A Palette of Emotions - Artist!Taehyung x Teacher!Reader (COMPLETED)

Chapter 24 - Art is Subjective...

            Taehyung watched from his folding chair as Jungkook eagerly set up his paintings around his spot in the show. Taehyung insisted on helping, but Jungkook told him he was not allowed to do anything but sit in the chair and offer support to the high schooler. Despite all of Taehyung's insisting, Jungkook was not having it and proceeded to set up all of his work on his own. When he was done, he was quick to pull out his phone and step in front of his stall. Taehyung looked over at the eager boy, curious as to what he was doing.

Jungkook's wide grin made Taehyung smile. "Smile, Hyung! This is going on my Instagram and I'm tagging you, so look cute!" Taehyung had to crane his neck slightly, but offered the camera a slight glimpse of his boxy smile, a peace sign lifting into the air. Jungkook snapped several pictures and stuck the phone in his pocket. "I'm so excited for everyone to start coming! Do you think I'll sell something?"

"I'm sure you will," Taehyung said. "But this can be a hard thing to do, so don't get upset if you don't have much success, it's only your first art show." Jungkook plopped beside his mentor, who offered him a supportive pat on the shoulder. The younger nodded and ran a hand through his hair.

"I know. I'm not a seasoned pro, like you." He nodded, and Taehyung had to let a laugh out.

"Don't suck up, I'm not buying shit." He teased, and the both of them grinned. After a moment of silence, Taehyung nodded. "But you're not wrong." Jungkook giggled a bit, and with that, the sound of people approaching the area around their stall had Jungkook right back on his feet.

For a good hour, Jungkook was standing outside of his stall like a puppy who was eagerly waiting at the door for its owner to come home and greet him. Taehyung watched for a while, before standing up and approaching the younger boy, who was just waving goodbye to someone who had stopped to look.

"Don't stand right here the whole time," Taehyung advised, and Jungkook looked over. Taehyung could see his eyes widen slightly, as if he wanted to hear Taehyung's advice, but was scared of what it would end up being. "You look a little desperate. If you at least sit down, the right people will see the work and come over. That's the best time to get up and walk over to say hi." Jungkook nodded. "One time I stood up for a whole 6 hours in front of my stand. I think I tried to make contact with every person who passed me by. At the end of the show, I had sold nothing, and only left with a headache from all of the intense staring I did."

Taehyung's confession did make Jungkook nod in understanding. "Right...." He said softly.

"It's good to be eager, but don't be too in your face. Just sit back and relax for a few minutes." Jungkook nodded, plopping back down on his seat and crossing his arms. He watched people pass by, looking in the direction of his stall, their eyes scanning all he had to offer before deciding if they wanted to stop and stare or move on for now. Jungkook felt his heart sink with every person that passed by. Taehyung immediately noticed this, and nostalgia fell over him; the nostalgia that brought him back to his early days of selling art. 18 years old, sitting on the grass with Jimin and a tarp full of his earliest works. Most of those works now have either been sold, donated, or given away as gifts, but he remembers the feeling of disappointment that fell across him each moment that passed with nobody stopping to stare for longer than a few seconds. "Art is subjective, Jungkook..." He said simply. "Not everyone is going to like what you have, and that's fine. We talked about that."

"I know..." he said, "But it sucks more when you experience it in real life."

"Heh..." Taehyung let an amused grin fall across his face. "Trust me, I know." He was quick to stand up. "How about I go do some front-line work?" he asked. Jungkook glanced up at Taehyung, curious as to what he meant by 'front-line work'. "I'll walk around, and if I see anyone selling stuff similar to yours, I'll help you make connections with them. And if anyone is staring at what other people are selling, I'll point them in this direction."