The Master's Exhibition #3
The Master's Exhibition #3
After the morning exhibition ended, we came to a famous course meal restaurant for lunch.
'It's delicious.'
The texture of the meat chewed in my mouth and the savory olive oil filled me with satisfaction.
"Ha-yoon-ah, eat a lot."
"...Yeah."
Ha-yoon was still dazed, often spacing out even while eating.
I quickly finished my food, then spoon-fed Ha-yoon.
"Here, ah~"
"Ah~"
While feeding her, I simultaneously looked at the plant-root-like scar on her neck.
'...Will this never disappear?'
My guilt towards Ha-yoon grew stronger and stronger.
'At first, it was half a joke, but I still swore to protect Ha-yoon...'
Honestly, regarding Im Yu-na, my feeling was more fear than anger.
'Perhaps it's because she's a being that cannot be overcome physically, so I can't easily get angry.'
In a way, it could be called the ugly nature of an animal.
'...It became clear from Im Yu-na's appearance today; she doesn't see us as equals.'
To Im Yu-na, isn't Queen Valtz Academy like George Orwell's Animal Farm? From her perspective, being a student is probably a license to enjoy amusement among talking animals.
As I was lost in thought, the back of my head felt particularly prickly. Im Yu-na was probably glaring at me.
"Ha-yoon-ah, try this too."
I thoroughly ignored Im Yu-na's gaze.
...To be precise, I pretended not to notice.
After lunch, we had about 40 minutes of free time. During this time, I sat on a bench and continuously observed Ha-yoon's condition.
"Ha-yoon-ah... first, let's cover your scar usually."
"Even from Mom?"
"Yes, even from Unni."
I didn't have the confidence to explain.
After the free time ended, the long-awaited special lecture by Master Baek-hyun approached.
"All the students are gathered, right?"
"It's Master Baek-hyun-nim's lecture, so surely everyone would have gathered by now?"
While the teachers were chatting among themselves, an escort from the staff approached. The escort exchanged a few words with a man with a ponytail, then guided the way.
"Everyone, follow closely!"
It was a moderately long procession. We entered a huge auditorium on the first basement floor.
"Sit in order."
Perhaps fearing that we might fight over the front seats, the teachers assigned seats in the order we entered. Yet, they themselves took the very front seats.
'This is blatant abuse of authority, isn't it?'
It wasn't that I didn't understand, but honestly, it was absurd.
"...Is he really coming?"
It was a student's remark, still unsure if it was a dream or reality.
Clack-clack.
Finally... the long-awaited footsteps were heard. The famous Master Baek-hyun ascended the stage.
""Waaahhh!!!""
A roar that assaulted the eardrums rang out.
"It's really Baek-hyun!!"
"Wow... wowww..."
He is a rare genius, called a Master at the young age of 50. Contrary to my expectation that he would wear unusual attire, he came onto the stage in a dignified suit.
'A famous artist wearing a suit... that's different.'
"Pleased to meet you. I am Baek-hyun."
It was a simple greeting.
"I tried wearing a suit out of courtesy, but I'm not sure if it suits me as it feels awkward."
"Today's lecture, as a senior who ventured into this field first, will be purely about my thoughts rather than advice."
"...Specifically, I'd like to talk about 'talent,' a topic many people avoid in lectures."
A gulping sound was heard.
"Whether you paint, write, compose music, or try to tell a story, you need talent. The talent to create excellent melodies, innate descriptive power, the ability to immerse an audience with deep realism, the talent for patience to work like a machine, and so on. There are many areas where people feel differences in talent."
"However, among countless talents, there is one that creates the most overwhelming and enormous difference."
Baek-hyun took a pyramid model out of his pocket.
"If you were to gather all these numerous talents to build a pyramid, this talent would be at the very top. Delicate work can be overcome with labor, and a beautiful voice can be somewhat caught up with vocal training. But this one talent, due to an inherent limitation, is utterly impossible to overcome..."
"It is precisely the talent for 'attentive listening'."
" ? "
Everyone looked at Baek-hyun with puzzled expressions.
"Many people won't understand if I only say this much. Let me explain further. Let's assume you continue to create works. Your creations will keep accumulating, and accumulating, and accumulating. You wouldn't want to be called a has-been. Therefore, works with new attempts will pile up, and pile up again. You must create new works your entire life."
Baek-hyun smiled as if amused.
"At first, you might be confident, but the pressure of the ever-approaching waves is something you wouldn't dare imagine. In fact, even people who don't particularly listen to the world sometimes create works that pierce through, or even transcend, their era."
"Yes, in fact, there are surprisingly many such artists."
He calmly revealed that he himself had once felt jealous of such artists.
"But the important thing is that they quickly reach their limits. After pouring out decades of accumulated experience and thoughts all at once, they remain in their past glory, creating works inferior to their previous ones... or, in the worst case, unable to create any work at all. Empathy, curiosity about people, and genuine inquisitiveness will be harder than you can imagine unless you are born with them."
He approached a humidifier on the wall. Upon reaching it, he grabbed the mist emanating from it with his hand. The smoke caught in his hand scattered fleetingly.
"Every artist, the more they create, the more they feel the talent of attentive listening to their bones."
He exclaimed with a voice full of conviction.
"The posture of attentive listening does not simply mean the talent to absorb stories around you like a scarecrow. More precisely, it is a talent closer to that of a scholar who understands and observes the world... who explores knowledge."
He rummaged through his wallet, took out a 500-won coin, and threw it on the floor.
The coin rolled across the stage with a *tararak*.
"There's a shop near Seoram-gu that specializes in gift wrapping. This shop, wishing good luck to its customers, always hid a small 500-won coin behind the wrapping paper. They repeated this act for a full 30 years. Conversely, a terrible serial killer used people as piggy banks. He would put coins one by one into the heads of dead bodies, saving money as if depositing it in a bank."
He took a thick pen from his pocket.
"This pen actually has no ink. The reason I carry it is because it has a use. If I'm busy and surrounded by fans needing autographs, I take this out and escape by saying the ink has run out."
He pointed with the pen at an overturned hand mirror lying on the floor.
"This hand mirror belonged to an ordinary student. The student cherished the hand mirror greatly, but one day, it was found abandoned in the middle of the classroom, cracked like a spiderweb. What on earth happened?"
He picked up the coin and the hand mirror that had fallen on the floor.
The hand mirror... was perfectly fine.
Baek-hyun wrote on the hand mirror with the pen. Dark ink formed a splendid signature.
"All the stories above are ones I just made up on the spot."
He adjusted his tie.
"Human imagination is by no means a creative entity. We cannot imagine what we do not know."
"If imitation is inevitable for us, we should at least aim for a sky where we can harbor aspirations. We must not become mere replicators who have abandoned all possibilities."
"I can assert with conviction: attentive listening is truly the most transcendent and overwhelming domain of talent."
* * *
Baek-hyun's special lecture concluded successfully.
The reactions of the students who attended the lecture were sharply divided; there were students who found it impressive, calling him a Master, and others who called it a useless, trash lecture.
...The most common reaction was confusion. There were many students with blank expressions, as if they wouldn't notice if a bug flew into their mouths.
"Heehee..."
Ha-yoon was precisely one of those students who made up the majority.
"Ha-yoon-ah, snap out of it..."
"Hoo-ehh..."
I fully expected her to lose her mind due to Im Yu-na's magic, but I didn't expect her to lose her mind due to Baek-hyun's lecture.
'Would she snap out of it if I shoved my dick in her mouth?'
I had a crazy thought for a very brief moment, but I didn't act on it.
"That's all for today. Everyone go home on your own, and only those taking the shuttle bus remain."
With Baek-hyun's special lecture, this exhibition came to a complete end.
While comforting the dazed Ha-yoon, I simultaneously called Unni.
"Unni, our exhibition is over! ...Ha-yoon is out of it, so she can't answer the phone."
There were so many cars that we had to walk quite a distance before we could finally get into Unni's car.
"What should we have for dinner? Should we go to a nearby restaurant?"
"I like Unni's cooking!"
Perhaps because I'd eaten out so much, these days I preferred Unni's unique homemade cooking.
"This one... she really likes to bother Unni, doesn't she?"
Even though she says that, she likes that I enjoy her cooking. In fact, whenever I eat, she always watches with a pleased expression.
And I have a conscience, so I always do the dishes at the very least.
"Ha-yoon-ah, are you okay?"
I sat in the back seat to comfort Ha-yoon, who wasn't feeling well.
If I kissed her like before, Unni in the front seat might see, so I changed my method and massaged her pussy over her clothes.
With a very gentle touch, I caressed Ha-yoon's pussy.
"Uuungh..."
"Ha-yoon-ah, are you coming to your senses?"
Indeed, there was a deep tradition behind the saying that a pussy-hand is a healing hand.
Sniff-sniff. Ha-yoon's pussy smell...
* * *
Upon arriving at Ha-yoon's house, I first went into the bathroom with Ha-yoon. This was to help the still dazed Ha-yoon bathe.
"Ha-yoon-ah, close your eyes."
Shaaaaah.
Just for today, I didn't indulge my lust in the bathroom. The reason I came into the bathroom with her was purely to help Ha-yoon wash.
After bathing and coming out, I saw the pajamas I had bought. Since I'd been 'sleeping over' at Ha-yoon's house so often, her house had accumulated many items I'd brought.
"Let's eat!"
While drying my hair with Ha-yoon, I heard Unni calling and immediately rushed to the dining table. Because if I didn't rush right away, the person who cooked the meal might feel upset.
"This one... she could have dried her hair a bit more before coming."
"How can I wait when Unni's cooking is out! My hair can just air dry."
"Hmm hmm..."
"Heheheh."
Ha-yoon found the current situation simply amusing.
Lee Ji-yoon was completely unaware that she looked like a cunning fox. In any case, Ha-yoon's family ate dinner in a harmonious atmosphere.
After the meal, Lee Ji-yoon, who had finished the dishes as if asserting her right, suddenly felt a familiar sensation of floating.
"Uh... uh-oh?"
Her neck, or more precisely, her choker, trembled.
Misty smoke emerged.
Nothingness.
...
Thud.
"Ughk!"
"Welcome, Saint Miller."
It was Im Yu-na's abode.
She had kidnapped someone in the middle of the night and spoke nonchalantly.
"It is an honor to see you this evening, Yuna Sertaiti-nim!"
Before I could even assess the situation, I acted like a loyal dog.
...There was no other choice.