“Why do you read?” Kai asked. His voiced echoed to her mind.

“Why do you paint?”Sojung questioned back hurriedly. She put her book down to her lap. A fragile smile existed on her lips. Her lips looked like a warm rosy pink, Kai imagined. Even if it was not, Kai reasoned, he still thought it was very kissable.

“I--never actually thought about it but...I guess there are many feelings that I can put it into words. The only way to express those feelings is to art.”  

“They said a picture is worth a thousand words,” Sojung commented.

Kai smiled, “Precisely.”  

“Why do you read?” Kai asked persistently, “You still haven’t told me why you read.”

He sounded hurt.  

Sojung shrugged slightly, “I just like reading..”

“That’s all?” Kai raised an eyebrow.

Sojung nodded and bit her bottom lip. “That’s all.”

“Come on,” Kai pushed the conversation, “I gave you more than one sentence of an answer.”

He wanted her to elaborate herself. He was patient. He had time. No need to rush. No need to hurry.

Was that how she made him feel before?

Is this for revenge?

Is this karma?

She felt bad for what she did. Couldn’t he just let her off? She learned her lesson. She had wronged him. She was sorry for it.

It was not nice to fix people.

It wasn't nice of her to go around and diagnose people.

It was cruel of her. She learned. Sojung learned her lesson more than well enough.

Her brown eyes blinked once. They wandered up to the ceiling and back at Kai eyes. They blinked twice.

“ It..-reading I mean, takes my mind of stuffs, and even if it is momentarily, by worrying about the complex characters’ problems the novel I can forget my own problems."

Internal conflicts. She meant. She started to realized how broken she sounded. She felts as if she was overshared.

He nodded three times.

First nod just to tell her that he was listening.

Then he nodded casually thinking about what she said.

He nodded again understandingly.

His eyes tended to peer into her soul.

He nodded and looked satisfied with her explanation. Was this how she made him feel before?

And Sojung felt strangely like a poem, and Kai was the young student who was starting to annotate her very words, her expressions, her tone.

Her world.  

"It's the only way how I can escape this world even just for temporarily," Sojung concluded in a bitter tone.

 

“What’s your favorite color?” Sojung asked as an attempt to change the subject.

“Wonder much poem girl?” Kai said with a hint of slyness. Or was it flirtation.

“Fine don’t tell me then,” the playful Sojung replied.

With a gentle smile, his lips opened just big enough to produce the sound, “I like white.”

“Really,” Sojung talked to herself, “Why?”

“It’s pure and -I don’t know, it’s very calm to look at,” Kai answered as he attempted to find the right words.

“Really?”

“Why? Because I always wear black you think my favorite color should be black?”

Sojung nodding agreeingly, “How did you know?”

“I’m not that broken Sojung. You’re judging the book by it cover again,” Kai explained patiently. “I have art classes most day, so black is a more favorable choice to wear. Anyhow, I think white is a very nice color, it can neutralize every other color.”

He suddenly grasped as if he remember something truly important. Sojung was anticipating of whatever he was going to say.

Kai said, “Is white a warm or a cold color?”

Sojung beamed naturally, “I think like what you just said Kai, it’s a unique color, it’s a neutral color.”

 

Then he starred in her pretty brown eyes, “What is your favorite color?”

“Are you gonna buy me a present if I tell you my favorite color?” Sojung asked innocently. She explained it smoothly when she saw his eyebrows raised,  “Guys usually ask a girl what her favorite color because they want to give her a  present.”.

‘No, but if you want me too, I will” Kai blurted.

“Really?” Sojung eyes widened. She really didn’t expect him to say it.

He nodded.

“It lavender,” Sojung said softly.

“Lavender,” Kai repeated and paused. He added, “It’s a sad color, isn’t it?”

A moment of silence elapsed between them.

“I guess,” Sojung finally said, “I guess it is.”