Chapter 10.2
Absolute Advantage
âThis is fun.â
Adam thought with a smile.
âAdam, Iâm fine,â
Hae-won hurriedly refused, but Adam neatly ignored and wrapped a muffler around her neck. The soft cashmere felt as creepy as the scales of a python.
âI know. Itâs cold, is it?â
When Hae-won, who was speechless, looked up without a word, Adam asked back naturally.
âA sign that youâre mine.â
ââ¦â¦Iâm not Adamâs thing.â
âYouâre mine. Weâre getting married.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âDo you mean youâre going to have another lover?â
ââ¦â¦.â
âAh, I donât want to fight the passion.â
It was amazing.
But she didnât even have the strength to refute it. If she reacts more here, she will only get tired. Letâs just go with it. Hae-won touched Adamâs muffler and straightened her arm.
âLetâs just hang out with each other in moderation.â
Adam asked, knowingly.
âYou think?â
ââ¦â¦No.â
âWhy lie? I can see it all on your face.â
Adam tilted his head.
Rather than blaming her, he looked really curious. Hae-won looked away because she was not confident in facing the clear eyes.
ââ¦â¦.â
And at the end of the eyes that ran away, a familiar painting took place.
The pictures in the splendidly crafted frame were deeply religious. Adam approached the painting, and Hae-won stared blankly at his back.
âThe Lord God says âI am the first and the last. He is the Almighty, who is, and who has been, and who is to come.â
Adamâs voice was parched.
âA painting inspired by religion. And below that we put a passage from the Bible.â
After talking, Adam turned toward Haewon.
âThe artist says it depicts the world from Godâs point of view. His own painting is Godâs view. Arrogance strikes the sky.â
Hae-won just listened in silence.
âHeâs a rising new writer and an alpha.â
Adam added as if he had omitted a critical explanation.
In Haewonâs opinion, Adam had a face that thought the writer was ridiculous. Haewon had to ask because he openly expressed his rebelliousness toward the writer.
âWhy did you exhibit this artistâs work? I donât think you like it very muchâ¦â¦.â
âI need to look good to you guys.â
Adam said with a smile.
Is it an illusion that the smile looks provocative?
Adam then added that the artistâs work completely filled the main exhibition hall. Haewon looked at the painting again.
The work of an alpha artist who puts himself on par with God.
Indeed, Haewon seemed to understand why Chairman Seo presented this artistâs painting to her. And the cause of the discomfort that she felt every time she looked at the painting.
âDo you have any other artistâs work?â
Standing between these paintings, it felt like Chairman Seo was watching her with her eyes wide open. Adam started walking somewhere with Haewon.
âThere was an exhibition hall like this, too.â
Another exhibition room was in a remote place. The movement line was not connected elsewhere and the door was closed, so it felt like it was intentionally hidden.
âThereâs only one drawing.â
Even the painting was not visible directly from the entrance but was hung on the wall with shadows. The previous paintings were even more curious to see that Hae-won, an outsider, put a lot of effort into the layout.
âItâs a work that I personally wanted to exhibit.â
Adam replied with a smile.
âThe last posthumous work she left before she went crazy.â
âBefore she went crazyâ¦â¦?â
Haewon doubted her ears. The sound of âCrazyâ was so strong that the following posthumous work was forgotten.
âShe has been working on her work since she went crazy. Well, sort of. The posthumous works left around that time were not works of art, but rather excretion of emotion.â
Adam spoke as if he had watched the painter more closely than anyone else. She felt no hostile distancing when he explained the picture they saw in the exhibition hall for the first time.
Hold on.
What a posthumous work.
Haewon looked at the painting again.
The name of the work and the name of the artist are unknown.
All there was was a picture of the shadow created by the pillar. She didnât know anything, so she didnât feel anything.
But a little bit, she felt nostalgic.
The artist seemed to express the sea.
Hae-won glanced at Adamâs profile.
Rather, Adam was like a piece of art. Just a while ago, people around them were busier looking at Adam than the picture on the wall.
Me too.
âIsnât it fun?â
Adam asked without taking his eyes off the painting.
Hae-won was surprised and caught a glimpse of Adam.
âArt is an outsider for me.â
âI donât know.â
âWhat?â
As Hae-won turned his head, Adam was looking at her.
âI donât know anything about art. I donât even have a degree.â