Van Gogh Reborn!

Chapter 303:

303

The Final Showdown (8)

“Phew.”

I was immersed in the novel for the first time in a while.

As I turned the last page, I felt sleepy like the sunlight that seeped through the curtains.

The novel “Count of Cagliostro” was about Lupin, who had never run out of tricks, growing and finally ruining her in the process of confronting the Count of Cagliostro.

The Count of Cagliostro, who lost to Lupin, vowed revenge on him, which was the sequel, “The Revenge of the Count of Cagliostro”.

I wanted to read it right away, but my eyelids were heavy.

I decided to sleep first and think later.

How long did I sleep?

“Time to eat.”

I woke up in a daze at the sound of Bang Tae-ho’s voice.

“Food.”

I struggled to get up and Bang Tae-ho asked me with concern.

“Did you not sleep well? You didn’t get up until this time.”

“I stayed up late reading the novel. What time is it?”

“1 o’clock. Do you want to eat in the room?”

“Yes.”

I closed my eyes and fell asleep again. I startled awake and headed to the sink.

“Where are Henri and Eun-chan hyung?”

“Mr. Marso left in the morning and Eun-chan hyung was waiting to eat with us. I called him, so he’ll be here soon.”

“Please let Eun-chan hyung eat with me.”

“Okay.”

I was too lazy to take a shower, so I just washed my face and brushed my teeth.

To save time, I was sorting out the materials I had prepared while waiting for the food, when Ma Eun-chan knocked on the door.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yes. How about you, hyung?”

“Me too. The bed was really soft.”

“I’m glad.”

“I can sleep anywhere, but if it’s such a nice hotel, it would be strange not to sleep.”

It didn’t seem to affect him much, even though he had to adjust to the time difference, the changed environment, and the first time doing this.

I guess I worried for nothing.

“But what is all this?”

Ma Eun-chan was interested in the materials on the French costumes of the modern era, the setting paintings from , and the photo album of the old French castles.

“I’m going to use them as references. I read the novel yesterday and I wanted to sort out what I needed in advance.”

“Wow. You read all that in one day? You must not have slept much. Did you really sleep well?”

“I’m fine.”

I have a fresh body, so I recover quickly.

“You can’t keep doing that. I’ll get scolded by the teacher.”

“I have to do it in a month. After that, I can’t do it even if I want to.”

“Still.”

It was tight on time because I had to go around the art events, but it wasn’t so burdensome that I couldn’t do it.

Unlike , where I handled most of the main scenes, I only had to prepare the reference points for the designers.

“Are you going to check all this?”

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“This is not enough. I probably have to spend a week finding and organizing the materials.”

Ma Eun-chan couldn’t close his mouth.

Knock knock-

There was a knock on the door.

The staff put the food on the table one by one.

“New York steak, pecan pesto pasta. This salad can be served with tomato onion dressing or balsamic sauce, whichever you prefer. Do you need anything else?”

“No, thank you.”

Bang Tae-ho tipped and greeted the hotel staff.

There were three plates of steak, three plates of pasta, a large basket of salad, and they even brought fruit kindly.

“Who else is coming?”

Ma Eun-chan looked around the table and asked.

“No one?”

“Then who’s going to eat all this?”

“Me, ajusshi, and hyung.”

I grabbed two steaks and pasta, and Ma Eun-chan followed the food with his eyes.

He looked like a meerkat.

Bang Tae-ho also took a pasta for himself and invited Ma Eun-chan to eat.

“Let me know if you need anything.”

“No, I can’t eat that much.”

Ma Eunchan felt awkward as he looked at the steak and pasta that were pushed to his share.

“It’s okay to leave some. Hoon said you should eat well, Eunchan.”

He nodded as he ate the salad.

“Yum.”

Olives, avocado, lettuce, paprika and other things mixed together in his mouth, creating a very interesting texture.

The sauce made with tomatoes and onions was sweet and sour and matched well.

It felt like he was looking at a painting by Henri Matisse with a sense of color.

He kept eating even though he had food in his mouth.

“I’ll enjoy it.”

Ma Eunchan sliced the meat and put it in his mouth. He thought he would be happy, but his expression was stiff and he only moved his jaw slowly.

“Doesn’t it suit your taste?”

“No?”

Ma Eunchan took another bite and finally fell into ecstasy. He seemed to like the taste, judging by his eyes filled with joy.

“What is this? What is this? How can the meat be like this?”

“It must be the sirloin part.”

I also fell in love with the charm of modern beef starting with Korean beef, and Ma Eunchan seemed to be the same.

“I’ve never eaten anything like this before. It’s really delicious.”

“Eat a lot.”

“Yes! Wow! Mm. Mm~ It’s so delicious! It’s so delicious, Director! Please try this!”

Ma Eunchan offered the steak to Bang Taeho. He refused with a smile, but he finally cut a piece and gave it to him.

He felt warm in his heart as he tried to share the joy he had never experienced before with the person next to him.

‘It’ll be okay.’

Being poor doesn’t mean being unhappy.

People who are short of money become miserable when they see or experience something they have never experienced before.

When they didn’t know, they didn’t want it, but it became their ideal with a single experience.

I was like that too, and maybe Ma Eunchan will have that thought tonight.

But at least for now, I can feel his warm and clear mind.

I want to bring him into Chocolatier, who wants to make the world happy.

“You can eat it every day if you join Chocolatier.”

“Huh?”

Ma Eunchan froze with a knife and fork in his hand.

Bang Taeho smiled and added.

“It’s a company that Hoon and Marso made together. You can think of it as an agency, but it’s closer to a community of artists.”

“Huh… Are you scouting me right now?”

“Hoon liked your work, Eunchan.”

He wouldn’t have invited him to this event if he didn’t.

A little cowardly, but wanting to hold on to him, I came to America with him the next day and fed him delicious food and talked.

“You can eat more delicious things. Jajangmyeon is a bit hard, but I can provide you with potato pizza as much as you want.”

“Pizza?”

“You can substitute food for whatever you want.”

Bang Taeho scooped up some salad for me.

I was about to say that I could also give him snacks like chocolate or tart, but I put the salad in my mouth first.

The crunchy texture and sweet and sour sauce spread like a palette again.

“I’ll give you a certain amount every month as a material cost until you sell your work or raise income through exhibitions. Of course, you have to share 10 percent if you make a profit. I think it will be a great help for you to work on your work stably.”

“That’s right.”

Bang Taeho said what I wanted to say, so I just agreed.

“Uh. It’s just too sudden.”

“Haha. Well, yeah. I’m not asking for an answer right away. Think about it slowly while you’re doing this. You’re going to graduate from college anyway, right? It’ll be after that.”

“College…”

Ma Eunchan kept putting meat in his mouth as he thought.

I understand his feelings well.

I can’t stop eating this salad either.

“Yum.”

“Director, do I have to graduate from college to join Chocolatier?”

“Not necessarily. If you look at it that way, Hoon hasn’t even enrolled yet.”

I nodded with food in my mouth.

“Then. Then I want to do it! I think it would be much more educational to be with my big brother and Hoon than to earn money while going to college.”

That’s true.

There are things you can only learn at school, but nothing can beat the field.

What Ma Eunchan needed was experience, as he already had a solid foundation.

“Haha. There’s no need to rush your decision. There’s still time until the gallery is completed, so please think it over and let me know.”

“No, it’s okay. My parents told me to seize the opportunity when it comes. They said I shouldn’t hesitate or stutter when I find it, but grab it with a clear mind.”

You are a remarkable person.

“Hahaha. Okay. Let’s finish our meal and talk more.”

Ma Eunchan wanted to enter the art world as soon as possible, even if it meant skipping college.

He had so many things he wanted to learn that college couldn’t satisfy him.

“We will pay you 1,500 euros per month until you make a profit. However, as we told you, we will split 10 percent of the sales or exhibition revenue with you.”

Only 10 percent commission.

Even though he didn’t know the details of the industry contracts, Ma Eunchan could tell that Chocolatier’s contract terms were favorable to the artist.

“Yes!”

“Also, there may be some occasional requests from us.”

“What kind of requests?”

“You know the paintings of Dallida Square and Bugrenelli Shopping Mall, right?”

“Yes.”

“Things like that, public works, or spending time with the kids.”

“That’s no problem. I like those kids.”

Ma Eunchan smiled brightly.

“You are very confident. Then let’s proceed with the contract after this job is done.”

“Thank you! I appreciate your cooperation!”

“Me too.”

Ma Eunchan shook hands with Bang Tae-ho and turned his head.

Ko Hun had been organizing his materials ever since he finished his meal.

Ma Eunchan approached Ko Hun and watched him work for a while.

Then he suddenly had a question.

“Hoon-ah. Can I ask you something?”

“Yes.”

“Uh. You sold Frosty Wheat Field for a lot of money, right?”

Ko Hun blinked at the sudden question.

“Oh, I don’t mean anything by it. But you could have sold more works at a similar price, or maybe even higher.”

“Yes.”

“Then why don’t you?”

Ma Eunchan wondered why Ko Hun, who made a huge income by working alone, didn’t sell his works.

He had spent a lot of money to build a gallery for Chocolatier, but he never sold any works after Frosty Wheat Field.

He made up for his income by running a YouTube channel, holding exhibitions, selling collections, doing public works, and working on movies.

Ko Hun smiled faintly.

“If it weren’t for Henri, it wouldn’t have sold for that price. He can’t resist my paintings.”

“Kheuk. I guess so.”

“I probably would have made tens of billions more if I had sold them. But I didn’t want to rely on Henri to make money.”

“…Why?”

“If Henri doesn’t like my paintings, my income will stop. Then I’ll have to paint what he wants. I don’t want that.”

“There are many other people who want to buy your paintings besides him.”

“It’s the same reason.”

Ko Hun put down the modern French photography book.

“My goals are different. If I painted for money, I wouldn’t care which side I was on.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I want to work as I please and be satisfied with myself. And since I can’t make a living with that alone, I look for people who like me. People who can enjoy my paintings just by looking at them, without owning them.”

I kind of understood.

It would be comfortable economically to have a passionate buyer or a powerful sponsor, but it would be hard to ignore their opinions.

Even if they were nice people who let him work freely, he would feel shackled as an artist.

What if the sponsorship was cut off?

What if they stopped buying his works? He would have to move in anxiety.

Anyone would do that.

“I also want people to be happy when they see my paintings. I don’t have a desire to feel or be recognized as something amazing artistically. I just want to live and comfort each other with people who share the same time. Painting is a means for me.”

“I get it.”

I understood why he chose to go the hard way instead of the easy one.

Art had longed for freedom from power throughout its long history.

Now, pure art and popular art are separated, but listening to Ko Hun’s words, ironically, art with the masses was truly free art.

“I’m not making that little money, you know.”

“What?”

Ko Hun smiled and looked back at the report.

He didn’t need to tell them that he had secured a million dollars and a 1% running guarantee for participating in this movie project.