Sorry guys for such a late update! I think I'm going to have to update fortnightly now. Thanks for your reviews! All I have to say is that you readers keep me going. I won't give anything away so please continue reading ;)
Jeong Hyang met up with Madam Kyewol outside the hall, she had been practising for the past few hours to calm her nerves. She felt a bit better after preparing a little. Both of them walked into the hall as Madam instructed her to go up to the stage to prepare herself. He would be coming soon she reminded her as she made her way up. As she fiddled with the instrument, Madam Kyewol walked in with two figures. One was a female clad in black while the other was a male in his thirties dressed in an expensive looking three-pieced suit that spoke much about his status and wealth. He must be the influential curator that Madam was talking about. They had not look her way yet.
"Kim Jo Nyeon-ssi, it is an honour that you would find the time to come all the way out here to hear my student's skill" Madam thanked.
"It's always been a pleasure" he chuckled. "I've been wanting to see this student you've praised so much"
"Of course, she's over there on the stage" Madam pointed to the stage.
As his eyes followed her point, his eyes widened in surprise when he saw the figure. It was the girl he saw in the classroom! He struggled to keep a dignified face without giving himself away. Jeong Hyang met his stare with a bit of uncertainty. She saw him widened his eyes at her and that sent an uncomfortable feeling down her spine, it was at that moment that she felt that maybe she didn't want to be employed by him, but then again, it didn't look like she had a choice.
"Her name is Jeong Hyang, a girl that I scouted many years ago, she's 20 this year and is the most skilful at the gayageum at my college" Madam said to Jo Nyeon, she gave a little smirk when she noticed that he had not broken his glance at Jeong Hyang as she spoked to him. He gave a cough and nodded at her, both of them sat down on their seats as Madam nodded at Jeong Hyang to start.
Seeing Madam's prompt, Jeong Hyang slowly lifted her hand bringing them down slowly to stroke the strings. She was doing okay, trying to infuse as much passion as she could into her tune. Her mind started to drift away from the music, thinking about various things as she played. It was almost time to graduate and soon she will be leaving this institute. A break in her song as her mind jumped to that last thought, she easily covered it up by continuing on the next beat, playing an allegro to transition to the next tune. Leaving. She would be leaving this place, which meant... Her fingers started to fasten, her tune becoming more maniacal but she didn't realise. If she left, she wouldn't be able to see Yunbok again. Who knew where the curator would take her if he decided to employ her. Her fingers did not slow down as she continued to play, her mind in a million places. Back at the seats, Madam took notice of her student's changed demeanour, narrowing her eyes, she knew Jeong Hyang only played like this when she was nervous but she rarely got nervous in front of strangers. There was something on her mind she deduced as she looked to her side, eyeing Jo Nyeon hoping he wouldn't take notice of Jeong Hyang's uncertainty, but he said nothing still raptly watching Jeong Hyang as she played. A sudden sound of a snapping of strings broke the melody and Madam's head snapped back to the stage to see Jeong Hyang sitting still, quietly looking down at her broken strings. Oh no. Madam quickly looked to Jo Nyeon to apologize but he stood up still watching Jeong Hyang.
"Jo Nyeon-ssi..." Madam hastily stood up beside him.
"I think I've watched enough today" Jo Nyeon simply said. "She seems a bit distressed..."
"I'm terribly sorry, she's usually better than this"
Jo Nyeon took another look at Jeong Hyang, who stood up from her seat on the stage to bow at him. He waved for his subordinate to follow him as he walked away from his seat.
"I will let you know soon Madam" he said as he walked out of the door. Madam shot a disappointed glance at Jeong Hyang and followed Jo Nyeon out of the hall.
Jeong Hyang sat back down on her seat as the group left the hall. She had screwed it all up. Now she knew that she had no chance to get employed by him and the realisation hit her. But, she was feeling conflicted. A part of her was disappointed at herself but that strange feeling of relief was present inside her. She thought back to the moment of when her string snapped, she knew that it was her fault that it had happen. But...she wasn't sure if it had been intentional.
Fingers delicately unsheathed the cloth off the canvas, awe held him for a moment before he started marvelling at the beauty of the painting. Was this really a student from Hanyang? He must be a prodigy as the painting seemed to come to life before his very eyes. Hong Do looked on as Jeongjo perused the painting, also catching his breath as his eyes went all over the painting. Though the subject of the painting may be unconventional, it was an exquisite piece of art, suited for the top galleries of the world, for a mere student to paint this...he wasn't wrong when he thought he discovered someone special.
"Hong Do..." Jeongjo breathed still keeping his eyes on the piece of art, "This...is truly outstanding"
"Yes it is" Hong Do agreed, smiling at the President's awe.
"There is no way that he can't get into Dohwaseo with this..." Jeongjo finally handed the painting back to Hong Do, he would of kept it if he could, but it must be returned to Hong Do before the judging committee noticed a submission was gone.
"But sir, even if it's an excellent submission, the subject of it is..." Hong Do gulped, how was he to word this? "It'll be hard to convince the panel..."
"It's certainly an unconventional piece" Jeongjo nodded. "But Dohwaseo is filled with mediocrity nowadays...we need an artist like him"
"But sir-"
"I'll make sure he passes Hong Do" Jeongjo cut him off. "Tell the young artist to meet me when the results come out"
Hong Do nodded in understanding, taking the canvas, he made his way back to Dohwaseo.
Yunbok spent the next week in deep slumber. He had no energy to go anywhere or do anything. His aboji tried to get him to leave the house but Yunbok results will be coming out soon he thought as he looked at Yunbok sleeping in his room. This won't do...frustrated that Yunbok wasn't being proactive with his art and not knowing how to persuade him to get up, he turned to the one person who knew how.
Yunbok had the house to himself for today, he had decided to spend it again in bed. His eyes slowly started to droop...BEEP! Yunbok's eyes snapped open, what was that? BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Ugh, someone was at the door. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP! Go away! Yunbok turned to his side and clamped his pillow to his ear. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Throwing the pillow to the side, he sat up reluctantly and made his way downstairs. When he got to the door, he turned the knob in agitation.
"Yes-" Yunbok greeted mundanely but stopped as he stared who was in front of him.
"Long time no see Yunbok-ssi" Dr Han grinned at him.
"Seonsaengnim!" Yunbok spluttered. "What are you doing here?!"
"You missed your appointment with me...remember? Also, your aboji wants me to talk to you" Dr Han said a matter-of-factly.
"Ah..." Yunbok rubbed his neck with his hand, "For the time being...come in"
Dr Han stepped into the house, taking off her shoes, she followed Yunbok into the living room. Indicating she should sit, Yunbok returned to the kitchen to make some tea. Returning with two cups, he sat down on the sofa in front of her. Dr Han got up to kneel in front of him, holding out her hand. Yunbok raised an eyebrow and looked at her in confusion.
"Your hand?" Dr Han prompted.
"Oh" Yunbok held out his hand so that she could take off the bandages. Her brows furrowed a bit before smoothing as she dug through her bag with the other arm.
"Your hand is getting better, it would of healed by now but since you've stressed it recently..." Dr Han said as she bandaged his hand up, "It'll heal fully in a couple of weeks"
"Thanks" Yunbok said as he watched her.
Making sure that the bandage was wrapped around properly, she stood up to return to her seat to sip some of her tea. Eyeing Yunbok from the side of her eyes, she noticed his demeanour was hollow again. Time to tackle the problem, she thought as she put the cup down.
"How are things?" she asked Yunbok.
"Fine..." Yunbok said lamely, not inclined to speak about anything. She gave out a laugh before sobering.
"You are a bad liar" she said, "It's a miracle that you can fool people with the way you are"
Yunbok looked down at that statement. Heaving a sigh he placed the cup down. He leaned on the arm rest on the sofa and covered his face with his hand. Should he say what was on his mind?
"You're right..." Yunbok muttered through his hand, "I'm not okay"
Dr Han didn't say anything waiting for Yunbok to continue. As she thought, he was still in a dark place. Not that she could blame him.
"I...I just don't feel like anything is worth it anymore" Yunbok continued.
"Why?" Dr Han queried. "Is it because of your brother?"
Yunbok winced. "Yes...I guess I'm still not over it" Yunbok sighed as Dr Han nodded. Dr Han moved so that she was in front of him, kneeling down so that she was face to face, she took away the hand covering his face.
"Yunbok-ssi, it's hard...I know, but you must move on...your brother would of wanted you to try your best to be happy" Dr Han said gently.
Yunbok did not say anything but closed his eyes again as the pain lanced his chest. Noticing the expression of pain on his face, Dr Han sat down on the floor to think about how she was to help him. She needed him to be in a good place before he met the president.
"Is there...is there anything that gives you happiness right now besides painting?" she asked as a thought struck her.
Opening his eyes, Yunbok looked at Dr Han. Something that gave him happiness? Now? He searched through his mind before stopping on one thought. Noticing that he had a thought, Dr Han looked up expectantly.
"You do...don't you?" Dr Han nudged him.
"There's someone..." Yunbok said finally. Should he tell her?
"Who is it?"
"She's someone that I met recently, someone who is just like me"
"What do you mean?" Dr Han cocked her head to the side.
"I mean...the way she thinks about things, the way she views things...she's very similar to me in those aspects..." Yunbok tried to explain.
"Is she a friend?"
"Huh?"
Dr Han looked at Yunbok, startled to why he would react that way. She was a friend wasn't she?
"I-I guess...well, she makes me happy when I talk to her" Yunbok turned away, hoping Dr Han didn't catch him flushing slightly. Dr Han nodded as she thought over what he had said and stood up. She could work with that. Yunbok looked to her as she picked up her bag.
"Let's go." Dr Han announced.
"Where?"
"Out of here, we need to get you some fresh air"
Dr Han grabbed Yunbok's arm to heave him out of his seat, nudging him to go change his clothes, Yunbok reluctantly complied returning downstairs in a simple sweater and a pair of jeans. Dr Han stared at his hair in dismay, obviously he didn't bother to tidy it. She reached out with both arms to tousle his hair, shocking Yunbok as she tried to mould his hair into a more presentable way.
"Ya!" Yunbok reared back.
"Ya?! I'm your seongsangnim!" Dr Han growled, still fixing his hair. "Seriously, look at yourself more"
As she finished with his hair, Yunbok let out a sigh. It was a strange feeling having someone fussing over him, almost nostalgic. Once they were done, he followed Dr Han to her car and hopped in at her urging.
"Where are we going?" Yunbok asked as he put the seatbelt over himself.
"Firstly...to eat, I'm hungry" Dr Han started the car. "And after that...somewhere you must go"
"Somewhere I must go?" Yunbok raised an eyebrow.
"I'll tell you later"
She was quite enigmatic when she wanted to be Yunbok thought as he stared at her. Arriving at a small market, they sat down to have a simple meal of bibimbap, as his taste buds were revitalised, Yunbok ate his in quick fashion, amusing Dr Han. They talked about various things as they ate before splitting up for a bit of free time. Yunbok wandered through the small stores, looking at various things for sale. Clothes, make up, jewellery, toys, novelty items were all abundant as he strolled through. Something caught his eye and he approached it to take a better look at it. Reaching out to pick it up, his action was stopped by the sound of the store owner.
"Interested in buying that for your girlfriend, young fella?" a raspy voice called out, causing Yunbok's head to snap up to him.
Yunbok flushed and put his hands back down. Not knowing how to reply he kept his gaze on the item.
"The butterfly symbolises metamorphosis in life...renewal" the old store owner approached him. Lifting the silver gold butterfly necklace gently, he handed it over to Yunbok. Yunbok slowly let his eyes fall over it, it was very beautiful, something that would please anyone if they had it in their possession.
"How about it? Buy it for your girlfriend!" the store owner chuckled. "It's one of a kind"
"I don't have a girlfriend..." Yunbok simply replied.
"Is that so?" the store owner looked Yunbok up and down. "You seem to be in love right now"
Yunbok's eyes darted from the necklace to the store owner in surprise and shock. What a thing to say! Yunbok could feel his ears turning red as he looked down at his feet.
"So kid...is it a yes today?" the store owner looked to Yunbok in anticipation as he sobered from chuckling.
Yunbok looked at the necklace again. He had wanted to do something for Jeong Hyang after she offered to help him with his painting. Deciding that even if it wasn't much, he would feel better if she had something from him as a token of his thanks. Nodding at the store owner, he handed the item over to the shopkeeper. Yunbok finished paying and watched as the store owner took out a small navy velvet covered box to place the necklace in and put the box into a small bag.
"Here you go kid!" handing it over to Yunbok. "I hope whoever receives that item is pleased!" he grinned. Yunbok bowed at him and turned to depart when the store owner called out to him again. Yunbok turned around to face him.
"Ah! I forgot to tell you something" the store owner walked up to him as Yunbok stood at the door. "There is one other thing the butterfly is said to represent..." Yunbok raised his eyebrow.
"What else does it represent?" Yunbok asked, intrigued.
"Marital bliss and joy!" the store owner beamed, giving out a hearty laugh. Yunbok's mouth opened wide to stare at him in shock but found it in himself to give a smile at the store owner's optimism. Obviously he did not know of Yunbok's circumstances but he was happy that there was someone like him out there who sold things to see the joy and happiness in his customers.
Bowing again, he left the store. Marital bliss and joy. It was quite comical when he heard it but as he thought over the statement he began to have a sinking feeling. He would never be able to truly have a relationship with anyone. Not with the way he was. A pang struck him as he thought about Jeong Hyang. The things with her now was something he could of never fathom. Never was he close to anyone besides his hyung, it scared him but it gave him comfort. But he knew that he could never further their relationship...and that fact had gnawed at him a lot recently. What was he to do? He wasn't sure. He walked to where Dr Han was and she noticed what Yunbok had in his hand but didn't pry. Smiling at his changed demeanour, they made their way back to her car.
"Where are we going now?" Yunbok tried to query her as they drove away from the bustling market.
"You'll know when we arrive" Dr Han tried to speak minimally. She still wasn't sure how Yunbok was to react if he knew the destination as she had deduced that he had been avoiding the place for the past week. But, whether by force or not, she had to get him there.
As they drove past streets and buildings, things started to seem more familiar, Dr Han turned a corner and drove down the long road. This road...she was taking him to Hanyang! But why? He wasn't ready to come back yet.
"Dr Han..." Yunbok started.
"I know what you're thinking." Dr Han kept her eyes ahead of her. "But don't you remember what day it is today?"
Yunbok looked ahead to see a group of students entering the college as they drove nearer, today...what was today? His eyes widened as he remembered. Nervousness and anxiety swept over him as he clenched onto his seatbelt. They parked and Dr Han got out of the car. She walked around to open his door.
"Come on Yunbok-ssi" Dr Han gave her hand.
Yunbok sat there for a minute before sighing and hopping out of the car. Following Dr Han, they entered the courtyard. As expected, it was crowded with nervous students and their parents. Ah, his aboji was still at work he realised. Dr Han grabbed his arm and pushed him nearer to another crowd surrounding a big covered board. He spotted Hyo Won with Professor Jang at the corner of his eye and turned away, not wanting a spectacle to arise from their bad relations. People made their way for the officials of Dohwaseo to walk to the board. It was time.
"As you all know, today I will be announcing the results for the exam..." the short bespectacled examiner yelled to the crowd. "Please know that all of you did a fine job and please don't be disappointed if the results are not in your favour". He grabbed the end of the cloth, everyone held their breaths. Pulling it down, it revealed a board with five names. Yunbok looked up fervently, he blocked out the noises around him as he searched. Shin...Shin...Shin...he tried to find his name. As his eyes travelled further down, his breath caught.
Shin Yunbok - Admitted.
A smile started to blossom on his face, the sounds of the crowd restarted in his ears. He wanted to laugh and cry as he looked at his name on the board. He did it. He got in. His hyung would of been so proud, his eyes started to feel misty but he held it in. Hands patted his shoulder and he looked at Dr Han who smiled proudly at him. She gave him a moment before tugging him away from the crowd, she led him back to the car.
"Theres one more place you need to go" Dr Han walked over to open the car door.
"Where to?" Yunbok felt he needed to go home to tell his aboji. Dr Han waited until Yunbok was secure before starting the engine.
"To see the President"
