Chapter 5

05

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“Eat well.”

Mr. Im Woo-hyun's cheerful greeting echoed as the door to the sketching room slammed shut.

The sound was so brisk that even Kim Dong-hwi, who was the last to leave, turned back to look. It wasn't just Kim Dong-hwi.

Most of the children, who would usually have run excitedly to the cafeteria, were staring at the sketching room.

12:05.

Fifteen minutes before the lunch bell would ring.

Mr. Ko Doo-han, who always kept to the schedule, ended the class early, telling everyone except Kang Seok to go have lunch.

It was the first time this had happened.

It was also the first time they had seen Mr. Ko Doo-han smile like that.

The students stared at the firmly closed door. Their eyes, which were blankly fixed on the sketching room, were filled with suspicion, jealousy, and a bit of awe.

Then.

Someone mumbled among the children, who were frozen like statues.

“...It looks like he memorized it.”

The subject was missing, but everyone understood. They were talking about Kang Seok's sketch. The image of the Venus plaster cast that Kang Seok had drawn flashed through everyone's mind.

The perfect Venus.

“Kang Seok memorized it and drew it...?”

How?

Everyone's gaze turned to Lee Young-hoon, who had first raised the question.

Lee Young-hoon. Ranked 21st in the final sketch evaluation. He had been the last in A class before Kang Seok moved to A class.

Lee Young-hoon, with a red face, spoke passionately.

“No, think about it. Where was Kang Seok sitting? At the back. The back of Venus.”

He bent his three fingers like a fork and poked his own back.

“Try it without memorizing. How could someone who sat at the back draw the side of Venus so clearly? He didn't even get up from his seat during the test.”

Actually, Lee Young-hoon had only seen him sitting during the break and didn't know if he had been sitting the whole time.

I don't know. Since he's a zombie without diligence, he must have been sitting, right? He rationalized and closed his mouth.

“Eh...?”

“Now that you mention it, that's true... How did he draw it?”

In the meantime, the children recalled where Kang Seok had been sitting.

Kang Seok had been sitting where he could only see the back.

“I thought he had given up on this evaluation.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“It must have been because he had already memorized it.”

“But how did he memorize the Venus plaster cast? Was the test leaked?”

Was the test leaked?

No way. Everyone shook their heads.

Some of the children even burst out laughing. They were the ones called the aristocrats at Cheonghua Arts High School.

Nonsense. A girl leaning against the railing on the stairs interjected.

“I would have known if the test was leaked.”

It was Park Hye-yeon. Her straight bob hair swayed along her jawline.

Park Hye-yeon, the daughter of a jewelry store owner in Cheongdam.

The entire Cheongdam market was owned by Park Hye-yeon's father, and he also had large jewelry stores in Apgujeong and Sinsa-dong, hence the nickname.

She said with a haughty expression.

“What would Kang Seok know that I don't?”

Now that you mention it, it doesn't make sense for Kang Seok to know something Park Hye-yeon doesn't.

“What then?”

“Or did he just happen to memorize the Venus plaster cast, which appeared on the test?”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

“That’s it.”

Their opinion now leaned towards the idea that Kang Seok had memorized it by luck and thus ranked first.

A few boys even offered words of comfort to Lee Young-hoon.

“Hey, Lee Young-hoon, it’s a shame. How could it just be the Venus plaster cast?”

“Yeah, you should aim to get back into A class next time.”

Lee Young-hoon nodded in agreement.

Whether they mocked him for getting lucky or not, it didn’t matter to Lee Young-hoon. This was the result he wanted.

It didn’t matter to him what the truth was. He just wanted the result that he didn’t lack the skills to be in A class.

Just as they were satisfied with the result, Park Hye-yeon interjected again.

“It sounds plausible, but I don’t think he memorized it.”

Park Hye-yeon, who had dropped from the third to the fourth place in the sketch A class due to Kang Seok’s first place, had a calm expression, unlike Lee Young-hoon.

Lee Young-hoon, who was irritated, glared and retorted.

“Why?”

She leaned against the railing and laughed slowly, mocking him.

“This is funny. You all know but pretend not to? Hey, if Kang Seok had the skill to memorize and draw like that, wouldn’t he have already memorized everything and dominated A class long ago?”

Kang Seok had been at the bottom of all practical exams for two years.

“Think about it. If you were in his position, would you memorize a common vase that often appears in sketch exams, or the Venus plaster cast that never does?”

It was a valid point. If he had such a good memory, why had he been at the bottom for two years?

The children looked at each other, considering Park Hye-yeon’s words.

“...Now that you mention it, that’s true.”

“So.”

“Then what is it?”

They looked at Park Hye-yeon, confused, as if asking her to provide an answer.

Park Hye-yeon waved her hand, as if it was a bother.

“Do I know? No, I don’t. I’m in A class, so it doesn’t matter to me. Se-hyun?”

“...What?”

“Let’s go have lunch. It’s almost lunchtime.”

“...Oh, okay!”

With that, Park Hye-yeon and Jin Se-hyun went down the stairs.

Lightly. They descended the stairs with light steps. The children, who had been staring at them, gradually came to their senses.

“Yeah, let’s go have lunch.”

“Right. We won’t get an answer by chatting here.”

“Hey, but why did Mr. Ko Doo-han keep Kang Seok? Was it about that rumor?”

“That’s just a rumor.”

“Anyway, we’ll find out later. Let’s go down quickly.”

The children, chatting among themselves, went down the practical arts stairs. Most of the topics were about Kang Seok.

After everyone had gone down.

“Hey! Kim Dong-hwi! Aren’t you coming!”

“They’re all waiting!”

Kim Dong-hwi, who had been silent all along, slowly moved towards the stairs upon hearing the voices from below.

It was just a few minutes before lunchtime.

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“Finally gone.”

Mr. Ko Doo-han, who had been staring out the window, slowly turned around. He held a paper cup in each hand.

Mr. Ko Doo-han gave me one of the paper cups. It was barley tea.

He then casually leaned on the workbench. Mr. Ko Doo-han, while tearing open a cheap instant coffee stick, said casually,

“The reason I kept you here, you know, right?”

I neither nodded nor shook my head. I knew there was a reason, but I wasn’t sure if it was the actual reason.

“Why pretend? You were staring intensely.”

“...”

A long time ago.

At the beginning of the semester, a rumor followed Mr. Ko Doo-han.

– ‘When he finds a talented student, he keeps them separately.’

The rumor was that Mr. Ko Doo-han would keep talented students after class and suggest they focus on sketching.

– ‘There are two options, and you can only choose one.’

Either study sketching under Mr. Ko Doo-han for three months or freely focus on sketching in his studio for three months.

– ‘Whichever you choose, it’s the best. It’s Mr. Ko Doo-han, after all.’

The source of the rumor was Park Hye-yeon’s mother.

But it was just a rumor. The parents’ high hopes ended in disappointment.

– ‘No one has received the offer for two years. It’s just a false rumor.’

– ‘That’s right.’

No one had actually received the offer.

– ‘...It’s not a false rumor.’

Park Hye-yeon insisted it was true, but no one believed her.

Except me.

I believed it. Because it was true, not just a rumor.

Not long after I was accepted into Cheonghua Arts High School, a senior who had graduated from there visited my art school.

He talked about various things, one of which was Mr. Ko Doo-han’s special offer.

– ‘...If you work hard, Mr. Ko Doo-han might make such an offer. That’s what Cheonghua Arts High School is like.’

So I knew it was true. I had even thought about proving it by working hard.

But that dream gradually faded as I was stuck in the D class for a year.

While I was lost in these bitter memories,

Mr. Ko Doo-han, perhaps finding my reaction too mild, quickly got to the point.

“Anyway, I have two proposals.”

“One is to participate in the preparation for the publication of the human figure sketching collection that the third-year students are working on.”

“The other is to exhibit your work in my upcoming solo exhibition.”

Mr. Ko Doo-han’s proposals were impressive.

Even the part-time teachers would have been speechless.

Whether it was the former or the latter, it was a scale of opportunity that a second-year student at Cheonghua Arts High School wouldn’t normally get.

I looked at Mr. Ko Doo-han in surprise, but he seemed calm. He stirred his coffee with the stick and continued.

“The human figure sketching collection is a government-funded project.”

“The selected collections will be published with a budget distributed equally. If your collection is selected and sells well, you can earn some royalties, and if it goes to a second print, you’ll make a decent profit.”

“The solo exhibition is simple. Just hang a couple of your works in my exhibition. If they sell well, the profits are yours.”

“It will help with your resume in the future.”

Mr. Ko Doo-han smiled at me.

“Surprised to hear the rumor in person?”

“...Yes, I am.”

Because it wasn’t the offer I knew. I barely swallowed the rest of my words.

What I had been aiming for was the studio.

I had wanted to secure a place to work after school for three months, but I ended up getting a bigger offer.

An offer that directly connected to tangible earnings. And not just one, but two offers.

So, I had to confirm.

“...Is this the original offer?”

“No, it’s not.”

He sipped his coffee and explained.

“The reason I keep students separately is to open a new path for them in sketching. A new path. But... you don’t need it.”

Isn’t that right? His eyes, which saw through everything, gleamed in the shadows.

“Why, do you not like my offer?”

He was saying it couldn’t be, and he was right. My family needed money, and I liked this offer more.

There must be other ways to secure a studio. For example, I could use the backyard of my father’s furniture store.

“No, I like it.”

“Good. Since it’s straightforward, let’s do both. But since time is tight, you choose one.”

“I’ll do both.”

Mr. Ko Doo-han’s expression showed surprise for a moment, like when he realized I had drawn the plaster cast he had pointed out.

But this time, Mr. Ko Doo-han smiled, raising one corner of his mouth.

“Alright. Since I made the offer, it’s up to you to accept. Do both.”

“Thank you.”

“But if you don’t do it properly, you’re out of both.”

He didn’t forget to give a warning, even while accepting it for the fun of it. I had no complaints. I just needed to do it properly.

“Yes.”

And I was confident.

“Then go. The details... Mr. Son Dong-wook.”

“...Yes!”

“Is there a paper summarizing the two proposals in the sketching room?”

“Yes, there are extra copies. I’ll get them.”

“Hmm. Alright.”

It didn’t take long for Mr. Son Dong-wook to stand up and hand me a clear L holder.

I’ll read it at home. I nodded, looking at the thick papers inside the L holder.

“Thank you. I’ll go now.”

“Alright. See you next time.”

After bowing to the teachers, I turned to leave the sketching room, but the bell rang.

It was the lunch bell. The sound reminded me of something I had forgotten.

I bowed to Mr. Ko Doo-han again and quickly walked towards where the part-time teachers were.

The teachers looked at me with question marks on their heads, but my destination was not them.

On top of the pile of papers next to Mr. Jang Yu-min, the first drawing. The drawing I had made was my goal.

The photo had already been taken, and the evaluation records were complete. It would be sent to the incinerator, so it was fine to take it. I turned to Mr. Ko Doo-han.

“Can I take it?”

In response to my question, Mr. Ko Doo-han answered with a displeased expression.

“I can keep it for you.”

“It’s fine. It’s my drawing, so I’ll take it.”

I carefully picked up the paper. I had to be careful because the pencil lines could smudge before I sprayed the fixative.

No, it can’t.

I carefully picked up the paper and walked towards the door. I had a mountain of work to do: spray the fixative and put the paper in a clear file for my portfolio.

I walked quickly to the door of the sketching room and bowed again.

“I’ll really go now.”

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Click.

The door closed.

Kang Seok, who had been watching Mr. Ko Doo-han as he awkwardly picked up his drawing and left, clicked his tongue.

“Tsk. What a shame.”

His face showed disappointment. Son Dong-wook, looking bewildered, asked.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“...”

Mr. Ko Doo-han turned to Son Dong-wook. He still had a confused look on his face, as did the other two.

These students, who want to become sketch artists, didn’t even recognize the value of the Venus that Kang Seok had just taken.

“...Forget it.”

Mr. Ko Doo-han waved his hand, meaning it wasn’t worth worrying about.

Instead of explaining to his clueless students, he took a sip of his cheap coffee, which seemed more economical.

* * * *

“...How can it not work? Even if it’s only 5%... You know. Cheaper than the market rate, yes. I know. But... Yes, yes, yes... I understand.”

Kang Hyun-do put down his phone and sighed deeply. In the end, it was a 5% increase this year. His sigh deepened as he looked at the cold, purple sky.

“...Huh.”

“What is it? They’re raising it by 5% again this time?”

Kang Hyun-do’s wife, Baek Myung-hee, looked up at him, her eyes filled with anxiety.

Kang Hyun-do nodded heavily.

“What can we do? If the rent goes up here, Seok and Chae-young’s tuition for the next quarter...”

“We need to find a way.”

“But you said a secured loan won’t work. Where can we get five hundred thousand won right now?”

“...Hmm.”

Baek Myung-hee’s worried urging made Kang Hyun-do’s mouth tighten. He looked around the store. The custom-made and refurbished furniture that remained in the store were visible.

Nothing was selling, whether it was the furniture he had made from scratch or the refurbished furniture he had brought in.

It was something he had started out of passion. It was still something he loved. But if it made his role as the head of the family difficult...

“Right. It’s time to quit.”

If he closed the store, he wouldn’t have to pay the rent, even if it didn’t cover the loss. That would put out the immediate fire.

“Store. Let’s close it.”

“...You. What do you mean by that?”

Baek Myung-hee and Kang Hyun-do were startled by the sudden voice and turned