The Reborn Genius of an Arts High School - Chapter 56

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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 56.
At last, school break had begun.
Unfortunately, there was no luxury of enjoying leisurely free time.
From the very first day of break, Ye Ji packed her suitcase with purpose.
Pulling the suitcase toward her father’s car.
“Be careful of pickpockets out there.”
Keep your bag close, wear your mobile phone around your neck….
Ye Ji merely blinked at her mother’s stream of worries flowing endlessly.
Practical concerns, certainly, but this was precisely the eighth time.
She was about to get calluses on her ears from hearing them.
As Ye Ji gazed plaintively at her father, he stepped in to quiet her mother instead.
“Honey, I’m going with her. Don’t worry so much.”
Off to France with her father, who had managed to take a short vacation.
But at his words, her mother’s expression grew even more anxious.
“You’re my biggest worry. You.”
Ye Ji would look after her father too….
The nagging that began half-joking, half-concerned, started up again.
Fortunately, this time it wasn’t directed at Ye Ji.
“Yes, yes…. That’s… okay…. You lock up the house properly too….”
“And be sure to lock up at the hotel. Don’t let her go off alone anywhere, and don’t you even think about buying unnecessary things….”
Hmm. There was still a fair bit to go.
To give her parents space for their conversation, Ye Ji got in the car first and waited.
By the time her father’s face had gone pale.
Leaving behind words of worry, the father and daughter finally departed for the airport.
The point when most schools had begun their breaks.
Incheon Airport was quite crowded.
They arrived with plenty of time before the flight, but the departure procedures took considerable time.
The airport was very large and expansive.
Countless travelers and businesspeople heading to destinations around the world.
Each passing by their surroundings with busy, cheerful expressions.
…….
Upon arriving at the gate for boarding, she saw words both foreign and familiar.
France. Paris.
That city vivid in her memory.
As she went through various procedures, darkness had gradually settled outside.
Even as she boarded the plane, it didn’t feel quite real.
The night flight pierced through clouds and seeped into absolute darkness.
Beyond the window, Seoul’s brilliant lights receded, and soon nothing but the vast emptiness of black sea was visible.
“Try to get some sleep on the way.”
At her father’s words, Ye Ji nodded, but for some reason sleep wouldn’t come.
Gazing quietly at the endless darkness beyond the airplane window, the day of the school break assembly came to mind.
‘Well then, the Special Class trial ends here!’
Young had wrapped up the class with her usual cheerful demeanor.
Now that break was beginning, they’d meet again when the second semester started.
A farewell with a predetermined reunion rarely stirred the heart.
‘But if we part like this, it’ll be a shame. An assignment would be perfect.’
Right? Right?
Young had extracted agreement from Kang Hyuk, who was shaking his head, almost forcing it.
‘Self-Portrait.’
At the theme Young proposed, they all felt somewhat taken aback.
‘Let’s each do a self-portrait in whatever style you like. I’ll do one too, and let’s share our impressions again this time.’
But Young did set a deadline.
Near the end of break, within about a week.
‘Looking back over the break, draw yourself as you’ve changed during that time.’
Abstract or realistic, any style you want.
Young had been generous with limitations, but it wasn’t a particularly welcome theme.
As most people find, staring at oneself for long is quite burdensome.
Ye Ji gazed blankly into the darkness, lost in thought.
***
Contrary to her worries, Ye Ji slept soundly on the plane.
Having slept so well it was almost embarrassing, she’d gone through customs half-asleep.
“(Hello. What brings you to visit?)”
To the French she heard without thinking, she reflexively answered without hesitation.
“(Hello. I came to participate in an art competition.)”
As she handed over her documents and passport, she spoke naturally, then froze.
Next to her, her father’s eyes had gone wide as saucers—what would she tell him?
But her father spoke first.
“When did you practice French again?”
“Oh.”
Well, that was the sensible reaction.
A simple affirmation was enough for Ye Ji’s excuse.
“Um, well. I just practiced a few phrases that seemed useful….”
Fortunately, since it was just brief conversation, it sounded plausible.
In any case, setting aside minor matters, the two women retrieved their luggage and left the airport.
Taking a taxi toward the hotel.
Late-night European streets were desolate, almost frightening.
Given Paris’s notorious crime rate, both women arrived at the hotel quite tense.
Only after checking in, entering the room, and locking the door did their tension ease.
“My goodness, I’m exhausted.”
Despite having done nothing but eat and sleep on the plane, she was terribly tired.
After shoving the suitcase aside haphazardly, Ye Ji took out her toiletries and began brushing her teeth.
As Ye Ji moved busily about and her father was mechanically preparing for bed, he asked.
“The first group’s exam ends this afternoon…. So you start in two days, right?”
“Yeah….”
Ye Ji answered with the toothbrush still in her mouth.
“Alright then, let’s rest well today and move around tomorrow….”
“Got it. Sleep well, Dad.”
Having confirmed once more that Ye Ji’s schedule wasn’t urgent, her father fell asleep.
The accommodation provided by Montblanc was better than expected.
The room was clean and spacious, plenty for the two of them to stay in.
Looking out the window, the darkened Paris skyline came into view in the distance.
More foreign than familiar.
Her impression upon returning to Paris after a long while.
More like visiting a strange land than a hometown.
After finishing her teeth, Ye Ji flopped onto the bed and gazed up at the ceiling.
Only then did a belated excitement arrive.
Finally, she was here.
Her anticipation for the upcoming exam outweighed any worries or concerns.
‘I wonder what the theme will be?’
French art generally tended to be conventional.
You could say it valued tradition.
So they’d likely propose a theme that allowed various interpretations.
Ye Ji gazed vacantly as her thoughts continued in the space between wakefulness and drowsiness.
***
…….
Should she say she slept, or dozed?
Whether from sleeping so much on the plane or from jet lag.
Ye Ji opened her eyes after sleeping only a few hours.
Her mobile phone’s clock came into view.
“Seven o’clock….”
Though she’d only slept three hours, it felt like she’d had a pleasant afternoon nap.
Her mind was remarkably clear.
It was still early, so her father was asleep like someone who’d been knocked out.
What could she do right now?
Thinking about it, she remembered being told at check-in that breakfast was included.
Even if she couldn’t go outside, surely she could go have breakfast alone in the hotel.
“Dad.”
She gently shook her father awake, and he barely opened his eyes.
He looked very tired, so Ye Ji kept it brief.
“Can I go grab breakfast?”
“Huh…. Yeah…. Are you hungry?”
Well, you should go then, of course.
As her father sluggishly pushed himself up, Ye Ji added,
“It’s the hotel restaurant, so I’ll go alone and come back.”
At that, her father’s expression turned quite conflicted, and he lay back down.
When she said that level of independence was fine, her father nodded.
“Alright then…. If you’d like to…?”
He earnestly reminded her not to go far, just to eat in the hotel and come back.
If her mother had been here, she would’ve definitely said no.
But by next month, Ye Ji would be seventeen years old.
At seventeen in France, you could even legally start working part-time.
Surely she was old enough to do that much alone in a hotel?
Besides, language wasn’t a problem for her at all.
‘If anything, it’s harder to speak clumsily.’
Ye Ji pocketed her key card and mobile phone and moved forward.
As she left the room and headed toward the restaurant, there were quite a few people eating breakfast there.
Being a large hotel, the restaurant was spacious.
As she entered, she could hear scattered Korean being spoken—apparently someone had come from Korea.
There’s a saying that there are Koreans everywhere in the world….
…….
In the bustling atmosphere, Ye Ji brought back plenty of cheese and bread.
There were a few people eating breakfast alone, so it wasn’t uncomfortable.
She sat alone at a reasonably empty table, and while eating bread, she took out her mobile phone.
She’d posted about her trip to France on Instagram before boarding.
Some time had passed, so she had various messages waiting.
ㄴ Hyun Min: Want me to recommend some restaurants?
ㄴ Da Hye: Ye Ji Ye Ji safe travels and back soon
After briefly replying to Hyun Min and Da Hye’s comments, she scrolled through the posts.
Then one post caught her eye.
It was a post about the painting she’d sold to Shin Myung Hee.
Though two weeks had passed since uploading it, likes and comments continued to grow.
‘My followers really keep increasing….’
Unlike before when most followers were schoolmates, her count had nearly doubled.
Growing followers and the numbers of likes displayed.
Looking at them one by one, she could almost understand why people got hooked on social media.
Though the problem was how much trouble came attached with it….
“……!”
While Ye Ji had been concentrating intently on her mobile phone, she suddenly turned her head to look behind her.
She’d suddenly felt a presence right beside her shoulder.
“Oh, sorry.”
Some blonde boy had thrust his head over and was looking at Ye Ji’s mobile phone with her.
As the startled Ye Ji froze in shock, he also apologized with a flustered expression.
A boy who looked roughly her age, with blonde hair.
The alarmed Ye Ji, still holding bread in her mouth, glared at him as if asking what on earth he was doing.
“Just….”
Then he paused, apparently trying to explain something in English.
Realizing they were from different language backgrounds.
To show he meant no harm, he briefly got to the point.
“Whose work is this?”
Asking outright in English about the work’s source?
As Ye Ji looked perplexed, the boy was earnestly trying to convey something.
He was just curious about it.
He hadn’t meant to startle her.
He was using words, hand gestures, and expressions to convey this intent.
…….
Still, she was a minor.
Since she was alone, she’d been cautious, but he didn’t seem like an impolite person.
Though his approach was audacious, the conclusion was simply that he liked the work in the mobile phone she was looking at.
Once the surprise subsided, Ye Ji took a sip of orange juice and answered briefly.
“Mine.”
It’s my work.
At her direct answer, his expression showed surprise.
He alternated his wide eyes between the work on the mobile phone and Ye Ji’s face several times.
Then he asked again.
“Can I follow your account?”
Though she thought he was an odd one, Ye Ji nodded.
There was no reason to refuse when someone liked her work.
He soon took out his own mobile phone and followed her.
Following the new notification on Instagram, Ye Ji reflexively visited his account.
Ethan Miller
Followers: 301K
Following: 13

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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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