Title: Paint Me A Love Story

Prompt: Woohyun as an artist who draws his gorgeous live model, Sunggyu.

For heyheyyo

Sunggyu was walking through the hallways of the main building of Seoul University when a piece of paper caught his eye. Shuffling backwards, Sunggyu turned to face the cork noticeboard that was plastered with different papers advertising for different things. The paper that caught Sunggyu's attention was pink and A4 in size. 

After staring at the paper for some time, silently debating whether he should go for it or not, Sunggyu finally ripped the paper from the board and stuffed it into his pocket. Then he looked around to make sure nobody noticed before turning on his heels and rushed out of the building.

Later that night, Sunggyu rolled around in bed wondering if he should call the number on the paper or not. He messed up his bed before deciding he would send a text. As soon as he sent the text, Sunggyu threw his phone away (gently of course) and buried himself under his covers.

An aspiring artist… looking for a male model… will be paid for your time…

~

A few days later, Sunggyu found himself trying to navigate the unfamiliar halls of the Fine Arts Department building. Sunggyu constantly checked his phone, as if the instructions in his messages would suddenly disappear. When Sunggyu finally found the right place, it was already ten minutes past the designated meeting time.

Sunggyu stood in front of the room and took a breath before pushing the door open slowly. It was a small room and didn’t have many furnishings. A window let in light on the opposite wall to the door. An empty black chair was placed near the middle of the room, facing an easel. A large canvas was perched on the easel, successfully blocking the artist from view. All Sunggyu could see was the top of some light brown hair.

Hearing the door opening, the artist stood up from his seat and walked halfway towards the door while Sunggyu took a few timid steps inside.

“So… Sunggyu right?” The artist confirmed.

Sunggyu nodded before replying, “Woohyun?”

“That’s me. Nam Woohyun. It’s nice to meet you.” Woohyun introduced himself properly and gave Sunggyu a bright smile.

Sunggyu took a second to marvel over how amazing the other guy looked with that smile before responding. “Nice to meet you too. I’m Kim Sunggyu.”

“Well then, shall we get to it? Take a seat. For this first time there won’t be anything fancy. I’ll just draw you sitting down.” Woohyun smiled again before going back behind his easel.

Sunggyu put his bag down and sat in the black chair, trying to get comfortable.

“So how long will it take for you to finish?” Sunggyu asked.

Woohyun had turned his easel slightly diagonal so he could see Sunggyu. In turn, Sunggyu could also watch Woohyun as he positioned his paints and chose the right brush.

“I have no idea. This is my first time painting a live model.” Woohyun answered.

“Why do you need a live model anyways? Why don’t you just use pictures?” Sunggyu wondered. He was from the science department and none of his friends studied fine arts so he had no idea about this area.

“It’s not the same. With a picture you’re basically just copying, but with a real person… you can add your own style to your paintings.” Woohyun explained as he began his artwork. He looked at Sunggyu, taking in the details before moving his brush gracefully across the white canvas.

Sunggyu watched Woohyun paint, taking in the effortless way he moved. Occasionally Sunggyu would ask a question he was curious about, usually about the types of painting or brushes. Woohyun would reply, not pausing what he was doing, before telling Sunggyu to stay still.

The distance between the model and the artist was not that far, since they were in the same room, so Sunggyu could clearly tell what part of his body Woohyun was drawing. Woohyun would gaze at him intently for half a minute before turning to put what he saw onto paper. When Woohyun got to his face, because apparently he drew from Sunggyu’s feet up, Sunggyu could feel his cheeks heating up. The way Woohyun stared at him, made him feel like never before. When their eyes met, Sunggyu swallowed as inconspicuously as possible while Woohyun shot him another one of his beautiful smiles.

A good hour, or maybe two since Sunggyu didn’t pay attention to the time, passed before Woohyun finished. He dropped his brush with a satisfied smile and stood up to gaze at his artwork. Then he turned to Sunggyu and, once again flashing a bright smile, spoke with a cheery voice.

“You want to see it?”

Sunggyu stood as well and nodded enthusiastically. He was really curious to see just how good Woohyun really was at painting. Sunggyu stepped next to Woohyun tentatively and glanced at Woohyun before focusing on the canvas.

To say Woohyun was a good painter was an understatement. Woohyun’s talent was out of this world and Sunggyu had to force his jaw to stay closed. The detail and intricacy of the artwork blew Sunggyu away, who wondered how it was possible for Woohyun to produce such an amazing piece in so short a time. After a good few minutes of staring, Sunggyu finally turned to Woohyun with round eyes.

“It’s amazing.” Sunggyu breathed out in awe.

Woohyun only smiled and once again Sunggyu was lost amidst the other’s beautiful crescent eyes.

~

Over the next few months, Sunggyu and Woohyun rapidly got closer and closer and soon enough were pretty much inseparable. Sunggyu went once a week to be Woohyun’s model. Woohyun painted Sunggyu beautiful and paid him the promised amount as stated on the advertisement. During the time Woohyun painted and Sunggyu posed like a statue, the two talked and shared things about each other. They learnt about each other’s likes and dislikes, hobbies and frustrations. As the time passed, their friendship bloomed wonderfully as well.

By this time, Woohyun and Sunggyu no longer only saw each other in that small painting room. Instead they saw each other every single day, if either of them could help it. They would arrive together in the morning, both half asleep and not particularly talkative. By lunchtime however, they would chatter like no tomorrow with laughs bursting out every few seconds. Then at home time, they would leave together with bright smiles. Woohyun and Sunggyu’s friends were joined together into a big group by the two and got along surprisingly well. They would tease Woohyun and Sunggyu, asking them if they were a couple. Sunggyu would blush slightly and deny any claims while Woohyun would just stay silent and give one of his crescent-eyed smiles.

At some point, Sunggyu told Woohyun to stop paying him for being the model. When Woohyun protested, Sunggyu only said he was a willing volunteer. Woohyun knew he would never win a stubborn Sunggyu and so just let it go.

Also at this point, Woohyun had so many paintings of Sunggyu he could start a gallery showcase that featured only Sunggyu. Woohyun loved how handsome Sunggyu looked and made sure to keep his paintings carefully. He hung up as many as he could in his room, which sounds a little creepy because Woohyun’s room is just full of Sunggyu’s portraits, but Woohyun couldn’t help himself. Sunggyu was simply stunning.

As for Sunggyu, he would continue to be awed at the beautiful way Woohyun drew him, marvelling how such talent existed. During their sessions, Sunggyu is never able to keep his eyes off Woohyun. While talking with the other, Sunggyu would stare at Woohyun. He would watch the way Woohyun’s brow furrowed when he wasn’t happy with a particular . He would watch how Woohyun’s eyes lit up when he successfully finished a part of his masterpiece. He would watch how Woohyun would smile his wonderful smile; the one where his mouth spread wide, the sides of his mouth crinkling and eyes almost disappearing. And when Woohyun stares at him, Sunggyu would feel his insides heat up and melt while butterflies flew everywhere in his stomach.

~

“Gyu, we’ve known each other for a while now.” Woohyun began one day when he and Sunggyu were hanging out in the university library.

They were sitting in the aisle between two rows of books, seeking privacy from the rest of the world. Sunggyu was busy looking at the books in front of him while Woohyun gazed at him fondly. Sunggyu hummed at Woohyun’s statement but didn’t stop what he was doing.

“And we’re pretty comfortable with each other right?” Woohyun continued. Sunggyu hummed once again in agreement.

“So what would you say if I wanted to draw you like one of my French girls?”

Sunggyu paused when he heard that statement, not understanding at first, but when he did get it, he turned more still than he ever did during one of his posing sessions. His face heated up red and he refused to turn around to face Woohyun.

The silence settled thick, with Sunggyu trying to find his composure and Woohyun waiting for a bigger reaction. Both boys’ hearts were pounding in their chests.

When Sunggyu finally regained some of his speaking and moving abilities, he swivelled around slowly to look at Woohyun. The latter gave a shy smile and looked down when their eyes met.

“Why?” was all Sunggyu managed to get out, breaking the heavy silence.

Woohyun took a deep breath before replying. “W-well my art lecturer said I needed more practice in drawing n-nudes. Specifically, drawing using live models.”

Sunggyu opened his mouth to speak but didn’t know what to say so he closed his mouth again. Woohyun chuckled before returning a bit back to his normal self.

“You don’t have to go all out the first time. We could start off with just shirt buttons open and then shirtless and then you know.” Woohyun said as he tried to disperse the tension that had risen with a light tone and reassuring smile.

“Fine. But only because you’re my best friend.”

And so start the period of torture for both Woohyun and Sunggyu.

In the beginning it was okay, Sunggyu just need to pose with his shirt buttons open and his abs showing a bit. Woohyun and Sunggyu were both flushed that entire session as Woohyun painted and Sunggyu tried to keep from fidgeting out of uncomfortableness.

The next modelling session, Sunggyu didn’t wear a shirt at all. It was a bit awkward at first, but they just pretended they were back in high school in the boys changing room after PE and there were shirtless guys everywhere. Sunggyu’s body was well toned, not overly defined nor undefined. He never went out of his way to get a good body but Sunggyu maintained it well. Woohyun, for his part, was trying not to stare too long at the glorious expanse that was Sunggyu’s chest.

Finally it was up to the reason why the previous sessions happened. To get Sunggyu comfortable for Woohyun to draw him .

The fated day came and Sunggyu’s face was redder than it had ever been. He’d already taken off his shirt and now he was just frozen in the middle of the room, unable to bring himself to undress anymore. If Sunggyu and Woohyun were just best friends, this wouldn’t have been too much of a problem. But since Sunggyu saw Woohyun as more than just friends, everything was so much harder. Because the connotations of undressing in front of the person you like was too much for Sunggyu.

And in that moment, when Woohyun and Sunggyu’s eyes met while Sunggyu’s hand held tightly onto the hem of his pants and Woohyun had his paintbrush ready, everything seemed to stop. The world stopped turning, the sounds faded away; time stood still. The settled thick and heavy and the more Woohyun and Sunggyu stared at each other, the stronger it got. A long minute, or minutes, who even knew anymore, passed before all hell broke loose.

Woohyun wasn’t going to lie; he had had one too many fantasies about this moment, about how Sunggyu would look before him and now that this moment had arrived he couldn’t keep his feelings in check. The paintbrush clattered to the floor, making a dreadfully loud noise in the deafening silence as Woohyun strode towards Sunggyu with a sudden urgency.

Sunggyu, on his side, could feel himself going up in flames from the way Woohyun looked at him. And when Woohyun started walking towards him, Sunggyu started trembling. Whether it was from fear or anticipation for what was to come, nobody knew. Then seconds later, Woohyun was right in front of Sunggyu. They were so close their noses brushed and breath mingled, yet they were still not close enough.

Their gazes locked again and that was all Woohyun needed to lean a little further to connect their lips in a kiss. Their kiss started out surprisingly soft and calm but escalated rather quickly as the heat caught up with them. Sunggyu let go of his pants and instead fisted his hands into Woohyun’s shirt. Meanwhile Woohyun had his hands resting on Sunggyu’s bare lower back and began slowly running them up. Sunggyu shivered beneath Woohyun’s touch and gasped at the feeling. Tongues got involved and soon enough Sunggyu’s head was spinning in bliss from the feeling of Woohyun’s mouth on his own.

A minute of intense making out later, Woohyun and Sunggyu disconnected their lips with both of them panting from lack of oxygen. Although, shortage of oxygen wasn’t the only reason why their chests were heaving. Their hearts were racing from the thrill and adrenaline they just experienced. Woohyun had one arm around Sunggyu’s waist and the other hand tangled into Sunggyu’s hair during their kiss. Now Woohyun moved it from Sunggyu’s hair and down to his face, caressing Sunggyu’s cheeks softly. Sunggyu closed his eyes and enjoyed the touch before leaning forward and resting his head on Woohyun’s shoulder. Woohyun wrapped both his arms around Sunggyu tightly and buried his face into the latter’s hair.

“I think I like you Gyu.” Woohyun mumbled. Sunggyu rolled his eyes but grinned into the other’s shoulder.

“You don’t say.” Sunggyu retorted in a sarcastic tone. Woohyun pouted and somehow Sunggyu knew the younger was doing that even if he couldn’t see him.

“Well I think I like you too Hyun.”