Chapter 8

‘Reinterpretation…This will be easy.’

I have been analyzing market trends for more than 10 years, so there were plenty of ideas that I could use.

Dozens of ideas came to mind, ideas which other students would never be able to think of. Therefore, I was confident that I would be able to get good grades in this assignment.

‘But the question is, how do you organize a team, and with whom?’

It was a 4 person group assignment.

A strategy was required here as well. People who are too skilled should be avoided. I might end up losing points if I’m compared to them.

‘Then, who would be good?’

I looked around.

The students were running around the room in confusion.

Since it was still the beginning of the semester, no social groups had been fully formed just yet. So the sooner the team was decided, the more advantageous it was.

It was the moment when I was trying to find someone who could draw moderately well and had the skills to stand out from the others.

“Come to think of it…”

Professor Kang Noah opened her mouth.

“This is something that I’ve heard from the other professors. They claimed that there were particularly exceptional students in the visual design department.”

There are excellent students in the visual design department…

Who could they be?

I should try to avoid being in the same team with them.

While Lee Jae-ha was scanning the memories of his past life for information on who they possibly were, the professor raised her finger and pointed at someone.

“Student Lee Jae-ha from a while ago.”

“······.”

It was me.

Professor Kang Noah continued with a smile.

“I’ve heard a lot about you from Professor Lee Jong, and I was surprised. You’re well prepared.”

I was prepared…

She seemed to have misunderstood that I had researched her career in advance.

Professor Kang Noah smiled at me before pointing to another student.

“Next, Seo Ji-won.”

My eyebrows twitched for a moment.

‘Hmm? What about her?’

“I want these two students to be in the same team. I can’t wait to see what kind of interpretation the two will present based on the same artwork.”

“······.”

We’re together again.

*

It was unexpected to be placed in a team with Seo Ji-won, but other than that, it was fine.

“Hey, looks like we’re going to be on the same team. My name is Park Kyu-tae. I look forward to your cooperation.”

It was the man with long hair who had raised his hand confidently when asked by the professor a while ago and became sullen immediately after.

Park Kyu-tae.

He was gesturing for me to shake his hand.

‘I’m sure you weren’t very skilled, especially since I don’t remember you from my past memories.’

But his long hair and nickname were the things that I definitely recalled.

“Park Kyu…Tae.”

“Huh?”

“I look forward to your kind cooperation as well.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.”

Park Kyu.

Sometimes, he was called Park Kyu. That was his nickname.

‘I always end up remembering pieces of useless knowledge like these.’

This was just one of my clumsy and useless skills anyway.

The other team member was a female student with a lively personality.

“Hello, I’m Ha Ye-eun. I’m a sophomore studying music composition.”

Ha Ye-eun.

A senior that was just one grade above me. She seemed to be a newbie who came to attend art school classes.

“I’ve always been interested in art. Don’t worry about the grade. Although I’m not an art major, I’ll do my best not to be a nuisance.”

I liked the way she spoke so confidently.

I wish my successor in my previous life had been like this…

Anyway, after introducing ourselves, let’s have a quick competition to see who opens their mouth first.

“Now, let’s discuss which artwork to choose for the assignment.”

Park Kyu-tae, who couldn’t stand the awkward silence, opened his mouth first.

“How about Claude Monet’s ‘The Lady with a Parasol’?”

“Well…”

It was a painting that I also had my eyes on.

Claude Monet.

He was an impressionist painter who was quite active in the 19th century. Impressionism is a style of painting that captures the momentary impression reflected in the eye, and Claude Monet was extremely special among the other painters.

‘The Magician of Light.’

That was his nickname.

As can be inferred from this, Monet was an unrivaled genius when it came to light expression, and the ‘Woman with a Parasol’ is a particularly special painting from Monet’s works.’

I didn’t have any complaints about the work either.

Rather, I welcomed it.

“I’m for it.”

However, Seo Ji-won seemed to be dissatisfied.

“Why must we choose Monet?” She said in a sharp voice, clearly annoyed.

In response, Park Kyu-tae replied with a sly smile.

“There’s plenty of light and color expression. However, the overall shape is still blurry, which means that there is a lot of open room for interpretation.”

“Then why don’t you choose a more famous artist? Like Van Gogh.”

“Not Van Gogh.”

“Why?”

Seo Ji-won frowned, while Park Kyu-tae waved his hands and said,

“I heard from my seniors that the professor doesn’t like Van Gogh.”

“She doesn’t like Van Gogh? What the hell?”

“Dogs, cows, and everything else is about or related to Van Gogh.”

“What?”

“Maybe one-third of the class already chose Van Gogh’s work. If everyone only interprets Van Gogh’s painting, even if it’s a little vague, your score will most likely be reduced.”

“…Then what about Monet?”

Seo Ji-won asked with a puzzled expression.

“Monet is famous, too.”

“Monet is fine.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s him.”

Park Kyu-tae said with a smile.

“If you and Jaeha choose Monet, then I’ll quit being in a group with you two.”

“…”

I mean, no one would want to overlap with your work.

For a moment, I felt a soft aura coming from Park Kyu-tae as his back was facing me.

‘I can’t believe you’re mixing compliments with reasonable logic. You talk better than I thought, Park Kyu-tae.’

Seo Ji-won also turned to see if his explanation was plausible.

“Do as you please.”

“Whoo-hoo!”

Park Kyu-tae, who successfully persuaded the strict Seo Ji-won, turned around and smiled at me.

What should I say in response to that look?

‘Did you see? I can do it!’ His eyes seemed to say.

“…”

I Ignored him.

So instead, he turned to the others.

“Hey, what was your name?”

“It’s Ha Ye-eun.”

“Is Yeun-sunbae okay with doing Monet?”

“Yes, I like it. I’ve been interested in it for a long time. The picture is refreshing to look at.”

Unlike Seo Ji-won, it was a pleasant yes.

I like it.

As such, the first practical assignment after entering the university was set to be a reinterpretation of Monet’s painting.

*

< Seokgwan-dong studio>

When I first came to work in the so-called Pater Factory, I was amazed.

“Awsome.”

The facility was quite spacious, as I was given a studio the size of a high school classroom. There was another seat in the corner, but even if we had to share this space, there were no complaints.

‘When I used to go to the school’s studio, 20 people shared a room around this size. This is a hundred times better than that.’

Some might think the collaboration studio is an art school student’s dream, but I thought a little differently.

‘It’s a thief’s den.’

If you take your eyes off of your supplies for just a moment, you will often be looted item by item, starting with your canvas or a can of paint.

Moreover, there was rarely a place to sit during the rush period, so I’d rather paint here alone than to witness the chaos unfold.

Most of the rich students set up their own studios anyway.

I settled down and stared at the blank canvas for a moment. Then, I began working on the design in earnest.

‘Let’s see. How should I draw it?’

I had a few ideas, all of them ranging from plain to decent. The problem was, this work needs to be more than just decent.

‘I didn’t expect to be involved with Seo Ji-won again.’

This assignment was a group project, but it was actually more like a four-man scuffle. A scuffle in which I would have to drag someone else’s work down to get more points for myself.

It was the fear of being compared.

Among them, Seo Ji-won is the worst opponent.

Although I had already won once, it was highly likely that she would have won if we had played by the standard rules. The last victory was largely due to her carelessness. I’ve only won once, but that doesn’t mean anything, so I’ll probably have to do my very best this time.

I wanted to avoid being involved with her as much as possible, but it ended up like this.

It was truly unlucky.

I was supposed to find the most suitable team members for me and then suck honey for the rest of the project.

[TL/N – Suck honey = lay back, relax, work without worrying. I’m keeping it as ‘suck honey’ because it’s funny to me ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ ]

Pessimistic thoughts were about to engulf my mind.

I slapped both of my cheeks.

‘Calm down, Lee Jaeha. Since when did you become such a coward? Did you come back to the past for this?’

The goal of this life is to succeed as a designer.

This meant that my final competitors were active workers.

No matter how skilled Seo Ji-won is, she’s still an undergraduate, but I don’t think I can succeed by simply avoiding her.

‘If you’re going to draw, you have to win.’

Didn’t you prepare everything with that in mind?

I spilled my ‘secret weapons’ from my bag onto the shelf.

Plop, crack.

Various tapes poured down onto the shelves.

They were no ordinary tape.

They were masking tape.

And also colored tape.

‘These cute things.’

A smile spread across my face as I gently touched the tape with my fingertips.

That’s right.

The secret weapon I prepared was tape art.

I’ve been thinking about it ever since the end of the lecture.

Park Kyu-tae said that Van Gogh is a dangerous choice because everyone else was rushing to choose his works. That’s right. Even if I draw Monet, my work will only get buried if I draw in a style like the others.’

In a task that required creative ideas, plainness was a deduction factor.

So I came up with this.

What others wouldn’t do.

It was tape art.

‘It’s just the right time too. Not many people are interested in tape art right now.’

Most people weren’t interested, and others didn’t even know it existed. Even across the world, only a small number of artists use this.

However…

In the next few years, the world of art will turn upside down.

With the appearance of a genius artist, tape art will emerge as a new hot topic.

‘And in less than 10 years, it will have gone to the point where there’s an international tape art exhibition.’

Tape art wasn’t a fresh topic in the future I’ve already seen and lived through.

However, this time around, the story was different.

What will happen when freshmen who are addicted to drawing in college art styles face tape art?

You’ll probably be shocked just by looking at it.

‘It just so happens that tape is also a material that can creatively handle light. Perfect for Monet.’

All that was left was how well I pulled it off.

And…

How much money was poured into it.

“…Gulp.“

Tension passed through my body.

The tapes I’ve spilled on the shelf just now already cost over 50,000 won. Considering the prices of this era, this is enough money to buy more than 10 bowls of rice soup.

It’s a lot of money for college students.

But I still have to use it, this investment will lead to better grades.

This was the woe of design.

People in other majors complain that their books are expensive, but the art design students have to suffer from chronic poverty because they spend dozens as much on art tools.

‘We’ll make up for it.’

I closed my eyes tightly.

Fortunately, Professor Lee Jong’s scholarship recommendation was able to make up for the price of the tapes. Thanks to that, the money I saved when I was in high school became a relatively large sum of money.

‘It’ll be fine.’

For the time being.

‘But sooner or later, I’ll need to start earning money in earnest.’

Right now, it’s hard to take a different path because I need to leave a good impression on the professors.

I soon reached out to the tape, determined to advance the plan as far as I could.

Rubbing my left hand with my right, I hoped that my determination would be worthwhile….

*

In conclusion, it was not easy.

It’s already been four hours since I grabbed the tape and began fighting a war with it.

“Erm……”

No progress was made in the painting.

‘I don’t feel weird about it though.’

It was simply a matter of tape art.

It was good that I could use tapes of various colors to bring out other complex colors, but it only looked childish if the combinations failed even a little.

In other words, it would look like a kindergartener’s joke.

‘I can’t submit such a work.’

It was even more so considering that Professor Kang Noah has high expectations for me.

It would be nice to have some kind of reference material, but since tape art was not popular during this period, I could only rely on vague memories to make the painting.

‘It’s a shame I don’t have a smartphone. I’m not a very creative person.’

However, it was hard to turn this around into a normal painting.

‘If we compete with a standard style of drawing, we’ll lose to Seo Ji-won.’

‘I’d rather do a day’s work with oil paint right before the deadline, but it’s not time to give up yet.’

But my hands started to hurt.

The time has come to catch my breath.

‘The tape is slowly running out. Let’s stop here for now and go rest.’

Today is not the only day.

Painting is a long-term battle.

It was the moment when I was trying to organize my bag with the thought of trying again tomorrow.

Rattle.

I heard the door of the studio open.

‘Who’s here at this hour? Are you a professor? Or are you a resident of another studio?’

It was already late evening, well past dinner time. So I was quite nervous about who it was, but they were a completely unexpected person.

“…?”

It was Seo Ji-won.

She was standing at the door of the studio with a bag across her shoulder.