Chapter 3

“I thought you said he made 500 million in one night?” Min-a frowned when they got to Kwan Seung-ho’s location.

He was convinced by his older sister to leave his slutty outfit behind, wearing a crisp white shirt and blue jeans.

At least, she allowed him to wear some vans, but he knew it was all to please this so-called proclaimed self-made artist.

“I also mentioned that he is a stubborn man with old ethics.” Eun Hye came out of her black Tesla to stare at the mini building before them.

There were lights coming from the inside indicating that someone was around.

“His studio is more of a cave than a studio. What is this shit hut?” Min-a scoffed, unable to hide his displeasure anymore.

He expected more from someone who had amazing talent like the Kwan Seung-ho his older sister described yet his studio resembled a random garage on a sidewalk in midtown. He must either be delusional or just not intelligent.

“Let’s just get to see him first…” Eun Hye walked up to the doorbell and stopped in front of it.

She stared blankly at the little turquoise button.

All she had to do was push it, but she was tense. Any more mistakes and she would lose this deal.

Min-a groaned, pressing the doorbell over her head, nearly freaking her out.

Eun Hye started to panic, while Min-a just fixed his hands into his pockets to stop himself from smacking some confidence into his older sister.

She was always confident and too sure of herself, it made Min-a feel like whoever this man was, had to live up to the hype or he would bitch slap some senses into her head.

The door was dragged open, making a horrible screeching noise by a woman in light brown suspenders and white boots. The lady rocking a bob cut had an unimpressed look on her face as she sized them up.

“I thought your assistant got our message?”

Min-a only offered a nice smile in return, something he was used to.

“I came myself this time to speak to Mr. Kwan, I came with an important guest too.” Eun Hye mentioned, sounding a bit desperate.

The lady’s gaze fell on Min-a again and she nodded, then went back in without another word.

“An important guest?” Min-a stared at Eun Hye with a raised brow.

“16-year-old girls know him. He’s a big-time artist who has been invited to the Met Gala before, so…” She rolled her eyes.

“Ah...way to say I’m not irrelevant.” Min-a chuckled, feigning hurt as he held his chest.

“I have no comment. I’m not gonna play into your hands so you can have the last laugh.” Eun Hye replied, without turning back. She was too focused on the old garage door.

“Haha...You know me-” Min-a was still speaking when Eun Hye suddenly shushed him.

“Someone is coming!” She waved at him frantically.

The lady was back. She ushered them in without saying a word.

“Thank you..” Eun Hye muttered in a relieved voice.

She walked in and Min-a followed behind awkwardly, putting on a tight-lipped smile, which the lady blushed at in return.

“This is a big deal, Min-a, leave every attitude here and don't fuck this up for me, please?” Eun Hye begged in a low voice, she looked too desperate for Min-a to stomach.

“I understand,” he shrugged.

As they got deeper into the garage, it became prettier, the walls were gray and they had plastic bag covers all over. Some parts of the walls had colored glass and some parts had glass on the floor.

Min-a was starting to get impressed. Mirage art was actually difficult to pull off.

They took off their shoes and wore the flip-flops the lady provided for them.

Getting into a properly lit room with a very high ceiling, a man with a low cut, glasses, and incredibly strong jawlines sat on the edge of a metal table typing casually in one hand on his gray laptop.

“Mr. Kwan?” Eun Hye called out, her voice cracked, making Min-a nearly facepalm.

She truly needed to pull herself together and stop acting like a lovesick teenager.

The man they came to see let out a sigh before putting the laptop aside.

“Miss Seo,” he said with a professional smile. He appeared exhausted.

His white shirt was rolled up, exposing veins and a tattoo Min-a couldn’t identify. He wore similar suspenders as the woman with black boots.

Kwan Seung-ho stood up, proving to be taller than Min-a by an inch or two.

“I allowed you in because Aera said you came with an important guest with you,” he remarked, glancing at the strangely beautiful man beside the woman he had seen more times than he wished.

The young man surprisingly looked a little pissed but his posture was straight, proving he was confident and sure of himself. With those stunning looks, Seung-ho didn’t expect less.

He had a model-type body, the bright light in the room illuminated his lean muscles underneath his white crisp shirt.

Seung-ho couldn’t shake off the feeling that he had seen this face before somewhere. But he wasn’t the important guest he was expecting.

“Oh, yes, my little brother, Seo Min-a. He—”

“Miss Seo, Your tip is impressive.”

“I just thought —”

“I am NOT interested, take your offer elsewhere.” He cut her off before she could finish again.

Min-a seethed. He has had enough. Seung-ho’s arrogance was unsettling and mostly unnecessary.

Eun Hye was a freaking CEO of a Billion won Advertising and Branding company for fuck sake! As her younger brother, he couldn’t endure the disrespect anymore, but he knew his older sister would talk his ears off if he caused her to lose the deal, so he wandered away from the embarrassing scene to the half-finished painting resting in a corner.

It was a silhouette painting of a feminine figure reaching for dying flames, but it was unfinished. It was too obvious that Seung-ho didn’t like the painting.

As an artist himself, he understood when a painter is frustrated with a project.

Min-a listened as his older sister tried to convince Kwan Seung-ho to take him as his student, and how she valued his talent more than a buyout.

But it was all a lie, it was her business mode of talking.

Either way, It was too pathetic to witness.

He kicked away the gray-white paint and picked out a blue-white paint from the stack hipped in the corner. The metal sound against the floor caught Seung-ho’s assistant’s attention.

“Hey, what are you trying to do!”

Min-a blocked her voice out with his earbuds, playing some Celeste music. He started painting the other side of the unfinished painting, using blue and white streaks to line out turbulent spirals. He traced the rest of the feminine body into the water.

It only took him ten minutes before he stepped back with a satisfied smirk balanced on his face.

It was when he took out his earbuds that he gave attention to the sheer silence behind him.

Min-a turned around to find Seung-ho staring at his work with an intense gaze.