I Became A Renowned Genius At My Arts High School - Chapter 242



Only Noblemtl

Episode 242. Ownerless Paintings (3)

“Hahaha. Really?”

“That’s right. The dream was so vivid that I spent a long time thinking about it after waking up. Should I go to Paris today? Rome? Which studio should I go to?”

“That could be true. When I’m really tired or stressed out, I tend to just sink into a swamp and sleep. Whitney is probably stressed out these days, too, whether she knows it or not. It’s not usually energy-intensive to do this kind of work consistently.”

The atmosphere was friendly throughout the tour.

Whitney introduces her work, occasionally mixing in some light-hearted banter.

After satisfying the fans’ curiosity to some extent, they distanced themselves again and made them impatient.

In a word, a master of sweet talk.

Her conversation skills were so brilliant that at some point, Soo-hyun felt more drawn to Whitney’s words than to the pictures.

“This topic has a lot to say. Impressive dreams from childhood to adulthood. Phew. I can relate to this picture in particular. I also often had dreams of flying in the sky or being chased like the child in the picture.”

The painting that viewers lingered over the longest was Whitney’s new Dreams series.

A new attempt that preserves the free and spontaneous expressions of a child’s drawing, while adding a dreamy and fantastical feel to the previous work.

“hmm…….”

Even Soo-hyun thought it was pretty good. What should I say? It seemed like it was maintaining popularity while solidifying the artist’s color. But.

“I thought it was a no-brainer… … Right?”

Whitney came over to Soo-hyun, who was looking at the painting, and whispered softly.

“yes?”

“You mean that tile? That artist?”

“Uh… … .”

Su-hyeon’s name had become somewhat known in the art world there due to her activities in New York. Even so, she had never thought that an artist like Whitney, who she had no contact with and who was completely mainstream, would recognize her, so Su-hyeon blinked for a moment and nodded.

“As expected! That’s what it felt like. Actually, I saw you at the Felicity Auction a few days ago.”

Whitney looked very pleased.

Soo-hyun flinched for a moment at the mention of the Felicity Auction, but thankfully, she nodded when she realized that it was referring to the incident at the auction venue, not the scene of the commotion with Nozomi outside the building.

“That day, several people recognized you and talked to you. I had heard rumors about the tile work, but I didn’t know the artist’s face, so I was curious. They were so kind and explained everything to me. And you were on TV, right? I should have seen that! Anyway, what kind of fate is this? Su-hyeon, you came to my studio!”

Appearance: Appears to be in early or mid 30s.

I didn’t notice it when I blushed with Nozomi, but when I saw her smiling brightly, she seemed very gentle.

He’s a rising star, a blue-chip writer, and he treats his fans professionally. He seems like a person with no flaws in many ways. That’s why I was even more curious about him.

I wonder what the story is with Nozomi. Do you really not know the picture she brought?

“Actually, my friend is a fan of yours.”

But instead of bringing up Nozomi’s story, Soo-hyun pointed to Park Seon-hwa, who was standing next to her. She had decided to take a calm look at the situation rather than rushing into it right away.

“Oh, if this is your friend, he’s also a writer?”

“Oh, I don’t do any creative work. I’m a student majoring in design in Korea.”

“Aha, I see.”

“Actually, I have an early painting of Whitney.”

“An early work?”

“Yes. You had an exhibition in Korea, right? In 1998.”

“Oh, I remember. Oh my gosh! Were you at that exhibition?”

Whitney, who had been tilting her head at the word “early days,” smiled brightly at Park Seon-hwa’s explanation.

“It was two years ago when your work was starting to become known. But at that time, not many pieces were sold at that exhibition. So you were the one who got lucky?”

Whitney shrugged.

A story of congratulating Park Seon-hwa for successfully buying at a low price, while coolly acknowledging the unknown period that everyone has experienced.

Park Seon-hwa laughed heartily at those words and looked proud.

“Honestly, when I decided to buy the painting , I didn’t think about how much the price would rise. I just liked the painting. But the number of people who recognize the true value of the painting like me is increasing. That makes me feel the best. And I will never sell my favorite ! I will treasure it very much and keep it for a long time!”

“Haha. You are such a kind person. Anyway, thank you for recognizing my work early and supporting me.”

A pleasant conversation was going on, with both sides expressing their mutual interest. The next moment, the rhythm began to falter slightly.

“Actually, I have a question. Can I ask it?”

Park Seon-hwa asked a short question brightly.

“What is it?”

“When did you start working on your art? Oh, that’s it. After I bought Whitney’s work, I looked for his previous works out of curiosity, but I couldn’t find any.”

“ah.”

Whitney frowned slightly in embarrassment. But that was only for a moment.

Soon Whitney’s face became sad.

“Actually, there was a terrible accident.”

“Accident?”

“So, it’s been about four years already. There was a fire in the warehouse where I kept my drawings.”

“Ugh.”

“Fire?”

It was clearly a conversation between three people, but because the topic was interesting, other people joined in.

“Oh my god. So it all burned down?”

“How many points did you get? Oh my, a fire. How could that happen?”

“Where was it? In Japan? That must have been very upsetting.”

Those who shake their heads in genuine regret.

But inside, his face was busy tapping away at the calculator.

An unpublished work by a blue chip author whose value is increasing day by day, and an early work at that. How much would that be worth in money? He looks as if he could die from the regret.

“It was really shocking and sad, because these were drawings I had been doing for years. But it was a blessing in disguise.”

Whitney smiled.

“Rather, after all those paintings disappeared, I felt relieved. And I got inspiration for new paintings.”

“Is that Whitney’s current painting?”

“That’s right. I had the idea of ​​drawing a picture that was infinitely free, warm, and joyful.”

“Hiya. Hearing that, the meaning of the painting comes to me in a new way. It’s like being born again, like going back to childhood, starting everything anew. Reset, yes. It’s a reset, right?”

“You could look at it that way.”

Whitney smiling brightly.

Just as the question about the past was about to naturally move on, this time another visitor raised his hand and asked a question.

“Actually, I didn’t bring it up because I thought you might feel uncomfortable, but I’m talking about that woman who barged into the studio during the last tour.”

“yes?”

“Is the painting that woman brought related to the incident?”

It was a pretty sharp question.

Whitney’s brow furrowed even more than when she was asked Park Sun-hwa’s question.

“Phew.”

Whitney sighed and opened her mouth.

“It’s not a very pleasant memory, but as I told you, my paintings are only from after 1996. That’s why sometimes ridiculous things like this happen. They draw fake works that look good and pass them off as my early works.”

“Oh, like that.”

“her.”

That was it.

After briefly stating her position, Whitney lightened the mood by clapping her hands. Then, she told everyone to put aside the depressing stories and talk about something fun, and led everyone to the reception room where refreshments were prepared.

People chatted about superficial and pointless things for a while longer and then went home.

***

“what’s the matter?”

On the way home.

Park Seon-hwa, who had been suspiciously looking at Soo-hyun, who was lost in thought, crossed her arms and looked into Soo-hyun’s face.

“Huh? What?”

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

“No, it’s just that. I was reminded of the pictures I saw earlier.”

“Ah. I guess so. You might have felt differently since you’re a writer.”

Park Seon-hwa nodded several times and opened her mouth.

“But I was surprised again today.”

“why?”

“I mean, Whitney recognized you. Oh my, our Soo-hyun went on to become a big star and really succeeded. My nose was all tingly.”

“Ugh.”

Only then did Soo-hyeon relax and a smile appear on her lips thanks to Park Seon-hwa’s humor.

“Actually me.”

And when I said that,

“Are you concerned about that woman?”

Park Seon-hwa, who was quick-witted, pointed out that she was looking at Soo-hyeon.

“I’m talking about that Japanese lady who got kicked out of the studio last time. I saw her in front of the auction house a while ago. Are you concerned about her?”

“Oh, that’s right. Actually, I had a chance to talk to that lady a little more on the day of the auction.”

Su-hyeon briefly told Park Seon-hwa the story she heard from Nozomi.

“oh my god.”

Park Seon-hwa opened her eyes wide and muttered.

“Aren’t you a little weird too?”

Su-hyeon asked for consent and carefully revealed her thoughts.

“It could be that I am falling into the confirmation bias error, but it is a bit too subtle to be a coincidence. Nozomi’s disciple went bankrupt in business in 1996, and Whitney’s art warehouse caught fire in 1996. Is this just a coincidence?”

“There’s another strange thing. It seems that Whitney’s paintings weren’t the only ones that disappeared in the fire.”

“uh?”

When Soo-hyeon tilted her head to ask what he meant, Park Seon-hwa bit her lip and said.

“Don’t think weird.”

“what?”

“First of all, my favorite writer is Han Su-hyeon.”

“What, all of a sudden?”

“And I’m the type of person who, once I get really into something, I see it through to the end. I’m also very curious.”

“I know. I know. So just say what you want to say.”

When Soo-hyeon made a gesture that she would listen as much as she wanted, Park Seon-hwa took a deep breath and opened her mouth again.

“I told you earlier that as I was getting into Whitney’s world of art, I looked up her previous works.”

“That’s right.”

“I wasn’t just looking for work at that time.”

“then?”

“I was so curious about who the author was that I looked up information here and there.”

Suddenly, I remembered what Park Seon-hwa had said about Whitney when she came to New York.

“Oh, I remember. My father is American, my mother is Japanese, and my main activity is as a Japanese writer.”

“That’s right. As expected, you have a good memory. Anyway, if I had decided to look it up, would it have stopped at that level?”

“then?”

“No matter how hard I looked, there was no trace of it.”

“huh?”

“Even if we look at celebrities in our country, we all look for their graduation album photos and pass them around. Classmates, neighbors, military buddies, all sorts of people come out and share their impressions or stories about them.”

Park Seon-hwa shook her head.

“But I couldn’t find a single photo of Whitney as a child. I couldn’t even tell if she majored in art or if she drew without a degree.”

“But you found out about family relationships.”

“That was leaked information from the gallery. And Whitney just looks like she’s mixed race.”

Park Seon-hwa scratched her head.

“Anyway, the way I see it, Whitney is trying to hide her past really well. She’s keeping it really well-kept.”

“But, did Nozomi show up with something from the past?”

Park Seon-hwa and Su-hyeon, who had been talking up to that point, locked eyes and opened their mouths wide.