Euphoria

PROLOGUE: ONCE UPON A TIME

Washington D.C

 Philip Min-Hyuk Kim was at the end of his his academic journey. He now officially dated his junior, Bianca Wood for good. Everything seems perfect inside his life, but deep down; he still felt lonely as both Bianca and he was busy with their own commitments until they could not give full concentration on their newly established relationship.

The rain has been poured down since morning but it did not stop Philip from strolling the city. On one fine day when he was taking a stroll in the city of Washington, he went to the art gallery in the middle of town with no intention. Arts had never been his cup of tea but he did not know why he wanted to go there. Appreciating a masterpiece of an artist never exist inside his life dictionary but, when he saw the beautiful ocean painting - his heart was moved and he determined to know more about the art.

Seeing the ocean painting calmed his heart. The relationship that he established with Bianca seems like on the edge of the mountain. Hence, he decided to discuss with her their tedious relationship. Hence, that evening he met with Bianca at the coffee shop nearby their campus to discuss further their boring love life. 

"I am so sorry Bianca. I just can't continue with our relationship anymore." He said, looking straight at the girl that he dated even though there were no sparks of attraction amongst them.

"It's okay, Phil. I understood your intention." Bianca responded insipidly. Well, her resting bitch face just made Philip feels even guilty. 

"I think this is the best option for both of us. Honestly, my heart belongs to someone else and he does not requite back the feeling so I thought moving on is the only way to heal from the broken heart. But I was wrong and I really sorry. I think you deserve someone better than me. I am sorry, Philip."

When Philip heard about her erratic confession, he could breathe better. At least Bianca was not hurt by his suggestion, and their relationship was purely unromantic. He tried to fall in love with her, but it seems difficult.

"I get it. Thank you for telling me the truth, Bianca. I wish you all the best for your upcoming future." Philip responded, before sipping his hot americano that he thought tasted more bitter than usual. After a long silence, Bianca bid a goodbye thus leaving him alone in nobody's company. Philip took a deep breath, closing his eyes shut so he could digest his new life with ease.

In the meantime, two people that recently just got engaged were having a squabble over a simple matter and the woman decided to release it out with art. Heather Miller was a talented painter and she worked as a freelance artist - selling her remarkable arts to the local gallery and in return, got handsome money as her salary. Usually, all of her inspiration came from her frustration and somehow the painting became unique, memorable, and beautiful as it has a deep meaning behind it.

Situated in one of the art galleries in Washington, Heather was having her own session with the canvas where she took her time in the gallery to paint something. While she was busying with her brush, one man saw her from afar; admiring the masterpiece that she created with her talented hand. After getting the truth from Bianca, Philip thought it would be better for him to have healing therapy with the arts. He thought breaking up with her should release the burden, but why did he feel otherwise?

For a fortnight straight, Philip has been a regular visitor of the gallery and to meet the painter who painted the ocean masterpiece was indeed remarkable. He stared at her from afar, fascinated with the way she paint the canvas. The attraction he had toward her painting was too strong for him to resist.

" I don't know why but her art has given me the meaning of life, and I should thank her for that." Philip mumbled to himself, determining to meet the woman that somehow removes the loneliness that he felt before even when he still dated Bianca. Not to waste any time, Philip was stalking Heather in the art gallery - watching her literally like every day as his heart has drawn on that talented woman.

"Excuse me, may I know about the painter that paints the amazing Lonely Waves and Mystery Beyond You?" Philip decided to ask the information counter about the painting that was attached to his heart. Even though he knew the painter's name based on the information given on the description board, however, he wanted to know more details about her.

"Oh, that one was painted by our freelancer. Her name is Heather Miller, a talented and vivid young artist. She always conducts an art class here every Wednesday and I think you still can join her now." The receptionist at the information counter spoke politely while giving her best service to Philip.

"I see. Thank you!"

"You are welcome."

Even so, he was a coward to approach her on that day and decided to come again next time. But before he go back, he got a chance to buy two of her paintings that cost a lot of his fortunes.

 Lonely Waves is an acrylic painting that describes a lonely human being in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by an ocean that almost engulfs him meanwhile Mystery Beyond You is a dark painting that incorporated oil and water with an abstract as the core. The interpretation can be varied but for Philip, the painting describes what is inside his heart.

The moment he bought the masterpieces, his heart was beating fast in a joyous way. Somehow, the paintings become the therapy of his lonely soul as well as give meaning to his life. 

While writing the words on the laptop for his academic research, Philip was able to overcome his lack of ideas and almost to the finishing line of his education journey. Because of her, Philip got to finish down his master earlier than he expected as she became his inspiration to perform and be much better than before. Thinking that he should give her a flower as a gratitude gesture, he went to the florist and bought a bouquet of white lilies.

"I hope she would love this." Philip said, smiling widely at the flower he bought a few minutes earlier.

Once he arrived at the place where he watched Heather secretly, his heart was broken again when Heather and another man were having their moment together intimately. 

Wanted to know more about that man, he even asked the workers of the gallery about them and he just found out that Heather has been engaged with him; thus, leaving Philip with a deep hole within his heart. And the lily he bought earlier became the trash where he threw it into the dustbin provided inside the gallery.

It was the last time he saw her and he decided to slowly move on with his life.