Chapter 9
“You made a good decision. I should get going first.”
After looking at his phone for a while, Hyunmin stood up first.
Yeji, who had almost finished the ice in her drink, nodded.
“Yeah, sorry for keeping you when you’re busy. Anyway, thanks for helping.”
“Just focus on fixing your artwork.”
With that, Hyunmin hurried off.
“Why is he suddenly in such a rush? Seriously…”
Dahye said that casually, but Yeji could only think about her painting.
She stared at the photo of her damaged artwork on her phone and thought deeply.
The flowers underwater.
The canvas, cruelly cut open.
It was something she had never experienced or imagined.
Inside, she was shaken.
She wanted to fix the ruined painting no matter what.
And she wanted to strike back at whoever did this.
Those thoughts and images mixed together, confusing her mind.
Flowers. Water. Canvas. Cut. Desire.
As she stared blankly into space, her eyes suddenly stopped at something.
A bouquet next to Dahye’s chair.
“Oh… this was actually from your parents. They prepared it in advance.”
A congratulatory bouquet under a ruined painting—
her parents probably gave it to Dahye instead, thinking it would be inappropriate.
Dahye had brought it along, unsure what to do with it.
But to Yeji, it looked different.
The bouquet already felt like part of an idea.
“If it was meant for me, give it back.”
“Oh? Sure.”
Dahye handed it over.
Yeji examined the flowers closely.
Fresh grass scent mixed with sweet fragrance.
“…”
She picked one flower and held it over the image of her painting on her phone.
“…!”
In that moment, something flashed in her mind.
A new way to express her idea perfectly.
A way to turn a flat painting into something three-dimensional.
A way to expand the world inside it.
And—
a way to send a message to the one who caused this situation.
“I’ll head out too. I’m starting the modifications tomorrow—come see if you have time.”
With her thoughts swirling, Yeji stood up.
The Next Day
Most students weren’t too affected by the announcement that they could modify their work.
Some made small adjustments, but no one made big changes.
The reason was simple:
Final exams were more important.
Dahye felt the same.
If she started fixing things, it would never end.
It was better to focus on grades.
These days, academic scores mattered more than practical skills for university.
“This isn’t what I imagined when I started drawing…”
Still—
“If I get into a good university, I can draw what I really want.”
For now, this was just preparation for the future.
That’s what all adults said.
And she believed them.
But still—
she wanted to see Yeji’s work.
“…Huh?”
When Dahye arrived at the art center, she paused.
A fresh floral scent filled the air.
As she walked toward Area A, the scent grew stronger—
like entering a garden.
“That must be it.”
“The one that got damaged?”
She moved through the crowd.
There were even more people than usual because of the incident.
“Wow…”
She couldn’t help but gasp.
At the center stood Yeji—
surrounded by dozens of flower baskets.
She wasn’t using oil paints.
There wasn’t even a brush nearby.
“What is all this?”
“Oh, you’re here?”
Yeji greeted her.
Instead of fixing the torn canvas—
she had widened the gap even more.
“I’m going to show properly that this actually helped me.”
She wasn’t going to back down from such a cheap attack.
She turned it into something bigger and more beautiful.
“You put something inside?”
Dahye looked closer.
Inside the torn canvas was green floral foam.
“Ah…”
She realized.
True to the title “Full Bloom,”
Yeji was completely transforming the piece.
“Now, real flowers will bloom on top.”
Yeji placed a yellow rose into the canvas.
It blended perfectly with the painted flowers underwater.
It looked like the flowers had broken through into reality—
into a bigger world.
“Do you know what yellow roses mean?”
Yeji smiled and placed a paper below the caption.
Meaning of yellow roses:
- Perfect achievement
- Jealousy
“But… won’t they wilt?”
Dahye asked carefully.
Fresh flowers wouldn’t last long.
Yeji attached an acrylic panel below.
“I know.”
The petals would fall and collect there.
She smiled.
The delayed judging—
the wasted time—
she wanted to include all of it in her work.
This was her elegant way of protesting.
“Even that is part of my artwork.”
Later (News Article)
A student has captured attention with a unique artwork at the recent exhibition.
That student is first-year art student Lee Yeji.
On the first day, her painting was damaged by someone unknown.
But—
she filled the torn canvas with real yellow roses,
adding depth and life.
As time passed, the flowers wilted and fell,
expressing how jealousy and malice eventually destroy everything.
The culprit, however, has not been identified.
The school’s handling of the situation has drawn public attention.
Final Day
Yeji didn’t finish the artwork all at once.
She made the process itself part of the art—
adding flowers slowly while filling the space with fragrance.
“You’re in the news now.”
Hyunmin said.
“Yeah… I thought that reporter was fake, but they were real.”
People had gathered around her.
Today was the final day.
The final judging.
“The school tried to cover it up, but it got too big.”
“Not just the school… I’m still shocked too.”
Dahye said.
“You must be a genius! How did you think of this?”
The torn canvas was now filled with flowers of different sizes.
It looked complete—
but one thing was missing.
“I’m here to adjust the lighting.”
“Move it slightly to the side… like this…”
Yeji adjusted the light carefully.
Then—
The light in the painting and the real light matched perfectly.
The shadows of the real flowers aligned with the painted ones.
Reality and illusion became one.
“Done.”
Yeji smiled.
Now it truly fit the title.
Back when she was Catherine, she only painted.
Now she understood why—
“Because I couldn’t see properly.”
Installation art needed spatial awareness.
She couldn’t do that before.
But now—
she could create something bigger.
An announcement echoed:
“The exhibition will now close. Final judging will begin soon…”
“You’re done now, right?”
Dahye asked.
Yeji nodded.
“Yeah.”
No regrets now.
As she gathered the remaining flowers—
she stopped.
“…Kim Jian.”
He stood in front of her.
“Nice work.”
Unexpected praise.
Then—
“Maybe you should become a florist. Acting like a victim and using tricks—do you think you’re something special?”
Yeji almost admired his shamelessness.
“And you two—don’t get carried away either.”
He even mocked her friends.
“Supporting someone like her won’t help you. You’d be better off siding with me.”
Hyunmin laughed.
Dahye almost attacked him, but was held back.
Yeji stepped forward calmly.
“Thanks for the advice.”
Jian frowned.
“But what do you think you know about me?”
She was already certain.
She wasn’t going to let this go.
As she passed him, she handed him something—
a bouquet with all the flowers cut off.
Just stems.
Her silent message:
“Get ready to lose your head too, you piece of trash.”
