Chapter 2 of Portrait
INDEX
Chapter 2
"What's your name anyway?"
The boy was beginning to get used to Hyekyung's bluntness, and was even more amused by her for it. Hanging around this girl was turning out to be quite the excursion. Teasing, he asked, "What do you think my name is?"
"Pinocchio. I don't know, just tell me!" Hyekyung pouted. She had always hated guessing games.
The boy obviously reveled in them, though, for he simply said, "Nope. Guess again."
"Sleeping Beauty...Wait, never mind. You're no beauty."
"HEY!"
"Just tell me your name!"
"No," the boy stoutly responded.
"Fine. Then you're Rumpelstiltskin."
"Do I look like a Rumpelstiltskin?!"
"Yup." Hyekyung crossed her arms in defiance.
The boy sputtered, "Well, I'm not going to be stealing any of your babies! They probably will take after you and be too ugly to steal."
"HEY!"
"Then don't call me Rumpelstiltskin!"
"Then tell me your name!"
The boy, tired of the game, gave in. "Fine, fine. I'm Junho."
"And I'm Hyekyung." She suddenly began to sashay (or her idea of a sashay) as she continued, "Actually, my full first name is Gorgeous, Ravishing, Beautiful Hyekyung, but that's obviously redundant, so people just call me Hyekyung."
Junho raised his eyebrows. "You've got to be kidding me."
This girl has a serious case of Princess Disease... Junho thought, and said so out loud.
The conversation went downhill from there.
Junho kept on complaining that the easel was poking him in the ribs and Hyekyung offered no sympathy. She just told him to deal with it and pranced ahead. Junho considered just running off with Hyekyung's art supplies, but he struggled on as Hyekyung skipped ahead of him. She yelled back things now and then that only served to anger him more. He was getting more irritated as the walk went on whereas she was practically bursting with jolliness.
During the short periods when they weren't arguing, they managed to get to know each other a little bit. Junho did indeed attend Rose Of Sharon Private School. Hyekyung attended the local public school. Hyekyung adored her art class. Junho hated his. Junho was 18. Hyekyung was 16 (going on 17, she added).
Hyekyung promptly launched into the song from Sound of Music as she danced down the street. Junho quietly whistled along to Hyekyung's melody, but then stopped when the beautiful music abruptly turned into some awful noise that sounded like whale calls.
"What?" Hyekyung merely said after noticing Junho's bewilderment, then continued to alternate between lovely singing and banshee shrieking. No explanation was necessary. Hyekyung did things her own way, and if Junho didn't like it, too bad for him. Junho shook his head and trudged along, trying to hide the little smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. As much as he tried to keep the frown on his face, it kept on turning into a smile on its own volition; Hyekyung's liveliness was contagious.
Suddenly, his expression changed as they crossed the invisible line to a slightly less affluent area. The streets were no longer the paved roads he had seen all his life. Everything around him took on a dirty gray hue as if somebody had just dumped a large bucket of dust from the sky. Junho’s expression was a mix of wonder and disgust; he acted as though he didn’t know that such an environment existed.
He's probably never seen anything like this before, Hyekyung thought cheerfully. I suppose I’m opening his eyes then. It's all for his benefit, just like carrying my stuff is good for him, too. I'm just improving him immensely, aren't I?
Of course, Junho didn't feel the same way about the weight he was holding, and he cried out loud in relief when Hyekyung announced that they had arrived at her doorstep. Junho unceremoniously dropped her supplies on the ground. This only led to another spat, which culminated in a loud shriek coming from Hyekyung's front door.
"Who are these hooligans that are making all this noise?! Get out! Get out!"
A stately old woman came hobbling out of the door, which left Hyekyung and Junho frozen in what would've been menacing positions if it wasn't for their startled expressions. The old woman brandished a rolling pin, strangely reminiscent of Hyekyung's paintbrush wielding antics.
"Oops, sorry, Halmoni. I'll be coming in now. Thanks again, Junho! Bye!"
Hyekyung scooped up her things and fairly pushed Junho out the gate. The gate slammed, and Junho was left staring at a rather menacing door-knocker. The lion's head dared anyone to cross into its territory. Junho stood where he was, rubbing his neck in confusion at what had just occurred.
He then began the 45-minute walk back to the park and back to his car.