The Reborn Genius of an Arts High School - Chapter 39

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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 39.
“Ugh… this is way too awkward.”
Ye-ji found herself nodding vigorously at Hyun-min’s words.
The fact that Ye-ji and Yu-ra had become the center of the student group was absolutely not by choice.
It wasn’t even Yu-ra’s doing, so there was no one to blame.
“That girl…
“That person over there…?”
The second-years looked at Yu-ra, while the third-years looked at Ye-ji.
Each year level sent curious glances toward the top student from the other grade.
The two had become the focal point of the student group as a natural result of all those eyes converging on them.
“Ahem, everyone work on your own pieces, and gather back here by five!”
The teachers were well aware of this atmosphere.
As the most exceptional students in the school, they couldn’t help but notice.
It was merely interest and admiration for honor students, so there was no reason for the teachers to interfere—they simply let it be.
In fact, even the teachers seemed to be watching Ye-ji and Yu-ra.
Whether Ye-ji knew about these burdensome stares or not.
Yu-ra was already looking around to find the perfect spot to draw.
“Impressive.”
Da-hye shook her head in genuine admiration at Yu-ra’s attitude.
There was no sense of malice behind it.
‘…Let it go.’
Ye-ji also pulled her gaze away from Yu-ra at that point.
The weather was as clear as yesterday.
There was a slight chill in the breeze, but as a result, the fine dust was minimal, making the sky even clearer.
Fluffy clouds cast their shadows, and beneath the crystalline sunlight, flowers and leaves displayed their own vivid colors.
Regardless of the circumstances, the area in front of Changgyeonggung Palace Main Greenhouse was beautiful.
The greenhouse exuded a Western yet vintage atmosphere.
Since everything was meticulously arranged no matter where one stopped, it seemed one could draw anywhere without issue.
“Actually… maybe it’s too perfect, which is why it feels less inspiring to paint.”
Da-hye, who had been looking around like a tourist and snapping photos, threw out a half-joking remark.
After walking around with Da-hye as if taking a leisurely stroll.
Ye-ji settled into a spot near the entrance.
As she laid out her tools, Da-hye asked her a question.
“Watercolor painting?”
“I can’t do oil painting outdoors.”
The things Ye-ji had brought were no different from the other students’.
“That mindset of assuming color work is essential—isn’t that a little warped?”
In response to Ye-ji’s answer, Hyun-min, who had already settled into a spot sharpening his pencils, grumbled.
He had brought only pencils, planning to do sketching this time.
For this outdoor practice, that was acceptable.
Since they were working under the same conditions as the third-years who’d come along, there was no specific theme.
It was freedom in the sense that entrance exam practice was allowed, but Hyun-min had exploited that freedom by bringing only pencils.
“I mean, I’m grateful, but…”
Hyun-min trailed off and turned his gaze away.
His eyes landed on Yu-ra.
Unlike Ye-ji, she had settled into a spot further away, as if viewing the entire landscape.
“Heard she personally requested this outing and got permission from the school herself?”
At Hyun-min’s comment—true to his well-connected nature—Da-hye asked a question.
“How’d you know that?”
“A third-year senior I know told me. That one over there—the tallest one.”
“Oh, the most handsome senior?”
“…I wouldn’t know about that, but anyway. Apparently there are rumors that her family background isn’t ordinary.”
As she listened to the banter between Da-hye and Hyun-min with a familiar sense, Ye-ji sharpened her pencil a bit more.
“Usually quiet, but whatever she wants, she somehow gets. That’s the kind of person she is.”
Before Ye-ji could even ask, information about the senior Yu-ra was already etching itself into her mind.
“Good at studying, good at drawing too.”
In short, there was no one among her classmates who could rival her.
“Sometimes she helps her friends with their grades and gets them to do what she wants, apparently.”
That story was easy enough to believe.
It had been the same during the previous sketching session.
The other seniors had acted as though they had no choice but to comply with whatever this senior Yu-ra asked of them.
So… if she’s quiet, doesn’t that make her a bit shady?
Ye-ji, having sharpened her pencil point to a fine tip, frowned slightly.
While the two continued chattering, preparations were complete, so Ye-ji began to gently draw her pencil across the drawing paper.
An underdrawing is necessary for watercolor painting, but graphite is not a favorable element when it comes to watercolor pigment.
While keeping the composition as light and faint as possible, Ye-ji organized her mental imagery.
***
“Ugh, I’m starving. So hungry.”
“For real. This is Hyun-min’s two-hundredth time saying he’s hungry.”
“I’m hungry—what can I do? Teacher! When can we start eating lunch?”
Just as Ye-ji had finished roughing out the basic composition.
At Hyun-min’s insistence, the teachers told them to go ahead and eat lunch, then continue working afterward.
Everyone was supposed to bring their own bento box for lunch.
After all, parents were always busy.
Unlike Ye-ji, who had brought kimbap as usual, Da-hye and Hyun-min had proper bento boxes.
Actually, Hyun-min’s was a bit excessive.
“Man, I thought I’d die carrying this thing because it’s so heavy.”
As Hyun-min grumbled and pulled out his bento box, Da-hye nodded with a somewhat tired expression.
“You weren’t kidding… how is your bento box bigger than your art supplies?”
Da-hye’s box looked like an expensive purchase too, but Hyun-min’s was absolutely lavish.
A five-tiered bento box was packed full of picnic foods, each type neatly arranged.
And each tier wasn’t small either.
“I’m gonna share it with friends, so Mom went overboard, you know?”
But still, he couldn’t very well leave behind what she’d prepared for him.
With that addendum, Hyun-min looked a bit sheepish, but the bento box was undeniably impressive.
Ye-ji quickly plucked one of the inari sushi from Hyun-min’s box and popped it into her mouth.
The filling inside was rich with crab and all sorts of delicious ingredients.
“Still, when it comes to picnics, kimbap is the way to go. Kimbap wrapped in foil—that’s the golden standard, right?”
Da-hye said this for the sake of Ye-ji, who’d brought the most modest lunch.
Grateful for Da-hye’s thoughtfulness, Ye-ji pushed her entire portion of kimbap toward her.
“Go ahead, eat it all if you want.”
“Hey, hey, that’s not fair.”
“Then I’m stealing from Hyun-min’s bento box.”
At Ye-ji’s playful remark, Da-hye burst into laughter.
The voices of the three bickering caught the attention of other students nearby.
“Whoa, check out Hyun-min’s bento box!”
“Is this a buffet or something?”
“Hey guys! We got a party over here!”
Hyun-min’s spectacular bento box drew other friends over like bees to honey.
Soon more and more friends gathered around Ye-ji’s spot.
Hyun-min’s bento box had both quantity and quality.
As a result, the second-years soon clustered together and began sharing their lunches with one another.
Just as Da-hye had said, it really felt like they were on a picnic.
After everyone had eaten their fill and was cleaning up the area.
“Ye-ji.”
Yu-ra approached Ye-ji.
“…Hello?”
Not knowing what else to say, Ye-ji offered an awkward greeting.
“…”
Yu-ra acknowledged the greeting with just a nod, then suddenly handed Ye-ji a bottle of orange juice.
Then she turned her eyes toward Ye-ji’s drawing paper.
It appeared to be a completely blank sheet at first glance, but very faint pencil lines were visible.
“…The underdrawing?”
But even that was barely there, hardly what one would call an underdrawing.
Could she really have just been talking and playing this whole time?
Sensing Yu-ra’s questioning look, Ye-ji explained briefly.
“I’ve already worked out the composition. Now I just need to paint with pigment.”
She had only sketched guideline marks to establish perspective and proportion, things easy to misread.
Ye-ji simply wasn’t the type to spend a lot of time on underdrawn details.
Since the image was already complete in her mind, she could jump straight to finishing it more efficiently.
It wasn’t a conventional method, but it was awkward to call it any special technique or secret.
This was simply a habit carried over from her previous life, when Ye-ji’s vision had been incomplete.
After hearing Ye-ji’s explanation, Yu-ra nodded slightly and walked away.
‘What was that really…’
She asks a question, and then just leaves without saying anything more?
Suddenly, Ye-ji noticed traces on Yu-ra’s hands and the cuffs of her school uniform.
“…Pastel drawing?”
“Huh?”
Da-hye, who had been popping leftover cherry tomatoes into her mouth like a squirrel, mumbled unclearly.
“That senior seems to be using pastel drawing.”
“…That’s pretty unconventional, huh?”
After barely chewing and swallowing her tomato, Da-hye also peered at Yu-ra’s hands with a puzzled expression.
Pastel drawing, out of nowhere, for outdoor sketching practice—that was unusual.
Yu-ra had settled into a spot a bit away from the main greenhouse, where most of the third-years were clustered.
Unlike the naturally gathering and boisterous second-years, the third-years definitely had an edge to them.
Most of them seemed to be doing entrance exam practice, separate from what outdoor sketching typically entailed.
Even among them, Yu-ra stood apart, holding her pastel alone.
Perhaps because of the dust that scattered, there was no one near Yu-ra.
She looked somewhat lonely, sitting by herself.
‘It’s not my business.’
Ye-ji still couldn’t fathom Yu-ra’s intentions, but by this point, she could actually make some educated guesses.
Whatever else might be true, Yu-ra seemed eager to verify her own abilities.
‘She probably engineered this whole situation just to see my skills directly.’
What she was curious about probably wasn’t just the result but the process as well.
But reasoning and speculation could only go so far.
As long as there was no malice, there was no reason to worry about it.
The peaceful, leisurely air of late spring
A palace greenhouse mingling tourists and visitors.
Ye-ji was occupied simply with savoring the atmosphere.
While most students expressed what they saw as a landscape painting, Ye-ji decided to capture a perspective slightly different.
Before she earnestly began applying water to her brush.
Ye-ji first decided on a title and wrote it on the back of the paper.
<Lazy Spring>
Then Ye-ji pulled out her watercolor palette.
In the large palette, dozens of watercolor paints were arranged appropriately in their own compartments.
From vibrant rainbow hues to neutral tones.
The pigments, divided into neat sections and arranged beautifully, gave her a certain spiritual satisfaction.
Watercolor painting had its own charm in building up its characteristic clear colors, and Ye-ji didn’t mind it.
After filling her water jar and selecting her brushes, Ye-ji surveyed her surroundings once more.
Well-pruned trees and students, each holding a blank sheet of paper.
Late spring, drenched in brilliant sunshine.
Having once more savored the warm light surrounding her, Ye-ji immediately began to paint.
***
“…?”
Suddenly, Ye-ji became aware of the noise around her.
Having fallen into genuine focus before she knew it, she hadn’t noticed the passage of time.
‘Three hours have already gone by.’
Looking at her phone, which she’d placed beside her, she saw that considerable time had passed.
The painting was nearing completion, and she had plenty of time before the deadline.
“Oh.”
Right, the surroundings had gotten noisy.
Only then did Ye-ji turn to look beside her.
“…?”
Da-hye, who had been drawing beside her, was looking at Ye-ji with a peculiar expression, smiling.
What kind of expression was that?
Startled, Ye-ji lifted her head higher and looked around.
And in that instant, her mouth fell silent.
“…”
Somehow, a crowd of various unfamiliar tourists had gathered around Ye-ji, watching her painting.

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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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