Forbidden Desire

His tone was pleading, and I simply nodded without even reasoning.

“It will be all right… I promise!”

I was afraid to believe in promises, but unlike Jason, Jihoon had never disappointed me, so hearing him say that everything would be okay gave me a glimmer of hope. Even though I knew hope was dangerous for a woman like me, at that moment, I believed that everything would be okay. He stepped back a bit and showed me the bouquet with a smile.

“Do you know why I chose these two flowers to give you as a gift?”

I shook my head.

“The Sunflower is the flower of hope… It turns its stem until it finds the sun… It seeks its happiness, even if it has to make a full 360-degree turn, it continues to seek. The white daisy, on the other hand, represents love, purity, creativity, sensitivity, and kindness. Even though they are two different flowers, both remind me of you… Because just like the Sunflower, you made a turn in your life in pursuit of your dream… And well, the daisies are because you brought everything they represent into my life…”

He looked at me and handed me the bouquet, leaving me completely static at his words.

“How do you manage to leave me speechless?”

“I wonder the same about you.”

“Thank you for the bouquet… They’re beautiful.”

“It’s for the most beautiful woman I know.”This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

I looked away for a moment, feeling my face burn, but then I thought of something and lifted my gaze.

“Why are you hiding?”

“Well, on the day of the exhibition, I could go without any problems because it was a closed and exclusive event, but today, being an event open to the public, it would be a problem if my fans knew I’m here. Not to mention that I don’t want the press to know that I’m involved with this contest, otherwise, it will cease to be a cultural thing and will only be seen as “The contest that Venom sponsors”, and that’s not what I want. I wasn’t supposed to come, but I couldn’t help it.”

My heart almost stopped when I saw the way he smiled at me.

“So, young lady, you better get up on that stage and shine because I’m here for you.”

He lightly squeezed my hand, encouraging me, and my teacher got my attention.

“Jane, we have to go up; you’ll be the last one to paint, but all the competitors have to be in their places. Each competitor will have 2 hours to paint, so your boyfriend has four hours to arrive.”

I nodded, and part of me cheered up… It’s not possible that Jason won’t come in 4 hours. I turned my attention back to Jihoon, and even though he had covered his face so no one could see him, I knew he was smiling by the way his eyes squinted.

“Thank you!”

He nodded and took the bouquet from my hand.

“I’ll keep this for you until the end of the contest.”

I agreed and followed the teacher, seeing a panel where 6 judges who were experts in art were analyzing us. We positioned ourselves as the teacher introduced herself, talked more about the contest, and introduced each of the competitors. I started blinking a lot because of the camera flashes that didn’t stop recording the moment, and when I looked at the audience, I was surprised to see that it was packed. I looked for a friendly face, and in the last row, I recognized Jihoon because of the bouquet, and I tried to focus only on him. I didn’t take my eyes off him for a second, and looking into those brown eyes, I felt as secure as I had never felt before I met him. The first competitor started painting, and even though I didn’t know him, I could tell his technique was impeccable. I don’t even know if I have the ability to compete with that level of talent. He had brought an older lady who, by the affection he showed her, seemed to be his mother. For a few seconds, I felt envious of him, and I wished my grandma was here posing for me… Even though she’s no longer here, I know wherever she is, she would be proud of me. The more he mixed the colors on a canvas full of life in an abstract structure, I realized I had little chance… I looked back at Ji, and he smiled again, seeming to dispel all my doubts. I didn’t know what he had that made me feel so confident and sure that everything would be okay, even though I knew it wouldn’t, because as the hours passed, I was more sure that Jason wouldn’t come. Every time I heard the auditorium door open, my heart filled with hope, and soon that hope was shattered when I realized it wasn’t him. Jihoon started to seem nervous, and I don’t know if it was a reflection of what I was feeling or just something in my head. When the second participant’s time was nearing its end, I knew that would also be my end. When the 5-minute countdown started, and I saw my competitor nervous as he made the final touches, I started crying because part of me really believed Jason would fulfill his promise, but now, seeing the last 10 seconds flashing on the main screen, I started feeling my whole body tremble. I kept my eyes fixed on the door until the countdown reached zero, and when it did, I closed my eyes, hiding my face in my hands. While the participant explained the essence of his painting, I just saw my teacher’s sad look on me. As soon as she was alone under the spotlight, she lowered her head, giving up just like me.

“Well, our last participant, Miss Jane Oliveira, whose paintings were all sold in the last stage of the contest and was the most promising participant of the contest, unfortunately did not fulfill one of the contest requirements, which was to bring a model for whom she had strong feelings, and therefore, unfortunately, will be disqualified.”

I heard murmurs in the audience, and I lowered my head, feeling tears rolling down, but the voices that once seemed disapproving fell silent when a voice invaded the place.

“No… She hasn’t been disqualified… I’m here, and I’ll be her model.”

I raised my head, startled, and saw him walking through the aisle as he removed the mask and cap, revealing his beautiful orange hair, surprising everyone who started applauding and shouting his name.

“Oh my God, it’s Venom!”

Everyone seemed surprised, and I was completely static seeing how determined he was coming to the stage. When he climbed the stairs towards me and took my hand so I could react, I could only smile once again because he was saving me. My teacher looked at me for a few seconds and then smiled incredulously as if she understood everything.

“Well, it seems I was wrong, and shining knights in armor do exist. In this case, Miss Oliveira, you can position yourself, and when you’re ready, we’ll start the countdown.”

Jihoon led me to the chair where I should sit to paint and kissed my forehead, making everyone in the audience comment. He tried to step back, but when he realized I couldn’t let go of his hand, he looked at me with a smile.

“You can do it!”

I smiled back at him and focused only on his eyes, his smile, the features of his beautiful face, his hair that seemed to bring all the color that Jason had taken with him, his lips so full and in such a soft shade of pink that enchanted me. He sat in front of me just like the other models did, and when I picked up the brushes, I didn’t waste a second. Every time I looked at him, his eyes sparkled for me, and I seemed to completely forget that hundreds of people were watching me; I just closed myself in a world that was just ours and started tracing the lines. For me, it wasn’t difficult to express my feelings for him. I had already done it in other paintings for his album, and with him in front of me, it was impossible not to be inspired. Each of his smiles was more beautiful than the last, and although sometimes he seemed shy, now he seemed to be in the same state as me. Immersed in a world that was just ours. I skillfully mixed the colors, created textures, and played with various painting styles. When the time was nearing its end, I was just finishing up some touches and was completely satisfied with the result. Seeing the time run out, I let go of the brush completely confident. I didn’t even seem like the same woman who was sitting there believing she wasn’t capable. All these feelings that dragged me down and made me believe I couldn’t seem to disappear when Jihoon took my hand. The teacher came to me, and her eyes sparkled as she analyzed the painting up close.

“Wow! You really expressed yourself here… Could you explain the essence of your painting?”

I nodded, and when Jihoon finally looked at the painting, he smiled in a way that could illuminate the whole room.

“In one part of the painting, we can see the body of a woman with her back turned slightly towards us, and instead of her head, there’s a Sunflower facing the other side of the canvas where we see Venom with his orange hair representing the sun…”

I looked straight at Jihoon, and I got emotional.

“Because that’s exactly what he has been for me. He has warmed and illuminated my coldest days… He has brought color to my world and has saved me from the world and from myself since I met him.”

My voice faltered a bit, and I noticed his eyes filled with tears just like mine.

“Wow… What intense feeling… Congratulations, you represented that very well. Now, I’ll call the other competitors to the stage, and we’ll display the three paintings so that the judges can make their decisions.”

I went to Ji, hugging him, and the other competitors came to us with their respective partners, eager for criticism, comments, and of course, for a result. We stood there while our works were evaluated, and even though I didn’t know the result, I was very happy to have made it this far, to have done my best, and especially for Jihoon to be here, holding hands with me with a smile from ear to ear as he looked at me. I was riveted to him and seemed not to concentrate on anything else but his beautiful brown eyes… We were still in our world, and I whispered a thank you while giving him an emotional smile. The way he reacted shyly when I thanked him only made me smile even more. When I was holding his hand, I felt like I could face the world, and it seemed like nothing else mattered.

“Well, the critics have reached a verdict, and I can’t say I’m surprised. Once again, Miss Jane Oliveira’s impressive artistic and emotional performance has won over everyone. She won this phase of the contest, and now she will compete at a national level against the best students in Korea for a prize of one hundred thousand dollars.”