I Became an Artist in a Romantic Comedy

Chapter 60: Summer Art Homework (1)

Baaa, baaa, baaa~.

“…Please.”

Can someone shut that ridiculous noise up?

I scratched my head as I sat up in bed.

“Sigh.”

It had been a week since I came back home.

August had arrived, marking not the end of summer, but its peak.

“Pretty sure we have four seasons… This is odd.”

Every year, Earth’s temperatures seem to climb higher, and now the heat stretches beyond August into September.

In this suffocating weather, people stayed holed up indoors, leading to a rise in self-proclaimed homebodies.

‘…I should’ve kept Heo Mu-seol at our place.’

That would’ve saved on air conditioning bills, too.

Such a naturally cooling painting—it doesn’t even need electricity to bring relief.

Unfortunately, Heo Mu-seol wasn’t here anymore, and that absence stung.

With a dissatisfied sigh, I got out of bed. The sun was already high in the sky.

‘Ugh, that damned sun is out again.’

Why does the Sun have to torment us in its main-sequence star phase? Can’t it just chill as a glowing sphere?

‘Well, in 5 billion years, it’ll extinguish itself. Turn into a white dwarf, right? Or was it a planetary nebula first?’

I vaguely remembered learning about it in integrated science class, but I’d mostly dozed off. Still, interesting bits like that stuck in my head.

Some might think trivial knowledge like this is useless, but it’s surprisingly helpful—at least for me.

‘Someday, it might come in handy.’

I opened my door and stepped into the living room, where Mom was sorting through photo albums.

Scratching my belly lazily, I asked, “What are you doing?”

“Hm? Oh, just organizing some old photos of you and your sister. Aren’t you hungry? You slept a long time.”

“A bit. Where’s Yoon?”

“Still sleeping~.”

The house was blissfully cool with the air conditioner running full blast, though I knew the outside world was probably a fiery hellscape.

I headed to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and grabbed some cold water.

After quenching my thirst, I walked over to Mom and started flipping through the photos she was organizing.

“Do you remember this one? You were seven here,” she said.

“Seven? That was ten years ago. How could I remember? I can’t even recall what I ate for dinner two days ago.”

“Really? You don’t remember this? It was when we went to the beach!”

“The beach? Oh, right. That time.”

Faint memories surfaced—this was the photo we took after saving Yoon. If I remember correctly, we took it before going to bed.

‘Back then or now, not much has changed.’

Looking at the photo, the only real difference was my height.

“Humph, as I thought, there aren’t many photos of my son. But there are so many of Yoon.”

“Still, there are more than I expected. Better than I thought.”

I paid more attention to Yoon’s photos than my own.

Her bright smile hadn’t changed, though her baby fat had started to melt away.

Mom and I spent a while looking at the album, but the sound of the door creaking open caught our attention.

“Ugh… What are you guys doing?”

Yoon stumbled out of her room, rubbing her eyes with one hand.

“We’re looking at photos. Aren’t you hungry? It’s past noon,” I said.

“…What?! Ahhh! I was supposed to do homework with my friends today!”

Yoon’s panicked response was accompanied by her hair standing on end.

“We were supposed to meet at 1! I’m doomed!”

Watching her scramble around, Mom and I sighed in unison.

“When do you think your sister will start waking up early?”

“She’s your daughter first, Mom. And she does wake up early on weekdays.”

For about ten minutes, I watched her wrestle with chaos, my face full of pity.

“Good thing high school doesn’t have summer homework. Poor middle schoolers.”

“Ugh, do you want to die, Oppa?! If you keep teasing me, I’ll drag you along!”

…I only teased her this once. Please don’t do that.

‘Wait, did I even have summer homework in middle school? I don’t think I did.’

Yoon eventually transformed into a more presentable state, carrying a small bag as she waved goodbye.

“I’m off! I’ll probably be back before dinner!”

“Be careful!” Mom called out.

“And don’t follow anyone offering you candy!” I added.

“What?! Do I look like a three-year-old to you?”

Her indignant words were offset by her cheerful laughter, which made me smile.

“Stick to the main roads, and call me if anything happens. I’ll come right away.”

“Okay! Bye!”

With the energy of a manga heroine, she dashed out the door. Mom and I couldn’t help but admire her.

“Wow. Even if we wanted to, we couldn’t move like that.”

“Seriously. Kids these days are full of energy.”

“…You’re a kid too, you know.”

Excuse me, Mother. My body might be young, but my mind is aged.

“So, what’s for lunch?”

In response, Mom shrugged.

“Delivery.”

I guess she wasn’t in the mood to cook.

—

I’d returned from America, but summer vacation wasn’t over yet.

Today was August 12.

The school term didn’t start until August 30, which meant I still had 18 days left.

I didn’t plan on wasting that time.

I’d been catching up on the broadcasts I missed while in America, teaching Yehwa whenever she came to my studio, and hanging out with Soyeol and Yeseo whenever they dropped by.

It had been a peaceful, pleasant routine.

Today, I thought, would be another quiet day.

“Yawn. So, what do you want?”

I yawned loudly and spoke lazily into the phone.

[When are you going to start working?!]

It was Teacher Lee A-reum on the other end, her voice filled with urgency.

“You’re the one who needs to decide that, Teacher. I’m just here to assist you.”

[It’s a collaboration! We need a joint pseudonym!]

“Do we really? Why not just use yours?”

[How could I do that when it’s not just my work?]

“Hmm. What time works for you? I’m free today and tomorrow.”

[Today’s tough for me, but tomorrow should be fine. What time?]

She asked about a meeting time. I figured early afternoon would be good.

“How about 1pm, right after lunch?”

[Alright, I’ll message you tomorrow to confirm.]

“Got it.”

I stared at the phone for a moment after the call ended, then closed my eyes.

‘Is it normal for students and teachers to be this close?’

Probably not, but it seemed plausible.

It helped that her intelligence level felt more like that of someone my age, making our bond even stronger.

‘How did she even pass the teaching exam?’

I still couldn’t figure it out. She didn’t seem particularly bright on the surface.

Oh, and then there was this:

[010-XXXX-XXXX: After school starts, I’d like to arrange a meeting. – Art Department, Class 1, Lee Ha-eun]

A cryptic message from an unknown number.

‘That’s the chairman. Probably about the Prize project.’

I didn’t know who the chairman was. While I knew the principal, this school was backed by the massive S Group, so the chairman was rarely seen.

‘Should I ask Dad? But what if he doesn’t even know?’

Even within S Group, people didn’t all know each other. With dozens of departments, how would they recognize someone from another?

The chairman had very little public presence, which was unsettling.

‘It’s sketchy, honestly.’

Still, it wasn’t urgent. They’d probably call me again later.

I got up from the sofa and changed into fresh clothes in my room.

Even with the windows closed, the sound of cicadas was unmistakable.

I didn’t want to go out. But I had to.

[My little sister Ha-yoon: Big problem! Help me!]

It sounded like Yoon was in some kind of trouble. Probably not anything serious, but still.

“Poor kid,” I muttered.

“Mom, want to come along? The weather seems nice.”

“Pass.”

Mom waved me off as I left the house.

Even with a parasol, the heat was unbearable. It felt like the air itself was suffocating.

Not even mosquitoes were flying around.

‘This is the first time I’ve seen mosquitoes vanish because of the heat.’

Dressed in white with a yellow parasol, sunglasses, sunscreen, and arm sleeves, I was fully armed against the sun.

Without this gear, I’d probably pass out. I’d learned the hard way never to roam around in summer without protection.

‘The location is here.’

I arrived at the spot Yoon had mentioned, only to find a bustling area

filled with restaurants and cafés.

‘She didn’t tell me which café it was.’

Was I supposed to check every single one?

Before I could despair further, I heard a voice behind me.

“Oppa! Over here!”

I turned around to see Yoon halfway out the door of a café.

Walking over, I asked, “What could my dear sister possibly need from her very busy brother?”

“I need help with my homework. It’s art-related, of all things.”

Her sheepish grin made the irritation from the heat fade away.

I patted her head and followed her into the café.

‘Ah, salvation.’

The cool blast of air conditioning greeted me like a slice of heaven.

“Wow, Yoon. Your brother’s… very assertive,” one of her friends said, eyeing my sun-proof getup with intrigue.

‘Well, I guess I do stand out.’

With my parasol, sunglasses, arm sleeves, and sunscreen, I must’ve looked like I was on a mission to defeat the sun.

I greeted Yoon’s friends briefly and sat down.

Removing my sunglasses and arm sleeves, I turned to Yoon.

“Couldn’t you have asked Hong Yehwa for help instead of me?”

“Oh, right! But since you’re already here, Oppa, you can do it!”

She added a bit of a playful tone to her voice, making her friends gasp in shock.

“Did I just hear what I think I heard…?”

“Am I hallucinating?”

“My proud little princess!”

What’s with these kids?