LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 41
Chapter 41: Art Stream (The End)
The group came back, and we all took a quick break.
“Hey, where’s mine?”
Choi Yeseo handed out drinks from a bag but skipped me.
“You didn’t say anything, right? Here, Yoon, peach iced tea for you!”
That girl… Still, she giggled as she handed me a bottle of ice water, clearly just joking.
“Phew… The weather’s insane.”
“Seriously, imagine if we’d stayed indoors. It would’ve been so much better.”
“You expect me to keep the guests cooped up at home?”
Her glare was sharp enough that I deliberately turned my head.
Honestly, though, with air conditioning at home, why bother going out and suffering?
After that, the girls drifted off to hang out by themselves.
“Why did they even drag me out if they’re going to do this?”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all.
Somehow, their antics never annoyed me, no matter how silly they got.
“I guess I’m just used to it now.”
I drank the rest of the ice water to cool down.
Even in the shade, the air didn’t get any cooler.
“When summer comes, it’ll rain a lot, right? I like rainy days.”
Not for some cliché reason like helping me focus.
“Listening to the rain takes away my worries. It clears my mind.”
It’s like entering a blank slate, with no thoughts at all.
I’d just sit there, staring blankly out the window.
“Whether it’s watching a fire, flowing water, or falling rain, zoning out like that makes time fly by.”
[I love the sound of rain too.]
[I zone out just watching you, Ha-eun.]
[Ha-eun, what school do you go to?]
[Rain always comes on days this sunny, trust me.]
[Ha-eun, is the boyfriend spot open?] – Message deleted by admin.
“My school? Didn’t I mention it before?”
[Google it, you idiots.]
[If Ha-eun’s with Choi Yeseo and Hong Yehwa, it’s probably an arts-focused high school.]
[Aren’t you going to draw today?]
[They already drew earlier, LOL.]
[Wait, isn’t this their first live stream?]
“Got nothing else to do, so should I keep drawing? Doesn’t seem like they’re paying attention to me anymore.”
The viewers were immediately on board.
After all, the reason they tuned in was to watch me draw.
“I only have a small sketchbook, so I can’t do anything big. Just caricatures or small drawings, maybe.”
This time, I skipped a poll and picked the theme myself.
What should I draw? What would get a good reaction?
“How about I illustrate a story from my past?”
[Ooh, that sounds great!]
[This stream is packed today.]
[This is the good stuff.]
[What kind of life would Ha-eun live if Choi Yeseo is their childhood friend?]
[With Ha-eun’s looks, what percentile are they in?]
The viewers seemed excited. To be honest, I’d never talked about my childhood on stream before.
Probably because it wasn’t particularly fun or noteworthy… right? Maybe?
I paused for a moment to think if this was okay. But hey, what could go wrong?
“Hmm. Where should I start?”
The pen glided across the sketchbook, marking borders and chapters.
“Let’s start with when I was four years old. That’s when I first picked up a paintbrush.”
That was 13 years ago. Time really flies.
I began sketching little people in a webtoon-like format.
“This was when I visited an art café with Ha Soyeol. I drew something that could’ve been a tiger or a cat—who knows? The proud look on my face back then was hilarious.”
I chuckled as I reminisced. To this day, people still ask me to draw that shark I sketched back then.
I had a feeling they’d keep asking forever.
“And when I was four, Yoon, my younger sibling, was born.”
“How do you even remember that, Oppa? I can’t remember anything.”
“I remember everything. My memory’s pretty sharp, you know?”
At some point, Yoon had leaned on my shoulder without me noticing.
“What about the others?”
“Over there.”
Following Yoon’s pointed finger, I saw the girls having a blast with some dogs I didn’t recognize.
They looked like they were having fun.
“Don’t you want to play with them?”
“I’d rather stay here with you. Besides, I’m too tired. It’s exhausting.”
Yoon rubbed their arms and legs, grumbling.
“No matter how much I exercise, I never build muscle… Should I start hitting the gym?”
“You’d probably keel over. Just stick to light exercise.”
Though Yoon was the second healthiest in the family after Dad, they still inherited Mom’s weaker constitution.
They’d been born frail compared to their peers.
“What were you doing, anyway?”
Yoon tilted their head, alternating their gaze between my sketchbook and the live stream screen.
“Talking about old stories. Want to chime in?”
“I already told mine ages ago~.”
I patted their head to soothe their faintly disappointed tone.
“Then just listen. I’m sure my version will be different.”
“Okay!”
[You and your sibling seem super close. Even patting their head, wow.]
[Yoon’s stories are famous in their streams, but not here.]
[How would we know if Ha-eun never mentioned it?]
[Yoon said they’re close with their sibling on their stream.]
[They also mentioned an accident but said they don’t remember much.]
“An accident? Oh, that. That was probably when I was seven. Let’s stick with the four-year-old stories for now.”
At some point, the three girls returned and sat down, listening to the stories.
Their colorful hair peeked into the frame of the stream, along with the sketchbook.
“Anyway, after my sibling was born, things were lively for a while.”
Mom worried Yoon might turn out like me, so she took them to every hospital imaginable for checkups.
Thankfully, by some miracle, Yoon was born much healthier than I was.
I’m still grateful to Mom for that. All those nights she spent praying and singing probably helped.
“Even Dad cried at work, showing off.”
“Gross. But I guess Dad had his reasons.”
Yoon grimaced for a moment but then smiled slyly.
“When you were born, it was a big deal.”
Just thinking about those days was exhausting. Not a single quiet moment.
“It wasn’t that bad!”
“How would you know? You don’t even remember. Don’t underestimate my memory.”
I poked Yoon’s puffed-up cheek, deflating it like a balloon.
[I want to poke Yoon’s cheeks too!] – Message deleted by admin.
[How many sibling pairs in the world are like this?]
[Honestly, I’m more jealous of Yoon. Where else can you find a sibling like Ha-eun?]
[A guy with everything—except health, LOL.]
[Not even the heir of S Group could compare, haha.]
“Anyway, let’s wrap up the four-year-old stories and move to when I was seven. That’s when the big accident happened.”
A chilling memory flashed through my mind. Even now, my heart raced thinking about it.
I started sketching again, illustrating the events leading up to the accident.
“That day, we went to the beach—family and friends included.”
I pointed at Ha Soyeol with one finger.
“She was there too. You haven’t changed a bit since then, have you?”
“Peace!”
Soyeol flashed a peace sign, but I ignored her and refocused on the stream.
From our arrival at the beach to the moment just before the accident…
“And that’s when it happened. A friend got swept away, and an uncle rushed in after them.”
And Yoon? Who was there for Yoon?
“No one.”
“Wait… How did I survive, then?”
“Didn’t you always call me your hero?”
“Hehe. I was kidding. How could I forget that?”
Yoon shrugged, laughing lightly. But their eyes had grown distant and cold.
“Just thinking about that day makes me shiver. I probably couldn’t sleep for days after.”
Trauma hits harder when you’re young. And Yoon had gone through that at just three years old.
They buried their faces in my shoulder.
Soyeol, standing behind Yoon, gently hugged them. After all, only Soyeol and I were there that day.
“Once I realized Yoon was alone, I ran to them immediately. Every second felt critical.”
There wasn’t even time to call for an adult. My body just reacted.
Luckily, that instinctive action saved Yoon.
“I still remember water rushing into my nose and mouth, struggling to breathe, and then getting a cramp in my leg.”
[WTF;;;]
[How did you even survive? I thought you weren’t physically strong.]
[Still, anyone would push through for the family.]
[That uncle probably meant well, but still…]
“Let’s avoid mentioning specific people. After that, well… we survived.”
Honestly, I’d cried my eyes out back then.
I’d only just gained a family and couldn’t bear the thought of losing them so quickly.
“This story’s a bit heavy, so let’s end it here. Next is when I was ten—”
The story continued, eventually bringing us to the present day.
“And that’s how today’s stream came to be.”
[Two hours of storytelling, wow.]
[Your life’s been through so much.]
[The past is full of hardship…]
[What’s this about bullying? LOL, like anyone could bully Ha-eun with that frame.] – Message deleted by admin.
[That field trip sounded more like boot camp.]
By the end of the stream, I’d used up half my sketchbook, and the session had run longer than expected.
“Did you all have fun, though?”
Everyone nodded.
“Your stories were super interesting! A bit heavy, but still great.”
Choi Yeseo gave me a thumbs-up, nodding in satisfaction.
Ha Soyeol smiled faintly while still holding Yoon.
As for Hong Yehwa…
“…Are you okay?”
“I feel like I’m dying…”
Even after changing clothes, Yehwa was sweating and panting.
“Can we please go indoors…?”
“It’s late anyway. How about we grab lunch?”
Yehwa perked up but soon slumped back down, exhausted.
“Let’s end with a food broadcast.”
The viewers were on board, and it seemed like a good way to cool everyone down. We found a nearby restaurant.
We stepped into an air-conditioned naengmyeon (cold noodle) shop. Yehwa looked like she’d ascended to heaven, while the others shivered happily in the cool air.
I had also gotten permission to record inside the restaurant beforehand, so we had no issues filming.
Turns out the owner was a fan of mine. I signed an autograph for them after ordering.
As everyone enjoyed their meals, my thoughts drifted to the upcoming day.
“I wonder if Noona likes cold noodles. Personally, I prefer mul-naengmyeon over bibim-naengmyeon.”
I thought about what to serve at the memorial table.
Even if it’s Noona, bibim-naengmyeon would be unforgivable.