The Reborn Genius of an Arts High School - Chapter 133

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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 133.
Jin Ho’s wait for Goyo, filled with tension and anticipation, was not a long one.
Goyo arrived precisely at the appointed time.
At the sound of her footsteps as a staff member led her in, he reflexively rose from his seat.
Soon, the two of them entered the office.
A young-looking female student and a neat-looking male student.
If one of them was Goyo…
Was this really the nineteen-year-old who had placed in the Blank Competition, the one known as Goyo?
“…Hello…!”
He’d steeled himself, but he couldn’t entirely suppress his bewilderment.
Jin Ho found himself offering a stiff greeting, half a beat too late.
The two teenagers struck him as younger than he’d expected, even ordinary.
“Hello. I’m Ye Ji, working under the name Goyo.”
“I’m Hyun Min, whom you’ve been corresponding with by email. I manage things for her.”
After an unremarkable exchange of handshakes, they sat down.
But Jin Ho’s mind was in complete disarray.
The real identity of the person he’d been searching for over half a year was sitting before him.
In a form he’d never once imagined.
Had he failed to find her because he’d never considered the possibility that she might be a high school student?
Or would he have failed to find her anyway?
He’d come together with her by chance, yes, but…
Had he simply wasted time due to his own narrow thinking, or would it have been difficult even if he’d considered it?
Even he couldn’t quite pinpoint where this confusion was coming from.
“Let’s have something to eat first. You came straight from school, didn’t you?”
“Yes, thank you for your consideration.”
After a brief greeting, the meal began.
In a typical journalist-and-artist meeting, such a private setting wouldn’t have been necessary.
But this meeting was different.
“How did you figure it out?”
After all, this meeting existed only because Sung Jin Ho had recognized that Ye Ji was Goyo.
At her question, Jin Ho scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
For quite some time, he’d been investigating Goyo’s true identity alone.
How many painters existed in the world, how many were in Korea or connected to it.
This opportunity had taught him anew.
“After that interview at Celian last time, I’d been keeping an eye on things.”
Then I happened upon Blank’s new talent discovery project exhibition.
After digging through hundreds, thousands of entries,
it wasn’t difficult to recognize something familiar among fewer than fifty artworks.
“If something can become a scoop, it’s my job to dig into it.”
As an art journalist, he didn’t have any grand convictions or lofty goals about art itself.
He simply had an eye that could distinguish these things.
The ability to evaluate what he saw with clean, precise prose was merely a bonus.
“So you wanted to discover Goyo’s identity on your own and break the story?”
Her question could have sounded sharp.
Jin Ho paused before answering.
“…I did think that if the revelation came someday, I’d like it to be through me.”
But he hadn’t thought it had to be right now, he added with a shrug.
The simple reason he’d been able to maintain his reputation and work as a journalist for so long in this field was quite straightforward.
When he wrote articles that reflected what he saw and expressed what he wanted to express,
he received good evaluations and recognition.
This time was no exception.
He simply wanted to write more freely about Goyo, who seemed far from ordinary.
Of course, he wasn’t scheming to expose her carelessly.
“Last time, Celian was involved, and unfortunately this time Hansung is too. When corporations are involved, I can’t write the articles I want.”
The reason Jin Ho had so desperately searched for her identity.
He was explaining that reason now.
“Of course, you’re relatively generous about letting me express my own views. But from the questionnaire to having the article reviewed before publication—articles that pass through so many hands aren’t really to my taste.”
In fact, this interview too was being conducted to commemorate the launch of the Goyo-Hansung edition.
Admittedly, for a simple article, it was quite a substantial job financially.
But the problem was that anyone could write such an article if paid.
If you only do what anyone can do, you can always be replaced.
He wanted to write about Goyo from his own unique perspective.
“So if we avoid going through the corporation, we need to know the identity to push something through.”
You weren’t even answering calls, after all.
Jin Ho added it jokingly, but since it was true, Ye Ji smiled awkwardly, looking a bit caught.
Hearing his explanation, Ye Ji nodded with a slightly surprised expression.
“I didn’t realize that was your intention.”
“Would you have met me if you’d known beforehand?”
“…Well.”
At his question, Ye Ji rolled her eyes as if she hadn’t heard.
“See? If you wouldn’t have met me even knowing, then that’s why I had to search so hard, isn’t it?”
At that, Jin Ho laughed.
Still, facing an adult nearly twice her age,
Ye Ji maintained appropriate courtesy without appearing overly tense or uncomfortable.
After learning his intention, the atmosphere had grown warmer.
He had no interest in exposing Goyo’s identity.
He simply wanted to introduce her work and the artist Goyo who created it.
Merely learning that they shared the same purpose made this meal meaningful.
“I’ll pay for the meal.”
As they rose to leave, Ye Ji said this.
Jin Ho’s expression grew troubled.
“No, still…”
Still?
A hint of playfulness flickered in the eyes of the Ye Ji who had seemed so plain and docile.
Her gaze suggested that surely he knew of her wealth.
She was quite bold, and it was true.
“…Then I won’t refuse.”
Though she appeared to be just a young student, if she was truly Goyo, that changed everything.
How could her wealth compare to a mere journalist’s salary?
After understanding each other’s intentions and goals,
the interview that began in the new location proceeded very smoothly.
The direct purpose was of course to promote Hansung’s new product.
There had been prepared questions exchanged beforehand, but the interview flowed more naturally than expected.
In particular, Jin Ho deftly wove together Hansung’s marketing points and Ye Ji’s artistic philosophy through skillfully crafted questions.
All the prior concerns proved baseless.
The interview concluded calmly in an atmosphere both peaceful and stable.
***
[Exclusive Interview] Hansung & Goyo, A New Leap. Beyond the Boundary of Art and Technology.
Domestic artist Goyo, who stirred headlines last year through collaboration with a certain high-end fashion brand.
Shrouded in mystery, she has once again appeared before the public with a new work.
It is none other than Hansung Electronics’ new product launch project.
…(excerpt)…
Q. Your signature analog brush touch is preserved entirely in the product. What efforts went into incorporating it?
Goyo: Hansung’s technological capability was a tremendous help.
I simply worked hard to produce the best work I could. The implementation was carried out diligently by the technical and design teams.
I’d like to express my gratitude once more through this opportunity.
Q. I understand that the most crucial condition for this collaboration was its connection to charitable work.
I’m curious what prompted you to conceive and lead such a unique collaborative form.
Goyo: Honestly, I did give it some thought. Working with Hansung is an honor, but I’d intended to take a brief rest at this time.
So precisely speaking, I needed a catalyst.
Hansung proposed the concept of donation first, and that proposal became the catalyst for my participation in this project.
Q. Among the videos already shown in advertisements, the jewelry box-shaped packaging has also become quite the topic.
I understand you personally proposed this unconventional idea.
I’d like to hear specifically what vision led to such a conception.
Goyo: I tend to draw inspiration from everyday life.
The way many different things are compressed, then refined and polished in multiple directions.
And in the aspect of holding infinite possibility—I found common ground between my work, Hansung Electronics’ products, and jewelry.
Since the concept came from such thinking, it naturally followed that I wanted to express this in the packaging as well.
…(excerpt)…
Artist Goyo, who has maintained strict anonymity even amid countless calls from global brands.
Within that brief interview, we glimpsed the uncompromising dignity and steadfast artistic philosophy underlying the artist called a genius.
An artist who transformed the flat canvas into an everyday essential transformed into a high-end art piece—Goyo.
Beyond mere commercial collaboration with corporations, her next moves, having converted her artistic influence into a force for good, are eagerly anticipated.
—Sung Jin Ho, Korean Metro
asdf****: I thought it was someone, turns out it’s that person? Celian flashback?
kore****: Is she famous? She was pretty though…
kims****: Pre-orders start tomorrow?
jinh****: Please please I just want one
arty****: Wait so who exactly is this Goyo person??
jss0****: Hansung being Hansung, their marketing is always on point, Goyo at this timing
***
As news and advertisements for Hansung’s new product poured in from media outlets everywhere,
Hansung opened pre-orders for the new product.
Of course, the product was delivered to Ye Ji before pre-orders began.
‘It feels too soon to use something that hasn’t hit the market yet…’
It would be too blatant, like announcing “I’m Goyo!” to the world.
She planned to start using it once it officially launched.
The first semester, which she’d expected to spend leisurely, passed swiftly amid various incidents.
And before she knew it, the final class of the Special Class for the first semester was right around the corner.
It felt like she’d only skipped three or so times.
Given the nature of the Special Class with its infrequent sessions, it felt like it had been ages since she last came.
Almost two weeks, wasn’t it?
Ye Ji, sitting before an easel lined up alongside others in the Studio, glanced to her side.
“…Are you angry?”
Ha Eun’s pouting expression—her lips jutting out—was obvious to anyone.
Her face seemed to be begging to be asked about it.
“Of course!”
At Ye Ji’s question, Ha Eun burst forth with words as if she’d been waiting for this.
“I came here to take class with you, senior…!”
Ha Eun did glance at So Min, who sat at the back of the classroom, but that was all.
“What’s the point if you’re not here?!”
At Ha Eun’s straightforward complaint, Ye Ji was taken aback.
Where even to start pointing this out?
She’d learned this time that being resented was tiring, but admiration and favor were quite tiring too.
The very notion that Ha Eun had joined the Special Class because of her was strange to begin with.
The teachings she received here held meaning for Ye Ji too—they were quite valuable.
If she applied herself seriously, it would be good for her too.
‘…But saying that would make me sound incredibly preachy.’
As she held back the urge to nag, a senior only one year ahead giving advice she shouldn’t be giving,
Young finally entered the classroom last.
Seeing Ye Ji, whom she hadn’t seen in a while, she waved cheerfully and spoke in her ever-lighthearted tone.
“Wow, I haven’t seen your face in ages. Did the job go well?”
“It did. Thanks to it, my already busy schedule got even busier.”
At Ye Ji’s half-joking reply, Young burst into laughter.
As she would, Young had given her homework without mercy—to paint as many works as the number of classes she’d missed.
As always, the class theme led Ye Ji toward new ways of thinking she’d never considered before.
So busy though it was, it was enjoyable.
Except for one thing.
After much deliberation, Ye Ji had not completed one final assignment.
“Why didn’t you do this one?”
At Young’s question, Ye Ji didn’t answer immediately but paused.
That assignment’s theme was something Ye Ji no longer needed to consider.

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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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