The Painter and the Prince Who Cannot Be Painted novel · Chapter 24 of 24
Chapter 24: The Painter and the Prince
On the morning of the Consort's birthday, Do-yun set up his easel in the middle of the yard.
It stood in the open sun, with nothing hung to hide it.
The gate stood open.
The laundry lines were empty, and the bamboo poles were stacked in the woodshed.
The hill above the east wall had no guard on it at all.
A new length of silk was stretched on the frame.
Gyeol sat on a cushion on the swept stones across the courtyard.
He wore his faded indigo robe with the neck open, and his long hair hung loose and shining.
He had shaved.
The scar through his brow looked very white against his skin.
"Face the sun," Do-yun said.
"I am."
"A little more. The chin."
"My chin is exactly where it was."
"Hold still."
"I am holding still."
"You're humming."
"I am not."
"You are. Through your nose."
Gyeol pressed his lips together, and the corner of his mouth shook.
Do-yun lifted the brush.
He painted the straight nose, the heavy brows, the stern jaw that had been a dead man's and was now only his lover's.
He painted the fine lines at the corners of the eyes, and the brown iris with its ring of amber.
For the first time in all those nights, the face did not fight him.
It lay on the silk, whole and simple and quite clear.
"Do-yun?"
"Mm."
"Your tongue is out."
"It is not."
"It's between your teeth. You do it when it's going well."
Do-yun clamped his mouth shut.
Gyeol began to laugh.
He tried to stop, and could not, and bent forward with his shoulders shaking and his hand over his eyes.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–6 of The Painter and the Prince Who Cannot Be Painted are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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