Chapter 249:

Chapter 249:

249

Playground (1)

I remember Banksy as the person who painted a mural in the neighborhood where Vida Lavani lives.

He hides his identity and works secretly, but he seems to be interested in this matter.

“It must have taken more than a day or two to paint like this.”

I agree with Grandpa.

If it was just a simple painting, he could have done it overnight.

But it’s impossible to draw dozens of children, each with a recognizable face.

He must have been observing them for days.

Not everyone supported him, but there were some who cheered him on, which comforted him.

“Huh? No chocolate today?”

“I want some snacks.”

The children crowded around the car and asked anxiously.

“Why not? There is. We’ll have snacks later. Who didn’t have breakfast?”

Grandpa asked and about half of them raised their hands. I heard that they didn’t have breakfast yesterday, so I prepared well. It was a good idea to buy bread and milk.

“I’ll help too.”

Vida Lavani stepped forward and helped Grandpa.

“Thank you. Be careful.”

A child who was a bit older than the others, like Vida Lavani, took the bread and milk out of the car.

And Blanche Fabre, who had become the leader of the group, lined them up.

“Me! Me too!”

“You have to wait for your turn.”

“Uuuuuh.”

“Don’t run and hurt yourself. It’ll hurt.”

“I won’t get hurt.”

“You might hurt your friend.”

He persuades the children in a strange way.

Grandpa gave bread and milk to the residents who helped clean the street and the adults who watched over the children so they wouldn’t get hurt.

I gave candy to the children who had breakfast, and Noel stuck out his mouth.

“Why? Do you want more?”

Noel shook his head.

“Then?”

“Can’t we see you anymore when you finish painting this?”

The children turned their heads as if they heard what Noel said.

A few moments ago, they were joking and laughing, but now their faces were worried.

“Of course not. When we finish painting here, we can go somewhere else and paint.”

“Really?”

Noel asked with bright eyes.

“Where?”

“There, there are windmills over there!”

“I know a good place!”

“Stairs! How about the stairs?”

The children each suggested their favorite places.

That meant they cherished this time and hoped it wouldn’t end.

I’m glad we started this.

“I’ll let you know when it’s decided. I promise.”

Banksy, the icon and mystery of the modern art world, posted a photo on his Twist account.

It was Dallida Square in Paris, France, where sunflowers bloomed.

He proved that he was the one who painted the children there with the phrase ‘For the sweet souls’.

And the art world was stirred up again.

└Has Banksy ever done something like this with another artist?

└He made a weird amusement park with Damien Carter.1)

└...?

└Why is that criminal here?

└Don’t misunderstand. It was just a collaboration. Does working with Damien Carter make everyone a criminal?

└If you read his confession later, you’ll see that he also participated in various charity works out of guilt.

└Still, I can’t forgive him. He was my idol once.

└But do they know each other?

└Maybe they know Go Soo-yeol? They both have a lot of connections with England.

└Ko Hun, Go Soo-yeol, Banksy. A joint work.

└Why are you leaving out the kids?

└Looking at Banksy’s actions, he would have done it even if he didn’t know them. He’s a person who criticizes terrorists and provides shelter for refugees.

└Right. His work is similar to Hoon’s.

“It stands for Non Fungible Token. You know digital files can be copied as much as you want, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, for technologies that can store digital files like murals, you need to prove which one is the original. You can think of it as a technology that guarantees that.”

“Oh.”

It meant that there was only one original among the digital files that could be copied exactly and infinitely.

If the works drawn by murals were copied, it seemed possible to cope with threats like hacking if they could tell which one was genuine.

Vroom-

“Huh.”

Ko Hun checked the text message and smiled.

He received a welcome news from Arsen that Henri Marso would stop by tomorrow afternoon.

“He’s coming. Marso.”

“Then I should contact Charmant.”

Bang Taeho mentioned the clothing company that sponsored the costumes.

“Why?”

“Mr. Marso will need a suit too. What size is he?”

Ko Hun had no idea how Henri Marso would show up.

He seemed to be annoyed if he didn’t prepare clothes, and he seemed to be angry if he did.

“Large. He seems to wear that size.”

It seemed better to get one more because he couldn’t give it to him if he was sorry.

“We’re almost there.”

Ko Hun looked out the window.

He parked his car at a nearby hotel after passing the largest shopping mall in Paris, Bugrenelli, and headed to the meeting place with the guidance of the staff.

The marketing manager of Bugrenelli Shopping Mall, Giovanna Piaf, and her team welcomed Ko Hun, Gosuyeol, and Bang Taeho.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Hello.”

Giovanna Piaf had a neat look with her black hair tied to her neck, and she was wearing a well-tailored suit.

She had a smart impression, but her eyes were shadowed and she looked a bit tired.

They sat down across the table and started the conversation.

Bang Taeho summarized the proposal from the Bugrenelli Shopping Mall.

“You said the place is the basement plaza. And the period is up to a month. How do you plan to deal with the mall visitors during the work?”

“We wanted to make a separate road, but we thought the work environment itself would be a good attraction. If it’s a safety issue, we’re going to deploy security guards, but what do you think, Mr. Ko Hun?”

Giovanna Piaf, the manager, asked Ko Hun.

Bang Taeho appreciated that she regarded Ko Hun as the main contractor.

“I like it. I think the citizens who watch are also part of this work. I hope you can put up some safety lines as long as they don’t interfere with the work.”

Giovanna Piaf nodded.

“Is the period okay with you?”

“Yes. But I really want to make sure that you don’t need a design.”

Ko Hun mentioned what he thought was the most important.

The place, time, and pay were important, but there were too many restrictions when working with companies.

They needed to go through several steps of verification, and in the case of design, they often went wrong due to the whims and misjudgments of the management.

“You don’t have to worry about that. Bugrenelli is just commissioning a mural to Ko Hun, and we don’t intend to ask for anything in any way.”

“Can you specify that in the contract?”

“Of course.”

Giovanna Piaf nodded and smiled slightly.

“The management is also looking forward to this work. We hope that Bugrenelli will be a space that anyone can visit anytime.”

That would lead to sales, so Ko Hun and his party didn’t doubt it.

“There were some incidents. I guess you prepared this work because of that.”

Bang Taeho mentioned the racial discrimination controversy indirectly.

“If that happens again, it will hurt Mr. Ko Hun too. I want to have some security measures in place.”

“That won’t happen.”

Giovanna Piaf denied Bang Taeho’s concern.

“But as a writer, you can’t help but worry about that, so I’ll prepare a prevention plan for the next meeting. And a post-measure, of course.”

Bang Taeho and Gosuyeol nodded.

As a large company, Piaf, the manager, couldn’t decide on a compensation plan on her own.

Bang Taeho looked at the 1 million euros that Bugrenelli offered first and opened his mouth.

“How did you decide on the pay?”

Banksy, the real person who became the motif of Banks, created Dismaland, a satire of modern society, with 58 artists in 2015.

Damien Hirst was also among the 58 artists.

Dismaland was open for five weeks before it was dismantled and its materials were used for refugee shelters in Calais, France.

Banksy criticizes Islamic extremists, but he also creates spaces for refugees, including Muslims. He strives to protect the socially disadvantaged and marginalized groups.

NFT (Non-Fungible Token)

A non-fungible token is a type of cryptocurrency that stores the ownership of a digital file on a blockchain, making it impossible to tamper with or counterfeit. It preserves the file permanently.