I Became A Renowned Genius At My Arts High School - Chapter 167



Only Noblemtl

Episode 167. In New York (1)

When I look back on the playground I used to play at as a child or visit my old school full of memories after becoming an adult, I feel both joy and surprise.

This is because the space that seemed large, grand, and magnificent in my memory was actually small, cozy, and humble.

When I was young and small, the world that was my universe was just one of those wells. What I sighed at and thought was a big deal turned out to be nothing special when I looked back. Rather, the little things that I didn’t know were precious were actually irreplaceable treasures. Sometimes, I realize this too late.

After this experience, Soo-hyeon was barely able to pull herself together.

No matter how daunting a task may seem, as time passes and you overcome the hardships, you will be able to laugh about it. So just do it this time too. There is nothing to be afraid of.

“Are you ready?”

Crunch.

A house that will be empty for a while.

As soon as the front door closed, Oh Yu-na, Park Seon-hwa, and Cha Yoon-hee, who had been waiting, opened the car door and got out.

“I told you you can just go.”

Soo-hyun’s apologetic words quickly turned into white breath.

Another winter. The weather has been turning bitterly cold for the past few days.

“That’s your opinion. It’s -13 degrees today. And you have a lot of luggage. How can you go alone?”

“Oh my, give it to me. The bag is huge.”

“Let’s lift together. Let’s lift together. If you use too much force, your back will hurt.”

In November, after the first round of successful applicants from RISA was announced, Su-hyeon told her friends that she had applied for the exchange student program.

The kids roared like angry lions at the news that it could take as little as a year or as long as several years.

However, after hearing that Soo-hyeon had seriously thought about her career path and made a decision, he sent her warm support.

The confusing attitude of alternately taking hot and cold baths, encouraging each other while feeling sorry, was repeated, but anyway.

And starting in December when the final announcement was made, there were several farewell parties that also served as graduation parties.

Once with Oh Yu-na, Park Sun-hwa, and Cha Yoon-hee, once with friends from Sehyun Arts High School, once with classmates and seniors from Baek Hyeon-dae, and once again with Director Kang Yu-jin, Vice President JK Noh Young-guk, and Manager Kim Young-in.

There were meetings with professors, and also meetings with James Lee and Jun who made surprise visits, so later on, it was scary to even bring up the idea of ​​having a meal together or meeting up.

Still, thanks to giving myself enough time, I was able to say hello to everyone and finish what I had to do.

I safely finished the last drawing of the expression series, received all the money I earned from my part-time job to build up my emergency fund, and decided to have my friends come by the empty house once in a while to check on everything.

Now that the big and small issues have been resolved, it’s time to leave for our destination, New York.

I wanted to go quietly without making a fuss, but it wasn’t easy until the very end.

“We should have spent Christmas together. What’s so urgent?”

“That’s what I mean. This time, I was going to have a proper party.”

The three friends attended several farewell parties other than the one they had arranged separately, and even though they saw each other from time to time, they still looked like they were missing each other.

“Sorry. But, from Christmas to the end of the year and the beginning of the new year, airfares are so expensive. But I can’t wait until spring.”

The year 2000 was just around the corner, and the world was excited about millennials.

It’s safe to say that tourists are exploding and ready to get festive wherever they are.

So, I thought it would be better to postpone the schedule to spring, or to get to New York and settle in as soon as possible before the heat sets in.

“Hey. I wanted to go with you to the Bosin Pavilion bell ringing.”

“Come on. There’s going to be a ton of people coming, and it’s going to be a lot of trouble.”

“Why? That’s all fun.”

“Oh, but did you back up all your data?”

“data?”

“You’re crazy, you’re crazy. Don’t you know about y2k? The millennial bug! They say that when the year 2000 comes, all computers will crash.”

“Wow, really?”

“Haven’t you seen the news? They say that even nuclear weapons can malfunction if you do something wrong. That’s why everyone is in chaos. Companies are on high alert too.”

The year 2000 ended in 00. It was a time when news spread widely along with horror stories that computers would recognize the year as 1900 and would malfunction in other ways.

Since this was something that had already happened before, Soo-hyeon maintained her composure, but her friends looked quite worried.

“It won’t be a problem.”

And the one who coolly dismissed the commotion was Oh Yu-na.

“Why? It’s been a mess on the news every day. It’s a mess in the military too. I heard there was an article in the Ministry of National Defense too.”

“My father said so.”

“uh?”

Oyuna added as she started the car and smoothly pulled out of the alley.

“Do you think that with so many talented people in the world, they wouldn’t be able to solve such a problem?”

“huh?”

“oh?”

The children’s mouths watered as they thought of Oh Yu-na’s father, Oh Yang-ho, the successor to the owner of Hansung Motors.

My anxiety wasn’t completely relieved, but I felt like I could rest assured that it was someone as powerful as Chairman Oh Yang-ho.

“I guess companies like Hansung have already made thorough preparations.”

“No, Seonhwa, but isn’t it the same for Ilseon? Didn’t your mother say anything? There must be a lot to worry about there, too, like managing the writers’ data.”

“I don’t know. Mom never talks to me about work.”

The kids, who had been momentarily embarrassed, started playing the latest pop song CD again and started chattering along to it.

It was a send-off for friends that was neither too heavy nor too light.

***

It was a long distance flight.

Sitting for over 10 hours with my body hunched over was exhausting both physically and mentally, but once I arrived at the airport, I felt a strange sense of anticipation that gave me strength.

“Soohyun!”

There was a welcoming face at the entrance. Steve, who had not seen Soo-hyun in a long time, waved his hands excitedly to greet her, feeling like he didn’t have enough arms.

It seemed like he had been waiting at the airport for a long time.

“Steve! How have you been?”

“Of course. Wow, how long has it been?”

“It’s only half a year. I was in a hurry.”

“Yeah. It’s good that you came. It’s really good that you came, Soo-hyun.”

Steve, who was smiling brightly, looked thinner than before.

There would have been no one to keep them warm like in Korea, and it was obvious that they would have been too focused on their work to take care of themselves.

“I brought red ginseng.”

Soo-hyun shook her head and said.

“Red ginseng?”

“Director Kang Yu-jin is a clairvoyant.”

“what?”

“He told me to bring him some red ginseng because he thought you clearly weren’t eating properly and weren’t taking care of your health.”

“Wow. Really?”

“That’s not all. The kids brought you your favorite Korean snacks and other things. Oh, and there’s also ramen?”

“Really? Spicy ramen?”

“Oh. I couldn’t bring much because it was bulky, but I still packed quite a bit. I also brought some Jjajangmyeon.”

“Wow! Really? I want to eat it right now.”

Steve shuddered and quickly picked up Soohyun’s carrier.

“Let’s go out for now.”

“uh.”

“The bus would be better. Taxis don’t move at all once you get into the city. But you’ll have to transfer to get to your accommodation. From the bus to the subway.”

“okay.”

Although this was his first time living in New York, Steve had been to New York several times before and was comfortable with the language, so everything he did seemed natural.

On the other hand, Soo-hyun, who came to America for the first time, was very nervous.

Because all I knew about America, especially New York, was from past dramas and movies.

Anyway, since it was a city where she would be staying for at least a year, Soo-Hyeon planned to slowly get used to it. However.

“Gyaaaah!”

That promise was not easy to keep.

“Why? Why is that?”

About an hour later.

Steve, who was getting off the bus and going to the subway station to check the route, was surprised when Su-hyeon suddenly screamed and asked.

“Gasp. Gasp.”

Su-hyeon took a deep breath and pointed to the tracks with her finger.

“What is that?”

“uh?”

“Can’t you see that thing moving?”

It was a sight I could see but didn’t want to believe.

I unconsciously looked at something moving grayly on the tracks, and upon closer inspection, I saw that it was a tail.

Tails, to be precise.

It was the tails of rats.

“Ah. You’re surprised?”

Steve shrugged his shoulders as if it was no big deal.

“They disappear during rush hour, but they suddenly appear when there are fewer people. They’re especially huge at night and on weekends.”

“Really?”

“There are some that are as big as cats. So one of my friends takes his glasses off and walks around. He says it’s better not to be able to see.”

“omg.”

“There are a ton of cockroaches. Have you never seen an American cockroach?”

“… …American cockroach?”

“The kids in Korea are cute. They’re huge here. They’re the size of fists and they crawl around. They’re also really fast.”

“Wow.”

At that moment, Soo-Hyeon felt as if her legs were losing strength.

I was dreaming and thinking about how to do a new job, when a rat and a cockroach appeared. An unexpected and powerful ambush.

Besides, according to Steve, unless you live in a very high-end residential area, rats and bugs are a common sight and something you have to get used to.

“Just think of it as Mickey Mouse. That makes it a little better.”

“What are you talking about? Then what should I think of cockroaches? Oh, no, that’s not it. Let me tell you in advance.”

Soo-hyeon muttered with a blank expression and then was startled again.

“Wow. Wait a minute. What is that?”

“uh?”

“Is that poop?”

Su-hyeon raised her finger again and pointed towards the rail pillar.

Something that was too big to be considered a dog or a rat was making its presence felt majestically. Even if I rubbed my eyes, I could tell for sure. It was poop.

“… … .”

Steve, who was looking at Soo-hyun with an expression of disbelief, looked at her sadly and quietly covered Soo-hyun’s eyes with his hand.

“It’s okay. You’ll get used to it.”

He said that if you go towards Central Park, you will be able to see a lot of horse dung.

Those were not comforting words at all.

***

“This is driving me crazy.”

The next day.

Su-hyeon, who was walking around the city, stopped on the street and laughed.

The morning after recovering from the aftereffects. Su-hyeon gathered her courage and went to the bagel restaurant that Steve had found to get some coffee and bread. Yes, she rekindled her determination to try it, and it wasn’t long before that happened.

After parting ways with Steve, who said he had to stop by the studio for a moment, Su-hyeon met the broker she had contacted in advance.

Since I couldn’t afford to stay in a hotel while I was in New York, I decided to ask for a place to wash up and sleep.

however.

“How much is this?”

A small room reminiscent of a Korean goshiwon. A bed and a portable toilet. A ceiling that looks like it could leak water and yellow wallpaper. The exterior of the building looks like it’s been around for decades.

The broker brought Su-hyeon to such a house.

I shook my head, wondering if he thought I was just a poor high school student, but he told me that it wouldn’t be easy there either. He blurted out that the monthly rent for the room was $1,500.

“That’s ridiculous.”

Su-hyeon shook her head slightly.

I felt like they were making fun of me, a rookie in New York, so I politely said goodbye, turned around, and contacted another agency.

“$1,800?”

This shabby room that looked like a rat might jump out at any moment was priced at $1,800.

A room like this costs 2 to 2.5 million won per month?

I’ve heard many times that the cost of living in New York is murderous. I’ve been prepared for it to some extent, but this is crossing the line.

Su-hyeon’s face turned red in embarrassment.

It seemed like life in New York wouldn’t be easy.