Memories

❃ 6 ❃

~Present~ (Friday)

I stepped off the bus with Seungmin and the rest of my classmates as we stretched our arms and legs after the one hour ride to the art museum.

"Finally," huffed Yeonjun as he spotted us. "My class got here ten minutes earlier than your class."

"Someone had to use the restroom really bad, so we made a stop," I explained to him as we followed after our teachers who led us inside.

There was a male museum docent who introduced himself and guided us through some halls filled with creative artwork from artists until they led us to a room that contained their greatest masterpieces that was favored by the public.

While entering the room, I passed a large painting that displayed a garden with a field of lavender flowers. I stopped and gazed at it with my eyes transfixed on every detail, but my eyes were drawn to the lavender flowers and it brought upon an unfamiliar feeling.

'It feels... nostalgic.'

I tore my eyes away from the painting when Seungmin lightly pulled on the sleeve of my sweatshirt. "Do you like it?"

"Yeah I do. So far, this one has caught my attention."

Seungmin remained silent for a moment as he forlornly gazed at the painting until a pained expression crossed his face as he recalled a far distant memory that made him close his eyes.

"And over here, we have one of our greatest masterpieces called The Agony of Love," announced our docent.

Before us, was a sculpted statue of three figures who were the Crown Prince, Crown Princess, and her knight. The statue displayed before us showcased the Crown Princess being embraced by her knight with a sword impaling her back that was held by him. And mere inches away from the two was the crown prince with his hand extended outward as an attempt to save her.

"Wow," I muttered under my breath as I stared in awe, but my heart began to slightly ache when I examined their pained and sorrowful faces. From the corner of my eye, I saw Yeonjun appear next to me.

"They say that the knight was in love with the Crown Princess, but the thought of losing her filled him with rage and he ended up killing her in front of the Crown Prince," uttered Yeonjun as he gazed at the statue before glancing over at me.

"You are right. Someone knows their history," complimented the docent which made Yeonjun grow shy as he sheepishly rubbed the nape of his neck.

"What happened after her death?" Curiously asked a classmate.

"The Crown Prince had the knight executed. It was shocking news for everyone to hear that her knight committed such an act especially since he had everyone's trust even the king and queen. But sometimes, love can make you do crazy and unexpected things."

"It's a pity that she was betrayed by someone whom she trusted," I muttered to myself.

"I heard it was the Crown Prince who killed her," bravely spoke up Seungmin as he intently stared at the statue with an unreadable expression and his lips pressed into a thin line.

"I'm not sure where you heard that from, but it's clearly wrong. It's even written down in history textbooks," sputtered out our docent.

"That's true, but I believe there's two sides to every story. That..." he pointed to the knight's face who appeared as if he were screaming to the heavens, "that doesn't look like the face of someone who wanted to kill her. It's obvious that he's mourning her loss."

"Maybe because he feels a sense of guilt or regret for what he did?" Chimed in Yeonjun.

"No," Seungmin shook his head and pondered over his next words. "What if... what if it was the Crown Prince who did it?"

"That's absurd!" Cackled out our docent as he dismissed his comment with a wave of his hand. "There's no reason as to why he would do such a thing. He loved the Crown Princess dearly, everyone knew that."

'I'm the one who loved her.' Seungmin clenched his hands into fists and felt enraged that he was painted as a villain all these years.

"That's just my opinion and how I see things from a different perspective, but the truth lies in the eye of the beholder, right?" He faked a smile and turned away from the statue and walked away from the rest of the conversation that unfolded. I looked over my shoulder with my eyes following him and watched as he stood in front of the painting that captivated me.

I slowly slipped away from the crowd and informed Yeonjun I would be back as I walked over to Seungmin. I quietly stood next to him as the two of us stared at the painting without saying a word for a solid minute.

"Do you want to see it in person?" He abruptly asked.

"See what?" I asked.

Seungmin pointed at the painting in front of us and said, "It's not too far from here."

"How do you know? Have you gone there before?"

"I have," he wistfully replied with a small smile on his lips. "It's a favorite place of mine. My one and only."

"There's still a lot that I don't know about you," I chuckled.

"You can find out more about me if you're free to go tomorrow. I'll take us there."

"I made plans with Yeonjun for tomorrow already, but we can go before I hang out with him. Is that okay with you?"

"Yes!" He eagerly exclaimed with his face lighting up and a beaming smile on his lips.

His smile was so radiant and bright that it could light up a night sky, but that light would soon flicker and disappear