Chapter 9 …

“Good thinking. I should get going first.”

After that, Hyunmin, who had been staring at his phone for quite a while, stood up before the others.

Yeji, who had almost finished chewing through the ice in her cup, nodded.

“Yeah, you’re busy, and I ended up keeping you here for no reason. Anyway, thanks for worrying about me.”

“Just make sure you fix your artwork properly.”

With that, Hyunmin hurried away.

“What’s with him suddenly being in such a rush? Seriously.”

Da-hye spoke as if Hyunmin was being his usual scatterbrained self, but Yeji had room for nothing except thoughts of her artwork.

She stared at the photos she had taken beforehand of her damaged piece and sank deep into thought.

Flowers submerged in water.

The canvas cruelly sliced apart above them.

It was a situation she had never experienced before and never even imagined.

Deep down, Yeji was shaken.

She wanted to restore the ruined work somehow.

She wanted to strike back at the bastard who had pulled such a stunt.

Those desires mixed with the countless images drifting through her mind, leaving her confused.

Flowers, water, canvas, cut apart, desire.

Lost in thought, Yeji’s gaze drifted blankly through the air before suddenly stopping on something.

It was the bouquet resting beside Da-hye’s chair.

“Oh, this… Actually, your parents gave me this. I think they prepared it beforehand.”

A congratulatory bouquet beneath a ruined artwork.

Yeji’s parents had probably worried it would only add insult to injury, so they had simply handed it to Da-hye instead.

Da-hye had also felt it would be inappropriate to place it beneath her own artwork, so she had brought it along.

But Yeji saw it differently.

To her, the bouquet had already become an idea.

“No, if you brought it for me, then give it back.”

“Huh? Sure.”

As Da-hye handed over the flower basket, Yeji examined the flowers from every angle.

The fresh scent of greenery mixed with the sweetness of blossoms.

“……”

Pulling out a single flower, Yeji held it briefly against the image of her painting displayed on her phone.

“…!”

In that instant, an image flashed through her mind.

A new way to perfectly express her intentions.

A way to transform a flat painting into something three-dimensional and expand its world.

And a way to send a warning to the culprit who had created this damn situation.

Inspiration for an entirely new version of the artwork surged through her.

“I’m heading out too. I’ll start revising it tomorrow, so come watch if you have time.”

Carrying the flood of thoughts swirling through her head, Yeji rose from her seat.

Most students were not particularly shaken by the announcement that artwork revisions would be allowed.

A few went back to make minor adjustments, but nobody touched their work significantly.

The reason was painfully practical.

Preparing for the upcoming final exams would help their grades far more.

The same applied to Da-hye.

If she started revising, there would be no end to it, and it was more beneficial to focus on academic performance.

These days, most universities were placing greater weight on grades than practical art examinations anyway.

When she had first started painting, she was sure this wasn’t what she had imagined…

Still, if I get into a good university…

Then I’ll finally be able to paint what I really want.

Right now was merely the period of laying a foundation for the future.

Every adult said the same thing.

And Da-hye believed them.

Still, she had to see what Yeji was doing.

“…Huh?”

Driven by friendship alone, Da-hye headed to Yerim Art Center and suddenly stopped.

A fresh floral fragrance filled the air.

The scent had spread subtly throughout the entire exhibition hall.

As she approached Section A, the fragrance grew so strong it felt as though she had stepped into a flower garden.

“That must be it.”

“The one that got damaged?”

Passing through the murmuring crowd, Da-hye made her way toward Yeji.

On the second day of the exhibition, rumors of the vandalism had drawn even more visitors than usual.

“Wow…”

For a moment, Da-hye couldn’t help but gasp at the sight of Yeji standing at the center of the crowd.

Dozens of flower baskets surrounded her artwork as she worked.

When she heard “revision,” she had naturally assumed Yeji would reattach the torn canvas and cover the damaged area with oil paint.

But there wasn’t a paintbrush in sight.

Not even any oil paints.

“What is all this?”

“Oh, you’re here?”

As Da-hye approached, Yeji greeted her cheerfully.

The gap left by the sliced canvas.

Instead of filling it, Yeji had widened it even further.

“I figured I’d show everyone properly that this little stunt actually ended up helping me.”

She had no intention of shrinking back because of such a pathetic provocation.

Instead, Yeji made the situation bigger and more spectacular for everyone to see.

“You put something inside?”

Da-hye noticed something wedged between the torn sections of canvas.

Looking closer, she saw it was green floral foam, the kind used in flower arrangements.

“Ah.”

A gasp escaped Da-hye’s lips as she realized Yeji’s intention.

Just like the title, Full Bloom.

Yeji intended to transform the artwork completely.

“Now real flowers are going to bloom on top of it.”

Yeji inserted a rose whose petals spread out in magnificent bloom.

The pale yellow flower blended perfectly with the flowers submerged in the painting.

It looked as though a flower trapped underwater had finally broken through the canvas and emerged into reality.

Toward a wider world.

Toward greater heights.

“Do you know the meaning of yellow roses?”

Grinning, Yeji attached a sheet of paper beneath the caption displaying her name and the artwork’s title.

The Meaning of Yellow Roses

1. Perfect Achievement

2. Jealousy

“But this…”

Da-hye chuckled at what was written, but then spoke cautiously.

If the entire gap were filled with fresh flowers, it would certainly be beautiful.

But there was a problem.

The floral foam might preserve them for a while, but it had limits.

“They’ll wilt.”

The second round of judging would conclude on the final day of the exhibition.

The piece would need to survive for more than a week.

At Da-hye’s worried voice, Yeji attached an acrylic panel beneath the artwork.

“I know.”

Once the flowers wilted, their petals would fall and accumulate on the acrylic panel below.

Having completed the groundwork, Yeji smiled.

The judging process for this exhibition, which should have ended long ago, had been dragged out unnecessarily.

Yeji wanted to capture even that wasted passage of time within her artwork.

Expressing dissatisfaction with an absurd process through art.

It was the most elegant form of protest she could create.

“That part is my artwork too.”

There is one student whose unique approach captured the attention of visitors during last week’s school exhibition at Yerim Art Center.

That student is Lee Yeji, a first-year art student at Cheongrim Arts High School.

On the first day of the exhibition, an incident occurred in which part of her canvas was torn by someone’s hand. (Excerpt omitted)

By filling the torn gap with fresh yellow roses, she introduced new dimensionality and vitality to the piece.

As time passed, the roses wilted and fell, and through that transformation the artist conveyed the message that jealousy and malice ultimately destroy everything.

However, with the culprit behind the vandalism still unidentified,

Cheongrim’s response to an incident involving the dreams and aspirations of young students is drawing significant attention from many concerned parties.

— Culture Seoul, Reporter Kim Min-su

Yeji did not complete the artwork all at once.

Revising a piece that had already been publicly displayed.

She deliberately filled the area with floral fragrance from diffusers and carefully selected only perfectly bloomed flowers to place into the work one by one.

She turned even the process itself into a form of performance art.

“You got featured in the news.”

As a result, Yeji’s artwork spread rapidly through word of mouth.

A student whose artwork had been damaged in a mysterious incident.

And the process of recreating that artwork while continuing to focus on her studies.

At Hyunmin’s words, Yeji nodded.

“Yeah. I honestly thought he wasn’t really a reporter, but he actually was.”

Hyunmin smirked at her response and watched her finish the piece.

By now, plenty of people had gathered around just to watch Yeji.

Today was the final day of the exhibition.

The day of the true final judging.

And the last day she could make revisions.

“Sounds like the school tried to quietly sweep things under the rug, but then the situation got way bigger than they expected.”

“You think only the school is surprised? I’m still kind of dazed myself…”

Da-hye, who had been admiring Yeji’s artwork, started chattering excitedly.

“Seriously. Lee Yeji. You must be a genius! How did you even come up with this?”

Flowers of varying heights and sizes now densely filled every gap in the torn canvas.

It already looked complete.

Yet one final element remained.

“I came because they said the lighting needed to be adjusted.”

At that moment, a lighting technician arrived.

Yeji immediately stood up and began giving instructions.

“Move it a little more to the side. Over here…”

Just slightly.

As Yeji carefully adjusted the direction bit by bit, gasps erupted from the surrounding crowd.

The painted light within the canvas and the actual ceiling lights now shone from exactly the same direction.

The real world and the imaginary space inside the painting.

When both light sources aligned perfectly, the flowers inserted into the torn gaps cast shadows in the same direction as those painted in the artwork.

The moment everything matched, it produced an oddly satisfying sensation.

“Perfect.”

Only then did Yeji smile with satisfaction.

Now it finally felt worthy of its name.

Smiling contentedly, she gazed at the artwork.

When she had been Catherine, she had focused solely on painting.

She had never thought there was any particular reason for it.

But now she understood.

Because I couldn’t see properly.

Three-dimensional sculptures and installation art that required spatial adjustments had been impossible for Catherine.

Even flat paintings had been difficult to perceive all at once due to the severity of her condition.

Creating works that harmonized with large spaces had been impossible in that state.

But now things were different.

She could go bigger.

Wider.

Higher.

There were countless forms of art she could create.

[Attention, all visitors and students at Yerim Art Center.]

At that moment, an announcement echoed through the speakers.

[The exhibition will soon conclude, and final judging will begin. Please exit the venue before then…]

“Wow, it’s already this late. You’re completely finished now, right?”

Da-hye asked while helping clean up around the area.

After taking one final look at her artwork, Yeji nodded.

“Yeah. It’s done.”

Now she truly had no regrets left.

No lingering attachment.

Gathering the remaining flowers into her arms, Yeji suddenly stopped.

“…Kim Jian.”

That dog-bone bastard was standing directly in her path.

“Well done.”

The unexpected praise caused even Da-hye, who had been ready to snap at him, to freeze.

What’s gotten into him all of a sudden?

But soon enough, the familiar insults followed.

“Maybe you should become a florist later and open a flower shop. Playing the victim and relying on cheap tricks—do you think that makes you somebody?”

Wow.

For someone so young, he really had no filter.

Yeji was almost impressed by his shamelessness.

He was the one who had caused the incident, yet she couldn’t understand why he seemed so furious.

Was it really that unbearable for him?

A perfectly ordinary kid from a perfectly ordinary family suddenly revealing extraordinary talent.

Was that really such an unacceptable thing?

“Kang Hyunmin. Park Da-hye. You two should stop getting carried away too.”

He even threw insults at Yeji’s friends.

“You think you’ll get anything out of sucking up to someone with no background? If anything, you’d be better off getting on my side. That might actually help your lives.”

The remark was so absurd that Hyunmin burst out laughing.

Meanwhile, Hyunmin had to physically stop Da-hye, who looked ready to punch Jian.

Watching her friends get insulted as well made Yeji’s blood boil.

Just how important did he think he was?

What kind of incredible family background did he have to look down on people like this?

“Hey. Thanks for the advice.”

At Yeji’s calm response, Jian’s expression twisted.

“But you, of all people. What exactly do you think I know? What exactly do you think I can do, that you’re acting this arrogant?”

The evidence in her mind was already 100%.

Yeji had no intention of letting this matter end quietly.

Maybe he thought this would be easy because he underestimated her.

But life wasn’t that simple.

As she walked past Jian, Yeji handed him one of the bouquets she was carrying.

More accurately, it was a bundle of trash with every flower head cut off, leaving only the stems.

You should start preparing to lose your head too, you piece of trash.