"Soojung-ah."

"Hey, Jjung. . ."

"Jjung-ie! Could you–"

"Soojung, I love you really. Can you–"

These were some of the common phrases on the fifth floor of Blanc and Eclare's office building, only directed towards me. Soojung, who is just an office worker, the coffee girl and the goody-two shoes – they picture me as somewhat a naive and timid girl, having zero ability to say the word no whenever favors are asked from me and I guess it's true. Sehun, or considering his superior title, Creative Director, Mr. Oh, called for me. I have often been his favorite victim in the office, he would pile multiple paperworks for me to complete or he would ask me to make coffee and if it didn't fit the taste of his tongue, I would have to re-do it and there was once a time when I literally had to work over-time just because I spent an hour fixing a mug of coffee and delaying a workload of paper filing.

I shook my head lightly, killing down the sigh that threatened to escape during the brief explanation Sehun had just told me about the workload he docked on my table, the clock strikes half past two in the afternoon and I have not even had my lunch break due to Sehun's orders that I had obliged to. Sehun looked at me and smiled, "Feel free to get a sandwich though. In case, you get hungry," before he waved and walked out while I was almost close in raising my middle finger. Sulli, a partner of mine that sat next to my cubicle peered over the wall that separated us two, the lassie donned a loose bun with a buttoned-down blouse and black pencil skirt that cladded around her thighs, accentuating her hips as she had tucked in the white top. She had a pencil in between her lips before she removed them and queried, "You're not gonna take a break at all? You know he was just kidding on the whole 'no break for you' rule, don't you?"

I nodded my head, "I know," I replied, "But look at this," hands gesturing towards the workload that Sehun had earlier dropped off, I continued, "I'm stuck with all of this and we all know over-time wages just aren't worth it." Sulli hummed, agreeing on my statement. The company I work in wasn't a very large fashion line company although it was growing if we were to compare it to the other brands situated in New York. It was my sister's afterall; but more often than not, we do bargain a fair amount of loyal customers.

Sulli sympathetically cheered, "Good luck though!" pumped a fist in the air before she veered over to the other colleague, planning to bail for lunch while I focused on my part of work. Every now and then, I would run my fingers through my hair and soft grunts would escape my thin lips as my fingers pressed on the keys of the keyboard, typing out what is and what not.

Footsteps were then heard and I perked up, realising that both Sulli and Amber had run off to lunch, I turned my gaze towards the screen of the computer again before continuing to type in accordance to finish the sentence before I e-mailed it to said company that it had been addressed to. I leaned in my chair, taking a minute break before I stood up and headed towards the staff room, located at the right side of the level with a counter top, a table and a couple of arm chairs with a cabinet and a boiler.

I pulled out my mug and brewed the coffee, the bitter liquid had been my friend since the first day of work. I would have never thought that the beverage would take such a toll on me that I could not go a day without consuming a mug of it. The office is empty, nobody is on the floor but me and the only sound that could be heard is the ventilation of air-conditioning and the boiler going off.

Occupying myself, I did not realise the figure that stood by the door pane of the staff room and nearly jumped to my death when I finally noticed the latter. I squeaked, "You scared me," my right hand on my chest as I heaved, shaking my head lightly. It'd be a lie if I didn't swoon the minute I looked at him, the latter was cladded in acid-wash ripped jeans with a white casual shirt, his hair in the color of a dark brown, parted in half before he ruffled through it, messing the alignment as he apologised, "Sorry about that," he said, "I was just wondering where I could meet Jessica Jung."

I laughed airily, "Boy," I sighed, "You're on the wrong floor and building too – her office isn't here." The sun-kissed skin male furrowed his brows, and that gesture all the air in my lungs, he asked, "This is the Blanc and Eclare building, correct?" I nodded and as I was about to reply, the latter continued, "Then, I'm not wrong – where can I meet Jessica Jung?" I let out a small sigh, "You're really wrong, she used to have her office here but she moved to Manhattan."

His lips formed an 'o' shape, he nodded his heax and inquired, "May I get a full address?" I walked out of the staff room and past his side, a whiff of his cologne swept me off my feet — he was masculinity himself, his scent of musk and vanilla. As I scouted over Sehun's table and pulled out the name card, I answered, "Here," giving the name card as I continued, "That's the full address and if she isn't reachable, you can find her at Central Park." He flashed a smile, took the card and kept it in the right side of his back pocket, he complimented, "You look just like her."

"I'm her sister." 

That statement alone seemed to have shocked him, I raised a brow at the sudden hand he pulled out, offering a handshake as he introduced himself, "Kai, you must be the other half of the Jungs— Soojung, am I right?" I took his hand nevertheless, "Yeah," I replied, "How did you know my name?" I didn't care if I sounded rude, I was really close with my sister but I've never heard her talk about the guy, Kai? Who is he anyway? He only flashed a weak simper, "Jess," he addressed her, "and I go way back, back in Seoul that is."

Seoul? I thought, the last time Jess went to Seoul was with me and how come she never mentioned this dude? Kai seemed to have noticed that I wasn't breaking the ice, he continued, "Do you like art?" I stepped out of my trance, hummed softly as I questioned back, "What? Do I like art?" Kai nodded his head, "There's an art exhibition nearby," he started slow, "I thought you'd be interested, we could go this Sunday."

I gave him a weird look, though he was not fazed by it, I snorted, "Nice try," I said, "But I don't date guys that are my sister's age." The joke was on me unfortunately, Kai chuckled, "I'm not the same age as Jess though, but I am with you." I wanted to say prove it to me but that would've crossed borders and I did not want it to happen. I shrugged and politely rejected his offer either way, "I have church on Sunday, thanks for the invite." He looked at me as if I was some five year old who wore white dresses and a big bow as he retorted, "Skipping church for only one day doesn't make you an atheist."

Eventually after persuasion, I gave in and said, "Fine," I replied, "As long as you don't mistake this as a date, I'll go."

Boy, who knew that I'd be the one digging my own grave.

♦ ♦ ♦

Every time Jessica and I met up, I was always so eager to ask about Kai but never managed to gain any courage. I couldn't even pronounce his name without a jolt of electricity travelling through the veins of my blood and being the observant sister Jess is, she noticed I was out of it that Friday nigh when we were at one of the jazz club to enjoy good music and some light booze. She nudged me by the elbow and cooed, "Jjung-ah," she queried, "You alright? Has Sehun been overworking you again? I can tell him off if you want me to."

I shook my head no, comparing the both of us, I had the higher alcohol tolerance so I didn't worry about having to blurt about Kai because it would take more than just a couple glasses of wine and beer to make me drunk. As the night darkened, Jessica was already drunk and started to talk gibberish and I started my investigation – codename Kai. I looked at her, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes droopy as she emitted soft chuckles and giggles as the seconds went by.

I asked, "Jess," I started slow, slightly afraid if she was still sober, "Can I ask you something?" With her arm around my shoulder, she pulled me close and nodded, "Of course," she answered, "Sisters always share their secrets!" You didn't share this one though. I continued, "Do you know anyone named Kai? A guy, specifically." Jessica removed her hand from me, her brows met each other as it furrowed and she lightly tapped on her chin as she hummed, "Kai? A guy?" she shook her head, "Doesn't ring any bell, why?"

My shoulders slumped, Good going, Jung Soojung! I flashed a weak smile and shook my head, helped her up and said, "We should head back home, I bet mom would be worried sick for us, especially you if she knew how much drinks you took." Jessica stood up and staggered herself towards the entrance, despite of her drunk self, she still had confidence radiating from her while I was really just me that was awkward. She managed to hail us a cab but the driver gave me the creeps when he started to rant about how he used to be a Broadway star. He even sang us a verse from the musical, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

I never watched it but Jessica seemed to have watched it as she followed the driver singing, I silently prayed that the way home wouldn't be too long before they started singing Christmas carols.

♦ ♦ ♦

Sunday arrived and here I was, sitting at a bus stand as I tried to get directions to the exhibition. Apparently, Mr. Genius had gained my number from an unknown source, he claimed and told me to get to the venue by myself. I wore a white v-neck tee with skin-fit denim blue jeans, I let my hair down and wore my black timepiece from Blanc and Eclare itself. Jessica had given it to me last year, for my birthday and I quite cherished it as it definitely suited my style. 

The minute I arrived at the exhibition, I knew I was under-dressed. Everyone else seemed to have worn designer's clothes and here I was, standing in front of the entrance looking like some bum who had just got out of a thrift shop. I sighed as I crossed my arm, mentally noting to Google the etiquettes of going to an art exhibition and the dress code itself. Kai, however, seemed to be amused with my wardrobe and had complimented, "You look nice," which I translated to 'Are you sure you are the sister to a fashion designer?'

He took my hand in his and I felt a spark, my heart did a flip and I started to feel like a fifteen year old crushing on the school's football star. He grinned, "I bet you're wondering about who I am and what do I do, don't you?" Part of me wanted to say no but a part of me wanted to say yes, however; I decided to leave the question unanswered as it seemed to be the best option I had. He continued, "You're not like your sister, aren't you? Very few words, very low profile – very opposite of Jessica."

I took my hand away and crossed my arms, "We're sisters, not twins," I retorted, "Why did you even want to drag me here even in the first place? Why didn't you ask her instead?" Kai was baffled at my questions, his shoulders squared and facial features looking a little dejected, he flashed a weak smile, "She. . ." he answered, "She doesn't have the time to, being a CEO and all – you should know best. You work with her and barely even has time for herself at times." That, I agreed, although Jessica worked as a free-lancer fashion designer, she was very much out and about – sometimes she'd fly to different countries even without my own knowledge and the next thing I know, she had gotten me souvenirs from the country she had visited.

Kai stopped me when we reach in front of a certain painting, I couldn't really decipher what image it had portrayed but it had a mix of all the primary colours; all sloshed against one another as if the painter itself held a bucket of paint and simply threw it on the canvas and voila, the masterpiece was created. Kai asked, "What do you feel when you see this?" I stared at him before I turned my gaze at the painting, I shrugged, "I don't know, I feel like the painter was just too lazy to spend any time in creating a true masterpiece," and I swore, the old lady next to me with a leopard-printed scarf curled around her neck scoffed, as though she implied I had no taste in art whatsoever.

Kai snickered as he shook his head and changed his position as he stood behind me, he lowered his head to mine as he placed both of his hands on my shoulder, "Now," he said, "Look at the canvas," to which I obeyed and stared again, he continued, "There's a reason why the painter chose primary colors and why it's all sloshed together – how do you describe emotions? The painter can't draw words like happiness, sadness or anger – that's called typography so now, he is depicting emotions in colours. . . You see, Soojung; as humans, we often have mixed emotions and these primary colours are happiness, sadness and anger. Why are the colours all sloshed you ask? That's how the painter explains the mixture of emotions we have, we're happy for a minute and suddenly something bad happens, we get angry and when we learn that it's our fault, we get sad as we realise it is too late to say sorry."

I was flabbergasted at his theory, it all seemed to make sense – a mix of emotions, I never really paid any attention to art. I was more into literate art, poetry, old sonnets and good books and to see the world in a different light was refreshing. I turned my head and faced Kai, he adorned a wide grin, feeling accomplished to have made me felt a connection with the painting, he said, "That's my painting."

I raised a brow, "What do you mean it's your painting," I asked, completely confused at what he tried to implied, he placed both of his hands on my cheeks and turned my head again, he answered, "See that tiny signature at the far right corner?" I shifted my gaze and there it was, in brush , the letters K, A and I. He smiled as he continued, "I'm a painter, that's what I do for a living – aside from being a part-time cafe owner that is."

Edgar Degas once said, "Art is not what you see, but what you make others see," and I think Kai had made that clear, he made me see that there was emotions in art but what made me even more astounded was that I learned love and art were the same thing, it's a process of seeing yourself in something that isn't you and I knew, in that very moment, I saw me within Kai.