“Are you really not going to tell me the title of this painting is?”

An old man in his mid-fifties, wearing a white long sleeves shirt under the gray tweed sweater paired with a darker shade of gray blazer and trouser, and black oxford shoes while holding a brown paper bag in his other hand, asked the blonde-haired lady wearing a Grecian green sun dress and white derby shoes who was sitting on the black bench sofa, facing the medium-sized seascape painting in front of them in an art gallery, as he asked her while pointing out at the exhibit label placed next to the work of art mounted on the wall.

Minjeong got startled from the fleet intrusion for she stared at the painting for a fair amount of time since she got there, as she glanced at him who was standing beside her where she was greeted by a benign smile painted on his face in which she returned with relish. She shifted her line of sight where his forefinger was pointing out – the exhibit label of that masterpiece has no title, no art description, and no name of the painter written on it.

“It’s still a no, Director Park,” Minjeong smiled as she veered her vision back to the work of art in front of them.

The medium-sized seascape masterpiece was hand painted in an abstract and impressionistic approach. It portrayed a brewing storm in the night where a black silhouette of a woman was standing in the middle of the dark sea where she’s facing the different phases of the moon. It was painted using an acrylic paint and satin varnish in monochrome black and white color palette.

“Are you really sure you’re not going to tell me? You know old folks like me can keep a secret,” The old man queried once more, who was also the Gallery Director of this well-known art gallery in South Korea, as he occupied the vacant spot beside Minjeong with sufficient space between them, placing the brown paper bag down beside the outmost leg of the black bench sofa on the whitewashed wood floor as he joined the blonde in cherishing the view.

Minjeong acknowledged. “I know you can keep a secret Director Park,” she glanced at him with a wide playful beam. “But it’s still a no for me unless you can convince me.”

The old man nodded as he rubbed his chin, thinking about the ways how he could outsmart the blonde girl. “How about this, in those three months that you’re away, I’m the one who look after this precious painting of yours.”

“But isn’t it your duties and responsibilities written in your job description, Director Park?” Minjeong smirked as she bantered a sly remark.

The old man laughed in defeat. “Right, you’re right. I guess the convincing function in my brain is getting slower as I age,” he conceded, crossing his arms together while extending his legs forward for a little stretch. They fell into a brief comfortable silence, glancing at her with a question in his head, he asked. “By the way, where did you go these past three months though?”

“I was travelling in different countries across Europe these past few months for work-related stuff and to also find an inspiration,” Minjeong smiled as all the beautiful sceneries and unforgettable experiences during her European trip jogged her memory in a fast forward motion.

“Inspiration? What do you mean inspiration?” the old man joked. “Do you mean like finding a French girlfriend? Or maybe an Italian girlfriend since you like pasta with meatballs? Or maybe you really want French girls because they kiss–”

“No! No! No! Director Park!” Minjeong scolded as she cracked up, waving both of her hands vigorously at the old man as she interrupted him before he could say anything else that could make her fell further into deep secondhand embarrassment; she quickly placed a hand to cover from releasing a sudden burst of sound that echoed to the quiet spacious room. The blonde explained. “It’s not that. I don’t have any plans to be in a relationship at the moment and you know that,” she took a quick breath to calm herself as she wiped a tear from laughing. “I’m just finding inspiration for my new project, and that’s just it.”

“I see.” The old man chuckled as he shifted his vision in front of them. “I honestly thought you already forgot to visit this masterpiece. You always visit this painting every week or in every chance you can get so when you suddenly disappeared without hearing a word from you for months, I got worried.”

Following his line of sight, Minjeong shook her head lightly with a smile creeping out on her face. “I’m sorry if I made you feel that way and it’s not my intention. I believe you already knew since then how much I value this painting that’s why I trusted you to take care of it because I know you will do a great job and you always do,” she freed out a sigh of relief knowing that she made the right decision, as she continued. “Just so you know, never a second in my life that I will ever forget about this painting.”

“But I think the only thing you forgot is to tell me what the title of this painting is. It’s been eight years already and I still have no idea what to call this one most especially when the art gallery visitors asked me all the time why is this painting has no name on it,” he joked.

Minjeong laughed as he nudged him lightly, smirking. “Of course, I won’t forget not to tell you, Director Park.”

“You know, I only have few months left before I retire. Are you sure you’re still not going to tell me?” the old man said quietly, acting in frown as he tried his best to reach the blonde girl’s conscience but to no avail.

Shaking her head in amusement, Minjeong was certainly a hard nut to crack as she playfully shrugged her shoulder in response. “Nope. I need a stronger persuasion than that, Director Park.”

The old man smiled as he heaved a sigh, placing his hands freely on his sides. He took a minute to scrape his thoughts inside his head with one accord before he spoke in his sincere usual tone. “You know, I’ve been a director of this art gallery for thirty years already. I know every corner, every inch, every small detail of this place too well more than anybody else,” he roamed his eyes around the room to scan their surroundings full of art works in display as Minjeong trailed his sight, he continued. “I know the entire stories, the secrets, the inspirations behind in every painting in this art gallery,” he halted his sight as well as the blonde at the painting in front of them as he pointed at it by his forefinger. “But this one right here, still remains a mystery to me,” he confessed.

“Why Director Park?” Minjeong then asked in an attempt to lighten up the mood. “Is it because I still never told you the title of this painting ever since you put this in display for eight years already?”

Chuckling, the old man scratched the back of his head. “Well, aside from that,” he smiled. “You know, there’s a mysterious lady who came in first this early morning before you came. I think she was here like an hour ago. I guess she really waited outside for the art gallery to open for the day.”

Minjeong fixated her sight at the painting as she kept on listening, taking few glances at the old man there and then as she paid close attention to his story.

He proceeded. “This mysterious lady asked me where in this gallery she could find that painting as she showed me the photo of it in her phone as soon as she entered this place. I accompanied her and as we walked tog