The Reborn Genius of an Arts High School - Chapter 33

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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 33.
‘Wow…’
Ye-ji found herself marveling at several things as she climbed into Myeong-hui’s car almost by accident.
‘It feels like it’s glued to the ground……’
Was it because she had no particular fascination with sports cars?
The interior design was refined and sleek enough to draw admiration at first glance, but the ride was disappointing.
She’d expected something so expensive to be supremely comfortable.
The lower sightline compared to ordinary cars seemed to be making her carsick instead.
“How are you finding school?”
Ye-ji turned her head toward the sound of Myeong-hui’s question, pulled from her scattered thoughts.
“Oh, it’s good. Still, I get to experience far more variety than I would at a regular high school.”
It might have been textbook as answers go, but her genuine feeling about the school came through.
If she’d gone to a regular school instead, stuck staring at textbooks from first period through eighth, sometimes even until evening self-study—
what would that have been like?
“Half the day I can learn things I actually care about.”
Of course, learning boring things was a necessary fate of being human.
But understanding that was separate from the inescapable human stubbornness of not wanting to do something anyway, wasn’t it?
Myeong-hui laughed lightly at Ye-ji’s words.
“Still, I’d say that’s meaningful enough—attending an arts school.”
“I suppose so.”
“Do you have any close friends?”
Close friends?
“Oh, Da-hye. She’s in the same department—there’s this girl who draws really well.”
“……Besides her, is there anyone else?”
Hyun-min did cross Ye-ji’s mind at the question, but something about it suddenly struck her as odd.
It was hard to tell what she was really asking.
Why would she want to know that?
When Ye-ji hesitated, Myeong-hui laughed lightly.
“Just wondering. No particular reason.”
Why did the expression on her face seem tinged with regret?
The brief conversation brought them to a destination not far away.
A massive shopping mall under SS Group, located in the heart of Seoul.
“Thank you.”
Ye-ji followed Myeong-hui as she handed off the car to a valet attendant and headed inside, discovering a corridor she’d never seen before.
She hadn’t known a shopping mall like this even had valet parking at a ground-level lot.
The corridor leading directly to the luxury goods section was filled with all manner of artwork.
Works ranged from those of Kusama Yayoi, famous for her sculptures, to modern and contemporary pieces that filled the empty spaces of the corridor.
What was particularly distinctive was that pop art dominated, with the colors of the works skewing heavily toward blue tones.
Even Kusama Yayoi’s piece wasn’t the polka-dotted pumpkin most people knew, but a fish painting.
Summer would be here soon—had they arranged this cool atmosphere in advance?
The weather had begun to feel warm enough that the heating seemed stifling, so the sense of coolness emanating from the artwork felt refreshing.
“It’s this way.”
As she followed Myeong-hui deeper in, an elevator appeared right next to the luxury goods section.
“Ah, okay….”
What was she bringing her here for, anyway?
With that thought, the basement level they descended to connected directly to the Aquarium.
What did it feel like to own a business under your own name that included a shopping center and aquarium like this?
Wouldn’t you just get in free by mentioning your name?
Holding onto such naive expectations, Ye-ji intently watched Myeong-hui make her way to the ticket booth.
“Two tickets, please.”
But to her surprise, Myeong-hui simply purchased tickets like any ordinary visitor.
“Do you happen to have any discount vouchers? There are benefits with certain telecom companies or credit cards……”
The attendant, who had been responding kindly, glanced up at Myeong-hui and froze.
Her expression flickered as if to say, “No, it couldn’t be…” but then she looked at Myeong-hui again.
And her eyes widened.
“Um… how……”
Still half-uncertain, Myeong-hui simply answered as if she didn’t know what the woman meant.
“Just use this, please.”
As she spoke, she produced a jet-black Black Card, and the attendant’s expression shifted to absolute certainty.
So that was what a Black Card looked like?
The attendant took the card with slightly trembling hands and kept glancing between Myeong-hui and Ye-ji as she processed the payment.
“…Well, with the cardholder benefits, one accompanying person gets a discount. I’ve applied that for you.”
Even as the attendant spoke, her expression conveyed confusion about whether she was handling this correctly.
Fair enough….
“Thank you.”
Myeong-hui responded plainly and headed toward the aquarium entrance with their tickets.
Ye-ji wondered for a moment why the aquarium of all places, but more than that, pure curiosity struck her first.
“Couldn’t you just get in free as the chairman?”
“I technically could, but that would be too conspicuous.”
Saying she had no intention of drawing attention, Myeong-hui stepped inside with familiar ease.
It felt like she was experiencing the life of the wealthy.
Once inside, the familiar sight of an aquarium unfolded before her.
Deep blue and dimly lit.
From easily accessible fish to rare species.
Looking at the strangely shaped aquatic life, Ye-ji suddenly realized something.
‘Oh, I’ve never been here before.’
She’d known such a place existed near Seoul.
A nearby destination she could visit whenever she wanted.
But perhaps for that very reason, she’d never actually come.
Brilliant blue ripples scattered light in all directions amid the sound of water splashing around her.
“The person Ye-ji will be creating a work for, and I—there’s something rather special about the aquarium between us.”
Through Myeong-hui’s sudden words, Ye-ji understood why they had come to this place.
And the light in Myeong-hui’s eyes as she spoke seemed unusually warm.
A conglomerate chairman’s grand gift, given with intention.
She’d naturally assumed it was for some business purpose.
But in this moment, watching Myeong-hui smile beneath the shadows cast by the blue water, Ye-ji became certain.
The person Myeong-hui was giving this work to was undoubtedly someone emotionally important to her.
“I don’t necessarily want a work directly related to this place or anything like that.”
Myeong-hui added this clarification, as if to prevent misunderstanding.
“I just thought it might help somehow with making the work itself.”
Sharing this much information seemed like a matter of courtesy to her.
Ye-ji couldn’t help but find sense in it.
“Ah, one thing though—I’d prefer if you didn’t talk to others about the work itself.”
It wasn’t as if mentioning it to others would spread rumors; the work wasn’t famous enough for that.
Did she really need to worry the news might reach the person who would receive the gift?
Ye-ji thought as much, but ultimately it was the client’s request.
She didn’t press further, simply nodding in acknowledgment.
“Yes, I understand.”
Even so, they hadn’t yet seen half of the aquarium.
She’d thought it would be relatively small since it occupied part of the shopping mall.
‘This place is actually quite expansive…’
She could have come to look around ages ago.
It seemed a shame to leave now, but taking it all in thoroughly would take considerable time.
Watching Myeong-hui check the time several times, Ye-ji spoke up perceptively.
“I’d like to take my time and see everything. Will you head back first?”
Myeong-hui, who had been checking the time, replied with a somewhat apologetic expression.
“Still, I brought you all the way here. I should at least drive you home, shouldn’t I?”
While Myeong-hui was surely sincere, Ye-ji felt it would be a shame to leave now.
Gratefully declining her goodwill, she responded politely.
“It’s fine. My home is just one bus ride away from here, so I can manage on my own.”
Myeong-hui didn’t press the matter further.
With a word of thanks, she left first.
Despite it being a weekday afternoon, there were many visitors of various ages around her.
Tourists, couples, families.
“……”
Being alone among them would normally make most people feel lonely, but not Ye-ji.
Instead, she felt as though she’d become some omniscient presence observing them all.
She slowly walked past creatures drifting between the mysterious, luminous glow.
A sparkle of a different quality from what she saw and felt in her everyday life.
Though the aquarium overflowed with brilliant blue light, the atmosphere itself felt warm.
Everyone seemed happy, seemed content.
With countless sights lodged in her eyes and her heart floating free,
Ye-ji boarded a bus heading home.
The moment she sat in an empty seat, she pulled out her phone.
[Contract signed.]
The moment she posted the four words to the group chat with Hyun-min and Da-hye, responses came immediately.
The two quickly asked what terms the contract contained, and Ye-ji relayed the details.
The chairman had left most decisions to Ye-ji’s discretion, so there really wasn’t much to tell.
[Hyun-min: But why’d it take so long?]
She was about to mention they’d gone to the Aquarium, but then quickly deleted the message.
A certain impression had vaguely surfaced from the scenery she’d just witnessed.
If the things she’d seen at the aquarium influenced the work, then keeping quiet about it would be the proper courtesy to the client.
[There’s something to it.]
Vast and blue.
Cold as anything, yet somehow warm.
As Ye-ji recalled the images flickering across her vision, she identified one problem.
[I might need to find a studio to do the work.]
The two had different reactions to her statement.
[Hyun-min: What]
[Hyun-min: Why a studio?]
[Hyun-min: How big are you planning to go?]
[Da-hye: Amazing amazing]
[Da-hye: Where will you find one?]
[Da-hye: Near your place? Near school?]
Why did she hear their loud voices so clearly even though they weren’t beside her?
Among the flurry of chaotic messages, Ye-ji answered thoughtfully.
[Just, something too small doesn’t seem worth doing.]
[I’m not sure about the location]
[Can you even find something short-term on such notice?]
This time, both of them had the same reaction.
[Hyun-min: I’m not sure about that either….]
[Da-hye: Short-term rentals show up on the internet all the time]
[Da-hye: Is that not an option?]
[Hyun-min: Shouldn’t we check with a real estate agent or something?]
…..She had no idea either.
In moments like this, the reality that they were just eighteen suddenly hit home.
The three of them, exchanging only question marks back and forth, eventually reached the conclusion that they’d have to ask their parents.
Around that point, Ye-ji felt carsickness settling in on the swaying bus and slipped her phone into her pocket.
Looking out the window, the sun had completely set.
Artificial light shining from all directions dizzied her eyes.
Vehicle headlights, shop signs, street lamps.
Among the varied lights filling the darkness, street trees sprouting new leaves were shedding green.
Spring, now fully arrived, was preparing to yield to summer.
Ye-ji suddenly felt grateful for the landscape her eyes perceived, savoring the view.
***
Life at Cheongrim Arts High School is utterly boring.
Park Se-hui had always thought so since entering the Modeling Department.
Her expectation that it would be more vibrant than ordinary humanities tracks had been wrong.
Cheongrim was a school where the cream of students gathered from across the nation.
Whether of their own will or their parents’, they were children filled with ambition and drive.
Competitions, contests, practical training—even doing such things wasn’t particularly fun.
In the end, everything happened within a predetermined curriculum.
In how it prioritized results and grades, it was no different from regular tests.
Teachers and students worked within frameworks, following set methodologies like pieces in a mold.
Visual arts, music, modeling, acting, athletes.
They all looked different, but in the end, they were all the same.
Pushing toward the same goal with all their might, graded and ranked.
And the students staked their lives on those rankings.
‘Does anyone really need to live that competitively?’
If anything, in that respect, the arts school was far less free than regular humanities high schools.
With only more things to do, moments when you forgot what you even wanted in the first place.
Se-hui didn’t much enjoy that kind of life.
And then there was this.
“What, my uncle’s transferred modeling fees again….”
Se-hui sighed, complicated and weary, watching the substantial sum stamped with the name ‘Park Seong-su’ in her bank account.
Her uncle.
Her father’s younger brother was that famous photographer, Park Seong-su.

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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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