Track 147 | PUT YOUR HEAD IN MY SHOULDER (Floreyyyy Remix) by Paul Anka

16th of November 2005.

“Before you open it, please understand that I didn’t know what else to get you.” Rara’s hand grazed the surface of the medium-sized box on the coffee table in front of them. It had golden wrapping that had a bit of a rough texture, and it glimmered under the light. Rara took the end of the black ribbon between her two fingers.

“I have a feeling you might throw a fit once you see what’s inside.” Baekhyun sighed anxiously.

Rara looked up to him. “Is it an animal?”

Baekhyun chuckled. “No.”

“Is it...a pest?” Rara narrowed her eyes at him. “Is this a prank?” Crossing her arms, she glared at him with an enraged expression. “If cockroaches come flying out of this box, Baekhyun, I swear to God—!”

“No, of course not!” Baekhyun laughed heartily. “I wouldn’t have the balls to collect roaches either.” True, Rara thought. “Besides, this is a birthday present. I thought of this thoroughly, even though I have a feeling that you might feel that my hands shouldn’t have been the one giving you the ownership of what’s inside the box.”

Rara bent her upper body to inspect the Baekhyun’s gift. Her engagement ring enclosed on a silver chain hung from her neck like a pendulum swinging. Baekhyun watched her as she carefully clasped her hands around the ring with one hand and pulled the ribbon apart with her other hand. She crouched down to the level of the coffee table. Letting go of the ring, she started to slowly tear the golden wrapping into pieces. Baekhyun dug his hands in his pockets and walked beside her, watching her intently.

A loud gasp escaped from Rara’s mouth as she felt the coldness of metal beneath her hands. Even though she had not brought the entire present out, she could see the lid, and her eyes moved left and right like she was searching for something. The pace of her heartbeat sped by the seconds, and in an attempt to calm it, she unconsciously placed one hand on her chest.

“What the hell is this, Baekhyun...?” She whispered, unable to believe the sight of such object in front of her. She removed scraps of the golden wrapper left and finally, she made out what Baekhyun had gotten for her in celebration of her 109th birthday.

It was 120 Faber Castell Polychromos Classic Color Pencils.

“Oh my God.” Rara held the box with both her hands, smiling. “How’d you...?” Polychromos was a special type of colored pencil; art materials were much like cosmetics. Guys would think there’s just one type but there’s actually an array of categories to choose from. Baekhyun wasn’t really familiar with the specific types of media, kind of paper, whether they were cold-pressed or hot-pressed; frankly, all he cared about is the ambiance that wrapped around Rara whenever she put her artist self to work. “Polychromos...120...” She muttered breathlessly. Polychromos contained the highest-quality pigments for unsurpassed lightfastness. There were other kinds, such as the Aquarelle and the Albrecht Dürer, but how did Baekhyun know Polychromos was the one she wanted? “Do you even know what you bought, Baekhyun? What the hell?” She ran her hands through her hair and sat on the couch in front of the coffee table.

Baekhyun sat beside her and crossed his arms and put on a thinking face. “I did a lot of research and snooping around your work desks—at your place near the uni, at our cabin, and at your home.” He said. “I had a massive headache, though; I didn’t know there were a lot of branches and certain art paper for certain art media, be it dry or wet.” It was probably the first time Rara heard Baekhyun speak her language, so she was immersed in the conversation at a snap of a finger. “You seem to use the same paper; Strathmore Bristol. Canson Bristol. Bristol. They’re the smooth ones, yeah? But a little bit thick and heavy...over 300 gsm.” Baekhyun was looking at his hands while explaining, when he looked over to Rara, she was clutching the ring he gave her, with a dreamy look in her eyes and a small smile. She looked so captivated by him. Or his words, rather.

He laughed a little at how easily smitten she got, now that art became a common ground. “I’ve never seen you this enamored in the past seven decades.” He commented with a grin. “If I had known that box of color pencils would do this to you, I would have gotten you one every year.”

Rara choked at his remark, clearly aghast by the words ‘box of color pencils’. They were more than that! So much more! These weren’t just slender, wooden materials for coloring! They breathed life into an artist’s wildest dreams! They make up a part of the heart of artistry! And to be called such dull adjectives! The audacity! What insolence!

“No, shut up, these aren’t just color pencils!” She screeched. Baekhyun guffawed at her offended reaction—of course, he knew they weren’t ordinary color pencils—like he said, he did research. He knew how hard it was to get one of these and how expensive these special types of color pencils were, especially they were from a renowned brand like Faber Castell.

Rara clutched his arm and leaned closer. “I know you know these aren’t just any color pencils!” She exclaimed furiously, her eyebrows close-knitted with twitching, her fangs peeking a little bit. So cute, Baekhyun thought, as he smiled giddily at her. “I know. I’m just messing with you. Like I said, I did my research.” He replied. “When I found out that bristol was the type of paper you frequently used, I looked up what kind of color pencils usually worked well with bristol and Faber Castell popped up.” He said. “A bunch of other brands popped up too, one of which was Prismacolor.”

“Oh, that one’s good too but they’re—”

“—more pigmented than Faber Castell. They do well in bristol, but since you aren’t really fond of dark hues, you’d prefer F