The Reborn Genius of an Arts High School - Chapter 94

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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 94.
Hyun Min’s jaw dropped as he listened to Hyun Seung’s account.
So basically….
“Has she lost her mind?”
By his reckoning, no director of a major brand would conduct herself that way.
Of course, personal grudges born from individual mistakes shouldn’t bleed into business, but still—
Hyun Min caught the sardonic twist of Hyun Seung’s mouth and pressed him further.
“What, is she the Pradel chairman’s daughter or something?”
Hyun Seung, entertaining the same thought, let out a low chuckle at the question.
No matter how he turned it over in his mind, her behavior was breathtakingly stupid and careless.
“I don’t know. Didn’t see much point in digging deeper. She’ll be gone soon enough, I’d wager.”
If she turned out to be the chairman’s daughter or some distant relative, it would become a far graver problem.
The values held by ownership families were a more critical issue than any individual employee’s shortcomings.
In recent times, the position of East Asians—Korea included—had grown steadily stronger on the world stage.
This was certain to become a major headache before long.
“Probably, being duped by a fake came down to that same shallow, arrogant prejudice sitting at the bottom of everything.”
To Hyun Seung’s mind, all of this traced back to precisely such careless, self-important bias.
The conviction that an East Asian newcomer couldn’t possibly have talent.
That prejudice-laden thinking must have driven her to hunt down a French painter with a similar style and leap to her own hasty conclusions.
Even if Pradel took heavy losses from this affair, there was nothing to be done about it.
They had brought it all upon themselves.
Hyun Min, listening to the explanation, bobbed his head in agreement.
“If you’ve got any Pradel stock, you should dump it now.”
At his younger brother’s words, Hyun Seung finally burst out laughing.
Watching him laugh, Hyun Min gave a slow shake of his head.
He was perfectly serious, and the man was treating it like a joke.
Hyun Min grabbed his bag again and was heading upstairs to his room when he turned back to his brother with one more parting shot.
“And if you’re smart, pick up Celianne instead.”
Struck by his brother’s certainty, Hyun Seung asked with something approaching genuine curiosity.
“You’re sure?”
It felt like he’d heard a question like this recently.
The sense of déjà vu nagged at him, though Hyun Min’s response this time differed from his answer the last time he’d been asked something similar.
“Yeah. I’m sure.”
The day Ye Ji would show her mettle in all of this.
She hadn’t intended it, but the results would speak for themselves in cold numbers.
That was what Ye Ji’s value and influence amounted to.
“So, you’d better position yourself well too.”
***
Several more days passed after that.
Ye Ji returned to Celianne’s Korean branch, this time with Goyo.
Ina, who had concluded her dealings with the Italian headquarters, had reached out requesting an additional meeting.
The waiting period before the formal meeting was set had not been dull.
Ye Ji’s days were already sufficiently packed.
“Welcome.”
Just from Ina’s expression alone, it was clear the conversation with headquarters had gone well.
“Things are taking off.”
Isn’t this what you wanted?
Ina’s face seemed to be saying as much.
Before launching into detailed explanations, she laid the contracts down before Ye Ji and Goyo.
“Take a look while I walk you through it.”
“Wow. You certainly don’t do things halfway, do you?”
Goyo reached for the contracts, visibly startled by Ina’s aggressive pace.
“Honestly, we don’t have much time. We need to move fast.”
Even accounting for the impersonation, waiting until the fraudulent Julien and Pradel collaboration product launched would be too late—that was the consensus.
The faster any countermeasure, the better.
Moving quickly as she was, Ina had already ensured the contracts reflected the best terms she could offer.
Some of the clauses even exceeded her authority.
If the artist couldn’t accept this much, there would be no point continuing the conversation.
At the same time, Ina was confident this would be enough to satisfy the creator.
“We’re adding a new product line to our Celianne fragrance collection.”
With that, Ina took out a scent strip and spritzed the sample she’d been carrying.
A pleasant aroma diffused through the narrow office space.
It was crisp and clear.
The sensation of cleanliness faded, leaving behind a subtle blend of wood and flower notes at the finish.
Neutral yet fresh.
A faint aquatic note emerged, lending the fragrance a curious weight unsuitable for summer alone.
Yet it wasn’t unpleasant—dreamy enough that few would dislike it outright.
Ye Ji arrived at her conclusion: this was a good fragrance.
“We’re launching a pop-up in Paris soon for this new fragrance.”
Ina continued her explanation alongside the scent.
This was an event decided long ago, with dates and locations already confirmed.
Promotional videos and pictorials were complete.
What remained was literally just the pop-up event itself.
And what Ye Ji needed right now was precisely an offline venue to unveil her work to the public.
Their conditions aligned perfectly.
“And Goyo will be participating too.”
With everything already in place, all Ye Ji and Goyo needed to do was provide the artwork.
Once they delivered the work, she would handle coordinating it with the Paris pop-up herself.
With Goyo’s participation, they could now realize Ye Ji’s work through diverse creative approaches.
Ina intended to make full use of this opportunity.
Add Goyo’s work to the attention they’d already generated, and she’d ride that momentum higher still.
“You seem to have considerable pull with headquarters,” Goyo observed lightly.
But this was the crux of the matter.
Ina was, after all, only the domestic marketing lead.
She had no authority to involve herself in the Paris event.
“Of course, once the Paris pop-up wraps, we’ll run something similar domestically.”
The proposal Ina had submitted was a domestic one.
But she had simply added a suggestion: what if we run this in Paris as well?
That it was accepted was proof of how much Ina’s standing at headquarters had grown.
And that growth stemmed naturally from the success of the project she’d spearheaded alongside Ye Ji.
“Celianne wants this moment to be more than a flash in the pan, and they’re determined to capitalize on it fully.”
So, if Ye Ji could simply provide the quality work she was capable of, both sides would get what they wanted.
Ina continued her explanation with a soft smile.
“The works used at the pop-up—per the contract—transfer all ownership rights, licensing, and copyright to the company.”
Ye Ji carefully read through the densely worded contract pages.
There were unfamiliar terms, but the language seemed considerate of her, not particularly complex.
It wasn’t vastly different from the previous contract, though as Ina had mentioned, the intellectual property section had changed.
In the prior project, only the license had been contracted.
That is, ownership of the work remained with Ye Ji.
This meant they couldn’t arbitrarily alter her work in the pictorials.
It could be cropped or appear only partially in a photograph, but modification was impossible.
This pop-up, however, was different.
You couldn’t simply bring artwork to a physical venue and hang it bare.
Circumstances demanded adding something—there was no way around it.
Ye Ji had factored this in when requesting Goyo’s collaboration, so this much was acceptable.
“Ye Ji mentioned she was fine foregoing additional compensation, but I can’t agree with that position.”
Ina made a point of emphasizing the positive aspects of the terms she was offering.
“We’re guaranteeing an amount that ranks among the highest in the industry. This is a proposal built on trust between us.”
Speaking with confidence, Ina spread her hands to emphasize her point to both women.
“You’re welcome to discuss it if you’d like.”
Sensing something unexpected in Ina’s demeanor, Ye Ji flipped to the back of the contract.
The figure written on the final page was generous enough to justify Ina’s confident tone.
[1.6 million euros]
Converted to Korean won, that was two billion.
Ye Ji paused momentarily.
She’d received a substantial sum on the previous project, but it was less than half this amount.
That made sense—she’d simply been lending the work, not transferring ownership at all.
…….
For a single piece, it was indeed a considerable sum.
In fact, it was so large that it felt unreal, and she couldn’t quite judge whether it was appropriate.
This was the first time Ye Ji had contracted to sell ownership rights to a work in this manner.
Not even across her previous life had this happened.
Unable to judge alone, Ye Ji quietly showed part of the contract to Goyo as well.
He at least would have experience with arrangements like this.
When Ye Ji showed him a portion of the contract, Goyo tilted his head to examine it.
Even accounting for necessity, if it seemed unreasonable, she’d need to reconsider…?
“……Can I be a little jealous?”
At Goyo’s words, Ye Ji blinked in bewilderment.
Apparently, the figure in his contract was lower.
Granted, his name commanded a higher price, but his arrangement involved utilizing Ye Ji’s work.
It was only natural that selling the entire piece, as Ye Ji was doing, commanded a larger fee.
Goyo laughed softly at her expression.
“Not a bad deal, is it?”
Ina added to that assessment.
“No. Let me be precise: these are excellent terms.”
At Ina’s words, even Goyo couldn’t object—he simply nodded.
While he hadn’t been chasing money, he now belatedly realized how thoroughly Ina had engineered this opportunity.
Watching Ye Ji, still turning the contract over in her hands without seeming to fully grasp it, Ina offered further explanation.
“Normally, there’d be no need to specify beforehand how we’d use the work.”
But having made no small request of headquarters, she intended to wring maximum value from this venture.
1.6 million euros wasn’t mere expenditure.
Handled properly, it was marketing capital that could yield returns money couldn’t buy—just as the previous project had.
This was precisely what they meant by striking while the iron was hot.
“From packaging to Media Facade displays, promotional films, and related advertising shoots—we’ll be using it across the board. The copyright acquisition is essential for all that.”
A Media Facade typically referred to the massive screens adorning large buildings in busy commercial districts.
They’d project her work there and create elaborate animated advertisements with special effects.
To do that, they’d necessarily have to digitize Ye Ji’s work and add motion and alterations.
Ina didn’t intend merely to row—she meant to spread her wings and fly.
By that point, Ye Ji understood this had ceased to be about money.
She’d gain exposure for her work across far more venues and media channels.
It was the very essence of why she’d taken up commercial work under the name Goyo.
The money was simply what came along.
Having confirmed all this, there was no more reason to deliberate.
“I’m in.”
The deal was done.
***
Da Hye stopped short as she entered the studio.
Ordinarily, the workspace was filled with the peculiar smell of oil paint and various pigments.
No matter how much she opened windows to clear the air, the paint smell lingered—but now an unfamiliar fragrance greeted her first.
It seemed to have mingled with the paint smell, yet it wasn’t unpleasant at all.
“What is that? What fragrance?”
Sniff, sniff.
It smells nice, but what’s the original scent like?
Watching Da Hye sniff the air like a puppy, Ye Ji laughed and produced a small fragrance bottle.
It was a sample she’d received from Ina.
“It’s this new fragrance Celianne’s launching. They want to debut it alongside my new work in Paris.”
Ye Ji was already buried in the scent, sketching out fresh ideas for her new piece.

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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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