Work Text:
Every afternoon, Riwoo sat in the same café, at the same table, next to the same window. He was always served by the same waiter, and he always made the same order: a latte and a donut. He never brought anything with him, just his sketchbook, his watercolors, and his old paintbrush. He never spoke to anyone or meet up with anyone. But he always looked at someone, he always looked at the same boy. He didn't know his name, he didn't know who he was. But he knew that every afternoon he went out to the same park, sat on the same bench, and read the same book. He never spoke to anyone, never ran into anyone. But he always came with a different set of clothes, a different expression, and a different vibe.
𓂃˖˳·˖ ִֶָ ⋆🖌️⋆ ִֶָ˖·˳˖𓂃
One day, Riwoo decided to go out and get inspired. He hadn't been able to finish a painting for several weeks. He grabbed his sketchbook, his watercolors, and an old paintbrush that was lying around. He left his house and walked around a nearby park. But he couldn't find inspiration. He saw the small café at the park and decided to distract himself a little.
He went in, ordered a latte and a donut, and sat down at a table where he could see a bench through the window, surrounded by green trees and some colorful flowers. Riwoo loved the scenery. He took out all his painting tools and asked for a glass of water to dip his watercolors. He calmly began his painting. He was feeling very inspired after a long time. He drew that image for a while.
As he was looking out the window to give the final touches, a tall boy with hair a little longer than his stood in just the right place, blocking his view of the bench. Riwoo waited for a few minutes for the boy to move. And he did, but he started approaching the damn bench, sat down, and took out a book to start reading. Riwoo got a little stressed; he was finally about to finish a painting after a long block of inspiration, and a random guy had to sit right on the bench he was finishing painting. Obviously, it wasn't the boy's fault, but Riwoo did blame him a little. He stared at the bench about to give up. Until he took a good look at the boy and that image. Out of nowhere, Riwoo's eyes lit up. He dipped his brush again and began to draw lines on his painting. Those lines turned into a young boy sitting on that bench reading a book.
𓂃˖˳·˖ ִֶָ ⋆🖌️⋆ ִֶָ˖·˳˖𓂃
From that day on, Riwoo went every afternoon to draw the tall boy reading the same book. Sometimes he looked sadder, sometimes happier, sometimes a little messy, and other times cuter. Sometimes he came wearing shorts, and sometimes a scarf. But despite everything, Riwoo always seemed to capture the boy's vibes perfectly.
One day, Riwoo did his usual routine and left his house for the café. When he was already seated with his order on the table, he looked toward the window, looking for the boy he always used as a model. The time his boy usually showed up arrived, but this time he didn't show up. Riwoo assumed he was a little late, so he didn't worry. But he began to wonder what happened when he finished his donut and the boy didn't appeared. Suddenly, he heard the bell on the café door ring, and when he turned to see who it was, he froze. Now the boy he was waiting for was approaching him.
The taller one sat down in the chair across from Riwoo. Just like that, without asking. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of watercolor brushes and looked at Riwoo.
—"Hi, I'm Leehan and... we haven't met, but... I always see you sitting at the same table, and I can't help but ignore the fact that you only have one old brush for your watercolors, so... I wanted to give you this..."—
Riwoo froze. He didn't know what to say to this Leehan. He'd always seen him from a distance and had never been able to appreciate his beloved model up close. And well, he was quite handsome. Riwoo noticed him staring at him and tried to reply.
—"Um... Thanks, Leehan. I'm Riwoo. That's very kind of you."—
Leehan smiled after seeing Riwoo smile at him first. He couldn't help his curiosity and asked Riwoo.
—"Can I see your paintings? I've always wanted to see how good you draw."—
The shorter one looked at him, embarrassed, not wanting to show Leehan his sketchbook.
—"Only if you tell me what you're always reading."—
Leehan agreed and placed the book he read with such concentration every afternoon on the table.
Riwoo looked at him, a little confused.
—"Is it a book about... fish?"—
Leehan nodded, a smile on his face.
—"Yes, it's very interesting. You can't imagine how many beautiful species there are."—
Riwoo felt tender and just looked at him. He noticed Leehan looking at him and then at the sketchbook, signaling for him to show him his paintings. Riwoo hesitated a bit. What if Leehan thought Riwoo was a stalker? Or that he was obsessed with him? He sighed and said nothing, just handed him his sketchbook.
Leehan started looking at Riwoo's paintings and was amazed. Riwoo examined his reaction and thought he saw a blush. But it was probably his imagination. Leehan just handed him back the sketchbook and looked at him with bright eyes and a tender smile.
—"No one has ever painted me, let alone had a whole sketchbook dedicated to me."—
Riwoo laughed, relieved that Leehan might think he's crazy. Then he looked at him and spoke again, more confidently this time.
—"Are you joking? How come no one has used you as a model before? You're so cute and handsome."—
Riwoo realized what he said a little too late, but he froze even more when Leehan answered.
—"And how come you're always alone here, when I just heard the cutest and sweetest laugh in the world,"— Leehan said as if it were nothing.
A waiter approached the table and addressed the tallest one.
—"Are you going to order something, young man?"—
Leehan shook his head and stood up without saying goodbye, leaving a blushing and stiff Riwoo.
After that, Riwoo was very confused. So confused that he no longer felt like painting. He didn't go to the cafeteria or the park for a week. He didn't know how to confront Leehan.
𓂃˖˳·˖ ִֶָ ⋆🖌️⋆ ִֶָ˖·˳˖𓂃
Leehan was also very confused. The cute guy from the cafeteria hadn't shown up for a whole week, and he was starting to get worried.
One day, like any other, he left his room to head to the park, this time with more hope of finding Riwoo. When he arrived, he went straight to the cafeteria looking for him, but he didn't see him. He asked the cashier if she had seen him, but that didn't work either. He didn't know what to do; he began to think he had scared Riwoo off and that he didn't want to see him anymore. He went to his usual bench, sat down, and sighed loudly. He gave up.
He was about to leave, until he noticed something next to him on the bench. He grabbed it, and his eyes widened and his face lit up when he saw it was a watercolor painting of him with fish around him. But he smiled even wider when behind the painting was a phone number and a text that read:
"Your brushes helped me paint this, but you inspired me to paint each and every one of my favorite paintings."
Sincerely, Riwoo
𓂃˖˳·˖ ִֶָ ⋆🖌️⋆ ִֶָ˖·˳˖𓂃