Reset Life with Infinite Talents - Chapter 80

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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 80

 

 

The competition starts at 11 o’clock.

Since there was still time, Johann and Friends decided to tour the observatory first.

“But there are fewer people than I expected.”

The number of Students participating in today’s Ballin competition was roughly around 200. Considering there were hundreds of Elementary Schools in LA, it was a woefully insufficient number.

“W-well, the participation fee is expensive, right?”

The Children’s gazes turn toward Mason.

“When I participated last year, I heard it was so expensive that Students from most public schools couldn’t afford to participate.”

Mason didn’t know the details either, but the reason the participation fee was expensive was because of the art supplies prepared by the Organizers.

So public schools tended to participate in other competitions that had cheaper participation fees while maintaining prestige as high as the Ballin competition.

“Children who participated once also tend not to come back.”

Because the theme was always at Griffith Observatory.

“It’s not like our School where all applicants get to participate…”

“Then what about you? You said you participated last year?”

“I just participated because they told me to. My Mother did.”

She said even an encouragement award or participation award was better than nothing.

“As expected of Korean Students…”

Even though Fairmont School was uncompromising about studies, they were always amazed by the Korean Students’ passion for education.

“Could everyone please be quiet? It’s our turn.”

“Yes!”

As they crossed the large white doors of the Griffith Observatory exhibition hall, the cool aura of marble greeted them.

“Children, look down below.”

“…Wow!”

“Whoa!”

At the building’s intersection, a large pendulum moved below the gaping hole in the central circular hall.

“The artwork is called Foucault’s Pendulum.”

It was modeled after a device created by French scientist Jean Bernard Léon Foucault at the Panthéon in 1851, and as an artwork expressing that the Earth rotates, it moves 11 degrees per hour.

“Everyone look up above.”

Johann’s eyes widened like the Children’s.

At the building’s intersection, murals were painted on the Ceiling.

‘Greek mythology?’

“It’s Venus!”

“There’s Atlas and angels too!”

“Wow, it’s the moon!”

His breath stopped for a moment.

His gaze was captivated by the grandeur.

“That artwork was painted by Hugo Ballin, who created the Ballin competition we’re participating in today, and it’s said to have taken its motif from Greek mythology.”

The Griffith Ceiling mural expressed classical celestial mythology through images of Atlas and the four winds, planets as gods, and the twelve constellations of the zodiac.

Below it, eight rectangular murals were known to depict the advancement of science through panels on astronomy, aeronautics, navigation, civil engineering, metallurgy and electricity, time, geology and biology, mathematics and physics.

‘Hugo Ballin.’

Hugo Ballin, who was a muralist, film producer, and also a Writer.

‘To paint such artwork… he must be an incredible person.’

Even Benjamin, the ‘Art Student’ who had reflexively absorbed and examined the Ceiling mural upon seeing it, was mesmerized.

Even though the painting style was completely different.

“Johann, Johann.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“What are you doing? We need to go see other things.”

“…Right.”

Johann reluctantly tore his gaze away from the Ceiling mural with eyes dripping with regret and followed behind Emily.

 

Munch munch!

After the brief tour of the observatory exhibition hall ended, everyone ate sandwiches for an early lunch.

They ate in advance since they couldn’t leave Griffith Observatory once the competition started, but it didn’t mean much since the observatory also sold simple food and drinks inside.

“Johann, what are you going to draw?”

“What about Emily and Mason?”

“I’m going to draw that exhibition hall over there!”

“This time I’m going to draw the telescope!”

The most impressive objects at Griffith Observatory.

Johann looked toward the Griffith Observatory exhibition hall at the questioning gaze asking what he would draw.

“I’m going to… stars.”

“Huh?”

“I’m going to draw stars.”

The stars as seen from Griffith Observatory.

The inspiration he received from the Ceiling mural earlier.

‘The story Hugo Ballin couldn’t finish painting.’

Hugo Ballin, whom he had just examined.

Johann stood up, pushing the last piece of sandwich into his mouth, and headed toward the table distributing art supplies.

“Are you here to get art supplies? What do you need?”

“Sandpaper.”

“…Huh?”

Sandpaper was the beginning.

‘With what I saw earlier, I should be able to express what I want to draw!’

Johann began listing what he needed, and the Staff’s eyes widened.

 

* * *

 

Murmur murmur.

“…Ah, it looks like the Ballin competition is being held today.”

“The Ballin competition?”

“It’s an art competition created in his later years by a muralist named Hugo Ballin who painted the Ceiling mural in the exhibition hall, and it’s quite prestigious in California.”

“Ah, the march of science transcending time…”

Hugo Ballin. She knew about him.

He was a remarkable muralist who painted 26 murals when the Wisconsin state capital was built in the early 20th century, a film Manager who made the first serious silent drama film without using subtitles, and also a great figure who wrote a book called ‘The Woman at the Door’.

She remembered being amazed that he was an even more remarkable person than expected when she looked him up because the Griffith Observatory Ceiling mural ‘The March of Science Transcending Time’ was so impressive.

The Woman, Kim Seo-hyun who was an executive managing director at CJ Wool, looked at the young Students scattered here and there with curiosity.

‘How cute…’

Thinking that her own Children would soon participate in such competitions and worry like that made the young Students look even cuter.

“We should get in line quickly.”

The Branch Manager of SJ Group’s Western United States branch snapped his fingers, and the Staff Members who had followed them moved quickly.

“No. It’s fine.”

The meeting with Mr. Kellner was tomorrow anyway, and the scenery she wanted to see was the night view at sunset two hours from now.

She had just come early because staying at the accommodation felt stuffy, but she had plenty of time.

‘I need to have a conversation with that person too.’

A White Middle-aged Man approaching those who appeared to be the competition Organizers.

If her memory wasn’t wrong, he was a figure she absolutely had to make connections with, someone who had tremendous power in the American art world.

‘Since he seems to have participated as a judge for this competition, it would be natural to approach while watching the Students draw…’

“Huh?”

Kim Seo-hyun and the Branch Manager look at Moon Seho.

He stares at one spot with a bewildered expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“S-sorry! I thought I saw my son… Oh.”

Moon Seho, who was about to apologize again, stops speaking.

Because he spotted Johann next to his son.

Johann is diligently drawing, seemingly unaware that dozens of people are standing behind him.

“Johann is participating in this competition too.”

“Johann? …You don’t mean that?”

The young student who supposedly owns part of the aramid fiber technology shares.

It was an unbelievable story, but a Senior Lawyer from Lewis & Boris Law Firm, LA’s top law firm, had vouched for it. There was no choice but to believe it.

“That student over there.”

“…Let’s go.”

Who knows.

Maybe he could help with this meeting.

She approached Johann, who was drawing in front of the fence at Griffith Observatory, then hesitated.

By coincidence, a White Middle-aged Man with tremendous power in the American art world was also walking toward the same place.

 

Whoosh!

As a cool breeze swept across his forehead, Johann recalled the ceiling mural he saw earlier, the march of science transcending time.

‘Atlas holds the zodiac constellations…’

The Pleiades and Jupiter, followed by his lightning.

Next comes Venus and the four seasons, Saturn ahead, Mercury chasing Argos, an observer beside a woman holding the Star of Bethlehem, extending to the moon and comets in the mural.

‘He expressed the celestial universe well by weaving it with mythology, but…’

What artist is ever satisfied with their work?

Hugo Ballin, whom he was currently using Absorption Reading on, was the same.

He didn’t start painting murals for any special reason.

It was simply because the space he could paint on was large.

The small canvases that always left him unsatisfied.

So he always sought larger canvases, and eventually turned his attention to walls as canvases.

With that, I could paint the pictures I want to paint.

That’s how he started mural painting and gained fame.

Then he moved to LA and jumped into film directing to make money, where he met his wife. As time passed and films began using spoken dialogue, he returned to being a muralist.

Again, the reason was nothing special.

That type of film wasn’t the style he pursued.

‘And then he painted that.’

He was happy.

He was joyful.

But he was regretful.

Because the space available for painting was too small.

‘In other words, that’s an incomplete painting.’

Perfect as it is, yet never truly perfect.

Swish! Swish swish!

Johann’s hand moves quickly across the canvas larger than himself, stained with darkness.

‘Artist Hugo Ballin’ pours out his lingering regrets through Johann’s hand, while ‘Art Student’ Benjamin’s hyperrealism captures the details.

When ‘Artist Hugo Ballin’ says this is crazy, Benjamin giggles and says that’s not how you paint it.

A harmonious mindset where each complements the other.

Johann’s hand began moving even faster, and the eyes of the White Middle-aged Man who approached from behind trembled greatly.

‘Hugo Ballin?’

That name flashed through his mind momentarily before disappearing.

‘No. The details are different.’

The more realistically crafted style speaks of one thing.

‘Night…’

It’s nighttime LA.

There’s no doubt about it.

Half of the large canvas is depicting the LA downtown scenery he’s looking at right now.

The other half is a clear yet cloudy night sky.

That night sky captures his attention first.

‘To express color tones like this…!’

Dreamlike colors that seem almost photographic.

It’s even a mural.

Johann has essentially turned the canvas into a wall.

‘My God, Lord.’

Under his intense gaze, Johann briefly stops his hand and turns his head, then startles.

“…It’s been a while.”

“Oh, hello.”

The first meeting since Giselle Buncheon’s wedding.

He wavers.

‘Art Student’ Benjamin’s emotions begin to run wild.

‘Calm down.’

Johann forcibly suppresses Benjamin.

It would be troublesome if he shed tears here.

‘Why is he here?’

As far as Johann knew, Benjamin’s Father lived in a different area.

‘Did he come here for business?’

“You’re still… painting.”

What could have happened to this young genius in less than two months?

What exactly did he experience to casually commit such an impossible feat?

He feels wistful and bitter that traces of his son Benjamin seem to have disappeared, yet intense curiosity arises.

“Is this by any chance an application of fresco technique?”

The fresco technique of painting with water-soluble pigments on lime-plastered walls before they fully dry.

Johann was using such a technique to create a wall and express those color tones.

“It’s similar.”

This kind of easel couldn’t support the weight of a lime wall, and there wasn’t enough time to dry the lime wall to a paintable level.

So he scraped the canvas with sandpaper to make it rough enough for plaster to adhere properly, then applied synthetic plaster as thinly as possible, which takes only 30 minutes to dry completely, drastically reducing the drying time.

“I’m just trying to recreate the texture of a mural.”

Then he’s painting by mixing various paints and natural pigments.

The organizers who even prepared natural pigments.

The question “why” arose in Benjamin’s Father’s mind before disappearing. Because seeing Johann’s painting made him understand instantly.

Colors and textures that can only be expressed through murals.

“The, the title?”

“This is… the night view of modern LA as seen from Griffith Observatory.”

“This constellation is Pisces.”

Among the countless stars adorning the night sky, twenty particularly bright stars. Connecting the particularly bright stars among the lights of the LA panorama also forms Pisces.

“Winter, Neptune.”

What Pisces represents is winter and Neptune.

“So… that’s why blue light reflects from the night sky.”

A blue color that only becomes faintly visible when viewed from the side, hidden so subtly that you might think you’re mistaken if you don’t look carefully.

That’s why the night sky Johann expressed feels both realistic and more dreamlike.

That’s why the city scenery feels more desolate.

“Wow. You must have observed for a long time.”

As expected of Benjamin’s father, the ‘Art Student’.

Benjamin, who inherited his father’s talent.

“Thank you.”

He felt that his painting was beautiful enough to be worth investing time to appreciate. As the person who drew it, he couldn’t help but feel happy.

That’s when it happened.

“Hey, is this painting for sale by any chance?”

The people watching from behind let out sighs as if they wanted to speak first, and Johann and Benjamin’s father turn their heads to see Kim Seo-hyun approaching.

‘Huh? That’s Mason’s dad.’

Johann finished drawing the telescope first, then poked Mason in the ribs as he stared intently at the painting beside him. Mason, startled, turned his head and froze upon spotting Moon Seho.

“What’s the price?”

“Um… I’m not sure.”

He really didn’t know.

‘How much did Hugo Ballin charge for this size…’

Converting that to modern value was getting a bit complicated.

“But it is for sale, right?”

“Probably? I think I’ll sell it after submitting it to the competition, if someone wants it.”

“It’s the cityscape in front, right?”

“Yes. Though it’s not finished yet.”

He’d need to draw for about another hour to complete it.

“Really?”

Kim Seo-hyun was surprised.

She thought it was already 99 percent complete, but apparently not.

“May I ask how long it took?”

“About five hours.”

‘To draw a painting of this level in just five hours… and it’s still not finished…’

What level of detail was this child aiming for?

Her hair stood on end.

This was a talent that couldn’t be found even at Parsons Design School, where she graduated.

Her eyes sparkled.

“If you don’t mind, may I give you a tip?”

While her motto was to at least make connections with talented people, Johann also held shares in aramid fiber technology.

There was nothing bad about making a good impression.

“Oh, you don’t need to…”

It was a whole 100 dollars.

An even greater emotion than Benjamin’s father’s stirred his heart.

“I thought you were going to give me advice or something…”

Her rather haughty expression and the luxury brands she wore made him think that for a moment.

“Oh, no. I’m not good at drawing, you know?”

She could draw fashion designs fairly well, but she couldn’t draw paintings like this. Instead, she had an eye for distinguishing good paintings.

At those words, Johann’s shoulders perked up.

“Thank you so much. Mason’s father’s boss.”

“…You figured out who I am?”

“I can see Mason’s father looking uncomfortable, can’t I?”

Even without ‘The One Who Became a Star’ right now, he could make that much of a deduction.

“Hoho! You have good observational skills? If you ever think of selling the painting, please contact me at this number anytime.”

“Yes!”

 

CJ Textiles

Kim Seo-hyun

 

‘She must be someone very high up.’

Otherwise, there would be more than just the company name, her name, and phone number.

“Nice to meet you, Seo-hyun Kim. I’m Johann Jefferson. Well then…”

“May I watch you finish it? I’ll be quiet.”

This was as far as she’d go.

She wanted to get closer, but if she pushed too hard, this young genius might run away.

“If that’s the case…”

Johann looked at Benjamin’s father, who smiled and patted Johann’s shoulder.

“See you later.”

“Huh?”

He turned and headed toward the observatory.

Johann, puzzled, soon shrugged his shoulders and began immersing himself in the painting again.

One more hour.

It was time to refine the details.

‘Please help me, Benjamin.’

-…Hehehe!

Johann’s hand began moving boldly, and Kim Seo-hyun’s eyes lit up.

 

* * *

 

“You really…”

“Hm?”

“Never mind.”

Johann looked puzzled at Emily, who started to speak then stopped, then looked at Kim Seo-hyun.

“I’ll stay a bit longer before leaving.”

“It was nice meeting you today, let’s see each other again next time.”

“When you sell that painting?”

The hour that made her fully understand why he said it wasn’t finished.

No matter how much money it cost, this was a painting she absolutely had to buy.

‘This kid will become a painter who gains worldwide fame!’

Buying it now would be the cheapest price.

Kim Seo-hyun thought so, and Johann shrugged at her intense gaze.

“Maybe?”

“Oh my. I’m suddenly feeling disappointed?”

Kim Seo-hyun chuckled and looked at Moon Seho.

“Manager Moon, you can leave work early today.”

“What? Oh, no. It’s fine!”

“Your child is waiting, isn’t he?”

Faced with her haughty yet strong gaze, Moon Seho eventually had no choice but to nod, and Mason tried not to show his grin that was about to split his face.

The ranking announcement was tomorrow anyway.

Since it would be delivered to each school, they followed the Art II Teacher, who was still trembling with excitement, toward the parking lot.

‘But when did Benjamin’s father say he’d see me?’

Johann tilted his head sideways.

 

Meanwhile, at the Ballin Competition organizers.

When the scheduled time came, the judges’ evaluation began.

“Well, well. It’s been a while, Mr. Burton!”

“The organizers must have really gone out of their way!”

At the judges’ pleasantries, Benjamin’s father, Robert Burton, waves his hand.

“I just happened to be in San Francisco on business and came at the request of an acquaintance.”

It would be troublesome to think that the Vallin Competition organizers made an effort.

If you can call on someone once, you can call on them again next time.

He couldn’t give such an opening to those who acted high and mighty in California’s art world.

“Haha. Is that so?”

They showed slight disappointment, then looked at the two hundred or so paintings spread out on the floor.

“It’s similar to last year.”

“It’s not just similar, it’s identical.”

The same landscapes, objects, buildings.

Their interest plummeted at the cookie-cutter paintings they’d been seeing every year since becoming judges for the Vallin Competition.

Thud. Thud.

They carelessly kicked aside subpar paintings with their feet as they examined the works.

How long had they been looking like that?

Their eyes narrowed as they discovered one painting.

“Oh ho.”

“Hmm.”

One of the judges looked at the organizers.

“Which school submitted this one?”

“Oh! Already found a work that will place…”

“I’m asking which school submitted a painting that a teacher drew instead of a student.”

“…What?! Th-that can’t be!”

The organizers who rushed over urgently looked at the painting and let out an exclamation.

“Ah, this painting…”

This was a painting that had disappointed them greatly when it was first submitted.

“This is from Fairmont School…”

“It was definitely drawn by a student, not a teacher.”

“Mr. Burton?”

“I watched him draw it from behind, so you can trust me. The title is ‘Modern LA Night View from Griffith Observatory.’ He incorporated Pisces into the painting.”

A painting that incorporated the zodiac painted on the ceiling mural of Griffith Observatory. Even the story was good.

‘It’s certainly very similar to Hugo Ballin’s style, yet very different.’

It might be his imagination, but he seemed to sense Benjamin in the painting.

“I-is that so?”

“Th-then I don’t think we can consider any other painting for first place!”

“Yes. I think so too!”

It wasn’t because of Robert Burton’s praise, but because this painting was on a different level from the others. Even if they had received personal requests, they couldn’t bring themselves to say any other painting was better than this one.

No, if they claimed another painting was better than this one, they’d have their abilities questioned, not just their qualifications as judges.

Robert Burton nodded and looked at Johann’s painting.

‘Why Pisces of all things?’

A sudden question arose.

Usually at that age, kids would prefer cool-looking signs like Leo or Sagittarius, not Pisces.

While this could simply be because he was born in the month of Pisces, the problem lay elsewhere.

‘Why do I feel like this perfect painting is somehow lacking?’

A sense of regret, as if looking at an unfinished painting.

“The story is also good… Wait. The zodiac?”

The zodiac representing twelve constellations.

“This one. He definitely said this one.”

“This one” – a phrase you can use when there are others.

‘C-could it be?’

Robert Burton urgently turned his head to look in the direction where Johann had disappeared.

 

* * *

 

“The announcement is tomorrow?”

“Yeah. They said they’ll notify us of the results through the website and school.”

“That’s disappointing…”

It would definitely be first place, but it was disappointing that they’d have to postpone the celebration party by a day.

Johann also felt disappointed about that part, then had a sudden realization.

“More importantly, Larry. Can I use the lobby wall?”

“Not the lobby, but the lobby wall?”

“Yeah. The painting isn’t finished yet.”

The night view of LA from Griffith Observatory that would perfectly complete the march of science transcending time.

No, even if he used the entire lobby wall, it wouldn’t be completed.

But he wanted to paint it.

Both ‘artist Hugo Ballin’ and ‘art student’ Benjamin were intensely wanting it.

Johann felt the same way.

“…?”

Larry tilted his head sideways.

 

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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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