"I'll call it... False serenity"

Luhan grinned, dumping the paintbrush into the cloudy glass of water next to his easel. He ran his fingers through his hair, remembering too late they had paint on them.

"Oh !" He exclaimed, only to catch the judgemental eye of his black cat, dragon (he had always wanted a dragon as a kid).

"I mean... oh no..."

Dragon her paw and sauntered away, tail swishing in a sassy fashion.

 

Luhan turned back to his painting, admiring it... The canvas was a gradient from icy blue to white. This represented the 'serenity' aspect. In the very center of the canvas was a black "X", so small it looked like a fleck of dust. 

 

He sat back on his chair. It was simple, it was self explanatory, it was effective... 

 

 

"I'm fine mum, seriously!" 

Xiumin pinched his nose bridge with his thumb and index finger.

"I can't come over I already told you how busy I am!"

Empty packets of chips carpeted the apartment. An unopened laptop sat on the desk.

"Yeah I'll see you another time, Bye" Xiumin was always the one to hang up.

 

He clicked the red button and let his phone drop to the ground. Xiumin flopped onto his crumb covered couch and covered his eyes with his hands.

 

"Please... Not today..."

 

The voice in the back of his head was persistent. It knew when and what to say that triggered his weakness... Him being alone made it louder, more present.

 

Xiumin felt his throat burn as he swallowed. He got up and gulped down a glass of water, revelling in the stinging it produced on his raw throat.

 

Arms shaking, he leaned on the edge of the kitchen sink. 

 

 

He managed to turn on the tap before retching.

 

 

"Luhan... Uh... What do we have here..."

 

Luhan grinned at the three judges as they inspected his masterpiece. They were the same three for as long as he could remember.

 

Judge #1 : Lee Chunhua

A red haired, mid-30's mother who seemed to look younger every year. Her fashion sense was questionable at times but unique, reflecting her quirky personality and passion for wearable art.

 

Judge #2: Wu Yi Fan / Kris

Raised in China till he was 10, he moved to Canada for school, then relocated to Korea to pursue his career as an idol. 

Along the way he realised his true art potential.

 

Judge #3: Lin Shi

Tall, slim, with long jet black hair. Her sharp features looked like that of a model...

 

"It's called false serenity" Luhan blurted out. He clasped his fingers together to hide his shaking hands.

 

"Well... It looks similar to your entry last year" kris commented, taking a closer look at the painting.

 

"And the one before that in fact!" Lee Chunhua exclaimed.

 

"It looks like all the paintings you have entered every year, only to fail" lin shi said in a cold, monotone.

 

Luhan felt his heart sink. "I was trying to show how-"

But they had already moved on to the next painting.

 

Luhan walked home, painting in hand. Another year of disappointment.

 

He discarded his painting in the red bin outside his apartment block and with it, his last hope.

 

 

Chen arrived a week later. The first thing he said was:

"I'm back"

Upon viewing the condition of his apartment he said:

"Wholy crap this place is a dump!" Chen flicked open a pizza box only to shut it in disgust as a puff of mould wafted through the air.

 

"What the hell is this?!" Chen shouted, picking up a crusty black thing between his thumb and forefinger.

 

"Why are you here..." Xiumin said, rolling over on the couch. "Oh you might want to put that down... Uh"

 

"OH MY GOD YOU NASTY SON OF A-" chen threw the crusty sock onto the ground wiping his hands on his pants like his life depended on it. "WHAT THE HELL MATE"

 

"I didn't know you'd be back" xiumin rubbed his eyes tiredly taking a peek at the calendar on the wall opposite. It's the 27th already? He thought. Had it really been a week?

 

"Yeah well I'm here aren't I? Get off your and come here"

 

Xiumin pulled himself off of the couch and was folded into an awkward hug by his best friend. 

 

"I'm happy you're back" xiumin said into chen's shoulder. 

 

"Me too man" chen replied clapping his shoulder. "You look a sight" chen said, holding xiumin at arms length. "Hows your thesis going?"

 

Xiumin grimaced at the reminder and shook chen's hands off of his shoulders. "How do you think?"

 

Chen sighed and sat down on the wrapper covered couch with a crunch. "Biochemistry aye? Well it'll all be worth it in the end I guess..."

 

 

"Yeah you're right"

 

A silence passes as the two are lost in their thoughts.

 

"How was Korea?" Xiumin asked.

 

"As it usually is" Chen replied.

 

Chen's job as a composer meant he travelled to korea a lot, now more than ever that the record label he worked for was debuting a new mixed gender group called 1step-ahead.

 

"1step-ahead are gonna be big, I can feel it!" Chen said, a grin on his face.

 

"Of course they will be, if you're composing" Xiumin replied matter-of-factly.

 

Chen smiled. "Hey did suho come over while I was away?" 

 

"Umm i don't think so...?" He hadn't. The last time Xiumin saw suho it was the morning chen had left to Korea, he had dropped him off at the airport.

 

"Okay... Think i'll drop by his place later then, i miss him" 

 

Chen and suho had been in a relationship for about 2 months. They had met at a bar, and became friends. They would frequently go out for drinks together, until one night suho got drunk and confessed he liked chen. Xiumin still remembered chen coming home with a drunk man in tow, "Who the hell is this drunk?!" "Shuttup that could be my future boyfriend you're talking about!" He was right.

 

Chen sighed. And as if telepathically, the pair started picking the rubbish off the floor and cleaning the room each dwelling different matters.