Hybrid - NCT dream ( HRJ; LDH)

art projects

early 2021 

Renjun has been busy since the start of the year, working on the huge canvas that took up almost all of the wall in his room. It was his last project, his graduation work, so it had to be perfect.

But what to paint? What would be good enough for a high grade? That was a question he's been asking himself and his friends since the start of their last year in college.

During the past three years he has painted everything one could image, portraits, nature, objects, abstract things, cartoons, you name it. But this was different and he wanted something meaningful for it.

Should he paint something about his family? Moomin? Or his friends? In the end it was a remark made by Seol that he found interesting. It was something she often said, describing him and Hyuck as fire and water, or Tom and Jerry.

This brought Renjun an idea of painting just that. Taking in consideration the colours of his own as well as Hyuck's hybrid animal it was easy to come to a conclusion. And so he started sketching and mixing colours, looking for materials to add.

After that decision he would work only on that one painting, making it perfect. It was a painting to represent their friendship, and would be a present for his best buddy. Seol would watch him paint for hours, while she studied on his bed, spending time together.

As they got busier, this became the only way to spend time together, having work even on their weekends. Seol studied for her last exams in Renjun's room, that being the only time she wasn't in the labs working on experiments for her thesis.

While she was a regular at the Huang's, Donghyuck was forbidden from seeing the painting. Well, not forbidden, since that would only spark his interest, but it was rather kept a secret from him.

Luckily, Donghyuck was too busy with his own graduation project to snoop around his friend's house. He had to write and record a song as his final project, giving him a big headache. Just like Renjun, he also wanted it to be meaningful and searched for inspiration everywhere.

After contemplating whether to work alone or ask one of his friends and seniors for help, he decided to ask for advice. Doyoung, a close friend of his, had graduated a few years prior and was now working as a musical actor, agreed to hey. They decided to make a duet song, but Hyuck wanted to try something upbeat instead of a ballad.

An idea came to him one morning after waking up. He had dreamt about something that happened when he was younger. It was a memory of one of their sleepovers over at Seol's place. The three of them were singing karaoke, and it did get pretty chaotic.

He still remembers how happy they were, laughing and fooling around. Watching Seol carefree and childish like that made him want to write a song about her.

She was his best friend and he loved her like a sister, but he never got to express his feelings. Now this was the chance, and he would tell her everything with this song.

Renjun's due date and graduation was first out of the three. His class had an exhibition for a week, and several professors and students had the opportunity to look at them and grade the artworks.

Seoul was leading Hyuck, walking arm in arm, searching for that familiar painting she saw their friend pour his heart into. Donghyuck was excited, looking for something that would scream Renjun to him, when he heard the girl beside him gasp. Looking at the girl's sparkling eyes, he followed where she was staring at when the big canvas caught his eyes.

The different red shades were swirling around deep blues, creating the image of the painting moving around. Silver and light blue scales and glitter added a new dimension to the dark blue waves.

Gold specks and sand powder were mixed with the thick red paint, changing the texture and sparkling in the light. The colours looked alive, and complimented each other just like the two boys do.

Hyuck was standing there with his mouth hanging open, not even realising that Renjun was standing beside him grinning from ear to ear. "Well, how do you like it?" His cocky voice startled the tan male, making him jump slightly.

Seol gave Renjun a hug, congratulating on the successful painting, while Hyuck was just staring at the canvas. An arm was then thrown over his shoulder, making his head turn towards the smiling boy. "Is that what I think it is?"

Hyuck felt a bit emotional looking at his best friend hum and nod slightly. "Yeah... that's us. I got inspired by our Seolie's words, and we thought it'd be a nice surprise for you." The girl now moved to his other side, smiling cutely at the emotional boy, making his eyes become glossy.

It made his heart swell immensely, hugging both of his friends closely, feeling thankful for their existence.

He got even more determined to show them what he has been working on, to perform the song he made in front of his friends...