Eternity [ryeji]

Chapter 21

Heads turn when the tall woman walks inside the art gallery, following her graceful movements.

Contrary to her usual attire when meeting Yuna, today she decides to appear as Lee Chaeryeong the actress, not Lee Chaeryeong the secret immortal who desperately needs help.

She wants to show Yuna that she does not care about this beating around the bush and that she is confident, determined and firm.

She nods and smiles a little to the young woman behind the information desk who's clearly star struck judging by the nervous bow and the giddy outburst when she walks past her.

Then she sees Yuna, standing in front of one of the paintings.

Alright. Let's get this over with.

She walks faster, coming to a stop next to her. "So why are we here?" she asks, straight to the point.

Yuna turns her head. "Ah hello, Unnie. Good morning."

"Morning. Now why am I here?"

"You look very nice," compliments Yuna.

"Let's cut the small talk, shall we? Your two hours have started the moment I stepped foot inside this building so unless you want to spend it all with meaningless small talk..."

Yuna brushes off the cold tone and gestures at the painting she's looking at. "What do you think?"

Chaeryeong observes the canvas, raising her eyebrows. "I'm not a fan of contemporary art."

"Me neither but this particular exhibition isn't as complicated or difficult as the others."

Yuna starts walking and Chaeryeong reluctantly follows her.

"What do you think of this one? It's titled 'The past'." Yuna stops in front of a large colorful painting.

"It's a mess."

"Why do you think that?"

"There's so much going on in there. Colors, shapes... I'm dizzy just looking at it. Did a unicorn come along and barf on this canvas?"

Yuna decides to ignore the other woman's comment. "Isn't there anything that pops up in your mind when you see it?"

Chaeryeong sighs. "Why are you doing this?"

"You don't like art?"

"If this is your attempt on finding out whether I like art then let me make this easier for you. No. I don't."

"But you're an actress. You perform. That's art too."

"It's different."

"How is it different?"

"For starters, what I do is easy to understand. What you see is what you get. If I do a bad job at it then people will know and agree that it's bad. This..." Chaeryeong gestures at the canvas and the description next to it. "This thing is a mess for me but apparently there's a whole other interpretation behind it and I'm sure there are people who have different opinions on it too. It's much too complicated and I don't like complicated stuff."

"Okay. I understand that," Yuna says, moving along. "But I still hope that you could tell me what your own interpretation is and the impression you get from this exhibition and its theme later."

Chaeryeong really wants to get out of there but since she still needs Yuna, she has no choice but to do as the woman wishes.

After they have finished touring the whole gallery, Yuna brings Chaeryeong to the gallery's café and buys her lunch. By now, people have already realized the actress' presence in that gallery and some have been taking pictures of her although none has the courage to ask for her autograph just yet.