Return of the Genius Photographer

A Full Summer.

A large sedan smoothly glides out onto a road enveloped in green.

Unlike the sweltering weather outside, the interior of the car was chillingly cold.

Han Sang-hoon thought that the frigid air wasn’t solely due to the air conditioning.

He opened the window to get some ventilation.

Though the warm, muggy air rushed in, Sang-hoon found it oddly comforting.

“Are you satisfied with just a gold medal?”

A sharp remark pierced through Sang-hoon.

It was his father’s cold, emotionless tone.

But as always, the words stung Sang-hoon’s heart.

“…”

“Going to an award ceremony just for a gold medal from a contest? If it were me, I’d be too ashamed to go. How shameless.”

Sang-hoon didn’t reply, but as usual, his father said whatever he wanted.

This was why Sang-hoon didn’t want to ride in his father’s car.

However, due to his mother’s request, he had no choice.

“We’re here. Get out.”

Once they arrived at their destination.

Sang-hoon got out without a word.

His father didn’t even look at him as he drove off immediately.

Sang-hoon had arrived at the Seoul Museum of Art but lingered outside for a while.

He needed to quell the rising anger and irritation.

There’s no set path to becoming a photographer, but Sang-hoon had followed an elite course.

He had entered the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in France early on and steadily gained experience.

In his graduation year, he won the French New Photographer Award.

Considering he was just in his early 20s, being called a genius wasn’t an exaggeration.

Upon finishing his studies, he chose to participate in the Seoul Photo Contest to make a name for himself in Korea.

Back then, Sang-hoon thought it would be easy.

He was almost arrogantly confident that the grand prize was his.

However, the prize he received was gold.

It was still an impressive feat, given that only one person received this award besides the grand prize winner.

But Sang-hoon, who had expected to win the grand prize, was not satisfied.

Even more so, knowing that his father, who had connections with the organizers, had given him insights about the judging criteria and the judges.

Sang-hoon had a significant advantage from the start.

The reason he couldn’t say anything despite his father’s harsh criticisms was because he agreed.

Not winning the grand prize with such background and help was indeed baffling, even to himself.

‘I should have stuck to what I wanted to capture.’

In his anger, Sang-hoon recalled past photos, but it was all futile.

‘Who the hell is Nam Woojin?’

Moreover, if the grand prize winner were a well-known figure, he might have accepted it.

However, no matter how much he searched, nothing came up about this person, suggesting they were a newcomer.

Lingering around the quiet vicinity of the Seoul Museum of Art, Sang-hoon pondered about Woojin and his photos.

What kind of person could have taken such photos to win the grand prize over him?

Part of the reason he was here today was to find out.

Just then.

A shabby Starex stopped near Sang-hoon.

A man got out of the car.

Judging by the camera slung over his shoulder, he was likely another contestant.

Anyone around here at this time would probably be a participant.

Sang-hoon lost interest and looked away.

However, he was startled by the voice he heard next.

“Woojin, go ahead inside. We’ll park nearby and join you.”

‘Woojin?’

The name he had been so curious about had just been mentioned.

Sang-hoon immediately turned his head towards the person who had just gotten out.

‘Is that Nam Woojin?’

The face looked about his age.

He looked even younger.

‘Did I hear wrong?’

Han Sang-hoon shook his head in disbelief as he watched Woojin for a while.

Woojin’s appearance didn’t match that of an award-winning photographer, at least not in Sang-hoon’s eyes.

That was Sang-hoon’s first impression of Woojin.

* * * * *

The awards ceremony was held in a seminar room at the Seoul Museum of Art.

The room was packed, likely because the ceremony was about to start.

There were a total of 100 awardees, combining both the professional and youth categories.

Woojin’s mother, realizing anew that her son had won first place among so many, looked astonished.

“Son, you really got first place here?”

“I knew it was a big deal, but I didn’t realize it was this significant.”

Woojin’s father echoed her sentiments.

“Mom, you’re too loud. Everyone is looking at us. Let’s sit down and talk.”

Woojin could feel the eyes of others on them due to his mother’s voice.

Some were even whispering suspiciously.

Not wanting to draw attention before the ceremony, Woojin quickly found a seat.

They almost missed out on seats as only a few were left.

“Woojin, where are the photos you took?”

“There’s probably a separate exhibition hall. I’ll go check it out after the ceremony.”

“Alright, let’s go see the photos as soon as it’s over.”

They were chatting when the host appeared, signaling the start of the ceremony.

“Hello everyone! You’ve all been waiting, haven’t you? Let’s start the 2007 7th Seoul Photo Contest Awards Ceremony.”

The ceremony began shortly after the host’s arrival.

However, the proceedings were longer than expected.

They went through the history of the event, the purpose of the organizers, and the supporting organizations in tedious detail.

Many people lost focus, some even yawning widely.

But Woojin’s eyes sparkled throughout.

‘Is that photographer Jung Woong?’

Among the judges, Woojin recognized a familiar and welcome face.

‘Never thought I’d see him here. He hasn’t changed a bit.’

Photographer Jung Woong had a connection with Woojin in his previous life.

He was already famous now, but in the past, he had helped Woojin a lot when Woojin was establishing himself.

Woojin had learned much about photography from Jung Woong’s works when he was just starting out, almost like a mentor.

Seeing him brought back a flood of memories from his past life.

‘His passion for photography must be why he looks so young.’

Except for having more gray hair in the future, Jung Woong looked just like Woojin remembered.

Woojin felt a strong urge to go up and greet him, but he knew Jung Woong wouldn’t recognize him.

At times like this, Woojin thought the memories of a regressor were cruel.

‘But meeting him earlier than in my past life is a blessing. I hope we can form a connection.’

As Woojin reminisced about Jung Woong, the host resumed speaking.

“Now, we will begin announcing the awardees.”

The tedious part was over.

Unlike the long-winded explanations, the award announcements were swift.

Names were called in reverse order of the prizes: Honorable Mention, Bronze, Silver.

Finally, it was time for the Gold Award, just before Woojin’s turn.

“The 2007 Seoul Photo Contest Gold Award goes to. The winner will receive a trophy, a plaque, and a cash prize of 6 million won. The winner is….”

Han Sang-hoon frowned, knowing his name was about to be called.

“Congratulations. Han Sang-hoon, please come up to the stage.”

The seminar room was filled with applause, but to Sang-hoon, it sounded like criticism directed at him.

“The participant, Han Sang-hoon, received high marks from the judges for his piece titled ‘Father,’ which portrays the hardships of office workers in Seoul…”

The host continued explaining Sang-hoon’s photograph, but Sang-hoon wanted to silence him.

His father’s words from before he arrived kept echoing in his mind. His pride would not allow him to feel pleased with just a gold prize.

Once on the podium, Sang-hoon forced a smile as he accepted the award money and gave a brief acceptance speech before attempting to step down.

But as he did, he noticed a man sitting in the front row. It was the same man he had seen before entering, the one called Woojin.

Initially, he thought he must have misheard the name, but with only the grand prize left to announce and the man still not called, Sang-hoon started to worry.

‘Could it be…?’

Sang-hoon wondered if the man was perhaps the winner of a lesser prize that hadn’t been called up.

Yet, seeing the expectant looks on the faces of the people next to him, who seemed like his parents, made it clear that wasn’t the case.

‘No…’

Despite this, Sang-hoon refused to accept it.

‘It can’t be…’

How could this inexperienced-looking guy be the grand prize winner?

That couldn’t be right.

How could someone who studied abroad like him lose to someone who looked so unpolished?

‘It’s impossible…’

Especially when he had used connections to understand the judging criteria in advance?

“And now, we will announce the grand prize winner of the 2007 Seoul Photography Contest…”

Sang-hoon, standing awkwardly near his seat, glared intensely at Woojin. His pride demanded that this man must not win.

But then.

“Congratulations. Would Nam Woojin please come up to the podium?”

As the name was called, the unassuming young man stood up confidently and walked to the podium.

Sang-hoon could only watch.

“Participant Nam Woojin has been unanimously selected by the judges for his piece titled ‘Fading Things,’ which captures the realistic scenes of a redevelopment district.”

The announcement seemed unreal to Sang-hoon.

“This is the first time in the history of the Seoul Photography Contest that a high school student has won the grand prize in the photographer category. Additionally, he achieved unanimous approval from the judges and holds the title of the youngest winner.”

Woojin was just a high school student.

As the judges’ explanation continued, Woojin’s winning piece was displayed on the screen behind him.

The room buzzed with excitement.