The Reborn Genius of an Arts High School - Chapter 78

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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 78.
So Hee found the student in front of her quite fascinating.
At first, she’d approached thinking the girl might be a relative of Park Sung Soo, the writer famous for rarely engaging in commercial work.
But that wasn’t quite it—she was simply an unusual kid.
“Don’t even mention it. My head’s killing me as it is. I just need something cold to drink and a good sleep.”
A refreshing beer, droplets of condensation streaming down the can.
When So Hee shook the can to show her, the student nodded as if she understood perfectly.
Usually, when students meet celebrities, they want to grow close, to forge connections.
That’s what fame was—becoming a different class of person.
Glamorous, envied, revered.
So Hee had striven to become that kind of person.
Hadn’t that tiny gathering demonstrated it clearly enough?
Clawing upward a little more with each chance, grasping at every opportunity to entangle themselves with those above.
There had been a truckload of people desperate to appeal to their superiors.
But Ye Ji’s apparent indifference to all that sparked a flicker of curiosity in So Hee.
“That’s all you were curious about?”
Would this unusual girl offer another unexpected answer?
So Hee posed the question with a hint of anticipation.
The young student before her answered simply, just as So Hee half-expected.
“It’s just—you looked cool.”
The two words that followed defied So Hee’s predictions entirely.
If this girl were also in the modeling world, it would have made sense, but she didn’t look like a model at all.
“……What, exactly?”
So Hee found herself faltering mid-question.
But the answer came smoothly nonetheless.
“The way you were working at the shooting site. If it were me, spending that long concentrating outside in a day like this—I’d collapse for sure.”
That was a realm that no amount of stubbornness or passion alone could solve.
“To be able to do that, you must have worked incredibly hard where no one could see. Putting in the effort to stay focused and diligent no matter what kind of location you’re at, no matter how tired you get.”
Over countless hours.
Enduring and concentrating even under extreme conditions.
Building that kind of stamina while maintaining a lean, aesthetically pleasing body wasn’t easy.
The young girl, whom So Hee was meeting for the first time tonight, spoke as though she understood all those long stretches of time.
“Seems like nobody just becomes famous without a reason.”
The unseen effort that no one acknowledged.
So Hee felt an odd, touching sensation at the student’s words.
Efforts that had long since become habit—ones she’d forgotten about.
Was it because someone was acknowledging work that even she herself had stopped recognizing?
The feeling was strange.
‘……Am I drunk?’
It couldn’t be from just one beer.
So Hee took a deep breath and reined in her emotions.
When she thought about it, ever since the word “global” had attached itself to her, she’d become a single-minded person.
So obsessed with climbing higher that she’d forgotten what she truly wanted.
And along the way, she’d been losing the purpose, meaning, and even value of the work she was doing.
It had never been meant to elevate her into the upper class.
Yet somehow, at some point, she’d forgotten that entirely.
“……Now that I think about it, I never asked your name?”
At So Hee’s question, the student hesitated for a moment.
Of all the questions asked so far, this should have been the easiest.
“……It’s Ye Ji.”
After the longest pause of all her answers yet, she replied.
So Hee thought what a curious coincidence it was.
Just recently, a student painter she’d been considering buying a painting from had the same name.
‘It’s not that rare of a name, though.’
Neither the family name nor the given name.
Since both were common, she nodded without giving it much thought.
“Will you come to the location tomorrow?”
“…Yes, I’ll be there.”
“Good. Then we’ll see each other tomorrow.”
After hearing Ye Ji’s answer, So Hee crushed the empty can and gestured goodbye.
Nothing was resolved, but strangely, her head felt clear.
***
The next morning.
“Manager, so I looked into it a bit?”
In the car heading to the shooting location, So Hee tilted her head at her manager’s words.
“Looked into what?”
“…What do you mean what! The painter involved in this project!”
So Hee nodded then.
Right. Now that she mentioned it, she’d told her to look into it.
“You disappeared so suddenly yesterday that I didn’t get to tell you.”
At the mention of yesterday, So Hee let out a quiet laugh.
An unexpected encounter from last night.
Though unforeseen, the words of that strangely eye-catching young girl had swept her mind clean of worries.
She hadn’t even realized she was lost—until she understood that she was wandering.
Of course, an inferiority complex born from her background wouldn’t vanish overnight.
But recognizing this truth was what mattered.
That what made her who she was now wasn’t mere luxury brands or the expensive things the upper classes enjoyed.
“This painter’s name is Ye Ji, and actually—”
“Never mind. Forget it. I don’t care anymore.”
So Hee rather liked that she could say such things now.
Her true worth wasn’t bound to mere material things.
“What difference does it make if I collect paintings I don’t even know that well? I just need to do my job properly.”
At So Hee’s matter-of-fact tone, her manager’s face fell with frustration.
“……But you could’ve told me sooner!”
After having gone to the trouble of finding everything out, the manager pouted.
At her expression, So Hee laughed awkwardly.
“Sorry, sorry. So nothing happened at the dinner yesterday, then?”
Even as they prepared for shooting at the location, the manager continued rattling off various details.
So Hee reviewed the preliminary concept boards and materials she’d prepared, listening to the manager’s chatter.
The stories were long and tedious, but there wasn’t much that drew So Hee’s attention.
Everyone had been desperate to impress Yi Na, the team leader, or Park Sung Soo.
A few had been so blatant about it they’d made others uncomfortable, but that was purely personal.
There was nothing that would pose a problem for the actual shoot.
“Anyway, unless something special goes wrong, it looks like most of the current staff will move together overseas too.”
So would that include the girl Ye Ji?
“We’ll begin shooting in ten minutes.”
The curiosity flickered briefly, but at the staff’s announcement, So Hee stepped out of the car.
***
Meanwhile, at the shooting location.
“You’re sure you’re alright?”
Ye Ji asked, observing Park Sung Soo, whose complexion looked decidedly poor.
“Everyone didn’t drink that much yesterday, did they?”
Today’s shoot was the final one.
Which meant yesterday must have been a simple dinner gathering, she’d heard.
That’s definitely what it had been.
“Yeah, it was, but…”
“The writer tends to get bad hangovers.”
Yi Na, the team leader, who was with them from the start of today’s shoot, informed Ye Ji.
That explanation made a bit of sense now.
Park Sung Soo was someone who disliked mixing with unfamiliar people.
‘Half the staff probably weren’t uncle’s usual staff…’
There were likely many people he was meeting for the first time.
As Ye Ji watched Park Sung Soo sympathetically, Yi Na asked her a question.
“Are you managing alright?”
At Yi Na’s question about whether she was scared coming alone without her parents, Ye Ji felt slightly indignant.
“Uncle is here, and I can come to Jeju Island alone by now.”
Sometimes she felt everyone treated her too much like a child.
She was nearly a high school senior—practically an adult.
At Ye Ji’s words, Yi Na burst into laughter.
To Ye Ji’s eyes, Yi Na didn’t seem like someone with a high-ranking position at a luxury brand.
Though admittedly, she dressed with such refinement that it created a certain distance.
But in her manner and tone toward Ye Ji, there was none of the characteristic touchiness one might expect from fashion industry people.
She was kind and considerate—an adult who wasn’t difficult to approach.
“The model’s here.”
At Yi Na’s words, Ye Ji turned to see So Hee, beautifully styled as always.
Today’s shoot was entirely on the beach.
Moving without getting her clothes wet from the shallow sea water to the rocks jutting up suddenly in the middle—it would be quite exhausting.
To go through such effort and yet have to convey peacefulness in the final work.
Modeling really wasn’t easy.
“Still, we’ve had good weather luck these past two days.”
Today too, the summer sky was clear and blindingly bright.
Perfect shooting weather, apart from the heat.
So Hee had seemed impressive yesterday too, but somehow today she appeared even more energized.
Everything aligned perfectly, the location flawless.
With nothing going awry, the atmosphere remained good right until the end.
“Then let’s wrap up the shoot here.”
The moment Park Sung Soo declared shooting complete, sighs of relief erupted from all sides.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
“Everyone did great!”
“Everyone get into the shade tent!”
“Let’s all cool off and move around.”
The fact that no one collapsed from heat stroke was itself fortunate.
Ye Ji also fled into the shade tent, clutching a large ice water bottle.
“Good work today.”
So Hee too escaped into the shade and took a breath.
With thick makeup applied to her whole body to protect against sunburn or redness, So Hee looked almost suffocating to observers.
Yet despite this, she seemed refreshed and in good spirits.
The shoot had wrapped satisfactorily.
“Everyone truly worked hard. Thanks to you all, this shoot went wonderfully.”
Yi Na stepped forward and offered gratitude and praise to all the staff.
At her words, So Hee’s eyes widened with laughter.
“Wow, that’s something. I didn’t know you could say such things, team leader.”
“Oh please. Am I the kind of person who’s angry all the time?”
Knowing laughter rippled through the staff at the exchange between Yi Na and So Hee.
For Ye Ji, the situation was peculiar.
Wasn’t that how Yi Na had always been?
“When everyone who works is attentive and skilled, how wonderful is that? I wish every shoot could be like this.”
Seeing Yi Na say such things about herself, it didn’t seem like something uttered carelessly.
Park Sung Soo let out a small laugh while taking a swig of ice water.
Not just Ye Ji—the staff meeting Yi Na for the first time looked bewildered.
“Do you get angry often…?”
When Ye Ji posed a gently joking question, Yi Na didn’t deny it and smiled.
“Actually, I do quite a bit. Shooting locations usually don’t go according to plan.”
But this shoot had been different.
While the weather was purely a matter of luck, everything else beyond that flowed just as everyone intended.
Perhaps—
“Thanks to you.”
Yi Na replied that way to the question Ye Ji had posed, and Ye Ji herself was taken aback.
That wasn’t the response she’d been fishing for with her joke.
“No, I was just doing what I could.”
“Still, that was the whole purpose of having the writer here. You’re the connecting link.”
If that connection hadn’t aligned properly, the shoot wouldn’t have worked at all.
By providing a concrete picture to her, who’d been so worried.
By giving her a tangible solution right before her eyes, Ye Ji had allowed her to work with a gentler touch.
At how Yi Na was crediting her work, So Hee tilted her head in confusion.
‘Writer?’
Weren’t there only Park Sung Soo as a writer here?
To anyone watching, the glances darting between Park Sung Soo and Ye Ji seemed to say otherwise.
Yi Na realized her mistake belatedly.
“Oh, didn’t you know, So Hee?”
It was because she’d arrived late yesterday due to a Seoul matter with Park Sung Soo, so they’d skipped proper introductions and gone straight to work.
“Sorry. I should’ve mentioned it.”
Since the work had flowed so smoothly without incident, Yi Na had forgotten she’d overlooked it.
“The painter responsible for the artwork in this project—the writer Ye Ji here—that’s who this is.”

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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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