Chapter 76

76

* * * *

An ancient Greek small kingdom.

The king's third child was born.

It was a girl again.

The princess, the youngest of the three daughters, was thus named Psyche.

Psyche grew more beautiful with each breath, as if life was filling her with every exhalation. Her beauty was so outstanding that, when she came of age, she was even called a living goddess of beauty.

People began to worship Psyche as a deity in this world, rather than believing in the invisible goddess of beauty, Aphrodite.

They offered her sacrifices, praising and venerating her beauty. It was her appearance that made them revere a mere human as a deity.

She.

Psyche's beauty was that remarkable.

* * * *

Beyond the glass dome, the sky was divided into crimson and blue, a sunset masquerading as dawn.

In the afternoon, as red light pierced the sky, Ryu Su-hyun, a 4th-grade secretary in the Cultural Arts Department of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, stood on the stage stairs of an abandoned building, holding a nearly extinguished candlestick, dazed.

No, it would be more accurate to say he stood there as if enchanted.

How could one not be thrilled at the sight of such a woman?

Ryu Su-hyun raised his gaze even higher, to see the woman more clearly in his eyes.

Like an angel descending from heaven, a wingless human woman stood before him, arms outstretched, smiling beautifully.

Ryu Su-hyun, unaware that his arm holding the candlestick was aching, smiled gently.

A Greek-style dress that naturally revealed the curves of the human body, with a high waist that beautifully emphasized the human proportions. The woman in the empire dress was undoubtedly a representation of a goddess from Greek and Roman mythology.

A hairstyle that evoked the image of waves holding flower buds.

A forehead as round and straight as if it contained a crescent moon.

Eyebrows that narrowed into a triangular shape, as if understanding everything, in a gentle manner.

Eyecorners that folded like the wings of a butterfly.

Eyes that, without any sharp edges, were round and seemed to be looking at the most lovely thing in the world.

A soft, straight nose that was not pointed.

Cheeks that, despite being pale, seemed to have a peach-like blush.

Corners of the mouth that seemed to be curled up, as if poking the cheekbones.

Lips that were slightly parted, as if tempting.

Everything was beautiful and lovely.

She was splendid but cute, innocent but alluring, elegant but seductive.

‘But what is it?’

‘Why is it like this?’

While Ryu Su-hyun was lost in his admiration, he began to have doubts.

The corners of her mouth, curled like petals, were beautiful, but as he gazed at her lips, he felt his senses gradually returning. It was as if he had seen the lips of a woman who, having had the bitter water of Aphrodite applied to her lips, could not be loved by reason.

Ryu Su-hyun's daze began to clear.

Then, he saw something silver connecting her, as if she were being protected by someone with wings, and a swarm of butterflies.

‘A wire...?’

Come to think of it, he had clearly felt the cold touch of a wire when he tried to lift the candlestick.

Realizing this, he understood that a human could not ignore gravity and stand upside down on the sky with a glass dome.

Her face was toward the ground, and her legs were toward the ceiling, like a siren diving deep into the sea.

At the same time, he remembered that the glass dome was on the second floor.

‘Not a human.’

Despite her pure appearance, Ryu Su-hyun, who had believed her to be human without any doubt, now clearly recognized that she was not human.

She was a statue.

She was a statue.

Huh.

Ryu Su-hyun almost dropped the candlestick in surprise.

However, the wire, which should have slipped as the candlestick fell, remained taut like a stretched rubber band.

This meant that the ceiling would not suddenly close.

‘Now that I look, it’s definitely big.’

Even if he climbed the stairs and got closer, the fact that he could mistake something so far away for the size of an ordinary woman’s small frame meant that it must be quite large.

It was certainly much larger than a human.

Compared to the few ceiling wires used to hang sculptures in cafes or ordinary galleries, a much larger number of wires must have been needed.

To intensify the illusion, all angles from which the wires could be seen were likely blocked.

‘Was this intentional... or instinctive?’

Ryu Su-hyun clicked his tongue, impressed by either possibility.

What was even more impressive was that despite knowing all this, looking at the statue made his heart race as if he had been hit by Eros's golden arrow.

‘This... is a jackpot!’

Ryu Su-hyun had seen many works of art, both domestically and internationally, but this was the first time he felt such an emotion.

This was a hit.

It had to be.

He was crazy.

Crazy.

Crazy!

Ryu Su-hyun thought he might even be willing to offer one of the top-tier items from his collection of Luwak coffee to Kang Seok, who had created this entire scene.

At that moment,

The contract details came to mind.

The contract stipulated that 40% of the admission fee generated by entering the building would be paid to Kang Seok.

‘40%. Right, 40% to Mr. Kang Seok. What did I say to him when I explained this?’

Ryu Su-hyun tried to recall.

Then, a sentence surfaced from the depths of his memory.

– ‘You were lucky.’

Right.

He seemed to have said, ‘You were lucky.’

Now, Ryu Su-hyun realized who was truly lucky.

It wasn't Kang Seok, but Ryu Su-hyun and the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.

This wasn't an exhibition, and the work, strictly speaking, was jointly owned by the building owner, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, and the creator, Kang Seok, so it didn't need to be returned anywhere.

It wasn't a temporary installation.

Even considering labor costs and other expenses, paying only 40% and getting the rest for free because the building was provided... this was really a morally questionable but excellent jackpot.

While these thoughts raced through his mind, Ryu Su-hyun's arm remained raised, gazing at the woman in the sky.

He was afraid that if he put the candlestick down, the ceiling might close, and he wouldn't be able to see the woman's face, so he couldn't lower his arm, even though it was aching.

Even as he was calculating, the same thought persisted.

Then,

“It's time to finish the viewing.”

“What?”

Ryu Su-hyun, momentarily flustered, blurted out a casual response. His head turned to the side, following the voice.

“Oh, Mr. Kang.”

There stood Kang Seok.

‘He seems... taller, doesn’t he?’

Before he could ask, Kang Seok gestured as if to say it wouldn't work.

“Your arm must be aching. If you keep holding it, you might drop the candlestick. Please put it down now.”

We can see each other again, right?

Despite Kang Seok's light tone, Ryu Su-hyun hesitated for a long time. The reason was simple: he was afraid that if he put down the candlestick, he wouldn't be able to see the woman's face in the ceiling.

Thus, the standoff continued.

While it was possible to continue the standoff, it wouldn't be wise to have a falling out with the up-and-coming artist Kang Seok.

In the end, Ryu Su-hyun raised the white flag.

He slowly put down the candlestick.

As soon as he placed the candlestick back in its original position, the partition wall began to move slowly. The wall, covered in feathers, started to hide the work.

The thousands of butterflies that had poured out from the ceiling, along with the feathers, flew upward as if reversing time, creating a beautiful scene as the abandoned building sank into darkness. However, Ryu Su-hyun felt only regret.

Ryu Su-hyun made a decision.

I have to come back.

If he could see this scene again for the price of two double-shot jumbo Americanos out of four, he wouldn't regret it.

‘I’ll see it again...!’

Ryu Su-hyun gazed at the partition wall with a wistful look. Soon, the wires were rewound, and the partition wall completely covered the glass dome.

Darkness descended.

The sunlight pouring through the glass dome was completely blocked by the partition wall, the candlestick went out, and the abandoned building returned to its original state of ruin.

As Ryu Su-hyun looked around, feeling empty,

The abandoned building was illuminated again with a click of the switch by Jo Dong-beom.

Next to Jo Dong-beom stood Kang Seok.

Without any other words, Ryu Su-hyun blurted out what he most wanted to say.

“It’s the best.”

It was the best work.

A woman who could make even a zombie like Ryu Su-hyun, whose heart no longer raced due to caffeine, blush. How could this not be the best?

Kang Seok smiled, feeling Ryu Su-hyun's emotions even without words.

“Thank you.”

“No, I’m just being honest. But, Mr. Kang Seok, can I ask one question? About the work...”

“Yes, go ahead.”

At Kang Seok’s words, Ryu Su-hyun closed his eyes as if savoring something, then opened them and asked cautiously.

“Mr. Kang.”

“Yes.”

“Mr. Kang... what is the name of this work...?”

“The name?”

After thinking for three seconds, Kang Seok answered matter-of-factly.

“”

“Ψυχή?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The word that rolled off his tongue was Greek. Ψυχή, pronounced Psyche in English.

Psyche.

Psyche.

Psyche.

Psyche.

The name itself was sweet.

Recalling the name, Ryu Su-hyun now understood the inscriptions on the blueprint.

The goddess of love, Eros’s wife, and the goddess of the soul and mind in Greek and Roman mythology.

That was the name of the hidden work.

It was called participatory art.

Truly, this was participatory art.

If the audience didn’t move, the work would remain hidden in the darkness, unseen. This was art that required the audience’s participation to be completed.

Ryu Su-hyun’s eyes sparkled with realization.

He saw the path to the biggest promotional success.

“Thank you for telling me. Mr. Kang, can I... can I come back later? I suddenly remembered something I need to do, and I’ll come back after I finish it.”

“Yes, that’s fine. I called you here suddenly, after all.”

Kang Seok nodded, as if telling him to go and do his work.

Jo Dong-beom also smiled broadly, encouraging him to work hard for their mentor.

Ryu Su-hyun, grateful for their kind smiles, gulped down his coffee like a shot of beer and ran out.

Before the popularity of the Bongeunsa exhibition waned, a new wave, , was preparing to ride the tide.

* * * *

And two days later, on October 24th.

Kang Seok returned to the Bloom Art Museum after a long time.

He was there to meet Park Seon-woo, the youngest member of the San Gang Group’s owner family, arranged by Jin Doo-wook, the director of the Bloom Art Museum.

Unlike the previous day, Kang Seok was directly led to the director's office without any waiting.

When he opened the door, he saw Jin Doo-wook sitting on the left sofa and a man with a long eyeglass chain on the right sofa.

The man on the right sofa didn’t seem to be Park Seon-woo.

Naturally, Kang Seok’s gaze turned to the person sitting directly in front.

There, a somewhat young man sat with a kind but mischievous smile.

This must be him.

This must be Park Seon-woo, the youngest member of the San Gang Group’s owner family.

As soon as he recognized him, Park Seon-woo stood up.

“Hello, I’m Park Seon-woo.”

With a bright and hearty smile, Park Seon-woo walked over to shake Kang Seok’s hand. Kang Seok accepted the handshake without hesitation and replied.

“I’m Kang Seok.”

Park Seon-woo nodded.

It was as if he already knew everything.

As Kang Seok waited to pull his hand away, Park Seon-woo, still holding his hand, asked.

“Do you like buildings?”

“·········What?”

77. ·········What?