in·cho·ate

Just begun and so not fully formed or developed; rudimentary.

August 6 (Monday)

“The vast sky in its everlasting blue colour is however, disturbed by the disarray of clouds which hold the colour of the morning glory flower—“ murmured a male’s voice when it got interrupted by another’s voice. It belonged to a female. 

“Clouds aren’t purple,” remarked the girl. “They’re either white or grey in colour…” The boy rolled his eyes before replying. 

“White morning glory flowers do exist, Kyung Mi,” replied the boy plainly. “So it fits my description of the sky, does it not?” Han Kyung Mi took this in consideration. 

“…Oh,” she had said. Believing his point was proven, he continued describing the sky that lay in front of their eyes.

Han Kyung Mi was lying down on the grass during a sunny August day with her childhood best friend, Gongchan Shik. They were watching the clouds pass by. Though it might have seemed as a boring thing to do, Kyung Mi really adored doing this. She stretched her arms lazily. 

“If only we can do this all day,” said Kyung Mi dreamily. “It’s the perfect past-time.” Gongchan raised his eyebrows at her, smiling a little. 

“Unfortunately, Kyung Mi, this holiday is going to perish by the end of this week,” stated Gongchan nonchalantly. “And I won’t be able to hang out with you during the weekend already, so we have about… four days left?” Gongchan then grinned before poking Kyung Mi’s cheek. 

“Plus…” teased Gongchan. “If this is the perfect past-time, what happens to your artistic dream?”

Kyung Mi’s eyes widened and Gongchan laughed, turning his back on her. She poked his back. “Come on, you know how serious I am about being an artist,” said Kyung Mi. Gongchan pretended not to hear her and she began drumming lightly on his back. 

“Mean,” she continued. Gongchan half-smiled to himself. Upon stretching, he glanced at his watch and saw that it was nearing the evening. He sat up, and met Kyung Mi’s puzzled eyes. 

“We should be going now,” said Gongchan as he got up to his feet. “It’s late.” Kyung Mi smiled. 

“Won’t you describe the sky for me?” she asked, also getting up. Gongchan’s eyes flickered to hers, and in a silent understanding he began.

“The sky, no longer shrouded with wisps of frozen crystals has begun to falter into softer colours like faded carnations,” said Gongchan, as they both walked. “If you looked hard enough, you’d see tinsel-like specks of orange at random openings. Scarcely, but possible, you’d— “ Gongchan stopped talking and Kyung Mi looked at him in surprise. He had ended his sentence rather abruptly. However, she saw something happening to him. In his eyes, he had seen an opportunity. Kyung Mi followed the general direction that Gongchan was looking at. Kyung Mi found herself having the same reaction.

They were looking at a booth that was promoting about a college’s next intake. However, the most important fact was that the college was offering scholarships for a few courses. Kyung Mi’s dream course was one of the sponsored ones. The Art and Design course. Nonetheless, Kyung Mi could already see problems arising. “…But I’m not able to go college yet next year,” said Kyung Mi gloomily. “There’s no way they’ll be able to make exceptions for me.” Gongchan smirked at her and pulled her along. 

“We’ll see what we can do about that,” dared Gongchan. Getting a closer look — more like, being in front of the booth properly — Gongchan’s eyes had scanned the terms and conditions applied. He smirked in triumph.

“Look what we have here, Kyung Mi,” stated Gongchan as he pointed to a sentence. “It says that age does not matter as long as you passed the requirements — the scholarship will be guaranteed for the said student.” He patted her head. 

“Looks like one problem’s down,” joked Gongchan. Kyung Mi smiled a little. Both of them were startled when the person in charge of the booth appeared from nowhere. 

“Hello, interested students,” said the man politely. “How may I help you? Refer to me as Chul.” 

“Well then, Chul,” spoke Gongchan. “My friend here is interested in getting a scholarship for the Art and Design course. The fact that she’s eighteen and not nineteen is fine, right?”

Chul laughed. “Sure, sure,” replied Chul. “It’s alright as long as you can meet the requirements. Each course has different types of needs. As for the one she’s interested in…” Chul glanced at the paper that was laid aside. 

“She has to attend the test held on September 15 in the college’s main hall,” continued Chul. “It’s about painting something based on a given theme.” Kyung Mi’s eyes widened in worry. Gongchan noticed and lowered his voice before speaking. 

“What’s wrong?” he whispered. “Isn’t this the perfect opportunity? You paint well.” Kyung Mi mumbled feebly. 

“It’s close to the year-end exams,” replied Kyung Mi. “It’s an important one for you too…”

“There is time to study, don’t worry,” reassured Gongchan quietly. Kyung Mi persisted. 

“You know that I need you there,” she continued. Chul watched the situation between Kyung Mi and Gongchan unfold in front of him, not sure as to what he should do. He fabricated a fake, hasty cough. 

“And so…?” asked Chul rather hesitantly. Kyung Mi saw Gongchan’s hardened look before he whispered a few things to Chul. At first Chul seemed to disagree, but he ended up complying with whatever Gongchan had offered. Chul nodded, and brought out the form for her to fill. She obediently filled up on her particulars and signed it. Chul thanked her and wrote an asterisk symbol along with a few sentences at the bottom of her form without Kyung Mi noticing.

After the college application was settled, Kyung Mi and Gongchan continued walking to their initial destination. “It’s a pity that they aren’t sponsoring the course that you’re striving after,” said Kyung Mi mournfully. “It’s an expensive one too.” Gongchan shrugged. 

“I just need to study well for it then,” remarked Gongchan. Kyung Mi looked at him. 

“Studying to be a doctor is going to take a long time you know,” said Kyung Mi with concern.  Gongchan’s eyes crinkled in a small smile. 

“I know that it’ll be worth it all,” concluded Gongchan. Kyung Mi nodded, when she suddenly remembered something. 

“Gongchan!” panicked Kyung Mi. “About just now, we forgot to mention—“

“Please,” interrupted Gongchan good-naturedly. “It’s already been told and done. I didn’t forget.” Kyung Mi sighed in relief. 

“Thanks,” she said gratefully. Gongchan gave a little wink. 

“Just being a genius,” praised Gongchan. There was a pause of feigned scorn that followed after that remark. 

“Don’t get so big-headed just because you’re a year older!” laughed Kyung Mi as she gave him a light shove. The male evaded the shove quite effortlessly. 

“Just the truth and only the truth, Kyung Mi,” continued Gongchan, unaffected. “Being a genius is just a part of me.” Upon the arrival at Kyung Mi’s house, Gongchan bid farewell and journeyed back to his home. Waving goodbye to his diminishing figure, Kyung Mi came up with another thought.

“Apart from being a genius, being kind is also a part of you.”