Important: 

The original language of this novel is Spanish, I apologize if the translation contains errors and it is difficult for you to understand some contexts. I promise to continue studying to improve and offer you better content. Thanks for reading this.

Att: KOKO

Chapter 4 (A great artist)

It was Sunday morning and it was supposed to be Mr. Shiroi's rest day. However, since he was close to the place, he decided to make a small visit to his florist to see how things were going.

- Hello? Good morning - Says Mr. Shiroi as he entered through the main door of the flower shop.

Inside was the little Norio dressed in his uniform, accompanied by a boy his age a little taller than him. Norio's companion also wore the same uniform from the store; his hair was completely black and straight, short in the back and with bangs so long that it covered the entire left side of his face. his skin was tanned; a shade much like Mr. Shiroi's color, and his eyes, even though you could only see one, fully highlighted that beautiful bright apple green color.

- Go ... Good morning - Says the young man who accompanies Norio with a low and soft tone of voice.

- Mr. Shiroi! What a surprise! - Exclaims excited little Norio.

- I went shopping - Mr. Shiroi answers - And since I was around here, I wanted to come and see how things were.

Shiroi enters the store and approaches the pair of boys while looking around. The flowers were in good condition, the tables and shelves organized, the floor gleaming, and the main counter neatly arranged. He took the bag that hung from his right shoulder and placed it on one of the center tables that was near the boys.

- And I see that everything is perfectly ordered and very calm - concluded Mr. Shiroi - tranquility is one of the most pleasant things about opening the store on Sundays.

- Mr. Shiroi - Says the young man next to Norio, somewhat rigid and nervous - Welcome.

- Oh, thanks Takato - Shiroi kindly answers him.

Norio squints at Takato trying to have a conversation with Mr. Shiroi. It was easy to see how difficult it was for the young man with the long bangs, his posture showed discomfort and his face showed a pronounced blush. Then little Norio turns his gaze to the front, somewhat low.

- How are you two? - Mr. Shiroi asks - Are you getting along well? You guys seemed to be having a nice conversation when I got there. I'm sorry I interrupted you.

- No ... not that ... - Takato tried to answer.

- Sorry Mr. Shiroi! - Interrupts loudly the little Norio - Forget that I have work pending inside the warehouse.

- What do you say? The warehouse seemed to be in perfect order yesterday - Says Mr. Shiroi somewhat confused.

- Takato! - Norio exclaims once more, interrupting Mr. Shiroi - I entrust the store to you meanwhile. If you need something, call me.

- Yes - Takato answers briefly as he watches Norio leave.

Norio finally enters through the back door next to the door to the break room. Thus, Lord Shiroi and young Takato were completely alone.

- Actually - Says Mr. Shiroi - I was a little worried about you. Since this is your first job and it has been a very short time since you started working here, I thought it would be difficult for you to adapt to clients and Norio. After all ... They are all strangers to you right?

- I ... - Takato tries to say - I'm sorry if I'm ... causing you problems, Mr. Shiroi.

- Oh no. Absolutely not. In fact I am very relieved - Mr. Shiroi answers - Have you got used to dealing with clients?

- Yes ... I - Says Takato - I do my best.

- What about school? - Mr. Shiroi continues asking - Have you made friends?

- That ... - Takato is silent for a moment - I ... I do my best.

Mr. Shiroi, who was right in front of him, simply looks at him and smiles sweetly upon hearing the answers to all his questions. That little big boy was much taller than him, and even so, it was very difficult for him to communicate openly and show a little confidence. His way of speaking showed fear and self-doubt, but that was something that Mr. Shiroi had to respect, until Takato himself decided to change that part of him.

- In that case - Mr. Shiroi finally says with that same smile full of tenderness and understanding - That means you are doing very well.

Takato is silent. His expression remains the same, his eyes droopy and his gaze dim. A small gust of wind manages to make its way through the door, Mr. Shiroi's long hair gently waving in the wind, just like Takato's long bangs. The force of the wind was enough to lift that bang and reveal the left part of his face. His eyes looked perfectly symmetrical when you saw them uncovered. He was a beautiful face, marked by a huge scar that started from the left part of his forehead, crossed his eyebrow, his left eye and reached the left cheek.

Mr. Shiroi under his gaze, almost at the same time that Takato put his left hand to cover that mark, until the wind had stopped and his bangs had returned to their place to fulfill their main function.

- I'll go with Norio - Mr. Shiroi said - I don't want him to do more work than necessary. Will you be fine here alone?

- Yes - Takato answers.

Little Norio was in the warehouse placing a box very slowly on top of a stack of identical boxes. All the boxes were perfectly aligned, the floor shines like a mirror, he arranged the vases on the shelves by size, the brooms and mops were all lined up next to each other with the same separation distance. Everything was so shiny that even the cleaning products creaked with cleaning.

- Hmn - Norio said, standing in the middle of all the perfect order, with his arms crossed - I don't know what else to order here anymore… Would it be appropriate to return?

- Why wouldn't it be? - Mr. Shiroi answered standing at the entrance of the warehouse.

- Mr. Shiroi? - Norio reacts by turning his gaze quickly towards Shiroi.

- You shouldn't have left - Mr. Shiroi clarified.

- Ah! Hehe! Sorry - Norio replied nervously - I got the impression that this place needed to be tidy.

- It's a shame - Says Mr. Shiroi - I had intentions to tell you something interesting that I just remembered.

- REALLY?!! - Norio shouts happily - WILL YOU TELL ME? PLEASE MR. SHIROI.

- Haha - Mr. Shiroi laughs embarrassed with his hand resting on his cheek and his face flushed - Are you so interested to hear my story? It's kind of embarrassing. Okay ... I'll tell you about that time, I discovered something interesting about that person.

That was an ordinary afternoon, it happened two days after meeting that Alpha and his friend Omega. They were two more people that I had to add to my list of people that I should avoid at all costs. My classes were over and I was going to the library to read at ease without any fuss, usually I used to stay until closing time, since at home there was nothing better to do and my work started after 10 o'clock the night.

- Hey, that boy who just passed by - I heard one of the girls who had just passed by me murmur behind me - Isn't he an Omega?

- Huh? How do you know? - Responds the girl who accompanied her.

- His necklace, didn't you see it?

- True. How vulgar - The girls continued to raise their tone of voice, perhaps with the intention of being heard clearly - All Omegas are vulgar and indecent. It is for this reason that they are raped and…

I turned back and looked directly at the girl who was about to say a lot of things that had nothing to do with me, but, for the simple fact of wearing the necklace and being born as an Omega, I was judged the same way than those mentioned by them. My eyes went straight to hers; I always made sure to express my thoughts clearly without saying a single word. They reacted upon noticing action and quickly closed their mouths and continued on their way. Something typical of each of my days in that institute.

I also continued on my way, I was in a long open-air corridor, to my left was a garden with big trees, where the students used to hang out, study, eat or just chat. To my right was a series of classrooms for the meetings of the different cubes that were in the institute. Everything was lonely, classes were already over and most of the people were already going home.

It was in that hallway that I came to a complete stop, I didn't know exactly since when, but there was a beautiful sky blue butterfly perched on my right shoulder. On that occasion, the scent was very slight, I could barely trace it. Look to my right, where I thought the butterfly had come from and there it was a faint trace of that blue butterfly’s scent that went into the art club room.

- Hello? - I said shyly when entering the place - Is there someone?

I asked scared without knowing what answer I wanted to hear.. If someone answered, and it turned out to be that person; what was I supposed to do? How should I react?

- No one? - ask one more time.

There was no one. Inside there were only tables with many containers of paint on canvas everywhere. The scent seemed to be concentrated in a specific place, a painting at the end of the room covered by a blanket. I couldn't contain my curiosity, I don't know why, but I felt a need to know the content of that painting. I approached slowly and reached out to remove that blanket, for a moment I hesitated, but then it was as if my hand was moving on its own and pulling the blanket to the ground.

My heart went wild. It wasn't his scent, nor his appearance, nor his physical presence in front of me. It was just a painting, but it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, or at least that was what that painting made me feel. It was a small and delicate hand, with a brown skin tone, you could see that he was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt, unbuttoned at the end. His index finger was raised, and on it, a beautiful light blue butterfly.

- This ... - I said, as I placed my hand gently on the painting, stroking the strokes delicately - you drew this??

Bring my face closer to the painting until my forehead comes into contact with it. I held the painting tightly as close to me as possible. At that moment, touching it, and feeling it so close to me, it was almost as if I had been by his side while he painted this painting. I was closing my eyes and I could imagine him sitting in front of the canvas, giving each brushstroke as if it were his greatest work of art.

- DING - DONG! - The school bells rang announcing the closure.

I hadn't realized how long it had been while I was there, facing that painting, admiring it.

- What am I doing? - React.

That was stupid, something like what I was doing and thinking only happened in silly romance movies. And it only happened to the protagonists of these films, not to someone as ordinary as me. He probably didn't even know about my existence while I was freaking out of scent and a painting done by someone I didn't know at all.

The ridiculous encounters with that sweet aroma of blue butterflies that always came from no one, was the clear sign that fate did not want such an encounter.

But, that day like any other I discovered that he was an great artist.