Chapter 24.2 ?

After finishing his conversation with Yoo Sung-woon, Gio returned to his bedroom.

“…….”

Yes, it was Gio.

Fortunately, Gio had returned to his original personality after briefly becoming ‘Giovanni.’

“Hmm…”

His state as ‘Giovanni’ didn’t last long. He was just flustered by the unfamiliar transformation he experienced for the first time, but once he figured out the trick, he could return to his usual self.

“It’s not that hard.”

By focusing his mind, he could switch back to being Gio.

“Like blowing your nose.”

In this way, Gio came to understand this new rule.

“Meet the suitable person, gain their consent, and carry out their quest as you travel through that world.”

And one more thing, ‘synchronization.’

This part wasn’t particularly difficult either.

“It progresses much faster when I have Giovanni’s personality, but even if I don’t synchronize the personality, the synchronization rate itself is gradually increasing.”

Occasionally, he would become Giovanni without realizing it, but apart from that…

“Once the synchronization begins, it seems like it can’t be stopped.”

Though he had never experienced it before, it felt like recalling a past life he had forgotten. Even though it was clearly said that he was a different person, Gio didn’t feel as though he and Giovanni were separate individuals.

Thus, Gio had organized his thoughts within a few days.

“I’ll never have such an extraordinary experience again in my life.”

“Coo?”

“It’s rare to have an experience that feels like the left and right brain are acting separately.”

Now, he could be both ‘Gio’ and ‘Giovanni’ at the same time, and it wasn’t difficult to change his personality depending on the situation and his mood.

He felt Giovanni’s emotions.

‘Though the memories aren’t complete.’

Perhaps because the synchronization rate was still low, Gio couldn’t recall all of Giovanni’s memories. It felt like following Giovanni who had forgotten his past due to amnesia, but even that was enough for him to understand what kind of person he was.

Giovanni was very warm-hearted, gentle, and possessed a soft charisma that could comfort and lead people. He had an ambition for peace but valued the daily life with those around him even more.

That was ‘Batlan Giovanni.’

“…….”

After blinking twice, Gio murmured in a small voice.

“Is this really okay?”

Yoo Sung-woon suggested a tour.

“They seem scared of me.”

Though he didn’t dwell on it, Gio wasn’t completely oblivious.

‘It can’t just be because I’m a big, black-cloaked man that people are scared of me.’

Yoo Sung-woon seemed to be explaining it in a roundabout way, as if worried Gio might be shocked, but Gio understood. The current Gio must have been a bit excessively frightening to ordinary people.

‘As expected, it seems there’s an issue with the resolution since I’m roaming around in the body of a portrait.’

Or maybe this was the true power of the haunted portrait—the ability to turn even harmless things into something terrifying, a power that changed the genre to horror-thriller just by existing.

“People outside seem to find me scary.”

“Coo.”

“It’s embarrassing, but I’m not entirely displeased, so don’t worry.”

Although he had no such intention, it felt like being part of a hidden-camera horror prank. He felt a little sorry, but honestly, he found it more funny than uncomfortable.

But there had to be limits to that.

“If it disrupts the tour, that would be problematic.”

It wasn’t just a solo tour, but a tour where he was entirely reliant on someone else’s money and guidance. If he looked this intimidating without any solution, it would inconvenience Yoo Sung-woon, who was accompanying him.

“This is a tour I’m enjoying myself with a reliable guide like Mr. Yoo Sung-woon. It’s rare to have such an experience on someone else’s money.”

“…….”

“Do you think money just comes from the ground? I bet the prices have gone up even more now. Dad doesn’t have any money.”

Oh, wait. Complaining to a child about being broke might negatively impact the child’s development. Gio belatedly added.

“Of course, if Honey wants something, Dad will buy it all for you.”

“Coo?”

“We shouldn’t waste, but as long as you enjoy what you buy, it won’t feel like a waste.”

Besides, here it felt like money might just come out of the ground. If drawing a painting could bring roasted sweet potatoes, why wouldn’t money come from digging the earth?

“But anyway, it’s not like that outside the frame. Honey, listen carefully. If someone offers you something delicious, you should run over and eat it right away—that’s what makes one a true pig.”

Personally, he hoped Honey would get plump.

“…….”

“…….”

If he had become plump…

“…Coo… rrrrr… rrrrr….”

“There’s no need to be so angry, is there?”

“Coooorrrrrrr….”

It seemed he didn’t like that.

‘What a pity.’

A plump bird is the epitome of cuteness, but it seemed the self-disciplined waterfowl didn’t seem to think that way.

‘Judging by the way he adorns himself with gems, he’s quite the picky one.’

Anyway, that was what Gio was concerned about. He needed to make himself look more harmless.

“I want to look so harmless enough that I could pass for an ordinary passerby, but at this point, I’m already a harmless talking potato, so I don’t know what more to do. I’m sure I’ve reached the limit of harmlessness.”

When he was alive—though he had never really died—back when he worked as a teacher, Gio often heard people say he had a ‘scary look’, but it was never to the point where it would make someone cry in fear.

“Since if you take away my talent of growing up healthy no matter where I’m placed, I’m practically a corpse.”

But now, Gio was being treated like an urban legend, similar to the ‘Red Mask’. Though no one directly told him so, he got the rough idea by judging by how everyone he met looked terrified.

“Seeing how everyone struggled with their perception of me, it’s definitely… a resolution issue.”

“Coooor.”

“I think there must be some kind of problem because I’ve transitioned from a painting into reality. But I’m not an engineer, so….”

And Gio had already received a solution for that issue from the system.

“This must be referring to the suitable person.”

Perhaps because ‘Giovanni’, who was synchronizing with him, was still treated as a human rather than a portrait.

When he activated Giovanni’s personality, he noticed his body felt slightly heavier. Unlike before, he needed to use the bathroom, got hungry, and required a certain amount of regular sleep.

“So, if I go outside as Giovanni, people won’t be scared.”

“…….”

Feeling Honey’s lukewarm gaze, Gio nodded.

“It’s called having a split personality.”

He needed to be harmless for now.

“…….”

“…….”

Gio acknowledged his excessiveness under Honey who kept staring at him.

“… Well, I admit, even I think split personality is a bit far-fetched.”

“Coo.”

“If I may offer an excuse, I honestly didn’t mean to cover it up like that.”

It was a tour kindly suggested by Yoo Sung-woon. A trip that he would enjoy with his help, and they would be going around together, so he didn’t want to cause unnecessary inconvenience.

“Actually, I don’t necessarily have to act as ‘Giovanni’, as long as the synchronization is in progress, there’s room to adjust. Even if I act as I normally do, people might not be as frightened.”

“Coo?”

“Of course, I still need to be careful. If I’m careless, the resolution issue might resurface again, even during synchronization. But this alone is a significant gain.”

This was something he confirmed with the help of the dawn patrol guards within the guild.

“I’ve been making various attempts so Mr. Yoo Sung-woon wouldn’t find himself in such a troublesome situation.”

For example, a situation where his companion unexpectedly develops a split personality.

“…Well, anyway….”

Gio who had been lying sprawled on the bed, got up.

“…Now, it’s time to take care of our elder’s meal. Honey, let’s go.”

“Cooorrrrrr!”

Honey nodded vigorously in agreement, and the small bird fluttered, landing on Gio’s shoulder.

Gio picked up the 77 colourful sandwiches he had prepared in advance and moved to the studio. The place where his footsteps stopped was in front of the landscape painting titled ‘Breathing Sea’, a landscape painting of the sea.

Now, it was time to open this tightly shut door.

“Do you want to build a snowman….”

“Coo.”

“Right.”

Copyrights are important, after all.

Recalling ‘Winter Kingdom’, the home of his heart during his childhood innocence, Gio composed himself. Waking up to find that 31 years had passed, it wasn’t impossible that Korea had turned into a country of lawsuits afterwards.

Clearing his throat while uttering nonsense, Gio soon prepared to eat with his family.

“……”

“……”

A brief moment of silence.

His jet-black hair gradually became lighter.

As his water-coloured eyes blinked twice.

“……”

Giovanni was there in his place.

“…May I enter?”

The door opened.

“Thank you.”

”   “

“Yes, this priest is very late.”

”   “

“Please understand.”

In a world submerged in the sea.

“Since the weather is nice, my body has become sluggish.”

The sun was barely breathing.

Red Mask or ‘Woman With the Red Mask’ is a variation of kuchisake-onna (slit-mouthed woman), just the Korean version.

???? is Frozen’s Korean name. a direct translation would be ?? (Winter) ?? (Kingdom).