I Became A Renowned Genius At My Arts High School - Chapter 196



Only Noblemtl

Episode 196. The Lock Stage (2)

“what’s this.”

Su-hyeon muttered in Korean without realizing it.

“……and.”

It was still surprising to see it again.

These sketches are too intense to be described as such.

Could the shock of opening Pandora’s box be this great? It was a moment when someone’s abyss, their hidden inner self, was truly revealed.

Mad lines. Colors true to instinct.

A destructive atmosphere that would make an ordinary person take a step back without thinking.

The sketches were all grotesque.

The skeleton and pieces of dismembered bones were motifs that gave it an eerie feel in itself.

however.

“hmm…….”

There was also a strange attraction.

In the beginning, there were many images with a strong visual impact, but as time went on, sketches that were refined and contained unique perspectives and interpretations appeared.

So, Soo-Hyeon didn’t make any hasty judgments and slowly turned the pages of the sketchbook.

I wanted to see where this series of events was heading.

Humphrey, who saw Soo-hyeon like that, did not attack her like before, but just swallowed his saliva with a nervous expression.

“Is there more?”

Soo-hyun, who had finally turned the last page, asked.

It was a natural question.

One sketchbook contained the entire process of development. The excitement the person leading the design had as he tried variations was evident everywhere.

So, Soo-Hyeon thought that it couldn’t end with just this one book.

An artist who delves deeply into a subject and finds it fun would never force himself to stop drawing.

“Uh. … … This … … Even after seeing this, you still want to see more?”

But Humphrey blinked as if he was surprised.

“Hmm. So there is one? Then show me. I’m curious.”

“Ha… … but… … everyone who saw this said that… … they all felt bad.”

“People? Who? Sasha’s designers?”

Humphrey nodded slightly, his cheeks red again, wondering if his casual question was the right answer.

“It’s okay. I want to see more. Of course, if you can show me.”

As Soo-hyeon spoke plainly, Humphrey suddenly stood up and took out more notebooks from the pile of sketches.

“This… this is it.”

The three notebooks were much smaller than the sketchbooks from before.

The front had a date and signature written on it, which seemed to indicate the day the sketch was started.

“oh.”

Soo-hyun, who had been looking through the second note after receiving them, nodded.

It was as expected. The grotesque emotions from the beginning later developed into their own order and pattern, forming the framework of the design.

The gaze that was only obsessed with skeletons also changed. At first, the bizarre fit of human skulls and dry bones made me feel uncomfortable, but gradually, as I breathed life into them and gave them character, I began to feel a pleasant feeling.

In this way, sketches using not only human but also animal bones expanded to include the skeletons of objects and nature.

and.

“uh?”

Su-hyeon was startled when she opened the last note.

“what.”

A pure image, clearly different from the previous sketches.

There was a sketch with a snowflake motif.

It was not surprising that he drew snow crystals, as he had flowed into human and animal bones, the skeletons of objects, and cross sections of seeds. However,

‘That’s it.’

Black Snow.

A unique style of black snowflakes that is simple and sophisticated.

It was a design from a luxury brand that was very popular at the time, as Su-hyeon knew.

A single T-shirt with a very small symbol printed on it was worth hundreds of thousands of won. It wasn’t just clothes. Bags made with this pattern were also very popular. Imitations were also rampant.

however…….

Su-hyeon frowned.

It occurred to me that the brand wasn’t Shasha.

But looking at it again, the snowflakes drawn in the note were clearly the black snow that Soo-hyun knew.

Then, there are two things we can infer.

Either Humphrey eventually leaves Sasha and becomes a designer for another luxury brand and releases this design, or someone steals the design.

Knock knock.

Su-hyeon’s heart pounded.

“Phew.”

Soo-hyeon, who had calmed her breathing, asked again.

“You haven’t shown this to anyone?”

“Huh? … … Huh.”

First, check if the design of the note has been made public.

“But what you said earlier? That this show might be your last chance. What did you mean by that?”

Before showing the sketch, I asked Humphrey about the background to the story he had been mumbling.

“That… that’s it.”

Humphrey hesitated.

I had a feeling the story would be long.

***

“Oh… this place is really delicious.”

Su-hyeon brought Humphrey to the restaurant that Henry had recommended to her the other day.

Since we had a lot to talk about, I thought a comfortable place would be better than a stuffy warehouse.

Humphrey’s stomach was growling loudly because he hadn’t eaten anything since the night before due to being so absorbed in his work, and Soo-hyeon had only had a cup of coffee before arriving at the meeting place.

Anyway, Henry’s picky recommendation shone through this time too.

Humphrey ate his food with his nose almost buried in his plate, but when he was somewhat full, he slowly raised his head.

“That… … That’s what I asked earlier… … .”

The expression on his face as he finally remembered Soo-hyun’s question.

“Shasha was my idol.”

Humphrey spoke in a small but firm voice.

The stories he told afterward were not much different from what he had heard from Henry.

Humphrey was born and raised in an ordinary Swedish family and was a boy who loved to draw. He spent his childhood looking at beautiful nature and appreciating small happinesses, which was not particularly special.

Then, when I was ten years old.

The misfortune that had not been present in his ordinary days until now came to him as if it had decided to settle the accounts. Humphrey, who lost both his parents in a car accident, said that he had decided to go to his maternal grandmother’s house in France.

“My grandmother… was kind and also annoying.”

Humphrey described his grandmother with complicated eyes.

She was a poor woman who could not leave Paris because she could not forget her wealthy past.

She was elegant yet shabby, and although she vented her complaints and anger, she became infinitely generous in front of art.

The grandmother, who was emotionally unstable, would beat Humphrey, but would also kiss him without hesitation and tell him that she loved him.

It was around that time that Humphrey began to stutter.

“Well… … But if I grow up a little more, I’ll be able to live on my own… … I didn’t really have anywhere to go.”

Humphrey said he cried a lot because he missed his mom and dad. He also vaguely realized why his mom left his grandmother and settled far away in Sweden.

But sometimes good things happened.

A day that reminds me of the good old days. My grandmother was very kind on the day we talked about happy memories.

He also told Humphrey various stories and taught him manners. On days when he was in good condition, he took him to see the luxury brand shops on the Champs-Élysées and told him about their value and history.

“That… … Back then, my grandmother seemed like a very noble… … noblewoman. I always thought it would be nice if my grandfather… … was someone like that.”

When Humphrey was fifteen, his grandmother became seriously ill.

To earn a living and pay for his medical bills, Humphrey got a job as a tailor. His grandmother was very happy, not because she was making money, but because she saw the hope that Humphrey might one day become a designer for her favorite luxury brand.

“Ha… … My grandmother passed away about a year later. Ha… … But I was able to stay in Paris and continue working as a tailor.”

Four years of living with my grandmother.

That period shaped much of Humphrey’s inner self.

“But what does it mean that Shasha was Donggyeong?”

When Soo-hyeon tilted her head after hearing the story, Humphrey opened his mouth again with a face like he had blinked.

“Ah. Ha… … My grandmother’s favorite brand… … was Shasha. Uh… … My mother also had a Shasha bag, and my grandmother said it was a gift from her. And in her closet, there was a real … … Sha … … Sha. She treasured it so much.”

If she had sold off outdated luxury items to a second-hand store, she might have been able to make some living expenses. However, the grandmother said she held on to her last remaining Sasha until the end.

At the last moment, I left it to Humphrey.

“Sha… … The grandmother who was talking about Sha… … looked very happy. It was as if I was picturing the happy times of my grandmother that I had never seen. Um… … My mother didn’t talk much about my grandmother either, but she kept that… … bag carefully. That’s how I came to like Shasha too. The elegant and kind Shasha.”

Was Sasha a lost moment of happiness for Humphrey?

Su-hyeon took a sip of the lemonade she ordered while collecting her thoughts for a moment.

Tokyo or whatever, Sasha meant a lot to Humphrey.

The family had all passed away, but their happy times were contained in Sasha. So Humphrey must have tried hard to enter Sasha.

No, it’s not enough to say that I tried hard.

Just looking back, it was easy to guess what kind of tests Humphrey, with his short bag straps, had to go through to enter Sasha based on his skills alone.

If that’s the case, Humphrey would want to stay in Shasha. Even if Shasha becomes a setting sun, Shasha will still be Shasha.

Su-hyeon nodded.

I don’t know why Humphrey’s Black Snow was launched by another luxury brand, but I’m sure that’s not what Humphrey wanted.

“Anyway, you want to stay in Shasha, right? But the problem is that Shasha and your design don’t match well.”

“Uh… … Yeah. Right.”

When I touched on the gist of the long and rambling explanation, Humphrey nodded again with a red face.

“Shasha’s new designers have to be evaluated… … …. They have three … … three chances, and if they don’t stand out in those … … they’ll just have to pack their bags or … … join another team and help out.”

“however?”

“I… I’m not popular.”

“huh?”

“There’s no team that’ll take me. So… if I don’t get picked… I have nowhere to go.”

Humphrey bowed his head.

He said that the head designer who finally allowed him to join Shasha made several positions available to him, but he ruined them every time.

He said that he had a hard time mixing with formally trained designers, and that he was hurt by the fierce criticism he received when he revealed his work. He said that revealing those feelings hurt him and at some point he became a loner.

“There’s no place for me on the funeral team… … because that team is already complete. And, those designs with skulls and bones as motifs are disgusting… … .”

Jang said he advised her not to show the sketchbook to anyone else anymore, saying it would do more harm than good.

But Humphrey said that he was only concerned and looked after when he left the co-working space and stayed in the warehouse.

“Anyway, you didn’t show the sketch to Jang after that, did you?”

“Huh? Oh. Right.”

“Jang said he hasn’t seen any work after the skeleton.”

“That… that’s right.”

“Then it’s not like there’s no way.”

Su-hyeon smiled brightly.

“uh?”

“Of course, it will take effort. We will have to start from scratch.”

“From the beginning? What… what?”

“But I think it turned out well.”

“Uh… … Huh?”

Humphrey’s pupils shook in confusion, but Soo-hyun continued speaking with rising excitement.

“This show is not just important to you. It’s also very important to me. I also need to do this collaboration well so that I can be recognized by Jacqueline and take the next step. I was worried that I would have to be the only one who had to work hard, but it turned out well. Now, both of us have a reason to work hard.”

“Of course. I have to work hard!”

“Okay. Then listen carefully to what I say from now on.”

Su-hyeon’s eyes lit up. If she could bring forward her successful future a little, she thought that not only would Humphrey’s happiness come closer, but she would also be able to achieve her own goal.

Soo-Hyeon knew very well how to bring that future forward.