Portrait of a Swallow

Ultramarine

**MATURE content ahead**

Present

The day was exhausting, from Do Hye Ji's sudden appearance to speaking with Sang ah, it was an unlikely occurrence in the quiet life of the painter. His days were usually quiet, at times waking up early to chop firewood, or tending the landscape, then settling in his studio where he would paint what was requested of him. But at night, when the darkness overtook him, he had grown accustomed to finding comfort in the arms of a certain maiden, their warm bodies that pressed against each other during the chill of the night, her sweet breath in his ear. Though summer was only just arriving, the heat slowly rising through the air, he felt a constant chill that usurped his form, his fingertips icy to the touch.

Each day without her felt like a lifetime on earth, his soul searching futilely for his paramour. The words of Do Hye Ji gave him hope, but when he had confronted Sang ah, the maid held no remorse for her actions, remaining silent to the accusations he had dealt her. Instead, she resorted to leaving entirely, like a thief in the night, and it made Jeong Hyeok wonder if there was a greater force at work, the cunning web that Cho Choel Gang must have spun, luring innocent people into his schemes of deceit.

He wondered how Sang ah, being a woman herself, could subject anyone, especially his beloved, to the treatment they underwent, but hurt more was that fact that these actions were all done in his house, the place where he promised to keep her safe, to keep her secure. His mind kept wandering to the feared area deep in his brain that he had harmed her in ways he did not want to imagine.

Jeong Hyeok hadn't seen Cho Choel Gang since the incident with Seri in the backyard, cutting all ties with him immediately. Instead, he found new patrons to sponsor his works, such as Ma Young Ae, or Ko Myeong Suk, able to find work in order to support himself and Seri if ....

He banishes the thought from his mind, as he tries to focus on the positive news given by Hye Ji, and decides to sleep early that night.

And when he finally was able to rest his eyes that night, he dreamed of the crooked tree, the lush green meadow below him, and her....

***

Five months prior

The dead of winter had taken its reign upon the countryside, the ground frosted over with a white blanket of snow, the trees that curled menacingly against each other bare. It was this day that Yoon Seri stared out into the barren land of the early morning awaiting Sang ah's arrival. She had been anticipating her for almost two hours now, though it was for naught, for the unrelenting droplets of snow that descended from the sky told her that she and Jeong Hyeok would be alone at home.

Jeong Hyeok could hardly mask his contentment, for he knew the admonishing scrutiny Sang ah held Seri under, but she was an honest worker so she let her be. He had yearned for them to spend the day together, though most days now, they did, for he found reasons for her to be in his presence for all hours of the day. If he was the earth, she was the sun, for he gravitated around her like she was his only life source, that her beauty was blinding, the rays of her aura seeping into his skin, warming him from within.

Even still, he longed for a quiet morning with her, to be given the chance to graze the skin of her cheek, or press a palm into the dip in her waist, or merely settle to observe her features as the day went on. The sun's position marked different portions of her face, but even as the sunlight barely shone by the end of the day, she still radiated the beauty of a ten thousand blazing suns, blazing like an inferno. At times he found his mouth dry, his gaze trained to her, as he watched her tantalizing features. The nape of her neck, in which her hair rested, the gentle sway of her hips, even the hint of her breast outlined through the silhouette of her clothes enticed him. However, he quickly dismissed the thoughts as he admonished himself for the intrusion of the lascivious sentiments that he harbored for her.