Devil’s Music

Late afternoon in Daniel Weiss's office.

Geon, who had come to visit, was sitting on the sofa drinking coffee. Daniel Weiss, grateful to Geon, continuously expressed his thanks and had gotten an album he personally purchased autographed. Daniel Weiss, pleased with the signed album page, had it displayed with the CD case open and adjusted the position of the CD several times to get the perfect angle.

"Ha ha, this new collection makes me happy to have in my office. I'll make sure to buy and keep all of Kay's albums from now on."

Geon, who had been sipping his coffee on the sofa, smiled.

"Thank you, Daniel."

"Thank you? I'll keep asking for autographs every time I buy one, so please don't be bothered, ha ha."

Knock, knock.

A knocking sound came from outside the door, and Daniel approached the sofa, saying,

"Come in."

The person, trying to be silent, opened the door and peeked inside.

"Did you call for me, boss?"

Daniel sat opposite Geon and said,

"Ha ha, yes. Please, come this way."

As the woman, cautious in her movements, entered, Geon greeted her with a pleased expression.

"Ah? Abigail! Long time no see."

"Yes, it's been a while... Huh!! Kay?"

Abigail, with her red hair neatly tied up and secured with mesh, was startled and froze on the spot when she saw Geon raising a hand from the sofa. With wide eyes and frozen in place, she was observed by Daniel, who smiled and said to Geon,

"You two know each other, right? I thought it would be comfortable to have someone familiar, so I chose Abigail as the contact."

"Ah, that's thoughtful of you. Thank you for considering that."

"Abigail? Come and sit here. Abigail? Abigail Cheshire?"

After Daniel called her name several times, Abigail, who had been blankly staring at Geon, jumped in surprise but still couldn't speak, just looking at him with wide eyes and shrugging her shoulders. Daniel, noticing her strange behavior, shook his head and said,

"Come and sit down, Abigail."

"Yes, yes!! Sorry, sorry."

Abigail hesitated for a moment before she sat on the sofa and carefully placed some documents on the coffee table. She then sat down, unable to look directly at Geon and blushing.

"It's closing time now. You can enter from now. I've informed security, so don't worry, and if you need anything, just ask Abigail. Abigail? If it's too much to ask, you can always ask Kate. Oh, Kay. You know the staff member Kate, right?"

As Geon nodded, Abigail suddenly looked up and said hurriedly,

"Too much to ask? No, not at all! I'll handle it!"

Daniel Weiss smirked and nodded.

"Really? I thought young Abigail might have a lot to do after work, no?"

Abigail flustered and said,

"Ah, no! I just watch Japanese anime at home all day... Huh! No, I didn't mean that!"

Abigail covered her mouth after speaking, her eyes wide as she noticed Geon's reaction.

'You fool!! It's been a while since you saw him, and this is what you do?'

Internally cursing herself, Abigail was quietly watched by Daniel, who shrugged and got up.

"Alright, if Abigail is fine with it, let's leave it to her."

Daniel gestured towards the door to Geon.

"Shall we go then? It's your first day, so I'll join you."

"Ah, thank you, Daniel."

The two left the room as Abigail, still covering her mouth, hurriedly followed them down the long corridor. Walking beside Geon, Daniel asked,

"Is there a particular piece, era, or genre you are interested in?"

Geon thought for a moment and then replied,

"Well, I've seen most of the paintings during the last job. Are there any new pieces recently?"

Abigail saw her chance and stepped forward,

"Boss, there are some paintings we agreed to exchange for a joint exhibition with the National Gallery in the UK."

Daniel snapped his fingers,

"Oh, right. The exchange started two months ago, so Kay hasn't seen them yet?"

Geon brightened up,

"Really? I'm looking forward to the paintings from the UK."

"Ha ha, don't expect too much. It's just an exchange exhibition, after all. There are only ten paintings."

"Heh, ten is enough, ha ha."

"Heh, Abigail, which section was it again?"

Abigail flipped through a folder and replied,

"It's in section D-6, boss."

"Good, let's head there now."

Upon reaching D-6, Daniel began to explain about the paintings at a special exhibition

 titled "The National Gallery of the UK". Playing the role of a curator, Daniel enthusiastically shared details while Geon looked around the room. The circular room wasn't a perfect circle but a polygon that looked circular due to the straight lines connecting it. After scanning the ten paintings on each wall, Geon turned back to Daniel, who was still explaining, when his eyes caught two paintings shining with multiple colors.

Turning his head back to Daniel and then quickly back to the paintings, Abigail also turned her head to look where Geon was looking. Daniel, seeing their interest, walked over to the paintings they were observing. Standing with his arms crossed in front of the painting, Daniel turned around and said,

"You seem to like this painting?"

Feeling bad for interrupting Daniel while he was explaining, Geon smiled apologetically,

"Ah, sorry. I was listening, but this piece really caught my attention."

"Ha ha, no problem. It's a Georges Seurat, after all."

"Georges Seurat?"

"Yes, he is... Ah! Excuse me for a moment."

Just as Daniel was about to explain, he checked his ringing phone and said,

"Ah, sorry, this is an important call. Abigail? Could you please explain for me?"

Daniel left the room, and silence fell in the exhibition hall. As Geon waited for Abigail to start her explanation, she suddenly stood in front of the painting and apologized,

"Ah! Sorry."

Geon smiled and offered his hand,

"No worries, it's been a while since we've seen each other, and we haven't even properly greeted. How have you been?"

With a gentle word, Abigail wiped her hand on her clothes before shaking his hand,

"Yes, yes. I've been fine."

"Why are you so nervous? You're not sick, are you?"

"No, not at all."

Abigail, sweating, quickly shook her head,

'You've changed, become a big star. It's not easy to be casual like before!'

As silence fell, Geon pointed to the painting and asked,

"Could you please explain this to me?"

"Ah! Yes, yes! Of course."

Standing in front of the painting, Abigail took a deep breath,

'Now's the time to show off as a curator!'

As Geon quietly focused on the painting, Abigail's calm voice began,

"Georges Seurat is a French Neo-Impressionist artist. Born in 1859, he was a genius who died young at the age of 32."

Geon pursed his lips and unfolded his arms,

"Neo-Impressionism? Died at 32?"

"Yes, Neo-Impressionism is an art derived from Impressionism, unlike Impressionism which captures emotions momentarily, it involves meticulous studies on light and adds a systematic and scientific theory to analyze how unique colors change according to the surrounding environment."

"Hmm..that sounds complicated."

Geon's comment about the complexity made Abigail feel more confident, knowing more,

"Georges Seurat once said, 'Art should be more systematic and scientific. Achieving harmony through certain laws is the true goal of art.'"

Geon stepped closer to the painting to look more closely,

"But...this painting seems quite unique."

"Yes, right. He's a painter who uses pointillism."

"Pointillism?"

"Yes, it's a technique where you dot the canvas with a single pure color without mixing water or other paints. From a distance, the colors that the artist intended to express should be perfect, so research is needed on which color to dot where. It's a labor-intensive process as each piece requires dozens of studies to complete."

"So, without mixing the paints, a single pure color seen from a distance looks like a blend of several colors?"

"Yes, exactly. This painting is called 'Bathers at Asnières', and the one next to it is 'A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte'."

Geon, emitting a greenish hue, glanced back and forth between the two paintings,

"Hmm, but... looking at them, they seem like relaxed scenes of resting or playing in the water, but they feel more about comfort or relief from fatigue."

Abigail's eyes widened as she continued to watch Geon's profile,

'Amazing. I thought I knew more than him, but that's a mistake. He might not know the theoretical part, but his understanding of art is on par with the boss!'

Impressed, Abigail continued,

"You're absolutely right. It's true they are relaxing, but not just playing around. The people swimming or resting on the grass in this painting are workers from the factory you see in the background with black smoke rising. It depicts them taking a brief rest in the afternoon after hard labor."

Geon, looking at the factory drawn vaguely in the distance with perspective, nodded,

"That explains the emotion."

"Yes, but since each dot is painted by hand, it's very difficult

 for the artist to make. Georges Seurat spent his life painting these, which is why there are not many pieces left by him. He died young because of an illness."

Still energetically explaining, Abigail's voice filled the room as Geon stared intently at the painting,

'This is it! Emitting a greenish hue, but other than the grassy areas, you don't see green anywhere else in the painting. Pointillism, a technique of creating a completely different color by dotting pure colors, is exactly the research material I was looking for.'

Geon's eyes sparkled as he continued to gaze at the two vibrant paintings.

In the Curator's Office at the New York Metropolitan Museum, Lucas, with his heavy body swaying, held a sugar-coated donut in one hand and a coffee in the other, watching the curators at work. When Kate, who was preoccupied with her makeup in front of a mirror as usual, walked in, his plump face contorted with irritation.

"Seriously, that woman never cares about anything but how she appears to others. Does she not realize that everyone else is too busy worrying about their own appearances to pay attention to her? Even Abigail, who is usually calm, seems to lack the composure expected of a curator. Is there something wrong with that corner?"

Lucas, frowning deeply, started to approach Kate but then noticed Abigail at the next desk, fervently taking notes from her laptop screen.

"What are you doing during work hours? If you're watching some cartoon to study, I won't let it go."

Doubting whether someone of his large size could sneak up unnoticed, he quietly moved closer behind Kate and Abigail. To his surprise, he saw an art-related page on Abigail's screen.

"Huh? Georges Seurat? He's a French Neo-Impressionist painter... Why is she studying him so seriously?"

As Lucas stared intently at Abigail's laptop screen, Kate, sensing the large shadow behind her, quickly hid her foundation and stood up.

"Hello, Senior Lucas," Kate greeted him a bit loudly, prompting a startled Abigail to also stand.

"Oh, hello, Senior Lucas."

Lucas grimaced at Kate.

"Instead of spending time applying makeup, how about using this time to cultivate yourself as a curator, Kate?"

Kate, shielding the cosmetics spread on her desk with her body, pushed her hair back nervously.

"Ahaha... Yes, Senior."

Lucas glanced at Abigail's laptop screen again and nodded.

"Like Abigail, studying the information about the artists on display, and helping to provide a more educated experience to our visitors—that's what a curator should do. Kate, you should learn from Abigail."

Abigail's eyes widened in surprise at Lucas's unusual praise. Pleased with something, he even patted Abigail on the shoulder encouragingly before heading back to his desk. Kate, still displeased, stuck out her tongue at his retreating figure and then started packing her makeup into her pouch.

"Damn, that pig is so annoying. But Abigail, what have you been looking at all morning? It's not like you to study."

Normally, Abigail would have been dazed by Lucas's rare compliment, but as he walked away, she was again deeply engrossed in her laptop. Kate asked her something, but Abigail was too focused to respond.

"Ah! Yes, yes? What did you say, Kate?"

"What are you concentrating on so much?"

"Oh, this is information about Georges Seurat."

"And why are you looking at that? His exhibition started two months ago. If you were going to study, you should have done it two months ago. Why start now?"

"That, that's because...uh..."

Kate smiled slyly and flicked her finger.

"I heard Kay is coming after hours? The boss assigned you to guide him."

"Gasp, you knew?"

"Haha, women's gossip travels across oceans in a blink. So Kay has taken an interest in Seurat?"

"Eh, I can't fool you, Kate."

Kate pulled a chair on wheels to sit next to Abigail and looked at the laptop screen.

"Why is Kay coming? Does he want to enjoy the art alone when there's no one else?"

"No, you know he's not that entitled. He's coming to study music."

"Music study? Why in an art museum?"

"Who knows? He's a genius, right? How can we understand the minds of geniuses? Even if they behave oddly on the surface, they produce results, so they're called geniuses."

"Well, even so, Kay isn't that eccentric, right? He's within a reasonable level of understanding."

Abigail, lying on the desk, only turned her head to glare at Kate.

"Is it because he's handsome that you understand?"

"Of course, being handsome forgives everything...haha, no, that's not it, he's really nice and kind. Remember at the Lollapalooza Festival, he provided us with tickets and a place to stay while we were sitting like beggars? That's a lifetime highlight for me."

Abigail, still lying down, looked blankly at her laptop screen.

"That's true, but the person who's researching is different from his usual self."

Kate moved closer to Abigail and asked.

"How so?"

"He brought a chair and sat in front of two paintings by Seurat until ten o'clock at night."

"Really? Just sitting there without saying anything?"

"Yes, and while I enjoyed watching his face

, it was frustrating because it didn't help."

"Which two paintings? 'Bathers at Asnières' and 'A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte'?"

"Yes, those are the only two Seurat paintings on display."

Kate pouted her lips.

"That's odd. There are many other great artists and famous paintings; why focus on just those two?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out, looking for some information I might not know about, hoping it might help Kay."

"Is he coming today?"

"Yes, he'll be coming daily for a while."

As Kate sat by the window, focused on something, Abigail noticed her pulling out makeup from her pouch.

"Are you putting on makeup again?"

Kate looked at herself in the mirror of her foundation and laughed.

"Haha, since Kay is coming today, I need to put some effort into our 'coincidental' meeting."

"Ugh, as always."

"Haha, Abigail, you should put on some makeup too. What is that, your bare face?"

"That's enough, sigh."

"A woman needs to care for herself to be beautiful. I'll go to the restroom."

As Kate swayed her hips towards the restroom, Abigail sighed while watching her back. She then reached out to open the foundation and looked at herself in the mirror, starting to apply makeup surreptitiously.

**

At five in the afternoon.

As the museum was closing, Abigail greeted the departing visitors at the door and checked her wristwatch. Geon was expected to arrive about ten minutes after the visitors had left. Listening to Kate making plans for the evening at a club, Abigail heaved a sigh of relief and glanced at the documents she had tucked under her arm.

"I've done enough research, I'll definitely be able to help him today."

Ten minutes later, as the museum entrance was now quiet and locked, the cold air made Abigail rub her hands together. Her eyes widened as a large Cadillac Escalade pulled up.

"What, a bulletproof vehicle like those used by presidential security? Is it some high-class guest looking for the boss?"

Abigail was puzzled as she watched the car when the back door opened and out stepped Kay.

"Kay?"

Recognizing her, Geon raised his hand and smiled. After saying something inside the car, he closed the door and approached her.

"Hello, Abigail. You've been waiting because of me, sorry about that."

"Oh, oh, no, not at all."

"It's still early, haven't you had dinner yet?"

"What? Oh, yes."

Geon shook a paper bag he was carrying and smiled.

"How about we have this packed meal together, hehe."

"A packed meal?"

"Yes, Suzuka Miyawaki packed it for me. Let's eat together, we're friends."

With her mind elsewhere, Abigail was led by Geon to the museum's staff dining room, where they found a window seat in the deserted area. Geon began unpacking the lunch that Suzuka had prepared, and Abigail just stared blankly.

"Come on, sit down. You like rice, right? Suzuka packed a Japanese-style lunch, but it'll suit American tastes too."

"Uh...yes, thank you."

Whether it was Suzuka's cooking skills or the mere fact that Suzuka Miyawaki had prepared the lunch, Abigail could only gaze dumbfoundedly at the beautifully decorated side dishes before her as Geon began eating without hesitation.

"What's that?"

Looking like he was trying his hand at using chopsticks, Geon glanced at the documents Abigail had placed beside her as she put down her chopsticks and handed them over.

"I thought it might be helpful, so I did some research."

"Oh? What kind of research?"

"It's about Georges Seurat, covering everything."

"Wow, really? Thank you."

Geon took a bite of his food and started flipping through the documents as he chewed. Abigail, overwhelmed by his gratitude, bowed her head and began to enjoy the lunch herself. The first page of the documents contained a simple profile of Seurat's life, which intrigued him, but apart from the fact that he was born into a wealthy family and was rejected by prominent Paris museums for his paintings of workers, there wasn't much else of interest until Geon's eyebrows twitched at the next page.

"A paper by Michel Eugène Chevreul?"

Abigail, almost choking on her food, nodded.

"Yes, Chevreul was a French chemist who restored old tapestries, and his paper includes studies on light and color by Georges Seurat."

Geon looked back at the documents after a quick glance at Abigail. He quickly swallowed the remaining food in his mouth and his eyes lit up.

"Chevreul discovered that after viewing a color, the observer sees an exact opposite, a complementary 'afterimage'? A complementary afterimage?"

Pausing his meal, he focused on reading the brief

 explanation in the paper and then looked up.

"Could I find the original of this paper?"

"Of course!"

As Abigail nearly shouted, excited to jump up, Geon held her back with a laugh.

"Let's finish eating first. Haha."

Abigail's face turned red as she noticed rice stuck on her face reflected in the window, and she bowed her head even lower.