I Became an Artist in a Romantic Comedy-Chapter 84

Luckily, the back gate was a bit less crowded than the front, though still far from empty.

‘At this point, do I even need to bother with broadcasting the festival?’

With this many people, the promotional broadcast they asked me to do felt unnecessary.

Thinking about this, I finally made my way into the school.

Whether inside or outside, the place was swarming. From above, it must have looked like an ant colony.

The visitor count easily seemed to number in the thousands.

"So many people…"

"I wonder who’ll perform later?"

"I hope Lemon River shows up!"

"Excuse me..."

Even the path to my classroom wasn’t smooth sailing. The inside of the building was just as packed.

‘Hope there aren’t any accidents.’

The thought of getting caught in the crowd and trampled sent a shiver down my spine. I wasn’t keen on becoming a human stepping stone, so I hurried.

"Ha-Eun, over here."

Thankfully, Hong Ye-Hwa was waiting for me in the hallway, making it a bit easier to navigate.

"Phew. It’s chaos out there."

Our classroom wasn’t active yet. Actually, all the art department classrooms had been converted into exhibition spaces, so they were relatively quiet.

‘It’s a relief that this building only houses the art and literature departments.’

Compared to other areas, this one had a more subdued vibe, with visitors showing a bit more etiquette.

Of course, that didn’t mean it wasn’t busy, just calmer than elsewhere.

"Let’s catch our breath for a second," I said, sitting down and wiping the sweat off my brow.

Ye-Hwa handed me a canned drink, which I accepted gratefully.

"The admin is really…"

"Showing off with another broadcast!"

"I wish I could live a day in Lee Ha-Eun’s life."

"But with their body, you’d break in half."

"Thanks. By the way, is it okay if I broadcast here?"

Ye-Hwa had angled the camera downward to avoid showing her face, though it was already well-known. Still, I felt it was polite to check.

"It’s fine. Everyone who’d recognize me already does."

"Got it. Aren’t you busy with student council stuff, though? Is it okay for you to be here?"

"The seniors are handling most of it. We don’t have much left to do," she said, shrugging as she plopped down next to me.

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I glanced around the room. The desks, which had been packed tightly together, were gone, leaving only chairs along the edges.

Those spaces were probably reserved for the paintings that would be brought in later.

The exhibition was set to open at 10 a.m., so I figured I had some time to check out other places, like the student lounge or library.

Then again, I was live-streaming, so I didn’t really have a choice. Wandering around was inevitable.

The thought of the effort ahead already made me feel tired, but I had no option. Skipping out on the broadcast wouldn’t be right, especially after agreeing to help promote the festival.

‘If only I had someone to walk around for me.’

Ideally, I’d pawn this off on my younger sister, but unfortunately, Yoon and my parents wouldn’t be arriving until later in the afternoon.

I was still grumbling internally when—

"Hey, Soo-Yul and Ye-Seo are here," Ye-Hwa said, looking toward the door.

Sure enough, Ha Soo-Yul and Choi Ye-Seo entered, waving enthusiastically.

"Hi!"

"Hey~!"

While it was nice to see them, I wondered why they weren’t busy preparing for their own classes. Then again, I assumed they’d taken care of it before coming over.

Ye-Hwa and I waved back and pointed to the empty chairs.

"Sit wherever you like. There aren’t many people here anyway," Ye-Hwa said.

As she mentioned, there were only a handful of students left in the first art department classroom—just me, her, and a few others. Most of our classmates had gone off to enjoy the festival.

I couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy. Some people could afford to relax and have fun while I was stuck working.

"Are you two okay with being on the stream?" I asked.

"Yeah," Soo-Yul replied.

"Doesn’t bother me~," Ye-Seo chimed in.

They say people grow cuter as they age, and their sing-song responses almost made me believe it.

Perhaps it was something they’d picked up from their mothers.

As usual, Soo-Yul latched onto my back like a koala while Ye-Seo chatted away with Ye-Hwa.

"Ahhhhhh…"

"If I get jealous, I lose. If I get jealous, I lose. If I get jealous, I… dammit."

"At least I have a girlfriend."

"Yeah, but she’s just one person. The admin has a literal harem of 2,000 concubines, lol."

"Let’s cut the nonsense and actually go see the festival," I said.

Despite it being a festival, I’d brought my backpack, intending to leave it in the classroom.

One hand held a selfie stick, the other the drink Ye-Hwa had given me.

For anyone else, this might not have been much, but it already felt a bit heavy to me. I planned to finish the drink quickly and toss it.

"...Though the real reason this feels heavy isn’t the drink. Hey, get off," I said, addressing the clingy Ha Soo-Yul on my back.

She ignored me, of course.

If reasoning worked with her, she wouldn’t be doing this in the first place.

Trailing behind us, Ye-Hwa and Ye-Seo didn’t even bother trying to help.

‘Ugh, I’m already exhausted.’

I could only wonder how long this day would drag on.

***

As I stepped out of the building, the crowd outside had grown even larger.

It was fascinating to see so many people gathering this early in the morning.

Considering how big this festival was, it made sense that it would attract this much attention.

"So, where should we go first? I skipped breakfast because I overslept."

When you think of festivals, food is the first thing that comes to mind.

Outside the building, various booths were set up—some selling food, others offering interactive experiences.

Naturally, my destination was the food booths.

‘I just need something light.’

Since it was still morning, I didn’t feel like eating anything heavy. If I was going to eat, I might as well pick something the others would enjoy too.

‘I wonder if they moved the masterpiece properly.’

Despite the last-minute rush to finish it, everything had wrapped up smoothly.

Whatever happened after that was the student council’s problem, not mine.

All I’d done was paint the picture.

Thinking about it now, the painting featured a cake. Was there a booth selling cakes around here?

Following the flow of my thoughts, I felt a tap—more like a nudge—on my shoulder. Turning around, I saw Ha Soo-Yul staring at me with her distinctive red eyes.

"Let’s go over there. They have slices of cake," she said.

"Did you read my mind or something?"

"Huh?"

"Nothing, never mind."

I gave up trying to understand her. Sometimes I couldn’t help but wonder if she and the others could actually read my thoughts.

"More importantly, get down already… I’m out of breath."

"Fine… spoilsport," she said with a pout.

Even if she wasn’t heavy for someone who worked out, carrying her was still too much for my stamina. Five minutes was my absolute limit.

"My back’s free, Soo-Yul! Hop on!" Choi Ye-Seo chimed in with her usual flair.

Her offer was met with silence. Typical of her cat-like personality.

We arrived at the booth and quickly grabbed something to eat. While the other cakes were good, nothing beat a classic strawberry cake for me.

With the four of us picking different types, we got to sample a variety of flavors.

"That cake was amazing, I tried it earlier."

"Where to next?"

"When does the exhibition open? That’s what I came to see."

"Do you think Ha-Eun’s painting will be there?"

"I don’t know. I’m not sure where else to go right now," I replied.

Just walking around a little had already left me exhausted. Normally, wandering around campus was fine, but with this many people, it was overwhelming.

Still, I figured I could hold out for a while longer. I could always rest later. I wasn’t going to die.

"Why don’t we handle the stream while you take a break, Ha-Eun?"

Ye-Hwa’s suggestion made me nod instinctively.

Even though my brain said I was fine, my body betrayed me, moving on its own.

"Sorry. I’ll just take a quick break."

The library was the closest place to rest. I decided to head there to clear my head for a bit.

"Delegated streaming, here we go."

"This is actually better."

"Soo-Yul cam incoming!"

With that settled, I handed them the selfie stick without hesitation. Ungrateful viewers, every last one of them.

After everything I’d done for them in past streams…

Then again, complaining about it would only make me seem petty, so I let it go with a sigh.

Leaving the stream in their hands, I made my way to the library.

Unlike the noisy atmosphere outside, the library was tranquil.

Even during the festival, it wasn’t being used as a booth. Instead, it served as a quiet resting spot for visitors.

Whoever came up with that idea deserved praise.

‘...But that’s something I shouldn’t be seeing.’

I planned to kill time by reading a book, but my eyes were drawn to something unexpected.

A doodle of an angel.

It was the same style as the other sketches I’d seen—the ones meant to activate memories.

The angel doodle, however, should’ve been in the old school building, not here.

‘I didn’t see anything. There’s nothing here in the library…’

This wasn’t part of the sequence Wu Hua must have intended.

Clearly, the sketches were meant to be seen in a specific order, leading me to this point.

But I’d unintentionally skipped some steps, and now…

‘Not that it’ll work anyway.’

Despite those thoughts, my body tensed up as I stared at the doodle.

Why had the angel been separated from the others? Was there a reason for this deviation?

Hoo…

My worry proved unnecessary. As expected, nothing happened.

"Of course. Just my imagination."

It was all a needless concern. Sighing, I sat on a long bench against the wall.

It felt like I’d lived through an entire day already, even though I hadn’t done much.

Closing my eyes, I thought about taking a quick nap before heading back.

"...What the hell is this?"

Suddenly, I found myself viewing another memory—this time from the angel doodle.