The Reborn Genius of an Arts High School - Chapter 114

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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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Episode 114.
Hae Yun turned over Moo Young’s parting words in her mind.
What could be his purpose in seeking her out after ten years?
To boast that he was doing better than Hae Yun?
Or perhaps to apologize for his past words and actions?
Either way, Hae Yun didn’t care.
She was too old now to react to every provocation from her former student.
She barely had the energy to focus on the new work ahead of her.
But there was something about the intense emotion she saw in her old student that troubled her.
‘An inferiority complex.’
Inferiority complexes were terribly insidious things.
They could become the driving force behind growth, but they could also become the catalyst for ruin.
And how stubborn they were—they had a way of coloring everyone around them.
“You said he has a daughter the same age as Ye Ji?”
“Yes, and apparently they even go to the same school.”
Han Gyu, too, seemed troubled by this as he added the remark while tidying the remaining teacup.
Kids these days were so sensitive and quick to react.
With a father like that, Hae Yun could plainly see that the daughter would have a hard time of it.
Of course, Hae Yun had no children of her own, but she too had once been someone’s child.
Emotionally volatile parents always left their mark on their children.
“Why don’t you reach out to Ye Ji? Check in with her.”
Han Gyu had been about to ask a joking question—”Why don’t you call her yourself?”—but stopped himself when he caught Hae Yun’s expression.
Hae Yun herself didn’t look particularly pleased.
***
Today was the day of the second session of the special class.
Fitting with the chaotic first meeting, the first class had petered out uneventfully.
It seemed they’d adjusted the seating arrangement with that day’s atmosphere in mind.
Last year, everyone had been arranged in a circle so they could see one another, but this year was different.
Five easels stood out, set up so everyone would face forward in a line.
After a moment’s consideration, Ye Ji set her bag down at the fourth position.
Shortly after, Ha Eun took the seat right next to Ye Ji—the fifth and final spot—as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Hello!”
Ha Eun greeted her cheerfully, almost like a puppy wagging its tail.
“Hey. What’s that?”
“I felt bad about making a fuss last time, so I brought you guys a peace offering.”
In Ha Eun’s hands were bottles of Banana Milk.
Unwilling to give to some and not others, Ha Eun set one bottle down in front of each of the five easels.
Woo Jin and Ji Ho arrived right on time and took their seats as well.
No one said anything, but it was clear they were tacitly trying to keep Ha Eun and So Min at opposite ends.
The rest of them filled in the spaces between without any fuss.
“By the way, are you not preparing for any other exhibitions these days?”
Ha Eun’s eager interest was a bit much sometimes, though she did respect boundaries.
Besides, she was asking about artwork, not prying into personal matters, so it wasn’t difficult to answer.
“Right now I’m just in talks with galleries.”
“Wow, that’s amazing! Already—”
Creak—
Just then, So Min walked in as class was about to start, fashionably late as always.
The last time she’d acted up had caused such a fuss.
Ha Eun, reading the room, fell silent and sat neatly in her seat.
So Min paid no attention to the classroom’s mood and went straight to the empty first seat.
In the process, she pushed aside the Banana Milk someone had left for her.
She clearly had no intention of drinking it or taking it with her.
……
An awkward silence hung heavy in the air.
But fortunately, the uncomfortable moment didn’t last long.
“Hey there—hello! You’re all sitting nicely today?”
Young entered with a playful voice right on time, dispelling the tension.
Since the first class had been such a mess, she was being even more exaggerated with her greeting.
She wasn’t the type to scold students who’d argued, nor did she prefer rigidly structured lessons.
Free-form teaching was her motto.
After a brief self-introduction, she simply stated her class’s direction and assigned materials for the next session.
What she asked them to bring today was quite subjective.
Whatever materials they primarily used, enjoyed, or worked best with.
Ye Ji would normally have brought Oil Painting supplies, but for convenience today she’d brought Acrylic Paint instead.
“Today, we’re going to recreate your favorite work from everything you’ve painted so far.”
Young said this from the podium, now comfortable in her role.
“It’s basically a replica, in other words.”
A copy of the original. A replica.
Ye Ji nodded at Young’s assignment.
‘My favorite work…’
The moment she heard it, one painting came to mind.
Answer of the Waves.
It was the work she’d poured the most effort into at her first solo exhibition, and it carried multiple meanings.
Moreover, it would likely hang in Montrebleu for a very long time.
Since it had become the most talked-about work, it was only natural that it remained her favorite.
‘The work I did with Celian was good too, but…’
If she had to choose the “favorite,” it would have to be that one.
Having made her decision, Ye Ji began work immediately.
Though there had been an awkward tension in the classroom, once work began everyone concentrated and the atmosphere shifted.
The process of recalling and redrawing a past work held multiple meanings.
Like an athlete reviewing a match.
Re-tracing the brushstrokes of the past while savoring the moments that had changed between then and now was excellent practice, both technically and emotionally.
As her feelings had changed from then to now, the same composition and perspective would yield a different impression.
Young wandered about, observing the students who worked with focused concentration.
If this were last semester, she would have been painting alongside them.
But today, it seemed she wouldn’t be creating anything.
“Will this actually be finished by today?”
“Huh? Oh. What? You mean it has to be done today?”
“Why would you work on a replica forever?”
“…Um, maybe two weeks would be okay?”
Young, who’d been casually observing the students, had started bantering with Woo Jin.
A lighthearted, witty teacher with a good reputation was the kind who earned students’ affection easily.
Now that they were getting to know each other’s names, Young, speaking playfully, nodded.
“OK. Let’s aim to finish by next class. Everyone got that?”
Young passed by Woo Jin as she said this, then moved toward So Min.
Between Western painting and design majors.
So Min, the only practitioner of traditional Korean ink painting, inevitably stood out.
“Oh… Korean painting. This is completely that thing, right?”
Young fumbled for the word, so So Min supplied the answer.
“Yes, the Sumi Ink Technique.”
Indeed, perhaps because she was recreating a work she’d done before,
Ye Ji could hear snatches of the nearby conversation that she normally wouldn’t have noticed while concentrating.
“Is the Sumi Ink Technique your favorite technique?”
“…Not necessarily, but it’s what I do best.”
“Hmm~ So your favorite work is the one you executed best?”
So Min hesitated at Young’s question.
Though she wasn’t trying to listen, Ye Ji had heard so clearly that she glanced over in that direction.
So Min was looking at Young with an expression of confusion.
“…Aren’t they the same thing?”
“They can be different, though, right?”
At their exchange, Ye Ji too fell into thought.
She’d just chosen her best-executed work as her favorite.
It wasn’t entirely wrong, but now she realized that, as Young said, they weren’t quite the same thing either.
After that, Young didn’t say anything more, but Ye Ji found herself caught in an ambiguous, half-grasped line of thinking.
As Ye Ji’s concentration wavered, time flew by quickly.
“Alright, let’s wrap up for today. Next time we’ll finish and then discuss each other’s works.”
Had Young truly become a real teacher now?
The ease with which she guided the class felt quite natural.
Perhaps because she’d been speaking Korean more often lately, her manner of speech had become quite natural.
With that thought, Ye Ji also began organizing her art supplies.
She always thought the same thing—cleaning up was the most tedious part of everything.
If she could become rich enough to indulge in luxury, could she buy new brushes each time instead of washing them?
While entertaining these stray thoughts as she packed her things, Ha Eun, who’d been hovering nearby, struck up a conversation.
“Are you heading straight home?”
Ha Eun radiated an unmistakable eagerness to become closer friends.
Ye Ji didn’t dislike her, of course.
……
In the meantime, So Min passed by the two of them without saying goodbye.
She was sensitive, certainly, but she didn’t seem like the type to go around picking fights.
Suddenly curious about So Min’s work, Ye Ji shifted slightly to the side.
‘She said it was the Sumi Ink Technique…’
It was a technique Ye Ji knew only in theory.
Just as Ye Ji built up oil paint in layers to create dimensional depth,
the Sumi Ink Technique was a Korean painting method that built depth by repeatedly drying and layering ink wash.
……
So Min’s painting, which Ye Ji was seeing properly for the first time, was better than expected.
The delicately layered light ink formed the silhouette of a typical Korean mountain range.
As if reinterpreting a Five-Peak Landscape, a classical Korean painting with a touch of contemporary brushwork woven in.
Though still unfinished, it showed a meticulous sensitivity in the careful application of the ink.
“Well, it’s actually pretty good, better than I thought.”
Even Ha Eun, despite her grumbling, had to acknowledge the skill.
In traditional technique, So Min clearly displayed considerable mastery.
Ye Ji suddenly recalled the phone call she’d received from Han Gyu the night before.
‘Do you happen to know a Han So Min at your school?’
When Ye Ji took that call, she heard a story she hadn’t anticipated.
It turned out So Min wasn’t simply an admirer of Hae Yun.
Moreover, So Min’s father and Hae Yun apparently didn’t have a good relationship either.
Then what was it?
If her father and Hae Yun weren’t on good terms, why had rumors spread widely enough that people knew So Min admired Hae Yun?
Ye Ji, thinking quietly, suddenly asked Ha Eun a question.
“What do your parents do?”
Ha Eun answered with a bewildered expression at the sudden question.
“What? Out of nowhere? Um… My mom’s a lawyer, and my dad’s a patent attorney.”
But why was she suddenly curious about that?
It was strange how her thoughts had jumped from looking at So Min’s work to asking this.
Seeing Ha Eun’s confused expression, Ye Ji added an explanation.
“Families that carry on a legacy profession tend to have complicated situations.”
“…?”
Of course, that explanation didn’t quite cover everything either.
Ha Eun accepted it without much fuss and nodded, asking in return,
“So, are you heading straight home? Or would you want to grab some malatang with me?”
I really didn’t like today’s dinner…
At Ha Eun’s subtle appeal, Ye Ji let out a small laugh.
She was curious about So Min’s situation, but it didn’t seem necessary to hurry to find out.
So Min was sensitive, but she was also direct and even recklessly quick to act.
So Ye Ji had a feeling she’d find out everything soon enough anyway.
“Sure, let’s grab something to eat.”
***
Several more days passed.
In that time, Ye Ji managed to coordinate all the details with Han Sung and received the completed contract.
But after receiving the contract, Ye Ji lay sprawled on the floor of her studio, staring blankly at the ceiling.
“……This isn’t exactly a nice warm iced Americano, is it?”
The image of the product that Han Sung wanted, which she’d heard about at a recent meeting with Jae Hyun, weighed on her mind.
A string of vague, contradictory elements.
When someone doesn’t quite know what they want themselves, but still has to say something.
Ye Ji believed this was when such situations arose.
Of course, Han Sung was terribly weak in design and aesthetic sensibility, and they knew it themselves.
So they’d asked her to just use their opinions as reference…
……
Ye Ji opened her palm and tried to recall the size and design of their new product.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t bring it with her because of confidentiality agreements.
……
After thinking hard about something for a while, Ye Ji suddenly sat up.

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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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