Moments later, Lindsay and Namjoon were perched upon their stools with their canvases being supported with their easels waiting to paint the tapestry of their imagination. Lindsay decided to teach Namjoon how to blend colors and paint the scenery in front of them decorated by the majesty of the giant oak tree.

As she dipped her green-coated paintbrush in the glass water, the crystal clear water was soon blended with a puff of teal and sea-green hues.

"Namjoon, may I ask what made you so interested in learning to paint in the first place?" Lindsay hesitantly asked as she guided Namjoon's arm to tentatively apply long and thin strokes depending on the texture of the easel.

"Well," Namjoon chuckled, feeling flustered on whether he should confess. "You remember that Snowdrops painting you gave Seo-Jun?"

Lindsay smiled and nodded as she watched a stream of joggers run by in the distance over the rim of her easel.

"When I first saw it, I never knew that you possessed such a marvelous talent." he chuckled feeling his cheeks tinge pink as he finally let the words out. "The painting was so- so detailed and looked so professional. I could hardly believe it when Seo-Jun said that you had produced that within a matter of hours in our living room. From what I observed, I thought that sort of painting would take at least weeks to master."

Namjoon's words struck a deep chord within Lindsay's heart. Never in a million years did she expect him to admire and compliment her so passionately. The sense of euphoria and pride rolled over her so much that she almost let her paintbrush slip between her fingers.

Her breath hitched and her words got stuck in her throat. "You-you really think so?" she whispered, looking at him with her face so hopeful and beaming with sunshine.

Namjoon met her eyes and nodded solemnly with a grin. "Yes, I do," he said. "Aside from that painting, I have seen snippets of the sketches on your notebook as well; when you would have it lying around so carelessly around the house, that is. Not that I was snooping around."

Lindsay chuckled behind her mouth as she saw Namjoon get extremely flustered and rub at the back of his neck. Deciding that it was better to let his awkwardness ease off, she busied herself by guiding Namjoon's arm to create a nice texture on the canvas.

"Thank you so much, Namjoon," she whispered, dipping her brush in the cup and letting it absentmindedly swirl around. "No one has ever said such a thing about me before. It truly means a lot to me."

Namjoon softly smiled before taking her chin in his hands to tilt her head up to meet his tender gaze. "Well," he started. "I think you're an overlooked gem. You deserve so much recognition. Not just for your paintings, but for other aspects of yourself as well."

Lindsay giggled before averting her gaze to look at her canvas as she applied some strokes for she knew that if she were to match Namjoon's gaze for even a second longer, she would simply burst into tears of joy. "What do you mean by 'other aspects'?" Lindsay decided to risk it with her question.

Namjoon's figure only rumbled with deep chuckles and Lindsay could basically feel his smug look on her body. "Well, I promise to tell you all about them at another time. But not now," he said. "Right now, we have to paint."

Lindsay pursed her lips and tried not to let her disappointment reveal itself on her features. She knew better. This was one of the rare times that Namjoon had ever opened up to her so deeply, aside from that night when he spoke of his abusive father. She knew the best was yet to come and it would do no good than to milk the cow all at once.

"Speaking of painting," Namjoon started after clearing his throat to break the tension. "I've always wondered, what made you pursue painting and art? Who or what inspired you, if I may ask?"

Lindsay hummed in thought before letting her brush slide across her canvas leaving rainbows of colors in their wake. "I first learned to paint from my mom," she answered, her eyes starting to look glazed with bitter-sweet nostalgia as she reminisced the memories spent with her dearly departed mother.

"I remember asking her to sketch out my favorite characters from cartoons and comic books so that I could sort of keep them by my side forever. I was very sentimental as a child, you see. And she always did just that. She never complained about the characters being too complicated to sketch. She always drew everyone I asked her to, just to see me bouncing around in the kitchen with joy with the final drawing clutched to my chest after she was done."

Namjoon's eyes softened as he imagined a mini-sized adorable little ball of energy being little Lindsay bouncing around her mother. It was evident to him that Lindsay's warm and kind-hearted nature which, he had grown to adore certainly was passed down from her mother.

"Pretty soon," Lindsay went on, swirling the bristles of her brush on the palette. "She taught me how to sketch out the characters by myself. She taught me all her techniques; how to draw rough sketches, how to get the proportions right, everything! When I was old enough, she moved on to teach me watercolor painting."

Namjoon nodded, turning to his canvas before being taken aback by what he saw. Some of his paint was dripping down the canvas, attempting to ruin his efforts. Lindsay noticed within a flash before promptly maneuvering the brush to blend in the colors before gently dabbing at the droplets with her rag.

"Looks like you had used a bit too much water." she kindly pointed out to which Namjoon nodded with a flustered smile, silently thanking her for saving his painting. Her eyes couldn't help but widen in amazement as she took in Namjoon's progress. True, it wasn't perfect but for someone who had just started, he was doing pretty amazing.

"Sorry about that," Namjoon said as Lindsay backed off after finishing her save.

"Don't worry about it," Lindsay simply dismissed without a care in the world. "These things are pretty common. Plus, you're doing incredible, I must say."

"Ha, really?" Namjoon asked moving on to dip his brush with another hue of colors.

"Uh-huh," Lindsay nodded as she added some highlights to her image. "You have to work on your blending, but I'm sure it would be easy for you. I'll show you how to do it."

"Thanks," he said as he wiped his brow before confessing. "Honestly speaking, painting is a lot harder than it looks."

"Really?" Lindsay exclaimed shooting a playful smirk at him. "Well, we better throw the confetti and light the fireworks for we might have actually found something that Namjoon is not a hundred percent perfect at."

This made both Lindsay and Namjoon chortle with merry laughter in the serene park.

"By the way," Lindsay said after she had recovered from her fit of laughter. "These canvases seem to be of such good quality. I've never seen anything quite like them. You must have spent a fortune on them." she looked at him with a look of concern to which he only smirked and shook his head.

"Not really," he replied. "I got them for free from a friend who was delighted to help me out."

"Oh!" Lindsay muttered to herself surprised by this new information. "Do I know this friend?" she asked out of curiosity.

"It's Rochelle, actually." Namjoon said with a casual shrug as he concentrated on getting the brush strokes just right. "You might have recognized her from my party that night?"

What Namjoon didn't notice were the ripples of pure shock and confusion that washed over Lindsay in the wake of his prior words. Lindsay couldn't help but wonder since when did Rochelle become a mere friend that Namjoon spoke so casually about? The last word that she ever expected Namjoon to use to describe Rochelle would 'a friend'.

"I don't really understand," Lindsay muttered to herself but Namjoon heard them given their close proximity. He put his brush down before tilting his head to look her in the eyes.

"Is Rochelle an artist too?" Lindsay asked searching for answers in his hazel brown eyes.

"Not exactly." Namjoon clarified. "But her aunt is a professional artist. I remember her mentioning so once during our chats. As soon as I caught sight of your Snowdrops painting in Seo-Jun's bedroom, I knew I just simply had to see your talents in action for myself, but I needed some supplies at a convenient cost. That was when I remembered Rochelle."

Lindsay's brows furrowed as she made sense of this new piece of information. Was this the moment she could finally have the rest of the puzzle pieces to complete the bigger picture? She listened with the utmost attention as Namjoon continued to explain his process.

"I figured that she would come to my party and I could discuss with her there." Namjoon went on, as he recalled the precise details of that night. "However, the music was blaring too loudly and the crowds of people just made it impossible to have a decent conversation, so I thought it would be a good idea to take her upstairs where we could discuss the matter privately. I suppose she had some kind of a weakness for me, for she instantly agreed to get me what I want."

"Then towards the afternoon of the next day, I got a message from her saying that everything was ready for me to pick up. I was happy that everything worked out for the best and I rushed to collect them at her place. Yeah, I guess that's about it."

Namjoon finished with a slight smile as he examined Lindsay for a moment. He was bewildered to see the girl looking so pale and rigid. "Are you okay, Clumsytoes?"

Lindsay was appalled and stunned by this sudden revelation. So that's all that there was to this? All the interactions that had kept repeating between Namjoon and Rochelle, the same interactions that had been torturing her heart were all just on friendly terms?

She decided that she needed more answers and despite the turmoil of doubts that were holding her back, she knew that she had to ask the question now once and for all or she would never get another chance to know the truth and to free her heart from its tight constraints.

"Namjoon, may I ask you something? Something a bit personal?" she asked waiting for his permission.

Namjoon looked a bit confused at her request but simply nodded.

Lindsay took a steady breath. "Are you and Rochelle in a relationship?"

Blinking rapidly for a few times, Namjoon smiled before shaking his head allowing Lindsay to release that breath she never knew she had been holding.

"Rochelle and I never dated at all." he explained as he gazed wistfully at the canvas. "I must admit that I did have a silly crush on her at one point. I thought that she was-. Well, I thought that she was a perfect match, but that was beyond any truth."

Namjoon sighed before continuing. "True, in hindsight, she may look like the girl that has it all, but from what I saw in her, she's rather superficial. There was a time when I didn't mind being attracted to superficial behaviour, but my mind has been changed recently."

At this, he sent a tender and compassionate look at Lindsay.

"So, you never were in love with her?" Lindsay clarified, wanting to hear him repeat himself for the pleasure that those sweet words just brought her.

"Not in the slightest." Namjoon reassured with a chuckle.

Lindsay had to almost fight off her own strength to prevent herself from breaking out into a gleeful grin right in front of Namjoon. She couldn't believe that all that worry, all those tears that she had shed were all for no reason. The girl felt as if she were floating on cloud nine.

"Now," Namjoon suddenly announced, snapping her out from her happy thoughts. He turned his easel slightly to face her with a proud grin on his face.

"What do you think, Ms. Artist? Do I live up to your grand expectations?" he couldn't resist teasing her with that pompous tone to put her in the spotlight.

Lindsay giggled as she leaned in to take a closer look. After a careful examination, she chuckled and clapped her hands together.

"Bravo! You're actually amazing for a beginner. You're even getting better at your blending." she exclaimed happily.

"I am getting the hang of it, aren't I?" Namjoon chuckled proudly to himself, before shooting her playful wink. "Well, it's all thanks to my excellent teacher."

This made the girl giggle and blush brightly as she ducked her head low to cover her embarrassment. This whole day was like a dream to her and she hoped that no one would dare wake her up.

Both Namjoon and Lindsay's gazes were them drawn towards quite a bustle happening across the street from the park.

"I wonder what's going on over there?" Lindsay mumbled as she keenly eyed many men getting down from trucks to unload a lot of boxes into a grand building.

"Oh, they're setting up for the grand opening of the Elysian Art museum." Namjoon replied wistfully as his eyes followed the men inside the building.

"Rumour has it that they are planning to make it the biggest art museum in the city."

"Really?" Lindsay gasped, looking at Namjoon. "That's amazing! Oh, Mom and I'd visit art museums almost everyday back in the days. Such good memories."

Namjoon gave a tender smile as he watched Lindsay put on a dreamy expression whenever she talked about anything related to her mother.

"Oh yeah!" Lindsay suddenly gasped as she remembered something. "Do you realize that tomorrow would be the day I'd finally get my house back? Tomorrow is my moving out day."

Her words made Namjoon freeze in place as his once cheery smile disappeared. The seven days have flown by so fast. So much had happened within seven days.

The man he was once would have been overjoyed to hear this news, but right now, all he felt was pure bitterness at the core of his heart.

"Right," he muttered to himself deep in thought. "You'd be leaving me tomorrow."

***

It was currently a quarter to nine and Lindsay let out a huge yawn from the couch as she decided to finally close her Biology textbook. She had been studying so much that at this point, she was sure to start seeing the scientific diagrams in her dreams.

After mounting the stairs to her room, she had just checked up on a slumbering Seo-Jun with a soft smile before she closed his door to carry on her path down the hallway.

What she didn't expect was to bump into Namjoon exiting from his room in a frenzied phase. Lindsay gasped as she took in Namjoon's messy hair and he was still in his day clothes. He was cooped up in his room the whole day after coming home from the painting session.

"Namjoon!" she exclaimed with a smile. "Why are you up so late?"

"Er-I- I was..." Namjoon stammered in place as he struggled to come up with an answer without blowing away his true plans. "I was actually looking up some stuff on my laptop."

His words caused Lindsay to blush and avert her gaze away in an awkward fashion. Namjoon felt like slapping himself right there.

"Er-No! What I mean is that I'm studying for tomorrow's exam." Namjoon replied, leaning against the doorframe to look casual.

"Studying?" Lindsay repeated in confusion. "Weren't you the one who told me not to study at the last minute?"

"Well-" Namjoon paused trying to come up with a believable lie. "Well, you're not me. So, I think it's time you go to sleep now. Please."

The man was practically begging her and Lindsay decided to oblige. As she had observed, it's foolish to try and argue with Namjoon.

She shrugged as the door closed right in her face. She guessed only time will tell what Namjoon was really up to. And little did she knew, that she wouldn't have to wait a long time to find out just that.

_______________________________________________

A/N: This chapter was supposed to be a part of the previous chapter but it was too long so I ended up splitting it into two parts. I'll be releasing the final chapter tomorrow, and then an Epilogue will follow suite! ❤️

As always, please do remember to vote and comment and I hope y'all have a fantastic day.

Byeee.