Chapter 7

On the third day, after I confirmed the gallery was empty and closed my eyes, the man named Yu Seong-un went to see his superior.

I wasn’t present for their conversation, of course, but I could feel the shift in the way he looked at me afterward.

From the echoes of his concern, I could piece together what must have been said.

He must have stood before his Guild Master with that same calm, analytical face he showed me.

“It is dangerous,” he must have said.

“What might be dangerous?” the Guild Master, Bisabeol, would have asked.

“That portrait is dangerous.”

I imagined him explaining his reasoning, his voice steady.

“It is unrelated to the goodwill the portrait individually holds for us humans. It is true that there are rare monsters who are favorable to humans, but it is also true that their goodwill has become a great poison to humans.”

“Are you trying to say that Jio’s Portrait is like the goodwill of those monsters?”

“No, it is more dangerous than that.”

He would have reported what he believed he had confirmed about me.

“That portrait knows exactly what it is doing, how it is perceived, and what kind of influence its actions have. It is completely different from the monsters so far that have suffocated people by showering them with goodwill indiscriminately.”

And then, the core of his fear.

“He perceives himself as a person.”

He was right about that.

I would always try to interact with humans.

I felt no aversion to conversation.

“But at the same time, he does not see us as human.”

“Then?”

“Jio has judged us to be pictures and he is appreciating us as such.”

He had felt the nature of my soul, something I made no effort to hide.

He saw it not as a part of me, but as a disguise.

A thing of immense size pretending to be small.

He saw my claim of being human not as a simple fact, but as a lie or a desperate effort.

Because of this, he believed me to be a ticking clock.

“Furthermore, he is sensitive to good and evil and yet, we cannot tell where his standards come from. If ‘Jio’ concludes that someone is an evil person even though we judged them to be ordinary from our perspective… I cannot even imagine what the result would be.”

“You really can’t imagine it?”

“Yes, this time… it’s difficult.”

I could picture his sigh, the weariness of a researcher faced with a phenomenon that had no precedent.

No comparison, no reference material.

Just a talking portrait.

I could even hear him suggesting they send me away to the Hunter Association, a suggestion his talkative Guild Master would have immediately dismissed and so, Yu Seong-un’s duty continued.

He would keep observing me, trying to understand what I liked at the request of his boss, who simply wanted to get a word in.

That was why he began appearing before me every day at 4:30 AM.

***

“Are you not lonely?”

When I opened my eyes on the fourth day, that was his question.

I blinked twice, considering it.

“I am not lonely.”

The answer was simple and true.

He gave a small, polite laugh.

“I apologize if it was a rude question. But this is a place where no one comes and goes except for the employees who come to manage the artworks.”

“…….”

“I guessed that perhaps your occasional emergence from the portrait to look around was part of such feelings.”

“I like places with no people. So it is alright,” I told him. It was the truth.

“Do you perhaps feel uncomfortable talking?”

“That is not it. However….”

I tried to explain.

“I have already spoken too much, so I have always imagined a future where I do not have to speak.”

“…….”

“A quiet place where I don't have to talk too much, don't have to be too tied down, and don't have to worry too much… I always wanted a place like that. This place is suitable for such a wish of mine.”

His eyes sharpened with analytical curiosity.

“…Were you, in the past, a person?”

“I am a person now as well.”

“Ah, right. What I meant was… I was asking if you were an ordinary human who was not inside a picture. Since ordinary people are not usually contained in a frame.”

“Yes, I was.”

“I see.”

He grew quiet, likely classifying me in his mind.

Comparing me to other beings who were once human.

He probably expected me to be full of turmoil and negative emotions from my past.

But all I felt was this quiet.

A pleasant peace.

To him, I imagined this stillness was unsettling.

Like a funeral.

Like looking at death itself.

“Um, then… are you not bored?” he asked, changing the subject.

“I am sometimes bored.”

“How do you relieve such boredom? Do you have your own way?”

“I usually have a meal.”

“…….”

He looked surprised by that.

“…A meal?”

“Yes.”

I answered in my usual tone.

“I enjoy eating.”

“…….”

I could see the thought cross his face: what does he eat?

He seemed to be reassessing me, his eyes noting my pale skin and still features, concluding that I did not look like someone who would find pleasure in food.

He was right, in a way.

It wasn't about pleasure as he understood it.

It was about the simple act itself.

“This may be a rude thing to say, but….”

“I can eat,” I said, cutting off his unasked question.

“Yes, I’m sorry. I asked the obvious.”

Of course, eating a picture was not obvious at all.

“May I ask in what way you have your meals?”

I saw no reason to hide it.

“I cook. I think of the food I want to eat, bring the right ingredients and prepare them, place a pan on the fire or put it in an oven… and finish cooking like that.”

I added the final, simple truth.

“Because I am an ordinary human.”

He remained silent, that very explanation seeming to convince him I was anything but.

So, I offered another method.

“There is also a way I can enjoy it because I am inside a portrait.”

“Ah, how is that…?”

“It requires a little help, but Mr. Yu Seong-un can also give me pleasure.”

“…What kind of pleasure are you referring to?”

He looked anxious for a moment, his mind likely jumping to dark rituals and sacrifices.

But I wanted none of that.

My request was simple.

I looked at him, my gaze as steady as the paint I was made of.

“Are you good at drawing?”

“…If it’s to the extent of being able to depict an object, I can draw. Sometimes I have to draw objects or plants I’ve seen for the first time in my reports….”

“In that case, please draw an apple.”

“…….”

“It’s not difficult, is it?”

He seemed taken aback.

“…On, on this portrait… you mean?”

“That is correct.”

“…I understand.”

He was not foolish enough to refuse.

I watched as he took out a hard case filled with art supplies.

“Do you always carry art supplies with you?” I asked, curious.

“I try to carry as diverse an array of items as possible. You never know what might happen in this gallery, so being prepared in various ways is good for my own well-being.”

“I see.”

“…….”

Even though my reaction was calm, I could feel a tremor of fear from him.

He was likely wondering what I would have done if he had been unprepared.

The thought had not even occurred to me.

He took a deep breath and touched his brush to my canvas.

I felt the slight pressure, the strange sensation of being altered.

“I’m not that good at drawing.”

“It does not matter.”

“Umm….”

In a few moments, a bright red apple appeared in the corner of my world.

“…It’s not that pretty of an apple,” he said with an awkward laugh.

“Here, I’ve drawn the apple you wanted.”

“I see.”

“Can you eat it?”

“…….”

In response, I reached out my hand toward the apple he had drawn.

“Thank you.”

My painted hand moved, the fingers closing around the painted fruit.

It became solid under my touch.

“…….”

I brought it to my lips.

Crunch.

“…….”

“…….”

The yellow flesh was crisp.

I took a bite and spoke.

“It is delicious.”

“…Ah….”

“It is well-ripened, and the aroma is good. The size is a little small, but it is suitable for a snack.”

“That….”

He was speechless.

“…….”

“Is it fascinating?” I asked.

His eyes were wide, his heart beating a little faster.

He was a researcher, an observer of beings like me and he had just witnessed something entirely new.

“…It’s amazing.”

The pride and satisfaction he took in his work was plain to see.

“Honestly, yes, I was surprised…. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

“I understand.”

“So you are now, eating the apple in the picture?”

I nodded.

“I am an ordinary human, but I am in the picture. Therefore, I too can be called a picture. In the same context, I can accomplish a great many things inside the picture.”

“…….”

“On days I don’t feel like cooking, I draw a finished dish like this. It’s convenient.”

“…I see.”

“Therefore, I can repay your kindness.”

He had given me a gift.

It was only proper to give one in return.

I blinked twice.

“Then I will see you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“I am not ready at the moment.”

“…I understand.”

“Thank you.”

And with that, I closed my eyes for the day.

***

The next morning, when I opened my eyes, I willed a brush into my hand.

Then, I began to paint.

“…….”

“…….”

I drew a shape of deep red, like the apple from the day before.

A rounded triangle, glimmering with an inner, transparent light. I painted the way sunlight would shatter across its facets, filling it with warmth.

I made its color like pomegranate seeds, like fresh blood, so stark it would hurt the eyes to stare for too long.

I gave it life, sharpened its edges like a knife, and gave it a shadow to anchor it to reality.

“…….”

“Here.”

I spoke to the silent, watching man.

“It is a token of gratitude.”

I pushed the jewel, red as a heart, with my finger.

It tipped over the edge of the frame.

Thud, and.

“…….”

It fell into his waiting hand.

“…….”

“It is yours.”

“…This is….”

He stared at the gem, its weight real in his palm.

“What kind of jewel is this?”

“I do not know.”

“…….”

“But it must have been in the ground, deep enough to be hot.”

A story for the jewel came to mind, so I told it to him.

“It might have been in a place hot enough to be with the planet’s heart, and perhaps it embraced the heat, resembling my friend. Then, after a very long time, it was discovered by human hands and only then… would it have taken on a pretty shape.”

I wondered if he understood whose story it was.

“…It’s an interesting story.”

“I would be glad if it sounded that way.”

“Haha….”

A hollow, bewildered laugh escaped him.

“What did you draw this jewel with? Your brush clearly didn’t have any paint on it….”

“…….”

“This jewel looks real.”

I did not answer that.

He asked another question instead.

“May I have this?”

“You gave me a gift.”

His simple, clumsy drawing of an apple.

“This jewel is a token of gratitude for that.”

He told me later that my words sounded like a demon's.

I did not understand why.

It was a simple, fair exchange.

But he was caught in a feeling of unreality, and it made him bold.

“You are right,” he said.

“I see.”

“And that sounds just like an answer given by a demon.”

His researcher’s curiosity had overwhelmed his caution.

“Why do you always answer in such simple language? You, Jio, well. You speak in a very simple and precise way that can satisfy another person’s wishes.”

“…….”

“I know this is a rude question. But I have to ask. Are you able to do so because you have no human emotions? Or, did you choose to be that way?”

I simply looked at him, trying to process the question.

It made no sense.

Why would he assume a lack of emotion?

Why did he see a choice where there was none?

After a long moment, I blinked twice and gave him my answer.

“I do not understand what you are saying, Mr. Yu Seong-un. I did not use overly simple grammar, nor did I give an answer to satisfy a person's desires or wishes.”

“…….”

“I have always been this way.”

My voice remained steady, but I felt a strange dissonance, as if his words were trying to pull me out from the quiet peace of my coffin-like frame back into a world that had never understood me.

“To the extent that I cannot see a reason to have to explain it, I have human emotions.”

“…….”

“It is not that I have no emotions, and likewise, whatever it is, it is not my choice. I was originally this kind of person.”

Did I sound angry? Defensive? Frustrated?

Perhaps I felt all of those things.

Or perhaps I felt nothing at all, and he was just seeing what he wanted to see.

It was impossible to know what he was thinking.

“I suppose so, I know. I know you are an ordinary human,” he said, his voice cautious now.

“…….”

“You seem to feel loneliness or joy or something else… many emotions. However, you have a way of speaking that does not show emotion or personal desires. As if there is nothing to you….”

As if I was a service.

He didn't say the last part, but I knew he was thinking it.

This was getting tiring.

“…….”

“…….”

I felt I had to try one last time.

“I am an ordinary human.”

I repeated the simple fact.

“I wanted to eat an apple, so I asked you to draw it for me, Mr. Yu Seong-un.”

“Right.”

“That was my personal wish. Since you drew me an apple, Mr. Yu Seong-un, I gave you a gift in return. We exchanged gifts and that is a natural courtesy between people.”

“I see.”

“I was merely observing etiquette.”

“…….”

“So I do not quite understand what you are saying.”

I didn't know if he believed me. My voice gave nothing away.

“Do you know that your eyes are very black?” he asked suddenly.

“Quite a lot of people’s eyes are black.”

“That is true.”

“Black eyes are common. Nothing special at all.”

“…….”

“Do not think of me as too special. It would be better not to.”

It felt like I was a giant whale trying to explain to a human that I was small.

Did I know it was a contradiction?

Or did I genuinely not see the vastness he saw?

My face gave away nothing.

“…I will be careful,” he finally said.

On the fifth day, our interactions were complete.

After he left, I did not open my eyes for a long time.

“…….”

It was all too much.

He had tried to see complexity where there was only simplicity, and in doing so, he had exhausted me.

Had I made him run away?

Or had he made me?

***

“…….”

Socializing after a long time is tiring.

“…Should I take a break.”

Ultimate positive mindset: activated.

‘Let’s rest.’

And so, I returned to the life of an unemployed person.

“Tada.”

That was the reason I stayed cooped up in the portrait for ten days.

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