Van Gogh Reborn!

Chapter 158: Summer Valley (4)

TL note:

Im going to change back the names of MC and his grandfather to Go Hoon and Go Suyeol.

Sorry for confusion. I hope you will understand. Thanks.

Chapter 158 Summer Valley (4)

Its delicious.

The rich broth of boiled meat goes down smoothly without any greasiness.

This time, I mixed it well with seaweed powder and seasoning sauce.

I wonder if its too spicy.

I muster up my courage and take a full bite. I can see why people love this dish.

This bowl has all the flavors: spicy, sweet, salty, sour.

Usually, there is a basic flavor and the other flavors enhance it, but this dish has strong flavors that blend perfectly as if they belong in their places.

And yet, its harmonious. Its amazing.

Its like the pointillism technique that Georges Seurat showed in <A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte>.

The distinctive flavors intertwine and create a new flavor.

The deep savory taste and the balanced saltiness of the meat broth, the spicy and sour taste of the seasoning sauce, and the irresistible sweetness.

Its astonishing how these simple flavors maintain their individuality and contrast each other to create a different flavor.

The texture is also excellent.

The cold noodles were chewy and hard to bite, but the buckwheat noodles are soft and tender.

The delicious flavors hit me directly and the noodles dont resist. Its very easy to eat.

I think I can eat two bowls of this water buckwheat noodles.

I wonder if thats why they put the word mak in front of the noodles, meaning its easy to eat.

Is it good?

Grandpa asked.

Yes. Its delicious. Its like Seurats painting.

As I finished speaking, Grandpa and Cha Si-hyun stared at me.

Why?

Seurat?

Whos Seurat?

Georges Seurat.

Cha Si-hyun might not know, but Grandpa should know. Its strange that he asked.

You can feel the sweet, salty, sour, savory, and spicy flavors all at once, and its very colorful. Doesnt it look like pointillism?

Grandpa frowned.

He didnt seem to get what I meant. I was about to explain more, but Cha Si-hyun pushed some young radish kimchi to me.

Its crunchy and refreshing. Its also delicious.

Its good.

Cha Si-hyun said, looking at Grandpa.

He seemed pleased.

He made all kinds of seasonings without any shame. It had to be delicious.

Its a very impressive dish.

I think Ill remember it.

Try the dumplings too.

Okay.

The pheasant dumplings were different from the dumplings I knew. They were slightly fluffy.

They looked like they used buckwheat, which had the same color as the dough.

I wanted to put it in my mouth in one bite, but the dumpling was too big, so I bit half of it.

Ah.

The dumpling skin peeled off and the juice flowed out. The rich filling filled my mouth in an instant.

The water buckwheat noodles had cooled down my mouth and stomach, but the warm dumplings made them warm again. I was surprised.

Good.

I couldnt taste the pheasant meat well, which was different from what I expected, but the warmth, the meaty flavor, and the smell of chives were very satisfying.

It was amazing how the warm dumplings tasted so good on this hot day.

This must be thanks to the cool water buckwheat noodles.

I ate well!

I ate well.

After driving for about five minutes, Grandpa stopped the car.

It was a place called Hanseom.

He parked the car and went down. A quiet beach came into view.

It was summer and a beach, so I thought there would be a lot of people, but it was quiet and had a nice atmosphere.

Cha Si-hyun ran out.

Theres no one here?

Usually, people go to Mangsang or Gangneung. Grandpa likes this quiet place.

I felt the same.

The hot sun shone on the calm waves and the sand grains, making them dazzling.

Grandpa squeezed some sunscreen for me.

He rubbed it on my face like lotion.

Put it on your neck too. And tell Si-hyun to do it too.

Okay.

I put it on my neck and arms carefully and approached Cha Si-hyun.

Put on some sunscreen.

Okay. Hehe.

He smiled when he saw my face.

Why?

Cha Si-hyun took out his smartphone and showed me my face. Not only my face, but also my eyebrows and lips were white.

He dabbed a little bit on his cheeks, forehead, and nose and spread it.

Grandpa, can we play here?

Yes. Dont go too far.

With his permission, Cha Si-hyun raised both hands and jumped into the sea.

I felt uneasy about going into the sea, so I watched the waves that were gently flowing. My heart tickled.

Come in!

I dont like getting wet.

Its so cool!

Im fine even if its hot.

Ahahaha!

Hey!

Cha Si-hyun, who was soaked in seawater, ran towards me, so I ran away. He followed me, laughing.

Two hours later.

We arrived at the villa in Samcheok and unpacked and washed up. There was a message from Bang Tae-ho.

Christine Norman had sent a promotional video for <Giamseong>.

He said it was for teaser purposes, but I didnt know what that meant, so I looked it up. It was a marketing method to stimulate curiosity.

Grandpa.

I clicked the link and looked for Grandpa and Cha Si-hyun.

Norman sent me a promotional video.

Lets watch it.

I connected it to the TV and played the video.

I drew a character sketch of Arsne Lupin, from the baseline to the coloring, and then a man who looked exactly like him appeared, lifting his top hat and smiling.

The video showed the process of completing the drawing, and then the same person appeared. It was an impressive scene.

His relaxed smile, fading into the darkness, made it seem like Arsne Lupin was alive.

Christine Norman had chosen the actor very well.

"Toby Chalamet."

Do you know him?

Hes very famous.

Cha Si-hyun listed the movies that Toby Chalamet starred in, but I hadnt seen any of them.

I didnt know who he was, but I trusted Normans decision.

He also matched the appearance and atmosphere that she and I had imagined.

Grandpa rewound the video to the end.

It said that it was provided by Norman Productions, and that I had participated.

You did well.

Grandpa smiled happily, as if he liked it.

The movie has to do well.

Not every work sells well, no matter how well its made.

It will.

Cha Si-hyun tapped the table and said.

Ear One is doing great, too.

He was talking about Christine Normans movie <Black Knight: Ear One> that came out this year.

I was curious about what kind of movie she made, so I watched it with Grandpa. It showed the process of a person who lost his parents to a criminal becoming a hero, in a surprisingly precise and powerful way.

I wonder how <Giamseong> will turn out.

When will this be released?

The day after tomorrow.

I want to see it soon.

The filming was moved up a bit, so I think we can see it next year.

That soon?

Next November or December?

Thats not soon at all.

***

Before going to bed, I lay down on the bed and looked up the painter Gustav Klimt that Kim Ji-woo told me about.

The encyclopedia described him as a representative painter of Art Nouveau (New Art).

My heart fluttered at the word new art.

Kim Ji-woo said he would gladly spend the money he had saved up to see his paintings, so I wanted to look them up on the internet right away.

But he said that I had to see Klimts Kiss with my own eyes, and that I should learn a little bit about him before that.

Even if I searched for Gustav Klimt, his masterpieces <The Kiss> and <Judith> would come up as images right away, but I ignored them.

I was going to prepare for the contest here during the vacation, and go to Europe in November. I would enjoy it then.

I dont know what to submit.

I have a pile of things I want to draw, so I draw one every day, but I havent drawn anything that I can submit to the contest.

I was having so much fun learning how to use oil pastels and ink that I focused more on building my skills than on planning my work.

The French National Art Salon Exhibition is a meaningful exhibition for me.

The people I admired gathered their strength and made the event, and the people who inherited their will revived it in the future.

For me, who had been getting attention for various things and doing well, it was also an opportunity to objectively check my current position.

I cant take it lightly.

As I sketched on the tablet and erased it repeatedly, the night deepened.

I could hear the sound of crickets in the grass near the villa, and I could see the moon half showing its face through the window.

I couldnt sleep, and I was drawn to the calm atmosphere, so I quietly went outside without waking Grandpa and Cha Si-hyun.

The dawn air was quite cool, unlike the day.

Unlike Seoul, there were stars shining densely in the sky, the smell of grass, and the sound of crickets.

Splash- splash-

The waves gently touched the rocks, and my mind calmed down.

Just three days ago, Grandpas exhibition was a huge success, and a month ago, it was noisy with the things related to Ferdinand Gonzalez. It felt like a distant past.

Its good.

I wish my father and mother were here with me.

If they had put aside their pride and talked honestly with Grandpa, they would have understood each other better than anyone else.

My mother, who was worried that I didnt have any friends my age, would have been very happy to see Si-hyun.

On a quiet day like this, my father would have surely dressed up as a ghost and tried to scare me, and then got scolded by my mother.

I miss them.

Im so happy right now.

The time I spend with Grandpa is so enjoyable and happy that I miss my mother and father more.

Splash- splash-

The sea is rippling.

Its rippling gently.

****

1 The character is based on the actor Timothe Chalamet, born in 1995.

He starred in Call Me by Your Name.

2 The work is based on Frank Millers <Batman: Year One>, published in 1987.

It depicts the first year of Batmans vigilante activity.