Summary: When an artist with Stendhal Syndrome and a psychologist fell in love, it might sound cliché but as the story progresses, you’ll realize this is not the typical romantic stories you read. Pay attention to every details.

Word Count: 5101

Hashtag: #JinjooFiesta_OperaDArte

Opera D' Arte

~~~~~

Mesmerizing, this is how Ahn Yujin describes her girlfriend named Kim Minju. Her girlfriend is a total package, that’s how she considered her as ‘the perfect girlfriend that anyone could have. 

She’s pretty− as in really pretty. 

Nice and considerate, she’s always there for Yujin, takes care of the girl whenever she’s busy with her artworks. 

Smart, the girl graduated Bachelor of Science in Psychology on the same university as Yujin and she finished her Master’s Degree and is now a bona fide Clinical Psychologist. 

While Yujin is 2 years older than her girlfriend, she finished Bachelor of Fine Arts in the same school, she’s earning money from her paintings and commissions.

Yujin is working on her painting for her first art gallery, with her artist apron, a pencil hooked on her ear, shifting from paintbrush to another paintbrush and colors, she took a sip from her red Kool-Aid as she continued to work.

Minju hugged her from behind. Letting out a small smile, showing her dimples. She held her girl’s wrist as she stared at her, making her smile wider.

“Busy aren’t we?” The latter nodded in response.

“Awww my hardworking baby,” she gave her busy girlfriend a kiss as she got an unused wooden stool beside her a sat on it as she watch her girlfriend create her masterpiece.

Time passes by, her canvass is slowly being filled by different hues of paint, Yujin started to look from side to side, as if she was looking for something. She was seeing things that doesn’t really exist, she was panting hard and her heart beats as if she went on a horror house alone, she started to look around as if her own house was a different.

“Yujin, what’s wrong?” Minju asked but Yujin suddenly screamed as she let go of her paintbrush and went to the corner covering her eyes, she immediately followed her and pulled her to an embrace.

“I saw a black figure on the window,” fright is evident on her tone but Minju sat beside her and hugged her tightly.

“That’s not real sweetie, you can rest and continue your artwork tomorrow,” Minju said in a calm tone but the girl is still confused and scared.

Caress her on the head, brush her hair using a finger, give her kisses and assure her that she’s safe until she calms down. Those are the things that Minju do in order to calm her girlfriend that has Stendhal Syndrome.

Stendhal Syndrome is a rare psychiatric disorder where a particular person experience hallucinations, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, confusion and panic caused by being exposed to artworks or artistic materials.

It frequently triggers her, especially she’s an artist and she’s always exposed to arts and stuffs. It started back in her college days, she was depressed because her ex-girlfriend broke up with her, and she started to sketch figures and paint sceneries and eventually felt an emotional attachment to her own works, not only to her own artworks but also to other arts.

She started to feel the symptoms every time she’s overly exposed to art and whenever she visits an art museum, she can’t even last half an hour inside. Everyone found her disorder weird and fake but it’s real, it’s just rare and the chances of someone having Stendhal Syndrome is one in a million.

Minju stayed beside her girlfriend until she’s okay, kissing her on the temple, holding her hand; caressing the back of her palm with her thumb as she sang a song to shift her away from her bad thoughts.

“Minju... I have a favor to ask,” Yujin stared at her.

“What is it?”

“Let’s go have a date in the forest tomorrow, like a campfire and I’ll paint you,” Yujin smiled, showing her dimple. Clearly, she really wants to do it and Minju could never resist her girlfriend.

“Sure baby, I would love to.”

Yujin hugged her girlfriend, jumping from happiness and thanking her again and again. Minju chuckled by the sight of her girlfriend being an excited puppy, she loves her being happy and all she wants is for her to be happy and she’s the cause of it.

“I have to go home baby, let’s see each other tomorrow?” Yujin nodded as she gave her a kiss goodbye and a hug.

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow,” Yujin offered and she agreed.

Today is the day, Yujin woke up early to prepare food. She texted her girl ‘good morning’ and prepared her stuffs for the live painting, she prepare sandwiches with strawberry jams and some spaghetti since it’s their favorite, she brought a white mat for them to sit.

She cleaned her favorite shoes that was stained with her favorite paint when she had a panic attack, she dressed up with her typical sweater and jeans as she locked her house and left.

Before she went to pick Minju up on her house, she went to the flower shop and the florist stared at her weirdly.

“Wait are you the one who─“ Yujin had a panic attack during her last visit to the flower shop and it cause chaos, causing the florist’s customers to go away.

“Yes, that was me and I’m sorry for what happened last time,” Yujin bowed and the florist smiled.

“Aww I understand now, it’s okay!” The florist answered.

“Can we be friends, florist nim?”

“Oh yes sure, why not? I am Chaewon by the way, Kim Chaewon,” The florist offered her hand as Yujin shook it and smiled.

“I am Ahn Yujin, nice to meet you Chaewon ssi,” She introduced

The florist asked what kind of arrangement of flowers the latter would prefer. Yujin had a specific arrangement which is a bouquet of 9 white roses for her girlfriend, the florist found it weird since why would she give her white roses with a specific number, due to her curiosity she asked the reason behind it and Yujin told the reason why

 “My girlfriend is really pure and innocent and it’s her favorite flowers, 9 is our monthsary so 9 flowers,” Yujin explained as Chaewon finished arranging the bouquet and gave Yujin a small card.

Yujin checked her pocket and Chaewon was curious, so the florist asked what’s wrong and the painter replied that she left her pen at her home so Chaewon offered to lend her pen as she rummaged at her pen holder and checked if the pens still have ink but only the green pen has an ink so Yujin had no choice but to use it.

“If you’re an artwork, you would be the prettiest one

And it would get to the point that you’ll make me crazy.

Let’s enjoy this day, I love you.”

-Yujinnie”

“Thank you Chaewon ssi,” Yujin bowed as she went to Minju’s house.

She confidently knocked at her door and as the door opened, a beautiful woman appeared in front of her, wearing a pretty white dress. Yujin handed her the bouquet as the latter smiled and smelled the pretty flowers, she knew she bought the perfect flowers, it matches her personality well.

“I bought you 10 flowers,” Yujin smiled as she counted the flowers but she looked at Yujin, strangely.

“There are only 9 flowers, where’s the other one?” Minju pouted as Yujin gave her girlfriend a peck on the lips.

“You’re the 10th flower, baby,” Yujin winked at Minju as the latter playfully hit her while blushing, Minju took some of the stuffs that Yujin is carrying.

They went to forest, a remote forest with a hidden beauty in it. Green healthy trees and colorful flowers are seen, making it a perfect place especially for Yujin who loves painting flowers as her subject.

Yujin laid the mat on the grass and placed her basket full of food on it, she collected some wood and lit a match, making a fire.

“What is the fire for?” Minju asked as Yujin looked for something in the basket and brought out a pack of white marshmallows and roasted it on the fire.

The two decided to eat first before they do the live painting session, as soon as they finished the meal. Yujin started to prepare her art materials, as Minju waited for the painter to get ready.

“Please pose comfortably and prettily and let me know if you’re ready,” Yujin asked as Minju posed prettily.

Yujin started sketching, by to make a figure of the pretty woman in front of her, she started to mix paint but Minju is struggling to stay still.

“Just relax and look at me baby,” Yujin winked as she started mixing paint.

“You know what... red is my favorite color of paint, I’ll paint red flowers on your portrait.”

“A lot of red roses?”  Minju asked.

“Yes, a lot of it.”

Yujin started painting, shifting from color to color, and various thickness of paintbrushes. Eyes shifting to the canvass, to the subject, again and again. The white canvass is slowly being filled with different colors with different hues. The image is also starting to form, she can almost see the resemblance of the canvass to the subject. Yujin asked Minju to move since it’s really uncomfortable to stay on the same position without moving, she finished the tiny details up to the tiniest detail. 

She gave Minju the portrait and the latter was mesmerized with her lover’s masterpiece, she never doubted her skills since she’s really good at it. She hugged Yujin tightly, chanting the word ‘thank you’ again and again.

“I love it baby, thank you for this! You’re the best painter ever!” Minju filled her girl’s face with kisses but Yujin held her cheeks with her hands stained with paint and pulled her to a kiss.

The latter responded to the kiss as she kept the canvass on the side and wrapped her slender hands on her nape, kissing back with full of passion. She always loved the kisses her lover gives her, especially the passionate kisses and the forehead kisses.

They pulled away from the kiss, leaning their foreheads on each other’s forehead, staring at each other as if there is no tomorrow. Their love for each other is burning in passion and too sweet, they flashed a smile on each other as they pant due to breathlessness during their kiss.

“Never ever forget that I love you to death baby,” Yujin rubbed her nose on her woman’s nose causing her to smile.

“I love you more Yujin, in my eyes you’re the only one, in your eyes I’m the only one,” Minju sincerely said to Yujin, smiling widely as her Indian dimples showed up, Yujin smiled as well as she wiped paint on Minju’s face.

“Ya! Ahn Yujin, you always do this!” Minju dipped her hands on Yujin’s palette as she wiped some paint on her lover’s cheek. They played as they wiped paint on each other’s skin, like 5 year olds playing with paint and messing with each other. They rested for a while and a few minutes later:

“Minju, let’s do something,” Minju raised her eyebrow due to curiosity.

Yujin got a small box, and started to put some flower petals inside it.

“What are you doing?” Minju asked.

“Put some stuffs on it, this would be our time capsule.” Minju smiled as she placed faded movie tickets they got during their first date, she also placed some of their pictures and a white hair clip. While Yujin placed a sketch of Minju on a small card, an empty pack of gummy bears, strands of Minju’s pink hair and a used match.

Yujin dug a hole using her hands as she buried the time capsule and placed dead fallen leaves on top as buried it as she place a twig on the mark, she fixed everything she brought, preparing to go home, as she washed her hands with water.

She brought Minju home and walked her way back home, as she walked home. She can hear audible footsteps from behind, she tried to snap it off, maybe it’s just her imagination, but she can fell the footsteps getting closer to her and she can feel it beneath her.

She started to run as the black figure continued to chase her. People are staring at her, she just passed them, even the florist tried to greet her but she just passed