NOTICE: Many of the novels have been removed because they might cause violations, which we were not aware of earlier.
Episode 10
Although the portrait closed its eyes due to Yoo Seong-un’s haste, Bisabal, the owner of the painting, was not angry with him.
“It was a portrait that wouldn’t even respond when I spoke to it anyway. It didn’t even look at me.”
“… … .”
“The 17 employees who had been in conversation so far ran away because they couldn’t stand the pressure of the portrait. In that sense, Yoo Seong-woon’s attempt must be seen as significant and fruitful.”
“but….”
“It may not have been a good choice to let Geo run away, but I scouted you because of your curiosity, Mr. Yoo Seong-un. You don’t need to apologize for that.”
“I will be more careful in the future.”
“That will do.”
Fortunately, Bisabal was a special person to his family.
The curator’s job is to maintain and manage the work. This kind of curiosity that a researcher would have is not appropriate. Nevertheless, I was grateful to have met a boss who supported this meteor cloud.
“ha….”
But Yoo Seong-un was still in an awkward position.
‘Just because there’s no big problem doesn’t mean the mistake goes away.’
It’s been quite some time since I was hired by Bisabal as a curator. I thought I had become dulled by appreciating and managing Bisabal’s collections, but it seems as if nature is nature, and I was drawn to the mystery of the dungeon I saw after a long time.
Yoo Seong-un went into his personal studio and bit into a piece of candy. A tired adult needed something sweet.
“… … .”
Yeah, that’s right.
‘Geo’s portrait is not of an ordinary monster.’
That piqued Yoo Seong-un’s curiosity.
“… It could simply be a mutation… .”
A small murmur.
“… … .”
Yoo Seong-un sat on his chair for a long time, staring into space.
Soon he opened his mouth.
“…I guess I should contact the gardeners.”
Gardening was a secret profession practiced by associations in various countries.
In fact, it is not to the extent that it is being ‘secretly operated’. Anyone with the right aptitude can do it.
However, it would be more appropriate to say that it was not spread openly and semi-forcibly because there were so few suitable candidates.
‘But since I pretended to retire as a researcher, it’s difficult to contact you again.’
The gardener, a sort of secret researcher and adventurer, was the one closest to the truth of the dungeon.
He knew a lot of information that was unknown to the world, but Yoo Seong-un, a former gardener, could not explain the ‘Portrait of Geo’ with his knowledge. It was something of a kind that he had never seen before.
“… Well, I guess it’ll work out somehow.”
Squeak… .
Yoo Seong-un sighed and slumped down in his chair.
“There’s no need to rush, so let’s take it slow.”
No matter what humans do, the ‘source’ does not run away.
‘It’s too big for that.’
There was no reason to rush into revealing the secret, and I didn’t feel like doing so. It was just a few days ago that I acted so hastily and caused ‘Geo’ to run away.
“Let’s reflect, reflect…”
Fortunately, Geo’s evasion didn’t last too long.
A few days later, Yoo Seong-un was able to see the portrait with his eyes open.
* * *
“…uh….”
“hello.”
“…hello?”
Yoo Seong-un smiled awkwardly.
“Good evening.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
The forest in Geo’s portrait was a starry evening.
“It’s dinner time for us too.”
“Wasn’t it dawn?”
“I came a little early today. It’s not even 12 o’clock yet.”
“It definitely seems earlier than usual. Is there a reason?”
“I came to check out other works I’m in charge of.”
Yoo Seong-un shrugged his shoulders.
“Then Geo, I saw you awake.”
“I am always awake.”
“That’s an amazing story.”
Yoo Seong-un, who had been whining, asked in his characteristically calm voice.
“What were you doing now?”
His gaze was fixed on the brush in the portrait’s hand. It was a very strange sight, a painting holding a tool with which to paint.
‘It’s a sight that would make the guild leader’s eyes roll.’
Geo answered obediently.
“I was making a bird.”
“Oh, you were drawing a bird.”
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“yes.”
“Can I take a look too? If you don’t mind.”
“If Mr. Yoo Seong-un wants, I can show you.”
The man with the blunt face put down the brush in his hand, and soon Yoo Seong-un tapped an unseen spot. As his delicate fingers called out to someone with restraint, something strange occurred.
I heard the sound of water lapping, and soon a bird appeared.
“… … .”
Yoo Seong-un was surprised.
Of course, it was flat, like something out of a painting, unlike the previous gems… but at least it felt as alive as Geo.
“… that bird… .”
“This is my new family.”
“Oh, I see.”
I wanted to answer as calmly as possible, but I don’t know if that worked out well. To be honest, Yoo Seong-un was a little excited.
“What a beautiful bird.”
The bird was very small. Among the species found in Korea, it was probably a type of squint-eyed bird.
But the tail feathers were much longer than that, and the wings were so transparent that they were hard to see. Maybe they were just merged together.
It was made of very clean water. It resembled the holy water that Yoo Seong-un, a former gardener, had occasionally seen in dungeons, or the spring water of a remote area where no life existed.
“Did you just make that, Geo?”
I think I know why they said ‘make’ instead of ‘draw’. It was definitely a living, moving creature.
“You were holding a brush.”
“It sounds fun, so I’m making several.”
“Several?”
“Right now… I think it’s a little less than 100.”
“That’s amazing.”
The point is that each of those 100 horses was drawn individually.
“It won’t be easy.”
“It doesn’t matter, I have time left.”
“ah….”
“It’s also fun.”
“… … .”
Are you surprisingly a person who seeks out interesting things?
‘Something to keep in mind.’
Although it’s hard to tell the difference between Geo-in, who is overly polite and has a stiff expression, and a monster or something else, living a life focused on interest is something to be wary of as a human.
Yoo Seong-un, who had memorized the information in his head, asked again.
“It looks like it’s made of water, but can that bird sing?”
“I don’t have vocal cords, but….”
Porruk…!
Clink, clink!
“… like this.”
“aha.”
There was a rustling sound as the bird shook itself off like a wet puppy. It sounded like a small water bottle being shaken, or like a thin, viscous jelly being stirred around.
Yoo Seong-un smiled faintly.
“That’s how you cry.”
The portrait added:
“There are other ways to cry too.”
“But didn’t you say you didn’t have vocal cords?”
“It’s similar to the method before.”
Geo took out a small jewel from inside his suit.
“how is it.”
Pitter-patter…! Pitter-patter!
“It’s yours.”
chop.
The small bird snatched the green jewel from Geo’s hand. It bit the jewel here and there with its small mouth, as if assessing it, and then swallowed it whole.
“ah.”
Geo handed over a few more gems, still with a blunt expression.
“You can cry now.”
“how….”
At that moment, a rustling sound was heard.
“… … .”
Yoo Seong-un could soon tell how the bird in front of him was crying.
‘… by moving or bumping into an object placed in the body… .’
It looked like a fairy tale.
The jewels trapped inside the bird’s transparent body floated around and even bumped into each other, making noise.
Although it looked like a dense jewel, the jewel floating inside its small body sparkled with the light-scattered water.
Geo spoke as if he was teaching a newborn animal.
“okay.”
Dalgrak!
“You are doing well.”
Click, click!
“… … .”
Then I saw him blink twice. He looked tired, perhaps because of his mood, even though his blunt expression hadn’t changed.
“They are chatterboxes.”
“It looks pretty quiet.”
“I can’t even imagine how noisy it would have been if there had been vocal cords.”
“That’s… but.”
The bird, showing the quick movements typical of small animals, moved around busily on Geo’s hand, flapping its tail. Then it spread its wings and flapped them.
‘The wings are bigger than you think.’
The wings, large enough to cover the entire body, were absorbed back into the body and lost their form.
‘That part is just like slime.’
It also seemed a bit similar to trying to put something in his body. It seemed like he was doing it for decoration rather than hunting, though… .
How will you react when you meet the enemy?
“…your paintings are really cool.”
Is this a portrait and a painter? As he thought about that, Geo looked at Yoo Seong-un’s words.
Those eyes, which were so dark that they seemed almost bright, briefly captured the meteor cloud, then opened their mouths.
“thank you.”
“I hope I didn’t say anything rude?”
“It was a perfect compliment for someone who draws pictures.”
“Then that’s good.”
But it’s a living painting.
‘Anyone would say that’s cool.’
As Yoo Seong-un was blankly staring at the bird, the portrait asked.
“Do you have any other questions?”
“Ah, a question… .”
Is this also one of the rules of ‘Portrait of Geo’?
‘It seems like they give me a chance like this every time.’
Yoo Seong-un answered, gauging the other person’s patience and kindness.
“I always have questions. So here they are again. Geo, you showed me such a wonderful picture.”
“okay.”
“This bird is truly beautiful. Do these guys have their own sense of beauty? Or are they acting according to your taste, Geo?”
“… … .”
The portrait blinked twice and answered.
“I don’t know much about these guys.”
“okay.”
“But they like to decorate themselves by putting things into their bodies.”
Perhaps because they had talked quite a bit so far, Geo continued speaking without hesitation.
“I’ve made about 100 birds so far, and each one has a different preference. This one likes jewels, some birds want flowers, some birds want sticks or rocks. Sometimes it’s small fish or fruit.”
Porruk!
As the portrait waved its hand, the bird sitting on it flew away. The sound of water was heard.
“They don’t follow my aesthetic sensibility. They have their own set of tastes. It may have been influenced by me a little bit… but it’s not something I can impose on them now.”
“It looks like a real bird.”
“This is a painting. The paintings I paint, as the owner of the painting, become real. They can breathe and live if I want. They can.”
“… … .”
“Is this a sufficient answer to your question?”
Yoo Seong-un, who had been silent for a moment, soon opened his mouth.
“This bird doesn’t look like a simple painting. It looks alive. Could it possibly come out like you, Geo?”
“well.”
Geo didn’t give a clear answer. It seemed like he didn’t know what would happen either, or he didn’t want to tell them much. Yoo Seong-un didn’t care much and just let it go.
I just asked cautiously.
“Here… .”
“… … .”
“Do you have a soul?”
31 years after the dungeon was created, people have come to acknowledge the existence of ‘souls’. It was an inevitable trend as various skills targeting souls were created.
There is nothing that is not rare about such skills.
“Have you created a bird with a soul, now?”
“well.”
Same answer as before.
‘I don’t understand what you mean.’
The portrait was still blunt.
It was a face that did not resemble that of a person who had just created a new life, and so it had a more alien and eerie appearance.
‘They act like it’s normal to act in a way that doesn’t look human at all, but they have eyes, a nose, and a mouth that look like a human’s, so it feels even more bizarre.’
It felt like a completely different level of discomfort compared to the monsters and other creepy things I usually saw.
The portrait answered as expected.
“I don’t know either.”
“If you, the owner, don’t know, who will?”
“Nobody may know.”
His voice was clear.
“I just painted a picture. And I was a person in the picture.”
“… … .”
“I can decorate this picture, and the decorated picture becomes real in this portrait. Just like the last time Mr. Yoo Seong-un drew me an apple… .”
“… … .”
“After all, it’s just a painting.”
It may sound like a pun, but it wasn’t wrong.
‘The picture within the picture is real.’
Yoo Seong-un asked again after a while.
“You created a bird in a painting. You drew a jewel and gave it to me. And you were able to pass it on to me.”
“you’re right.”
“Geo, you are clearly a painting, but you are also a human being and can affect reality.”
He asked.
“So can you draw a real life here?”
“… … .”
“It’s not just about going out of the picture and going back in like last time, but it’s about being able to portray something like a destiny, a past, or a memory. Or else… .”
“… … .”
“Or a real person.”
Geo answered immediately.
“It might be possible, it might not be possible.”
“… … .”
“But I don’t want to do that.”
“…Why? Isn’t it lonely or boring inside the painting?”
“I don’t feel lonely here.”
His speech was still blunt.
“I feel comfortable here. The weather is always nice, the spring breeze blows, and the forest is full of scent. Nothing is too much trouble or too much effort.”
“… … .”
“If you ever get bored, all you have to do is make new friends like you are doing now. That’s enough.”
Yoo Seong-un was a little surprised.
“Are you satisfied with your peaceful world of paintings?”
The existence of the other types he had seen so far had always been a desire for reality. Regardless of the presence or absence of self, their actions were instinctive, like the stems of plants stretching out toward the sunlight.
“Don’t you feel like coming out?”
“I’m tired.”
“That could be… but…”
“I don’t want to leave. This is my home now.”
“… … .”
Just now, clearly, you said, ‘now.’
‘…There was a time when this portrait did not live.’
The portrait claimed to be human, and said that there were times when it did not remain a portrait, but there was no guarantee that it would remain on Earth.
‘It could be another dungeon or dimension. No, if we think about Geo’s usual speech and attitude, this one seems a bit more likely.’
The portrait continued speaking, regardless of Yoo Seong-un’s thoughts.
“I cannot create a creature that threatens me.”
“… a threatening creature?”
“Humans are always beings who have the potential to harm other beings. The only creatures I can create are those who are kind to me. That is the rule of this portrait.”
“… … .”
“I didn’t know at first, but after trying a few times, I understood. Since I am the owner of this portrait, I cannot create a being that can erase me. That is why I cannot draw humans.”
The portrait murmured.
“Because a portrait without an owner is not valid.”
After saying that, Geo looked at the meteor cloud again.
“It is a bit daunting to create humans.”
“Why?”
“That’s so special.”
“Isn’t it better if it’s special?”
“I’m not that special, so that’s no good.”
“… … .”
“I am satisfied with the extent of my specialness as a talking portrait.”
It was certainly so profound that it was hard to believe that it was simply the thought of a portrait of an ego.
‘It’s definitely not an ordinary monster or item.’
That’s why it had an eerie aspect.
“… … .”
“Does this answer your question sufficiently?”
“Today, yes.”
Monsters too,
Items too.
If you are neither a ghost nor a human.
“See you next time.”
What on earth is this?