The Reborn Genius of an Arts High School - Chapter 75

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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 75.
A promise?
Ye Ji tilted her head in confusion, and Hyun Min continued.
“It’s either something trivial or nothing at all, depending on how you look at it.”
Hyun Min’s condition was simple.
“Just trust me. Since I’ve never looked after someone else’s affairs before, even if I make a mistake, it won’t be intentional.”
Even if something went wrong.
He meant there would be no malice or ulterior motive behind his actions.
For Ye Ji, it was unexpectedly defensive—a condition that struck her as oddly cautious.
“What do you take me for, saying something like that?”
If that were the case, I wouldn’t have asked you to handle it in the first place.
In the first place.
“I’ve already proceeded with several projects based only on information you gave me. Now you’re being strange about it.”
“Yeah, Hyun Min. Ye Ji isn’t the type to misunderstand something like that from the start.”
Da Hye chimed in with her own comment on her friends’ exchange.
In the face of such a reaction from his friends, Hyun Min himself looked a little embarrassed.
“It’s not exactly that….”
Hyun Min seemed to have more he wanted to say.
As Ye Ji tilted her head at Hyun Min’s unusually cautious demeanor.
Da Hye chattered on.
“As long as you don’t do something ridiculous like sending curse words to the SS Group chairman while managing the account, what could Ye Ji possibly fault you for?”
Da Hye’s example made Ye Ji burst into laughter.
Unless Hyun Min did something that absurd, she didn’t think she’d blame him for minor oversights or mistakes.
“Right, so don’t worry about that. Just help me out if you’re comfortable doing it.”
If possible, I’d like your help with the backlog that’s piled up too.
As Ye Ji held out her mobile phone, Hyun Min’s words seemed to catch in his throat, his mouth gaping slightly.
“…Yeah, okay. I’ll do it. I can handle it.”
His expression was somewhat peculiar.
Hyun Min took Ye Ji’s mobile phone and began checking through it.
After all, she herself couldn’t manage it, so she was handing it over to him. Who was she to complain?
Messages that had been put off like endless homework.
Watching them process quickly through Hyun Min’s hands, Ye Ji felt a bit of relief wash over her.
She’d made a good friend.
“By the way, what about your solo exhibition?”
Da Hye asked wistfully, gazing at her now-empty dessert plate.
“Can you manage both a brand collaboration and a solo exhibition at the same time?”
At Da Hye’s question, Hyun Min also lifted his eyes from the phone to ask Ye Ji.
“That’s right—they’re only giving you one floor for your solo show?”
If it were a single level, it might be possible.
At Hyun Min’s words, Ye Ji’s expression turned slightly strained as she answered.
“Roughly… an Exhibition Hall of about fifty to sixty square meters, but on two floors?”
Hyun Min’s brow furrowed at her words.
Normally, a space of that size would require at least twenty to thirty pieces per floor.
“…Are you planning to drop out starting next semester?”
In Hyun Min’s view, even with Ye Ji’s quick hands, producing sixty high-quality pieces was unrealistic.
Of course, it would be possible if she scattered smaller works here and there.
But Mont Rable Bleu would never greenlight such a sparse exhibition.
Even Da Hye looked unsure which side to take.
“Wait, give me the phone back for a second.”
Anticipating her friends’ reaction, Ye Ji took the phone back.
She’d already reviewed her studio’s works comprehensively since returning to Korea anyway.
Pieces finished to exhibition standard, or nearly complete.
Works she’d steadily accumulated since last winter.
“I already have about eighteen pieces.”
Ye Ji showed the photos she’d taken to both of them.
From Yeonsilzong, from the exhibition at the painting studio, from works commissioned by the Shinmyung chairman.
It was true she’d been busy, but when working on paintings, there were inevitably moments when you had to pause.
You had to let the paint dry in between stages.
So what did she do during those gaps?
Naturally, Ye Ji hadn’t simply been idle.
“And I’m planning to do one massive large-scale work.”
Catherine’s Cliffs of Etretat.
She intended to create a painting of comparable scale.
A large piece measuring two to three meters would occupy an entire wall and create significant visual impact.
Ye Ji’s goal was to capture Marc’s heart with that work.
And beyond simply capturing his heart, she hoped it would become a work that left its mark on his gallery.
“Wait, so you just need to do about thirty more pieces?”
“Probably?”
Hyun Min, who’d been roughly estimating in his head, let out a dry laugh.
For Ye Ji, thirty pieces in half a year wasn’t particularly daunting.
But sandwiched in between was the collaboration with Seong Su and Celiane.
Considering that, the schedule was precisely tight enough to leave no room for laziness.
“The exhibition’s confirmed for February, so it’s not unreasonable.”
I have to graduate from school anyway.
Ye Ji spoke firmly, having never considered dropping out.
Regardless of what others said, Ye Ji had her own plan.
Her conviction in herself and what emerged from her experience remained unshaken.
As Hyun Min stared at her for a moment, he suddenly asked.
“So, what artist name are you going with?”
At Hyun Min’s question, Ye Ji shook her head.
“That, I haven’t decided yet.”
“Oh. Then should we come up with one together?”
Da Hye responded brightly to Ye Ji’s answer.
After all, commercial activities using an artist name weren’t essential for Ye Ji.
Her true profession was pure art infused with her own values.
Commercial work was either activity for those around her or supplementary activity to support her main practice.
So it seemed more meaningful to receive suggestions from friends than to decide alone.
“I’m fine with that. Ideally, I’d like Korean words that aren’t difficult for people overseas to pronounce.”
Though it doesn’t have to be that way.
The moment he offered a general guideline, Hyun Min spoke up.
“Goyo.”
Two syllables with a soft resonance.
“Goyo—what do you think?”
Hyun Min mentioned it as if he’d been considering this word for some time.
Ye Ji thought it didn’t particularly suit her.
“It’s perfect!”
Da Hye readily agreed.
“Really? Does it… really suit me…?”
“Yeah. Totally fits. Honestly, among our generation, who’s as much their own person as you are?”
Da Hye’s words made Hyun Min nod in agreement.
A person with unwavering conviction, not swayed by others, clearer-headed than most.
Always quietly, she pursued only her perspective and pushed stubbornly toward her goals.
“…I’m not sure it’s quite like that.”
It sounded almost ruthless, but even Ye Ji herself found it hard to completely deny.
“Still, you take good care of people within your circle. Your decisiveness about your work is actually kind of cool.”
Da Hye said this while finishing her watered-down, now-cold coffee.
Cool, coming from a friend.
Ye Ji laughed awkwardly at the excessive praise, and Hyun Min quickly interjected.
“On the flip side, the people you consider enemies—you really bury them. That’s a bit scary.”
…I can’t really deny that either.
Though not literally buried, there wasn’t a single person who’d clashed with Ye Ji and come out standing on the other side.
They’d all quietly disappeared.
At Hyun Min’s words, Da Hye giggled.
“Ah, so that’s why you were laying groundwork earlier—asking us to forgive your mistakes?”
“How could it not be?”
“Wow, Hyun Min better do a good job or he’ll get buried too.”
Ye Ji waved her hand as her two friends joked and chattered, exaggerating playfully.
“Don’t worry. I’ll let it slide once.”
“Wait, so from the second time onward I’m done for?”
Hyun Min came back with mock exasperation at her words.
After that, trivial wordplay continued in jest.
Like ordinary high school students, the unproductive banter continued as the long summer sun began to set.
Back in her everyday life, Ye Ji was spending a peaceful afternoon.
***
Ye Ji headed to her studio early in the morning.
It was a distance she normally walked for exercise, but Korea in August was unbearably hot.
August in Korea truly felt like hell itself.
Even after just a brief walk down from the cool bus, she was already sweating. She immediately tried to turn on the air conditioner.
“…Huh?”
What? Had she left it on yesterday?
She was sure she’d turned it off properly.
When she arrived at the studio, the air conditioner was already running.
She’d have to be more careful next time.
Thinking so, Ye Ji began preparing her workspace.
Seong Su usually came to the studio late, so mornings were always when she was alone….
Rustle—
“…?”
She was supposed to be alone, wasn’t she?
At the sound of movement from somewhere, Ye Ji flinched.
The studio, which had been empty at first, was now filled with canvases everywhere.
The corner where finished pieces were stacked, the spot where drying works hung, and the pile of fresh canvases.
There were many blind spots she couldn’t see into.
Just when she thought it might be her imagination.
The rustling sound came again.
“….”
Could it be a rat? Or a rat? Or something like a rat?
Seong Su’s earlier comment about how the building was attached to a mountain and sometimes things like that got in suddenly came to mind.
Along with horrific imaginings, Ye Ji stepped deeper inside, and her foot caught on something.
“Ahhhhh!”
“Aah!”
With a squelchy sensation underfoot, Ye Ji let out a startled scream and jumped back.
And the thing she’d stepped on screamed back just as loudly.
“That hurts!”
Whimpering and voicing her complaint.
“Se Hee?!”
It was Se Hee, who’d been lying in a corner of the studio out of nowhere.
***
“…You ran away?”
Ye Ji handed Se Hee a glass of water and asked.
The reason Se Hee had suddenly been lying in Ye Ji’s studio was ridiculous.
“Why all of a sudden?”
Just a few days ago, things seemed to be going fine with Seong Su, her uncle.
Se Hee answered Ye Ji’s question by gulping down cold water, speaking with visible frustration.
“This project you’re working on! You said I was going to be included!”
Before the collaboration with Celiane was finalized.
That’s definitely what had been said.
But once a major player got involved, Se Hee’s participation became difficult.
Actually, for Ye Ji, the fact that Celiane even accepted her involvement was quite unexpected.
It was probably backed by her award history….
‘Se Hee has no credentials.’
Strictly speaking, she was just a high school art student aside from being Seong Su’s niece.
You could say it was because Se Hee had neglected external activities so far.
But Ye Ji’s case was unusual—it was standard for high schoolers to have no career yet.
“Well, I’m sorry then.”
After all, she was the one who’d started all these connections in the first place.
When Ye Ji apologized, Se Hee pouted even more.
“It’s not like you need to apologize, but that doesn’t mean my feelings aren’t hurt!”
You two are having fun without me!
While Se Hee was essentially throwing a tantrum like a child, Ye Ji could understand where she was coming from.
Still, running away from home.
Wasn’t that too extreme a response?
“When did you leave?”
“At 6 in the morning today.”
So she’d been gone for about three hours now.
Ye Ji nodded with a peculiar expression.
It seemed like she’d just left the house in an upset state—what people call running away.
Given the look of things, she’d probably return home by the end of the day anyway.
“Then stay as long as you’re comfortable.”
When Ye Ji started working, Se Hee fortunately stayed quiet.
The first piece she began was the one for the collaboration.
A harmony between Seong Su’s naturalistic work and a luxury brand. A piece to bridge the gap between them.
The project, which would feature diverse natural environments from around the world, was set to begin with Jeju Island in Korea.
Ye Ji first attached photos of the location that would serve as the background and costume designs next to the canvas.
Jeju Island’s distinctive deep blue beach with black rocks.
The costume, rendered entirely in black, featured blue accents as its focal point.
To bridge these two….

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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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