Empathy

Chapter 2: Swan Song

It had been quite a while that the two of them were standing there in front of the painting, lost in their own thoughts. Namjoon was the first to snap out of it, reminded of the girl standing next to him.

"Thank you for helping me understand..." He let his words drift off, hoping she would finish his sentence.

"Alina." She gave him a soft smile. "I'm Alina." She reached out her hand towards him.

He gladly outreached his own hand, giving her a friendly handshake. "And I'm Namjoon. Nice to meet you." His eyes crinkled as he smiled.

"You too." She smiled back at him.

They released their grips as Namjoon asked curiously. "Did you come here by yourself?"

"Yeah, I came here to find some inspiration." She shrugged.

"Inspiration for what? If you don't mind me asking." Namjoon didn't know why he was so curious about her. He had literally just met her.

"I'm a figure skater," She decided to answer him honestly. "I wanted to find something to inspire the theme of my next routine."

"Well I think you've come to the right place." He said playfully. "I've always found inspiration for my work through art."

"Inspiration for what? If you don't mind me asking." She copied his question from earlier, matching his playful energy.

He chuckled lightly, realizing what she did. "I'm a songwriter." He answered her. She didn't recognize him, so he kept it a secret that he was also a performer and in the world's biggest boy band.

"Ah, very impressive." She nodded kindly. "Your songs must be very meaningful."

"I'd like to think so." Namjoon nodded in agreement. He liked her kind and playful energy. "I can help you out, if you'd like. Dalí is actually one of my favorite artists." He proposed, scratching the back of his neck.

"That would be great actually!" Alina gave him a delighted smile. "In return, I can help you understand more of these paintings." She smirked teasingly.

They both chuckled, and continued walking through the exhibit. The deep, philosophical conversations about each art piece were stimulating.

Alina was amazed at Namjoon's philosophical views on the world and society. She absolutely admired the way he thought. He was a critical thinker, always reading into the details.

Namjoon was feeling the same. He was enthralled at how she enlightened him about different perspectives and meanings of the paintings. She was always seeing the bigger picture.

After they finished the Salvador Dalí exhibit, they decided to eat lunch together in the café, then continued to see the art and sculptures displayed in other parts of the museum. They were so captivated by each other that they hadn't realized that they had been there for multiple hours. They completely lost track of time altogether until they had reached the exit and Alina's phone had begun to ring.

She took her phone out of her purse and answered the call, immediately hearing the loud voice of her coach. "Are you still at that silly art museum? You've been there for eight hours! We're meeting with your choreographer in 30 minutes!" Her coach scolded loudly.

"I'm sorry, I lost track of time. I'll be right there." Alina replied apologetically and hung up. She turned towards Namjoon, his eyes slightly concerned.

"Looks like the swan has sung." She sighed with a solemn smile. She didn't want their time together to end, but she now had to return to reality. "Thank you so much for joining me, Namjoon. I think I have a theme in mind now...Plus, I had a wonderful time with you."

"I, as well." Namjoon smiled back at her widely. He internally gathered up the courage for his next suggestion. "Maybe we can do this again sometime?"

Alina's heart fluttered slightly and broke out into a heartfelt smile. "Yes! I'd really like that."

"Okay, I'll give you a call then." Namjoon smiled back. She nodded then backed away, giving a short wave goodbye.

Namjoon sighed happily, watching her exit the doors of the museum. He recounted their memorable time together in his head, thinking about how both her mind and her soul were entrancing. He already planned to call her later so he could see her again soon. Suddenly, realization had hit him like a truck. I forgot to get her number.

He internally cursed at himself and bolted out of the exhibit, only to be greeted by crowds of people scattered along the city square. He frantically searched for her yellow sundress in the crowd, but to no avail. Namjoon sighed heavily to himself, I guess this is where our swan song ends.