Chapter 90:Until She Became A Genius Artist.

Lim Ahra was in the apartment above Park Tae-oh’s repair shop, busy preparing lunch. It was something she often did when she visited. Then, after spending time together, she would return home.  

It was almost like a married couple’s routine…  

“…”  

Suddenly, Lim Ahra giggled to herself.  

‘I must be ridiculous. It’s been just under six months since we met, and here I am, acting like a newlywed… But with such a mature and adorable daughter in the picture, I guess it’s only natural to feel a little hopeful.’  

Just as she thought that and reached to adjust the gas stove, the voice of the news anchor on the TV in the living room turned urgent.  

– Ah, we have breaking news. Artist Go Hana, who participated in the Venice Biennale…!  

“?”  

Hana?  

Hearing that name, Lim Ahra instinctively turned off the stove and rushed to the TV. What she saw was astonishing.  

A large headline at the bottom of the screen.  

[Breaking News: Korean artist Go Hana wins the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Biennale.]  

The news anchor passionately explained just how prestigious the Golden Lion Award was.  

– She is only the second Asian artist to receive this honor since Nam June Paik in 1993. And excluding Paik, who represented Germany, she is the first-ever artist of purely Asian nationality to win! This is a historic achievement!  

“Ah…!”  

As an ordinary teacher, Lim Ahra knew little about art.  

She had no idea how significant the Golden Lion Award was.  

But she could sense the magnitude of the moment just from the news channels flashing alerts everywhere, emphasizing phrases like ‘the best in the world’ and ‘a first in history.’  

Everyone on-screen was overwhelmed with emotion, exclaiming that this was an unprecedented event.  

– In this era, among the countless artists gathered from around the world, Go Hana has been recognized as the greatest.  

The greatest art award in the world.  

An honor given to a truly remarkable artist.  

That was what the Golden Lion Award represented.  

And they all agreed Go Hana would go down in history as a genius artist.  

“…!”  

The moment those words were spoken,  

Lim Ahra’s mind flashed back.  

– Hana, do you enjoy drawing?  

At the very front of the classroom,  

A girl who was drawing with desperate focus.  

– I do.  

– Really? It seems like you’re destined to become the greatest artist someday.  

– Thank… you.  

And the shy smile that girl had given her…  

“Ah, aah…”  

Tears streamed down Lim Ahra’s face.  

Her fingertips trembled,  

Her heart pounded violently in her chest.  

Gripping her racing heart, she dashed outside.  

– Tap, tap!  

At this very moment, There was someone who needed to hear this news.  

Lim Ahra flung the door open and shouted downstairs to Park Tae-oh. Her voice was so loud that even the employees working in the shop stopped and turned to look.  

“Tae-oh, Tae-oh! Hana did it! They said she’s the best in the world! Right now, everyone is saying that our Hana is the greatest artist in the world—!!”  

Park Tae-oh immediately threw off his work gloves and sprinted up the stairs as if he were flying. He ran straight to the TV, completely entranced.  

“Hana—!”  

He saw it.  

The countless people praising Hana’s achievement. The world declaring that her genius would be remembered forever.  

Our little artist,  

Had just accomplished the greatest feat in history.  

– I’m here at the Venice Biennale awards ceremony! Artist Go Hana has not won the expected Silver Lion Award, but instead, she has been honored with the Golden Lion Award the highest recognition given to the world’s greatest artist!  

– International media outlets are hailing her as the youngest Golden Lion winner in history, celebrating the extraordinary achievement of our proud genius. This is truly a remarkable moment!  

“Hana…!”  

Hana.  

Go Hana.  

Our precious Hana.  

“Hana…”  

As he called her name,  

A flood of memories came rushing back.  

The moment he had rushed to the hospital after receiving that call, finding a tiny child sleeping peacefully in a corner. The soft, round cheeks of the little girl who had no one else in the world. The day he first held her hand and made a silent promise to himself I will live for this child.  

– Uncle, thank you.  

Tears welled up in Park Tae-oh’s eyes.  

“You did it…!”

*

Yumija burst out of her dorm room, shouting at the top of her lungs.  

“Hana-chan did it—!”  

“?!“  

“?!“  

Everyone lounging around the dorm during lunch break froze in shock. It wasn’t just the news that stunned them it was the fact that Mijjang, who always stayed holed up in her room, had actually come outside.  

Holding up her laptop, Yumija yelled excitedly.  

“H-H-Hana-chan! She won the Golden Lion Award!”  

“What—what?!”  

Oh Juri, completely startled, grabbed her phone.  

“It’s… it’s true?!”  

“…!”  

“…!”  

Students murmured in disbelief as they flocked toward the lounge TV.  

And the murmurs spread to the courtyard, to the library, and all the way to the faculty office.  

The office buzzed with voices overlapping in excitement.  

“…Professor Ahn just called! Go Hana won the Golden Lion Award—!”  

“Hana…?!”  

“Go Hana?!”  

“The Golden Lion—?!”  

Teachers scrambled to their laptops. As soon as they confirmed the news, their jaws dropped.  

 [Artist Go Hana wins the Golden Lion Award]   

 [First ever, youngest in history… A ‘historic event’]   

“!”  

As people in the art world,  

They knew exactly what this award meant.  

And that was why they were completely stunned.  

“She’s the youngest winner  ever …!”  

“I knew it! If it was Hana, she could do it!”  

“Oh my god, I can’t believe it!”   

The faculty office door nearly flew off its hinges.  

– BANG!  

The principal of Hanul Comprehensive Arts School stormed in, practically screaming.  

“Turn on the TV right now! The live broadcast of the awards ceremony is about to start!”  

“!”  

“!”

*

– Click!  

– Click!  

– Click!  

Click!  

Click!  

The camera flashes went off relentlessly, all directed at the podium.  

Professor Friedrich, a member of the Biennale jury and the official presenter of today’s ceremony, gazed solemnly over the audience.  

“…”  

There were far more people gathered than at previous ceremonies.  

Given the shocking event of the youngest-ever Golden Lion winner, the venue was already abuzz with journalists and spectators. Even their hushed whispers had become a heavy murmur filling the space.  

They were all waiting.  

Waiting for the young girl who was about to walk in.  

And they were all wondering.  

Why on earth are they giving such a prestigious award to such a small girl?  

Before presenting the award, Professor Friedrich knew he had to put an end to any misguided assumptions. He reached for the microphone on the podium, and the crowd instantly fell silent.  

“…First, I would like to explain the judging process for this year’s Golden Lion Award, speaking on behalf of the jury panel.”  

“…”  

“…”  

Then, he spoke.  

“To be honest…when I first saw this piece, I walked out of the exhibition hall hoping praying that the artist behind it was not the girl who stood before me.”  

“…?”  

“…?”

“…?”  

The crowd tilted their heads in unison.  

‘What on earth is this old man talking about?’  

But the professor’s words were not yet finished.  

“…When I entered that labyrinth, I encountered ‘a certain man.’ He was a ghost reciting his own life. And that man whispered to me.”  

—Remember me.  

“That may be the instinct and desire of human beings. A longing born from the fact that we can only exist by relying on each other’s memories.”  

Existence what is existence?  

We, who cannot exist on our own…  

What are we truly living for?  

“That man and I wandered through the suffocating darkness of the labyrinth, exchanging endless questions. I walked alongside the shadows of his life.

And finally, when we reached the edge of a cliff, I came face-to-face with the truth of his existence his remains, turned into white bone dust. At that moment, he granted me an epiphany.”  

[Everything has meaning.]  

[As long as I am remembered by you, I have meaning.]  

[That alone is enough.]  

The gathered crowd fell silent at those words.  

“…”  

“…”  

“…”  

Professor Friedrich sighed as he spoke.  

“The great man lying there struck my heart like starlight stretching across the universe, like the wisdom of an ancient sage stepping out of a book. And I had no choice but to acknowledge it.”  

He looked into the distance, where ‘that man’ lay.  

“…That man’s name was ‘Art.’ ”  

Birth and extinction,  

Existence and nonexistence,  

A fragment of truth that encompasses all.  

“…”  

“…”  

“…”  

With that one sentence, no questions remained.  

At last, the professor revealed his honest feelings.  

“That is why I wished… I wished that the one who uncovered even a fragment of this great truth would be a venerable sage with a long, flowing white beard. But before my eyes stood a young girl. A child younger than my granddaughter. The shock of that realization struck me deeply.”  

He muttered in a voice still filled with disbelief.  

“The name of that shock… was ‘reverence.’ It was the emotion one feels before the vastness of the universe. And so, I could only offer the man named ‘Art,’ the divine existence, to the little prophet who had created him.”  

Compared to your light, it was nothing but a small and insignificant golden lion.  

“Please…may this piece of metal become the starting point of your long journey.”

*

I took one step forward.  

“…”  

People were quietly watching me.  

Even Jeong Jooim and his group were watching from the other side.  

Journalists from all over the world had gathered here.  

“…”  

It was almost unbelievable that such a massive crowd had come together in this place. And their gazes, converging into a single point, felt as if they could pierce through me.  

It was the power of curiosity.  

Why on earth was such a small girl standing up here?  

From where in that little head did such truth emerge?  

They were dying to know.  

— What kind of scenery do you see?  

It was as if they were asking me that.  

The very people I once looked up to… were now looking up at me, asking. It felt like they were desperately seeking answers, just as one might from a divine being.  

“…”  

Under the vast blue sky, people from all over the world had gathered in this city of art.  

To witness a single genius.  

I could hardly believe it.  

…Seriously, this is what happens when they keep praising me so recklessly. Calling me a ‘prophet’ and all that—no wonder they think I’m something extraordinary.  

That damn old German man, nodding along like he agrees…  

“…”  

I stood before the microphone.  

As always, I was supposed to introduce myself with,  

“Hello, I’m Go Hana.”  

But I couldn’t.  

I had always introduced myself as a student, an artist never once calling myself a genius.  

Because all of this was the legacy of Go Hun.  

“…”  

But…  

He had already become an immortal work of art.  

Following the words of an old man living in some remote corner of Europe, he had become an everlasting trace in the history of art.  

Now, the entire world would remember Go Hun.  

Look at their eyes. They want to believe that reviving you makes me some kind of extraordinary person.  

They want me to be a genius.  

Because only a genius could have created something like you.  

‘…Then, just this once, should I let myself be confident for you?’  

‘After all this, you won’t be crying beyond death, right?’  

Huh?  

Answer me, Go Hun.  

“…”  

No answer came.  

‘…You bastard.’  

Then, I had to make the first move.  

Carefully, I parted my lips.  

“…Hello.”  

“…”  

“…”  

“…”  

And then, I did it.  

“I am Go Hana, the genius artist.”  

A brief moment of silence.  

“…”  

“…”  

“…”  

What followed was a shiver down my spine.  

The thrill of witnessing the genius they had been waiting for.  

—Clap, clap, clap…!  

The applause grew louder.  

—Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!  

The thunderous sound of clapping filled the hall.  

Countless camera flashes captured this historic moment.  

—Click!  

Click!  

—Click!  

People cheered in unison, showering me with praise.  

They had all recognized me as a genius.  

And even I… had recognized myself as one.  

The world had now witnessed the birth of a genius.  

Like the stars in the universe,  

The countless flashes of cameras sparkled.  

Click!  

—Click!  

Click!  

—Click!  

“!”  

The scene before me felt like a celebration of my birth.  

So many flickering lights blurred my vision.  

…The merging of lights and people made it feel as though I were gazing at the night sky.  

“Huh…?”  

At the unfamiliar sensation,  

I hesitantly touched the corner of my eye.  

The moisture on my fingertips shimmered under the flashing lights.  

Even at my fingertips, the starlight twinkled.  

“…Ah.”  

The moment I realized it,  

Tears poured endlessly from my eyes.  

My vision continued to shake.  

I lifted my hand to wipe my tears away.  

Even through the darkness that my palm created over my eyes, I could still hear the applause.  

One particular clap stood out louder than all the rest.  

—Clap! Clap! Clap!  

“?”  

I lowered my hands at the sound of that strangely familiar applause.  

Through my tear-streaked vision,  

a tall man stood in the glittering audience.  

He was clapping more passionately than anyone else.  

‘…Uncle?’  

No, my uncle should be in Korea…?  

I squinted,  

peering through the ceaselessly shining lights.  

Finally, I could see the man within the light clearly.  

Clap, clap, clap!  

“…!”  

It was Go Hun.  

Wearing the biggest smile,  

clapping louder than anyone else.  

He spoke to me.  

—Thank you.  

“Wa-wait…?!”  

As I blinked to respond to him,  

Go Hun vanished like mist within my tears,  

leaving behind only a crowd of strangers in the sparkling audience.  

“…”  

I no longer chased after him.  

“…”  

Instead, I looked up at the sky.  

The blue sky above was filled with countless stars.  

After soaring endlessly, the sight I finally beheld…  

was this dazzling, radiant scene.  

To etch this moment forever in my heart,  

I closed my eyes.  

The fragments of light lingering in my tears  

continued to shimmer without rest.  

“…It’s beautiful.”  

And so, I became a genius artist.  

<A Beautiful Girl With The Artistic Genius Girl Becomes an Artist>  

—The End—