The Mysterious Art Museum

Chapter 154 (1) - The Mysterious Art Museum

A brush lightly dipped in a mix of white, brown, and yellow paints circles the top of the white canvas, then, with lighter strokes, mixes brown and blue into the fading paint.

The man shrouded in mystery washes his brush, shakes off all the paint on the easel, and then blends all the painted colors on the canvas with a clean brush.

As his brush moves in an ‘S’ shape, a dark and rough sky appears with each stroke.

He dips a one-inch brush in titanium white paint to mark the center of the sun, then scrapes off the paint with a knife.

A knife mixed with blue, brown, and cream colors scratches across the canvas.

The knife, drawn so powerfully as if to tear the painting, moves diagonally. Then, the artist uses a clean brush again to sweep over the canvas, mixing the paint.

Jungkook's eyes widen as he mutters,

“Is there such a way to paint?”

Cheoljin's eyes are also wide, but he doesn’t shift his skewed gaze.

Junyoung, holding Cheoljin's shoulder, says,

“Quiet for a sec. Holy sh*t. What is that?”

As the brush with black paint moves in a circular direction on the canvas, black clouds start to form.

These clouds, combined with the scars made by the knife, are expressed as clouds moving quickly on the wind.

Each time the titanium white paint brushes over the black clouds, they gain light and shadow.

“Wow……”

Pure admiration.

Even Cheoljin, who had been looking skeptically, opens his mouth in awe. The three friends are amazed not only by the vividness of the painting but also by the astonishing speed at which it's being created.

Junyoung, staring intently at the painting, asks,

“Hey, the clouds... Can you feel the distance? He seems to be giving depth to the clouds with white and blue. Damn, he's so fast. Can you paint like that?”

Jungkook swallows hard and shakes his head.

“No, that's crazy.”

Incredible skill. While ordinary people are simply amazed, the art students are in shock. And then they witness a scene that nearly knocks them off their feet.

“Sh*t, he's expressing that with a knife? Insane!”

“He's only used five colors, that guy. What the hell?”

“Can you really depict waves just by dipping a knife in titanium white?”

The man shrouded in a veil dips his knife in titanium white and lightly brushes it horizontally across the bottom black-painted part of the canvas, moving downwards.

This simple act creates waves over the black paint in the picture.

“Again, again! He’s mixing it all up with a clean brush. Holy sh*t! The waves are blending into the sea.”

“What’s that? It’s not magic. What technique is that, exactly? I’ve never learned that in school.”

The man with his face covered draws a cliff on the right side of the screen and adds white foam crashing against the coastline. The scene of water flowing over rocks is vividly depicted.

A solitary tree stands precariously on the cliff. The heavily clouded sky and fast-moving clouds. Waves reaching high as if to touch the sky.

All elements seem to be moving with life.

Junyoung swallows hard and looks at his watch.

“Sh*t, it was 11:13 AM when we woke up.”

Cheoljin, with eyes about to pop out, asks,

“What time is it now?”

“11:30 AM.”

“Sh*t…….”

Just 17 minutes. Although it must have taken some time for the black paint at the bottom to dry, the work done afterwards was only 17 minutes. But the painting is nearly complete.

Jungkook, looking at the man finishing the painting and cleaning up, turns to Cheoljin.

“A narcissistic idiot, you said? That person?”

“…….”

Cheoljin is speechless as if he has eaten honey. Jungkook mutters to himself again.

“Who could he possibly be?”

Junyoung quickly runs to the man, saying,

“He must be a famous painter. Let's go and greet him!”

Jungkook follows Junyoung, and Cheoljin, who was standing dazed, also runs after them.

Junyoung, arriving first behind the man, bows deeply at a 90-degree angle.

“Hello, senior!”

Startled by the loud greeting while cleaning up, the man turns around. He is Junghoon.

Following Junyoung, Jungkook and Cheoljin also bow.

“Hello, senior!”

Junghoon, surprised by the sudden appearance of the people, asks,

“Senior?”

Junyoung responds with a grin.

“We are art students. We were watching you paint from afar. You are really amazing!”

“Indeed! We were so surprised. How can you paint so quickly?”

“That’s a really impressive painting, senior!”

Even Cheoljin, who had been making sarcastic comments, is busy showering praises.

“How did you paint this in just 17 minutes? You started painting directly without even sketching. How do you practice to be able to paint like this, senior?”

Upon learning they are art students, Junghoon smiles with his eyes.

“Which school?”

Junyoung, Cheoljin, and Jungkook straighten their shoulders simultaneously.

“We are students at Seoul Comprehensive College of Arts.”

The three of them seem proud of their school.

That’s understandable as Seoul Comprehensive College of Arts is one of the top three art colleges in the country, so it’s natural for the students to have pride, even though they are currently struggling with unemployment.

Realizing they are juniors from his alma mater, Junghoon smiles even more.

“I graduated from there too.”

The three friends’ eyes widen simultaneously.

“As expected! With such remarkable skills, it makes sense!”

“Wow! Such a coincidence!”

“We respect you, senior!”

Junghoon looks at the three friends intently and smiles with his eyes.

“Is school life manageable?”

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