Van Gogh Reborn!

244

Banksy (3)

The next day.

“Grandpa, it’s morning.”

As soon as I felt the sunlight, I got up and woke up Grandpa. He was too tired to get up, so he shook me and pulled me into his arms.

I couldn’t breathe.

No matter how hard I pushed, I couldn’t overpower Grandpa, who could bench press 120 kg.

Luckily, he let go of me when I tried to slip out from under him.

“What time is it…”

“Hmm. …Let’s sleep a little more.”

Grandpa closed his eyes again.

He seemed exhausted, so I decided to let him sleep until I prepared breakfast.

I went downstairs and took out a frying pan. I greased it and cracked three eggs into it.

I sprinkled some salt and turned up the heat.

In Korea, the gas valve was too high and it was inconvenient, but here it was easy to use an induction stove.

“Hmm.”

Grandpa couldn’t eat rice without soup, so I had to boil some.

I scooped out some miso paste into a small pot and added chopped green onions and tofu.

I put some bread in the toaster and took out some Nutella and strawberry jam. I washed some vegetables and topped them with the dressing Grandpa made yesterday. Then Grandpa came down.

“Huh?”

“Are you awake?”

He blinked.

“Did you do this? The fry too?”

“Yes.”

“Please eat.”

Grandpa looked nervous and checked the miso soup. Then he smiled.

“I never thought I’d eat a meal prepared by my grandson.”

“I’ll do it more often.”

“Heh. You rascal.”

Grandpa and I ate a simple breakfast and packed the rest of our stuff.

I packed as many brushes as I could, and Grandpa looked puzzled.

“Why are you taking so many?”

“Yes.”

“Acrylic paint is fine if you use it well. You’re not going to paint it all today, are you?”

“Maybe I can.”

“Heh. Painting a mural is no easy task. Even if Grandpa helps you, it’s impossible to finish today. It’ll take a few days.”

“There might be someone to help me.”

“Who else is coming?”

“No.”

I didn’t make any promises, but you never know.

I packed enough brushes and snacks.

We drove Grandpa’s car to the square. There were quite a few people around, probably because it was a tourist spot.

We found a spot below the uphill road leading to the pink house.

“This is no ordinary job.”

Grandpa looked up at the uphill road and laughed bitterly.

It seemed like it would be too hard for Grandpa and me to do it alone.

“Maybe we can finish it someday if we paint one by one?”

“Yeah. Let’s give it a try.”

Grandpa loosened his shoulders and spoke confidently. I was very grateful to Grandpa for helping me with the mural preparation.

First, we had to remove the dirt and debris that stuck to the wall and the road to make the paint stick well.

We wiped the road with the cloth and wet wipes we brought. It was so dirty that I couldn’t use the cloth again.

“This won’t do. We’ll have to find a way to bring water tomorrow.”

“Can we do that?”

“We’ll have to get permission, but it’s just a matter of connecting the water. We’ll get tired before we even start painting if we have to bend over and wipe like this.”

Grandpa was right.

It would be much easier to wash the wall and the road with high-pressure water than to wipe them with a cloth.

But if we painted from the bottom up like we did now, the paint would be washed away by the water.

“Should we paint from the top then?”

“Yeah.”

It was our first time doing this, so we made a lot of mistakes.

We hurriedly repacked our stuff and climbed up the hill.

“Is that Go Soo-yeol?”

“It’s Ko Hun.”

As I was cleaning the street, some passersby recognized me.

“Hello.”

“What are you doing? Volunteering?”

“I’m going to draw a picture.”

“Here?”

“Yes.”

It didn’t look strange, since this was a street of artists and there were many artworks on display.

People started to gather around, but luckily they kept their distance and didn’t interfere with my work.

“Hoon, can we start from here?”

“You don’t have to follow the sketch. It won’t turn out the same anyway.”

“Hmm. Okay.”

I didn’t plan to stick to the original sketch for this street art, since there were too many variables.

I wanted to draw freely as I felt.

Ko Hun’s scene of drawing a picture in the square became a hot topic on social media.

It was a famous tourist spot, so there were a lot of people passing by, and some of them who knew Ko Hun and Go Soo-yeol posted pictures of them.

└So cute lol

└He must be having fun drawing with his grandfather lol How can he smile so brightly lol

└This is bad for my heart

└The pictures keep coming and the sunflowers keep growing lol

└Maybe it’s because of the time difference

└Why did the Paris City Hall, which cares so much about the city’s appearance and prevents redevelopment, allow this?

└Maybe it’s because of Ko Hun?

└Montmartre is originally a street of artists, so there are a lot of things like this, right?

└If Ko Hun and Go Soo-yeol draw a picture for them, the homeowners and merchants there would be happy, right? They wouldn’t hate it lol

└That’s it lol If this becomes a hot topic, I’ll go there and eat something.

└Right lol It’s already crazy there.

└The merchants might be okay with it, but the homeowners might be noisy.

└It was a tourist spot anyway.

└One knows and two don’t. Go Soo-yeol and Hoon drew a picture on the wall, how much do you think that house will cost?

└└ㅇ0ㅇ┐

The sunflowers that the grandfather and grandson painted on the brick wall received a great response.

The street, which looked somewhat bleak with the old buildings, was brightened up with a cheerful atmosphere, and the residents also welcomed the two artists’ actions.

On the third day of the work, some of them came forward and helped Ko Hun and Go Soo-yeol work more easily by cleaning the wall and the street.

“Thank you.”

Ko Hun greeted the helpers.

“Haha. This is nothing. Should I clean over there too?”

“I don’t think I can draw there today.”

Go Soo-yeol looked around after drinking the cool tea that the resident brought.

It was hard to clean the car.

But with the high-pressure water and the residents’ help, the work progress was faster than expected.

“It looks like we’ll be done in a week.”

“I think so.”

Ko Hun nodded as he took the cool tea from his grandfather.

As he was drinking, he saw two kids approaching the drawing tools. The kids seemed interested in the different kinds of brushes and whispered to each other in wonder.

“Hey, no.”

The parents stopped the kids, but Ko Hun put down his tea and approached them.

“It’s okay.”

“Brother, why is this brush so big?”

One kid asked Ko Hun.

“Because the area to draw is large. It’s hard to draw with a small one.”

“Area?”

The kid who didn’t know the word area asked what it meant, and Ko Hun spread his arms and pointed to the uphill road.

“Then why is this one small?”

Another kid asked.

“Because I have to do some delicate work too.”

“Delicate?”

“It’s hard to draw small things with a big brush.”

“Oh.”

The kids, who had their curiosity satisfied, touched the brushes and looked around, and the parents were embarrassed.

“I’m sorry. The kids are very curious.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“I haven’t been to art school for long, so I think that’s why.”

Ko Hun smiled at his parents’ words.

He crouched down with the children and looked them in the eye.

“Do you like drawing?”

“Yeah. I draw cars well.”

“Me too.”

“What about sunflowers?”

The children shook their heads.

“Do you want me to teach you how to draw sunflowers?”

The children looked up at the sunflowers that Ko Hun and Gosuyeol had drawn on the street.

The flowers bloomed brightly and beautifully in yellow.

“Yeah.”

“Then pick up a brush each. Whatever you like.”

Ko Hun handed the children yellow acrylic paint and drew a circle on the street.

“Draw a circle like this.”

“Here?”

Ko Hun shrugged his shoulders.

“Wherever you want.”

“Oh, wait. Kids, you can’t draw here.”

The parents stopped them in surprise.

They were happy that he was teaching the children how to draw, but they were afraid that they would ruin the work of a world-famous painter.

“It’s okay. Do you want to try drawing too, ma’am?”

“Me?”

“Yes. Let’s draw together.”

Ko Hun offered a brush to the parents as well.

She looked around nervously and reluctantly drew a circle when the children urged her.

“For the leaves, use a small brush. Press the brush sideways at first and then gradually release the pressure.”

Ko Hun pressed the brush against the edge of the circle and then pulled it out while lifting the brush.

The leaves naturally became thicker and thinner.

“Wow.”

“Easy, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Just draw around like this.”

“I want to draw with a bigger brush.”

“That’s fine too.”

“Is this how you do it?”

“You’re doing great.”

Gosuyeol smiled as he watched his grandson teach the residents how to draw.

On the first day, he realized why he always brought so many brushes even though he didn’t need that many.

‘He had this in mind from the beginning.’

He was puzzled when he said that it wouldn’t take long to fill the street with sunflowers.

But it seemed like he could draw quickly if he did it like this.

It wasn’t to create Ko Hun’s artwork.

It was to give a little happiness to the people who lived here, so there was no reason for him to work alone.

Rather, he could be happier by drawing together.

“I’m done!”

“Me too!”

“Good job. Now just dot it with this.”

Ko Hun gave the children brown paint and pointed to the center of the sunflower.

“Sunflower seeds?”

“Right.”

As the children made sunflowers with Ko Hun, other children who were watching pulled their parents’ clothes.

Late at night, Henri Marso was having a long conversation with Simon Chevalson, the president of the SNBA association.

-I see. Fortunately, Deputy Yoris was interested.

“He’s sitting in the parliament and he hasn’t made anything like this.”

-They’re moved by the votes. They don’t care about the people who don’t matter.

“Hmph.”

-Anyway, this will take some time. It’s a new bill, so there’s a lot to check.

“I know.”

Henri Marso ended the call.

The Antermittant system for adults was similar to unemployment insurance in a broad sense.

People who were not recognized as artists or children from poor families were not eligible for benefits.

Henri Marso, who had obtained French citizenship through Michel Platini and Ko Hun, realized that there were cases where he could not study due to poverty and racial discrimination. He decided that a new social fence was needed for the youth.

He had been urging the parliamentarians to prepare a relevant bill as soon as possible.

‘How did it come to this?’

Henri Marso rubbed his nose bridge and complained of fatigue as he confirmed that it was almost midnight.

He wanted to wash up and go to bed right away, but there was someone waiting for him.

A few minutes passed and finally there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

His secretary Arsen entered the room.

“There was nothing particularly problematic today. The residents were so crowded that they couldn’t even approach you. However.”

Henri Marso, who had been listening to Arsen’s report with his eyes closed, opened them slightly.

“However?”

“He started drawing with the kids who were watching. Later, there were twenty of them.”

Asian people were always the target of crime in the Montmartre district, where security was poor.

He had Go Soo-yeol with him, but he couldn’t shake off his worries, so he had security attached to him, and fortunately there seemed to be no big problem.

Henri Marso chuckled.

“It’s good that nothing happened.”

“Yes.”

“Send someone else from tomorrow. Take a few days off.”

Arsen bowed his head.