Diamond Dust — Chapter 8

SINCE WE'LL BE WORKING TOGETHER, I SHOULD AT LEAST WARN YOU...

...CHOI INWU ISN'T A GOOD PARTNER. NOT FOR ROMANCE, ANYWAY.

I'LL BE LEAVING-

AND WHAT ABOUT YOU, MR. LIU?

ARE YOU A GOOD GUY?

IS THERE EVEN SUCH A THING?

I'VE CERTAINLY NEVER MET ONE.

ANYWAY, YOU DON’T SEEM LIKE YOU’VE DATED MUCH...

SO DON’T TAKE EVERYTHING INWU SAYS TO HEART.

BUT IF YOU’RE STILL ATTRACTED TO HIM IN SPITE OF THAT, IT’S NONE OF MY BUSINESS.

WELL THEN, SEE YOU AT PHANTOM.

DOES HE THINK HE’S A TERRIBLE PERSON?

OR DID HE GET HURT BY SOMEONE LIKE THAT BEFORE?

"FOLLOWING THE 'BODY & SOUL' EXHIBITION...

...SHUSHU RETURNS TO THE PUBLIC EYE AFTER ROUGHLY EIGHT MONTHS WITH HIS NEW SERIES, 'BODY TO SOUL.'"

"SHUSHU NOT ONLY FURTHER SOLIDIFIES HIS OWN UNIQUE STYLE WITH THIS EXHIBIT...

...BUT AN EVEN GREATER THEMATIC DEPTH."

"STANDING BEFORE HIS WORK, I AM ALWAYS OVERCOME WITH A SENSE OF ANGUISH."

THE INTRO MR. LIU WROTE IS AMAZING, ISN'T IT?

YEAH... YOU CAN REALLY FEEL HOW MUCH HE CARES.

AH, THOSE IDIOTS ARE AT IT AGAIN.

WHAT?! WHAT'S GOING ON?!

HAVE YOU SEEN WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT MR. SHUSHU'S NEW EXHIBIT? KNOW WHAT ONE OF THE POSTS WAS TITLED?

"ARE THE WORKS OF ALPHAS AND OMEGAS ANY DIFFERENT FROM ART MADE WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENCE?"

CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS NONSENSE?

SERIOUSLY, LOOK.

Alphas and omegas have a special cycle called "heat." During this time, they supposedly feel pleasure stronger than with any drug. Especially golden alphas and omegas. They can put themselves into a state of intense arousal whenever they want. A lot of golden alphas and omegas stand out in the art world. Maybe it's because being high on pheromones inspires creativity. Golden alphas and omegas

HAA...

DO THESE GUYS HAVE SOME KIND OF BETA COMPLEX OR WHAT?

WHAT DOES SEXUAL AROUSAL HAVE TO DO WITH BEING CREATIVE?

IS MR. SHUSHU...AN OMEGA?

YEAH, A GOLDEN OMEGA.

MR. SHUSHU IS REALLY GOOD-LOOKING...

AND A LOT OF HIS FANS FROM HIS DANCING DAYS HAVE FOLLOWED HIM, SO HE'S SUPER POPULAR.

HE GETS A LOT OF ATTENTION, SO THERE ARE CRITICS WHO TRY TO TEAR HIM DOWN BY SAYING HE'S OVERRATED...

...BUT THIS IS JUST SEXUAL HARASSMENT, PLAIN AND SIMPLE!

HE USED TO DANCE?

YEAH... I HEARD HE WAS A PRODIGY, BUT HE HAD TO QUIT AFTER INJURING HIS LEG WHILE STUDYING ABROAD.

HE'S KOREAN, BUT HE GREW UP IN HONG KONG AND WENT TO SCHOOL IN NEW YORK.

AH!

A FAMOUS GOLDEN OMEGA PHOTOGRAPHER...

...AND A GOLDEN ALPHA WHO'S EXHIBITING HIS PHOTOS...

THEY SOUND LIKE THEY'RE DESTINED FOR EACH OTHER.

YEEHYEON!

TRY THIS ON!

HUH? THIS IS FOR ME?

HAHAHA THIS IS A CONGRATS ON YOUR NEW JOB! THOUGH, IT'S A LITTLE LATE... WE'VE BEEN SO BUSY GETTING READY FOR THE EXHIBITION.

DON'T WORRY, IT'S JUST SOMETHING FROM THE SHOP JUHAN AND I RUN.

SHOP...?

WELL, "SHOP" MAY BE A BIT OF A STRONG WORD. WE JUST SET UP A WEBSITE FOR PEOPLE WITH SIMILAR TASTE.

WHENEVER WE TRAVEL ABROAD, WE PICK UP A FEW THINGS TO SELL. IT'S USUALLY, LIKE, ONE OR TWO PIECES.

IT'S JUST FOR FUN, SO IT'S SMALL AND WE DON'T REALLY MAKE ANY MONEY.

STILL, THAT'S IMPRESSIVE.

DON'T GET TOO EXCITED. GO ON, TRY IT ON!

OOOH!!

THAT LOOKS AMAZING ON YOU!

YOU HAVE TO ADMIT, THE GREAT BAEK YUNI HAS AMAZING TASTE.

THE GREAT BAEK YUNI, YEEHYEON LOOKED GOOD IN JUST BLACK PANTS AND A PLAIN TEE.

HE'S ALWAYS BEEN PRETTY, BUT HE LOOKS EVEN BETTER NOW. JUST ADMIT IT.

I REALLY LIKE STRIPES... THANK YOU SO MUCH.

HAHA

I KNOW. WOULDN'T IT BE WEIRD IF I DIDN'T? YOU WEAR STRIPES LIKE EVERY DAY.

ACK.

WOW, MAYBE IT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE TALL, BUT PUTTING YOU IN TRENDY CLOTHES MAKES YOU LOOK LIKE A MODEL.

IF ANYONE'S A MODEL, IT'S YOU...

HEY, WANT TO MODEL FOR OUR SHOP?

WHOA, GREAT IDEA!

UM... I'M NOT SURE I COULD PULL IT OFF.

OF COURSE YOU COULD! EVEN JUHAN CAN DO IT.

WE'RE DOING A SHOOT NEXT SUNDAY. COME HANG OUT WITH US.

UM, OKAY...

I'M NOT CONFIDENT ABOUT THE ACTUAL MODELING, BUT THE IDEA OF TRYING SOMETHING NEW IS EXCITING.

AH...!

NOONA, CAN I GO LOOK AT SOME OF THE PHOTOS?

I SAW THEM IN THE PAMPHLET AND WANTED TO SEE THEM IN PERSON...

OF COURSE! GO AHEAD.

A WORK OF ART MAY REFLECT THE ARTIST'S INTENTIONS...

...BUT FOR THE AUDIENCE, IT'S MORE ABOUT LOOKING WITHIN THEMSELVES THROUGH THE PIECE.

A BODY DEPICTED ONLY AS A BLACK SILHOUETTE AGAINST A WHITE BACKGROUND.

A FORM THAT EXISTS SOLELY AS AN OUTLINE AND SHADOW IS NO LONGER JUST A BODY.

BOUNDARIES BECOME MEANINGLESS. AND YET, IT IS STILL A BODY.

SO WITHIN IT, EVERYTHING EXISTS.

REALITY AND FANTASY, DREAMS AND FEARS...

...FREEDOM AND RESTRAINT, CRISIS AND COMFORT, PITY AND CONTEMPT...

THOUGHTS EXPAND AND CONTRACT OVER AND OVER...

...AND WHAT REMAINS IN THE END IS...

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

ACCORDING TO CHOI INWU...

YOUR INTERPRETATION IS BETTER THAN MOST CRITICS.

I'M CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT KIND OF IMPRESSION THIS PIECE MAKES ON YOU.

I DON'T SEE THE ARTIST IN THE WORK...

...I SEE MYSELF.

WHEN I LOOK AT IT...

...IT MAKES ME WANT TO PAINT.

IT'S STRANGE.

I SPENT SO LONG AVOIDING THIS FEELING, BUT NOW IT'S EASY TO ADMIT.

EVERY TIME I STAND BEFORE HIM, I FEEL LIKE A STRANGER TO MYSELF.

IF I WERE TO PAINT AGAIN...

...IF I WERE TO HAVE AN EXHIBITION...

...IF HE WERE THE ONE TO WRITE THE INTRODUCTION...

YOUR PERFUME IS SO UNIQUE.

...I WONDER WHAT HE'D WRITE.

SHUSHU!

JEONG SE-IN!

ZHANG SHUIYAN! OVER HERE, PLEASE!

GIVE US A WAVE, SHUSHU!

SHUSHU!

JEONG SE-IN! OVER HERE!

SO THAT'S SHUSHU...?

HE'S GORGEOUS, RIGHT?

MOST ARTISTS DON'T GET PHOTOGRAPHED THIS MUCH.

THAT'S WHY DR. CHOI CALLS HIM A SEMI-CELEBRITY.

OH, MR. LIU'S HERE.

SHUSHU, LOOK THIS WAY, PLEASE!

WE LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU, SHUSHU!

SHUSHU!

HAA...

CAN I...SKIP THE PHOTO OP NEXT TIME?

IT'S NOT UP TO ME. DIRECTOR HAN CALLS THE SHOTS.

YOU SAY THAT, BUT YOU'RE ACTUALLY REALLY GOOD AT THEM.

DID YOU SEE YOUR FANS EARLIER? IT'S NOT LIKE THIS HAPPENS EVERY DAY. JUST GIVE THEM A LITTLE FAN SERVICE.

WE CAN'T SKIP THE PROMOTION, BUT I'LL MAKE SURE TO BE THERE DURING YOUR INTERVIEW LATER.

I MADE SURE THE INTERVIEWER IS SOMEONE YOU KNOW, TOO.

HERE, THESE SHOULD HELP YOU FEEL LESS NERVOUS.

WHOA! ARE THESE BONBONS FROM DOGIVA? DID YOU GET THESE JUST FOR ME?

I HAVE TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE IN TOP SHAPE FOR THE EVENT.

YOU'RE THE MOST IMPORTANT ARTIST IN THE GALLERY, AFTER ALL.

LET'S ALL HAVE SOME TOGETHER...

AH..

BY THE WAY...

...WHO'S THAT?

ILSUNG

OH, I’M-

SEO YEEHYEON.

LEAVE.