Oasis (A KaiSoo Fanfic)

Chapter 17 | Attached

I don't think I've ever rushed as much to finish a painting as much as I did by the time my first year of celebrating Kyungsoo's birthday came around. To be perfectly honest, I didn't think I would end up getting him anything as a present besides throwing him a party if you want to count that. But as I was sitting in the art room, observing all of the paintings I had created thus far, I thought that maybe giving him one to keep wouldn't be such a bad idea. After all, it would certainly free up some room for me to store other works, I thought. Then the question arose, which one should I give him? I bet you I went through that stack against the wall more than ten times to no avail. None of them seemed worthy enough to give as a present. So, I only had one choice. I had to paint a new one. And that's exactly what I did.

As I was sitting there working on it vigorously, adding random strokes of different colors where needed, I heard the snap of a camera come from behind me and I jumped out of my seat a little before turning around.

Kyungsoo smiled at me after lowering the camera and waved. "Hyung..." I said slowly, "what are you doing?"

"Taking your picture," he stated, still wearing a proud yet slightly sheepish smile.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I just realized that this camera also takes pictures and I wanted to try it out on someone," he explained briefly. "Besides, you look really pretty covered in paint." He began laughing loudly as I turned my head away, shaking it and grinning.

"It's always something with you, isn't it?" I said, glancing back at him as he continued to cackle in amusement. After a while, he turned off the camera and walked into the room, stopping by my side.

"What are you working on now?" he asked, peering over my shoulder.

I was quick to cover it up, though. "Nothing you need to see right now," I said, standing with my back toward the wet paint and my arms stretched out.

"Not right now, huh?" he said, squinting as he nodded his head slowly. "Does that mean I can see it at some point then?"

"Yes, but that point is not right now, so if you would please," I said as I motioned for the open door. "I must finish this and you're only acting as a distraction to me."

He chuckled. "Alright, alright," he said. "I see how it is. I'll go then, but don't be surprised if you see your picture posted around the hospital later." I only glared at him. He raised his hands in the air innocently and said, "That's all I'm saying," before leaving the room. I pinched the bridge of my nose and prayed that he wouldn't do that (he didn't, by the way) but shook my head seconds later and told myself that I needed to focus on the painting and the painting only. 

It was pivotal that it was perfect because I knew from experience that celebrating your birthday in a cancer hospital was not fun or particularly uplifting. So, I wanted to make sure that, despite the awful setting to be celebrating another year of living, Kyungsoo would at least have one good thing to remember.

*************

One thing the hospital did that I always found rather nice was make a cake for the patients on their birthdays. Now, granted, it was a small cake, only serviceable to one person, but it was a tiny gesture that said a lot. It said that your birth is still important enough to celebrate and to a lot of people in that hospital, that meant the world.

But, you see, Kyungsoo wasn't just another patient, so I was quick to reach the conclusion that a single, minuscule cake just wouldn't fit the bill for his birthday. No, his cake had to be big and delicious and very unhealthy. (Hey, we had Cancer. A healthy diet didn't apply to us.) So, after I was finished with my present, that was my next task: the cake. Despite my better judgment, I turned to the cafeteria ladies for help because I had never made a cake in my life for any reason. I also didn't think the staff would allow me access to sharp, kitchen objects alone considering the wonderful reputation I had built for myself.