It was early in the morning, the sun just fully rose and the sound of crashing waves could be heard from Insoo's bedroom, the sound was accompanied by the sound of seagulls.

 

Insoo was prepared for the day, he woke up just as the sun started rising and made himself breakfast and once he was done eating he went to wash up and brush his teeth, he chose to wear something that was somewhat comfortable but also looked semi-professional.

 

He collected his things and then proceeded to head out the door, and he made his way over to the studio. When he arrived, the doors were still closed, he wondered whether or not Hongjoong had already arrived.

 

Insoo moved over to the door and knocked, he waited and waited and eventually he tried pushing the door but it was locked… he decided to take a seat on one of the chairs outside the studio and wait.

 

Insoo wasn't sure how long he had sat, it didn't feel like more than 5 minutes but then he heard a familiar bubbly voice coming from up the street, Insoo sprung to his feet - maybe he felt a little excited, he never truly had the opportunity to experience things like working part-time like most of his peers in high school or University.

 

Insoo stepped into the road and tried to find where exactly the owner of the voice was. It only took a few seconds before Insoo found him, Hongjoong was walking along with someone Insoo didn't know, Hongjoong was all smiles and the two were excitedly talking about something.

 

Insoo smiled a little at the scene, he thought Hongjoong was someone who was quite serious after meeting him the day before but he was happy to see that he was wrong and that Hongjoong was someone who could be easy to talk to as well once he got to know him.

 

"Oh! It's Soo~, Hwa this is my new Part-timer~" Hongjoong said happily when he spotted Insoo waiting in front of the studio, Insoo happily waved at Hongjoong when he heard him.

 

Hongjoong came to a stop in front of Insoo with his friend, "Hwa this is Soo, Soo this is my best friend Seonghwa~ he runs a restaurant right on the beach… Oh - wait Hwa can we have a little welcome party for Soo at the restaurant tonight? We can invite all the boys, since Soo is new in town, then he knows a few people here" Hongjoong proposed excitedly.

 

Seonghwa smiled a little at his friend's excitement, Hongjoong would never let someone feel left out or let them be alone when they just arrived in town, that's exactly how their friend group grew from two people to eight people.

 

"Sure, come by around 4? I'll prepare everything" Seonghwa said happily, he turned to Insoo with a smile, "Welcome, even though you will only be here for a little while I hope you will enjoy your time here~" Seonghwa told the boy.

 

"Thank you~" Insoo said, returning the smile.

 

"I'll get going now~ I'm sure Yeosang already arrived at work" Seonghwa said waving goodbye as he rushed past Insoo, Hongjoong and Insoo watched as Seonghwa quickened his step and rushed down the slope towards the beach.

 

"Shall we head in?" Hongjoong asked motioning to the door, Insoo nodded a little and soon followed as Hongjoong walked over to the door to open it.

 

The two went to the break room and placed their things down, Hongjoong took off his coat and put on an apron, Insoo felt a little awkward, he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do, it was a first for him so he didn't know how to act.

 

"I'm going to go prepare some paints and canvas for my class at 9am, there are a few things that need to be cleaned up from yesterday's pottery class so I will show you what needs to be done and you can start on that" Hongjoong said taking another apron off a hook on the wall, handing it to Insoo.

 

"Okay~ I can do whatever… probably" Insoo said with a slightly concerned smile, Hongjoong laughed a little at Insoo's reaction.

 

The two left the break room and headed into the pottery room that was on the first floor.

 

"These are pieces we will reclaim, they didn't turn out that well or the student aren't happy with them~ I have a big bin in the corner where you can put these in, just break them up and throw them into the water, other than that you can just clean off all the pottery wheels and just sweep the floor" Hongjoong instructed him, Insoo nodded and immediately got to work.

 

Hongjoong stayed behind a little to make sure Insoo understood everything he needed to do and that he didn't have any trouble doing it, when he was sure Insoo was okay he headed to the painting room on the second floor.

 

While Hongjoong set up all the easels and canvas while picking out all the colours, he had been planning the class for quite a while, he wanted everyone to paint the same thing with different colours, so he made random sets of paint making sure they all complement one another and set them all up on the table that was in the middle of the easels circle.

 

Once he was done setting up he headed down to the pottery room to check up on Insoo. Insoo was well into his own world with the cleaning, Hongjoong observed him through the window, he didn't want to bother the boy because he could tell that he was trying his best.

 

He was a bit clumsy, Hongjoong could tell it was definitely his first time working in an art studio, he couldn't help but wonder what type of person Insoo was, or why he was so curious about the studio.

 

He noticed it the first time when his mother brought Insoo in, that Insoo's eyes were sparkling while observing the art, as if he saw a painting for the first time, he found it quite fascinating, so he hired Insoo without even giving it a second thought.

 

The ringing of a bell pulled Hongjoong out of his deep thoughts, he turned to the door and smiled a little, bowing a bit.

 

"Hello Ms. Lee~ you can head up to the second floor, please take a seat at any of the easels, once everyone has arrived I will head up and explain today's class" Hongjoong said politely, the old lady nodded and walked towards the stairs that led to the second floor.

 

Hongjoong decided that instead of watching Insoo the whole time he will wait for his students and welcome them. While waiting Hongjoong decided to order a few baked goods from a bakery nearby for once their class is done.

 

One by one his students arrived at the studio, Hongjoong told them all to head up and when the last one arrived Hongjoong sent her up and popped into the pottery room.

 

"Soo, everyone is here so I will be starting the class soon, I ordered some baked goods from the bakery down the street for once the class ends, they will come deliver it so just keep an eye out for them" Hongjoong said, Insoo was surprised by the sudden voice speaking but he nodded a little.

 

"Sure, I'll keep an eye out, once I'm done here is there anything else I need to do?" Insoo asked.

 

"Hmm just look around and if something seems like it needs cleaning go ahead and clean it~ if anyone comes in asking about classes your welcome to come call me, I'll be upstairs" Hongjoong said as he started leaving the room, he closed the door and hurried upstairs starting his class.

 

Insoo felt a little curious, he wanted to know how Hongjoong gave his classes but he also knew he had work to do, so he continued his work trying to block out his curiosity.

 

When he finished in the pottery room they were still busy with the class, Insoo tried his best to block his curiosity but he really couldn't so he started cleaning near the stairs, he could hear Hongjoong teaching and he smiled a little.

 

Insoo took a bit of a break and sat on a stool that was near the stairs, curiously listening in on the class.

 

"As you all know each painting can look different, paintings differ due to things like skill, your painting style and of course the quality of your supplies" Hongjoong's voice echoed.

 

"So all of us are using different paint today, we are painting the same thing and by the end of the class we will all show one another how different it can be, so make sure to put your own spin on it" Insoo couldn't help but smile, he watched when everyone was entering, all the students were definitely older than them so Hongjoong was being quite polite but Insoo could also tell that there was a bit of seriousness just like every teacher he ever encountered before.

 

After a while he decided to get back to work, listening to the lesson every now and then, time passed by as Insoo got busy, he cleaned the whole reception area as well as the break room area, he realigned the paintings that were hung and dusted all the ceramic pieces that were displayed.

 

Just as Insoo was about to take a breather he heard the door open, he turned to greet whoever was entering and was a little surprised when he saw a boy about Hongjoong's height trying to get into the shop with multiple cupcake boxes stacked on one another, he immediately rushed over and took a few of the boxes while holding the door open with his foot.

 

"Oh thank you~" the boy said happily.

 

"No worries~ I take it these are the things Hongjoong was talking about" Insoo said and he heard a hum in response.

 

"Oh you're the part time right? Soo was it?" he asked excitedly, his voice kept getting higher the more excited he got.

 

"That would be me~" Insoo said happily.

 

"Nice to meet you Soo~ I'm Wooyoung, I own the bakery down the street, if you ever crave for something sweet please come over~" Wooyoung said happily.

 

"I sure will, I love sweet things~ there was this really good bakery I often visited in Seoul~ it was the highlight of my day honestly" Insoo said, Wooyoung's excitement was quite contagious, Insoo could feel himself getting a little brighter.

 

The two were still chatting a bit when Hongjoong came downstairs, "We can bring those upstairs Soo, I already set the table up" Hongjoong said with a smile, "hello Woo~" Hongjoong greeted Wooyoung who happily returned it.

 

The three started carrying the boxes up the stairs, once they entered everyone happily greeted Wooyoung and the moment Insoo entered they all couldn't help but feel curious by the new face.

 

"Oh Joongie, who's your new friend? '' One of the ladies said while looking at Insoo with curiosity.

 

"Ah I totally forgot to introduce him to you all~ this is my new part-timer Soo, he will only be here for a little while, but he will be helping me out at the studio" Hongjoong said, pulling Insoo to the middle of the room so everyone could see him.

 

Insoo felt a little shy, but he greeted everyone warmly.

 

"Oh my~ Soo are you dating anyone? My daughter is looking for a cute boyfriend" one of the ladies piped up playfully, Insoo was a little surprised and couldn't help but blush.

 

"A-ah well I won't be here for very long so I think it's best not to date ma'am" Insoo said nervously, he didn't want to offend her nor did he want to come off as rude.

 

"Ladies let the poor boy be~" another lady said and everyone stopped their questioning towards Insoo.

 

"I prepared some snacks for everyone so please come and enjoy~" Hongjoong said redirecting everyone's attention, the ladies all got up and headed towards the table grabbing something from it and getting tied up in their own conversations.

 

Hongjoong headed over to Insoo and smiled a little, "Sorry about them~ we don't get new faces around here often"  Hongjoong whispered to Insoo, who just smiled a little.

 

"It's okay, though it took me by surprise~" Insoo told him with a small smile.

 

"Want to take a look around?" Hongjoong asked once he noticed that Insoo seemed quite curious about the classroom.

 

Insoo nodded a little, Hongjoong started touring him around the room. Hongjoong couldn't help but smile at Insoo's childlike curiosity.

 

"I've never seen art like this~ just seeing it makes me feel somewhat free…" Insoo said absentmindedly, it made Hongjoong curious.

 

"Do you usually work around art?" Hongjoong asked curiously - he noticed the smile on Insoo's face fade a little but he quickly smiled again.

 

"Sort of… it's complicated," Insoo said, keeping his eyes on the artwork in front of him.

 

Hongjoong furrowed his brows a little, Insoo usually sounded quite happy and excited but when he spoke about his work it seemed like Insoo was quite troubled, but Hongjoong decided not to push it too much, he was sure once Insoo was comfortable around him and they knew one another better.

 

"Have you ever thought about taking any classes?" Hongjoong asked curiously.

 

"I did… but I'm not good at anything related to art so it's just something I decided to not pursue" Insoo said with a small smile.

 

"Everyone can be good at art~ there's no right or wrong way in art, the way one person does something and another does it can be completely different but their both still good at what they do, let's do this after classes are over how about I give you a few lessons~" Hongjoong said excitedly, he really loved teaching.

 

"Do you have a lot of patients?" Insoo said through laughing.

 

"More than you can ever imagine," Hongjoong said happily.

 

"Okay then… I'll take you up on the offer, but be prepared when I tell you I'm not good, I mean it" Insoo said smiling.

"Blah, Blah, I can't hear you~" Hongjoong said and walked away. Insoo just watched and shook his head a little, 'So he can be cute as well?' Insoo thought to himself.