Chapter 98

98

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1500, the Holy Year (Year of Grace and Salvation).

Pope Alexander VI ordered the simultaneous opening of the Holy Doors of four major basilicas, including St. Peter's Basilica, and he personally opened the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica.

As the Holy Year was proclaimed, countless pilgrims flocked to Rome from all over Europe.

Among these many pilgrims was Nicolaus Copernicus, who at twenty-seven had become a canon of the Catholic Diocese of Warmia at the age of twenty-two.

Nicolaus Copernicus.

Destined to become one of the world's most famous astronomers by writing "On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres" (De revolutionibus orbium coelestium), Copernicus also came to Rome that year.

And Michelangelo was still in Rome in 1500.

...At this time, shortly after arriving, Copernicus began giving lectures on mathematics and astronomy at the residence where he was staying.

According to legend, many intellectuals attended these lectures, and among the names was Michelangelo Buonarroti.

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According to the "Dialogues" by humanist writer Donato Giannotti, one of Michelangelo's conversation partners, Antonio Petreo, left this remark:

“He knew an incredible amount, enough to add to astronomy...”

* * * *

On a night when it started to snow.

In the first-floor living room of a house in Seongbuk-dong.

Jang Chae-young, who was sitting at the dining table and listening to a winter break special lecture on her laptop, had a heavy bowl placed beside her with a clatter.

The bowl, said to be from a place with a hundred-year tradition, was filled with winter fruits. Jang Chae-young, her eyes wide open at the well-prepared fruits, looked up. Baek Myung-hee, with a gentle smile, was looking down at her.

“I was just getting hungry...!”

Jang Chae-young, with a bright smile, hugged Baek Myung-hee's waist tightly with both hands. She then rubbed her face against Baek Myung-hee's stomach, mumbling. Her earphones, which had been in her ears, were now rolling around on the table.

“Mom, you’re the best...!”

“You look beautiful when you study hard, so I’m giving you this.”

“I do study hard. Just wait. I’ll get a scholarship, and we can buy meat with it!”

“Oh? If you get the scholarship, why would we buy meat with your money? Forget it. You can use the scholarship you earned for whatever you want. Now, put this down. You need to take this to your brother too.”

“Brother?”

Jang Chae-young, surprised by the word "brother," looked up at Baek Myung-hee.

“Is he home? When? How long has he been here? I haven’t seen him?”

“He just came... Oh, right. He came when you were in the middle of your shower, I think.”

Jang Chae-young jumped up from her seat.

Yoon Yuran had been pestering her to get some exclusive items if there were any, but they had been too busy to properly greet each other. She had to ask today.

As Jang Chae-young turned to rush off, Baek Myung-hee caught the back of her T-shirt and pulled her back like a cat.

“Ah! Mom, let go. I have something to ask my brother...!”

“Alright, dear. Your brother won’t even respond if you go now. Just focus on your lecture and eat your fruit. You said you’d get a scholarship, didn’t you?”

“It’s not like I’ll lose the scholarship if I stop for five minutes. Ah, let go. I’m not going to ask him anything weird. It’s business, business. I’m the manager of his fan club, you know? Ah, Mom...!”

“Okay, okay. Manager of the official Jang Seok fan club. Don’t disturb Seok when he’s in focus mode. Let’s study. Look at this delicious fruit, ah.”

“Ah, really.”

Jang Chae-young, with a pout, sat back down. Baek Myung-hee, finding her adorable, fed her a mouthful of fruit and then slowly turned around.

To take the fruit to Jang Seok.

Baek Myung-hee slowly walked to the quiet room at the end of the hallway, which used to be Grandpa Lee Young-hyuk’s room and is now Jang Seok’s.

Knock knock.

Baek Myung-hee knocked on the tightly closed door and carefully turned the doorknob to open it. Pushing the well-oiled wooden door, she saw Jang Seok’s profile as he read a book.

Beside him, books were piled up. In front of him, a computer emitted a bright light. As she slowly approached with the fruit bowl, she noticed many tabs floating at the bottom of the internet window on the computer screen.

Celestial sphere.

Celestial body.

Celestial.

The character for "sky" (天) filled the internet window.

Though she didn’t know much, it seemed like all of them were research materials.

‘He used to love reading, but it seems even more intense lately.’

Her head turned.

Beside the desk.

She noticed for the first time that many books related to astronomy and the universe were inserted into the bookshelf. When they moved, there were so many things, and she didn’t want to disturb her son’s privacy while cleaning, so she only cleaned and left. Now, she could see this.

Is it just a hobby, or does he really like it...?

A new hobby?

Thinking about it, it seemed that whenever Jang Seok focused on TV lately, it was only when watching videos or stories about the universe or constellations.

‘If he likes it this much, it’s quite impressive.’

Was there ever a time when Jang Seok was this focused on something other than art...? It didn’t seem so. Oh, Baek Myung-hee nodded.

‘He’s as focused as when he’s working, so he must really, really like it...!’

Our son is this dedicated to his hobbies?

Baek Myung-hee clapped her hands in her heart, impressed, and then carefully placed the bowl.

As she barely managed to place the bowl among the books, a click was heard. Baek Myung-hee, startled, turned to look. Jang Seok, however, continued reading without any reaction.

Well, when Jang Seok is in that state, no one can distract him.

When he’s focused, he doesn’t hear the sounds around him and is completely absorbed in what’s in front of him.

Looking at him, Baek Myung-hee thought he looked like a drama protagonist, despite being someone’s son, and walked to the door with a bright smile.

It was a peaceful and happy evening for her.

* * * *

After Jang Seok regained his memories from his past life.

Most things were similar to before.

But not everything could be the same.

Jang Seok felt that he had changed in a few ways compared to before.

For example, he became more interested in masculine works, like muscles, and when talking about contracts with adults, he acted like a sly fox. His personality became a bit stronger and more stubborn, and he developed a perverse obsession with the human body.

He also developed a pointless rivalry with Leonardo da Vinci, and while he could pinpoint a few changes, there were many subtle differences he couldn’t quite put his finger on... One of them was his new hobby of reading books about astronomy.

After regaining his memories from his past life, he often read books about astronomy.

He found it interesting to look for differences from his past. Specifically, he was more interested in celestial bodies themselves rather than scientific theories or explanations related to astronomy.

Regardless, it was a hobby.

He continued to be fascinated by the phenomena and metaphysical aspects of the celestial realm, just as he was in his past life. By the time he came to his senses, he was already deeply captivated by the charm of the night.

Night.

Looking at the stars twinkling beyond the night sky, which had been hidden by the sun, Jang Seok felt as if he was captivated by a mysterious charm. It was as if he had become a romantic poet, scribbling down the stars as if they were poems on a piece of paper.

But that only happened a few times.

“I really want to see the night sky properly...”

The sky in South Korea had long been severely polluted. The stars on the ground in Seoul, when you looked up at the night sky, often made you wonder if they were stars, artificial satellites, or passing airplanes.

The few stars visible in Seoul’s night sky were not very appealing to Jang Seok. He wanted to be immersed in romance. Romance. Is there a good place?

Jang Seok leaned back.

Leaning against the soft backrest, he saw something he hadn’t noticed before. A bowl of fruit he hadn’t seen before was on the desk.

There was only one person who could put something like this in his room.

His mother.

When did she come in?

Jang Seok, surprised, looked at the fruit bowl and slowly picked up a piece of fruit with a fork. The juice flowed as he brought it to his mouth, and it was fresh and sweet.

The expensive-looking fruit and the well-functioning boiler were things he couldn’t have imagined a year ago.

With the home settled and no need to pay for art school or materials, many things became more abundant than expected.

Eating another piece of fruit, Jang Seok looked at the computer screen.

A proper night sky.

Is there a good place?

Jang Seok clicked through various options with his mouse.

Usually, compared to his past life, it was now harder to see the stars directly, so he often satisfied himself with videos or planetariums. However, seeing them in person was different, and the emotion wasn’t as strong as before.

Such a half-hearted emotion wasn’t suitable for his new work.

Jang Seok sighed and looked through various materials. These were materials he had gathered to see the night sky properly.

If he couldn’t see them with his own eyes, he thought about buying a proper telescope or visiting the St. Petersburg Planetarium, but with the Miami fresco unresolved, he couldn’t afford to spend too much time.

He wanted to finish the fresco as soon as possible, just as he wanted to complete the sculpture.

So, Jang Seok’s plan was this:

‘Focus on one sculpture as quickly as possible and finish it before graduation, then go to Miami right after graduation to complete the fresco.’

That was his New Year’s resolution.

In that sense, he could buy a telescope if needed, but going to St. Petersburg would take too much time. Similarly, all the overseas spots known for good stargazing didn’t meet his conditions.

His next plan was to visit places like Gangneung Anbandeok in Gangwon-do, Haeundae Beach in Pohang, Gyeonggi-do Yangpyeong, Anmyeon Island in Chungnam, Jeju 1100m elevation, Yeongwol Baramro Observatory, Hamback Mountain in Jeongseon, and the Astronomy Village in Hoengseong.

Looking at the list of domestic spots known for good stargazing, Jang Seok fell into deep thought.

He wasn’t sure which one would provide the scenery that matched the inspiration he had received.

How long did he think about it?

Jang Seok spent hours in deep thought as the night grew deeper.

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“Ah, really, where should I go?”

As the night sky outside the window deepened to a dark black, a vibration came from the desk. Jang Seok, deep in thought, quickly stood up.

The source of the vibration was his phone.

Jang Seok’s eyes naturally turned to the phone screen.

Seeing the name on the screen, Jang Seok picked up the phone with a curious look. The name on the screen was Go Doo-han.

“Teacher? What’s the matter?”

Surprised, Jang Seok answered the call, and a low voice came from the speaker.

At first, it sounded like Go Doo-han was annoyed or angry, and his gruff voice made it seem like he was frowning under his cap.

Ah.

Jang Seok nodded.

In fact, Jang Seok had asked many people where the best stargazing spots were, and one of them was Teacher Jeong Byung-kyun.

“Yes, I did.”

But why? Jang Seok swallowed his words and focused on the breathing sounds coming from the speaker.

Jang Seok’s eyes widened.

It was an unexpected proposal.

“Teacher?”

While Jang Seok was surprised and paused, Go Doo-han’s rapid-fire voice came from the speaker.

The irritation in his voice was so palpable that it seemed he was already frowning and scowling.

It was as if he would wag his tail if he had one. Imagining Go Doo-han’s irritable face, Jang Seok burst out laughing.

“No, I’m happy to. When should we go?”

Go Doo-han said this and then abruptly hung up, as he always did, only focusing on the main point and hanging up as soon as it was over.

Jang Seok, holding the phone that had been hung up, smiled.

In fact, he was practically already graduated.

He wasn’t preparing for regular college entrance exams, and he wasn’t going to college. He had already given up on the entrance exams long ago, and he hadn’t been attending school diligently since the exhibition.

Yet, it seemed that he was still a topic of conversation at school. Seeing how Go Doo-han called him based on a passing comment from Jeong Byung-kyun, it seemed he was quite a favored student.

Jang Seok, who didn’t have a good relationship with his teachers in his past life, smiled faintly, thinking how fate could be so strange. He then stood up with the empty fruit bowl, looking at the many books and materials.

Since he said to go in the morning, he needed to go to bed early.

Jang Seok, with a smile, turned around.

It was a cozy night.

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The next day.

Jang Seok, who woke up early in the morning, was holding his phone, deep in thought.

Since they hadn’t decided where or when to meet, he was unsure where to go and by when.

I’ll hear from him, right?

Just as he thought this,

The phone vibrated.

It was before 7:00 AM.

Seeing the message pop up, Jang Seok, with a doubtful look, moved his thumb.

Surprised by the message from Go Doo-han, Jang Seok stood up. Did this guy not sleep? Jang Seok, already prepared, slung a book bag with a few drawing notebooks and stood up.

The phone vibrated again.

Looking at the phone as he left the room, it was from someone else.

It was news that the renovation of the 7th floor of the Renaissance Mall, which Jang Seok had entrusted to Yun Soo-chul, introduced by Ryu Su-hyun before he took over the building from Park Seon-woo, was almost complete.

Jang Seok closed the door and walked out.

Preparations for a new work were almost complete.

Jang Seok took a step.

He was determined to create another great work.

99. I saw a few of his paintings.