In stepped a short, copper brown-haired man who wore a long white lab coat that was ed to reveal a charcoal gray turtleneck and a matching pair of slacks underneath. The apples of his cheeks were high and round, further accentuated by his kind smile. When he saw Jongin sitting across from Kyungsoo, the man’s eyes widened in mild surprise and he said, “Oh, I’m so sorry for disturbing you while you’re busy, Kyungsoo. I didn’t realize you were seeing a patient right now, since you’re in your office. I can come back later when you’re finished.”

Kyungsoo set his laptop aside and stood up while smiling widely. “No, it’s fine. We’re just about done. Is there anything you need, Junmyeon?” he asked while walking over to the other ophthalmologist, who had stopped in front of the bookcase.

Jongin’s eyebrows rose. So this was Dr. Kim Junmyeon, the man who was supposedly too busy doing surgeries to see the artist, but was apparently free enough to waltz into Kyungsoo’s office for a chat. How professional.

Junmyeon’s expression brightened as he answered, “I was wondering when you’d finish your appointments today. Is this your last one?”

Kyungsoo nodded before replying, “I just have to input some data after this and then I’m clocking out for the day. Why?”

“Well, I wanted to know if you were free to get dinner with me this evening,” Junmyeon said as he scratched the back of his neck bashfully. “It’s been a while since we last had dinner together. We can also look over the applications we received for a new junior doctor and a new nurse to join the team. Soojung sent them to me last week, but I figured it would be better if we looked at them together to narrow down our choices. Kihyun and Seungwan are free to hold interviews next week for the junior doctors who have applied, and Hakyeon and Sejeong can interview the nurse applicants the week after.”

Even though the man was trying to seem casual, Jongin didn’t miss the faint pink blush that appeared on Junmyeon’s smooth cheeks. It was so obvious that he was smitten with Kyungsoo; Junmyeon’s eyes were shooting hearts at his oblivious colleague, who innocently maintained eye contact.

“Sure. I don’t have anything planned, so I’m free. It’ll be nice to have some fresh faces join us,” Kyungsoo commented while beaming at the other ophthalmologist, whose blush deepened as he looked away and cleared his throat. Kyungsoo then remembered that he was still tending to a patient and turned to Kim Jongin, who stared back at him with an unreadable expression. “I apologize for the interruption, Mr. Kim. We are done here, so you are free to leave now. I will have your test results analyzed by your next appointment.”

The artist slowly stood up from the couch and gave the pair of ophthalmologists a curt nod before seeing himself out of Dr. Do’s office. As the door swung shut behind him, Jongin heard boisterous laughter come from inside the room and felt his insides twist uncomfortably.

--

As Yixing chattered away during the drive from the eye clinic, Jongin nodded listlessly while resting his chin against the palm of his right hand and staring out of the window. The metropolitan scenery was a dull blur to him, the tall buildings with eye-catching signs and the colorful clothing that passerby wore blending into one gigantic mess. It was nothing new to the artist, but on this seemingly gloomy afternoon, Jongin felt the dreariness wrap around him even more than usual.

His gaze was so unfocused and sorrowful that Yixing had to pull over to the curb, waving his hand in front of the artist’s face in order to catch his attention once the car was parked. “Jongin, have you been listening to me at all?”

“Hm?”

The manager sighed loudly as Jongin turned to him, the artist’s expression slowly becoming more attentive after being snapped out of his thoughts. “I was talking about the newly remodeled Humboldt penguin habitat at the aquarium. It’s finally open to the public after weeks of renovation and the penguins have been brought back from their temporary habitat in Tobu Zoo in Japan. When I heard the news, I remembered how much you liked visiting the penguin exhibit when we were in college, so I just wanted to let you know that they’re back.”

“Oh, I guess that’s nice.”

“If you have time, maybe you could go see them,” Yixing suggested while placing his right hand on the ignition key. “Maybe they’ll even be a source of inspiration?”

The artist only nodded dumbly before turning back to glance out of the window again, his eyes glazing over in seconds as he lost himself in his thoughts once more.

Yixing sighed again before starting up the car and navigating back onto the busy street towards their home.

--

If the manager knew where Jongin currently was, Yixing would have been very surprised that anything he had said the previous afternoon had actually registered in his friend’s brain, especially due to how distracted the artist had seemed during the drive.

Nevertheless, he was actually in front of the giant aquarium building to see the Humboldt penguins and their remodeled habitat. Sehun had been too busy to come with him, but Jongin didn’t mind being alone. It meant that he’d be able to explore the place at his own pace.

However, he was startled by how crowded the building was when he entered the aquarium after handing the ticket he had paid for just minutes before to the uniformed doorman stationed outside. There were dozens of people milling around the exhibits, mostly parents with their excited children who bounced around from enclosure to enclosure. High-pitched screams of laughter and delight filled the air as the children pointed at the sea animals or chased each other while the adults tried their best to keep their kids from running too far. The artist hadn’t been expecting the aquarium to be this lively, but then remembered that free admission was offered to those under twelve on Sundays.

It had been ages since Jongin last visited the aquarium. If he remembered correctly, the last time he had been here was for one of the animal studies he had done during his university days. As the manager had mentioned the day before, the pair of friends had gone together so that Yixing could keep the artist company while he worked diligently on his project. The cinereous vulture had been the subject of the bird branch of his portfolio for that class while he had focused on the cuttlefish for the aquatic section.

It was an interesting critter, completely different from the dolphins, whales, and sharks that the other students had chosen to draw for their projects. Its abnormal W-shaped pupils, distinctive cuttlebone, and chameleon-like color-changing ability had given Jongin much to work with, especially when painting the sea creature. He had toyed around with various shades and patterns, never sticking to one color scheme for most of his cuttlefish paintings. His professor had marveled over how unique each depiction was, noting how dynamic the poses that Jongin had chosen were.

But out of all of the cuttlefish drawings he had made at the time, his favorite was the one he had outlined in sepia ink. Since this particular cephalopod was the only one that released this unique pigment from its ink sac, Jongin had decided that the centerpiece of each category of his project would be thematically brown and drawn in sepia ink. By choosing to work in monochrome, Jongin was able to focus on the shading and depth of his artwork which enabled him to make the animals look more realistic. The rich reddish-brown color of the sepia ink had also given his drawings a vintage look, especially when paired with the yellowing paper that the artist had drawn on. His professor had commented on how his centerpieces looked so astonishingly fragile on that seemingly aged paper, as if they were preserved drawings from centuries ago.

The artist decided that, before going to see the renovated penguin habitat, he’d stop by the cuttlefish tank again to see his old cephalopod friends. Even though the ones he had used as his models wouldn’t be there anymore, since cuttlefish only lived for about one to two years, their progeny would be there for Jongin to greet.

It didn’t take long for the artist to pinpoint the location of the cuttlefish tank on a map of the aquarium that was placed by the entrance. He also made a mental note of where the Humboldt penguin enclosure was, since that was the main reason he was here. Not many people were walking towards the cephalopod section, so Jongin was able to reach the cuttlefish after several minutes of walking.

The giant tank was set against a turquoise wall, alongside dozens of other tanks that housed various species of squid and nautiluses. There was a rectangular sign hanging overhead that pointed to the left, stating that the octopus tanks were elsewhere. White sand covered the bottom of the cuttlefish tank, and various aquatic plants and small coral formations decorated the inside. Jongin leaned forward, his mouth moving soundlessly as he counted how many cuttlefish were jetting around; his final count was eight.

The artist silently watched the cuttlefish drift about, minding their own business. He wondered what it was like to just drift along without a care in the world. To not have to stress about other people’s lives, the obstacles that life threw in front of him, or his own looming expectations.

He suddenly felt the sharp corner of an information sign jut into his side and he hissed as pain shot through his side. As he rubbed the sore spot, he ruefully realized that his thoughts were too dark and distracting. The artist had come to the aquarium to relax, which meant not thinking about anything that would stress him out like his artwork. He was doing an abominable job at that right now, so Jongin decided that reading about the cuttlefish could help take a load off of his mind.

With his right pointer finger slowly tracing the images of the cuttlefish printed on the information sign he had bumped into, the artist read all of the miscellaneous fun facts about cuttlefish. There was one fact that stood out to him in particular: with allegedly the largest brain-to-body size ratio amongst invertebrates, cuttlefish were considered the most intelligent invertebrates.

Despite being so small and relatively unknown, in comparison to octopuses and squid, these cephalopods were still special and could probably best any others who got in their way. They didn’t allow their small size deter them from going after octopuses and other cuttlefish for meals; it was “survival of the fittest” in a cuttlefish’s world. If they didn’t eat, they’d be eaten first.

Jongin wanted to be the one doing the eating. He couldn’t let others eat him first.

He had the brains and the talent to do well. He had been doing well for the most part. It was still possible for him to pick himself back up and continue to do well.

He wouldn’t let himself die off in the world of art. Not if he could help it.

If a little cuttlefish could emerge as the victor amongst other invertebrates, then Jongin most certainly could emerge as the victor amongst other artists.

He was Kim Jongin, artist extraordinaire of the twenty-first century. There was no one better at his craft than he was.

He just had to open his hands and grab the success that was dangling in front of his eyes.

--

Jongin set off towards the Humboldt penguin habitat after waving goodbye to the cuttlefish, feeling much lighter than he had before. The penguin enclosure was on the other side of the aquarium, but since he was in no rush, the artist took his time to observe the various marine creatures in the tanks he passed on his way.

The fish leisurely floated around in the smaller tanks, tiny air bubbles escaping their protruding mouths as their gills took in oxygen. When he reached one of the transparent underground tunnels that connected sections of the aquarium, Jongin stared wide-eyed as schools of fish swirled around, chasing each other across the length of the tube. Some lone fish darted in and out of the coral reefs that were growing alongside the bottom of the tunnel, and several children who were nearby would squeal as they pointed at the fish. Some were running down the tunnel, tracing their fingers against the transparent acrylic glass to follow the movements of the fish that swam close. Jongin made sure to step to the side whenever a kid dashed past him with arms outstretched in excitement.

Once he reached the end of the tunnel, the artist noticed a crowd of children hovering by a tour guide who was speaking about the numerous touch pools that were stationed around the aquarium. Jongin walked closer to listen in, his gaze flickering to the rectangular touch pool behind the tour guide that had a large starfish sign tacked above it. After a few minutes, the tour guide motioned for the kids to come forward and stick their hands into the touch pool. Jongin loitered near the end of the group, carefully rolling up his right coat sleeve before dipping his hand into the warm water.

With his fingers splayed out, the artist trailed them through the clear water, taking care to avoid the starfish that were plastered against the bottom of the pool and the sloping rocks that were angled towards the ceiling. The ripples that formed moved gently across the otherwise calm water, causing Jongin to smile serenely as he watched each ring gradually fade into stillness.

--

The artist finally reached the Humboldt penguin enclosure, which was also crowded with families, after his unplanned detours around the rest of the aquarium. Not wanting to shove his way to the front, Jongin patiently waited for the horde of parents and children to marvel over the black-and-white birds that waddled around without a care in the world. Most of the adults snapped pictures with their cell phones, although a few parents had large DSLR cameras slung around their necks and were using those to take photos of the penguins. The children laughed and screamed whenever the penguins did anything remotely interesting, whether it was diving into the shallow pool in the middle of their habitat or climbing the rocky cliffs that lined the enclosure.

It wasn’t long until Jongin was soon able to stand near the front as people moved away to see other exhibits. Once he was in front of the giant expanse of glass that separated him from the Humboldt penguins, the artist let his gaze roam over the dozen birds that ambled around the habitat, interacting in pairs or small groups.

However, there was one Humboldt penguin that stood apart from the rest of the colony. It was noticeably smaller than the other adult penguins and the pink-tinged ring around its beak was almost nonexistent, colored a slate gray instead. Jongin watched as it clumsily waddled to the side of the enclosure, its head inquisitively turning from side to side. The artist supposed that the penguin was still getting accustomed to its new surroundings and an amused smile painted his face as he continued observing this curious little Humboldt penguin.

Even when the keeper in charge of the penguin habitat walked in with a pail of krill and fish, rapping his knuckles against the metal side to grab the attention of the dozen black-and-white birds in the area, the small penguin ignored the command and stayed at the side of the enclosure. The keeper noticed that it refused to join the other penguins and he sighed as he carefully tipped some of the food into a plastic blue bowl that he placed on a rocky ledge next to him. The keeper then fed the remaining grub to the rest of the penguins that were eagerly crowding around him, their beaks open in anticipation.

Once the other penguins were fed, the keeper hooked the empty pail over his left arm and used his right hand to grab the plastic blue bowl from the ledge. He slowly walked towards the solitary Humboldt penguin that was now pecking away at a patch of grass along the edge of the habitat. As he crouched down and placed the bowl on the floor next to the penguin, the keeper spoke softly to the animal. The thick glass of the display muffled his words, so Jongin had no idea what the keeper was saying, but inferred that he was trying to coax the little Humboldt penguin into eating.

The bird finally turned its head to the bowl of food and eyed it curiously before dipping its beak into the mixture to snap up a cube of fish meat into its mouth. With a satisfied smile, the keeper pet the penguin’s slick neck before standing up and carefully making his way to the door leading out of the enclosure.

Jongin silently watched the Humboldt penguin voraciously eat its fill. Not one mouthful of krill and fish was left in the bowl after it chomped away. It was fascinating to watch the little bird devour its dinner so eagerly, enough for his own stomach to quietly grumble as a reminder that it was also his dinnertime. Jongin hadn’t planned on staying so long at the aquarium and when he checked his watch, he saw that it was already six in the evening.

It was time for him to return home.

Glancing once more at the Humboldt penguin, the artist smiled softly as he watched it begin to preen its feathers. Its beak diligently dug into its soft feathers, removing dirt and slime from its body. And then, it briefly looked up and locked gazes with Jongin, whose eyes widened in surprise. The Humboldt penguin stared curiously at the artist, its head tilting slightly to the right and its jet black eyes boring into him.

Jongin tentatively held up his hand to wave at it. Somehow, leaving now while the penguin was so fixated on him seemed rude, so he shuffled closer to where it was standing in the enclosure. Its sharp gaze followed his every move and the artist sent it a nervous, lopsided smile.

The stand-off lasted several minutes until the Humboldt penguin decided to break its gaze away first. Jongin unconsciously let out a deep breath that he hadn’t realized he had been holding the entire time. After swiping its beak through its glossy feathers once more, the penguin looked at him again and let out a musical squawk. If penguins could smile, Jongin reckoned the small bird was currently grinning at him, which amused him to no end.

It let out another squawk before diving into the pool and several nearby kids began squealing with excitement as they all pointed to the swimming penguin. The artist took this as his cue to finally leave and his heel, his hands shoved into his coat pockets and the ends of his mouth quirked upwards.

♈♈♈