Eternity [ryeji]

Chapter 15

Yuna heaves a sigh after reading the message she has just received from an unknown number and decides to discuss it with Ryujin later. She walks out of her room to get breakfast but her eyes catch sight of the open studio door so she changes her mind and goes towards the room at the end of the hall instead of going downstairs. “Unnie?” she calls out as she steps through the open door.

“Yes?” answers Ryujin who’s standing in front of a painting that Yuna has never seen before.

She recognizes the woman in it though and smiles to herself as she approaches Ryujin. “Finally finished it, huh?” she asks, observing the image of a woman sitting at an outdoor table of a café, nursing a cup of coffee while looking away, towards the street, with a small smile on her face and a pair of dreamy eyes.

Ryujin nods, setting down the brush she’s been using to finish detailing. “What do you think?”

“I think it looks great. Where is this café?”

“This is the coffee shop we went to on the day we first met,” says Ryujin, smiling when she recalls that day.

“Where you talked until closing time?”

“Yeah.”

Yuna takes a moment to continue observing the painting. “The setting is bright, daylight, even though you guys were there at night. She’s smiling, looking out at the street… to a distant place. Her eyes…” She stops and nods to herself. “I must say, this one has a totally different aura from your London painting.”

“It’s bound to be different,” Ryujin says. “Both are good moments in my life but they happen at different times so it’s only normal that the two paintings would have different feelings as well.”

“Now you’re the one who needs a thesaurus. Anyway, I like them both,” states Yuna. “They signify certain seasons in your life. Back then you were younger and that bright smile she has, the street, the Vespa… the impression I always get from that painting is youth, happiness, excitement. It was your first real adventure. As if you were falling in love for the first time and you couldn’t be happier.”

“In a way, I guess it was indeed the first time I’ve ever felt that way though I was definitely not young,” Ryujin says, agreeing with Yuna’s opinion on the painting that’s hanging above her bed.

“I said younger, Unnie. Nearly fifty years younger, to be exact, and head over heels in love. This one is calmer, more mature.” Yuna steps closer to the painting. “I know why you changed the backdrop to daylight instead of night.”

“Why is that, Miss Art Expert Wannabe?”

“This is not just any daylight. It’s morning, isn’t it? And mornings are the start of new days. This look on Yeji unnie’s face and her smile…” Yuna smiles at Ryujin. “I see hope, happiness… the awe of rediscovering love. You painted her as the bright light after darkness, the morning, a new beginning.”

Ryujin chuckles, feeling her face grow warm. “You’re getting better. And when did you start referring to Yeddeong as ‘Yeji unnie’?”

“Since you two are getting serious, I think it’s only polite to address her as if she’s your age. Anyway, like I said many times before, I might not be an art expert but I’m an expert on you.” Yuna returns her gaze to the painting. “She is beautiful,” she says, admiring Yeji’s facial features.

“She is, isn’t she?” says Ryujin fondly. “I plan to give this to her for her birthday and luckily, this time, it will forever be in her possession.”

Yuna just nods, knowing how sad Ryujin was when the other painting was returned to her after the death of its rightful owner. “I’m kinda glad you decided to paint her in this particular setting.”