I Became A Renowned Genius At My Arts High School - Chapter 150



Only Noblemtl

Episode 150. Fateful Theme (1)

“Okay. Then, to Han Su-hyeon.”

Kwon In-ho nodded with a satisfied expression.

No matter how many opportunities you provide for new experiences, if students are not proactive, the effect will be halved or even less.

However, thanks to Soo-hyun’s energetic response, the students in the classroom began to show curiosity again.

The attention was focused on Han Su-hyeon, who is currently the hottest topic at Baekhyun University of Fine Arts, as the number one candidate. And.

Gulp.

Su-hyeon, who came out in front of the lottery machine, took a deep breath and looked at the entrance.

It doesn’t look like something you’d use for a long time, but upon closer inspection, the shape of the claw machine felt like it had been made with a lot of care.

A face reminiscent of the Mouth of Truth from the movie Roman Holiday adorned the entrance to the barrel, and I had to put my hand into the face’s mouth.

“… … .”

Anyway, thinking that people who do art are obsessed with detail and quality to the point of being useless, Soo-hyun put her hand into the mouth of the face, that is, the entrance to the claw machine.

Squishy. Tingling. Hot.

The sensations that came into contact with my hands in an instant were varied.

What on earth did you put in there?

Although he hesitated to choose one, Soo-hyeon closed his eyes tightly and chose one.

Sticky.

And Soo-Hyeon’s face distorted without her knowing it.

A small object that fits in the palm of your hand. The moment you hold it in your hand, you feel an unpleasant sensation.

‘Is it melting something? Or is it something that seeps out like a sponge the moment you hold it?’

A slippery surface. An unknown substance that made my hand sticky.

I should have squeezed it to see what it was, but I didn’t have the courage.

“Did you catch it?”

Professor Kwon In-ho observed Soo-hyeon’s expression with a face that seemed to be amused.

“Yes. A little bit.”

Soo-hyun answered with a frown.

“What kind of object do you think it is?”

The expected questions continued, and Soo-hyun thought for a moment.

“Well, it’s like a sticky substance that catches bugs, or like rice cake. So it’s like garaetteok. It’s not very soft, but it’s sticky, and it has a slippery feel to it. Or maybe chocolate? It’s not cold or hot, but it seems to become more viscous because of my body temperature.”

Every time Soo-hyun explained something, the faces of the kids listening to her would distort. There were also looks of disappointment in their eyes.

“Okay, then take it out and check it.”

At Professor Kwon In-ho’s words, Su-hyeon steeled her resolve and took out the item from the lottery box. And.

“uh?”

Soo-hyun checked the object in her hand, brought it to her nose, and sniffed it.

“Oh. Is this soap?”

Suddenly, small laughter erupted throughout the classroom. This was because Soo-hyun’s expression had become clearer than before.

Meanwhile, Soo-Hyeon held the object in her hand once more.

It was definitely a softer material than regular soap.

It was slippery due to the influence of body temperature, and it felt sticky because there was no water. In addition, its shape was long and narrow, making it perfect for passing off as rice cake, chocolate, or other objects.

“Oh, did I misunderstand?”

“Right? Okay, Han Soo-hyun, go in with the items, and now, starting from the left front row, students will come out and pick one by one.”

Kwon In-ho smiled and nodded at Soo-hyeon, and Soo-hyeon nodded slightly and returned to her seat.

“Eww! This is weird!”

“Oh, this looks like a toy?”

“Ouch. It’s cold! It’s so cold.”

“It’s hot… I don’t think I should hold on to it too tightly.”

The kids who enjoyed watching other people’s experiences were always flustered when it was their turn and gave strange answers. And after confirming the identity of the object, they shook their heads.

“Are you done now?”

The classroom was bustling and noisy. When all the students returned to their seats with their belongings, Kwon In-ho looked around the classroom with a bright smile.

“Well, I wanted to tell you that this kind of approach is also necessary when drawing a picture or conceiving a work. Visual information is very important, but when you see with your eyes, you can easily get caught up in preconceptions and miss the hidden functions or potential behind things. So, try approaching things using touch, smell, hearing, and other senses. Then, things that you miss or don’t consider important when you see with your eyes can come across as a huge part.”

The students in the classroom nodded in agreement with Kwon In-ho’s experiential class.

Above all, everyone was relieved that today, unlike the first class, they didn’t have to rack their brains.

I was worried that I would have to give up on this class if they asked me to fill out over 100 questions today, but I thought that if the atmosphere was like this, I could go.

“Okay. Now, let’s create a story based on the experience we had a little while ago.”

Kwon In-ho walked briskly toward the blackboard and wrote in large letters the words ‘Fateful Theme.’

“To create a book, you first need a story, right? Some people will be able to come up with stories easily, while others will have no idea. From now on, the objects in your hands will help you create stories.”

Kwon In-ho smiled faintly.

“Let’s think of the object each person has chosen as the first dot or line drawn on a blank sheet of paper. From there, expand the story until you reach a fateful theme. The object can be the main character itself, or it can be an element that explains the main character’s character. It can be used as the center of the story, or as a device for a twist. In any story, make sure that the object each person has chosen appears at least once.”

The children were in an uproar again at the following explanation. The order was to include the object just selected at least once in the book they were going to make. The weight was free, and the idea was to use this object to add imagination and find a fateful theme.

In other words, use the item from the draw you just experienced as a compass or guide to discover a story that has not yet been created.

“Okay, then next time, let’s have each person present what part of the story the items we picked today could be. It could be in the form of text or an image. That’s all for today’s class.”

After Kwon In-ho left, the students stared blankly at the lottery items placed in front of them.

“Wow, what kind of story are you trying to make with this?”

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be the main character or have a high role. It’s hard to come up with a story without thinking, so I’m giving you hints one by one. Isn’t that what it means?”

“Ha, this class is difficult. At first, I thought it was teaching us to get rid of our preconceptions and observe the other side of things, but now you’re asking us to use it again and make up a story using this object?”

“Hey, you pulled out the ring, even though it was a toy. That’s better. I pulled out a roll of toilet paper. The only thing that comes to mind is a toilet.”

“Oh. I don’t know. I just got a business card for a building cleaning service. What can I say about this?”

Su-hyeon also stared intently at the soap she had just pulled out.

‘Why does it have to be red?’

It was such a unique soap that I wanted to ask where it was bought.

It was long and narrow. The scent was good, but that wasn’t the problem. I couldn’t immediately figure out what kind of book it would make.

“Shall we go?”

“I wonder?”

Before she knew it, Cha Yoon-hee, Park Sun-hwa, Oh Yu-na, and Park Jun-young were standing in front of Soo-hyun’s seat, and Soo-hyun nodded and got up, packing her bags.

***

It was a strange thing.

After that day, fresh and interesting classes continued on Thursdays and Fridays, and Su-hyeon’s head was filled with the complete works.

“Soap. Red soap.”

Saturday lunch, Soohyun’s house.

Su-hyeon was sitting at the table in the atelier on the first floor, doodling in her sketchbook.

The feeling when I first held the soap, the embarrassment when I realized that I had mistaken it for something unpleasant, and the scent, color, and shape. The individual pieces of information and emotions were still vivid, but they were not connected into a story.

“But it’s still fun.”

Su-hyeon muttered.

I was starting to realize why Lee Kyung-min and Seo Ji-hoon recommended this class so much last year.

Of course, Professor Kwon In-ho wasn’t teaching the class at that time, and the level of difficulty was much lower than it is now, but that wasn’t the important thing.

“So this is how books are originally approached.”

Su-hyeon was completely rethinking her thoughts on picture books.

In the past, Su-hyeon had drawn illustrations for a picture book collection as one of her many part-time jobs.

It was an introduction by Kim Min-jun, and the result was not good. Even though I worked hard, the book was published without Su-hyeon’s name.

It was an unfair and resentful experience, and because the first taste was so bitter, Su-hyeon avoided working on the book after that. Because of that, she could not continue to seriously think about the book.

“It’s completely different from when I used to draw alone and struggle.”

Even back then, I tried hard to find materials and draw good pictures, but there were limits.

It took me a long time to learn the difference between conversation and illustration, and it was difficult to judge whether I was doing well or lacking something when I met an editor who couldn’t give me proper feedback.

Above all, it was difficult to fully immerse myself in painting when earning a living was my most important goal. I tried my best, but I did not achieve the best results.

But this time, the first button that was sewn wrong was buttoned up properly.

It felt like all I had experienced was one leg of an elephant, and that I was finally able to see what a real elephant looked like.

“That’s amazing.”

Su-hyeon muttered, then jumped up and headed to the bookshelf.

And I was looking through a bunch of original books I bought at a bookstore a while ago.

It wasn’t clear, but I felt like I read a passage somewhere that had the same context as the story I heard in Kwon In-ho’s class.

“Which book was it?”

There was a slight error in my memory.

The book he picked up with confidence did not contain anything that Soo-hyeon remembered.

“Are you overloaded?”

Su-hyeon shook her head.

Because I crammed all the books I had carried on my back into my head at once, I remembered the content somewhat scattered.

Let’s calmly turn the pages of the book one by one. Only then will things start to get organized.

“Wow. This is it?”

And after a while, Soo-Hyeon was able to find the book she was looking for.

It was the black-covered book that I picked up at the end, recommended by the owner of the Art Nouveau bookstore.

“That’s right. This was it.”

Because he was busy reading the books he had chosen first, it was a few days after purchasing the book that Su-hyeon opened it.

They said I could get a refund within 3 days, so it’s already too late.

However, with faith in the recommender, Soo-Hyeon hurriedly opened the plastic packaging and opened the contents, and at that moment, a soft exclamation burst out from Soo-Hyeon’s mouth.

It was filled with jewel-like paintings that far exceeded expectations and imagination.

“It’s good to see you again.”

Su-hyeon spoke softly and flipped through the pages.

The meaning of the main text written in German was difficult to understand.

The second foreign language I learned briefly during my preparatory school years was French.

But the picture alone was enough to explain. The artist also had a good sense of design, and explained his work process very intuitively.

In particular, what caught Soo-hyeon’s attention was a point that was very similar to Professor Kwon In-ho’s teachings.

“Yeah. This part! It’s similar even if you look at it again.”

The author used small thumbnails to explain the process of how he developed the story by getting hints from objects or scenery.

First, I started with real photos of inspiring or very everyday objects, then showed the process of characterizing them, and drew a map of how the character reacted to certain events.

“I want to see more.”

Su-hyeon muttered to herself as she turned the book to the last page.

According to the bookstore owner, he was not a famous author, and since he had only printed a few copies at his own expense after being rejected by publishers, it was difficult to obtain other books. However, as they say, if you seek, you will find, and if you knock, the door will be opened to you.

“Huh?”

Su-hyeon’s eyes widened for a moment when she discovered a short phrase on the cover.

It was a difficult word to read, but it was a familiar form that didn’t require reading.

The contact information, presumably the author’s email address, was written in very small letters.