A smile crept on her thin lips… as her hand stride a curve pattern… holding on a paint brush, guiding the black line on her chosen path… her mind’s drifting off somewhere… specifically as to every details of what happened last night…

There she is… being surrounded by frames of familiar art works… familiar events that were now caught on a wooden frame… touched with different colors… painted in different angles…

And now, she’s working on something magnificent once again… not minding her now untidy appearance… she’s almost finished… and the thrill inside of her flamed more… and after a couple of … the last detail of her masterpiece was finally executed.

A contented smile curved her lips… looking at the image in front of her… another good memory that she beautifully recorded… there… two figures of a man and a woman… hugging each other under the velvet sky… both backs were facing her.. as if taken by someone who’s watching the two last night.

She glanced on her side and saw the same exact event that she just painted… but both figures were caught, rather painted with a clear view of their faces… she closed her eyes, trying to remember the feeling of last night… and as she opened her eyes… the same feeling of warmth can be felt on the canvas in front of her…

There were more around the room… she kept it all in there… the feeling of happiness could be felt by each and every piece of her art… she painted them all well and very detailed… afraid that she might forget it… better yet store it on her arts…

Whenever he’s not there… just like today… she would lock up herself to here in this room… more likely the storage room… but she requested for it to be given to her as her personal space… with a key that only she has… that neither him doesn’t have or even know of…

Such a little secret… but definitely a treasure that she’s preserving… she doesn’t know what he’ll do once he sees the contains of this room… but probably he wouldn’t care… much more maybe he’ll think of her as a fool…

She stood up… groaned a bit for she was sitting in there for hours… didn’t even noticed the time… apart the pain she felt, contentment filled her mind… she brought her completed work beside another frame… allowing it to try itself… she glanced on the line of frames… looked like it was planned to be that way… more of… sequence of familiar events… counted joyful events… and could be seen that every frame has the same figure of a man and a woman… the man that’s bringing coldness as to whoever sees the arts and the woman who gives off the feeling of hope…

There’s a single work wherein a picture of that man was painted in detail… she wiped off her hands first on the apron she’s wearing before tracing the lines of his face on the canvas… mostly touching its lips… the smile of the man that could bring her heart in rejoice… from the day she saw him smiled on his lover… his smile was instantly recorded in her mind…

‘It’s enough to see your smile from afar or even just here… it’s enough for me to hope that one day you’ll smile for me too…’

She thought before drawing off her hand away from the frame…

She took off her apron and cleaned herself a bit… she glanced in the room one last time before going out and locking it… she placed her key back to her necklace and hid it under her clothes…

Maybe the maids are now looking all over for her… she missed lunch… and they will probably scold her if she’ll miss the dinner too… she giggled to herself upon thinking it…

He’s not home… he was summoned by his dad to fix something out of town… another task for their company… he left last night… right after their moment, his father called him… he never spoke to her, he just looked at her… but she knew he must leave… couldn’t read in his eyes if he’s somewhat sorry that he must leave… or probably tired that he must do another responsibility that’s not his…

She prepared his things… he just let her… she bid goodbye but he never replied… he just walked away just like he used to do that she too already got used to… it’s enough for her she told herself again… she must not expect more from him she added… because she’ll just hurt herself once her cruel selfishness hits her… it’s enough because in the first place she was just a task he must abide to…that never she would have a place in his life…

--

He’s still not home the next day… seating on the backseat alone… a smile was still plastered on her face which made the old driver felt finally relieved to see his Miss not in her usual lonely state… for he too witnessed what happened the other night… first time seeing such affection from his young master towards its wife… in his mind, thanking the little angel that visited their lonely mansion who probably is the reason that made his young master’s cold heart softened a bit…

He watched Dara through the rear view mirror… didn’t bother ruining her own moment… smiling to himself and just continued driving… the ride was quiet until they reached her campus…

“May you have a good day Miss...”

He told her once she got out of the car… she quickly flashed the old man a warm smile…

“Thanks Mr. Lee…”

Soon she was alone again… but it didn’t pass a minute for someone to take place as her company…

“Yo…”

She was walking her way inside the building when a familiar voice spoke behind her… she turned around and flashed the man a knowing smile…

At first, Youngbae just looked at her wonderingly… until he just shrugged off the obvious change of mood from Dara… not really wanting himself to think that something good might happened between the couple after they left the beach that day… feeling a little selfish over her… that he would rather want to see her lonely… most especially alone… so that he could be like her man in shining armor… ready to heed and comfort her… at least she would be able to see him… at least he would be able to claim her for a while…just a time with her is enough to satisfy his hidden desire…

“Good morning…”

She greeted him… which earned a slight nod from him… she’s already used to his snobbish treatment… and feeling grateful that despite his coldness… he could still afford to give her the company she’s needing… never did she know how he’s been suppressing himself not to be vulnerable in front of her… weak when it comes to her… still blaming himself… pounding his own sanity as to why did he fall for her… never did he believed in love at first sight… but she… broke that belief… and now… even breaking his heart…

They walked together towards their room… he never spoke… she too didn’t bother breaking his preferred atmosphere… the students quieted a bit when they arrived together… eyeing the two when they took their seats besides each other… and back to their own businesses while the two is still caged in their own silence…

After the class dismissed… he left the room without bidding goodbye once again… she sighed… for sure he’ll pop out of nowhere again later…upon leaving the room she hit someone on her way… caused for her books to dropped off from her arms…

The students didn’t even bother helping her… they just pass by her… some just watched… she immediately stoop down to gather her things until someone came to her and helped her… she suddenly heard whisperings from the students around… and she gasped when she turn to the person who just helped her…

“T-…Thank you… Taeyeon-sshi…”

She thanked her once they got up… Taeyeon was a bit surprised that Dara knows her…even she already knew why…she flashed her, her infamous smile which made the whispers grew louder… she truly can melt anyone’s heart by her smile… she thought… and she on the other hand was starting to feel uncomfortable… why of all people… is this campus not big enough for their ways not to meet…? Trails of thoughts filled her mind.