Thursday February 7th, 2013

Lu Han was no stranger to traveling. As the only student in his program that was a foreigner, he was often appointed as a representative to travel to different schools in China to recruit new students. That is where he first met Yu-ki.

He was called to Guangzhou and was asked to participate in their University Fair as a representative of his school. He wasn’t expecting anyone to attend, this was a prestigious private school and the students already had a school and career in mind. One that weren’t overseas studying the Arts. So, it wasn’t a surprise that he only had a handful of students listening to his presentation. A few faces were familiar as they were the sons and daughters of influential people of China. People who he might have mingled with if he were desperate to get his name out there. However, the one that caught his eye was the young girl with long black hair and a scowl permanently etched on her face. She had notebook in her lap and was furiously writing things down. Not once during his presentation did she look up.

The following year he was invited back and for the second time she was there. Gone was her notebook, but her scowl stayed. This time he got a good look at her face. She had unparalleled beauty and was the perfect person to photograph in his opinion as she virtually had no bad angle. If he could only wipe that grimace from her face and get her to smile. Lu Han continued to spot her face crowds even when it wasn’t at her school. No matter how large his audience, he would still be able to spot her. After a while, without even noticing, he began to scour crowds just to see if he could spot that one face. More often than not, there she was; never raising attention to herself, but Lu Han still always managed to find her.

One day while working in Seoul, he had received an e-mail from an unknown source.

Katie Li                                                                                     Jun 1, 2011

To: Lu Han

Hello, my name is Li Yu-ki and although you don’t know who I am, I wanted to share some news with you. Today I received my admission letter to Seoul National in their Photography program. I know that’s not where you attended, but still! Honestly, I owe it all to you. It was because of your seminars and presentations that made me want to become a photographer. For as long as I can remember it had always been my dream to become a writer and tell the world my stories, but you taught me a different way.

A picture is worth a thousand words. That’s what you said. It wasn’t until now that I understand what you mean. One single picture can tell infinite amounts of stories. Every time you look at it again, a different story can surface. However, no matter how many times you read a story, it’s the same words over and over again. The ending never changes. That’s the beauty of photography. It evokes a different story from different people. It is about the ‘then’ and the ‘there’.

You changed my life. The two of us will probably never cross paths, but I just wanted to tell you thanks for everything. I can only hope to be as good as you one day.

Sincerely,

Li Yu-ki, a grateful fan

It wasn’t until Lu Han was on the job in Hongdae that he accidentally captured her in one of his shots. In a routine touch up, he came across a very familiar face. Although it was out of focus and busy, he was still able to pick her out from a crowd.

In the photo Yu-ki no longer had a scowl and was seen with a genuine smile. He was right. She made a perfect model without her frown. Lu Han knew instinctively that he had to credit the smile to the male she had her arm wrapped around.

That photo didn’t end up being submitted the producer in the end, but still it sat on his computer remaining untouched.

A few months later, he saw a recognizable figure and snapped a few photos with a knowing smile. Taking his chance to finally meet this fan, he sat down beside her.

“You look troubled. Penny for your thoughts?” he asked her with a smile. She looked up. He had expected a gasp or a stunned expression, but all he got was annoyance.

“Even if I do tell you, you wouldn’t understand.” She said voice muffled by her sleeves. She spoke in clear Mandarin, not the Korean that he knew she was fluent in. “If I told you I have amnesia of the past 7 years would you understand? That I have a completely different life from what I thought? This life isn’t even the one I wanted. I’m in a country I know nothing about, a society I don’t want to be a part of, surrounded by people who claim they know me, and I can’t even tell them off. I just found out that my parents divorced, I moved half way across the world, and my best friend doesn’t care for me.” Lu Han was shocked. “I told you, you wouldn’t understand.” She got up and wiped her eyes with her hand. Lu Han tried to reach out for her, but she had already walked away. Her smile was gone and in its place was a frown he was all too accustomed to. And it was all because of him.