Chapter 14

Lee Jong-Suk waited for the art teacher to come but it seemed like he was taking his time. He’d probably come after taking his lunch in the faculty cafeteria.

Lee Jong-Suk waited patiently, but it seemed like the teacher was only going to come after having lunch in the faculty cafeteria. He looked towards the area where the teachers were dining. Some of them were done eating and were going to drink coffee. The art teacher was among the group. He met the principal on his way there.

“Principal, good afternoon.”

“Oh, teacher. Have a cup of coffee. ”

The art teacher nodded and took the cup of coffee the principal had offered. He then offered the drawing paper that he had in his hand.

“Look at this.”

“What is it?”

The principal took the drawing paper and unfolded it. He looked at it and smiled.

“It’s a nice drawing. And… Oh, is that…?”

Smiling at the surprised principal, the teacher nodded his head.

“I knew you’d like it.”

The principal loved art and poetry. Thus, the art teacher knew he’d appreciate the drawing.

“I know that you, Sir, are proficient in calligraphy, but did you see the diagram?”

“I learned a little from my grandfather, so I can’t help having an eye for things like these.”

The principal had a Master’s degree in calligraphy. Although he was fond of calling what he knew “basic,” he won prizes and awards at different gatherings of writers. The principal nodded thoughtfully and noticed that the drawing still had the smell of paint on it.

“Was this drawn recently?” He looked at the teacher. “Did you draw this?”

“Not me, a student of mine drew and wrote the words today during art class.”

“A student?”

“That too, with an art brush.”

The principal looked amazed, “Wow. I’d love to meet this student.”

“He is waiting for me right now in the art room. How about we go and meet him?”

At this, the principal nodded and followed the art teacher.

“A student with this kind of talent is a student in our school. There’s no chance of me not meeting him!”

***

Lee Jong-Suk was waiting in the art room for the art teacher to come. He didn’t know what was taking the teacher so long. The lunch break would soon be over and he’d have to leave. The door opened suddenly. Lee Jong-Suk turned to see who entered and was surprised when he saw the principal.

“Principal, Sir?”

The vice-principal came along with the principal. The people in the top positions in the school came into the room he was in. Lee Jong-Suk suddenly felt dumbfounded. He found maintaining eye contact difficult.

“Good afternoon,” he hurriedly bowed.

The both of them smiled and nodded.

“You are Lee Jong-suk?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Hmm. And you write well?”

The art teacher who came in a bit late looked at Lee Jong-suk’s face which was filled with surprise and said, “The principal saw your writing and felt that it was very good and praiseworthy.”

“My writing?”

As Lee Jong-Suk was wondering what they were talking about, the principal unfolded the drawing paper in his hand.

“We are talking about this.”

“O-Oh…”

The principal smiled and asked, “So, can I watch you write once?”

“Sure.”

“Do you have a paper?” The principal asked the art teacher.

At the request of the principal, the art teacher brought a drawing paper from somewhere and placed it on the desk. He mixed water with the ink before placing this on the desk as well. He then stepped back and resumed looking at Lee Jong-Suk. Beside him, the principal was also watching Lee Jong-Suk curiously.

Lee Jong-Suk stared at the ink and lightly touched it. He loved the way it felt when he touched it. In reality, there was a calligraphy class in the art class too. He knew how to use the ink, but this was the first time he could really feel the ink on his hands. When he was done feeling the ink, he dipped the brush into the ink bottle, and began to write.  The ink felt a little rough, but Lee Jong-Suk was comfortable with it. Was using ink supposed to feel this good? Was that also an experience he got from the bachelor?

After he was done taking in the feeling, he began to write. The principal watched his posture and the look on his face went from curiosity to admiration. The principal was a man who learned at a young age from his grandfather, who had bought a manor in the Joseon Dynasty. The principal was very proficient in calligraphy, and in the same way an expert recognized another expert, the principal knew Lee Jong-Suk was skilled the moment he began writing.

He didn’t think Lee Jong-Suk and his grandfather wrote the same way. He remembered the words of his grandfather, “By writing calligraphy, my mind feels content. And when I take the ink and the ink touches my mind, I feel complete.”

It looked like Lee Jong-Suk felt the same way his grandfather did. He had that contented look on his face. He looked focused, too.

Lee Jong-Suk continued writing. The sensation he felt in his hand faded as he moved the brush was oddly pleasant.

“What are you writing?”

“Hmm… how about our Lee Jong-Suk here write about his favorite article?”

Lee Jong-Suk thought about that for a while and nodded.

“I’ll write something I saw from a book I read, titled ‘The Royal Family’.”

The content of the book The Royal Family was already in his head, and it seemed like he was already writing it down.

The principal was astonished when he saw the words Lee Jong-Suk wrote.

“It means to know a person’s heart by listening.”

The principal took a close look at what Lee Jong-Suk wrote down and said,

“The handwriting is simple yet striking at the same time. When viewed closely, it is clean and exudes a wonderful feeling. I feel like I’m looking at the handwriting of King Mungyeong.”

“King Mungyeong?”

The principal looked at Lee Jong-Suk who was busy thinking about who King Mungyeong was.

“From whom did you learn to write like this?”

“Just by looking at books.”

“From books? So you didn’t learn this from a different school or from an aged person?”

“No.”

“Wow! To learn this kind of handwriting and style by oneself is not an easy thing to do, this is extraordinary.”

The principal nodded again and carefully lifted the writing from the table and took out his wallet.

“This writing has great value.”

Lee Jong-Suk watched as the principal took out five thousand won from his wallet and tried to give it to him. He hastily shook his head and politely rejected it.

“No, it’s alright, Sir.”

“This is not something that your teacher is giving you, this is something that a person who admires calligraphy and has found a calligraphy style that he likes is giving, so just accept it.”

At this, Lee Jong-Suk hesitantly accepted the money and offered his thanks.

“Thank you very much.”

“It would be nice if I see more of your calligraphy from now on.”

Triiiing!

While the principal was admiring the writing, the school bell suddenly rang, signaling the commencement of classes. Lee Jong-Suk was surprised time had gone so fast. Oh, shit. He cursed internally. He didn’t want to appear annoyed while in front of his principal.

“Go and join your class,” the principal said.

“Yes, Sir.”

The principal looked at the writing again and smiled. Lee Jong-Suk bowed and left them in the art room.

“이청득심… is a good thing to write”

“What does it mean?” the vice principal who had been silent the whole while, asked.

The principal smiled and replied, “Listen to what others have to say to receive a heart. It means since one can’t impose themselves on others, one needs to listen well to others and think about what they have to say and do things for them in return.”

“That’s interesting.”

The principal who was in a good mood took out his phone from his pocket and extended it to the art teacher.

“Would you mind taking a photo?”

After taking the photo, the principal asked to see it if the picture was clear.

“Not me. Don’t take a picture of me. Just take a picture of the writing.”

“Ah! Yes, Sir.”

The art teacher took the phone again and snapped another picture. The principal assessed the picture and sent it to his friends with the caption, “Saw good writing and wanted you to see it too.” After sending the message, the principal looked at the writing once again when his phone suddenly beeped.

Ting! Ting! Ting!

The principal looked at his phone to see the messages that were entering.

[The handwriting is nice.]

[이청득심… Great handwriting and a great meaning too.]

[Where did you get it? Why is there no optimism? The writing style is nice, was it written by some famous calligrapher?]

[I want to see it one on one and touch it.]

Seeing the messages from his friends who were all jealous made the principal laugh.