002

BEING A STUDENT STUDYING THE ARTS, it was a given that you were a er for anything related to it. Whether it was a documentary or film screening, a cool historical or art exhibition, or an auction—you were all for it. 

So, when your favourite professor extended to you a personal invitation to his exhibition’s vernissage, your first instinct was to accept the invitation regardless of your schedule. The second thing you did was to ask whether it was fine to bring someone else along. At that, your professor had the audacity to smirk and ask if the person you intended to invite, was your muse.

Not boyfriend, not significant other, but your muse.

Every shade of red that ever existed blossomed on the apple of your cheeks.

Jongin laughed at you when you told him the story.

“Will you quit it?!” you almost shrieked as you hit him jokingly. It was one thing to be embarrassed by your professor (your favourite one, too!), but it was another when your boyfriend continued it.

“You’re so adorable, I can’t help it,” he replied as he wrapped an arm around your waist and brought you closer to him before dropping a kiss on your temple. “I mean, I can’t believe your department is still teasing you about it.”

You poked his side, almost angrily (but really, you were just trying to hide your embarrassment). “Well, they can’t help it since they betted on it ever since we met.”

“Huh,” he said with a teasing smile. “I didn’t know how you had the hots for me since then.”

“Kim Jongin, I’m warning you,” you growled, annoyed that he was still on the subject. “And gosh, you make it sound as if our love story was written by Disney or something. You know we didn’t start off as innocently as everyone thought we did.”

Jongin stiffened at your words. You almost hit yourself for saying insensitive—it was just your defence mechanism. Your boyfriend was a sensitive being, always attuned and conscious of other people’s feelings; even more than the average person. He was the type who never wanted to hurt another person, regardless of whether it was willingly or unwillingly.

When you brought up how you two started dating, you also brought up all the drama that came with it. All the hurt. You and Jongin promised each other to never bring the same hurt ever again.

“I’m sorry,” you murmured. “I didn’t mean to say it in that way.”

He shook his head with a small smile, always so understanding and good-natured. “Anyway,” he said. “I think it’s kind of cute that they’re calling me your muse. Honoured, even. Is that a thing? Artists’ significant others being their muses?”

You furrowed your brows as you pondered his question. “I don’t know. It’s not an uncommon thing, that’s for sure. But it never happened to me before until I met you, so–” You stopped yourself before finishing your sentence, sensing something like pride coming from your boyfriend who was smirking in the most knowing and annoying way possible. “Don’t even.”

“Don’t even what?” Jongin replied, feigning innocence.

Jongin continued to tease you until it was time for you two to head back to your classes.

YOUR PROFESSOR’S VERNISSAGE WAS A PRIVATE EXHIBITION. It wasn’t open to the public yet, but it still had an atmosphere that made you dress up slightly more than usual. 

Jongin chuckled at how fussy you were being over your outfit. “Sweetheart, relax. You’re attending an art exhibition hosted by your favourite professor. With the way you’re behaving, one would think that you’re about to meet the country’s President.”

You tried not to glare at him—him and his 181cm of model proportions, Kim Jongin. “Easy for you to say,” you grumbled. “You look good in anything.” Which was true. Jongin made any outfit look good. Since it was autumn, the weather was a bit chilly, but not cold enough for you guys to bring out the winter jackets just yet. Jongin settled for a black turtleneck and pants, along with a simple black wool coat. You decided to wear a black turtleneck dress with thigh-high boots. At first, you didn’t want to wear a matching outfit with your boyfriend because you knew that your friends and colleagues would tease you until the end of time. But, you didn’t mind it as much when you saw how happy Jongin was when he saw that you two were wearing almost the exact same thing. 

“Yeah, well, coming from me, I’m telling you to stop fussing over your dress because you look absolutely stunning,” he told you firmly as he rubbed comforting circles over your cheeks. 

You jutted out your lips. “Promise?”

“Pinky promise,” he swore before giving you a small peck on the lips. “Now, let’s go.”

The exhibition was filled with people from your university’s department and your professor’s network. You and Jongin were going around greeting them before you were finally able to say a small ‘hello’ to your professor who was busy receiving congratulations. 

“Professor Wu!” you exclaimed happily before giving the bouquet of flowers. “Congratulations!”

“Thank you,” he said with a proud smile before his attention switched over to the male on your right. “So, I finally get to meet your muse, huh?”

You laughed awkwardly, hoping that your boyfriend didn’t catch what your teacher had just said. But from how red the tips of his ears were, you could tell that he heard Professor Wu’s comment loud and clear. You almost cooed at how adorable he was being, but you didn’t need another reason to give to your professor and colleagues to tease you.

“Nice to finally meet you, Jongin,” the older man said as he extended a hand.

Jongin shook his hand back and gave him the bottle of red wine you had two picked for the event. “Nice to meet you, too, sir. This is from the two of us.”

“Ah, a classic Pinot Noir,” he said with an approving smile. “I shall keep this bottle for after this whole exhibition is done.” Your professor’s eyes then lit up as if he just remembered something and then addressed your boyfriend. “Ah, do you mind if I borrow your girlfriend for a little while? There are some people I’d like to introduce her to.”

He shook his head and motioned you to follow Professor Wu. “No, sir. Go ahead.”

You shot a worried glance over at your boyfriend who gave you a small smile, reassuring you that it was fine to leave him alone in this art exhibition for a few minutes. You knew that Jongin, despite his popularity and charisma, could be quite a shy person, especially in an unfamiliar environment. So, you told yourself that you were going to finish this networking thing as fast as possible so that you could spend the rest of the evening with Jongin.

You were pretty sure that about more than an hour had gone by. You tried not to look distracted as your professor introduced you to all these people that worked and studied in the same industry as you. You didn’t want to seem disrespectful either since it was your professor’s event yet he still took the time to introduce you because you were his favourite pupil (his words, not yours). As worried as you were, you were able to network and meet a lot of people, not to mention learn a lot as well. 

Two hours had gone by and Professor Wu noticed how unenthusiastic you were. So, he pulled you aside from all the grown-ups and decided to have a chat as you secretly looked at your boyfriend who was mingling as well as he could. You were certain that you had a proud expression plastered all over your face but it wasn’t obvious to you until your teacher pointed it out.

“Well, that’s a look I don’t see often in the studio anymore,” he said with a small sip of wine.

“What look?” you repeated, acting innocent. 

“You should bring your muse back to the studio,” he continued. “I remembered how well you two worked together on your first collaborative project.”

“A little too well, if you ask me,” you replied a bit bitterly—something that did not go unnoticed by the older man. 

“You shouldn’t be too harsh on yourself,” Professor Wu said with a small shake of his head. “It’s not healthy. And I am fairly certain that your muse thinks the same. We are all humans and humans make mistakes. And that’s what’s so beautiful about us, don’t you think? If everyone were flawless and perfect, then the world would be so boring and mundane.”

You almost rolled your eyes at his words. Not that you disagreed with him. “In the world of the arts, maybe. But in real life, it really isn’t that simple. Mistakes that we make do not affect ourselves only. They affect other people. People that do not deserve to be hurt.”

Your teacher had a pensive look and he rubbed his chin in thought. “You ought to forgive yourself. What you did isn’t worth sacrificing your arts for. What you did with Jongin, and what you have with him, it’s something special, unique… undisturbed. I know that he knows as well, which is why he forgave you. If he forgave you, why can’t you?”

“You’re right,” you replied after a short silence. You saw how Jongin glowed while conversing with your friends, how much effort he was putting in this relationship, and how much he was trying to get over the past. The past was the past, and that wasn’t something either of you could change. The only thing you could do was move on. But, there was something weird in the way your teacher was speaking to you. Usually, he was more straightforward. Tonight, it felt like he was tiptoeing along a line he doesn’t know whether he was allowed to cross or not.

You sighed, having a small inkling as to why he was acting so. “You invited him, didn’t you?”

Professor Wu swirled his glass of wine around, his eyes not exactly wanting to meet yours. “Well, I can’t just invite one of my two top pupils, now can’t I?” 

“It’s fine,” you said. “Anyway, I’ve made up my mind. Jongin doesn’t deserve to be in a relationship like this. I’ll be more honest, from now on.”

“Atta-girl,” Professor Wu said with a small pat on your shoulder before pushing you towards Jongin’s direction. “Now, go be with him. I can’t stand that high-school-girl-strung-in-love expression, it’s throwing me off my artistic senses.”

“Artistic senses, my arse,” you muttered under your breath before you were finally reunited with your boyfriend and you hugged him tight in apology. “Oh my God, I am so sorry that it took me so long! I didn’t know that he wanted to introduce to all these people.”

Jongin shook his head with an amused chuckle. “Sweetheart, it’s fine. It’s an art exhibition from your favourite teacher who extended a personal invitation to you. I would be surprised if he invited you and didn’t want to show you off to his colleagues.”

You gave him a tight smile. “Right, there’s that too, of course. But he also wanted to talk to me about something else.” From the way you were awkwardly playing around with his coat’s buttons, he easily guessed what was going on in your mind.

“Professor Wu invited your ex, huh?”

“I swear to God, I didn’t know!” you exclaimed with your hands clasped together. “If I did, I would have rejected his invitation.”

“Sweetheart, that’s nonsense,” Jongin replied with a small frown. “You shouldn’t reject because of me or your ex. Please, I know that you are smarter than this.”

“Well–”

You couldn’t say anything as someone interrupted your conversation. You heard your name being called so you instinctively turned around with a smile plastered to your face which slowly fell off from it when you realized who was the person who called you. Your mouth formed an ‘o’ shape and a soft smile returned to your lips.

“Hey, Kim Myungsoo.”

Your ex-boyfriend.

He smiled back at you as he asked, “How have you been?”

Relief washed over your body as you couldn’t feel any animosity (at least, towards you). “Great, what about you?”

“Same old, same old,” he said before his eyes landed on the male standing next to you who was as stiff as a cutting board. “Jongin, how have you been?”

“Good, thanks for asking,” your boyfriend replied with a small, tight and polite small. 

Myungsoo nodded with an expression that mirrored his. You couldn’t take the awkwardness and tension anymore so you cleared your throat and asked your ex-boyfriend a question. “So, Myungsoo, what have you been up to with your projects? Aren’t you supposed to be preparing for your graduation exhibition?”

“Right!” Myungsoo exclaimed. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about! I was wondering if you were up for a collaboration project. I know you have your own projects, but I told Professor Wu about it and he said that he’s willing to accommodate your deadlines if you accept to work with me!”

“Oh,” you said, surprised by his request.

“Look, I know it might be awkward and what-not, but I’m over it, okay?” he said with a genuine smile. “Before we were even a couple, we were friends who worked well together. We would always dominate the contests. And I miss that. I miss my friend, more than anything.” You were about to reply, but Myungsoo held a hand up. “Look, just sleep on it, alright? Think about it for a few days, then let me know.”

“But–”

Myungsoo then patted your shoulder amicably. “And, you and Jongin should do collab again. Your first project together was phenomenal, as much as I hate to admit it. But, it was pretty epic, if you ask me.” He then gave your boyfriend a small, forgiving smile. “He’s your muse, for a reason, you know?”

“Right, um, but Myungsoo, I don’t mind. I’ll do it.”

“Really?” both him and Jongin exclaimed at the same time.

“Yes, really,” you said with a nod. That was how you were going to come to terms with your past. And Myungsoo was right. Before he was your boyfriend, he was one of your closest friends and a great photographer to boot. It would be crazy not to accept his request.

“Cool! I’ll talk to Wu and he’ll give you the details!”

He then left, heading towards Professor Wu. You had a confused expression on and you were pretty sure that Jongin was the same. You tilted your head in puzzlement and you swivelled around to face your boyfriend. “That was Myungsoo, right? My ex-boyfriend?”

“Sweetheart, that’s my question,” Jongin replied back with the exact same bewildered voice tone. “I think this means that he’s cool with us, now?”

“Huh,” you said and crossed your arms. “I guess so.”

You two then spent the rest of the evening looking around the exhibition, commenting on each artwork and giving your own opinions about them. When you first met Jongin, you didn’t think that he was interested in arts, but after knowing for a while, you realized that Jongin genuinely had some curiosity. Every time there was a new art exhibition going on in the city, Jongin would always buy the tickets even before asking whether you wanted to go or not. On some days, he would even go alone.

“Oh!” you exclaimed and pointed at a large black painting with a white circle in the middle of it. But, on a closer look, there were subtle hints of colours in the center of the circle. “Hey, pose in front of the painting and I’ll take a picture of you. I want to test out my new phone’s camera.”

You took a few snapshots of Jongin standing in front of the artwork and admired them. Honestly, the camera didn’t do your boyfriend’s looks justice. “You look so good!” you exclaimed. “Wait, let me add this picture to my album, first.”

“You can’t even see my full face.”

“Can’t you just let me enjoy my boyfriend’s side-profile in peace?”

“Why admire the pictures when you got the real thing in front of you?” he said before wrapping his arms around your waist and pulled you close.

You played along with him and slung your arms around his neck, playing with his hair. “Huh, you know, you usually don’t initiate any type of PDA in a public environment, especially not in a place with people you barely know.” You tilted your head. “What’s wrong?”

Jongin leaned his forehead against yours. “Just–” He sighed. “I guess seeing Myungsoo rattled me more than I care to admit.”

“Awn, sweetie,” you said and cupped his cheeks. “You know you’re the only one I love, right?”

“Yeah,” he replied, still sulking.

“I’ll tell him no for the collaboration project, then,” you then said with a knowing smile. “I don’t want you looking like this. I hate it, actually. And I wouldn’t want to be the reason why you feel like this, either.”

Jongin shook his head. “No, don’t do that. I know how great this would look on your résumé and how much it would mean to you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive,” he said with a grin, but then pouted his lips again. “As long as I get to be the subject of your project.”

You pulled him down for a simple, short kiss that nonetheless brightened up your boyfriend’s mood and smiled against his lips.

“Deal.”

[author's note]

THE LACK OF FLUFF IS REAL AND I APOLOGIZE!! (It's funny because on the 2nd chapter from Sehun's version, I also said the same thing, or something similar lol). I already know what to write for the next chapter and the fourth one, so I'm super excited! (Sehun and his girl will make a cameo in the next chapter! hihi) If you have any "date" ideas/scenarios, feel free to comment down below! 

Let me know what you thought of the chapter! Comment and upvote if you like the story so far xoxo
(Oh, and Myungsoo in this story is INFINITE's L in my head, but feel free to imagine him as an OC if you want lol)

Read my new chaptered story Wanted for Error featuring Baekhyun as the lead by clicking HERE