I Became A Renowned Genius At My Arts High School - Chapter 153



Only Noblemtl

Episode 153. Small Renaissance (2)

I guess I’m getting a little used to college life.

Time was passing more smoothly and quickly than last year.

It seems like the new semester just started, but we’re already entering the midterm exam period.

Su-hyeon, who had not overworked herself preparing for individual exhibitions until last year, has set a pretty tight schedule this year.

Thanks to that, I had to focus hard for about two weeks to prepare for reports and exams, but even in the midst of being chased, there were times when I felt happy.

‘I guess it’s different the second time.’

In her previous life, Soo-hyun was a busy student who had to keep up with her classes. She always had to work part-time, so she often just glossed over things.

But this time, I had more time to focus, and maybe because I had lived my life once, my insight and understanding also increased. I could clearly see what I needed to learn from each subject, and I was able to gain a lot by studying in depth. That was quite enjoyable.

Anyway, all the written exams were finished this week. All that was left were the presentation assignments for my major classes, and today was Wednesday, the day of my class on the complete works.

“Oh, Jae-kyung is here?”

“Hey, hey. Minsu. I don’t think that painting has completely dried.”

“Let’s put them over here. Let’s put them in the order of presentation.”

The classroom was noisy.

In other major classes, the final assignment was submitted at the end of the semester, so the midterm exam was literally just a way to check the intermediate progress, but the complete collection class was different.

This is because the source work required to create a book was placed in the first half of the midterm exam, while the technical aspects such as editing, printing, and binding were placed in the second half of the final exam, so the weight of the midterm exam was greater.

The technical work in the second half could not become a variable unless a major accident occurred.

In the end, the decision would be made through the midterm exam where the original drawings would be revealed, so tension was bound to run rampant in the classroom.

“Is everyone ready?”

After a while, the classroom door opened and Professor Kwon In-ho came in.

Her hair was neatly slicked back as usual. However, her eyes were sunken and her skin was dull.

As the kids were busy making decent books in a short period of time, he, who was in charge of the class, also expended a lot of energy.

It was only natural that he lost weight in a few weeks, as he not only involved himself in his students’ work and gave them advice, but also looked for helpful materials and passed them on, and meticulously recorded their sketches as they developed each week, almost memorizing them.

“Ready!”

“Everyone is here!”

However, these hardships made us closer to each other in a short period of time.

The students who had looked tired at the beginning of the semester were looking at Kwon In-ho with rather warm eyes.

“Shall we start from the window side? Now, let’s put the pictures you’ve prepared on the easel or board in front of you in order, and let’s talk freely about what kind of book you’ve envisioned.”

When Kwon In-ho sat down in the front seat and nodded, the students who were pointed out came forward and hung up the paintings they had brought one by one.

After a while.

“I pulled out the eraser.”

The first presenter opened his mouth and held up the eraser he had chosen from the raffle.

“I’m 23 now, and when I meet my middle school and high school classmates and talk about old times, I sometimes wonder, “Did something like that really happen?” There are things that kids remember, but in my head, they’re completely erased. I just thought it was because I have a bad memory, but after pulling out the eraser this time, I had this thought. Could it be that some being has erased a few of my memories? My picture book started from that kind of imagination.”

The second-year male student who introduced himself as a returning student from the CD department had a very cheerful personality.

He introduced the main text of the book, saying that he conceived the story based on his real experiences, and the butterfly effect that occurred because he forgot a crucial promise or a vow he had made was quite funny. Thanks to this, laughter erupted throughout the classroom.

“Well. So I made a story called ‘In Search of Lost Memories’. In the first chapter, I introduced the main character who suffers from memory loss. The next chapter depicts the main character’s brain. If you go to the next chapter, you can see a small door inside the brain, right? This is the door to the storage facility where memories are stored. If you open it and go in, you can see numerous memories stored like this. … … Oh, the next page shows some of the memories inside the storage facility. Oh! I drew memories as puzzles. Vague memories have many missing pieces and are riddled with holes, while good memories have a proper shape.”

The boy explained the paintings on the easel one by one, pointing them out in order.

The fateful theme that started from the eraser and met was ‘memory’.

One day, the main character in the book learns that an eraser can erase precious memories, and he goes into his own head to see how many memories he has lost.

The protagonist discovers that he has lost a significant portion of the memories he should never have forgotten, and must figure out a way to save him before the eraser completely erases yet another precious memory.

And finally, he finds a solution: to enter the memory storage of someone close to him.

If you go to the memory storage of someone who shared the same memories, there will probably be some of the memories you lost, so you can use that as a medium to revive dead memories.

After many twists and turns, the protagonist enters the memory storage of his closest friend.

But there, the protagonist sees a secret about his friend that he shouldn’t have seen.

Now, in order to save your own memories, you have to remember your friend’s shameful actions.

The troubled protagonist eventually gives up on finding his memories.

And I watch as the eraser that approaches erases the handful of precious memories that remain. My friend’s shame is also erased from the protagonist’s memory.

“Well, then I added a little twist to it.”

The boy who had explained all the pictures turned over the last picture that he had covered and showed it to everyone.

“… … ?”

“… … ?”

The students in the classroom opened their eyes wide when they saw that.

“I added the last chapter because I thought the ending would be a bit bland. I prepared two versions. One is that after a long time, the main character, who has lost a lot of his memory, is sitting on a bench in a nursing home with dementia. The other is that while the main character is searching for his lost memories in his friend’s memory storage, his friend also enters the main character’s memory storage and sees the main character’s secret memories. Haha.”

The male student who finished his presentation bowed his head in greeting, and the students clapped their hands vigorously.

Su-hyeon also gave encouraging applause with warm eyes.

“Thank you for your hard work. Personally, I think that the story would have been more enjoyable if it had ended without a final chapter and with a bland ending.”

When Professor Kwon In-ho first shared his brief thoughts, the students burst into laughter.

As he said, the story that had been piquing my curiosity throughout felt like it had lost its way as the last chapter was added.

Not only was the plot twist a problem, but the picture itself felt awkward. It was a tone that hindered appreciation, so it would have been better to remove it.

“Oh, then I’ll leave it out! I suddenly thought of it early yesterday morning, so I brought it here, but I also thought it wasn’t right when I was presenting it!”

The presenter quickly put down his easel, saying that he would take out the last page without any hesitation, and the classroom erupted in loud laughter again at the quick change in tone.

“Yes. Dawn sharpens your sensibilities. You can tell if it’s useful or not by looking at it in the morning. At dawn, I think I’m a genius, but the next day, I often feel like quickly hiding the thoughts and drawings I had yesterday. Haha. Of course, I’m not saying that your drawings are like that. Anyway, the way you solved the memories as a puzzle was very good.”

Kwon In-ho, who had given a cool-headed assessment, then offered a carrot.

Expressing the theme of memory as a puzzle was certainly an intuitive and refreshing approach.

“The expression of texture is impressive, but what materials were used?”

Kwon In-ho lifted his glasses and carefully observed the painting on the easel.

“I used spray paint and cardboard to draw the puzzle objects so that they stand out. I also used a little bit of watercolor, colored pencil, and conte.”

The presenter quickly gave the answer.

“The cardboard texture is interesting, but it might not matter when you look at it as a drawing, but it’ll be hard to capture the feel of it when you scan and edit the image. It’ll probably require a lot of correction. Do you know how to use a graphics program?”

“Yes, I majored in visual design!”

“Okay. Well then, let’s look forward to it.”

There were a few more questions and answers, and the pictures the first presenter had shown were put together and organized.

Meanwhile, the second presenter came forward and began to hang up the picture he had prepared.

‘Everyone is doing well.’

Although their faces were tense, the presentation continued smoothly thereafter.

By the time about half of the students had finished their presentations, there was no apparent lack of work.

Even those whose drawing skills are lacking have found a style that complements their weaknesses and improved their level of completion.

‘Overall, the level is quite high. Wow, really.’

Professor Kwon In-ho tilted his head again. Strangely, these students seemed to know ten things when taught one.

It’s like holding the bike from behind a child who is learning to ride for the first time, and the child immediately becomes adept at pedaling and cornering.

But when this kind of incident happened to the next child, and the one after that, it was difficult to simply ignore it, thinking that it was because my teaching was excellent or because the children were of excellent quality.

In fact, Soo-Hyeon’s coach and help played a big role in the suspicious background, but Kwon In-Ho had not yet noticed it.

“Good work. Okay, next person.”

After giving a brief word of encouragement to the student who finished his presentation, Kwon In-ho turned his gaze to the student waiting for his turn.

This time it was Oh Yu-na’s turn.

“I picked a leaf. I thought of the way the green leaves turn yellow and red in the fall, and I created a story with the maple leaves as the main character.”

An impression that seems somewhat cold.

He was a student with a pretty face who gave off an air of being from a wealthy family even if you didn’t know his background.

Usually, these kids need academic backgrounds to use as a signboard, so they choose subjects that are easy to get good grades in, but Oh Yu-na was a diligent student who defied expectations.

“The protagonist is a maple leaf who is obsessed with narcissism.”

Oh Yu-na introduces a maple leaf character that resembles herself.

Everyone must have felt the same way. A small laugh broke out, but Oh Yu-na ignored it and began to tell the story she had prepared.

The protagonist is praised as the most beautiful maple leaf in the forest.

The protagonist hears that a festival is being held on the other side of the mountain, where the best maple leaves are picked by birds visiting the forest.

Who else would receive the crown if not him? The maple leaf, who had been laughing, fell to the ground with the help of the wind that happened to blow, and headed towards the festival site in high spirits.

A journey where countless maple leaves line the road. The protagonist looks at them and is confident that there is no one as beautiful as himself.

However, there are tremendous difficulties on the way to the festival site. Many maple leaves disappear due to the attack of insects, and some maple leaves become stuck to the ground and cannot move due to the sudden downpour. The protagonist barely overcomes the difficulties and arrives at the festival site.

The festival venue is more splendid and wonderful than expected. The protagonist is delighted that she has finally achieved it, and smiles in satisfaction when she discovers that there is no one as beautiful as her at the finals venue.

However, the protagonist, who heads to the pond at the judge’s request to get a glass of water, is shocked.

“I saw a strange face on the pond, that is, I saw myself who had lost all my beauty and turned into a fallen leaf.”

O Yu-na introduced the highlighted parts of the picture book.

“The character is cute.”

“But it’s pitiful.”

“That’s right. Look at the slumped shoulders.”

The kids in the classroom nodded in response to the picture, and Kwon In-ho felt dizzy beyond confusion.

Even Oh Yu-na, who was thought to be honest but only average in talent, brought a great book.

If this is the case, how should we evaluate and understand the children in this class?

Before she could even gather her thoughts, Oh Yu-na’s turn was over and it was the turn of the final boss that everyone had been waiting for, Han Su-hyeon.