Chapter Text
“Did you get the groceries?” Winwin says through the phone.
“Yup, they’re all in here. And I didn’t forget the milk this time.” Yangyang answers, fumbling with the groceries in the tote bag his mom gifted him for Christmas.
“Alright, just get home safely.”
“I will. See you!”
Yangyang hangs up, sliding his phone in his pocket. He continues walking, adjusting the tote bag on his shoulder as he passes by the shops and restaurants. It’s around 3 in the afternoon, Yangyang finished his errands earlier than he thought. He has some free time before he goes back to his roommate to cook dinner, he might as well look through some shops.
But at this point, he’s gone through most of the clothes and shoe stores on this street, and he promised Winwin that he would hold back on spending so they could afford rent.
While he wanders through the street for any new open stores, he comes across a new space that had recently been rented. He approaches it and reads the sign outside:
R. Free Art Exhibit
September 8 to September 15
Yangyang hasn’t been to an exhibit or museum in a while. He’s never heard of this artist before. Are they new?
Perhaps finding out is the best way to kill time right now.
Yangyang goes inside, a few people look in his direction as he’s greeted by the guard. He scans the paintings hung up on the wall. They look quite old, like they were painted centuries ago. The white canvas turned light brown with age, and yet the paintings seemed untouched throughout the years.
He takes a look at the rest of the paintings. Some of them were beautiful landscapes such as rivers and gardens bathed in sunlight, others being rooms filled with scattered objects lit by the light from the open windows. Interestingly, the artist didn’t paint people.
In every painting, it was marked with the letter R on the bottom right corner. No other name. Yangyang wonders who this artist could be and where they have gone to see these places. He makes a mental note to search more about him when he gets home.
______
“You went to an exhibit?” Winwin asks his roommate while placing a pot of noodle soup on the table.
“Yeah, have you ever heard of the artist R?”
Winwin shakes his head. “Never, are they new?”
“Their paintings didn’t look new.”
As they eat dinner, Yangyang pulls out his phone and begins to search. Barely any sources about the artist came up.
“That’s strange. There’s nothing about them on the internet.”
“Maybe they were…erased from history?”
“That kinda sucks, I liked their artworks. I wonder who they were.”
“You think they were the type of painter that would work for royal families or something?” Winwin drinks the rest of his soup.
“Maybe. But there’s little to no information about them.”
Yangyang continues eating, a bit bummed out that he can’t find anything about the artist. The fact that there aren’t a lot of sources about them makes him wonder even more.
After they finish eating, they clean up and prepare for bed. Winwin was already asleep by the time Yangyang got out of the bathroom because of his busy day at work. As Yangyand laid on his bed, his mind was still curious about the artist R. He had never heard of them until today. So who were they?
But Yangyang knew that if he kept asking questions, he’d never get sleep. He tried his best to not think about the artist, and eventually went to sleep.
______
“Yangyang! Come down here at once!” He hears the voice of an older woman calling him. “The new painter is coming! You must introduce yourself to him!”
Yangyang finds himself staring at his reflection from a full length mirror lined with gold. He sighed to himself. Here we go again.
But he wasn’t dressed in normal clothes. He wore a bedazzled princely attire, with a medallion and black knee high boots.
He exits his bedroom and goes down the stairs to meet a woman wearing a floor length dress, sash, and a sapphire necklace.
“Come, quickly. He’s waiting outside.”
Yangyang walks by the woman’s side. Both of them stand on a ruby red carpet leading towards two huge doors. The woman wraps her arms around Yangyang’s shoulders and whispers.
“Be on your best behaviour.” She hits his back. “And straighten your posture.”
Before Yangyang could curse under his breath, two guards opened the doors. The sunlight shines through the palace. Yangyang could faintly see the silhouette of a boy approaching them, carrying a box with him.
The guards close the doors, and Yangyang could get a better look at the boy. He had soft features and brown hair that reached a little past his innocent looking eyes. His frame was a bit smaller than his, he looked skinny and almost delicate.
He smiles at Yangyang and the woman before getting down on one knee.
“Your Highness, it is an honor that you commissioned me to paint a portrait of you and the prince. I promise that I will do my best to practice my painting so that the portrait will be done before the prince’s coronation.”
The boy gets up, and Yangyang steps forward to greet him, as his mother told him.
“I’m Prince Liu Yangyang, it’s a pleasure to have you come here and work on our portrait. I will be looking forward to it.”
“My name is Huang Renjun, I’m a painter from two villages over. Thank you for letting me stay here, I will be making the most of it.” The boy’s gaze shifts to the queen. “You have beautiful gardens. Do you mind me painting them?”
“Not at all. The guards will show you to the guest room so make yourself comfortable and we can talk later at dinner.” The queen gestures to the guards.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.” The boy followed the guards to his room, glancing back at Yangyang a few times.
Once the painter is out of sight, Yangyang rolls his eyes. The queen has invited yet another artist to paint their portrait. He’s tired of having to stand still next to his mother and pretend to be happy to be king.
“Don’t roll your eyes at me, young man. Our portrait will be done whether you like it or not.” The queen walks up the stairs.
“But mother, he mostly paints landscapes. Are you sure he can do it?”
“You’re just saying that to drive him away, just like what you did with the previous artists. That boy has potential. And perhaps, you will warm up to him.” The queen grins at her son while handing her sapphire necklace to her servants.
“What makes you think that?”
“Well, he’s the same age as you. He could be great company.”
Yangyang scoffs. As if he’d befriend him.
“Don’t be so rude, Yangyang. He’s staying here for now so be courteous. Once he’s settled, you shall invite him to the table. Understood?”
“Yes, mother.” Yangyang sighs.
He’s been delaying his portrait painting for weeks now, refusing to stand still or pose whenever they tried to paint them. Sometimes he would hide their materials just to cause enough inconvenience to delay it further. Many artists before have given up due to how uncooperative the prince is, even if the queen would bribe them a high sum of money.
The new artist won’t be treated any different. However, Yangyang doubts he’d do a good job as he is inexperienced at painting people, and is a new apprentice.
I’ll go a little easy on him. Yangyang thought to himself. The poor boy looked too innocent to be tormented by a naughty prince. I’ll see what he can do first, then when the time comes, I won’t let him paint me.
______
The sun shines brightly through his open windows, causing Yangyang to slowly open his eyes. He gets up and ruffles his hair. That was a strange dream. He went over to the bathroom to wash his face. As he looked at himself, he wondered why he dreamed about being a prince. He tried to recall everything that happened.
And then he remembers the painter he met.
The letter R…Renjun? Could the artist be that boy? He dreamt about him?
Yangyang quickly rushes over to Winwin’s rooms and shakes him awake.
“What?!” Winwin groans.
“I think I know who the artist is.”
“What…how?”
“I dreamt about him, Winwin!”
“You were so obsessed thinking about the artist that he made it into your dream?!” Winwin whines and attempts to pull his blanket back towards him.
“No! That’s not it! It felt real!” Yangyang shakes him again. “I think that was really him, I need to know more!”