Chapter 20

20

"Room 800?"

"Who's going to paint in Room 800?"

"Who?"

The news that someone was going to paint a work of an unheard-of size spread through the corners of the studio.

Since the studio was quite large, a considerable number of people were staying there. The studio quickly became noisy.

"Kang Seok, they say."

"Kang Seok, the one who goes to Cheonghwa High School?"

"What? Why is he taking so much paper? Wouldn't just a large sheet of paper be enough?"

"......Indeed. Is there really a need to take so many small sheets of paper?"

Whispers about Kang Seok spread lowly throughout the studio.

Kang Seok, the Cheonghwa High School student whom the great Go Dohan praises.

The meaning of that sentence was greater than one might think. At least in this place, where all of Go Dohan's disciples gather. In Go Dohan's studio, it was like that.

Since most of them had been paying attention to Kang Seok from the moment he stepped in, the whispers continued persistently.

"Quite a thickness... how many sheets?"

"But that's not a 4th or 2nd folio, could it be an 8th folio?"

They pretended not to be part of the studio and followed Kang Seok's movements with their eyes. Their eyes, without their owners' command, were gauging the thickness of the paper Kang Seok was carrying.

If that thickness was any indication, it must have been several hundred sheets. What could he possibly use all of that for? They racked their brains.

'Sketching practice paper...?'

'It looks like the kind of paper used for drawing comics. Is he going to draw on it and stick it on a panel? If so, why use that kind of paper? What a peculiar personality.'

'But Mr. Go Dohan wouldn't praise a peculiar personality...'

They wanted to know what aspect of Kang Seok Go Dohan found praiseworthy.

Since they all wanted to be favored by Go Dohan, it was only natural.

Though he was called the epitome of favoritism, Go Dohan was fundamentally a capricious tyrant.

He had a desire for talent, but his eye for talent was extremely picky. That was Go Dohan.

Because of this, even those with good skills couldn't easily enter this studio, and even if they did, they shouldn't expect to see a relaxed Go Dohan.

Clearly, that was the case.

- 'Oh, it's almost lunch. I was wondering when he would come... Huh? What time did he say he would come? For lunch? He said he would eat and come? With whom? Min Hyuk? Professor Min Hyuk? The Min Hyuk I know? Is his appointment with that person?'

What aspect of him turned him into an automatic question responder? They were curious.

Park Jihoon, one of the people who had studied under Go Dohan the longest, was also curious about this point.

At that moment, Park Jihoon smirked as he saw Kang Seok walking to his seat with a considerable amount of paper, especially the kind of paper not often used for drawing.

While his curiosity about the new face favored by Go Dohan had been the focus until now, it had shifted to curiosity about Kang Seok as a person.

"What are you going to draw with that?"

Park Jihoon's mutter made Bae Jimin, who was working, turn his head. He saw Kang Seok sitting down.

What Park Jihoon meant by "that" was hidden behind Kang Seok's back. All he could see was Kang Seok reaching into his bag.

Kang Seok took something out and immediately bowed his head. From the movement of his shoulders, it seemed he had started drawing something.

"One thing is certain."

"......"

Ban Jungheon nodded, adding to the meaning.

Park Jihoon looked at Bae Jimin, as if urging him to speak.

"What is it?"

"Whatever he draws, Kang Seok will finish it faster than a loafer like Park Jihoon."

Bae Jimin pulled up one corner of his mouth as far as it would go, thoroughly mocking Park Jihoon, then turned his back to focus on his work. Park Jihoon, who was about to say something, tightly closed his mouth.

It was true that Park Jihoon's work was slower compared to Bae Jimin and Ban Jungheon.

Kang Seok's hands moved quickly, which was unusual, and he wanted to go see, but Bae Jimin's comment made Park Jihoon sit back down.

Damn it. He would find out eventually. Park Jihoon suppressed his curiosity and picked up a pencil. It was time to work.

Soon,

Only the sound of a dozen pencils moving remained on the first floor.

* * * *

Late in the afternoon. The sky was white, and the sun was setting at about 2 o'clock in the sky. The cold was starting to set in, indicating that night was approaching.

Go Dohan zipped up his jacket and quickened his pace. It was 4:47 PM.

He had received a call from Bae Jimin about Kang Seok arriving at the studio about four hours ago.

'If it's that Seok, he must already be painting.'

Go Dohan suppressed a smile as he opened the studio door. The excitement to see Kang Seok's painting as soon as he entered the studio found its way to his heart.

Painting had a magical quality that could return even a grown man to his childhood.

'He couldn't have finished it already, could he?'

Kang Seok's brushstrokes were quite elegant, and the thought that he might not be able to see them made Go Dohan flinch for a moment.

'No way.'

No matter how fast Kang Seok's hands moved, it was impossible for him to have finished a painting of the caliber of a work of art already. Despite this, a creeping doubt began to rise.

Go Dohan's steps quickened with a fighting spirit.

.

.

.

Bang!

The front door slammed shut like a bullet. The shoe cabinet door opened and closed from the recoil. It was a noisy entrance. Everyone in the studio turned their eyes to the front door.

"I'm here."

The one who entered was Go Dohan. For someone who usually moved silently like a cat, this was unusually noisy.

"Teacher."

"Artist, hello."

"Teacher, you're here."

"Artist" and "Teacher."

These titles were called out from all directions. Go Dohan nodded at the flurry of greetings and walked forward.

Lim Woo-hyun and Son Dong-wook were absent, dealing with the display issues for Go Dohan's solo exhibition. The next in line, the three veterans, followed Go Dohan closely.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes. I've left a note on your desk about the messages from Lim Woo-hyun and Son Dong-wook. I've also told them to contact you when you check it. The water dispenser maintenance person came by, and I placed the mail I checked next to your desk. And... "

"Short."

"Everything is fine."

"Good. Is Seok in his seat?"

"Ah... well..."

Go Dohan, who had been walking calmly, furrowed his brow. Had something happened since he arrived? His lips curled up like an angry cat's whiskers.

Go Dohan was about to turn and issue a reprimand but stopped abruptly. Everyone in the studio, including Bae Jimin, was looking in one direction.

"I was going to tell you when you came... "

Go Dohan's face turned to follow their gazes. The first thing he saw was color.

Red.

A red line, like a comet falling amidst flames, diagonally crossed one wall.

The intense color made Go Dohan gasp. Before he could exhale the breath he had taken, he realized the red line was a painting. A painting. That it was a painting. If so, there was only one person who could use such intense colors.

Kang Seok.

Go Dohan's head naturally lowered. At the end of his lowered gaze, he saw a person, like a comet, continuing the flames. It was Kang Seok.

'Sure. It could only be you. The others, who have only learned monochrome under me, wouldn't use such colors. Only someone who could recreate the creation of the world on a shopping mall wall with frescoes could do this.'

But why use color instead of a pencil?

And why use such an excessively striking red?

Go Dohan took heavy steps, as if someone had hammered them into the ground. If Kang Seok was just trying to stand out, he would have to be punished, no matter who he was.

The reason Go Dohan included his disciples and other newcomers in his solo exhibitions was one: coexistence. Though he acted like a tyrant, Go Dohan was someone who worried about the Korean sketch art world more than anyone and promoted new talent.

As someone who aimed to advance the sketch art world by teaching the philosophy of art through a single pencil and gaining recognition, he had to reject any painting that destroyed coexistence and dreamed of monopolization.

No matter how valuable the painting was.

Go Dohan took a solemn step forward.

After taking about four heavy steps, Go Dohan stopped again. His eyes flickered like a candle in the wind. The red color swirled in his eyes, clouded by the weight of time.

His eyes discerned a dozen shades of red and colors similar to red.

A visual illusion occurred as if one red color split into dozens of colors. It was a stunning illusion that even quelled his rising anger.

Go Dohan muttered.

Seok.

You amazing kid.

To bring different colors that could be clearly distinguished just a few steps away and combine them into one red color.

The colors were so vivid that he wanted to scream at Kang Seok to switch to Western painting and abandon sculpture.

It was talent.

There are many who can capture form well, capture volume well, and describe well. And such people can catch up or surpass through daily, grueling training.

But color is different.

Color is something you are born with. And Kang Seok was born with it. Go Dohan was just now certain of it.

He wasn't someone to be held back and buried in sculpture. This kid's red would set the world ablaze.

Go Dohan approached. He had to grab his shoulder and ask if he had any interest in Western painting. His hand reached out before he could approach. Just as he was about to grab his shoulder,

Go Dohan's eyes flickered again.

It was because he could see something he couldn't see from a distance as he got closer. It wasn't just a color. It was a drawing made with colored pencils.

"......People."

This was the theme of Go Dohan's upcoming solo exhibition, drawn on the paper. Not just a few, but countless people.

'You drew all of this in four hours?'

It was different from when he drew four human figure sketches in four hours. Although the paper was a significantly smaller 16th folio compared to the paper he had drawn on in the sketch room yesterday, it looked like at least a hundred sheets.

Moreover, the people drawn on the paper were in various poses. Go Dohan had many thoughts as he looked at the painting for a brief moment.

Mainly, he thought about what he drew and what he saw when he was Kang Seok's age.

That's because.

In Kang Seok's painting, countless people were visible.

Women, men, middle-aged women, middle-aged men, boys, girls, young men, young women, grandmothers, grandfathers, children, babies, pregnant women. Countless people were moving with different shades of red.

How much observation of people must have gone into this?

Is this really what an 18-year-old sees?

Go Dohan bowed his head in amazement.

16th folio papers were endlessly attached to a wooden frame, like hanji paper. Now he could clearly see it. It wasn't a flame. It wasn't a falling comet.

"It's a sunset."

People were walking in the sunset.

The people walking briskly were clearly a painting, yet they gave the illusion of dynamic movement. Another amazing point was that no two people were the same.

No two expressions were the same, and no two poses were the same.

Huh.

"Teacher?"

At that moment, Kang Seok turned around. It was a face that had just noticed Go Dohan. The fire in Go Dohan's eyes, looking at Kang Seok, was also red.

Snap! Go Dohan, who had reached out his hand, pressed it against the wall and asked.

"How long? How long will it take?"

21. How long will it take?