Return of the Genius Photographer

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Are you here for the exchange event…?”

The man who had been doing yoga by the lakeside stood up and approached us after answering his phone.

His skin was tanned and reddish, with large, round eyes and a hooked nose. Up close, he looked Middle Eastern, and he introduced himself in a soft, gentle tone.

“I’m Philip Osman, one of the mentors for this exchange event. Just call me Philip.”

Philip extended his hand to us.

“Hello, I’m Woojin.”

“Oh, so you’re Kai?”

“Yes.”

Philip seemed pleased when he heard my name, his large eyes curving into a gentle smile.

Despite the strange first impression, he seemed like a decent person.

But…

Was he the only one here?

I tilted my head in confusion.

From what Professor Ryan had told us, there were supposed to be four mentors…

“Are the others…?”

It wasn’t just me who was puzzled. Malcolm asked Philip about it.

“Why don’t we move to a different spot first? We have plenty of time, so let’s take it slow.”

Philip smiled quietly and naturally led us somewhere.

“Feel free to choose.”

A vegan restaurant not far from the lakeside in New Haven.

The place Philip took us to was a vegan eatery.

—Lentil veggie stew.

—Green bean tomato risotto.

—Mushroom burger.

This was my first time at a vegan restaurant.

I’d heard such places existed, but I’d never thought to visit one.

It was an interesting experience.

“This is my first time at a vegan restaurant.”

Malcolm, also intrigued, alternated between looking at the menu and scanning the restaurant as he asked Philip.

“I come here often. There’s nothing better than a plant-based diet to cleanse the body.”

“Then I’ll have… the mushroom burger.”

“Same for me.”

“I’ll have the same…”

After briefly scanning the menu, we all ended up ordering the same thing.

Honestly, I couldn’t tell what any of the dishes were just from the descriptions, and since it was our first time, we just went with something that sounded familiar.

Philip called the waiter.

“Five mushroom burgers and a side of fries, please.”

The waiter nodded skillfully and took the menus away.

“You’re having fries too? But those are fried…”

“They’re fried in vegetable oil, so it’s fine.”

Malcolm nodded hesitantly with a puzzled expression, and Philip, clasping his hands together as if he were back in his yoga pose, continued.

“Such pure souls…”

“Huh?”

“Do you know what an artist truly needs, juniors?”

Then he launched into an odd monologue.

“Do you know Tolstoy’s story, How Much Land Does a Man Need?”

“Yes. I’ve heard of it.”

Anna was the one who answered Philip’s question.

“Smart junior.”

Philip’s eyes curved like a bow at Anna’s response.

“A farmer, tempted by a landowner’s offer of as much land as he could walk around in a day, ends up dying from greed and is buried in a small plot of land.”

His unusually long arms kept catching my eye.

“Art is similar. Money is just a means to an end. What art truly needs is a healthy body and a pure soul.”

“As expected from a Yale senior! Your way of thinking is truly unique!”

I was a bit taken aback by the sudden philosophical turn, but Junie kept nodding in agreement with Philip’s words.

Every time he did, his belly jiggled.

“Haha, pure souls always understand what I’m saying.”

Philip continued to pour out philosophical musings until the food arrived.

Souls, meditation, yoga, mental discipline, and so on…

It wasn’t that his words were bad, but they sounded more like something a religious leader would say than a photographer.

And there was no sign of him stopping.

At first, out of politeness or curiosity, the others listened intently, but now they looked exhausted.

Seeing an opportunity, I cautiously asked Philip.

“But why are you telling us this…?”

“I called you here because I thought it was something you needed to hear before participating in Art Unity. Professors and the school might taint your pure souls.”

“Ah…”

But his response left me speechless.

The more we talked, the more I felt he was an odd person.

From what Professor Ryan had told us, each mentor was assigned to one person…

I didn’t know who his mentee was, but being mentored by him seemed like it would be exhausting…

My companions, who had been staring blankly like fish out of water, probably felt the same way.

“I agree! What matters isn’t the outer appearance but the soul!”

Everyone except Junie…

“Don’t thank me too much. Protecting pure souls is just my duty.”

Whether it was because of Junie’s enthusiastic reactions or his own shameless personality, Philip continued speaking as if he didn’t want us to feel too grateful.

“If you become my mentee, you’ll learn how to control your mind through meditation and gain expert-level knowledge of yoga. Don’t fight over it.”

There was no mention of photography in his introduction.

Was this really going to be okay…?

“By the way, what about the other mentors? Who are they?”

“Ah, right. I was supposed to tell you about that.”

Having said everything he wanted to say, Philip quickly answered my question.

“You’ll probably get contacted individually soon. They’re not as outgoing as I am, so they won’t go out of their way to reach out unnecessarily.”

Philip shrugged as he continued explaining.

“Will you recognize their names? Dali Akus, Dorothy Grainger, Albert Evans…”

At that moment, my dazed companions and I perked up.

“Really?”

Anna was the first to react.

“No way…”

Malcolm was next.

“As expected of Yale!”

And finally, Junie.

I understood why they reacted this way.

The names he mentioned were all world-renowned photographers.

These were people who had shaken the industry with their groundbreaking work, regardless of genre or form, and had made a name for themselves in an incredibly short time.

Moreover, while they were already famous, I knew better than anyone that they would become even more renowned in the future.

‘I didn’t expect someone like Dali Akus to be a mentor…’

I mulled over the names Philip had mentioned.

They were all far from ordinary…

Especially Dali Akus, who was known for his unique style, to the point where he became famous for his eccentricity.

‘I’ve heard so much about him being a weirdo, and there were criticisms about him being narrow-minded…’

If someone like that were my mentor…

Could I really get along with him?

I couldn’t help but wonder.

“Curious about who’s mentoring whom?”

Seeing our reactions, Philip chuckled.

“Yes! Senior, could you tell us?”

Malcolm, unable to contain his curiosity, immediately responded.

“You’ll have to wait and see. You’ll probably all get contacted by today.”

“Ah…”

But Philip, with a relaxed demeanor, clasped his hands together.

Malcolm let out a small sigh of disappointment.

“Though I can tell you who my mentee is.”

“Oh, right. Who’s your mentee, Senior Philip?”

A sudden silence fell over the table.

I couldn’t tell what it meant…

“It’s you.”

“Huh?”

“You’re my mentee. Malcolm.”

When Philip revealed that Malcolm was his mentee.

“Congratulations, Malcolm!”

Everyone clapped and cheered. (LOL)

***

After finishing our meal with Philip, we returned to the dorm lobby and decided to wait together for our mentors to contact us.

“Do you think Malcolm’s doing okay?”

“I don’t know, he didn’t seem very flexible…”

“We’ll find out tonight.”

Malcolm had already gone to take a yoga class with Philip.

We probably wouldn’t see him until tonight.

He’s probably twisting his body into all sorts of shapes right now…

Just then.

“Oh! I got a message!”

Junie was the first among us to receive a message.

“No way! Albert Evans just called me!”

“Is that really such a big deal?”

Anna, startled by Junie’s excitement, asked in confusion.

“Of course! You don’t know Albert Evans?”

Junie, looking exasperated, began spouting off information.

“Yale School of Art class of ’73, rugby player who stole the hearts of female students every year, ranked 7th in popularity polls, turned down modeling offers to pursue the lonely path of a photographer, and won a silver medal at the Canon International Awards, elevating Yale’s prestige. You’re telling me you don’t know Albert Evans?”

“Uh… S-sorry…”

Even Anna, who usually had a sharp tongue, was overwhelmed by Junie’s intensity and apologized.

But how did he even know all that?

Wasn’t that way before Junie’s time?

He probably wasn’t even near the school back then…

Did he memorize the alumni list or something?

The more I saw of him, the more I realized he was not ordinary.

“At least you should know the people who brought glory to Yale. Anna, be careful. I’m heading out.”

“Huh? Oh! Hey!”

Anna, who had been staring blankly, finally snapped out of it and called out, but Junie had already left.

As Anna stood there looking dazed.

“Oh? I got a message too.”

She finally received her message.

“Woojin, I’m heading out too.”

Shaking off what had just happened, Anna packed her things and left the dorm.

But…

When will I get my message?

***

We reunited with the group that night.

“Haa, haa… Damn yoga…”

“Water… give me water…”

“…”

Somehow, everyone looked completely drained.

Malcolm and Junie couldn’t even sit properly, slumped against their chairs and sprawled on the floor.

Anna’s face was flushed, her head hanging low.

“How did it go for everyone?”

When I asked, Malcolm barely managed to sit up in his chair and answered.

“Don’t even ask… I didn’t know the human body could twist like that.”

As if recalling something terrifying, he rubbed his arms.

“What about you, Junie?”

“My legs won’t move… Evans is a monster…”

“Huh? Why?”

“I thought he was going to teach me photography, but all we did was exercise all day…”

Junie slowly sipped water with trembling hands.

His belly still jiggled, but his face looked noticeably thinner—was it just my imagination?

“Hey, at least you’ll get to eat after exercising. After yoga, all I get is meditation until my stomach’s empty, and at most, some grass.”

“Shut up. Do you know how I feel? The shock of realizing the person I was looking forward to is a monster…”

As Junie muttered to himself, Malcolm sighed and looked at me, who seemed unusually fine.

“By the way, who did you meet to look so unscathed?”

I didn’t look much different from when we’d met in the morning, so he must’ve found it strange.

“Oh, I didn’t get any messages today.”

“What?”

When I answered, Malcolm looked at me incredulously.

“That’s it? You didn’t get a message, so you just stayed here the whole time?”

“Yeah. If not today, I’ll probably get one tomorrow.”

“I guess so.”

“Honestly, I’m kind of jealous you didn’t have to go anywhere today.”

As Malcolm and I chatted.

“Guys.”

Anna, who had been quiet until now, spoke up.

“What?”

She looked us over silently, then let out a deep sigh, as if she’d made up her mind, and turned to Malcolm.

“Malcolm, could you be my model?”

“A model? I’ve never done that before. But sure, I’ll do it. It’s not that hard.”

But Anna’s expression remained tense.

“It’s… a nude model…”

—Sputter!

“What?”

Malcolm spat out the water he was drinking and stared at her.

“No way. Absolutely not.”

When Malcolm shook his head and refused, Anna turned to me.

“Woojin, what about you…”

“No, I’m not doing it either. But why a nude model all of a sudden?”

When I asked for an explanation, Anna’s face turned bright red as she explained.

“Well… my mentor said that if the photographer feels embarrassed, the subject will feel embarrassed too… So she told me to practice taking nude photos…”

It seemed Anna was learning nude photography from her mentor.

From an artistic perspective, nudity isn’t something to be ashamed of, but for someone as young as her, it must’ve been an awkward situation.

“So I need someone to help me…”

She looked at us again.

“Ugh. I need to go lie down in my room.”

But Malcolm averted his gaze and stood up.

“Let’s go.”

I followed Malcolm and stood up as well.

*

‘Sigh, what should I do…’

As Anna watched her friends disappear in an instant, she let out a sigh.

“Anna, I’ve been waiting for this moment.”

Suddenly, a voice came from beside her.

It was Junie.

“What are you talking about…”

“As a proud Yale classmate, if I can contribute to your art…”

Junie puffed out his belly and spoke shyly.

“I’ll endure it.”

A moment of silence passed.

“You, you…”

“You don’t have to thank me, Anna.”

Anna, her ears now bright red, looked at Junie and said.

“If… I have to shoot with you, wouldn’t I be the one enduring it, not you? I’ll figure it out on my own. You go back to your treadmill.”

With that, she stood up and left.

Watching her retreating figure, Junie muttered softly.

“Anna’s so shy…”