The next morning, Seunghyeon shuffled into class, making over to Yoonah and Kwangsun across the classroom and rested his head on Yoonah's shoulder. "Too early. Need coffee," he whined.
Yoonah chuckled and patted his head. "We can go after class. My treat."
Seunghyeon nodded and nuzzled her shoulder. "Thanks, Yoonah, you're the best."
Kwangsun cleared his throat. "Tone down the PDA."
Seunghyeon glared at him playfully. He wrapped one arm around Yoonah, careful not to hit her with his canvas case. "Nope. You're just jealous no one's buying you coffee."
Kwangsun rolled his eyes and placed his case on the table, unzipping it. "Sure."
Chuckling, Seunghyeon pulled away with a yawn. "Oh, I gotta catch you up on last night," he said, nudging Kwangsun's shoulder. Kwangsun cracked a grin.
"What happened last night?" Yoonah asked.
"Okay, so–" Seunghyeon explained the incident with Myungsuk and Insoo from the moment they said goodbye to her to dinner last night.
"Oh my Gods," Yoonah gasped, cupping her cheeks. "That's so funny. Wow, I can't believe Myungsuk said that." Seunghyeon and Kwangun laughed.
"Yeah, I was shocked," he said and patted Kwangsun's shoulder with the back of his hand. "I think I actually short-circuited. Like, how're you supposed to respond to that? I knew Myungsuk was blunt, but–" he whistled.
"Well, I'm not that surprised. He says what's on his mind. I just love how he called you out for being a hypocrite," Kwangsun teased.
"Oi, I'm not like that anymore," Seunghyeon scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I'm focusing on being employable this year, as should everyone. I haven't dated anyone in months. It's a waste of time anyway."
Kwangsun raised his eyebrow. "Is dating really a waste of time?"
"It's because he always breaks up with people once they get annoying," Yoonah interjected.
"Well, duh," Seunghyeon said. "I don't ask about them, and they don't ask about me. What's so wrong with that?"
Kwangsun chuckled. "Isn't that just like friends with benefits or something? How is that dating?"
Seunghyeon shrugged. "Simple. To pay for stuff."
Kwangsun gave him a look and fondly shook his head. "You're crazy," he chuckled before getting distracted by Professor Lim walking in.
"Good morning, everyone," Professor Lim said. The class mumbled it back just like the zombies they were. "Alright. Let's get started. Who wants to go first. We'll go clockwise."
The ten students took their seats in the circle, some more eager than others to get critiques. Seunghyeon was not one of those people.
"Stop bouncing your leg," Kwangsun whispered. "What's up with you?"
Seunghyeon paused. "I don't wanna go," he confessed. "I've barely got anything done."
Kwangsun smirked and nudged him.
"I can go," Yoonah said, and Seunghyeon mentally cheered. Going clockwise meant they might not have enough time to get to him.
Yoonah unzipped her portfolio bag and pulled out her rolled paper, taking it to the easel at the front. She clipped it on and unravelled it, realizing her soft watercolour landscapes.
"She got a lot done from last week," Seunghyeon whispered to Kwangsun.
Kwangsun nodded. "It's really coming together."
"So this piece is one of many for my final thesis, Landscapes in Europe," Yoonah explained to the class. "This one is based on a picture I took in Germany. I haven't completed the castle in the background yet, but I'm almost done."
"Excellent, Yoonah," Professor Lim said and turned to the class. "Anyone want to start us off?"
Kwangsun held his hand up. "I will," he said. "First, the way you've painted the forest is amazing. The way you mixed paint techniques makes the forest feel dense without overdoing the detail. I will say, though, and I know you haven't started on the castle yet, but I'm wondering if the castle's texture and the cliffs will be too similar. I'd suggest stippling the rocks with a dry brush to make them rougher and add a bit more colour variation."
There were murmurs of agreements through the group, and Seunghyeon nodded. He couldn't have said it better.
Yoonah nodded, smiling. "Thank you."
"Great observation as always, Kwangsun," Professor Lim praised.
"Thank you," Kwangsun said, leaned back with a winning smile.
Seunghyeon chuckled and elbowed him. "Show off," he muttered. Surprisingly, he wasn't actually annoyed with Kwangsun. He made an excellent point on the piece.
Other students and Professor Lim gave their own opinions before Yoonah wrapped up her painting and sat back down.
The class moved around the circle; Seunghyeon piped up every so often but mainly agreed with Kwangsun's observations. Somehow, Kwangsun understood the intention behind every piece, pointing out ways to make the message stand out or show greater technical skill. Kwangsun mainly stuck to oil painting, but it was clear his insight didn't stop there.
"Thank you, Shin," Professor Lim said as Shin put his canvas away. "Kwangsun, you're next."
Seunghyeon glanced at the clock on the wall and smirked. There was no way they'd get through Kwangsun and him. Leaning back, he held his head up as he watched Kwangsun glance at him from opening his case.
"Professor," Kwangsun started. "Since Seunghyeon and I are making a set, should we be evaluated together?"
Seunghyeon gaped at Kwangsun's Cheshire grin and scrunched up his nose. "You ass," he whispered.
"That's a great idea, Kwangsun. Seunghyeon–" Professor Lim gestured him to stand.
With a dramatic sigh, Seunghyeong got up. "Yes, professor," he sighed, a few classmates chuckling as he shuffled over to his case. He flipped the lid off and unwrapped the tape around the two canvases, pulling off the empty one and plucking off the pins that prevented the protecting canvas from touching the wet paint.
He carried the painting to the front and propped it onto another easel next to Kwangsun's, shooting him a glare as he wiggled his eyebrow.
They stood to the side of their pieces, and Kwangsun cleared his throat. "This set is a historical scene of two lovers sharing an intimate moment in the secrecy of night."
Seunghyeon loosely crossed his arms and nodded. "We took some time to decide what to do, hence why we're not as far along as we should be," Seunghyeon explained. Although he only finished the base in umber paint, Kwangsun already had significant detail on the face.
The class silently examined the paintings, and Seunghyeon started to shuffle his feet. Kwangsun, on the other hand, was cool and collected.
"The poses are really interesting," Shin started. "I like the hesitation yet curiosity in Seunghyeon's body language."
Seunghyeon's eyebrows shot up. "Huh? You mean the model?" He gestured to the painting. "That's not me."
The class chuckled, and Seunghyeon's cheeks burned. He squinted at Yoonah, and she promptly bit her lip.
"Don't be so uptight," Shin said. "It's obviously you."
"Well, yeah," Seunghyeon rolled his eyes. "I posed. Doesn't mean it's me in the painting." Seunghyeon crossed his arms. "Right, Kwangsun?"
"Well," Kwangsun shrugged. "It's not a big deal, Seunghyeon. I mean, Shin's not saying you're ugly or anything. Right, Shin?"
Shin laughed and nodded. "Yeah, I'm not. I'm just saying. You can already see he's building up to a Renaissance style from the details on your face, and it'll be cool to see the rest of the paintings done."
Seunghyeon pursed his lips and nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's true." If he protested anymore, he'd make it weird.
"Also," Yoonah started. "Your base is perfect, Seunghyeon. Even though it's one colour, I can already make out the details of Kwangsun's face and body. Which is more open and juxtaposes you perfectly," she said with a bright, encouraging smile and the class murmured in agreement.
Seunghyeon straightened his shoulders a bit. "Thanks," he said, running his fingers through his hair. I guess he did have something to show.
Professor Lim tapped her pen against her chin with an approving smile. "I am most impressed with the cohesiveness of both paintings flowing into each other. Especially with the line of vision," she said, drawing an imaginary line from eye to eye. "As well as the linen covering both of you. It isn't easy to achieve that exact flow from multiple canvases, especially if made by another person. I can see you two put a lot of focus on the technicality of the paintings. You make a good team."
Seunghyeon smiled and nodded his head. "Thank you, professor," they said. Seunghyeon glanced over at Kwangsun and smirked, raising his brow. Kwangsun raised his chin in triumph.
"Well, you're a minute past class, and I don't want to hold you all back any longer," Professor Lim said. The class got up and started to pack their things. Seunghyeon lifted his painting off the easel and followed Kwangsun to their table.
"Look at us," Kwangsun hummed, nudging his shoulder. "We make a good team, don't we?"
Staring at his cheeky grin, Seunghyeon fondly nudged his back. A few months ago, he'd be extremely offended by the notion of being a team with Kwangsun. But with their skills and shared vision, Seunghyeon could already tell these paintings would be on another level.
After zipping up his case and swinging it over his shoulder, Seunghyeon linked arms with Yoonah's. "Buy me lunch," he whined to Kwangsun.
Leading them out of class, Kwangsun chuckled. "Why me?"
"Why me?" Seunghyeon mocked in a low voice before pursing his lips. "You threw me under the bus. You know I didn't want to show my work. Plus," Seunghyeon flailed his leg in Kwangsun's direction. "Who the heck said the paintings are you and I?"
Kwangsun swung his arm over Seunghyeon's shoulder. "Fine, I'll buy you lunch since you are my team, my partner, my other half," he said dramatically.
Somehow, he didn't mind being called Kwangsun's other half. According to the paintings, they technically were. Fondly rolling his eyes, Seunghyeon elbowed him. "Yeah yeah, well, this half is starving and wants something tasty."