The Reborn Genius of an Arts High School - Chapter 138

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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 138.
Haksu learned about Ye Ji through a conversation with Kang Yura.
Kang Yura’s career was quite impressive.
Her skill had also surpassed the level of ordinary students who’d gone through the entrance examination process.
When asked why she’d chosen a domestic university despite being skilled enough to study abroad, Kang Yura gave a rather striking answer.
‘There’s someone I’m jealous of.’
Following that unexpected response came a story about a girl named Ye Ji.
The mention of Hae Yun was only briefly woven into it.
Though Kang Yura had a cool impression, she was a decent student with considerable passion.
‘I’m quite competitive. …Though I wonder when I’ll ever win.’
Ye Ji — a genius artist.
Because she had expressed a desire to focus her activities domestically and said there was still much to learn,
Kang Yura too had chosen to stay domestic, where she could continue to face off against her.
From the university’s professors to the dean himself,
Haksu, who had been watching young artists continuously, was seeing this kind of connection and relationship for the first time.
It was precisely this story that had brought him to seek out Hae Yun.
“So I hear this Ye Ji from Cheonglim is something special. Word is you’re fond of her, and apparently she won an award at Blank this time too?”
When he started looking into it, her name was being noticed in far more places than he’d expected.
Even Hye Ran, the head of Blank, seemed to be keeping a close eye on her.
He’d even heard that Blank’s New York exhibition was being expanded in scale beyond the original plan.
The fact that a mere teenage girl from the domestic art world had seized such opportunities struck Haksu as rather odd.
And she didn’t even come from any particularly distinguished background.
Just an ordinary girl from an ordinary family.
The degree of attention and favor she was garnering from those around her was far from ordinary.
“That girl does have something different about her.”
Watching Hae Yun speak with the air of someone bragging about a grandchild despite never having married, Haksu burst out laughing at the absurdity.
That Ye Ji had even wrapped around her aged, stubborn old friend like this.
The child now had him curious to the point of distraction.
“If she’s going to work domestically rather than study abroad, she’ll obviously end up at our university, so I’ll see her soon enough.”
“What makes you so certain? She could end up as my junior.”
There were several prestigious fine arts universities within Korea.
At Hae Yun’s comment, a Seoul National University graduate, Haksu gave an annoying shrug.
“That’s something anyone could say — who knows for sure.”
After letting that hang for a moment, Haksu casually brought up his real purpose.
“So, this Ye Ji… is she pretty busy these days?”
***
While those around her continued to shower Ye Ji with attention and interest,
the girl herself was practically living in her Studio during the break.
The expanded scale of the New York exhibition had become fresh fuel for her drive.
At home, she barely showered and slept before heading back to the Studio as if clocking in for work.
Ye Ji carefully examined the finished diamond she’d drawn, adding reflected light across its surface as she paused to assess the entire composition.
When mounting an exhibition, artists typically establish a concept and theme.
Though they shift over time, most artists tend to carry forward their concept in similar directions.
Just as when you say Kusama Yayoi, even people unfamiliar with art can describe her as ‘the artist with lots of dots on pumpkins.’
Most artists emphasize their own specialty and produce Series Works to remain memorable to the public.
Ye Ji, much like her previous Montrebleu works, which carried the concept of water and reflection,
was now pushing forward with pieces primarily depicting raw gemstones and jewels.
The Glazing Technique she was newly attempting also harmonized well with the works and sufficed to visualize the images in her mind.
Though the pieces might seem extravagant at first glance, Ye Ji’s characteristically soft color palette gently tempered their brilliance.
Rather than an image of luxury,
the radiance of essence and the elegance of having risen through prolonged hardship and adversity.
The emotion felt through the artwork showed a growth pushing beyond all barriers toward a new dimension.
……
Having finished one section of the painting, Ye Ji set down her brush and stretched with a groan.
It seemed she’d just arrived this morning, yet a considerable amount of time had passed.
For some reason, Hae Yun had said she’d stop by the Studio when she came to Seoul today.
She had something she wanted to talk about, and someone she wanted to introduce?
Huff…
Coming to her senses, Ye Ji realized the space was littered with opened paint containers.
Realizing how severe the paint smell had become, Ye Ji turned off the air conditioner and opened the windows for ventilation.
As she pushed the window wide open, hot, humid summer air rushed in along with the sound of cicadas from the hill.
Buam-dong, where the Studio was located, had plenty of slopes which was a drawback, but it had its advantages too.
The neighborhood, crowded with rocky hills and houses, smelled more of grass than exhaust.
The quiet charm of this neighborhood, unbelievable for being in the heart of Seoul, was its appeal.
After getting a good breath of outside air, Ye Ji took another look at the chaotic Studio.
“……This is pretty bad.”
At least there was a separate space downstairs, which was fortunate.
Thank goodness Seong Su was the landlord — any other owner would have had plenty to say about living like this.
Ye Ji tried scraping at the paint stains that had dried onto the floor and wouldn’t come off, then gave up.
‘I’ll just have it renovated later anyway…’
It wasn’t as though she didn’t have money and had to keep squatting in Seong Su’s Studio.
The biggest thing was that thanks to Seong Su, she could work without unnecessary worries.
The building owner himself had taken off somewhere right after the domestic exhibition ended and was nowhere to be found.
So there was no need to even think about moving the Studio.
If she left, Se Hee would have to make unnecessary trips for building maintenance.
‘For now, it’s better for both of us if I keep using it, honestly.’
His life, wandering between many countries and searching for new locations, seemed rather romantic too.
Moreover, he seemed to be collaborating with various companies after his work with Celian.
‘Now that I think about it, he mentioned this collaboration’s exhibition theme is animal protection.’
Since the biggest global issue lately was protecting nature and animals,
his works, which centered on the bond between nature and humans, held enough value to attract interest from major corporations.
Ye Ji, who’d been searching for a few more paint stains that wouldn’t wipe away, came back to herself.
‘…Oh right. This isn’t the time to be doing this.’
If Hae Yun was here, she’d probably want to see Ye Ji’s recent works in progress.
So for the sake of her social dignity, it seemed necessary to tidy up at least a little.
The problem was that there were more than ten paintings in the process of drying.
Better not to touch them carelessly and ruin them…
‘Let me just move things around and tidy the periphery…’
After all, how many artists actually work in a perfectly clean space?
Having rationalized this, Ye Ji began organizing the immediate surroundings to a reasonable degree.
At least the palettes, brushes, and empty paint containers she’d thrown around…
……
How were there so many of these!
Having started painting before the break and never cleaned up afterward, there was a surprising accumulation of empty paint tubes.
From tube types to cans.
By the time she overfilled the trash can and added several bags,
Brrring—
her mobile phone rang. Ye Ji picked it up and leaned her head out the window.
She could see Han Gyu’s familiar car.
“Hi!”
Ye Ji waved through the window as she answered the call.
Han Gyu in the driver’s seat lowered his window and returned the greeting with a gesture.
Hurrying down to the first floor, she saw Hae Yun getting out of the car.
“You must be tired from coming all this way.”
It seemed like it had been quite a while since they’d seen each other in person, exchanging only messages.
Greeted warmly, Hae Yun nodded in return.
“Are you very busy these days?”
“It’s always the same. Come in.”
And following Hae Yun came an unfamiliar man who extended his hand for a handshake.
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Haksu.”
“Oh, yes. Hello. I’m Ye Ji.”
Ye Ji found herself shaking hands and introducing herself without thinking.
Now that she thought about it, Hae Yun had mentioned wanting to introduce her to someone,
‘but I never asked who…’
The tendency to be indifferent to matters beyond necessary concern was something Ye Ji and Hae Yun shared like blood relatives.
“Just an iced coffee for me — the two of you can have something warm, made light.”
After exchanging a glad greeting with Han Gyu through eye contact, Ye Ji prepared the coffee according to his request.
Once they were seated, snacks that Han Gyu had brought appeared on the table.
Koreans never went anywhere empty-handed,
so the Studio was always overflowing with treats whenever visitors came.
As Ye Ji gazed at what looked like rather sophisticated cookies, waiting for the adults to take first, Hae Yun spoke.
“This is Dean Haksu. I told you, didn’t I? Someone’s curious about you.”
“Oh…”
At Hae Yun’s words, Ye Ji’s eyes widened slightly.
She had mentioned something like that, but a dean?
“What, she didn’t even tell you who I am?”
Seeing the surprise on Ye Ji’s face, Haksu let out an exasperated laugh and introduced himself again.
“I suppose I should reintroduce myself. I’m Haksu, currently serving as the dean of Korea University Fine Arts.”
Though Haksu wore a good-natured smile, Ye Ji was inwardly startled.
Korea University was among the most frequently heard university names at school.
Most of her classmates wanted to attend if their level was sufficient.
“Since you’ve become so well-known lately, I wanted to see your face ahead of time. I hope it wasn’t too much trouble asking you here?”
And he wasn’t just a professor from such a school — he was the dean, no less.
Haksu’s words were so gentle they were almost bewildering to Ye Ji.
“Oh, no. It’s fine. I’m not that famous or anything… These days I’m just focusing on my work.”
“Is that so? Well, that’s really reassuring.”
Unlike Hae Yun, Haksu was quite a grandfatherly figure with an easy atmosphere.
Though his eyes and face seemed to be around Hae Yun’s age, his expression and manner were much younger.
“Kang Yura mentioned you too.”
“…Kang Yura? My senior?”
That too was a name Ye Ji hadn’t heard in a very long time.
She and Kang Yura had never exchanged contact after she went to university.
Since they’d never been that close to begin with, Ye Ji hadn’t made any particular effort to reach out either.
Just a senior who’d graduated having left only a casual promise to see each other again someday.
‘She talked about me?’
That was somewhat unexpected.
Along with that came the thought that Kang Yura might have noticed that she was Goyo.
She wouldn’t know for sure until they met again.
“Usually at Ye Ji’s level, one would consider studying abroad, but hearing it from Kang Yura, she seems to have a strong attachment to Korea.”
Haksu’s explanation grew quite lengthy.
His somewhat roundabout way of speaking left Ye Ji briefly unable to discern his intention.
As she listened with a slightly confused expression,
the conversation soon turned toward the real point.
“And when considering university, I thought our school might be the best fit for you, Ye Ji…”
Ah.
At Dean Haksu’s words, Ye Ji’s expression became uncomfortable.
So that’s why he’d been circling around the point like this.
It sounded like he was basically saying she should come to Korea University where he was.
Caught off guard by this sudden topic, Ye Ji spoke hesitantly, unable to hide her bewilderment.
“…Actually, I wasn’t planning to go to university next year…?”

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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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