Van Gogh Reborn!

Chapter 295:

295

Courage (5)

The anticipation was high for the collaboration between famous writers from Korea and France on the novel The Outcast.

The corruption of the Korean Art Association was exposed day after day by NBC and The Korea Times, and Ko Hun’s also became a hot topic. The media couldn’t ignore this.

Various TV stations, newspapers, and even individual media outlets started to unravel the story behind the Venice Biennale.

Among them, Kim Ji-woo’s article ‘The History of the Korean Pavilion at the Venice Biennale’ was spread through various community sites.

It revealed that the Korean Pavilion was not a simple national pavilion, but a space that had been bravely defended from the humiliation and discrimination that the small country of the East had faced.

The citizens rose up with a sense of crisis that such a place could fall into a pit of corruption.

A petition to thoroughly investigate and dismantle the Korean Art Association was signed by 400,000 people in just one day.

And there was a barrage of demands to redo the selection of the commissioner, artistic director, and artists for the 2030 Korean Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.

The Choi Young-soo family was cornered.

-As the public opinion against the Korean Art Association grows day by day, there is a claim that the authority to operate the Korean Pavilion should be transferred to the artists’ union.

“Shut up.”

At Choi Young-soo’s words, his son-in-law Kim Soo-hyuk turned off the TV.

“Are we just going to watch this?”

Choi Kyu-seo, who was furious, asked her father Choi Young-soo.

There were tons of humiliating posts on the internet that she had never heard of in her life. It was unbearable for her, who had always looked down on others and been treated well.

“Father!”

When Choi Young-soo didn’t react, Choi Kyu-seo shouted sharply.

The bastards who couldn’t say anything and bowed down when they met her in person insulted her.

She couldn’t take it anymore.

“Back off this time.”

Choi Young-soo opened his mouth after closing his eyes and organizing his thoughts.

Choi Kyu-seo and Kim Soo-hyuk’s eyes widened.

“What do you mean by that? Father-in-law, Kyu-seo worked really hard for this. We can’t do that.”

Choi Kyu-seo blocked her husband and stared at her father.

She was greatly disappointed, believing firmly that her father wouldn’t back off like this.

“I’ll handle this. Don’t worry.”

Choi Young-soo opened his eyes.

“You’ll handle it?”

“Yes.”

Choi Kyu-seo had a plan of her own.

She suspected that the person who provided the inside information was Baek Seol-ki, so she thought that attacking the source would prevent the situation from getting worse.

“It’s Baek Seol-ki’s doing. We just have to deal with her.”

Choi Young-soo listened to his daughter’s words with a stern face.

“The public opinion will calm down if there’s nothing to report. As always.”

“Will Baek Seol-ki shut up?”

Her husband Kim Soo-hyuk asked.

“She can’t resist.”

Choi Kyu-seo sneered.

“Do you think she’s sincere about the Biennale enough to quit her job? Do you think she’ll like it if something bad happens to her?”

When the message couldn’t be denied, the messenger had to be pressured.

“She’s the one who did all kinds of chores under me. She’s stupid, but not enough to not know that she’ll be in danger if she goes further.”

“…”

Kim Soo-hyuk closed his mouth and Choi Kyu-seo met Choi Young-soo’s eyes.

“We just need to get some news to divert the attention. We have plenty of time.”

There was half a year until the opening of the Venice Biennale.

She thought that if she could recover the public opinion and achieve results at the Biennale, she could reverse the evaluation so far.

“Do you think the world will go your way?”

Choi Young-soo finally spoke.

“Of course. It has been so far and it will be in the future.”

Silence flowed between the mother and daughter.

“I thought you were smart because you were my daughter. And I thought you could take care of yourself now. But now I see that I raised you as a stubborn fool who doesn’t know the world.”

Choi Kyu-seo’s eyebrows twitched.

“Let go. It’s an order.”

Choi Young-soo headed to his room, as if he had no intention of talking anymore.

Choi Kyu-seo’s pride was hurt again by being ignored by her father, and she shook her fist.

“Kyu-seo, listen to your father. He’s not wrong, is he?”

Her mother tried to persuade her, but it didn’t reach her ears.

She jumped up and stormed out, tossing her head back to calm her anger.

“Honey. Honey.”

Kim Soo-hyuk followed his wife and tried to soothe her.

“What are you going to do if you leave like this?”

“What do you mean, what am I going to do!”

Choi Kyu-seo clenched his teeth.

“I’m going to handle this my way.”

His old father had become fearful.

He had lost his judgment and his pride. He was nothing but a senile old man.

That’s what Choi Kyu-seo thought as he decided to solve the problem in his own way, trying to prove that he was right.

As the couple left the door, Park, the driver, got out of the car and opened the door for them.

“Call Baek Seol-gi. Tell her to meet me.”

“Yes. What should I say it’s about?”

Choi Kyu-seo glared at Park through the car’s rearview mirror.

How dare he ask him what it was about when he wanted to see her. He was furious.

“That’s none of your business.”

“Tell her she’ll regret it if she doesn’t show up.”

“Yes. I understand.”

Park, who was flustered, quickly started the car.

‘I won’t let them get away with it. Baek Seol-gi and Jang Mi-rae.’

He couldn’t forgive them for the insolent posts they had put on the internet, nor his father.

The last day of the second orientation for the villains. The Korean writers were gathered together for lunch.

“Yum.”

Jang Mi-rae, Yoo Ra-im, and Baek Seol-gi smiled softly as they watched Ko Hun, who had a hearty appetite.

“He’s cute.”

Baek Seol-gi nodded inwardly at Yoo Ra-im’s remark and shifted her gaze to Ma Eun-chan, who was sitting next to Ko Hun.

He looked like he was eating in a hurry, as if someone was chasing him. It was a strange sight.

‘What a weirdo.’

He had improved his appearance by getting rid of his bowl cut, but he didn’t make a good first impression.

He was shabby and eccentric.

Vroom- Vroom-

Her phone vibrated.

She checked the caller and it was Park Ji-ho, her former colleague.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

“Okay.”

She asked for permission from those around her and went outside to answer the phone.

“Yes, Mr. Park.”

-Hi, manager. How have you been? It’s been a while.

“Yes. Well. What’s up?”

-Oh, that. Geez. How do I say this. It’s not anything else. The president asked me if you could meet him.

Baek Seol-gi gasped.

She had been unable to sleep properly because of the anxiety that this would happen, and it finally did.

“I’m in Venice right now. What does he want to see me for?”

-Oh, really? Well. As you know, he’s not the kind of person who tells me anything.

“…”

-This is not my words, but the president’s words exactly.

“Yes.”

-He said you’ll regret it if you don’t show up. Oh, I’m sorry for saying such things.

“No, it’s okay. I know. Tell him I’ll contact him myself.”

She had no reason to blame Park Ji-ho, who was caught in the middle.

Choi Kyu-seo had only one purpose.

He was convinced that Baek Seol-gi was the source of this incident, and he wanted to intimidate her into calming the situation.

‘What should I do?’

She had made up her mind.

But as the anxiety became reality, she didn’t know what to do.

Meanwhile.

As the main course was not served yet, and Baek Seol-gi didn’t return to her seat, Jang Mi-rae and Yoo Ra-im wondered anxiously.

“Where did Seol-gi go?”

“She got a phone call. I don’t know. Is the call taking too long?”

Jang Mi-rae hesitated for a moment and then got up from her seat.

She left the room and went outside the restaurant, where she saw Baek Seol-gi crouching against the wall of the building.

“Seol-gi.”

At the sound of her name, Baek Seol-gi wiped her eyes with her clothes and got up.

“Did you cry?”

“No. Let’s go inside.”

Jang Mi-rae grabbed Baek Seolgi’s arm and turned her around as she was about to enter the restaurant.

“What’s wrong?”

She had been barely holding back, biting her lower lip.

But as soon as she met Jang Mi-rae’s eyes, the resentment that she had kept in her chest overflowed.

Jang Mi-rae hugged her junior who suddenly burst into tears and comforted her back.

It seemed like they couldn’t go back to the place where they were together, so she sent a message to Go Sooyeol and arranged a separate seat.

Baek Seolgi, who had calmed down a bit, told Jang Mi-rae everything that had happened.

Jang Mi-rae, who had always disliked Choi Gyuseo and had lost an award to her, couldn’t help but be angry.

“He’s really useless. Is he sane?”

He had not only done terrible things, but also threatened to take away someone else’s dream as a condition. He didn’t look like a human anymore.

“I knew it. It would turn out like this.”

Jang Mi-rae gulped down an espresso.

She knew very well what the Venice Biennale meant to Baek Seolgi, and she felt furious.

It was an opportunity to achieve her dream of being an artist, which she had since before she grew up.

It was an opportunity that she had finally seized with her own hands.

She couldn’t give up on that.

But on the other hand, if rumors spread that she was no different from Choi Gyuseo because she had worked with her, it wouldn’t be good for her either.

There would be prejudice before she even showed her work, and there would be people who would want her to quit, just like Choi Gyuseo was facing now.

“Me.”

Baek Seolgi swallowed and lifted her head.

“I can’t give up.”

“…”

“I endured for five years because of him. I couldn’t do anything and just did stupid errands.”

She couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Right. Of course.”

Jang Mi-rae held Baek Seolgi’s hand.

“But.”

Baek Seolgi lowered her head again.

“I’m worried that I might cause trouble for the others because of me. The Korean Pavilion is different now.”

As Baek Seolgi said, the current Korean Pavilion was a place that was unfairly operated by a huge power called the Association.

On the other hand, the Joint Exhibition Hall was a place where artists who wanted to get away from the Association gathered.

If there was someone who had worked as Choi Gyuseo’s secretary in such a place, it would tarnish their purpose.

“No.”

Jang Mi-rae squeezed Baek Seolgi’s hand.

“You’re a victim too. Why do you think that way?”

“…”

“What did you get when Choi Gyuseo did that? What did you benefit from?”

“Not really, but… I did help him too.”

Baek Seolgi gently pulled out her hand.

“Thank you. Senior. For saying that.”

“Seolgi.”

“I’ve sorted things out a bit. I’ve been worried about this for a long time, so I thought about what I should do.”

Jang Mi-rae leaned her chin forward slightly.

“The day before yesterday and yesterday. While drawing mugunghwa with Hoon. I thought, he doesn’t have the Biennale as his goal. He doesn’t have the award as his goal.”

“…”

“He might be too young, but he didn’t seem like that. He expressed his feelings and what he wanted to say through his paintings. Isn’t that what a real artist is? And that sincerity is why everyone loves him so much.”

It was only two days, but drawing mugunghwa around the Korean Pavilion was happy.

She felt like she was moving with her heart, not just for money and fame.

Sometimes seriously.

Sometimes smiling, she drew mugunghwa with Ko Hun, and Baek Seolgi thought that she shouldn’t harm the villain.

And she thought that the Korean Pavilion that the boy wanted to protect shouldn’t be left as it was.

“I’ll tell them first. If the person who was the secretary goes to the media and tells them, it will make things worse.”

Baek Seolgi smiled faintly.

“I’ll give up on the villain.”

Jang Mi-rae couldn’t say anything.

She couldn’t decide what was best for Baek Seolgi right away.

“I can’t allow that.”

“Teacher?”

Go Sooyeol, who had received a text message, found Jang Mi-rae and Baek Seolgi.