Angling her camera towards Hoya and Hyeri, Eunji requested them to pose for the camera…. again. With a click of the shutter, the two broke into grins that reflected their unity and delirium. However, Hyeri blinked for a second at the brightening flash. Nevertheless, she didn’t mind because Eunji was just being hyper and spreading the joy and elation to her and Hyeri seemed to have caught the happy virus.

“Oh my god, you guys look so great,” Eunji had been complimenting them for the whole evening – from how pretty Hyeri’s eyes were to how acute and suave Hoya looked in a suit. The dinner date that Hoya had planned didn’t exactly turn out to be one, in fact it turned out to a photo-taking event. Nobody had known that Eunji was such an enthusiastic photographer – the only one Hyeri knew was Myungsoo.

Hyeri raised one of an eyebrow up when she noticed Eunji snapping many photographs of her and Hoya. Something looked off and wrong but she couldn’t put her finger to it so she brushed the fishiness away.

“Why don’t we take a photo together– 3 of us?” Hoya suggested and he swore he noticed Eunji frown, contrasting with her flawless make up and smile. He sensed the hesitance in her but decided to shrug it off when Eunji agreed eventually. She meandered behind them and her arms surrounded the two of them, pushing them even closer. Hyeri didn’t mind the intimacy because she was long used to being buddy-buddy with Hoya or the other boys for that matter but tonight, Eunji seemed so forceful and suspicious like she had an ulterior motive.

Whatever it was, Eunji was a friend so Hyeri shouldn’t ponder so much on it – it didn’t seem right, to suspect your dear friend who might be innocent.

“Hi, iced water for the three of you?” In the midst of their conversations, photo takings and also waiting for the food to arrive, a waitress came up to them with a tray of iced water. The tall glasses hovered over Hyeri as she nodded, swallowing her saliva. She didn’t realize that she was that thirsty.

“Sure,” Eunji replied immediately with a beam. The waitress nodded and handed the fragile glass to Eunji first, then Hoya and Hyeri lastly. Lady luck wasn’t on Hyeri’s side that day and she obviously wasn’t blessed enough.

The procedure of the passing of water didn’t go as smoothly as they had thought because Hyeri didn’t grab hold of the glass properly and had caused it to topple over the waitress’ hand and it landed on the floor with a loud crash. The shattering sound symbolised the fragile pieces that were helplessly broken.

Hyeri’s skirt became a victim too – cold water spilled on her and she jolted up in rapid astonishment. Watching the wet patch spread into a large surface area, a sigh of relief escaped from her lips. Thank god it was only iced water. Eunji gasped in horror upon realizing that her camera got splashed at too and she held it instantly for inspection. She glared at the panicking waitress and shot her deadening daggers like knifes. Finding out that her camera was still in perfect condition, her lips curled into a deceiving smile and she positioned it towards Hoya and Hyeri. 

“I’m so sorry!” The waitress bit her lips in anxiety, “I’ll go get you some napkins!” With that, she fled hurriedly.

Hyeri wringed her skirt unsightly and Hoya reacted immediately by snagging a neatly folded napkin from the table and pressed it against Hyeri’s dripping skirt. Both were too occupied with trying to get it dry that they didn’t even realize how awkward their positions were at that moment. However, Eunji managed to capture them all with her helpful sidekick, her camera.

“The waitress was so clumsy,” Hoya snickered. 

“It’s my fault for not grasping it properly. It’s okay – I’ll just go to the washroom to get this dry,” Hyeri stood up and made a beeline to the restroom, leaving Eunji and Hoya behind. Though the duo had hung out occasionally, they were never left alone. Thus, awkwardness filled the air as Hoya gulped down the iced water, cringing slightly because of his sensitive teeth. Eunji stole a look at the handsome boy in front of her and felt her heart twitch. She touched her cheeks involuntarily and felt her cheeks burning up.

Definitely not a good sign for Eunji, she gulped down the lump that had formed on . The waitress returned shortly with cloth and bowed to them, apologising again for her clumsiness. She bent down on her knees and cleared the shattered glasses.

“It’s okay, thank you though,” Eunji broke into a half smile and a half smirk.

A slight frown appeared on Hoya’s forehead because of Eunji’s uncanny statement. Thank you…? Was it for removing the mess – when the waitress herself was at fault for not handling it carefully? She didn’t deserve a thank you unless Eunji was just being polite and kind that she always has been. Whatever, Hoya brushed it off coolly.

Only Eunji comprehended a deeper symbol for that thank you.

✍

It was an enervating day for Myungsoo as a photography student. You may think that photography sounds like a piece of cake – just look through the peekhole and press the shutter and ta-dah, you get photographs. Actually no, it wasn’t that facile. It was more perplexed than one could ever think of. Myungsoo had to master many skills and techniques before officially titled as a photographer. One was not a photographer just because one has a high end camera.

Photographs were meant to express feelings and capture moments of life. Myungsoo wanted to capture photographs at a specific angle that reflect the beauty and simplicity of life – he wanted to capture love and warmth of people and objects with his camera. Unfortunately, his photographs of the scenery and the surroundings of the university were slammed down with a D grade. He couldn’t feel more forlorn. His pride for his photographs had been trampled on by his professor that has actually adored him very much.

“Myungsoo, I hope you wake up from your daze and produce good work for me, I cannot help but feel a little let down by your trashy work. I’m sorry for my foul and harsh description but I really hope for you to do well. Your photographs – they show no feelings whatsoever. You are simply snapping shots and that’s not what I want. I want something personal from you. Something that can touch can my heart and pass you with flying colours.”

Woebegone, Myungsoo could only nod and bit back his tears. He had di