The Mysterious Art Museum
Chapter 30 (2) - The Mysterious Art Museum

"............."

A portrait of a conglomerate owner's wife.

Regardless of who tried before, it must have been painters with some reputation.

Not a single picture pleased her? How picky could she be?

But what can I do?

It's hotel decoration art. An enormously profitable commission.

Knowing that I must get this job to avoid falling back to a street portrait artist, I exuded confidence.

"I have some experience with portraits. Over a thousand people have taken portraits I've drawn."

Of course, there's no need to mention that these were twenty-five-thousand-won street sketches.

Alright, I'll draw an impressive portrait that satisfies this demanding conglomerate wife and get the hotel decoration art commission. It's a big job and not something I can do alone, so let's set up a corporation. For employees... Yes! I can ask Yeongju for help?

Lost in these thoughts, I watched Mrs. Kang quietly, whose right hand now moves.

I was concerned about it and followed her right hand with my eyes, and my eyes widened.

".................."

Mrs. Kang shows her right hand and says,

"Will it still be easy?"

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If the counterpart wasn't a conglomerate, the emotion that crossed my eyes would have been sympathy or pity, or perhaps sadness. But knowing her position, the emotion that crossed my eyes was surprise.

Her middle and ring fingers are missing.

Those two fingers should be on that white and slender beautiful hand.

Seeing the flaw that should not exist in a beautiful wife living in luxury in a conglomerate house, I froze and lost my words.

Mrs. Kang, seeing my surprised eyes, hides her right hand again and says,

“Confidence is a privilege of the young. So, when do we start?”

“Ah, that…”

I had come today to greet her and arrange a schedule, so I didn’t bring my tools. Struggling to keep my scattered thoughts together, I replied,

“Please let me know a convenient time for you. I think I will need about two hours a day.”

Mrs. Kang nodded and stood up, still hiding her right hand behind her back.

“As you can see, I have plenty of time, just tending to the garden at home. Let's meet 5 days a week, only on weekdays, at this time.”

“Yes…”

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow. Take care on your way out.”

“…………”

Mrs. Kang slightly nodded and left through the corridor she had come from.

Did I just make a mistake?

No, what was I supposed to say? ‘Your hand is injured, but you are still beautiful’? That would be like mocking her.

It felt wrong to pry about how it happened during our first meeting.

I feel like I didn’t do anything wrong, but why does it feel so awkward?

As Mrs. Kang's footsteps faded, the working lady I had seen earlier approached.

“Here, let me show you out.”

“Ah, thank you.”

I awkwardly stood up and followed the lady outside. My mind was still in turmoil all the way to the main gate, but I couldn’t figure out how I should have reacted.

Finally at the main gate.

I bowed to the lady, expressing my gratitude. She looked around cautiously and then spoke in a low tone.

“It must be shocking.”

“…………”

“Everyone reacts that way when they first see madam's hand. It's okay, she's used to it and won’t take it to heart.”

“…………”

“There's no offense taken, so go home comfortably and prepare well for the painting.”

Phew, this lady is a lifesaver.

If it weren't for her, I would have gone home and spent the night kicking my blankets without understanding why.

“Excuse me, ma'am.”

“Yes?”

“About madam’s fingers. May I know what happened?”

The lady glanced around nervously as if mentioning this was a big deal, then pushed me away.

“Don’t go around asking such questions, or I can’t keep my job. Go now. Come back tomorrow, tomorrow.”

Pushed out of the house, I stood outside, dazed, staring blankly at the high wall.

Is it that hard to explain? Of course, it’s problematic to spread personal information, but how am I supposed to catch what the subject wants in the portrait if I don’t know this?

“Haah…”

I sighed involuntarily and then furrowed my brows.

Wait, why does it even matter for the portrait if she’s missing fingers?

I just need to paint her face, right? It should be simple.

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