The Reborn Genius of an Arts High School - Chapter 60

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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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Chapter 60.
Kobayashi Ai.
By winter this year, the promising young Japanese painter would turn twenty.
On the cusp of adulthood, she had already accomplished nearly everything a student could achieve.
She had already held several solo exhibitions in her own country, and the sales from her work were far from negligible.
Her family was wealthy, but now the money she earned herself was equally substantial.
Her reason for entering Montrableu was crystal clear.
If her work found success in Japan, it would certainly do well in Europe as well.
And using that as a springboard, she would step onto the world stage.
Naturally, she had assumed she could easily win a youth competition like this.
But after coming to Paris and seeing the Final 20 works in person, her thinking changed.
She felt it instinctively.
This won’t be easy.
…….
Wings.
The theme for the Second Round Judging had been announced.
But a long silence followed.
The ten contestants didn’t begin work immediately.
All of them stood lost in thought before their canvases, expressions carefully contemplative.
Kobayashi too centered herself calmly, gathering her thoughts.
She would do her very best.
But in modern society, doing your best meant far more than simply working hard to complete a piece.
…….
She exchanged a nod with the judges as they ascended to the upper floor.
In modern society, connections and social activities were also part of one’s own capabilities.
Kobayashi had made the decision to enter this competition starting from last year.
She could not forgive herself for anything less than excellence.
That was why, from last year, she had made her plans and worked accordingly.
Among those efforts was cultivating connections in advance with the people who would become judges by establishing rapport.
‘I already knew the theme beforehand.’
Kobayashi hadn’t given them anything in return or anything of that nature.
That’s what friendship was.
Supporting each other, helping one another, living alongside each other.
Wasn’t that the very definition of friendship?
Kobayashi merely made clear use of connection as an element to convey this more explicitly.
Like the other contestants, she deliberated for a reasonable time before starting her work.
‘I’ve already thought through exactly how I’m going to work.’
Kobayashi’s working style required deliberation and quite a substantial amount of time.
The judge who was her acquaintance must have been concerned about that, which was why she had slipped her the theme in advance.
‘And besides….’
Most of the judges already knew what character and potential Kobayashi’s work possessed.
Neo-Impressionism’s Optical Art.
The mathematical precision and visual illusion that followed the lineage of artists like Bridget Riley.
The unique experience such elements created.
The meaning of Kobayashi’s work was very clear indeed.
But such elements could not be conveyed through a few sentences and one or two pieces.
That was why Kobayashi had already imprinted herself as a presence upon the judges.
‘In the end, you only see as much as you know in painting.’

No matter how talented one might be.
Those naive children who could do nothing but paint were on a different level from her.
Kobayashi wore a smile brimming with confidence.
***
Ye Ji was lost in thought, staring at the canvas.
There was no need to rush.
There was enough time to draw out what was in her mind.
All the more reason to be cautious, to organize her thoughts calmly.
‘Wings.’
A word that encompasses the structural form that allows one to soar through the sky.
The image the word itself conveyed had a hopeful, bright feeling.
Blue sky and the warm reddish light of sunlight.
White feathers catching the light, scattering ivory hues.
Soon scattered colors fill her mind entirely.
But.
‘It’s a bit predictable.’
The emotion she ultimately wanted to contain in her artistic world was indeed hope.
Moreover, wings was a theme that suited her work well.
But precisely because of that, both its strengths and weaknesses were distinct.
The advantage of showing consistent artistry, and the disadvantage of appearing tedious.
“Hmm…….”
In the moment she tilted her head while pondering.
Her gaze met that of another girl at a nearby easel.
The Japanese contestant whose appearance was similar enough to give her a sense of kinship.
What was her name again? Kobayashi Ai?
Since their eyes had met, she gave a subtle nod of greeting.
She smiled warmly in return, nodding back.
Naturally, the painting Kobayashi had hung in the showcase came to mind.
It appeared to be a kind of Optical Art, with an impression of optical illusion—a design-based work.
It was a piece that minimized emotion and sensitivity, competing through structural and formal beauty.
That manner of artistic style reminded her of Da Hye, and as a fellow East Asian, Ye Ji did not dislike her.
Rather, she was developing a favorable impression.
As her thoughts continued in this direction, Ye Ji found the answer to the problem she had been wrestling with.
‘Don’t resort to half-measures; do what you do well.’
If predictability was a weakness, then the solution was simple.
Present the expected direction as work that exceeded expectations and demonstrated excellence.
‘Don’t overthink it; go with the straightforward approach.’
Her strength lay in capturing light through color and expressing sensitivity and emotion.
If she properly expressed the hope and positive energy the theme of wings possessed, that would be enough.
Once she had thought through that much, the image in her mind grew progressively more concrete.
Do what you do well, and do it better.
Clear purpose, a vision taking shape.
Now all that remained was to begin work.
Yet even as she thought this, something nagged subtly at the back of her mind.
The strength of what she did well.
Expressing emotion through light.
Was that all? Were there no more concrete, developed elements?
Questions kept surfacing in Ye Ji’s mind.
But she could not remain paralyzed by questions forever.
As always, answers came at the end of action.
Ye Ji began her work.
***
Beep—
The day’s work ended with the small sound of a buzzer.
The signal marking the end of the first day’s work.
An announcement came directing everyone to gather their belongings and exit.
Only then did Ye Ji lift her head.
Her back and shoulders, stiff from holding one position, ached dully.
“Phew….”
As she stretched, a groan escaped unbidden.
Groaning softly, Ye Ji gathered her space and stood.
She retrieved the mobile phone she had submitted and turned it on, but the sound came not from the phone but from her stomach.
Gurgle—
Only now did she belatedly realize she had forgotten to eat lunch.
As hunger belatedly struck, all she could think about was how starving she was.
When the door to the work hall opened, all ten contestants exited together into an awkward atmosphere.
Ten silent figures walking toward the exit.
While they knew they were roughly the same age, they met as competitors.
Everyone was being extremely cautious with each other.
Ye Ji also lacked the courage to be the one to break that tension.
Just as she was about to slip away quietly, someone grabbed her sleeve.
“Ye Ji?”
An unfamiliar pronunciation of her name.
Turning around, she saw the Japanese contestant, Kobayashi.
“(You’re Ye Ji, right? The Korean contestant.)”
A Japanese-accented English….
Ye Ji was momentarily flustered by the accent she’d only seen in dramas, but she nodded soon after.
It was unfamiliar, but not incomprehensible when heard directly.
“(Yeah, that’s me. You’re Kobayashi from Japan, right?)”
Ye Ji also played along with her question, pretending familiarity.
Then the other girl nodded with a bright smile.
“(I’m so glad! You looked like you were skipping lunch earlier. Want to go grab dinner together?)”
Bright laughter and a composed demeanor. A personality that seemed careful and kind.
She seemed like the heroine from a Japanese drama.
Thanks to her approaching first and starting the conversation, Ye Ji felt some of her awkwardness melt away.
The tension seemed to ease for others too, as another female contestant approached.
“(Can I come along?)”
She was the British contestant, Elisa Brown.
Once the three of them gathered and began talking, the other male contestants heading toward the exit also began to chat with each other.
A gathering of diverse nationalities was not often seen.
Everyone naturally communicated in halting English.
They had come to France yet found themselves using English more than French.
“(Of course! Is that okay with you too, Ye Ji?)”
Kobayashi readily agreed to Elisa’s proposal.
Ye Ji had no reason to object either.
The only problem was….
“(My dad’s probably waiting for me, so let me check with him real quick. I’ll be right back.)”
Past six o’clock on a summer evening in Paris.
The weather was still warm.
Ye Ji hurried toward the cafe inside the gallery where her father would be waiting.
Dad probably hasn’t eaten either….
Would it be okay if he came along too?
Or would he be more comfortable eating alone?
She felt a pang of guilt toward her father for making him wait this long, and found herself hesitating.
“Huh?”
But, unexpectedly, her father was not alone.
“Hi.”
Ethan was sitting beside her father.
***
…Why did it turn out like this?
Ye Ji found herself thinking exactly that, belatedly, at a table arranged in this unexpected configuration.
“(I asked for a good table at a place I know well.)”
With a smile in Kobayashi’s eyes, Ye Ji came to her senses and looked around again.
It was indeed a good restaurant, and a good table at that.
The dining table was perfect—the Eiffel Tower, lit up in the evening, visible at a glance.
It looked terribly expensive, but she had enough leeway for this much now.
The real problem now was….
…….
Ye Ji offered an awkward smile to her father, who looked visibly uncomfortable.
At the table sat the two of them plus Kobayashi, and on top of that, Elisa and Ethan.
A total of five people in an awkward arrangement.
Still, they had ended up like this because Ethan had insisted it would be good if her father came along too.
He and her father must have talked quite a bit during the day and grown rather close.
“(He was really worried about you.)”
Ethan let slip to Ye Ji.
Rather than spend time in an empty hotel room worrying about his daughter, being together was better.
At Ethan’s words, Ye Ji smiled sheepishly.
She hadn’t meant to make a big thing out of it….
And yet, here was Ye Ji on her very first day already making friends.
Her father looked satisfied and proud just from this.
“(I’m so glad we met like this. I hope we’ll all stay in touch after the competition.)”
The evening meal began with Kobayashi’s greeting and offer of the table.
Everyone communicated using English and translation apps.
Having different languages was actually convenient in some ways.
Though she wasn’t sure what to talk about in such an arrangement, time passed quickly.
It was because even short exchanges of words took a long time.
What one wanted to say was refined and filtered multiple times before only the most important things were shared.
It was a strange kind of conversation, but enjoyable in its own way.
After all, they were all young painters drawing pictures.
To the extent they were recognized, each had their own distinct world.
When such conversations arose, Ye Ji found herself delighted.
“(There aren’t many public pieces, but do you have photos of other works?)”
Right after they had shared their social media accounts with each other.
Elisa, having looked through Ye Ji’s work via her social media, asked the question.
In truth, Ye Ji’s situation was somewhat unusual compared to the others.
A genius who had suddenly emerged from nowhere starting last year.
But the others had been famous since much earlier in their youth.
In proof of that, each of them had at least a hundred thousand followers on their social media accounts as a baseline.
Exposed across various media as they were, the volume of materials they had accumulated was vast.
Compared to these three, Ye Ji had almost mystically sparse documentation.
“(Ah, well…)”
How should she explain this naturally?

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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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