I Became A Renowned Genius At My Arts High School - Chapter 217



Only Noblemtl

Episode 217. What kind of resolution (3)

They said I had anemia.

Jerome muttered in a low voice, saying that it happened often.

I was just really stressed out, it wasn’t a big deal.

And then he called his manager and asked him to come over.

Hans, who answered the phone in a businesslike tone, was greatly surprised when he heard the whole story and came running.

“… … .”

Su-hyeon returned to her studio and blankly stared out the window.

“How could your body collapse so suddenly?”

I let out a sigh without realizing it.

“You seemed very nervous. You must have been very tired.”

Thump thump.

The surprised heart did not calm down easily. Su-hyeon was also very tired from the work she had been doing until this morning, but she was so surprised that she forgot that her body was tired.

Deep down, I hoped today’s work would be just a passing fatigue.

I tried to console myself by telling myself that acting was something that required a huge amount of energy at once, and that it would have affected me more if I had not been in good physical condition, and I tried to chase away the negative thoughts that were creeping in.

But distinct signs kept coming to mind and bothering me.

“I hope it’s okay.”

Steve and Henry couldn’t hold back anymore as they muttered again.

“Soohyun, why don’t you just go to sleep?”

“I think so too. It reminds me of a Korean proverb that Steve taught me before: Birds hear what’s said during the day, and mice hear what’s said at night.”

“uh?”

“Isn’t that what you say when you’re mumbling absentmindedly?”

“Not at all. That’s not the kind of thing you would use in a situation like that.”

Soo-hyun snickered at Henry’s absurd remark.

“Why on earth are you doing that?”

Steve took advantage of the gap.

“You’ve been mumbling like you’ve lost your mind for a while now. Did something happen?”

“No. I just remembered something that happened at school.”

“Because of that plaza project?”

“Yeah. Today was the presentation.”

“Oh, I see. It was today! So you can talk now?”

“Words… … were terrible.”

“Haha. That must be why it was hard. You feel relaxed. Yeah, you can feel empty and stuff.”

Knock knock.

Steve looked relieved, as if he finally understood the reason for Soo-hyun’s phone ringing continuously and the messages piling up on it.

“The response must have been good, and there must have been a lot of requests for collaborations.”

A face filled with confidence that it was a video without even looking at it. Henry also had a proud look on his face.

“Uh. Just the teams that requested it in the plaza earlier, about eight teams?”

“Wow, that’s amazing. Who are they?”

“I was curious anyway. What happened to that actor? If he had seen Soo-hyun’s work, he would have been greatly stimulated.”

Steve and Henry both rushed in and asked at the same time.

“First of all, the people who requested collaboration are from various fields, so it’s quite exciting. Animation, documentary footage, lighting, dance, the ideas are all good. Oh, and there were people who approached us separately from within our department.”

Soohyun answered Steve’s question first.

“And by actor, you mean Jerome?”

Next, I answered Henry’s question.

“That’s right. Jerome. That clean-looking guy.”

“Jerome also asked me to collaborate.”

“uh?”

“Really?”

Their eyes widened as if Soo-hyun’s answer was unexpected.

“Wait a minute. If you proposed the collaboration, does that mean your work will automatically win the Grand Prix?”

“Oh. Is that really how it’s going to be? You were so impressed by Soo-hyun’s work that you asked for a collaboration. Your strongest competitor has admitted defeat and knelt down!”

“That’s not it.”

Su-hyeon smiled brightly at the two excited people.

“We’re going to go with a method that emphasizes contrast, so even if it’s a collaboration, it’ll feel different than before. It won’t feel like one side is subordinate to the other.”

Su-hyeon briefly explained the duel-style collaboration that Jerome had suggested.

“But you know.”

And Soo-hyun asked with a blank face.

“Have you ever thought about death?”

“uh?”

“hmm.”

There was a brief silence.

It’s still an unfamiliar story to most peers.

In the cycle of life, after a few years, you will hear news of someone’s marriage or the birth of a new life, and then after a long time, you will hear news of death one by one.

But Steve and Henry were kids with a lot of experience, so Soo-hyun didn’t care and asked.

Especially since I had a long conversation about this kind of story with Henry about his memories of his mother.

“It’s like a two-sided coin. Since death inevitably follows birth, it’s a difficult subject to shake off in life.”

Steve spoke first.

“I also thought a lot about death when I was going through puberty. I was so absorbed in content about it that I even drew strange pictures.”

“As for me, as you know, that incident was so intense. Even after my memories came back, I spent a lot of time thinking about death. If I had been unlucky back then, I might have died too.”

Steve and Henry nodded.

“Yeah. Death is a dark and negative energy, so we usually avoid talking about it. Then, when we suddenly encounter it, we panic and panic. So, I think it’s because we’re not prepared and haven’t thought about it enough.”

Soo-hyun looked at Jerome and her subject objectively and said.

“Every day, countless people are born and die, but we are so indifferent. We have no way to feel anything unless we experience it ourselves. So it’s easy to just pass them by as numbers without feeling anything. I think Steve and Henry had very special experiences.”

Soo-hyun said, quietly scribbling with her hand the empty sketchbook on the desk.

“The theme Jerome brought up this time is death. I’m wondering how my life can overcome death, but I think I need to start by facing death head on.”

Soo-hyun spoke softly.

Steve and Henry exchanged meaningful glances as if Soo-hyun was once again absorbed in her work, but at this moment, what Soo-hyun was thinking about was not simply the method of work or the outcome.

A life was fading away. There was a sure way to save it.

***

A month later, Lisa Square.

People started flocking in from lunchtime and before we knew it, the place was packed to the brim.

“Today too?”

“I see. Well, there’s no need to check the program.”

The other teams that came out to the square looked briefly disappointed, but soon cleared their places.

This kind of thing happened on the days when Soohyun and Jerome performed.

When the two presented their work, everyone’s attention was focused on them, so they didn’t feel like exhibiting their work, and to be honest, they were also curious about the next story of Soo-hyun and Jerome, so they left the room.

“Let’s go quickly. Whose turn is it today?”

“Well. Last time it was Soo-hyun’s turn, so maybe today it’s Jerome’s turn?”

“Oh, I wonder what will come out today. I’m so excited.”

“That’s right. They’re both incredibly passionate.”

“Yeah. It’s almost halfway through the semester, and I don’t know how long I’m going to keep running like this.”

“Well, it’s great for us. We can see such high-quality work on-site for free. This is a huge opportunity.”

A lot of talk.

About a month and a half.

The performance of Jerome and Su-hyeon, which marked the starting point of the square project, was running towards its climax.

Life and death. Choices and surrender.

The two artists, who chose subjects with stark contrasts, engaged in a tense confrontation every time.

What was interesting was that the performances took turns, and Su-hyeon would perform for Jerome, and Jerome would perform for Su-hyeon.

The synergy excited everyone.

When life was full of hope, darkness whispered and broke my heart, and when I was struggling in despair, a saving hand like light appeared.

Life and death continued their fierce battle, up and down.

Let’s be honest, none of Lisa’s plaza projects have been hotter than this one.

Boom. Boom.

The sound of a drum signaling the start rang out in front of Jerome’s small square.

The people in the front seats, who were sitting very close together, and the people in the back seats, who were struggling to squeeze in, suddenly became quiet.

Knock knock. Knock knock.

A ragged breath. A pale complexion.

Jerome, whose complexion was so obviously sick that it seemed as if he was acting, slowly appeared in the square.

“Father, it is exactly as you said.”

Jerome, who had been staring into space with unfocused eyes, opened his mouth to speak.

“He told me that one day it would happen and he would know everything. And he would understand you.”

Coloc.

Jerome stopped talking with a cough.

Trembling.

My shoulders, arms, and hands cramped.

Especially the right side was added.

“ha.”

Jerome sighed.

“Half right and half wrong.”

Jerome buttoned up his shirt with difficulty.

Shaking hands.

The muscle movements were unnatural and pitiful. Actions that would have been easy and unconscious in the past became difficult for Jerome, requiring sweat all over his body.

Click.

Jerome, who had finally managed to button up his buttons after a long time, sat down on the chair, staggering.

“I have the same disease as you. My muscles have become weak and it’s hard for me to speak. But I still can’t understand you.”

Phew.

Jerome closed his eyes slowly, as if he was having difficulty even speaking in a whisper.

Thud. Thud.

Even during the short time I was seeking peace, my right arm, shoulder, and hand would jump up and down irregularly.

Swish-.

Jerome opened his eyes and looked at his mangled body.

“under.”

Su-hyeon, who was watching the scene from the front row, suddenly began to cry.

‘It’s today.’

I had a premonition.

That just once, in Jerome’s death performances, his real story would be mixed in.

A teacher who accidentally commits murder, a celebrity who decides to take extreme measures after suffering from malicious comments, a poet who has lost his love and the reason for living, a middle-aged man who has failed in business and is chased by debt collectors, and has fallen into poverty.

In addition, he reinterpreted characters from classical plays and novels to create new characters.

With the narratives and deaths of so many characters intertwined, no one in the square at this moment noticed that the real protagonist of this story was Jerome.

Even those who are a bit more sensitive will notice that Jerome’s body has become noticeably thinner than at the beginning of the semester.

Even that was interpreted as an intentional adjustment to focus on acting.

“People who are stuck in a swamp tend to struggle. But the more they struggle, the deeper they sink and the sooner they die. The worst thing is that they drag the people next to them into the swamp as well.”

Jerome turned his head and spoke with difficulty, glaring somewhere in the audience.

“Father, you dragged me into that pit. And you cursed me. But I won’t do that. Quietly.”

Jerome closed his eyes again.

“I will face my death very quietly.”

Suddenly.

At that very moment, Soo-hyun got up from her seat.

Some people watched Soo-hyeon’s actions in surprise, but Soo-hyeon turned around and quickly left the square.

There is not much time left.

Soo-hyeon, who made her way through the crowded crowd, arrived at her own small square.

Click.

Su-hyeon opened the drawers and shelves one by one and took out the tiles she had prepared.

The first tiles used in the performance were still lying on the floor.

So, what I just took out were things that Soo-hyun had prepared separately.

These were tiles that Jerome had suggested for collaboration, and that he would put out there whenever he performed a new death.

Swish.

Su-hyeon, who checked them one by one, took out another large tile.

widely.

Su-hyeon sat down on a chair and began drawing on the new tiles.

This time it was for the answer to be given at today’s performance.

Once this was completed, Su-hyeon planned to call Jerome to her square.

I thought I would ask him through drawings what his true feelings were, what he really wanted.