I Became A Renowned Genius At My Arts High School - Chapter 191



Only Noblemtl

Episode 191. New Friends (1)

It was a long night.

As Henry’s crying subsided, his father Liam explained the details of what had happened.

That day, the police missed the criminals, but Liam doggedly pursued them. Using information gained from tracking down the insider’s helpers, he caught the first two men, and that was when Henry turned seven.

“Once you catch one, it’s easy to catch another. Loyalty among them is a shallow and worthless thing. During the arrest, the one who had been holding hands with Angela, Henry, and you lost his leg. Thanks to Inspector Martin’s consideration, it was treated as an unexpected accident. However, the worst one remained.”

As it became clear that Diego, the ringleader who planned and masterminded the kidnapping, ordered Henry and Angela to be killed at the last minute, and threw his hat from a moving car, was headed to the United States, Liam moved his residence to New York without hesitation.

After two years of carefully laying traps to catch him as he expanded his business, he finally heard that he was going from one gambling house to another.

Liam headed to Sin City.

It had already been seven years since the kidnapping incident. The money in the bag had long since disappeared.

The sight of the guy who was going from casino to casino in Las Vegas, beating up tourists on the back for food, was so shabby that it made Liam lose his anger for a moment, but he calmly put his plan into action.

A strangely lucky night.

Diego won a lot of money.

This is an amount that matches the amount of money that was in that bag seven years ago.

Then, how about trying it one more time? Is it greed? No, maybe it’s the luck of a lifetime.

But that foolish idea went up in smoke the next moment.

A few hours later.

Diego, who was in huge debt, was dragged into an unfamiliar container box.

I tried to think hard, but all I got was a good beating.

The men who lent him the money were ready to sell Diego’s organs right away.

Fortunately, a manager who had helped him out on several occasions suggested that he send him to Mexico to work and collect the allowance, and Diego was able to cross the border under surveillance.

There was no time to ask in detail what the high hazard pay was, or how the manager had happened to show up at the container box at such a convenient time.

The curiosity was never satisfied. As expected from a job with such a high risk payout, Diego ended up dying a pitiful death on his first mission in Mexico.

“So, is it all over?”

Henry asked with blank eyes.

Liam didn’t say everything, but Henry looked like he heard it all.

“Yeah. I was just waiting for you to come back, so now it’s all over.”

Liam nodded and hugged Henry tightly.

A few days later.

Henry visited Soo-hyun’s studio.

“Are you okay now?”

Although her complexion was definitely good, Soo-hyun checked it with concern.

“Good. My head used to feel heavy, but it feels a lot lighter now.”

Henry smiles.

“But why did you suddenly collapse that day? The whale painting you took. Did someone touch it?”

It was something I was curious about, but I couldn’t ask because I was busy with bigger things. Henry nodded with a face that suddenly realized something he had forgotten for a few days.

“Eddie, you told me before? You brought me a picture of the ocean and said there was a whale in it.”

“Oh. I remember.”

That’s what Henry told me at the aquarium.

“He paid for the painting, but he must have been quite hurt by the little smirk on my lips because he kept picking fights with me at the party that day.”

Eddie found a picture of Henry that had been neatly arranged on one side, and when he realized that it was Henry’s drawing, he laughed out loud and then made a fuss, saying that he would draw it properly.

“He was extremely drunk and reckless. He started touching me without any chance to stop me.”

Eddie added a shark to his already impressive painting of whales and fish.

“They say there is no soul in a painting. I drew a shark with scary teeth, trying to make people feel the emotions properly, but the moment I yelled at them to stop, my old memories came back to me.”

Henry frowned.

As it was a terrible memory, it seemed painful to even recall it for a moment.

“So that’s why you had a seizure.”

“That’s right. But strangely enough, at that moment, I thought of Soo-hyun. I had to tell Soo-hyun this right away, and then I lost consciousness.”

“Anyway, it’s a relief, Henry.”

Soo-hyun, who was staring blankly at Henry, sighed softly and said.

As I came to know Henry’s circumstances, I couldn’t even guess the depth of his wounds, so it was difficult to even offer words of comfort.

Henry nodded slightly, as if he also guessed. He was still mature, but it was a different kind of maturity than before.

“Thank you too, Soo-hyun. For listening to my quirks and rudeness and for helping me find my memories.”

“Well, if you think about it, it seems like it wasn’t me who made him regain his memories, but Eddie’s shark.”

Henry chuckled at Soo-hyun’s words, and Soo-hyun, who was smiling while looking at Henry, got up from her seat and walked towards one wall.

“I prepared a gift.”

“A gift?”

“Whale drawing.”

Su-hyeon slowly turned the direction of the easel on which the canvas was placed towards Henry.

“I promised. I would draw you a real picture of a whale. I don’t know if that’s right.”

“ah…….”

Henry, who naturally turned his gaze to the canvas, was silent for a while.

“This is Mom.”

Tears welled up in Henry’s eyes.

“And this is me as a child.”

“Yeah. It’s like being with a whale.”

The canvas contained the image of a beautiful hat.

The back of a mother warmly holding her young son while watching whales, and the back of a lovely child being held tightly by his mother.

The two were looking at the whale.

A large whale rose above the surface of the ocean, looking at the mother and child, and in its eyes the smiling faces of the mother and child flashed.

The gazes of the hat and the whale crossed.

“Yes. This was it. The memory I was looking for.”

Henry wiped his eyes and smiled brightly.

Since the day they took turns drawing pictures, Henry would tell Soo-hyun whenever a fragment of a memory came to mind.

How soft my mother’s voice was, what kind of necklace she wore, what kind of clothes she liked to wear, how beautiful her flowing red hair was.

Soo-hyun combined the story to draw Henry, his mother, and the whale they both loved.

The happiest moment for Henry and his mother. A precious moment that they will never want to forget.

I was out of my mind because of the incident, but the painting was completed safely two days ago. Thanks to that, I was able to give it to Henry, who was feeling better today.

“Thank you, Su-hyeon. I really like this drawing. This is a perfect picture of a whale.”

Henry looked at Soo-hyun with tearful eyes.

Soo-hyun nodded and handed the picture to Henry.

***

A whale wind is blowing again in the New York art world.

Everything was enough to make a big deal. The reason Henry was crazy about whales, how he regained his memory, and what his first satisfactory whale painting was were topics that heated up the New York art world for a while.

It was only natural that Soo-Hyeon’s name became famous.

“Wow. This far exceeded my expectations and predictions.”

Jacqueline called Su-hyeon to her office and had tea time.

It was to tell the story that Henry had paid a huge amount of money for a whale painting and that he had become a solid collector who was looking forward to Soo-hyun’s next work.

Jacqueline smiled strangely as she said that the payment would be deposited at the end of the month.

“He really liked the painting. It definitely had something to do with the heart. Even people who didn’t know Henry’s story could feel something from it.”

“It was a valuable experience for me, too. I gained things that I couldn’t have gained from just drawing.”

Jacqueline smiled brightly as Soo-hyun nodded humbly.

“This is just the beginning. It is something to celebrate that you have successfully taken the first step.”

“thank you.”

Jacqueline looked at Soo-hyun with warm eyes.

Su-hyeon will gain more experience in the future. As she does so, the world of her work will deepen and she may bring a new wind to the modern art world.

Maybe I can make a mark.

Jacqueline congratulated Soo-hyun on her successful entry into New York, imagining 50 years, or even 10 years, from now.

“Yes. Please set aside some time this Friday evening.”

“Is it Friday?”

“There will be a meeting at the restaurant Catch.”

“what…….”

When Soo-hyun tilted his head, Jacqueline slowly nodded.

“I told you before, right? Aside from Soo-hyun, there are six more rookies in J-House that I’m looking forward to.”

“Ah. Yes.”

“While Soo-hyun was getting close to Henry, they were busy making their own connections. But they’ll be bumping into each other more often in the future. It would be good for them to get to know each other before that happens.”

A dinner prepared specially for the gallery. However, Soo-hyun nodded her head despite being reluctant to be told to enjoy it comfortably without any pressure.

I was already curious to know who other new writers were receiving support from Jacqueline.

***

Friday night.

When he said she could bring a partner, Soo-hyun asked Steve to come with her.

The Taylors raised their hands to be taken along, but this time they had no choice since they could only take one person.

“I wish I could paint in the same gallery as you, like in Korea.”

On the way to the meeting place.

Steve expressed a hint of regret.

“Yeah, but you chose abstract art and I chose contemporary art, so there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“Wow. There are many galleries that support artists of various genres. J-House is the one that has decided to focus on discovering contemporary artists, and the gallery I belong to also specializes in abstract art, so that’s why.”

“Well, you both just have to tell us your names.”

“uh?”

“Once you gain more experience and become known, other opportunities may arise.”

“Hmm. That’s true. I guess we’ll have another chance to meet in a better place.”

Steve said as he looked at Soo-hyun. The spring when he first saw Soo-hyun when he was seventeen.

Steve’s gaze was drawn to the introverted child who couldn’t even properly answer a trivial question.

The true nature of the emotion soon became clear.

Su-hyeon, with her pure passion and the look on her face that said drawing was the most enjoyable thing in the world, had a hot fire inside her, and she slowly extinguished it and drew her own pictures.

That was amazing, I gave him a few helpful stories, and the results were amazing.

Not only was the depth of the work amazing, but the speed at which it was accomplished was also incredible.

A child who cherishes every opportunity and does his best.

I thought I was way ahead, but the gap was quickly closing and soon we were on equal footing.

That was a huge inspiration to Steve.

That was also the reason why I decided to go to New York right away after finishing the Hong Kong exhibition and receiving a love call from New York.

Steve didn’t want to settle down, he wanted to grow further. He wanted to go out into the wider world and expand his world of work.

And I wanted to see if Soo-hyun would follow me again.

Fortunately, Soo-hyun has done her part and is now expressing herself quite proactively.

Well then, I guess we can look forward to the future.

Su-hyeon will definitely climb higher and achieve her goal. I will do the same, and then, just like Su-hyeon said, we will have another great opportunity.

Steve smiled, trying to suppress the emotions that occasionally tickled his heart, saying that he would never have a friend or artistic comrade like this.

“Shall we go in and take a look?”

We arrived at the meeting place before we knew it.

Inside were six newcomers and their partners, along with Jacqueline and the gallery staff, taking up a few seats.

“Soohyun! Come in. Come inside.”

“nice to meet you.”

“I’ve heard a lot of stories.”

“Yes, nice to meet you.”

Since there were a lot of people they were meeting for the first time, both Soo-hyun and Steve greeted each other politely.

“Oh my god, Soohyun!”

A man walked towards her with brisk strides and suddenly hugged Soo-hyun.