The Only Exception

Chapter Three

He feels dead.

Working non-stop for three days in a row on a mural drains him of energy and creative juices. But he'll be damned if he says he didn't enjoy every last bit of it.

It's Wednesday afternoon and he is adding the finishing touches to the mural. He is on the process of stippling dots into a blue radial pattern that looks like ripples of water when he hears a whistle behind him. It's Eiji who is looking at the mural, very impressed, "You've outdone yourself, Sho-chan."

Shohei grins at him, taking a step back to admire his work. It's an abstract mural... shades of blue, green, and purple and yellow dots creating what looked like rhythmic flows of music fading in and out of the black background. From afar, it looks like the dots are moving, the whole piece alive and dancing under the light... but when you go nearer, you see the intricacy of the details, the pattern Shohei is trying to create—the inspiration is the music of the city, the noise of the people. All the things he heard whilst making the mural, he put into it.

It's life incarnate.

The juniors, upon hearing Eiji's praises, start pouring in the room to admire his work as well. They are in the middle of congratulating him, shaking his paint-stained hands and patting his shoulder when his phone rings.

He looks over to Eiji who is aware of where he's going tonight and gives him a nod. He excuses himself to answer the call.

"Junya-kun."

"Kita-san, hi." There is a lull in Junya's voice, unlike the other times they have called each other... and god, they had. A lot more times than necessarily appropriate, if Shohei is being honest. Junya is a chatterbox. He will call Shohei at random times of the day during his break and Shohei would be so eager to answer his call.

He even managed to do so during the times he is working on his mural. He doesn't know why, but he doesn't mind Junya crashing his way into his space even during his artistic faults. He kind of likes it, Junya would call him and remind him to eat his lunch or grab a snack or drink some water. It kind of makes him feel like, Junya is a lot older than he really is, or maybe he just really sucks at taking care of himself.

"About that dinner..." Junya says, voice filled with guilt. Shohei's heart sinks. Oh no, he's about to cancel. I knew it.

"My flight's been delayed so I might not make it to a proper dinner," Junya says.

Shohei can feel his eyes itch and his throat tightening but he refuses to acknowledge how that's one of the telltale signs he's about to cry. "I guess that can't be helped." He says, schooling his voice to sound less disappointed than he really is.

Junya is silent on the other line and he can hear the sound of people talking, an announcement in the background which meant he's in the airport. "But if you're up to a midnight snack, we can still meet up."

Oh. Shohei hates how his mood instantly brightens at the proposition. Damn, why is he being so moody? He knows why, though. Every time he finishes an artwork, his emotions are always on a high. It's like an extra piece of himself is left in the artwork and he's left with an empty space that needed filling. Sometimes, it's the ugly ones that fill it up.

"Are you sure you won't be too tired for that?" He still asks because no matter what he wants, he's still older than Junya and he has to be the sensible, responsible one. Even if he doesn't want to.

"For Kita-san? Never."

"Junya-kun, you don't have to force yourself. We can meet some other time."

"I want to meet Kita-san tonight."

Shohei sighs, he's not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. On one side, he is thankful that he's not the only one looking forward to this meetup, but on another—the more logical part of himself is just worried.

"Besides I might have to fly out of Tokyo again tomorrow so I don't really have the time," Junya adds to convince him. Shohei feels bad immediately for even thinking of turning him down. How dare he?

"Junya-kun is so busy," Shohei says, a smile already in place. He knows he will eventually give in. Junya is too hard to reject anyway. "Alright. We can meet at my studio. I'll send you the address."

"I have it already." Junya answers almost immediately, voice perking up.

"What? How?"

"You wrote it in the emergency contact, remember?"

"Oh, right..."

Junya then dictates to him the correct address of his studio and he confirms it.

"Alright, I'll see you later."

"I'll see you Junya-kun. Have a safe flight." Then as an afterthought, he adds. "Don't pass out on my mailbox again."

"Kita-san!!!"

He cuts the line before the other guy can even say any smart retort because he always will.

Eiji saunters in, just when he's pocketing his phone. He gives Shohei a knowing look before he says, "Take the day off."

Shohei frowns, "What are you even suggesting? It's just dinner. I won't—"

Eiji rolls his eyes, "What? You think I won't know you were here all day Sunday?"

Shohei gapes at him... before he sighs defeatedly, of course, he really can't hide anything from him. He opens his mouth to protest, besides he still needs to put acrylic over the mural and there are other deliveries he has to take care of tomorrow but Eiji raises his hand, "I'll do it. You gotta trust me more, you know."

Shohei finally agrees with him, but not before telling him in detail the process Eiji already knows by heart because he has also done it countless of times before. With that, he calls it a day and leaves with a bit of good luck from the rest of the crew.

—

>> Kitamura-san. I just got back from Korea. I saw the photos of the mural you painted and it was beautiful. I sent it to my boss and he loved it. He'll try to drop by tomorrow morning to check on it. But congratulations anyway!

<< Iwasaki-san, that's great. I'm afraid I'm on break tomorrow so I won't be there. But my juniors and Eiji will be there. If the client has serious concerns though, we can meet the next day.

>> It's fine, Kitamura-san. My client is very busy. He has a flight back to Korea at noon and will be back next week. But he told me he's already in love with your mural. He's also asking if you can design a new logo for the studio. He finds the current logo's theme not fitting on the mural you painted.

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