BO-YOUNG
After a few days of living with Jungkook in his childhood home, we decided it was time to leave. We had agreed to head out a day earlier than we first planned, and spend a few days at Jungkook's apartment. Now, though, as we are beginning to pack our belongings, it is evident that neither of us is stoaked about leaving.
There is something bittersweet about leaving this place. Staying here with him has been a small break in our everyday lives. At the apartment, he'd be in and out regularly, seeing as he has responsibilities like work. Here, though, we've done almost everything together. Jungkook seems to be at home here.
"Bo-young! Could you bring me the empty suitcase?" I hear Jungkook call from his room.
"Sure, just give me a second!" I shout back to him. I hastily shove my clothes into my bag and go down the old creaky stairs to retrieve the last empty bag.
I carry the bag back upstairs and to Jungkook's room. He's waiting for me, sitting on his bed as he taps his fingers on the wooden frame. He looks to me before getting up and taking the bag from me.
"Thanks," he says, smiling. I lean against the doorframe and watch him shove his painting supplies in the suitcase.
"Do you need a bag for that? Maybe a plastic one, or something," I suggest, pointing at the painting resting against his dresser. It seems to be dry now, but Jungkook still refuses to move it.
"I'd let it dry for a couple of hours more," Jungkook says nonchalantly. I raise an eyebrow in suspicion. It's been over a day since he finished painting it, and it's not like he used oil paints or anything that would take a millennium to dry. I remember him telling me that he was using acrylic paints.
"... Are you trying to hide something from me?" I ask him. I glance back at the painting which depicts a girl in a yellow sundress in a boat surrounded by autumn leaves. Jungkook was using the polaroid he took of me on the boat as a reference.
"Why would I be hiding something from you?" Jungkook laughs, but it's hard to ignore the fact that the laugh seems dry. I saunter to the painting, watching Jungkook's reaction as I do so. I carefully lift the painting, making sure not to touch the paint.
A moment of silence passes as both Jungkook and I stare at the dresser. "...How the bloody hell did you get paint on the damn dresser? Do you know how expensive it is?" I scold, frantically trying to scratch off the paint without damaging the wood, but to no avail.
Jungkook turns to face away, avoiding my eyes. "It's just a little paint," he says.
"I told you to be careful about where you place it to dry," I say, pursing my lips.
"Look, it's not that bad. It kind of looks like..." he pauses to think for a moment. "Flowers?"
I stop and look back at the uneven lines left by the edge of the canvas. "Flowers? Have you ever seen a flower?" I laugh. Jungkook gets up and empties the bag he just filled with paints. Jungkook spreads the tubes, brushes, and other supplies out on his bed as he looks for something very specific. He lets out a small "aha," before picking up a fine paintbrush and a couple of tubes of paint.
He walks past me and to the dresser, crouching down in front of the mess. I see him open up one of the paint tubes and dipping his brush in it.
"You're adding more paint? You know, if you used acrylic paint, we could try washing it away with water," I say as I slowly approach him, trying to see what he's doing.
"It'd seep into the grain of the wood," he mutters as he dabs some paint onto the dresser. I cringe as I watch him ruin the dresser more.
I crouch down next to him, wincing every time he adds more paint.
"I can sense your doubt."
I snort.
"Trust me, okay?" he looks to me, his eyes darting between mine, looking for an answer.
I sigh before reluctantly nodding. "Fine."
It takes me a moment to see what he's doing, but after a couple more strokes of paint, I begin to see it. He's painting a simple yellow flower.
After another minute or two, he stops and turns to me, a calm smile on his face.
"Here," he says, offering me the brush.
"Do we really have time for this?" I question.
Jungkook shrugs. "We've got around an hour before we need to be out of the door."
I take the paintbrush, holding it my hand uncomfortable. "You're trusting me with a paintbrush?"
Jungkook chuckles. "Yes. Just paint a flower, it's not hard."
"... You'll soon realize that you've made a big mistake," I say as I cautiously begin to paint a shaky little flower. The stem is wobbly and the petals are wobblier. It still looks like a flower, though, which is a win in my books.
"Cute," Jungkook comments as he looks at the sad little dandelion I painted. My flower looks sad next to Jungkook's one, but I feel no shame. It may be a shitty flower, but it's my shitty flower.
"Don't patronize me," I joke.
"No, I'm being honest. It's cute," Jungkook chuckles. I lightly elbow him in the side. He glances at me, flashing me his bunny smile before muttering "cute" once more. I watch as he signs his name right next to the piece. He hands me the paintbrush again, and I sign too.
When I step back, I realize that the original mess of paint has been successfully covered by the two flowers. Only a few stray dots of paint remain.