56. Being Bad
Somin and Junu
"Do you wanna "be bad" after this class ends?" Somin asked Junu.
While finishing their quick exercise in the painting techniques class, today focused on experimenting with materials.
"What do you mean by being bad?" Junu asked, a little frightened, but excited, yearning for entertainment.
She leaned closer to him, "To do something fun and not to go home to immediately work again. Like go to the Planetarium, find a pretty place to sketch, it's kinda late for a Zoo, but I really want to see something here. You lived here all your life, right? Don't you have a favorite place?"
They packed their art supplies and set aside the painting from the class. Everyone buzzed with talking, making plans to go for a beer and dance. Nobody really paid attention to the two whispering young adults. More like everybody avoided them. Some other shy classmates wave to them or ignore them. Waving back to a few other quiet smiles was peak social behavior from Somin anyway.
Junu's face darkened, "You know, I have a complicated relationship with my parents," he smoothed his sweater with dark tree silhouettes.
"My schedule is packed. I can only make a small detour like last time, but not too often," Junu explained and Somin nodded, respecting the facts.
"You don't have to argue for yourself," she gently said. "I only like to hang out with you," Somin reminded him.
"I already told you so much. Things I have never told anyone before," he blushed a little bit, happy that somebody knew his background and still treated him normally.
Somin was ready to leave, having an understanding of his tight schedule and lack of freedom.
Freedom is a state of mind too.
She recalled all the days she'd spent working to make Cholsu proud.
For what, right?
"I'd love to go." Junu held her hand.
"I'll try." He typed the message to his chauffeur, hoping it was going to be alright. "I'll have a few hours, like the last time."
I am walking on a thin line here. The young boy feared.
The reply from the trusted man started to communicate the employee's doubts.
"You sure, you're not gonna get into trouble?" Somin feared to be the cause of his misery and he shook his auburn hair.
"Alright." She smiled.
"Let us be bad." Junu smiled to Somin. "But I still do not know what it really means."
"Me neither." Somin laughed. "I only know how to be a bad daughter, a bad artist, a bad girlfriend, the list is endless," she joked.
"I am sensing the phrase is more about a state of mind," he poked fun at her and she smiled back.
"Let us go in a random direction. That seems pretty reckless to me, bad behavior as you may say." Junu closed his eyes and reached his hand. "I chose that way."
Both friends aimlessly strolled down a small park to notice the copper bird statues on a tiny mounting.
Somin smiled. "I adore the sculptures in an open space."
It was true through and through. Cholsu could have been a bad partner, but he sure walked with her to every minor plastique in a previous city. Having very emotional monologues about what it means and why it was put in the spaces where they find the sculptures at.
Junu made her scale the smaller mount on which the birds sit. Their heads were moving and their eyes faintly glowed.
"That is very intricate," the young boy said, marveling at the feather details.
They sat against them on opposite sides, being well hidden and Somin took a spur-of-the-moment photo of the young artist.
"I hope you won't mind, but I have this thought, listen; what if I took a photo every time we discover something awesome like this?" Somin asked.
"You mean, making sort of a catalog of memories and places?" Junu asked.
"Sure, sounds like fun, right? I hadn't explored much of anything here," she explained.
And took out a chocolate bar from her bag and shared it with Junu.
"I feel a little bit like a kid, hiding like this," he laughed cutely, "It is just so very weird to not go home directly from school."
"You see, I'm going directly to the dorms too. I dunno why I'm so afraid to go on exploring here. It seems kinda sad to be going around alone," Somin let the shy boy into her thoughts.
"We are both afraid," Junu thought out loud.
"We shouldn't be." She smiled at him.
"We will not be." He hyped her up.
"Let's go." Somin led the way.
...
The end of the park led them through the crossroad to a narrow street. The buildings were all historical, beautiful pieces of art, but time had had its share with them. Here, a bit further from the beloved city center, the houses were poorly maintained. The facade peeled off creating strange shapes which mixed with the random tags made by graffiti artists. As they moved on they both read the various messages.
Funny.
Somin thought about writing her own favorite love poem somewhere too, to join the unnamed in their laments. She recalled the beloved words from a french poet and sighed with pain.
"
The world sees just the hard, curved surface
of a vase a lady's fan once grazed,
That slowly drips and bleeds with sadness.
Do not touch the broken vase.
"
I still feel like a broken vase.
She recollected, focusing on Junu's tight grip on her hand to ground her emotions. Making her go further into the narrow street with fear of unknown darker parts of the city.
"Can we go inside?" Junu asked out of nowhere.
Pointing to a glass window filled with all kinds of objects between huge letters—Antique Shop—on a wooden board.
Somin nodded and opened the door and the smell of wood polish attacked her nose. The shop was crammed with tightly pressed shelves and cabinets full of different trinkets. She smelled oil for cleaning metals on top of it and the almost nostalgic tones of a dusty attic.
Between old sofas, tables and chairs both artists felt like they stepped into a hidden world. Somin knew these kinds of shops by heart even though Cholsu hated them, calling them cheap filthy places filled with stuff nobody wanted. The small girl sneaked in them, feeling like she was doing some illegal activity, hearing him always in her brain.
...
"This is where the 'useless' artist ends. Look at it carefully, it's a cemetery of creativity. You don't want to end up here, don't you?" the tall sculptor said.
When they passed around an antique store. Somin opened her mouth to argue or more precisely share her own thoughts, but he was quicker.
"Don't you dare." He locked eyes with her and held her shoulders. "It's an atrocious kitsch and you know it." He held her firmly.
"I know," she repeated what he wanted to hear and he let go. Getting her chin up.
"I know you have the right taste." He smirked.
...
"Hello." Junu looked like a kid in a candy store while greeting the old man sitting behind the counter polishing the silver coins.
"Can I help you?" the white-haired man asked.
"I hope it's alright if we just ogle what you have here," Somin joked, her stomach jumping to her neck with anxiety from answering.
Breathe it through, it's nothing. He's just being nice.
She reminded herself.
Not everybody is occupied with making fun of me.
"Knock yourselves out, guys," the cheery man said and attended to his coins.
While local radio had a talk show with an aqua zoologist on air. Talking about the state of the fish in the region's rivers and the impact of regulating the river flow on their population and flooding of the area.
What a bizarre world we stepped in.
Somin wondered.
Both friends strolled down separate lanes, only meeting eyes on different levels, observing various jewels, carved old toys, dusty prints, or paintings.
Junu hypnotized a box with photographs from people long gone. It was like a window to the happiness of random strangers caught forever by these old postcards. Exchanging love-filled words or greetings from a trip. It made him teary-eyed when he read the farewell of the two lovers.
"Kiss Dory goodbye for me dear Lizy and don't you worry much for me. I'll be with you every night in your dreams. With love, Jon."
Somin's wandering light brown eyes met Junu's chocolate ones on the end of the aisle above the pottery corner.
"Oh my god," the boy breathed out.
He weighed a fragile porcelain cup with an overly detailed handle in his hands. It was framed in gold around its edges and the whole handle was coated in the same shiny color, worn by the passing time. Hand-drawn peonies bloomed on its side almost like the artist couldn't help themself in a compulsive need to overdo his teacup.
"It is incredibly light." He breathed out and Somin closed in on him.
Looking at the small saucer belonging to the collection. Its edges were curled like calm waves on a lake.
"Do you like it?" Somin smiled, the price was on the more expensive end for this particular old-fashioned kitschy cup.
Cholsu would get a heart attack. She laughed internally..
"Oh, I cannot buy that. My parents would never stomach this. My mum would probably throw it out," he whispered apologetically.
"I like it too," Somin answered, contemplating the sets of two cups with two under plates and a big pricey teapot.
She sweated profusely, calculating the ending price.
I saved for nothing. No dates, no spending money.
And it would make him happy. She argued with herself.
The brave girl went to the counter. "I'd like to buy that old tea set." She pointed backward.
"The heavy peonies?" the seller asked.
"Yes, that one, it's gorgeous," she timidly answered.
Who's a dead artist now?
She smirked, thinking that she would do justice to this forgotten work. Picturing Cholsus's wide eyes filled with disbelief.
I paid for this myself. From the money I set aside for you. Whatcha saying? I can hear you?
Oh yeah, that's right, you're not in the picture anymore.
She monologued with herself.
Junu stood aside her like a pillar when the man carefully put the set into a wooden box with red velvet filling its insides.
"You shouldn't have," the shocked youngster whispered.
"I want to." She winked at him. "It'll be fun to drink tea at school from our own cups, don't you think so?"
"One could say, it could look almost pompously ridiculous," Somin said and liked the idea.
Junu nodded, secretly happy.
When I have my own place, I'll have them there. It will be my most prized possession.
Somin paid with a card and put the heavy box into Junu's arms. They came out of the shop full of emotions.
"That concludes our first day of adventure," she announced and he smiled.
"To many more," he offered with hope.
"I have no doubt." Somin hugged him while they slowly walked away.
...
😳 Author's corner 😊
📝Do you read poetry? What is your favourite one?📝
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📖 Broken vase poem ️📖
THE BROKEN VASE (Le Vase Brisé)
The vase where this verbena's dying
Was cracked by a lady's fan's soft blow.
It must have been the merest grazing:
We heard no sound. The fissure grew.
The little wound spread while we slept,
Pried deep in the crystal, bit by bit.
A long, slow marching line, it crept
From spreading base to curving lip.
The water oozed out drop by drop,
Bled from the line we'd not seen etched.
The flowers drained out all their sap.
The vase is broken: do not touch.
The quick, sleek hand of one we love
Can tap us with a fan's soft blow,
And we will break, as surely riven
As that cracked vase. And no one knows.
The world sees just the hard, curved surface
Of a vase a lady's fan once grazed,
That slowly drips and bleeds with sadness.
Do not touch the broken vase.
Written by Sully Prudhomme
/poetry/le-vase-brise-broken-vase/
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🎨Illustrations of each chapter are available on my Wattpad acc, AO3 acc -klubickoArt🎨
