The Reborn Genius of an Arts High School - Chapter 122

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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 122.
In Seong Su’s view, nothing was mere chance.
A high school newcomer artist named Ye Ji had appeared suddenly and won recognition from artists in Paris.
Goyo, whose stage name in Korean had arrived like a comet in the commercial world, with no clear identity to pin down.
In Korea’s narrow art circle, the emergence of these two had made quite an impact.
What’s more, Seo Hwa Won, which had already been counted among the finest East Asian Painting galleries, was experiencing a major revival.
Now without the qualifier “among East Asian Painting galleries.”
It had become one of the most valuable privately run galleries in the country.
Of course, Seong Su, who knew everything, was one of the few who understood that Ye Ji was the beginning of it all.
In the meantime, many newcomer artists had emerged, large and small, thanks to others who had been inspired and made their own efforts.
‘Interest in Korean artists has been growing recently in New York too.’
He’d heard that Blank’s sudden acceleration of their schedule and hurried pace stemmed from the same context.
There were now multiple galleries interested in discovering newcomers.
But no one would run a competition while accepting losses.
Everyone was simply falling behind as they searched for suitable investment partners and collaborators.
‘So Blank is just anxious.’
If rumors spread that other galleries were launching their own newcomer discovery projects?
Applicants would inevitably scatter.
So they were rushing to get ahead before that could happen.
Of course, it would impose some burden on the artists.
‘But up until now, there’s never been an event of this scale.’
Ye Ji herself had been tempted by it.
This was a project offering substantial rewards, both financially and in terms of opportunity.
Most artists would likely participate enthusiastically in this event.
Ye Ji’s actions were the flutter of a small butterfly’s wings, and bit by bit that flutter had become a great wind, shaking things everywhere.

“How detailed do I need to be?”
“I think they’re asking for a theme mostly to preemptively discourage inappropriate content….”
“Mine wouldn’t be like that, so maybe I can just submit something reasonable?”

Whether or not he knew of the turmoil in the art world,
Seong Su smiled faintly as he listened to the exchange between Ye Ji and Hyun Min.
There seemed no need to explain all that and burden her.
Ye Ji was still just a student, after all.
If he had one small wish as an adult,
it would be for her to continue enjoying painting and working hard just as she did now, for as long as possible.
To keep doing the art she wanted to do, as she always had.
No matter how noisy the world became, he hoped she would walk her own path, staying true to herself….

Thud—

“Oh dear….”

Seong Su, caught up in rather adult thoughts and trying to slip away, bumped his leg against the edge of the table.
The coffee he was holding in one hand spilled everywhere.

“Just leave it!”
“Hold the cup steady!”

When Seong Su tries to clean up in these moments, things just get worse.
Having already learned that lesson, Ye Ji and Hyun Min spoke in unison.
Before he could spill the rest of the coffee, Hyun Min quickly rushed over and took the cup from Seong Su’s hands.

“Uh? Ah… oh… I’m sorry.”

Embarrassed at having caused a bigger disruption while trying not to be a nuisance, Seong Su scratched his head.
But it wasn’t like this was a one-time thing.
Ye Ji giggled and wiped up the mess around them.
Seong Su’s familiar clumsiness apparently struck her as funny.

“It’s fine. We’ll let you know next time if we need help with anything.”

We’ll take care of cleaning this up. She’d said it with such finality that Seong Su had no choice but to back off.
He was at least self-aware enough to know he could be quite clumsy and careless.

“Well, then… sorry for the trouble….”

Seong Su, unable to hide his apology, carefully stepped away with an awkward expression.
Thanks to his stumble, the tense mood that had gripped Ye Ji and Hyun Min dissolved, and they both giggled with amusement.
“So, let’s just organize our thoughts one way or another.”
Hyun Min spoke after finishing the cleanup.
After all, Ye Ji was already an artist with clear thematic awareness.
Even when she presented different works each time, there was an unchanging center to her art.
“Right, let’s finish up and go home.”
Ye Ji settled herself back in her seat with a calmer mind.

***
The next day, at Blank’s Seoul branch.
The curator clutched at her hair as she stared at the inbox that had accumulated overnight.
“Did Korea have this many artists?”
Emma, who was in Seoul on a business trip, adjusted her glasses as she checked files.
After staring at monitors all day, she simply couldn’t keep her contact lenses in.
“That’s how it is. What’s visible is the top one percent. Those making a living are another top twenty percent below that.”
The rest maintained the art world with nothing but hope—or despair, who could tell—neither opportunity nor prospects in sight.
They sustained art while holding down day jobs just to survive.
“Since these people are all newcomer artists, wouldn’t most of them be like that?”
Just among domestic artists meeting the criteria, there were over five hundred applicants.
“We moved up the schedule because there were a few artists we didn’t want to lose….”
Emma said so,
but to be more honest, seeing Ye Ji’s application had also made her anxious.
Hearing rumors that a rival gallery was planning a similar event next year had prompted them to accelerate the schedule.
There was that reason among others for boldly moving the dates forward.
Of course, they would lose some artists this way.
But on the other hand, only those truly committed to them would remain.
Not wanting to miss this opportunity was something both galleries and artists shared equally.
Nearly every artist they’d sent proposals to had responded.
Today’s work was just beginning, but they’d already received over three hundred emails.
“Let’s first sort out those whose portfolio work level seems ambiguous and those who look promising.”
After that, they planned to either coordinate or exclude those with overlapping themes or painting styles.
Blank’s newcomer exhibition this time was a very raw project.
Results determined entirely by popular vote—artwork carefully tailored to public taste.
Visitors would select three pieces they liked while touring the exhibition, and the first-place winner would be decided based on those votes.
“After all, if someone has held even a solo exhibition once, it means they have basic artistic quality.”
The gallery didn’t want to nitpick beyond that.
The one chosen for the New York exhibition would be that first-place winner alone.
A very clear criterion for results.
There was another reason they’d rushed artists to submit their work and thematic statements.
Carefully prepared materials could sometimes be over-decorated or had assistance added by others.
Just one day.
A hastily prepared portfolio and materials.
From these, an artist’s artistic quality and artistic vision would be laid bare, unavoidably.
“Those filtered out here have no choice about it.”
The Seoul branch’s director, who had been checking emails alongside Emma, suddenly let out a heavy sigh.
“Sometimes I feel a bit of self-doubt.”
In truth, evaluating artists based on such fragmentary aspects wasn’t really the best approach.
Some artists worked best with careful, methodical process; others made mistakes when rushed.
But the reason it had to be done this way was simple.
“Among all these artists, we have to choose too. There’s no way around it.”
This method, at least, was the best they could do.
Fine Art.
The purpose of artwork creation is art itself.
Yet the world has already begun ranking all value, judging everything.
Even artists with pure intentions must, inevitably, prove their worth by the same standards.
“Still, I feel like we’ve found an artist we’re wondering why we didn’t know about before.”
One of the curators, listening to the two directors’ conversation, turned her monitor to show them.
“Na Mi Rae?”
It was work from an artist they’d never seen before.
Emma adjusted her glasses again and checked the screen once more.
The work using mother-of-pearl, a traditional Korean material, held the quiet beauty of Korean sensibility.
Her prior solo exhibition experience was from two years ago at a small museum far away in Jeju.
“Hmm….”
Mother-of-pearl itself was distinctive, being made from shells.
“Jeju…?”
It seemed to be a small, little-known museum.
There wouldn’t have been articles or news coverage of significance.
Yet the portfolio had the feel of an artist with excellent education and an elite background.
“This could work.”
“Wasn’t there a sellout craze when Riole released mother-of-pearl jewelry boxes last year?”
A luxury brand had unexpectedly launched a product that became a surprise phenomenon.
As a result, mother-of-pearl products had become a must-have in high-society Korean tourist gifts.
Of course, there were many mother-of-pearl artisans in Korea, but most worked on furniture or decorative items.
An artist doing work with purely artistic intent, with such unique charm, was uncommon.
“This looks good, doesn’t it?”
Everyone agreed, and Na Mi Rae’s application passed through.
“This should be worth looking forward to.”
A group exhibition bringing together diverse artistic styles to receive the public’s choice.
Everyone felt tired, but whether from anticipation for what lay ahead, they soon began focusing on their work without complaint.
***

Is it an illusion that spring keeps growing shorter each year, or isn’t it?
Some students who already felt the heat had started wearing their summer uniforms.
Still, the advanced class held its sessions after sunset, so it remained a bit chilly.
Ye Ji, bringing a cardigan as she entered the studio, paused at the doorway.
Everyone was wandering around the classroom without finding their seats, a sight that gave her an odd sense of déjà vu.
‘I think something similar happened last year.’
Wondering why, she looked inside and noticed an arrangement different from usual.
Inside the studio, easels were positioned in pairs, back-to-back, with seating arranged for two people each.
Whatever the purpose, it was clear the arrangement was for pairs.
“We’re sitting in pairs?”
In the hesitant atmosphere, the two male students spoke up.
If Woo Jin and Ji Ho quickly paired off, the remaining person would be….
While Ye Ji hesitated, Ha Eun quickly linked her arm through Ye Ji’s.

“Then, senior, you’ll be with me…!”
“No?”

But before Ha Eun could finish, Young appeared from behind and separated the two linked arms.
Then she turned to Ha Eun and spoke.

“You’re doing it with me.”

Ha Eun frowned at Young, who said this while smiling brightly.

“But I’d prefer to do it with Ye Ji senior….”
“Do you even know what we’re doing?”
“Whatever it is…?”

When Young found the hole in Ha Eun’s blind agreement, Ha Eun couldn’t push back any further.
Though she continued to grumble her displeasure under her breath.
Young, pretending not to hear, ignored her and entered the classroom with her usual lightness.
But wait a second.

“So….”

That left…….
“Yeah, you sit over there at the end with So Min.”

At Young’s words, Ye Ji gave him a look of reproach for a moment.
It was clear that by Young’s nature, he wasn’t pairing them up with some naïve adult’s hope that they’d get along well.
He probably just wanted to see if anything interesting might happen!
But Young merely shrugged his shoulders lazily at that glare.

“Today you’ll be drawing in pairs of two.”

If it’s pairs of two, shouldn’t there be two chairs at one easel?
The arrangement with two people sitting back-to-back at separate easels seemed odd.
In response to the students’ puzzled expressions, Young explained with his characteristic nonchalant tone.

“You’ll take turns describing a sentence to each other in relay while conceptualizing the artwork, then each of you draws a picture according to those descriptions.”

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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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