Picture Perfect | k.th

Chapter 15

Taehyung POV

Stuck. Stuck. Stuck.

Stuck again.

Stuck in a box. Stuck with my mind. Stuck in an endless plain of nothing.

No alternate universe. No reality of beauty as promised. Just a blank painting with faint acknowledgment of their presence around me.

Not to mention the view of the distant white light of the outside world was slowly getting coated in a pitch black darkness, blocking sunlight like the violent night.

Now keenly aware of my situation, I was curious how I got out of the painting last time. I wasn't aware of it. It just happened. But aside from Sohee, there had to be something that catalyzed it.

Sohee. I will return. Somehow. How did you rescue me that first time? If I could replicate the effects, perhaps I could get out myself. But what had she done? She pecked the cheek of my painted face and that was it. Was it her saliva? The texture of her lips? The adorably clumsy way she drunkenly acted? The unadulterated purity in her heart? The softness of her delicate touch? Or maybe it was something simple like her fingerprint? Perhaps she had magical powers we never knew about.

I was suspended in the non-existent space, but I could feel the others' presence around. I could feel their anguish, betrayal, frustration. I wanted to reach out to them. I wanted to figure this out with them. But I could just sense that no one was trying to think of how to escape. How quickly they all accepted their fates. If only I could call out to them.

Frustration and helplessness built a dangerous coil inside me. It was like being in a box that was constantly closing in on you.

I need a sign. A hint. Even an inkling of an idea of what to do. I have to get out. That is my will. And by extension, these guys will come out with me. I just need help.

The edges of the canvas were nearly all coated in that black paint. The thinning light of the outside meant our chances to escape were thinning as well.

It all clicked in my head at once.

Hyungseo never had any intention of helping us. Sohee knew that. We all knew it deep down. He was trying to erase us for some malicious reason. Paint over us in black so that we were endlessly trapped in this bleak void.

Out. Out. Out. I need to get out. Help me dammit!

I tried to move. I tried prying myself from this endless bondage to nothingness. I writhed, desperately trying to free anything.

I absolutely need to get to Sohee. I need to find out if my art project won. I need to go on more adventures. I need to experience the world. I. Need. Sohee.

My heart was pounding with determination and a final burst of hope.

She was my savior. My kindhearted, clueless savior. Who did everything in her power to help me. Who without question tried to problem solve based on my needs.

I tried to calm myself. Think back to the time when she kissed me. What released me in that moment.

Although I was holed up in a frame, I have a distinct memory of her touch. Her scent. Her warmth. Her fingers danced across the acrylic cheeks like raindrops on a pond. Delicate, ginger, compassionate. Her fragrant perfume mixed with the tinge of bitterness from overindulgence. A deadly combo of sweet and sour giving rise to a new aromatic fragrance that intoxicated me. Her presence had brought me a sense of calm and understanding for the first time since I gained any form of consciousness. It brought me clarity and peace. And most of all, comfort. Everything felt alright with her. When I plunged into the frigid depths of water, it was her who wrapped her arms around me. Who pressed herself close and grabbed my focus.