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Chapter 7
A Talent That Shines
“Work… together?”
I asked back as if I didn’t understand, even though Ju-young’s sudden suggestion had caught me off guard.
—If you’re okay with it, I’d like to work on a film with you. If you prefer drama, a series is fine too. With writing like this, I’d love to direct it even if it’s not a movie.
Ju-young continued to shower me with praise.
But instead of feeling happy, I felt embarrassed by how strongly he was insisting.
Ju-young had been a standout talent since college.
He had both creativity and a sense for what audiences liked, which earned him constant attention and recommendations from professors.
But he was also a complete perfectionist.
Because of that, even when he had chances to direct B-grade commercial films or short TV dramas in college, he turned them down if he didn’t like the script.
Knowing what kind of person he was made his offer feel even more burdensome.
“Uh… but Ju-young, actually I—”
Creak—
I heard a door open.
When I turned my head, I saw Yurina peeking from behind the small room door, looking at me nervously.
…Yurina?
The call had been on speaker mode.
She must have heard everything.
Yurina stared at me with trembling eyes.
“….”
I quietly looked back at her.
Just by looking at her eyes, I felt like I understood what she was thinking.
The reason she looked so anxious now…
was probably because she was afraid I might disappear again to make movies.
Her shaking eyes and tightly pressed lips made my heart ache.
I couldn’t believe I had made my daughter feel this way.
After a moment, I cleared my expression and spoke.
“Ju-young.”
I purposely smiled toward Yurina, who was hiding behind the door.
“Thanks for the offer. But I’m not ready yet, so I’m sorry, but I’ll have to refuse.”
When Yurina heard my answer, her trembling eyes finally calmed.
“Right now there’s something more important to me.”
I said it while looking at Yurina.
Yes.
Right now, there was something more important than movies.
More important than anything in the world.
My beloved daughter, whom I must never fail again.
—You can take your time to think about it. You don’t have to answer right now.
“No, even if I think about it longer, my answer will be the same. It’s better to say it clearly now.”
—…I see. Well, if that’s what you want…
Ju-young’s voice was full of disappointment.
Honestly, I felt the same way.
But I couldn’t break the promise I made to myself in this life.
“Let’s grab a meal sometime.”
After exchanging a few more words, I hung up.
Only then did Yurina slowly walk out of the small room.
“Dad… are you going to get busy again?”
She fidgeted while her eyes wandered around.
Her anxious feelings were obvious in the way she couldn’t stay still.
“No~ Dad’s not busy at all.”
I answered calmly, acting like nothing was wrong.
Then I walked over and crouched down to meet her eyes.
I wanted to reassure her as much as possible.
“Dad isn’t going anywhere without Yurina. So you don’t need to worry.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Really.”
Little by little, Yurina’s smile returned.
“And even if Dad ever becomes busy someday, there’s something I want you to never forget.”
“What is it?”
I wiped the flour off Yurina’s nose with my sleeve.
Even though I touched her face, she just stared at me with wide eyes, listening carefully.
“For Dad, Yurina will always be number one. If Dad ever gets busy, it’s only because I want to do something better for you. So never forget that. Dad will always put Yurina first.”
Yurina stared straight into my eyes.
Soon her nose turned red where I had wiped the flour, and her cheeks flushed softly.
“Hehe. Dad likes me the most.”
Yurina suddenly hugged me tightly and rubbed her tomato-red cheeks against me.
If my hands weren’t covered in flour, I would have lifted her up right away.
Instead, I just stayed still and held her until she decided to let go.
I love you, my daughter.
Then, a moment later—
Bzzz!
A message appeared on my phone screen.
It was from Ju-young.
[I won’t push you since that’s how you feel right now. But let’s still meet sometimes and talk about writing. Your talent is too good to waste.]
I had forgotten something.
This perfectionist didn’t know how to give up.
***
“Yurina, say hello to the director.”
“Hello! My name is Kang Yurina!”
The weekend arrived.
I brought Yurina to a famous art academy recommended by Teacher Chae-eun: Jang Hak-doo Art Academy.
After searching online, I saw that the instructors had strong backgrounds and the students had excellent admission results.
It seemed like the perfect place for a consultation.
“Hello, sir. Let’s talk in the consultation room.”
The academy’s director, painter Jang Hak-doo, a middle-aged man with white hair, personally handled the consultation.
Director Jang greeted Yurina warmly with a kind smile.
“Hello, Yurina~ What a beautiful name.”
But his bright smile disappeared soon after.
It happened when he saw the drawings in Yurina’s sketchbook.
“T-This drawing… did this child really draw it?!”
His eyes widened so much they almost popped out.
He stared at Yurina’s drawings with trembling eyes.
“This is unbelievable… I’ve been running an art academy for fifteen years, but I’ve never seen a child like this…”
Director Jang looked back and forth between the drawings and Yurina with amazement.
Seeing his reaction made me sweat nervously.
Of course, as a father, it was wonderful to know my daughter had natural talent.
But when that talent seemed this extraordinary, it also made me afraid.
What if I failed to support her properly because of money?
And unlike other mothers, I didn’t have the delicate touch needed to guide a child’s growth.
“Her talent is real, right?”
I swallowed nervously and asked Director Jang.
Meanwhile, Yurina had no idea what I was worried about.
She was wandering around the office, touching the decorative fruit models on the table.
“Would it be alright if we tested her right away?”
Director Jang asked seriously.
I expected some kind of test, but hearing it in that tone made me nervous.
“Yes, that’s fine. It won’t take too long, right? She’s still young, so she can’t sit still for very long.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take that into consideration.”
As soon as I agreed, Director Jang began preparing materials in one corner of the consultation room.
Soon he placed an easel in front of Yurina and set a sheet of drawing paper on it.
Yurina blinked her big round eyes in confusion.
Director Jang lifted Yurina gently by the sides and sat her in a chair.
She followed his movements like a relaxed kitten.
“Yurina, here—take this pencil.”
He placed a 4B pencil in her small hand.
“I know this! It’s a 4B pencil!”
Yurina raised it proudly.
“That’s right. You’ve used 4B pencils in art class before, haven’t you? The older students here all use this pencil.”
“But why only a pencil? There’s nothing to color with.”
“Today we’ll draw using only the pencil. You’d be surprised how much you can do with just one pencil.”
I had worried Yurina might feel uncomfortable in a new environment.
But thankfully, her cheerful personality meant she wasn’t nervous at all.
Instead, she seemed excited to start drawing right away.
What am I going to do with this little troublemaker…
I sat quietly in the corner of the room and watched the test.
“You’ll draw on this paper, but today let’s draw something other than what you want.”
“Why? I want to draw Dad and Grandma.”
“Today there’s a friend here who wants you to draw them.”
“A friend who wants me to draw them?”
“Yes. Look over there.”
Director Jang pointed to the apple model on the display table.
“That apple thinks it’s so beautiful that it wants someone to draw it. That’s why it’s standing there posing.”
“Yeah right! That’s a lie!”
Of course, a ten-year-old wasn’t fooled by such a story.
But it did make her laugh.
Giggling, Yurina placed the pencil on the paper.
As expected from the director of a famous academy teaching all ages, Director Jang handled Yurina perfectly.
He gently guided her so she could focus on the test naturally.
“You’re already finished with the sketch? Yurina, that’s amazing.”
He continued giving feedback as he watched her drawing progress.
But inside, he was shocked.
Later he told me that he had almost held his forehead in disbelief.
A child who had never taken art lessons was naturally using perspective.
Just like he said, Yurina drew the apple with three-dimensional depth instead of a flat shape.
Even someone like me, who knew nothing about art, could feel the liveliness of her drawing.
This is the first time I’ve watched Yurina draw… it’s fascinating.
I watched silently, amazed the entire time.
“Now let’s add a little color to the apple.”
“Color? But there’s nothing to color with.”
“Let’s do it with the pencil.”
“How do you color with a pencil?”
Director Jang crouched down and gently took Yurina’s pencil.
Then he slowly shaded inside the apple sketch.
“Like this. You fill it with the pencil.”
“But that’s black. Apples are red.”
“That’s right. Apples are red. But the color I mean is how light or dark it looks. Look here.”
He pointed to the top, middle, and bottom of the apple.
“See how those three parts look different? Which one looks the darkest to you?”
“Hmm… there.”
Yurina immediately pointed to the bottom of the apple.
“That’s right. Because of the light in the room, the bottom part is the darkest. That’s what we call adding light and shadow. It makes the drawing more alive.”
“Alive…?”
“Yes. Alive.”
At that moment, Yurina’s eyes sparkled.
It was the first time she had ever received guidance from a real professional.
I had never seen that expression on her face before.
Her eyes shone with deep focus as she immersed herself in drawing.
My daughter can concentrate like that…
Usually Yurina was cheerful and energetic, but she rarely showed calm focus.
Yet while learning from Director Jang, she showed incredible concentration that didn’t match her age at all.
“Very good. That’s exactly how you do it.”
Director Jang clapped happily.
“When you create contrast to show light and dark, we call that shading. What you just did was shading. It’s actually the most basic skill in art, but children who do it this well on the first try are extremely rare—especially at your age. That’s truly amazing!”
He praised Yurina sincerely.
The wide smile on his face made it clear he had completely fallen for her talent.
Feeling proud, Yurina lifted her shoulders slightly and smiled.
Then she looked toward me and made a confident V-sign with her fingers.
