"Of course you'll give it to me, right?"
"No way. You have to give it to me."
"There's nothing more to say. I must have it."
Just like the three goddesses who blushed while fighting over the golden apple left by Eris, the goddess of discord, Goduhan's face reddened.
"Hey!"
"Professor Park Jiyeop!"
It was the start of a three-way battle.
.
.
.
The four of them, including Kang Seok, moved to another place.
Talking loudly inside the Peony Gallery exhibition hall attracted too much attention. Even Goduhan and Park Jiyeop were noisy enough, and with Seol Yeo-jin joining in, all of them blushing as they fought over a single artwork, it was impossible not to draw stares.
Also, such an important discussion couldn't be held standing for long.
With a thud, Goduhan sat down roughly and gulped down a hazelnut Americano. The initial taste seemed like a normal Americano, but the scent of nuts rose.
Outside the window where they sat, darkness had already fallen.
It was evening before they knew it.
Goduhan, who had planned to enjoy a leisurely dinner with Kang Seok's father after fighting off the witch with Kang Seok, pressed his temple; a throbbing headache came.
"We should've settled this here and now. Sunset is already a piece I decided to buy."
So back off.
Pressing his fingers hard on the hat he'd taken off, Goduhan spoke. At the same time, Seol Yeo-jin, who had been sipping a caramel macchiato, put down her cup.
"Did you sign a contract?"
"Huh?"
"Isn't it standard to sign a sales contract when buying artwork? From what I've seen, the artist tends to forget the paperwork."
Seol Yeo-jin rested her chin on her hand and spoke playfully to Kang Seok.
"Kang Seok, without a sales contract, this is all meaningless. And is this just any artwork? You have to chew, tear, taste everything, and then decide on the one you like best."
The one you like best. When she said that, Seol Yeo-jin's gaze subtly flicked between Park Jiyeop and Goduhan. In other words, she was telling Kang Seok to sign with whoever offers the best deal among the three.
"Hey!"
"Why? Master? I'm just teaching my disciple what you taught me. What's the problem?"
Seol Yeo-jin raised the tone of her voice as she lifted her caramel macchiato. Switching effortlessly between calling Goduhan 'artist' and 'master,' she left Goduhan speechless and quiet.
He had quit being her teacher long ago, yet here she was, calling him master again. Goduhan's mouth trembled with irritation.
Then,
Quietly, Park Jiyeop, who had been spooning whipped cream from his espresso con panna, spoke.
"That's a good way to put it. Chew, tear, taste everything, and then choose the most delicious one."
He lifted the cup with some whipped cream removed, steam rising along his chin. Feeling the warm espresso wash away the lingering sweetness in his mouth, Park Jiyeop smiled.
What hung on his smile was confidence.
Confidence that he was sure no matter what conditions were offered.
Park Jiyeop shot a gentle smile at Goduhan, who glared at him with displeasure. Then, he turned his eyes to Kang Seok, who was quietly drinking his Americano.
"Kang Seok, don't you want some cake or anything else? Drinking Americano on an empty stomach might upset you."
Not to be outdone, Seol Yeo-jin gave Kang Seok a flirtatious wink.
"Kang Seok, this café is mine. Feel free to order whatever you want. What should I get you?"
A transparent trick. Goduhan knew Kang Seok wouldn't fall for this, yet he crushed ice between his teeth roughly.
"He's my student. My student, so if I buy it, I'll buy it."
"Kang Seok, high school lasts three years, but university is four. Considering the military service, I'll be with the student longer than Goduhan. Think of it as rehearsing the relationship between master and disciple."
Answering Goduhan's question through Kang Seok, Park Jiyeop raised his small coffee cup again. His slight smile said, Your provocations don't work on me.
"Who said I'd send him to Korea National University of Arts?"
"If not Kang Seok, then who would go to K-Arts?"
Goduhan and Park Jiyeop locked eyes across the table. Neither looked away first, so the standoff continued.
Seol Yeo-jin smiled and whispered softly to Kang Seok.
"Kang Seok, no matter how much you push, eventually you'll graduate high school and university and become a working adult. Rather than staying in the master's nest, going out into the world with a reliable business partner is—"
"Where are you trying to seduce him?"
"Why would Kang Seok go to Peony Gallery, Yeo-jin?"
Goduhan and Park Jiyeop sharply cut off Seol Yeo-jin's words.
Their verbal battle continued endlessly. When Goduhan attacked, Seol Yeo-jin and Park Jiyeop countered in turn.
When Seol Yeo-jin tried to subtly flirt with Kang Seok, Goduhan and Park Jiyeop teamed up to corner her.
They argued for one reason.
To buy Kang Seok's work, Sunset.
"Anyway, I'm buying the piece."
"Du-han, I'm buying it too."
"Master and professor, please step back this time. After all, the one who can pay the highest price is probably me, right?"
The conversation slowly shifted to money.
One was a famous artist, another a wealthy gallery director, and the third a respected professor. The scale of this showdown was clearly not small.
This needs to be stopped.
Kang Seok had no intention of watching their spectacle. He started by putting down his Americano.
As the calm eye of the storm moved, all three turned their gazes to him instantly.
"I think there's a misunderstanding I want to clear up."
What misunderstanding?
The three eyes showed doubt.
"What I'm selling isn't the artwork, but the exhibition rights."
"Exhibition rights?"
Seol Yeo-jin, sitting opposite Kang Seok, widened her eyes. As a gallery operator, she couldn't be unaware of exhibition rights.
Article 19 of the Copyright Act: Exhibition rights.
The author's right to exhibit the original or reproduction of an artwork. That was exhibition rights.
"I'm not thinking of selling the artwork yet."
Not at all.
The art world is a market swayed by the unseen.
Fame. Politics. Ideology. Philosophy.
The value those carry in the art world is enormous. They often surpass the intuitive appeal of color, form, and the emotion and beauty the artwork itself brings.
It's quite funny.
Anyway,
According to the unspoken rules of this market, Kang Seok was still a nobody.
No matter how good the work, he had to be grateful if it sold for a high price. He was a product without a minimum price.
Since he never sold a work before, no minimum price had ever been set.
Therefore, if Kang Seok sells Sunset now, he must sell it according to the usual pricing methods in this market.
Depending on the artist and their ability, but for a newcomer unknown in the art market, the usual price was around 50,000 won per piece.
Generally, you just multiply the size of the artwork (measured in "ho") by the price per ho, but just because a piece is large doesn't mean you multiply by the ho price automatically.
Still, emerging artists tend to have a low price per ho, so if they worked on a labor-intensive piece, prices are often calculated up to 100 ho.
But Kang Seok's work is 800 ho.
And Kang Seok is a rookie artist who's valued even less than emerging artists.
Even if the price per ho were 30,000 won, that would be 3 million won. At 50,000 won per ho, it's 5 million won. Even if the price doubled, it would only reach about 10 million won.
At best, it might barely surpass 10 million won.
Inevitably, only after his name value rises will Sunset get its true worth.
Just like in my previous life, before and after making the statue of David, the commission fees I received were clearly different. But back then, the owner of Sunset wouldn't have been me.
Kang Seok gripped his Americano. This wasn't what he wanted.
Yet he couldn't ask for a price that reflected the work's true value right now. When an artist who hasn't proven anything sells a work at a high price, it actually lowers its value.
Recently, even in Hong Kong, Korea's art bubble was bursting.
So he wouldn't push to get the right price by force, nor would he sell for just whatever price he might be offered now.
That was why he hadn't sold it yet.
Of course, this was too much to explain at length, so Kang Seok fell silent.
"Exhibition rights... that's definitely an interesting proposal."
Seol Yeo-jin tapped the straw in her caramel macchiato with her finger. She seemed to understand the proposal. It was clearly a contract applying Article 35 of the Copyright Act concerning the exhibition or reproduction of artworks.
Seol Yeo-jin recalled the Copyright Act clearly etched in her memory.
Copyright Act Article 35 (Exhibition or Reproduction of Artworks) Paragraph 1:
"The owner of an original artwork or a person who has obtained their consent may exhibit the work based on the original. However, this does not apply if the artwork is permanently displayed in public spaces such as streets, parks, or the exterior walls of buildings."
Kang Seok was, by this law, saying he wouldn't sell the artwork but would lend it in a form that allows exhibition while he still owns the original.
In a way, it was a bold move.
Offering only a loan means he confidently claimed that Sunset was valuable enough not to be sold easily. And this from a high school student who had never sold a piece before.
The boldness was surprising but understandable.
Sunset was too precious a work to sell quickly. But who would buy exhibition rights? If not the artwork itself? The greed boiling inside Seol Yeo-jin retracted its claws and slipped under her tailbone.
I want it.
Even now, she wanted it. Just seeing the work wasn't enough.
But lending it wasn't satisfying.
It was greed not for showing it to someone, but for owning it, that made her feel this way.
Feeling her enthusiasm wane, Seol Yeo-jin leaned back. She was retreating.
'Anyway, even if I don't pay for exhibition rights or rental fees, the Sunset will surely be displayed at Goduhan's solo exhibition.'
The fact that Kang Seok's work was already on display at the Peony Gallery proved it. Even if a rental fee had to be paid, Goduhan would pay it.
Seol Yeo-jin could hang Kang Seok's work at Peony Gallery even without buying exhibition rights.
'There's no need to put the same work in another exhibition soon, so it's right to back down here.'
Considering Kang Seok was a high school student about to enter his third year, the chances of a solo exhibition were slim.
For Seol Yeo-jin, who only knew Kang Seok through Sunset, this was the best choice.
She suppressed her urge to tell him to sell immediately and comforted herself.
'I have more than enough money, so I'll act when he decides to sell.'
Seol Yeo-jin gulped her caramel macchiato like water. Thinking she wouldn't own that intoxicating sight filled her with a fierce thirst.
"How do you buy the exhibition rights?"
"Kang Seok, how does one buy those exhibition rights?"
But Goduhan and Park Jiyeop were different.
They leaned forward instead. Not just because they'd seen other works by Kang Seok besides Sunset. It was instinct. The instinct that they had to buy those exhibition rights now.
Kang Seok smiled slightly at them.
"Let's talk about that now."
His eyes gleamed like a predator who's found its prey.
A black night sky where you could barely distinguish one star.
Walking along the sidewalk beside the road, Kang Seok suddenly burst into a deflated laugh. The winter cold wind came out with his breath. Still, Kang Seok didn't stop smiling.
'It was a good deal.'
In his mind flashed the exhausted faces of Goduhan and Park Jiyeop. Contrary to their expectation that they could easily get exhibition rights, the negotiation went on for two continuous hours.
Even Seol Yeo-jin, watching nearby, asked Goduhan if Kang Seok was really a high school student, because Kang Seok's savvy made it hard to reach an agreement.
'Even older artists aren't this skilled. I heard your father runs a furniture shop. Did you learn it there?'
'Could I learn the secret from your father too?'
After the meeting broke up, Seol Yeo-jin asked such questions as she left.
Kang Seok couldn't tell them the truth—that inside him dwelled an 89-year-old stingy Michelangelo from a past life—so he just smiled quietly and left.
Anyway, thanks to his past life experience, he was able to make a good deal.
He made a contract to grant exhibition rights to Goduhan for three months from today for 3 million won.
He also made a contract to grant exhibition rights to Park Jiyeop for three months starting the day after Goduhan's exhibition rights expire for 4.5 million won.
By writing two contracts to transfer exhibition rights for six months total, he earned 7.5 million won.
Thanks to Goduhan, who made this possible, giving a 1.5 million won discount didn't feel regrettable.
'It was too big to keep in the furniture shop, but I'm grateful they're paying from today.'
Now, for six months, he could leisurely build up his name value.
'But what should I do with this 7.5 million won?'
Thinking about the money deposited in his bank account, Kang Seok smiled with satisfaction.
For now, going out for his family's first omakase wouldn't be bad. Or maybe a Korean beef omakase? As he thought various things and turned to enter the alley, he suddenly stopped.
His hands were empty. The bicycle... he left it behind. Since Goduhan had offered him a ride, he had left the bicycle at school. So no need to park the bike behind; no need to go into the alley.
Kang Seok stepped back and moved aside. The always brightly lit Seok's Furniture Shop came into view.
Cling, the door opened, and sounds of hurried movement came from inside. Kang Hyundo and Baek Myunghee came out.
As soon as they recognized Kang Seok approaching, their faces brightened with smiles.
"Seok-ah!"
"Our son!"
"Welcome back."
It was late.
.
.
.
Inside a room. A round tin container was on the warm ondol floor. It looked like they had raided the small refrigerator in the furniture shop because the bowl on the tin was piled with all kinds of vegetables and cold fried eggs.
Mixing the heavy rice with a spoon, Kang Seok prepared his appetite. Good thing he hadn't eaten earlier. Swallowing his saliva, he pressed the spoon down hard.
He wanted to take a bite right away, but Baek Myunghee and Kang Hyundo had just gone out to greet a truck that suddenly arrived. A delivery at this late hour. Worried about the delivery worker's long hours, Kang Seok poured barley tea into a cup.
Boom!
A huge thudding sound hit the floor.
What was that?
Startled, Kang Seok jumped up and went outside.
"What happened?"
Ahead, taking up his view, was a large carving wood piece you'd only find in a woodworking shop.