Van Gogh Reborn! - Chapter 49
Prev I TOC I Next
“You, why are you here?”
I’ve never had a normal greeting with this person.
Still, he bowed slightly to my grandpa and greeted him.
“I’m here to see the frame of my painting.”
“What?”
Henry Marceau lifted his eyebrows.
“Is that true?”
“Yes. It was a really fascinating work, so I enjoyed working on it — To the point of becoming a big fan of little Van Gogh.”
Pierre Malo smiled looking at me.
Looking at the relaxed smile, it felt like the work had been completed without any problems.
I can’t wait to check it out.
“Can I see it ?”
“Sure. Why don’t you join Mr. Marceau and Ms. Platini?”
Pierre Malo made a strange suggestion.
When I looked at him wondering if it was necessary, he shrugged.
“Oops. It looks like I said something useless..Isn’t Mr. Marceau a fan of Little Van Gogh here.?”
“Wha..What. Me being fan of this brat. Stop sprouting nonsense Malo.”
He doesn’t seem to like anything I do.
It makes sense why grandpa doesn’t like him, it must be because of his personality.
Malo bowed his head and apologized.
“Why aren’t you leaving?”
He acts as if he’s going out right away, but he didn’t move an inch from the place where he stood.
“Aren’t you leaving the store?”
“………Hahah.. We can’t refuse an offer from Mr. Pierre Malo….right Henry.?”
“……yes.”
Michelle Platini cut into our conversation and said with an awkward smile.
“No. It’s not something to feel pressured about. It’s something we should ask Master Ko Hun, too.”
Malo said to both of them and looked at me for an answer.
Soon all the gaze in the room got pointed towards me.
After a small pause I opened my mouth.
“It doesn’t matter. But you have to show me that.”
The frame Henry Marceau has been holding since earlier stands out.
It’s packaged, so I wondered whether it’s a frame of Malo.
I wanted to see the latest painting Henry had worked on and Malo framed.
So it will be enough in return for showing the [Frost wheat field].
Malo and Michelle Platini looked at Henry as if asking what to do.
Henry looked very confused.
“No…….Not this.”
“Then I don’t like showing to you either.”
“I……never asked you to show it.?”
Henry Marceau went out of Chaton with a grumpy face.
“ El Patron…”
His secretary hurriedly went after him.
Even in the midst of this Henry held the painting in his hand with care.
It seems like a work that he cherishes a lot.
“That mannerless guy….”
Grandpa mumbled some remark while looking at his back, meanwhile Malo had a strange expression while touching his mustache.
I have seen many unique artists, but Henry was the most unique among all of them.
While all these things were happening Michelle Platini just stood where she was, while closing her mouth with her hands.
It felt like she was holding back her laughter.
When our eyes met, Michelle cleared her throat, lifted her hand from her mouth and spoke.
“ Please don’t hate him too much. Even if it looks like that, he likes you a lot.”
“He likes me?…”
“ That’s how he behaves even if he felt something different in his heart………It’s a little weird, right?”
“A lot weird.”
Michelle Platini laughed hearing my answer.
“Please do invite us to the exhibition. Here. It’s my business card. Well then I will take my excuse.”
Michelle Platini stood up and greeted grandpa, Malo and left the store.
I don’t know how Michelle is putting up with that person for this long.
I think she might be having the heart of a nun.
“Hmm.”
While I was looking at Michelle going out Malo who has been pulling his mustache for a long time, came to his senses.
“ Okay. Let’s go inside.”
There was a small hiccup, but I immediately forgot about it since I was looking forward to see the [Frost wheat field] in the frame.
When I waited in the drawing room under the guidance of Malo, the staff gave me coke and grandpa coffee.
After a while, Malo brought the [Frost wheat field] himself.
This person also seems to enjoy looking at the expression of the audience, so he intentionally covered the painting with a cloth.
“Check it out yourself.”
When I saw grandpa, he was looking at me as if asking me to hurry up and remove the cloth.
Okay….Let’s peel off the cloth.
When I took of the cloth I felt like I was being sucked into the [Frost Wheat Field]
“Oh, my..…”
Malo said that there is a frame that best suits every painting, and that’s…. right.
The closest part to the painting is carved to connect the edges of the [Frost wheat field].
This is why the painting looked a little bigger and it gave off a sense of depth.
It’s a surprisingly delicate technique.
The middle of the frame is made of gold, and the outermost part is patterned and painted dark blue like the background of [Frost Wheat Field].
“It’s made of a 70-year-old walnut tree. There is little deformation due to changes in temperature and humidity and it is strong against shocks.”
Malo pointed to the innermost part of the frame.
“I have sculpted the work to make it feel bigger. If you don’t like it, you can replace it as much as you want.”
“I love it. It’s beautiful this way”
“Thank you.”
With a smiling face Malo continued his words.
“This part has been plated. It can draw attention from a distance while taking care of the disconnection from the frame.”
The calm gold color is subtle and also captivating.
“The border was painted black to highlight the gold relatively.”
It’s not fancy, but I can feel the dignity.
[Frost wheat field] in the frame feels more lovely, so I watched it blankly.
Now I could understand how every parents felt when they brag about their child wearing pretty clothes .
would it feel like this?
“How is it?”
I broke away from my thoughts at the call of grandpa.
“It’s so good. There won’t be any clothes that fits better on [Frost wheat field] than this.”
“Oh. Mush. That’s such a cute expression. It’s an honor.”
I’m just grateful that he has made such a wonderful frame, even though he’s a kind of an eccentric.
Malo rang the bell to call his staff.
“Leo, please pack the [Frost wheat field]. They’ll be traveling long distance, so please pay special attention.”
“Yes, Boss.”
While speaking to the staff, he didn’t treat the painting as a thing but as a person.
He said pack the [Frost wheat field] instead of saying pack the painting.
I really like this attitude of this person.
“Master Ko Hun, I’m sure you know this well, but still I’ll explain it, since it’s our custom. We’ll wrap the glass separately, so no damage will be caused if you maintain the humidity and temperature properly. Walnut trees are also resistant to shock, temperature, and humidity, but vulnerable to insects. It’s a very good tree to nibble on. So please keep it in a clean place.”
“I will.”
I already know this , but I heard it without saying anything, because it showed me how much Malo loved [Frost Wheat Field.
Malo smiled satisfactorily and asked me a question.
“I found out while working, the [Frost wheat field] was signed. I think it’s in Korean. Is it.?”
“That’s right. It says Ko Hun in Korean.”
“You didn’t sign [Sunflower] and [Guest]. Is there any special reason?”
Unlike the previous two works which I drew while having lingering feelings to my past life as Vincent Van Gogh.
[Frost Wheat Field] is the first work I drew as Ko Hun .
A two-month trip in Europe, which started with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and ended in Ravoux Lodger, I met a lot of people and was able to overcome my past.
Thanks to visitors to the Van Gogh Museum, I was able to love my past, stained with regrets and self-criticism, and I was able to organize my tragic past by meeting people at Auvers-sur-oise.
Finally, I got to know about myself at the wheat field of Auvers-sur-oise, which I visited again in this life.
In the past I used to think that there is only despair in the winter wheat field, but now I could feel hope and courage in those frozen wheat field.
It’s all thanks to him.
Before the trip, I thought it would be good if this person was my grandfather.
But now I really think of this person as my grandfather and feels happy to be his grandson.
I took my eyes off from my wondering grandpa and told Malo.
“It’s because it’s the first painting for the solo exhibition of painter Ko Hun.”
“Oh.”
Malo placed his hands in the cheeks and shook his body.
He is really a person with a lot of emotional expressions.
“That’s a really good mindset. I’m worried about how long I have wait for the exhibition to take place.”
Malo gladly grabbed and waved my hand.
⏩⏩⏩⏩⏩⏩
I returned home after a two-month trip.
I was so happy that I wondered if I had ever had this much fun in my life.
In a way, it will naturally be fun to be with paintings, sculptures, tasty foods, and working with wonderful people.
And I realized the importance of the environment and how much it can affect the Artist.
“How was it, was it fun?”
“Yes. Real fun. Super fun grandpa…. I’ve never been this happy.”
“Hmm?”
“…….within…… what I can remember.”
“You don’t have to try to think of it. Whether you remember it or not, it doesn’t change the fact that you are my grandson.”
It would be a lie, if I said I didn’t feel guilty.
No matter how much I do the role of his grandson, I still had to ask for forgiveness to both grandpa and the child Ko Hun, who died.
No matter how much I love this person. I know that the love this person gives is not towards me, but towards his dead grandson.
“Grandpa.”
“Hmm? Yes Little Hun”
I’m afraid of how those warm eyes will change when the truth is revealed.
Will he tell me to give back his grandson right away.
It is obvious that he will tell me to get out of his grandson’s body.
“…… Nothing grandpa.”
I clenched my fists and swallowed the words.
I couldn’t bring myself to say the truth.
I know that’s the right thing, but I am afraid of giving up the happiness and being hated by grandpa.
“Little Hun.”
“….yes grandpa.”
“Grandpa is happy. I’m so happy to be with you.”
It’s hard to control the emotions that’s trying to burst out in the form of tears.
“I thought I’d never see you again after having a fight with your mom.”
“When I saw you lying in the hospital, I actually couldn’t believe that you were my grandson. I only saw you in the pictures your father sent me.”
I don’t know what to say.
I bit my lips, while trying to control the tears that had already filled my eyes.
“So. You don’t have to be obsessed with your past and the things you don’t remember. It all started the day you woke up in the hospital.”
How selfish I am, to deceive such a kind hearted person.
“We can build up pleasant things, happy things, and sad things together. That’s what it means to be a family.”
Grandpa’s words were like a medicine to my heart bleeding with guilt.
