“Dude, you’re disgusting.” Mel threw those word right against Ryan’s head as they ate lunch together in the dining hall.

“H-huh?” Why is everyone attacking me these days?! Ryan didn’t understand it at all! 

“You’re so … cheery, and giddy, and weird. You’ve been like that all morning, just giggling to yourself.”

Ryan pouted — he couldn’t help the way his body reacted. Of course, he felt happy — who wouldn’t be happy when a talented artist decided to draw them to perfection? Sure, Elias had ruined the sketch right after, but being chosen that way was an honor in and of itself!

“Hey, I’m handsome, right?” 

Pretending to be overtaken by nausea, Mel puffed her cheeks and frowned. “Ugh. Why would you ask me that? You’re being so weird!” 

“Hey, hey, come on! Objectively speaking, I’m handsome, don’t you think? I’ve got a good face, right?”

“Seriously, I don’t want to think about your face.” Mel grumbled, pointing her attention towards her food, instead. 

“Well, it’s definitely not ugly, right? Mel, I’m not ugly, don’t you think?” 

“You know, in my eyes you still look like you did in 7th grade with braces and those big, stupid glasses you had,” Mel started laughing. “Those glasses were so thick, they made your eyes so tiny. Like a panda.” She imitated Ryan’s past glasses with her hands, pressing them into her face in circles, giggling to herself, and mocking Ryan in the process.

Ryan grumbled, didn’t want to remember those glasses back then. He’d gotten surgery on his eyes as soon as he’d turned eighteen, no longer needing those giant glasses. “Yeah, yeah, but now! I’m talking about now!” 

“Why are you asking me that?! That’s nasty!” 

“I was just curious … If you don’t think so, I bet there’s a bunch of people that do! A lot more than you might expect, you know, and even some where you’d never expect that they’d think so!” 

“What is going on with you? You’ve been so weird lately.” 

Ryan mumbled, barely answering the question. “Elias, he is really talented.”

“Huh?”

“Elias,” Ryan repeated, sparking Mel’s memory.

“You’re still on about that? I thought he blew you off.” 

“No, no,” Ryan shook his head too many times. “He called me, and I tutored him in calculus. It went really well, I must say! If we ignore half the insults he threw at me.” 

Mel scoffed, chewing on her fries. “Why are you trying so hard with him? It’s not worth the pain.” 

“Well, I thought we could be friends. And I like helping people!” 

“Yeah, you’re a total people pleaser, and a pushover. You’d let Elias step on you if he wanted to, the way you stared at him that day.” 

Ryan grumbled and rubbed his heated neck. “You’re exaggerating…” 

Mel kept on giggling, and Ryan sighed, drooping his head down onto the table. “I have to go over to the arts faculty later. Do you think he’ll be there?” 

“Why would you have to go there?”

“Elias forgot his sketchbook when we were studying. I’m bringing it over, since it looks high-quality and expensive. And would be a shame to lose those sketches he worked so hard on, right?” 

Mel glared, widened eyes stuck to her face. “You are so dead. You’re done for. I’ll bring tacos to your funeral, okay?”

“What do you mean?” Ryan frowned, gazing over at his backpack, Elias’ sketchbook hidden within, with Elias’ name written within to make sure it would always find its way back to his owner. Elias Kang. 

Instead of answering him, Mel reached for her phone, and began looking for the evidence, instead.

The evidence in question being a forum chat of their university, of art students once more complaining about Elias. 

The title of the forum’s article was rather rude, already. 

What the hell is wrong with Elias Kang???

The anonymous post read as followed: 

[I’m in Painting II with Professor Lorenzo and just need to know. Elias is amazingly talented, but the second he opens his mouth, nothing but trash comes out. He had his canvas covered up, but the fabric fell before class started, when everyone got their paints and stuff ready. We all gathered to look at his painting, since it was already so sophisticated for a first sketch, and his color theory is out of this world. 

I wanted to compliment him on it when he entered the atelier, but he completely lost it when he saw us enjoying his art, ripped it to shreds, and threw it away. Then, he completely started over with a new painting, but had it locked up in a separate room whenever he wasn’t there. 

Why is he like this? Has anyone else had bad experiences with Elias Kang?]

Ryan gulped, and read on. There were so, so many comments underneath this post, it frightened Ryan to the core. 

[yeah. He’s like that.]

[How dare you look at it!! Its not for the lowly commoners to enjoy!!]

[He dropped his pencil case once, and I picked it up for him. He got so mad, as if I was infected or something, lol]

[In my first semester, I really admired Elias. He was somewhat of a role model to me, since he was a year above. Somehow, we ended up in the same life drawing class, and I asked him for tips. He could whip up a sketch with so much detail in just a few minutes, it was unreal. But when I asked him for help, he scoffed, and rolled his eyes, saying things like: “how did you get into this program if you can’t even do this much?” never meet your idols, I guess. He’s rotten to the core.]

Ryan had cold sweat dripping down his face, eyes flickering over to his backpack. 

“So, you’re saying he’ll totally chop off my hands for even touching his sketchbook?”

“It was nice knowing you, Ryan,” Mel laughed. “I told you not to get involved.”

Ryan remained in good spirits, though he was all the more nervous now. “It won’t be that bad! I’m sure some of those comments are completely overplaying what happened!”

“As optimistic as ever, huh?” Ryan already inhaled, getting ready for the next question, but before he could even speak, Mel had already read his mind and shushed him completely. “And no, I’m not coming with you. I gotta get to class.” 

Ryan grumbled. “I don’t think you’ll miss much … And you’ll get the chance to laugh at me after if you were right.”

“I’d love to see you get chewed out by Elias,” Mel scoffed, “But no can do. I’ve got an exam coming up in Economics.” 

In that case, Ryan had no choice but to go himself. And since he was free, he decided to it as soon as Mel left for her lecture.

The closer he got to the arts faculty, the more nervous his heart became, clearly trembling inside his chest. Already holding onto Elias’ sketchbook, fingers clenched around it so tightly, as if he was worried he’d drop it, he tiptoed over to the building. 

Entering it, he was immediately met with endless art exhibited for the students to see. Sculptures along the halls, paintings of all kinds framed on the walls. They were all amazing, ranging from abstract paintings to completely life-like drawings Ryan couldn’t distinguish from real photographs, and there, in the midst of it all, a painting made Ryan stop in the midst of his tracks. 

In a giant frame, it stole all glances away from the other exhibits it shared the wall with. So large, it almost tickled the ceiling, and even Ryan’s feet. 

His heart beat louder, and louder. 

Another piano. 

But this oil painting was so much more than that, and Ryan stepped so close, he saw each and every brush stroke of it, the thick and thin brushed Elias must have used.

The piano sat alone, and nothing else but cracked wooden flooring surrounded it. It’s surroundings were dunked in shadows, and the piano itself was enlightened by a crack in the brick wall beside it, being shone on by the beautiful sun. 

And from within the piano, and all atop its keys, vines had grown. Roses, and thorns took over the piano, nature making it its own. The seat was empty, and no one would ever use this piano again, not in this abandoned, forgotten world Elias had drawn, where nature retook each and every corner, and even all the strings inside the piano, making it impossible for the instrument to ever sound again. 

It’s so … lonely. Ryan gulped, and he could have stared at this painting forevermore, could have found more and more details within it, in every crack of the detailed bricks Elias had drawn, in every inch of the wood beneath the piano, and even within its keys. The insects that rummaged through, having made this piano their home. 

The way he played with light and dark, and the way the sun’s shine felt so realistic, so warm and so real, and yet so cold in this lonely painting … What a talent he had. 

In the corner of the painting, a little sign resided, titling the painting. 

Elias Kang. 

Gone Melodies. 

Ryan gulped. Somehow, he felt so heavy, so emotional, his soul dragging him down into the ground. Whatever this painting tried to convey, Ryan wasn’t well-versed enough in art to know, but it hit him, either way, making him clench his fingers around his heart as he tried to regain his usual, good mood. 

“Wow,” he whispered. 

Now, he was all the more intrigued about Elias, and whatever hid underneath that incredibly hard shell he so desperately wanted to crack.