he paints with lies ❆ kookmin

2 • 둘

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❁ཻུ۪۪⸙͎.'◦• ⊱›────── January 12th 2020

Jimin looked at the man, dumbfounded at how straightforward he was. It would have taken him off guard even if he had not just startled him while he was immersed in his own thoughts.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

Jimin blinked. The man's doe eyes were soft, making confusion stir in his mind about the personality of this man. He looked back at the painting to escape his gaze, only to realise that he had been gaping. His own composure had been embarrassingly bad.

"I was just immersed in the painting," he explained, risking a glance at the man as he stood beside him to look at it. "Are you interested in art?"

Jimin was unsure why this unknown man was having such an instant effect on him. As his eyes travelled over the man, he tried to read him, starting with the easiest. He would do with anything right now.

The man looked quite rich considering not only his clothes, but the Rolex on his wrist. He looked young somehow, though the shape of his eyebrows and jaw we contradicting. That, and the fact that he was─as previously noted─muscular despite his height.

"You could say that." The tone implied amusement, and Jimin noted that he indeed was. "How about yourself? You looked like you were dissecting the painting with your gaze earlier."

Jimin forgot what he was supposed to do as soon as the man opened his mouth. He liked his voice, and it may be one of the reasons why he found it hard to go against what was asked of him.

"I've seen it once before, but it doesn't look like it did before. It's like someone took a fan, heated up the paint, and ran a brush through it to make the snow travel in a different direction. Not that it's messy. There's just no harmony, you know?"

When no answer came from the man, Jimin glanced up to find him staring at him. His eyebrows were furrowed under the mask, his lips slightly parted. The expression quickly vanished as Jimin looked at him, however.

"So, the snow travels in the wrong direction?" He was still looking at Jimin, curiosity practically seeping out of his pores. If Jimin knew no better, he would say that he seemed to enjoy a private joke. Instead, he figured that the man took him for an idiot, thinking that a painting could reform.

"It's subtle, but it's there," Jimin spoke with a hint of enthusiasm, as if he thought that he could convince him. "See, a painter knows harmony when they see it. It's incredibly detailed, so to think that he made a mistake with the way of the wind is strange. I told you, I've seen it once before."

Jimin had a good eye for details, as both art and medicine required it. That was also the case for the reading of body language. Grand gestures were usually planned, while the small ones were involuntary. They could hint on the truth as people tried hard to lie─their involuntary reactions giving them away before they had even thought of how to react.

"Anything else? Or, is that the only thing that's out of place?"
Jimin could not help but study the man with furrowed eyebrows, as his eyes were on the painting. He sounded interested, as if he had seen it too and wanted to compare their ideas on it. It was as if they played find five errors.

"W- well, the pastel pieces decorating the window could possibly have switched places. The colours don't look optimal in those places. I, ehm, can't tell for certain though."

Jungkook nodded, looking like he was about to grade him on what he just told him. As he spoke again, his expression had turned into a less impressed one. It confused Jimin completely, and intrigued him at the same time. Challenges were rare, and usually led to nothing in the end, except for a realisation that he had simply read into the situation deeper than necessary.