The Artist Who Paints Dungeon-Chapter 297

Meeting a good teacher was an extraordinary thing.

Someone who would come out to comfort you even if you called them crying in the middle of the night, who would buy pizza for students out of their own pocket, who would kindly answer any question no matter when you asked.

Someone who would come out to comfort you even if you called them crying in the middle of the night, who would buy pizza for students out of their own pocket, who would kindly answer any question no matter when you asked.

A teacher who always said, like a habit, that they hoped we’d grow up to be happy adults.

“......”

It had been an incredible stroke of luck to meet someone like that...

“Eunhye.”

“......”

My breath caught in my throat.

“...Teacher.”

“...Teacher.”

As big as the emptiness left by that fortune, all kinds of filthy emotions came rushing in. Misery and despair filled the void that had once been held by that vast presence.

As big as the emptiness left by that fortune, all kinds of filthy emotions came rushing in. Misery and despair filled the void that had once been held by that vast presence.

But still, we lived claiming it was something we’d built with our own hands. That it was a proper staircase, a source of pride... and yet the nightmare kept dragging us down.

But still, we lived claiming it was something we’d built with our own hands. That it was a proper staircase, a source of pride... and yet the nightmare kept dragging us down.

The nightmare asked,

“Came for a snack, did you.”

“...Yeah, just....”

Jet-black hair and even blacker eyes. Pale skin, sunken eyelids.

Thick brows, red lips, and a gaze quiet as a snowy winter dawn—memorable, unforgettable at a glance.

And also, a goddamn familiar face.

“...Could I have just one macaron?”

At my absurd request, he gave a shallow nod.

“Didn’t you say you were watching your diet? Trying to work out more?”

“I don’t have to watch it anymore.”

“Then I guess you can eat whatever you want.”

“I’m going to eat whatever I want.”

“Yeah?”

He looked at me. He didn’t smile, but the way he looked at me felt like he was smiling.

“That’s good too.”

He was the kind of teacher who accepted everything about me.

“Why are you still standing? Sit.”

“You’re busy drawing, Teacher.”

“What’s there to be busy about with a hobby?”

“Still, I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“Or were you just planning to grab snacks and run again?”

“You really think I’m that cold....”

I lifted the corners of my mouth and sat down on the worn-out school chair.

“......”

Even without looking, I knew I was wearing a school uniform.

“...Teacher.”

“Yeah, aspiring idol.”

“This is a dream.”

“I know.”

“I know too.”

A faint memory of the art room returned.

Outside the window, lush trees. The panes dark with dust, untouched for years. The scattered art supplies, neatly arranged now—by the very teacher sitting in front of me.

This place, faintly smelling of something scorched, was the dream of Cha Eunhye.

“I keep thinking, maybe it would’ve been better if I’d just forgotten everything.”

A sweet dream, burned like caramel.

“I should’ve forgotten everything, like the others.”

“That’s sad.”

“I wouldn’t remember what you looked like, or what kind of lunchbox you packed for me, or what we laughed about together... just forget it all....”

“It’d be easier, letting me go.”

“Yeah, just letting you go. But I can’t do that.”

It was miserable.

“If I forget you too, then what?”

“It’s lonely, Eunhye.”

“How could I do that when you’re all alone?”

“Where even am I now? Why did you leave me alone?”

“To be honest, I still don’t really understand why we had to make that choice....”

“Eunhye.”

The jet-black ghost looked at me.

“Save me.”

“......”

It was neither human nor anything else, and it looked at Cha Eunhye.

“...Save me, I’m scared. I don’t want to be alone. Where is this? What do I look like to you? Let’s go home, I’ll pack you lunch. Does it hurt? Are you okay? Are you okay? Are you okay? What should I draw for you this time? Tell me.”

“......”

“Eunhye, kids. Kids, don’t get hurt. Run. I’ll protect you, so don’t worry. Want help? Should I help you? How should I help? Does it hurt? Does it hurt? Help me? It hurts. It hurts, so much.”

“...I really....”

“What am I even now? What am I doing? What do I look like? Am I a person? A monster? Human? Want to run? Hide, run. It hurts. It’s okay. Eunhye....”

“It’s really horrible.”

The fact that I had created this hallucination myself—there was nothing about it that wasn’t horrible.

“Our teacher wouldn’t be like this.”

It was all just a nightmare Cha Eunhye had made up.

“I resent you.”

“...No, Teacher wouldn’t be someone who resents others....”

“I gave you so much, and this is all I get in return? Neglect and avoidance? Leaving me alone? I was always there when you were struggling, when you needed help.”

“...You weren’t someone who expected anything in return.”

“Now I’m alone. Everyone sees me. And no one sees me. I’m lonely. None of you want to face me like this. Cowards. I didn’t teach ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) you to be like this....”

“So please....”

“Turn me back to how I was.”

Something dark, alien, grotesque loomed over Cha Eunhye.

“Give me back.”

It spoke of resentment.

“You made me this way.”

He was never someone who would say such things. It made no sense.

“This is your fault. If only you hadn’t existed....”

Even though he was never someone who would say something so cruel, my heart dropped.

“I wouldn’t have died.”

“...You didn’t die, Teacher, please....”

“What’s wrong? Did you forget what you promised me?”

“You didn’t die. Why are you doing this to me? Don’t be so scary.”

“You ended up making a choice just for yourselves.”

The black thing gently embraced Cha Eunhye.

“You broke me.”

“...No.”

“You saved the world.”

“No.”

With trembling hands, I embraced the nightmare.

“Please tell me we made the right choice.”

Then, the ‘teacher’ looked at me. That was the teacher. My nightmare. A familiar face, shaped into a human form by my will—our teacher.

And he said,

“Your choice was the right one.”

“I wanted you to praise us.”

“It must’ve been hard. You must’ve suffered. But you did really well.”

“We....”

I clung to that pitch-black shirt and cried.

“...I’m, I’m sorry....”

I was scared.

“...What if we really made the wrong choice? What do we do? Back then it felt like the best we could do, but now I’m not sure. I still feel so bitter and miss so much, but my friends all forgot. Why am I the only one still hurting like this?”

It wasn’t fair.

“Teacher, why did you come back? How did you come back? I always hoped you would someday, but I never really wanted it to happen. What’s your purpose? Did you come to kill us? To get revenge on the world? How do you still remember us? Why is that possible?”

I missed him.

“I don’t know if that Hunter Sergio is really our teacher. But if he is, then what do I do? Why won’t he come see me? No—don’t come. No, wait. If we pretend not to know each other and become friends again, that could work. Right? That’s allowed, right? You’d allow that, wouldn’t you? But it’s such a...”

...such a waste. I... I... I...”

What should I do.

“...If I could go back to that day, I’d just die with everyone.”

“Why did you think that?”

“...It’s too hard...”

We needed an adult.

“We were struggling so much, just the few of us.”

We needed our teacher.

“W-why... why did we ever think that was a good choice?”

“But you know it too. That it was the right path.”

“It wasn’t a good path. Never.”

“Even as you say that, aren’t you actually feeling proud of yourself?”

Her nightmare knew everything about her.

“You’re proud of the fact that you’ve kept the world going this far.”

“That doesn’t mean my pain isn’t real.”

“Even if you went back to that day, you’d still make the same choice.”

“......”

Cha Eunhye, having released the hug, looked up at the ‘teacher.’

“...Are you dead?”

“You’re the ones who killed me.”

“Are you dead?”

“No way. I didn’t die.”

“This is such a horrible dream.”

“You’re the one who wanted to have this dream.”

“......”

The adult Cha Eunhye asked,

“...Teacher, can you say that line?”

“Sure.”

The ‘teacher’ inside the nightmare whispered gently.

“I’ll always...”

“That’s right.”

“...be here.”

“You’re right, Teacher.”

At least this one thing inside the dream wasn’t a cowardly lie that Cha Eunhye had made up.

“I’ll always be here.”

That was Teacher Sergio’s final will.

Cha Eunhye woke up.

***

“......”

She sobbed bitterly.

“Ugh... ah...”

Clutching the blanket, gripping it hard as if to tear it.

“Mmgh... hic... aaah...”

She wanted to rip it all apart.

“...Teacher...”

Even such a damned nightmare—she hadn’t wanted to wake up from it.

Only after a long while did Cha Eunhye loosen her hands. With a cold palm, she cooled her burning eyes. Her whole body was drenched in cold sweat, and except for the sore, swollen corners of her eyes, no part of her felt warm.

She exhaled slowly.

“...Fuuuu...”

She had calmed down.

“......”

Her gaze caught a mirror.

A mirror beyond the mirror. A mirror on the ceiling, on the floor. A mirror on the door. A mirror fixed to a pillar. A mirror hanging from above. A small mirror on the table. Mirror. And mirror. And more mirrors.

No matter where she looked, ‘Cha Eunhye’ was there.

“...Good.”

Cha Eunhye smiled faintly.

Ah, this expression looks okay.

“I like it.”

She decided to go about her day just like this.

Even though the sun hadn’t risen yet, Cha Eunhye got out of bed. She had slept far longer than necessary, and that’s probably why she ended up dreaming something so pathetic.

It had been a rare long rest, but it didn’t feel refreshing at all. Still, Cha Eunhye left the room with a smile.

***

“Though... it’s kind of unexpected.”

Dipping a corn chip into guacamole loaded with avocado, Yoo Seong-Woon spoke.

“The Symbols of Eternity are surprisingly quiet.”

“Maybe they’re all too busy to come see their dear old teacher.”

“I’m just asking to be sure, but you’re not sulking, right?”

“? No, I’m just proud they seem to be living diligently.” 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Gio snapped the corn chip in half with a soft crunch.

“I prefer cheese sauce.”

“Guacamole will be sad.”

“Guacamole’s old enough to stand on its own.”

“Why are you breaking those tiny chips in the first place? What did the chip do to you?”

“If I eat this big chip whole, it scrapes the roof of my mouth.”

“You can feel things like that?”

“I can scrape the roof of my mouth too.”

After dipping a chip deep into the cheese sauce, Gio looked at Joo-Hyun.

“Why aren’t you dipping it in sauce?”

“Corn chips are salty enough on their own, so...”

“Ms. Joo-Hyun has a pure palate.”

“What does a ‘pure palate’ even mean.”

It felt like another translation error had occurred.

“Mr. Gio’s speech sometimes just doesn’t translate well.”

“Can you even call this a translation?”

“Isn’t it the easiest phrase to understand?”

“Well, I guess so... though at this point, it doesn’t matter anymore.”

Yoo Seong-Woon gave up.

“If we’re friends again in the next life, is there like a friendship discount for living?”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“Or maybe I should become Gio’s disciple.”

“You’re welcome.”

At that, Joo-Hyun gently tried to stop him.

“Judging by the accumulated data, I think it’s best to avoid the disciple role.”

“I’m innocent.”

“Mermaids, deer, Symbols of Eternity... No matter how you look at it, living a normal life as Gio’s disciple is...”

“That’s slander.”

Ignoring Gio, Yoo Seong-Woon nodded.

“Yeah, I get it.”

“So you betray me after all.”

“There’s no betrayal in accumulated data, Mr. Argio.”

Anyway.

“Back to the point—are you really okay with this? Your beloved students seem to have decided to live on while forgetting everything.”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

“Can I ask why?”

“They’re old enough to live their own lives.”

“You know you’re weirdly cold about strange things, right?”

“I didn’t give birth to them.”

Gio was firm.

“Even children eventually grow up and become independent. If they’re students, even more so. Ms. Joo-Hyun, Mr. Yoo Seong-Woon, you both say I’m subtly cold, but... are you worried?”

“Alright, fine. Since you gave me an opening, I’ll say it honestly: I’m scared that once one of the Symbols regains their memories, they’ll get so pissed off they’ll flip the world. So before that happens, I was hoping you’d go all soft and affectionate first.”

Joo-Hyun made a slightly resigned face.

“A pampered Symbol of Eternity...”

“Ugh, I creeped myself out just saying that. Right?”

“Not a phrase that comes to mind easily.”

“Anyway, don’t you think it’s something that could happen?”

At Yoo Seong-Woon’s question, the portrait tilted its head.

“No way.”

“There’s an unspoken rule in the Hunter world—never say ‘no way.’”

“I like that rule.”

Like a death flag.

“I have absolute faith my students will choose the right path.”

“Okay, just promise me—if it looks like they’re gonna go berserk and grind the Earth into dust, talk to our guildmaster first.”

“I believe I’m already being soft and affectionate.”

“If that’s true, then that’s good enough.”

Yoo Seong-Woon accepted it.

“Anyway, this stuff’s good. I don’t even like avocado, but this is alright.”

“Mr. Yoo Seong-Woon seems to know how to make a chef happy. That was a wonderful compliment. Thank you.”

“You’re a chef now?”

“I’m not certified.”

“If you were, that’d be even more surprising.”

He leaned back in his chair.

“It’s weird having the smell of food in my place again after so long.”

“Four meals a day.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m eating... but usually not at home...”

“Are you still busy?”

“Well, it’s slowly getting more organized.”

“I’m curious.”

The portrait showed interest.

“Is Mr. Yoo Seong-Woon’s garden kind?”

“...Kind for a garden, I guess. Why?”

“I’ve always wondered if it has to be that cold.”

A garden, huh.

“Would it be alright if I visited sometime?”

Lately, Gio had been looking for material for a new piece.