“I think adding of a bit grey would give a lot of depth.” I commented holding my brush in my hands and looking at Jungkook for receiving any command. He just gave a simple glance at the river flowing and then looked at the palette.
“Instead of grey, mix the blue with black that would do.” He said and turned to complete the one he was doing. I was working on a contemporary live painting containing the picture of flowing river and rising sun while he was finishing his own creation that he named as ‘the story of mother and daughter’. I was making the copy of Pablo Picasso because I was not so bright enough to make my own creation.
“Jungkook,” I mumbled quietly receiving a hum from him, “can we call it a day? I am tired.” I groaned and dropped the paint brush on palette. He sighed and turned to examine my painting first then to look at me. I always get that shiver kind of thing whenever his dark orbs would pierce through my light ones.
“If you’re tired we can stop.” He said softly. I smiled and nodded reaching out for the discarding cloth he kept for cleaning our hands. I removed the paints from my hands with the wet cloth and kept it back on the white table.
“I never asked you this, but out of all the rooms this is complete white?” I asked eyeing the white walls.
“You know you are the first one to ask this question.” Surprised, I looked at him who was cleaning his hands now.
“Really?” I asked and watched him nodding his head with small smile.
“Yeah everyone would come to their own conclusion looking at the white walls of this room and honestly,” to make his answer more dramatic, he stepped closer to where I was standing, “you are the first one to enter this room.” His hands trapped me from both the sides as they rest on the edge of the table.
“Is this your sacred room or what?” I was burning on the inside because of the closeness we had. He was looking at me with so much of strange emotions that it scared me. He was close, dangerously close.
“Since you’re here you know how sacred this room is.” He whispered right on my ears sending shivers down my spine. This is not right, I thought to myself, even though my will was not letting me to protest. “Since the day I allowed you to enter this room, it became sacred.” He whispered. Even though what he said ringed in my head like a giant church bell, but I decided to act against it to play cool.
“Shut up, stop being so cheesy,” I pushed him by his chest to create an elegant distance between us. “I am going to make coffee.” I announced loudly and went downstairs to make us coffee. It had been two days already since Tae left to Daegu with Yoongi. Jungkook didn’t went I don’t know why, I think I will ask him. I thought to myself.
The scent of coffee brewing in milk is the most amazing and refreshing scent ever. Jungkook and I sat across the kitchen island on the stool as we talked about the paintings we need to finish. He said he had his cousin who owns a reputed art gallery; he would present his paintings there. He even asked me if he could keep the purple unicorn too and I gave him permission to. The exhibition must be sometime in coming April and few of the foreign artists would also come for the auction. This must be big for him, he could get recognition from big artists and his favourite painter was also going to be there, David Hockney. It must be great if a young painter like Jungkook could get recognition from a painter so big.
“Why you didn’t go home?” I asked simultaneously. I saw him being calm and collected as he sipped down the coffee I made watching some random video in YouTube.
“Home is not a place for me.” One of the few things I hate is if the person talking to me is not being straight forward, but since it was him, I was going easy on him.
“Why?” I was curious about him, his everything and that answer stirred a big thing in me. He looked up from his phone at me with no expression in real.
“Why do you wanna know?”
“Because I want to.” I kept the coffee mug on the kitchen bar and folded my hands over my chest leaning back on the rest of the stool.
“Have you heard the phrase ‘curiosity killed the cat’?”
“Mhm,” I nodded my head, “but doesn’t imply on me anymore.”
“Why?"
“Because it already killed the cat.” I hated for not being straight forward but I found myself playing along, actually that was quite fun. A smirked stretched on his full lips and he chuckled.
“I see you’re the cat.” He nodded to himself.
“Hey, stop changing the topic.”
“Why do you care?” I have learned he didn’t liked to talk about his family matters, but I want to know what lied behind his good boy face and why he was so different.
“Because I want to know, I want to know you about your everything.” I unintentionally raised my voice. I watched him sigh in defeat and then giving me an annoyed look, not that I cared.
“Fine, I’ll tell you.” He frowned. “I… I don’t like my father.” hearing this coming from a good boy like him was different. “And my stepmother.” So I was surprised, he had a stepmother. I could see how much he hesitated to talk about his messed up private life, but I wanted to push him. “Whenever I’m home I feel like living in between fake people. My dad would try to bribe me with material love so that I could be affectionate towards him and my stepmom would act as if she is my real mother. I am tired of it. That’s why I hardly spent time home since I was a kid.”
“Where were you living all these years?” the tone of my voice dropped down to softer one automatically.
“I was studying in a boarding school.” That makes sense why he was so overfriendly because he was used to making friends with strangers since he was living in a hostel.
“And your real mother?” unexpectedly he smiled hearing the name of his mother. He looked so beautiful when he smiled.
“I never met her in person since I was five.” He looked very calm about everything even though I know everything was hurting him. He looked up from the ground to me and then I saw the depth of emotions in them, anger and hatred and for the first time since we met I saw the bad boy behind his nature. “My mother lives in states, away from me, from everything. I wasn’t allowed to visit her neither she was allowed to visit me. The only way for us to communicate was through e-mails and letters. I have thousands of letters sent by my mom, and on every birthday she would send me gifts. I don’t know why we have to be like this, but I guess that’s because of my stepmother and I hate her for doing this and I hate dad for letting all of this happen.”
Wow, what an actual shit. This is crazy, just like any romantic Kdrama. He looked sad; he must be after everything that has happened to him. He must be wishing to see his mother very desperately.
“So why you’re studying here, you could’ve gone to US to your mother.”
“It’s not that easy, everything was planned, they won’t send me to her for god knows what reason.” He said in a frustrating tone.
“Then how are you planning to go to her?”
“Ones I will end my studies here, I will leave everything and will go to her. I will open an art gallery in somewhere around the world and will live peacefully.”
“You mean you will leave everything your father is offering you as the heir?” he subtly nodded his head. “Interesting, come on.” I stood up from the stool and made a round of the kitchen bar.
“Where?” he asked giving me a questioning look.
“Out to grab a drink.” I drag the heavy young boy out of his seat.
“I thought I was scolded by you for getting drunk last time?” he mocked at me as I dragged him towards the front door where our jackets were hanging.
“It’s okay to drink sometimes even if you are not old enough to drink.”
“Yeah sure Noona.” He snorted as he slipped his hand in the sleeves of his black jacket. “So you’re telling me you and Taehyung were best friends since kindergarten?” Jungkook slurred being hallway buzzed. He was on the fourth glass of bourbon, even though he wasn’t at a legal age to drink, but had a good taste; Maker’s Mark, choice of rich people. I guess he used to steal his father’s drinks.
“Yup, I think I met him on the first day of my Kindergarten, that’s what my mother said.” I laughed at the memory.
“So how he became your boyfriend?” He slurred, great we came in a cab here.
“I don’t know,” I shrugged my shoulders, in fact I was unknown of the answer myself. “I guess we both were pooling in emotions and at the end, ended up being together.” I smiled as I watched Jungkook chucking on his fourth glass, soon he will be on fifth and I would be stopping him drinking further.
“Do you guys love each other or what?” he chuckled. “Oh well, I know you don’t.” he laughed mocking at me. I was stuck in my own thoughts. “Charlie?” he called me softly. I looked at him while gulping down the bourbon on my glass down the throat burning everything in its way.
“Yeah?” my voice was hoarse after drinking the golden poison.
“I… I like you.” I know alcohol makes you very much bold, but that made Jungkook spit out the thing that he wasn’t supposed to say. “A lot.” He whispered.
“Jungkook, you should stop, let’s go back.” My mind was in chaos, but two things were crystal clear; Jungkook likes me and I like him, a lot.
Somehow, I managed to put him in the cab almost by the midnight. Fine, getting him out to get a drink was a bad idea, but at least that helped him recall good things about his conversation with his mother. He said about how his mother would send him letters telling him to do well in exams and be good to everyone. She would send her mails every day and he would reply to them immediately. Once in a month she would send him a hand written letter along with a gift. Sometimes it would be dresses, sometimes it would be shoes or sometimes it would be good quality paints and brushes. He also said his mother is his biggest fan in the world. Every year on her birthday, Jungkook would gift her with paintings he would create with the paints she gifted him and also gave me the information that the painting of ‘the mother and daughter’ is for her birthday coming next month. Strange it’s same as mine.
Hearing him talk about his mother so fondly made me realise how much I missed my dad. I wish I had a complete family. Jungkook was also broken and so was I. his pain was greater though and I, I had no idea what exactly my pain was.
“Charlie?” Jungkook slurred again. I tuned sideways as he smiled at me fondly. “Kiss me.” my eyes went wide hearing him demand such thing.
“Shut up Jungkook, your drunk.” He giggled.
“Just one kiss.” He showed one with fingers and made a cute pout. He’s such a baby when he’s drunk.
“No.” I said coldly and turned my face away to see outside the midnight street. Snow didn’t fall today; the streets were dry and colder.
“Fine, I’ll get mine.” He huffed and I felt something warm and soft touching my cheek. Instantly my cheeks warmed up as I realised he kissed my cheek. I was at the brink of passing out, but I held onto myself. Jungkook was the death of me.