Chapter 9

09

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The day after the mural assignment was given.

It was still dark, the sky a deep indigo, in the early morning.

In front of the Renaissance shopping mall, the children, dressed in work clothes, passed through the entrance with awkward expressions.

"Move to the 8th floor, 8th floor!"

"Everyone, we're almost done! Keep it up! Come on, one more!"

"The elevator is leaving...! No more to load?"

"Just one more!"

Loud voices echoed through the lobby. The escalators and elevators were filled with boxes packed to the brim with something.

"What is all this?"

One of the children looked around in confusion. The student who met his gaze also shook his head, equally puzzled. It wasn't just that many people didn't know.

The materials they were moving were so bizarre.

"Move to the 8th floor!"

One of the students watching people carrying boxes with their sleeves rolled up had his eyes widen. He noticed a box labeled "sand" in large letters.

...Sand?

Objects that seemed to belong only on a construction site passed by the students.

What did they order? One of the children, standing awkwardly in their work clothes, muttered the words "8th floor" as they followed an employee.

"8th floor, 8th floor, isn't that Senior Kangseok?"

There was only one mural on the 8th floor.

"Senior Kangseok ordered all this? I saw some plaster powder earlier, too."

"Plaster? The kind used for sculptures?"

"Lime was there too. But what do these have to do with a mural? Are they even mural materials?"

"Probably. I saw some pigments earlier."

"Who would order so much sand? Are they planning to do sand art?"

Plaster, lime, sand, and pigments. It was a combination that made no sense. The freshmen's faces twisted in confusion.

And it wasn't just the freshmen of Cheonghwa Art High School.

Kim Dong-hwi, leaning against the escalator going down, and Park Hye-yeon, who had just entered the mall with Jin Se-hyun, also had peculiar expressions.

"Going to the 8th floor again!"

Everyone in the Cheonghwa Art High School mural club witnessed materials being sucked into the 8th floor like a black hole. It was a strange morning.

"What? What arrived?"

The strange news quickly reached Joo Sarang, who was reviewing designs in the 2nd floor lobby. Joo Sarang scratched her ear again, as if to confirm she had heard correctly.

"It looked like a construction site with lime powder, sand, plaster, and bricks."

Park Jong-hyun, a member of the Crapiti team, emphasized to the skeptical Joo Sarang. Joo Sarang, looking incredulous, asked again.

"Who ordered all this?"

"I told you. Kangseok. The one in charge of the 8th floor mural, the one you said was good. He ordered it. I heard he's a sculpture major from last night's drinking."

"Uh...uh, but."

"Is he planning to make a sculpture and attach it to the wall?"

"Attach...what..."

Joo Sarang couldn't continue and stood up from her seat. Her dazed face was fixed on the direction of the elevator.

He's going up to the 8th floor, it seems. Park Jong-hyun watched Joo Sarang from behind and followed her. It looked like something interesting was about to happen.

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When Joo Sarang arrived on the 8th floor, it was already a bustling scene.

The number of materials ordered initially was significant, and many employees were involved in moving them. Secondly, the materials were so unfamiliar that many Cheonghwa Art High School students had gathered to watch.

Joo Sarang and Park Jong-hyun had now joined the crowd. But Kangseok, the cause of the commotion, was indifferent to his surroundings.

Kangseok pounded the wall with all his might. It didn't make a sound, and his hand only hurt, confirming that it was a concrete wall, not a plasterboard.

The wall had turned a dark gray after removing the wallpaper and paint last night, but now he was certain.

Now, I can start working on this. As Kangseok moved to get the materials for the next step, a voice was heard.

"Goodness...!"

It was Joo Sarang's voice, her face rarely showing such surprise. Kangseok glanced at her surprised expression while fetching the materials. It was as if she was asking, "What is all this?"

"Kangseok."

Joo Sarang, for the first time since Kangseok joined the club, called his name directly. Kangseok, who was about to lift a bag of compressed cement, stopped.

"Yes?"

"What is all this...?"

Can you explain? Joo Sarang's eyes were asking. Kangseok looked at her with a puzzled expression.

Are you asking because you don't know?

"These are materials...?"

Kangseok answered as if he genuinely didn't understand why she was asking. His gaze suggested it was obvious. Joo Sarang, in turn, was taken aback.

What are you planning to do with such absurd materials? The words circled in her mind.

Materials, you call these materials? Despite her thoughts, Joo Sarang scanned the scattered boxes on the 8th floor for the first time. She wanted to see what was inside them in detail. What she thought was cement turned out to be lime powder, and the sand was of high quality.

There was a ladder nearby, and a large bucket filled with water at the end. Another box was filled with pigments. The materials were clearly not ordinary.

As she looked at them, a thought crossed her mind.

...Fresco?

Buon fresco.

An ancient Italian mural technique where plaster is applied to a stone wall, and before it dries, pigments mixed with water are painted to integrate with the wall.

Now, it was clear that the materials Kangseok had requested were similar to those needed for a fresco. Joo Sarang, who knew this, recognized the materials.

The materials were so obvious that even someone who had spent a lifetime painting on walls could recognize them. Joo Sarang, with a look of disbelief, asked.

"Are you planning to do the mural using the fresco technique?"

Kangseok nodded in agreement.

"Yes, I plan to use the fresco technique."

Hearing his calm response, Joo Sarang felt a sense of crisis. For Kangseok to attempt a fresco was a bigger problem than just not being able to paint it.

'Not being able to paint it and not completing it are different things...'

The fresco technique was notoriously difficult.

Not only was the preparation of materials complicated, but the ratio of lime to sand had to be precise, and the consistency of the plaster had to be adjusted. The pigments had to be mixed with water, among other things.

Even now, with the method known, the fresco technique was so challenging that even college students and modern artists rarely attempted it.

To do this in 15 days?

'Unless Renaissance artists come back to life...'

It's impossible.

Unless it was someone like Michelangelo Buonarroti or Leonardo da Vinci. Joo Sarang, momentarily recalling these great figures, shook her head. It was absurd.

Moreover, the fresco technique allowed no second chances.

In buon fresco, once the plaster is applied and the pigments are painted before it dries, the pigments harden and won't adhere once the wall is dry. To redo the painting, the entire process of applying the plaster would have to be repeated. It was a high-difficulty technique that allowed no room for mistakes or negligence.

'Is Kangseok really going to do this...?'

Joo Sarang looked at the massive wall behind Kangseok, her face pale. How could a perennial underachiever at Cheonghwa Art High School, someone adult artists couldn't even manage, pull this off?

However, Joo Sarang didn't voice her doubts. The club's method of trusting and letting members do as they pleased, as long as the results were good, had led to their victories.

Joo Sarang had no right to say anything to Kangseok, who hadn't yet shown his results. Watching Kangseok, who was fidgeting, she slowly moved to the side, as if avoiding something dirty.

It was as if she was avoiding a strange person. Joo Sarang, staring at Kangseok in disbelief, finally found something to say.

"...You, you. The design? Have you prepared the design?"

Squeezing out the words, Joo Sarang felt a sense of self-loathing but also reassured herself that it was the right thing to do.

A design was necessary for a mural. Whether it was a pencil sketch, a charcoal drawing on the wall, or a projection traced, a design was essential.

If Kangseok didn't have a design, Joo Sarang would have the right to comment on his work before seeing the results. With this in mind, she extended her hand, asking for the design.

Kangseok pointed with his finger.

"The design is over there."

Joo Sarang's gaze naturally followed his finger. At the end of his finger, she saw a worn sports bag and a sheet of tracing paper beside it.

Under the tracing paper, there were many pieces of charcoal, suggesting he was planning to draw the mural in the old-fashioned way.

Joo Sarang approached the tracing paper, observing Kangseok. She had always known he wasn't good at practical skills, but now it seemed he was well-versed in theory. It was a new discovery.

Watching Kangseok pour compressed cement into a plastic container, Joo Sarang slowly unfolded the tracing paper. At the same time, neat pencil lines gradually appeared.

...What?

Joo Sarang's eyes widened. The drawing there was one that any art major would recognize.

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After seeing Kangseok's design, Joo Sarang quietly left with Park Jong-hyun.

Her eyes, which conveyed that Kangseok should proceed as he wished, showed no trace of doubt.

As if realizing that what she had never paid attention to was actually very precious, Joo Sarang's eyes were smiling.

Kim Dong-hwi, in a corner of the 8th floor, recalled her face. He was frustrated and couldn't move.

The employees, who had finished moving the materials, left the 8th floor with relieved expressions, and the students had also gone down to work on their designs. Now, Kim Dong-hui had to go too.

Although not as large as Kangseok's, he had been assigned a significant wall and needed to complete it within 15 days. There was no time to waste. Yet, his feet wouldn't move.

This is the second time. Kim Dong-hui looked at Kangseok with a strange expression.

The first time was on Friday, during the sketching class.

And now, this moment.

This was the second time he felt inferior to Kangseok.

Lately, Kangseok didn't seem like the underachiever he knew. It was as if he had changed overnight. It was strange that no one found it odd.

It wasn't just that his skills had improved; it was as if the timid person had completely transformed... Why couldn't anyone sense the strangeness?

Kangseok was not the type to do such eccentric things. He was known for being timid and diligent. Kim Dong-hui observed Kangseok for a long time.

Then, he slowly, very slowly, turned his back.

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Finally, he's gone.

Kangseok sighed, annoyed. That guy had been glaring at him like a stalker for a while. What a weirdo. Kangseok clicked his tongue.

He was marking the wall with a chalk line where he had measured with a ruler. The speed was so fast that anyone watching would be amazed.

After marking the wall to the floor, Kangseok picked up a cut brick. Applying the plaster was a professional touch.

'If we could use all stone walls, it would be much easier.'

While working on the brick on the concrete wall, Kangseok sighed. The reason for using bricks was simple: the fresco technique required a stone wall.

The fresco technique is delicate.

If done directly on a concrete or cement wall, impurities could damage the fresco, erasing its permanence.

Therefore, despite the hassle, Kangseok planned to cover the concrete wall with bricks coated in compressed cement. Then, he would mix lime and sand in a specific ratio with water to create pure mortar and apply it.

Store-bought mortar wouldn't work. It contained cement and sand, and it had to be completely free of impurities.

That's why he ordered lime powder, fine sand, and even brought water himself.

After attaching all the bricks, he would need to do the initial rough plastering (trullis) and the second layer (arriccio) to create the mortar. Then, he would proceed with the final intonaco layer and coloring, which would be a long process.

Kangseok moved quickly. There was no time to rest. Fifteen days were too short and tight. However, the reason for doing this was that his prepared design could only be perfected with this technique.

Still, a fresco... It's been a long time. The more he moved his hands, the calmer his mind became. Two frescoes he had to paint under the Pope's orders came to mind.

One was the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and the other was the Last Judgment mural.

The time he dedicated to these two works added up to ten years. While they were a significant waste of time for a sculptor like him, they greatly helped his understanding of painting in his later years.

Kangseok shook his head.

Life is full of surprises. I never thought I'd be doing this again, moving my arms and legs for five million won.

What expression will my family have when I bring the five million won as a surprise gift? They'll probably be so shocked their eyes will widen like rabbits, and then they'll cry tears of joy.

They're such expressive people. Kangseok hummed a tune as he worked, feeling oddly good.

Singing while painting a mural... It was the first time in both his past and present life, and he was so excited he didn't even notice.

* * * *

"Is he doing well?"

"Who?"

"Senior Kangseok. Isn't it strange that we haven't seen him for a week? Even teachers like Joo Sarang and others haven't visited him. Has the 8th floor wall been abandoned?"

Yoo Mijeong rolled her eyes as she and Kang Ji-won climbed to the 4th floor of the Renaissance shopping mall. A week had passed since the material chaos, and there were only about 8 days left to work on the murals.

"Hmm... Is that so?"

Teachers like Joo Sarang and Crapiti had almost abandoned Kangseok. Rumors among the students suggested that the 8th floor mural had been given up.

Even if the 8th floor mural was large, there were still 29 other murals, so one low-quality mural wouldn't matter. It seemed plausible, but Yoo Mijeong didn't think so.

The Joo Sarang she knew trusted Senior Kangseok. It was just her personal opinion, but she didn't voice it.

"He'll do it his way."

She had neither the energy nor the time to worry.

"Still, aren't you curious?"

But it seemed Kang Ji-won was different. Yoo Mijeong sighed. For the past week, Kang Ji-won had been like this.

Perhaps she was interested in the 8th floor mural, which could have been hers. Maybe she was waiting for news that the 8th floor mural had completely failed. When Kang Ji-won muttered, "I could have done it well if I had it," Yoo Mijeong felt a chill, as if watching a B-grade horror movie.

The assignment was already over; why did the past matter? Yoo Mijeong couldn't understand Kang Ji-won's fixation on the past.

"Mijeong, let's go up and see."

"Joo Sarang said to do your daily quota and then play."

"How long will it take to just take a look? Let's go. Okay?"

Yoo Mijeong sighed as she watched Kang Ji-won tugging at her clothes. It seemed she had no choice but to follow Kang Ji-won again. Her feet moved reluctantly.

"Really, just a quick look?"

"Yeah, let's do it...!"

Kang Ji-won quickly moved towards the elevator, and Yoo Mijeong followed. The elevator stopped at the 8th floor with Kang Ji-won's chatter.

"It's definitely a failure."

Kang Ji-won giggled as she waited for the ding of the opening doors. Yoo Mijeong shook her head, clearly annoyed by Kang Ji-won's behavior.

The elevator doors opened slowly, as befitting an old mall.

Ah, how do I describe this?

As the doors opened, light flooded in, and the first thing Yoo Mijeong saw was... the sky.

The sky.

10. It's the sky.