Chapter 100:Epilogue [Anywhere, In The Distant Future.]

One spring day.  

Under the blue sky filled with stars.  

A blue butterfly was flying freely.  

Flapping…  

Waking up in the grassy forest of an unnamed park, the butterfly flew between the asphalt and cement.  

The butterfly sat on the windowsill of a dark building, resting.  

“…”  

The dark interior of the building was visible in the blue butterfly’s compound eyes.  

There were several small, shabby rooms.  

In each room, a human sat or lay alone. The rooms were barely separated by small partitions, like a beehive.  

They were focused on something inside.  

In such a vast and bright world,  

why did they gather and live in such a dark, tiny nest?  

For what purpose?  

“…”  

Flapping…  

The butterfly flew up again,  

entering one of the rooms.  

Inside.  

there was a young man in his early twenties lying down. He was unusually large.

*

The man looked at his phone with a sad expression.  

[Your interview result is ‘Unsuccessful.’]  

“…”  

He swiped the screen.  

[Your interview result is ‘Unsuccessful.’]  

“…?”  

He swiped again.  

[Your interview result is ‘Unsuccessful.’]  

[Your interview result is ‘Unsuccessful.’]  

[Your interview result is ‘Unsuccessful.’]  

…  

…  

…  

He failed at every company he applied to. It seemed that no company would hire someone with no experience and just a high school diploma.  

‘Even the companies that might have miraculously overlooked my lack of experience, I get rejected as soon as I go to the interview…’  

Finally, the man sighed. Then, he muttered quietly.  

“…Huh, is my face really that bad?”  

His late uncle used to say, “You look great when you smile.” And when he washed his face in the bathroom and looked at his own face, he sometimes thought, ‘This isn’t so bad, is it?’  

“…”  

‘Should I try smiling?’  

He closed the job platform site,  

looked at the smooth surface of his phone, and gave a small smile.  

A smile as harmless as the models in cosmetics ads—  

“Heehee…”

A harmless smile…  

“Hee…”  

A smile…  

“…”  

The man quickly gave up.  

“…”  

No matter how he looked,  

he looked like a pleasure-seeking criminal, intoxicated by violence.  

Moreover, it seemed he had taken a few pills.  

“…Ugh.”  

His life wasn’t entirely honorable, but…  

at least he hadn’t fallen into the depths of crime and corruption.  

He just didn’t understand why his appearance turned out like this.  

No,  

he didn’t understand why his life turned out like this at all.  

He hadn’t achieved anything,  

and here he was, stuck in a corner, circling around…  

“…”  

But the man knew the answer.  

‘It’s because I’m trying to do something like art when I don’t have the means. If I was going to do it, I should have done it in a wealthy family.’  

“…”  

The man became gloomy.  

‘…I must have failed because I’m this negative.’  

He threw his phone onto the blanket as if escaping reality, and tried to get up. But his large frame caused him to accidentally bump his knee against the wall.  

-Thunk!  

“Gah…?!?”  

The man swallowed his breath.  

‘Dammit, no way! The guy in the next room has an exam tomorrow…!’  

Of all the people, he had disturbed the craziest guy in the dorm. And on the most sensitive day, too. It was like poking a bomb.  

“…”  

The man froze, tense.  

“…”  

But, as usual, there was no loud retaliation or curses. A few minutes passed, and all was quiet.  

“…?”  

He pressed his ear lightly to the wall, trying to hear, wondering if the sound of pages turning might be audible.  

The walls of the dorm were thin, which made moments like this easier.  

-Drrooo…  

All he could hear was snoring.  

It seemed the person had fallen asleep after an all-nighter.  

“…Phew.”  

The man sighed deeply and got up from his bed.  

At that moment,  

his phone, which had been set to silent, lit up.  

An alert from the part-time job search app.  

“!”  

The man cautiously picked up his phone and checked. It was a brief message from the job recruiter.  

「Please come for an interview tomorrow.」

“Oooh…!”

*

Mr. Kim was wearing a fluorescent jacket with the words “Palgon’s Signboard Shop” written on it. His name, ‘President Kim Palgon,’ was printed there.  

He quickly drank his instant coffee and said to the man who came for the interview,  

“Go Hun? Your ‘name’ is Go Hun? What are the Chinese characters for it?”  

“…Yes. It’s 高 (Go) for ‘high’ and 勳 (Hun) for ‘achievement,’ so it’s Go Hun.”  

“Oh, wow, that’s a really manly name!”  

“R-Really?”  

“It gives off a sense of grandeur, and it sounds pretty good. You look tall and trustworthy too.”  

The cheerful middle-aged man, President Kim Palgon, laughed heartily as he pushed back his slightly thinning hair. His personality reminded one of Go Hun’s late uncle.  

“In my opinion, I think you have enough qualification to join the Mapo-gu Man’s Club. Hahaha!”  

“…Huh.”  

‘Mapo-gu Man’s Club..?’  

Go Hun made an awkward expression.  

He didn’t feel bad. In situations like this, people always mocked him when they heard his grand name. It had been a long time since anyone had given him compliments like this.  

‘…He seems like a better person than I expected.’  

President Kim Palgon patted Go Hun on the shoulder and said,  

“You’ve got a good physique, and more than that, your name is manly, so you should start working from tomorrow.”  

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”  

‘So my manly name is the extra point…’  

President Kim Palgon drank his coffee, then suddenly asked,  

“By the way, do you have any experience in electrical or facility work?”  

“Well… I worked on an interior company site for about 3 months, and I often went to construction sites to carry bricks.”  

“Oh, wow, you’re really a man. You’re still young, but you’ve lived a very diligent life. Do you support your parents? Or have you started a family?”  

“No… both of them have passed away. I don’t have a girlfriend either. I’m just doing anything I can to get by.”  

“…Oh, I’m sorry.”  

President Kim lowered his head slightly with a sorry expression.  

Go Hun waved his hand.  

“No, no! It’s okay. Who in the world doesn’t have some kind of hardship?”  

“I’m really lucky to have such a big-hearted employee join.”  

President Kim smiled broadly and reached out for a handshake.  

“I’m looking forward to working with you.”  

“…!”  

Go Hun gladly responded to the handshake.  

“Yes! I look forward to working with you!”

*

It’s been half a year since I started working at ‘Palgonne’s Signboard Shop.’  

To cut to the chase,  

Mr. Kim was really kind.  

He stayed by my side, even though I couldn’t tell the front from the back, and taught me all sorts of skills. And whenever I tried to leave, he would stop me and give me an extra 50,000 won.  

I was shocked when I received the money.  

– What’s this money for…?  

– Ah, take it, take it. Have a beer on your way home.  

– But I already got my salary…!  

– When I was your age, I got something like this from an older guy I knew. It keeps reminding me of that.  

– Th-thank you.  

I saved up that money and bought art supplies.  

And then… On days when I didn’t have work, I would draw.

– Scribble, scribble.  

“…” 

So much so that the walls of my small room were covered in drawings.  

– Scribble, scribble.  

“…”

It was a foolish thing, just wasting money.  

But still, I followed what my heart told me to do.  

“…”

Suddenly, a question flashed through my mind while I was drawing.  

‘But why did I even start art in the first place?’  

In my vague memories…  

I saw the face of a lovely girl.  

But I couldn’t quite remember her name.  

‘I think I started because I admired someone a long time ago…’  

Was she a genius?  

“…”

…I don’t know.  

“…”

– Scribble, scribble.  

‘Anyway, I should just keep drawing.’  

I finished the drawing and then connected my earphones to my phone to watch my favorite VTuber’s stream. It was an uneventful day, but it was very fulfilling.

*

Go Hun cheerfully greeted him.  

“Thank you for your hard work! Boss!”  

“Ah! You should go home too!”  

As he was greeting, Mr. Kim suddenly called Go Hun back in a hurry.  

“Ah! Oh, right! I got a call from the foundation, but I was so scattered that I forgot to ask. Hold on a second!”  

“Yes?”  

“Did you say you like art?”  

“…”

It seemed like Go Hun had casually mentioned it while having lunch sometime.  

“Ah, yes. Art… I do it as a hobby.”  

Go Hun brushed off his serious feelings by calling it a ‘hobby.’  

“…”

If someone were to ask why his work was like that even though he seriously tried…  

It honestly felt like his heart might break.  

‘Actually, Mr. Kim probably wouldn’t ask such a thing.’  

But regardless, Mr. Kim continued with his questions.  

“By the way, where did you say you live?”  

“Ah, the goshiwon near the subway station.”  

“Do you live with anyone?”  

“Well, if I had a girlfriend, I’d be walking around looking cooler, right?”  

“Hehe, got it. Sorry! Take care!”  

“Yes! Thank you for your hard work!”  

Mr. Kim seemed to pick up the phone and continue his call.  

“Ah, yes. Hyung, it’s Palgon. About what we talked about earlier… Oh, really? The high school archery team tryouts?! Congratulations! Sae-on, that kid’s always been amazing at sports…”  

“…”

Go Hun turned around and headed back to the goshiwon.  

‘What should I draw today?’

*

Go Hun put on a fluorescent jacket with a relaxed expression. The jacket had the name of the shop, Palgonne’s Signboard Shop, along with his name written on it.  

‘Since I started working at this signboard shop, I feel like my mind has become a little more at ease.’  

Laughing and chatting with Mr. Kim, and sometimes going to the “Mapo-gu Men’s Club” to drink all night…  

…it made him feel like,  

‘I’m alive.’  

“…”

It was a little painful, though.  

Art was just a hobby,  

but he wanted to keep working at the signboard shop like this.  

He no longer…  

wanted to fall to the bottom.  

“…”

Go Hun thought to himself as he closed the wardrobe door at the shop.  

-Screech  

It was time to get back to work.  

– Oh, you’re here? Hop in! It’s time to go work.  

– Yes! Boss! Where are we going today?  

– Over to Namdaemun…  

And—  

“….”  

A blue butterfly was watching from afar.  

It followed Go Hun’s steps.

*

Go Hun swallowed his saliva.  

“…”  

The high-voltage power lines in front of him looked terrifying. Some of the wires even had their rubber insulation peeled off, exposing the inner wires.  

‘It must be because it’s an old building, but the wires are all tangled up in a mess. Wait, could this cause a fire?’  

Of course, the breaker was turned off for the construction, but it still looked scary. He had to put his hand into the tiger’s mouth, full of wires, and unscrew the bolts under the sign, one by one.  

“…”  

Beside him, Mr. Kim spoke cautiously.  

“Go Hun, I’ll be working beside you. Be careful. If you can’t do it, just let me know.”  

“I can do it!”  

“Alright, let’s get started.”  

Go Hun carefully slipped his hand between the wires.  

And little by little,  

he unscrewed the bolts while moving slowly and cautiously.  

“…Phew!”  

Sweat gathered on Go Hun’s nose as he focused.  

Then, all of a sudden,  

the area in front of him turned completely blue.  

‘What, what’s going on? Is this paint—?!’  

If his eyes were damaged like this,  

he wouldn’t be able to draw anymore.  

Go Hun panicked and quickly pulled his hand back.  

“Ugh…?!”  

He desperately wiped his face. But nothing touched his gloves.  

“…?”  

Go Hun blankly looked up.  

A single blue butterfly was fluttering, flying up into the sky.  

Go Hun let out a sigh of relief.  

“Phew… It was just a butterfly that landed on my eye.”  

But just then, a horrifying sound rang out, followed by a shout from beside him that made him jump.  

-Sizz!  

“Hey, what’s going on here?! Who turned on the breaker?! Didn’t you see the notice?! Go Hun!! This is dangerous!! Take your hand off!!”  

“?!”

Go Hun quickly turned to his side and shouted in panic.  

“I… I took it off!”  

“Are you okay—?!”  

“I’m fine!”  

“Okay… thank goodness. It’s dangerous, so let’s get down quickly! Hurry!”  

“Yes!”  

Go Hun and Mr. Kim hurriedly descended the ladder.  

Mr. Kim, with a face like a goblin, stormed toward the building’s security office. He shouted so loudly that it seemed like the sky and earth would shake.  

“Hey, you idiots!! Who turned on the breaker during construction?! Didn’t you see the notice?! Our employee almost died from electric shock!!”  

“…?!”  

Now, Go Hun understood the situation.  

‘What… What just happened… Did I almost die from electric shock…?!’  

His legs trembled,  

and he collapsed to the ground.  

Cold sweat poured from his body.  

“…”  

People passing by on the street glanced at him indifferently as they walked on. Still, Go Hun remained sitting there, lost in thought.  

“…”

“…Excuse me.”  

“…Huh?”  

A girl’s voice was heard from beside him.  

Go Hun blankly looked to his side.  

A girl in a white dress with twin braids was looking at him with a worried expression. She was wearing a wide-brimmed hat and holding a beautiful sunflower bouquet.  

She seemed to be on an outing.  

She spoke in a concerned voice.  

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”  

“Uh, no. I guess an accident happened while I took my hand off.”  

“That’s a relief.”  

“…Yeah, I was really scared I might die just now.”  

“Yeah. That would be scary.”  

“Yeah, right. Uh-huh. There’s still so much I need to draw.”  

“…”  

“…”  

Go Hun finally snapped out of it.  

‘…What am I saying to an elementary school student?’  

Then, he spoke awkwardly.  

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’ll be going now.”  

“You don’t look even thirty yet, probably just over twenty, right? So, I don’t think you’re an ‘uncle.’”  

“…?”  

Go Hun tilted his head.  

‘To an elementary school kid, isn’t anyone over twenty or thirty an ‘uncle’?’  

The girl spoke kindly.  

“You still have a lot of chances ahead. There will be many good things waiting for you.”  

“…Yeah, thanks.”  

The girl rummaged through her bag and took out a small business card. She then plucked a single sunflower from the bouquet.  

She glanced at the jacket with Go Hun’s name on it and spoke.  

『Bang Go Hun』  

“Bang Go Hun?”  

“Uh? Oh, yeah. I’m ‘Go Hun.’”  

“That’s a nice name.”  

“Th-thank you.”  

“I’m sure good things will happen to you.”  

Then, the girl handed him the business card and the sunflower.  

Go Hun took the business card and the flower.   

『Starlight Art Foundation』  

“Starlight, Art… Foundation? Are you asking me to call this number…?”  

Go Hun looked up again.  

By now, the girl was walking far away.  

“…”  

But he didn’t chase after her.  

She looked very busy.  

“…”

Go Hun stood there for a while, then suddenly remembered something.  

‘That girl’s face… she looks a lot like someone…’  

“…!”  

Ah,  

he remembered.  

“Go, Hana…”  

When Bang Go Hun was young,  

he had dreamed of becoming an artist after seeing the paintings of the art prodigy, Go Hana, who had once caused a sensation in the world.  

It was a distant memory, so vague now,  

from a long time ago.  

“…”  

Could it be…  

Her…?  

“…No, it can’t be. It’s been years. She’s not some kind of ghost.”  

Go Hun packed up the sunflower and the business card, then went to calm down Mr. Kim, who was fuming in a rage.

*

Hana walked forward.  

The sky was still blue and clear. The twinkling of the stars, alive and breathing in it, remained unchanged. The fierce lives hidden in the darkness also still existed.  

In such a world, she was moving forward, holding a beautiful bouquet.  

The place she arrived at after walking.  

[Hana!]  

“!”  

Someone called her name.  

Hana, with a bright smile on her face like a sunflower, ran toward them with all her might. And she handed over the beautiful bouquet she had found on the way.  

Yesterday’s memories, today’s experiences, and tomorrow’s hopes.  

Searching for beauty,  

meeting beauty,  

and sharing beauty…  

That was her life.  

And so, she kept living on.  

– It was a beautiful life.

● Author’s Note :—

Thank you for reading.  

This episode is the first scene I envisioned when I started writing this novel.  

Perhaps that’s why, after finishing it, I feel a lump in my chest.  

With this, the epilogue has also been completed.  

While writing this novel, I learned a lot, and I also spent a lot of time reflecting.  

There were moments when I wondered, Is this a boring story and felt disappointed.  

I even questioned if I could finish writing it.  

But in the end, I reached the final scene I had imagined.  

I truly hope that this novel, now concluded, has been a story that can bring some comfort to the hearts of readers.  

Thank you once again to all the readers who read <A beautiful girl with Artistic Genius becomes an Artist>.   

Sincerely,  

Gookmun Parang  

February 12, 2025  

This is the last episode.