Of course, it’s truly joyful to receive tutoring from him. Kang Min Je was someone who would never budge unless he liked you, no matter how much money you brought or how many connections you used to request him.

Naturally, one should be happy that such a person volunteered to tutor. Her former self would have been sleepless with excitement at something she couldn’t even dream of. But she couldn’t be entirely pleased.

Could there be some ulterior motive? Am I too jaded? Am I looking at people’s kindness with a skewed perspective, unable to accept it at face value? For a moment, too many thoughts flooded Ha Yeon’s mind, leaving her unable to respond, just opening and closing her mouth.

“Well, knowing that, I’ll tell you what to do.”

Finding Ha Yeon’s blank expression amusing, Min Je chuckled and went to one corner of the studio to bring a plaster bust.

He placed the bust on the desk with a thud and said,

“It seems you’re a bit weak in figure drawing compared to other areas.”

Gasp, how did he know that? Ha Yeon’s eyes darted around wildly.

Figure drawing was precisely what she always received criticism for. Everything else was fine, but figures seemed to be lacking that final 2 percent.

“Your expression tells me I hit the nail on the head.”

Unable to remain silent any longer, Ha Yeon let out a groan and responded.

“Well, you know me too well, leaving no room for excuses.”

At that, he chuckled and tapped the head of the plaster bust.

“You know that the foundation of figure drawing is sketching, right? This week, I’ll entrust you with this fellow.”

Well, it was fortunate that the plaster bust he assigned was Giuliano. If it had been Hercules or Homer, she would have felt quite depressed.

Even with plaster busts, handsome is best. Ha Yeon forced a smile and replied.

“Yes, I understand.”

She thought that would be the end of it. But Min Je, true to his word about intensive tutoring, diligently set up tutoring times as well.

“And we’ll meet at this time every evening. Is that alright?”

“O-Of course. That’s fine.”

Ha Yeon awkwardly smiled and waved her hands. How could she say no when she would have prostrated herself in gratitude if needed?

Ha Yeon wanted to call her friend Yu Jin to share this news, but she decided against it, thinking Yu Jin might rush over immediately.

‘Life sure brings unexpected things.’

Still unable to believe it, Ha Yeon pinched her cheek slightly to ensure she wasn’t dreaming. The pain confirmed it wasn’t a dream.

The next day, Ji Hoo, returning from kindergarten, rummaged through his bag and handed something to Ha Yeon.

“Hm? What’s this?”

“It’s an invitation to the sports day.”

“Sports day?”

Ha Yeon examined the paper she received. Since May was Family Month, it seemed the kindergarten had prepared an event.

“Can you, come with me?”

Ji Hoo asked, watching Ha Yeon’s reaction. This couldn’t be the first time such an event was held this year. Then how had they handled these events until now? Thinking about how the child must have struggled emotionally all this time made her nose sting with emotion.

“Of course, we should go together.”

When Ha Yeon answered confidently, a smile finally appeared on Ji Hoo’s face.

“Sister just needs to come. I’ll prepare everything!”

Where did he learn to talk like that? Ha Yeon chuckled at Ji Hoo’s mature way of speaking and replied.

“Okay, okay. I got it.”

She didn’t say anything else, but she knew that from now until the sports day, Ji Hoo would be pestering Mi Ran to make various foods and asking the driver to procure necessary items.

“But do they give prizes if you win in the sports day competitions?”

When she asked out of curiosity, the child’s eyes sparkled briefly before dimming.

“Of course, they do. But I’ve only ever received participation awards.”

He was already giving up, having experienced the same thing every year. Ha Yeon didn’t know why, but she was already burning with competitive spirit. It was too heartbreaking to see Ji Hoo looking so dejected.

“Among the people participating in the sports day, sister will be the youngest and most energetic, right? So don’t worry. We’ll definitely win!”

When Ha Yeon declared confidently, light returned to Ji Hoo’s eyes.

“Great! I’ll trust you, sister!”

Ji Hoo’s beaming smile was so cute that Ha Yeon gently caressed the child’s cheek.

With 10 days until the sports day, she should start physical training to win the competitions.

‘But this is a big deal, isn’t it?’

Whether it was just her feeling or not, it seemed like her list of tasks kept growing.

That night, when Ha Yeon came down to the studio and was diligently sketching the outline of the plaster bust, it happened.

Click, the door opened and Min Je entered. He must have just finished showering, as a fragrant scent emanated from him.

“You’re here?”

Ha Yeon greeted him, but the scent wafting from him kept stimulating her sense of smell, and she was quite distracted, worried whether her sketch was turning out well.

“Hmm, you’ve chosen this angle.”

Min Je commented, observing Ha Yeon’s sketch. The Giuliano plaster bust’s sense of proportion changes significantly depending on the viewing angle. This is because its neck is tilted compared to other plaster busts.

Ha Yeon was already not entirely satisfied with the outline sketch she had drawn.

“It’s fascinating, isn’t it? The plaster bust doesn’t change, but it looks different every time you draw it.”

Ha Yeon laughed awkwardly and rolled her eyes. Unable to guess how he would teach, she had no choice but to watch his reactions.

He looked at the sketchbook and the plaster bust alternately with a very serious expression.

‘Wow, if I were the plaster bust, I would have said something.’

Ha Yeon clicked her tongue inwardly as she watched him. His gaze on the plaster bust was so intense it felt suffocating. It was fine since it was a mute plaster bust, but if a person had received that gaze directly, they would have already burned to ashes under it.

“Here, here…”

Min Je pointed to two parts of Ha Yeon’s sketch.

“The proportions are off. You should correct them.”

“Ah, yes…”

Ha Yeon picked up her pencil and added lines to the areas he pointed out. It was incredibly pressuring because his gaze was now fixed on her hand.

She tried hard to regain her composure, but her fingertips trembled slightly, feeling his intense gaze. Moreover, even when she tried not to notice his presence, the fragrant shampoo scent emanating from him kept reminding her of it.

After silently watching Ha Yeon for a while, Min Je finally seemed to decide it wasn’t working and reached out his hand.

“Let me try, hand it over.”

“Do you, want to?”

Ha Yeon handed over the pencil with an awkward smile. The slight touch of their hands made her shoulders twitch involuntarily.

Min Je ran his hand through his hair, noticing Ha Yeon’s attitude that seemed quite conscious of him. Usually, she acted so confidently and shamelessly that he hadn’t noticed, but seeing her like this, it was clear how tense she was.

The problem was that as Ha Yeon kept making such expressions, he found himself becoming flustered as well. An indescribable subtle tremor seemed to make the air between them taut.

He stroked his chin, thinking he felt quite a peculiar emotion seeing Ha Yeon’s fluttering eyelashes. Then, as if shaking off his thoughts, he quickly corrected the sketch with the pencil.

“Oh, doing it that way makes the drawing look completely different.”

Fully concentrating on the drawing now, Ha Yeon’s eyes came alive as if she had never been nervous. It was quite interesting to watch this gap up close.

Min Je let out a hollow laugh and placed the pencil back in her hand.

This time, it was an intentional contact. Before he could think about it, his body moved first, wanting to see how her expression would change.

Sure enough, Ha Yeon could be seen gripping the pencil too tightly. Seeing her already pale hand turn white at the knuckles from gripping the pencil so hard, he felt a complex mix of subtle emotions again.

Since childhood, he had instinctively developed a habit of reading people’s tendencies to survive. Like the saying “You can know ten fathoms of water, but not one fathom of a person’s mind,” he couldn’t accurately know a person’s inner thoughts.

However, the discernment naturally acquired over the years was not only valuable when looking at artworks but also applied when observing people.

He guessed that Ha Yeon, who outwardly appeared cheerful and lively, might be using that as a defense mechanism. In reality, she probably needed someone to lean on more than anyone, wanting to act spoiled and show weakness freely, but had become accustomed to pretending otherwise.

Like a pufferfish that inflates its body when feeling threatened.

“Now, I’ve helped you correct it, so from now on, focus on filling in the shading.”

Min Je intentionally used a stern voice to break the awkward atmosphere.

“Yes.”

Ha Yeon pouted, unable to say anything else. Then she started concentrating on the drawing with utmost seriousness.

“Don’t forget to capture the sense of volume.”

Min Je said casually and sat down at the opposite desk to start reading.

Ha Yeon mouthed his words and glared at him once. As if she didn’t know that! She knew but couldn’t do it!

Hmph, Ha Yeon snorted and threw herself into sketching with a slightly twisted heart. In the quiet space, only the rapid sound of the pencil adding shading could be heard, sasa sasak.

“By any chance…”

Ha Yeon’s hand suddenly stopped at Min Je’s unexpected words.

“By, by any chance what?”

Ha Yeon swallowed hard, thinking she had been caught sketching with a slightly skewed mindset. Was she about to receive a scolding?

But the question that flowed from him was completely unexpected.

“By any chance, do you like pufferfish?”

“What? Pufferfish?”

Ha Yeon muttered with a blank expression for a moment. How should she understand this sudden talk of pufferfish? Surely he wasn’t asking her to decide on a menu for a welcome party?

“Yes, I, I like it. Pufferfish stew goes well with soju…”

Halfway through speaking, Ha Yeon examined Min Je’s face. What is this? Is this not it? There was a slight twitch at the corners of his mouth as he tried to hold back laughter.

“I see, it’s good that you like it.”

Ha Yeon couldn’t understand what exactly was good about it, but she didn’t ask. If she did, she felt like she might start another angry sketching session.

Looking at Ha Yeon’s sullen face, Min Je was reminded even more of a pufferfish. From flying squirrels to pufferfish. He had never heard of a woman who covered such a wide range from mammals to fish.

He had a book open in front of him, but the words didn’t register. Thinking about it coolly, it wasn’t particularly funny, but laughter kept trying to escape through his teeth.

It was the first time in his life that he had to try so hard to hold back laughter.

Ha Yeon realized that she kept getting distracted by Min Je while sketching. Just him sitting across from her was distracting enough, but his occasional chuckling was even more so.

Moreover, when she tried to look at the Giuliano plaster bust, her gaze automatically went to his face first. Well, she could guess why. Her eyes must be specialized like a detector. Although not a general detector, but a handsome man detector.

‘Damn, I never expected this kind of difficulty.’

Ha Yeon laughed in disbelief. To think a handsome man right in front of her would prevent her from focusing on the plaster bust.

And that’s with the face of Giuliano de’ Medici, the idol of the plaster bust world created by Michelangelo with utmost care, right in front of her.

‘Will this tutoring be okay going forward?’

Ha Yeon let out a soft sigh without realizing it.