The Value of Art (3)
At the same time in the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Los Angeles, USA. It was 11 a.m. Korean time and 7 p.m. in LA, with the sunset streaming through the curtains of the hotel room.
Yonghan, watching the live internet broadcast of Jeonghun's press conference on his laptop, takes a strong sip of whiskey.
"Ugh."
Yonghan watches the press conference with a trembling heart. About 30 minutes have passed, but there’s no mention of him yet.
Is it a stroke of luck? The story of a genius girl appearing in Italy dominates the discussion.
He tries to console himself that maybe his story will naturally be buried, but he knows that's not possible. And then, finally, the reporters start talking about him.
"We can't help but ask about your incident with singer Yonghan, sir. What happened that day, at that time? May we ask why you were so angry?"
Yonghan, who had been sitting on the sofa, leaning back and drinking, leans forward.
"Please, please."
Yonghan prays to every god that exists.
He is a celebrity. Celebrities live off people's attention.
If the person standing there now speaks negatively about him, whether it’s true or not, he will be buried.
Why?
Because the other person is currently the center of a huge controversy. Even if it were a popular celebrity, it would be burdensome, but this person is causing a huge stir in the art world.
The exhibition hasn't even started yet, but the fact that he was revealed to be the same person as the previously exposed painter A means that he has already lost the game before it even began.
Yonghan quietly smiles and scans the reporters, looking at the relaxed face of Jeonghun, and washes his face.
"Why did I do that at the time?"
This is not the first time he has regretted the incident.
At that time, his pride was hurt, and he thought that the artist's anger was a bit excessive.
However, as a musician involved in the art world, he couldn’t avoid meeting other art world figures.
Most of the art world figures he met after that day pointed pointed out that he was wrong.
At first, he didn't accept it due to stubbornness. From his perspective of pursuing the aesthetics of novelty in contemporary art, he thought what he had said was not wrong.
But when a professor he respected also pointed out his arrogance, he changed his mind.
'The professor said this at the time.'
Look at the paintings of past masters instead of looking in the mirror. Arrogance grows from the image in the mirror.
Pride is the pleasure that comes from thinking highly of oneself.
The arrogance of prosperity is the despair of adversity.
If you ever face adversity, you will understand what I mean.
He was a bit shocked by the professor’s words. The professor had always highly rated his talent and was not stingy with praise, but he completely changed his attitude after the incident with Jeonghun.
Even if he tried to play the victim through media play, the cold eyes of the art world figures did not change.
About three months after the incident, Yonghan admitted that the cause of the incident was his fault. But it was too late to turn back.
The president of his agency spent billions to portray him as a victim, and vehemently rejected his suggestion to admit his mistake.
He felt guilty.
He wanted to secretly apologize to Jeonghun, but he couldn't find him. Time passed too far for him to catch up.
The arrow had been shot, and when it was too late to turn back, he had no choice but to push forward.
He followed the agency president's orders, appearing on TV and acting according to the scripted scenario.
He felt guilty every time, but he had no choice. If he backed down, he would end up in a mess.
Yonghan covers his eyes and sighs, but his ears are still listening to the interview.
Jeonghun's voice reaches his ears, full of tension.
"Well, I really don't understand what you're curious about. Didn't you all see what happened that day?
Yonghan cannot be relieved by this unexpected response. It could be a cunning strategy to make him look worse.
The reporter who asked the question is given the floor again.
"There was a verbal argument with singer Yonghan on the broadcast, but was there no clash in the waiting room?"
"There was none at all. That day was the first time I met him. I hadn't met him before or after that."
That's true. In fact, Yonghan had never faced Jeonghun before that.
After receiving an invitation from a gallery in England and holding an exhibition, he returned to Korea with his ego inflated to the sky. He looked down on other artists, and he thought God had given all the talent in the world to him alone, so he would not have visited the waiting room to greet
"It wasn't that I felt unjustly treated, but rather my heart was in pain. I planned to return the victim-playing act I had done back to them."
Instead of blaming the other party, he chose a strategy of saying his heart was in pain. This was in line with the strategy planned by CEO Kim Young-min. Yonghan hung his head low. It's really over now.
Then, Yonghan hears Jeonghun's voice.
【The situation at the time was exactly as the viewers saw it. The unedited original video was circulated, so everyone knows the situation. There was nothing unjust about the situation itself. However, the public's reaction afterwards did hurt me.】
Yonghan's eyes tightly shut.
"Now they'll start criticizing me for the media play."
A reporter's question is heard.
【What reaction are you referring to?】
Because of Yonghan and his agency's shallow media play, the public was deceived, and everything was their fault. Jeonghun would say so. Yonghan takes a swig of whiskey and sighs.
"Where did it all go wrong?"
He muttered, but he knew the truth.
It was all his fault for being arrogant and haughty, thinking too highly of himself when others praised him.
He could have refused the instructions of the agency CEO with his level of experience.
If he had apologized then and there, it wouldn't have come to this. It was all his fault.
But there's no sound for a while.
When Yonghan, who had closed his eyes, opens them, he sees Jeonghun scanning the reporters' faces. Jeonghun's face is one of genuine heartache.
【Do you know the one thing that artists like Alphonse Mucha, who wished to be helpful to the world until their dying moment, Gustav Klimt, who tried to convey the beauty of art to ordinary people, Toulouse-Lautrec, who, more marginalized than anyone, painted the marginalized and ugly, Claude Monet, who loved life to the end even though he went blind, lost his wife and son, and never received a warm look from the world, and Van Gogh, who faced death in a wheat field with crows flying, prayed for in their last moments?】
Yonghan's hand, reaching for the whiskey, pauses. He hears Jeonghun's voice.
【It's not just the simple act of conveying the beauty of art to you all. All of them loved life, people, and living beings. And they hoped that this love would be conveyed through their works.】
After taking a breath, Jeonghun stands up and says,
【It's regrettable that the love they tried to convey with their lives was forgotten in just 100 years.】
Jeonghun leaves a difficult answer and stands up. The reporters urgently call out.
【Mr. Painter! Please say a word about your issue with Yonghan!】
Just as Jeonghun is about to turn around, he pauses and looks directly into the camera.
【Mr. Yonghan, I heard you like painter A. I'll send VIP exhibition tickets to your company, so it would be great if you could grace the exhibition with your presence. That's all.】
Jeonghun glances at the clamoring reporters and then leaves the press conference. Soon, the anchor's closing remarks are heard at the press conference.
【This was the press conference of painter Ban Jeonghun. Painter Ban remained silent about the issue with singer Yonghan, instead inviting him to a VIP exhibition. The conversation between the two at the VIP exhibition is highly anticipated. This is Lee Sang-hwa from MGN News.】
The camera shifts to the reporters organizing the press conference. Yonghan, staring blankly at the video, murmurs,
"What's happening?"
He doesn't understand. It was a press conference watched by the entire nation.
There, Ban Jeonghun, who could have sent him flying to outer space with a single word, was standing. But instead of speaking there, he invited Yonghan to a VIP exhibition.
Why? To scold him directly?
There would be reporters there too, so articles would definitely be written. But why?
If he scolded him face-to-face, the agency would plan another strategy, and knowing the possible traps, why again?
Then the phone rings loudly. It's CEO Kim Young-min.
"Yes, CEO."
-Did you watch the press conference?
"Yes."
-Come back to Korea.
"To the VIP exhibition?"
-Yes, we'll attach our reporters. The board meeting decided it's best to bow down for now, so go and apologize no matter what. If he gets overly angry, we'll exaggerate it and switch back to a pitiful concept.
"CEO, let's stop now."
-What?
"I already knew I was wrong. I'll take it if you scold me cleanly and harshly, so please take our reporters away.
-What? You ungrateful... Do you know how much money I've spent to save you? No way!
“…….”
-Come back to Korea. There will be reporters at the airport, so don't say anything, just bow your head and get in the car. Got it? If you mess up the plan with your nonsense, I won’t let it slide. If you want to live in Korea, you'd better listen to me. We’ll book your flight for tonight. I’m hanging up.
The call ends.
Yong-han closes his eyes and sighs deeply.
Staring blankly at the turned-off phone screen, Yong-han whispers softly.
“What should I do?”
Yong-han opens the hotel room curtain and looks up at the sky.
“Please tell me, if you’re watching.”
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Tl thanks for the chapter, also good god i caught up in just one sitting, 4 whole chapters more to go. This is such a great novel, reminds me of old novels like god of music
ReplyDeleteWow, that's unexpected but I'm not surprised at all, our good heart mc!!!
ReplyDelete