* * * *
Ten days after the generous tree, the dinner with Park Jiyeop.
Kang Seok turned off the light in the furniture workshop. Thanks to the blackout curtains, all light was neatly blocked out. It was pitch dark.
Only in the darkness did Kang Seok press the space between his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, finally finding some calm.
Really. The past ten days had been insanely busy.
From weekday mornings to evenings, he drew to exhaustion with pencils at Cheonghwa Arts High School, and at night he returned home and worked on drawings with colored pencils every day.
On weekends, he had to spend time with his family, investigate the great horned owl for the sculpture commissioned by Professor Minhyuk Lee, do sketches, and really, truly live more like a working adult than a high schooler.
He was only alive because the human anatomy project led by Professor Park Jiyeop had not officially started yet. If he had to do that alongside everything else, he would have had no time to live.
Still, he had no regrets.
Thanks to pulling all-nighters for ten days, this moment existed now.
"Dad. I think you can turn it on now."
"Alright."
At his father's reply from the darkness, Kang Seok relaxed his shoulders. At the same time, a rustling sound was heard, followed by a click as something was pressed.
At that moment,
the workshop was filled with light.
Behind the panel. Kang Seok, who was staring at the light box hidden behind countless drawings, twitched the corner of his mouth.
This is it.
Looking at his completed work, Kang Seok collapsed into his seat.
In the middle of the night.
In the furniture workshop shrouded by blackout curtains.
The night's twilight shimmered over Kang Seok, who had slumped down.
* * * *
"Completed already?"
Goduhan retraced the conversation, wondering if he'd heard right. When he had roughly asked when the work would be shown, Kang Seok had said it was finished.
"Already?"
After confirming it was truly finished, Goduhan's reaction burst out in astonishment.
"Not 'already' exactly. I finished it last night."
The massive size — 800, which even Goduhan had thrown in frustration once — Kang Seok had completed it quickly without any help. How those dazzling red lines must have spread... Goduhan swallowed hard, unable to contain his curiosity.
"So, the work? When will you move it?"
"Oh, my dad said he'd personally take it to the gallery this afternoon."
"Afternoon? What time in the afternoon?"
Goduhan lifted his hat slightly, looking for his watch. The wall clock pointed to four in the afternoon.
That meant there was still an hour and a half left before it was done.
Afternoon — what counts as afternoon? Usually until sunset, right? Goduhan looked anxiously out the window. Maybe because it was winter, the sun was setting quickly. In winter, I guess afternoon lasts until dinner time.
As Goduhan's thoughts spiraled, Kang Seok suddenly stopped his pencil mid-drawing.
The scratching sound of pencil against paper ceased, and Goduhan instinctively looked over.
Because Kang Seok had been drawing six sheets a day to make up for missed days, not just four, Goduhan's cat-like upward glance was filled with worry.
Was his wrist or arm strained?
Of course,
it was just a needless worry. Kang Seok had roughly placed the pencil on his lap and was staring at his phone. Why a phone all of a sudden? Before Goduhan could voice his question, Kang Seok answered himself.
"He must have arrived by now?"
"What?"
Goduhan gave Kang Seok a look like a cat that had just had its fish stolen.
Kang Seok met his gaze, seemingly unbothered. His hand moved back to the drawing.
No way.
Goduhan muttered in despair. His eyes wandered through the air before suddenly brightening.
Hurriedly turning around, Goduhan grabbed the wallet and car keys he had tossed on the desk and came back to Kang Seok.
"Let's go."
"Huh?"
"I won't let the witch take your painting. Let's go."
"...Huh?"
* * * *
At the northern end of Gwanhun-dong.
A white building beneath an orange sky.
The door of the building, boldly marked as the Peony Gallery, was thrown wide open to the limit. It was to bring in a single artwork.
"Unlock that! The left side won't open because of it! Unlock it! Hey! I said unlock it!"
"I just unlocked it!"
"Alright, then let's lift it again!"
"On three! One, two...!"
The large piece wrapped in aluminum insulation was lifted again into the air by the hands of the movers. Kang Seok's father, Kang Hyundo, was among them. Because this large piece was the artwork Kang Seok had completed.
Normally, moving works is done by gallery staff or the person organizing the solo exhibition — not others. But no one could stop Kang Hyundo's fiery determination to protect the artwork from damage.
It was also a very unusual piece to begin with.
"Size 800."
Considering that Peony Gallery, unlike most Gwanhun-dong galleries, had free admission and this unusually large size was built for the space, it was fortunate. Otherwise, even getting the work inside would have been difficult.
The gallery director, Seol Yeo-jin, watching the piece being moved in, sighed deeply. At least it was inside.
With a pink peony-shaped lollipop in her mouth, Seol Yeo-jin folded her arms and observed the scene.
800 size.
Whose work could it be? Since there was a man claiming to be the artist's father, it was clear it wasn't Goduhan's piece. Seol Yeo-jin, who had long known Goduhan and his family, knew that well.
Then, who?
Seol Yeo-jin knew very well that tyrant Goduhan wouldn't easily approve an 800-sized piece. It wasn't just because of its size. To fill such a large canvas with a sketch required tremendous determination.
It wasn't simply about size, but capturing the emotion of the sketch.
Also, although this upcoming exhibition was promoted as Goduhan's solo show, in reality it was more of a show with Goduhan and his group.
In fact,
it was almost a promotional exhibition for artists under Goduhan's group. Goduhan wouldn't make a choice that made one person stand out so much in such a show.
Who is it?
Seol Yeo-jin rolled the strawberry-flavored lollipop in her mouth. The tart-sweet flavor spread and made her mouth water.
Whether it was her saliva for the artwork or the candy itself, she had to find out.
Seol Yeo-jin quickened her pace and followed the 800-sized piece ahead. With each step she took, the sound of her platform shoes echoed in the still largely empty exhibition hall.
When she strode across the wide Peony Gallery and reached the painting, a thick aluminum wrapping—like a bazooka tube—was being peeled away.
Right there, in the middle of the room at the very back of the exhibition hall, surrounded on all sides.
"This room is the last place visitors arrive at during an exhibition… and they're going to hang this painting here?"
Seol Yeo-jin bit her candy. Crunch. The cracked candy stuck to her molar.
Usually, the placement of an artwork isn't decided easily. But since Im Woohyun and Son Dongwook, who were in charge of the solo exhibition setup, had placed it in the center of this room, it was clearly Goduhan's choice.
And Goduhan was the kind of artist who placed his best work last.
There was no way he would give up this spot easily.
It wasn't mere favoritism.
Seol Yeo-jin watched the packaging slowly being removed and grew certain. This was undoubtedly an incredible painting. At that moment, she crushed the candy in her mouth like she was demolishing it and reached for her phone.
"Yoonseo."
— Yes, Director.
The person on the line was Kim Yoonseo, the personal assistant to Seol Yeo-jin, director of Peony Gallery.
"How much budget do we have left for acquisitions? Excluding funds reserved for the January Belgium and February US art fairs."
Acquisition budget. Seol Yeo-jin was referring to the money available to purchase artworks.
— If you exclude those, there should only be enough left to purchase the entire set of Goduhan's new works in this current solo exhibition.
It was an enormous amount. One piece by Goduhan was worth more than a supercar, and buying all of them would be roughly equivalent to the annual operating budget of galleries around Gwanhun-dong.
This was possible only because Seol Yeo-jin's personal bank account was like a never-ending gold mine.
"Has the contract with Goduhan been signed yet?"
— Yes? No, not yet.
Of course not.
Goduhan was a popular artist. In other words, many collectors bought only Goduhan's work.
They were people willing to pay exorbitant prices far beyond what Peony Gallery could manage.
Therefore, regardless of whether Peony Gallery had funds available, if Goduhan held a solo exhibition there, they always made their purchase last.
They hoped Goduhan's works would sell at the highest price possible.
It was both a favor and a courtesy toward Goduhan, who held the exhibition there due to personal connections.
"Good. Keep the money liquid for now."
— …Yes, understood.
Good.
Really good.
Feeling the full strawberry flavor spreading in her mouth, Seol Yeo-jin took a step closer to the painting. Just then, one corner of the artwork was revealed.
Crunch.
Seol Yeo-jin's dry, rose-colored lips curled upward like a blossoming bud.
The first color visible was red. As the wrapping was skillfully removed, navy blue appeared next.
The red and blue skies fiercely battled to swallow each other. Sunset. The intense violet hue, like a poisonous rose, filled Seol Yeo-jin's vision.
"...Hoo."
Seol Yeo-jin forgot to breathe, mesmerized by the painting, and then let out a sigh. The sky captured in the painting was something a photo couldn't capture. That was why she loved paintings.
The primal world that spread deep, original colors—colors no glasses or cameras could perfectly capture as seen by the human eye.
Ah.
So good.
She had no idea why such raw colors appeared in a drawing exhibition, but who cared? She was buying it.
Eyes wide with desire, Seol Yeo-jin gazed at the painting with a look sweeter than candy. It was so sweet she felt she might die. She vowed to keep this painting at Peony Gallery. A fierce greed rose from her toes.
Mulling over that thought, she quickened her pace.
She wanted to see the painting up close.
Paintings were meant to be seen from afar, up close, and right before the eyes again. Chewing on the white stick of the now-bare candy, she walked forward.
The sound of her platform heels echoed loudly.
Then—
Click.
Yes. It was a click. The instant she heard the pressing sound, the painting burst with light.
The colors flared intensely as if holding the sun. Before she could admire the brilliance, the light scattered in many directions.
At the same time, shadows appeared and faded across the painting, changing like drifting clouds. And whenever the light shifted, lines appeared over what she thought were only colors.
Colored pencils.
Humans drawn in colored pencils were contained within the sky.
With every scattering of light, hundreds, thousands of figures appeared and disappeared. Like the dozens or hundreds of people we pass every day.
Appearing, vanishing.
An evening sky made up of countless humans.
That was the true nature of this work.
Seol Yeo-jin opened her mouth.
The white stick fell from her lips with a soft plop.
"...Gorgeous."
It was a dazzling scene.