off limits ✧ zb1 applyfic

✧ thirty seven

It wasn't every day one could spot a cheerful Yanmei, but today, she had reason to celebrate. As she walked through her campus, ready to leave, she hummed a random upbeat song. Today was the day she was finally appreciated for her hard work. At last, things were looking up!

Coincidentally, she spotted a familiar silhouette walking towards the university's gate. Simply from his back, she could recognize him. After all, she'd stood in front of him for hours, looking at him, so she could paint a faithful copy onto her canvas. It was something about the curve of his hair, the back of his ears, the span of his shoulders. Hanbin seemed to stand out in any crowd.

Feeling awfully chipper, Yanmei sauntered her way towards him. She needed to tell him the good news. Instead of calling after him, she decided to surprise him, as payback for the last time he'd scared the hell out of her back at that bus stop. Once she got close enough, she slipped her hands over his eyes. He stopped suddenly, and tried to move his head, but she kept him in place firmly, holding back laughter.

"Wha— Who—" Confused, he reached for her hands. His were colder than she'd expected, sending chills down her arms. "Yanmei?"

Satisfied by his quick guessing, she let her hands fall back to her sides. For a second, she'd thought he would guess it was Hao messing with him, but it seemed he'd recognized those hands belonged to a woman. And somehow, she was the first woman he'd thought of. That thought pinched at her heart, but she brushed it off.

He turned to her, blinking slowly. "I didn’t expect you. How are you doing?"

"Pretty good," she said, palpable excitement in her voice.

"Wow, you're in a good mood today," he remarked, his lips stretching into a smile, as if hers had been contagious. "What's going on? Good news?"

She nodded, straightening up proudly. "You could say that. I submitted the painting, and my professor just told me it was chosen for the student's exhibit!"

Words couldn’t explain how the news had made her feel. She'd waited for so long, her entire life, for someone to recognize her hard work, for anyone to give her an opportunity to reach more people. And there it finally was! She'd pretty much exploded in joy back in her professor's office. It was the culmination of so many all nighters, so many moments of doubts and uncertainty. All of her sacrifices, finally paid back for. She'd wanted nothing more than to share it with Hanbin.

"Oh my god, congratulations!" Hanbin exclaimed, raising his hand for a high five. She obliged, albeit a bit embarrassedly. "So what does that mean exactly?"

"Well, the painting is going to be exposed at an actual art gallery, for an entire week." She took a deep breath, her hands shaking slightly. "People are going to see my art."

His gaze softened, feathery eyelashes framing his sparkly irises. "I knew you could do it. I'm so proud of you."

Those words, words she couldn’t remember ever hearing, struck her square in the face. She gripped at her sleeves, feeling her heart squeeze and squish and stretch in all directions. Someone was proud of her. Had believed in her. And coming from Hanbin, she couldn’t even doubt it. In all of this, he'd sort of become her guardian angel. All of his words were so comforting, in a way she'd never experienced before. Yanmei wondered, if she'd been treated with so much care and importance during her childhood, how would she have turned out? How much easier would life be, now?

"I'm not surprised you were picked," Hanbin continued. "I haven't seen the end product, but I'm sure it looks wonderful."

"Ah, funny you mention that. I can invite a plus one for free, for the opening night." She looked up at him, trying to read into his eyes. "Of course, it has to be you."