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khiphop-stories · 6 years

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Umbrella - Chapter IV

[Chapter I | Chapter II | Chapter III]

Lesson Four: A Little Gesture of Kindness

[Christian Yu, DPR Live]

You lost count of how many times you had already snoozed your alarm. If it were up to you, you would just lie around in bed lazily for the rest of the day, catching up on your very much needed sleep. You weren’t able to close your eyes at all last night. The horrifying images of the movie kept popping up in your head and you could have sworn that you heard noises from outside, but you were too afraid to check; so you just hid yourself under the blanket, hoping the night would pass by quickly.

However, sleeping all day wasn’t an option. There were just too many obligations you had to meet. Letting out a long breath, you slowly sat up straight. When you heard clanking noises coming from outside of your room, you immediately jumped out of the bed and rushed into the living room with excitement.  

“Hana! You’re back!” You shouted joyfully and gave her a big hug. Surprised by your warm welcome which was very unlike you, she gave you a weird look. One of her hands was holding her bowl of cereal, cautious not to let the milk swap over, while the other was tapping your shoulders reluctantly.

“Why are you still here? Aren’t you supposed to be in university?”

“No, I have a job interview today… and I should probably hurry up,” you said after a short glance at the watch on your wrist.  

“Another job?” She arched up her eyebrows at you as you headed to the bathroom.   You had taken on a variety of jobs ever since Hana had gotten to know you. From babysitting to delivery, you had done it all, before finally settling for working as a waitress in a luxury restaurant. They payment was enough to live by. Thus you didn’t have to keep the other part-time jobs anymore.

“It’s an unpaid internship, but the company’s huge. If I they offer me a permanent position after my internship, I’ll never have to worry about money again,” you told her with a smile, before disappearing behind the door to the bathroom.

~*~  

After taking one last glance at the mirror, you nodded your head confidently and told yourself encouraging words. You could do it. It was just an interview. You simply had to be yourself. There was no need to be nervous. Hana gave you a supportive thumbs up and wished you luck.

You grabbed your bag from the floor and put on your heels. Then you opened the door, ready to head outside. At the other side of the door Dabin was standing with his arm raised and his hand clenched to a fist, as though he was just about to knock. Your eyes widened in surprise and so did his.   

“Wow…” his mouth dropped open.

“What?” You furrowed your eyebrows at him in confusion.  

“You look really pretty,” he mumbled under his breath and you stared at him dumbfounded, wondering why he would suddenly tell you something like this. But then you remembered that you had dolled yourself up, because of the interview and it was probably his first time seeing you like this.

Living right across the hallway, he witnessed you in all kind of ridiculous states. The I-just-woke-up, the I-haven’t-washed-my-hair-for-days, the I’m-literally-dead and many more, however, it was his first time seeing you all dressed up with full on make up on your face.

 “Do you need something?” You broke the awkward silence.  

“Oh right!” He shook his head violently as though he had just woken up from trance. “We’re out of eggs and—“

  “Sure, just come in, Hana’s in the living room,” you smiled at him and took a step aside, leaving the door open for him to pass through.  

“Are you going on a date?” He asked you with curiosity in his voice.

  “Dressed like this?” You let out a chuckle, shaking your head. “What kind of dates are you going on? That’s way too formal for a date!”

“I have a job interview,” you explained.  

“Well that’s way too pretty for an interview! Are you trying to seduce them?” He replied with a laugh. Although you tried to conceal the nervousness that grew with every second, it was pretty obvious and he had noticed it immediately. Thus, he tried to ease your tension with a light joke and also boost up your confidence.

“It nothing works, that will be my last resort,” you responded playfully, giving him a wink. “But I really gotta go now,” you hurriedly waved at him and dashed into the direction of the elevator.

“Good luck, Jenn!” He shouted after you encouragingly.

~*~

It was the same route that you walked every single morning and every night. The route from your apartment to the bus station and the other way round. In the morning you could barely keep your eyes open. You always walked along the roads with heavy steps and your eyelids almost closed while regretting not going to sleep earlier. At night, you were so worn out from work that your body felt numb, so you walked along the short path being half-alive and half-dead while your brain and soul had already passed into a different dimension.

However, today you strolled back to your apartment with light steps and a big grin on your face, feeling content with yourself. It seemed as though you were finally getting somewhere in your life. All of your hard work was finally starting to show results.

Just a couple of meters in front of the entrance you bumped into Dabin again who was accompanied by Christian. They two of them were probably heading out for work. Sometimes you envied them, they were their own bosses. They could choose when to work and what to do, depending on their mood. But that didn’t mean they were slacking, they were so passionate about their work, it was impressive. Dabin had shown you some of his tracks a couple of times and you always admired his talent. He was constantly writing new songs. Christian also put in so much work to make their little company grow. He had meetings almost every other day and he stayed up all night, editing videos and creating concept ideas. Their passion was burning and you secretly admired them for it.

But, the courage they had to pursue their dreams and the risks and uncertainty that came along, wasn’t something you possessed. You preferred the safe way, the quickest path to success, to money.

Christian and Dabin both raised their eyebrows at you when they saw you. The two of them had an amused expression plastered across their faces.

 “You seem to be in a good mood,” Christian laughed.

“I got the position!” You told them enthusiastically, a wide grin curling up on your red lips.  

“Oh! Congratulations!” They both said in unison and gave you a warm congratulatory hug.

After having a little small talk, you bid goodbye, heading into the opposite direction.  You were opening the door of the entrance, when Christian called your name out of the sudden, making you swirl around again. You gave him a questioning look and waited for him to say something.  

“You should smile more often. It suits you,” he told you as his lips curved upwards.

~*~

Today was one of the very rare days where you didn’t have to go to work on a Friday night. At first you thought about taking a long bath and burying your head in a good book. However, your friends had different plans for you in mind.  There was a Halloween party at the club and they insisted that you should join them. For one, because you haven’t been able to spend much time with them due to juggling between your part-time job and your studies and in addition to that, they also wanted to celebrate you getting the internship in one of Korea’s biggest conglomerates. Their selection process was known to be extremely though. Some of your classmates had tried it before, but none of them ever managed to pass the second round. You did wonder why they had chosen you.  Your grades were good, but of course there was always someone who was better than you. You attended a prestigious university, but so did your classmates and they didn’t pass. So that couldn’t be the reason either.  You had great social skills and you were convinced they liked the answers you gave to even the most tricky questions, however, in such a competitive society, even that wouldn’t have been enough. You had nothing in you résumé that was particularly outstanding or special. Neither did you have a powerful family to back you up. But maybe, it was the combination of all that. Maybe it was your hard work that finally got acknowledge. Maybe your perseverance and your ambition were finally paying off; or maybe it was just pure luck.

You had no idea why they settled for you, but you didn’t care very much either. It didn’t matter. In the end you got the spot and if you did well, they would hire your for a permanent position. That was all that mattered to you for now.

~*~

So here you were, all dressed up in a room filled with sweaty people and loud trap music.  

Clubbing wasn’t your really your “thing”, but you had to admit it was a lot fun with the right people. It felt good to forget about everything that weighed you down once it while and alcohol always did a great job in achieving that.

You were on the dance floor with your friends and a drink in your hands, moving your body along to the beat when they announced a new DJ. They shouted his name into the mic, hyping up the crowd and you immediately turned your head to the DJ booth. He was someone you knew and had a lot of respect for. Someone you looked up to. He was the first person you had met in university as he was assigned as your mentor. Since then he had become a great source of support to you. Not only regarding things involving your studies, but also personal matters. However, one day he just wasn’t there anymore. He dropped out to focus on his career in the music business and it was hard to keep in touch with him.

  “I’ll go say hello real quick,” you shouted into your friend’s ear and pointed to the heightened platform.  You tried to weave through the crowd and it was harder than you thought. There was a lot of booty-grabbing and dick-grinding and some point some guy even stopped you, trying to push his tongue down your throat, but luckily you managed to escape just in time. There was a security guard standing right next to the booth. He saw you coming into his direction so he threw you a glare. Intimidated by his strong build, you dismissed the idea straightaway. You took a step back and were about to retreat, when you felt a pair of hands on your shoulders. You immediately turned your head around and were greeted by a big smile.

“You gotta stop creeping up on me like that,” you laughed at him.   

“Why? You wanna punch me again?” He crossed his arms over his chest, sheltering himself from any possible attacks.

“No, I wouldn’t dare hit a cat. That would be animal abuse,” you let out a chuckle as your eyes wandered to the little black cat ears on top of his head.

“Hyeri made me wear it,” he let out an embarrassed chuckled and immediately removed the headband from his head. “Why? Don’t take it off. It looks cute,” you made fun of him with a grin on your lips. “You wear it, I’ll just say I lost it,” he put the black thing on your head. “What do you want to do about the whiskers though?” You pointed to the black lines on his cheeks.

“I can’t hide my inner cat, huh?” He laughed out loud while rolling his eyes.

“You wanna go backstage?” He then asked you out of the blue, remembering why he approached you in the first place.

“Not really, I just wanted to say hi to Ju Kyung,” you told him.

“You know him?” He looked at you, surprised that you didn’t refer to him by his stage name. You nodded your head briefly in response. Usually you would explain how you got to know him, but it was too loud in the club to have a proper conversation, especially since you two were standing close to the speakers. Christian gave a sign to the security guard who then immediately helped you to get through the crowd to the backstage area. You wanted to thank Christian, but when you turned around he was already gone. Shrugging your shoulders you walked to the DJ booth. The moment Ju Kyung saw you, he immediately reached his hands out, to help you get onto the platform.   You did a little chitchat with him, catching up a bit and then returned to the place where your friends were.

That night, you also spotted Dabin in the crowd and he acknowledged your presence with a bright smile and a nod. It was odd just how many coincidental encounters you had with them. Ever since they became you neighbors you bumped into them seemingly everywhere. It was a little world, wasn’t it?

~*~

After dancing and moving around so much, your body began dehydrating and you became thirsty. It was time to get some liquid into your system, preferably something strong. Walking over to the bar you raised your arms to signal the bartender that you wanted to order something, but instead of taking you order he placed a cocktail in front of you without words.

That was quick, you thought. You hadn’t been at the bar for even a full second and somebody was already trying to hit on you?

“Who is it from?” You asked the bartender and he just pointed to the note under the glass in response.

You lifted the glass and took the piece of paper in between your fingers. A smile curled onto your lips when you read what was written on it.  

“Congratulations on your internship! Enjoy yourself! You deserved it! :)  — Dabin

P.S. Thought I was a creep, didn’t you lol  You can drink it without any worries, I didn’t put anything inside :P”

#dpr live #christian yu #dpr live scenarios #christian yu scenarios #khh scenarios #khh imagines #hong dabin #khiphop scenarios #dabin #finally a gif with christian and dabin in it lol #umbrella

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theartgearguide · 6 years

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Affordable Christmas Gifts For The Artist In Your Life

Its that time of year again and we are all scrambling about to get our friends and loved ones the perfect gift, however, for our fellow creative ones, it is difficult to find the perfect affordable gift, with affordability the keyword in this instance. We want to get beautiful gifts that are actually going to be used and loved by the recipient, whilst trying to maintain a reasonable budget.

Here is a list of 18 gifts I have mustered together hoping to give you a helping hand in choosing the perfect gift and if you don't fancy any of the gifts in the list, it may still spark some inspiration within you to go on and find that perfect gift. Or you may have been given your Christmas bonus early and just fancy treating yourself because you deserve to be pampered.

In the interest of full disclosure, all of the items below with the exception of one or two are linked to Amazon via my Amazon associate links. This does not cost you any money whatsoever, however, if you purchase via the links, The Art Gear Guide will receive a percentage from Amazon. I feel it is important to always be honest and transparent on matters such as this and if you'd rather not purchase via the links provided you can still search Amazon for the same items.

Derwent ProColour 24 Set And Pencil Wrap

As with a lot of these gift ideas, I have personally removed most of them, the ones I have personally reviews I will provide a link back to the review should you wish to discover more about the product before purchasing.

This set from Derwent is a really beautiful and excellently priced set of their newest fantastic ProColour coloured pencils, 24 to be exact and along with the pencils is the ever popular Derwent Pencil Wrap. The canvas and leather wrap in total holds 30 pencils and once inserted the wrap rolls up into an easy to carry storage device for your pencils whilst protecting them.

This set costs £32.99 and then delivery prices will vary depending on where you live, so make sure you check out the postage before purchasing.

Pentel Water Brush Pen Set

For the watercolor enthusiast in your life, this excellent Pentel water brush set is an excellent affordable gift. I think the Pentel brush pens are among the most common water brushes used and with good reason. They sit well in the hand, do not leak, apply water to your painting with ease and the brushes are really nice quality.

This Pentel water brush set will only cost you £7.20, as with all of these gift ideas, postage may apply depending on where you live and which service you opt for.

Koh-I-Noor Polycolor 36 Set

If you have a loved one or friend who has either expressed an interest in colored pencil art or perhaps has just got started and has not yet a full set of pencils, this may be the perfect gift for you.

Koh-I-Noor is an absolutely excellent pencil, incredibly affordable prices but without sacrificing artist quality pencils and pigments. My review of the Polycolor pencils can been found at this link, however I always recommend getting the largest set of pencils you can as mixing and blending colors is not like mixing and blending paints. However, if you are unable or reluctant to buy a massive 120 or 72 set of pencils, I always recommend getting at least a 36 set, allowing the artist at least three grades of each prominent color, a light, mid tone and dark.

This 36 set of Koh-I-Noor Polycolor will only cost £19.42, plus delivery depending on your location and the service you choose.

Derwent Pencil Buddy

This is a really simple little gadget, but incredibly effective and helpful for any colored pencil artist. The Derwent Pencil Buddy sits on the artists desk and holds pencils or pens in a safe and easily accessible manner. The pencils will not fall out or clink together, nor will they clatter as pencils do when you drop them into a jar, thus potentially shattering the core.

The Derwent Pencil buddy looks really nice, not out of place on a desk. I have also reviewed this item should you wish to see the buddy in action and the material which holds the pencils in place. This awesome little gift will only cost you

Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolor 18 Pans

I personally love playing about with watercolors and the effects and art work that can be achieve with a nice set of watercolors can be phenomenal.

If anyone you know is into watercolor or looking to try some watercolor, I have chose this set as they are something different, not the a typical watercolor set that you might give to a beginner to watercolor. Having said all that, the colors are so beautiful and when activated with water the magic starts. The Kuretake Gansai Tambi are a Japanese set and for 18 pans will cost you £11.35 which I think is excellent given their quality. I have a slightly larger set which I have used but I have not actually reviewed them yet.

Colored Pencil Painting Portraits by Alyona Nickelsen

So what do you get the artist that has almost every art supply under the sun, well books are an excellent way to go. This book, "Colored Pencil Painting Portraits" by Alyona Nickelsen is aimed primarily at colored pencil portrait artists, however the information in this book is all encompassing when it comes to colored pencil tips and techniques.

The good thing about this book is that although beginners to the world of colored pencil art would benefit hugely from it, even the most advanced colored pencil artist would love and use this book. Alyona herself is a highly regarded and respected colored pencil artist and what she doesn't know about the medium, is not worth knowing.

I have actually reviewed this book, I was incredibly fortunate and honoured to have been sent a digital copy before the book was released, for more on the book check out my review. On Amazon this outstanding reference guide to colored pencils for life will cost £21.34 and brighten the Christmas of whoever receives it.

Derwent Pencil Wrap

I have already showed this item off in this list, however it comes with a set of 24 ProColour, this time the Derwent Pencil Wrap is on its own as this item itself is an excellent affordable gift for any colored pencil enthusiast.

As with the pencil buddy, there is not much to this particular gift, however, it is incredibly useful and looks good as well. The Derwent Pencil Wrap is a canvas rolled out length with leather trim for protection. Along the canvas length there are loops where the artist can safely place pens, pencils, erasers etc.

Once the wrap is filled, and it can hold up to 30 pencils, it simply rolls up on itself and fastens with a leather strap, wrapped round the item and closed tight using a brass stud. It is an excellent way to keep all your supplies safe in one place and when in use outside the studio, your supplies will not get lost or damaged. The Derwent Wrap will cost £6.99, but even for this small amount of money, the friend or loved one who receives this will be over the moon.

Tom Bow Graphite Pencils

Buying supplies for an artist as a gift can be a daunting process as most artists are set in their ways, know what they love and love what they know. However, all artists love to try new supplies and of course a new budding artist needs all the supplies they can get their hands on.

If the artist in your life loves using graphite, this beautiful set of Tom Bow Graphite pencils will be a joy of any artist to open and use on Christmas morning. Tom Bow is a really well known name in the art community and produce very high quality products. In this particular set the graphite ranges from 6B all the through to 4H, including F, B, H and HB.

I was fortunate enough to have a set of these pencils sent to me by a lovely lady from The Art Gear Guide community and I fell in love with them the second I started using them. The graphite is smooth and covers the paper beautifully. In this set you also get a Tom Bow Mono Smart eraser and a good quality sharpener, so an excellent set for a beginner. This set will cost you £13.36.

Bird Art by Alan Woollett

If drawing birds is your thing or the passion of the artist in your life, then this awesome book Bird Art by Alan Woollett is a must have and is sure to plaster a smile all day long on your friend or loved ones faced.

Alan Woollett is a highly respected and loved colored pencil and graphite artist specialising particularly in birds. His work is simply breath taking and this book takes the artist through the step by step process of how Alan delivers his amazing work. This book is a remarkably generous price of £14.48

A4 Tracing Light Box

I came across this item on Amazon and thought it was an excellent price for what it is, ordinarily they are much more expensive, however this is an excellent price. This A4 size Light Box used for tracing is perfect for the artist just getting started.

So many people say that tracing or using light boxes is cheating and shouldn't be used, however, if you actually talk to the professionals, the artists who hold classes and teach students, they will tell you that a light box is an excellent tool to aid in your drawing skills. This method will help your memory muscle and so eventually push you into drawing free hand, but to begin with, tools such as the light box are absolutely fine to use. At £15.29, I think whatever your stance on using a device like this it is too good a price to miss.

Stabilo CarbOthello Pastel Pencils 12 Set

If the artist in your life is looking to get into pastel painting or has dabbled a bit with this medium, you will not go wrong with the Stabilo CarbOthello Pastel Pencil Set of 12. So many of the professional pastel artists that use pencils use the Stabilo Pastel Pencils and for good reason.

Whilst the pastel pencils of Stabilo are more along the lines of chalk, these pencils are incredibly good at laying down color, the pigments are rich and vibrant, but the pencils themselves also feel good in the hand, well balanced and not too fragile. I personally love the Stabilo CarbOthello Pastel Pencils and for this set of 12, it will cost you £18.99, which may at first seem a bit pricey but you are dipping your feet into high quality supplies with these.

Unison Soft Pastels

Keeping with the pastel theme, if perhaps pastel pencils are not the gift you are after, how about these absolutely gorgeous Unison Soft Pastels. Every single pastel is hand made in the beautiful Cumbrian countryside here in the UK, delivering to the artist the most amazing quality pastel.

I have added here one of the starter sets from Unison however on their site they have an absolutely amazing selection of colors available and some outstanding sets from starter like this one all the way up to the full range set. This set will cost you £28.99 for 16 half sticks, to see these wonderful pastels in action check out my YouTube video review.

The Art Of Colored Pencil Drawing by Cynthia Knox

Another outstanding book for the colored pencil artist in your life and in particular someone just getting started. This wonderful book by the highly respected and loved Cynthia Knox, "The Art Of Colored Pencil Drawing," is perfect for those just getting started or wanted to learn more tips and techniques in this wonderful medium.

This wonderful book will sit well in any artists collection of literature and will cost only

Faber Castell Polychromos Gift Box 36 Set

If you want to push the boat out and have a little bit more to spend, any colored pencil artist would absolutely love to get their hands on this 36 Gift Box Set of Faber Castell Polychromos. Almost all colored pencils artists use these pencils and love them.

Although this is perhaps the most expensive item in the list, these pencils really are the gift that will keep on giving to the artist in your life. For this beautiful 36 set it will only cost you £39.95 which I know may be more than your budget will allow but I had to include this set just incase. Check out my review of Faber Castell Polychromos pencils if you are unsure of their quality.

Leather Sketch Journal

With all these amazing art supplies, you are going to want a really nice sketch pad to draw in and I have found this beautiful Leather Sketch Journal that will make any artist feel special out and about sketching. This journal will only cost £25.95, however as you can see the detail on the leather is beautiful and is ket closed with a leather strap.

Strathmore Watercolor Pad

If on the other hand, watercolor is more your loved ones thing, this excellent watercolor art journal from Strathmore may be just the gift you are looking for. Strathmore are experts when it comes to art paper and their journals are no exception. This beautiful gift will cost £23.74 and allow the artist in your life to fill the pages with color and love.

12 Colored Pencil Techniques by Cindy Wider

The last book in the list is another excellent book for the colored pencil artist who is just getting started with the medium. This excellent book by Cindy Wider "12 Colored Pencil Techniques" is an excellent reference for any colored pencil artist to have on hand. This was another book I reviewed just before it's release and know how fantastic the techniques are and how easy they are to follow. This wonderful book will cost you £22.87.

Colored Pencil Magazine Subscription

Last but by no means least, if you want to give your loved one a gift that keeps on giving all year round, check out the subscription packages for the ever popular COLORED PENCIL Magazine. I have only added a link to the site here and no prices simply because excellent deals are available at COLORED PENCIL Magazine .

At COLORED PENCIL Magazine, you have the option of either just a digital issue or having a paper issue being posted out to your home every month or both. Check out the deals at the links provided and see which option suits you best.

Merry Christmas And Happy Holidays

This was a simple list of 18 last minute Christmas Gifts for the artist loved one in your live or even if you have been given your Christmas bonus early and perhaps looking for a cheeky wee gift just for you because you are awesome and deserve to be cheered up.

#Derwent ProColour #Unison Pastels #Pentel Brush Pens #Faber Castell Polychromos #Cynthia Knox #Alan Woollett #Light Box #Stabilo Carbothello #Unison Colour Pastels

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