My entry for the "Subyung Fanfic Contest" back in 2012.

/

When she receives a pack of colourful chalk as a birthday present, little seven year-old Hyomin hurries outside to sit on the sidewalk. She doesn't mind that her bottom is getting colder because of the cement floor, or that the wind is blowing harshly against her face that her cheeks are getting red.

Because Hyomin is drawing her world.

Her hands trace over the concrete canvas, making sure to pitch in every little detail. She draws her house, her neighbours, her friends, her parents, and herself.

She doesn't dare forget that her house is orange and her neighbours have dogs.

She definitely doesn't forget that one friend who has short black hair and the other with really long hair.

Her parents would scold her if she even dared forgetting their favourite red couple shirt (a brown bear for mommy and a polar bear for daddy), so she makes sure to sketch them in too.

Hyomin draws the sun, the cute clouds with weird, funny shapes, and even a snowman (because she likes snowmen and in her world, they last even in the summer).

A wide smile takes her face when she's almost done colouring in her snowman's (who she calls 'Mr Snow') black and white striped top hat.

But her smile fades and her brows furrow when she feels rain begin to fall on her head.

Hyomin doesn't care if her hair is getting thinner from the rain and the strands are sticking to her face. She doesn't care that her curled fingers are numb and her chalk is already stubby.

She watches her house gradually slip away, the orange fading to peach and then to nothing as it fades beneath the nooks of the sidewalk.

The dogs look like they're crying with their mouths dropping until their feet are covered and they become a puddle of goo.

Her friend with short hair no longer has short hair, and her other friend (who originally had long hair), resembled too much of a horror movie character that Hyomin voluntarily wipes it off because fear shouldn't belong in her world.

Her parents' couple shirts aren't matching and it makes Hyomin turn away because she can't recognize her mommy and daddy anymore.

Her house, her neighbours with dogs, her friends with short hair and long hair, and her parents, are all gone.

The brightness of her sun no longer sparkles because the yellow disappeared, and the clouds aren't weirdly cute like before.

Mr Snow isn't supposed to melt in her world but he does, and she watches Mr Snow shrink into a puddle. The colour grey is what's left of his black and white striped top hat.

She can't help but watch her world get washed away until there is nothing left.

Hyomin isn't happy when she hears mommy call her back inside. She isn't happy when she has to sleep while rain continues to bug her house and keep her awake.
 

Pitter. Patter. Pitter. Patter.

When morning comes and the sun hits her face through her bedroom window, little Hyomin hurries outside to see if the sidewalk is okay. She doesn't care about her tussled hair and unkempt teddy bear pyjamas, her feet clad in nothing as she motions down the front steps.

She crouches down to get a closer look of her canvas, peering curiously with crinkled brows as she dances her hand across the concrete.

Hyomin purses her lips and bites the inside of her cheek because she has to wait for her canvas to dry.

So she does, sitting on the bottom step of her front porch, as the sun continues to rise and people flit by. Hyomin rests her cheek against the palm of her hand, patient.

Her world is worth drawing over and over again.

---

She is twenty-one.

Hyomin sits quietly in the corner of the room as she waits patiently for her turn on the set. She takes her black drawing book out of her bag to pass time.

Despite the numerous incessant chatters in the background, Hyomin is steadily focused on her notebook, firmly gripping her pen in her hand.

She turns to a specific page so she can begin drawing her world.

Hyomin remembers doing this for a long while, especially as a child, but with chalk as her pencil and the sidewalk as her paper.

The only difference was that her world always ended up getting washed away when it rained and it would no longer be there. Hyomin didn't want to wait too long anymore, because she'd always get angry having to stop until the sidewalk dries to draw her world again

Hyomin continues to make lines until the end of her pencil is stubby and she runs out of ideas to put in her world.

Her members (she especially never forgets drawing in their various costumes for each performances), her favourite actors and actresses, and T-ARA's dorm, are already there. What else was there to draw that meant something to her?

"Don't forget your next schedule in the morning, Hyomin-ah." Her manager says, and Hyomin hurriedly shuts her notebook because she doesn't want to show him her world. "It's for that new variety show; Invincible Youth, was it?"

Hyomin merely sends him a sheepish smile as she stuffs her drawing book in her bag, glad that her manager's back is facing her.

She stands when the camera man calls her over, and places a smile on her face as the camera begins to shutter.

---

When she arrives to the new shoot, seeing many familiar faces (because they're all idols too), Hyomin is feeling slightly nervous because she isn't sure how to talk to them.

She merely says what she has rehearsed for the past few years she's been an idol — 'Hello, I'm T-ARA's Hyomin!'— and finds herself lost after that as she settles beside one of them on the set.

It's obvious to her that she isn't the only one feeling the same way, seeing a few of the girls shuffling awkwardly in their seats as they smile nervously at the camera.

Only one is confidently speaking for the rest of them, her grin wide across her lips as she interacts with each of the villagers.

"Sunny-unnie is so active," 4minute's Hyuna whispers excitedly from beside her, and Hyomin admits that it's true.

She resembles too much of a ball of sunshine (she matches well with her name) that Hyomin finds herself entranced as she watches Sunny converse animatedly with the MCs and villagers. She sees the confidence oozing from her form as she smiles at the camera, her eyes shining brightly as she speaks.

Hyomin isn't surprised when Sunny excels just as well during their little missions for the show.

Her knowledge is almost immeasurable as wisdom continues to spill through her lips. She continues to help out the rest of the girls while simultaneously finishing her own work.

Sunny gets her job done (while also securing a lot of air time) and it makes Hyomin envious.

So she can't help but stick to the girl, inevitably becoming her folding screen.

---

"They're beautiful,"

Hyomin flushes, abashed at the innocent comment that slipped so effortlessly from Sunny's lips. The shorter woman had probed her about her treasured book, and before she had been able to stow it away back in her bag, Sunny had already peered over her shoulder.

Hyomin coughs behind a hand and motions to close her world, before Sunny stops her with a gentle tap on her temple.

Sunny's hair tickles her left cheek as she hovers from behind.

"You shouldn't hide something so precious as this," her fingers curl over the shape of Hyomin's rigid shoulder, "people should know how talented you are."

At first, Hyomin had stuck to Sunny like glue simply to gain some additional screen time. She wash't too keen on the knowledge of handling farming equipment either, so Sunny being wise in almost every field, greatly influenced her previous thought.

Hyomin merely keeps mum, hesitantly opening her book once more for Sunny to see.

"You know," the shorter woman settles her chin atop Hyomin's shoulder, humming softly. "If everyone knew how skillful you are with a pencil, viewers would appreciate you more."

Hyomin fixes her gaze on the falling leaf on her page.

"I'm not that great, really..."

Sunny's laughter echoes against her eardrums, but Hyomin shakes her head, amused. Sunny squeezes her shoulder out of reassurance.

"Honestly? Not a lot of people can draw a landscape so detailed like that,"

Hyomin smiles at the compliment, eyes crinkling as Sunny settles on a seat beside her. It's the first time she's showing her world to anyone (other than her members), and it always seems to make her nervous.

She's afraid of what people will say about her world.

"Could I..?"

Hyomin purses her lips, hesitant of handing her book over for Sunny to see everything. It's like her personal diary, and someone was about to read every little detail of her life.

But it's Sunny.

And Sunny isn't just someone.

"You don't have to, you know." Sunny's fingers curl over Hyomin's hand. "I just thought it wouldn't hurt to ask,"

Hyomin spots her wide smile and it tugs at her chest. She crinkles her brows, contemplating, before shifting her book to settle on Sunny's lap. Hyomin avoids Sunny's curious gaze as she speaks, voice just above a whisper.

"It's fine since it's you,"

She flushes under Sunny's bright eyes and curved lips.

Hyomin is silent throughout Sunny's journey through her world, watching her flip the pages of her life behind curtains of auburn hair. She notes how careful Sunny is with the ends of her notebook, being gentle as she reads over the contour lines that draw her universe.

Hyomin raises a curious brow when Sunny nears the end of her notebook. Sunny's fingers brush tentatively against the page, hovering over a small lake.

Her voice is quiet as she thumbs over the lined canvas.

"Do you like black and white?"

Hyomin furrows her brows at the odd question, but doesn't reply as Sunny continues, tracing over the shaded trees.

"Because you stopped colouring half way through the book," Sunny smiles at the sun, seeing a grin drawn over it's expression. "The newer entries don't have colour."

Hyomin studies Sunny's side profile, memorizing the contour lines of her jaw as she formulates a response. It's not that she prefers black and white over everything else, but the world...

"The people aren't coloured either," Sunny continues, "not like the first page, with the yellow sun, and that snowman with the striped hat." Hyomin widens her eyes as Sunny laughs. "That one isn't as developed as your later drawings, but.." Sunny cranes her neck to look at Hyomin, grin so wide, Hyomin wonders if it'll remain permanent on her face. "..It's my favourite."

Hyomin turns away, feeling flustered.

But the world she grew up in is drawn only in black and white.

Little Hyomin didn't know the world like she knows it now.

Hyomin coughs into her hand, clearing .

"That was when I was little," Hyomin settles her gaze back on the page, seeing how Sunny had returned to that particular part of her world. "I was young, naive, and ignorant." Her brown eyes trace over Mr Snow who never melts. "I didn't know any better,"

Hyomin wonders what it'd be like if she continued not knowing. She had bothered redrawing everything from scratch as soon as she received the notebook as a present.

But would her world remain as colourful as it had been the first time?

She chokes when Sunny slaps her hard on the back. Hyomin almost falls over before gripping on the edges of her seat to catch herself from landing face first on the marble floor. Hyomin coughs before staring back curiously at Sunny's bright expression, incredulous.

"Wh—What was that for?"

Sunny turns the pages until it's the last, seeing how it's the only one left untouched. Hyomin merely watches as Sunny taps on the blank canvas, her smile reaching her eyes.

"Draw for me what you would draw right now," Hyomin continues to only stare, bewildered. "If you were still 'young, naive, and ignorant'."

Hyomin is left stunned as Sunny hands over her notebook.

"Because your drawings are beautiful," Sunny stands from her seat when her manager ushers her over, "but it's colour that makes the world go 'round."

Hyomin remains motionless as Sunny bids her a wave of goodbye, her eyes trailing after the shorter woman's fading figure. Her mind begins to slowly process the words that had left Sunny's lips as she stares at the empty page, pondering.

She keeps mum even when her own manager calls her over for her next schedule, absently stashing away her notebook, as her mind continues to wander.

---

Hyomin crinkles her brows as the pencil continues to teeter on the bridge of her nose.

She jumps when it tilts a tad too much on the right and she grunts as it hits her notebook, the end of her pencil becoming dull from the large black dent it left on the white page. Hyomin sighs through pouting lips as she erases the mark, but she still isn't satisfied even when the sheet is clear again.

The last page of her world is still empty.

"Draw for me what you would draw right now," Hyomin rubs her temple tiredly to ease the wrinkles on her brow. "If you were still 'young, naive, and ignorant'."

But that was the thing; she wasn't 'young, naive, and ignorant' anymore.

Hyomin slumps against her desk, groaning as the gears in her mind continue to turn. Despite the numerous schedules she had to endure the whole day, all Hyomin could really think of was her bleak world.

She hums a quiet song as she stares at a photo of herself with the rest of the G7 members. Hyomin unconsciously smiles because of the wide silly curves on their lips that they had all adorned as they posed, all squished tightly together. She'd be lying if she said they weren't a part of her world.

The colourful part.

Hyomin taps her pencil against her lips, the eraser lightly bumping against it as she contemplates. If she was still young, naive, and ignorant, then...

Without warning, her hand flits to the page and lines are being sewn. Hyomin bites her lower lip as her wrist flicks, creating smooth curves across the once-blank canvas. The picture is clear in her head as she continues to string it together.

Even when her members pop in once in a while to let her know that it's late and that she should be getting to bed, Hyomin dismisses them with a wry smile over her shoulder.

She wants to make her world turn again.

---

Hyomin waits until everyone leaves the set so she can talk to Sunny.

She tightens the grip on her bag when she sees the shorter woman come closer, as if she knew Hyomin wanted to see her.

She gives her a shy smile as she pulls her notebook out of her bag.

"I — uh," Hyomin stutters as she fidgets with the hem of her sleeve, "I want to show you what I drew."

She receives Sunny's large smile as the shorter woman cradles the notebook in her hands. Hyomin swallows when they settle themselves in a seat, Sunny opening the pages of her book with the same look of admiration as the day before.

"So what did you draw?"

Hyomin fiddles with the collar of her shirt as she wets her chapped lips, nervous of what Sunny will say as the shorter woman gets closer to the end of her book. When Sunny does, Hyomin clears behind her hand to avoid any more embarrassment.

"My world,"

Sunny looks, stares, blinks, and then squints, before leaning closer to the page.

There are no tinges of black or white.

The contour lines that outline the figure are a faded beige, to fit the individual's skin tone. She sees yellow, red, orange — she sees nothing but colouracross the page.

Hyomin is shuffling her feet from where she sat, eyes nervously flickering between Sunny's stunned expression and the notebook. She wonders what Sunny is thinking at the moment. Does she not like it?

Sunny's surprised tone snaps her back to see the shorter woman crane her neck to face her. Hyomin flushes beneath her probing scrutiny and raised brows.

"But all I see is —"

"— You?" Hyomin hurries to intercept her, simply because she's too embarrassed to hear it slip from Sunny's own lips. "..I know,"

And Sunny returns her abashed smile.

---

When she receives a pack of colourful chalk as a welcome-back present, twenty-three year old Hyomin hurries outside to sit on the sidewalk.

She doesn't mind that her bottom is getting warmer because of the hot cement floor due to the burning sun, or that the lack of wind is making her cheeks turn red.

Because Hyomin is drawing her world.

Her hands trace over the concrete canvas, making sure to pitch in every little detail. She draws her house, her new neighbours, her childhood friends, her parents, and her grown-up self.

She doesn't dare forget about her T-ARA members or the rest of G7. Or the idol world.

Hyomin draws the sun, the cute clouds with weird, funny shapes that begin to cover the sky, and even a snowman (because she still likes snowmen and in her world, they still last even in the summer).

"Is this why you don't bother buying another drawing book, Hyomin-ah?"

Hyomin's smile only grows wider as Sunny crouches to sit beside her. She brought Sunny with her back home for their short holiday, where her world first started.

The curve on her lips do not fade away and her brows do not furrow when she feels rain begin to fall on her head.

Hyomin doesn't care if her hair is getting thinner from the rain and the strands are sticking to her face. She doesn't care that her curled fingers are numb and her chalk is already nubby.

"I'm not young, naive, or ignorant, anymore."

She watches her house gradually slip away, her new neighbours, her childhood friends, her parents, and even her grown-up self.

Eunjung no longer has short hair, and Jiyeon (who originally had long hair), resembled too much of a horror movie character that Hyomin voluntarily wipes it off because fear still shouldn't belong in her world.

Boram continues to grow taller until her legs slip into the nooks of the cement floor. Qri's big eyes grow even bigger, and Hwayoung's wide grin gets even wider.

The brightness of her sun no longer sparkles because the yellow disappeared, and the clouds aren't weirdly cute like before.

Mr Snow isn't supposed to melt in her world but he does, and she watches Mr Snow shrink into a puddle. The colour grey is what's left of his black and white striped top hat. Again.

She can't help but watch her world get washed away until there is nothing left.

But she is older now. She knows better.

"The water cycle,"

Sunny shoots her a curious glance as she traces her fingertips over the wet cement. Where her drawings used to be.

Hyomin's smile is even wider as the water continues to pour over her figure, cooling her. She lifts her head up to the sky, closing her eyes as the rain drops over her eyelids and cheeks.

"My drawings don't really disappear," Hyomin brushes away a strand of hair from her brow, "because they get recycled into the air. Evaporation," she settles her gaze towards Sunny who is silent beside her. "This way, everyone appreciates the work I've made."

Because rain is something everyone appreciates. And her world is a part of it.

Sunny whispers just above the sounds of tapping rain.

 

Pitter. Patter. Pitter. Patter.

"Even if the world doesn't know it?"

Hyomin grins as she stands, taking Sunny's hand to pull her up.

"My world already does,"