Behind the Curtain [Seo Changbin ff]

16

Seungmin POV

Hyunjin had invited me to sit under the tree to draw once again.

I had told him I wanted to learn how to draw, and he obviously had offered himself to be my teacher.

So there I was, sitting next to him under the tree as he taught me about color theory.

I kept on admiring his features... they were soft and delicate, almost feminine to a certain extent. His hair was always styled perfectly, and his lips were always tinted of a bright pink.

God, his lips...

- Seungminnie, are you even listening? - He chuckled, ruffling my hair.

Fuck.

No, I was not listening. I had been zoning out probably for the previous ten minutes, too focused on fantasizing about the boy next to me.

I needed to think of a lie, and I needed to do it fast.

- I-I'm sorry, I'm not feeling very well today... -

- Why didn't you tell me, Minnie? - He pouted, swinging an arm around my waist to drag me closer to his warm body.

- S-Sorry, I didn't want to make you worried. -

- It's okay, Minnie. - He smiled warmly, ruffling my hair again. - Do you want to go somewhere warm? - He asked, smiling brightly.

I nodded, thinking that after all some warm place wasn't too bad.

- Sure, do you have a place in mind? -

He smiled shyly, looking at the floor while he started collecting the pencils and notebooks.

- I-I... maybe my studio... - He looked back up at me, our eyes meeting.

I froze at his words. His studio... was he planning on fucking? I started panicking, but he immediately noticed, rushing to explain himself.

- N-No, Minnie, not to do that! - He held his hands up in front of him in defense. - I just want to show you my art, a-and... - His eyes were wide open, scared that he might have fucked up.

Cute.

I smiled warmly, nodding before standing up.

- I trust you enough to respect my boundaries, Hyunjin. - I offered him my hand, his scared pout morphing into an enthusiastic smile. - Let's go. -

He jolted up, taking my hand into his and almost dragging me out of the park.

We walked to a tall building, his hand squeezing mine a couple of times as we nervously waited in silence for the elevator to reach the last floor.

He quietly opened the door, my nostrils immediately getting filled with the smell of acrylic paint, watercolor and coffee. A weird, but soothing mix.

The whole studio was composed of a huge room, brightly illuminated by the white light coming from the wide windows positioned on the wall opposite to the entrance door.

On the corner next to the door, there were a few shelves, where thousands of paint brushes, bottles of acrylics and any imaginable type of paint was carefully yet messily placed.

Next to them, a coffee machine was ready to be used.

- Do you want some coffee, Minnie? - He asked warmly, making his way towards the machine.

I hummed, too lost into admiring all the paintings stacked against the white walls, dirtied with splatters of colored paint. I walked onto the stained parquet, which creaked under every step, endeared with the paintings surrounding me.

I stopped in front of a wooden stand, where a huge portrait of a young woman stood out.

The woman was sitting on a chair in the middle of a field full of different types of flowers, facing away from the observer. She was wearing a very elegant dress, of a dark red, contrasting with the green of the field and with the bright blue sky.

I was so lost in admiring the painting that I didn't notice Hyunjin had joined me, standing with two cups of coffee in his hands.

- That's my sister. - He said, smiling endeared as he stared at the painting.

- It's beautiful, Hyunjin... - I whispered under my breath, still stunned.

The whole painting was so detailed it almost looked like a picture, the velvety material of the dress looking soft and sparkly.

- Thank you, Minnie... - He whispered back, handing me my cup of coffee. - I was thinking of giving this painting to the academy for my final admission confirmation, but I'm not satisfied... -

I turned to him, eyes wide in shock.

- Why not?! It's perfect. - I replied, not believing his words.

He shrugged his shoulders, taking a sip from his cup as he went back to look at the painting.

- I love my sister to death, but I don't feel like she can be my muse. - He sighed, turning towards me. - But you could. Painting you would be the best way to make you mine. - He whispered in the crook of my neck.

"Make you mine". The sentence echoed through my head, my ears starting to ring as everything became blurred.

All my muscles tensed up, my eyes widening. I slowly turned towards him, my hands trembling and making a few drops of coffee spill on the floor.

- O-Oh, shit, I-I'm sorry, Hyunjin. - I excused myself, immediately rushing to the shelves to put my cup of coffee down and take some tissues to clean the floor.

My hands kept on trembling, panic taking over me as I crouched down to clean the spilled coffee.

- Will you be my muse, Seungmin? - He asked from the distance, his voice entering my ears just as a muffled out sound.

"Make you mine". His words kept on replaying, bringing back bad memories.

Tears started rolling down my cheeks, my breath hitching. I was in the middle of a panic attack.