“Mom, I want to be painted!” A young girl said, tugging at her mother’s arms while pointing at a girl who was painting something on her canvas.

“Let me talk to the painter okay honey?” Her mother said walking closer to the painter with her daughter trailing beside her.

“Excuse me? Can you paint us? My daughter asked to be painted” She smiled at the young girl who was wearing a cap over her head to hide her face.

“Is it okay?” She asked quietly, pointing at her other paintings.

“It’s scary…” The child said, hiding behind her mother.

“It’s not good to say tha-”

“It’s okay” The painter said, “child is the most honest”

The mother then nodded, taking a good look at a certain painting, there was a girl with a boy holding hands. It looked great, but there was something missing from them.

“Why didn’t they have any eyes?” The mother asked cautiously.

“Eyes… are something I shouldn’t paint so easily” She said stopping her painting for a while and glanced over the woman and her daughter before continuing her work.

“Well… We’ll get going now, I apologize for my daughter’s behavior” She said bowing a little.

The girl bowed back, “thank you for stopping by”

…

Wendy yawned for the nth times of the day as she listened to her friend’s story about something unimportant.

“Hey! At least pay attention to what I’m saying” Her friend said pouting.

They were walking in the park near their university since they had just finished classes.

“It’s not even important to begin with, Seulgi” Wendy said sticking her tongue out childishly at her same age friend, earning a glare in return.

After walking in complete silence for a few minutes, Seulgi found herself yearning to tell yet another story.

“Hey, I heard there is a weird painter in this park, they said, the painter couldn’t draw eyes, so the painter left out the eyes with black color” She suddenly said, earning Wendy’s attention now.

“Really?” Wendy raised her eyebrows.

The girl nodded, “from what I read, this painter is called Modigliani. It’s some kind of painter that traps the soul of the people he draws. Eyes are the only part of our body that expresses our soul, so until he understood the depths of the soul, he couldn’t draw the eyes of a person” She explained.

“And I’ve seen some of the paintings. It looks a little bit odd, but in a good way. I kind of like it, though I can’t understand why he didn’t draw the eyes”

Wendy nodded, interested in the story. “So the person who has this style is somewhere around here?” She asked looking around the busy park. Since it was near the campus, a lot of students were here and there, hanging around the park.

“Well, apparently, and that person is a girl. It’s quite rare to find girl with this style of painting”

“How did you know all of this?”

“Well, I am Kang Seulgi, who are you kidding?” She said flipping her hair.

“Conceited” Wendy scoffed.

They walked a bit more when a girl with a boy walked passed them with a painting in her hand. “This is kind of cool though” They heard her saying to the boy beside her.

“What’s so cool about a painting with no eyes…” he whined, walking away.

“I think she is around here, how about we try?” Seulgi’s eyes lit up immediately. Wendy shook her head, “I don’t want to be painted” she said.

“Why??? You hate that style?” The girl pouted making the girl beside her rolled her eyes.

“I don’t, I find it interesting but I’m not in the mood to be painted”

“Then I will do it!” She grinned. After walking a few more, they finally found a girl, with a black cap covering her face, drawing something on the canvas that was sitting comfortably in front of her.

There were quite few people that wanted to be painted, and they even waited for their turn.

“The line is a little bit too long isn’t it?” Wendy said pointing at a bunch of people who were standing in a straight line while chatting with each other.

“Wow, I don’t know she is that famous” Seulgi said, a little bit disappointed.

Wendy shrugged, she looked at the painter who was concentrating on painting two girls who were smiling. She then looked at the paintings around her and she couldn’t help but admire how beautiful her work is.

“She is good” Seulgi said, apparently looking at the paintings too.

Wendy nodded in return, she didn’t know that time that her admiration would change into something more.

…

That night, Wendy decided to take a walk to the park she visited a while ago with Seulgi. She lived in an apartment next to the university anyway. She pulled her jacket close to her body, hoping the cold didn’t go into her bones and freeze her up.

She then walked around the now quiet park. It was quite refreshing even though it’s a little bit too cold.

After a few more steps, she spotted the Modigliani painter in the same spot, tidying her things. She pondered a little about approaching the latter, but she is a social butterfly, why not try?

She took a deep breath and walked closer to the girl who was wearing a white t-shirt beneath her denim jacket, a pair of jeans, and a sneaker, with of course a cap covering her face.

Wendy stood not far from the painter, but the girl didn’t notice her presence. She then cleared to get her attention.

“Umm… Hi?” Wendy smiled awkwardly when the painter stared at her. What the heck is wrong with me, where is the confident Wendy?

“May I help you?” The painter asked politely, no smile, no gesture, just a plain tone with a small and smooth voice.

“Ah… Actually, I kind of saw you earlier this afternoon…” She scratched the back of her neck nervously, “You had a lot of customers, and I admire your work so much”

“Thank you” The painter bowed, again no sign of any emotion in her voice.

“Is it really admirable, a drawing with no eyes?” She asked closing her bag and all the equipment was already packed.

“Yes… Hearing what a Modigliani is” Wendy smiled, she had to thank Seulgi later on. “A painter that captures the soul, isn’t that admirable already? I agree that eyes are the part of our body that expresses our soul, so a painting with no eyes like what you said, is really admirable”

The painter seemed to be taken aback by Wendy’s words. She then nodded, “quite rare for someone to understand, even though a lot of people asked, they never understand those things”

“Well, I’m actually majoring in psychology, so I kind of learn about a lot of things like soul and human behaviors” Wendy shrugged, feeling a little bit more comfortable now. “Eyes are indeed the most important thing to look when you’re reading about what people are thinking and such, so I agree that eyes express our soul and personality”

Wendy might be dreaming when she saw the painter put on a little cute smile though she couldn’t really make out her face since it was pretty dark and the painter had her cap on.

“You’re interesting” The painter said.

…

Since then, Wendy started to go to the park almost every day just to take glimpse of the painter that really took her interest. It’s actually pretty hard to make Wendy interested in something and someone, but for some kind of reason, the painter succeed on stealing Wendy’s attention, even from that short conversation they had.

Wendy didn’t know her name, nor did she know about her face, it didn’t matter though.

She tried to approach the painter, but for some kind of odd reason, she couldn’t just get the courage to do so.

Until one day

“Wendy! Man I’ve been searching for you all day” Seulgi said after Wendy just got out from her class. Since they attended a different department, sometimes it’s hard for them to meet up and hang out together. It’s the busy month anyway.

“What’s the matter?” Wendy asked while raising her eyebrows. She knew Seulgi had just finished all her classes, and so did Wendy.

“Do you remember a few weeks ago I asked to be painted by that Modigliani painter? I talked to her yesterday, she told me to come after class and she promised to paint me!” Seulgi said jumping in excitement.

“Oh really?” Wendy tilted her head, “You talked to her?” There’s some kind of jealously in Wendy’s voice considering the girl couldn’t utter a word to the painter and yet here is Seulgi, blabbering about how she talked to the girl.

“Yes I did! She had a really nice voice, though I still couldn’t really see her face clearly. It doesn’t matter though! Let’s just go there!” She said, dragging a secretly jealous Wendy with her.

…

They arrived at the park, it was not as crowded as it was before. Seulgi walked quickly to the place with Wendy trailing behind her.

“There she is!” Seulgi said excitedly as she pointed at a figure that Wendy had been stalking for a few days now.

Wendy started to feel the familiar nervousness she felt whenever she was near the person. The butterflies in the pit of her stomach, the increasing beat of her heart, and her dry lips.

Literally every time Wendy went near the painter, these symptoms started to attack her and she backed out immediately. Since Seulgi was apparently holding her wrist and dragging her to the place, she couldn’t just run away, right? It’s probably her chance to strike a conversation with the latter.

“Oh you come” The painter said, noticing Seulgi and Wendy’s presence when they got near her. There was no line since the park was almost empty.

“Are you really going to paint me?” Seulgi asked excitedly earning a nod from the latter, “of course, just go there” She pointed at a bench in front of her, “and pose comfortably”

“Horrayy! Wendy let’s go!” She said tugging Wendy’s hand.

Wendy shook her head, was too dry to even speak a word. She mentally facepalmed herself for being such a nervous wreck around the painter.

“Well then, wait for me” Seulgi said grinning widely and skipped to the place happily.

“You got a pretty happy friend there” The painter said, getting all her equipment ready to paint the over-excited girl.

“Y-yeah” Wendy cleared , “She wanted to be painted by you so bad”

“Glad to hear that” The painter said, focusing on her work now.

Wendy watched in amusement at how attractive the painter looked when she was serious about her work. It was amazing how she put the extreme details on her paintings, how she combined the color elegantly, it was great.

She probably didn’t know a lot about Modigliani’s style of painting, but she had to agree on the color the painter used to describe Seulgi in her painting. The bright but calm color to describe such a happy but elegant girl was really a spot on. Wendy once again found herself admiring the painter because even if she never talked to Seulgi before, she could describe what personality Seulgi had perfectly.

Wendy then noticed the slight tremble in the painter’s arm when she painted the eyes. She looked hesitant about what to do for a second before giving it a black color and proceed to the next step immediately.

She contemplated a little about painting the eyes, but because she couldn’t dig deep into Seulgi’s soul, she didn’t dare to draw her eyes. Interesting…

She then snapped out her thoughts when the painter stopped and raised her hand, gesturing Seulgi to come because she had done painting.

It was not a short time actually, but Wendy didn’t even mind if she took hours to finish it, because she couldn’t get enough of her. It’s not about the look and the appearance, there’s just something about her that captivated Wendy. And she couldn’t get out of this feeling anytime soon, she refused to.

“Wendy! Isn’t it great?” Seulgi asked eagerly as she showed the painting to her.

“Beautiful” Wendy smiled, taking glance at the painter who was now staring at her.

“Really thank you!” Seulgi said still feeling excited while bowing to the girl who bowed back to her. “Thank you” The painter said.

Wendy bowed too, but before she could turn around she heard the painter call her name. “Wendy?”

Wendy gulped as she slowly looked at the painter, “y-yes?”

“Thank you for visiting me again”                                                                      

…

Wendy said something good will happen when the right time comes.

And the right time came faster than Wendy’s own expectation.

It was a normal Wednesday evening where usually the painter would be there, painting just like what she always did.

Wendy tightened her jacket when she felt the cold breeze attacking her. It was starting to get cold these days and the wind was pretty strong too.

Is she okay though? She thought, watching leaves and dusts being blown up by the wind.

Suddenly a familiar black cap flew to her direction. Wendy caught the cap in reflex and wondered whose cap was this.

The girl then remembered, isn’t this the painter’s cap? She must be around here then.

“Wendy?”

Wendy looked up and she felt like the time stopped for a moment when she saw the girl’s face.

From her long brown hair, her milky white skin, her beautiful mesmerizing eyes, her sharp pointy nose, to her pink plump lips, it was the definition of perfection.

Wendy was probably exaggerating to some people, but it was true for her. This girl, is a perfection to her. It was weird isn’t it? Wendy couldn’t believe herself too, all of these seemed unreal to her, how she could fall for the girl easily even when she just knew her.

“Wendy? Are you there?” The slightly taller girl waved her hand in front of Wendy who had wide opened.

Wendy blinked her eyes several times, “y-yes?” She cleared , her cheeks started to get into a brighter shade of pink because she got caught red handed, admiring the girl in front of her.

“My cap?” The painter asked while pointing at the cap that Wendy was holding tight in her hand.

Wendy handed the cap, “why are you wearing a cap all the time?” She asked right before the painter could wear her cap like usual. Wendy didn’t quite like it since it hid such a golden features behind them.

“I don’t know” She answered, folding her cap in her hand. “Probably because I was never confident with myself, I’m shy when other people stared at me” She said. “I like the things that I am doing right now, and people will stare at me even more, so this cap prevent me to at least notice their stares”

Wendy nodded, “really? But you’re beautiful”

“Sorry?”

“You’re beautiful, the only reason why people stare at you is because you’re beautiful” Wendy blurted out, making the girl in front of her blushed.

“What are you talking about right now” She mumbled.

“Have some confidence in yourself.” Wendy smiled oh so charmingly, before turning around and starting to walk away.

“W-Wendy?” The girl stopped in track, she then turned around to found the cute painter fidgeting with her fingers, “how about some tea in my workshop?”

…

I can’t believe she invited me… This must be my lucky day! Wendy thought while glancing around the room. There were a lot of paintings hanging on the wall. The room was nice, warm and cozy.

“Have a sit Wendy” The girl turned around and sat nervously on the chair in front of the painter.

Both of them sipped the tea quietly while thinking of what they should talk about. A little awkwardness was normal right? Considering this was their first official conversation.

“Umm, I haven’t known your name yet…” Wendy said staring at the girl in front of her who was still drinking her tea.

“My name is Bae Joohyun, better known as Irene” She smiled, putting her tea on the table. She seemed a little bit nervous for some kind of reason.

“Well, as you know, my name is Son Seunghwan, but I would appreciate it if you call me Wendy” Wendy said. She didn’t notice the slight nervousness in Irene’s gestures.

Irene nodded and once again the silence engulfed the room.

Wendy was enjoying it though. She used to hate awkward silence, but when it comes to Irene, she didn’t even mind.

Irene took a deep breath and released it, she then rubbed her palms on her jeans. “Actually, there is a reason why I invited you here” She said staring at Wendy who was raising her eyebrows.

“Oh? What is it?”

Irene slowly stood up, gesturing Wendy to follow her.

They both walked to a wooden door that Wendy missed to see before. Irene put her hand on the knob, again feeling the nervousness. She shook it off and opened the door slowly.

Wendy looked around the smaller room.

There was nothing special in the room, just a lot of canvas and tools, and a window showing the trees and the view outside. Oh, but there was something in the middle of the room, it was another canvas, with a white cloth that covered the whole thing, preventing her to look at the glory Irene painted.

“Well, if you wonder what did I paint…” Irene walked closer to the canvas and removed the cloth.

Wendy furrowed her eyebrows, isn’t that… me?

“It’s you… and if you notice…”

“You painted the eyes” Wendy looked up to Irene who was smiling warmly at her.

Wendy walked closer to the painting, and took a good look at it.

“I used a lot of the color blue, because blue is the color of the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven, and I think you suit that.” Irene grinned when she saw the blush on Wendy’s face.

“And for the eyes… Do you know the history of Modigliani? He is a real painter that’s born in 1884”

Wendy looked up and stared at Irene’s brown deep eyes, how she loved the feeling when Irene stared at her.

“He had painted a lot of paintings with no eyes because he felt like he couldn’t understand those people’s soul, and when he showed his paintings to the world, it was not received well, because people didn’t understand why he couldn’t draw the eyes. It’s such a simple task, they said.”

 “But… there was one person whose eyes he painted at that time”

Wendy tilted her head since Seulgi hadn’t told her about this.

“The one person whose eyes he painted was his wife Jeanne. Although others couldn't understand, the one person who understood him was Jeanne.” Irene said.

“Why though?” Wendy asked, still couldn’t understand where this conversation is going to.

Irene mentally facepalmed herself. “Well, you see, just like Modigliani, I couldn’t paint people’s eyes because I believe I couldn’t dig deep into someone’s soul”

Wendy nodded.

“And just like him, I have this one person whose eyes I painted. For his case, it was his wife, Jeanne, whom he loves dearly. For me, it’s you Wendy, whom also, I love dearly”

Wendy’s cheeks flushed when she realized that Irene just, the girl of her dream had just confessed to her.

Irene ran her hand through her hair, “is it too fast?” she asked the girl in front of her nervously.

Wendy chuckled, “it is not” She said as she felt the butterflies in her stomach went wild once again.

Irene sighed in relief before smiling, “great then, because I can’t bear to hear any rejection”

“You won’t” Wendy said as their eyes met, sending sparks all over their body. Both of them chuckled shyly.

“You know, this is the most awkward confession in my life” Irene said while grinning.

“Me too, but I won’t complain though, it feels great” Wendy smiled, “want to hang out?”

“Sure, why not?”

____________________________________________

A/N

Weird? Lame? Cliché? I know