Red.

Of passion, love, and desire.

Jieun hasn’t felt much of it before, as she’s always been emotionally stable. No one has been the catalyst to ignite that spark, because quite frankly, Jieun never had the fire within her to begin with.

From the few romances that she did indulge in, she was busy feeling nervous. Unrequited love happened rather often.

The previous relationship she had with Jang Kiha had been the most passionate of the lot, but even then Jieun had been conservative. She and Kiha both had felt pressured to find the equity in terms of standard, due to their . He wore the pants in the relationship, because she let him. He was the one who ended their lukewarm relationship, and she respected his decision.

She had a thing for dominant guys.

It’s not really about masculinity, but maturity. She was quite mature for her age, and she found herself attracted to people with higher intellect.

Jieun scrolled through her phone, scrolling through the awkward pictures they’ve taken together. Bitter sweet feelings and nostalgia crept into her mind- Jieun didn’t have it in her to erase these pictures. She had been honestly relieved that their relationship had ended, but for what it was worth, she was glad to be a part of it.

Jieun made a grab at her notebook,

Red.

A color that I lack. A color that our relationship lacked.

Had I been to naïve, or was I just expecting too much?

What we were both looking for was love.

What we failed to understand is that it takes more than desire and effort to attain love.

Time plants a seed of memory that eventually blossoms into a flower of love.

We were both reaching merely for the end product, the flower,

When genuine love is about the process of growing the flower.

By the time Jieun had finished, she started tearing up.

Overwhelmed by her own emotional reaction, she started dabbing aggressively at her eye with the corner of her sleeve. This was certainly uncalled for, as her eyes had been desert dry during even her break up with Jang Kiha.

Clearing , she made a call GD, eager to meet up with and report him of the little progress she had made.

GD was unimpressed, to say the least. “I didn’t ask for your love letter to your ex.”

Flustered, Jieun stuttered, “Th- That’s all I could think about with red. Love. And I’m sorry to say, I don’t have much experience with it as you might.”

“Me neither,” GD remarked, running his fingers through his hair. “Most love songs are based on stories I hear, or scenarios I make up myself.”

“Liar,” Jieun said smoothly, but a spark of satisfaction glimmered in her eyes.

GD shot her an unknowing smile. He suddenly leaned in, a look of childish mischief on his face. “So who’s this poem about? Tell me it isn’t Jang Kiha hyung?”

Bull’s eye.

“No,” Jieun replied, much too quickly for her liking, and her face erupted in color.

GD had an eyebrow arched playfully, but didn’t say anything.

“It’s not about one person specifically,” Jieun continued, desperate to dig herself out of the quicksand. “It’s an accumulation of all my past relationships. I’m just not a red person, I don’t think.”

“Then you haven’t met the right person,” GD said simply.

“I don’t know. It’s quite too bold for me.” Jieun looked thoughtful. “I think I could go with hot pink, and take my baby steps toward red.”

GD chuckled. “I think you’re taking this color thing a whole lot more seriously than necessary.”

Really, though. He was right.

Dearest, I’m twenty five.

I know that you like me.

I know that you hate me.

I’m finally old enough to have had gone through enough to understand what red is.

Jieun suddenly snapped her head toward GD, a look of curiosity burning in her eyes.

GD was a red maniac, judging by the number of times he’s used red to paint his canvas. Most of his beautifully composed music is of love, enclosed with desire and passion. Longing and intimacy.

Just how well do you know the color red?

What color do you think of when you’re thinking of me?

I'm back with another update. 

It was harder to write. I think I rewrote this chapter over and over again, just because GD and IU were so underdeveloped (?).

I feel as though I haven't portrayed these characters the way they should be portrayed. To be honest, I'm still not satisfied with the way this chapter turned out, but I didn't want to procrastinate and put this story on a hiatus. 

I'll probably rewrite this chapter if I have time, or much later, but the change will be kept to a minimal and will not distract the focus of the story.

Thanks for reading, and for the comments (as always). I was really pleased with all the interest you've shown- I appreciate the love!

inten17eu: Yes! Thank you! It's the biggest compliment anyone can offer. Many a times, I often feel like changing the character to spice up the story, but sticking to the character and creating a more plausible plot creates such authenticity to the ship that's so much more satisfying to read. (I like to pretend it happened in real life.) I guess this is what happens when you're a strong shipper, lol. Thanks for reading, and putting in the time to comment!

farraanne: Thank you! I'll try my best to be consistent with the updates. Hopefully the next chapter will be better than this one.

starlighttt396: Thank you. I absolutely fell in love with symbolisms in her music video, Palette, which inspired me to create this story. A big disclaimer- all the symbolisms I 'created' in this story are based on her song.

Dhanaletta: I miss them so much, as well. Hopefully the gdiu fics can suffice our shipper hearts :) Thanks for the comment- very appreciated. 

mansi90: Thank you! I was actually quite critical with it, since the progress between the two is almost painfully slow. Still, I was stubborn to bring out some realness to the story, and development and attachment (in relationships) doesn't happen in a heartbeat. I'm glad you like it. Thanks for your compliment and your comment. 

dejavu081888: Thank you! I'm actually surprised there aren't a lot more gdiu fics here. They're one of my favorite ships, and I think it's absolutely adorable they way they're so awkardly polite (but so caring) to one another. Yes, I stalk all the videos and news about them together.