She’s not a dog that listens well. Even as she thought so, Anita’s left hand firmly settled on the palm he offered. When their warm, almost hot body temperatures touched, his fingers twitched involuntarily.

Rutger, whether aware of Anita’s feelings or not, held her hand and explored it gently. Anita tried to pull her hand away, feeling uneasy about him just staring without saying anything.

“Stay still.”

She was stopped before she could try.

“What are you doing?”

“Wait.”

When he let go of Anita’s hand and stood up, her hand flopped weakly downward. Rutger rummaged through a drawer in the corner, then returned with something. Disregarding Anita’s curious gaze, he took out several small bottles of paint.

“What are you doing?”

Anita asked the same question twice with patience, but he remained silent. Anita gave up on getting an answer from him and chose to find out for herself what he was doing.

Rutger’s long fingers swept over Anita’s hand several times, as if gauging something.

“You like blue, right?”

“…Yeah.”

Rutger still held Anita’s wrist with one hand while he opened a can of blue paint with the other.

“That’s why you tell me every day that you like my eyes, don’t you?”

The order was wrong. It wasn’t that she liked his eyes because she liked the color blue. She liked the color blue naturally because it resembled his eyes. His eyes had a color similar to a clear autumn sky or an emerald sea.

As Anita’s gaze, which had been scrutinizing his eyes, shifted to the paint next to him.

No crude pigment could compare to his eyes. At least, that’s what Anita thought.

“…….”

He didn’t seem to expect an answer, as he took out a thin brush and dipped it in paint.

Anita silently looked at her hand firmly held by Rutger. It was like a blank sheet, still white and devoid of any drawings.

She had no idea what he was trying to draw. She didn’t want to know, either.

Every sensory organ in his body seemed focused on her hand. The pressure of the flesh pressed by his fingers felt vividly real.

Unable to endure the discomfort any longer, just as Anita was about to pull her hand away, he raised the brush and drew a line on Anita’s hand. The sensation of the brush’s bristles splitting and traversing the skin was ticklish.

“Don’t look.”

“…….”

“I only want to show you the finished product.”

Anita turned her head in the direction of the door, not because of what he said. It was just difficult to watch him kneel at his feet, bowing his head, drawing, and sketching.

She could almost hear the ticking of a clock that wasn’t there. After what seemed like an eternity, Rutger looked up again.

“It’s done.”

He turned to Anita and blew on the paint on the back of her hand as if to dry it. Anita almost jumped backward.

On Anita’s hand was a butterfly with blue wings. A butterfly as blue as the autumn sky. Anita could only stare at her hand as if mesmerized. The butterfly with its wings spread wide seemed ready to take flight at any moment.

“Fallen in love?”

“Yeah. Uh… what?”

“Isn’t it pretty?”

Anita, who had been staring blankly at the butterfly, responded a beat late. Recognizing his words belatedly, Anita raised her head. Rutger, who had been kneeling in front of her, smiled slightly. Anita, suddenly meeting his gaze, awkwardly lifted the corners of her mouth.

“I thought you were so fascinated that you fell in love. Don’t you like it?”

“…It’s pretty.”

Talk about a thief having an itchy foot. It seemed he was talking about the butterfly. Anita was thankful once again that no one could read her thoughts.

“Blue butterflies are a symbol of good luck. Since you mainly use your right hand, let it be and do its job.”

He placed Anita’s left hand on his palm and gently touched her fingers.

“Leave this one as a symbol of good luck. I worked hard to paint it, so don’t ruin it.”

“A symbol of good luck?”

Anita observed her hand again with newfound curiosity after hearing his words. The butterfly seemed even more mysterious now.

“I’m honored.”

Why is he acting so differently today? Anita squinted and looked down at Rutger. He was always a playful person, but today seemed even more so.

No matter what she said to his smiling face, in the end, it was Anita herself who would be stressed. Anita spoke with a somewhat cool expression.

“Isn’t this just a practice piece?”

“Have you ever seen such a perfect exercise?”

“…….”

“You shouldn’t wash your hands from now on.”

“Should I cut my wrists and put them in a glass display cabinet?”

He suddenly frowned, looking serious.

“Why do you talk like that?”

Anita shrugged her shoulders and gave a light laugh.

“I’m joking.”

“…You have a pretty sharp tongue.”

Well, Anita often wished she had an even sharper tongue. If that were the case, she might not have let his whims pass every time, knowing about them.

Looking back, he never asked Anita what brought her here. Did he know about her visit in advance?

Before Anita could ask him what she was curious about, he said that today’s work was done and escorted her out.

Anita, who majored in fine arts with a surprised look on her face, stood still. Come to think of it, she should have made it clear that she wouldn’t model for him next time.

She should have firmly told him not to pretend to know anymore.

Whether it’s Edmund or someone else, she should have told him not to interfere in her relationships anymore.