Chapter 24

24

It was a day of drizzling rain. Michelangelo, who had taken a seat in one of the rooms of the hospital provided by Niccolò Vichielli, gazed at the raindrops falling against the window.

Plop. Plunk.

The raindrops splashed.

Michelangelo clenched the medicine bottle in his hand. It was the stomach medicine he had brought to prevent his stomach from acting up again. Although he had already taken the medicine, there was no hope in Michelangelo's stubborn eyes.

He knew it would most likely be ineffective.

Plunk. Listening to the rain, Michelangelo turned his back. A thunderclap echoed. It was a day of heavy rain. The humid, fishy smell of water rose, making it, in a word, the worst.

'The smell must be quite strong.'

Michelangelo's brows furrowed. He swallowed a sigh and walked over to pick up a surgical scalpel.

Today was the day he would dissect a body that the monk Niccolò Vichielli of Santo Spirito had brought. He had hoped for good weather, but the sky treated Michelangelo's wish like dog droppings.

It was a familiar occurrence.

As Michelangelo held his breath, he tore open the cloth Vichielli had left.

With the sound of the cloth being ripped, the pale face of a recently deceased, robust Moor was revealed. The bluish skin indicated that it was not a living person.

The breath he exhaled mixed with the smell of rain, fish, and the body.

Though he had mentally prepared, the smell was particularly strong today, perhaps because of the rain. It was unclear whether leaving the window open was a mistake or a stroke of luck.

'Let's get this over with quickly.'

Michelangelo made the sign of the cross and raised the surgical scalpel. In the well-sharpened blade, Michelangelo's face was reflected.

His flat nose, forehead close to square, thin lips like a snake's tongue, and sparse eyebrows were visible. The protruding temples that extended beyond his ears made his appearance even more peculiar. In short, he was excessively ugly.

He acknowledged this objectively.

That didn't mean he felt particularly good about it. Michelangelo tilted the scalpel. Now he couldn't see his face.

'Today, everything is bothering me.'

Was it because of the rain? Michelangelo, with a crooked smile, brought a thick object hanging from the edge of the table to right in front of the body.

Thud! He placed it on the table as if pressing it down with his palm. It was a bundle of papers.

To be precise, it was a collection of anatomical structures that Michelangelo had drawn whenever he discovered bones, tendons, and muscles while dissecting bodies.

The vivid drawings in his hand fluttered, as if they might come to life at any moment. There were burn marks all over the pages, evidence of multiple revisions.

Since he had burned the parts himself, Michelangelo didn't care.

Though the materials were undoubtedly precious, something that would make both artists and doctors drool, Michelangelo, having drawn them himself, handled them carelessly and without much effort.

If his followers Condivi or Vasari saw this, they would have been horrified.

'Well, what does it matter. These materials will eventually disappear into the fire anyway.'

While thinking this, Michelangelo's gaze fell as he reflexively flipped through a couple of pages. The smell of the decaying body was piercing his nose. In his hand, he now held a piece of charcoal he had sharpened.

Looking at the pencil and scalpel, Michelangelo stared at the end of the paper bundle. A number was written at the end. The number was 767.

767.

The total number of structures Michelangelo had discovered while dissecting bodies so far.

'Not a satisfying number. For now... let's try to find three more today.'

Michelangelo gripped the scalpel tightly.

At the same time, he raised the scalpel over the body, which was turning a bluish-purple.

Puncture. The scalpel pierced the flesh and entered.

In contrast to his bold movements, his handling was delicate.

.

.

.

"Brother?"

"......"

Buzz. Ding.

The vibrating sound snapped Gang Seok out of his reverie.

"Brother!"

Coming to his senses, he realized his phone was vibrating, and Gang Chae-young was calling out to him from behind.

"Brother, you have a call. Aren't you going to answer it?"

"......I'll answer it."

"Are you feeling unwell?"

"I am."

For a very short moment, he had been lost in old memories. Gang Seok narrowed his eyes.

Buzz. Ding.

Gang Seok looked down at his ringing phone. The screen still read [Go Doo-han]. He must have been lost in thought while looking at this, but the phone was still ringing, suggesting that the caller was determined to get through.

"Yes."

━ Oh! You answered!

"Yes, teacher. What's the matter?"

Go Doo-han's voice, which had been lifeless since lunchtime yesterday, was surprisingly bright today. Without seeing his face, it was just a guess, but that was how it seemed.

Is something good happening? If so, Gang Seok thought it might be related to him as he waited for the answer.

━ Are you at the hospital now?

"Yes, I am."

━ Hmm. When do you think you'll be done?

"It's a comprehensive health check-up, and all four of us are getting it, so I think we'll be at the hospital all day. Why do you ask?"

━ Hmm......

Go Doo-han paused. Typically, when Go Doo-han took his time, it was to say something good. It was the same when he announced the top ranking in the sketch evaluation and when he made a proposal after the sketch session.

Tap. Tap.

The sound of tapping, as if Go Doo-han was tapping something, came through.

━ There's a good project, and I was thinking of recommending you. Are you busy these days?

As expected. His hunch was right. It was a good opportunity. Even though Go Doo-han took his time, he usually got straight to the point and then added details.

"I'm not too busy... What kind of project?"

What are you talking about? Brother, you're busy.

Gang Chae-young mouthed the words from in front.

Busy? Yeah, he was. During weekdays, he worked on the human figure sketch publication project in the morning and evening, and at night, he drew countless sketches on small paper for his 800th work. On weekends and early mornings, he hurried to sketch and prepare materials for the commissioned sculptures.

But whether in his past life or this one, Gang Seok was a typical workaholic. He enjoyed having his 24 hours tightly packed. He didn't expect to be like this in this life, but it seemed human nature doesn't change.

Besides, Go Doo-han would certainly take good care of him.

'It's fine. Shh.'

After putting his finger to his lips to silence Gang Chae-young, Gang Seok held the phone between his shoulder and cheek. In one hand, he held a folded piece of paper and a blue pencil.

"Just a moment."

The paper was what he had received when he registered for the health check-up, and the blue pencil was one of the art supplies he had brought to work during the waiting time.

"Yes, go ahead."

━ There's no need to explain much. It seems that a human anatomy-related project has fallen to a professor of sculpture at the HanYang University of Art, and they are short on hands.

"Human... anatomy?"

Gang Seok's gaze returned to the book. It was a spoiler, wasn't it? He looked at the book he had just put down with a strange expression.

Human anatomy... a field where he couldn't lack confidence. How many bodies had he dissected for the sake of anatomy? Gang Seok's fingers tapped the paper like playing a piano.

━ Originally, they asked me, but I thought of you, Seok. Watching you do human figure sketches recently, it seems you have a good understanding of anatomy.

Go Doo-han left out the part about being too busy to do it himself, not wanting to appear pitiful to his student. Of course, Gang Seok didn't care.

━ Do you know human anatomy?

"I'm not unfamiliar with it."

Humility is a virtue, they say. Gang Seok answered in a tone that mixed humility with a hint of confidence.

Neither Go Doo-han nor Gang Seok were overly humble, so they didn't pay much attention to the answer.

━ You know quite a bit. I think it would be good for you to participate. The project is led by Park Ji-yeop from HanYang University of Art. You know Park Ji-yeop, right? Park Ji-yeop?

Park Ji-yeop.

Gang Seok rolled the name around in his mouth.

He couldn't not know him.

Graduating top of his class from one of the best art universities, HanYang University of Art, and then becoming a professor there, Park Ji-yeop was a figure who had followed an elite path as both an artist and an educator.

It was impossible not to respect him.

Moreover, Park Ji-yeop, who had succeeded through effort rather than talent, had been building his image, making him even more meaningful to Gang Seok. He was almost a role model.

And now, to be part of a project led by Park Ji-yeop?

To be able to work on a project with someone he thought was living a life light-years away from his own?

Gang Seok found himself drawn to the opportunity even before he heard about the compensation.

Gang Seok scolded himself. Focus. Do you think your time is worth the same as it was before? He forced down the rising corners of his mouth and answered.

"Yes, I know Professor Park Ji-yeop."

━ You really do. He's quite famous among high school students, after all. Anyway, it seems to be a project related to human anatomy... They didn't say exactly what they would do, mentioning something about advancing Korean anatomy, but it should be helpful.

Since nothing Park Ji-yeop has done has failed, Go Doo-han's small mutter came through the phone speaker.

━ It's probably something like creating anatomical illustrations or materials related to anatomy.

Is it a good thing or a bad thing? With the strange tone, Gang Seok pondered how to input the relationship between Park Ji-yeop and Go Doo-han in his mind. Then Go Doo-han added one more thing.

━ Anyway, the pay should be good. The project will be carried out with a small team, so the budget seems to be generous. They said they would give at least three million won per month to the participants...

At least three million won per month.

The key point here was the monthly aspect.

The longer the project lasted, the more regular income he would have. It was likely that the actual amount would be three million won.

The exact amount would be in the contract, but from what he heard, it seemed it could only get better, not worse.

━ I thought it wasn't a bad condition, so I decided to pass it on. What do you think?

Gang Seok answered immediately.

"Sounds good. I'll do it."

━ I knew you would. As I said before, I'll give you everything, but you can't handle anything carelessly.

"Yes."

Gang Seok nodded, understanding the concern about the human figure sketch publication project and the work for Go Doo-han's personal exhibition.

He was determined to dive in with all his might and devour everything.

━ Alright. I trust you. I told Park Ji-yeop that you have a health check-up today, so I'll arrange a meeting soon. When would be convenient for you?

"Let me... just a moment."

━ Sure.

It's never convenient. Gang Seok's schedule was already full. He quickly pulled the phone away from his cheek and brought it in front of his eyes to open the calendar.

Gang Seok bowed his head. Gang Chae-young was also using her phone. Someone was approaching where Gang Seok was.

"Excuse me, I'll just pass through. Sorry, I'll just pass through. Excuse me."

A man with a box that obscured his view was bowing his head repeatedly as he walked down the hospital corridor.

A man with a shaggy, unkempt hairstyle and a face almost hidden by his forehead and eyes was getting closer to Gang Seok. If this continued, they would definitely collide. The man lifted his head.

Seeing Gang Seok right in front of him, the man quickly stepped diagonally to avoid him. At that moment, a woman, who was looking down at her phone without looking ahead, quickly approached the man.

"Excuse me, I'll just pass through...?!"

"Ah...!"

Unconsciously, Gang Seok took a step forward. Clang! A loud, rough noise filled the hospital corridor.

Huh?

Startled by the sudden noise, Gang Seok turned around.

The first thing he saw was two men and women sitting on the hospital floor, their buttocks on the ground. Next, he saw the overturned box. Finally, he saw the papers that had spilled out of the box.

The papers were scattered on the floor like the stuffing from a burst teddy bear. Gang Seok, who had an exceptional memory and focus for art, quickly scanned the floor.

They were drawings.

Drawings in a hospital?

"Ouch... ouch..."

"Ouch... ouch..."

With the groans of the two men and women as background music, Gang Seok slightly bent his waist.

To pick up the paper that had landed on his foot.

In a hospital, the drawings were of bones and tendons. They were not prints but hand-drawn, with visible traces of layering. They were painted with watercolors.

Gang Seok's expression was strange as he looked at the colorful drawings.

"Oh no. This is bad."

While Gang Seok looked at the drawings with a strange expression,

The man, with a pained look, got up unsteadily. He rubbed his buttocks with his palms but seemed more concerned with gathering the papers than his own body.

The middle-aged woman who had bumped into him had already left, noticing the situation. People murmured and watched, while a girl crouched down to help pick up the papers. It was Gang Chae-young.

"Here."

"Ah. Thank you."

The shaggy-haired man, who kept bowing to Gang Chae-young, wiped his large glasses on his shirt and got up.

Have I got everything? He looked at the papers in the box with a pained expression. Then he saw a boy holding a paper.

The man, a teaching assistant in the sculpture department at HanYang University of Art and a student of Park Ji-yeop, turned his head. From the back of the paper, it was clearly one of the samples he had drawn.

Hwang No-min's face turned red. He was embarrassed that someone had seen his drawing.

Oh no. The paper. I need the paper. Hwang No-min hesitated and approached. The headache he had felt earlier was gone. In a daze, he approached the boy.

The boy's small mutter pierced Hwang No-min's ears.

"This isn't how you draw this."

25. This isn't how you draw this.