An Art Student Who Lives Twice - Chapter 2

‘What was the level of my skills at this time?’

 

It was a question that I asked quite late.

 

As a matter of fact, Han Yewon was a genius faction, but my skills did not lack much.

 

‘Better than average’

 

The word genius is subjective.

 

Usually, people call someone outside their sphere of understanding a genius, and I’m a genius in that sense.

 

The people who enrolled in Han Yewon were usually all comparable to geniuses.

 

However, even between geniuses, there is a division of class.

 

In front of real geniuses, I was blocked by walls time and time again.

(walls here refers to obstacles that are difficult to overcome)

 

It may have been to relieve such inferiority that I tried to die in my previous life.

 

Of course, it’s not like just because they are geniuses there wasn’t a need for efforts, But the original difference was too big.

 

‘……Still, I have been in the business for over 10 years. My skills must have increased.’

 

Now I need to check my skills in the current era.

 

There were many ways to check.

 

In my previous life, I would draw every time I was bored.

 

I didn’t differentiate between home and studio, Subway and Cafe.

 

Painting was like breathing to me.

 

That’s why, I carried my drawing book everywhere, all the time.

 

There were a few around in this room right now.

 

Gulp.

 

I picked up one of them, swallowing the tension.

 

And, I unfolded it open.

 

‘… …huh?’

 

I was faced with an unexpected situation.

 

* * *

 

“Nice to meet you, freshmen. This is Lee Jong.”

 

The professor walked over to the blackboard and said.

 

Professor Lee Jong.

 

As a professor of Han Yewon’s ‘basic drawing’ class, I was told that he was the general manager of the design department of a German automobile company before taking charge here.

 

The king of Industrial Design in Korea.

 

He said with a grin on his face.

 

“Today is my first class with you, so I want to conduct a class that anyone can easily and lightly do.”

 

Phew.”

 

Small sighs of relief were heard among the students.

 

Han Yewon’s curriculum is famous for being rigorous. Everyone must be relieved that we’re going to start with something easy.

 

But don’t let your guard down. Today’s assignment could change your college life.’

 

Knowing Professor Lee Jong’s true side, I waited for the next sentence, and he said with a smile.

 

“Today’s lesson is simple. Take a sheet of drawing paper from the front, and fill one sheet with several drawings.”

 

At the same time as he spoke, the assistant walked forward with a huge bundle of paper and put it down on the front desk of the lecture room.

 

Thud.

 

The students were startled by the heavy sound, but a student raised his hand and asked

 

“Professor, I have a question.”

 

“Yes, Speak.”

 

“When it comes to the draw, What should I draw?”

 

“I see.  Literally, any drawing is fine. You can draw people, you can draw objects. But today is your first class, so it would be nice to draw a picture related to yourself.”

 

Professor Lee Jong continued with a smile.

“That’s right. The theme of this drawing is ‘myself’. After completing the picture, it would be fun to look at all of them together and infer the disposition of the person who drew it. Then, let’s start now. Step forward and take a sheet of the drawing paper.”

 

“Yes.”

 

So far, everything’s been going on as I know it.

 

A class to fill a sheet with several drawings.

 

This was the real beginning.

 

And I was a prepared student.

 

‘Usually, students with their brains still stuck in the entrance exam’s art are shocked here.’

 

No matter how brilliant Han Yewon is, there are only a few students who show their tendencies as geniuses from the very beginning.

 

Most of the time, while preparing for practical exams at a private academy, they studied in a similar pattern and drew similar pictures.

 

Suddenly, they were asked to paint a picture by themselves, so most of them could not do it properly.

 

‘Half of the class painted the entrance exam-style pictures which were similar to other people.’

 

Professor Lee Jong gave a harsh scolding when he saw such a picture.

 

‘In my view, all the pictures you submit look the same. It is difficult to distinguish. If you want to be a professional, the first thing you need to do is find your own colour.’

 

A class that forces you to take off yourself as a student giving an entrance exam and become a college student.

 

In short, this class was shock therapy.

 

‘Here, I should stand out in Professor Lee Jong’s eyes.’

 

The first goal is to enter his studio.

 

I looked around.

 

The students were in a confused state not knowing what to draw

 

‘It’ll be difficult.’

 

In Korea, if you were a student preparing for a college entrance exam, life was similar for everyone.

 

Suddenly asked to draw your life on a drawing paper, this lesson would certainly be difficult.

 

Moreover, so far, We have only drawn pictures that we have memorized as the school tells us, so it will be difficult.

 

Still, as time passed, some soon began to paint.

 

And I, too, began to work my hands.

 

‘It’s my life.’

 

From the day of the regression to this moment, I have been deeply troubled.

 

Professor Lee Jong asked us to draw about ourselves, but even with my past life’s experience, seeing all of the students’ faces around me, I felt overwhelmed.

 

‘I’ve been at the forefront of design for more than 10 years.’

 

My job was a design consultant.

 

A job that receives requests from third parties, draws out plausible designs and provides them.

 

Starting from pencil cases, to chairs to even electronics, there was no field of product that I didn’t cover.

 

I have drawn tens of thousands of conceptual designs like that.

 

‘I can simply draw one of them.’

 

Especially electronic products.

 

It was the most confident field for me.

 

Sa-gak. Sa-gak.

(A munching sound. Can also represent the imitation of a sound made when one steps on snow.)

(Bear my SFX translations please.)

 

Starting from the edge, my hands began to flow.

 

‘This would be great.’

 

A trend that will be popular a few years from now.

 

Ultra-slim, slide-type cell phone.

 

Although it is already a design that will be lost in the future, it could never be ignored at this point in the past.

 

‘This trend revived a brand that had been ruined.’

 

The near future.

 

The world’s best-known companies will start pouring astronomical money into design.

 

Marketing is usually about appealing to emotions rather than actual performance, and design is the most intuitive means of stimulating emotions.

 

‘Thanks to that, there are many companies that put designers in the CEO position.’

 

One well-drawn design drives the market.

 

That’s right.

 

The design that I’m drawing right now is worth it.

 

‘If Professor Lee Jong is the real deal, he’ll recognize the value of this design.’

 

Sa-gak.

 

My hand stretched out without hesitation.

 

Fortunately, the concept drawing itself was one of the most proficient designs I could draw.

 

‘I used to often draw hundreds of concept drawings a day.’

 

In modern society, design was a war against speed.

 

Market trends were bound to change rapidly every day or two, and speed was needed to keep up with such trends.

 

Even at dawn, dozens of drafts had to be drawn at the request of the client.

 

My past life was completely melted in the width of a drawing sheet.

 

Regardless of the field, I drew the designs completely as I remembered them.

 

Designs that were not available in this era began to fill up the drawing paper.

 

At the same time, I felt the twitching gaze of the students around me.

 

They barely have a drawing or two on their sheets and must be surprised by me filling up the paper as if I had prepared it in advance.

 

I can’t help it.

 

‘Painting is a product of time.’

 

The proficiency I couldn’t show at the undergraduate level was foreign to me.

 

But, that was reasonable.

 

I’d rather show off a little rather than lose the chance to hide my power.

 

If you lose an opportunity while hiding your strength, it’s better to show off a little.

 

The classroom was filled with the sound of pencil scribbling.

 

* * *

 

“Time is up. Stop your hand, write your name and school number on the back and submit it.”

 

At the same time as Professor Lee Jong spoke with a smile on his face, students’ complaints erupted from all sides.

 

“Is it over already?”

 

“I couldn’t even draw a few…”

 

“I spent all my time just thinking.”

 

Looking around, I found that half of the students gave up after wasting their time clumsily.

 

Half of the class is equipped with all sorts of things.

 

Finally, half of the students filled the drawing paper somehow.

 

‘I couldn’t even fill half of the drawing sheet in my last life.’

 

While thinking about the subject, I changed the composition over and over again.

 

As I was immersed in various thoughts, the drawing papers that had spread throughout the classroom gathered in one place again.

 

Professor Lee Jong lifted the pictures one by one and put them on the easel.

 

“It looks to me like a panoramic view of the reading room. Am I right?”

 

“Yes…….”

 

The called student said in a low voice.

 

It was literally a picture of a reading room.

 

Typical entrance style painting focused only on increasing density.

 

Professor Lee Jong spoke with a smile.

 

“What I can infer from this picture is that the student was very keen to study in the reading room.”

 

“Huh? Yeah.”

 

“I can’t see anything through my eyes, but there’s something more that the student intended. Right?”

 

“Uh, No that’s……”

 

“I see. I saw the picture well. Then we’ll proceed to the next picture.”

 

The student, who finished his turn in an instant, bowed his head with a gloomy look.

 

He seems sad that the evaluation was over with just a few words.

 

However, even if the assessment was prolonged, the only thing to say would be harsh criticism.

 

The same process was repeated again and again.

 

“You painted a park.”

 

“Yes!”

 

“You are the student that made this picture?”

 

“… …”

 

“You have been studying.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“All right.”

 

“… …”

 

“You have worked hard. Well done. But that’s it. By the way, Did you learn at Anichanga Academy in front of Hongdae?”

 

“Huh? How did you…..”

 

“Everyone from that academy draws the same picture as you.”

 

“… …”

 

It’s only a difference in how hard you hit the pitch, and everyone was beaten fairly.

 

I didn’t have to tell you.

 

Professor Lee Jong was berating them.

 

This is all you can draw.

 

Is this everything you guys have in life?

 

In fact, the level of undergraduate students now was not high.

 

‘I knew it was going to be like this, but I feel sorry.’

 

I smiled bitterly.

 

Immediately after regressing, I checked my drawing book and was shocked.

 

The reason was simple.

 

‘Wow, this is really bad.’

 

I was very bad at drawing.

 

If I were to exaggerate a bit, it was almost as if I drew with my feet?

 

From composition to three-dimensional effect to the density, it was in shambles.

 

It was seemingly filled with rough lines

 

‘I wanted to look plausible to others. But my work wasn’t even basic.’

 

That was my painting when I first entered Han Yewon.

 

And I was just a bit more than average.

 

That means there were other students who were worse than him.

 

I was captivated by strange emotions when I saw students getting reprimanded by Professor Lee Jong.

 

‘I didn’t draw as much as I thought.’

 

I worked hard on the drawing.

 

Although I had hit many walls as a designer. I had never been pushed too far with my skills so far.

 

Especially when it came to drawing.

 

Drawing was straightforward.

 

That’s why I liked Art/Design.

 

The more time you invest, the more your skills increase.

 

Drawing for a day or two might not change anything instantly, but it certainly changed after a year and two.

 

That is how I built up my skills with time.

 

So, it’s not that my past life had no meaning until now.

 

‘Everything seemed tough’

 

By this time, the classroom is filled with heartbreak.

 

Professor Lee Jong picked up the next sheet and muttered in surprise.

 

“This… … not bad”

 

As he took the sheet and placed it on the easel, the students exclaimed in admiration.

 

“Well drawn.”

 

“It’s pretty neat.”

 

“It looks like it was drawn by a machine.”

 

“Even if you said it was drawn by a machine, I would believe it.”

 

One painting that stands out even among the paintings that have been reviewed so far.

 

That drawing sheet.

 

It was my drawing sheet.