Chapter 15

I sat down by the window, sipping my coffee and thought,

‘The school that I go to is indeed Han Yewon.’

I looked at the faces of all the members. There was one male student who was shy and tall, so he could probably listen to the sound of his brother at church well. On the other side, there was one female student who was short and reminded me of a cat.

At first glance, the two seemingly opposites had one thing in common.

‘You’re all familiar faces.’

They were people I had seen or met in my previous life.

First, that male student.

‘Ju Ji Hoon. The most famous third-year student in the Department of Architecture.’

He had a good personality, handsome face, and his outstanding skills earned him a reputation in other grades as well.

‘I heard you studied really well’

I heard that he attended Hankook University before coming to Han Yewon, but considering that the entrance examinations for the two schools are completely different, he was someone who truly deserves to be called Um Chin-ah.

[ TL/N – Um Chin-ha = A man or a boy who is perfect for everything/An outstanding person in every field ]

That was Ju Ji Hoon.

‘But that’s nothing.’

That’s only what he’s like so far.

Ju Ji-hoon’s real exhaust was different.

‘Start-up Architecture Company, President of Juji Architecture Design. Ju Ji-hoon. I didn’t know I’d see you here.’

That’s right.

In the future, he will take full advantage of his major in architecture and join a large architectural firm. After leaving the company after only five years, he set up his own company and hit the jackpot.

Juji Architectural Design.

His company specialized in designing private houses, and it was rumored that he created a celebrity’s house that aired, and as a result, he went viral.

That’s how many years it took him to become famous.

Ju Ji-hoon became a billionaire at the age of 30.

‘After that, he gave lectures on how to start-up your own company, and even his autobiography hit the jackpot.’

Anyways, he’s competent.

If he was a member of my team in the exhibition design contest, he would definitely be reliable.

‘And that senior is…’

Meanwhile, the other student, Hanseol, is a sculpture major. She went abroad and made a fortune with installation art.

In her twenties, the auction price of one of her works exceeded 100 million won.

I once saw a newspaper article titled “The Achievements of a Young Korean Artist”

‘Either way, she’s a talented person who fits well with the contest.’

This exhibition contest went beyond simply drawing and writing out a design plan. You had to produce an actual model of it.

The model also had to be 2 meters by 2 meters at the minimum.

In this situation, a person who is skilled with their hands like Hanseol will be of great help.

I had a good feeling.

‘As expected, there are a lot of talented people in Han Yewon. But I really can’t believe such talented people came out.’

Well, it’s only natural.

Han Yewon has already passed the entrance exam level of other universities all over the country and gathered only the best talents. Among them, being recommended to Jeondi means that one is the top elite among all Korean art students.

Nevertheless, there was one problem.

‘Didn’t Han Yewon lose the grand prize for this exhibition contest?’

That’s right.

As far as I remember, the winning team of this match came from Hankook University.

I still remembered the professors being very sensitive about it for a long, long time.

‘What was the reason? The team members are all so talented.’

Exhibition design is a field that thoroughly evaluates the competition with practical skills. Then, wouldn’t it be natural for Han Yewon, a group of practical monsters from across the country, to win the award?

But they lost to Hankook University.

There had to be a reason.

‘····· No way?’

I had a good idea as to what happened.

It was probably a very close guess.

‘It’s because of Seo Jiwon, isn’t it?’

That’s right.

In this life, I was recommended as Professor Lee Jong’s assistant, but in my previous life, Seo Ji-won was the studio assistant. Then, in my previous life, wouldn’t she have been in this team instead of me?

‘Considering your temper, you wouldn’t have cooperated nicely. I don’t think you even spoke formally to your seniors.’

During Professor Kang Noah’s first class, how did she respond to Park Kyu-tae’s suggestion that Monet’s [The Woman with a Parasol] be the theme of her work?

I started tackling it without any special reason.

Nothing suggested an alternative reason.

‘If the same thing had happened here, no matter how good the team members were, there would have been no choice.’

Of course, this was just my guess.

It also has a lot of personal feelings mixed into it.

‘You couldn’t have done that in this kind of place….’

As I was immersed in my world of imagination, I heard a voice next to me.

“Are you okay?”

“What?”

Turning my head, it was Ju Ji-hoon.

He was looking at me with worried eyes.

“You look very tired.”

“Oh, I’m fine.”

“You’re not okay. Look at your dark circles.”

“I couldn’t sleep because I was preparing my assignment.”

I looked around, but Ju Ji-hoon still asked me with a questioning look.

“It’s hard to be a freshman at Han Yewon, isn’t it?”

“Yes— what?”

“I know even if you don’t tell me. When I was a first-year, everyone was about to die from how harsh the classes were.”

“Jihoon oppa is right.”

Hanseol, who had been silent, also agreed with Ju Ji-hoon.

“Han Yewon’s curriculum is famous for being tough from the very first first-year.”

“Right. When I first entered the school, I almost dropped out because I felt ashamed of my fantasized campus life.”

Dropping out was a joke, but other than that, I couldn’t just brush it off.

In fact, Han Ye-won’s curriculum was a thorough task bomb. It’s only natural that the right to sleep is not guaranteed during the semester.

However, I was an exception.

Since I had already experienced it once in my previous life, it wasn’t too difficult.

Repetition is just annoying.

“It’s okay. I’ll learn when I can.”

“That’s what you say in front of professors.”

Hanseol said to me in a serious voice.

“We’ll take full responsibility for this contest, so don’t feel pressured and just work hard.”

I almost started laughing at the words.

‘You say that I don’t have to feel pressured, but isn’t it contradictory to say to work hard as well?’

But the way she worried about me was refreshing.

A senior who is small enough to be around 150cm tall, looking at me with solemn eyes and her arms folded.

Regardless of my mental age, I was reassured.

“Okay, I’ll trust you.”

Somehow, I felt good about these two; to the extent that I don’t quite understand how the team from my past life was eliminated with such a member.

*

After a few brief introductions, a full-fledged planning meeting began.

“I’ve already prepared the basic composition in advance.”

Ju Ji-hoon said, turning the sketchbook to face us.

“It’s a proposal I made, and I’m going to make a model based on this. Do you want to take a look?”

“Wait.”

Seeing Hanseol stay still, the two seemed to have already had a conversation before I came.

I slowly looked through the sketchbook.

And I shed an invisible admiration.

‘Not bad.’

The design looked as if nature and the exhibition space was woven into one.

The material of construction is mainly wood.

From the looks of it, it seemed to be Ju Ji-hoon’s creation.

‘It’s an idea fitting of a future architect owner.’

It didn’t feel bad.

The eco-friendly sensibility was refined, and it seemed that it could be aimed at unexpected exhibitions that tended to focus on future-oriented designs like sci-fi.

In one word, it was unique.

Most of all, I liked the fact that he was well aware of the purpose of the exhibition design.

‘Many people often misunderstand what the exhibition design is truly about.’

The exhibition design itself was beautiful, but the structure should not be the main focus, because the true protagonist is the exhibition to be placed in it.

The exhibition design contest is to design a space where exhibits will be placed, but what’s the use of burying them?

‘The belly button is bigger than the belly.’

In short, while pursuing excessive glamour, we shouldn’t miss the essence of it.

Considering that there are many professionals who miss this part and only show off their design just to fail, his designs were particularly good.

‘Ju Ji-hoon knows how to abandon his greed for art.’

I liked it.

Here, Hanseol helped.

“Based on this, when we start making the model, Jihoon oppa will make the overall design, and I will make the props to put here and there.”

It was too much to laugh at.

I roughly guessed the distribution of our team’s roles from what they’ve said.

‘You’ve made a team combination in advance.’

Joo Ji-hoon has the overall composition.

Hanseol catches the details.

It was a perfect combination for an exhibition design. So perfect to the point where it seems that I have nothing to do.

No, maybe this was actually their intention; to make sure that I don’t cause trouble for anyone.

You must have seen me as unreliable since I am a freshman.

However, I had no intention of free-riding.

‘We’re organizing the exhibition design as a space that makes the exhibits stand out, sticking to the basics. However, this alone isn’t enough.’

The moment I saw Ju Ji-hoon’s sketchbook, I realized it.

‘If you compose it like this, it’ll be nothing more than a commonly seen work.’

I could see it clearly after hosting dozens of exhibitions in my previous life.

Sure enough, the Ju Ji-hoon of this time was still lacking.

Perhaps it was because he didn’t have practical experience yet, so he was only focused on theory and basic skills of the undergraduate level.

If you were aiming for the grand prize in a contest, you needed to look beyond just the basics.

‘Okay. Let me help with this part.’

I realized my role.

Usually, there was a common problem for college students participating in these exhibitions. It was that they thought their ideas were novelties, but they could not conceive of novelty in a true sense of the word.

However, I am different.

I can break the mold.

Because there is always a higher level of novelty in my head.

If it goes as planned, the results would definitely be worth a grand prize.

‘The question is whether or not these two will listen to me.’

I glanced at the two.

Being recommended here means that you have gained great trust from not only among the departments but also among the professors. Therefore, it is highly likely that they took pride in their abilities.

But I’m a freshman.

As a first-year student with no achievements, it was clear that it wouldn’t be easy to convince the seniors.

‘Show it with skills rather than words.’

After making a plan in my head first, I opened my mouth.

“Excuse me. Can I tell you what I think?””

“Say anything comfortably.””

Ju Ji-hoon responded with a smiling face.

I nodded and said, “Your work is good, I like them all. But I think it’d be better if we could fix a few things.”

“You’re going to fix it?”

“Yes.”

“Um·····.”

Ju Ji-hoon tilted his head and asked, “It’s fine to fix it, but can you give me a more detailed example?”

“Please lend me a sharp mechanical pencil.”

“Why a sharp one?”

“It’s easier to explain with pictures than words.”

He looked puzzled before rummaging through his bag and handing me the pencil case.

The pencil case was full of drafting sharpeners.

Among them, there was something that I was glad to see.

‘It’s been a while since I last saw this mechanical pencil around.’

[ Frag 1000 Pro. ]

This is an item that the company I worked for distributed to all of it’s employees.

As I held it in my hand, the familiar metal texture filled my fingertips and gave me confidence.

It feels like meeting an old friend.

“Then excuse me for a second.”

I ripped out a sheet from Ju Ji-hoon’s sketchbook.

After skimming through the sketch that Ju Ji-hoon had drawn, I put my idea on top and started drawing.

Sassaak.

The sound of lead scratching the paper filled the narrow room.

“Huh?”

Ju Ji-hoon’s expression was colored with embarrassment.

I could see clearly what that expression meant.

You’re wondering what I’m trying to do.

You’ll find out soon.

‘I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised.’

I looked at the sketch that Ju Ji-hoon had drawn.

Actually, I was a little disappointed in my art skills.

In my previous life, I’ve done numerous planning sketches.

‘At first, I thought it was best if I drew it meticulously.’

I only realized it later on.

It’s not always good to draw in detail.

The key was to quickly draw only the main points so that viewers could understand the overall feeling.

That’s how I was drawing it now.

Ju Ji-hoon’s draft was maintained, but the deficiencies in the draft were trimmed and visibility was improved.

“It’s done.”

I put the mechanical pencil down on the desk and asked Ju Ji-hoon, “What do you think?”

“······.”

Ju Ji-hoon blinked blankly at my finished sketch.

And then, he muttered in a voice as if he couldn’t believe it.

“…You didn’t transfer from another school’s architecture department, did you?”