Chapter 11

Chapter 11 – Art is a Marathon

‘Is it possible to change like this?’

The students have become different. Instead of just looking around at other people’s reactions, they began to throw sharp criticisms that were equal to or greater than mine.

“I used computer graphics·····.”

“You’re not that good at modeling. Honestly, it doesn’t look like Van Gogh at all.”

“I took this with my camera.·····.”

“Did you leave the picture on the monitor and take it as is?” I think you’ve lost your sincerity.”

It was the same as before, the criticism was not very convincing. However, the posture was completely reversed. This alone is an encouraging achievement.

How did they, who were shy like a trembling flower a while ago, change so much?

The reason was simple.

‘The hard work is worth it.’

It was because I took the lead in opening the door.

This is critical.

You have to do it like this.

I personally drew the line between flimsy and true criticism. Moreover, the professor affirmed it, so they began to refer to it too. The Han Yewon students were not idiots.They were students who knew how to learn.

Meanwhile, Professor Kang Noah smiled happily as she watched the class.

‘You look like you have everything in the whole world.’

Then, by chance, our eyes met…

‘Are you feeling kind of happy right now?’

There was a proud look in her eyes. If this is enough, I might be able to get a free meal later.

Anyway, the first round of critiques ended like this:

Three of the four students were torn apart. Only one person survived.

[ TL/N – I have a feeling someone’s going to miss it, so here’s a mini note: torn apart isn’t meant literally, just as in they were criticized really, really harshly. ]

It was the student who recreated Van Gogh’s painting in a vintage style.

[What would Van Gogh have been like if he were a person in the 1900s? I drew it with that in mind.]

It was simple. Simple to the point where it’s kind of boring.

But it was effective.

Rather than taking a challenge and ending up with poor results, a simple path might be the better answer.

That’s how the first presentations ended, and today’s class taught the students one thing.

‘If we do it carelessly, this is what happens.’

It was such a desperate sight.

“I was also going to paint it with watercolor, but I need to change it right away.”

“Our” is also based on Van Gogh’s paintings. What should I do?””

“Oh, I’m doomed. I’ll need to have a drink and get some inspiration.”

“Then you’re going to become Van Gogh, too?”

They were so determined that their heads were practically burning to the point of overheating.

Maybe much fiercer critiques will be ready for next week.

And… just in time, next week is our group’s turn.

‘I’m sure there will be a lot of criticism of my work too.’

But I wasn’t very worried.

‘It’s not like I’m the only critic that ever existed.”

I’ve received a lot of criticism before.

I was going to show them that fact clearly.

< After class >

It was the moment I left the classroom while listening to Park Kyu-tae’s trivial chatter.

“Isn’t our school cafeteria really good? It appeared in a college magazine, too. I haven’t slept at all since yesterday because I was so busy thinking about what to eat after class today.”

“Calm down, Park Kyu-tae,·······. Hmm?”

A man of strong physique approached me.

“······.”

It was Kim Dae-won.

He, who became a victim in class a while ago, is now standing right in front of me.

*

He was also big when I watched him from a distance in the classroom, but he was much bigger now that I’m seeing him up close.

He looked a little less than 190cm.

He was even muscular.

‘What is it? Are you an art student? Shouldn’t you be a physical education student? The atmosphere is much more unusual than that. Do you have something to say to me?’

Then the critiques I shared earlier came to mind.

It was mediocre by my standards. However, if you are a freshman who is not familiar with criticism, it wouldn’t be strange if you were angry.

‘Are you going to try and vent your anger on me?’

I quickly glanced around to see if there was a surveillance camera somewhere, but he hesitated and opened his mouth first.

“······ Thank you. I learned a lot thanks to you.”

Those words caught me off-guard. It wasn’t what I expected.

“Huh?”

Contrary to what I thought was going to happen, Kim Dae-won scratched the back of head and continued speaking.

“I didn’t think about it earlier because my pride had clouded my mind, but after listening to the professor, I thought you were right. I didn’t prepare as much as I should have.”

“······.”

“I’m just saying, in case you were afraid that I’d do something. I’m fine, so let’s have a drink next time when we meet again.”

After saying that, he quickly walked away.

I guess you really came here to say something.

While I blinked, surprised by the unexpected happening, Park Kyu-tae said,

“It’s a man.”

Although 90% of what he usually says is nonsense, this was quite appropriate now.

“You mean Kim Dae-won?”’

Surprisingly, he was a guy who knew how to accept criticism and move on. It may be pretentious, but I could clearly see the idea of a newbie who has been strengthened by internal politics.

Kim Dae-won was not the kind of person who tried to avoid criticism with pride. He was a little different.

‘He’s the kind of person who grows even while being hit.’

It’s often said that these people grow up easily as they practice.

Internally, my evaluation of Kim Dae-won soared.

He…he was a man who had a mentality fit for his physique.

In particular, he was a man with a great sense of hitting.

*

Time passed by quickly.

It’s already Sunday.

The day before the assignment’s submission has arrived.

I looked up and down at the half-finished tape Art and thought,

‘I did as much as I could.’

The one thing that I was able to say with confidence.

I’ve done my best.

For the past two weeks, I stayed up all night every night and poured my  focus into working. The result wasn’t bad.

It isn’t the work of a freshman, but rather, the work of a senior’s graduation exhibition.

It was going to be worth even more than that when I thought of the additional points for the idea of tape art.

It’s worth the trouble.

However, it was also true that I was still anxious.

‘When did your skills improve so much?’

It was because Seo Ji-won was still one step ahead.

Seo Ji-won was drawing the Afremov-Style Monet behind me.

I looked at the picture and thought,

‘You draw very well.’

She wasn’t just a genius. She’s reached the level where she can pass off her work as one of Afremov’s paintings.

Of course, that’s what it roughly looks like.

There’s a difference in level if you look at it closely. However, it was still a foul to be able to paint this similarly.

In fact, to be precise, it was difficult to regard it as an Afremov style.

‘How can you paint an oil painting so thinly with a knife? How does this make sense? The oil paints aren’t Nutella Spread.’

Afremov’s style had a disadvantage in that the oil was painted on in thick layers, and had a rough texture when viewed up close, but she succeeded in covering up the shortcomings by painting it thinly.

Yes, this was Seo Ji-won’s style.

It only took less than two weeks for it to develop to this point.

‘It’s unfair. It’s terribly unfair.’

This is what happens when you’re born with talent.

There are different kinds of talents.

The ability to come up with ideas that others can’t.

And the ability to have terrifyingly good drawing skills.

Seo Ji-won was born extremely gifted with the latter.

‘I heard that Picasso went to an adult painting contest when he was an elementary school student and swept the awards away.’

Wouldn’t Seo Ji-won be able to imitate it?

If not…never mind.

Anyway, even though tomorrow is the assignment’s submission date, it was difficult to invest time into working today.

It takes money to make art, so I had to make money.

That’s right.

Today was the day that I was scheduled to help with Professor Lee Jong’s work.

“Excuse me.”

When I opened the door of the private studio on the top-most floor of the building and entered, Professor Lee Jong welcomed me with a smile.

“Well, you’re here.”

“Hello.”

“I know it’s the weekend, I’m sorry. Today, I just had a hard time doing it alone, so I called you to ask for a separate favor.”

What do you mean by a favor?

He could have said it in a commanding tone since the hourly wage is generously paid anyway, but he said it in a tone that was considerate of me.

Considering the idea that a professor who treats students like his own slaves was completely crushed, he was a good person to the bone.

‘How did a student like Seo Ji-won come out of such a person?’

I looked around the studio, reflecting on the little questions. And I was surprised.

“I’m….”

In the center of the studio, several huge windows were erected.

And…

Inside, various glass pieces sparkled while boasting beautiful colors.

“Isn’t it pretty?”

Professor Lee Jong smiled happily.

“They’re called stained glass. I’m sure you’ve heard of it a lot.”

“Wow·····.”

My jaw dropped without realizing it.

‘You’re no joke.’

To answer Professor Lee Jong’s question a while ago, I have seen a lot of it before.

In pictures, of course.

However, at that time, I may have admired the gorgeous color combinations, but I’ve never admired the work itself.

That being said, it was a little different in person.

It was just so beautiful that it made me dizzy.

‘It’s not like it was used by the religious community for nothing.’

[ TL/N – He’s referring to the churches that use stained glass windows. If you’ve never seen one, look it up, they’re really pretty. ]

It’s important, so I’ll emphasize it again.

It was beautiful.

“The broadcasting company requested it as a commercial prop. It was difficult because it’s something I haven’t done before, but I called you because you were doing something similar.”

“Something similar?”

When asked about the cryptic words, Professor Lee Jong said,

“Tape art.”

“Ah!”

I thought of it for a moment.

It was as he said.

Tape art and stained glass had similarities in several aspects. There was the case with the translucent texture, and the importance of the expression of light.

Professor Lee Jong closed the studio’s windows and curtains as I stood there in a slow realization.

“Why do you have to close the windows? Is there something important about it?”

Professor Lee Jong looked at me with a puzzled expression and said, “Stained glass is prone to deterioration even with minor changes in light due to the material. So it’s a good idea to create a consistent environment as much as possible when you’re working on it.”

It was a small but interesting lesson.

He then handed me gloves and a knife and said, “I made the blueprints in advance, so you can cut and paste the glass accordingly. It’s sharp, so don’t forget the gloves.”

“Yes.”

As soon as I received the proper tools, I immediately started working on it.

And I soon realized.

‘Stained glass was like this.’

What should I say about the pieces of stained glass that I personally touched?

It was sloppier than I thought.

The blueprint was neat, but it was cut loosely and attached poorly.

Especially the glass I cut.

“I think I’m ruining your work.”

Professor Lee Jong answered my worries with a smile.

“It’s okay. Such coincidence is the real beauty of stained glasses. Human mistakes overlap to complete a natural and beautiful work.”

“It’s like pottery.”

“Yes. It’s fascinating that even the creators can’t get a full glimpse of the results.”

The two materials resembled each other.

I did my best to complete the job, but I eventually had to leave the results to luck.

I wonder how long it’s been. Probably two or three hours.

Professor Lee Jong stood up from his seat and said, “I have more work to do, so I’ll get going first today. You can go back or watch the work that has been completed so far.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

“Please leave all the curtains and windows open for ventilation when you leave.”

He left the studio.

For a long time, I was left alone, humming and immersed in the work of stained glass. It was so fun that I didn’t realize how much time had passed. When I looked at the clock, it was already evening.

‘I should wrap this up and leave.’

With that in mind, I got up from my seat.

Click. Click.

As I was about to turn off the lights and go home, Professor Lee Jong’s words came to mind.

“Oh right. You told me to ventilate.’

Belatedly, I went to the window, rolled up the curtains, and opened the window. Soon, a cool evening wind blew in from outside.

And….

The night view was beautiful.

“······ It feels like the old days.”

When I was busy with work, I often sent my co-workers home in advance and worked overtime by myself. When I looked out the window after working for a long time, the city night view, which I could only taste at that time, used to be a quiet haven for me.

‘It was getting really complicated in my mind, but it’s a little better when I’m thinking about the past.’

How should I beat Seo Ji-won while fiddling with stained glass?

I was thinking about this one thing in particular. It’s because I was not confident about my current work.

It was like that.

‘Last week, I did the best I could.’

If I did my best and I was pushed back regardless, it’s not my fault.

The life of a designer is not a short-distance sprint.

It was a long-distance marathon.

Once you lose, you don’t have to be obsessed with your life as if it would end soon. Maybe I was caught up in an empty obsession with the trauma of my previous life.

‘There is no such thing as superiority or inferiority in art. Why was I so impatient? Let’s empty our minds and hearts for now.”

My mind became more at ease.

It’s nothing more than a school project.

It was the moment when I turned around from the window and looked at the stained glass I had been working on.

“······Huh?”

My head went blank.

For a moment, I couldn’t think of anything to describe the sight in front of me.

Just… shock.

It was shocking.

I stood stunned in a scene where I didn’t know what to say.

And then it came to mind.

No, it was right to say that I was practically struck in my head by lightning.

‘This… it becomes like this?’

I thought of a way to beat Seo Ji-won.

It’s a way to achieve an overwhelming victory…

As soon as I thought about the possibility, a smile crept into the corner of my lips.

‘You’re not supposed to empty your mind. The only thing that can be emptied is a rice bowl.’

Even though I did my best, I’ll feel dirty if I lose.

If it is a long-distance marathon and you get pushed back in the beginning, you will continue to be pushed back in the second half.

I don’t know if there’s superiority and inferiority in art, but there is certainly superiority and inferiority in school assignments.

If I can win, I have to win.

Isn’t that obvious?

If you’re a person who has suffered so much in his past life and walks the same path again, are you truly a person?

It’s an animal.

Humans are only humans because they have the ability to learn.

I’m human Lee Jaeha.

I am a human being.

‘Come to think of it, tomorrow’s class is in the afternoon, right?’

I’ve already said this once, the fact that there were no morning classes at the college meant one thing.

It was savage.