chapter 4

The art room was quiet and tense, with no other students around. Every brushstroke Eloise made seemed louder in the silence.

She occasionally glanced at Clemence, whose discomfort grew with each passing moment. Eloise's gaze unsettled him because it wasn't the look one gave a person, but something closer to studying an object, a reference.

Clemence swallowed hard when Eloise suddenly stopped painting. Instead of picking up her brush again, she just stared at him.

*Did I move too much? Is something wrong?* He searched for answers in her expression, unsure what had made her stop.

"You know…" Eloise furrowed her brows at Clemence. "You can just relax a little."

"Eh...?" Clemence wasn't sure how to respond to her suggestion

*If you say it like that, it only makes it harder to relax…* he complained silently.

Clemence didn't respond right away, and Eloise let out a quiet sigh. The sound made him flinch.

*Is she annoyed?!* he panicked. *This is exactly why I didn't want to do this in the first place…* Regret began to swirl in his thoughts.

But Eloise's words were the opposite of what he expected.

"Never mind. Just move however you want. You can even start dancing if you like," she said with a shrug.

*Dancing… that's even worse*, Clemence thought with a shiver.

Still, her words stuck with him. He started thinking of ways to distract himself. As he looked around the room, his eyes landed on his bag, and an idea popped into his head.

"Mind if I work on my workbook?" he asked awkwardly.

Eloise glanced at his bag. "You're lucky I'm talented," she said, already painting. "Catching up on lessons, huh?"

Clemence chuckled awkwardly, already pulling out the stack of workbooks.

They worked in near silence, each focused on their task. The tension eased little by little.

But then, Eloise spoke again.

"I thought you were naturally awkward yesterday," she began, watching him closely. "But earlier, with the students, you seemed so calm under their attention. Now I'm wondering if you are only tense around me?"

She tilted her head, an amused gleam in her eye. "Considering my beauty is on another level, even with all those students combined, it's natural to be nervous. But you don't look too bad yourself, so I'm curious." Her words surprised Clemence. It was the first time he'd heard her talk so much at once.

"Umm… I think it's because your confidence is a bit overwhelming," he admitted, careful to keep his tone light.

*You kind of act like a narcissist…* he added silently.

Eloise didn't seem offended. She gave him a knowing look, like she'd heard that before, then smoothly changed the subject.

"Oh yeah…So, your name is Clemence, right? You said you were named after your mother?" Eloise asked, still focused on her painting.

"So you've heard…" Clemence replied simply.

"Wouldn't it be confusing, having the same name as someone in your family?" she asked, her eyes never leaving the canvas.

"Haha… it's not really a problem," Clemence said, setting his pen down. A faint smile crossed his lips…too faint to mean anything.

"After all… she's already gone."

His voice didn't crack, his eyes didn't soften. They're just…empty.

After the painful truth slipped out, a heavy silence fell between them.

Clemence, realizing he might've made things awkward, opened his mouth to change the subject, but Eloise spoke first.

"…Still," she said after a pause, her brush pausing mid-air. "If it were me, I think I'd want a name that was mine… even if it was plain"

She didn't hold back her words, but Clemence didn't react in anger. He simply stared at her, his gaze faltering.

Then, after a breath, she added, "But… I don't know your family's circumstances. So I don't really have the right to judge."

"…Yeah," Clemence murmured, unsure of what else to say.

The silence that followed wasn't uncomfortable…just heavy.

He didn't know how to sit in it—what to do with sympathy that wasn't sharp or pitying.

So he laughed, just enough to break the stillness. "Haha… but I do wonder how the class knew my name beforehand."

Eloise stared at him, clearly noticing his attempt to shift the conversation, but she didn't mind and just went along with it.

"My friend Beatrice overheard the teachers talking about you and caught your name—Clemence," she explained.

"I see… haha," he said, scratching the back of his neck. The air felt lighter now. A bit of tension still lingered, but it was manageable.

Just as Clemence began wondering how much longer the session would last, a ringtone played from Eloise's phone.

"Oh, time's up," she muttered, glancing at the screen.

She started packing up but paused to glance at him.

"Come back tomorrow. I haven't finished your portrait yet," she said, then paused to study him.

"And try to loosen up a little. With a calm expression, your looks could almost compete with mine."

"Haha… that might be a bit difficult," he replied with a small smile.

"Why?" Eloise tilted her head

*Because you're still intimidating…* Clemence thought, but didn't dare say it.

He stayed quiet. Eloise waited a moment, then continued.

"Then let's get to know each other better, if that's what it takes," Eloise said with a casual shrug.

Clemence gave her a confused look at first, but then let out a soft laugh"You're oddly desperate…" he couldn't help but comment. But as soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them.

"You're worth the effort," Eloise said simply, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. And for some reason, that casual certainty flustered him more than anything else.