The Reborn Genius of an Arts High School - Chapter 51

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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 51.
Kang Yura fell silent for a moment, studying the canvas before her.
Life and Death.
A deeply philosophical theme.
And not one she found easy to relate to.
‘That’s unexpected….’
Given Ye Ji’s personality, she’d expected a brighter, lighter subject.
After a moment’s consideration, Yura retrieved her watercolor supplies.
For her, Life and Death were paradoxical words—contradictory, contrasting.
Yura simply lived each day doing her very best.
She’d never given much thought to grand philosophical meanings.
And she felt no need to.
What mattered to her was the present, the now—whatever moment demanded her attention.
“…….”
Her gaze flickered toward Ye Ji, who was absorbed in studying her canvas.
She’d deliberately positioned her easel directly across from Ye Ji’s—it was a form of motivation.
People needed a proper rival to sharpen their focus.
That’s how Yura saw Ye Ji.
Someone who stimulated her life, pushed her forward.
‘At least I need to paint something I can be confident about.’
That thought kept her mind from growing complacent, kept her sharp.
Yura picked up a pencil and began sketching lightly.
What took shape on the paper was a hand—someone’s hand holding a candlestick.
***
Ye Ji began working without any preliminary sketch at all.
A building with cliffs for walls, sheer and severe.
Vines wrapped around that edifice, tangled with dripping candle wax flowing downward.
‘Fire and flowers are the same sound after all.’
Homophones that read as the same character.
Ye Ji drew the vine’s end as if it were a blooming flower.
At the terminus of that vine, where the wax dripped, she sketched a wick and flame.
Life and Death—we stand between them at every moment. What will we choose?
‘To bloom gorgeously and without regret.’
To pour out that desire without reservation, completely.
Ye Ji had learned this in the life she’d been given a second time.
The Life and Death that Ye Ji painted took on a strange, otherworldly quality—like a city after the apocalypse.
Desolate urban landscape, and then a candleflame blooming crimson and bright.
“…….”
Ye Ji’s hand moved relatively quickly.
She’d deliberately paced herself to match her classmates’ speed.
She’d tried to keep a similar level of finish.
But now she realized that had been arrogant, narrow-minded thinking.
‘Three hours.’
If she poured everything into her focus, three hours was more than enough to complete a work.
A life with no regret remaining.
For that, Ye Ji didn’t want to hold back.
If she was going to be praised as excellent anyway, it might as well meet her own standards too.
“Oh, is it really this late already? Should we wrap up for today, everyone?”
Around the time Ye Ji had finished sketching the rough forms.
Ye Ji announced the time.
“Shall we take a look at everyone’s work one by one? Who’d like to go first~?”
At Ye Ji’s words, Kang Hyuk’s hand shot up.
“Me! After all, you can see mine from where you’re standing anyway!”
If that’s the case, give me a privacy board too!
At Kang Hyuk’s half-joking complaint, Ye Ji let out a small laugh.
Unlike the others painting on easels, his work had nowhere to hide.
Though its surface was still rough and unrefined, what he was trying to express came through instantly.
His piece looked like a candle completely melted, pooled and stuck to the ground.
“Hmm, interesting. Are you planning to finish it as is, just refining the surface?”
At Ye Ji’s question, Kang Hyuk shook his head.
“I’m planning to bring a stand tomorrow. I’ll raise the work about half a span high, and pile up much more melted wax underneath it.”
Exaggerating the image of a completely melted candle and yet abundant dripping wax piled up below.
From these two elements, Kang Hyuk seemed like someone deeply exhausted, yet with many unsatisfied desires.
Particularly, might he be obsessed with possession?
“Anyone have questions?”
A brief silence followed Ye Ji’s question.
Yura didn’t seem particularly interested in others, and Hyun A wore an expression of obvious tension.
Ye Ji spoke carefully.
“Which do you think that candle is closer to—Life or Death?”
At Ye Ji’s words, Kang scratched the back of his head, looking a bit sheepish.
“Life. It’s a bit awkward, but there’s still plenty of life left in it.”
“So if anything remains, it’s not complete death. Is that the idea?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
He wasn’t particularly eloquent, but even Ye Ji found herself genuinely impressed.
Whether Kang Hyuk’s work itself was good, she wasn’t sure, but Ye Ji’s intent came through clearly.
She learned something about what kind of person Kang Hyuk was.
Life and Death.
Perhaps it was the most honest theme—the one where hiding your true self was hardest.
‘…This is fun.’
This class is going to be fun, isn’t it?
From the very first day, Ye Ji found herself drawn to Ye Ji’s teaching style and way of thinking.
“Next, clockwise—”
At Ye Ji’s words, Hyun A went deathly pale and waved her hands in protest.
That order meant Hyun A was next.
Pale as she was, it would’ve been merciful to let it slide.
But Ye Ji spoke with cold, unmoved firmness.
“That doesn’t make the order go away! Next, let’s see Hyun A’s.”
Geez.
The reluctance in her manner—did her work not turn out the way she wanted?
Hyun A’s fingertips trembled so badly it was almost pitiful to watch.
But class was class.
Everyone shifted positions, moving toward Hyun A’s painting.
Her work was….
“…….”
Pushed forward almost against her will, Hyun A hunched her shoulders like a scolded child.
Her work was, well.
Ye Ji raised a hand to cover her mouth, hiding her expression.
She genuinely had no idea what to say.
“Mm~!”
Even Ye Ji gave a rather awkward reaction.
She was searching for words when suddenly her eyes shifted toward Ye Ji.
‘Why—why are you looking at me?’
Please don’t ask me for my impression.
Please don’t.
She repeated it silently to herself.
She didn’t want to say anything that might hurt Hyun A, and she didn’t want to lie with false praise either.
Why was her bad feeling always right?
Ye Ji turned directly to Ye Ji and asked.
“What do you think, Ye Ji? Any questions for her?”
At Ye Ji’s move—passing the buck like a game of hot potato—Ye Ji’s mouth turned down.
So then….
“……Um, why did you put the ribbon in the center?”
Instead of a hard critique, Ye Ji managed to squeeze out just a question.
She felt no personality in Hyun A’s work at all.
The only thing even slightly odd was that random ribbon in the middle.
“That… it felt empty, so… a curved line of grace would….”
It would have been better if she’d simply said she liked the ribbon, or liked its color.
Her work had the typical look of entrance exam art.
Form emphasized perspective, composition arranged for formal effect.
Just a clean, polished piece that would score well on a test.
But there was no trace of the artist’s personality in it.
All you could detect was the timidity revealed in the faint colors, painted over and corrected again and again.
Just that cautious restraint.
“Ah, so! That was good intent!”
Ye Ji spoke in a completely hollow voice.
She was trying to give her best reaction for the student’s sake, but she wasn’t someone who could hide her expression well.
Her disappointment showed plainly on her face.
“…….”
The resulting silence was deeply uncomfortable.
It would have been better to just move on to the next turn quickly.
But Ye Ji didn’t seem to intend that—she simply stared at Hyun A’s work.
Under that gaze, Hyun A’s face grew redder and redder.
After scratching her nose in thought for a moment, Ye Ji added.
“Should I give you a separate assignment, Hyun A?”
“……Yes?”
Before the confused girl could even respond, Ye Ji continued.
“By tomorrow, just find one thing you like best, and write down five reasons why you like it!”
Easy, right?
Seeing how Ye Ji said it, she seemed to have felt the same thing Ye Ji had.
It was a simple task, but Ye Ji suspected Hyun A might not even complete it.
Especially given that no personality or preference came through even in a single drawing.
Koreans often didn’t know what they actually liked, after all.
This assignment would probably be harder for her than it seemed.
“Next is Yura! Shall we take a look?”
If things continued this way, Ye Ji would be the last.
She didn’t feel any particular pressure about the order.
She was curious about others’ work anyway, so it worked out well.
Moving toward Yura’s work with anticipation, she found a piece on an entirely different level.
A candlestick standing upright, and a hand gripping it.
Just one drop of wax beginning to drip and flow downward.
It seemed to reveal Yura’s pride in herself.
Just one drop.
She seemed to think that was all the time and talent she’d spent in her life so far.
As if suggesting infinite possibilities yet to come.
But that wasn’t even the important part.
“That’s impressive.”
Even Ye Ji gazed intently at Yura’s work, genuinely captivated.
As Ye Ji praised Yura while looking at her, Yura accepted the compliment with grace.
Just the way she received praise so confidently spoke to her self-assurance.
Yura had expressed her work like a negative film—inverted imagery.
Like film before printing, she’d reversed light and color to depict Life and Death.
The base was fully colored, though the light and shadow technique wasn’t quite finished.
A flame rendered in mysterious blue light, fingers in cyan-tinged skin tone.
Her expression spoke with certainty—she’d created something rare and extraordinary, an effective rendering of an difficult theme.
“Hey, can I photograph this with my phone filter?”
“Of course.”
Kang Hyuk asked, and Yura answered confidently.
When he photographed the work and applied a phone filter to invert it, familiar colors emerged.
Ye Ji and Ye Ji leaned in to look at the phone screen.
Where mysterious colors had dominated now appeared natural skin tone and orange candlelight.
With the filter applied, you could clearly see she’d used complementary colors intentionally.
The confidence to express Life and Death simply through color inversion.
You could feel how highly she regarded herself.
“Alright, then. Next is me, yeah?”
After reviewing Yura’s work, it was Ye Ji’s turn.
“Tada!”
On Ye Ji’s pristine canvas was a single perfect black circle.
Perfectly proportioned, about the size of a palm.
And upon it, a single red flame rested like a petal.
A single flame with textured brushwork, its yellow and red mingling mysteriously.
Despite her boisterous demeanor, her painting was surprisingly quiet and composed.
“Come on, come on. Questions. Questions!”
Ye Ji rushed her students to ask what they were curious about.
But her work was so empty.
Most of the white canvas remained blank, and the black circle at the center held no detail whatsoever.
For over two hours of work, it made you wonder what she’d been doing.
After a moment’s thought, Ye Ji posed her question.
“Teacher… is this the finished version?”

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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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