Chapter 51

51

* * * *

46 seconds.

The time it takes for blood to leave the heart, travel through the blood vessels throughout the body, and return to the heart.

The total length of blood vessels in the body is between 100,000 km and 120,000 km, which, if laid out straight, would circle the Earth two and a half to three times.

Reflecting on this, it was truly an amazing speed.

* * * *

The dark, power-off research lab.

Park Jiyup, captivated by the red video playing on the computer, moved the mouse with a mesmerized expression. When he clicked a certain point, the screen began to turn gray.

It was a scene from a video of Kang Seok making a human model.

In the video, Kang Seok attached crossbeams to a vertical metal bar, hung something red on it, and began to slowly turn it with both hands. The motion of twisting and extending it from the center to the sides was reminiscent of making a honeycomb.

Then, as Kang Seok started to make large circles with quick movements, a man named Jo Dongbeom appeared beneath his feet. The kiln was lit, and the heat continued to rise.

Jo Dongbeom began to place heat blowers around Kang Seok.

After moving around Kang Seok's legs for a while, Jo Dongbeom retreated from the scene. By then, sweat was already dripping from Kang Seok's forehead.

Kang Seok, holding the opposite end of the red object he had been slowly extending, spread his arms wide and slowly moved backward. Considering the size of the heat blowers, it seemed that the distance between the metal bar and Kang Seok was about 1.6 meters. At that point, Kang Seok threw it like casting a net.

The model, which had been forming a single circle, now made two circles. The two circles, under Kang Seok's repeated throws, turned into four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two, and sixty-four circles.

As the strands extended, his movements resembled a dance, almost spinning his body.

‘Amazing.’

The already hair-thin strands formed 2,048, 4,096, 8,192, and 16,384 circles.

Kang Seok rewound the process only 14 times.

Given that the half-circle was at least 1.6 meters, the length of a single strand, when combined, was 320 cm. The total length of the intertwined circles must have been enormous.

‘To make blood vessels like this...’

What was the material that could stretch like this? Polyethylene? Silicone? Resin? Synthetic rubber? Whatever it was, the process resembled making a large honeycomb.

Park Jiyup closed his eyes. The video would cut in the middle when he was seen handling a scalpel to the opaque red blood vessels. There was no need to watch any further.

That evening.

Kang Seok's peculiar expression while looking at Marktop 1 came to mind. His expression was hard to read, and as he watched, Kang Seok approached.

– "Even though I made it so thin, I could only fit about 40,000 km of it in the body. I made the height above average and used a male body with a larger surface area to fit as much as possible, but it still wasn't enough."

– "Is it because you tried to simulate blood inside the blood vessels?"

– "No. According to the original plan, I was supposed to fill it with water and rotate the entire body, but the pipes were too thin. As you can see from the process, making the blood vessels like a hose would have been too complicated, so I injected a solution that resembles blood at intervals using a syringe and sealed the holes with resin."

– "Still, with blood in both the organs and the blood vessels, it should feel realistic enough during surgery, right?"

– "That's true, but there's a difference from a real human."

Kang Seok's words, tinged with disappointment, made Park Jiyup feel a wall. The sensation returned as he closed his eyes and sipped his coffee.

The warmth passing through his throat finally brought a sense of calm.

– "So, instead of running warm water through the entire body, I connected thicker blood vessels under the skin to the muscles and filled them with water, heating them with warm water for pressure."

Even knowing that this human model had a unique difference from existing ones, Kang Seok poked Marktop 1 with a sigh.

– "It was a failure. I tried to make the body feel more realistic, but it ended up being slightly warmer than a normal human body."

– "..."

It meant that he had achieved a temperature slightly higher than a normal human body. This was already impressive, but Kang Seok seemed to be aiming for something higher.

As if he already knew he could reach a higher level.

– "Still, the pulse coming from the heart is quite good. I placed a pump in the heart, connected it to the arteries, and made it vibrate to match the pulse, which turned out to be quite realistic."

Kang Seok explained while pretending to connect the heart model and blood vessels on the desk. Up to this point, he had spoken three times more than usual.

Still, all Park Jiyup could do was raise a question mark in his mind.

First, how did the vibration follow when the heart and blood vessels were connected with a pump? What technology made the vibration felt at the exact positions where the pulse should be felt, and why did the vibration only pulse at those specific points?

Park Jiyup repeated the questions he couldn't ask Kang Seok in his mind.

He had offered to make the mold for the human model, but it would be difficult to achieve the same level of realism as Kang Seok's creation. It didn't seem like Kang Seok would focus solely on this project.

Kang Seok seemed to have a strong desire to create a masterpiece.

‘Should we pay the patent fees and have it made on our side?’

If we were provided with the full video and method, we could attempt it.

However, it still seemed challenging. Park Jiyup rubbed his eyes, looking tired. Each video he had watched repeatedly so far seemed like a glimpse of a strange new technology, and the speed was exceptional.

While he had no intention of keeping up with the speed, the problem was that even if we used the provided mold, it wouldn't match the level of Kang Seok's creation.

‘Still, it’s worth a try.’

That evening, on the way back to the lab.

He had asked Kang Seok why he made seven Marktops when one would have been enough. If he wanted to improve the quality, why did he create different diseases for each one? Wasn't it just increasing the number of molds?

He was curious to the point of being unable to bear it.

Kang Seok scratched his nose and said casually.

– "It's for personal satisfaction, I guess."

The excitement of creating a perfect masterpiece was evident as Kang Seok smiled. He then finished by saying he had to continue his work and bid farewell.

Park Jiyup lifted his mug of coffee again.

‘For personal satisfaction.’

It was a good answer.

Park Jiyup stretched and turned off the video. He then began typing on the keyboard.

The first sentence written on the white screen of the computer was [Proposal for the Development of a Standard Marktop].

* * * *

Blue sky.

A bright sun shining on the ground in the morning.

As Kang Seok pulled his bicycle through the school gate, a teal Lamborghini and a red Ferrari slid onto the road. The cars stopped far away, and students in school uniforms, with jackets or padded jackets over them, got out one by one.

‘Ah, school really started.’

The scenery that had been unseen during the winter break had now been visible for a few days, making the start of the school year feel real.

Kang Seok looked at the cars and then turned the handlebars to secure his bicycle. He tied it carefully to the bicycle stand he used exclusively and turned toward the main building.

The same scenery as last year.

Kang Seok passed through the school gate.

At that moment, memories from before the winter break and the current scene seemed to cross each other.

A few students who were about to climb the stairs turned to look at Kang Seok.

“Is that a senior?”

“Yeah. That person... from the art department... Go Dohan...”

“...Renaissance... on the 8th floor... Adam...”

“Really?”

Most of the students who turned to look were from the art department, or had friends in the art department. Their whispering eyes revealed an unmistakable interest.

Kang Seok, feeling the strange situation that had been repeating for a week, took his indoor shoes from the shoe locker.

A few teachers, who were about to climb the stairs from the first-floor office, stopped and glanced at Kang Seok putting on his indoor shoes.

Unable to avoid eye contact, he bowed, and the teachers waved their attendance books in response. They looked at Kang Seok, who was wearing indoor shoes, with satisfaction and climbed the stairs in sync with his pace.

“Are you preparing well for the exhibition?”

Teachers from other subjects or departments, who didn’t know that the marble in the field was part of his exhibition preparation, asked this. Kang Seok simply nodded.

“Yes.”

As he climbed the stairs, a loud noise came from behind. The school bus must have arrived. The students became noisy and chaotic.

The teachers, trying to avoid the incoming students, quickened their pace. As they disappeared with a quick “see you later,” Kang Seok heard the students talking behind him.

“It’s Senior Kang Seok.”

“Kang Seok?”

“Don’t you know? The one who drew at the Renaissance mall this time.”

“? That? Did this person draw that alone?”

It was about him, and the students behind him seemed to be from the art department.

“...? You really don’t know? The fact that he drew it alone completely flipped the art school. Kang Seok is insane, how does he handle it when he comes to painting? Don’t you remember the commotion?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I remember. I remember.”

“I heard he was even picked up by Mr. Go Dohan. Someone saw him coming out of Mr. Go Dohan’s studio.”

He must be majoring in Western painting. Kang Seok nodded and quietly climbed the stairs before they could catch up.

Kang Seok still didn’t belong to either the aristocratic or the talented group.

.

.

.

When he opened the classroom door and entered, the students were gathered in small groups, chatting. Most of them had spent the winter break together, and they seemed to be enjoying each other’s company.

Kang Seok’s seat was right in front of the back door, at the end of the last row. He hung his art supplies bag on the hook and sat down. The gazes that had been on him since the start of the school year gathered again.

And it was the same for the place where Oh Hyejeong, the class president of the D class, was.

Oh Hyejeong, who had been looking at Kang Seok, muttered as if entranced.

“Doesn’t it seem like Kang Seok will ace the practical exam this time?”

“...Huh?”

“...Hmm.”

At Oh Hyejeong’s sudden words, Kwon Sohee and Jin Sehyun turned their heads.

Acing the practical exam.

When a student takes first place in all the practical subjects at Cheonghwa Arts High School, it’s said that they “aced” it. It seemed that Oh Hyejeong thought Kang Seok would do this.

Kwon Sohee and Jin Sehyun glanced at Kang Seok. He was wearing a slightly loose school uniform, which looked freshly washed and white. He was neatly dressed in indoor shoes and was drawing something with a pencil. He then flipped the paper, as if to say it wasn’t right.

Kang Seok acing the practical exam?

“It’s not an unfounded statement.”

“Yeah.”

Kwon Sohee and Jin Sehyun nodded.

In the third year, first semester, there were four art subjects: Art Theory, Sketching, Major Classes, and Media Art.

Excluding the opening ceremony, from last Friday to today, Tuesday, three out of the four subjects were on the schedule.

Last Friday, from the first to the fourth period, Major Classes.

This Monday, from the first to the third period, Media Art.

This Monday, in the fourth period, Art Theory.

If you combine the opinions of the students in the same class as Kang Seok, who is a sculpture major, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he had already aced three subjects. The teachers either gave him heart-eyes or nodded in satisfaction, and he had risen as a dark horse in the third year.

His grades were already good, so if this continues, he would ace not only the internal assessments but also the practical exams.

“Really impressive.”

How much effort did he put in to change so much?

Oh Hyejeong, recalling the plaster cast of Venus that Kang Seok had drawn, made a flower shape with her hands and placed her face on top. A mix of admiration and sighs escaped her lips.

Oh Hyejeong, who had planned to apply to a national university in the provinces since her first year, looked at Kang Seok without a hint of jealousy.

However, not everyone could be like Oh Hyejeong. Students preparing for Seoul National University, Korea National University of Arts, or Korea University looked at Kang Seok with tense eyes, as if a new predator had appeared.

Oh Hyejeong found it amusing and somewhat understandable. As she watched