Blue Water Lilies - Hyunlix

Late Night Conversations

The days passed, and Hyunjin tried to leave everything he had experienced, felt, and thought during those days in a corner of his mind. As usual, immersing himself in his work was a way to evade his emotions, whether good or bad. Recognizing and spending time with them was something unfamiliar to him, and the fact that they were so confusing only made him want to run away. Fortunately, the previous week was filled with cocktails, meetings, and a short trip to Japan, which kept him away from Felix and soothed his mind and heart. Maybe he had hallucinated and imagined things that weren't there. "You spent a lot of time with him; it's normal to feel that kind of affection or attachment to people, especially since you haven't worked so well with someone for a long time. IT'S NORMAL. It's strictly business," he told himself as a mantra for several days.

The night he returned from Japan, as he always did after a trip, he sat in his living room to check emails and catch up on what he couldn't see in the previous days. As a night owl, it was common for him to reply to text messages and emails after midnight; it was his most productive time, his favorite part of the day. The moment when he thought more clearly and when great ideas came to him. Of course, Hyunjin never expected his employees to respond to his emails at that hour; no one ever did, and that was fine.

Among the text messages he responded to was one from Felix about a possible opportunity to organize another photography exhibition, but with emerging Korean photographers. The brunette had sent him some profiles to review and Hyunjin was impressed. Many of them he didn't know, others were vaguely familiar. Ideas began to flow in his mind, and he started writing a series of concepts supporting Felix's vision. The director had noticed his assistant was very innovative and had great ideas, and Hyunjin liked that, the fact he was daring to be different.

12:35 Hyunjin: I'm back in Korea.
12:36 Hyunjin: I saw the profiles you sent, great work!
12:37 Hyunjin: I have many ideas; I would like to do something related to imagination in everyday places. You know, places that look surreal but can be created in real life.
12:38 Hyunjin: Let's talk about it at the office (today? When you see this message).
12:39 Felix: Hyunjin! Hello. It's great that you're back🙂.
12:39 Felix: I like the idea. Do you have any references to show me? I'd like to see.

Hyunjin was surprised to see the notification on his phone, but it was even greater when he saw Felix's name. "What is he doing awake at this hour?" he wondered. He read the reply and debated whether to respond or not. What was he going to say? Was he going to reply and make him work at this late hour? "You're acting like a teenager; stop overthinking, it's just a text."

12:42 Hyunjin: This is not the time to be working or replying to work-related messages.

"I shouldn't be working either," he thought after sending the message. He was a bit taken aback but decided to respond anyway.

12:43 Hyunjin: I had something like that in mind.
12:43 Hyunjin: 👀
12:45 Felix: You were the one who messaged me about work first; you shouldn't be working either 😀
12:45 Felix: I like the first one. JeeYoung Lee does beautiful work; it's a nice concept.
12:45 Felix: OMG, what if we do that? "Uninhabited Spaces". Installations in different museum spaces, installations where spectators can be part of the space for a moment. They would inhabit it for a moment, but that moment is ephemeral.

Felix was excited and didn't realize he was starting to express himself more informally. But he had been researching some things and conceptual art and installations had caught his attention. Even though what he had sent for possible exhibitions were photographers, the work of JeeYoung Lee, whom Hyunjin had sent as a reference, had caught his eye. He saw that the spaces she photographed also brought to life. The idea came to his mind, and he wrote it down immediately. Hyunjin was taking a bit longer to respond. Sometimes the "typing" message would appear and then disappear. Nerves were getting to him; he was glued to the phone as if waiting for news or something important.