I Became an Artist in a Romantic Comedy

Chapter 41

The kids came back and took a short break.

"Hey, where’s mine?"

Choi Ye-Seo handed out drinks, holding an envelope, but why was mine missing?

"You didn’t say anything, right? Here, Ha-Yoon, peach iced tea for you!"

She just handed me ice water, and I wondered if it was a joke. She giggled as she handed it over.

"Ugh... the weather’s insane."

"Yeah, imagine how nice it would’ve been if we had stayed inside with the air conditioning on."

"Are you suggesting we just lock ourselves in with the guests at home?"

I turned my head away on purpose as she shot me a glare. I mean, sure, there’s air conditioning at home, but did we really need to go outside in this heat?

After that, the girls drifted off, saying they were going to play among themselves.

'Why did they even bring me out here if they were just going to leave me alone?'

Even in this ridiculous situation, I couldn’t help but laugh.

Strangely, no matter how much they joked around, it didn’t put me in a bad mood.

'I guess I’ve just gotten used to it.'

I took another sip of my ice water to cool off.

Even though I was in the shade, the air still felt like it was burning.

"Do you think it’s going to rain a lot when summer comes? I actually like the rain."

It wasn’t the usual "I focus better when it rains" kind of thing.

"When I listen to the sound of rain, all my worries disappear. My mind clears, and I stop overthinking."

It’s like a blank slate, I guess. No thoughts. I just stare blankly out the window.

"Whether it’s fire pits or water pits, I feel like time flies by when I watch the rain like that."

[Oh, I like the sound of rain too.] [I just stare blankly at Ha-Eun too.] [Where’s Ha-Eun’s school?] [Usually, it rains on days like this.] [Ha-Eun, do you have a boyfriend?] - Message deleted by the admin.

"School? Didn’t I mention it?"

[Search it up, idiots.] [If Ye-Seo and Yea-Hwa are at the same school, it's probably Saju Art High.] [Are you not drawing today?] [Didn’t you draw earlier? lol] [Isn’t this your first broadcast?]

"Well, since I have nothing else to do, should I just keep drawing? They don’t seem to care much anyway."

The viewers were more than happy to let me continue.

After all, they were watching for the art.

"My sketchbook’s too small for a big drawing. I could only do something like a caricature or a small sketch."

This time, I wasn’t taking votes on a theme. I chose it on my own.

What should I draw? What would get a good reaction?

"How about I draw a story from my past?"

[Oh, sounds good.] [Today’s broadcast is going great.] [This is going to be fun~] [What kind of life did Ha-Eun live to make Ye-Seo a childhood friend...] [How high up do you think Ha-Eun’s looks are?]

The viewers seemed to expect it. Actually, I’d never talked about my childhood on the broadcast before.

Well, it wasn’t particularly interesting, and nothing special really happened... was it? Probably not.

For a moment, I wondered if I should tell them, but eh, what could go wrong?

"Hmm. Where should I start?"

I let the pen glide over the notebook. I drew a line to set a boundary and made a chapter.

"Well then, should I start from when I was 4 years old? That’s when I first picked up a brush."

That was already 13 years ago. Time really flies.

I drew a small figure and turned it into a webtoon format.

"When I was this age, I went to a drawing café with Ha Soo-Yul. I remember we were drawing a picture of something that looked like either a tiger or a cat, and we were both so proud of ourselves. It was pretty funny."

I chuckled as I reminisced. That shark drawing of mine still gets requested to this day.

Maybe I’ll be asked to draw sharks for the rest of my life.

"And when I was 4, my little sister Ha-Yoon was born."

"How do you remember all that? I can’t even remember anything."

"I remember everything. My memory’s actually pretty good, you know?"

Ha-Yoon, who had appeared I didn’t even notice, leaned on my shoulder.

What about Ha-Yoon? Who saved her?

"There was no one."

"What... How did I survive?"

"You always call me a hero."

"Hehehe, just joking. You can’t forget that moment."

Ha-Yoon shrugged and smiled, though her eyes had turned cold.

"Every time I think about that day, my body shakes. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep."

The younger you are, the stronger the trauma. I was only 3 when that happened.

Ha-Yoon buried her face in my shoulder.

Ha Soo-Yul hugged Ha-Yoon from behind. I guess only the two of us, me and Soo-Yul, were there that day.

"Anyway, once I realized no one was near Ha-Yoon, I ran. Every second mattered."

I didn’t even think to call an adult. My body just reacted first.

It was a reflexive action.

Luckily, because of that instinct, I didn’t lose Ha-Yoon.

"Ugh... The water entered through my mouth and nose, and it was hard to breathe. Plus, I got a cramp in my leg."

[What the heck;;;] [How did you survive? Didn’t you have bad stamina?] [But when your family’s in danger, you’d probably push yourself, right?] [You can’t do that unless you’re family.]

"Let’s avoid naming specific people, okay? After that... well, I made it out alive."

Honestly, back then, I thought I was going to die. I cried like crazy.

I couldn’t bear to lose my family, not after finally getting one.

"It’s not the most pleasant story, so let’s stop here. Next, we’ll talk about when I was 10—"

The stories went on, and eventually, they led up to the present day.

"That’s how today’s broadcast came to be."

[Two hours of storytelling, wow.] [The broadcaster’s life must be rough, huh.] [His past is all just sad stories.] [Bullying? Yeah, it happened. But it wasn’t a big deal with that body.] - Message deleted by the admin. Reason: Fact ban. [Why’d you go to the retreat like it was the military?]

Before I knew it, half of my notebook was used up, and the broadcast had gone on much longer than expected.

"Have you all had enough fun?"

Everyone nodded at my question.

"This story’s great, even if the content’s a little rough."

Choi Ye-Seo gave me a thumbs-up and nodded with satisfaction.

Ha Soo-Yul smiled a little while holding Ha-Yoon.

Hong Yea-Hwa was...

"...Are you okay?"

"I think I’m dying..."

Even after changing clothes, Hong Yea-Hwa, exhausted and gasping, pleaded desperately.

"Please, can we go inside?"

"Since it’s getting late, should we just head out for lunch?"

Hong Yea-Hwa looked up with hope but then collapsed, too tired to keep her head up.

"Well, let’s end it with a food broadcast, then."

The viewers agreed, and to cool off the exhausted kids, we headed to a nearby restaurant.

We ended up at a cold noodle restaurant with powerful air conditioning.

Hong Yea-Hwa experienced bliss like a sage in a paradise.

The others shivered, enjoying the cool air.

We had permission to film, so the food broadcast went smoothly.

It turned out that the owner of the restaurant was a fan of mine, and along with my cold noodles, he asked for my autograph.

As everyone ate, I couldn’t help but think about the upcoming day.

‘I wonder if my sister will like cold noodles? Honestly, I prefer water noodles over spicy noodles.’

About the food I’d place on the table.

Even though she’s my sister, I wouldn’t forgive her if she picked spicy noodles.