Reset Life with Infinite Talents - Chapter 240
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Infinite Talent Reset Life Episode 240
Johann, Holds His First Photography Exhibition!
A single article headline shook the hearts of hundreds of millions of people.
* * *
Thump thump thump! Slam!
An elderly woman who opened and entered a room covers her nose and frowns.
The pungent smell of sour sweat and alcohol that stings the nose. So terrible that anyone with a weak stomach would have vomited instantly.
But as if this wasn’t just a day or two, the woman who drew back the blackout curtains that had darkened the room struck the back of a young man lying on the bed wearing only underwear.
“How long are you going to sleep, Hayden!”
“Mmm. Just 5 more minutes…”
“Your daughter is already awake, and you call yourself a father!”
“Please…!”
At the desperate voice turning his head away from the sunlight, the woman’s sharp expression softened. She felt sorry for him.
More than ten years ago, her son who suffered from impostor syndrome after filming what is still considered his greatest masterpiece, underestimating himself by thinking his success was due to other factors rather than his own efforts.
The work achieved worldwide box office success, but her son’s acting received harsh criticism and he won the Golden Raspberry Awards’ Worst Supporting Actor twice.
Not everyone criticized her son’s acting, and he received praise from many for his later works, but her son collapsed without being able to believe in himself.
She wanted to lift him up again.
She wanted to see him shine again.
Even if just for a moment.
“…Son, shall we go on a trip?”
“…”
“How about LA? Cal’s daughter from the neighboring farm said a famous person is holding a photography exhibition in LA.”
The photography exhibition was just an excuse.
Her son who only drinks alcohol at this rural farm in Ontario, Canada, where at night you can only hear the sound of wind and animals crying, and you have to drive to meet people when he’s not working on projects.
She just hoped such a son could refresh his mood, even briefly.
“Your father and I have decided to go anyway. Here’s a plane ticket, so think about it. And hurry up, wash up and come out. It’s time to eat.”
She left after stroking her son’s head and closing the door, and only then did the man who had been lying like dead move to look at the plane ticket.
“…Phew. Damn it.”
How could he not understand his mother and father’s feelings?
But he couldn’t find motivation.
Because even when he tried hard to make movies, he got criticized.
Because each time that happened, he wanted to do it even less.
But because he had no choice but to do it.
Grimacing, he got up and headed toward the window.
“Kyaa!
Splash splash!
A 3-year-old small child splashing in a temporary pool with warm steam rising from it.
The main culprit who made him continue acting even while feeling anxious about whether he should keep acting without being able to believe in himself anymore.
But the most lovable treasure in the world, his daughter Briar Rose Christensen.
“She’s going to catch a cold again…”
His daughter who loves swimming so much that even in below-freezing weather, she plays happily with her grandfather, enjoying whatever makes her so happy.
Surely she had been acting cute since dawn, so her grandfather must have surrendered even knowing his granddaughter would catch a cold.
Though she was his own daughter, she was quite the little charmer.
“…Right. A warm place would be better than a cold one.”
If he let his daughter splash around to her heart’s content in a warm place for a few days, she would at least not say she wanted to swim again until winter passed in Ontario.
‘I’ll see Ewan after a long time too.’
The man, Hayden Christensen who played Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars, picked up the ticket placed on the bed.
* * *
Buzz buzz!
“Wow! Lots of people! Daddy!”
“That’s right. There are a lot of people.”
Hayden, who had been looking at his daughter in his arms with honey-dripping eyes, pulled up his mask and pressed his hat down deeper.
He flinched every time someone’s gaze reached him, worried someone might recognize him.
After walking for some time like that.
When they arrived at their destination cafe, a man sitting at a terrace table stood up with a bright smile.
“Eden!”
“Ewan!”
Ewan McGregor, Hollywood’s premium actor who worked together in Star Wars.
After a warm embrace, Ewan looked at the daughter in Hayden’s arms and opened his eyes wide.
“Wow. Who is this?”
“Kyahehe!”
“Your daughter has grown so much? Kids really do grow different each day.”
“…Thank you for indulging my selfishness, Ewan.”
“What selfishness about going to see a photography exhibition together? Friends don’t say such things.”
He felt choked up at his gesture of patting his chest.
Ewan McGregor, always warm and reliable like a big brother.
“By the way, where are your parents? Didn’t you say they came together?”
“They decided to go ahead, saying not to interfere with their date.”
“Oh. Then we shouldn’t interfere. Ah, you know this person, right?”
“I do. It’s been a while, Mary.”
Mary Elizabeth Winstead, the actress who became a star overnight playing the protagonist Wendy in Final Destination 3, and Ewan McGregor’s girlfriend who would soon marry him.
“This person suddenly said let’s go to a photography exhibition, Johann’s first solo exhibition at that, so I wondered what trouble he’d caused…”
It was because of Hayden.
Mary rolled her eyes.
“Do you know the artist? Is he a famous artist?”
“Don’t you know Knight of Wolves? The avatar sent down by the god of art, Johann Jefferson.”
“Ah…!”
An actor who made his acting debut in a minor role in the drama Grey’s Anatomy, then made his screen debut in Fire Always Targets Us.
And a successful singer who put numerous songs on the Billboard charts.
Even if he didn’t know the detailed background, Hayden knew at least that much.
“Come on, let’s go! We don’t have enough time if we want to do this and that!”
“Haha.”
LA, overflowing with stars.
Passing by the gazes of people who glanced and wavered, they arrived at the Hammer Museum and opened their eyes and mouths wide.
Chatter chatter!
“Will!”
“Gene!”
“Ari-!”
“Kyaak!”
The crowds filling the front of the Hammer Museum, a huge art museum run by UCLA and very famous in LA.
Their shock grew even greater seeing Hollywood and Billboard stars, models, and famous celebrities scattered throughout.
“Gasp! There really are so many people!”
His daughter’s bottom resting on his arm as she danced around.
‘So she liked people this much…’
Not knowing this and living on a farm in rural Ontario, Canada, how lonely must she have been? His heart grew heavy.
At the same time, he was surprised seeing the faces of the crowds lining up in front of the Hammer Museum.
It wasn’t because of famous stars like Madonna, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Bradley Cooper, Jake Gyllenhaal, Kershaw.
It was because of ordinary people.
“More than half are teenagers and women in their 20s…”
“But there are many people of other age groups too, right?”
Hayden nods at Mary’s words.
From teenagers to people in their 70s. Literally people of all ages have gathered here.
It wouldn’t be strange for people in their teens and twenties to show interest in a handsome actor and singer, but it’s puzzling that so many middle-aged and elderly people would come to a photo exhibition by an entertainer who isn’t even a professional photographer.
“As I mentioned earlier, it’s because the artist is Johann.”
Johann, who came down from the Rocky Mountains to LA at age 11 and has accomplished countless things every year since then.
Many LA citizens have witnessed Johann’s growth story like part of their daily lives, feeling as if they’ve grown alongside him, which makes them give him even more affection.
“Ah, so that’s why…”
“Of course, that’s not the only reason people cheer for Johann. You’ll understand when you see.”
It will probably become an unforgettable moment of memories.
Just like everything Johann has done.
At Ewan McGregor’s words, Hayden feels anticipation.
How long had they been standing in line?
Finally, when their turn came and Hayden entered, he was startled.
“This won’t work! There can’t be snow in the house!”
A space of pure white marble, with a beautiful snowy field spread out that made his daughter’s eyes widen in wonder despite her anxiety.
‘Is this a mountain path…’
A 4-foot-wide path with stones painted white on top as if covered with snow scattered here and there, and artificial snow fields spread on both sides of the path.
The sound of wind blowing from somewhere, shaking tree branches, and the cold air make one mistake this place for a winter mountain.
So everyone who had been noisy until entering now lowers their voices considerably and focuses on the crunching sound of snow being stepped on beneath their feet.
“Did Johann plan all of this too?”
“Probably. Johann showed his talent in installation art through The Afternoon Chase.”
At the conversation between Eun and Mary, Hayden looks at the snowy field again.
‘He didn’t just take photos, but did all of this by himself too?’
It’s unbelievable.
Having no particular interest in photography and only visiting this photo exhibition because of his parents and daughter, his indifferent heart begins to waver.
He moves slightly away from Ewan McGregor and Mary, who are holding hands tightly and entering date mode, and prepares for a date with his daughter.
Then he discovers a sign.
“Climb the sacred mountain, Rainier, in two times – past and present…?”
What does that mean?
Though puzzled, he takes a step forward.
At that moment, the first photograph enters his sight.
‘Oh…’
An old black and white photograph.
Long ago, what seemed like very old explorers with large backpacks and big hats, holding rifles in one hand – mustached men, and among them, an Indian beauty with short hair holding a wooden doll in her arms, smiling brightly.
The sight of two men lying playfully on either side of her brings a chuckle.
Commemorating the departure.
-At first, it was just good. We’re leaving to find treasure.
‘Treasure?’
Is the theme of this solo exhibition treasure hunting?
Hayden, tilting his head in curiosity, explains this and that in detail to his daughter who asks what that is, and moves forward.
Crunch! Crunch!
“Ah.”
A mountain. A large mountain shot from below looking up, making it feel even more distant.
‘This one’s in color…’
Perhaps because of that, the quietness and stuffiness of the winter mountain is conveyed directly.
It’s captivating enough that he would have stared endlessly if there weren’t people around.
‘Why is that?’
The first obstacle.
-So we have to climb this? Should we just give up?
“Pfft.”
‘You can’t give up already.’
Hayden, who has become immersed without realizing it, mutters.
He walks along the path where increasingly pointed stones are placed.
Crunch! Crunch!
Uphill road.
-I want to die. When will this path end?
A squirrel with an acorn in its mouth.
-Right, if such a small creature can climb the mountain, should we sit down over just this much? Let’s go. This is just the beginning.
Hayden, who passed the black and white photos and stood in front of a color photograph, exclaims again.
Those who came first and were waiting, and those who followed behind, all exclaim in wonder.
The first destination.
-Good work. Have a drink.
‘Why…’
Suddenly, his eyes redden for no reason.
Something that had been blocking his chest and making his head foggy disperses.
Is it because of the sight of people from past and present clinking cups and laughing? Or is it because of those words?
“Doesn’t it seem like people from the past are speaking to people of the present? Good work getting this far, hang in there just a little more.”
If you want to find treasure, you need to make this much effort.
We’ll pave the way for you, friend.
In the quiet space, at Mary’s softly echoing words, Hayden clenches his jaw.
‘We’ll pave the way for you.’
Words that make one think deeply.
The works he just saw flash through his mind.
‘Right, at first it was just vaguely good.’
Without deep contemplation, he simply enjoyed acting.
Then he came to play Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars, a work loved by countless people, the most important central character of the Star Wars series.
That was the beginning of everything.
While playing Anakin Skywalker, he became known to the world, but at the same time, he received tremendous criticism due to acting controversies.
Afterward, he starred in more than 10 works and received favorable reviews, but he couldn’t regain the confidence he had already lost.
Is this path really my path?
Such doubts constantly tormented him.
Hayden looks at the sign next to the photograph with wavering eyes.
You know this is just the beginning, right?
Let’s try to hang in there a little more.
Something hot wells up inside.
Hayden finally realizes.
That he’s not such a great being.
That he’s an ordinary person who has the same worries as others.
‘But I kept looking only for my own shortcomings.’
He wasn’t a special person.
There was no need to struggle to become special.
It might be a little difficult right now, but…
‘If I just keep moving forward silently like that, I’ll arrive eventually.’
Arrival
-Welcome to the shelter. Ah, but don’t rest too much. Your life is just beginning from now.
“Huing. Don’t cwy…”
‘Crying? Me?’
He’s surprised by the sensation on his cheek that his daughter touches.
He really had been shedding tears.
“Waaaaah!”
In the end, his daughter burst into tears, but Hayden had no mental capacity to comfort her.
Because of the black, sticky something being washed away.
Because of his chest feeling refreshed.
“…Huk!”
Hayden eventually burst into tears.
“Waaaaah!”
His daughter’s crying grew even louder.
* * *
“Your eyes look better?”
At Eun’s nudging elbow, Hayden removes his mask and smiles.
He looks back at the path they just walked.
“Just… my heart feels a little lighter. I’m going to try enjoying it like before again. If I just don’t give up and keep moving forward silently, won’t I reach my desired destination someday?”
His smile as he says this looks so relieved.
Eun, who had been quietly watching that smile, grins warmly.
“This time, Director Baz Luhrmann is planning to film a drama based on a novel currently being serialized on the internet.”
It’s the biography of a quite famous person.
“Director Luhrmann… Moulin Rouge?”
Moulin Rouge, the movie from long ago that Ewan McGregor appeared in, which announced to the world that such an actor existed.
“He also directed The Great Gatsby?”
“I can recommend you if you want.”
“I’ll do it.”
“Without even hearing what story or what role it is?”
“What does that matter?”
Right now, he could even play a corpse.
“Haha! Alright. Make sure to answer your phone from now on… Oh, it’s the Writer.”
“Where…?!”
Hayden’s eyes widened when he spotted Johann.
* * *
Crackle!
-The first audience member has entered.
His heart sinks at the radio message from Josh, the entrance staff member who is a photography teaching assistant and Wolf Wife who gladly helped with this solo exhibition.
The solo exhibition he prepared earnestly, even absorption reading up to ‘Michelangelo, Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni’.
How would they view it?
Would they be satisfied?
Would they find it ordinary?
Or would they find it strange?
His violently pounding heart keeps making him look toward the front where he’s standing, toward the exit.
Making him restless.
“Heh. Now you finally look like a student.”
“Professor! It’s okay. You prepared hard. They’ll appreciate it.”
He can’t hear Professor Arthur Pickford and Emily’s words.
The tick-tock movement of the second hand feels so slow.
How long had he waited like that?
Step, step!
“Ah.”
Seeing the face of the visitor with reddened eyes exiting, he realizes. His anxiously beating heart becomes heavy enough to ache.
With joy, with elation.
Clap clap clap clap clap!
The applause given as soon as their eyes met made him feel even more relieved.
“So it was you, Johann, who won the grand prize in the Washington tourism promotion contest! I was planning to go sightseeing in Washington after seeing that photo!”
“Hehe. You know the contest was anonymous, right?”
“…My goodness. Bravo!”
The people behind also stick out their tongues in amazement.
Johann, who won the grand prize in a contest hosted by the tourism board no less.
Despite viewing such magnificent works, the anxiety that remained inadequately in his heart, the thought that maybe they only viewed it favorably because it was Johann, cleanly disappears.
“Congratulations on opening your first solo exhibition. You’re selling the photos, right? Then I’ll reserve the shelter. Whatever the price!”
“Huh?! We can buy photos too? Then I’ll buy the second destination!”
“Haha. Thank you, Ms. Madonna. Ms. Ariana.”
Johann, who had been expressing gratitude to the people who made the effort to visit, looks puzzled at the handsome man approaching.
‘Anakin?’
Hayden Christensen.
An actor who once shone but whose light has now dimmed. Because the role of Anakin Skywalker was too big.
A star who lost his shine, crushed by his previous role.
“Could I possibly hug you?”
“Oh…”
Johann clenched his fists at his passionate gaze.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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