The Reborn Genius of an Arts High School - Chapter 61

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 61.
As Ye Ji struggled to find the right words, Kobayashi stepped in.
“That doesn’t really matter. What’s important is the work we’re doing together right now, isn’t it?”
At Kobayashi’s words, Elisa nodded gently with a soft smile.
“…Well, I suppose that’s true.”
Since the work they’d be competing with together mattered more than past pieces.
As the difficult topic was left unresolved, Ye Ji felt somewhat relieved.
Throughout the conversation, Kobayashi seemed attentive to Ye Ji.
But then.
“It’s not always good to make work public, though, is it?”
Kobayashi continued speaking with a gently smiling face.
“There are many things to consider. The level of skill, for instance….”
Kobayashi laughed lightly.
“You can’t draw attention just by uploading any old work.”
At Kobayashi’s words, Elisa faltered.
The implication was clear: do whatever you need to do to attract attention.
There was something odd and unsettling in the air.
Behind the smile lay something sharp—barbed, even.
In fact, among all the competition participants seated here, Elisa had the weakest technical skill.
Because of this, she seemed to be conducting consistent social media activity to make herself known.
She had only recently crossed the hundred-thousand-follower mark.
By contrast, Ethan and Kobayashi didn’t invest much effort in social media, yet they boasted far larger followings.
‘I’m much the same, really.’
Ye Ji was receiving an enormous amount of attention for her level of activity and frequency.
Ye Ji turned her head to look at Elisa while thinking this.
Kobayashi’s roundabout way of bringing up the difference in skill level.
Elisa seemed a bit hurt by it, but she appeared to be trying to laugh it off for the sake of the atmosphere.
Had it been too naive to believe that they could all become good friends through wholesome competition?
‘…Kobayashi has been oddly unpleasant since earlier.’
She was subtly wielding her skill and fame like a tyrant wielding power.
Breaking the subtle tension, Ye Ji spoke.
“That’s not really what matters, either.”
Ye Ji chose her words carefully, delivering a measured statement.
“I think what’s important is to keep working without stopping. If your work has moved someone’s heart, it doesn’t matter whether that’s one person or ten thousand.”
Of course, it was a shared desire among artists to communicate their values to as many people as possible.
And the activities they undertook toward that goal were nothing to be ashamed of.
“I actually think it’s admirable.”
The act of putting one’s work before public judgment without hesitation.
Ye Ji held this kind of action in high regard.
……
Her gaze suddenly met Kobayashi’s.
“That’s right. Those are good words.”
Kobayashi answered with an immediate smile, yet—
Was it her imagination, or had her eyes turned sharp for just a moment?
After that, they continued talking about many things.
But everyone had sensed the discomfort in the air by then, so it wasn’t truly enjoyable.
The meal, which had felt endless, finally ended, and they all returned to the hotel together.
“We should get some rest now! Sleep well, everyone!”
Upon arrival at the hotel, she ushered her father—who had been eyeing Ethan with obvious suspicion—into their room.
It had been an exhausting day, with one thing after another piling up.
“Sleep well, daughter.”
After exchanging goodnights with her father, Ye Ji lay down on the cozy, clean hotel bed.
***
Elisa Brown returned to her quarters and fell into thought for a moment.
She genuinely felt fortunate just to have come this far in the competition.
Tonight’s dinner was a perfect example.
If she had to rank the twenty finalists, the people seated here would place in the top three.
At first, she had simply hoped to gain some insight from conversations with them.
The differences in language and culture were significant obstacles to forming genuine friendship.
But unexpected things caught her eye.
‘This Kobayashi girl.’
Despite her pleasant appearance and demeanor, she had a cunning quality—something concealed beneath the surface.
By comparison, Ye Ji and Ethan seemed like pure art obsessives.
When topics veered away from painting, their eyes went notably dim.
But the moment art came up, their eyes brightened and their attention shifted entirely.
In fact, their transparency made them even more likable.
Yet between them, Kobayashi merely offered polite agreement—she didn’t genuinely seem immersed in the conversation.
There were moments when this suspicion crystallized into certainty.
‘You don’t have photos of other works? There aren’t many pieces publicly available.’
‘That doesn’t really matter. What’s important is the work we’re doing together right now.’
When Elisa had expressed curiosity about Ye Ji’s past works, Kobayashi had smoothly changed the subject.
Up to that point, there was nothing wrong with what she’d said.
The problem came after.
Every time Ye Ji was about to become the focus of the conversation, Kobayashi redirected the spotlight to herself.
And there were those barbed comments aimed directly at Elisa in between.
She was the one trying to glean something from them, after all.
Having struck a nerve, she’d tried to let it pass unnoticed, but—
‘Ye Ji was different.’
The normally reserved Ye Ji had spoken with clear conviction.
‘What matters is continuing to work without stopping.’
Her own social media activities—which she’d felt were desperate, flailing efforts—
Ye Ji had wrapped them in the word ‘effort.’
Not hollow flattery, but genuine affirmation, evident in the certainty of her eyes.
‘I actually think it’s admirable.’
Ye Ji had comforted the hunger for recognition that lay deep within Elisa with just a few sincere words.
By contrast, Kobayashi was the type to scheme.
Natural displays of connections and mysterious charm.
An inferiority complex toward Ye Ji that she hadn’t quite managed to conceal.
Everything pointed to a woman whose exterior didn’t match her interior.
Moreover, she’d heard that among the twenty participants, Ye Ji and Ethan were the youngest.
And simultaneously the most promising.
Had they been even a year older, they likely would have entered a general competition, not a youth one.
From what she could see, the two of them already had the skill to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with established artists.
And Ye Ji especially, with the character to match such talent, would surely become someone quite extraordinary.
‘By contrast…’
Elisa herself would be turning eighteen next year, and she’d need considerable effort to survive among adult artists.
Regrettably, she couldn’t simply condemn Kobayashi.
‘For now, I just need to get along…’
She couldn’t afford the luxury of giving up and examining herself.
Whether it was for the sake of attention, as Kobayashi had suggested—
Somehow, she wanted to belong to their world.
Because she wanted to paint for the rest of her life.
For some reason, Elisa didn’t think she’d fall asleep easily tonight.
***
The second day of the second round of judging.
Unlike the first day, which had been filled with conception and anticipation, the second day involved nothing but intensive work.
Everyone seemed equally exhausted when work ended.
The stress of two consecutive days of tension might have taken a physical toll.
Everyone seemed inclined to hole up in their hotel rooms, looking forward to tomorrow, so Ye Ji decided to rest early as well.
[Da Hye: Did today go well too?]
Ye Ji saw the message that had just arrived and sent a reply.
Being in the second group was good—there was less need to worry about security compared to the first group.
For the two people curious about the situation, Ye Ji shared various details.
Last night’s dinner, the social media accounts of the participants she’d met.
As the shared stories multiplied, her mood felt strange.
It was oddly striking how this kind of life had become her everyday reality.
[Hyun Min: So, what kind of work did you decide on?]
In response to his question, Ye Ji briefly outlined her plan.
A feather drifting gently down onto water that held the blue sky.
Over the ripples it created, a bird’s wings would be reflected in the undulating landscape above.
White wings wavering like white clouds.
Hearing Ye Ji’s description, Da Hye grew curious about the finished piece.
Ye Ji too was eager to see whether this work would manifest as she envisioned it.
After a long silence, Hyun Min sent a brief question.
[Hyun Min: Water again?]
At Hyun Min’s reply, Ye Ji suddenly sat up from where she’d been lying.
Now that he mentioned it… wasn’t that true?
Realizing it only now, water had consistently appeared in her work at every crucial moment.
Flowing water, still water, deep water, surging water.
Of course, the sea requested by Shin Myung Hee had been an assigned theme, but…
‘…If she requested it because she noticed I paint it well…?’
The CEO’s sudden commission suddenly made sense.
[Hyun Min: Seems like you’re drawn to that kind of subject matter.]
[Hyun Min: Or…]
Hyun Min’s message continued.
Water was a very special medium for expressing light.
It was difficult to depict naturally.
So if one mastered it, one could achieve both distinctiveness and specialness.
But apart from whether Hyun Min was right, Ye Ji hadn’t chosen water for any particular deliberate reason.
[Da Hye: I don’t think Ye Ji paints for reasons like that?]
[Da Hye: I think you must have your own reason.]
At Da Hye’s words, Ye Ji fell quiet and thought again.
A subject matter she found instinctively.
She traced back to where that began.
Then the cliffs of Etretat appeared in her mind.
The work still hanging in the Montmartre, the one named after those cliffs.
It was a real place that existed.
And the memories tied to it belonged to Catherine, who had been an orphan.
Looking at that beautiful landscape alone, she had dreamed of becoming a painter.
The source of her passion lay in the waters below those cliffs—endless, deep, and vast.
The loneliness that came from knowing no one else was looking at the same landscape as her.
That loneliness had transformed into a yearning for countless people to see the world through her eyes.
And further still, she wanted them all to remember her.
It wasn’t simple vanity or greed for wealth.
‘I want to paint work that can astonish everyone.’
This was her answer to what Hae Yun had once asked her—what she wanted to paint.
She was confident she could perform above average in any genre, any field.
So she’d adapted, presenting work suited to each situation.
But now it finally became clear to her.
The surest way to maximize her own talent.
Water and light.
If she committed herself fully to depicting those two things—
[Thank you.]
[It should be helpful!]
With that, Ye Ji quickly put her phone down and prepared for bed.
Tomorrow morning would be busier.
***
The next morning, Ye Ji headed to the art supply shop as soon as she woke.
Parisian workers weren’t particularly known for diligence, so it wasn’t easy to find a place that opened early.
Having found only one, Ye Ji purchased fine brushes of various types in large quantities.
A work that maximized and emphasized her own strengths.
Now that her conviction had solidified, waiting until work began at ten o’clock felt impossibly long.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————