Chapter 217
Chapter 217
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 217
Chapter Title: The Forgery Test
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The atmosphere suddenly turned strange.
Most of the people at the party gathered around as if she were a side dish to go with their drinks.
Carrie was a bit flustered at first, but she quickly regained her composure and spoke.
"Then follow me."
Carrie's parents ran a gallery.
But they also did authentication work for forgeries on the side.
They had mostly disposed of the fakes they had identified.
But a few pieces recently uncovered were stored in her family's basement warehouse.
In other words, every piece down there was a forgery.
But this was the method chosen precisely because Hyorin didn't know that fact.
Click.
Dozens of students tromped down into the basement.
They had naturally assumed it would be a damp, dark basement.
But it seemed to have been renovated with marble flooring specifically for storing artwork.
"Here is where we keep the pieces. This is also where the one you'll authenticate is."
At those words, all the students caught on.
They realized Carrie had suggested this to mess with the student who had flown in from Asia.
So they knowingly kept their mouths shut.
Everyone except for one person—Lucas, who had brought Hyorin to the party.
"Hey..."
"Shut up. Unless you want to get kicked out."
"Even so, this is..."
"You really want to get kicked out?"
"......"
Tonight's party wasn't just for fun.
In a way, it was a place to build connections with Carrie, who had an impressive background.
So Carrie's word was absolute at this party.
If Carrie said so, then that was the situation.
Swish.
As Lucas quietly stepped back, Carrie spoke.
"The piece you'll authenticate is this one."
The painting she pointed to was one from a pop artist who had been hugely famous in the late '90s.
You could tell who painted it just from the style.
No one could miss a work from a great artist who had dominated an era.
But there was one strange thing.
"You can tell at a glance who painted this. Anyone in the art world would know it."
Hyorin nodded at that.
"Yeah, I know it."
A German-American artist. She knew of him because one of his paintings had been tied to slush funds from a chaebol family back in Korea.
"Good thing. I was worried you might not even know that. Anyway, someone recently commissioned us to verify this piece's authenticity. To check if it's really by that artist."
This sort of thing happened often around here.
Artists didn't publicize every single piece they made.
So it was common for works to surface years later through an artist's descendants.
"So you want me to tell it apart?"
"If you're attending our school, you should be able to handle this much."
She had said it assuming Hyorin couldn't, of course.
She was still just a student. There was no way she could do forgery authentication that even experts struggled with.
Swish.
Carrie smirked triumphantly at Hyorin's serious expression as she examined the painting.
'No matter how great you think you are, you can't match the experts.'
Two months ago, when the exchange student first arrived, Carrie hadn't thought much of her.
But as time passed, Carrie grew irritated with Hyorin.
Was she under the delusion that she could change her fate? She was maniacally studying nonstop.
So Carrie had approached her multiple times to trip her up.
But Hyorin never paid Carrie any mind.
She treated her like she was invisible from the start.
And no matter how much Carrie tried to bite at her, Hyorin never had a single blemish.
Carrie resented Hyorin's self-esteem.
"You just need to confirm if it's real or fake."
Nod.
"Simple, right? So tell me. Is it a fake or real?"
At the question, Hyorin smiled brightly and answered.
"It's real."
At those words, Aram, who had been listening raptly while forgetting to eat her noodle soup, spoke in confusion.
"Th-that was a fake, right? So you never got to see Anna Merrison's work after all?"
"No, I did."
"But you got it wrong."
She had given the wrong answer, but Hyorin said she had still seen Anna Merrison's painting.
It was a situation that naturally raised questions.
I smiled at Aram, who had a pitiful look on her face.
"I did get it wrong. But I saw it."
"H-how?"
"Don't you think there's something a bit off about the story I'm telling?"
"Y-yeah, what..."
It wasn't my experience; I was just relaying what had happened to Hyorin.
So it made sense that I wouldn't know the fine details.
But the story I was telling was incredibly detailed.
There was a reason for that.
"N-no way, you knew everything?"
Nod.
"Hyorin told me. That Carrie was paying a lot of attention to her."
"Then..."
"Yeah, it seems Hyorin felt a bit sorry for that Carrie."
That was what Hyorin had said when she recalled the situation back then.
-I made an incredibly cool friend there.
She said she had made a super cool friend.
"Real? Hahaha!"
At the declaration that it was real, Carrie laughed maniacally.
She had assumed Hyorin couldn't tell, and now it had actually happened.
But one person couldn't laugh—Lucas, who had brought Hyorin.
He felt like it was his fault that Hyorin had become a laughingstock in front of all these students.
Hyorin smiled awkwardly amid Carrie's laughter and said.
"Did I get it wrong?"
"Of course. It's a fake."
"Oh, it's a fake."
Something felt off to Carrie in Hyorin's response as she said it was fake.
She had clearly made Hyorin a laughingstock as intended, but it didn't feel satisfying at all.
Especially that expression.
"So I can't see paintings, huh?"
That hadn't been the goal from the start.
It was just to embarrass Hyorin in front of her friends.
"Hmm, what to do? Masterpieces are for those qualified to see them. Well, if you politely ask me, I might consider it."
Hyorin pondered for a moment before speaking.
With a radiant smile.
"Then could you show me Anna Merrison's painting? I really want to see it."
Carrie felt an even stranger emotion at those words.
Not triumph, but like she was the one being teased instead.
At that moment, Lucas hurriedly shooed the students away.
As if he couldn't bear to see Hyorin humiliated any longer.
"Come on! Let's head back up and grab another drink! Everyone, upstairs!"
"Ah, why? It's right here..."
Squeeze!
"No! Let's go up now!"
With Lucas forcibly pushing his friends' backs, the onlookers eventually headed upstairs.
Carrie was expected to stop him, of course.
Swish.
But Carrie just stared blankly at Hyorin, not intervening with Lucas like before.
Thud thud!
Everyone went upstairs except for Carrie, Lucas, and Hyorin.
In that situation, Lucas approached to try to salvage things.
"I think I messed up. Hyorin, let's go. I'll explain..."
Then Carrie stopped him.
"Wait a second."
"Not now, later..."
"I said wait!"
With Carrie's sharp yell, Lucas had no choice but to back off.
Then she asked Hyorin.
"You knew it was a fake."
"Nope."
"No, you knew it was fake. But why..."
But Hyorin just smiled brightly.
"I really thought it was real. No other intention."
Grip.
She had known all along.
Realizing that too late, Carrie naturally felt a wave of shame.
And one question arose.
Why had Hyorin called a known fake real?
Swish.
Then Hyorin smiled and said.
"And earlier, I didn't get a chance to say it, but you look even prettier today, Carrie."
"What?"
"You're way cooler than me today. Must be because you're the star of the party."
It could have been seen as flattery just to see the painting.
But Carrie didn't take it that way at all.
It was as if...
"So, won't you show it to me, an exchange student?"
"......"
Carrie was speechless.
She had clearly won, but now that she knew everything, she couldn't call it a win.
A perfect defeat.
Carrie couldn't help but think deeply.
Swish.
"Look... look as much as you want..."
"Y-yeah, go ahead, look."
Lucas was shocked, never expecting Carrie to allow it.
But his face soon brightened as he turned to Hyorin.
"Good thing. You really wanted to see that painting."
Hyorin smiled at that.
"Thanks, Carrie."
"Th-then let's go quick. It's probably on the second floor."
Afraid Carrie might change her mind at the thanks, Lucas hurriedly dragged Hyorin upstairs.
Left alone, Carrie bit her lower lip hard, staring at Hyorin's retreating back.
Back on the first floor, Hyorin spoke to Lucas, who was fidgeting beside her.
"Lucas."
"Yeah, what?"
"Go check on Carrie downstairs."
"What? Why me?"
"Just bring her up. I can look at the painting alone."
"Why should I?"
Hyorin stared at him blankly and said.
"Don't you want to score points with Carrie? This is your chance."
"......"
Lucas had nothing to say to that.
Truth be told, he had asked Hyorin to the party in the first place to show off to Carrie.
Hyorin had known that from the start, so that's why she said it.
"Go on."
"Fine, only because you said so."
"I said I know, so go already."
Whoosh!
At that, Lucas spun around and dashed back downstairs.
Hyorin watched him go with a faint smile, then turned and headed to the second floor.
A space with a different vibe from the first floor greeted her.
As she slowly walked inside, she came face-to-face with a landscape painting that carried Anna Merrison's distinctive style.
A vast plain with a single wooden house, laundry billowing on a line in the distant wind.
Seeing it, Hyorin felt herself drawn irresistibly into the painting.
It was like it contained every part of the life she had lived.
'Ah, so this is it.'
Viewing Anna Merrison's painting like that, Hyorin had a realization.
She also understood what she truly wanted through the artwork.
After gazing at it for a long time, Hyorin smiled broadly and murmured.
"Just wait a little longer. I'll be there soon, okay, Dad?"