Wheein's PoV

"I thought you discarded it" Yong said, breaking the silence that overcame us while we're both staring at the painting.

"I didn't"

"You told me you hate it and wanted to get rid of it after the accident with that white . You didn't hate it anymore?"

Truth be told, I still hate it. That white is really frustrating, even until now. It reminds me how awfully close I was to finishing the painting yet some unforeseen force doesn't want me to. I could never see the beauty of it anymore because that white is the only thing I could ever see.

Why did I still keep it? Good question. 

A certain angel, by the name of Kim Yongsun, told me that it still looks beautiful. That despite that horrible line, she still finds the beauty in the painting. And that even if it frustrates me, I shouldn't discard it because of the efforts, time, and passion I dedicated in that piece. But most importantly, she thinks the piece isn't ruined because it's about what could be found beyond that white . Beyond what we could see in our eyes.

And beyond it, I'm reminded of Yong. Of how we first met. Of how she rushed in, despite knowing that I'm a stranger just to help me. How she hurriedly went out to buy me painkillers and ice packs for my then injury. How she ordered chicken when I told her I don't eat anything jjajang that she brought back together with the painkillers and ice packs. Of how she fed me because I was struggling with only one hand to eat while my other hand was holding the ice pack on my backside.

I still hate it, Yong, but you make me see how beautiful you are that time. How you took care of me, making me blush all the time. You reminded me of how adamant and genuine you were to help me. And I did see something beyond that white , just like you said. I see you, like an angel who saved me.

"I didn't discard it because you told me not to" I told her this instead, settling with a little bit of the truth. I don't think it'll be a good idea to open my heart out to her. I couldn't think of a lie as well.

We're both not looking at each other but I could see from my peripheral how she whipped her head to me when I told her that. She's looking at me now, studying me. I'm still looking at the painting, studying her from my peripheral.

"Do you still hate jjajang?" she suddenly asked.

"Yeah" I nodded.

"It was so dumb of me not to ask you what you wanted or not wanted to eat that day" she said in between soft laughters.

"It’s okay. You bought me chicken, remember?" I replied, giving her a small smile. I couldn't hold myself from smiling, especially when I heard her giggle.

"I did. I didn't want you to be hungry"

I nodded again. "You always brought me lunch since then"

"It was my only excuse to see you again. I always wanted to see you again after that"

If she's trying to win me back, no way is that working. If she's trying to remind me how I always wanted to see her too, then it's definitely working. So maybe if she's winning me back, it's slightly working, right? Wait, do I want her to win me back? Do I want her back? Huh... 

"I probably didn't tell you this, but I used to stay at the company's rooftop by myself all the time. I spend most of my time there. I even spend my lunch there. Not until you allowed me to spend it with you"

"You were so persistent back then. I even thought that one day you might break down my door" I can't help but place a small smile on my lips at the memory.

"But I never did. And I only did that because I'm always reminded of how noisy your tummy could be when you skipped lunch" she said, smiling back and pointing an accusing finger to my stomach.

Oh yeah. Embarrassing. And she even had her arm around me that time. Definitely embarrassing.

I wanted to cover my face right now, hiding out of shame but I was able to stop myself.

I could still remember how she would knock so hard on my door, and would sometimes kick it just to grab my attention away from work and over my usual Celtic fantasy music playlist. Like all of these happened yesterday. How she would scold me for not answering right away and making her wait. I remember telling her that I would always get carried away, that's why I'd unintentionally skip lunch.

She would always barge into my studio like it's her own place and walk directly to the coffee table in front of my couch to set the food that she brought. This happened a lot of times that it has become like a familiar dance to us both.

I usually hate it when people interrupt me when I'm on my work momentum. I hate it when they barge into my sanctuary. But with her, I couldn't even bring myself to do it. In fact, I would always look forward to spending lunch with her, hoping that one day I'll be the one bringing it to her. That one day, I'll be the one to take care of her.

It was also so easy to talk to her because we share the same fascination towards paintings. I also discovered how she's a fan of my work. You don't need to, but guess what? Of course, I blushed so hard that day. I was deeply flattered. Butterflies were celebrating somewhere inside me.

She also said that she wanted to buy the biggest painting outside my studio when she saw it during her visit in one of my exhibits. But was declined because she was told it wasn't for sale.

Every time that she almost breaks down my door, every time she barges in without permission, and every time she chooses to spend her lunch with me, I find her more and more attractive.

With these in my head, the emotions rushed within me also. A bittersweet reminder of how attracted I was to her even on the very moment we met. A bittersweet reminder that my attraction was useless now that she chose to be apart from me.

I blinked so hard and looked to the ceiling, trying to stop myself from crying from the tears that threatened to fall down.

I hate that I still love you, Yong. I hate that I can't stop myself from loving you. I hate that I don't know how to just wake up one day and forget that I ing love you.

"Hmm... " I hummed my response to her. Shaking my head away from my current state of emotions, remembering that we're still on the first painting.

Ughh, when will this end? I don't want to break down in front of her. I just want to go home and cry on my bed.

"We should proceed with the next painting" I said in a shaky breath, turning my back to her. I didn't bother to look at her, much less spare a glance.

"Whee—Ah, yes. So what's next?", she stuttered a little but was able to recover.

Her slight hesitation made me curious of what she wanted to say, but I chose to ignore it. The last thing I need right now