he wanted to know how he could get hoseok back into his groove, to create masterpieces that he could use for his graphic design class. so, without thinking, he blurted out a sentence that probably could have been kept locked up.
"i can help you find...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
there was no reason for taehyung to show up at the art gallery again. he hadn't heard of his favorite artists' pieces showing up—save for maybe kim seokjin's that he had yet to check out—and he had important work to do for his classes. he was a very busy college student who needed to focus rather than go out around the town as if he was immune to everything. he needed to get back to his room to study. instead of doing that, though, he found himself trudging through the gallery halls that rainy evening and marching straight up to hoseok's painting. a small puddle formed around him as he stood right in front of it, eyes searching for any meaning he might have missed from the previous day. nothing new popped up, it still sucked, and taehyung let out a long sigh. it was definitely upsetting. taehyung expected more from the artist. when comparing this piece to a piece from half a year ago, you could easily see the differences within the pieces. so maybe something happened in hoseok's life that created this plateau of his.
he took a step back, and when he did that he bumped into another person. it was hoseok. he bumped into the artist again, quite literally this time. the graphic design student moved out of the way, the artist's gaze still on him.
"you're back," hoseok said in a monotone voice. taehyung nodded. "didn't think you'd want to, i mean, after seeing this." he gestured at his painting in front of them, his head turning to look at it again.
"i thought if i returned with a different mindset i could grow to like it."
"and?"
"i still hate it." hoseok let out a chuckle, a response taehyung wasn't exactly expecting. it was weird. hoseok seemed to be sharing similar feelings to those who viewed his work. when he looked at it, his eyes were sad. a smile that didn't reach his eyes found its way onto his features. taehyung felt uncomfortable standing next to him. "i mean, what happened?"
"life," was his simple response. a quietude found itself wrapping around the pair before hoseok walked away, taehyung deciding to follow. the artist stopped a few steps later, standing in front of a scenery piece. taehyung noticed it was kim seokjin's art. "hyung is struggling, too."
when taehyung viewed the piece, he got feelings of nostalgia, of a strange happiness. a longing for something he had never in his life ever had to be longing for. he looked at hoseok who frowned. his frown took up most of his expression, eyes droopy and distant. his hands were in his pockets, his stance weak. he really had no presence at all. he was the complete opposite of what the articles described him as. the hoseok he viewed was stagnant, boring, lost, disconnected. not bright, elated, a tone setter. hoseok turned to look at taehyung with those droopy eyes, his fringe falling just below his eyebrows.
taehyung cleared his throat. "i don't see anything wrong with this. i like it."
hoseok allowed a sigh to slip passed his lips. "i guess an average mind wouldn't notice, but i do. seokjin hyung cannot figure out his identity. in this piece, he's showing happiness but hyung has no such thing in his life. why is he fabricating it, i wonder?"
