Run to You | Xu Minghao ; THE 8

XI

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There’s someone inside
그 속에 누군가 있어
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Minghao's POV:

We went to the art gallery the next day. It was Jia's idea, and I was more than happy to tag along.

I really liked the place – the exhibits were very interesting, and we spent the entire time just staring at the paintings, observing and admiring them.

"This is one of my favourite pieces from an artist I really admire," Jia said as we looked at a painting. "It's called 'The Dreamer', it depicts two men standing alone on a dark street, illuminated only by a lamp that casts eerie shadows around them."

"Why is it called 'The Dreamer'?" I asked.

"Because every time the man looks up at the light shining above him, he sees something else." She pointed to a painting that depicted the same man walking down a road, looking left and right, in search of something. "You see," Jia continued, "the man is trying to search for his dream. He wants to know why he feels so hopeless, and what it could be about. However, each time he tries to reach out to find out, he gets nothing. So he turns back to look at the street again. In doing so, he meets another man, who helps him search for his dream, and they both end up finding their dreams in each other. Cliche, yes, but isn't it just so...beautiful?" She smiled fondly at the painting.

I nodded my head as I softly looked at her.

"Isn't 'The Dreamer' very similar to us?" I nudged her. "Except instead of a dark street, it was a dark practice room for us?"

She laughed lightly. "Yeah, probably. We all have our own darkness inside of ourselves, don't we?"

I paused as I heard her say those words. I ended up spacing out, thinking about the time when I-

"Hao! What's the matter? I've been calling your name for a whole minute," Jia said with a concerned look on her face, as I regained my senses and straightened up.

"Ah, sorry about that. I just...I was just thinking about that painting, yeah." I scratched my head sheepishly.

"It's okay," she giggled as she stroked my nape. "Hey, I need to stop by somewhere before we head home, do you wanna tag along?"

"Lead the way, love."

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"What is all this for?" I said in astonishment as she finally opened the huge bags of stuff she bought which she wouldn't let me see after she got them.

"Well, canvases, a box of paints, a painting knife, and-"

"No, no," I laughed. "I know, I can see that. But...what is it for?"

"For painting, duh!" I raised my eyebrows at her and she scratched her nape.

"Well, you see...I was wondering if..." I waited patiently until she finished her sentence. "I don't know! I just thought it would be nice to...paint together...I saw some of yours too! And I really, really loved them! You should've shown me before...but what I'm trying to say is...I really want to-"

"You...saw my paintings? When?" I sharply cut her off.

I noticed her shoulders droop. "Oh...yesterday. Something fell down from your closet, so I went to put it back. I saw some canvases down there, and...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have looked at them without your permission," she muttered as she averted her eyes to the ground.