I Became A Renowned Genius At My Arts High School - Chapter 189



Only Noblemtl

Episode 189. Whale’s Memories (2)

Crazy.

A mess.

“Ugh.”

Henry was hurriedly turning down an alley when he bumped into a pile of boxes and fell over.

“Oh, are you okay?”

“Are you hurt?”

Pedestrians on the street were attracted by the loud noise.

“It’s okay. I’m sorry.”

Henry shook off the dust and quickly got up. And then.

“Oh, does this have an owner?”

He asked, pointing to the pile of fallen boxes with his hand.

“It’s probably trash that the house in front puts out. It’s nothing serious, so don’t worry.”

The kind-looking grandfather nodded, but Henry took a bill out of his wallet and handed it to him.

“If I need compensation, could you please let me know? I have to go urgently right now.”

“No, there’s no need to do this.”

“Then please tell the person who is cleaning it up instead. Please.”

After finishing speaking, Henry took a few deep breaths and staggered out of the alley again.

“What? What was it?”

On the way home by taking a taxi.

Henry’s eyebrows furrowed deeply. It was a drawing he had done lightly, without much thought.

I moved the pencil however I wanted because I was told that I didn’t have to draw well and that I could just draw as I felt like it. I started having a little fun about halfway through.

An act of communicating only through drawings without speaking. At some point, the tension was relieved and a smile appeared on the lips.

So that’s why you called it play.

Henry felt intrigued as he looked at the picture of Soo-hyun naturally approaching and knocking on the door, asking questions.

The moment when I was responding so earnestly.

“You want to draw a whale? This little piece of paper won’t do. Henry, let’s draw one on this wall.”

A voice that suddenly popped out of memory.

It was the warm voice of his mother, who had always been with Henry during his childhood.

And then swish swish-.

I remembered my little hands happily painting, my mother’s laughter, and the heart necklace she was wearing.

“I remembered my mother’s voice clearly. This is the first time this has happened… … And the necklace, why did I forget that?”

Henry’s breathing became ragged again.

Huh. Huh. Henry, who had turned pale, took a bag out of his bag, put it to his mouth, and barely managed to calm his breathing.

***

“What about Mom? Where did Mom go?”

Fall 1990.

Five-year-old Henry, who barely opened his eyes in a private room in a hospital in the south of France, has been searching for his mother for days.

“Mom said she left for a while because something urgent came up. She’ll be back in ten nights.”

His father lied to Henry with sad eyes.

Ten nights passed, and then another ten nights, but Mom still didn’t show up.

Even when Henry was discharged from the hospital and returned home.

“What about Mom? You can’t even call her? Where is she?”

“Henry said he’d be back if he did his job well and stayed healthy. Mom’s business took longer than I thought.”

The answer I got back was always the same.

“But it’s my birthday now. Aren’t you going to come on my birthday too?”

“Oh, Henry. Instead, Dad is going to invite his friends and throw him a really fancy birthday party. It’ll be a shame, but let’s do it this year.”

Mom didn’t come back for Christmas, or for her birthday the following year, or for her birthday the year after that.

In the end, I had no choice but to accept that my mother had left.

‘It’s clear that Mom has forgotten me. But why? Mom loved me so much. And she was on good terms with Dad. Suddenly, she left, and while I was in the hospital. … … But why was I in the hospital at that time? What was wrong?’

It was a strange thing.

Henry couldn’t remember what had happened before his mother left or why he had been admitted to the hospital. When he tried to remember, he felt dizzy and his breathing became rapid.

It was hyperventilation syndrome.

The experience of fear and anxiety taking over my whole body was terrifying.

“Please stop, Henry! You’re old enough to go to school now. If you go to boarding school, it’s the same whether you have a mother or not.”

At some point, my father got angry whenever I brought up my mother. Sometimes he would leave home for a few days, but I later found out that it wasn’t because of business.

“Not this time either. But I will not give up. I will catch you and make you pay the price. You have caused us so much pain and misfortune.”

“I understand how you feel. But you need to take care of yourself. You can’t be haunted by Angela’s ghost forever.”

“A ghost! Watch what you say!”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. But what I meant was that you had to keep your composure, at least for little Henry’s sake. Isn’t that kid a tough one?”

“Sob. Henry. My heart aches when I think of that kid. Have you seen that poor kid’s face? He’s so small and skinny for his age? He still has fits now and then.”

Late one night.

Henry, who was getting up from his seat because he was thirsty and heading to the kitchen, overheard his father and his father’s friend talking in the study.

That made me realize that my dad was looking for my mom and that he was feeling bad about me. But.

“It was all my fault. My judgment that day ruined everything.”

“It couldn’t be helped. Anyone would have done the same thing back then. Don’t blame yourself.”

The following words made me have strong doubts. Could it be that my father was at fault for my mother’s disappearance?

That’s partly because Henry was only nine years old at the time, and partly because he wanted to vent his resentment on someone.

So Henry turned ten and followed his father to New York.

‘Maybe Mom was in America.’

It seemed like there was a reason my father had hastily packed up the house and moved to New York, and that was my mother.

So Henry obeyed obediently.

The new environment was refreshing. New York was different from Europe in every way. What I liked most was that there were so many galleries in Manhattan.

Remembering his mother who loved painting, Henry often visited art galleries.

Perhaps he inherited his excellent eye. He gradually became known by purchasing good paintings at good prices.

He made money with the brilliant mind and business acumen he inherited from his father.

At first he put forward a proxy, but soon he revealed himself.

It was around that time that my conflict with my father began.

“What are you doing?”

“I plan to find my mother.”

“That story again? How many times have I told you that it’s time for you to focus on your work… .”

“I knew that my father had been looking for my mother all this time.”

“what?”

“But you couldn’t find her. If Mom was hiding from Dad, you wouldn’t be able to find her this way. So now I’m going to step forward.”

“Huh? You’re talking about an eleven-year-old kid?”

“I’ll be twelve next month.”

“Stop! Be quiet! How can you find it? Can you move the police? What can you do without relying on your father’s name!”

“Then tell me.”

“what!”

“It’s something that Dad is hiding. Why did Mom leave us then? What happened with Dad? Why won’t you tell me anything?”

“There’s nothing I can say to a weakling who can’t even breathe properly. And how long are you going to be dependent on Mom? If you think you’ve grown up a bit like you said, then overcome that illness first.”

“I won’t do anything that will harm my father.”

“what?”

“I will do things my own way. I won’t need your help. Of course, I won’t spend your money either.”

Henry had a plan.

There was money to make that plan happen.

Henry bought a big house in Soho and it was rumored that he was collecting whale paintings.

Although rich people were common, people were curious about a rich person in his early teens.

So Henry thought it would work.

Although his memories of his mother were fading away, Henry, who loved whales very much, clearly remembers his mother showing him whales, telling him stories about whales, and drawing pictures of whales together.

My mother would probably keep that memory, too, so I hoped that if word spread that there was an eccentric person collecting whale pictures, she might come see me someday.

And, as I looked at the whale pictures, I felt like my mother’s face, which I couldn’t remember properly because there wasn’t even a photo left, would come back to me.

“Please bring me a picture of a whale.”

“I want a real picture of a whale.”

“There will be plenty of cases.”

There’s a whale craze in New York.

That wasn’t enough.

There still hasn’t been any news from Mom.

‘My mother has not been able to find her father, who has much more influence than me, for years. So I have to wait a little longer.’

He clenched his teeth. Henry collected whale paintings, easily being fooled by con artists who approached him with obvious intentions.

My mother loved to draw, and she loved whales, so when she hears this news, she will know how much I miss her. Then I can meet her.

Even if this news doesn’t reach your mother, if you keep seeing the whale, forgotten memories will come back to you.

Then I guess I can overcome this suffocating illness that is weighing on my chest.

But one year, two years, three years passed and there was no progress.

Henry was fifteen, and his nerves were so sharp and frail that it wouldn’t be strange if they snapped at any moment.

Fewer people brought whale pictures. The whale craze had been able to continue for three years thanks to Henry’s wealth, but it seemed that he was reaching his limit in keeping the New Yorkers who loved new things.

Was my father right? Should I find another way?

When my head was spinning, Soo-hyun appeared, holding Jacqueline’s letter of introduction.

I heard a rumor about her at a party. Something really fun happened at the Big Wave Art Fair.

Maria, who had been feeling inferior to Jacqueline, was humiliated because of a young, oriental painter who was new to New York. Moreover, the work of this oriental painter was truly excellent.

I’ve never seen her paintings, but just knowing that Jacqueline had them says a lot.

Then, I wanted to test his courage. I threw out some arrogant words and tore up a picture in front of his eyes, but Soo-hyun’s eyes were as calm as a deep lake.

I wanted to have expectations.

He asked people to attach pictures and find out what kind of pictures they would draw.

I burst out laughing when I heard that you were headed to the Brooklyn Aquarium.

Because it was the aquarium I often visited whenever I missed my mom.

I headed straight there and met Soo-Hyeon by chance.

We watched a dolphin show together.

I was so excited that I said a lot of things. Then I made a mistake because I was hasty, and when I apologized, he asked me to make time for him.

And today.

I went to the shabby studio and drew a picture as Soo-hyeon told me to, and a memory I had completely forgotten came back to me.

No matter how hard I tried, the events of 10 years ago would become blurred.

“Mom, Mom… … Maybe I, maybe… … .”

Henry, who had been looking out the car window with sunken eyes after removing the bag, spoke to the driver in the driver’s seat.

“Sir, I’m sorry, but could you turn the car around? I think I have to go back there again.”