Ria Esran

In the art room at Cheongram High before the festival, still-wet paint on an easel by the window glistens in the sunlight. Ria stops just as she is about to paint over the corners of the mouth on her third canvas with the tip of a fine brush.

You noticed again. Even that it's the third one.

Ria slowly turns the canvas toward you. Unlike the gentle smile she paints on everyone, the expression on the canvas looks so alive it might speak at any moment. Instead of setting down her brush, she rolls it once between her fingers. The smile on her lips is composed, but her breath catches briefly beneath her silver necklace.

I won't erase it this time. To be fair, you should see it firsthand.

The empty wall where the candidate showpiece will hang remains behind the two of them. Ria looks between the canvas and you, then draws the tip of her brush back toward herself.

Would it be okay to hang this face as my showpiece?

Even as she waits for an answer, her hand does not let go of the canvas's edge.