Chapter 68

068

* * * *

Jung Young-ho was a subscriber of Sa Seo Min-hyuk.

He was such a dedicated viewer that he would make sure to watch Professor Min-hyuk's live streams from early Saturday mornings.

After roughly closing the notifications from the Buddhist statue-making club chat room, Jung Young-ho leaned back in his chair. It was a good decision to schedule his weekend art classes for the afternoon and evening.

He thought he could watch leisurely, have lunch, do his English tutoring, and then head straight to the academy. He could catch up on the social studies lectures at night. Jung Young-ho turned around to check if his headphones were working properly.

The door was firmly closed.

"···So, today I thought I'd show this sculpture to our subscribers as well."

The intro by Professor Min-hyuk started in the headphones. Today, he seemed quite rushed. Jung Young-ho, feeling both pleased and flustered, glanced at the screen.

Introducing an artist, huh? He sighed with envy. The sculptor being introduced must have done something good in a past life to be featured by an influencer. It was just enviable to see a sculptor getting ahead of countless unknown artists.

At the same time, he felt a wave of self-pity.

He used to not envy others like this... but since becoming a senior in high school, he felt he was increasingly comparing himself to others.

It was a kind of anxiety.

Anxiety about whether he could make a living as a sculptor after working so hard to get into college.

He wondered if he would end up as just one of the many sculptors at the bottom, while only a few reached the top. The fear gnawed at him, becoming a constant stress.

"I was going to watch this to calm my troubled mind today... but introducing a sculptor here too."

He should have just watched the artwork and turned it off, or perhaps it would be better to start the lecture he planned to do at night.

Just as he was thinking this,

Professor Min-hyuk in the screen swung his arm and pulled back the cloth.

The first thing revealed, before the large wings, was the eyes. They seemed to be carved from wood, yet they had a strange crimson hue, like a sunset.

It was a barn owl.

The magnificent wings caught his eye, dispelling any preconceived notion that barn owls were ugly.

Whether it was the lighting or a deliberate effect, his heart raced as if the sunset was rising.

"The name of this work is ."

It was a fitting name.

It felt like the moment a barn owl was about to leap from a branch to hunt, captured in stone.

Ah.

Even through the screen, Jung Young-ho felt his heart swell. The movement of the feathers, though clearly made of wood, was both rough and beautiful.

Professor Min-hyuk, smiling, adjusted the camera to focus on the barn owl sculpture.

"How about it? Doesn't it feel like a barn owl spreading its wings at sunset, about to leap for a hunt?"

Yes.

It did feel that way.

Jung Young-ho, unable to see Professor Min-hyuk, nodded vigorously. His original plan to watch the sculpture and then go to the lecture was long forgotten.

He leaned forward, as if being sucked into the screen. He really wanted to see it in person.

A sculpture isn't something you can just look at from the front. You need to see it from the side, diagonally, from above, from behind, and even from a crouched position... Ugh! He couldn't stand it.

Pulling his chair closer, Jung Young-ho started typing on the keyboard.

It wasn't just him; the chat room, which had been frozen, quickly filled with messages.

Most of them thanked Professor Min-hyuk for showing such a work. Jung Young-ho felt a strange sense of emotion. The fact that a work could be so impressive even through a screen... how remarkable.

It wouldn't be easy for non-specialists to understand this emotion. The intuitive beauty of the work was there.

This is why it's being recommended. Jung Young-ho took his eyes off the chat and focused on the sculpture, which was still in the camera's view.

Even though he couldn't see it from other angles, the good camera captured the details well. The owl's feathers and fur were so finely detailed that it was hard to believe they were made of wood.

Having carved wood himself in the Buddhist statue-making club, Jung Young-ho was amazed by the meticulous and detailed work.

While he was marveling, the chat messages continued to scroll rapidly. The number of viewers was also increasing quickly.

"Yungho Bosal" was Jung Young-ho's nickname.

As he was appreciating the work, he tilted his head at the name " " appearing in the chat. Wasn't this a work by Gang Seok? Does it feel similar to that work?

Jung Young-ho turned his head.

Huh? What? What?

The same messages started flooding the chat. Unaware of this, Professor Min-hyuk, seeing that his subscribers wanted it, was moving the camera around.

Jung Young-ho, feeling grateful for Professor Min-hyuk's effort to show the sculpture from various angles, typed a message of appreciation. He was completely absorbed in the artwork, ignoring the heated topic in the chat.

'Gang Seok made this barn owl sculpture?'

No way.

Jung Young-ho shook his head, thinking they didn't know what they were talking about. Most people didn't know what Gang Seok was doing during that period.

'Seok was working on , , , and ...! Even before that, he was making a fresco mural for the Renaissance Mall, and he was busy with the publication of [Gang Seok's Human Anatomy Sketchbook]. How could he have time for this?'

It was impossible.

Jung Young-ho let out a hollow laugh.

It was because of the people making wild guesses.

The camera was still moving. Jung Young-ho, feeling the urge to intervene, scratched his itchy fingers.

'Should I reveal that I know Gang Seok and confirm that it's not him? It would be better if they spent time appreciating the work instead of chatting... Should I type something, or not...?'

While he was pondering,

Professor Min-hyuk, having completed a full circle, plugged the camera into a stand and sat in front of the computer.

At that moment,

Professor Min-hyuk, finally reading the chat, frowned and stared at the computer screen.

Professor Min-hyuk, who had been reading the chat, smiled widely. Why is he smiling? Jung Young-ho, surprised, watched as the screen shook again.

It was because Professor Min-hyuk had grabbed the camera again. While the camera was shaking and out of focus, a clear voice came through the headphones.

"Today, I said I would introduce a good artist, right? He was watching the chat from the side. Let me introduce...!"

"Meet the nineteen-year-old genius sculptor! Gang Seok!"

The camera, which Professor Min-hyuk had turned to the side, stabilized, revealing Gang Seok on the computer screen.

A handsome face with reddish-brown eyes. A unique, prickly expression that was hard to forget. It was definitely him. Whether viewed from the side, in a somersault position, or upside down, it was Gang Seok.

Jung Young-ho's mouth dropped open.

...How did you get here?

* * * *

The number of live viewers had already reached 7,000.

Gang Seok, unable to hide his surprised expression, looked at the screen. Of course, to anyone else, it looked almost expressionless.

"Please say hello."

Professor Min-hyuk, smiling widely, turned to Gang Seok.

Gang Seok, unsure where to look, glanced around, and Professor Min-hyuk subtly covered the camera.

Gang Seok slightly bowed his head and then looked at the camera.

"Hello, I'm Gang Seok, a third-year student at Cheonghua Arts High School. Nice to meet you."

After his greeting, his eyes glanced at the chat. Unlike when Professor Min-hyuk spoke, the chat was quiet.

Feeling awkward and embarrassed, he scratched his nose.

At that moment,

The chat started scrolling rapidly.

Gang Seok's eyes darted around as the chat messages flooded in. Professor Min-hyuk nodded. Honestly, the reason he brought Gang Seok in front of the camera was this. His handsome face. A face that wouldn't be out of place anywhere.

His seemingly kind but not quite kind expression strangely drew attention.

A unique mask, like a soft-looking handsome face with a prickly personality.

Then,

A hot pink chat message appeared on the screen. It was a Super Chat. Gang Seok turned to look. It was a question about how to respond.

Professor Min-hyuk gestured for him to answer, and Gang Seok, scratching his nose, nodded.

"Yes, that's correct."

At that moment,

The number of subscribers on one of the monitors, which Gang Seok had opened, started to increase rapidly. Professor Min-hyuk, exclaiming in amazement, refreshed the page to check the subscribers.

49, 75, 133, 164, 182...!

The number of subscribers was increasing rapidly.

It was like a raging fire.

.

.

.

Beyond the window,

Gang Seok, who had been watching the deep indigo night sky, fell backward.

The soft bed caught him.

Gang Seok's eyes, now focused on his phone screen, were no longer on the night sky.

The sudden increase in subscribers in just one day felt like a dream. Although some were dropping off in real-time, over 4,000 had joined in a single broadcast.

The numbers were still fluctuating. Professor Min-hyuk had said that when the live stream was edited and re-uploaded, the numbers would slowly increase again.

It was a strange feeling.

Honestly, the main reason for the increase in subscribers today was not the artwork but Gang Seok's appearance.

Scratching his nose, Gang Seok scrolled through the numerous comments on the black shorts video, wearing a peculiar expression. Was this how Raphael felt? Should he like it or not?

While he was looking at the screen with an ambiguous expression,

"Hey, bro, did you activate the YouTube live streaming?"

"What?"

Gang Seok, who had been lying down, sat up. Gang Chae-young, who was making a mask, was pounding a cucumber with a bat.

"About the live streaming activation. I heard that you need to activate it at least 24 hours in advance to do a live stream later."

"Really?"

He didn't know that.

Gang Seok blinked and started pressing buttons on the screen. There was indeed a live streaming activation option. Gang Chae-young, unfolding the mask sheet, sighed in relief.

"I just noticed that to do a live stream, you need at least 1,000 subscribers. Luckily, thanks to Professor Min-hyuk today, we surpassed that. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to do a live stream."

"Was there such a condition?"

"Yeah, so you should treat us to a meal sometime."

Avoiding the mask sheet that Gang Chae-young was trying to apply, Gang Seok nodded.

He didn't know that either.

When he created the channel, no one had informed him about these details. Probably, none of them knew. This isn't something just anyone can do.

With the mask sheet finally stuck, Gang Seok closed his eyes. The cold cucumber's touch rose to the sheet.

"Hey, bro... what material are you going to use for the Buddha statue?"

"Huh?"

"Of course. You should decide quickly... Wait, you already decided?"

"Huh?"

"What material? What are you going to use?"

Even with his eyes closed, he could imagine Gang Chae-young's wide, rabbit-like eyes staring at him. Gang Seok, curling his lips, replied.

"White onyx."

From the moment he decided to make a Buddha statue, that was the only material he had in mind. White onyx was a stone he had wanted to work with since his first year in the Buddhist statue-making club.

"Onyx? A gemstone?"

"No, not that one. Marble."

"Oh, marble."

Gang Chae-young's nod felt like a breeze.

"Is it like the sculpture?"

"A bit different."

"Different? How?"

Gang Seok, silent at first, suddenly stood up. Thud. The cucumber and mask sheet fell messily onto the bed. Gang Chae-young's eyes widened.

"W-What the...!"

"Just a moment."

Calming down the agitated Gang Chae-young, Gang Seok picked up his phone.

White onyx was one of the irregularly produced stones.

Among them, white onyx, which was not the more common brown or yellow, was particularly unstable to obtain when needed.

Usually, it wouldn't be a problem, but the Buddha statue had to be completed by the end of August.

Moreover, having the stone was just the beginning.

So far, he had been lucky to start working immediately, but when he was Michelangelo, it sometimes took up to six months just to select the right marble. That was the time spent just on selection.

Gang Seok found the contact for "Mr. Yang Seon-gu" and pressed the call button.

- "If you're going to keep sculpting with marble, you'll need my help. Feel free to contact me."

This was the contact given to him for such occasions.

It was only eight o'clock.

It wasn't that late.

The phone rang a few times before Yang Seon-gu's voice came through the speaker.

- "Seok? What's up?"

"Ah, Mr. Yang. It's been a while."

- "Hmm, yes. What's up? Do you need something?"

Yang Seon-gu's voice indicated he was getting up. The sound of his hanbok rustling was soft.

"Um... I need white onyx stone."

- "White onyx? What for?"

As expected, he knew.

Gang Seok's lips curled.

He had found the right person to ask.

"I want to make a Buddha statue."

- "A Buddha statue?"

The sound of a fan fluttering accompanied Yang Seon-gu's response.

- "That sounds interesting."

That was his approval.

* * * *

A week later, July 22.

The day after the summer vacation ceremony.

The Buddhist statue-making club was on a mountain slope for a final high school club retreat before their intensive summer classes.

It felt like a retreat.

Jung Young-ho looked around. It was all mountains. He was amazed that such a peaceful place existed near Seoul.

"Is this the right place?"

Some parents, including Jung Young-ho's mother, got out of their cars. Doors of Carnival and Starex vehicles opened, and members of the Buddhist statue-making club poured out.

"This is the place, right...?"

Jung Young-ho trailed off. He was holding two lunch boxes. His eyes wandered, unfocused.

He had come to support Gang Seok, who was working on the Buddha statue alone due to the summer classes. But he had no idea where to go.

What should I do? Should I go back? Should I call? What if he's working?

Just as he was feeling anxious,

Crash!

The sound of something breaking like glass echoed.

The heads of Jung Young-ho and the club members turned sharply in one direction. It was instinct. That's where it is. Gang Seok is there.

"Let's go."

When Jung Young-ho called out, the children nodded as if in a trance.

.

.

.

As they climbed halfway up the mountain, the first thing they saw was a hanok. The children marveled at the hanok, which blended harmoniously with the mountains and the surrounding stones, as they walked.

Some mothers followed with curious expressions.

"What kind of mountain has such a neatly maintained road?"

"Exactly. We could have driven up here, right?"

"What is this?"

It didn't feel like a mountain.

The weight of the distant stones suggested it could be a quarry, but the hanok and the road looked as if they were in the heart of the city.

It was like another world.

The children and adults marveled as they moved forward.

Crash! Crash!

The sound of stones and glass colliding echoed roughly.

The mountain seemed to echo the sound.

Everyone stopped in surprise at the sound that seemed to reverberate through the entire mountain. The source was the hanok. The closer they got, the louder the sound became.

They were at the door.

The children looked at Jung Young-ho. Their expressions asked if this was really the right place. Filled with anticipation and fear, they looked at him. Jung Young-ho, checking the address again, mustered the courage to knock on the door.

"Seok, Seok!"

Thud, thud, thud, thud. The vibration from the wooden door resonated. At that moment, a gust of wind blew, and sand spilled over the gate.

Jung Young-ho