Chapter 49

49

* * * *

“Back when we were young. Michelangelo and I went to the Santa Maria del Carmine church in Florence to study painting.”

Torrigiano turned his head.

His face, now that of a wanderer, was etched with the storms of life. Whether it was because he had done mercenary-like work, or because he was naturally that way, Torrigiano’s face evoked a soldier rather than a sculptor.

Suddenly, he furrowed his brows. The memory of fleeing Florence to escape the wrath of Duke Lorenzo slowly crept up.

“...Buonarroti had a habit of mocking painters indiscriminately. One day, he said something more provocative than usual, and I, in extreme anger, threw a punch. With my hands, I shattered Buonarroti’s bones and cartilage like a cookie.”

Jealousy, hatred, and inferiority were evident in his eyes. Recalling the mockery and ridicule of that day, Torrigiano continued.

“He will carry the scars I inflicted for the rest of his life.”

– Recalling the frail and thin seventeen-year-old Michelangelo being dragged away like a corpse, Pietro di Torrigiano d'Antonio.

* * * *

Kim Dong-hwi knew himself well. He was an ordinary talent. His abilities could be succinctly described as those of an average person. That was the extent of his talent.

It's unfair.

He barely managed to hold onto this much, yet there were so many people in the world who were better than him.

Was that all?

Being born with only average talent, the world didn't seem very peaceful. At least, not his world.

– “Not first place?”

– “I got first in all the other subjects. In sketching and Korean...”

– “So you lost to the same person in sketching and Korean?”

– “...Yes.”

The cold gaze of his mother came to mind.

His father, mother, older brother, and younger sister.

They all looked at him with those eyes. Why can't you do better? Why, despite being born with only this much, don't you put in more effort? They looked at him with eyes that couldn't understand.

This is my best! Kim Dong-hwi didn't shout.

I'm working as hard as I can! Kim Dong-hwi never protested to them.

After all, they couldn't understand those below them.

How could they understand when they looked at things from a different perspective? Kim Dong-hwi simply moved a little to reach a place where he could meet their high gaze.

If his mind wasn't good enough, he would study. If studying wasn't enough, he would turn to art.

To look at the same things they did, Kim Dong-hwi had been learning art since he was very young. It was fortunate that he had a comfortable environment. Even if he was ordinary, he had talent, and he had already climbed to the highest point at the Blue Flower High School of Arts.

People called him a genius.

So he thought. Finally, he had reached a world that ordinary talents couldn't see. That's what he thought.

He was happy. Drunk on pride, he boasted about what he had achieved. Look at what I've accomplished. Look at how much I know.

– “That's not it.”

So when he was corrected by Kang Seok, it was mortifying.

Someone said, "Why are you foaming at the mouth over such a small thing?" But is everyone's sense of shame the same?

If it was mortifying to me, then it was mortifying. Moreover, it made him hate Kang Seok even more. The look in his eyes, condemning him for one mistake, strangely overlapped with his mother's cold gaze.

Kim Dong-hwi instinctively knew.

This was someone who could trample on him and climb up in any way.

So he scratched. Every time he saw him, he scratched his pride, crushed it, and inflicted wounds. He trampled on him so he couldn't look up again.

‘But why.’

Why is that kid's gaze still so straight?

– “We sent him to a preparatory school where he could manage his grades well. What if he falls behind even there?”

– “...I'm sorry.”

– “I heard his major is sculpture.”

– “...”

– “Seeing that he fell behind in sketching, if he had the same major, he would have fallen behind there too, right?”

When Kim Dong-hwi met Kang Seok's eyes, he thought. Cold, hot, and not looking down. How could he be so haughty?

– “...”

– “What do I expect? He will fall behind anyway. Just aim for the top grade and use that time to prepare for your grades and the college entrance exam. In the end, the student with the higher grades will get into a better school.”

– “...Yes.”

– “The Korean National University of Arts has its own English test. Prepare for that. Why are you so obsessed with the practical exam? I can't understand.”

It felt disgusting.

Looking into those fiery eyes, he felt hatred. Those eyes. No, no, no. Are those eyes right? I don't know. What does it matter? His fists clenched. At that moment, Kim Dong-hwi gritted his teeth.

“Why are you in the art department? We need to move to the assembly area!”

The voice of the physical education teacher echoed up to the second floor. Students from other departments and first-year students sitting on the first floor were looking at the art students moving to the assembly area.

“Ah.”

As soon as he recognized it, Kang Seok turned his back without hesitation.

Regardless of whether everyone was looking at him or not.

Kang Seok walked the path he should walk, calmly and steadily. For some reason, the art students watching Kang Seok walk felt as if they were being abandoned.

Thud, thud.

Kim Dong-hwi also watched Kang Seok, who was moving away, with a strange expression.

“Shall we... go?”

“Let's go. Let's go.”

“Anyway, what do we do now? We'll probably fall behind by one rank in everything.”

“...That's true. At least it's a good thing we don't have the same major, right? Let's think positively.”

“Is that so?”

The quiet second floor became noisy again.

As Kang Seok left his seat, the art students began to disappear one by one like a receding tide. In the meantime, the boys approached Kim Dong-hwi.

Tap, tap. The faces of the boys who patted his shoulder were full of smiles.

“You lost this time.”

“...”

“And, you know. Stop picking fights. It's childish. Now you're a third-year. A third-year. If you keep acting like this because of some expression technique you learned in your first year, what will you do? Ugly people aren't popular with girls?”

“Yeah, you!”

As the boys laughed, Kim Dong-hwi, who had been silent, quietly spoke.

“...Doesn't he seem a bit different?”

“His drawing has improved a lot.”

“No, not that.”

“Then what, his drawing style? How would I know? What, have you been watching Kang Seok's drawing style closely? You're a weirdo, aren't you?”

“No, not that. The person... No, never mind.”

Kim Dong-hwi shook his head.

At that moment.

Among the students who were leaving like a receding tide, Park Hye-yeon, with her short hair, was looking at Kim Dong-hwi.

For some reason.

He thought it had been a long time since he had faced Park Hye-yeon.

Looking at her sharply raised eyebrows, memories from his first year flashed by.

It was when, after the sketching class ended, everyone in the class was busy talking about Mr. Go Doo-han.

– “Has anyone been proposed to?”

– “No. Not really...”

– “There won't be, right?”

– “Really, it's a big deal. Isn't this a disaster? When we enrolled, they said we were the best batch of students...”

It was a rumor spread by Park Hye-yeon's mother. They said that when Mr. Go Doo-han found a talented student, he would keep them back and make a proposal, but no one received it throughout the semester, which was the culprit.

Kim Dong-hwi also hadn't received a proposal.

Despite being first in sketching, he was upset that he hadn't received a proposal from Mr. Go Doo-han. So, Kim Dong-hwi decided to provide his classmates with a topic to talk about.

– “It's not that we can't. Maybe... Park Hye-yeon's mother was lying?”

Kim Dong-hwi's cheeks must have twitched then.

– “What?”

– “Well, you know. Our batch has the highest average in the history of the art department. But the fact that no one has received a proposal... Honestly, the rumor was a bit off from the start.”

Bang!

A cat-shaped pencil case hit Kim Dong-hwi's head. It was Park Hye-yeon.

– “Did you finish talking? You're saying my mother is a liar?! What the hell!”

– “Ouch, let go. Let go! Hey!”

That day, when Park Hye-yeon and Kim Dong-hwi grabbed each other's hair and fought, it became a famous anecdote. Kim Dong-hwi remained silent because he didn't like acting like a girl, and Park Hye-yeon simply disliked any mention of the incident.

In any case.

It was a natural progression that their relationship worsened after that day.

They avoided making eye contact, and this was what kind of ridiculous situation? Kim Dong-hwi frowned. His day hadn't been good. As he frowned and was about to go down to the first floor, Park Hye-yeon spoke to him.

It had been so long since they had spoken.

“Didn't you go to Mr. Go Doo-han's solo exhibition this time?”

“Yeah, so what?”

What's it to you? Swallowing his words, Kim Dong-hwi looked at Park Hye-yeon with wary eyes.

Park Hye-yeon, with her sharp eyebrows, swept her hair behind her ear and muttered.

“Is that so? Then I'm curious.”

“About what?”

“Your expression when you see Seok's new work.”

“...”

“Didn't you find it funny when you saw the Venus plaster sketch Seok drew last time?”

With that, Park Hye-yeon, while fixing her short hair, walked forward, pushing Kim Dong-hwi.

Instinctively, Kim Dong-hwi covered his shoulder with his hand. Not even listening to his response, confusion spread across Kim Dong-hwi's face.

What is she? At that moment, Park Hye-yeon, who seemed to be heading straight to the first floor, turned around.

“I'll be looking forward to it.”

Then, she smiled with a raised eyebrow and disappeared.

When did she become a supporter of Kang Seok? Kim Dong-hwi, left alone, swept his shoulder with his palm, looking bewildered.

* * * *

‘There wasn't much after that, as I thought.’

Click, click. As Kang Seok pedaled his bicycle, he recalled the events of the day at school.

When he was boiling with anger, ready to explode, Kim Dong-hwi was quiet during the assembly and in class. Kang Seok shook his head, recalling the classroom like the calm before the storm.

It was already March, and the spring seemed to be bringing a typhoon.

With each pedal, the black windbreaker, a custom-made design from a group purchase, fluttered. There were no students in the windbreaker visible on the road, as they had already left on the school bus.

‘I need to exercise.’

As Kang Seok pedaled, he thought. Kim Dong-hwi's boiling eyes reminded him of Trigiano. Recalling how Trigiano, three years older, had swung his fists in anger, Kang Seok shuddered slightly.

His nose itched.

To protect his nose in this life, he would have to go to the gym more often, even though he rarely went.

Sighing, Kang Seok recalled that he hadn't been to the gym much lately, using the bathhouse instead of the gym when he stayed up all night in the studio.

To avoid a surprise punch, agility was essential. Or, stepping on someone's hand to prevent them from swinging a punch wasn't bad either. Kang Seok's lips twitched.

Lost in various thoughts, he had already stopped his bicycle and was climbing the stairs.

The smell of oil clay, mixed with oil to prevent it from hardening, used in sculpture for college entrance exams, filled the stairs, signaling his arrival at the sculpture academy.

The more he climbed, the more the slightly musty smell of dust, inevitable in sculpture, grew, indicating that a lot had accumulated during the winter special lectures. They must have worked hard. Cleaning the air conditioner filters a few times a month was a task.

But it was strange. Usually, they would have scheduled a cleaning right after the special lectures ended, but had they not done it yet? Pushing aside the rising question in his mind, Kang Seok climbed the stairs.

To remove as much dust as possible, all the windows in the academy were open. The smell of spring wafted through the gaps between the windows.

Kang Seok slowly climbed the stairs of the academy. As he approached the entrance, the loud sounds of students who had arrived earlier by school bus and had ordered food before class could be heard from behind the door. The smell of tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) also began to fill his nose.

‘They must be planning to eat inside.’

Well, it's none of my business. Kang Seok deliberately pushed the wide-open glass door. Ding, the wind chime announced someone's arrival.

Soon, the academy teacher, holding chopsticks, peeked out, checking who had come, and quickly got up from his seat. Then, with a surprised expression, he almost ran down the corridor.

“...Seok!”

Looking at the brightening face, Kang Seok greeted him.

“It's been a while. Teacher.”

* * * *

Part-time teacher Kim Ho-jin.

Sighing, Kim Ho-jin looked at his name tag. His arms were behind his back, tying the apron. Pulling the ribbon tight, Kim Ho-jin opened the glass door of the counseling room.

“Shall we go?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Kang Seok followed with a indifferent look.

It was understandable that he had asked to wait since the student had come to quit the academy.

– ‘Honestly, there's nothing I can do even if you tell me. As you know, I'm not a regular teacher, just a part-time one. I called the principal and told him to wait while you have class, okay?’

– ‘I'll just wait here.’

– ‘It will take a while. Since you have all your art supplies here and I told them not to charge you for today's class, let's go in together. Okay? Today is a free research day for students, so it will be quiet anyway.’

– ‘...I understand.’

He managed to hold on somehow.

Kim Ho-jin sighed in relief. If Kang Seok had said he would come back later or had left the academy with just his art supplies, he would have been in trouble with the principal.

‘But when did everyone disappear, saying they had to hold onto Seok?’

With two main campuses and two branch campuses, there should always be someone around, right? Why did they do this? Kim Ho-jin entered the third-year class with a puzzled look.

The content of last night's meeting flashed through his mind.

– ‘We absolutely can't let him quit. He's definitely going to get into Korea University or the Korean National University of Arts, right?’

In their hands, they held Kang Seok's life record and mock exam scores. They had heard about Kang Seok from somewhere and kept repeating that they had to hold onto him at all costs.

They were even willing to offer free tuition or a scholarship. It was a common practice in the academy world. "So-and-so got into such-and-such university," "In such-and-such year, so-and-so got into such-and-such university," "Most graduates from our academy got into top universities." For such slogans, they were willing to offer scholarships.

After all, a top student could bring in the profit of ten or more students. Kang Seok must have been a valuable asset to them.

– ‘Ho-jin, if Seok comes when we're not here, you have to hold onto him somehow. Got it? And keep in touch immediately.’

So he had been told to buy time until the vice-principal or principal could talk to Kang Seok. Really, he should only work for one more year and then quit.

He didn't feel particularly good.

“Teacher.”

“What? Is Kang Seok coming back to the academy from today?”

“Teacher, can you look at me first today?”

As soon as he entered the third-year class, the students rushed over.

“Yeah, hold on. Hold on.”