He ate my chick!

About how Hyunjin lost his inspiration

Hyunjin's POV:

Sometimes creative people have blocks. When they sit day and night in front of a completely empty canvas and don't know what to do with this canvas. As soon as they move on to practice, existence turns into an endless celebration of helplessness and conviction of one's own mediocrity. The most annoying thing is that such creative crises most often go hand in hand with an all-consuming desire to create.

That's what happened to me. I passionately wanted to paint, I felt that I was capable of a masterpiece, but as soon as I put paint on my brush and brought it to the canvas, my body and brain became numb and I had no idea where to start, what I wanted to do and why I ever decided to pick up brushes. I just wanted to break the canvas with my head out of this hopelessness.

And this went on for a whole week.

"Bbokki, stop." I asked when I felt another peck in my ear. My chicken kept jumping all over me like crazy. He really didn't like it when I fell into such a state and began to tease me with all his strength, gigantic by chick standards. He really wanted me to take my eyes off the blank page and finally reward him with attention. And I would love to, but only immediately after I step on the throat of my lack of inspiration. This was already a matter of principle.

The front door slammed. And life itself began to rustle and bustle in the apartment. Felix returned from the store with two grocery bags.

"Can you imagine, I just met a girl in a store whose guide was a big-eared pig!" Felix shouted to me, delighted with his discovery.

Four tiny paws quickly patted the floor and then grabbed my pant leg and climbed up it to my knees. Jiniret stretched out and disappointedly poked his pink nose into the empty canvas. He was always one of the first to see what I drew for this time, but for a week now "this time" had not happened and the little ferret was crushingly confused by this turn of events.

"I don't like it when it's like that either, buddy." I patted the ferret twice on his outstretched back.

Jiniret moved his nose and stood on his hind legs, trying to reach the brush dipped in paint. I shushed him and didn't let him get covered in paint, because I knew Felix would swear. Then Jinnie curled up into a fluffy donut, offendedly hiding his curious muzzle.

"And when I say "eared, I mean very-eared." Felix continued, placing special emphasis on the last word. "Like this." I turned around and saw Felix putting two open palms to the top of his head, imitating bunny ears. "Like Leebit." he smiled.

I couldn't help but smile back.

"Sometimes guides can be so strange."

"Yeah." Felix nodded. "By the way, this got me thinking." he plopped his bare feet towards me. "Like, Bbokki, he's a chick." Felix said. "No, Jinnie, this is not for you, your food has not defrosted yet." he was distracted by Jiniret, who smelled the food, climbed on top of Felix and tried to carry out an insidious plan to steal the chicken. The plan failed miserably, and then the doubly offended ferret decided to habitually hide in Felix's hood away from this world, where even the closest people so unscrupulously allowed themselves to hurt the ferret's fragile heart. "So, Bbokki." Felix continued his thought. "Chicks grow and turn into hens or roosters. Does this mean that when we get older, Bbokki will grow up to be a rooster too?"

"When he grows up and becomes a rooster, I will roast him and eat him if he doesn't stop pulling my hair." I said, as I had been enduring my hair for a minute now from the restless, attention-seeking chick.

Felix suddenly grinned and leaned down so that he could rest his chin on my shoulder if he wanted. His breath tickled my neck, and I could barely control myself so that his proximity would not make me go limp and turn into a shapeless puddle of adoration.