Start Of Something Good

“You’re an idiot,”

Sunggyu’s eyes widened a bit as he turned to Woohyun with a small glare, insulted at the fact that a stranger had called him an idiot. Woohyun, not even fazed at the glare from Sunggyu, merely looked up at the painting in front of him with a bored look.

“Are you talking to me?” Sunggyu asked, his voice a little angry. Woohyun scoffed and nodded at the painting in front of him.

“This artist amounts to nothing,” He said trying not to show his obvious disdain but Sunggyu could pick up the poison in his words. “He paints es and off streets. He may be a genius but he’s crazy. He’s paintings don’t even sell well to the general public, only those who happened to be a fan of his art.”

“You speak so high of yourself,” Sunggyu scoffed, trying not to show his anger in front of the stranger, as he turned his eyes back to the painting, the body of a frail and young boy bathe in the stars light as a piece of white cloth covered his lower torso. “What’s your name?”

“Nam Woohyun,” Woohyun turned and extended his hand out to Sunggyu. “And you are?”

“Kim Sunggyu,” Sunggyu introduced himself as he extended his hand towards Woohyun’s hand and shook it. “Artist agent.”

“What a coincidence,” Woohyun smiled and turned back to the painting. “I’m an artist agent too, is that your artist?”

“As a matter of fact yes,” Sunggyu replied with confidence and pride. “Yesung, that’s his name.”

“Oh I know his name,” Woohyun chuckles lightly, his dark hair overlapping his eyes as he looked at the painting in front of him. “Tell me why did he name the painting ‘Star’?”

Sunggyu raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “Why do you care? Weren’t you the one who said that the artist amounts to nothing?”

“Despite the fact that this artist obviously can’t seem to grasp what the public wants.” Woohyun said with a slight tsk as he stared at the painting in front of him, scrutinizing the young boy in the picture as well as the amount of detail poured into the painting. “He has skill and talent—and maybe if I can convince him to paint something else he might just earn millions.”

Sunggyu glared at Woohyun hard, tilting his head a little to the side, almost in amusement. “Are you trying to take my artist away?”

“Nonsense,” Woohyun scoffed as he nodded to the left, towards two men talking to each other animatedly, laughing and nodding with one glass of wine in each of their hands. “My artist is a very skilled painter; I’m merely giving you advice.”

Sunggyu almost scoffed at the sight of his artist, Yesung, animatedly talking to Woohyun’s artist and even looking like he was having fun—fraternizing with the enemy, Sunggyu thought bitterly.

“So why ‘Star’?”

“It’s his story,” Sunggyu blurted out with a shrug, turning away from the two artist and back to the painting.

“You mean Yesung’s?”

“No the boy in the painting,” Sunggyu raised his glass of wine towards the painting and nodded. “The boy in the painting, the e as you crudely put it—that’s his story.”

Woohyun let out a laugh and shook his head. “His story? What could that boy possibly tell?”

“Lots of things,” Sunggyu glared at Woohyun, trying not to shout at the man. “Tell me…Woohyun was it? How does your artist paint?”

“I tell him what to paint,” Woohyun said as he took a sip from his glass of wine. “Anything that the public wants—animals, buildings, people…as long as it’s in demand, my artist paints it.”

“I didn’t ask of what he paints I asked how he paints,” Sunggyu asked as Woohyun shook his head and rolled his eyes, moving his line of sight to the painting next to Yesung. A tall elegant painting a building, detailed and colored to perfection.

“He tries to imitate that of the style of Leonardo while conveying a dash of—” Sunggyu let out a small chuckle as he shook his head, cutting off Woohyun who glared at him. “Was there something funny about my way of describing the way my artist paints?”

“You seem to talk like you are the artist himself,” Sunggyu explains as he looked into the wine glass and stared at the reflection that the red wine was producing. He then looked back up at the painting next to Yesung’s and stared at the artist name and smiled a little. What a weird name for an artist.

 “Woohyun let me tell you something,” Sunggyu says as he placed a hand on his shoulder and looked at both of the paintings side by side. “You’re new to being an artist agent and I understand how you want to sell you’re artist painting as much as possible so that both of you can gain the money and I respect you for that…but look at Yesung’s painting. You asked me what that boy’s story was and I’ll tell you.” Sunggyu said as he watched Woohyun’s face twist into confusion and Sunggyu merely smiled, seeming to like that look on Woohyun’s face.

“What do you see in that painting?”

“I see a e,”

“Idiot!”  Sunggyu shouted as smacked Woohyun’s head, earning a sharp cry of pain and surprise from Woohyun and a glare. “Look at his eyes, where is it looking?”

Woohyun tried not to cry out in displeasure as he sighed heavily and turned his eyes to the paintings young boy. He moved to the eyes and he felt—hopeful? Was that what he was looking for? He didn’t know why but he just shook of that feeling and looked out to the direction of where he was looking.

“Outside of the window…probably the sky.”

“But it is dark,” Sunggyu retorted, trying not to smile at Woohyun’s facial expression as he squinted and pursed his lips. How cute.

“Oh the stars then?”

“Very good,” Sunggyu smiled as he patted Woohyun on the head, earning him a small pout. “The young boy is looking at the stars up in the sky, something that gives off light while his body is still shadowed in the darkness. Don’t you think he wants to escape the world he is in but can’t?”

Woohyun bit his lips a little as he stared at the young boy’s eyes again and nodded a little. “Y…yeah maybe he wants to escape.”

Sunggyu chuckled and shook his head, squeezing Woohyun’s shoulder a little. “That’s his story.”

Woohyun tears his eyes away from the painting and looks at Sunggyu with a small pout on his lips. “Yesung told you that? His story I mean.”

“Nope, that old grouch never tells me anything.” Sunggyu laughs as he downed the last remains of his wine and wiped his lips with the back of his hand. “But we’ve been together long enough for me to know how he’s mind works. That, on the other hand I don’t understand.” Sunggyu points towards Yesung as Woohyun turned his head to and squinted a little. Yesung was still talking to Woohyun’s artist but his arm was around someone beside him but Woohyun couldn’t see who it was with the fact that Yesung was covering that someone.

“Who is that?”

“Shush,” Sunggyu chuckled as he placed his index finger on his lips and smiled. “That’s another story that’s told for another day.”

“W…well it doesn’t matter!” Woohyun coughed trying to tear his eyes away from the man’s smile. “My artist is doing well with his career; he doesn’t need to tell a story!”

“Sooner or later he will be,” Sunggyu smiled and reached out towards Woohyun, ruffling his hair a little. “And then you’ll come and thank me.”

Woohyun scoffs and rolls his eyes. “I only know your name.”

“Well then,” Sunggyu laughed and starts to move away from Woohyun, waving a little. “Good luck finding me.”

Woohyun blushes a little as he stared back at the painting of the young boy and bit his lips a little, he reached into his pocket and took out a small notebook, scribbling something down, before turning away with a small smirk.

“Oh. I’ll definitely find you.”