The Reborn Genius of an Arts High School - Chapter 115

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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 115.
Ye Ji began examining her paints, neatly organized in one corner of the studio.
From France to Korea—a treasure trove where she’d gathered every type of paint imaginable.
They’d been piled haphazardly in one corner of the studio until recently, when Hyun Min, unable to bear the mess, had suggested organizing them across several large bookshelves.
Now she could find any color she wanted in seconds.
“White, blue, and purple—those were the three.”
Three colors that Hanseong had asked to be excluded.
Ye Ji selected paints and mixed the closest matching shades.
White came in varieties; so did blue.
Overall, the color palette Hanseong had specified this time carried a cool tone.
She thought it would be best to start her composition with colors that wouldn’t clash with those while maintaining the sense of belonging to the same series.
…….
Ye Ji clenched and unclenched her fists.
Then she pulled out a mobile phone mockup she’d received in advance and examined it.
For someone of Ye Ji’s average female build, the unfolded phone screen was quite large.
Though compared to the sizes of work she usually painted, it was smaller than a size one canvas.
After gauging the proportions of the phone fitting in her hand, Ye Ji took out a ruler and drew a rectangle to scale.
The feeling conveyed by a work’s size was a factor that couldn’t be ignored.
After listing the colors she’d mixed in her sketchbook and accurately drawing the phone’s dimensions, Ye Ji ripped out that page and pinned it to the wall.
For now, these were all the factors she needed to consider.
‘Everything else didn’t really require much thought.’
Jae Hyun’s opinion, summarized, came down to this:
Something unconventional, but not excessively bold either—an image that harmonized with the product.
Ye Ji studied the conditions she’d pinned to the wall for a moment, then moved back toward the paints.
From a landscape rich enough just to look at, Ye Ji’s feet carried her toward where the red paints were.
‘Well, there isn’t a red tone in what they excluded.’
But going completely in a red direction would be quite a risky choice.
A mobile phone that people carry every day might feel a bit burdensome in red.
This was her first time conceptualizing a work by limiting specific conditions first, but Ye Ji found the unfamiliarity surprisingly refreshing.
Just painting was fun, but adding this new approach made it all the more natural.
After examining colors for quite some time, Ye Ji pulled out paints from one shelf by type.
“I think I’ll go with this direction.”
What Ye Ji had chosen was yellow-toned paints.
***
For Ye Ji, school life was merely an extension of last year, but for most students, it was different.
Now in their 3rd year of high school, the students felt mounting pressure with each passing day.
Especially in March, when the atmosphere had shifted so dramatically from before, the stress was extraordinary.
Once they adapted even to this, things would improve somewhat….
“Ugh… who is all this grueling work for, anyway…?”
Da Hye was grumbling as she practically dismantled the sausage from lunch.
Of course, they all knew they were putting in effort because they wanted to.
But sometimes, after being pulled in all directions by hagwons and assignments all day, it was inevitable to feel lost.
“What are you talking about? You’re doing great.”
At Ye Ji’s words as she sat eating lunch beside her, Da Hye made a sad face and replied.
“Right? I’m doing well, aren’t I? Is that it?”
At such a small reassurance, Da Hye responded with exaggerated drama, and Ye Ji reflexively nodded along.
From Ye Ji’s perspective….
“But you really seem like you need a break.”
“It’s so funny when you say that, Ye Ji. Isn’t it, Da Hye?”
Se Hee appeared late, sitting down with her tray in the seat next to Ye Ji.
Being from a different class and department, Se Hee’s tendency to pop up suddenly from nowhere had long since become familiar.
Da Hye, nodding absently, tilted her head.
“…Wait, don’t you usually skip the cafeteria?”
Models and students from the modeling department rarely appeared in the cafeteria.
They all adhered to restricted diets for weight management.
When the cafeteria talked about diverse, balanced nutrition, that meant consistent ratios of carbohydrates and fats too.
It wasn’t a diet that suited models, who had to keep losing weight constantly.
“They had salad today.”
Looking now, her tray held no sausage—just piles of salad.
Since Ye Ji and Da Hye hadn’t taken any greens at all, it looked almost like they’d received completely different meals.
On top of that, Se Hee had only added a single boiled egg she’d brought herself.
“……Why are you looking at me like that?”
Se Hee asked, uncomfortable under Ye Ji’s pitying gaze.
The 3rd year life Ye Ji witnessed seemed little different from child abuse.
She hadn’t really noticed that she herself lived much differently from what others saw.
“It’s just… not being able to eat freely….”
“I don’t really like eating anyway.”
At Ye Ji’s trailing words, Se Hee chuckled and crunched on her salad lettuce.
She added that some celebrity had said something like that once.
“Anyway, even if you eat something again, it’s all a taste you already know.”
At Se Hee’s words, Ye Ji made a bewildered expression.
Wouldn’t knowing a taste make you want to eat it more?
“You’re basically a different species than us.”
Da Hye chuckled at Ye Ji’s expression and said so.
As they chatted about these trivial matters, Da Hye’s expression seemed to improve a little.
Everyone was suffering more from mental exhaustion than physical fatigue.
Preparing different practical skills for their departments, each department tended to think, “At least we’re better off than that department over there….”
But finding solace and comfort in seeing friends who, though different, endured similar struggles was perhaps one of the advantages of attending an arts school.
“By the way, how’s the Special Class?”
Se Hee asked Ye Ji with a worried expression.
The fact that Ha Eun and So Min had fought on the first day was already common knowledge throughout the school.
Everyone knew that watching others fight from a distance was the most entertaining thing.
The incident of a 2nd year and 3rd year clashing had spread quickly.
But one peculiar thing was:
Because So Min’s temperament was so notorious, even other 3rd years sided with the 2nd year student.
“Yeah, it’s fine. Actually, because she expressed it so openly, it’s easier in some ways.”
Though she understood her friends’ concern, Ye Ji’s words were sincere.
Because Ye Ji was rather indifferent about everything except painting, Da Hye and Se Hee didn’t worry too much.
Ha Eun had ended up fighting partly because she’d stepped forward and confronted the situation.
A dog that bites shouldn’t be touched—you just avoid it.
“Right, if you don’t engage with someone throwing a tantrum alone, it just stops.”
Ye Ji nodded at Da Hye’s words.
Today was the third class session, but she wasn’t particularly concerned.
“Besides~ Ye Ji wouldn’t be someone to worry about that sort of thing anyway~”
Se Hee spoke in a playful tone and carefully mouthed a single word with exaggerated lip shapes.
‘Hanseong.’
“Is your work with them going well?”
Since the work done as Goyo had to remain confidential.
At Se Hee’s unusually discreet questioning, Da Hye giggled.
Ye Ji also answered with a smile in her eyes.
“Well, the discussion went well. I’m still in the conceptualization phase.”
A mobile phone slightly larger than a palm.
Ye Ji continued, gesturing to indicate the size.
“The displayable area is incredibly small, so I’m thinking about how to create impact within those constraints.”
Se Hee nodded at Ye Ji’s explanation.
It was true—fitting impact into a phone screen had dimensional limitations.
Something small, yet intricate and valuable to those who see it.
Ye Ji was still in the process of making her vision concrete.
Looking at Ye Ji’s hands, then alternating glances at her own, Se Hee spoke.
“It’s kind of like jewelry, isn’t it?”
At Se Hee’s words, Ye Ji fell into thought for a moment.
“Jewelry on the hands is actually the hardest to showcase, right? Rings, bracelets….”
It was so difficult that hand models were a specialized profession.
Though Se Hee spoke casually, Ye Ji felt as though she’d grasped a thread that had been obscure until now.
“Jewelry….”
Perhaps a mobile phone, for people these days, was also the greatest accessory they possessed?
“Can I head out for a sec?”
With something sparked in her mind, Ye Ji hurriedly shoved the remaining sausage side dish into her mouth and stood up.
“Huh? Uh, wait—where are you going?”
At Ye Ji’s sudden action, Da Hye, eating beside her, was taken aback.
But Ye Ji rushed out with a brief reply.
“I need to write something down!”
Should she start carrying a notebook every time she came to eat?
Ye Ji dashed out of the cafeteria, unwilling to lose the image that had flashed across her mind.
***
And time passed once more.
After school, in the Special Class Practice Room.
Everyone gathered in the practice room right after class to complete the Replica assignment from the previous session.
Ye Ji wasn’t particularly aware of it, but according to Ha Eun, the others had apparently been sneaking in between classes to add more to their work.
“Though the senior’s practically finished already, so you wouldn’t need to.”
As Ha Eun said, Ye Ji had no shortage of time.
Ye Ji, arriving leisurely and last, began preparing her work slowly.
Learning diverse painting styles and methods through the Special Class and the school was an extraordinarily valuable experience for Ye Ji.
No matter how much people around her called her a genius, Ye Ji didn’t think of herself that way.
She had simply worked hard, and as opportunity comes to those who are prepared,
good connections and opportunities had arrived with proper timing.
In that sense, every attempt and learning that renewed the methods she might have become fixed in due to past experience and memory was precious.
…….
Ye Ji stood looking at her completed Replica—
the canvas where she’d replicated “The Answer of the Wave,” from a pace away.
The compressed wave, unlike the monumental original work, seemed to carry a different kind of answer, bearing a subtly unfamiliar feeling.
“Finished first?”
At Young’s approaching words, Ye Ji glanced briefly at the other students around her.
Everyone seemed to be in the finishing stages, but Ye Ji appeared to be the fastest.
As she organized her tools first, the other friends completed their work one by one.
“Well, time’s about up now, so shall we clean up?”
Only Ha Eun seemed unable to finish, but they couldn’t keep waiting indefinitely.
Only the details remained unfinished, so it was sufficient to review the work.
At Young’s words, Ha Eun finally set down her brush with a disappointed expression.
“Ugh… you’re all really fast….”
Though she’d kind of expected this….
Despite her downhearted tone, Ha Eun’s spirit wasn’t completely dampened as she examined the other 3rd years’ work.
Ye Ji also checked both sides, reviewing her friends’ pieces, but felt inwardly disappointed.
Had the senior students from last year been unusually distinctive?
Only So Min’s work truly caught her eye.
“Then, shall we start with Ha Eun?”
Taking the saying that medicine tastes bitter but cures illness, Ha Eun readily stood first, holding up her work in front of the teacher’s desk.
It felt distinctly different from how everyone had sat in a circle and presented one by one before.
Though only a few, standing before others and speaking required heightened attention and pressure alike.
Starting with Ha Eun and continuing through So Min, each presented their work briefly.
Their compositions and themes differed, but the assignment’s goal—a replica of “the work I loved most”—
was a thread they all shared in their explanations.

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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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