The Reborn Genius of an Arts High School - Chapter 28

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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 28.
“Nice to meet you. You’re Ye-ji, right?”
Huh?
Ye-ji was caught off guard when the chairman suddenly extended her hand.
Fortunately, the genes of the Eastern Land of Propriety kicked in reflexively, and she grasped her hand.
Ye-ji shook hands and offered a greeting almost instinctively.
“Yes, hello….”
They avoided any awkward moment, but Ye-ji’s mind was still brimming with bewilderment.
“I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Shin Myung-hee.”
Shin Myung-hee, chairman of SS Group.
A second-generation Chaebol carrying on the business her founder father had left behind.
With her department stores and comprehensive cultural leisure facilities, her company ranked at the very top domestically.
Once she confirmed the name and face, Ye-ji recognized a familiar presence she’d often seen in the news.
‘She heard about me….’
But from where?
Ye-ji glanced at Hae-yun, who had just gotten out of the car on the other side.
Rather than offering an explanation as she’d hoped, Hae-yun simply gave a lazy wave in greeting.
Han-gyu, who would normally have helped, was too busy reporting something to Hae-yun at the moment.
“Shall we head in? It’s still cold out.”
“Yes, this way….”
Why had she ended up escorting a major conglomerate chairman?
Confused as she was, it felt rude to leave while the woman continued speaking to her.
As they entered the Seohwa Art Gallery, Ye-ji felt people’s attentive gazes all around.
She could hear the visitors openly murmuring, speculating that she and the chairman were acquainted.
“You don’t need to be so nervous. What would I know about art? I’m sure you know more than I do.”
Wasn’t that remark too modest coming from someone whose art collection easily exceeded hundreds of billions in value?
Setting aside the sudden appearance of this VIP, Ye-ji was even more flustered by her unexpected warmth.
She found herself searching her memory to see if they’d met before.
“Ye-ji, where were you….”
As they stepped inside, she encountered her parents, who had been looking for her.
The face of Myung-hee, the conglomerate chairman, was more widely recognized than that of most entertainers.
Ye-ji’s parents, quickly grasping the situation, were momentarily at a loss for words.
Then Myung-hee readily spoke first.
“Are you Ye-ji’s parents?”
“Ah, yes. This is our mom and dad.”
Fortunately, the etiquette ingrained through habit surfaced like a reflex, even in this bewildering moment.
Ye-ji’s parents also reflexively exchanged greetings with the chairman.
All three family members wore nearly identical stunned expressions, though the chairman’s face remained bright.
“I see, how nice to meet you this way. By the way, is everything well at school?”
Why would the chairman be curious about that?
Ye-ji barely swallowed the blunt words that nearly spilled out.
“Well…. But why would school….”
It was Ye-ji’s father who finally posed the question, his tone cautious.
The middle-aged woman continued smiling, bright and cheerful.
Yet the chairman, with her subtle charisma, made it difficult to feel at ease, answered smoothly.
“I take quite an interest in Cheongrim.”
Ye-ji felt like she was beginning to grasp things a little.
Could SS Group be among the companies sponsoring their school?
If so, it wasn’t entirely unreasonable for the chairman to take notice of someone who had suddenly become prominent at school.
“Oh, you’ve come! It’s been so long since I’ve seen you!”
Just as if on cue, Tae-gyung, the gallery director, approached and began conversing with the chairman.
The timing was perfect.
Ye-ji gave the chairman a light nod of acknowledgment, bowed slightly, and slipped away.
“Grandfather!”
Rather than the unfamiliar conglomerate chairman, Ye-ji was far more delighted to see Hae-yun, whom she hadn’t met in a month.
As she rushed toward him, Hae-yun, who had been receiving greetings with a lukewarm demeanor, turned toward her.
“Where have you been running around, making it so hard to even see your face!”
Ye-ji laughed at Hae-yun’s gruff tone.
It was quite a talent to express affection so fiercely.
“Grandfather, you look younger when I see you in Seoul.”
“Nonsense!”
While Ye-ji was certainly curious about why he’d come with the SS Group chairman, her priorities were clear.
“Aren’t you going to see my work?”
She wanted to show him her painting.
Would this work too have satisfying results for Hae-yun?
Would this work too draw forth the interest and emotion of those who mattered?
That was Ye-ji’s greatest concern right now.
“I plan to look through everything in order.”
But the Opening was about to begin.
When Hae-yun flatly refused, Ye-ji felt a pang of disappointment, though she understood.
Given the tight schedule, she couldn’t expect him to view only her work.
There were so many pieces by his students and disciples in the separate wing.
***
“We will now begin the Opening of the solo exhibition by Master Jung Hae-yun, ‘Blooming Upon Silence.'”
The Opening had finally begun.
The emcee’s voice came through the speakers from the main exhibition hall.
People who had been scattered about viewing works began to gather in one place.
As people dressed in all manner of attire congregated, their numbers turned out to be larger than expected.
Given Hae-yun’s fastidious nature, the Opening was perfunctory to the point of being brief.
The director taking the stage to deliver remarks about the exhibition planning and gratitude was essentially the entire program.
‘Clean and simple.’
There wasn’t even time for the viewers to grow bored.
Next came the docent session with the artists aside from Hae-yun.
Since they naturally had to move from the main hall to the separate wing.
Ye-ji had been assigned to go first.
“The work displayed in this passage is by Ye-ji, a second-year student currently enrolled at Cheongrim Art High School.”
Should she consider being first an advantage?
Though the pressure was substantial, it was actually a favorable position—she could leave the strongest first impression on the viewers.
Following the content provided beforehand, the curator began a brief explanation.
Ye-ji watched with a trembling heart.
“As the title, ‘Four Seasons,’ suggests, this work captures the beautiful four seasons of Korea in a single canvas.”
An explanation of her work coming from someone else’s mouth.
Since the curator was reciting almost verbatim what she had provided, Ye-ji felt as if she were delivering the presentation herself.
“Through the four seasons, the work shows the compressed flow of time, while simultaneously, through the series format, inviting viewers to slowly contemplate the delicate emotions and transformations inherent in each moment, reflecting the artist’s intent.”
The moment her intentions, given form through language, were being explained through someone else’s voice.
Dozens of people surrounding the work were focusing intently.
“Beginning with the delicate new leaves sprouting in spring, through to the gradually withering flowers as winter arrives, and the flowing stream traversing the entire canvas—all symbolically convey the continuity of time and the flow of vitality.”
Ye-ji found herself studying the expressions of those listening to the explanation in the front row.
Seohwa Art Gallery’s director, Tae-gyung.
Jung Hae-yun, who had made this moment possible.
Pride shone in their expressions, and Ye-ji found herself smiling along.
Having proven herself to those who believed in her was meaning enough.
Of course, beyond them, the chairman of SS Group and others also wore expressions of interest, so she was sufficiently satisfied.
“The artist conveys the joys and sorrows of human emotion within nature’s changes through metaphor in natural objects,”
This was as far as Ye-ji had provided content to the curator.
The curator glanced at Ye-ji briefly, then offered a concise, objective evaluation.
“The delicate aesthetic sensibility and rich variations achieved through diverse materials effectively convey this intent, creating a work that allows viewers to viscerally experience both the passage of time and the emotions of life.”
The curator’s explanation concluded.
Brief murmurs of admiration from the audience followed, then the formal remarks continued.
“Do you have any questions?”
A trait of Korean culture, perhaps.
In moments like this, people rarely volunteered questions readily.
Especially when experts and non-experts were mixed together.
Ye-ji naturally assumed there would be none, but someone raised their hand.
Since the person was among the crowd, she couldn’t see their face clearly.
“Are the moments captured in the work entirely imaginary, or are they scenes containing the artist’s actual experiences?”
It was the voice of a man who seemed to be middle-aged.
Since Ye-ji hadn’t prepared this answer beforehand with the curator, she naturally looked to him.
‘Would you like to answer directly?’
The curator silently posed the question with his lips, making it easy for her to decline if she wished.
Since there was no reason to avoid the question, Ye-ji stepped forward gladly.
The curator then naturally introduced her.
“The artist Ye-ji will answer directly.”
“Hello. I’m Ye-ji.”
Ye-ji bowed slightly toward the people surrounding her and the work, then raised her head.
Mostly middle-aged and older adults.
It was a situation perfectly suited to inspire pressure, yet their eyes were all warm and welcoming.
Most glanced at her briefly before turning their attention back to the work.
Surprise, curiosity.
All those gazes, converging into interest.
Ye-ji answered calmly before them.
“All the moments in this work stem from landscapes in my own memory.”
And then, she pointed directly at Hae-yun standing in front.
“In particular, the bold lines of the snowy mountain depicted in the winter scene were created while recalling my encounter with Master Jung Hae-yun.”
The vivid teachings and the powerful impressions received from her master’s perfect works.
“That winter section, expressed most in the Eastern style, is where I’ve incorporated that.”
Ye-ji gestured to the upper portion of the winter section as she explained.
After all, this exhibition was Jung Hae-yun’s, and she occupied her place only through his generosity.
No matter how much attention her work received, Ye-ji never forgot that it was thanks to Hae-yun.
So if she were to offer explanation, it was only right to mention the parts connected to him.
When Ye-ji mentioned Hae-yun, the eldest and protagonist of this space, the audience was moved.

“Nonsense!”
As Hae-yun’s gruff voice interjected in response to Ye-ji’s remark, the audience burst into laughter.
An exchange between an aged master and a fresh high school artist.
It appeared to them as a warm and beautiful relationship.
“Is your use of diverse materials a kind of showing off your skill?”
The next question came from someone who raised her hand—Shin Myung-hee, the SS Group chairman.
“No, showing off? That’s….”
The word she’d chosen was so strong that Ye-ji reflexively denied it.
But upon reflection, there was no reason to completely deny it.
“…I can’t deny it entirely. To be precise, I’d say it’s showing off my potential.”
Ye-ji spoke confidently, meeting Myung-hee’s gaze.
The chairman’s artificially smiling expression shifted slightly.
Showing off wasn’t inherently bad.
Presenting what one does well through skillful presentation was no different from a kind of self-promotion.
“Because I made all the decisions about every material, composition, and presentation myself.”
Eastern materials and painting styles weren’t Ye-ji’s specialty.
Someone viewing this work might think Ye-ji had tremendous skill in Eastern painting, but that would be a slight misconception.
Because she herself controlled every element of the work.
Ye-ji had selected only what she could do well and incorporated it into her piece.
Autonomous planning, frank self-evaluation, and grounded confidence.
“Excellent.”
Had the smile she’d been wearing until now been merely a social mask?
The chairman’s smile, seemingly satisfied with the answer, now bore a sharper glint in her eyes.
“That was the answer from artist Ye-ji. Then, if there are no further questions, shall we move to the next location?”
Despite the curator’s words, the atmosphere among the people remained subtly tense.
They weren’t moving immediately, nor were there other questions.
Having read such atmospheres from experience, the curator added,
“For inquiries about acquiring the work, please find me after the docent session ends, and I’ll provide detailed information.”
Then, this way.
As the curator naturally added his words, people began to move.
‘Purchase….’
Several people, influential ones at that, had shown interest.
That would certainly stimulate people’s desire to own the piece.
Ye-ji followed the crowd toward the separate wing, carrying small hopes with her.

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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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