The Reborn Genius of an Arts High School - Chapter 107

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 107.
“Well….”
As Hyun Min struggled to continue, Ye Ji picked up where he left off.
“There were plenty of strange things, but like I said before—I figured you had your reasons, so I didn’t pry.”
“That’s true, but….”
At Ye Ji’s words, Hyun Min scratched the back of his head.
It was less discomfort than uncertainty about where to even begin his explanation.
Ye Ji pressed him further.
“There’s one more thing that’s been bothering me all along.”
Originally, Ye Ji hadn’t intended to ask about Hyun Min’s circumstances at all.
So when he said he’d help her, she’d simply accepted it and moved on.
But this time, given the magnitude of the incident, she wanted confirmation.
He’d used enough power to keep the press quiet—all for her sake.
So it seemed only natural, given her character, that she’d need to press the matter.
“Last year. That guy… Kim… Ji-eun?”
“Ji An.”
“Right. That guy.”
Hyun Min was briefly at a loss at how readily Ye Ji had forgotten the name.
But he knew her well enough—she was indifferent to everything except painting—so he let it slide.
“Anyway, I saw him secretly meeting with one of the judges, and then suddenly a recording arrived by courier.”
As Ye Ji spoke, Hyun Min listened with his arms crossed, as if inviting her to continue.
“When I thought about it more, I realized that what you’ve been doing for me lately doesn’t feel any different from what he was doing.”
And when that suspicious courier service arrived,
Hyun Min happened to be right there.
It was Hyun Min who eagerly pushed her to check the contents when she hesitated.
Wasn’t that because he already knew what was inside?
Hyun Min slowly nodded at Ye Ji’s deduction.
“…You’re right. I sent it. Caught on quick, didn’t you?”
At Hyun Min’s admission, Ye Ji’s eyes narrowed.
“Is it really so unbearable for you to be thanked?”
And yet she made a quip like that even now.
At Ye Ji’s reproach, Hyun Min’s expression remained conflicted, his brow furrowed.
“It’s not that. It’s just… how do I explain it? It feels awkward, and kind of embarrassing, that sort of thing….”
Hyun Min, too, seemed at a loss for clear words.
It was a matter both trivial and weighty all at once.
“So why hide it then? What, is it… that kind of thing?”
That kind of thing?
When Hyun Min glanced at Ye Ji, she mimed counting out bills with her hand.
Catching on to the gesture’s meaning—illicit money laundering—Hyun Min bristled.
“Hey! It’s nothing like that, okay?”
“Then what is it? If you’re not some loan shark or anything, what reason do you have to hide it this much?”
From Ye Ji’s perspective, she couldn’t imagine why Hyun Min would conceal his background so thoroughly.
The best she could come up with was a criminal family.
‘Then again….’
Even Hyun Min himself had to admit it did seem suspicious.
It was all karma, really.
Maybe he should have just come clean from the start.
“Do you remember Shin Myung Hee, the chairwoman we met before?”
Hyun Min decided to reveal it as plainly as possible.
He spoke to Ye Ji, who was nodding as if to say of course.
“She’s my mother.”
It would have been easier if he’d told her before there was any connection between Shin Myung Hee and Ye Ji.
For Hyun Min, it was unavoidably embarrassing.
“What?!”
“I figured you’d be shocked…”
“How can you tell me this now? Wait—have I ever mentioned you to the chairwoman before?”
At that, Hyun Min could only stare blankly.
She was more concerned about misspoken words than the fact that he was a chaebol heir.
It wasn’t the reaction he’d expected at all.
Meanwhile, Ye Ji’s mind was equally complicated, though for different reasons.
Come to think of it, Myung Hee had seemed unusually curious about her school life.
She hadn’t given it much thought, so she couldn’t even remember what she’d answered.
How many teenagers would describe their peers purely in glowing terms?
She hadn’t gossiped, surely….
Seeing Ye Ji’s startled expression, Hyun Min spoke up.
“You didn’t say anything wrong.”
“Really?”
“……Maybe?”
At Hyun Min’s ambiguous answer, Ye Ji felt a flash of irritation, but as she thought it through, the puzzle pieces suddenly fit into place.
Ah, so that was it. That’s what it was.
Seeing the expression of understanding on Ye Ji’s face, Hyun Min also opened up freely.
“The press coverage in France—my mother already had connections with media outlets there, so I just made sure it was suppressed.”
Understanding how all the subtle situations fit together, Ye Ji felt a slight emptiness wash over her.
She didn’t find it hard to understand why he was keeping his background hidden at school.
No matter how well-connected the student body was, being part of a chaebol owner’s family was different.
Come to think of it, there were probably friends whose parents held executive positions at SS Group or its affiliates.
Given such circumstances, for the sake of a normal school life,
“It was worth hiding, I suppose….”
At Ye Ji’s understanding tone, Hyun Min nodded immediately.
“Right. There was nothing to gain by telling, so I kept it quiet… but I never expected it would come to this.”
As he spoke in what sounded like an excuse, Ye Ji broached the real topic.
Once she understood, there was no reason to be hurt or upset that he’d hidden the truth.
He’d been more than willing to do what he could for her as a friend.
“Anyway, thanks. I appreciate you looking out for me.”
Really, her pressing questions came down to one thing: expressing proper gratitude.
What methods had he used to suppress the story? How much had he risked to help?
How else could she express her thanks properly without knowing?
Besides, if he’d strained himself on her behalf, she wanted to make clear he didn’t need to go that far again.
‘But a chaebol heir, no less….’
In Ye Ji’s estimation, given his position, a simple expression of gratitude seemed appropriate.
Relieved by Ye Ji’s acceptance, Hyun Min let out a hollow laugh.
Relief, was it….
“You really are something special, you know that?”
He’d simply tried not to acknowledge it.
But deep down, he, too, had been worrying about whether Ye Ji might misunderstand.
What if she found his background burdensome and wanted to end their partnership?
He’d entertained that worry, however briefly—but her response rendered all of it moot.
Then, emerging from her reverie, Ye Ji asked suddenly.
“You said you had an older brother, right?”
“Yeah. The company will pass to him anyway, so it doesn’t really matter to me.”
Hearing Hyun Min’s answer, Ye Ji nodded. She could guess what he was thinking.
She’d assumed his help so far was temporary.
That he was simply giving her a hand as a friend while she went about starting projects and leaving the tedious work to others.
That’s what she’d believed until now.
But now it occurred to her that Hyun Min might actually be considering supporting artists as his proper profession.
His unexpected closeness with Han Gyu, who was already doing such work, made sense in that light.
“So, since we’re on the subject…”
If that was the case,
perhaps it was time to reverse the order of things.
“Why don’t I actually hire you?”
In many ways, Hyun Min was exactly the kind of talent she needed.
Better to employ a friend she felt comfortable with and enjoyed working with than to hire a stranger.
There was something good about the bond of trust and faith they shared as they were now.
But sometimes she found herself uncertain about where considerate boundaries should lie, or how much she could ask of him.
“If I hire you formally and pay you a proper salary, it’ll be cleaner all around.”
Especially because Ye Ji had bigger ambitions ahead.
She wanted to keep exhibiting in the fine art world, but also explore commercial art and collaborate with various companies.
She wanted to do it all, and a formal employment relationship would let her delegate authority clearly.
Setting clear lines of obligation and responsibility would make it easier to distinguish favor from duty.
“Good.”
Hyun Min had no reason to refuse Ye Ji’s proposal.
He answered as if he’d been waiting for this, extending his hand.
“Then, let’s work well together going forward. Ye Ji.”
Ye Ji shook his outstretched hand lightly.
In every sense, it was the right time for a new beginning.
***
Tomorrow would be the start of a new semester.
Ye Ji had been considering whether to focus just on school life and personal work for the first semester.
She was still working through her plans.
It was nice to have grand ambitions, but painting freely without them was equally rewarding.
While turning over these thoughts about the future, Ye Ji found herself at Hyun Min’s villa today.
“Careful!”
“Lift a little more to the left!”

Amid the commotion, about a dozen people were moving an enormous artwork.
“The basement storage is spacious anyway, so storing something large here is fine, but…”
Watching the massive piece being brought in, Hyun Min’s expression was peculiar.
He owned quite a lot of artwork, but the villa was larger still.
Nearly the size of a gallery.
Apart from the pieces hanging on every wall, the underground storage chamber was cavernous.
Keeping Ye Ji’s works here too would be no trouble at all.
But still, and yet….
Hyun Min continued to frown with concern, asking again.
“Is it really okay to just leave this down in the basement?”
The piece being moved was none other than Catherine’s Cliffs of Étretat.
“Yeah, it’s fine. I’ll get it when I find my own space later.”
“No, it’s not about taking up space…”
Hyun Min scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“It’s just that it feels too fine a piece to be sitting in the dark without any light on it.”
He had no further objections to the owner’s decision to merely store it.
But seeing Hyun Min’s expression, Ye Ji answered calmly.
“It’ll be fine like this.”
As the artwork descended, Ye Ji found herself remembering the events in Paris last week.
The work from her past life, which had hung in Montrebleu for all those years without moving.
Catherine’s Cliffs of Étretat.
The moment the piece that had hung unchanged for over a decade came down, it gave way to another moment entirely.
Ye Ji. Answer of the Waves.
Marc had affixed a caption in Korean to that spot where the new artwork was now displayed.
For the first time, everything seemed neatly resolved, and a peculiar sense of closure descended.
There had been so much that happened in Paris.
And.
Ye Ji now gazed upon the work before her eyes.
Her own work, come full circle back to her.
…
There had been moments when she’d thought of finishing it late, after all.
But Ye Ji slowly ran her fingertips over the thick paint, which still bore the marks of time.
The heavy oil paint had cracked where it had failed to dry fully.
It was the limitation of materials Catherine could afford back then.
The piece showed many shortcomings, yet at one time, she’d staked everything on it.
That time remained vivid in memory still.
After gazing at the work for a long while, Ye Ji gently covered it with a large cloth.
Now, finally.
‘…Rest well, Catherine.’
A complete farewell.
That’s what it felt like.
Watching Ye Ji lost in contemplation, Hyun Min spoke carefully.
“Hey, can I say something that might ruin the mood?”
…?
At Hyun Min’s abrupt words, Ye Ji turned to look at him.
“…What is it?”
“I was trying to handle it myself, but…”
With that, Hyun Min held out his mobile phone to Ye Ji.
On the screen were
[Han Sung Electronics Official]
and around a dozen emails under that name.
“……What… is all this?”
[Hello. This is Han Sung Electronics’ Marketing Team.]
[Hello, artist. Have you had a chance to check your emails?]
[Hello, manager. We’d like to extend a formal proposal again.]
The exact moment Hyun Min was formally hired by Ye Ji and began using the title of manager became glaringly obvious.
It was right after that day when she learned his background and officially employed him.
Should it have been this way from the start?
With that lingering thought, Ye Ji’s expression changed as she read through the email subjects.
The politely worded requests gradually became more urgent, and eventually bordered on something like pleading.
[Would it be possible to pass this to the artist just one more time?]
[Please, please, could you just ask the artist one more time? T_T]
……It seemed the person in charge was having quite the ordeal.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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