I Became A Renowned Genius At My Arts High School - Chapter 214



Only Noblemtl

Episode 214. The Weight of the Square (4)

It is a familiar thing to draw while someone is watching.

Art entrance exams in Korea have always been like that, and it often happened when I was painting at a local art gallery.

In the streets of Hong Kong, I painted portraits with Steve, and in the streets of England, I painted murals here and there with local artists.

So there was no need to be nervous again.

Even if this is Lisa, even if it is a square where high-potential artists are evaluated with a discerning eye.

‘Let’s calm down.’

Su-hyeon kept her composure and continued drawing.

How many more did you draw like that?

“What are you trying to do?”

“It’s a tile. Maybe you’re going to put it on the wall?”

“Oh. So it’s like a puzzle?”

“I don’t think it’s a puzzle. It doesn’t feel like something is connected, but rather like separate, completed pieces.”

“Yes. It can be considered a puzzle only if there are overlapping parts or if they come together to form one big picture.”

“No. Think of pointillism. If each of those shapes were colored dots, they could form one big picture when viewed from a distance.”

“Is that so? But then wouldn’t it require incredibly complex calculations to draw it?”

“Anyway, the drawing is really good. Aren’t there many artists with such drawing skills? The speed, the texture, and the atmosphere are all really good. It looks like someone who draws as if they were breathing, judging by the way they draw so easily.”

A lot of talk.

Before we knew it, the kids surrounding Soo-hyun were critiquing his drawings and trying to figure out his intentions.

and.

“Can I ask what the theme of the work is?”

The person who approached Soo-Hyeon quickly spoke bravely.

‘ha.’

Su-hyeon, who confirmed the owner of the voice, recalled the word ‘calmness’ once more like a spell.

The one who spoke was Jerome, who had been staring at Soo-hyeon since earlier.

That fact alone made the children’s eyes sparkle with even more interest.

‘Phew.’

But Soo-Hyeon remained silent as she had decided beforehand.

Instead, he shook his head slowly, indicating that he could not speak yet.

Jerome seemed to find that one more interesting.

“Aha. Are you not going to tell me now? Then I should just wait?”

Is this the actor’s voice?

Jerome’s answer was loud and clear enough to be heard by everyone in the square.

Su-hyeon smiled faintly and returned to her work.

Fortunately, Jerome didn’t cause any more trouble to Soo-hyun.

Instead, he watched Soo-hyun work closely for a while before returning to his seat.

Another three weeks passed.

It seemed that Soo-hyeon understood Elise’s feelings of making clothes out of nettle better than anyone else on Earth.

I realized anew how difficult a training method silent meditation is.

‘… … I want to go home.’

Su-hyeon sighed softly as she sat in the square and finished another tile.

My shoulders were tired from working so hard without resting, but I felt like I was going to die because I couldn’t speak.

“ha.”

At first, I planned to just work in the plaza without speaking. However, as the work became more widely known and more people recognized Su-hyeon at school, restrictions were placed on all of his actions.

“I think it would be good to maintain this concept.”

Professor Ian, who figured out Su-hyeon’s strategy, suggested that it would be better to keep the project a secret until it was properly disclosed.

After that, I didn’t try to force myself to talk to Su-hyeon in class, and when I really needed to talk, I would call her aside and try to write to her. I was almost moved to tears by her consideration.

Friends were also cooperative.

Chris, Makoto, Alyssa, and all the other kids taking the studio art class cheered on Soohyun’s silence and tried to communicate with their eyes.

If you pretended to put something in your mouth with a fork, it meant you wanted to go eat, and if you pretended to draw, it meant you were asking if your work was going well.

I felt suffocated.

I can be the only one keeping silent, so why do they use hand gestures, foot gestures, and body language instead of words?

Well, I guess it would be better to see it as the children’s own loyalty, encouragement, and support.

Anyway, it’s already been three weeks since we’ve been silent inside the school.

The good news was that there was an end in sight.

In two days, approximately 250 tiles will be completed.

On the day that it is placed, the true nature of the work will be revealed and Soo-hyun’s mouth will open.

Ugh.

As Su-hyeon slowly turned her stiff shoulders and stretched, she saw Jerome’s small square across the street.

‘What should I do today?’

Su-hyeon looked at Jerome, who was preparing for the performance, with curious eyes.

As announced on the first day, Jerome was presenting a new performance every few days.

The big picture and theme is ‘death’.

Jerome, who is a character with a different narrative each time, shows a one-man play pessimistic about his situation.

And then he either takes his own life, is killed by someone he holds a grudge against, or ends up in an accident that may or may not have been planned. After that, he appears as a devil, the narrator, and evaluates his life.

A drama with the same structure and theme.

But it was always intense.

There was the shock of a provocative and miserable narrative, but isn’t death an event that ends life that must happen to everyone?

It was a pretty good idea to choose that as the topic.

It was an excellent choice to bring to the stage a topic that no one can avoid but is reluctant to bring up.

but.

‘You seem a bit uneasy, I guess.’

There were a few things that caught Soo-hyeon’s sensitive eyes.

‘I hope it’s nothing to worry about.’

Su-hyeon shook her head slightly, glared at the few tiles left, and then continued working.

And a little later, in the small square opposite, Jerome’s fourth death was revealed.

***

“It’s a close game. A close game.”

“Isn’t this more exciting than ever? Is it possible for a plaza project to be this fun?”

Meanwhile, Lisa’s students were busy talking about the plaza whenever they got together.

“Jerome is a very solid figure and is a genius recognized by everyone, but what kind of person is that kid who came out as the representative of the studio art class? He’s a new face that no one has heard of before.”

“I heard you’re an exchange student? You started this semester. Oh, I heard you’re from Korea.”

“Korea? No, I said China.”

“Huh, not Japan?”

“Oh my. I wish I could ask you something, but you keep being silent, so I can’t even find out the smallest bit of information.”

“But you know, that kid, he can’t really talk, right? If he does, we’re just harassing him, who’s already having a hard time. We go and ask him questions several times a day.”

“That’s not true. I have a friend who is taking a studio art class. According to him, the exchange student speaks English very fluently. He also gave a great presentation. He said that he won’t be speaking for a while because he wants to keep the concept of this work.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. Even if it’s a project, isn’t it frustrating? How can you endure that?”

“I think he used a good strategy. Thanks to that, everyone is interested in his drawings. He’s very smart.”

“Well, I think differently. Even if he had been a very easygoing and talkative person, the result wouldn’t have been different, right?”

“What does that mean?”

“That’s true. I’m telling you, his drawing skills are really amazing.”

“really?”

“Really? You’ve only heard rumors, haven’t you been to the square yet? That kid can finish about ten pieces a day, and not only is his speed impressive, but his quality is a work of art. People who’ve seen him say he’s the reincarnation of Da Vinci or Michelangelo. In short, he’s a genius with incredible talent.”

“Genius? Like Jerome?”

“They’re both geniuses, even though their results are different. That’s why I say it’s a close race. Honestly, no one doubted Jerome’s Grand Prix until last semester, but this time, they say they can’t predict it.”

“The more I hear about it, the more curious I become. I should go and see it too.”

“Yeah. And there’s something else to keep in mind. No one knows yet what the tiles she’s drawing will turn out to be. So everyone’s guessing. Anyway, if we wait, the big picture will probably be revealed, so we’ll have to keep an eye out for that.”

A significant number of students were already engrossed in Su-hyeon’s work.

And those who became fans of Su-hyeon first approached those who had not yet seen her work as passionate evangelists and explained her work to them.

Because of that, a strange atmosphere was created in the square.

As the three weeks passed, new participants from other classes filled the small square they were allotted, but attention was divided between Soo-hyun and Jerome.

Jerome or Soohyun?

Is it a performance course or a studio art course?

In a tight situation, there was keen interest in who would be the first to show the move that would tip the scales.

And two days later, the incident happened.

***

Thud. Thud. Thud.

A brisk rhythm arose in Su-hyeon’s small square.

“what?”

“Are you finally moving?”

Those who sensed the ominous atmosphere quickly exchanged glances.

“The atmosphere is different today.”

“Huh? You got up from your seat. It looks like you’re organizing the tiles.”

“Yeah. It seems like something might happen.”

Groan, groan.

Eyes flew in from all over the square.

Su-hyeon smiled brightly.

‘Finally free.’

“ah.”

I opened my mouth and made a small sound.

I felt completely refreshed.

chuck.

Soo-hyeon, who had checked the location by eye, first placed down a tile that would become the center point.

And then, chuck chuck.

Four tiles connected to the center are placed in different directions.

Again, eight, sixteen, and so on, increasing in number and spreading out radially.

“What are you trying to do?”

“That’s right! It’s like using small tiles to show a big picture! Is that it?”

“Let’s watch a little longer. Oh, and I should tell the kids too, right?”

“That’s right. Everyone was wondering what kind of event would be held.”

Luckily, some audience members who had been able to sense the start of the performance gathered in Su-hyeon’s small square and, tick tock, took out their cell phones and started sending messages to someone.

Could this be the aftermath?

After a while, the group became twice as large as before.

And again, again, the people keep coming.

‘Okay. This is good timing.’

Before we knew it, the small square in front of Su-hyeon was filled to the brim with people.

Tiring. Click.

Some people were holding camcorders and cellphones to record this moment.

Slurp slurp-.

The recording manager from the studio art department, whom we had previously discussed, was also filming the video at an appropriate location.

chuck.

Su-hyeon, who had placed all the tiles within the pre-drawn lines, walked slowly towards the center point.

Suddenly the music changed.

Bubble bubble.

A muffled sound of water droplets, as if heard underwater.

Gulp.

The sound of those drops bursting and hitting the water.

Slurp.

I heard a sound as the water gently pushed against me.

As if he were a small baby swimming in his mother’s womb, Soo-hyeon curled up and sat at the center point.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

The sound of the drum was heard again.

Swish-.

Su-hyeon raised her head and slowly looked left and right.

And I picked up the palette I had prepared. It was the palette that was shown in the presentation.

Chul-chul.

Su-hyeon placed her hand on top of the filled paint.

And Chuck.

I started to draw the trajectory of my choice by stamping my hand on the tile.

Memories of my life so far. The times when I made mistakes, the times when I was lucky, the times when I was thankful and sad.

Su-hyeon went through them one by one, remembering them.

“her.”

“I think I know what it is.”

“Yeah. That’s life.”

“That’s right. That’s raw.”

The children, who had finally realized the meaning of the piece through Soohyun’s performance, stopped talking excitedly and made eye contact.

“Something seems strange?”

“Yeah. Can you call this a coincidence?”

“They’re exactly the opposite. One side is death. The other side is life.”

“Wow. This is crazy. Things turn out like this when it wasn’t even planned?”

It was an interpretation rather than a dream.

Those who welcomed the rivalry between Jerome and Su-hyeon discovered that the two subjects were in a striking contrast and began to chatter about how fateful it was.

and.

“what?”

“what?”

After reaching the last row of tiles and making her last handprint, Su-hyeon approached the crowd of onlookers.

And he handed the palette to one of them.

With a face that tells you to think about and draw a map of your choices.

“and.”

“I want to do it too.”

“This is it! This is the true identity of the work!”

I still couldn’t figure it all out.

But the feeling was very strong. I was sure that this performance would produce amazing results.

When the handprints symbolizing the trajectory of choice overlap, the energy and questions they will raise are expected to be great.

The sensitive and picky Lisa artists couldn’t control their pounding hearts.

And then, when the student chosen by Su-hyeon stood at the center point and placed his hand on the paint, just like Su-hyeon before.

“I finally found it!”

A thunderous voice was heard.

Whoosh-.

A few heads reflexively turned toward the source of the sound.

Swish- At the same time, Soo-hyun’s eyes widened as he turned his head.

“Haha! It was here. I found it. I finally found it.”

A terrifying shadow approaches with greedy eyes and a mouth-watering taste.

Jerome was approaching the center of the tile.

‘What is it? Why are you doing that?’

To Soo-hyun’s dismay, Jerome was jumping into the game without hesitation.