Chapter 10
The Painting Thief (1)
The Sehyun Arts High School Art Exhibition.
The wrapped-in-mystery Grand Prix privilege turned out to be the opportunity to study under the greatest artist of the era—in other words, a month of special private lessons.
And the reason a Grand Prix winner hadn’t emerged for decades was that the featured artist sat on the evaluation committee themselves, personally deciding the fate of the award. Unless a student caught that artist’s eye, the system was structured so that a Grand Prix winner simply couldn’t exist.
“Hey, no way. So you’re saying this time’s winner gets lessons from Artist Seol Min-soo?”
“That’s incredible. Who was it back in our day? I heard the judge changed every few years?”
“Our day? I heard it was someone even higher-caliber than Seol Min-soo—rumor has it it was James Lee.”
“James Lee? Isn’t he the hottest painter in the UK right now? Was that even possible?”
“It’s Sehyun Arts High. They had plenty of connections and budget. Besides, even if he participated as a judge, if there wasn’t a kid he wanted as a disciple, he could just not select a Grand Prix winner, so it wouldn’t have been much of a burden. They probably paid him handsomely, too.”
“Makes sense. That’s true.”
“Anyway, in the early days, they invited such strict and incredible figures that no Grand Prix came out of it. Between parent complaints and the school losing face, they lowered the tier starting this time. That’s where Seol Min-soo comes in.”
“Ha, even Seol Min-soo is immense. How often does a mere high schooler get the chance to learn from a master like that?”
“Well, you can’t really call them ‘mere high schoolers.’ It’s Sehyun Arts High, after all. Still, if I knew the privilege was that huge, I would’ve risked my life going all out. Ah, what a shame.”
In the past, Cha Yoon-hee had picked up this behind-the-scenes story about the Grand Prix somewhere and passed it along to Soo-hyun.
If James Lee really was serving as a judge for the 1995 Art Exhibition as the rumor suggested, Soo-hyun was determined to captivate his heart no matter what. There couldn’t be a more reliable mentor on the path to stepping up as a world-class artist. Furthermore, James Lee was one of the painters Soo-hyun had admired and liked in the past.
To capture the opportunity, painting something that caught his interest would be best, and a suitable landscape happened to appear right before Soo-hyun.
Soo-hyun hurriedly ran out to the coastal road and hailed a taxi.
“Driver, please take me to Busan Port.”
Soo-hyun’s voice trembled slightly.
Soon, the taxi carrying Soo-hyun sped along the coast. Looking at the passing scenery, Soo-hyun fell into deep thought.
Finding a subject to his liking was a great harvest. However, whether he could draw James Lee’s attention depended entirely on how he painted it. Soo-hyun recalled James Lee’s works and interviews that he had consistently looked up in the past.
Deletion.
James Lee’s paintings used deletion as a theme. A method of bold removal: stripping away the crucial forms and colors that constituted an object to express the core subject. Through his artwork, he had proven multiple times that erasing could actually emphasize the subject even more.
And if a figure like James Lee were judging this art exhibition—
‘Outstanding depiction, technique, or cleverness won’t draw his interest. I have to create a painting that speaks directly to the way he approaches art.’
Then… instead of painting the sea as it was, he needed to think about how to arrange related objects. Making it feel like the sea, even without the sea present. Ships, people, fish. By bringing out these characteristic objects, he could render it so that it felt like the ocean even without water.
Things that had been vaguely floating around gradually settled, taking a distinct form inside Soo-hyun’s head.
‘…Let’s sketch the objects first, and then continue the next sketch so that the movement of those objects conveys the feel of the sea.’
Stepping out at Busan Port, Soo-hyun took in the sight of docked ships and the harbor scenery, a wide smile breaking across his face. Pulling out the sketchbook tucked in his bag, he began transferring the scene onto paper with rapid strokes.
The beautiful things belonging to the sea were drawn one by one as if rippling across the paper.
As the sun gradually set and total darkness arrived, Soo-hyun lost all track of time, completely immersed in the world of painting.
The three days and two nights passed in the blink of an eye. Before they knew it, it was Wednesday afternoon—time to head back home.
“Ugh, my shoulders. My whole body hurts.”
“I’m so hungryyy. Drawing right up until the last day—that’s just cruel.”
“Hey, let’s at least take a group picture. And dip our feet in the water once.”
“Let’s do it! Everyone, gather up!”
Although a fair amount of free time had been granted, the students were fundamentally passionate about art, so aside from grabbing meals and taking brief breaks, they remained glued to their works.
However, drawing hard didn’t mean everyone achieved great results.
“Wow, I only drew three pages. I ruined everything. Nothing I like, either. Sigh, I’m gonna get chewed out by Mr. Choi Hyeong-wook.”
“Hey, want me to show you mine? Up through the sketch, it was pure fantasy, but the moment I started coloring, total collapse—disaster.”
“Wow, seriously. Isn’t this practically a depiction of hell?”
“You wanna die?”
‘It’s just like back then.’
Soo-hyun nodded as he watched the kids bickering.
The paintings the other kids had drawn back then remained faintly in Soo-hyun’s memory. Seeing what they had produced this time brought those memories vividly back to life. A few had pulled off decent sketches, but it was merely at a level slightly better than their peers.
While potential for growth was there, there wasn’t a single work in sight capable of shaking a person’s heart with sheer impact.
‘Which is why a Grand Prix winner never emerged.’
Soo-hyun nodded to himself.
‘Speaking coldly, even if I had participated back then, the result would’ve been the same—if that James Lee was the judge.’
But that was a thought he didn’t need to entertain.
This time, the outcome would undoubtedly be different.
“Woah, Han Soo-hyun. When did you draw this much?”
Cha Yoon-hee and Park Seon-hwa approached from behind as Soo-hyun organized his sketches.
“Park Seon-hwa, go away. Don’t bother him asking for a single page.”
“Wow, I had zero intention of doing that? Besides, Soo-hyun drew these for the outdoor sketching submission, so there’s no reason for me to ask.”
“Whatever. I saw you clearly with my own eyes last time, begging him for just one page.”
“That was a joke. Don’t you know what a joke is? A joke?”
“Don’t you two ever get tired of this?”
Soo-hyun shook his head at the two of them, who were still growling at each other.
“This won’t do. On the way up, you two sit together.”
“What?”
“No way, Han Soo-hyun. Why are you doing this to me?”
“I feel like my life will be easier once you two get a bit closer. Why fight over nothing?”
“Hey, we’re not fighting, it’s just teasing. And we’re going to get along fine from now on. Right, Cha Yoon-hee?”
“Uh, yeah, obviously. That’s how people bond. So don’t lump her and me together. Let’s sit as three like on the way here, okay?”
Watching them step back in horror, Soo-hyun chuckled and shook his head.
“Fine. I’ll be watching. Anyway, let’s go.”
Holding his sketchbook, Soo-hyun boarded the bus.
“Great work, everyone! Take a good rest today, and tomorrow we’ll have individual consultations to report on your outdoor sketching content. Alright, head home safely!”
Late evening.
Stepping off at the Sehyun Arts High School playground, the students handed their sketchbooks to the escorting teacher and headed home one by one.
Soo-hyun also selected a few sketches and completed his submission. His roommate, Park Seon-hwa, waited for him, linking her arm firmly with his as they headed toward the dormitory.
“I feel like I’m gonna sleep like a log today.”
“You’ve got a breezy attitude. You okay with tomorrow’s evaluation?”
“Eyy. What’s there to worry about? Evaluations only matter when expectations are high. The teachers probably don’t expect much from my drawings anyway.”
Haha. Seeing Park Seon-hwa laugh brightly, Soo-hyun let out a dry chuckle.
“Must be nice to be so carefree. I guess that’s the diamond-spoon life.”
“Huh? Diamond spoon?”
“Nothing. Just saying. Anyway, let’s hurry. I’m tired too.”
In addition to the Busan bus, buses heading to various regions like Gyeongju, Sokcho, and Jeju Island arrived one after another. Kids with exhaustion-laden faces were submitting their sketchbooks one by one and heading home, just as Soo-hyun’s group had done.
However…
‘Why is that guy going into the practical arts building?’
Soo-hyun’s eyes caught a suspicious movement.
9:00 PM. Since the other grade levels had finished class early today, the practical room doors should have been firmly locked. Yet, Kim Ha-young was creeping toward the room like a stray cat.
‘What’s going on?’
As Soo-hyun tilted his head in confusion, Park Seon-hwa followed his gaze and let out a long sigh.
“Kim Ha-young’s doing that again.”
“Huh?”
“That Kim Ha-young, she… Never mind. Knowing won’t do anything but ruin your mood.”
Park Seon-hwa waved her hand, taking back her words. She clearly knew something Soo-hyun didn’t.
“What is it?”
When Soo-hyun asked once more, Park Seon-hwa let her shoulders slump and whispered softly.
“Han Soo-hyun. You can’t get shocked, disappointed, or shaken up after hearing this, okay?”
“Huh?”
“Sigh, well, for me, I’ve seen these kinds of dirty, trashy things so often since I was little that I’ve built up an immunity. But you’re still a pure-souled artist.”
“Whatever.”
“Ahem. Anyway, there’s no concrete evidence yet, but there’s a rumor going around.”
“What rumor?”
“There’s talk that Kim Ha-young, Jang Min-young, Lee Joo-ho, and Choi Joo-hee bribed the school teachers to pull off some dirty tricks.”
“What?”
The unexpected words caused Soo-hyun’s eyes to tremble in shock.
He already knew about Kim Ha-young, but Jang Min-young, Lee Joo-ho, and Choi Joo-hee were involved in something like that too?
“Choi Joo-hee is an absolute model student. She’s the class president. And wasn’t Jang Min-young the quiet type?”
“Which makes it even more absurd. They act all noble and high-and-mighty on the outside while doing shady stuff behind everyone’s backs.”
“Are you sure?”
When Soo-hyun asked again, Park Seon-hwa put on a deeply serious expression.
“You know there was a commotion during the last drawing exam, right?”
“Huh?”
“That draw box. Someone submitted an anonymous tip via a note. Saying Caligula would come out.”
As the topic shifted to the drawing exam, Soo-hyun swallowed hard. That note was his own doing using his knowledge of the future. But he couldn’t tell Park Seon-hwa that he was the informant. Fortunately, Park Seon-hwa seemed more interested in something other than uncovering the informant’s identity.
“On that exam day, you have no idea how rotten their faces looked, do you?”
“Their faces?”
“Honestly, Giuliano is a plaster cast everyone welcomes. It’s familiar, and easy to draw.”
“That’s true. Usually.”
“But Kim Ha-young, Jang Min-young, Lee Joo-ho, and Choi Joo-hee—their faces looked like they’d chewed on garbage.”
“Is that enough to suspect something?”
When Soo-hyun pressed, Park Seon-hwa shook her head gently.
“I heard them. What they were saying in the hallway.”
“Huh?”
“They were cursing, saying they spent all that money only for the exam to go down the drain. They said they only practiced drawing Caligula and that they were totally screwed. That’s definitely suspicious, isn’t it?”
Listening to Park Seon-hwa, Soo-hyun’s eyes wavered. Based on the circumstances, Park Seon-hwa seemed to have suspected a few students of cheating in the past as well. And this time, because of the draw box incident, her suspicions had amplified.
“I told my mom right away.”
“The director?”
“Yeah. She told me to stay put for now, that she’d look into it.”
“Ah, I see.”
“But if this is true, Kim Ha-young and the rest of them definitely pulled some crazy stunt for this outdoor sketch trip too.”
“A crazy stunt?”
“From outdoor sketching to the art exhibition, it’s the biggest event for the first years. If you snatch the Grand Prix privilege, what better portfolio could there be? You could easily get into any university you want.”
“Ha.”
Seeing Soo-hyun’s heavy expression, Park Seon-hwa grinned and patted his back.
“Anyway, I need to make a quick call to my mom. She told me to report immediately if I saw anything suspicious. Go ahead and rest first.”
“Alright.”
Soo-hyun nodded and walked up the stairs toward the dormitory.
And before Soo-hyun and Park Seon-hwa could uncover the secret hidden by Kim Ha-young and the others, yet another incident exploded with a bang.
