It felt like another incident popped up as soon as one ended. After the call, my head felt tangled with thoughts.
‘Why is it that ominous feelings always turn out to be right?’
Thinking it over, I realized the problem had to be . If it weren’t for , they wouldn’t keep piling work on.
I sighed inwardly and locked eyes with soone across from .
Seol Yoon, with her hamster-like cheeks stuffed, was staring at with a grin.
“You have a teacher too, Ha-Eun?”
“Uh… Did I ntion that?”
“Nope? But I’ve never seen you speak so formally to soone your age, so I just guessed.”
That’s an even weirder thing to say, don’t you think? But I kept that question to myself.
I scratched my head with one hand before standing up.
I couldn’t exactly head to France right this minute, and since my teacher was already there, there wasn’t an imdiate issue.
Even so…
‘Tsk. Why do I feel so uneasy?’
There are always variables in everything. I couldn’t let my guard down completely.
I needed to prepare, just in case.
After giving a nod to Seol Yoon—now officially a temporary teacher—I turned to leave.
She cheerfully waved off, and I waved back as I headed for my classroom.
Ziiip.
Hong Ye-Hwa was staring straight at , unblinking. Seriously, what now?
“…I didn’t do anything, okay?”
“I didn’t say anything. Why? Feeling guilty about sothing?”
Her raised eyebrow made it clear she wasn’t in the best mood.
“Why do you have so many girls around you…?”
I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear that.
The rest of the day passed as usual.
Attending classes, getting surrounded by friends, eating lunch, and finally heading ho.
This was the school life I had always wanted. Occasionally drawing for kids who approached …
“Why does ti fly so fast?”
And just like that, my birthday arrived—the birthday of a so-called artist.
There was nothing I wanted, nor anything I particularly hoped to receive.
I’d planned to let this birthday pass uneventfully like all the others.
“Ta-da!”
Despite the years passing, my mom still looked youthful as she placed sothing on the dining table.
A homade strawberry cake. The quality was far better than anything I could make.
Maybe it was ti to learn so cooking from her.
“Ugh. You didn’t have to do anything for my birthday.”
Scratching my cheek, I tried to brush it off, but my family wasn’t having it.
“Stop talking nonsense.”
My sister Yoon shot a sharp glare, so I just turned my head. With no other choice, I sat down, greeted by the warm glow of the candles.
With the lights turned off late in the evening, the atmosphere was no joke.
Receiving a birthday cake and congratulations had beco so routine that I usually just went through the motions.
But for so reason, today, sothing stirred deep inside .
Nineteen. It had been nineteen years since I was born. If counting by international age, I’d be eighteen.
Sitting in front of the cake with its flickering candles, I felt… strange.
In the past, even on days like this, all I heard was, Go study.
Now, though I had traveled overseas, wandered here and there, and stirred up trouble, my family was always here for .
Even if it felt weird, I didn’t really dislike it.
“Heh.”
A silly laugh slipped from my mouth.
“Mom, sothing’s wrong with him…”
Yoon scooted away from , but who cared?
I couldn’t hide the fact that I felt happy. When Dad urged to make a wish and blow out the candles, I closed my eyes.
There was nothing grand I wished for. I just hoped for more ti to draw.
That was enough.
Whoosh.
With a single breath, the flas went out, plunging the room into darkness.
I heard the faint click of a cara and a video being recorded. Knowing this mont would be saved as a mory was sothing I was grateful for.
While my parents and sister got up to turn on the living room lights and bring plates, I just sat there.
Looking at the uncut cake, I smiled softly.
The birthday wasn’t over yet.
***
Not long after my birthday, the good mood had already beco a thing of the past.
In my hand was an envelope. My trembling hands, my wandering, aimless eyes.
“You’re not going anyway, Oppa.”
“Oh, right. That’s true.”
Yoon, lying on the sofa with her head resting on my leg, glanced at her phone as she spoke.
Dad, who had just co ho, handed the mail with a grin and disappeared into the bathroom.
Curious, I looked at the envelope, and the three words Ministry of National Defense caught my eye.
The mont I saw those words, emotions I couldn’t contain surged up as a man—no, as a Korean.
To describe it as a panic attack wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
Thankfully, Yoon’s remark pulled out of it.
‘The military, huh. This is seriously awful.’
I frowned and sighed. I still had to do the dical examination—commonly known as the conscription physical.
But not right now. It’d probably happen just before the next break.
I’d be exempt anyway.
Tossing the envelope onto the table, I leaned back against the sofa.
Trying to calm my tangled thoughts, I picked up my phone.
[Master: There’s good news and bad news.]
It was a text that had just co in. Before I could even reply, another ssage followed.
[Master: The good news is you don’t have to co to France.]
[: ???]
[Master: The bad news is that Angel has been moved to Korea.]
[: ??? Excuse ?]
[Master: I’ll be heading to Korea soon too. Do you need anything?]
[: Can you explain the situation first…?]
What was this? My head was already spinning from the Ministry of National Defense’s lovely invitation, and now I got news that made even more dazed.
‘Why is Angel coming here? There’s no way we can manage that here.’
We already had Gumiho and Seiren. Adding Angel on top of that? Forget drawing attention—this could escalate to hostility with other nations.
Even Paradise was a painting coveted by the entire world. If word spread that three masterpieces were concentrated here…
It was enough to make dizzy.
To make matters worse, two of them already had effects similar to Paradise. Their value was beyond imagination.
Suppressing my headache, I stood up. Yoon, who’d been resting her head on my leg, grumbled as she slid off onto the floor.
I headed to my room, opened a clean white sheet of paper, and began to draw.
If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it. I decided to focus on calming my mind.
***
Fortunately, Angel wasn’t arriving imdiately. It would probably co during the break, or maybe just before.
‘But doesn’t Master have school to attend?’
Unless she officially dropped out, she still had obligations as a student.
So, I asked her.
[School? Why would I, at this age, go to school?]
“You should still attend, shouldn’t you? You’re nineteen.”
[It’s fine.]
Well, if she says so. It’s not my place to get involved.
From her perspective, hanging out with kids her grandchildren’s age probably felt bizarre.
…Then again, isn’t it the sa for ? But I died at a young age. It’s not like I died in my thirties or anything.
Scratching the back of my head, I walked down the corridor. Coming to school this early, there was sothing I needed to check.
The old school building. I’d already seen all the paintings except for Angel.
Then the remaining doodles would likely reveal more mories. It wouldn’t change anything now, but who knows?
I needed to see what kind of person I was in my master’s mories.
I held the key to the old building, which I’d gotten from Ms. Lee Ah-Reum earlier. Good thing I asked her for it in advance.
‘Should I show this to Seol Yoon, too?’
Co to think of it, when I first ca here, I fixed her plum tree painting.
She hadn’t co to the school back then because of her busy schedule, so she probably didn’t know how the tree had changed.
But now that she was here as a temporary teacher, maybe I should show her.
[Seol Yoon: Oh, should I co now? I’ll head over right away!]
Not long after I texted her, Seol Yoon arrived at the old building.
“I’ve always been curious about this! I’m still a manager, you know. Hehe.”
“Do you even do any work in the Idea Departnt?”
“Wow… That’s so an.”
She smacked my shoulder a few tis with surprising force. Where did soone who only eats snacks get this strength?
We climbed to the second floor and opened the door to Class 1.
I could sll the warm scent of spring, though I knew it was only an illusion.
“Wow!”
That was unexpected. Her reaction was completely different from what I anticipated.
Slowly, she admired the plum tree, sinking into her thoughts.
Was she feeling sothing? I wouldn’t know.
With a peaceful smile, Seol Yoon turned to look at and said,
“Thank you. For fixing it.”
“…It was nothing. It wasn’t that difficult.”
Fixing, huh. I’d always said I repaired paintings.
Maybe calling it healing was the right word from now on.
Shrugging, I leaned against the classroom wall, giving her space to finish admiring it.
After a few monts, she finally spoke up.
“Well, I think I’ll head back! I’ve got breakfast plans with another teacher.”
“…This early in the morning?”
“Hehe…”
Wow, that’s definitely a green light. I felt like cheering her on.
I walked her to the front of the old building, then headed back to the second floor.
There were still four classrooms I hadn’t checked yet—ones with the fish doodle, the fox doodle, and the angel in the library.
The remaining four should be here… I think.
I frowned as I opened the locked doors one by one.
By the ti the morning assembly started, I’d gone through all of my master’s mories.
They weren’t particularly significant mories. Instead, I saw the process of Sanya gradually changing.
None of them were particularly pleasant.
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