Episode 408:
The faint scent of coffee.
Light ivory wallpaper. The air sparkling with the warm color of wood and the sunlight cut into small pieces in the shape of a window. The curtains that framed the sunlight were heavy black, creating balance in the infinitely light room.
The woman in the not-so-beautiful but attractive frame was staring into space, and coincidentally, her gaze was touching the unfinished canvas. The colors intertwined in oil paintings were playing chaotically but harmoniously within the white square.
“Hmm…”
Beyond the large canvas supported by a sturdy easel, beneath the feet of a man holding an art knife…
“…it’s not what I expected.”
Blood.
A patch of hair and pale skin. finger. part of an organ. eyeball.
“I guess it’s because the ingredients are not good.”
Song In-myeong sighed and wiped the knife.
There was blood mixed with paint on the towel, but the sight was not very unnatural. He put the clean knife in his apron pocket and walked away from the canvas.
The quality of the material that Song In-myeong refers to does not simply mean that the color of the blood must be vivid, the skin tissue must be soft, the fingers must be well-balanced, the organs must be healthy, or the eyeballs must have a special color.
“It must have been difficult for an insignificant person to create an atmosphere of the high-level concept of sacrifice, right?”
I just want to create an atmosphere that fits the topic. Just as adding expensive truffles when cooking does not solve everything.
“Would I be able to complete this topic even if I devoted my whole life to it?…”
The topic that Song In-myeong is exploring most deeply recently is ‘sacrifice.’
Now that it was too late to kill Lee Jae-heon, who was the most important material, I had no idea how to supply the materials. To be honest, Jaeheon Lee was too valuable a talent to be used only as material material.
Jaeheon Lee was a living work of art that was completed while remaining unfinished. Subtly interfering with someone else’s work hurts Song In-myeong’s pride, and even kills it? It was the same as giving an entire plate of three Michelin stars to pigeons lying on the sidewalk. I couldn’t do such a wasteful thing.
‘Still, my hands were itching so I tried to make a study.’
Tsk tsk Song In-myeong rubbed the back of his neck.
“I didn’t know it would fail this much.”
Is it because no effort was put into preparing the ingredients compared to the high-level theme of ‘sacrifice’? No matter what picture he drew, what kind of porcelain he made, or what kind of statue he carved, he was never satisfied. In fact, if I couldn’t immerse myself in the material from the beginning of the work, there was no way a proper work could come out.
Song In-myeong’s works are created from inspiration that sticks in the mind. Although there is a basic plan and framework, it changes and evolves countless times during the process of immersion, ultimately becoming a single work. In that sense, this unmotivated study had no other purpose than to loosen Song In-myeong’s hands.
“Oh shit. “Can’t we do something?”
I don’t want to kill Jaeheon Lee. However, I want to make a work with Lee Jae-heon. To satisfy all these desires, all you have to do is keep him alive and complete them, but that would take too much time.
As creating living works was not Song In-myeong’s signature, I wanted to refine Lee Jae-heon in a familiar way. That desire rises. I knew that it was an absurd waste, and even though I made a study, my greed did not go away, so I was in trouble.
“If only there were two Lee Jae-heon… damn, how good it would have been.”
Then, I wouldn’t have to worry about Lee Dang and Jaeheon Lee would have been able to taste it in two forms.
“Aaaahhh….”
Song In-myeong sat down on the sofa in his studio as if lying down. As the day got warmer and the sun came in, I felt tired even though I hadn’t eaten. I felt like my whole body was melting naturally in the warm air.
“head hurts.”
If it weren’t for the chunks of meat rolling around, it would have been a pretty heartwarming sight.
“I feel nervous about tasks like this that have no visible results.”
I felt similar nervousness when I was discussing the topic of ‘friends’ with Vivian and Seo Jang-hwa in the past. Among those who do art, Song In-myeong is quick-witted and respects diversity, but he prefers to get results as quickly as possible. This is because I am addicted to the sense of accomplishment I feel when creating a piece of work.
However, Jaeheon Lee would never achieve visible results. That’s because he was a work of art only when he was alive, and as a corpse he was nothing more than a piece of meat with scars. The meat quality must be good, but even if you try to make a work of art with that piece of meat, it will only be tantalizing… “….
”
Song In-myeong, who had been dazed, slowly straightened his upper body and sat down.
He muttered in a serious manner.
“As expected, is only a favorable film the answer?”
Likeable work.
One of the gaming terms is an abbreviation for the task of increasing the likeability of a game character. Song In-myeong’s tastes were closer to action rather than mental connection, so he didn’t really enjoy the work, but he developed a desire that he wouldn’t have if the other person was a natural monument that he would never touch again in his life. When will I be able to enjoy an opportunity like this again?
“Yeah fuck. This happened quickly, so I took control of Lee Jae-heon… no, no. Then the beauty of the work disappears. Okay, anyway, if you become a good friend, you might be able to get an ingredient or two. Because he is a person who doesn’t even care about scratches on his body. Then, I can create a work that I like while faithfully keeping the intention of Lee Jae-heon’s work. You can also make several instead of just one. If Lee Jae-heon is alive and not dead, at least we can extract his fingernails and blood as soon as they regenerate…”
Song In-myeong, who had been muttering for a while, stood up.
“Then you should stop being a bit pretentious.”
He picked up one of the many cell phones and called someone.
Tooru- Tooru- Tooru-…
“….”
Tooru-… Pop.
Song In-myeong expressed his sadness at the hung up call.
“Do you hate me that much, you little bastard?”
It doesn’t matter that I don’t like it or that I don’t receive calls, but I really didn’t like the way the tail stretched out without even knowing how nervous I was. Song In-myeong, who quickly gave up on attacking the target directly, contacted the target’s manager.
Fortunately, I received this on time. What are you going to do if you don’t accept it?
[Oh, writer Song In-myeong?]
“Are you next to the little pig?”
[There is no pig next to me.]
“You still behave well. Anyway, I’m right next to you. Try changing me.”
[Please wait a moment…]
Before the woman finished speaking, her voice changed.
[What’s going on?]
“Wow, bro! “It’s been a fucking long time!”
[So what’s going on?]
“Ah, people are so unloving. “If we’ve heard each other’s voices for the first time in a while, shouldn’t we at least share what we’ve been up to?”
[I have nothing to share with student Song In-myeong.]
“….”
You keep getting on my nerves.
The common titles for suppliers working in this industry were ‘writer’ or ‘president’. Even though we weren’t very close, I couldn’t help but notice that the reason I called him ‘student Song In-myeong’ was to ignore him. Song In-myeong quietly took a deep breath at the openly displayed contempt and discrimination.
‘It’s still something I don’t want to use even as a moisturizer.’
However, Song In-myeong had a clear purpose, and for that purpose, it was not difficult to lose his temper a little. Just like how I didn’t kill that old bastard named Professor for the sake of Project ‘Friend’.
And this time, Song In-myeong had the upper hand. I was sure of that.
“…okay? “I have a story to share with you.”
[I’m not particularly curious.]
“Do you have any plans for next Friday?”
[It’s Friday next week…]
The voice on the other end of the phone continued.
[…Are you talking about the charity party that many sponsors will attend? I heard that since the auction is held in a gala format, a lot of artists’ works are up for sale.]
“It’s good because it’s quick to understand.”
[This doesn’t seem to have anything to do with me, but I’m curious what you’re thinking. Doesn’t Inmyeong Song, who is already receiving a lot of love from his sponsors, have any particular hobbies in attending such events? I don’t like putting my work up for auction, and I don’t have the ability to find materials on the spot.] It was a
charity party, but in reality, it was no different from a social gathering for the wealthy of a large company. If you had to point out something special, it would be that there were an unusually large number of industry sponsors in attendance this time. However, it was not a story that would interest Song In-myeong, who had already received sufficient support and had no intention of asking for more.
As the saying goes, even if you look for ingredients in places where people of the same level as the sponsors gather, you won’t really be able to use them. Song In-myeong did not like wasting time like that.
“That’s true, but if you bring ingredients that you already have in hand, wouldn’t it be polite to go out and pick them up yourself?”
[Oh are you crazy? You’re really bold when dealing with people in high positions. It’s almost time for the student’s head to be cut off.]
“What if an agreement has already been reached?”
[…agreement? What kind of person would agree with someone like a student?]
Song In-myeong thought of Lee Jae-heon as the person who showed interest despite being sarcastic. Although we never exchanged any particularly detailed plans or thoughts, I felt like I could just make things up on my own. Anyway, both Lee Jae-heon and Song In-myeong don’t want to talk about the behind-the-scenes world…
Song In-myeong continued, mixing truth and lies appropriately.
“There was a day when I came across something I liked and went to pick it up myself.”
[Are you still going around sourcing ingredients yourself? The student then gets arrested.]
“You’re not just begging for me to get caught, are you? Anyway, there was some kind of bastard. “An angel whose wings almost fell off?”
[Can I vomit?]
“I don’t just mean that in a good way. There’s a sense of alienation that doesn’t really make me feel like a human being… Oh, really, don’t interrupt me. “I’m talking.”
[….]
“Really, anyway, that’s why I went looking for him and ran into this guy.”
The angel mentioned here was Munsan-gun, and the uncle was Lee Jae-heon. Based on their attitudes seen in the other world, Song In-myeong created a story that could have happened in real life.
“Isn’t it usually right to run away? “I was outright a murderer, and my original target was busy crying, and, well… there was no one to help me, and I was even holding a knife, so you got involved?”
[…It’s unique, but it’s probably not something that happens entirely.]
“It’s a different story if that guy is the youngest member of Idang Group.”
[…Wait a minute.]
The man guessed.
[I said uncle, so he must be quite old. If you’re the youngest there… isn’t that Manager Lee Jae-heon of Ohseong?]
“You crazy bastard, do you know this? “Why do you know?”
[I knew this party because it was famous for not being messed with. No, but that person rushed at you, the murderer, to save someone? That doesn’t make sense?]
“Oh….”
What’s going on, uncle?
“…Well, so what do you think the situation was?”
[…It would be a much more plausible answer to say that I was mistaken about the person. There is no way Director Lee Jae-heon would risk his life to save someone. Of course, your poor victim was probably acquainted with Director Lee Jae-heon quite well…]
“That’s not true either. “I was a complete stranger.”
[Then it makes even more sense. I’ve heard that too, but I’m definitely not that kind of person.]
“I thought that too, right?”
Song In-myeong continued speaking with a grin.
“But you know me, bro. I’m not an idiot who chooses ingredients carelessly. I really risked my life and entrusted him with the investigation. “That person is Lee Jae-heon, the youngest member of Lee Dang Group.”
[…I don’t understand….]
“What if ‘Manager Lee Jae-heon”s appearance was all acting?”
[….]
“But what if you showed your true nature to save someone who was on the verge of death and made a little agreement with me in return for asking you not to kill the target I had set your sights on?”
[…Did you come here in a dream, student Song In-myeong? It’s a pretty interesting novel.]
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe it.”
Song In-myeong acted calmly, as if it really didn’t matter.
“Oh just. “Because he is a person who is somewhat related to the context of the work he usually creates.”
[….]
“I told you because I was afraid that if I ate all of it and only the bones remained, it would be very sad.”
Just like a drug addict.
“I think I’m going to come up with a really shitty piece of work this time. brother.”
[…That’s funny. “Your work is extremely crude.]
“Even if what you say is right, are you afraid that I’ll waste these materials? “Don’t give a damn.”
[Ha now…]
“You really ignore me too much.”
[….]
“…What….”
I feel drowsy, drunk with satisfaction.
“I thought I would order something nice for my brother, who has been suffering from lack of materials these days. Do you really want to come to the event? “Does my fearful brother not like that?”
[…Do you remember my author’s name? I don’t use it unless I’m a woman.]
“Really? “Don’t do that.”
Song In-myeong smiled deeply.
“Let’s never see each other again.”
[You bastard-….]
Pop.
I cut off contact.
“….”
Song In-myeong’s eyes widened as he looked at the phone that had returned to the background screen.
“Ah, that’s fun…”
Since we’ve made it this far, Pygmalion Seong Dae-young’s personality was bound to come out at the charity party. If it’s part 1, which is highly public, he’ll definitely come out in part 2.
Nevertheless, I was sincere when I said never to see him again.
“Do real men also want to commit murder?”
After treating him as a gift to Lee Jae-heon, there will be no need to see him again.
Song In-myeong smiled with satisfaction.
(Continued in the next part)
