I Became an Artist in a Romantic Comedy-Chapter 90

“You’re not really here because you were bored, right?”

Feeling like it might take a while, I walked over to the chairman to ask him directly.

“Hm? I truly did come because I was bored,” he replied, pausing his texting with his granddaughter, Lee Soo-Rin, to tilt his head at me and smirk faintly.

“Society is doomed,” I muttered.

“Well, words are powerful, aren’t they? That’s why they call it magic, after all.”

…Sometimes I thought the chairman might be just a little unhinged.

“Oh, speaking of magic, did you see the new car from HyunTech?”

What followed was a tangent about cars and even car camping.

While I wasn’t entirely uninterested—I’m a guy, after all—I didn’t know much beyond basic things like engines or horsepower.

“Let’s get moving!”

Just as I was thinking about excusing myself from the conversation, the supervising teacher called out, gathering everyone.

The students were boarding a different bus now—not the one we’d arrived in.

It looked like a city bus, maybe even a small town shuttle.

“Aww, how long are we going to be sitting this time?”

Choi Ye-Seo grumbled as she settled into her seat.

Her complaints were met with patient but noncommittal responses from Hong Ye-Hwa.

“There’s no helping it. We’re on a tight schedule if we want to stick to the plan.”

Though she listened, it was clear Ye-Hwa didn’t have any solutions to offer.

We boarded the new bus and began moving toward another destination.

"From Chaoyang District to Haidian District, huh."

It wasn’t a particularly long distance, but it was enough time to catch a quick nap.

Before dozing off, my thoughts wandered to the woman sitting at the front of the bus with the supervising teacher.

Teacher Xiao.

It wasn’t like I had any negative impressions of her, but…

"She must have it rough."

Coming all the way here to greet exchange students…

She was probably either the youngest among the teachers or had lost a game of chance to end up with this responsibility.

Either way, it didn’t change the fact that she’d drawn the short straw.

Not that there was anything I could do to help.

***

Haidian District, Beijing.

We arrived at an elite high school renowned throughout the city: Beijing No. 3 High School.

It reminded me of another school with a similar name, but that was probably just a coincidence.

“Ugh, we went through all that trouble, and it’s just school?”

“Well, we are exchange students. Of course it’s school.”

“…Ugh.”

Ha Soo-Yul continued munching on her snacks. Seriously, how much could a person eat? Could stomachs even stretch that far?

“…What?” she snapped when she noticed me looking.

“Nothing. Just thought you might be hungry.”

She gave me a sharp glare, so I quickly turned my head to face forward.

"Just based on the size of this place, it seems even bigger than Sa-Jong Academy."

Sa-Jong was already one of the top-tier schools back home, but this… This was like a full-blown university campus.

The vast grounds were filled with buildings, each massive enough to seem like an independent institution.

"Slaves to education exist everywhere, it seems."

All of this belonged to a single high school.

Given China’s population, it made sense, but apparently, the school had only been established about a decade ago.

It was said to be a sister school to one of China’s oldest, the Fourth High School.

In short, they were like twin schools.

“This way, please!”

Following Teacher Xiao’s lead, we trailed behind her.

"Come to think of it, going straight to school right after arriving in China feels a bit off."

Wouldn’t it have been nice to start with some sightseeing or leisure activities to ease into things?

Lagging at the back of the group, I turned to Chairman Lee Ji-Cheol and asked him about it.

But his response left me feeling drained.

“You’ll have to take that up with the supervising teacher. I had no hand in this exchange program.”

So he really was just tagging along for fun.

“Behave yourself for now. We can figure out how to shake things up later if needed.”

“Well, that’s something to look forward to. I’ll be counting on you, then.”

“No shame, huh.”

What can I say? That’s just who I am.

Up ahead, I saw Teacher Xiao chatting with the supervising teacher.

I couldn’t help but wonder what they were talking about.

"Wait, what about housing for the exchange students?"

No one had mentioned lodging arrangements or how we’d be living.

Why hadn’t I asked about this before coming here?

Now it was too late to do anything about it.

"I think someone said there were students assigned to host us…"

The realization made me grimace.

After this semester, we’d return to Korea, but it wouldn’t just be us.

Chinese exchange students would be coming back with us as part of the reciprocal arrangement.

In other words, we’d be staying in each other’s homes.

"…I’m doomed."

The thought of staying in a stranger’s house was uncomfortable.

Not just inconvenient—it felt like a huge burden.

"Should I try to arrange my own lodging?"

I could wait for my family to join me and stay with them, but what would I do until then?

Leaving right after arriving felt rude, but staying would feel awkward.

“…Chairman.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“How are the living arrangements being handled?”

“Well, naturally, you’ll stay at your assigned host’s home. Why do you ask?”

…Could I even ask him to intervene? The student assignments had already been decided.

There wasn’t much I could do but hope for the best.

"Please, let it be a normal student."

I sighed inwardly as we entered the school grounds.

***

We were split up.

Each of us was assigned to a different class, so our chances of seeing each other became slim.

Not that we couldn’t meet up at all, but it wouldn’t be frequent.

"A gifted school, huh. No wonder it’s so quiet."

The classroom I was assigned to was both unfamiliar and intriguing.

The facilities were top-notch, as expected from a recently built school.

Before coming here, we’d attended a brief assembly in what looked like an auditorium.

It wasn’t a grand event—just a simple introduction where we were all asked to present ourselves to the student body.

"If it weren’t for the paintings, I wouldn’t even be here."

What was I even doing, enduring all this trouble?

Each class had a translator provided for the exchange students.

Even though I could understand some Chinese, being a Korean student meant I was far from fluent.

The school’s effort to provide translators felt considerate.

In front of me stood none other than Teacher Xiao, who had guided us here.

"She speaks Korean pretty well..."

Though she mostly spoke Chinese, she occasionally teased us with Korean phrases.

It suited her mischievous personality.

“How is it? Quiet, right?” she whispered, grinning.

I gave her a puzzled look.

“Doesn’t this class have a homeroom teacher?”

“Oh, this is my class. I’m the homeroom teacher here.”

That explained the absence of another adult in the room. One mystery solved.

"What am I even doing here... I don’t even have time to work on my paintings."

Sighing internally, I stepped onto the platform at the front of the room.

From the slightly elevated perspective, I could see the students staring at me, some smiling faintly.

They’d been quietly studying just moments ago, but now their attention was fully on me.

Dropping one strap of my bag from my shoulder, I spoke.

“My name’s Lee Ha-Eun, I’m from Korea. If you’re curious about anything else, just check Namuwiki—”

“Hold on! Haha, just a moment, everyone!”

Teacher Xiao hurriedly pulled me aside, an awkward smile on her face.

“No matter how famous you are, that’s not how you introduce yourself…”

“Is there really anything else to say?”

“Well, you could mention your likes or dislikes. Things like that.”

“That’s already on Namuwiki—”

“Ugh, never mind. Just do it properly…”

Sighing at her insistence, I turned back to the students.

They were watching me with a mix of curiosity and amusement.

“Well, let’s get along,” I said simply.

If they had any questions, they could ask during break.

And so, my first day as an exchange student began.

***

“…Excuse me, what?”

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I froze mid-sip, blowing on the coffee that Teacher Xiao had brewed for me.

After my first day of classes, I’d followed her to the teacher’s office, using it as an excuse to escape the barrage of questions from my classmates.

She must have sensed my desperation because she’d invited me to take a break here.

But then she’d dropped a bombshell.

“Haha… Well, it seems like you’ll have to stay somewhere else.”

“Could you elaborate on why?”

“You see, the student who was supposed to host you had a change of plans…”

Her explanation dragged on, and with each word, my face grew paler.

“So, it looks like you’ll be staying at my place. Is that okay?”

“…No?”

Was she even serious right now?

My first day was already overwhelming enough, and now this?