Chapter 18
5. European Trip (3)
“Ahahahaha!”
When I told Jang Mirae what happened yesterday, she laughed so hard she nearly passed out.
“Ah, seriously—hahaha! That’s just too funny!”
“……”
Wiping tears from her eyes, Jang Mirae cupped my cheeks.
“Were you scared, Hoonie? Did you think Grandpa was taking you somewhere strange just because he bought you good food and wanted to give you a smartphone?”
Even though she’s speaking formally, it still somehow feels off.
Once she calmed down, Jang Mirae rested her chin in her hand.
“Well, I get it. When I was little, if my mom suddenly bought me expensive stuff, I used to think something bad had happened.”
“It was a very misleading situation.”
Who could’ve known medical technology would advance so much that people would live to 100?
Back in my time, living into your 60s or 70s was considered long.
“Anyway, is there anything you want to buy?”
“Anything is fine.”
“Why? Since you’re getting one, wouldn’t it be better to get something nice? There are so many designs to choose from.”
“I don’t really see the point in buying it.”
“Hm. You’ll need it to call Grandpa when you’re out, and to keep in touch with friends. You’ll find it useful.”
If I had something to say, I could write a letter. And if it were urgent, a telegram would suffice. Why spend nearly a million won on something like that?
I’d rather use that money to buy paint.
“What would be best…”
Jang Mirae pulled something out of her bag that was about the size of a No. 1 canvas. She tapped its surface and a screen lit up.
“What’s this?”
“A tablet. Haven’t you seen one before?”
“Is it like a smartphone?”
“Yeah.”
“Then what’s the difference?”
“Umm… the screen is bigger?”
Telephone, cell phone, smartphone, tablet—
They’re all shaped a little differently, but why so many names?
“A bigger screen’s more convenient for light work. You can play games or draw, too.”
“Draw?”
“Want to see?”
Jang Mirae started manipulating the tablet.
“You can draw with this.”
She handed me a pen.
“But there’s no lead.”
“Hehe. Just try it.”
I was skeptical.
But this world is full of things I don’t understand. Just to see what would happen, I moved the pen—and a line appeared.
“Huh?”
“You can even edit it. Press this and erase.”
When I tapped the little white square and moved the pen, the part I touched was perfectly erased.
As if nothing had ever been there—pure white.
I got goosebumps.
“You can keep drawing like this?”
“Yup. As much as you want.”
When she tapped something with her finger, all the erased lines returned exactly as they were.
I was so shocked, I couldn’t speak.
“Looks like Sujin-sunbae raised you super strictly. These days, kids are used to this stuff before they’re even mature.”
You can draw however you want.
Erase as much as you want.
And even undo a mistake completely.
This… is a miracle.
Curious, I started poking around on the screen, but I had no idea what anything was.
“Okay, from here to here—select, copy, and paste… Ta-da.”
“Whoa—!”
The drawing I had just done now appeared twice. Not even the slightest difference. A perfect replica.
“Like a print?”
“Ahaha! I love your reactions. Then how about this?”
Jang Mirae loaded a photo, tapped something, and in an instant—it turned into an oil painting.
Goosebumps broke out all over me.
While I looked back and forth between the tablet and Jang Mirae, she tapped something else and the image turned black and white, then blue.
So startled, I flinched without realizing it.
“Oh my gosh. You’re so cute. Is it that amazing?”
“What is this?”
“It’s called a filter. It’s a feature of this app.”
“Filter?”
Like filtering water? I don’t get it.
But I need it.
“I want one.”
“Hehe. So you like it? Feels like you need to get one now?”
If I don’t buy this, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.
“With this, I won’t be unable to draw just because I can’t afford supplies.”
With this, I’ll never have to paint over old work again just because I can’t buy canvas.
“In the long run, it’s cheaper than painting on canvas. You don’t need paint either.”
And that’s not all.
The working time will be much shorter. I’ll be able to try things I never imagined before.
Even just having a few colored pencils used to make me excited about what I could create.
But this—
This goes beyond that.
A true blessing from the gods.
“Let’s hurry and get it before they’re all sold out!”
“Don’t worry. You can buy one anytime.”
What is with this world?
What happened in just 130 years that made miracles like this seem normal?
“Hmm. These days, WH and Pineapple brands are both good. But WH might be easier for Hoonie.”
“I want one that lets me use a variety of paints.”
“Sure. You can use all of them.”
“And lots of different brushes would be nice.”
“Whichever app you use, you’ll never be short on brushes.”
“Then what’s there to worry about?”
“The work environment is different.”
The more I think about it…
People don’t really know how to explain things to someone who knows nothing.
Now I understand why kids always ask, “Why?”
“But Hoon, digital art is a bit different from painting on canvas.”
“How so?”
“Well, no matter how skilled someone is, you can still tell a fake from a real Sunflowers, right?”
“Yes.”
“But with digital files, anyone can make an exact copy. Like earlier.”
“……”
That could be a problem.
“You mean… you wouldn’t know which is the original?”
“Exactly. But it’s not just that. It could change the direction of your art.”
“My direction?”
“When you paint on canvas, the artwork has unique value. That’s why someone like Henri Marceau would pay a lot to buy your painting.”
Hopefully more people will want to in the future.
“But if it’s digital, would anyone bother paying a lot for it? When they can make 100, 1,000, or even 10,000 identical copies?”
“Ah…”
“That’s why the way you sell digital art is totally different. If you become super popular, you might earn even more. Or… you might earn nothing.”
I never want to live in poverty again.
“Then I’m okay with that.”
“But there are advantages too.”
“Like what?”
“Well, once you draw something, it won’t ever degrade or disappear. And even when you take photos of a canvas painting, it doesn’t really capture the same feeling, right?”
I nodded.
“But when you draw digitally from the start, that difference doesn’t exist. More people can see your work exactly as you intended.”
“……”
“Also, seeing a canvas painting in person can be difficult. But if you upload your work online, anyone from anywhere in the world can view it.”
So to summarize, canvas art has unique value, while digital art allows greater accessibility.
But regardless of money, I have no intention of giving up oil painting or ink wash painting.
At the same time, I don’t want to give up this mysterious new method either.
“Then I’ll just do both.”
Jang Mirae blinked a few times.
“You know what? That works.”
* * *
Go Sooyeol wanted to show his grandson Go Hoon the masterpieces of the great artists in person.
He hoped it would inspire him, helping him learn and grow as an artist.
Since Hoon would be returning to school next year, this winter was the perfect time.
“If we’re going to travel around, we’ll need to allow enough time…”
Even a large museum might take several days.
“Two months? Maybe three?”
He also had to decide whether Hoon should go to school in Korea or live abroad, which made the decision even harder.
“Maybe Paris would be good. London’s nice, too. Venice and Berlin are options… Even New York isn’t bad.”
He wanted to create the best environment for Hoon’s art, but he couldn’t settle on a city.
Big cities offered cultural diversity and great opportunities for exhibitions.
But knowing Hoon’s sensitivity, maybe a quiet village with beautiful scenery would be better.
He figured his son and daughter-in-law had probably taken Hoon to various places for this same reason.
While he was thinking it over, Hoon came home with Jang Mirae after buying the tablet.
“Grandpa!”
Hoon ran up to him, unusually cheerful.
Go Sooyeol smiled and welcomed him.
“Well, what’s got you in such a good mood?”
“This! You know what this is? You can draw with it! And you can do something called ‘composite editing’! Do you know what that is?”
“Really? What is it?”
Pretending not to know, Go Sooyeol just found it adorable how his grandson tried to explain everything without understanding it fully himself.
“He was so thorough. It took a while because we looked at so many options.”
“Thank you. You must be tired.”
“Not at all. Huh? Are you going on a trip?”
Jang Mirae asked, noticing the computer screen showing pictures of various cities.
“I was thinking of taking Hoon on a European tour.”
“That sounds amazing. Where to?”
“I’ve got a few places in mind.”
Go Sooyeol hesitated for a moment.
Meanwhile, Hoon was already immersed in the tablet, fiddling with it nonstop.
“Hoon, where would you like to live?”
Hoon tilted his head.
“I don’t understand the question.”
“Would you rather live here or in Europe? You spent a lot of time there, right?”
Hoon blinked.
“Like in London, for example?”
“No. It rains a lot, the air’s bad, and there are too many murders.”
“…Then how about Paris?”
“It smells like poop and there are too many rats.”
Behind him, Jang Mirae nodded solemnly—remembering her own disappointment after studying abroad in Paris with high hopes.
“Then where?”
“I like it here. Grandpa, look! You can search for paintings with this. Pa… Pa…blo… Pi…cas…so.”
Stuttering through it, Hoon searched “Pablo Picasso” and proudly showed the screen.
Go Sooyeol patted his grandson’s head and resumed thinking.
He had studied in the U.S., France, and London himself, but he never felt those places were truly comfortable to live in.
Still, the knowledge and experience he gained there couldn’t be replaced.
“Are you really okay with it?”
“I can draw anywhere.”
Hoon, completely absorbed in the tablet, answered without even thinking.
Go Sooyeol chuckled warmly.
“All right. It’s not urgent—we can travel and take our time deciding.”
“Okay.”
“So, where do you want to go first?”
Hoon thought for a moment before answering.
“Is there really a place called the Van Gogh Museum?”
“Of course there is. You want to go?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s go. It’s definitely worth visiting at least once.”
