I Became A Renowned Genius At My Arts High School - Chapter 216



Only Noblemtl

Episode 216. What kind of resolution (2)

“I’d like a pepperoni pizza, medium size, please.”

After finishing his order, Hans sat down in an empty seat in the store and checked his phone.

“Ha. Look at this.”

As expected, the text was chewed cleanly.

“What am I, your girlfriend or something?”

Hans muttered and frowned.

It’s not new that artists are sensitive and delicate, but whenever Jerome touches my emotions or hurts me like this, I get angry.

“Speak frankly.”

Hans sighed.

It’s been five years since I saw Jerome as my manager.

Now, he was proud to say that he knew enough about narratives and tastes.

People only praise Jerome’s natural talent and good looks, but behind the scenes, there are stories of him working harder than anyone else, of him suddenly becoming an actor because he wanted to see Juliet, and of his seemingly cold heart actually being very warm and generous towards the weak.

Also, he has a very keen hearing, likes kidney beans but not chickpeas, and although he may seem spontaneous, he plans thoroughly and trains and practices every hour to make it look effective.

and.

“Surely it can’t be because of that now.”

Hans rubbed his chin.

There was one time when Jerome, in passing, brought up a story from his childhood.

I was on my way to some charity event.

When Hans explained to Jerome who the underprivileged children would be receiving the funds for today, Jerome blurted out that he too had had a difficult childhood and suffered from abuse for a considerable period of time.

When Hans, surprised, expressed regret, Jerome smiled and told him not to worry.

He added that it was all in the past and that he had overcome it a long time ago, and that his father, who had tormented him, had already passed away about 10 years ago.

“There’s no reason for that incident to come up again. Then what is it? Did you have a relationship that I didn’t know about? Did you get heartbroken by a heartbreak, or something?”

Hans thought back to his days on Broadway and on movie sets.

A performance based on Jerome’s work and a film based on another work.

In particular, the movie became a hot topic last year because director Nicolas took the megaphone and cast Jerome as the lead actor, and it caught the attention of people in the industry.

There were also many annoying people who approached Jerome in a revealing manner.

“There were a lot of people who were obsessed with Jerome. But I don’t think there was anyone he was particularly interested in.”

Hans shook his head again.

No matter how much I thought about it, it was hard to find a reason why Jerome had become more lethargic than before, acted as if he was going to do whatever happened and explode.

I couldn’t figure out why he insisted on using the seemingly dangerous improvisational play ‘Death’ as ​​the theme for this semester, nor why I was becoming more and more excited as I performed it.

“ha.”

In the end, Hans, who had not found any solution, got up from his seat.

In the meantime, the pizza I ordered arrived.

***

“I didn’t know I would see you today.”

Bam.

Su-hyeon put her bag down on the chair and sat down.

“I’m curious because I have a personality that can’t stand it.”

Jerome looked at Soo-hyun sitting across from him and smiled.

Unlike before, his face was calm.

“Ah. I enjoyed the performance. It was really interesting.”

“Me too. I was watching with interest.”

There was a formal exchange of greetings.

A cafe about two blocks from Lisa.

The space inside seemed like a private space with perfect soundproofing.

‘Are you worried because you’re a star? Or are you worried about what’s going to come out of my mouth?’

Su-hyeon fiddled with the cup of warm cocoa and fell into thought for a moment.

“Who will win?”

After the performance ended earlier.

Jerome, who had jumped onto the stage, approached Soo-hyun and said something incomprehensible.

‘What? Is this kid still in his stormy phase?’

At first I thought it was a provocation from a competitor, but when I looked at his eyes I was confused.

It was a rather sad statement to say that it was made with the Grand Prix fight between the Performance Department and the Studio Art Department in mind.

Are you still unable to come out of your own acting?

Are those words just coming out of your mouth when you’re overcome with emotion?

If so, it would be a question along the same lines as the one that was constantly posed to the audience while showing death.

So Soo-hyun held off on answering for a moment.

The strong smell of alcohol.

One question runs through the recurring play.

I had a cautious thought that maybe all of this was not an act, but real, and that it could be Jerome’s distressed voice and writhing behind the main character.

“Who do you think will win?”

Su-hyeon took a sip of cocoa and asked.

“Haha. I thought you ignored me because it was such a random comment, but I didn’t know you’d respond like this.”

“If that’s a question about your work and mine, then yes.”

Su-hyeon interrupted and added an explanation, fearing that there might be a misunderstanding.

“So, if it’s a question about the competition between life and death, rather than the Grand Prix competition, then.”

For a moment, Jerome’s expression became serious.

“I can’t say for sure until the end. That’s the only answer I can give you.”

“… … .”

Jerome crossed his arms without responding and leaned back on the sofa.

Buzz.

As Soo-hyun absentmindedly glanced at his trembling hands, he quickly took his hands away and placed them under the table, changing his posture.

And after a while.

“Isn’t the end of life death anyway?”

Jerome muttered.

“You can’t say you know everything about any book until you read the last page.”

Soo-hyeon also muttered and answered.

Sigh.

Jerome laughed.

“Your performances may seem different, but they are actually one.”

Soo-Hyeon said, putting down her glass.

“What does that mean?”

As Jerome tilted his head crookedly, Soo-hyun answered.

“I was really curious to see who would win.”

“what?”

“You’re really curious, but no one opens the answer sheet.”

Soo-hyeon continued speaking, staring blankly at Jerome’s face.

“Everyone gives up halfway through? They either give up and despair without reaching the end of their lives, or they seek death themselves or use someone else to hasten their death.”

Jerome’s plays had this in common.

The setting is that the main characters seem to desperately want life and a reversal, but in reality, they have given up on everything and can no longer endure it.

They face death, either terrified, unable to find a reason to live, or in defeat at the unbearable pain.

So, Soo-Hyeon was asking what Jerome meant by his question of who would win between life and death.

Is it really necessary to answer a question I don’t want to know the answer to?

“Humans have experiences and accumulated data. They think that the results of some things are so certain that they don’t need to be confirmed any more. So their questions are a kind of rambling. They’re not asking because they don’t know the answer.”

“okay.”

“What about you? Can you pick up spilled water? Can you turn back time? Don’t you think that holding on to the end, hoping for a miracle, is foolish for yourself and a burden to others?”

Jerome asked quickly.

Su-hyeon slowly opened her mouth.

“Life is a continuation of suffering. Problems that cannot be solved between short moments of pleasure constantly dig in. That’s why I am thankful for oblivion. Anyway, I can’t completely understand other people’s lives, so I can’t speak carelessly, but at least in my case.”

Su-hyeon took a moment to catch her breath and continued talking.

“I don’t want to leave the last page of my book unfinished. Even if it’s a story that’s so improbable and so messy that it’s hard to keep my eyes open. I’m going to see my choices and complete my story so that I can make better choices next time. Until the end. Is that foolishness and a waste?”

A tense atmosphere surrounded the table.

Although there was no direct mention, Jerome and Su-hyeon roughly guessed the deep meaning contained in the other person’s words.

Jerome was the first to speak again.

“So you’re saying that we’ll only know who wins when we get to the end?”

“Similar.”

Jerome smiled as Soo-hyun nodded.

“I’d like to ask you for a collaboration.”

“uh?”

Su-hyeon asked back at the unexpected reaction.

Somehow Jerome’s expression looked solemn, as if he was requesting a duel rather than a collaboration.

And the feeling Soo-hyun got was accurate.

“But the format will be a confrontational structure.”

“A showdown?”

“The topics we’re going to deal with are completely different anyway. Life and death. Choice and giving up.”

“yes.”

“I will continue to show you death, and you will continue to show me the choice of life?”

“maybe?”

“Let’s see who gets convinced.”

“persuasion?”

When Soo-hyeon tilted her head, Jerome spoke in a hunched posture.

“I actually imagined it. What if someone saw my work and had the opposite opinion? I imagined something like that. I thought it would be fun.”

“I’ve never imagined it, but, oh well. It would be fun work.”

Su-hyeon didn’t dig any further.

This conversation seemed to be sufficiently stimulating to Jerome, and there was still plenty of time.

Whether it’s collaboration or competition, there are a lot of things we’ll encounter in the future.

It was clear that the reason Jerome kept repeating death would gradually become clear.

and.

‘Persuasion? If it’s not some vengeful spirit that needs companionship, then it must mean that it wants to be absorbed into my work. Of course, it doesn’t seem like it can be easily persuaded.’

It would be difficult, but I felt a tiny bit of hope.

“Do you plan on staying here any longer?”

After the story was roughly summarized, Su-hyeon asked.

“You go first. I’ll wake up soon too.”

Jerome nodded, and Soo-hyun, holding an empty cup of cocoa, looked at Jerome’s teacup sitting across from him.

“Are you going to drink that?”

“uh?”

The tea I ordered but didn’t drink even a sip of had already gotten cold.

“I was thinking of asking them to refill it with warm water. I’m going out anyway.”

The moment Soo-Hyeon reaches out to Jerome’s glass.

“are you okay.”

Jerome raised his hand.

Taat.

At an odd timing, Soo-Hyeon’s hand and Jerome’s hand collided.

Bam.

It wasn’t a very strong impact, but Jerome’s hand lost its strength and fell.

“… … ?”

Su-hyeon’s eyes grew wide.

Clang.

The hand that fell to the table pushed the teacup and it fell to the floor.

The teacup shattered into pieces.

“Huh. What should I do with this?”

Su-hyeon, startled, leaned against the floor.

“Are your hands okay?”

First, I check to see if Jerome is hurt and try to pick up the broken teacup.

“Stop it.”

Jerome said coldly.

“uh?”

“It was my mistake. It’s not your fault.”

Why do you look angry?

Su-hyeon tilted her head.

Jerome’s face was flushed and blue, and his shoulders, arms, and fingers were convulsing.

“Just go away.”

“Are you okay?”

“You go, I’ll take care of things here.”

“okay.”

Su-hyeon quickly got up from her seat, worried about his pale face, but feeling that she shouldn’t upset him.

“Okay, see you at school.”

Su-hyeon turned around and greeted me, slung her bag around her neck.

I walked a few steps like that.

thud.

A louder noise than before was heard from behind.

“… … ?”

Su-hyeon looked back in surprise.

“Jerome!”

Su-hyeon shouted.

Jerome, who had been fine, was lying on the floor.