Chapter 58

58

* * * *

Michelangelo lived his life buried in work.

For example, in 1547.

When Pope Paul III issued a completion decree appointing Michelangelo as the chief constructor of St. Peter's.

At that time, Michelangelo was working simultaneously on the renovation of the Campidoglio, the Borgo fortress, the Palazzo Farnese, the frescoes of the Pauline Chapel, and more.

That year, Michelangelo was seventy-two years old.

* * * *

The evening sky looked like crushed blueberries.

Gangseok, who had been looking out the window, lowered his gaze to the workbench. The familiar scene was the Iterm glass workshop.

Sitting on the chair prepared by Jo Dongbeom, Gangseok moved his buttocks a little. The line from his waist to his buttocks was uncomfortable. Normally, he would have accepted it, but the discomfort was more vivid after experiencing the Meteus Airgate chair a few hours earlier.

‘I really need to make one soon.’

Gangseok reaffirmed this in his mind.

For modern people who spend more than half of their day sitting, chairs are truly important. Now he understood why his father, who often stood up while working at the workbench, found it uncomfortable.

Living that way for twice as long as himself, it must have been hard on his back. Thinking this far, Gangseok tapped his phone screen.

Jo Dongbeom, who had been watching Gangseok tap his phone from behind, tilted his head. Meteus? It sounded familiar. As he thought this, Jo Dongbeom's gaze unconsciously shifted from the phone to something else.

Gangseok, who had been using the phone, had been attaching white feathers with tweezers a moment ago. On the desk, there was something bird-shaped made of gears, with white wires connected to form a frame, and partially attached feathers.

Gangseok was alternating between attaching feathers and fur. It was not an ordinary intricate work, but it was impossible to understand why he was suddenly making it.

‘What are you trying to make?’

He had heard that the final touches for this graduation exhibition were already done, and the publication of the human body was just waiting for the book to come out. Perhaps there was some news from Ryu Suheon, the secretary with whom he had been negotiating.

Jo Dongbeom's face was filled with curiosity. Next to the mechanical doll, there were butterfly wings made of glass. Birds and butterflies, it was hard to guess.

Had another three-dimensional wall painting been added to the Peony Gallery?

Finally, Jo Dongbeom couldn't hold back and spoke.

“Master. Did you receive a new commission?”

Gangseok, who had been tapping his phone, turned his gaze. Seeing Jo Dongbeom's eyes on the workbench, Gangseok let out a short exclamation as if he understood, then shook his head.

“Not yet.”

It was a lingering answer, as if he was confident that a commission would come soon. Did he have a premonition? Jo Dongbeom couldn't hide his curiosity as he looked at Gangseok.

Gangseok smiled faintly and picked up the tweezers again. The phone was now face down, indicating that whatever he was doing with Meteus was finished.

“I'm preparing in advance.”

Gangseok spoke with confidence. Just as Jo Dongbeom was about to ask what kind of commission he expected, there was a knock on the garage door of the Iterm glass workshop. Turning his head, it returned to Gangseok, who only had a puzzled expression.

Jo Dongbeom slowly got up and opened the door.

“Oh, you're inside. It's been a while.”

It was Ryu Suheon.

Ryu Suheon, the secretary of the Cultural Arts Division of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.

The preparation for the reopening of the Yongshinland Theme Photography Studio had officially started, and the dark circles under his eyes were extending down to his chin. His hand, holding a high-caffeine drink, was trembling dangerously.

“Yes. Hello. Is everything, um, okay?”

Having watched Ryu Suheon and Gangseok talk every evening recently, Jo Dongbeom had become acquainted with them. He looked at Ryu Suheon with concern. Ryu Suheon, raising his hand in a brief gesture of reassurance, stepped inside.

“Mr. Gangseok.”

Ryu Suheon's business today was with Gangseok.

“Secretary. Hello.”

Gangseok greeted him. Ryu Suheon bowed and took out a document from his pocket. A three-folded paper slowly unfolded from his pocket.

It was a quick movement, as if to indicate that this was the matter at hand.

“Today, I finally brought this.”

The paper in Ryu Suheon's hand was passed to Gangseok. It was a contract, the ninth one if considering the previous rejections.

Gangseok quickly scanned the familiar clauses. His gaze stopped. It was a new clause he hadn't seen before.

In addition to paying Gangseok 400 million won, it included a separate incentive for the building, 40% of the entrance fees generated from entering the building, separate from the theme studio entrance fees. This was agreed upon after excluding operating costs and other expenses.

The building was not originally planned for renovation, but by taking the initiative to renovate it and adjusting to receive a separate entrance fee, it would generate additional revenue, which would be beneficial.

They were fine with the result as long as it was beneficial. Normally, they would have insisted on taking everything due to the costs involved.

“We were lucky. This time, a large budget was allocated for public art in Jongno, but it received poor reviews, calling it an eyesore. There are ongoing protests against the waste of public funds. After investigating, it turned out there were issues in the selection process of the artists. So, it was easier to secure this.”

Upon hearing this, it seemed that simply spending money to improve the visual environment under the pretext of enhancing our lives did not satisfy the citizens.

Ultimately, there needed to be a return on investment. After repeatedly advocating this to the higher-ups, Ryu Suheon smiled weakly.

Ryu Suheon also mentioned that the Peony Gallery's glass three-dimensional wall painting was a great help. People were flocking to the Guanho-dong gallery area to see it.

The Marktoub event was internal, and due to the nature of the works, photos couldn't be posted casually, which led to a surge in popularity for the glass flower wall paintings.

The higher-ups viewed the influx of visitors favorably.

‘Indeed. With the monthly income from the Peony Gallery, the higher-ups must be drooling.’

However, it didn't seem like the higher-ups would easily understand this. The dark circles under Ryu Suheon's eyes, extending to his chin, were proof of this. About 60% of those dark circles were likely due to securing approval for this matter.

Gangseok repeatedly thanked him for his hard work and slowly turned around. In his mind, he resolved to dissuade Kang Chae-young if she ever decided to become a civil servant.

Gangseok took out a fountain pen from the workbench and signed the contract. Having obtained the desired conditions, there was no need to delay the contract further. Gangseok separated the original contract and the copy behind it, then took something out of his bag.

He then handed one copy back to Ryu Suheon, placing the item he had taken out on top of it. It was a piece of paper.

“This is...”

“A design plan.”

A major renovation design plan for the abandoned building.

“I would like you to proceed with the major parts first, and then the details inside can be done later.”

Although Gangseok was delayed due to contract negotiations, the renovation of Yongshinland Theme Photography Studio was already underway with the employment of workers. Therefore, Gangseok's work needed to start quickly.

Ryu Suheon took the paper.

‘Hmm.’

It was a high-quality design plan.

The fact that the design was already drawn was a welcome surprise, but it was overly meticulous. It meant there was a lot of work to be done.

‘Can it be completed within the time frame?’

Ryu Suheon stroked his chin.

Initially, apart from cleaning the old parts, drawing a few murals, or repainting to enhance the studio's quality, there was no reason for it to be slow.

However, Ryu Suheon's expression gradually worsened.

While the design plan was not overly extravagant or luxurious, it was meticulously detailed, almost to the point of being excessive for Korean architecture.

The more meticulous it was, the better, but...

“Can this be completed within the time frame?”

The theme photography studio, after all, was a studio. It needed to reopen quickly to recoup the investment and achieve results by the end of the year.

Ryu Suheon, who had persuaded the higher-ups that this was the way to win back the hearts of the citizens, looked at Gangseok with concern. His expression suggested that it would be better to reduce the scale of the renovation or shorten the necessary steps.

At that moment,

Gangseok looked directly at Ryu Suheon. On his workbench, something was piled up like a mountain.

Then,

The streetlight outside the window reflected, and Gangseok's face, illuminated by the backlight, was clearly visible.

“It can be done.”

Gangseok had the face of someone who knew no failure.

* * * *

At that time,

“Then let's do it that way.”

The principal of Cheonghua Art High School, Oh Gyuhyeok, pressed his temples. His head throbbed as if he had a migraine.

“Alright. I agree.”

In front of Oh Gyuhyeok, Yang Seongu was sitting, looking very satisfied. And Go Dohan, who had been watching their confrontation, sighed.

‘If it’s decided, let’s get it over with quickly.’

If Go Dohan had a cat's tail, it would have been nervously flicking and hitting the desk.

Looking around, Go Dohan saw that the professors of each subject were also present. They had gathered to discuss where the exhibition would be held.

Yang Seongu, who had joined the discussion, was not an unwelcome guest. Strictly speaking, this meeting was to decide where the 3rd-year graduation exhibition, particularly Gangseok's work, would be held.

Yang Seongu argued that for Gangseok's convenience, his work should be held separately at the Bloom Art Museum or that the entire exhibition should be held there.

Oh Gyuhyeok, knowing how expensive it would be to hold the exhibition at the Bloom Art Museum, wanted to bring the attention from the recently spotlighted Gangseok to the graduation exhibition.

However, holding a separate exhibition for Gangseok at the Bloom Art Museum, which even established artists find hard to enter, would not be meaningful.

Oh Gyuhyeok presented the opposite argument.

He suggested moving Gangseok's work to the venue where the other 3rd-year students' graduation exhibition would be held or creating a separate work for the graduation exhibition.

The arguments of Yang Seongu and Oh Gyuhyeok did not converge. Finally, they reached a dramatic agreement today.

It was more accurately a push by Yang Seongu.

Regardless, it was a matter that could have been discussed among the teachers, but Yang Seongu was involved because he was satisfied. He stroked his beard like a mountain spirit and stood up.

Now, the backlog of work could be addressed.

They needed to photograph the works for the exhibition catalog, design and produce it beautifully, print it quickly, and distribute three copies to each student before the exhibition.

One for storage and two for distribution.

Considering 80 students, art teachers, and external guests, they needed to prepare at least 300 copies.

Would it be done in time?

The exhibition date flashed through Go Dohan's mind.

At that moment,

The phone rang, emitting a buzzing sound. Go Dohan excused himself to the people who looked exhausted and stepped out of the principal's office. As soon as he answered the phone, a loud voice came through the speaker.

“Teacher, teacher. The physical copy, the physical copy is here...!”

Physical copy.

Go Dohan's eyes widened.

It was clearly referring to the human figure sketchbook.

* * * *

The deep blue night, which had looked like crushed blueberries, had turned completely black.

In the dark living room, resembling the night sky, Kang Hyundo was boiling a bowl of dangmyeon with mung bean sprouts and clams and pouring beer into a glass. The foam rose up the glass.

The beer poured coolly into the glass, which had been kept in the freezer.

What kind of day was it today?

Madame Baek Myeonghee had gone to bed early, and Kang Chae-young was out for a pajama party with her academy friends. Gangseok was likely to come home late after working until the early morning.

It was a party for one.

Kang Hyundo clinked the full glass of beer against the bottle and took a sip. The beer went down his throat. The coolness of the beer in a house without an air conditioner, while enjoying the fan, was refreshing.

Summer is for beer.

Kang Hyundo drank the beer coolly.

As the carbonation rose up his throat, he quickly picked up a spoon and sipped the noodle soup. Mmm. This is the taste. How long has it been since he tasted beer?

Savoring the taste as a reward for his hard work over the past few months, Kang Hyundo grabbed another bottle of beer.

Beep beep beep beep.

Kang Hyundo's eyes trembled with tension.

Beep.

The door opened, and Gangseok entered.

Gangseok turned his head to the