Chapter 80 – The Fun of Learning (1)
Right next to Min-hyuk’s desk.
Kim Rok-hee, who had been standing quietly, scratched her forehead and asked,
“You can at least use watercolor, right?”
“Uh… I tried it during art class. But I haven’t really used it lately.”
“…But you must have done entrance exam art prep, right? Almost every academy teaches it as a must.”
“Uh, no… I didn’t do entrance exam art.”
When Min-hyuk scratched his cheek with an embarrassed look,
“Whatttttt?”
Rok-hee twisted her eyebrows and let out a groan of disbelief.
“You didn’t do entrance exam art at all? Not even a little? Weren’t you preparing for Animation High?”
“Well… I wanted to come here, but there happened to be a contest… and luckily I got in through that, I guess.”
“Huuuuhhh…”
Rok-hee shook her head as if she couldn’t comprehend it.
“Is that… really that weird?”
At that moment, Oh Dong-gyo—who had been busily sketching the background—adjusted his glasses and answered.
“Min-hyuk-kun, there isn’t a single person here who hasn’t gone to an academy. Everyone… at the latest started preparing for Animation High in middle school year 2, and the earliest from elementary school.”
Han Yu-ra, sighing from the side, added,
“Seriously, what a strange guy. So this is what a ‘real genius’ looks like.”
Her tone sounded half-teasing, half-sarcastic.
But what could he do?
‘From their perspective, that’s exactly how it looks.’
A guy who never even touched entrance exam art, yet smashed through Animation High’s 30-to-1 competition rate with just one contest win.
If their positions were reversed, he’d probably think the same.
But he couldn’t exactly explain here that he regressed, or that this was the only way he could get in…
Anyway, that wasn’t the important thing right now.
Min-hyuk looked straight at Rok-hee and asked,
“So… could you just explain the basics of watercolor to me? I’ll give it a try myself.”
“Ugggggh… Fine. First, go fill the water container.”
“Okay.”
A short while later, after he brought back the water, Rok-hee picked up her palette and skillfully pulled out her brush.
A wide, somewhat flat brush.
Dong-gyo rested his chin on his hand and said admiringly,
“Ooh, Kim Rok-hee’s Silver Barbara.”
“What’s that?”
When Min-hyuk asked back, Dong-gyo pushed his glasses up.
“Sable-hair brush. In the watercolor world, that thing is the best. It’s not exactly cheap, you know.”
“Shut up and finish your background already before you start yapping.”
“Ahem! Roger that.”
With one sharp word from Rok-hee, Dong-gyo buried his head back into his work.
After that…
Rok-hee dipped her brush deep into the water container with a serious face, then roughly dabbed it into the paint on the palette.
She began sweeping it across the large sheet—quick strokes—and color filled in instantly.
“Start with this kind of dilution, and use a wide brush to cover large areas. Coloring order: start from the lowest saturation colors first.”
“Hmm… Because you have to layer more on top later?”
“Right. If you layer high-saturation colors too early, the colors get muddy. It doesn’t look pretty either. And with watercolor, the goal is to finish with as few touches as possible—minimal layering is the key to a clean result.”
While she spoke, one sleeve of the uniform was already completely filled with a light blue.
It looked like quick swipes, but the coverage was surprisingly thorough and even.
Rok-hee looked straight at Min-hyuk and asked,
“Want to try? Or should I just do the base colors for you?”
“…I’ll try.”
After all, learning watercolor couldn’t hurt.
Min-hyuk grabbed the brush without hesitation.
He knew from experience: it’s better to try and regret than to never try and regret.
“Do it thinking it’s one and done. Never layer on top. If the paint pools too much in one spot, just lightly spread it out a bit.”
“Got it.”
After that, Min-hyuk moved the brush carefully.
He paid attention to the paint’s dilution, adjusted the brush’s water content just right, then pressed it to the paper and pushed.
‘What the… why is this so smooth?’
The glide of the brush was on a completely different level from the ones he used in art class.
He instantly understood why people used this brush.
‘It damages the paper as little as possible while still covering large areas.’
Min-hyuk’s hand moved steadily forward, filling in the empty parts of the uniform.
Starting from the bottom and pushing upward in one consistent direction to apply the color.
Because the sheet was so massive, it required quite a bit of time and focus.
He concentrated like that for about fifteen minutes.
“Huuuu, done.”
Not bad at all, right?
Min-hyuk had finally succeeded in filling in the entire uniform color.
With a slight smile tugging at his lips, he raised his hand again to call Rok-hee over.
“The uniform’s all colored—can I start right away on the cat’s face part?”
“Hmm, Min-hyuk-kun…”
“Should be fine, right?”
Dong-gyo and Han Yu-ra, who were nearby, shook their heads and muttered under their breath, while Kim Rok-hee waved her hands frantically and said,
“Wait, wait—let the paint dry completely first. The sheet is so huge; if you start working on it now while it’s still wet, it’ll smear all over the clothes and be a total disaster.”
“Ah, got it.”
“And for the cat’s face part, I’ll handle the finishing touches myself. So once it’s dry, don’t touch it—just call me again.”
“Okay.”
After Rok-hee walked away again, Min-hyuk cleaned his brush and let out a long sigh.
‘So this is what it feels like to go to an entrance exam academy.’
From his previous life until now, he had spent years upon years drawing comics, yet he didn’t even know the first thing about watercolor.
Stepping into a completely unknown world felt a little disorienting, but at the same time…
‘It’s fun.’
Thump! Thump!
The thought of experiencing something new—and that it could become another weapon in his arsenal—made his heart beat a little faster.
When the base color he had applied finally dried, Min-hyuk raised his hand again.
“Hey, it looks dry now.”
“Hmm, yeah. Okay… time to do the face.”
Anticipation flickered across Min-hyuk’s face.
The Siamese cat’s face had that signature black mask pattern spreading in a gradient.
He was genuinely curious how that would be expressed in watercolor.
“Let’s see…”
Swish swish swish.
This time Rok-hee took hold of the palette again and began mixing colors.
Blue and what looked like brown.
When the two mixed, they turned into a subtle dark gray with a hint of blue.
Min-hyuk asked,
“Huh? Why mix like that instead of just using black paint?”
“If you use straight black, the color gets too muddy and dead. Mixing ultramarine with burnt umber gives it this faint bluish undertone that feels fresh and clean. You could use something else instead of burnt umber, though.”
“So the base is… ultramarine?”
“Exactly.”
Once the mix was ready, Rok-hee soaked her brush deeply in the paint.
Then she dropped a large blob onto the area that would become the Siamese cat’s mask.
Splash!
Immediately afterward, she rinsed the brush in the water container.
‘What’s she doing?’
Min-hyuk tilted his head, not understanding the move.
Rok-hee then took the now water-only brush and touched it to a certain area.
Splash! Splash splash!
She dragged it sideways, connecting and spreading from where the dark paint had been dropped.
And then…
“Oh?”
The dark paint began to bleed and spread along the water path across the paper.
The saturation naturally blended, creating a perfect gradient—and by the time Min-hyuk blinked, it had become the exact signature fur pattern of a Siamese cat.
“Kyaaa, so pretty! It came out perfectly! Right, Kang Min-hyuk?”
“Uh, yeah.”
Min-hyuk’s eyes widened as if he had just witnessed real magic.
“How did you just do that?”
“Just used the paint dilution to let it spread naturally. It’s a common technique for gradients like clouds, sunsets, that kind of thing. It’s hard to pull off right away, so I figured I should just do it myself for now.”
“Huuuh… You’re amazing.”
“Amazing? Anyone who went through entrance exam art can do at least this much.”
Rok-hee smirked as she said it.
“Yeah, well, I can’t.”
“Pfft, there he goes humble-bragging again.”
“Ughhh, shut up Kim Rok-hee! So annoyinggg.”
The kids at the next desk started playfully booing her.
Rok-hee just grinned wider, completely unfazed, and shot them a playful fist-pump in response.
‘I should try that myself sometime.’
And maybe… it could even be used for “that place”…
While Min-hyuk was lost in thought—
Ding-dong-daeng-dong!
The bell rang again, and the clock pointed to 12.
Rok-hee let out a breath and said,
“Okay then, let’s call it for today. We’ll finish up tomorrow. I still have more to teach you anyway.”
“Ah… yeah.”
“Okay everyone, clean up! Hurry hurry!”
Rok-hee bounced up from her seat, waving her arms energetically, and the kids began tidying their stations.
“Ughhh, so tired.”
“Feels like this is harder than regular assignments, doesn’t it?”
Everyone’s faces were drained.
But.
‘She still has more to teach?’
This is actually getting exciting.
For some reason, Min-hyuk’s face was brimming with curiosity and anticipation.
***
The next day, Friday drawing class.
“Ughhh… Can we finish today?”
“We have to. I don’t want to be stuck with this over the weekend.”
“Same.”
Screech. Screech.
Just like yesterday, the kids dragged desks together into group formations and prepared for work.
Everyone looked exhausted in every way.
Amid that, Kim Rok-hee shouted,
“Everyone—let’s try to finish today if possible! If anyone finishes their part early, go help another group on your own!”
“Yessss…”
“Let’s fighting! Fighting!”
After that, Rok-hee went around group by group, checking progress.
Whenever she spotted something that didn’t look quite right,
“Here—this part, make the eyes bigger and add some highlights on this side.”
“Okay.”
She gave feedback without holding back.
And…
“Kyaaa! The bush rabbit came out so cute?!”
“You okay?”
“Okay? This is the best, I’m telling you!”
Whenever she saw something really good, she unleashed her signature high-pitched reactions without restraint, boosting morale.
When she finally reached the far end—
“You’re here?”
“Hm?”
Kang Min-hyuk stared straight at Rok-hee.
His eyes were sparkling, like a cat with its eyes wide open, clearly wanting something.
Maybe because of his inherently handsome features.
For a second Rok-hee blinked, then asked back,
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You said you’d teach me something new today.”
“…And that excites you?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“Extremely. Right, guys?”
When Rok-hee asked, Dong-gyo and Han Yu-ra nodded in silent agreement.
“Haha, I just don’t know much about this stuff. So hearing there’s more to learn is kind of thrilling. I even practiced a bit yesterday with what you showed me. How’s this?”
Min-hyuk smiled lightly and pulled out a sheet of paper.
Rok-hee tilted her head.
“What’s this? You practiced?”
“Yeah, I did a little here and there.”
On the paper were dozens of Siamese cat faces drawn in succession.
And every single one used the exact bleeding/diffusion technique Rok-hee had demonstrated yesterday—perfectly replicated.
A few looked a little shaky, but overall they were impressive.
For someone to reach this level in just one day was honestly absurd.
‘…Is he a genius?’
‘Min-hyuk-kun, isn’t he too good at this?’
‘This pisses me off, Kang Min-hyuk.’
Even if they didn’t say it out loud, similar thoughts crossed their minds.
When normal kids took years to get decent at watercolor… this speed of improvement was simply impossible.
“Is it bad? Why’s your face like that…”
“No, it’s good. Your attitude toward learning is great.”
Rok-hee smirked and gave another enthusiastic thumbs-up.
“Well then… want to try coloring the rest of the fur yourself?”
“That’d be great.”
The hands, feet, and some other parts were still uncolored.
That was what she meant.
“Okay, watercolor’s done for now. Today I’m going to pass on my final secret technique.”
Gulp.
Min-hyuk swallowed hard, staring with eyes full of anticipation.
Tap tap! Thud!
Rok-hee pulled something out of the art supply box and set it on the desk.
“Colored pencils?”
“Oil-based colored pencils. We’re going to use these… to finish the drawing.”
“With… colored pencils?”
Weren’t we doing this in watercolor?
Min-hyuk’s head tilted in confusion.
**************
TL Note:
You can read 36 additional chapters of this novel right now on Patreon via the Premium Tier
For this novel specifically, check the collection under “Comic Artist”
Link: https://www.patreon.com/cw/Vritratls
If you join Premium, you’ll get:
🔓 36+ advance chapters instantly
🚀 Up to 9 chapters per week
📖 Access to the advance chapters of my 5 other novels as well
After joining, please message me and tell me which novel you’re most excited for.
That helps me decide which series to prioritize and update faster.
If you’re reading all 6 novels, let me know too — it really helps with planning future releases.
**************