Your Eyes Tell

Red.

The first color of the rainbow was red. The name of Alon’s first love was Red.

Red was Alon’s first in literally everything. She's his first friend, his first kiss...

Orange.

Orange was the second color in rainbow. Red loved orange tulips, so Alon always made sure to give her a piece of the said flower every morning.

"Orange tulip for the love of my life," Alon broke into a huge grin as he handed the bloom to his girlfriend.

Red returned the smile.

"Is this really orange though?" She chuckled to hide the pain.

Alon failed to notice the hurt in her voice. He also didn't see the way her eyes suddenly filled with tears. Alon never noticed anything other than happiness.

He thought love was the solution to everything. He thought love equated to joy.

It did not.

"The tag says it's orange," Alon leaned in to kiss Red in the mouth. The latter bit her bottom lip, refusing to let him have a taste of her.

He used to taste so sweet, but now, he only felt like acid burning the corner of her mouth.

"Thanks." Red faked a smile once more.

She used to be so sure of the love she felt for Alon; however, as years passed by, she realized that she needed more.

She craved color.

They lived in a world where people see in black and white until they meet their soulmates. Red and Alon had been dating for almost a decade now. It's safe to say that they weren’t really bound to be together. Otherwise, both of them would be able to see colors now.

It's easy to pretend at first. Red thought that she could ignore the hole in heart by pretending that she liked orange tulips even though she couldn’t really see its color.

It's pathetic and she knew it. Red grew up learning colors by its meaning, not by seeing its shade. She could still remember her preschool teacher's words. "Orange symbolizes warmth and joy."

She thought she could continue to make herself believe that Alon brought her warmth and joy.

He did not.

Yellow.

Alon’s mother said that the prettiest color was yellow. His mom was one of those lucky people who had met their soulmate. She first saw Alon’s father at the age of nineteen. Up until now, she never failed to elucidate what she felt the moment her eyes found her soulmate's.

The color wasn’t that bright at first, but as she continued to stare into his eyes, the faint color started to shine bright. It's only possible because it's obvious that he's also attracted to her. The heart of Alon’s mom swelled in joy and for the first time in almost two decades, she felt as though she's finally alive.

Green.

The color of nature was mostly green. This was what Alon’s teachers used to say. He couldn’t say for sure that they're lying. Wasn’t color only an illusion? Why were people so obsessed with naming hues when everything was much simpler in black and white?

Alon was an artist. A lot of people were convincing him to try his luck in painting because it's clear that he's gifted in that department, but he refused to listen to them. Colors would only ruin things. He couldn't see them so why bother making art by relying on them? He found solace by drawing, though. Actually, it's his way of making a living.

Blue.

Alon felt blue. He was taught that the color of the sky and sea represented sadness. Red was barely home that's why Alon was always alone in their shared apartment.

He often wondered where she went.

Indigo.

Sincerity was said to be associated with indigo. Five months after the change in Red's attitude, Alon decided that it's the perfect time to show how much he loved her.

Red was always cranky. She kept avoiding Alon. She didn’t even respond to his sweet I love you’s anymore.

Maybe Alon wasn’t trying hard enough. Maybe Red wanted to take things into another level. Perhaps that's the reason why she's always not in the mood, she probably hated Alon for not taking the hint.

Violet.

Alon was certain.

He's going to propose to his girlfriend. Violet typified future. Alon wanted a future with Red.

The hopeful boy let out a breath, wiping his sweaty hands on his jeans. This was it. This was the day he's going to ask his partner to marry him.

Red told him yesterday that they needed to talk. Alon was beyond ecstatic when Red initiated that they finally have a conversation. Five months was a long time. Alon doubted if he could still bear to not touch her anymore. He missed her kisses so bad. He missed the warmth of her body. He missed her gorgeous smile.

But when the door finally opened, Alon was greeted with nothing but a deep frown etched on Red's face.

"You're home," Alon’s eyes lit up. He took big steps towards her. "I missed you, babe."

The sweet boy engulfed his girlfriend into an embrace. He couldn't believe she's really here. Red said that she would be home by six pm, but the clock said it's already one in the morning. The food Alon prepared had gone cold now. His stomach was growling as well. Alon was stubborn. He dismissed the idea of devouring the food that took him so long to prepare. He wanted to eat with Red.

"I miss you too." She said, voice void of any emotion. Again, Alon failed to notice it.

He's too excited to even see that Red was dying to get away from him.

"Have you eaten? I've cooked pasta. Let me just reheat it..." Alon beamed. He didn't give Red the chance to answer as he's already reheating the pasta in the stove.

"Funny story. We ran out of tomatoes so I went to the grocery store and then I—" Alon stopped speaking when he realized that Red was busy staring at the orange tulip on the table instead of listening to his lame story.

He grinned.

"I forgot about that," Alon shook his head, focusing his attention back on stirring the pasta sauce.

He liked cooking. He especially liked preparing meals for Red since she's always busy with work. She's currently an intern in one of the most prominent law firms in Seoul.

"It's black..."

Alon hummed despite the fact that he didn’t understand what she's talking about. He's too focused on stirring the sauce, contemplating whether he should add more salt or not.

"What were you saying, babe?" He finally looked back at her after moments of awkward silence.

Alon found his girlfriend staring at him. She's nursing the orange tulip in her arms. Alon flinched as soon as his eyes darted on her face.

"No..." He was quick to drop the wooden spoon in able to run towards Red and hug her real tight.

She's crying.

"I told you, it's black!" She sniffed, struggling to push her lover's chest to show him the now crushed flower. He embraced her so hard without regard to the tulip in her arms.

Alon blinked and then he silently watched her. This was kind of his thing. He never questioned Red. He just allowed her to say things—to be mad—or to literally act on how she felt. He didn’t want to make her feel suffocated.

Red sobbed harder and Alon felt his heart breaking. He finally came to know what she's talking about.

His eyes landed on the tulip.

Red followed his line of sight.

She choked out a sob.

"The tulip is black, Alon." Her voice broke, though it's nothing compared to the pain Alon felt as his heart shattered into a million pieces.

Black.

It's hard to make sense of the words leaving Red's lips after confessing that the true color of the tulip was black.

Black.

Black as in the ‘color black’ and not the usual monochromatic things they see.

Black wasn’t part of the rainbow. It's not even a color. In fact, it was the absence of the pretty hues.

Black was despair.

Black was the only color Alon knew. This was in contrast to what Red claimed she could see.

She found her soulmate.

Between the sobs and guilt, Red managed to mumble the words that she knew will hurt her boyfriend—her ex-boyfriend.

"I can see color now, Alon. I found my soulmate. I'm so sorry!" She cried even harder.

This was difficult for her too.

"Of course you did," his lips trembled, cupping both of her cheeks. "You found me years ago, babe. I am your soulmate."

"N-No, you don't—" her words drowned when he crushed their lips together. It took Red three seconds to push him away.

"I love you, Red. I'm going to marry you, please."

"Alon! Stop!" Fury bubbled inside her chest as soon as he got on his knees, whipping out a small box in the pocket of his jeans.

No. He couldn't do this to her. He couldn’t be this selfish.

"I'm not going to marry you!" Of course it pained her to say this, yet she was certain she had to act tough. This needed to end now.

"I told you I found my soulmate!"

"Why should it matter!?" He screamed, startling her.

He never raised his voice.

He's totally upset. He didn’t bother to hide it. The tears falling down his cheeks could attest to that.

"You found your soulmate, but I am the one you love, right? You love m-me!" He so desperately said as his jaw clenched. It's like he's convincing himself to believe what he just said.

"Red, please. You love me..." His eyes were pleading. "You told me you love me—no! No!"

Alon stood up when Red violently shook her head. He tried to go near her, unfortunately she took shaky steps backwards.

"I'm so sorry, Alon. I'm so fucking sorry!"

It's his turn to shake his head. She hadn’t confirmed anything yet, but Alon already knew what she truly felt.

Red, orange, yellow, green.

Red was the first color of the rainbow.

Red was the name of Alon’s first love.

Red was Alon’s first in literally everything. She's his first friend, her first kiss...and

his first heartbreak.