Chapter 193: Drawing from Life
Three people were shocked by Ha Muyoung’s statement.
Kim San was shocked that the person she thought was Dried Potato was actually Su-an, and Su-an was shocked that the person Muyoung saw as ‘Dried Potato’ was her.
“Uh…”
But the most shocked of all was Muyoung.
Even if it wasn’t a compliment, he thought she would at least recognize him, but of all things, Dried Potato!
The three of them stared blankly at the sketchbook in silence until the cafe owner brought over three drinks.
“Oh my. What’s this? Dried Potato?”
“……!!”
The final blow was struck.
Muyoung looked almost despairing and on the verge of tears, but the owner didn’t notice and just laughed heartily before returning to the counter. Kim San flipped through the sketchbook, muttering,
“It seems like Muyoung’s drawing practice is more urgent than rehearsing lines.”
“……”
Nodding in agreement, Su-an quietly but deeply expressed her consent by nodding her head repeatedly. Even though there was a stand-in for the painting, the role was that of an ‘artist’.
It was a part that Muyoung had to pull off on his own. With directing and editing, a convincing impression could be created, but the artist’s passionate atmosphere had to be conveyed entirely by Muyoung.
“This is bad. I didn’t think it would be this bad.”
“You didn’t know? Is that so…”
Kim San agreed with a voice devoid of soul. How could he not know when it was so obvious? Muyoung looked at the sketchbook with a disappointed expression, then suddenly gasped.
“Ah!”
His eyes blinked rapidly. It seemed like he had remembered something, and his expression brightened instantly. Muyoung took a well-sharpened pencil out of his bag.
“Me!”
“Huh?”
“I had a similar experience! Wow! It was when we were filming You are a Star, I am a Star, and Enbin and Romin gave me vocal training.”
“The band drama?”
“Yeah! But no matter what I did, it didn’t work, but when I acted it out, it worked. Maybe it’ll be the same this time?”
Kim San tilted her head in confusion at Muyoung’s cryptic words. Su-an had been stiff as a rock since earlier and didn’t respond.
“What does that mean?”
“Just a moment! Just a moment!”
It would be better to show them directly!
Muyoung straightened the pencil while humming a tune. Then, with great confidence, he drew a cross on the sketchbook.
“I’ll try drawing Su-an again.”
Su-an, who was already stiff as a board, seemed to stop breathing at the mention of being drawn again. Kim San, not knowing what was going on but finding the situation quite amusing, just sipped her drink and watched the two.
“Don’t move, senior.”
A genius artist. A great painter who creates his own world with the tip of his brush. Muyoung carefully observed Su-an’s thick eyebrows, straight nose, and deep eyes.
“……”
Unable to withstand Muyoung’s intense gaze, Su-an slowly averted her eyes. She was so shy that it was hard to believe she was an actress.
Whoosh.
Instead of thinking of the character ‘Dokyung’, Muyoung imagined himself as a ‘painter’ and became engrossed in his work. The pencil lines flowed freely across the white paper.
“Oh. The posture is coming together a bit?”
Not only were his arms extending smoothly, but even the way he held the pencil looked natural. And that serious face. If it weren’t for the fact that he looked like a dried potato, he could pass for someone who made a living as an artist.
“The atmosphere is like that of a fine arts student. Hahaha.”
“……How much longer will this take?”
“Just a moment. Don’t move!”
“Oh. You really shouldn’t disturb someone when they’re working.”
As long as the canvas wasn’t shown on screen at the same time, the acting was good enough. By the time the ice in the drinks had melted halfway…
“There!”
“Are you done? Let me see.”
Kim San and Su-an leaned forward with expectant eyes. Muyoung’s eyes sparkled with anticipation, hoping for praise. He thought it looked much better than before. Definitely, acting it out helped—
“A burnt potato…?”
“Huh!?”
“Well, um, it’s a bit better. It’s better, but, uh, yeah.”
Kim San poked Su-an’s arm, urging her to say something. But Su-an didn’t know how to compliment him. In the end, she tried to comfort Muyoung with a joke.
“……I…… was a potato.”
“No. Does this look like a potato too?”
“Yeah. But it definitely looks more human than a dried one.”
“Oh my God. This can’t be happening.”
Muyoung muttered, as if he had been hit on the back of the head.
Even the method he had relied on didn’t work, leaving him feeling lost and helpless. He absolutely could not let his incompetence cause problems for the film production.
“Um. Shall we change seats?”
Kim San suggested, making a call.
“I have a close artist friend whose studio is nearby. The exhibition just ended, so they’ll be free. Let’s go there, learn some short-term skills, and get some advice.”
“Is it okay to go to the studio?”
“Yeah. Just bring some food.”
At her words, Muyoung jumped up and shouted to the cafe owner,
“Owner! Please pack up all the desserts here!”
“Why did you buy all this?”
The man, with transparent horn-rimmed glasses, dreadlocks, and tattoos covering his body from the neck down, looked every bit the artist. He happily hugged the desserts Muyoung had brought and greeted them,
“Hello. I’m Muyoung. I’m Johnny.”
“Ah. Hello. I’m Ha Muyoung.”
“And this is Su-an?”
“……”
She remained silent and only shook his hand, but Johnny didn’t seem to mind. He focused on catching up with Kim San, whom he hadn’t seen in a while.
‘Wow.’
Muyoung looked around the studio in awe.
Now he understood why Kim San had introduced him to Johnny.
Under the red and blue lights hung numerous grotesque paintings. Twisted, broken, and crushed, the unidentified forms were everywhere.
“Johnny does a lot of grotesque work. I think it’s similar to what Dokyung paints.”
“It’s really intense.”
Muyoung responded and clicked his tongue in amazement.
‘There are so many ghosts.’
Since it was a basement and filled with these paintings, there was nowhere for the negative energy to escape. The grotesque monsters in the artworks seemed like they could jump out at any moment, and all sorts of things were scattered everywhere.
“Does your head hurt or anything?”
“The ventilation is a bit poor, but it’s not that bad.”
Johnny smiled good-naturedly. It must suit his constitution. Otherwise, he would be in pain everywhere, aching, and having nightmares all the time…
“……”
Just like Su-an over there.
He sat in a corner chair, hunched over, looking around the studio. Despite his size, he was clearly tense.
“So, there’s a scene where you’re drawing, and Muyoung is hopeless at it?”
Johnny asked, munching on a cookie.
Hopeless. He couldn’t deny it. Muyoung nodded with tears in his eyes.
“This is what Muyoung drew.”
“It has a certain feel to it! It’s abstract art, right?”
“……It’s a person. A person. Su-an over there.”
Johnny flipped through the sketchbook Kim San showed him. Soon, he grimaced and laughed.
“It doesn’t have to be a detailed drawing, right?”
It was a diagnosis of no possibility. Even if he started slowly, it wouldn’t work, and filming was just around the corner.
“True, but at least help him look like he has some sense for it. Even if it’s abstract, the audience needs to be convinced. It’s not just about slapping on some color.”
Even if Dokyung was a genius artist in the story, if the painting looked amateurish, the quality of the work itself would be compromised. Johnny pondered, stroking his chin.
“Muyoung, if you don’t mind, why don’t you try painting with watercolor? It’s a bit different from using a pencil.”
The goal was to create a ‘convincing’ piece. It seemed better to focus on color and brushstrokes.
Muyoung took the brush and palette Johnny handed him and stood by the wall.
“Should I paint here?”
“Yes. It’s my practice wall.”
He could paint over it, and if it didn’t work out, he could just cover it with white paint. Muyoung found an empty spot and stood there, crossing his arms in confusion.
‘What should I paint? A person probably won’t work.’
He didn’t want to be made fun of as a potato again. As Muyoung struggled with what to paint…
Suddenly, a human head popped out of the wall.
Gurgle!
“Oh! You startled me.”
It was a ghost with grotesquely mixed eyes, nose, and mouth. Its gravity-defying hair spread in all directions along with blood.
The ghost seemed to realize that Muyoung could see ghosts and moved its face close to scare him.
“Ah. Just a moment.”
Muyoung stopped the ghost by placing his hand on its face and whispered quietly. Anyway, with the music playing in the studio, no one would hear him talking to himself.
“Stay still. Just stay still.”
The ghost froze in a twisted position. The other ghosts also focused their attention on the two, wondering what was happening. Muyoung began to paint over the ghost stuck to the wall.
Gurgle…
It was easier to follow the lines than to fill a blank canvas. As he painted the ghost’s face like a coloring activity, a form quickly appeared on the wall.
Gurgle…
Sensing something strange, the ghost tried to slip back into the wall, but Muyoung firmly held it in place.
“I’ll give you a cookie. A cookie. Stretch your arm out to the side.”
The ghost, which only ate negative energy, naturally followed Muyoung’s instructions. An arm as tall as a person stretched out and posed.
Whoosh.
Muyoung’s brushstrokes followed smoothly.
Kim San and Su-an, who were watching Muyoung while eating desserts in the back, tilted their heads in surprise.
“What’s this? Some kind of form is emerging?”
“……It looks like a ghost.”
“I was thinking the same thing! We finally recognized something at the same time.”
Johnny just crossed his arms and watched Muyoung’s back. At first, he thought Muyoung was copying part of his work, but that wasn’t the case at all. It was a unique design, vivid yet grotesquely extreme.
“Just a little more.”
Muyoung whispered, soothing the ghost. Although it wouldn’t be ticklish, having someone paint over you while you’re stuck to the wall must be a strange experience.
He concentrated, not missing a single detail.
Gurgle…
Enticed by the offer of food, more ghosts gathered. They stuck themselves to the wall, asking to be painted, and waited for Muyoung’s brushstrokes. It was so wide that he probably couldn’t paint them all…
“Stop.”
At Johnny’s words, Muyoung put down his hand. His shoulders were a bit stiff from painting so intently.
The distorted proportions gave off a creepy sensation that he really liked. It wasn’t as detailed and perfect as a still life, but it looked very ‘convincing’.
It was as if the insane inner world of a mad artist had been transferred directly onto the wall.
“It’s raw.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“Yes. A real compliment.”
“Oh yeah!”
I can’t bring myself to say I traced it. Kim San also laughed as she took a picture of Muyoung’s painting.
“Muyoung really suits the role of Dokyung.”
“……Does that mean he looks like a psycho?”
As Kim San gave a thumbs up, Su-an muttered.
“Why does it matter? As long as he doesn’t look like a dried potato!”
Muyoung smiled proudly, holding the palette. He thought that on the day of the painting scene, he should bring a ghost that looked somewhat normal.
Buzz. Buzz.
“Oh. Quick response.”
Kim San took a picture of Muyoung and the grotesque painting and sent it to Director Kim San. As soon as she saw the message, the director called her.
“Yes. It’s Kim San.”
-What is that photo?
“It’s crazy, right?”
A completely crazy painting.
Yes. No other word was needed to describe it.
-Is that really what Muyoung painted? It looks like something a complete psycho would paint.
How could someone who looks like an angel paint something like that! Director Kim San laughed incredulously. Muyoung was receiving tips and supplementary lessons from Johnny.
-Ah. And the schedule is set. We’ll have the table reading next week and start filming. We’re also planning a ritual, and since I’m quite superstitious, I want to make it grand. I hope you can all attend.
How grand of a ritual could it be for her to emphasize it so much? Kim San said she understood and looked at Muyoung.
Muyoung was laughing, holding a cookie in mid-air.
No one thought he was feeding a ghost.