For tinywiny7

Lily of the Valley

Chanyeol was a freelance photographer who was searching for love. He had found true beauty in all the shots that he had taken, but he had never found true love. Chanyeol always had a knack for finding the best shots and the best angles at which to capture a photograph, and it had become a hobby which he could receive an income from, but he still had a day job. Chanyeol worked the early shifts at a telemarketing company, and even though he found it boring, it put food on his table and enabled him to buy the best equipment for photography.

On one of those boring days at the office, Chanyeol received a call that made him the happiest man alive. One of the big publishing companies was putting together a book about an ordinary day in people’s lives, and had heard that Chanyeol was a really good photographer and wanted him to work on the project. He immediately accepted the offer and filed for leave at his office for a week, which his boss granted on account of Chanyeol already filling up his quota for the month.

Chanyeol got emailed all the details of his shoot as well as the location and when the final shots had to be handed in to the main office. He was sent to a flower shop somewhere in the middle of Seoul, and he was assigned the theme of beauty in everyday through the eyes of a stranger. When he was nearing the florist, the walk seemed to be familiar to him. He remembered the street posts and lamps, the bakery across the road and even the front of the flower shop. He walked in and expected to be greeted by an ahjumma, but was surprised when a young woman said hello.

“Annyeonghaseyo…you must be Park Chanyeol-ssi, the photographer?”

“Ne. And your name is?”

“Park Chorong…”

Chanyeol began to set up his tripod and camera while mulling over why that name had sounded familiar. When she said his name, it rolled off his tongue like she had said it many times before. And her smile also had a sense of familiarity to it, just like when he was walking down the street. He tried to make small conversation while he was preparing everything.

“Do you own this shop?”

“It’s been in my family for a long time, so maybe, in the future, it will be mine.”

“So, how did you come to be part of this project?”

“I thought it would be nice to showcase…this…to the public. I think it was a good idea to make something about the beauty of normalcy…”

“So, ummm…let’s just pretend that I’m not here. Just act…normal…and I’ll take some shots. When I’m done, or whenever you’re free, you can take a look at the pictures and tell me which ones you like.”

An old grandmother walked in, and Chorong greeted her with a smile before handing her a bouquet of the flowers. The old woman gave her a hug, and then left. Chanyeol snapped a few pictures of their exchange and smiled. There was something really familiar about this girl.

“She didn’t pay for them?”

“She stopped paying a long time ago. She has dementia. The only thing that she has clear memories of is this shop, and of my grandparents. We try and help her by giving her the flowers. It makes her happy.”

Chorong set about and began to tidy the shop. She made a few flower arrangements in different vases and decorated the room. Chanyeol continues to snap away at his camera as she moved around the room.

A few minutes later and a teenage boy went into the florist.

“Chorong noona!”

“Hey! Wow! You look nice dressed up like this. You should do it more often!”

“Thanks noona! I just really want to impress her…”

Chorong handed him a bouquet that she had just finished and then gave him a card.

“It’s blank. Write something on it, and then give it to her. I’m sure she’ll fall in love with you on the spot!”

The boy gave Chorong a hug before running out of the store.

“What’s his story? Why isn’t he paying?”

“He’s a good dongsaeng of mine. He hasn’t been all that lucky in love, so whenever he tried to impress a girl, I’ll help him out.”

“So…if you don’t mind me asking, how about you?”

“What about me?”

“Are you lucky in love?”

“Not really…the right guy has never asked me…”

Chorong sat down behind the counter and stared at the outside. Chanyeol took a few shots, for personal reasons. A cold rush of wind made its way through and Chorong shivered. She went to the back of the shop to retrieve a jacket and came out with a letterman that had Chanyeol’s high school on the back.

“Hey! Where did you get that jacket?”

When Chorong turned to look at him, she looked hopeful.

“It was from my high school.”

“I went to the same school.”

“Really?”

She said this but she didn’t seem too surprised.

“Yeah…I have one at home. Do I, by chance, know you?”

“I don’t think so…”

“I don’t know…you seem awfully familiar…”

She left it at that, and then the rest of the day passed by without any significant events occurring. When Chanyeol went home that night, he took out his yearbook. He found out that they were in the same grade, but he wasn’t in any classes with her. He looked through his computer and went to a folder that was dated to his last year of high school. He scrolled through the prints, and it brought back many memories.

One photograph caught his eye. It was a love letter from his first girlfriend, Chaein. She had been sending him many notes that year, but only signed that note with a ‘C’. His friends told him that it was her and they began dating after that, but broke up after a few months. Chanyeol scrolled to the next photo. It wasn’t much until he enlarged it when he saw a figure in the corner. He zoomed in a bit more and recognised the girl to be Chorong. Chanyeol looked through a few more photographs and realised that Chorong had always been there, like she was following him, with an awestruck look on her face.

 Like she was in love with him.

He opened the photo of the love letter again and sent it to his phone.

-2PARK-

The next day, Chanyeol arrived at the florist an hour later than what he should have, but Chorong didn’t seem to mind. The old grandmother came in the same time that he did, and again, Chorong gave him flowers.

Chanyeol tried to broach the subject that was playing on his mind, carefully.

“Chorong-ssi…”

“Ne?”

“Could you write down your name in English?”

“Why?”

“I was going to edit some of the photographs, so that it had your name on it…”

Although she found it strange, she wrote down her name anyway. Chanyeol took out his phone and compared her handwriting. It was the exact same ‘C’.

“I may not have known you in high school, but are you sure that you didn’t know me?”

Chorong seemed to be caught off guard with the question.

“Ne?”

“Did you, by chance, write any love letters to me?”

Chorong became flustered. Chanyeol fished out a series of photographs in his bag and handed them to her.

“I took these in my last year of high school, but I didn’t notice the subject of my photographs until I saw them again yesterday…”

Chorong flipped through them.

“They’re really beautiful…”

“Do you know what the subject is?”

Chorong shook her head and stared back at him and he took out the photographs he took yesterday.

“You…”

Chorong was dumbfounded.

“I always had a skill for taking photos, but it wasn’t until yesterday that I found…more like rediscovered…the true beauty of a shot…you see, it’s the hidden details, that make the picture all the more special. For some, it may be the way the different colours intermingle when the sun sets, for others, it may be the way the city looks at night when it’s dark, but all the lights are out, and for me, it’s how I managed to capture you in every photo that I took…”

-2PARK-

When the book was published, every photographer had to come up with their own title for their work as well as a small blurb.

Lily of the Valley

n. You’ve made my life complete.

Beauty hides itself in every day. Look for it.