philophobia | ksj+mb

-20-

Art is a curious thing. You say random words, people call it art. You hum random tunes, people call it art. You scribble stuff on the walls of your house, people call it art. But then you spray paint others' walls and people call it vandalism.

That is, perhaps, the funniest thing I've said all week.

I stifled a laugh, covering my mouth with my hand and masking it with a cough. Jin turned around, raising his eyebrows. I answered with a shrug.

Murals surrounded us. Pictures of boys and girls, dogs and snowmans, all painted over the yellowish background of the village walls. Mabijeong was a village known for its beautiful drawings, and it's my job to write about it.

With my camera in hand, I feel like I'm some travel blogger.

I bumped into something hard. The something turned around. I looked up to see Jin's frowning face. "Are you sane?"

I sheepishly smiled, sidestepping him and continued my stroll. "I'm not drunk, thank you for asking." Behind me, I could hear him scoff.

The scoffing creature decided to tag along. As soon as I told him my job to Daegu, he asked — no, insisted on coming along. He says he has nothing better to do, since it's summer and summer is the season of premieres. Hence, no jobs for him, but I doubt that. Jin always manages to find reasons to spend time with me, like lots of other occasions. Not that I minded, I'm actually quite happy to have some company. But tagging along to Daegu is just too much.

I felt something tap the back of my head, and I turned to see Jin's forefinger. "Can you walk with your head on the ground?" He lowered his finger. "You look like a weirdo."

I turned around. "The only weirdo here is you."

"At least I'm handsome."

I rolled my eyes. If he's not annoying, he's incredibly over confident. Why did I let him come again?

I stopped as I faced a beautiful mural of childrens. I lifted my camera up to my face, positioning it to the wall before me. It captures the painting with a click, and I looked at the result. Not happy with it, I lifted my camera back up, taking the same position. But before I could capture anything, a face appeared on my lens.

Surprised, I clicked the camera by accident and yelped. The face laughed at my reaction, his high-pitched laugh echoing through the empty streets of Mabijeong.

I crossed my arms, my face turning into a scowl. "Not funny, Jin."

His laughter died down, but his face remains red. His chest heaved, breathless from the amount of laughter. 'You should've seen your face."

"If you noticed, I'm working." I took out my phone, letting my camera fall on my neck. Jin took it away, pulling me along with my camera. "Hey! Cut it out!"

He grinned. "Just how wonderful of a photographer are you?" His hands searched the buttons, trying to find one, but failed. He tugged it closer to his face and I stumbled closer to him.

"Jin! You're choking me."

He narrowed his eyes, still searching for the preview button. "Where the hell..."

"Jin!" I pulled my camera away from him, not forgetting to scowl. I pressed on the preview button, something I can do without even looking, and handed the camera back to him. He took it with a smile.

But his smile soon faded as he saw the screen. "What is this?" He turned the screen to me, and I burst out laughing.

His weird face was captured perfectly, without any blurred lines. It's meme worthy.