Episode 102: Seoyeon’s Story
Erlin held Kang Lim’s hand and hopped excitedly.
He had a light and cheerful step.
“Oppa, can I carry the picture book?”
“Sure, but it’s heavy. You can turn the pages, but it might be hard to carry. Plus, you need to hold my hand so you don’t fall.”
“Too bad!”
Kang Lim and Erlin headed to the building next door.
The exterior looked like a 19th-century Haussmann-style building, but the interior had been extensively remodeled.
The marble floors and the chandelier hanging in the lobby were impressive.
“Wow, there’s even an elevator here.”
“Didn’t you know? I often visit Seoyeon unnie’s room.”
I’m jealous. It’s my first time here.
Kang Lim smiled at Erlin.
Thanks to this, he could also visit Seoyeon’s room, killing two birds with one stone.
“Did unnie usually read fairy tales to you?”
“Yes, we used to whisper in bed. It’s fun talking with unnie. If we ask her today, she’ll read to us.”
“That’s the right attitude!”
Kang Lim adjusted his hair in the elevator mirror and cleared his throat before getting off on the 6th floor.
There’s even a doorbell… The inside is almost like an apartment.
Kang Lim pressed the doorbell and lifted Erlin up.
This way, only Erlin would appear on the intercom screen.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Erlin!”
“Oh my, how did you grow so tall?”
“I grew up quickly.”
As Seoyeon’s laughter grew closer, the door swung open.
“I knew it. The little black-haired one is here too.”
“Ha ha, hello.”
“The white-haired and black-haired pair look good together. Their hair colors are opposite.”
“Thanks. We came to see if you could read us a new book.”
“Come in.”
Erlin took off her shoes by herself and went into the living room.
Then she looked up at Seoyeon with bright, twinkling eyes.
“Can I get on your bed, unnie?”
“Of course.”
Wow, with such a cute face, no one can say no.
Following Erlin, Kang Lim also asked.
“Can I get on the bed too?”
“…”
“Why are your eyes narrowing… I genuinely mean it.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
So the three of them opened the big fairy tale book on the bed.
The clean bookshelf, the warm wallpaper colors, and the scent from the diffuser.
Kang Lim was amazed by himself under the fluffy blanket.
Wow, is this what a princess’s room is like?
The bed is so big, no wonder Erlin loves it.
The electric blanket under the soft bed made it warm and cozy.
Of course, it didn’t make him sleepy just because it was comfortable.
Watching Erlin’s reactions was too entertaining.
‘Wow, her concentration is amazing. She must be enjoying it.’
Kang Lim held back his laughter to avoid disturbing them and watched Erlin and Seoyeon.
The combination of the two, like little rabbits, was adorable.
Erlin had been examining the book with a serious expression since the story began.
She looked like a little detective.
“These are Dolly’s footprints. The animal friends are worried, but she left alone?”
“Yes, should we follow to see where she’s going?”
“To the village where people live!”
Seoyeon held Erlin’s hand and touched the fairy tale book together.
A slightly firm sponge had been molded into the shapes of hooves.
Erlin’s small fingers sank into the book as if stepping on snow.
“Wow!”
“In the village Dolly arrived at…”
Seoyeon read the story in a calm and gentle voice.
She didn’t forget to introduce various fabrics in the scene where Dolly pursued her dream of becoming a designer.
Erlin burst into laughter as she touched the different fabrics sewn onto Dolly’s wool.
“Dolly’s fur is fluffy! The baby rabbit’s fur was so soft earlier… And the buttons look like coins, unnie.”
“That’s right, Dolly sewed shiny coins to make a fancy outfit. Want to touch the pocket part? It’s made of slightly rough fabric.”
“Yes! This feels like our carpet at home.”
“Ding dong dang. She also made a brooch by tying slippery nylon like mom’s stockings.”
“Wow… It’s layered just like touching a flower.”
Erlin rejoiced along with Dolly’s dream of becoming a designer coming true.
Eating delicious food and being in a warm place.
Of course, she was also afraid that the bad people her animal friends worried about might appear.
“Unnie, everything is good, but Dolly is enjoying herself alone. She looks down on her animal friends, which is a bit annoying… Anyway, the village is a dangerous place.”
“Right? So she gets fatter and fatter? Her face also changes to look very greedy. Will she meet a bad person?”
Erlin fiddled with Dolly and said.
“She seems to have gotten bigger. Her fur looks plump… It will be hard to run away like this.”
‘It’s good that I stuffed the doll with some grass and fluff.’
Kang Lim nodded as he listened to the story.
The story felt new when Seoyeon read it.
As the happy story gradually headed towards disaster, Erlin wiped the sweat on her hands on her clothes.
In the end, she held Seoyeon’s arm tightly, worried.
“Dolly’s fur changed! It became cashmere, unnie! What should we do… It’s a disaster.”
Nervous, Erlin worried about a hunter disguised as a regular customer coming.
As Dolly trembled in the cold outside her house, who was the shadow looming over her…?
Erlin gulped and turned the page.
Fortunately, the animal friends who had anticipated this situation appeared first.
A small squirrel had been tracking Dolly’s movements.
“Oh, that’s why there were so many acorns in the book!”
Erlin realized the foreshadowing because she had touched the acorn shells Kang Lim added.
In front of Dolly’s workshop window, in front of the snake’s burrow, at the entrance of the factory…
Acorns were scattered everywhere.
But the tension remained high until the end.
Dolly denied that a regular customer would do such a thing.
In the end, reluctantly led by the male deer, Dolly hid in the forest.
Only when another customer appeared did it finally become quiet.
The animals held their breath and watched the hunter with a gun from a distance.
The hunter wandered around looking for Dolly even in the last scene.
Seoyeon explained that his shadow was drawn like a wolf.
With a long, ripped mouth, drooling.
After the story ended.
Erlin sighed in relief and said.
“Phew… Dolly almost got into big trouble.”
Kang Lim found her tone so funny that he burst into laughter.
Seoyeon also laughed along and said to Erlin.
“If Erlin were one of the animal friends, do you think you would have helped Dolly?”
“No! I would have farted like a skunk. Dolly did wrong… Ignoring friends in the cold, not sharing food, and not trusting them until the end!”
Erlin laughed, holding her belly from the word “fart.”
“Really? Not just because farts are funny?”
Erlin covered her mouth with her small hand and laughed.
“Hehe, yes. Actually, Erlin would have helped Dolly. She was nice at first and had dreams.”
“Right, Dolly regretted her actions. If she reflects, shouldn’t she get another chance to come back?”
Erlin thought for a moment and then spoke.
“But reflection alone isn’t enough.”
“Why?”
“Mom said actions are more important. Dolly came back to the forest, so she should make clothes for her cold animal friends. Bad people don’t need fur clothes.”
“Wow! That sounds nice. Continuing her dream as a designer in the forest.”
“And since she turned black from eating black grass, maybe eating white snow will make her white again. Then she can meet her family again.”
“Dolly will have to work hard then.”
“Of course!”
Erlin couldn’t distinguish colors, but she understood the concepts of brightness and darkness.
White and black. Kang Lim admired Erlin for creating a rich story within those limited conditions.
Seoyeon’s storytelling was perfect too. As expected of a curator, it shows even in times like this.
Kang Lim liked that Seoyeon understood his feelings perfectly.
Listening to their creative conversation gave him new ideas.
‘I should add a scene in the appendix where Dolly makes clothes for her friends based on Erlin’s suggestion. The main story should leave some room for thought, so I’ll save the happy ending for later.’
Erlin enjoyed the fairy tale so much that she asked to read it several times.
In the end, she fell asleep to Seoyeon’s voice…
But even in her sleep, she had a smile on her face.
Kang Lim and Seoyeon put Erlin to sleep and turned on their phones.
They shared earphones and watched a video of an awards ceremony held in Korea.
World Book Publishing, Picture Book Contest.
When the grand prize-winning work was announced, Kang Lim’s father went up to the podium.
He seemed shy as he adjusted his voice and then smiled brightly.
Kang Lim found his father’s appearance amusing and new.
Seoyeon looked at Kang Lim and asked.
“I thought your mother, being a novelist, would come out instead, but your father came?”
“Yeah. My mom doesn’t like hearing that she became famous just because she’s ‘Kang Lim’s mom.’ She’ll probably only let me illustrate her work after I become famous.”
“Wow, she has a lot of artistic pride.”
“Of course. And my dad loves being in the spotlight. It’s amazing he managed to keep me off TV when I was a kid.”
Flashbulbs went off as Kang Lim’s father delivered the acceptance speech.
He looked much more composed than when Kang Lim had been nervous.
His father’s excited voice came through the earphones.
[Thank you for giving us this great award. My son is in France, so I’m here on his behalf.
Kang Lim has been drawing diligently since he was young, but I always worried if I could handle it.
As many of you know, our family wasn’t very well-off.
No matter how talented you are, art is subjective, and we often heard that you shouldn’t pursue it if you don’t have money.
So I felt sorry that I couldn’t support him more.
However, I’m very happy that Kang Lim’s efforts have allowed him to share good stories with children.
I hope he can continue to use his art to make a positive impact on society.
By the way, this book is enjoyable for adults too.
Am I bragging too much about my son?]
The audience’s laughter occasionally mixed with the speech.
The lively sound made Kang Lim feel like he was there.
His mother must be sitting there too. She’s probably feeling embarrassed.
She’d say it’s not like winning an award at a film festival, so why is the speech so long?
Seoyeon watched Kang Lim’s father with warm eyes until the ceremony ended.
[Honey, you’ve worked hard. I love you.]
But why did her heart sink at those last words?
Her nose tingled inexplicably. It was a feeling she couldn’t describe.
Emotions, like a giant wave, suddenly appeared and toppled the sandcastle she had built.
Why am I like this? Seoyeon moved her body deliberately to avoid tearing up.
Her heart felt heavy as if she had swallowed a large stone.
Seoyeon felt like Kang Lim was watching her, so she spoke in a lively voice.
She wanted to change the subject.
“But what kind of books does your mother write? She doesn’t write about art prodigies, does she?”
“No way. My mom writes about ordinary people.”
“Ordinary people?”
“Yes, the current one is probably inspired by my dad. It’s a calm story. Not much happens. But the writing is so beautiful that even a simple meal scene makes you choke up. In the end, there’s no such thing as an ordinary person.”
“I see… Your dad is really lucky. He has your mom.”
Seoyeon’s long eyelashes cast shadows on her white skin.
Kang Lim read the deep sadness in her eyes.
It wasn’t hard to understand why.
Everyone in the country knew that Seoyeon’s parents had divorced.
Ryu Miyeon had made headlines for marrying an ordinary office worker.
While the details were unclear…
Their love, which overcame social status differences, had been praised, but they separated.
People said it was all Ryu Miyeon’s fault.
Her public image was sharp and cold since she avoided media exposure.
However, when Kang Lim met Ryu Miyeon, she was very different from the person he had heard about.
After all, how can you summarize a relationship in one sentence?
Only the people involved can truly know.
He didn’t know much about the intricacies of a wealthy family…
Ryu Junhee was just a friendly person.
Still, Kang Lim wanted to secure a solid position in the art world.
Being labeled as a famous rookie in Korea wasn’t enough.
It felt like only then would the hurtful words stop circulating.
“Why envy my dad? I’ll be here for you.”
Kang Lim tucked Seoyeon’s long hair behind her ear.
Seoyeon, who had been silently bowing her head, was startled by the warm touch.
Her round eyes met Kang Lim’s jet-black pupils.
For some reason, the spot where his gaze touched felt warm.
His low, gentle tone. Kang Lim’s voice was always sincere.
“What are you saying… Suddenly being cheesy.”
Seoyeon turned her head sharply again.
She suddenly remembered the nickname Sehee used to tease her with.
She worried that her face might have turned red again.
Kang Lim smiled as if he had read her mind and said.
“Your nostrils are twitching? Maybe you actually like me?”
He was joking to ease her tension.
As expected, Seoyeon’s reaction was fiery.
She clenched her fists and shouted.
“You were like this when we first met too! Really unbelievable!”
Startled by her raised voice, Kang Lim put his finger to his lips and whispered.
“Hey… What if you shout so loudly? If Erlin wakes up, you’ll have to read the fairy tale again. Can you handle it?”
“Oh.”
Seoyeon covered her mouth and slowly turned her head.
Erlin, who was sleeping on the bed, stirred.
After holding her breath for a while, Erlin stopped moving and fell back asleep.
“Phew… That was close. You should make an audio book soon.”
“Ha ha, got it.”
Kang Lim made a delicious dinner with the two of them.
They chatted endlessly while eating, but the room eventually grew quiet.
Erlin and Seoyeon had fallen asleep again.
It’s understandable for Seoyeon, but Erlin really sleeps a lot.
Didn’t she sleep early yesterday? Well, it’s normal to be sleepy after a meal.
Kang Lim took a picture of the two and sent it to Isabelle.
Getting permission to stay late was a different matter.
Gentle breaths could be heard from the two.
Kang Lim carefully approached and tucked in the loose blanket.
Their little noses twitched.
Kang Lim opened his drawing book and took out pastels.
It was a moment too precious to leave only in memory.
