A Piece of Your Heart

“Sorry, was I boring you with the technical details?” he said, his tone completely easygoing. “I tend to go off tangent whenever I talk about my work. Don’t worry. I’ll watch my words from now on.”

Huh?

“No, no, it’s fine,” I told him hastily. “To be honest, I got a little lost in the process there, so I was trying to comprehend it…”

“Is that so?” Nathan looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. “All right. Let me make this as simple as I can. I’ve been… working on a personal project of mine for a while, and I’m planning to bring it up at the next company meeting. We’re finishing up our last game, so we need some ideas for a new one. Something different.”

“I see,” I said in realization. “So it’s for a new game proposal.”

Nathan nodded. “Remember when I told you about your sketchbook back then? That I couldn’t help but stare at your drawings?”

“Yes…?”

Where was he going with this?

“I was inspired by them, to be honest,” he admitted. “They sparked my creativity, in other words.”

I could feel my eyes widening in surprise. “What do you mean?”

Even though I had been drawing for a long time and knew that my skills had improved drastically since I was young, I remained a harsh critic of myself. I believed that in order to get better, you have to keep working hard.

So even though I knew I had done a decent job on a piece of art, I would nitpick it. I would see these tiny details that needed to be fixed, a slanted line that looked rough instead of smooth, and eyes that seemed out of proportion.

I was a perfectionist. I wanted every detail to be flawless, but also feasible within my current capabilities. That was why I worked slowly most of the time.

But once I got the hang of it, I would draw fast, much faster than the others.

There were times when I was proud of my work, but at the same time, I was shy about showing it to others. My drawings felt personal in a way, and sharing them with people meant exposing a vulnerable part of myself.

I showed them to my family a few times, and I felt proud of the praise I received. I also drew during my college years, and my friends always admired my artwork. It gave me a kind of satisfaction and motivation to work even harder.

But most of the time I felt insecure. My friends would call it humility, but I really didn’t think my art was extraordinary. I knew there were thousands of people in the world whose art was much better than mine. I thought that I was still an amateur, that I needed to reach for a higher level.

What an ambitious mindset I had…

“I mean I really got inspired!” Nathan said as he leaned a little closer. His eyes were sparkling with genuine interest. “For a new game!”

“Hold on. What does a game have anything to do with it?” I asked, feeling my heartbeat slow. I was holding my breath.

“There was a pure essence to your drawings, a vibe that I’d like to see in a fun, light adventure game,” he explained patiently. “I think your style is unique, so I want to see them incorporated into the main characters.”

“The… what?” I was pretty sure that I was sounding like a broken record right now.

“You like to draw in a realistic style, right?” he clarified. “I’d really like your input on an idea that’s been going through my head since I stumbled across your sketchbook.”ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Suddenly, he looked a little sheepish.

“To be honest, I wanted to ask you this a while back, but I didn’t want to overwhelm you. After all, you don’t have any prior experience, and this might be different from what you’re used to-”

I was flummoxed. “Wait, slow down,” I told him. “What are you trying to say?”

He seemed really enthusiastic about this. I realized that he was actually sincere, that he was interested in my talent. He wasn’t fake or polite at all.

Not only that, but he was pleasant enough to be around. It was weird, but he had this uncanny ability to make me smile most of the time.

Oh, trying not to get attached to him would be really hard…

“Sorry, sorry,” he apologized quickly. “I started talking too much again. I’ll break it down for you this time.”

He explained everything to me, and I was shocked.

“Oh… so the reason you kept trying to find out where I was was because of the sketchbook?” I repeated, trying not to show how surprised I was. “Because it gave you inspiration?”

That was something I never expected.

Someone getting inspired… because of me?

And that someone turned out to be a rich man who was also a game developer from what seemed to be a big game company?

It was all too good to be true.

“Yes,” Nathan confirmed. “Of course, I delayed introducing myself to you because I didn’t want to seem like a creep…”

“I see…”

“And I meant it when I said that I was captivated by your voice the moment you started singing on stage,” he added. “Indeed, you have many talents, Julia.”

“Oh! That’s… really kind of you.”

Nathan studied me for a moment, hesitance crossing his features. “Am I making you feel uncomfortable in any way?” he asked softly.

I was startled. “Not at all!” I said quickly. Did I seem that way to him? “It’s just that nobody has really complimented me a lot like you have…”

Damn. Why did I say that? Now I sounded like a pitiful person.

“Well, they must be blind,” Nathan said without hesitation. “Because you’re clearly brilliant and have a lot of potential.”

“…” I didn’t know what to say to that.

He sounded so confident, so sure of himself. How could he say something like that when he didn’t even know me? When he had only seen a glimpse of what I could do?

He didn’t even know the extent of my abilities…

“So I also wanted to ask you to do some concept art for me, if you’re interested,” he said. “It’s not a formal request. You’re not an employee at the company, and you’re not a freelancer, either. I’m just commissioning you, if it’s okay.”

I could only stare at him blankly.

A commission… for video game concept art?

“Since you like to draw in a semi-realistic and realistic style, I’d also like to see what you can produce for character designs,” he added. “Of course, I’ll compensate you for your time and drawings. Don’t worry about messing it up or getting it wrong or off. It’s not a formal project. I just want to see my ideas come to life in your own drawing style and imagination.”

“But…” I was hesitant for a moment. My art… was going to be used for developing a video game?

This was really too good to be true.

No… it was Nathan himself who was too good to be true.

Ever since this man came into my life, he had been changing it in more ways than one.

He made me want to take risks that I would never have considered doing before.

How interesting… and a little terrifying at the same time.

Because if I went through with this… it could either make me or break me.

“As I said, it won’t be a formal project. Not formally submitted and used, to be exact,” Nathan explained, his tone reassuring, as if he knew I was considering the gravity of doing this commission. “But it would be like the bare bones of the project that would help me immensely in coming up with the world building as well as the character designs and personalities.”

The more he talked, the more I warmed up to the idea. Sure, it was crazy, and it was the first time I had ever tried to create something of this magnitude, but…

He just sounded so confident in my abilities that I wanted to prove him right.

“I’ll think about it,” I told him, and he seemed happy enough with my answer.

That was one of the things I liked about him. He didn’t put too much pressure on me, and he often let me make my own decisions. He didn’t overstep my personal boundaries, and he was also considerate of my mood and feelings.

We finished dinner and he walked me out. He called a cab for me and even paid for the taxi fare, saying that he was the one who needed my time and not the other way around, so it only made sense that he should shoulder all the payments for tonight.

He wasn’t wrong…

When I was safely back home, I texted him.

‘I’ve arrived just now,’ I messaged.

His reply came one minute later.

‘That’s good to know,’ he responded.

With that, I finally made my decision.

‘I’ll go through with it,’ I texted him.

‘You will?’

‘Yes. With the commission… and the contract friendship.’

It felt a little weird typing those words out, but the moment I sent the message, I felt as if a heavy burden had finally been lifted from my shoulders.

Like I had finally made a decision that I would probably never regret.