After Somin finally gets into a prestigious Art university, everything in her life turns upside down. What was once a secure plan to get closer to her boyfriend is now a mess. Her future is unknown, though already stained with heartache.
Will she p...
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Lee Somin
Before her Introduction to Art Techniques lesson began, there was an hour break.
Time to look around. The abandoned girl felt more resolute.
She headed hesitantly for the foyer.
All the ordinary courses were held in classrooms on the ground floor. Knowing only her essentials and most importantly the drawing room, Somin had to explore the building more later.
I must find a place to rest.
Somin focused on these thoughts to give herself a feeling that she was in charge, at least with something in her life.
As an introvert, she needed to recharge her mental battery to even think about talking with somebody she didn't know. That's why in every school Somin attended, she had a secret place just for her where she could just be. A secluded staircase on the highest floor, an abandoned closet, or the creepy hall everybody avoided; anywhere Somin could stop to catch a breath, she would.
The more she'd be in the new space the less she'd feel anxious. She hoped she'd adapt sooner and be more at ease, even if she had to talk to somebody else. Having a mental road map helped her be grounded and stop being so frantic.
The giant wooden door opposite her led to the spacious foyer with big windows and majestic marble pillars. Ten long stairs led to the main hall in which she stood. It was lined by many smaller windows so it was possible to see a tiny yard hidden inside an inner square of the building. There were a number of sculptures of various sizes settled on the grass. An exhibit from all the previous years, pieces way too big to be held inside.
Fuck, it's attached to the sculptor studio. Don't look. You don't want to see him. Somin turned her head away too slowly.
A glimpse that way revealed a sculpture. She instantly recognized that the big metal structure was his.
Spiraling to heaven was a twisted rendition of ordinary stairs bringing to life his favorite theme of "ambition". These stairs were mangled, missing pieces, and full of spikes announcing "it's not an easy way". When you went in through the uncomfortably small opening and stood underneath them, you saw a circlular ending laced with delicate thin steel chips making a picturesque frame to the sky. The viewer was caught in this claustrophobia-inducing cage, seemingly about to collapse on them at any moment with the unstable elements that made up the stairs. Cholsu's concept had to leave you wanting to finish the dangerous journey and become one with the sky.
