got out of the car with her and started walking towards the back of the building.

Realizing he was heading to the studio, Autumn closely followed him.

The path illuminated by lights wasn’t scary anymore. In fact, it felt like a charming night garden. With pleasant memories of the day, Autumn’s mood lightened, and she smiled broadly.

Upon reaching the studio, he opened the door first and turned to look at her.

‘Ah! Maybe he’s going to tell me now. That method he was talking about. What could it be…?’

Autumn looked up at him with wide, expectant eyes.

He suddenly said,

“Draw something you remember most from the botanical garden today. Anything you want. Just draw what you feel like.”

“…What?”

Caught off guard, she thought if she had known, she would have paid more attention to everything in the botanical garden…

“Aren’t you going to prepare?”

“Ah, no.”

After briefly looking at him in surprise, Autumn hurriedly began to prepare for drawing. She then sat down in front of the canvas.

‘What should I draw…?’

She saw many flowers and people, but she hadn’t paid enough attention to them, not expecting to draw anything.

‘He said to enjoy and not think too hard…’

If only she had known, she would have paid more attention.
Autumn felt somewhat cheated. Today, she had genuinely just enjoyed herself.

“Hmm…”

As she hesitated to start, he softly spoke from beside her.

“Yoon Gaeul, you seemed quite happy talking about flowers earlier.”

“Me?”

“I’ve never seen you so excited while talking.”

Ah, that’s right.

Guided by his suggestion, Autumn immediately thought of the morning glory. Almost unconsciously, she began to draw, following her usual habit of mimicking her father’s style.

While she was engrossed in drawing, he, who had been silently observing, suddenly grabbed her brush-holding hand.

“Why…?”

“Again, it doesn’t have to be exact. Just draw what remains in your memory. It’s okay to make mistakes. It’s just a practice.”

Autumn smiled sheepishly at his words, nodding her head.

It seemed like she was caught trying to follow her father’s style again, despite her intention to let it go.

Autumn focused more on his words.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a vague memory. Just draw what’s left in your memory from today. The scenery, the fragrance, the touch, or even your feelings at the time.”

Her lips parted slightly as she listened intently to his words.

“It’s okay to embellish your feelings in the drawing. But, don’t draw in the old way.”

“…Okay. I will.”

It wasn’t typical art coaching, but Autumn seemed to understand what he meant. Why he had taken her to the botanical garden and told her to just enjoy it.

She picked up the brush more cautiously than usual, starting to depict not the intricate details of the morning glory, but the overall landscape of the botanical garden in her memory.

“…”

“…”

For a long time, only the soft sound of the brush moving echoed in the studio.

Her strokes, usually bold, were timid this time. Yet, as time passed, a smile slowly formed on her face.

Focusing solely on what he mentioned, there was no room to think of her father’s style. Whenever she nearly reverted to her old habits, he would stop her.

This teaching method was new but seemed effective.

Surprisingly, she could draw without overthinking.

Immersed in today’s memories, Autumn gradually lost awareness of his presence and delved into her painting.

‘Today was so much fun, wasn’t it? I haven’t enjoyed looking at flowers like this in a long time.’

The process of melting her own experiences into the painting felt like drawing a picture diary, making it even more enjoyable.

If her previous paintings were struggles to survive in this mansion, now it felt like a delightful play.

As she repeated this unfamiliar process, beautiful worlds viewed through her own eyes started to unfold in her mind, replacing her father’s paintings.

Meanwhile, he, who had been silently watching her engrossed in painting, nodded in satisfaction.

Clearly, Autumn lacked no basics. She just needed something to break her fixation on the wrong aspects.

Initially flustered on how to proceed, she began to perfectly execute his somewhat abstract instructions.

Even if the result was an awkward mix of styles.