SOMETIMES WHEN YOU'RE PAINTING, you just keep on experimenting with colors without knowing what your hand would create. This is how I feel right now. I don't have a clear vision of where this is going.
I didn't want to tell Yanan in front of everyone that Yuto is the guy from the train incident, so I answered his question by saying, “I work in his house. I mean, I paint there.”
“You work? Whoa. I always knew your talent was amazing enough to attract bucks.” Changgu said, grinning.
I nudged his shoulder playfully. “So, what were you guys talking about?” I asked.
“Waitㅡwon't you introduce us to Yuto?” Yanan asked.
I hid a sigh. “Yuto,” I said without looking at him. “This is Changgu and Yanan, my best friends. This is Gain, Yanan's girlfriend.”
“All your friends are boys?” Yuto asked me.
Yanan grinned. “She's always been one of the boys.”
“Hey! I'm not!”
“You are.”
I rolled my eyes and looked at Gain. “Shut your boyfriend up.”
She grinned and turned to Yanan. “Don't say that, babe. This is why Chanmi doesn't get a boyfriend. You push them away.”
Yuto looked at me. “You don't have a boyfriend?”
“Why do you ask so many questions?” I sneered.
He smiled sheepishly. “Sorry.”
I grabbed fries from Yanan's across the table and didn't repeat when I noticed Gain watching my hand. Changgu cleared his throat. “So, we were talking about Christmas presents! What's the best gift for you this Christmas, Chanmi?”
“Oh,” I said immediately. “Yanan gave me a new set of acrylic paint and brushes!”
The whole table became quiet. My smile faded away. “What?” I asked them. Changgu pointed at Gain with his lips. I found her biting her lip while her whole face became tomato red. And then the next thing I know, she was hurrying out of the venue.
Yanan ran his hands through his hair. “I'll be right back.”
And when he got up from his seat to follow her, I knew he wouldn't be back. Not tonight.
“Did I say something wrong?” I asked to no one in particular.
Changgu patted my shoulder. “No, but you must have said something you shouldn't have.”
“But why!”
He sighed, stretching out his legs under the table. “Yanan got her a planner for Christmas.”
“And?”
“Seriously, Chanmi?”
“What's wrong with a planner? He must have gotten it for her because he thought it would mean something!”
“But she doesn't know Yanan like you doㅡat least, not yet.” he said, sighing yet again. “I knew this night would be crazy in a bad way when he brought Gain. Friends night is a friends night. No offense, Yuto.”
“None taken.” Yuto said quietly. I almost forgot he was there.
Changgu got up. “I'm going. Band calls. Maybe Yuto here can walk you home. See ya, Chan Chan.”
I nodded. “See you.”
•
“You know you don't actually have to walk me there. I'll be fine.” I told Yuto when he insisted on walking me to my dorm.
“It's late.” he simply said, and I remembered Yanan again. What is he doing now? Are they fighting? Are they making up?
I just let Yuto walk me home anyway. I was too tired to argue.
“Don't you really know why your best friend's girlfriend suddenly walked out?” He asked.
I groaned. “No idea.”
“Oh, come on, I'm sure you do.”
“Well, do you have an idea, genius?”
He smirked at me and stopped me from walking. “She was jealous of you.” he said, looking into my eyes.
It was so ridiculous that I laughed, and with a straight face, I told him: “No way.”
“Come on, Kim Chanmi. You know this. Girls want the best from their lover. Giving them the best you could makes them feel oh-so-special.”
“Where are you going with this?”
Yuto confidently slid his hands inside his pockets. “How much is a planner?”
“Depends on quality or brand.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “Point taken. But do you think a single planner would cost as much as a set of acrylic paint and brushes?”
My eyes widened as I turned to him. “Are you saying she was mad because Yanan's gift to me was more expensive?”
Yuto nodded. “Bingo.”
“Butㅡbut that's absurd!”
He shrugged and we kept walking. “Girls are girls.”
“Hey, I'm not likeㅡ”
“You're gonna say you're not like that. I have a hunch you're not like that, so would you go out with me?” He asked, grinning playfully.
I rolled my eyes. “How many times do you need to get rejected?”
He shrugged again and I realized he's been wearing only a sweater in the cold of a winter night. I was about to say something about it when he spoke again. “I'm used to it,” he said in a serious way and then added, “But then again, there's no harm in trying.” He said more brightly, and then winked at me.
I frowned and turned to him. “My dorm's here. You should go back. Your mom seemed really worried about youㅡand you don't have a coat on. It's cold.”
His lips curved into a happy grin. “Are you worried about me already, Kim Chanmi-ssi?”
I shook my head. “Bye, Yuto.” I said, turning my back.
“When will I see you again?” he asked.
Tomorrow is the last day of my work in their house this week. And then I'll proceed next week. But I didn't tell him this. “Go home, Yuto.”
“It's nice to meet you again, Kim Chanmi-ssi.”
I closed the gate to my dorm but for some reason, I didn't walk away just yet. And then I heard Yuto's footsteps hurrying away. “Cold! Cold!” He said to himself. I shook my head and I had no freaking idea why I was smiling.
•
Yanan
“Come on, Gain. I don't understandㅡ”
“You always don't understand!” she snapped at him.
They were still in the middle of a freaking street and it's so cold. Gain and I have been dating for a year and two months. That long and I still don't understand why things like this suddenly happen.
“I'm sorry.” I said softly, holding her arm but she yanked my hand away.
“I just... wish I was as important as she is to you.” She said in a low voice.
I sighed so deep. “Really? This, again? How many times do I have to tell you? Chanmi is my best friend. You two are differentㅡ”
“But Yanan, when you're having a hard time, when something good happens to you, who do you call first?” she asked, her voice sounding exhausted as ever.
I swallowed hard. “Gainㅡ”
She smiled tightly. Her eyes filled with tears. “Not me, right? You know what hurts me the most?”
I took in a shaky breath. “Gain...”
“If she and I were in danger, I know you would go to save her first.”
She wiped her tears away. Go after her, I urged myself as she walked away. But I was frozen on where I stood instead.
Because I know, she was right.
__________________
A/N: yanan boi make up your mind before yuto snatches chanmi away!😏
btw, i must thank huitaek (she writes too) for suggesting the name 'chanmi' to me. 😄
and thanks everyone for reading! do the chapters seem short or just enough for you? (bcs each have over 1000 words but when i read, it seems kinda short lol)
anddd it's friYAY! HAPPY WEEKEND CHINGUDEUL~ ♡