stardust | park seonghwa ✓

22

real chapter this time;)

CLASS wasn't supposed to start today. Six days into the new year and I'm already back in the painting studio. Sitting by my easel, eyes on the professor and scribbling letters into my notebook. Our professor says she will be going on maternity leave, since her baby is due in a few months and that she needs to give us our last assignment for the semester.

"I'm sorry for pulling you out from your houses so early into the year," she apologises, pulling out a wheelie board and a stool from the side. A guy helps her on to her seat and she smiles at him gratefully.

"Anyways, final assignment for the semester," she begins to say, clapping her hands together. "As we all know, before the summer break we have our annual showcase where every department will show off their work over the past year."

"Instead of showcasing your entire year portfolio, I wanted to do something different this year," she continues and begins to scribble some things on the board.

There are several hums in the room, some students whispering to one another. The girl next to me, Yerim, leans close to me and whispers from the corner of her lips — "if we're not showcasing our portfolio then how are we supposed to do the showcase?"

"She's gonna make us do group projects, my Mingi senses are tingling," the guy who sits behind us chips in.

Yerim and I look behind us to see Mingi eye rolling at the professor. Yerim shoots him a disguted look.

"Bet you're looking forward to it," she throws a rubber at his head, sarcasm in her voice, "instead of doing the work you're gonna text your boyfriend all day."

Mingi blinks, "come on, don't be like that — I swear, Hyeshin not you too."

"What? We all know that's true."

Yerim huffs, rolls her eyes and focuses back on the board. "Mingi senses," she snorts.

"— and that is the reason why, for this year's showcase, I would like you to make a mini-gallery," the professor finishes whatever she was saying earlier.

I hear Mingi groan behind me, he whispers something along the lines of this being worse than he thought.

"You can make a collection, a minimum of four pieces — you can make it however big you want it to be," she continues, listing the details on the board. Scratches of pencil against paper echoes around the room, I copy what people are doing. "But they must correlate with each other, hence, a collection, a series — a mini gallery."

"Are you guys with me so far?"

After the chorus of 'yes miss'-es, the professor continues. She picks up her water bottle from the ground, drinks from it and scans the room.

She waves her drink bottle, my lips tugging up amusingly when she eyes Mingi specifically. "Now, this is an individual task as I want to see you actually working... do you hear me, Mingi?"

I swear I can almost feel him freeze up behind me. Yerim and I glance at each other, she presses her lips so tight to keep herself from laughing.

Mingi laughs sheepishly, "yes, ma'am."

"Good," the professor laughs along with the rest of the class.

"You can choose any theme you want, but as always, I want them to have meaning... I want them to feel like there's a personal connection between you as the painter, the art, and the people looking at your art," I note that down in my book.

The professor goes on to explain that this will count for a whole lot of our final grade, which is important for extra credits to the few of the final year students in this class — and important for our semester grades as well. As she will go on a maternity leave, she'll have one of her assistants supervise us if we ever need any help. Therefore, she'll only grade us based on the ending product.