Diamond Dust — Chapter 16

YEEHYEON...

HOW WOULD YOU FEEL ABOUT PAINTING AGAIN?

WHY ARE YOU BRINGING THIS UP ALL OF A SUDDEN...?

I WON’T SUGARCOAT THINGS OR BEAT AROUND THE BUSH.

PHANTOM HAS OVER TWENTY AFFILIATED ARTISTS...

...BUT ONLY THREE OR FOUR ACTUALLY KEEP THE GALLERY OPEN AND GROWING.

TO STAY COMPETITIVE WITH LARGER GALLERIES...

...A SMALL SPACE LIKE OURS NEEDS TO KEEP FINDING ARTISTS THAT CAN GENERATE NEW BUZZ.

IT’S IMPORTANT THAT OUR EXISTING ARTISTS CONTINUE PRODUCING GOOD WORK...

...BUT THE CREATIVE PROCESS DOESN’T GUARANTEE A CONSISTENT OUTCOME.

AND WE NEVER REALLY KNOW HOW THE PUBLIC WILL FEEL ABOUT A PROJECT, SO WE CAN’T RELY ON THAT ALONE.

UNFORTUNATELY, IN TODAY’S ART MARKET...

...THE VALUE OF A PIECE AND THE WAY IT’S RECEIVED ARE OFTEN SHAPED BY MARKETING AND BUSINESS STRATEGIES.

HE’S NOT EVEN SPEAKING THAT FAST, BUT I CAN’T KEEP UP.

WHY IS HE TELLING ME ALL OF THIS...?

IT’S TRUE THAT PHANTOM’S FINANCES HAVE BECOME MORE STABLE OVER THE LAST YEAR OR TWO...

...THANKS TO SHUSHU AND OUR OTHER FEATURED ARTISTS...

...BUT WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO FIND ANY NEW ARTISTS WHO CAN FOLLOW IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS, LET ALONE SURPASS THEM.

SO...

...WE WERE HOPING YOU'D TURN OUT TO BE THAT KIND OF ARTIST, YEEHYEON.

!!

IT MIGHT'VE SOUNDED LIKE MR. LIU WAS SPEAKING PURELY FROM A BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE...

...BUT WHAT HE REALLY MEANS IS THAT HE SEES A LOT OF POTENTIAL IN YOU.

THAT PAINTING YOU DID A WHILE BACK, DOESN'T MR. LIU OWN IT NOW?

THE ONE THAT WON AN AWARD IN A CONTEST.

HE'S HELD ONTO IT FOR A LONG TIME. I FOUND IT REALLY STRIKING MYSELF.

I DIDN'T REALIZE IT WAS YOURS AT THE TIME, THOUGH.

I PAINTED THAT A LONG TIME AGO... IT'S BEEN OVER FIVE YEARS SINCE I PICKED UP A BRUSH.

AND BESIDES THAT ONE PIECE, YOU'VE NEVER EVEN SEEN ANY OF MY OTHER WORK...

HAH...

IF SOMEONE NEEDS A WHOLE PORTFOLIO JUST TO GAUGE AN ARTIST’S TALENT OR POTENTIAL...

THEY PROBABLY SHOULDN’T BE IN THE ART DEALING BUSINESS.

THAT MIGHT’VE COME OFF A LITTLE SMUG...

...BUT WHAT I MEAN IS THAT THAT ONE PIECE IS MORE THAN ENOUGH.

ESPECIALLY SINCE YOU PAINTED IT WHEN YOU WERE ONLY SIXTEEN YEARS OLD.

I AGREE WITH MR. LIU.

I MEANT IT WHEN I SAID THAT YOU DON’T NEED TO FEEL GUILTY ABOUT NOT PAINTING RIGHT NOW...

...BUT IF THE CHANCE COMES, AND YOU WANT TO...I REALLY DO HOPE YOU’LL START PAINTING AGAIN.

BECAUSE I KNOW HOW TALENTED YOU ARE.

YEEHYEON, DO YOU REMEMBER THE PORTRAIT YOU DREW OF ME WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE?

PARDON...?

BACK WHEN I WAS TEACHING YOU. I WAS STILL IN COLLEGE, BUT I WAS ALREADY MARRIED.

OH...

THIS IS A BIT OUT OF THE BLUE, ISN’T IT?

I MET MY THEN-HUSBAND ON CAMPUS. I SAW HIS WORK AND THOUGHT, "THIS IS REAL ART."

BEFORE I KNEW IT, I REALIZED THAT I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT AND SHARE HIS WORK WITH THE WORLD MORE THAN I DID MY OWN.

WE BELIEVED THAT WE UNDERSTOOD EACH OTHER'S WORLDS BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE...

SO WE GOT MARRIED, DESPITE BOTH OUR FAMILIES BEING AGAINST IT.

AND AROUND THAT TIME...

I STARTED TEACHING YOU.

GOODNESS, WERE YOU PAINTING ALL DAY AGAIN? DIDN'T YOUR HAND GET TIRED, YEEHYEON?

HONESTLY, THERE WASN'T MUCH I NEEDED TO TEACH YOU BACK THEN.

MAYBE IT WAS IN YOUR BLOOD, SINCE BOTH OF YOUR PARENTS WERE ARTISTS.

YOU HAD A GREAT EYE FOR FORM AND HANDLED MATERIALS WITH EASE.

BUT MORE THAN ANYTHING, YOU JUST LOVED PAINTING.

SO RATHER THAN FOCUSING ON TECHNIQUE...

...I TRIED TO GET YOU OUTSIDE TO PAINT AND EXPOSE YOU TO NEW THINGS.

I COULD SEE YOU IMPROVING AT AN ASTONISHING PACE EVERY SINGLE WEEK.

BACK THEN, TEACHING YOU WAS THE ONLY THING THAT GAVE ME ROOM TO BREATHE. IT WAS THE ONE PART OF MY LIFE THAT TRULY BROUGHT ME JOY.

MEANWHILE, MY HUSBAND WAS GETTING MORE AND MORE SENSITIVE ABOUT HOW PEOPLE REACTED TO HIS WORK.

WE FOUGHT A LOT BECAUSE OF IT.

THAT MORNING, WE’D FOUGHT AGAIN BEFORE YOUR LESSON.

I TRIED NOT TO SHOW IT, BUT I GUESS YOU COULD SEE RIGHT THROUGH ME.

YOU TOLD ME YOU WANTED TO DRAW ME.

I FIGURED, SINCE YOU WERE JUST A CHILD, YOU WOULD DRAW ME SMILING IN ORDER TO CHEER ME UP.

BUT THEN I SAW THE PORTRAIT AND THOUGHT...

"..OH, SO THAT’S THE FACE I’VE BEEN MAKING."

"HE'S BEEN WATCHING ME SO CLOSELY."

"HE MUST BE WORRIED ABOUT ME..."

THANK YOU, MY LITTLE ARTIST.

THE FACT THAT YOU DIDN'T DISTORT ANYTHING, THAT YOU SAW ME JUST AS I WAS, WAS INCREDIBLY COMFORTING.

I REALIZED THAT YOU SPEAK THROUGH YOUR ART...

...BECAUSE IT'S THE ONLY WAY YOU TRULY CAN.

BECAUSE OF YOU, I BECAME DETERMINED TO SHARE THAT LANGUAGE WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD...

SO I LEFT FOR HONG KONG WITH MY HUSBAND.

IN THE END, THINGS DIDN’T REALLY WORK OUT THERE, AND I WE ENDED UP GETTING A DIVORCE, BUT...

ANYWAY... HAHA

I KNOW NOT PAINTING WON’T KILL YOU.

BUT I HOPE YOU’LL ASK YOURSELF HONESTLY WHETHER PAINTING IS SOMETHING YOU NEED...

IN ORDER TO TRULY BE "SEO YEEHYEON."

THANK YOU FOR SAYING THAT.

AND FOR SHARING YOUR STORY WITH ME...

BUT I DON’T THINK I CAN PAINT AGAIN.

SINCE I GAVE UP ON IT, THE LOVE AND PASSION I HAD FOR IT NATURALLY FADED.

I CAN’T EVEN PICTURE MYSELF PAINTING ANYMORE.

ALRIGHT. THANK YOU FOR BEING HONEST. I KNOW THIS WAS REALLY SUDDEN.

WE WEREN’T EXPECTING YOU TO SAY YES RIGHT AWAY.

I’M SURE YOU’VE ALREADY SORTED OUT YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT PAINTING.

EVEN SO...WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO THINK ABOUT IT A LITTLE MORE?

YEEHYEON.

TRY THIS.

IT’S A PASTRY-STYLE HANGWA, A TRADITIONAL SWEET MADE BY A MASTER ARTISAN.

YOU'RE NOT EVEN KOREAN, AND YOU'RE TOSSING AROUND WORDS LIKE "MASTER ARTISAN?"

NOT BY NATIONALITY...

BUT BY BLOOD I'M A QUARTER HONGKONGER, A QUARTER BRITISH, AND HALF KOREAN, SO YOU COULD SAY I COUNT AS KOREAN.

HAHA

YOU DIDN'T EVEN GROW UP HERE, BUT YOU TALK LIKE A LOCAL.

HM? IT'S MR. YOON.

HELLO, MR. YOON?

WAIT, WHY ARE YOU DOING THAT AGAIN WHEN YOU KNOW YOU CAN’T?

HANG ON, HANG ON. I'LL COME BY IN A BIT.

JUST LEAVE IT FOR NOW AND GET SOME REST.

WOW. I CAN TASTE ALL THE LAYERS, AND THERE'S JUST A HINT OF SWEETNESS.

IT'S REALLY GOOD.

YOU'D HAVE REGRETTED IT IF YOU'D LEFT WITHOUT TRYING ONE, RIGHT?

YEEHYEON, I NEED TO STOP BY SOMEWHERE, SO GO ON AHEAD AND GET SOME REST.

OKAY.

MR. LIU, GIVE YEEHYEON A LIFT, WILL YOU?

SURE.

AH...

THERE IT IS AGAIN. THAT SCENT.

I'VE HEARD THAT COLOGNE CARRIES BETTER ON RAINY DAYS, SO YOU DON'T NEED TO USE AS MUCH...

I GUESS THIS IS WHAT THEY MEAN BY THAT...

I SOUND LIKE A PERVERT. QUIT SMELLING HIM, SEO YEEHYEON.

UM... THANK YOU FOR DINNER.

YOU DON'T NEED TO GIVE ME A RIDE. I'M JUST GOING TO WALK A BIT TO CLEAR MY HEAD, THEN CATCH A BUS.

WELL THEN... TAKE CARE-

I WAS PLANNING TO HAVE A DRINK AND SORT OUT MY THOUGHTS.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN ME?