Chapter 27: Finding Lost Things

    When Yuuki woke him up the morning before, she did so with a wooden spoon and  a frying pan. He fell off the couch, looking about in shock. She sat there laughing at him, cookware in hand.

    “What’s so damn funny?” he asked. She smiled at him.

    “Your face!” she said, turning about, heading towards the kitchen. He folded the blanket he had been using and set it on the couch, following after her.

    She set down the frying pan on the stove and went into the cupboard to get a bowl and mixer.

    “Get the eggs and butter out of the fridge, would you?” she said, pointing to the fridge. He nodded and trudged his way over to retrieve the ingredients.

    Yuuki went over to the sink and turned off the sink. She took out the bacon she had been defrosting and threw it in the pan. She took the ingredients from Sung Kyu as she went about gathering other utensils.

    “Break six of those,” she said, pointing to the eggs as she took a pair of kitchen scissors and began to cut the bacon.

    He began to slowly break the eggs one by one and tossed the shells aside.

    “That’s not how you do it,” she said, gathering the shells in her garbage bowl and throwing chopped chives in the bowl. “If you go any slower, the bacon will burn.” she chided him, tossing in chopped mushrooms, peppers and tomatoes.  Sung Kyu stood there dumbfounded as she a bowl of batter in front of him.

    “Take the smaller pan out of that cupboard and heat it up. Then spoon some of that into there.”  she instructed. He did as he was told, and ended up splattering batter onto his face. She took a towel and wiped his face. He grimaced.

    “I can do it myself,” he said, wiping himself off.

    “Says the man who can’t even spoon batter into a pan without covering himself in it.” Yuuki said, shaking her head.  They finished cooking and sat down at her table.

    “So, what exactly are you in Japan for?” she asked, spooning the egg mixture onto her plate and grabbing a hot cake.

    “Vacation I suppose,” he said, swirling his food around his plate as he sipped his coffee.

    “Not going very well?” she asked. He shook his head.

    “I was with my finace. I figured if I came here with her, somehow we would get to know each other better.” He sighed. “She just ran off with her friends like she usually does. I just wander about, you know.”

    “And end up in the gutter.” Yuuki remarked. “What do you like to do?” she asked. He put his cup down, and thought about it. It had been such a long time since anyone had asked him what he wanted, he had to think about it.

    “I remember as a kid, I would visit my grandfather’s art gallery. He would tell me all about the art, who the artists were and what inspired them.” a small smile creeped along his face, remembering the happier times in his childhood.

    “We should go to a museum then,” Yuuki suggested. Sung Kyu shook his head.

    “I haven’t been to a museum in years.” he said. “Not since my grandfather died.” Yuuki blushed.

    “Oh,” she said, feeling rather small.

    “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “You didn’t know.”

    “We should go to one. If it’s been years, all the better.” He shook his head again.

    “I don’t know about that.” he said. She thought for a moment, and it hit her.

    “You know what,” she said. “I have a better idea. I’m an art teacher, you should come with me to my studio.” she said. Sung Kyu just looked at her. “Don’t worry, it’ll be fun,” she said, getting him up and dragging him out of the house.

    “I thought you wanted to get rid of me?” he said. She smiled at him.

    “I can change my mind, can’t I?” she asked. They ran out and she brought him to a scooter.

    “Get on,” she instructed. He hopped on, and she got in front of him. She slapped a helmet on his head. “Hold on tight,” she said, revving up the engine and speeding off. Sung Kyu began to second guess his decision to follow this woman. He felt as though his life were in danger as she sped down alleyways and narrowly missed passing cars. They came to a screeching halt in front of a small craft shop. Sung Kyu slowly got off the scooter, lost his balance and landed face first (technically helmet first) onto the pavement.

    “Get up, you sissy baby, I didn’t even go that fast.” he lifted his head up and removed the helmet.

    “If that wasn’t fast, I don’t want to see what you do when you finally do go fast.” he commented as he followed her inside.

    They walked past the shelves of paint and and clay. She unlocked a room and twisted the sign.

    “Come on, slowpoke.” she said, ushering him into the room. Yuuki grabbed his hand and sat him down at an easel, and gave him a pencil.

    “What is this for?” he asked.

    “What do you think, genius?” she said, motioning towards the paper. “Draw.” she instructed.

    “Look, I don’t think-”

    “Draw, .” He was taken aback by her language. He turned back to the easel, and began sketching lines. His hand flowed onto the paper, like water over stones. Lead began to stain his hand as it flew over the paper in long, elegant .

    Yuuki watched him as he masterfully began to sketch the garden outside the window. He began shading and refining his picture. His form was beautiful. She wouldn’t have expected this from a drunk she had found in the gutter last night. As he finished, he sat back and looked at his work. He seemed pleased with himself. Yuuki walked up behind him and set her hands on his shoulders.

    “That’s beautiful, Sung Kyu,” she sighed, taking it all in. The comparison to the garden outside was uncanny. He smiled and grabbed her hands. She looked down, and found herself looking into his eyes.

    “Thank you, Yuuki.” he said.

    “For what?” she asked.

    “For helping me to find myself again.”They smiled at each other, sharing that quiet moment of peace.

END OF CHAPTER 27
 

*NOTE: Hey guys! Sorry that I haven't been updating as much as I used to. I've become very busy as of late. All my stories and even my blog is suffering from neglect. -_- I apologize to my subscribers for nelecting the stories. Tonight is my night off though, so I hope to update all the stories by one chapter! Thank you for being subscribed!