𝐋𝐮𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐚 𝐌𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐡𝐲𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐬 ʰʸᵘᶰᶜʰᵃᶰ

❀

He looked up and turned his gaze to me in confusion, then looked around the room as if wondering why I, from all the free seats in here, chose the one right next to him.

"Hi", I said, smiling softly at him.

He looked at me again briefly, then turned away from me and took out his little notebook and a pencil case. His notebook was adorned with small stickers in soft pastel colors and glued photos of different trees and sights from different cities. It looked really pretty.

Hyunjin folded his hands on his lap and looked down at them. He seemed a little uncomfortable. I kinda wanted to get up and sit somewhere else, but something stopped me. Call it what you want, I think it was my curiosity.

So I got my things out, leaned back and waited for the class to start. Hyunjin, on the other hand, fiddled with his fingers and kept looking over at me. I felt like asking him what was going on, but somehow I couldn't get out a single word.

When the first few students came into the room and sat down, he became a little calmer. He watched them do their things and I noticed that he got less tense.

"Hello everybody! I am Mrs. Lee."

The professor came hopping in the room and smiled broadly. She looked a little older and was pretty small. Kinda cute. Her hair was short and very curly and gray. She looked like a grandma who would always bring your favorite cake when she visits you. It made me smile.

"Most of the other professors have certainly only repeated stuff and discussed what will happen this year. But I prefer to start this year straight away with art."

She sat on her desk and looked around.

"I don't even know your names yet, so why don't we just start by going through your names?" Mrs. Lee picked up a piece of paper and started reading out everyone's names.

"Ah, Chan. I've heard that name. You're Felix's friend, aren't you?"

I nodded at her. "Yes I am." I was a little surprised to hear her calling me Chan and not Chris as it said on the paper.

"It's a pleasure to meet you!"

After she was done with the names, she gave us our first task. Expressionism was the first topic we should work on. Therefore, she gave us the task to draw a picture, which has a special meaning to us.

To be honest, at first I didn't know what to draw. I couldn't think of anything that had any real meaning to me, and the fact that we should draw on canvases didn't make it any better.

Hyunjin, however, started drawing straight away. He didn't think for just a second. So I found myself watching him draw fine lines on his canvas. Out of nothing, little sketches of birds that looked like masterpieces were created.

I think I didn't really notice how I stared until Hyunjin stopped drawing and leaned over to me. He took my pen and put it in my hand. I looked at the pen, then at him, seeing how he looked me in the eye expectantly and cocked his head.

"I don't know what to draw", I said, turning my head to the blank canvas in front of me.

No Answer. Hyunjin continued to draw. All I could do was watch him for a while until a flash of inspiration hit me.

At the end of the hour, everyone gave their canvases to Mrs. Lee so she could keep them till next time. When I gave her mine, she beamed.

"Wow, chan! You've got some talent. That looks really good already. You probably draw a lot in your free time, don't you?", she asked, looking at my drawing.

"I do, but actually I draw portraits rather than landscapes and nature like this one", I answered, thinking about my past drawings.

I usually like to sit outside in the park or anywhere else and draw people I see. Sometimes people come up to me and ask if I could draw them. It was a good pastime and I made some money out of it.

"Stick to it. It looks gorgeous." Mrs. Lee winked at me.

I thanked her before leaving the room. The others were already waiting for me at the lockers. We had a break after the fourth hour and went to the cafeteria to eat.

"Hey Changbin, You said there was something about Hyunjin last year. Do you remember what it was?"

We sat down at an empty table.

"No I don't. You should ask other students. I'm not that up-to-date with college news", he answered as he sat down next to Felix.

"There is much better food in the cafeteria this year. I mean, look at that! It looks like a five-star-restaurant dish!" Jisung put down his tray and immediately started eating.

"Hey Chan, look. There is your little Mr. Mysterious." Minho nudged me and pointed to the table across from us. There were three boys, one of whom was Hyunjin.

"Oh, there is Jeongin too", Felix said as he looked over at the other table.

"Jeongin is friends with Hyunjin?", I asked.

He shrugged and continued eating his food. "Seems like it."

Hyunjin seemed very quiet even among his friends. The other two were talking ​​while he apparently just listened to them. Our eyes crossed for a second when he looked over at me, but he quickly turned his head away. Either he was really shy or he didn't like me. I kept watching him sit next to his friends for a while, eating some of his food every now and then.

"Chan?"

"Hm?"

"Please eat your food", Minho said, sounding a little worried. He pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Oh, right."