“Wow, you got the dance club? Lucky, I have to photograph the chess club.” Chuu looked up at the pouting Jinsoul, a grin on her face.

“Hey, there might be a cutie in the chess club, you never know.”

“Yeah, right. I’m going to end up falling asleep out of pure boredom.” She flopped down onto one of the giant beanbags in the corner of the club room and held up her camera. “It’s just me and you against the world, camera.” Chuu rolled her eyes and looked back down at the paper from the newspaper club in her hands, resting on top of the camera in her lap.

The dance club. She didn’t know anyone in that club, but it’s not like that was weird. The only clubs she had friends in were the newspaper club, which she also worked with, and the track and field club. Still, she was curious.

“Do you know anybody in the dance club, Jinsoul?” Jinsoul perked up a bit, putting down her camera.

“I do! That girl I introduced you to, Kim Lip, is in there, and so is this girl named Yves.” Her eyes twinkled a bit, and she leaned forward. “I think you’ll like Yves.” Chuu gave her a look.

“What does that mean, exactly?”

“She’s totally your type. And totally girlfriend material.” Chuu rolled her eyes again.

“Oh, whatever, you’re just trying to make me nervous.” Even as she said it, though, it was working. The assignment in her hand said she had to get both group photos of club members, and in-action shots. If this Yves was actually as hot as she was being told.... She shook her head and folded up the paper, shoving it into her pocket. Haseul from the newspaper club was counting on her, so there was no way she was going to get distracted.

-

Despite what she’d told herself, when the day finally rolled around, she was nervous. The camera around her neck felt heavy, and if she’d done her hair a little cuter than usual and ironed her uniform, she wasn’t going to admit it.

The dance club met in the gym on the other side of the school from the photography club, and it felt weird to be inside the gum in her normal uniform. Still, she tried to ignore the awkwardness of it all and stepped inside with her head held high.

The club had been gathered around in a circle, but when Chuu stepped inside, they all turned around to look. Everyone was attractive, and she swallowed, clutching her camera.

“Um, hi? I’m from the photography club, here to take photos for the school newspaper.” She recognized Kim Lip near the back of the group when she gave her a little smile, and then a pretty upperclassmen stepped forward, giving her a blinding smile.

“Hello, we were expecting you! Chuu, right?” Chuu nodded, and the girl gestured to the students behind her. “Welcome, Chuu! My name is Yooa, I’m the club leader, and these are the dance club members.” Everyone gave her a little wave, and Chuu waved back, letting out a nervous giggle. “What are we doing today?”

“Well, I need a group photo, but mostly I’ll just be taking photos of you guys dancing and stuff. It’s up to you in which order we do it.” Yooa seemed to think for a moment, hands on her hips, before turning back to look at the group.

“Let’s do the group photo first,” she said, smiling that blinding smile again. “Wouldn’t want to be all sweaty in our newspaper photo, would we?” She clapped her hands, signalling for them to form up. And form up they did, crowding in together and smiling their attractive smiles that made Chuu fumble with her camera as she brought it up, trying not to focus too hard on any one of them.

A few clicks of her camera later, she was done, lowering it and giving Yooa a smile.

“All right, you guys can ahead and get started with your normal club activities,” she said, giving them a little nod, and Yooa clapped her hands again. It was amazing the way the club fell away at her command, immediately forming into the circle they’d been in when Chuu had interrupted them. She watched silently in amazement as Yooa spoke to them in her sweet voice, bringing her camera up to snap a view quiet photos, until a name caught her attention.

“Alright, Yves, you want to start us out by showing us what you’ve been practicing for your upcoming solo?” Yves. Chuu’s eyes landed on the girl stepping out of the group, and her breath caught in .

Jinsoul hadn’t been messing with her. Yves was gorgeous. Her uniform skirt was shorter than Chuu’s own, and her soft brown hair fell gently across her shoulders as she stepped out, giving Yooa a smile that did things to Chuu’s stomach.

“I’m ready. Would someone start the music for me?”

Chuu couldn’t tear her eyes away, even if she wanted to. As Yves began to dance, she stood still, camera in hand and mouth open in awe. Then her hands brought up her camera, and her heart stopped as she looked at the angel through her lenses. She could hardly breathe, she was so taken aback. Time stood still for a moment, and her fingers moved on their own.

Click

-

“So, how was photographing the dance club?” Chuu didn’t bother to look up from her camera at Jinsoul, who’d just stepped back into the clubroom. She lay on the couch, eyes glued to the screen on her camera as she flipped through the photos she’d taken.

“It was fine.” The door closed and Jinsoul’s footsteps got closer until the other girl was leaning over the back of the couch, camera dangling from her neck.

“Sure it was. What did you think of Yves?” Immediately, Chuu felt her face flush. Half the photos she’d taken had just been of Yves, and yet she still felt like she hadn’t taken enough. “I was right, you’re smitten.” Jinsoul let out a laugh and Chuu tore her eyes away from the camera to glare at her.

“Oh, shut up. Did you have fun at the chess club?” Jinsoul rolled her eyes and looked down at her camera.

“It was super boring, but there was this one cutie that I made blush when I took a photo of her so it wasn’t so bad.” Chuu shook her head and looked back down at her camera, wondering which photos she should send to Haseul for publication. “But hey, you know, if you want to talk to Yves again I can totally set you guys up.” Again, Chuu felt her face get hot.

“What are you gonna say? ‘Hey, my photographer friend thinks you’re super pretty, please talk to her’? No thanks.” Another photo of Yves appeared, and she swallowed. How could one girl be so pretty? A goddess had happened to grace their gym room with her appearance. All of Yves’s features were so perfect, and every photo of her had turned out wonderful. Chuu had never photographed someone like that. “She’s so photogenic though,” she said softly. “I wonder what it would be like to photograph her outside the dance studio.”

“Hey, don’t we have to have our portfolios ready soon?” Chuu looked up at Jinsoul and raised her eyebrows.

“Yeah? What does that have to do with anything?” Jinsoul grinned, a twinkle in her eye, and Chuu immediately knew she was planning something. “Whatever you’re thinking, no-.”

“Oh, come on! I can just tell Yves that you were inspired when you saw her dance and that you’d like her her to help you with your portfolio. She’s super nice, really, so she’d agree.” Chuu bit her lip and turned off her camera, sitting up.

“I don’t know....”

“It’s a chance to get to know her. When else are you gonna get this chance? Plus, you have to do the portfolio either way.” As much as Chuu hated to admit it, she had a point. Taking in a deep breath, she shrugged her shoulders and tried not to think too much.

“Fine. As long as Yves won’t find it weird or anything.” Jinsoul grinned widely, already pulling out her phone, and Chuu wondered if she was going to regret her decision.

“She won’t, trust me.” Chuu gave her friend a weird look as she stood up, brushing off her skirt.

“Last time you told me to trust you, I ended up in the river.”

“True. But you won’t regret it this time!” Jinsoul laughed and gave her and overly-enthusiastic thumbs-up, and Chuu looked down at the camera in her hands. Would she really be able to do this?

-

The sun was bright in the sky when Chuu stepped into the park near the school, looking down at her phone. Jinsoul had told her that Yves would be waiting for her here, since it had a small garden that Chuu had been wanting to photograph as well, but when Chuu looked around, she didn’t see any familiar faces. She wasn’t being stood up, was she?

“Chuu?” A slightly familiar voice rang out behind her, and she spun on her heel to come face-to-face with Yves. “I thought it was you! Sorry I’m a bit late, I had to get something to Yooa before I left.” The natural sunlight did wonders for Yves’s features, and Chuu could feel her cheeks heating up at the closeness of it all. Haseul had sent her off earlier and told her not to be a ‘disaster gay’ as Hyunjin laughed in the background, but that was going to be harder said than done.

“Um, it’s okay!” She swallowed and took a quick step back, gathering herself as she wrapped her fingers around her camera. “I just got here myself. Thank you so much for meeting me out here, I know it’s a weird request.” Yves laughed and swept a piece of her hair behind her shoulder, and Chuu felt as if she could faint right then and there. Her laugh was beautiful too.

“It’s not weird at all, I was flattered, honestly! When Jinsoul first told me that you were inspired by my dancing, I didn’t believe her. Especially since I’m still learning and-.”

“You’re really good!” Chuu hadn’t meant to blurt it out like she did, but it made Yves’s cheeks flush and her eyes widen, so she didn’t regret it. “I-I was really taken in by the way you danced, you seemed like a fairy, or- or a goddess or angel or something. Really, every photo I took of you turned out good.” Yves face flushed red and she laughed again, more shy this time as she brought up her hand to cover .

“Really? Wow, thank you.”

“Really. So, please. Would you be my model?” Slowly, she brought her hands down from her face, and there was a smile on her face. Had it not been weird, Chuu would have taken a photo then and there to capture the flush on her cheeks and the way the wind rustled through her hair and the sun brightened her smile. Had this park always been so pretty?

“I’d love to.”

-

“I can’t believe you actually got her number,” Hyunjin said the next day, leaning across Chuu’s desk. “I thought for sure you’d trip up.”

“Have a little faith in her,” Heejin said, poking her girlfriend in the side from her chair and making Hyunjin whine and kick at her. Chuu ignored them both, staring down at her phone instead. She’d gotten Yves’s number. Honestly, she could hardly believe it was happening herself. She’d taken a few photos of Yves there, but when she’d suggested that she’d like to try some other things, Yves had offered to trade phone numbers to make it easier. And now here she was, staring down at the cute emojis Yves had sent her that morning and trying not to scream with excitement.

When do you want to meet again? The text read, and Chuu her lips nervously, checking the clock. It was a Friday, and her project was due in a week.

I’d like to get some shots in a few different places. So if you’re free, maybe a bit this evening and then some tomorrow? She felt like she was asking a bit much, and her heart was thumping hard inside her chest.

I’m free as a bird! Just tell me what to wear and where to meet you! The end of the text was again marked with emojis and Chuu put her hand to her chest to try and calm her heart, smile spreading across her face.

After school today, the lake would be a good spot. Just wear your normal clothes. And then tomorrow, the gardens. Do you have a pretty but casual dress?

Ohhh, fancy! I feel like I’m being taken out on a date! I have one that I think will work.

A date. She had to keep herself from squealing out loud. Did Yves know what she was doing to her?

“Hey Chuu, you good?”

“She’s just being a useless gay, ignore her.”

“Shut up,” Chuu said, but she couldn’t make the smile on her lips go away, and both Hyunjin and Heejin burst into laughter. Shaking her head, Chuu tried her best to ignore them again and looked down at her phone.

I can’t wait, she typed, breath catching in as she hit send. But the reply appeared almost immediately, and she was beaming again.

I can’t wait to see you either!

-

Photographing Yves would never get old. Chuu had never said that about anything or anyone before, but it was like she couldn’t get enough of Yves. Every photo turned out amazing, no matter the lighting or angle, and Chuu’s fingers itched to take more as soon as she lowered the camera.

Yves had looked good in the small park gardens in her uniform, and in front of the lake in her crop-top sweater and skinny jeans, but nothing had prepared Chuu for how she’d look in a dress up against an endless expanse of flowers.

“Is this good?” Yves asked, giving Chuu a little twirl in the dress with a smile, and god, like she hadn’t looked enough like a fairy to begin with. The dress ended at her knees and was a beautiful dark red, fabric flowing from the tie that accentuated Yves’s waist. Her hair was down, and it gave the outfit a free feeling that Chuu had been wanting.

“It’s perfect,” she said, trying her best not to sound breathless. “Did you read my mind or something?” Yves laughed and shook her head, skipping ahead of Chuu slightly as they walked further into the gardens.

“No, I just tried to remember the things Jinsoul has told me about photography. Then I remembered this one time, she was photographing Kim Lip near flowers and picked out a dress that was soft and one solid color so it wouldn’t clash with the colorful background.” Chuu raised her eyebrows, impressed that Yves would remember something so small.

“Wow, really?”

“Really! I wanted to make sure the photos came out well.”

“Any photo with you comes out well.” Chuu had a tendency to speak before she thought, but she didn’t regret it. Not when it colored Yves’s cheeks a cute pink.

“I doubt that,” she said, shaking her head, and it was Chuu’s turn to laugh.

“No, really. I haven’t gotten one bad photo of you. They’re all good.” Yves covered with her hand, and Chuu kind of wanted to snap a photo right then and there. She didn’t, of course, but the wind was blowing just slightly, enough to make Yves’s hair and dress move in the wind, and she looked so perfect without even trying. When she spoke again, her voice was softer than usual, and it did things to Chuu’s heart.

“Thank you.”

The area where Chuu wanted to shoot was in the middle of the gardens, where the prettiest flowers were, and where she could get wider shots. Slowly, she put her camera bag onto the floor and took the cap off her camera lens, looking around. The dark red roses were the obvious place to start.

“So, we’ll start with the roses,” she said, stepping back a bit to survey the scene. She might be nervous and awkward around Yves, but photography was something she took seriously. She was going to get the perfect shot. “First I just kind of want you to sit on that little bench there and lean back a bit into the roses. I want to try a few of you smiling looking at me, and then more of a y vibe maybe? I then we’ll take a few of you looking at the flowers.”

Yves followed directions well. Her body had a fluid movement to it that Chuu figured came with her passion for dance, like she knew every part of her and exactly how to move and pose to look best. From the moment Chuu brought the camera up, she was entranced. Yves’s smile was bright and sweet, but when her lips turned into more of a pout and she crossed her legs, leaning slightly backwards and resting one hand on the bench behind her, Chuu didn’t know which pose she liked best. Her stomach twisted, and her fingers worked their magic.

Click.

“Awesome. Those turned out great,” she said when she finally brought down her camera, looking down at the photos she’d just snapped. Of course, she’d do some editing to them too, but they were great just on their own. Yves stood to her feet, brushing her hands off, and Chuu looked around again. She still wanted to do more with the roses, but what?

“Hey, isn’t that a little path?” Yves pointed as she spoke, and Chuu followed her finger, standing on her tippy-toes to see what she was seeing. There was a small path and clearing going into the roses, where Chuu figured photographers had been before. It was perfect, especially to get the surrounded fairy feeling Chuu had wanted.

“That’s great! Wow, I need to photograph tall people more often, I didn’t even see that!” Yves laughed at Chuu’s exclamation as the younger girl grabbed her bag and began to make her way over.

“You’re not that short.”

“Shorter than you.”

“Point taken.”

The clearing was rather small, but it was big enough for Yves both to stand and kneel down in, and Chuu messed with her settings, trying to decide which she wanted to do first.

“Alright, so I’m gonna have you stand first,” she said, stepping back carefully, as to avoid getting poked. “First, just kind of look at me. We’ll do a few smiling, a few y.” From the moment Chuu brought up her camera, Yves was in character, smiling softly and tilting her head to the side. Before Chuu knew it, she was bending down to shoot from a lower position, ignoring the needles attacking her knees to quickly get a few more smile photos. “Okay, now y.” Yves’s lips parted, and Chuu wondered how many other people would fall in love if they saw the way she looked then, with the sun forming a halo around her head and the roses kissing her bare shoulders. “Reach for the camera.” Yves held out her hand, and Chuu held her breath, snapping a few more photos before she stood back to her feet. “Okay, lets try kneeling down.”

Yves surrounded by roses was a concept that Chuu was very proud of. There was a slight blush on her cheeks as she bent down that complimented the flowers, and Chuu was snapping photos again, unable to help herself. “Touch the roses, turn away from me, look at the sky.” Every pose was good, and soon enough Chuu was lying on her stomach, determined to get every photo of this moment as she could.

“You’re going to get stuck by thorns,” Yves said, glancing at the floor under Chuu, and from behind the camera, Chuu grinned.

“I’ve already gotten a few to the knees. It’s fine. These are going to turn out great.” Yves smiled, and Chuu snapped a photo. It was a different smile than usual, and it seemed almost... fond.

“You’ll really do anything for a good photo, won’t you?” Finally, Chuu brought down her camera, nodding her head.

“I’d feel guilty if I didn’t.” As she got up, she dusted off her pants and picked a thorn out of her shirt, and Yves eyes traveled to the new scrapes on her arms, but she didn’t say anything. “Ready to move on?”

“Ready when you are.”

The next location was the cherry rose sunflowers that Chuu loved so much. They were in full bloom, and the petals matched the color of Yves’s dress with a beautiful pale yellow that gave off the fairy vibe Chuu had been searching for.

“I didn’t even know these existed,” Yves said, eyes wide as she touched the petals in awe. “They’re so pretty.”

“They’re my favorites, honestly,” Chuu said, smiling softly down at the flowers. “I used to practice photography by coming here and taking photos of them.”

“That’s adorable,” Yves said, and Chuu could feel her face heating up as she waved her hand not holding the camera.

“Not really, I was just taking photos.” Yves laughed and sat down on the edge of the garden on the short barrier.

“I think it’s cute. It’s a nice story.” Still flushed and not knowing how to respond, Chuu brought up her camera again.

“Um, should we get started?”

The cherry rose sunflowers were just as perfect as the roses, and Chuu found herself lost in taking photos again. From Yves in front of them, standing and sitting, to Yves standing further in looking as if she was lost in a field of flowers. Soon enough, Chuu had just as many photos as she’d gotten in the rose garden. Calling out for Yves to come back towards her, she brought down her camera to look at the photos.

It was then that her eye caught something on the garden floor. A fallen cherry rose sunflower, still perfectly intact. Quickly, she bent to pick it up and examine it.

“One fell off?”

“Flowers fall off all the time because of animals and the wind and stuff. This one is almost perfect though.” Chuu held it up, looking between it and Yves, and then an idea hit her. “Hey, let’s see how this looks.” Normally, she wouldn’t have the confidence to move so close. But she was thinking about the photo, so she stepped forward and tucked Yves’s hair behind her ear without thinking, tucking the flower in with it. Again, Yves’s cheeks colored pink, slightly open with surprise, and Chuu quickly brought up her camera.

Click.

“I wasn’t ready, that probably came out so bad,” Yves said, but Chuu knew that it had come out perfect.

“Just look at the camera,” she said softly, and Yves obeyed. The sun was a bit lower in the sky now, and the flowers as Yves’s side cast fun shadows across her face. The wind playfully caught her hair again, and the sunlight caught a glitter in her eye that brought out the rich brown that Chuu so often found herself falling into. Without even seeing the photos, Chuu knew that they were going to be her favorites.

“You really know what you’re doing,” Yves said when Chuu brought down the camera, reaching up to gently touch the flower in her hair, and Chuu smiled.

“It was just too perfect. I think those are going to be my favorites.”

“Really?”

“Really. Thank you.” The flush was still there on her cheeks, and it seemed to get darker when Chuu reached up to fix the flower from where the wind had blown it.

“It was fun,” Yves said, eyes glancing away, and Chuu realized what she’d done.

“Sorry for randomly putting a flower in your hair-.”

“No! It’s okay, I like it.” She touched it gently again and smiled. “I think I’ll keep it there.” It was Chuu’s turn to blush again, and she quickly distracted herself by putting the cap back on her camera.

“Well, that’s all I wanted to shoot in the garden. So you’re free to go if you want.” Yves was silent as Chuu packed back up her bag, but when she straightened again, Yves smiled at her.

“I have a better idea. Want to go grab something to eat?” Chuu’s eyes widened.

“Really?”

“Really. Unless you don’t want to?”

“I want to!” Chuu felt her face getting hot again, but she didn’t really care. Not when Yves was giving her that happy smile.

“Then let’s go!”

-

Monday found Chuu sitting in the club room on her laptop, scrolling through the photos she’d taken. Just as she’d thought, her favorite photo was the one she’d snapped near the end, the close up shot with the flower in Yves’s hair, but all of them were good. She was having a hard time narrowing them down for the project, especially when most of them were good even without editing.

“Woah. You weren’t kidding about how many photos you took.” Haseul spoke from behind her, eyes wide as she looked at Chuu’s laptop screen. Jinsoul snorted from behind her own laptop, and some of the other students came to gather around, curious.

“Yeah. I honestly wanted to take more too. She’s incredible to photograph.”

“She’s so pretty, holy ,” said Chaeyoung, one of the upperclassmen in the club, as she bent over. “How did you manage to get such a pretty model?”

“She’s in the dance club,” Jinsoul offered, “and my friend.”

“Jinsoul has so many pretty friends, it’s not fair,” said Yuqi, another club member, leaning over Chaeyoung’s shoulder. Chuu switched the photo again, back to her favorite, and the students around her gasped, almost in unison.

“How did you not fall in love,” Haseul asked, clutching the newspaper club papers closer to her body, and Chaeyoung put her hand to her chest. “I would have melted right then and there.” Chuu laughed suddenly, cheeks flushing again.

“Bold of you to assume I’m not in love.” Her statement made the rest of the group laugh, and Jinsoul closed her laptop, wiggling her eyebrows.

“You’re welcome, by the way.”

“Jinsoul, set me up with a hot friend too!”

“You’ve been holding out on us, introduce us to the dance team!” Their attention turned quickly to Jinsoul, who obviously liked it, grinning smugly. Haseul laughed and shook her head, seeming to remember why she’d come in the first place as she looked down at the papers in her hands. Smiling, Chuu went back to looking at her laptop, cursor toggling between photos as she listened to her friends bombard Jinsoul with questions.

It wasn’t until there was a knock at the door that they quieted down. Usually people from other clubs just walked in if they needed something, so everyone turned to look at each other, confused. No one else made a move to answer the door, so Chuu put down her laptop and got up, walking over to the door.

When she opened it, she was glad that she’d been the one to get up. Yves stood on the other side, a small bouquet of cherry rose sunflowers in her hands and a red color to her cheeks that matched her lips.

“Yves?” Was she dreaming? Was this real life?

“Hey. I didn’t interrupt anything, did I?” Chuu shook her head so quickly it made her dizzy. Everyone behind her was staring, she could feel it, but she also couldn’t move to step outside with Yves, feet rooted to the floor in shock.

“No! We were just sitting around.” Yves gave her a small smile and held out the bouquet.

“Good. These are for you.” Eyes wide, Chuu gently took the bouquet and looked down, wondering if she should pinch herself.

“Thank you, but why?” This was the first time Chuu had ever seen Yves look flustered. She was always so confident when she stepped out to dance, and when she smiled at the camera. So seeing her her lips and watching her eyes dance from Chuu’s face to the door made the butterflies in Chuu’s stomach kick up.

“Um. I wanted to know if you wanted to get dinner with me tonight.” Chuu clutched the flowers tight against her and stared at Yves with open, feeling her face heat up.

“I- I’d love to!”

“As a date,” Yves clarified, looking Chuu in the eyes, and Chuu wondered if it was possible for humans to melt because her legs felt wobbly under Yves’s gaze. “Is that okay?”

“That’s more than okay,” she said, breathless, and Yves smiled again, letting out a relieved laugh and bringing a hand up to .

“Oh, thank god. I don’t know what I would have done had you said no.”

“How could I say no?” Chuu felt giddy, and she knew Yves felt the same way from the grin on her face, and for a moment, they were both silent, staring into each other’s eyes. And then Jinsoul whooped and tackled both of them in a hug.

“You guys are so cute, what the heck! Congratulations!” The rest of the club erupted then, and Yves whined, pushing Jinsoul’s face away from her own.

“Jinsoul! Come on!”

“Awe, don’t be shy!”

“I’m not being shy, please stop being embarrassing.” The giddy feeling in Chuu’s stomach burst through, and she giggled, clutching the flowers closer. The room felt so warm, and she was so happy, she couldn’t even get mad at Jinsoul for ruining the moment. 

Especially not when Yves’s eyes settled on hers and she reached over to grab Chuu’s hand, quickly tugging her from the room with a smile on her lips.

“Follow me?”

“Anywhere.”