Aera could feel her heart dropping with each passing second. She was never a person who sweated a lot but now, she could feel it on her palms, her feet and trickling down her back. She raised her hand to her mouth, nervously chewing on the skin of her thumb. She shouldn't, she knew, but she was too anxious.
Miss Kwon inspected each print of her paintings with a critical eye. The woman was taking her time to evaluate them as they sat in her office. Kang Art Gallery had a reputation for displaying the best of the best work by Korean artists. They took extreme pride in showing off their country's talent and thus, it made the task of choosing harder.
"Did you make peace with your mind?" Miss Kwon asked, her eyes still on the prints. Aera nodded at the woman, a small smile playing on her lips. "I like to think I have. My heart is still conflicted but my mind surely isn't a jumble anymore."
The woman behind the desk finally looked up from the images, a bright smile on her red lips. "I can tell from your paintings, Miss Lee. As I expected from you, they are absolutely amazing. Some of these even look more refined and powerful than the paintings I saw in your studio. I can already see the newspapers filled with your name as the next best artist. I am really optimistic about you."
Aera laughed in relief, bowing at the woman. "Your words mean a lot, Miss Kwon. You have no idea how much better I feel. None of the previous curators ever showed faith in me the way you did. I'm so very grateful for that."
"No need for all that, Miss Lee. My work is to find talent and give it a fair chance to be shown to the world. To be honest, I didn't think you would be able to put together such a great collection. Looking at your previous paintings, I was sceptical about giving you a chance. But a good friend of mine vouched for you and I must say, I'm not regretting visiting you that day," the woman said, picking up her phone and started instructing someone.
Aera was stuck in thoughts, wondering who vouched for her. It would be nice to know their name so she could thank them properly. She wouldn't be sitting here if it wasn't for them. Looking at the woman, however, she didn't think she would tell her who it was. She should still try though.
"Can I ask who told you about me?" Aera didn't waste any time asking as soon as she got off the phone. Miss Kwon's lips pressed in a thin line. "I shouldn't tell you but since you look like you will burst, I'll tell you."
•••
Aera looked up at the clear sky, the evening sun not that harsh to her eyes. The sky was beautifully painted in orange, pink and purple hues, showing just exactly how beautiful the nature was and no matter how hard one tried, they'd never be able to replicate this great creation.
After hearing the name of the person who helped, she couldn't really think anything else except that person. She hadn't even be able to read through the contract Miss Kwon had drawn up. She had taken her leave then, saying she'd return the papers after reading them in peace. First, she needed to see this person.
That's how she found herself standing infront of a small book store. She saw a woman sitting on the front desk, typing furiously on her computer. Without much thoughts, she greeted the manager, "Hey, Migyung!"
The woman looked up and an instant smile painted on her tired but beautiful face. "Oh, hey, Aera. Hwayoung is in her office, probably procrastinating again saying it's the writer's block. Just go in, she won't throw anything on you."
Aera chuckled, thanking the kind woman and moving towards her friend's office. She didn't bother knocking, nor alerting the woman who was typing something on her laptop. She just launched herself at her, like always and wound her arms tightly around the woman's shoulders.
Hwayoung gave a surprised huff as she held onto the arms hugging her from behind. But she soon realised, it was her old friend, Aera. "Hey! What's this? I told you not to come unannounced in my office. I don't want you screaming my head off because you saw a spoiler of my upcoming book."
Aera laughed, tightening her grip over her friend. "I won't scream at you. I just brought some sweets and soju. Wanna eat with me?"
Hwayoung thought about it a little. "Well, I don't really know about soju with sweets, but since you are here, who am I to deny? Let's sit comfortably." Aera let her go for a moment, so she could stand up but she was back to hugging her dearest friend once they sat down.
"What is wrong with you? Are you trying to sleep with me or something?" Hwayoung joked, trying to get Aera to let her go, but she was stubborn.
"Thank you," Aera said, stopping the other girl from moving away and it soon became clear what she was talking about. Hwayoung sighed and hugged her back. "Don't, Aera. I didn't do anything, I just suggested your name. Thanking me would put a wedge between us and I don't want that. You are my only friend, no conditions, no contracts binding us."
Aera pulled back then, pouting a little. "Gosh, I really love you, you know? Let's eat now. I brought your favourite sweets." Smiling, Hwayoung quickly opened the package her friend brought and enjoyed the sweets filled with red bean paste.
Aera could only watch her eat happily, her eyes filling up with tears but she kept them at bay. She would never have imagined Hwayoung to do something like this for her, nor did she expect anything because she was her best friend afterall. But she would always remember her favour and try to return it tenfolds by always being with her.
Saying thank you might put a label on their friendship, that's what Hwayoung meant but that doesn't mean Aera couldn't help her the same way she did.
Someday, Aera thought, someday I would help you be happy as you made me happy.
~~~~
A/N:
I told you, I'm tying all the loose ends.
Also, there might be a little hint in this chapter for my upcoming books. Giselle, my Jung Hoseok FF with Migyung is already out. If you haven't read it yet, no worries. It has slow updates but it's really one of those books that deal with a lot of mental health issues.
Anyways, thank you for reading!!
I was also thinking about writing a supplementary short story for Doyun, a completely original story with no idols. Do let me know what you think about it ;)
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Brush Strokes ✓
Fanfiction"It's tea. I didn't add poison to it. If that's what you are thinking." ⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅ Lee Aera has never had it easy in life. Struggling in the cut-throat industry of art where you either get noticed or...
