Chapter 3 — My Daughter Is a Genius
“That concludes today’s presentation. Everyone worked hard~!”
Teacher Chae-eun announced the end of the presentation.
Right on cue, the school bell rang, signaling the start of recess.
Yurina, who had finished her presentation, hurried toward me at the back of the classroom.
As she walked over, I felt strangely nervous.
“Dad, you’re leaving now, right?”
“Yeah, I should go. You did really well today. When did you prepare such a drawing? That was amazing.”
I patted Yurina’s head while trying to hide how shocked I still was.
In truth, my legs were still trembling.
Don’t let your hands shake, Kang Sung-woon…
About fifteen minutes earlier, when I saw Yurina’s drawing during the presentation, I had frozen in panic.
The drawing in Yurina’s sketchbook wasn’t just a simple child’s picture of me, her, and her grandmother.
From the clean lines with no unnecessary strokes to the detailed coloring—even though it was done with crayons—
It looked like a portrait or self-portrait drawn by a university art student.
Seeing such an incredible drawing—something that could be framed and displayed as an artwork right away—I completely lost my reaction.
Since I just stood there blankly without even clapping, Teacher Chae-eun ended up looking more nervous than I did.
That was how shocking Yurina’s drawing was to me.
Now I understand why everyone praised it so much… I’m the idiot for not realizing this until now…
Just as the teachers had said, Yurina truly had exceptional talent in drawing.
It was something that could honestly be called innate talent.
“But Dad… did you maybe not like my drawing?”
“Huh? Of course not. It was a really good drawing.”
“Really? But earlier… it looked like you didn’t like it…”
I flinched.
It seemed Yurina had been hurt because my reaction had completely broken earlier.
“N-No! That’s not it! Dad was just really surprised!”
I hurriedly waved my hands, denying it.
“Yurina drew so well that Dad was really shocked. Haha…”
Feeling guilty, I quickly tried to comfort her.
Thinking about it… not even clapping was a bit too much.
But I was still a typical Korean dad.
The moment I saw Yurina’s drawing, my mind had already jumped ahead to imagining her holding exhibitions in France.
Sorry for being such a ridiculous dad, Yurina.
“Was I really that good?”
“Of course! How did our daughter get so good at drawing? You really take after your mom.”
Only after I started praising her did Yurina’s expression brighten again.
“Mom was good at drawing too, right? Dad said she was a painter.”
“That’s right. She drew very well, just like you.”
My wife had once been an artist who even held her own personal exhibitions.
Yurina must have inherited her talent from her.
Thinking that made my chest tighten with emotion.
My angelic daughter had inherited such a beautiful talent from the woman I loved.
You left her with all the beautiful things, didn’t you, honey.
If my wife had seen Yurina’s drawing, she would have been so happy.
That thought left a bittersweet feeling in my heart.
“I have lots of other drawings at home! I’ll show you tonight!”
Yurina bounced on her toes excitedly.
Then her cheerful expression slowly faded.
“…Actually… Dad is busy, so you’ll come home late tonight…”
Yurina muttered quietly in a disappointed tone.
“…Yurina.”
Her discouraged expression and the way she said it as if it were obvious stabbed at my heart.
It shocked me to realize that even at this time, Yurina already thought of me as someone too busy to spend time with her.
If she felt that way even now…
How deep must her wounds have been three years later?
Looking at Yurina made my chest ache.
“No, Dad’s actually going to get home before Yurina today.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Tonight we’ll eat something delicious together, and I’ll look at the other drawings you made.”
I knelt down on one knee so my eyes were level with hers.
Then I gently patted her head and smiled.
“Yurina, will you play with Dad tonight?”
A smile spread across Yurina’s lips.
“Yes!! Let’s have fun together!!”
I couldn’t disappoint my daughter after the wonderful presentation she gave today.
Besides, I had already planned to settle things today.
Because this life couldn’t be the same as before.
And to do that, there was something I needed to finish first.
“Where the hell have you been?!”
After the presentation ended, I drove straight to Director Hwang’s studio.
Seeing the 36 missed calls, I had already expected what would happen.
Sure enough, the moment I stepped into the studio, Director Hwang roared like a lion.
“…My ears aren’t broken, Director.”
“Then you ignored the calls on purpose?! If your ears work, why didn’t you answer?!”
I had prepared myself mentally before coming here.
But once I faced him, the words didn’t come easily.
Still… I have to say it. I promised.
I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, then opened them and looked straight into Director Hwang’s furious eyes.
“Director, I have something to tell you.”
“Yeah? Then talk. Why are you late?”
“I was helping my daughter get to school. And what I want to say is something else.”
“I already don’t like hearing that part, but fine. I’ll listen to everything first and curse you afterward. Deal?”
Director Hwang, who was known as the Tiger Director, gritted his teeth as anger radiated from him.
“I’m sorry, but I want to quit the project starting today.”
Director Hwang, who had been raging nonstop, suddenly froze at my thunderbolt of a statement.
“…What?”
He asked again in a low voice.
His shock was written clearly on his face.
“I’m truly sorry!!”
I couldn’t bring myself to look him in the eye anymore.
So I bent forward at a full ninety degrees and spoke like I was confessing my sins.
“I can only say I’m sorry! I boldly told you that I could give up parenting for the sake of the movie, but I can’t leave my daughter alone! She doesn’t even have a mother, and leaving her with her grandmother while I chase my dreams feels too wrong! So… I’m really sorry, but I think I should focus on raising my daughter!”
After honestly saying everything, I waited for Director Hwang’s response.
My heart pounded, and my palms were sweating.
“…?”
But even after waiting quietly with my head lowered, Director Hwang didn’t say anything.
I slowly tilted my head and glanced up.
Director Hwang had disappeared.
“…Director? Director, where are you?!”
Bang!
Suddenly, the door to the break room inside the studio burst open.
Startled by the loud noise, I flinched.
Director Hwang had gone inside the room right after hearing my story.
And now he came out holding my suitcase.
“I’m busy, so pack your things and leave.”
Director Hwang gave the shortest and coolest farewell imaginable as he tossed the suitcase toward me.
Then he turned around, sat back in his chair, and continued working.
“You’re not angry? Or at least… going to try to stop me?”
Feeling strangely disappointed, I even complained a little.
“Stop you? For what?”
Director Hwang smirked without even looking at me.
“If someone crazy about movies like you says he’s quitting, it means whatever you’re choosing must be worth even more. So hurry up, pack your stuff, and get out!”
Director Hwang was accurate.
Or maybe it would be better to say he was cold.
Bang!
The door slammed shut.
I roughly grabbed my belongings and was practically kicked out of the studio.
Since I left within three minutes, I guess that really counted as being kicked out.
“….”
Standing in front of the closed studio door, I let out a small laugh.
It felt strangely empty.
In my previous life, we had worked together and even created a film that reached ten million viewers.
And now my connection with Director Hwang had ended just like this.
“Hey! Couldn’t you at least try to stop me once?!!”
I shouted at the door.
But no answer came from the other side.
…Why do I feel a little disappointed?
Leaning against the studio door, I stood there for a while.
When I looked up, the weather was annoyingly clear and bright.
Seeing the clean sky suddenly reminded me of my wife’s face.
For some reason, it felt like she was watching over me.
As if she were telling me that I had made the right choice.
I really made the right decision, didn’t I, honey?
***
After returning home, I sprawled out in the middle of the living room.
It was only 12:30 p.m., still early in the afternoon.
But maybe because of the emotional exhaustion, my body felt incredibly heavy.
“Sigh… how am I supposed to make a living now?”
I muttered while staring at the ceiling.
On that ceiling, I imagined the version of myself who had stood before the public as the screenwriter of a ten-million-viewer movie.
Now it was just a great but meaningless achievement left only in my memories.
Still, it was a good experience.
The three years I spent with Director Hwang had been the golden age of my writing life.
Those were probably the three years in which I grew the most.
“Ah whatever. First I need to find a job. After returning the contract advance, I probably won’t have anything left.”
I sat up and turned on my smartphone.
Opening my contact list, I started looking for people I could ask about job opportunities.
Then suddenly—
Bzzz!
My phone vibrated.
The caller ID read:
[Yurina’s Homeroom Teacher]
Teacher Chae-eun? Why is she calling all of a sudden?
I tapped the screen and answered.
“Hello?”
—Hello, Yurina’s father. Did you get home safely?
“Yes. But what’s going on?”
—Actually, you left your jacket on top of the classroom locker earlier.
“My jacket?”
The moment I heard the word jacket, I suddenly felt chilly.
Now that I thought about it, I had left wearing a jacket.
But I was only wearing a T-shirt now.
“Ah! I left it there?!”
—Haha, you must have forgotten.
I had been so shocked after seeing Yurina’s drawing that I was out of it.
I had taken off my jacket because I suddenly started sweating.
And apparently I left it on the locker.
—I’ll ask Yurina to bring it home after class later.
“Thank you. I’m so careless. Haha… I really enjoyed the presentation today.”
—Oh right! About that! Were you okay with today’s presentation? Your expression didn’t look very good earlier…
I flinched.
Teacher Chae-eun said the exact same thing as Yurina.
My expression must really have been bad…
Embarrassed, I rubbed my forehead.
“I didn’t know my child could draw that well, so honestly I was shocked. If I had known, I would’ve started art education earlier. Haha…”
I tried to brush it off with a joke.
But Teacher Chae-eun immediately caught onto what I said.
—Right?! I really think Yurina should get a professional consultation!
“Huh?”
—I actually know a good art academy nearby. Would you like me to introduce it to you?
“Ah… yes, I’d appreciate that…”
—Then I’ll send you the address by text!!
For some reason, the teacher seemed even more excited than I was.
Yurina once said her teacher was like an older sister, and it seemed that was true.
—You should definitely check it out! It might become great education for Yurina!
