Naturally enjoying his service, Yu-shin was sipping green tea. When Jun-wan handed him a wet towel, only then did he wipe his hands. Conscious of people’s gazes, Yu-shin’s talkativeness decreased unlike before.
“Were you coming back from somewhere?”
Jun-wan asked while moistening his mouth with green tea. Surprised by his question, Yu-shin’s stiff expression relaxed a bit.
“You’ve taken some interest in me?”
“I’m just asking. Since there’s nothing to talk about.”
Of course. Yu-shin’s expression was now completely relaxed. Counter seats were the optimal place for quiet conversation. He tilted his head toward Jun-wan and propped his chin at an angle.
“I went to see my teacher. I mentioned before, right? That I have someone who taught me painting.”
Master Han Jeong-seon was a master of court color painting. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say all the paintings currently within the palace went through his hands. His most representative work was the Il-wol-obong-do in the Daejeon throne hall. He was a famous painter representing Korea to the extent of being included in textbooks, so Jun-wan knew of him well.
“You’re getting serious. Are you thinking of requesting to study under him again?”
“That would be nice, but the teacher is so busy. Today I just paid my respects. Ah, thank you.”
The sushi came out. Yu-shin straightened his posture properly. He added a light but courteous greeting.
“Just being able to have a conversation with such a person is a kind of privilege. Other people couldn’t even dream of it.”
“I suppose so. The teacher treats me so casually. He’s just like a grandfather.”
“He must be more modest than he appears.”
“Yes, we drank tea together and looked around art supply stores. I also bought a lot of what the teacher recommended.”
Jun-wan, holding his chopsticks, paused. His head immediately turned to the side.
“Again?”
“What do you mean again? Don’t you know materials are the more the better? The more, the better. There’s a sense of security that comes from filling up the storehouse.”
Yu-shin spoke as if it was nothing and picked up egg sushi to eat. While doing so, he sneaked a glance at the person next to him. He smiled with his eyes toward Jun-wan, who was looking at him as if dumbfounded.
“I decided to give the first work to my teacher. The second one is… mm, I’ll give it to you, Jun-wan. But it’s a secret from my father, okay? If he finds out his turn got pushed back, there’ll be trouble.”
Yu-shin spoke as if bestowing a favor. At the end, he threatened, Got it? Promise me.
To this, Jun-wan let out an imperceptible snort.
Honestly, I’m not looking forward to it at all. How great could a painting be, drawn with mediocre skill? But it would be rude to dampen the enthusiasm of someone stepping forward to try something. Jun-wan answered that he understood and picked up his portion of sushi.
***
The weekend dawned. Jun-wan was starting his day by waking up early as always.
Perhaps because summer had drawn near, the spring sunlight pouring down was stinging from morning. When he opened the living room windows wide, the scent of garden grass blades permeated into the house.
He’d clearly declared he’d paint from Saturday. But Kim Yu-shin was oversleeping as usual.
His attitude is rotten. Are artists originally this lazy? Jun-wan was about to develop prejudice against other professions.
Ignoring him, he spent time reading books. Only after 11 o’clock did he hear signs of life upstairs.
Yu-shin, trudging down holding the stair railing, still had a languid face as if sleepiness hadn’t dissipated. He went into the kitchen and came out holding a yellow-ripe banana. Again filling a meal with fruit. Rather than eating it because he liked it, it was because he found preparing anything bothersome. As if anything was fine as long as it filled calories.
Yu-shin chewed the banana and looked out at the scenery beyond the living room. He made a carefree observation: Nice weather.
After throwing away the peel and returning, he stretched his stiff body vigorously in the living room. His stretching posture was quite skilled. That whole series of actions all annoyed Jun-wan. He considered the performative behavior excessive.
“Jun-wan, don’t you have plans today?”
“No.”
“I’ll be in the studio the whole time. Have lunch on your own.”
There was a somewhat resolute determination. So he’s finally going to do something. Jun-wan lightly brushed off Yu-shin’s words.
“Don’t disturb me.”
Yu-shin added a word before leaving. A response was too meaningless, so Jun-wan didn’t take his eyes off the journal collection.
Jun-wan did his own work to his heart’s content and ate a late lunch around 3. The entire house was quiet. Kim Yu-shin really didn’t come out of the studio even once. There was no sign of life to the extent he wondered if he was sleeping inside.
The studio interior could be easily imagined from having seen it in photos. He pictured Yu-shin lying down with his head propped up, a brush stuck behind his ear.
Kim Yu-shin lying down as if enjoying immortal leisure. Somehow it seemed like reality rather than imagination.
Jun-wan stood still and looked at the living room enveloped in silence. At least thanks to Chief Manager Min coming every day, the clean house required no attention.
That one thing I like. Soon he entered the study and began looking for other study materials.
Around five o’clock, Jun-wan came out to the living room again to drink water. There was little difference from earlier. The studio door was still firmly closed and no signs could be heard.
He must be hungry.
He was gradually getting concerned.
This is why having a housemate is a problem. When living alone, he could enjoy freedom to his heart’s content, but now that there was someone living together, he paid unnecessary attention. Jun-wan took steps with a dissatisfied face.
Holding a bottle of water, he stood in front of the studio.
Just one door. Crossing it was very difficult. Yu-shin had mentioned not to disturb him, and his own personality wasn’t one to interfere in others’ affairs, making it even more so.
He stood still and wasted quite a bit of time. Only when his state of deliberating like this felt pathetic did Jun-wan grasp the door handle.
He skipped knocking. If Yu-shin was being lazy inside, he planned to turn around without hesitation.
The newly installed door opened soundlessly. The heavy, astringent smell of ink greeted Jun-wan first. The studio, where sunlight penetrated deep into the corners, was still as bright as midday even at five in the afternoon.
“……”
He could only stand there frozen.
Dozens of sheets of rice paper rolling on the floor, inkstones and porcelain dishes scattered messily.
In the disorder Jun-wan detested, Kim Yu-shin alone held his brush reverently.
End Of Volume 1
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