Year 1500: A Holy Year (Year of Grace and Salvation)
Pope Alexander VI ordered the Holy Doors of all four major basilicas, including St. Peter's Basilica, to be opened simultaneously, and he himself opened the Holy Door of St. Peter's.
As soon as the Holy Year was proclaimed, countless pilgrims from all over Europe flocked to Rome.
Among those many pilgrims was Nicolaus Copernicus, who had become a canon of the Warmia Catholic Archdiocese at the age of twenty-two and was now twenty-seven.
Nicolaus Copernicus.
Destined to become one of the most famous astronomers in the world through his work De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres), Copernicus too came to Rome that year.
And Michelangelo was still residing in Rome in 1500.
···Around this time, shortly after Copernicus arrived, he began offering lectures on mathematics and astronomy at the house he was staying in.
Legend has it that many intellectuals attended these lectures, and among the names was Michelangelo Buonarroti.
In the Dialogues of humanist writer Donato Giannotti, one of Michelangelo's interlocutors, Antonio Petreo, left this remark:
"He knew extraordinary things. So much so that they should be added to the field of astronomy..."
A snowy night.
First floor of the Seongbuk-dong residence.
As Kang Chaeyoung sat at the dining table watching a winter break special lecture on her laptop, a heavy bowl landed beside her with a clink.
It was filled with winter seasonal fruits, carefully peeled and arranged. Her eyes widened as she looked up. Baek Myeonghee, wearing a gentle smile, was looking down at her.
"I was just getting hungry...!"
Smiling brightly, Chaeyoung wrapped her arms tightly around Baek Myeonghee's waist, rubbing her cheek near her belly while murmuring. The earphones that had been in Chaeyoung's ears were now rolling across the table.
"Mom, you're the best...!"
"You're getting this because you're studying hard."
"Well, I am studying hard. Just wait and see — I'll win a scholarship for sure. Then we can celebrate with a meat feast!"
"Aigo? You're the one earning the scholarship. What meat feast? Nope. If my daughter earns a scholarship through hard work, she should spend it however she wants. Now let go — I need to take some to your brother too."
"Oppa?"
Chaeyoung looked up at Baek Myeonghee in surprise at the mention of her older brother.
"Oppa's home? When? Since when? I didn't see him?"
"He came earlier... Oh right, you were in the shower then."
Chaeyoung sprang to her feet.
Yoon Yuran had been begging her to ask if her brother had any extra copies of the limited edition Sunset in Florence! They hadn't had a chance to talk properly with how busy things had been, but now was the perfect opportunity.
Just as she was about to dash off, Baek Myeonghee tugged the back of her t-shirt like pulling a cat back, gently dragging her into her seat again.
"Ah, Mom! Let go. I have something to ask Oppa...!"
"Nope. What do you think he'll say right now? Don't bother your brother and just eat your fruit and listen to your lecture. Didn't you say you were winning a scholarship?"
"Not listening for five minutes isn't going to ruin my chances, okay? Ugh, let gooo. I'm not going to ask anything weird. This is business, business! I'm Oppa's fan cafe manager, remember? Mommm...!"
"Yes, yes. Dear official manager of Kangseok's fan cafe. Don't go distracting him in the middle of his 'focus mode.' Let's just study. We have tasty fruit here, ahhh~"
"Agh, seriously."
Chaeyoung sighed and plopped back down with a sulky expression as she opened her mouth with a resigned "ah." Baek Myeonghee, smiling at her daughter's cuteness, popped some fruit into her mouth and turned around.
She was taking a bowl of fruit to Kangseok.
Myeonghee quietly climbed the stairs to the end of the silent hallway, to the room that had once belonged to Grandpa Lee Younghyuk and now belonged to Kangseok.
Knock knock.
She gently turned the doorknob and opened the firmly closed door. As she stepped through the well-oiled wooden door, she saw Kangseok's profile, deeply immersed in a book.
Next to him were piles of books. In front of him, his computer screen glowed brightly. As she approached with the fruit bowl, her eyes caught the tabs open on his browser.
Celestial sphere. Celestial body. Zenith.
The Chinese character for sky (天) filled the tabs across the screen.
She didn't know exactly what it all meant, but from his level of focus, it must've been important reference material.
"He's always liked reading, but lately it seems even more intense."
She glanced sideways.
By his desk, the shelves were stuffed with books on astronomy and the universe — something she hadn't noticed before. During the move, there'd been too much stuff, and during cleaning, she avoided poking around too much out of respect for his privacy.
So maybe it wasn't research. Maybe he just liked it?
A new hobby?
Come to think of it, the only times he'd really been glued to the TV lately was when space documentaries or constellations were on.
"If he's this obsessed, that's kind of amazing."
Besides his art, had Kangseok ever been this focused on anything else? Probably not. Myeonghee's eyes widened in realization.
"He's as focused on this as he is when he's working — wow, he must really love it...!"
My son even puts this much effort into his hobbies?
Proudly, she clapped her hands in her mind and quietly set down the fruit.
Just as she slid it into a gap between the books — click — a small sound. She flinched and looked over.
But Kangseok hadn't moved a muscle, still absorbed in his book.
Well, that made sense. Once Kangseok entered this state, no one could break his concentration. When he was focused, he didn't seem to hear a thing around him, completely immersed in what was in front of him.
She smiled.
Her son looked like a drama protagonist — even though he was hers.
Still smiling, Baek Myeonghee tiptoed to the door.
To her, it was yet another peaceful and happy evening.
Since Kangseok realized his past life...
Most things stayed the same.
But of course, not everything could.
Even he felt a few changes within himself.
Like how he'd become more interested in muscular, masculine art... or how he turned sly like an old fox when discussing contracts with adults... or how he became more assertive and stubborn... or how he developed a weirdly intense obsession with human anatomy...
Or how he harbored a completely unnecessary rivalry with Da Vinci...
He said "a few," but in truth, there were many small, unnameable changes.
One of them was his newfound hobby of reading books on astronomy.
Since recalling his past life, he frequently read about celestial matters.
Not because of the science or theories per se — but because he found the heavens themselves fascinating.
A hobby, nonetheless.
Just like in his past life, he was drawn to celestial phenomena and metaphysical concepts of the heavens. Before he knew it, he'd fallen deeply in love with the night.
The night.
When the stars hidden by the sun's glow began to twinkle in the evening sky, Kangseok felt captivated by its mysterious charm. It was like becoming a romantic poet — catching the starlight with his pen like it were verses to be written.
But even that had its limits.
"I just want to see a proper night sky..."
The skies over South Korea had long been plagued by air pollution. The manmade stars in Seoul made it hard to tell whether you were looking at stars, satellites, or passing airplanes.
If you could spot even one or two stars, it was considered lucky. To Kangseok, Seoul's night held no magic.
He wanted romance. Real, starry romance.
Wasn't there anywhere good to see the stars?
Kang-seok leaned back in his chair.
As his body settled into the smoothly reclining backrest, something that had been out of view came into sight: a fruit bowl on his desk he hadn't noticed before.
There was only one person who would leave something like that in his room.
His mother.
When did she come and go?
Kang-seok, with a surprised look, stared at the fruit bowl before slowly stabbing a piece of fruit with a fork and bringing it to his mouth. Juice dripped as he bit in—refreshing and sweet.
A well-running boiler and what looked like expensive fruit.
These were things he couldn't have even imagined just a year ago.
Now that the home issue was resolved, and he no longer had to ask his mother to pay for his entrance art academy or art supplies, many things in life were becoming unexpectedly more abundant.
As he popped another piece of fruit into his mouth, Kang-seok turned his gaze to the computer screen.
A proper night sky.
Wasn't there a good place somewhere?
He clicked through several pages with his mouse.
These days, unlike in his past life, it had become hard to see stars with the naked eye. So, he often tried to make up for it with videos or planetarium visits. But of course, it was never the same. The emotional impact couldn't compare to what he used to see.
And that kind of weak emotional echo wasn't something he could use in his current project.
Suppressing a sigh, Kang-seok browsed through various resources—data he had compiled to find a proper view of the night sky.
He'd thought about buying a high-end telescope or even visiting the Saint Petersburg Planetarium, but with the fresco project in Miami Beach still unresolved, anything that took too much time was out of the question.
As much as he wanted to sculpt the night sky, he also wanted to finish the fresco as soon as possible.
So, Kang-seok's plan was simple:
"Focus completely on this one sculpture, finish it before graduation, and then fly to Miami immediately after to complete the fresco."
That was his New Year's resolution—if you could call it that.
In that sense, while it was possible to obtain a telescope, traveling all the way to Saint Petersburg would take too long. Likewise, most famous overseas stargazing spots didn't meet his conditions.
His next plan involved domestic locations like Anbandegi in Gangneung, Homigot in Pohang, Yangpyeong in Gyeonggi Province, Unyeo Beach in Anmyeon Island, Jeju's 1100 Highland, Byeolmaro Observatory in Yeongwol, Mt. Hambaek in Jeongseon, or the Astronomical Village in Hoengseong.
Looking over a list of the best domestic spots to view the stars and the Milky Way, Kang-seok fell into deep thought.
He wasn't sure which place matched the inspiration he had received.
How long had he pondered like that?
Hours passed, and the night deepened.
"Ugh, seriously, where should I go?"
As the sky outside the window turned a deep, nearly black shade of night, a vibration rattled across the desk. What was that? Kang-seok, still lost in thought, quickly sat up as he sensed the vibration.
It was his phone.
His eyes naturally moved to the screen.
Seeing the name that popped up, Kang-seok picked up the phone with a curious expression. The name on the screen was Go Du-han.
"Teacher? What's going on?"
Startled, Kang-seok answered. A low voice came from the speaker.
["What do you mean, what's going on."]
It was Go Du-han's distinctive tone—sounding somewhere between sulky and angry. In that gruff voice, Kang-seok could almost picture his teacher's stubborn expression under that trademark hat.
["I heard you were calling up Mr. Jung, asking about good places to see the night sky? Wanting him to recommend some famous spots?"]
Ah.
Kang-seok nodded.
He had asked several people about good stargazing locations—and Jung Byung-gwon had been one of them.
"Yes, I did."
Though he didn't say it, Kang-seok was curious why that mattered. He focused on the breathing on the other end of the line.
["…Well, I happen to know a killer spot. It's hard to explain in words, but… want a ride?"]
Kang-seok's eyes widened.
That offer had come completely out of the blue.
"You, sir?"
["Yeah. What, you don't want to?"]
Kang-seok paused, surprised.
Then Go Du-han's voice barreled on like a rapid-fire monologue.
["If you don't, fine. I'm a busy guy too, you know. Just 'cause I'm not running a club like Jung or Joo Sa-rang doesn't mean I'm free. I've got students of my own—hey, you listening?"]
He was grumbling so much that Kang-seok could practically feel his teacher frowning and furrowing his brow.
If he had a tail, he'd probably be wagging it. Imagining that grumpy face, Kang-seok couldn't help but laugh.
"No, I'd love that. When should we go?"
["What do you mean when? Tomorrow morning."]
And just like that, Go Du-han hung up. As always, he got straight to the point and ended the call without even a goodbye.
Kang-seok stared at the now silent phone and smirked.
To be honest, he was basically already a graduate.
He wasn't preparing for regular admissions, nor planning to go to university. He had given up on that long ago, and ever since the exhibition, he hadn't even been attending school properly.
Even so, it seemed his name was still being mentioned around campus. The fact that Go Du-han had heard something and called him like this made Kang-seok feel he was genuinely cared for as a student.
In his past life, Kang-seok had never had luck with teachers. He smiled faintly, thinking how strange fate could be. Then, after quietly staring at the stack of books and materials, he picked up the now-empty fruit bowl and stood.
Since they were leaving at dawn, he needed to sleep early.
Still smiling, Kang-seok turned his back.
It was a warm night.
The next day.
Waking up early in the morning, Kang-seok held his phone and hesitated.
Since they hadn't decided on a time or place to meet, he wasn't sure what to do next.
He'll probably message me, Kang-seok thought.
And just as he did—
His phone vibrated.
It wasn't even 7 AM.
With a sense of disbelief, he moved his thumb toward the new message.
[Come out when you're ready.]
A message from Go Du-han. Kang-seok shot up in surprise. Had he not even slept? Already ready, he slung a backpack filled with a few sketchbooks over his shoulder.
Then, another vibration.
As he stepped out of his room, he glanced at the screen—this time, it was someone else.
[The 7th floor construction's almost done. You should come see it soon.]
This was news from Yoon Soo-cheol, the man introduced to him by Ryu Soo-heon, who had been in charge of remodeling the 7th floor of the Renaissance Shopping Mall—before Kang-seok officially took over the building from Park Sun-woo.
Closing the door, Kang-seok began to walk.
Preparations for his next piece were nearly complete.
And with that step forward—
He promised himself he'd create another amazing piece of art.
This was a step of resolve.