"Yay! I told you it was a bird!" Yui-shin cheered, her face glowing with triumph.
"See, Fei-yu? Saki saw it was a bird right away!"
Fei-yu just nodded and smiled, feeling like a father telling a white lie to keep his daughter happy. Yui-shin was already lost in thought, wondering if she should ask for a kiss, a hug, or... hehe.
Saki watched them from the side, a strange mix of envy and bitterness rising in her chest. She envied how much Fei-yu cared for Yui-shin. Seeing that doting look in his eyes made her throat feel tight and her eyes dry. She felt awkward and out of place, having spent her middle school years in isolation without friends.
"Saki, can we see what you painted?" Yui-shin asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Mine?" Saki hesitated. "It's also a bird, but it might be ugly..."
"No way! We're best friends, we probably thought of the same thing!"
Saki slowly turned her canvas around.
Fei-yu and Yui-shin both gasped. It was a peacock with its tail spread. It wasn't just "good" for a student; it showed a level of technical skill far beyond their age. It was like seeing a primary schooler solve advanced calculus.
"It's so beautiful! Saki, you're amazing!" Yui-shin leaned in for a closer look.
"It's nothing, really..." Saki's face turned bright red. She wasn't used to praise.
"I didn't expect you to be such a talented artist on top of being so pretty," Fei-yu added.
That was the breaking point. Saki's heart felt like it was going to leap out of her chest. "I-I'm not... not that good..." she stammered. Her body felt weak. If only I could lie in Fei-yu's arms... Fei-yu thought she was just shy. She looked like a cute, confused little thing—easy to tease. But her body looked so fragile, like she might break if he touched her too hard.
He looked closer at the peacock. It was technically perfect, but it felt... forced. It was trying too hard to be beautiful, which made it feel unnatural. "Peacocks showing off their feathers," he thought, "is just vanity."
But he didn't say that out loud. He wasn't a professional critic, and he didn't want to hurt her feelings.
He looked at the clock. Only ten minutes left. He needed to get to work.
"An animal... what should I paint?"
He briefly thought about painting a bird too, but he knew he couldn't beat Saki, and he didn't want Yui-shin to laugh at him. He needed something simple.
"A chicken? No... let's go with a duck."
He recalled a simple drawing of a duck he'd seen online. Half-circle for the body, circle for the head, a little beak... In two minutes, a surprisingly lifelike duck appeared on his canvas.
"Mmh, not bad," he muttered to himself.