Chapter 100

100

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The night sky had grown dark.

The movements of Kang Seok's hands, which had been working in the darkness, gradually slowed down. Delicate strokes swept across the paper, and after pondering a few more times, Kang Seok slowly lifted the tip of his pencil from the paper.

This should be enough.

Kang Seok decisively closed the drawing book.

Then, he turned around and walked towards Go Doo-han, who was sitting on a bench that looked like it belonged in a camping site, gazing at the sky.

A large number of instant coffee wrappers were discarded in the portable trash can next to Go Doo-han. The steam rising from the mug in his hand seemed to be from instant coffee.

As Kang Seok slowly approached, Go Doo-han lifted his head at the sound of footsteps. He was unusually hatless, looking at Kang Seok with a worried expression.

"Did you finish?"

"Yes."

Just one, but it took a while.

Kang Seok sat down on the empty bench next to Go Doo-han, pondering how to fill the night sky he had seen.

"Does your leg hurt?"

"My leg?"

The reason Go Doo-han was looking at him worriedly.

It was because of the time Kang Seok spent drawing in the drawing book.

"Yeah, man. Do you know how long you've been standing there? What time is it now? Oh, look at this. It's 1:43 AM."

1:43 AM.

If he started drawing a little after 11:10 PM, it meant he had been standing and drawing for about 2 hours and 30 minutes.

"Oh."

"You're usually so fast at drawing... What's wrong?"

Go Doo-han bluntly asked the main question.

Kang Seok was originally the type who could draw a person in a size close to two pages in about an hour, almost like a black-and-white photograph. His hands were so fast that they were almost mechanical, and during the preparation for the human figure sketch collection, the third-year students were amazed by his indomitable stamina and incredible speed.

For Kang Seok to spend 2 hours and 30 minutes on a single sketch in such a small drawing book was indeed surprising. Worried, Go Doo-han asked, and Kang Seok, embarrassed, wiped the drawing book and said:

"No, it's not that. I just got so focused... When I came to my senses, I was repeatedly drawing until I was satisfied."

"Alright, if that's not the case."

As Go Doo-han said this, he turned off his phone screen and asked:

"But what did you say? You were repeatedly drawing? You didn't just draw one page?"

"Ah, yes. Well, somehow... Haha."

Kang Seok tightly held the drawing book. It somehow turned out that way. No, it wasn't "somehow."

Kang Seok was originally the type who would redraw several times until he was satisfied to achieve a perfect sketch. In this case, it was rather quick.

"How many pages did you draw?"

"......29 pages."

"Twenty-nine pages... Twenty-nine pages? You, man, you drew twenty-nine pages standing there? Just now?"

Go Doo-han sat up in surprise. His almond-shaped eyes, usually cat-like, were wide open.

Really surprised, Go Doo-han's mouth was slightly agape. Kang Seok, embarrassed, rubbed the back of his head and nodded.

"Yes, well."

Isn't that possible? Haha. Kang Seok leaned back deeply on the camping bench, contrary to Go Doo-han's reaction.

2 hours and 30 minutes for 29 pages.

Not just quick sketches, but 29 sketches in 2 hours and 30 minutes... Go Doo-han pondered the meaning.

Kang Seok was not the type to do sketches casually. It meant that it took him just 2 hours and 30 minutes, just 29 pages, to fully establish the image he wanted to extract.

Of course, it was also surprising that Kang Seok had used 29 pages to capture the image. Just how grand was this work going to be... Go Doo-han stroked his chin and leaned back on the bench.

"Is this what youth is?"

Wow, really. Go Doo-han looked up at the sky with a resigned smile.

He had long known that crafts and sculpture could be done for hours without tiring, but... Wow, this is really impressive. Go Doo-han, who had spent his life sitting in front of an easel, shook his head in amazement.

"Haha."

It's not that impressive... Is it really that big a deal? Kang Seok, embarrassed by Go Doo-han's constant amazement, smiled awkwardly.

At that moment.

Go Doo-han, with a dazed look, fumbled in his inner pocket and suddenly threw something to Kang Seok. Startled by the green object flying in the darkness, Kang Seok reflexively reached out his hand.

...As he grabbed the thick green object, warmth instantly spread through his hand. The cold fingers that had been frozen began to thaw, and Kang Seok looked down.

The green object turned out to be a disposable hand warmer.

"Even if you're drawing, your hands must be cold, right? Use it."

Kang Seok, holding the warm hand warmer, thanked him and tightly gripped it. The powder inside scattered, and his thumb sank into it like sand.

For how long did Kang Seok enjoy the hand warmer in silence?

Go Doo-han, looking at his phone, slowly continued.

"Are you not hungry?"

"I'm full."

"Is that so? Then let's take a look."

"At what?"

"Stars."

As Go Doo-han bent down next to the bench, he suddenly lifted a silver square object. It was a laptop.

Go Doo-han, opening the laptop, smiled and gestured to Kang Seok.

"I have two things to show you. I'll leave the circumpolar motion to record for another 20 minutes, but first, let's look at what I've captured with the telescope."

"Did you take them?"

"Of course."

Kang Seok looked to the side, and the telescope was already perfectly set up.

"Was I just going to sit around while you were drawing for 2 hours and 40 minutes? I've already finished the editing. Come here. It would be boring to come all the way to Tongyeong just to see Canopus or whatever."

Kang Seok slowly approached. The circumpolar motion and the star observation—this was too much consideration.

While thinking this,

Kang Seok was already in a position where he could see Go Doo-han's laptop.

"Look at this."

As Go Doo-han slowly flipped through the photos,

The colors were blue, purple, and red, not exactly what Kang Seok wanted to see, but there was a certain charm in looking at them.

Each one was beautifully colored, and Kang Seok nodded, watching Go Doo-han flip through the photos. They were beautiful, but they didn't inspire him as much as the Canopus he had discovered with his own eyes.

Where does inspiration come from?

Why doesn't my heart move for these more beautiful and splendid stars, nebulae, and galaxies? Is it because they are too soulful from my perspective?

Kang Seok recalled the fading night sky in his mind.

Right.

They weren't suitable for the night sky I saw.

At that moment,

Noticing Kang Seok's lack of reaction as he flipped through the photos, Go Doo-han subtly turned his head.

"Why? Nothing catches your eye?"

"......Haha. You took them really well."

As Kang Seok awkwardly changed the subject, Go Doo-han's eyebrows twitched roughly. It meant he wasn't inspired. After years of observing to avoid his wife, his photos didn't move Kang Seok at all...!

The colors were perfectly captured, there was no noise, and he had heavily edited them with Photoshop... Swallowing many words that rose to his throat, Go Doo-han placed the laptop on his lap.

"Let's see if you're moved by this."

Just wait.

As Go Doo-han said this, he roughly moved the laptop's built-in mouse, as if to show a masterpiece.

Kang Seok, feeling awkward, rubbed the back of his head. He was honest. His emotions didn't often show on his face, so when he wasn't moved, it was very noticeable.

What should I do?

While Kang Seok was thinking,

"Look at this. We couldn't observe tonight because it's a new moon, but this is the moon I observed with a telescope near the Han River in the past."

At the same time, Kang Seok's view was filled with black and white. More accurately, it was gray. The view, covered in monochrome, was still bright on the computer screen.

When Kang Seok's reddish-brown eyes widened at the sudden appearance of a bright, round object,

The moon filled the screen.

It was bright.

The moon, reflecting the sun's light and illuminating the night sky, was the sun of the night at that moment.

"This thing blocks the view of the stars. It's a troublesome guy. How about it? Isn't it great?"

As Go Doo-han spoke excitedly, Kang Seok's lips slowly moved.

"Teacher, when the moon is up, the stars can't be seen...?"

"......Huh? Well, usually. Stars are far away, so they can't be seen when there's a strong light nearby. It's the same with the light pollution in the city, and the moon, especially when it's close to a full moon, you can only see Orion."

"......Is that so?"

"Right, man. In the spring, it's even worse. It's lucky you want to see the stars in winter. You're lucky."

I see.

Kang Seok looked at the pale gray moon. The moon, shining in white, gray, and dark gray, was beautiful. It was mesmerizing.

Kang Seok just stared at the moon without saying a word. Go Doo-han, intrigued by Kang Seok's intense gaze, poked his head out from behind the laptop like a meerkat.

What?

What?

Did he really get inspired by the moon photo I took?

Go Doo-han's face turned red, as if he were drunk. The idea that his favorite artist was inspired by his photo to create a work of art...

It's not exactly me, but the moon I took, and the inspiration comes from the moon, not the photo, but it's the same, right...!

Go Doo-han, absorbed in the thought of telling the witch, his students, and the school, was further elated by Kang Seok's words.

"This is good."

......Huh!

Really, really, really inspired! The moon photo I took inspired Kang Seok. He was determined to boast about it for generations. When Kang Seok creates a work inspired by it, he should put the moon photo I took in front.

At the same time, Kang Seok's eyes moved away from the moon.

Kang Seok was now looking at Go Doo-han with a calm gaze.

"Can I buy this photo? I'll pay for it."

"......Huh? No, just take it."

"Huh? No, I'll buy it."

"Just take it."

It was a shame to sell it to a fan.

Go Doo-han, after a moment of thought,

Suddenly felt the courage to not let it end there. He transferred the observation camera's internal information to the laptop and frantically typed.

"I'll show you one more thing. It's about how the circumpolar motion is captured...!"

Go Doo-han, taking the laptop, rapidly typed and gestured to Kang Seok.

"So, the circumpolar motion is... "

Go Doo-han's gallery was updated with countless night sky photos. 589. As Kang Seok's eyes were fixed on the number in the corner, the program suddenly started.

"The circumpolar motion is essentially capturing the movement of the stars. It's a phenomenon caused by the Earth's rotation. If the camera is stationary and continuously takes photos, it can record this."

"......"

Go Doo-han's hands continued to move.

At that moment, Go Doo-han seemed to be a specialist in astronomy. Unlike his usual appearance in the sketching room, his fingers tapped the laptop keyboard like an octopus.

"Here, if you set the interval to 20 seconds and the shutter to 15 seconds, and then naturally combine the photos with this program, the stars will..."

At the same time, dozens or hundreds of photos merged into one. Dots that were once separate connected into lines, and lines that didn't exist before extended like Van Gogh's Starry Night.

Just as the same white and blue colors don't have the same hue under the sky, the stars extended into dozens of lines under the wide-angle lens.

In the moment when 3 hours of recording were condensed into one photo,

A single canvas created by nature was completed.

"Ah."

Kang Seok saw a figure in it.

Someone was faintly smiling beyond the hundreds or thousands of shining lines.

The moon.

Canopus (the Southern Pole Star).

The circumpolar motion.

And something beyond.

Where does inspiration come from?

Does it come?

Or is it seen?

Kang Seok felt a sensation as if his head was about to explode.

The images he had seen seemed to rise and fall like a curtain, completing a single peak.

In the long, dark curtain, something white, yellow, blue, and unknown revealed itself.

...The puzzle pieces of the night sky he had seen that day were fitting together in his mind.

"......Notte."

"Huh? What did you say?"

Go Doo-han turned to look at Kang Seok.

Kang Seok was already looking up at the vast night sky, beyond the small screen. The endless black curtain, the vast night sky, seemed to be filled with his work.

The black night sky.

And the four sculptures to fill the black night sky.

The four sculptures filling the black curtain would be a series and four individual works.

Kang Seok thought.

He wanted to start working right away.

There were not just one or two things to work on.

And not just one or two things he needed.

First, he needed to contact Director Yoon Su-cheol, and also President Cho Dong-beom, and... Ah, Teacher Yang Seon-gu.

"......Seok?"

As Kang Seok was making various plans in his mind,

Go Doo-han called him again.

Kang Seok, as if pouring out his thoughts, said:

"Notte, the name to fill that space is Notte."

"That space? What's Notte...?"

The name to connect the four works was Notte, Italian for "night."

101. It was drawn with charcoal, as if by an angel's hand.