Van Gogh Reborn!

238

It wasn’t there, but it appeared (6)

“Hahaha. Yes. Author Henri Matisse says he’s not a fool.”

Alphonse Mendy summarized what Ko Hun said and Ko Hun laughed.

“That’s right. I remember that story was going around for a while. There was an article that said he invested a million dollars at the time, but if that’s true, he would have a pretty high return rate this time.”

“That’s right.”

Ko Hun looked at Alphonse Mendy and laughed again, then the phone rang.

“I’m sorry.”

“Haha. It’s okay. You must be getting a lot of calls from everywhere.”

“Hahahat!”

Alphonse Mendy covered his mouth with a cue card and didn’t know what to do.

“Oh, really. Hahaha. That’s great. I wish author Henri Matisse would come on the show sometime and tell us the rest of the story.”

Alphonse Mendy calmed down and continued with the question.

“By the way, you just said ‘our Matisse’, what does that mean?”

“It’s a concept that’s often used in Korea. Like our school, our mom and dad, our husband, wife, etc.”

“…Our husband?”

Alphonse Mendy widened his eyes.

The audience also looked puzzled and Ko Hun understood what they were wondering about.

“It’s because of the communal thinking. It’s not a concept of actually sharing a spouse.”

“Oh.”

Alphonse Mendy nodded.

“So the drama you introduced before, Blood Mark, is not a common thing in Korea either?”

“Yes.”

“I thought so.”

Ko Hun nodded and smiled.

“Anyway, I think it’s a very cool concept. It’s a feeling of becoming one while respecting each other. Actually, I’ve been looking for someone to draw with for a while.”

“Yes. You did. The suspicious poster.”

Ko Hun paused and then continued the story.

“Yes. A lot of people contacted me, but I couldn’t find anyone I liked. So far, there was only one person.”

“Is it Matisse?”

Ko Hun nodded.

“We don’t share the same studio, but we sometimes meet and talk about our works.”

“I see. So you work separately, but you have a kind of club where you can have deep conversations about your works.”

“That’s right.”

“That’s very nice. Let’s find out more about the club that Ko Hun created in the second part.”

The next day.

I heard that the wall had been updated and went to the lab, and Matisse came walking cheerfully.

“You’re crazy!”

He’s always cheerful whenever I see him.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning my ass! Why didn’t you answer the phone!”

“I was tired and slept. I went on the air as soon as I got back.”

“So you can talk nonsense when you’re tired? Why did you make a fuss with that nonsense!”

“What?”

“You don’t know?”

“Did you say ‘our Matisse’?”

“You bastard!”

He glared at me and ran towards me.

Since last November, I’ve felt that Matisse is the most fun when he’s teased.

He’s usually serious and quiet, but he gets angry when I tease him a little. It’s cute.

I was curious why Michel and Arsen sometimes enjoyed teasing Matisse, but now I understand.

“Oh, you said you’re not a fool?”

“Yes!”

“Why?”

“Why do you say the obvious!”

“Because I’m teasing you.”

“Don’t joke. You think I don’t know you’re doing it on purpose!”

Matisse opened his mouth wide and I put a chocolate in his mouth and he frowned.

“…What is this.”

“It’s delicious. I bought it from a handmade chocolate shop in Brussels.”

He looked at the chocolate box he bought as a souvenir from his trip, wondering if he liked it.

“Is Hoon here?”

It was Michelle’s voice.

I turned my head and saw Michelle, who had tied up her long hair unlike usual, wearing glasses.

“Here, take this.”

She took out another chocolate box from her bag.

“What? What is this?”

“I bought it in Brussels. It was delicious.”

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

Michelle took a bite and her eyes widened.

Even the angry Henri Marso made the chocolate quietly.

“It’s really good. It’s not too sweet.”

“Isn’t it smooth?”

“Yeah. It’s very rich.”

She took another bite.

The white chocolate that covered the surface had a soft chocolate cream underneath, and the flavor was so amazing that I couldn’t help but get drunk as soon as it spread in my mouth.

As I enjoyed the sour and deep sweetness, I unknowingly emptied a box.

“By the way, are you still looking for someone?”

“Yes. Do you have any thoughts?”

“No.”

Michelle smiled.

She had a wide range of knowledge and experience as a curator, so she would have been a good discussion partner, but it was a pity.

“I had a candidate to recommend.”

“Who is it?”

“Vida Lavani, 16 years old. She likes drawing and is kind.”

It’s a unique name.

“She was with me when that happened. Do you remember?”

“Ah.”

The Muslim kid who was taken hostage when the terrorists broke into the Marso Gallery.

He couldn’t even scream, but we picked candy together.

There was no news after that, and I was worried because the media didn’t cover anything about him.

“I know. How do you know?”

“She works as a cleaner at the gallery. She never misses a day and is very diligent.”

She must have started working at a young age.

“She asked me to teach her how to send an email a while ago, so I helped her. She saw your poster.”

I didn’t know there were people who didn’t know how to send an email these days.

If life is so hard that you can’t afford a computer or a smartphone, it’s possible, but I overlooked it.

“How about it? Do you want to meet her?”

“Yes. Can I go to the gallery tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Anytime.”

“It’s a waste of time.”

Marso said, eating chocolate.

“Do you want to build a gallery? Whether you make a work or a broadcast, is this the time to care about someone else?”

“I just have to meet him as much as I don’t feel burdened.”

“That’s what you think. How many decent people have you wanted to work with? They were all trying to get something out of it.”

He doesn’t trust people because he’s been through a lot of crap.

“She’s different. She’s not the one who will burden Hoon.”

Michelle defended Vida Lavani.

“I don’t know that.”

Henri Marso got up and reached for Michelle’s chocolate, but she slapped his hand.

“It’s mine.”

Marso turned his head and I gave him one of mine, and he swallowed it in one bite.

“People who haven’t eaten anything don’t have greed. They just want it.”

They only think about surviving as they are desperate.

“Greed comes as soon as something enters your mouth. The longer the deprivation, the more you can’t be satisfied no matter how much you eat.”

It’s a simple word.

You can endure hunger with an empty stomach, but if you eat a little bit of something, it becomes harder to endure.

“People are like that.”

Marso said firmly.

Maybe the Damien Carter incident had a big impact on Marso.

“There are people like that, but there are also people who are not. How can you live if everyone is bad?”

I hoped that this stubborn friend would be a little more honest someday and gave him another chocolate.

When I visited the Marso Gallery for the first time in a long time, Vida Lavani greeted me with a bright smile as soon as I entered the building.

“Ko Hun!”

I felt relieved to see him looking healthier than before, even though he was still skinny and bony.

“How have you been?”

“Do you remember me?”

“Of course.”

He opened his eyes wide and smiled happily, making me feel cheerful too.

“This is the best candy today.”

Vida Lavani handed me a bunch of caramel candies.

I had visited many museums and galleries, but this was the first time I enjoyed so much.

He didn’t explain the artwork, but I thought that if Fernando Gonzalez saw Vida Lavani, he would choose him as the best interpreter of his work.

“Thank you.”

I grabbed three caramel candies, put one in my mouth and the rest in my pocket.

“I heard from Michelle. She wants to draw with you.”

“The director?”

“Yeah. Can we talk for a bit?”

“Uh… I’m working right now. Sorry. Hm, can you come to my house after work?”

“When do you finish?”

“6 o’clock.”

There were about two hours left.

“I’ll look around while I wait.”

“Okay! I’ll finish soon!”

I didn’t know how he could finish the work so quickly within the given time, but I understood his feelings well enough and nodded.

As I entered the room to admire the artwork, Michel approached me after a while.

“Weren’t you talking to Vida?”

“He said he was working, so I’m waiting for him.”

“Talk to him. Should I call him?”

“No, thanks.”

“Why?”

“I feel like it would be a burden.”

According to what I heard from Michel, there was no real reason to hire him, but he felt sorry for his situation and took him in.

Once he hired him, he was diligent and entrusted him with some chores.

Michel wouldn’t have told Vida Rabbani that, but a kid who lived on the streets wouldn’t be clueless.

He must know his situation very well and work even harder because of that.

If I asked him to spare some time during work, he would feel anxious and uncomfortable.

“I see.”

Michel smiled and looked at the he was admiring.

It was a work that Henri Marso used his own photos to shape lilies.

“He’s been having a hard time lately.”

“Rabbani?”

“Henri.”

Michel turned his head and met my eyes as he was looking at .

“He has to worry about Antermittang and the opening. He’s also working on a reform plan for the auction system. He has a lot of things to do, but I think he was a bit shocked by the Damien Carter incident.”

“…”

“The glass that looked like sapphire. It seemed like he spilled it on purpose.”

In the past, when he couldn’t use the jewels directly, Damien Carter made the glass look like jewels.

And he used the same technique he used in the past for his last work.

And that became the clue that led to the discovery of his secret workshop.

“He committed a crime and that’s why he’s unforgivable, but I can’t hate him completely and he seems to be struggling with that.”

I felt the same way.

I felt a contradictory emotion of sympathy and resentment.

“He wouldn’t have been like that before. He said that yesterday, but he’s actually worried inside.”

“That’s why he introduced Antermittang, right?”

“Yeah. He says that, but he cares about a lot of things.”

Michel reminded me of Henri’s inner thoughts once more.

“I know. Even if you pretend not to believe him, there’s no one who cares about the artists as much as Henri.”

Michel laughed.

“Thank you. I feel like I smile a lot since I met you.”

“Me too. It’s fun to tease you.”

“Heh. Yesterday was good.”

I high-fived Michel.