Return of the Genius Photographer

I almost ended up being late.

Having lost track of time talking with photographer Jung Woong, I hurried to the meeting location.

Standing in front of the door labeled “Meeting Room,” I took a deep breath and checked the time.

It was just a few minutes before 3 p.m.

Since the meeting was scheduled for exactly 3, I had thankfully made it just in time.

‘Can’t make a bad first impression at our very first meeting.’

This was the first time I was meeting the people involved with the exhibition.

These were people I would be working with in the future, so it was best to avoid any situations that could leave a bad impression.

With that in mind, I quickly entered the meeting room.

The moment I stepped in, I felt all eyes in the room focus on me, as if everyone had already arrived beforehand.

“Hello, I’m Nam Woojin.”

“Hello.”

“Nice to meet you.”

The greetings were awkward, and so were the people who greeted me.

I offered a friendly smile as I scanned the room.

What I sensed was a tense atmosphere, accompanied by subtle, probing glances.

Overall, it wasn’t a welcoming vibe. It felt more like the calm before a storm.

Everyone’s silence felt like predators waiting for their moment.

Perhaps this atmosphere was natural, since everyone was likely after the same thing.

After all, there was a lot at stake.

‘But… someone here looks familiar.’

As I returned the gaze of the other photographers, one of them seemed strangely familiar.

Where had I seen them before?

‘Did I know them in a past life? No, this feels more recent…’

I’d met so many people recently that I couldn’t quite place them.

At that moment—

“Excuse me, you can sit across from me.”

“Oh… thank you.”

Oops, I guess I had stared for too long.

Still, the man who looked familiar didn’t seem bothered by it and pointed out a seat for me.

As I moved to sit across from him, his name tag caught my eye.

‘Han Sang-hoon?’

That’s when it clicked.

Han Sang-hoon.

He was the guy who had won the gold prize at the Seoul Photography Contest.

I suddenly remembered him staring at me for quite a while back then.

I never expected to see him here again.

‘Should I say hi or something?’

It wasn’t like we were close, but it wasn’t as if we didn’t know each other either—just a bit of an awkward situation.

As I was debating how to greet him—

“Looks like everyone’s here. Nice to meet you all.”

Right on time, the door to the meeting room opened again, and a sharply dressed man walked in.

“First of all, congratulations to everyone selected for this exhibition. I’m Shin Sang-moon, and I’ll be in charge of introducing the exhibition.”

Introducing himself as Shin Sang-moon, the man bowed politely.

He wore a crisp suit with not a single wrinkle, and even his dress shirt was impeccably pressed.

His disciplined appearance and confident demeanor suggested he was a highly capable person. This man was in charge of the exhibition.

“Have you all introduced yourselves yet? Since you’ll be working together for this exhibition, shall we start with introductions?”

Shin Sang-moon’s polite yet natural tone eased the tension in the room a little.

“Hello. I’m Reporter Jo Kyung-wook.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Son Chan-gu. I mainly shoot fashion photography.”

“I’m a travel photographer, Lee Myung-seop.”

“I’m Han Sang-hoon.”

“Hello, I’m Nam Woojin. I introduced myself earlier when I came in.”

After watching the introductions go around, Shin Sang-moon skillfully continued.

“You’ve all been waiting, so shall we get to the main point? I’m sure you’re most curious about the theme for the exhibition. I’ll give a brief overview of the exhibition, and then reveal the theme.”

He handed out some prepared documents and immediately began explaining.

The attention of the room turned toward him.

“I assume you all have some idea about our exhibition. The schedule details are in the documents I just handed out, so please take a look.”

As I half-listened to his explanation, my eyes skimmed over the paper.

As he said, the document contained a brief introduction and the exhibition details.

‘The exhibition starts about a month from today. It runs for two weeks…’

There wasn’t much difference from what I had learned while waiting for the selection results.

The overall schedule was quite typical for an exhibition.

“You can submit up to 5 pieces, and the best work will be auctioned the day after the exhibition ends.”

The only difference was this.

As soon as he mentioned the auction, I sensed the other participants paying close attention.

“What’s the criteria for selecting the auction piece?”

“Is it chosen after the exhibition ends?”

Some of the participants asked their questions eagerly, as if they had been waiting for this moment.

“The auction pieces are chosen internally, and the specifics are confidential, so I can’t provide more details.”

Shin Sang-moon responded with a slightly apologetic smile, as if he had anticipated these questions.

His answer—basically stating that it was an internal matter—caused everyone to nod knowingly.

Sometimes, silence speaks volumes.

Just as I had heard some behind-the-scenes information from Photographer Jung Woong about this exhibition, the others must have picked up some insider knowledge from somewhere too.

They were probably confirming their suspicions now.

“I believe I’ve covered everything except the exhibition theme. Any additional questions?”

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but the explanation had come to an end.

All that was left now was the most important part—the announcement of the exhibition theme.

Shin Sang-moon tidied up the documents and asked if there were any more questions, but it seemed like everyone was just waiting for the theme reveal. No one raised any further inquiries.

After waiting a moment and making eye contact with everyone in case of questions, Shin Sang-moon finally smiled and announced the exhibition theme.

“The theme for this exhibition is ‘Deficiency.’”

And with that, the meeting came to a close.

“I hope we can all create a great exhibition together.”

*****

I returned to the studio right after the meeting.

The meeting had ended quicker than expected, but more than that, I just had a lot to think about.

‘Deficiency…’

Sitting blankly in front of my computer in the workspace, I followed the blinking cursor on the search bar.

The exhibition’s theme was “deficiency.”

It was a simple, straightforward theme—so simple that it made sense for a group exhibition like this to avoid anything too difficult or complex.

But simplicity didn’t mean it was an easy theme to tackle. It came with its own set of limitations when it came to expression, and there was a high chance that subjects would overlap.

‘They said we can submit up to five pieces for this exhibition…’

Though only one piece would make it to the auction, it was common for participants to submit the full five to increase their chances. Given that, there was a risk of overlap, no matter how broad the theme might be.

Of course, even if the subjects overlapped, that didn’t mean the photographs themselves would be the same, but it could still affect the viewing experience.

I had to keep that in mind while shooting.

‘And it feels like I shouldn’t interpret ‘deficiency’ too literally.’

Moreover, I couldn’t forget that this exhibition was being led by Chairman Han. Since the exhibition was designed for his taste, it was likely his input influenced the theme as well.

In simpler terms, this exhibition was like a client’s commission in the form of an open exhibit. Though the exhibition would be shown to the public, there was only one real patron.

I couldn’t ignore that.

‘Why did he choose ‘deficiency’ as the theme…?’

The thought deepened.

Deficiency—something that should be there but isn’t, or something lacking.

It was a word that didn’t seem to match a corporate chairman at all.

What could someone like him possibly lack?

With all his wealth and the honor that comes with it, he must have achieved everything people desire.

What, then, could be missing from Chairman Han’s life?

I kept turning the thought over and over, as if I was slowly piecing together the answer.

My fingers idly fiddled with a pen cap as I opened a search on Chairman Han.

Given his fame and even his published autobiography, a quick search flooded my screen with information.

‘Impressive…’

His story was like a modern-day success myth. A once-poor man overcoming endless hardship to rise to the top of a major corporation—it was the kind of story that felt both typical and too grand to be real.

He had overcome every deficiency and hardship imaginable.

‘Wait.’

I suddenly stopped scrolling.

‘His spouse…’

In the family details listed online, I spotted something I hadn’t paid attention to before—a clue hidden in plain sight.

Though all of Chairman Han’s family members were publicly known, there was no photo of his spouse. And strangely enough, I found out she had passed away thirty years ago, back when Chairman Han was still an employee.

‘Park Young-rae…’

The article also mentioned that Chairman Han had remained unmarried ever since, living the rest of his life alone.

‘So, he experienced the pain of losing a loved one…’

With all his resources, he could easily have remarried if he wanted to. The fact that he hadn’t spoke volumes.

Loss due to death—that sorrow perfectly fit the theme of deficiency, didn’t it?

I was starting to get a clearer sense of what I wanted to capture with my photos and what story I wanted to tell Chairman Han through them.

‘Now, I just need to find the right location to convey that…’

With the concept settled in my mind, my hands moved quickly again.

The theme was deficiency.

The keyword was loss due to death.

With those two key points in mind, I began my search for the perfect place to express it all.

Having thought it through so thoroughly, it didn’t take long.

‘This is it…’

I had found my location.

The place where I would take the photo for this exhibition was…

A columbarium.