Chapter 48

48

* * * *

When Michelangelo was six years old, his biological mother passed away.

From then on, he had to be raised by a wet nurse, the wife of a stonecutter.

Thanks to this, Michelangelo began to wield a hammer at around the age of six, and he became so captivated by it that he had to carry the artistic mission on his shoulders for the rest of his life.

Michelangelo, who even three days before his death was still wielding a hammer.

No one, before or after, would dare to discuss marble in front of him.

— Excerpt from "Lessons with a Sculptor" by Yang Seong-ku, the mentor of Jeong Byung-gwon

* * * *

“Do you know how to handle marble?”

Jeong Byung-gwon’s gaze was directed at the artificial turf on the ground. It was dark and shadowy. When Jeong Byung-gwon raised his eyes, everything in front of him was white. It was marble.

— Marble... Why marble all of a sudden?

Was it a hallucination? Jeong Byung-gwon blinked. For some reason, it seemed like Kang Seok’s voice on the other end of the phone was trembling. What’s going on? Just as worry suddenly crept in, a hurried voice came from the other end of the mobile phone.

— Teacher?

At least, that’s how it felt to Jeong Byung-gwon.

“Well, I somehow ended up with a rather large piece of marble this time... Haha, it’s just that it’s too big.”

As Jeong Byung-gwon said this, he turned his gaze. A large piece of marble filled his field of vision. In the distance, the benches in front of the playground came into view. Jeong Byung-gwon was standing on the school playground.

The marble he received at Yang Seong-ku’s book launch, while they were exchanging a few drinks, had been at the school for four days now.

— “Mr. Jeong, school starts tomorrow, and having this marble sitting here on the playground just doesn’t look good, does it?”

— “I’m really sorry.”

— “It’s not that. I know Mr. Yang Seong-ku, and since I’m the principal, I guess he thought it was okay to bring this marble here. Still, it’s quite annoying.”

— “Yes?”

— “No, but if possible, could you please remove it within a week?”

— “Ah, yes. Of course.”

— “Good. Moving it at your own expense would be difficult, so if you need help, just let me know.”

Yesterday afternoon, the principal, who was making a round of the school before the start of the semester, informed Jeong Byung-gwon.

If it’s not removed within a week, things will get quite unpleasant.

Jeong Byung-gwon shook his head, recalling the principal’s friendly but deadly smile.

This was clearly a mistake on Yang Seong-ku’s part. How could he use the school like his own living room, even though he retired long ago? Jeong Byung-gwon sighed and looked at the marble.

A large piece of marble taking up part of the playground. It was a real headache. Jeong Byung-gwon scratched his head.

“I don’t have a separate studio outside of school... It’s also difficult to keep it here.”

Carving marble takes an enormous amount of time. For such a large piece, even with modern machinery to speed up the process, it would take at least one to two years.

‘I can’t keep it here for that long.’

This was why Jeong Byung-gwon was making calls even on a holiday like March 1st. Jeong Byung-gwon, who didn’t have a wide network, had to make nine calls and face nine rejections before finally reaching out to Kang Seok.

— How big is it?

“Nineteen feet by twelve feet?”

He recited the size Yang Seong-ku had given him. Considering that one foot is about 30.48 cm, it was a considerable size. It was almost six meters tall.

The Statue of David was 17 feet and 6.5 feet tall, and it weighed over six tons. Compared to that, this marble was truly of an unbelievable size and weight.

‘How did Mr. Yang Seong-ku manage to bring such a large piece from the Carrara mountains to Korea?’

He knew Yang Seong-ku was a remarkable person, but considering that the typical size of marble blocks cut from the Carrara mountains these days is about 2 meters high, 4 meters wide, and 3 meters deep, it was a mystery how he managed to get a block of this size.

— It’s quite big.

“Right? Haha... That’s why I can’t keep it here, and I was thinking of giving it to someone else. I just remembered that you did a 3D glass sculpture, so I thought you might be interested.”

This wasn’t just a casual suggestion. The glass flowers were truly impressive.

Sculpture, in essence, depends on how well one understands three-dimensional forms. While carving, which involves chiseling away, might differ microscopically, shaping glass also requires a deep understanding of three-dimensional forms.

Given that Kang Seok could shape glass to look exactly like the real thing, handling marble wouldn’t be too difficult. With a hammer and chisel, he could certainly carve marble.

Of course, there was more to it than just that.

“Isn’t the graduation exhibition coming up soon?”

The graduation exhibition was just around the corner.

While the Cheonghwa Arts High School exhibition usually takes place in the fall with ample time, that’s only for the first and second years.

Third-year students at Cheonghwa Arts High School pour all their efforts into their internal assessments until the first semester and then prepare for practical exams and the college entrance exam from the second semester. Therefore, there’s no time for an exhibition in the second semester of the third year, and if there is, it’s not efficient.

So, the exhibition is held in the first semester of the third year, along with the preparation of the student record book.

No matter what, art always costs money, but sculpture, in particular, becomes exponentially more expensive as the size increases. From what Jeong Byung-gwon observed, Kang Seok seemed to prefer larger works.

The 800-cm glass flowers, starting with a group sketch on a large canvas, proved this.

If this is the case, a lot of money will be needed for materials. That’s why he was making this call.

“So... If you know how to handle marble, how about using it for your work?”

High-quality natural marble is not easy to come by.

Especially, the marble in front of him was from the Carrara mountains, the same place Michelangelo used for his works. Handling this before entering university would certainly make his major classes easier and provide a valuable experience.

‘If you don’t know how to handle marble, I could teach you once.’

Jeong Byung-gwon nodded, thinking it would be fine. At that moment,

— Have you already cut it?

Kang Seok’s question came through the phone. Jeong Byung-gwon shook his head unconsciously and replied.

“No? I haven’t.”

Before calling Kang Seok, he had pressed the call button nine times and been rejected nine times. It was a losing streak. How desperate must he have been to call his third-year student on March 1st?

Jeong Byung-gwon didn’t want to say that Kang Seok had no friends, so he held back his words.

“Isn’t a whole block too big? Should I cut it and then contact you again?”

If he were to carve this, it would take up his entire third year. Cutting it would be better. That’s right. Jeong Byung-gwon nodded and spoke again.

— That’s a relief.

But Kang Seok was faster.

— Then, how about you give me the whole block without cutting it? I’ll pay for it.

This large piece? Jeong Byung-gwon’s head snapped up. Everything was a stark white. He didn’t mind giving it away, but what was Kang Seok planning to do with it?

Jeong Byung-gwon stared at the marble, dumbfounded.

* * * *

Swallow.

On a night illuminated by the deep orange streetlights, Jo Dong-beom took a deep breath.

He walked around the model, looked down, and then squatted to look up. His caution was evident.

After silently examining something several times, Jo Dong-beom slowly placed his hands on his knees and stood up after a while.

He felt a pang of regret as his joints cracked. Jo Dong-beom turned around.

Kang Seok, with anatomy books covering his face and his arms crossed, was sleeping. Jo Dong-beom approached Kang Seok carefully, feeling apologetic for waking him.

“...T, Teacher.”

Calling out slowly, Kang Seok uncrossed his arms and put down the books. Kang Seok’s eyes were bloodshot as he looked at Jo Dong-beom. The fatigue was evident, probably from working non-stop during the March 1st holiday.

“Is it all dry?”

Kang Seok, who had been holding a grape soda on the desk, slowly got up. He stretched, ignoring the protests of his muscles, and moved.

Whirr. Whirr. The sound of fans running filled the studio.

They were there to dry the painted models.

Swallow. Swallow. Kang Seok, who had been gulping down the soda, put on the latex gloves he had stuffed in his pocket and approached the fans. More specifically, he headed towards the red objects scattered on top of the fans.

Jo Dong-beom and Kang Seok’s gazes simultaneously returned to the desk.

Their field of vision was covered in red and white.

Red, white, red, white, red.

From hearts that seemed ready to beat at any moment to bloodshot eyes, blood vessels, brains, organs, bones, and nerve bundles. They all looked real but were actually fake. Jo Dong-beom, who had been looking down at the desk with Kang Seok, turned to look at the entrance without realizing it.

Even though the entrance and windows were all securely closed, his heart still raced.

Kang Seok, who had been pulling on the latex gloves indifferently, picked up an eyeball. He rolled it slowly and nodded.

“It’s all dry.”

“...Yes. Yes, it’s all dry.”

“Good. Then we can start assembling it.”

206 bones, five organs named liver, heart, spleen, lungs, and kidneys. Six organs named large intestine, small intestine, gallbladder, stomach, triple burner, and bladder.

One brain and two eyeballs.

One tongue and 28 teeth.

Blood vessels long enough to circle the Earth and 640 muscles.

Kang Seok, who had been looking at the models covering the large desk, exhaled.

“Let’s start.”

It was the day Mark 1 was born.

* * * *

The next day.

Kang Seok, who was participating in the entrance ceremony, looked down at his phone. His eyes were filled with fatigue.

It’s from Mr. Jeong Byung-gwon.

The message was from Jeong Byung-gwon. Since the marble was on the school playground, the principal was probably offering to help. Kang Seok tilted his head in momentary confusion before moving his fingers.

Still, not taking any money. He seemed to feel quite guilty about the parent-teacher meeting back then... Kang Seok tapped his phone, feeling perplexed. The words [Mr. Jeong Byung-gwon] on the contact list caught his eye.

— In 1974, a historic year when the world population exceeded 4 billion, Park Eun-soo, the first chairman of the San Gang Group, was convinced that culture and art would become the mainstream of the world. So, on the first day of snow, he personally visited the head monk of Bongeunsa Temple.

The principal’s speech was echoing through the auditorium via the microphone. It had been going on for 16 minutes.

— According to the autobiography of Park Eun-soo, the founder of the San Gang Group, the head monk wrote the characters for ‘Cheong Hwa’ (菁華) on a green piece of paper and handed it to him, saying it was a name with a deep history, like the thousand-year-old Bongeunsa Temple. Park Eun-soo donated a building and received the name, as written in the book. What happened next?

The freshmen, who were hearing the principal’s speech for the first time, looked at each other with confused faces.

— ...Following this, despite the objections of those around him, Chairman Park Eun-soo began the construction of the school...

The freshmen, sitting on the first floor, couldn’t use their phones like the upperclassmen on the upper floors. The sound of sympathy for the freshmen reached Kang Seok’s ears.

“Really, it’s so long.”

“Is it just for a day or two?”

“I don’t know. Where are the departmental welcome ceremonies? Who reserved the auditorium?”

“The Dance Department probably got it. They had a great entrance exam this year. Seven male seniors alone got into Han Yang Arts High School. Is that even possible? Including the female seniors, it must be over a dozen. There are only forty of them... They only do practical exams, right? It’s true. ...I should have done dance.”

“What’s the acceptance rate? It’s unbelievable... Wait, didn’t the Dance Department only have 9 or 10 male students last year? What’s going on? 7 out of 9 got into Han Yang Arts High School?”

“That’s right. Still, the freshmen are pitiful. Look at their faces. They’re so cute.”

“They’re cute... Well, they are. It’s pitiful. Should we give them some snacks at the departmental welcome ceremony today?”

Perhaps the principal volunteers to be the scapegoat every year to foster a good senior-junior relationship, thought Kang Seok.

— ...And so, in 1980, we successfully established Cheonghwa Arts High School in the heart of Seoul. Isn’t that amazing? Shouldn’t we give a round of applause?

The freshmen, hoping it was over, clapped their hands.

The applause echoed loudly, but the upperclassmen looked indifferent.

There was still the highlight to come.

“Did you see some kind of rock behind the office?”

“Yeah, I saw it. What is it?”

“I don’t know. Maybe they’re doing some construction?”

“Is that it?”

Kang Seok, who had been looking straight ahead, felt a shiver in his eyes. Rock. Rock. These days, it seems people don’t immediately think of sculpture when they see such a large piece of marble.

He didn’t know when the status of marble had declined so much.

— ...The founder of the San Gang Group, Chairman Park Eun-soo, personally strengthened the Cheonghwa Foundation over six years and, with its support, established our Cheonghwa Arts High School. Through aggressive talent recruitment, tuition support, and continuous school facility development, we joined the ranks of the top high schools in Korea in just 20 years.

Bang. The principal, who had slammed his palm on the podium, shouted.

— Where is our Cheonghwa Arts High School located today? We, who possess a history like a fierce beast, contrary to our beautiful name ‘Cheong Hwa’ (菁華), have rightfully claimed the title of the best arts high school in Korea and stand at the top!

The principal’s passionate speech was pounding the freshmen.

— We will not step down from this top position! Let’s all shout together! Cheonghwa Arts High School!

The children’s mouths opened wide.

“Cheonghwa Arts High School!”

“Cheonghwa Arts High School!”

“Cheonghwa Arts High School!”

The highlight of the entrance ceremony was the singing of the school song.

.

.

.

“Now, let’s move to the departmental welcome ceremony locations! Be careful and avoid accidents!”

The voice of the physical education teacher echoed through the auditorium. The children chattered and moved forward. Kang Seok was also preparing to stand up.

“Hey.”

A familiar but annoying voice came from behind. Kang Seok turned his head. It was Kim Dong-hwi. Kim Dong-hwi, whose cheeks were stretched up to his eyes, walked forward.

Kang Seok’s gaze turned to Kim Dong-hwi. Now that he looked, all the art students sitting upstairs were staring at Kang Seok. The students who had been mixed into different classes as they moved up a grade were all looking at him with wary expressions.

They looked like herbivores who had encountered a new predator.

“Is this real?”

Kim Dong-hwi’s cheeks twitched. He looked like a child who had his toy taken away and was angry.

“You’re participating in Professor Park Ji-yeop’s project, right? Is that true?”

So that was the reason. Kang Seok’s lips twitched without him realizing it. Now that he thought about it, Kim Dong-hwi’s dream university was Han Yang Arts High School.

Kang Seok scratched his nose. Everyone was looking at him. Some had met him at Mr. Go Doo-han’s solo exhibition, some were mouthing the words “human figure sketch,” and a few were whispering about the glass peony.

All of this was what Kang