The Painter

Prelude

My best friend invited me to a visual art convention so I gladly accepted it. I barely started fixing myself when I heard a faint knock on my door.

"Wait!" I shouted before running down the stairs. I stared at the person who's outside my door. It's my friend, Jeongguk.

"Tae-Hyung! What took you so long? And you're not even done fixing yourself, like really?" He sighs and makes himself enter my condo.

I rolled my eyes. "You just said I was invited an hour ago."

"Stop talking and go fix yourself. I'll wait." He rudely says so I act as it hurts me.

"You brat. I'm older than you." I said before turning my back and headed to my room to fix myself. I hear him shouted, "But you don't act like it!"

........

"We're here." He says as he parks the car. A boy who will just turn nineteen this September has his own car while I who is one year older than him is here being so broke that can't even buy a car.

I'm not rich, it's not my fault.

I made my way out of the car as he did. We walked towards the entrance and Jeongguk gladly gives the tickets to the guard so that we can finally enter the exhibition.

'Wow.' I said mentally. I really enjoy this kind of place.

Gguk and I split up so we can't disturb each other. He chose the right wing of the place while I chose the left one.

I saw many paintings but nothing caught my attention.

Not until I saw that painting.

That painting at the corner.

You can't see any light colors in the painting.

It is a boy with a smiling mask. His lips smile but not his eyes.

You can see a red tear at the corner of his mask's left eye. The man on the painting has messy hair, his mask is covered with bruises, his eyes definitely screaming the opposite word of what his smiling lips trying to show.

It's like someone just spills some bucket of cold water at me after seeing that painting.

It isn't just a painting...

It was a cry for help.