Return of the Genius Photographer - Chapter 126

“Wow! This pad thai is amazing!”

“Is it really that good?”

“Yeah, it’s my first time trying it, and it’s incredible!”

Malcolm kept exclaiming as he ate.

On the first day of college, after Professor Ryan’s lecture, I had finished all my afternoon classes. I was now having dinner with Malcolm, who had been with me all day, at the humanities dormitory.

“Out of all the places I’ve been to, the humanities dorm has the best food.”

“Really? When did you go around to all of them?”

“Since freshman orientation.”

At my question, he grinned and made a peace sign with his fingers.

Yale had 12 dormitories, each located near its respective college buildings.

Each dorm had its own dining hall, and according to Malcolm, the food tasted different at each one, making it fun to explore.

What a guy.

Was it really that good?

‘I didn’t expect him to enjoy it so much…’

Normally, I wouldn’t have bothered with something like this. But since Yale students could eat at any dormitory dining hall for free as part of their tuition, there was no reason not to.

Since our last class had been at the humanities college, eating nearby made sense.

I nodded along to Malcolm’s words, only half-listening as I ate.

I wasn’t sure why pad thai would be so good at Yale University in the U.S., but as Malcolm said, it was surprisingly tasty.

“Oh, by the way, there’s a dorm meeting tomorrow. Are you going?”

“Not sure, maybe.”

Malcolm asked me as we ate, suddenly remembering something.

A dorm meeting…

Yale, which placed great emphasis on student interaction, had numerous gatherings for this purpose.

From clubs to department meetings, international student gatherings, mentor-mentee programs with seniors, and dorm meetings.

If you wanted to, there were countless ways to meet people.

Among these, the dorms were particularly proud of their strong sense of community, to the point that Yale called itself a “Residential College.”

This fostered a strong sense of belonging and community spirit among the students.

Especially for freshmen, who lived together for a year, the tendency to bond and have fun together was even stronger.

“Let’s go together. I went last time, and everyone’s curious about you.”

I smiled lightly at Malcolm.

He was more interested in having fun than in classes.

I guess that’s typical for a freshman.

Excited about the new environment, finding people with similar interests was fun in itself…

But I politely declined.

I had too much to do.

‘I should start planning my shoots soon.’

Since starting school, I had put my photography on hold. After all, my main reason for coming to the U.S. was to learn.

But it wasn’t that shooting would interfere with my classes.

I hadn’t scheduled any projects yet, simply because I wasn’t sure how demanding my coursework would be.

Besides, with the unexpected scholarship easing most of my financial concerns, there was no urgency to rush into work.

But now that I’d figured out which classes to take.

And since it was still early in the semester and not too busy.

I figured it was time to start working again.

‘First, I should check with Oswald.’

As I was thinking about contacting the agency to discuss my schedule.

“Let’s go to the library after dinner.”

Malcolm, who had already finished his pad thai, suggested.

I hadn’t even eaten half of mine yet…

When did he finish?

“Why the library?”

“Why do you think? To do the assignment. If I’m going to research by looking at photo books, the library’s the best place, right?”

Malcolm, looking satisfied, patted his full stomach.

“Professor Ryan’s really something, giving us an assignment on the first day…”

He leaned back in his chair, tilting his head to look at the ceiling.

“How am I supposed to finish all this?”

He slumped, clearly not looking forward to the assignment.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at his expression.

After the first class, Professor Ryan had immediately assigned us homework.

The task was to find other photos and critique them in detail, just like we did in class.

The professor said to take it easy, but…

No one at Yale would half-heartedly do Professor Ryan’s assignments.

“If we’re getting assignments like this from day one, when am I supposed to have fun?”

“You said you’d have fun tomorrow.”

“Right.”

Malcolm complained, but for me, it wasn’t that difficult.

When it came to critiques, once you had a clear perspective, you could find a way.

“Then let’s just finish it today.”

“You’re so diligent, Kai…”

“What? You’re the one who suggested it.”

I needed to finish the assignment quickly and start thinking about my next shoot.

With that, we got up and headed to the library.

***

As we left the library with a photo book I liked, it was already dark outside.

Walking carefully under the faint glow of streetlights, something caught my eye.

‘A torch?’

From a distance, I thought it was a streetlight, but the orange glow turned out to be a burning torch.

No wonder it seemed brighter than usual…

Torches hung all over the building, flickering and illuminating the surroundings.

Strangely, it fit well with the old-fashioned architecture.

But…

Why were there torches all of a sudden?

As I stopped in my tracks, puzzled, Malcolm, who had followed my gaze, spoke up.

“Looks like there’s a game tomorrow.”

“Huh?”

“It’s for the Ivy League. The night before an important game, they light torches to cheer. I think there’s a rugby match against Harvard?”

At Malcolm’s explanation, I looked intrigued.

I didn’t know there was such a tradition.

“But how do you know that?”

“It’s my school. Of course I’d know.”

“I guess.”

Come to think of it, he seemed to know a lot of random things.

Maybe because he was always going to gatherings.

He seemed pretty well-informed about what was happening on campus.

At least, that was what I thought while hanging out with him.

As I was marveling at Malcolm,

“Oh, right. You know we have to prepare for Art Unity, right?”

“What?”

“Don’t tell me… you don’t know about Art Unity?”

Another unexpected piece of news from Malcolm.

“How do you not know? You’re really good at photography, but you don’t seem to know a lot of things.”

Malcolm looked at me incredulously as I tilted my head in confusion.

“So, what is it?”

“Hmm… Think of it as the Ivy League of the art world.”

Malcolm immediately started explaining.

“It’s not held as often as the Ivy League, but it’s an annual competition between art students from different universities.”

“A competition?”

“Yeah. It started as a simple event, but now it’s turned into a full-on rivalry between schools, thanks to alumni and the schools themselves getting involved.”

“Wait, how do you compete in art? It’s not a sport.”

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen it myself, so I’m not sure.”

Malcolm squinted as if trying to recall more, then continued.

“Anyway, this year’s Yale students are definitely participating. So, we’ll probably hear about it soon.”

He added, “And apparently, Yale’s been losing for five years straight, so the professors are desperate to win this time…”

Even the professors are invested… That must mean it’s a pretty big deal.

Well, anyone who had been in college before would have known about it. But for me, this was all new.

“Since Professor Ryan is the dean this year, he’s probably really focused on it.”

“Professor Ryan?”

I thought about him for a moment.

With his usually unreadable expression and gentlemanly demeanor, he didn’t seem like someone who would care much about winning or losing.

“Hmm… Professor Ryan might not be too interested in the competition.”

At my comment, Malcolm nodded, as if recalling the professor’s personality.

“I guess so. He doesn’t seem like the type to care about that kind of thing.”

“Yeah.”

***

Bang!

“This time, Yale’s going to win!”

At that moment.

Professor Ryan slammed the table and shouted.

“Oh? You’ve been saying that for five years now.”

“This year is different, I’m telling you!”

Professor Ryan looked furious, his face red and his voice raised, but.

His opponent wasn’t backing down either, and their argument was so intense it seemed like sparks were flying.

“Professor Ryan, you should say that after you win.”

Professor Michael Peach spoke smugly, clearly enjoying Professor Ryan’s frustration.

The other professors from RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) chuckled softly beside him. [T/N: Pronounce it as Rizdee]

RISD, often called the Harvard of art schools, was the oldest and most prestigious art school in the U.S.

As a sister school to Brown University, RISD had been competing with Yale in the Art Unity for years.

And for the past five years, RISD had won.

In other words, they were Yale’s arch-nemesis.

“Ryan, my friend. I told you, we’re an art school. No matter how talented Yale is, a general university can’t beat a specialized art school like RISD.”

Professor Peach taunted, clearly trying to provoke Professor Ryan.

Both had strong pride in their schools and confidence in themselves.

In that way, they were quite similar.

Which is why, despite being old friends, they always got heated during Art Unity meetings.

Their argument had been going on for over an hour now…

Because to them, who held the upper hand was that important.

“Peach, you…”

Professor Ryan was momentarily annoyed but quickly composed himself and smiled at Professor Peach.

“I guess you haven’t heard the rumors about this year’s Yale scholar?”

“Oh, Kai? I’ve heard. He’s good at photography, but his taste in schools is questionable. Choosing Yale, of all places.”

“Ha, Peach. Seems like you’re worried about Yale’s student. Scared, are you?”

Professor Ryan exuded confidence.

Even though Yale had lost five times in a row, what mattered was now, wasn’t it?

If they won this time, he’d wipe that smug look off Peach’s face.

Professor Ryan vowed to himself.

“Hmph, you know Art Unity isn’t something you can win just because one person is good, right?”

But Professor Peach snorted and retorted.

“And while Kai might be a godsend for Yale, we have overflowing talent every year.”

He puffed out his chest proudly.

“If you saw the photos our Monica took, you’d be speechless.”

“You’re that confident?”

“Absolutely.”

“Want to bet your retirement on it?”

The tension was palpable.

“Both of you, calm down.”

It was the other professors who stepped in to defuse the situation.

“This is just an annual event.”

But the two, still growling, weren’t ready to back down.

“Events are fun.”

“Then let’s add a little wager.”

“Great minds think alike.”

“Let’s each donate money out of our own pockets.”

Professor Ryan suggested, and Professor Peach nodded.

“Fine. If I lose, I’ll donate $500,000 to United Way Worldwide in Yale’s name.”

“Then if I lose, I’ll donate $500,000 in RISD’s name.”

Watching the two, who seemed ready to keep going forever.

Professor Elena, sitting next to Professor Ryan, sighed and shook her head.

“This is what happens when kids’ fights turn into adults’ battles…”