When Sakura sees her for the first time, a bright, red rose blooms inside her heart.

As her breath stops, time freezes like a renaissance painting, focusing only on the siren-like figure in front of her. Every shot she has taken, delicate but demanding, is ingrained into the back of her mind like an art gallery of her own. The camera can’t capture the girl’s beauty like her eyes do, an unfortunate flaw of the human creation, but Sakura’s sure that angels are made that way; otherwordly and unreachable.

Just for a moment, Sakura wants to be the closest to her and immortalize the red rose into photographs.

-

Sakura meets the girl for the first time at her latest workplace.

She was a fine art photographer, but she’s never been one to settle in her comfort zone for a long time. When the opportunity to work with a famous fashion magazine comes, she immediately takes it to challenge her own limitations. One year has passed and she can’t deny that she’s quite proud of the works she’s involved with. She’s dedicated to her job, but most importantly she genuinely loves taking pretty pictures of anything. So when a new project is assigned to her, she’s determined to exceed her own expectations.

When she sees the model enter the room, she’s paralyzed in her spot. A petite, doll-like figure wrapped in an elegant white satin dress bows politely to the staff inside the room, with long onyx hair that flows like fine silk and eyes resembling a constellation in the night sky, the stranger emanates an ethereal glow around her.

The brown-haired girl has met countless beautiful people in her line of work, but no one compares to the person walking in her direction. She can feel the pace of her breath fastening with every step the beautiful stranger takes, and she tries her best to keep her professional expression from dissolving entirely in front of the indescribably gorgeous model. When she stands eye-to-eye with the model, she can feel that she’s starting to lose grip of her rationality, and the moment just stops.

“Hi, you must be Sakura, right? nice to meet you, I’m Chaewon,” the girl bows for a few seconds and then straightens her posture back with a dazzling smile directed at the photographer.

“I’ll do my best for this photoshoot, please take care of me.”

Sakura gulps nervously. She’s never felt like this in her whole life.  

-

After the session for the day is over, Chaewon flashes her kind smile and sweetly expresses her gratitude to everyone in the room. It seems that not only Sakura is smitten with the girl, as she sees the adoration on the staffs’ face. Sakura pretends to be occupied tidying her equipment on the table in front of her, but she can see from the peripheral of her eyes that Chaewon is walking to the exit door quite slowly to thank the people scattered along the way, alarmingly closing the distance between them. Eventually, she feels a tap on her shoulder and curses herself mentally when she turns around instantly.

Sakura can feel herself getting dizzy just from being in the presence of the model.

“Thank you so much for today Sakura, everyone has said to me that you’re amazing and they’re absolutely correct,” her voice sounds like honey. Sakura can’t function properly.

“I’m not, you were great so the photos reflected that.” Sakura mentally cheers that she doesn’t stumble her way through those words.

Chaewon smiles radiantly at her and Sakura thinks that it’d be really great to see that every day in her life.  

“See you again tomorrow then. Have a great day.”

Sakura almost forgets that she will be doing one more session with Chaewon.

When the girl has finally left, Sakura can finally breathe properly. The red roses in her chest are threatening to spill from , invading her whole insides with a whiff of vanilla and shadows of an auroral smile. Her mind keeps replaying the moments where she would shift between her camera and eye, perceiving Chaewon in real-time and capsuled memory; there’s just something intangible in the way Chaewon exists, but she can’t run from the gravity that pulls her towards the model.

Sakura spends the rest of the day waiting for tomorrow to come faster.

-

Once again, red roses blossom in the walls of her guts and the moment belongs exclusively for the both of them. Sakura can feel Chaewon staring straight into the camera, piercing through the lens like a bullet to her soul, eliminating the space between them, closer and closer and closer. An unreal sense of intimacy unfolds tenderly, and Sakura can only grip the camera in her hands tighter, holding on to a remnant of reality. Sakura clicks on her camera non-stop, her heart beating a little erratic, trying to translate the beauty in front of her properly into pretty square portraits.

When the photoshoot finally ends, Sakura feels an uncomfortable pang in her chest. Yes, she’s helplessly nervous around the model, but she doesn’t want to part with her just yet.

And it seems that the universe is on her side today.

“Thank you so much for your hard work, Sakura. I’m grateful that I can work with such a talented person,” Chaewon beams like the morning sun.

Sakura tries to get herself together, “Well, I’m thankful that I can work with an exceptional model too.”

Chaewon looks at her with a soft gaze, “I’m nowhere near the definition of that word, but thank you.”

If Sakura is allowed, she would remind the girl every day how beautiful and enchanting she is. A real-life angel, Sakura mumbles too quietly, only for her own self to hear.

Chaewon awkwardly fidgets in her spot, looking at the photographer with her starry eyes a little unsurely. “Are you free after this?”

Sakura can feel the red roses constricting the flow of oxygen in her body.

-

Sakura moves to find a more comfortable spot in her seat carefully, trying to cause a minimal distraction for Chaewon as she is driving towards their dinner place. It’s a nice car, the cushion underneath her is soft, but Sakura can’t seem to keep her cool sitting beside Chaewon. The pretty girl has shyly asked her out for dinner, while asking if the photographer would mind if she asks some questions related to photography, and here she is feeling things a teenager would feel when they’re around their crush just because the only answer she could come up was an intelligent yeah, sure. She admits what she feels towards the model is more than just a simple admiration, but her heart isn’t ready to unravel more than it actually has been doing for two days. Two days, she thinks in astonishment, all it takes for her is two days to be inexplicably absorbed with how Chaewon moves her body gracefully and directs her gaze invitingly to the lens, but Sakura can hear the roses inside her are whispering for more, a dizzying plead for something beyond the frames, beyond the distance of unfamiliarity; a thrilling curiosity of what lies behind that bubble of rosy purity and kind demeanor. Sakura wonders about many things, and when it comes to Chaewon, she’s afraid of how far will the attraction completely trap her. Will she want to leave after?

“We’re here,” Sakura feels the vehicle has stopped. Chaewon looks at her excitedly, “I hope you won’t be disappointed with tonight’s meal.”

The only disappointment she will have is from having to bid her goodbye to the model once the dinner ends, Sakura thinks to herself.

-

The mellow jazz music in the background serenades them cozily in their corner facing the night sky behind the glass window. Basked in golden light from the chandelier on top of the spacy room, some reflected in the silver cutlery curled by her pretty fingers, Chaewon animatedly talks to the photographer about her interest in photography, eyes gleaming like crystals and pink pillowy flesh turning upwards; she looks like a scene from a movie and Sakura wants to pause for an indefinite amount of time. Chaewon asks her about a lot of things, and it’s adorable how she is genuinely thinking about improving her own set of skills. Chaewon loves nature, and she wants to keep them in her memory forever, but she breaks into a giddy laugh when she says that she’s not particularly talented at capturing them. Sakura answers them honestly and attentively, she too understands the model’s fervor. The wine that Chaewon picks reflects her refined taste, and Sakura can feel the tension gradually leaving her body. Her back slouches against her seat, and the moment feels even more vivid as the wine glass twirls in her fingers. Chaewon is in front of her, still telling her about everything and nothing, and she listens to every word, like a bee looking for its honey.

They keep talking and talking until Chaewon apologizes for taking two hours of the photographer’s day. Sakura brushes it off coolly, gathering all the courage inside her, to be honest with the model and express her own enjoyment with the lengthy conversation they’ve just had. Chaewon leans into the table and rests her chin on her the back of her palm, eyes as clear as the sky outside, a look of contemplation on her features displayed. Sakura raises an eyebrow at her, “is there anything else you want to ask?”

Sakura can feel the rising temperature on her body. Chaewon still has her gaze fixed on her and it’s starting to suffocate the photographer. “Yesterday was not the first time we’ve met.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, it’s one-sided, to be honest,” Chaewon grins, “Three years ago in my friend’s first exhibition, Kang Hyewon’s Winter Poem. You were there, right?”

Sakura nods slowly, “I think Hyewon introduced me to all of her close friends there. How come I didn’t see you?”

Chaewon chuckles, “I just don’t want to. I stayed in the bar the whole time. I was so shy back then, I just started my career, and talking to other people could be quite taxing.”

Sakura blinks slowly, trying to swallow her surprise. If Hyewon introduced the model to her back then, she wouldn’t ever forget the girl. She remembers that Hyewon would go missing for a while and come back later, she would shrug it off with a nonchalant ‘talking with the gallery staff’ when she was asked about her previous whereabouts. Sakura didn’t think much about it back then, but now it hits her that Hyewon is probably just looking out for her friend from time to time.

“I could see you from where I was sitting the whole night,” Chaewon looks down on her hand resting on the table, “but I couldn’t muster the courage to go talk to you.”

Sakura feels lightheaded. Before she even gets the chance to reply, Chaewon continues her confession. “Hyewon told me about you a few weeks in advance. And from her description, you seemed like a really great person. So, just out of boredom, I searched for your profile and found your works. I really liked it.”

“Why didn’t you approach me back then?”

Chaewon locks her trembling dark orbs at Sakura, “I don’t know. Maybe I was just scared. The first time I set my eyes on you...there was something different about you. I thought you looked too beautiful. For me, for anyone else in the room. That made me hesitate. ”

Chaewon leans closer again, their fingers almost touching. “I was a nobody. I thought that I would burn just by being close in your presence. Since then, I haven’t been able to get you out of my head. So when I found out that we’re going to work together, I can’t stop feeling the excitement of actually being in the same space as you.”

Sakura is feeling overwhelmed. Too overwhelmed. Hearing those words from the girl that she’s immensely smitten with sends a butterfly storm in her heart. The red roses inside her are set ablaze, sweetly painful, and raw and nothing matters anymore at that moment except for the equally searing gaze of the model that envelops her whole body.

“I’m sorry, that’s probably weird-“

“Do you still feel hesitant now?”

Maybe the wine does give Sakura a little push of bravery.

Sakura gently grabs the model’s hand and brings it closer to where her heart is located.

“Because I don’t want you to.”

-

The car ride to Chaewon’s place is quite blurry. She remembers glimpses of getting out of the car with the model’s hand on her, giggling for no reason together in the elevator, and the next thing Sakura knows is she’s watching Chaewon pouring her another glass of wine on the table in front of the model’s expensive leather couch. Chaewon hands it back to her with a loopy grin and leans back on the couch. A romantic piano piece is lulling her into a dazed comfort, with the sight of Chaewon humming along under her breath, eyes closing gently, her head rested on top of the sofa, and her white dress slightly sliding upwards and exposing a sliver of her milky skin; everything is so picturesque. 

Sakura reaches out to grab Chaewon’s hand and unhurriedly kisses the top of her palm. Chaewon beams and scoots even closer to the brown-haired girl, intertwining their hand and giving her the most tender gaze Sakura has ever seen in her life. 

”You’re so beautiful.”

Chaewon laughs heartily. Her heart clenches adoringly at the carefree sound. “You too.”
 
 
“It might be a mistake to assign me as the photographer,” another soft kiss on her wrist, “what if I don’t want to share the pictures with the world?”

Chaewon closes the distance even more, “pictures don’t mean anything,” her eyes dart to the photographer’s lips unconsciously. The brown-haired girl can feel the girl’s breath on her, and how intoxicating it is for her heart to have the model invade her whole space. 

Love, at first sight, can be terrifying.

“I’m right here, what else do you need?”

Their brief kiss tastes like melted chocolate and wine. Must be the chocolate candy Chaewon offered her at the entrance of her condo, Sakura laughs as she pulls away just a little to bring the petite girl’s body even closer to her.

Chaewon comments lightheartedly that their first kiss is kind of ridiculous, but Sakura knows that’s the least of her worries. They can make more memories in the future.

For now, Chaewon who continues to narrate the random thoughts on her mind, placed securely inside the photographer’s arms, is no more and no less than perfect.

Honestly idk what did i just write T_T please excuse my english too.../33 i was writing another story before this but yikes accidentally made it a bit long so lemme just post this first lol and ofc i'm just being self indulgent <3 anyways this one is inspired by Red Velvet's Perfect 10 and Jessie Ware's In Your Eyes lol so yeah see you at the next update :D