First Vlog (2): The Couple Sketch
After leaving the promenade, we wandered all over the campus grounds. We lightly filmed the library, the student cafeteria, and the building where we attended classes before stepping back outside.
“Look over there. Someone’s busking.”
“Yeah. Is that one of our students?”
“Not sure. So many people come and go around here anyway.”
Our university opens its grounds to local residents on weekends. I vaguely remembered the president saying he was from this area. The idea was to create a school that didn’t feel distant from the community, so they opened the facilities like this. That’s why weekends brought every kind of person imaginable—dating couples, families on outings, street performers, you name it.
“Jeongun University opens the entire campus to the public on weekends, so all sorts of people show up. You guys should come visit too.”
While watching the woman play acoustic guitar and sing, Chae-ryeong whispered those words to the camera. When the performance paused, the audience burst into applause and cheers. We joined in, clapping along as the performer bowed in thanks.
“Sis~! You’re so cool!”
“Oh no, how embarrassing. I should pretend I don’t know her.”
Seeing Chae-ryeong shouting with excitement, I grabbed the camera and quickly slipped away in the other direction.
“Hey, couples are supposed to be one heart and one mind. Where do you think you’re running off to?”
“Then stop yelling. Everyone’s staring at us now. We’re pulling more attention than that performer.”
“So what? Enjoy the spotlight. Once the video’s up, tons of people might end up watching us anyway.”
“Must be nice to be that carefree.”
That side of her was probably what I wanted to imitate most. No hesitation, almost no shame. Or rather, at least when it came to her own feelings, she was always honest and true to them. She laughed when she felt like laughing and cried when she felt like crying. Her body might be that of a twenty-year-old adult, but a childlike purity still remained.
Still, I never put any of that into words. After all, I was the kind of adult who couldn’t even tell her I liked her.
After walking quite a distance along the path, we spotted someone sitting alone on a single chair placed right in the middle of the walkway ahead.
I Draw For You
Caricature • Portrait
A street artist. The exact kind of person you sometimes come across while strolling through parks. They seemed to draw as a hobby. With so many people around on weekends, this was probably their usual spot.
“Are they drawing for free?”
“Looks like it. There’s no price list.”
“Let’s go! I can’t pass up free art!”
“Keep that up and you’ll go bald.”
“It’s fine. The stylist unnie told me I have so much ‘charcoal’ that it’s okay if some hair falls out anyway.”
She giggled and headed behind the artist. Up close, we saw that two women who looked like friends already had nearly finished portraits. Even from behind, the pencil-only drawings were incredibly detailed and beautiful.
“Wow, they’re really talented. It’s all pencil work.”
“It looks more like a photograph than a drawing.”
We whispered in admiration from behind, careful not to disturb them. Soon the artist handed the completed pieces to the women.
“Here, all finished. You can take them.”
“Whoa~! These are amazing! Thank you so much!”
The duo beamed, thanked the artist repeatedly with bright smiles, and walked off. We watched them leave, then quickly stepped forward once they were gone.
The ever-outgoing Chae-ryeong spoke first.
“Is this really free?”
“Yes, that’s correct. Are you two a couple?”
“Yes! We are!”
Chae-ryeong nodded enthusiastically at the artist, who smiled while looking at both of us. I wondered if we really looked like a couple to strangers. The thought alone made me feel strangely good.
“We’re actually filming a vlog right now. Would it be okay to record the drawing process?”
“Ah, sure. No problem at all. Would you like a couple shot together, or separate portraits?”
“Yoon Taeo, what do you think?”
The artist was more easygoing than I expected. At the question, Chae-ryeong whipped her head around to look at me.
“Couple shot, please.”
There was no point hesitating. The whole purpose of filming was a couple vlog—if we got drawn separately, what would be the point? At my decisive answer, Chae-ryeong let out an impressed “Ooh” from the front.
…If we were going to do it, we might as well do it right.
“Hmm. In that case, that spot looks good. Could you both sit on that bench over there?”
“Sure~!”
The artist scanned the area, then pointed to a bench with a nice open background. I let an excited Chae-ryeong pull me by the hand and sat down. To capture us being drawn, I set the camera on the small desk the artist had brought along.
“This is my first time getting drawn. I’m kind of nervous.”
“Same here. Not exactly an everyday experience.”
As we awkwardly stared straight ahead, the artist gave us a slightly troubled smile.
“Your expressions are quite stiff right now. There’s no need to be that tense just because I’m drawing you.”
“Ahaha. Are we that bad?”
“You look like malfunctioning robots. Please relax. And since it’s a couple portrait, a natural couple pose would make it turn out even better.”
A couple pose, huh. Only then did we sneak a glance at each other. Our current postures looked exactly like two people sitting side by side for a job interview. Seeing how awkward we both were, we couldn’t help but laugh.
“What kind of pose would be good?”
“Just stay still. I’ll handle it.”
When I asked, Chae-ryeong delivered her line like a drama heroine and promptly linked her arm through mine. The distance between us closed in an instant. Her soft hair brushed against my shoulder and cheek. Then, with a gentle thump, she rested her head on my shoulder.
It was the classic lover’s pose you’d see in movies or dramas—leaning against the shoulder. Her sweet scent swirled around the tip of my nose, and the warm, soft pressure made my head spin.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
My heartbeat picked up again. Even though I had known skinship would happen, the moment our bodies touched, mine reacted on its own.
“How is it? Not bad, right?”
“…It’s not bad.”
Unlike me, who was tense all over, her face looked perfectly bright and unbothered. I wasn’t sure if her acting was just that good, or if she really didn’t see me as a man at all and felt zero excitement. I didn’t know which, but I desperately hoped it wasn’t the latter.
“Oh, that pose is nice. Could you hold it for about five minutes? Please don’t move.”
…Five whole minutes in this position?
And so began a stretch of time I couldn’t decide was blissful or pure torture.
…Yeah. This was embarrassment. After all, I was hugging Yoon Taeo right in front of a stranger.
I tried to keep a calm face, but I was sure my cheeks were turning red. In the end, I settled on embarrassment as the answer.
The artist’s eyes carefully studied us, observing every tiny detail. Capturing our couple act through a camera lens hadn’t felt that embarrassing. I had even enthusiastically acted out a jealous scene earlier. But being watched by a real person in the moment was a whole different kind of shame. It wasn’t viewers on the other side of a screen—this was an actual person looking at us and believing we were a couple.
Yes. That’s why it was embarrassing. No matter if we had been friends for fifteen years, no matter if the other person didn’t see me as a woman at all. Anyone in this situation would feel embarrassed. Even if it had been my own dad, I probably would have felt the same.
With that thought, I pushed the emotion down as if it were nothing. Then I stared at Taeo’s face beside me. He was calmly looking straight ahead, completely unfazed.
“…Why?”
“Mm. It’s nothing.”
He must have sensed my gaze. He asked without shifting his posture, voice barely a whisper. I answered the same way.
Did this guy really feel nothing? Or was he incapable of feeling shame? His usual blank expression and cool gaze showed almost no emotional shift, and for some reason that disappointed me. What followed was pure frustration.
…Why am I the only one feeling embarrassed?
It felt unfair. If it was embarrassing, we should both be embarrassed. The fact that I seemed to be the only one made me unreasonably irritated. As my annoyance grew, I tightened my grip on his arm even more and pressed my body closer, practically clinging to him.
Without understanding where that feeling came from, I spent the rest of our modeling time in a strangely resentful mood.
After receiving the finished drawing from the artist, we headed toward the student union building, the last stop on our campus tour. Since it housed club practice rooms and such, it sat at the top of the hill, which meant climbing a long flight of stairs.
As I walked up, I stared at the portrait the artist had drawn and couldn’t help exclaiming.
“This is beautiful.”
I made sure to film the drawing properly so the viewers could see it too. Chae-ryeong leaning comfortably against me with a relaxed expression, and me with a faint smile. It probably hadn’t looked that natural in real life, but the artist must have added some artistic touch.
I turned the camera again to film Chae-ryeong climbing the stairs ahead of me.
“Yoon Taeo.”
“Yeah?”
“…You know, you were really calm earlier while we were getting drawn.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It was the kind of situation that should’ve been embarrassing, but you didn’t look embarrassed at all. That’s all.”
“I wasn’t embarrassed. Not really.”
Far from it. The feeling of her chest against my arm had been far more dangerous than the artist’s gaze. I’d been so overwhelmed I thought I might actually die. I had no attention to spare for anyone else’s eyes. I just stared straight ahead and desperately recited the Heart Sutra and the national anthem inside my head.
“…Really? Then forget I said anything.”
But my answer only made Chae-ryeong sound dissatisfied, her voice carrying a hint of disappointment. I wondered what was wrong with her, but she often got hung up on strange details, so I decided to let it slide.
“More importantly, shouldn’t you explain to the viewers where we’re going now, Miss Chae-ryeong?”
“Oh, right. If you go all the way up these stairs, you can see that big building at the top, right? That’s our school’s famous landmark—the club rooms and student union building.”
“That was the landmark?”
“Yeah, because it’s at the highest point and visible from everywhere. It’s basically our campus icon.”
Realizing again that we were filming, Chae-ryeong’s face brightened and she slipped back into vlogger mode. The strange atmosphere from before quickly faded.
Then she suddenly stopped on the stairs and flashed a mischievous grin. She must have thought of something fun again.
“Hey, Taeo. Want to play a game?”
“Huh? What game?”
“Rock, paper, scissors while climbing the stairs.”
“Here? There are still so many steps left.”
“That’s what makes it fun! Come on, let’s do it~!”
“Fine, I’ll play. But don’t stand at the edge like that. What if you fall?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine. I’m not a little kid—kyaaak!”
…Was that a death flag?
Watching her lose her balance and start to fall from the step above, that was the first thought that crossed my mind.