“No way…. How can you be here… Is this, is this really possible….”
She couldn’t finish her sentence. After pressing a hand to her forehead and repeating “Oh my god” for a good while, she shook her head and composed herself.
“Ah, I’m Lina. I’m sorry. We’re really big fans of your work, Yeehyeon.”
“Lina is an especially ardent fan.”
Her husband, Felix, added with a laugh. Lina, still looking dazed as if she’d been struck, couldn’t take her eyes off Yeehyeon.
“To be honest, I’ve been sneaking glances at you since Liu was taking our picture. I was thinking… you looked so familiar. How can there be such a coincidence?”
“Lina, calm down a little. You had so much you wanted to say. You’ll regret it later if you just keep rambling like this.”
“Right, you’re right.”
While Lina took a deep breath to control her emotions, Felix spoke.
“Compared to your work, your face isn’t that well-known, Yeehyeon. I wasn’t sure either. I hope we’re not being a bother….”
“Not at all. Yeehyeon is just shy, but he actually enjoys meeting and talking with his fans. Right?”
Liu, who still had his arm around Yeehyeon’s shoulder, asked as he looked affectionately into his face.
“Well, that’s true, but… the word ‘fan’ is a bit….”
Something like this had happened three or four times during their trip. It meant they had run into people who recognized Yeehyeon about once every ten days. Since their trip was centered around art museums and galleries, the probability of meeting such people seemed to have been high.
Each time, Liu had been proud, and while Yeehyeon was happy to meet people who liked his paintings, he felt awkward at the word ‘fan.’ He wasn’t an actor or a singer, not even a famous painter, so being called a fan was so embarrassing. He had even confessed as much to Liu one evening at dinner.
“Why? We’re truly your fans!”
Lina said, almost shouting. Felix nodded as well, agreeing with her.
“We have a lot of friends who want to own one of your paintings, Yeehyeon.”
“Though the competition is so fierce, we fail to acquire one every time.”
And so, an impromptu fan meeting was held in front of <The Burghers of Calais>.
From the ‘Colorful Ghosts’ series to the ‘Journey of Clouds’ series, and even the ‘Colorful Monster’ series. They weren’t just paying lip service; they were truly ardent fans of Yeehyeon.
Lina’s expression and voice, which had been flushed and excited like a fan meeting their idol star as she spoke of her impressions of Yeehyeon’s work, suddenly grew calm.
“Yeehyeon, don’t pay any mind to the comparisons to Schiele.”
The words were delivered with a sincerity that said this was something she had been dying to tell him.
“Of course, Schiele is an incredibly brilliant painter, and I love his work too, but… Schiele’s work is fundamentally based on things like agony, persistent sorrow, and the resignation and melancholy of being unable to overcome them. Just because the brushstrokes are bold and deviate from mainstream techniques, does that make it Schiele?”
“Whenever this one sees you being compared to Schiele, she always gets worked up. She says the art critics must have something wrong with their eyes.”
Felix added.
Lina continued to speak to Yeehyeon with an intense gaze.
“Your work, Yeehyeon, might seem bizarre at first glance, but that’s never all there is to it. It’s imbued with a warm regard for people, a hopeful expectation that doesn’t give up on the future. You and Schiele are painters of completely different colors.”
Liu was grateful to her. So much so that he wanted to treat her to a meal.
Of course, they were words Liu himself could have said to Yeehyeon. But sometimes, a single word from a stranger can resonate more deeply than ten from someone very close. Everyone had moments like that.
“Hearing you say that gives me courage. Thank you. I’ll be sure to think of it whenever I feel lost.”
At Yeehyeon’s response, Lina looked moved.
“I’m honored that you’ll think of me, Yeehyeon.”
“He didn’t say he’d think of you. He said he’d think of what you said.”
Seeing Felix’s sulky voice, Lina playfully poked him in the side.
“Are you jealous? Are you getting jealous?”
“Yeah, I’m starting to get a little jealous. You’re fawning over him a bit too much right in front of me.”
“Oh, you… You’re still so cute.”
Affection seeped from Lina’s touch as she lightly patted Felix’s cheek. They were a couple with a passionate and pleasant energy.
They asked a passing visitor to take a commemorative photo of all four of them together in front of <The Burghers of Calais>.
After getting Yeehyeon’s autograph on the flyleaf of a novel she had with her, Lina wore a blissful expression, like a young girl. This time, even Felix didn’t grumble at her pure smile.
“I’ll keep our meeting a secret.”
Lina said with an excited look, clutching the autographed book to her chest.
“A secret?”
“That the artist Seo Yeehyeon usually dresses simply like a popular model these days, or that he has a handsome boyfriend who looks like a movie star. I won’t te-ell a soul, not even my friends.”
“No. Please, be sure to spread it far and wide.”
“Is that really okay?”
“Of course. Especially the second part. Please focus on spreading the rumor that I have a boyfriend.”
They took Liu’s words as a complete joke and laughed cheerfully. Liu felt a little disappointed that his sincerity hadn’t gotten through.
“This will be the best memory of our trip. Thank you, both of you.”
With Lina’s farewell, the four of them waved and parted ways. Lina and Felix headed toward the museum to continue their tour, while Liu and Yeehyeon headed for the main entrance.
“Lina seems to have a good eye in many ways.”
Stroking his lower jaw, Liu said as much, then scanned Yeehyeon, who was walking beside him, with a serious expression.
“A popular model who usually dresses simply…. Sounds like an accurate description.”
“Don’t tease me.”
As expected, his lover’s reaction was less than enthusiastic.
“Tease you? I’m saying it because I’m proud.”
Liu, who had bristled and pleaded his case, immediately changed his tone and shrugged.
“Though it’s a ratio of about 90 percent pride and 10 percent regret that you can’t just remain my Seo Yeehyeon.”
“Is it really 10 percent regret?”
“Hmm… actually, more like 50-50?”
Yeehyeon burst out laughing as if to say he was hopeless.
When Yeehyeon laughed, Liu couldn’t help but laugh along.
As they exited the main gate, the streets were overflowing even more abundantly with the ripe, yellow sunlight of autumn.
“Should we go grocery shopping at Migros on the way home?”
“Didn’t you want to commemorate our last day at a fancy restaurant?”
Conscious of Yeehyeon’s curious upward glance, Liu took out the sunglasses tucked into his left breast pocket and put them on.
“Because I don’t think Seo Yeehyeon would permit a deep kiss at a fancy restaurant.”
“During a meal, even at home… that’s not allowed.”
“Well, we’ll see about that if I behave myself.”
He stopped Yeehyeon, whose face was quickly turning red again. He took the sunglasses hanging from Yeehyeon’s neckline and put them on for him. Then he found Yeehyeon’s hand, took it in his, and began to walk the autumn streets of Basel.
Across the intersection, the green tram they needed to take was waiting. Just then, the crosswalk signal turned for pedestrians. Liu, holding Yeehyeon’s hand, crossed the road diagonally with long strides.
Fortunately, they were able to get on the tram just in time.
The tram ride was less than ten minutes. The car was completely empty, but instead of sitting, the two of them stood leaning against a pole by the window. They felt like a pair of teenagers.
Inside the swaying tram, they faced each other, about a footstep apart. It was utterly thrilling.
They had slept in the same bed every night throughout the trip, their relationship so hot and intimate that not a single day had passed without them touching each other before falling asleep. And yet, because this was a public space, they were in a state of forced abstinence, forced to only look at each other. A distance of just one step.
In each other’s eyes, they could see that the other was also conscious of this tension, feeling the same sense of elation that made their skin feel sensitive.
With his gaze fixed on Yeehyeon, Liu took out his phone.
He activated the camera, aiming it at the subject before him.
He had taken quite a few photos and videos of Yeehyeon on this trip. Thanks to being exposed to the camera throughout their travels, Yeehyeon now looked quite comfortable in front of Liu’s lens.
The Swiss autumn afternoon shimmered through the tram’s large window. The golden sunlight, mixed with orange, gained a sparkle as it passed through the glass. That light shone transparently on Yeehyeon’s skin. In the screen, Yeehyeon pursed his lips in a shy smile but didn’t avoid the lens.
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