Chapter 12

“Let’s start with the second round of presentations.”

Professor Kang Noah opened her mouth.

“Presenters, please come forward with your work.”

Finally, the moment I’ve been waiting for has come. I thought I would be very anxious, but when it began, I wasn’t impacted at all.

It’s proof that you’ve done your best so far.

Our team members, me, Ha Ye-eun, Seo Ji-won, and Park Kyu-tae walked forward with our own respective works.

However, all our works were somehow different from each other.

“You covered it with cloth?”

That’s right.

They brought it with a wide, thick cloth wrapped tightly around their paintings so that others could not tell what kind of work they had prepared.

While Seo Ji-won and I worked on square canvases, Park Kyu-tae and Ha Ye-eun’s work was rectangular.

“This was also intended, right?”

When Professor Kang Noah asked, Park Kyu-tae responded with a smile on his face.

“Yes. I recently enjoyed watching an auction movie and remembered it.” I wanted to make the most of the fun out of the moment when the artworks are released to the class.”

“Hmm.”

“Isn’t this situation fun for the professor”?

“······.”

There was a long stretch of silence.

“······ I… It’s fun… right…?”

Professor Kang Noah smirked at his trembling words and said, “It’s fun. I’ll give you extra points.”

“Thank you!”

Park Kyu-tae clenched his fists.

In fact, it was entirely his idea to cover our works with a white cloth. He was even the one who brought our fabrics when he found them.

< Today’s lunch >

[ TL/N – What’s in italics are part of the flashback. If it’s a little difficult to tell apart, then let me know in the comments or ping me (@Phy) in the discord server and I’ll change it!]

He hurriedly gathered the group in one place and said, “Jaeha, you were the one who said that, weren’t you? That even if it’s the same work, the feeling changes depending on the way it’s presented.”

“That’s right.”

“So I thought about it; I’m going to try and make use of this information.”

That was this. To cover our works with a cloth and present it one by one.

“Now the evaluations of our work won’t be mixed together. What do you think? This is okay, right?”

It’s a weird idea.

But, I liked it.

‘Right. These small details will accumulate one by one to change the overall quality.’

Such an attempt is beneficial, not a loss.

Just by sharing the announcement among team members, the concentration on the presentations will increase dramatically.

Good work wasn’t everything.

One single performance could change the impressions of the audience entirely.

That’s how the presentations began.

“Let me introduce my work”.

The first batter was Park Kyu-tae.

They changed up the order because they thought that their hard work would be completely buried if I or Seo Ji-won started first.

I was once again surprised.

He’s usually clumsy in everything he does, but he takes care of what others are more likely to miss. In addition, the evaluation of one’s skills is pretty accurate.

‘’His attention to detail is really good, whether or not it was purposely aimed for.’

Park Kyu-tae rolled up the white cloth that was covering his work with a proud face.

Soon, admiration erupted among the students.

“Oh!”

“What’s that? Isn’t that real clothing?”

That’s right.

What Park Kyu-tae drew, no, rather, what he made:

It was a white dress.

Park Kyu-tae smiled, liking the students’ responses, and said, “I made the white dress worn by Camille, the main character of < Woman with a Parasol >.”

“Why did you make a dress?””

When Professor Kang Noah asked, Park Kyu-tae snuck a glance at me and said, “Our team member Lee Jae-ha said it in the first class. Even the same work can look different depending on the culture that’s accepting it. I was very impressed by the words, so I started planning my  project from there.”

He began by revealing the intentions of how he planned his work.

I don’t know if he knew it or not, but this was also a part of the standards of a presentation.

‘What is my culture? What culture did I grow up in?’

It was a pretty good intro.

Park Kyu-tae said, pounding his chest with his fist.

“I grew up in the clothing market because my mother’s work was there. Thanks to being born to such a culture, I liked fashion from an early age, and when I saw a woman holding Monet’s parasol, the first thing that caught my eyes was her clothing.”

“That’s nice. So were you the one that made the clothing?”

“Yeah!”

Park Kyu-tae nodded with confidence.

“I made it myself from the beginning to end. 100% handmade. It’s not just the appearance, I’ve also carefully processed the fabric finish to the point where it can be worn.”

It wasn’t just a presentation remark.

Deep pride emanated from his voice.

Professor Kang Noah approached the clothing with an interesting expression and examined it closely before saying, “You made it well, all right. It’s quite well made.”

“I did my best!”

“It’s already been four years since I was put in charge of this class. More than a hundred students have attended, but this is the first time anyone has ever made clothes for the assignment. I will give you extra points.”

“Thank you!”

Park Kyu-tae’s face bloomed like a flower in an instant.

Shortly after the compliment, several students jumped to criticize his work, but he did not falter. It doesn’t work if you point it out as just clothes to a person who grew up with clothing.

So Park Kyu-tae achieved a perfect victory.

“Thank you.”

It was a great presentation by anyone’s eyes.

And…

Next up was…

“Hello.”

Seo Ji-won stepped forward.

*

“I drew a picture.”

The piece of cloth was rolled up with simple words.

A beautiful piece of work came out of it.

Yes, this was a painting that deserves to be called a painting.

Monet painted in Afremov’s style.

Light erupted from the canvas in the collaboration between two timeless artists.

It wasn’t even a single painting.

It was three.

“······ my God.”

Each one was a work that far exceeded the level of an undergraduate student.

Shouldn’t it be hung on the walls of an exhibition, not the classroom’s  desk?

While the students, who were pressed by the wide gap in skill, could not even open their mouths carelessly, Seo Ji-won opened her mouth with a sour look.

“Monet was a painter famous for his light techniques. So, I applied the technique of another artist who was also famous for using light.”

The presentation itself was simple, but there was nothing to point out.

To be exact, it would be better to say it couldn’t be pointed out.

If you try to criticize the work because the standard for painting skills is set too high by it, then only the critics would be the fools.

Professor Kang Noah asked with a smile, “How did you manage to draw 3 pieces?”

Seo Ji-won replied, “I’m still drawing.”

[ TL/N – Implying that she didn’t even finish, but it’s still so good that it looks completed ]

Seo Ji-won’s presentation attitude points: 0

However, her work was more than enough to make up for her attitude.

I started laughing inwardly.

‘You put a thumbtack right before my turn.’

Great.

Since she did that, expectations for my work must have increased. However, I doubted that my work would be defeated by her ‘work’.

‘I’ve known since before that I would do as much as I have done now.’

I competed next to her for two weeks.

I know more about Seo Ji-won’s skills than anyone else in this classroom.

So I tried to defeat her. I almost gave up halfway through the end, but because of a few lyrics in a song, I didn’t.

In the song, the main character suffers in the early stages before stocking well in each measure, and gains momentum after

This morning, I prepared a lethal move. A lethal move that even Seo Ji-won wouldn’t have been able to imagine.

Right at this moment, I realized it after seeing her work.

‘This is a game that I’ve won.’

I prepared a lot, and I planned to show a lot of things.

I walked up confidently, rolling up the fabric.

“Let me introduce you—“

Slip.

“—to the < Woman with a Parasol >.”

*

“······.”

There was a moment of silence.

And, one student opened his mouth.

“Pretty·····.”

A word that represented everyone’s feelings.

At the same time, waterfalls of questions began to pour down on me.

“What did you draw it with? Maca pen? The colors are really interesting.”

“It looks like it’s sparkling, but the colors are transparent.”

“Isn’t that stained glasses?”

“Oh, is that it? But considering that, the colors are too colorful to be glass.”

“I don’t think it’s glass either. The colors are a little lighter than normal.”

“It’s weird. I think each angle you look at it from feels a little different.

Each student struggled to come up with an interpretation for the work without grasping the true identity of the artwork, and after enjoying this atmosphere thoroughly, I answered.

“This is not stained glass.”

I took the remaining tape out of my pocket and showed it to the class.

“This is the secret of my work.”

“Tape?”

“You drew with tape?”

Once again, an uproar could be heard.

As expected, my choice was right. They had no idea that they could draw with tape.

Eventually, one of the students raised his hand and asked, “Hold on. Is the color coming out from the tape? That’s extremely hard to believe.”

“Of course, it’s not just made with tape.”

“As expected.”

With the words that he knew it, criticism was about to flood in.

It was at this moment.

“It’s made of glass and tape.”

“What?”

I turned the work backwards.

The backside of the tape was exposed over the transparent glass plate.

When you see it with your own eyes, you’ll have no choice but to believe it.

“······!”

“Isn’t that paper?””

While the students were surprised, I smiled and continued to talk.

“In order to bring out the allure of light completely, I abandoned the stereotype that I had to draw with paper.”

Okay.

This was one of the realizations that I had last night.

It goes without saying that glass has better light transmittance than paper does.

‘Then, it’s enough to use glass as a drawing medium instead.’

Upon reaching this idea, I applied tape over the glass to make a similar canvas. The sky was attached to it, the earth was built, and finally, a person was placed.

In other words, this is made of pseudo-stained glass.

Even if my skills were disappointing, I could raise the level of my work to the next level with the materials I used in addition to my creativity.

“You did this much for a task?

The students were muttering in a shocked tone.

“This level…really….”

“How do I beat that?”

“It’s Seonggol. It’s Seonggol.”

[ TL/N – Remember, Seonggol = Holy Bone, Holy Bone = the top rank of a really old ranking system used in ancient Korea ]

It was the same as Seo Ji-won. The students seemed to have given up on trying to critique my work.

This was a bad sign for me.

‘What is it? Why aren’t any of you speaking? This isn’t good.’

There is still one more device hidden. If someone tried to attack, then I was going to reveal it as a counterattack.

A twist shines only after a crisis.

But, there’s no way now…

I didn’t know you’d all give up this quickly.

‘Did I draw a little too well…?’

I forgot.

I forgot the fact that my skills also stand out considerably amongst the  freshmen. I missed it because I only shared a studio with Seo Ji-won.

What should I do?

Even if I gave up on the impact it was supposed to leave, I needed to decide whether or not I should reveal the secret right now.

A man raised his hand.

“I have a question.”

It was Kim Dae-won.

He raised his muscular arm majestically.

At that moment, I had a deep smile spread across my face.

‘Good job! I’ll buy you a meal later!’

I responded carefully so as to not reveal my inner feelings.

“Please ask.”

Kim Dae-won swallowed his saliva. Then, he spoke in a determined voice, as if he would repay the embarrassment he felt from the last critique class.

“In the last class, you said there was no reinterpretation of my work. I mean, it was just an imitation. But, doesn’t that apply to the presenter’s work now as well?”

“Please elaborate.”

“I’m saying that the original picture was simply copied with tape.”

No.

The idea of drawing with tape itself was a great reinterpretation because the difference in level is already obvious.

It should not have been refuted like that.

‘But I’m sure you knew it and still asked. Right?

Kim Dae-won would like to hear what kind of answer I give to the same question that he was given.

So I’m going to show it to you; the best rebuttal ever.

I took full advantage of the opportunity that he gave me.

“I want to ask you for a favor in order to answer this.”

I smiled and looked at Professor Kang Noah.

“Professor, may I turn off the lights in the classroom and close the curtains?”

“Why?”

“It’s to show my work a little more… in depth.”

“Hmm. Alright.”

Professor Kang Noah nodded her head as if she was interested.

Then she gave instructions to the students.

“What’s going on”?

“What’s wrong with the lights?”

Soon, the classroom became dark.

The room was dark enough to the point where we could barely see the outlines of each other’s faces.

“What are you trying to show us when we can’t even see what’s in front of us?”

“A performance?”

When they couldn’t even see the work, the students murmured to each other as if they couldn’t understand.

And…

I secretly pulled out my secret weapon in total darkness.

Like this.

I heard a click of a switch on the desk.

It was the moment.

“······· Huh?”

Moonlight poured into the classroom.