Work Text:
The tip of a brush hovered over a blank canvas.
Starting a painting always felt like diving into something new. Watching the white give way to colors, slowly coming together to form a scene—a memory brought to life—was fascinating. It wasn't picture perfect but beautiful in a way Jihyun knew only art could be. In the almost two years since he'd first dared to reach for his dream, Jihyun had sat in front of a canvas like this countless times, yet he still found that with each painting came a new kind of understanding. Not of technique or of skill. Those he developed naturally, with practice and time.
When he let his feelings guide the brush held tight between his fingers, what Jihyun understood about more was himself.
The first stroke left a trail of blue behind. The sky had been clear as he walked outside that morning, with no clouds to shield the warm, spring sun while Jihyun made his way to the park. He'd strolled along the dirt path surrounded by cherry blossom trees, with nothing but a few early risers jogging or walking their dogs to keep him company, listening to the chirping of the birds perched upon the highest branches. Something about the calmness, the utter beauty of the place had given him a sense of loneliness, like having a secret but no one to share it with.
The feeling had stayed with him during the entire day, making him lie restless in bed at night for hours before giving up and going to the guest room he'd turned into a makeshift art studio.
In a canvas covered in sky blue, Jihyun let the brush glide over it with hues of green. The person he was now had no need for secrets. He unraveled them with brushstrokes, capturing everything he saw and felt through his paintings, and this was no exception. The park started taking shape before his eyes, waiting to be shared with those who had led him towards his journey.
The RFA. Warmth spread across his chest when Jihyun thought about them. He missed them all dearly—Jumin and his solid reasoning; Hyun and his dedication; Luciel and his terrible jokes; Yoosung and his cheerfulness; Jaehee and her diligence. Staying away from them all had been the hardest thing Jihyun had to do in the past years.
And, most of all, he missed MC.
Jihyun reached for a color he hadn't planned to use. MC would've loved to walk through that park. He could see her clearly, running off the main path before he could stop her. She would've kicked off her sandals and laughed, wiggling her toes against the grass.
The sound rang crystalline in the air, so real that Jihyun almost turned his head, hoping to see her by his side.
Of course, MC wasn't there; the ache of missing her was enough to tell him that. Still, Jihyun smiled at the silly hope that'd blossomed in him for a second. His time alone had been important for discovering more about himself, but it'd also made him terribly sentimental.
"Luciel would laugh at me," Jihyun chuckled to himself, adjusting his grip on the brush. His hands moved on their own and he let them flow over the canvas, allowing his feelings to guide him along with his memories.
In his imagination, MC danced to music only she could hear, moving with light feet and a smile as bright as the sun shining overhead. As her dress twirled in the wind, strokes of paint took shape under Jihyun's skilled hands, recreating the scene playing in his mind.
It was somewhat saddening that Jihyun couldn't call it real—he hadn't had a chance to share much time with MC before he'd left. Most the moments they did spend together had been troubled, filled with danger and worries and not as much happiness as Jihyun wished there would have been.
Even now, as he imagined MC's beautiful smile and brought it into his painting, Jihyun longed to see it again. He wanted to tell her these stories in person, to share all of his good memories and make new ones that didn't have to exist only on canvas.
With the painting almost done, Jihyun leaned back, staring at the others spread across the studio. Bits and pieces of the past two years looked back at him. They were part of who Jihyun was, who he'd learned to be—but they were also not quite perfect representations of what he'd seen.
Just like MC dancing in the park, these paintings were full of Jihyun's love and longing for the ones who were waiting for him to return.
There was Luciel, staring at the starry sky Jihyun had admired during the clear nights of winter. Jumin drinking wine from that fancy wine bar Jihyun had visited. Yoosung playing with a stray dog that had followed Jihyun through the streets. Hyun recklessly speeding in a Vespa like Jihyun had seen a man do a few weeks ago. Jaehee having a cup of coffee at a cozy coffee shop Jihyun had walked past one day.
"I guess... I really do miss all of you," he laughed quietly, as if talking to the paintings would make his voice reach his friends.
As Jihyun returned to the painting of MC, there was a new purpose behind his movements. It came from a realization that'd been growing throughout the day without him realizing, and that now had finally become clear. He'd entertained the thought several times in the past two years, but it'd always felt wrong. He'd never felt ready.
Every time he'd thought of going back, Jihyun had put it aside—for his own sake, for the things he still had to learn about himself—but this time, it filled him with a sense of rightness. Jihyun had changed during his journey, but in the end, his path would always lead him to the same place. To the same people who meant so much to him.
From a freshly painted canvas, MC stared at Jihyun as she danced in a beautiful park, her hand stretched out towards him. In his mind, she called to him. In his heart, he listened.
"Please wait for me," he told her, setting down the brush and reaching for MC with paint-stained fingers. His hand hovered just above the canvas. "I'll be back soon."
And this time, he meant it.