Return of the Genius Photographer

‘I made it to the nominees?’

At that moment, I felt my heart pounding with excitement.

Could there be better news than this?

To be nominated in the Arles International Exhibition, of all places.

“Happy about it?”

Was it that obvious?

Kang San grinned knowingly and asked, as if testing my reaction.

“Yes… Honestly, I am.”

I admitted, nodding without hesitation.

“Oh, I see. So if you win, you might even cry?”

He smirked, teasing me as if being nominated was no big deal.

What a guy.

His words snapped me out of my reverie.

“Why would I cry? Come on, let’s find our seats.”

Not wanting to give him more reason to tease, I quickly led him to our seats.

Front row, section A—right in front of the stage.

The section was packed with famous and talented individuals, all nominees.

As I scanned their faces and took my seat, a voice echoed from the stage.

—Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 38th Arles International Photography Exhibition. Please take your seats as we begin.

The lights dimmed, and the emcee’s voice resonated through the speakers.

― Since its inception in 1970, the Arles International Exhibition has reached its 38th year, discovering and supporting countless talented individuals along the way.

― Over the past two weeks, a panel of 137 judges has selected fifty winners across five categories. These winners will receive prize money and an invitation to next year’s exhibition in Arles…

The host continued, explaining the history, mission, and sponsoring organizations of the Arles International Exhibition.

Then, a white-haired French man, presumably a representative from the organizing committee, stepped up to the podium and announced the opening of the ceremony, launching into a lengthy speech.

“This is so boring. Just hand out the awards already. Who’s even listening to this?”

Kang San yawned, clearly unimpressed.

I had expected him to be listening to music as usual, so it amused me to see him sitting through it all.

Suppressing a laugh, I whispered to him, “Judging by how long this speech is, we probably have a while before they announce the awards.”

I was starting to feel a little bored myself.

“Yeah, right. Of all days to forget my MP3 player…” he grumbled, glancing at me.

“By the way, I really didn’t expect you to get nominated. That photo from that deserted alley, of all things.”

“Right? I’m surprised too.”

“Looks like we’re competing against each other again, although this time I’ll win.”

“This time?”

I tilted my head in confusion, and he clarified.

“I lost to you at Doshuko, didn’t I?”

“Oh…”

If you could even call that a competition.

I hadn’t realized he saw it that way.

― And now, we will proceed with the Young Photographer Award!

I wasn’t sure how much longer we’d been chatting when the host announced the presentation of the Young Photographer Award.

It was the award for emerging photographers who had made a mark at this year’s Arles.

If I were to win anything, this would be the category.

With that thought, I straightened my posture in anticipation, but…

― The award goes to…! Congratulations! Olivier from France!

My name wasn’t called.

The Young Photographer Award.

The Portfolio Award.

The Popular Vote Award.

And so on.

As the winners were announced for each category, I saw people in the A row standing up one by one.

But I wasn’t among them.

The disappointment stung more than I expected.

If I hadn’t been nominated in the first place, I might not have felt this way.

But being on the list had raised my hopes.

Even though I knew how unlikely it was.

‘Come to think of it, I never won anything big in my past life either.’

Memories of my past life came flooding back.

Even in my previous life, I had no special connection with Arles.

As a struggling rookie, financial hardships kept me from even attending.

When I finally gained some experience and made it to Arles, I never once won an award.

Driven by frustration, I worked tirelessly, honing my skills to the extreme.

Yet the result was blindness and death.

Bad luck or insufficient effort?

In hindsight, I had always been an ambiguous photographer in my past life.

Despite accumulating numerous experiences and credentials, I never achieved anything groundbreaking.

Talented, but not exceptional enough to be called a master.

And in the end, I fell just short of greatness, losing my vision and everything else.

A mediocre photographer.

Even with the success I had achieved in Korea in this life, it seemed I still wasn’t ready to cross Arles’ threshold.

Outwardly, I stayed composed, but disappointment weighed heavily on me.

― And now, we approach the final award of the evening!

The emcee’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

Most of the awards had been handed out, leaving only four seats unfilled.

The last category was the Best Photo of Arles—an honor reserved for the top-voted photographs from the exhibition.

― The Best Photo category is determined by votes from all 137 judges, each casting a single vote for their favorite work in Arles. The awards will be presented in order of the highest votes received!

― Before announcing the results, we will reveal the top eight nominees for this award!

One by one, the photographs were projected onto the screen above the stage.

Each image was striking, drawing gasps and murmurs of admiration from the audience.

The emcee deliberately took his time, savoring the crowd’s reactions.

― Next, we have photographer Kang San’s work, Birth!

Among the nominees was Kang San.

His photo depicted the imminent eruption of Mount Etna—lava and flames roiling through cracks in the earth.

The fire, true to the photograph’s title, “Birth,” seemed alive, writhing within the frame.

Even though I had watched him capture that moment and had seen the image countless times while preparing for the exhibition, seeing it displayed on the screen now sent chills down my spine.

I wasn’t the only one affected. As Kang San’s photo appeared, others in the audience brushed their arms as if shaking off goosebumps.

Come to think of it, Kang San hadn’t won any awards yet either.

But looking at his photo among the others, it was clear his work stood out.

The quality was undeniable.

It felt certain that he would take home an award.

While I mused over his chances, the emcee’s voice broke through.

― And now, the final nominee for Best Photo!

The image following Kang San’s.

The eighth and last photo revealed on the screen was—

― Photographer Kai’s work, Beyond the Lens!

It was mine.

Startled, I widened my eyes, and Kang San chuckled as he looked at me.

“Looks like I might lose to you again?”

The murmurs of the crowd filled the hall.

“I didn’t know a photo like that was in the Arles exhibition.”

“How did I miss something so amazing?”

“You haven’t seen Edward’s column, have you?”

“Educate yourself, you fools.”

“Wow… that’s a stunning photo.”

“I wish I could become a photographer like that…”

Hearing their reactions, my heart began to race again.

Maybe, just maybe—this time—things would be different.

― We will now announce the bronze prize! The recipient will receive a trophy, a plaque, and a prize of $30,000.

Straightening in my seat, I focused on the emcee’s words.

― The bronze goes to… Sanjay Patel from India!

Applause erupted as the named photographer stood and walked to the stage. After a brief introduction and a short acceptance speech, he stepped down.

― And next, the Silver Award goes to… Alex Dunphy from the United States!

Neither the Bronze nor the Silver was mine—or Kang San’s.

As the announcements continued without our names being called, an uneasy feeling crept in.

“Photographer Kang, at this rate, we might both walk away empty-handed.”

“Don’t jinx it…”

And then—

― And now, the Gold Award! The recipient will receive a trophy, a plaque, and $50,000!

― The Gold Award goes to… Kang San from Korea!

The gold award was given to Kang San.

― Kang San’s photo stunned the judges with its close-up of flowing magma, capturing a moment of raw, natural power…

He rose calmly and made his way to the stage. He delivered his acceptance speech with composure and brevity, unlike the previous winners.

After finishing his remarks, he returned to his seat beside me.

“Congratulations, Photographer Kang,” I said warmly.

But Kang San, who sat there with a serious expression, suddenly gave a sly smile and said, “No, I think you’re the one who’ll need the congratulations.”

“Pardon?”

Before I could process his words, the emcee spoke again.

― And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for—the Grand Prize!

― The recipient of the Grand Prize will receive a trophy, a plaque, $100,000, and the privilege of hosting a solo exhibition at next year’s Arles International Photography Exhibition.

The hall buzzed with anticipation.

“Who’s left?”

“Who do you think it’ll be?”

People began murmuring as they counted the remaining nominees, speculating on who might win.

― To present the final grand prize, we welcome the representative of the French Photography Association, Mr. Willy Ronis!

The elderly man who had opened the ceremony made his way to the stage with deliberate steps.

As he climbed the steps, I mentally reviewed the nominees who hadn’t yet won. Including me, there were five left.

‘That gives me a 20% chance.’

A decent probability.

― Now, let’s announce the grand prize winner.

Could it really be…?

― When I saw this photo, I was genuinely astonished.

My palms began to sweat from the tension.

― It’s a masterpiece that reminds us that brilliance shines no matter where it is found.

The pounding in my chest was so intense I could barely hear the rest.

― The 38th Arles International Photography Exhibition. The grand prize, which will bring this event to a glorious close, goes to…!

My whole body tensed.

― Congratulations! Kai from Korea!

The hall erupted in applause and cheers.

“Eh…”

For a moment, I was too stunned to react.

It felt as though the world blurred around me.

― Whoosh!

Before I could process it, Kang San threw his arms around me in a fierce hug.

“Unbelievable! I knew this would happen!” he exclaimed, more excited than he had been for his own win.

“This is… really happening…”

The emcee’s voice called out again.

— Photographer Kai, would you please come up to the stage?

* * * * *

T/N: This chapter’s for you, Yoshi K. I didn’t want to keep you waiting forever. As you can see, no surprises here. Seems like Kang San was already aware that Woojin had been taking his photos.

And with that, I’ll stop here. Thank you all for reading! Hope you guys enjoyed it.