“How’s Yeri? Is she eating again?” Sehun asked Jongin. They are seated across each other in a fast food restaurant in Myeongdong.

“She’s doing well after you visited her.” Jongin answered.

“That’s good.” The truth is, Sehun also talked to Yeri that she should not give his brother a reason to worry anymore.

“She also said that she will start collecting your paintings again once she fully recovered.”

“That’s better.” Sehun said as he removed the onions from his burger.

“Don’t throw it away.” Jongin said as he placed the onions that Sehun removed on his own burger. “What will you do to these stuff that you bought?” Jongin pointed at the bags beside him.

“I will donate them to an orphanage.” Sehun simply said. “And besides, I also want to help the local business here in Seoul.”

“That’s nice. You’re really a soft person inside. Even if it doesn’t show in your face.” Jongin said and sipped his drink.

Sehun just stared at him. Did he just praise him?

“Do you have an orphanage in mind where you will donate these?” Jongin breaks the silence.

“No.” He already visited an orphanage in Seoul last month and he was a bit impulsive when he bought the clothes even if he hasn’t scouted for an orphanage yet.

“I know an orphanage 40 minutes away from here.”

“You’ll accompany me there?”

“For the right price.”

“Is everything to you about money?”

“Of course, I’m a businessman, Sehun.”

The way Jongin spoken his name seemed to soothe his heart. “Okay, when are we bringing these there?”

“Later. For now, let’s just sort them properly so that we can easily give them out later. “

Sehun lets Jongin do what he suggested. Jongin started to fold the clothes one by one as well as sort the school supplies and the diapers for the babies. Sehun on the other hand, took the receipt of their ordered food, folded it and used it to remove the paint stuck under his nails.

“Jongin?”

“Yeah?”

“May I know the reason why you seem to hate my paintings? I won’t get mad or offended, I swear.”

Jongin didn’t say anything for a while. It seems like he’s thinking whether to answer his question or not. “I’m not mad at you or your paintings. I just envy you.”

“Envy?”

 “You could say that.” Jongin is now starting to sort the toys. “I used to love everything about the arts. After all, I was one of you once.”

“You’re an artist too?”

“Not just any artist. I was a painter.”

“Really?” According to Yeri’s stories, her brother is too much of a workaholic. Jongin at times, almost doesn’t sleep in their home because he is too dedicated on his work. It was really surprising to know that Jongin was once a part of the artists’ world.

“When I was a child I used to love painting and drawing. I’m ready to go to a famous art school in London when our parents had an accident. Ah, I’m sorry if I didn’t tell you that they died. I just don’t want to talk about them.”

“Because they are the reason why your dream of becoming a painter didn’t happen?”

Jongin didn’t say anything.

“You say those things about my painting because that’s your way to forget about your dreams. You’re fighting back the urge to go back to what you really want to do.”

“I can’t go back. This is my life now.”

“Jongin, if you were an artist once, you know the saying ‘Once an artist, always an artist.’ You cannot forget that. Being an artist is in your heart and blood that’s why you’re always criticizing my work.”

Jongin shook his head. “I turned away from my old life. For now, I just want to be a good businessman. I slowly learned to love my new profession. At first, I rebelled to my parents. I blamed them for leaving us too early that’s why I have to fulfill all the responsibility that they left me, in taking care of Yeri and our company.”

“You’re still blaming them until now, am I right?”

“Nope. I accepted that this is my fate now. I’m just frustrated because I don’t have the time to relax and enjoy my favorite hobby. Corporate world sometimes, you know?”

“Why don’t you take a vacation then? Even God took a rest when He created the world, you know?”

“I don’t know.” Jongin shrugged. “Maybe, it’s my fault. I just couldn’t leave Kim Incorporations. I chained myself to our business without me noticing it.”

Sehun took the things that Jongin organized. “You’re just paranoid.” Sehun said. “Your company won’t go bankrupt if you just take a few days off to rest. You’re here with me, organizing the stuff that I bought instead of being in your office. Did you see someone’s company go bankrupt because its owner is in a fast food chain instead of being in his office? No, right?”

Jongin didn’t say anything. But it looks like he is deeply thinking what he has just said. Sehun picked up a small sock and threw it at Jongin’s direction. Jongin threw it back to him. He just laughed. Jongin’s mood became better. It seems like something heavy was taken off of his chest. Sehun is happy because he somehow helped Jongin make his mood better.

“Wait, here.” Sehun took a bag from Jongin and placed the sock that he threw a moment ago. “I’ll help you.”

“No, I’ll do it. I might disturb you from… picking dirt under your nails.”

Jongin just laughed when Sehun playfully pinched him.

The director of the orphanage that they went into thanked them profusely for giving them the things that he bought. Jongin is talking to the old woman at the moment. They were talking about some charity project that they plan to do. Sehun on the other hand is peering on the window of a classroom where he is standing at. There is an ongoing class and the children are doing an art activity. He left Jongin and entered the room.

He approached a little girl whom he thinks is just five years old. She is sobbing while holding a box of crayons on her other hand. “Hello. Why are you crying?” Sehun asked.

“They are so mean. They don’t want me to join them.” The little girl pointed at the group of older kids.

Sehun looked at the girl. “Shh, don’t cry. They’re ugly.” He whispered which made the little girl giggle. “Let’s just play together.” He sat on the floor and looked at the girl’s coloring book which is covered in many colors. The dog is colored blue, the sun is pink and the picture of a lady is colored green on the left side and orange on the right side. “This is… unique.”

“What is your name?” The child asked him. “My name is Minchae.”

“Minchae? I am Sehun oppa. Okay, let’s start coloring. What color do you want for this mountain?”

“Yellow!”

“Okay, let’s pretend it’s cheese-flavored.” Sehun enjoyed making a mess on the girl’s coloring book. He remembered when he was a child. He experimented on using different colors on his coloring books that’s why when he’s a bit older, he found the talent on mixing and matching different colors which is what made him a famous painter now. “There, Minchae. Just continue doing that and I’m sure you will have an exceptional painting skills. Like me.”

They were coloring for a while when he looked up and he saw Jongin looking at him. He was leaning on the classroom door and arms crossed in front of his chest. Jongin just signaled him to just go back on what he is doing. But how can he concentrate when he knows that Jongin is watching his every move? The good thing is Minchae’s teacher told them that the time is up for the activity. Sehun exited the classroom.

“It seems like you found an apprentice here.”  Jongin commented. “Did you enjoy yourself?”

“Yes. It was fun to talk to someone with an artist’s mind like me.” Sehun laughed. “You should’ve joined us so that you were able to experience doing art again, even if you just used crayons.”

“Maybe next time.” Jongin removed something from his hair.

In turn, Sehun fixed Jongin’s ruffled collar. Here they go again with their ‘moment’. It is always happening when silence envelops them. But Sehun is not complaining. He liked the feeling even without them talking. Even if they’re not talking, they can still understand each other. He just hoped Jongin felt the same way. Because God knew that he really feels something for Jongin. Something deep and strong that he was really afraid to face.

Sehun felt someone tugging on his jacket. It was Minchae. She is giving him a paper. When Sehun took a hold of it, she ran away and returned to the classroom. When he looked at the paper, it is full of swirls and lines of different colors. But the colors were light ones.

“What does it say?” Jongin asked.

“She says ‘thanks’ and she was happy to meet me.”

“Really?”

Sehun waved at Minchae instead of answering Jongin. Then they went back to Jongin’s car. “Oh no, it’s getting dark.”

“It’s okay. I’ll just subtract the pay from my time that you consumed from your commission.”

“Really… you won’t even give me your time for free?”

Jongin just laughed. “Okay.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” They both went inside the car. Jongin started the car and started to head back in Yeouido.

Once again, they were enveloped in silence. Sehun looked for something to do. He took Minchae’s paper from the pocket of his jacket and looked at it.

“You like kids?” Jongin asked.

He nodded. “The crazier and messy, the better. I like to see their colorful personalities.”

“Do you see everything as colors?”

“Well, yeah? Each of person’s emotions is represented by color. Gray if sad. Yellow for happiness. Black for evil. White for goodness. Red for love.”

“I see. What color do you see in my personality?”

“Black.” Sehun smirked when Jongin glanced at him. “I’m just joking. Uh, let’s see… blue orange.”

“Is there a color like that?”

“Yes. You.”

“What does it mean?”

“I don’t know.” He said and shrugged.

“Sehun…”

Sehun laughed. “I feel like I’m a fortune teller. He waved his hand and wriggled his fingers. “Blue orange. The color is complicated that’s why the personality is also complicated. Blue is the first color because it is the dominant one. Your personality is strong but there’s something gloomy sometimes. But the truth is, you’re a great guy. That’s what orange means in you. What’s your zodiac sign?”

“Rooster.” Jongin answered.

“Ah… rooster.” Sehun massaged his temple. “For the saddened rooster. You will see one of your exes. You will notice something has changed in them. They have grown another nose.” Sehun can clearly see that Jongin is suppressing his laugh. “Jongin, just let it out. Something else might come out if you suppress your laugh.”

“You really like to invent things.”

“That’s what you call ‘originality’.”

“No wonder my sister and my client like your works. Colorful, messy, but fun.”

“Fun?”

“Yes. I’m happy when I’m with you.” Jongin massaged his shoulders with one hand. “But my body hurts because of carrying the things that you bought. It was too many.”

“Sorry. Do you want a massage?”

“You know how to do it?”

“No.”

“Why are you offering it in the first place?”

“Why not? Did I say that I will do it?”

“Okay.”

Silence filled the car but it was not awkward. He doesn’t know why. All that he knows is that both of them are contended even without talking. Maybe because they are contended with just sitting beside each other.

This is really something.

Hello! I'm baaaaack. I apologize for being gone for almost two weeks. Things have been pretty busy lately. Anyway. On the next chapter or the 8th chapter, I will post a poll on whether I should start on writing either Chansoo or Baekxing. :) Thank you for the comments, upvotes, and subscriptions! ❤❤❤