Chapter 3
Jin Ri had just gotten into her car and was driving out of the underground parking lot of her apartment when her phone rang. As she looked at the caller ID, she smiled.

“Wow, an idol is calling me,” she answered the call with a laugh.

“Aren’t you lucky,” Kyuhyun teased.

“You’re making my dreams come true,” she shot back with sarcasm. She laughed. “That’s one thing off my list.”

“Really?”

“Not really.” She laughed when she heard him make a humph sound. “What’s up?”

“What are you doing today?”

“Something which I’m thinking you should also be doing, working,” she answered as she turned a corner.

“It just so happens to be my day off,” he proudly shared. “Too bad you’re working. Are you going to be in the office then?”

“No,” she replied. “I’m doing a shoot with a magazine.”

“What magazine? Where?”

“Somewhere.”

There was a pause. “You’re really not going to tell me?” he asked, sounding surprised and annoyed at the same time.

“It’s your day off,” she chuckled. “Go and have fun. I’ll talk to you later.”

“I can’t believe you’re really not telling me,” he went on, disappointed.

“It’s not a big deal,” she assured him. “It’s just one of those shoots.”

“Fine. I’ll call you later.”

When they’d finally hung up, Jin Ri couldn’t help but wonder how they’d gotten to the point where they had exchanged numbers and were talking to each other a lot of the time. On another one of their spur-of-the-moment food trips, Kyuhyun randomly asked for her number just because. She hadn’t seen a reason why she shouldn’t give it to him, so she did. A week later, they were texting and calling each other like close friends.

She liked talking to him. He was fun, humorous, dorky, and honest, things she never expected him to be. In the beginning, she had some apprehensions about being in such close proximity with such a famous idol all the time and a guy one at that. But those faded away when he assured her in his actions that those things didn’t matter to him. He wasn’t an idol when he was with her.

Soon, she arrived at the studio where the shoot was to be held. After being introduced to the High Cut team, she was then introduced to UEE, who was so beautiful and tall. Jin Ri felt like a midget standing beside her. It seemed like her legs went on forever.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Jin Ri greeted her with a bow. “I’m a fan. I watched You’re Beautiful.” She smiled shyly.

“Oh, thank you,” UEE said appreciatively. “I’m glad you liked it.” It always surprised Jin Ri every time a celebrity was so polite and pleasant. She’d come across stars who weren’t very enjoyable to work with and those always turned out to be some of her not so best works.

Jin Ri asked the stylist and the PD if everything was set. She then turned to UEE with a smile. “Let’s begin?”

Jin Ri couldn’t help but grin as she photographed UEE. She was simply gorgeous. Her movements were graceful and just lovely. Jin Ri couldn’t help but think that UEE was probably one of the few who could pull off such poufy hair.

After a couple of hours, they ended the shoot. It was then that some members of UEE’s girl group arrived. The girls immediately introduced themselves to the staff. UEE then hurriedly pulled her members to where Jin Ri was working. She had taken a liking to the photographer. She thought that she was so nice and approachable.

“Unnie, this is Jin Ri-ssi. Jin Ri-ssi, this is Gahee unnie and Nana,” UEE happily did the introductions.

“It’s nice to meet you both,” Jin Ri politely greeted with a smile and a bow.

“Oh you take really beautiful photos,” Nana remarked, gesturing towards the computer, where the staff was looking through the pictures she had taken earlier.

“Thank you,” Jin Ri responded happily. “UEE is a beautiful subject.” UEE blushed.

Gahee’s phone rang so she excused herself, while UEE and Nana got into a conversation about some of their other members. Jin Ri walked over to the computer and began to look through the photos as well. She felt happy that she accepted this shoot. Although shooting for popular magazines was an honor, working with celebrities weren’t all that some of the time. She would have to thank Sun Young for pushing her. UEE was a joy to work with and it seemed like her members were really nice, too.

The staff started packing up. Jin Ri had just finished talking to one of the editors of High Cut about which photos should be published when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.

Smiling, she answered, “You must be really bored to keep on calling me like this.”

“I am not bored,” Kyuhyun defensively replied. “But I would have you know that you’ll be having the pleasure of my company this afternoon.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked, confused.

“I’m coming to pick you up,” he announced. “So don’t go anywhere.”

She didn’t say anything for a while then she laughed. “Look who’s stalking me now. How did you find out?”

“Teukie hyung and Gahee noona are good friends,” was his simple answer. She glanced at Gahee, who was walking out of the studio with UEE and Nana. “So… I’ll pick you up, okay?”

“How about I pick you up?” she suggested, turning her attention back to him. “I have my car with me and a ton of camera equipment.”

“You’ll pick me up. At the dorm. Everyone’s here,” he warned her. “Are you sure?”

Jin Ri smiled as she began packing her stuff. She knew why he was so apprehensive. She had mentioned on one of their conversations that she didn’t think she could handle 10 rowdy boys in one room all at once, much less Super Junior boys.

“I’ll be there in a jiffy,” she told him.

“You do know that’s like traveling in the speed of light, right?”

“Nerd.” She rolled her eyes even though he couldn’t see her.

~ * ~

“Sometimes I feel like all people expect of me is to sing and dance,” Kyuhyun shared quietly. He played with his untouched vanilla ice cream then looked up to see Jin Ri looking curiously at him.

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Jin Ri stated gently. “But, well, you are a singer and dancer so it’s pretty much what people see.”

“I just don’t like being put in a box, that’s all,” he went on with a sigh.

“Then don’t let them,” she encouraged him. “You’re the only person who has control on your life. If you put yourself in a box or not put yourself in a box is completely up to you. Other people’s opinions don’t matter.”

“They don’t?” It was quite hard for Kyuhyun to accept this statement. Being in an industry where what the company, the managers, the sunbaes, especially what the fans think are key, he wasn’t used to not considering what other people think.

Jin Ri smiled. “Have you heard of William Ernest Henley?”

“It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll,” he responded plainly.

“I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul,” she finished. She watched as he paused and thought about what he wanted to say, staring at his melted ice cream.

“It’s not that easy,” he finally settled.

“Nothing’s easy,” she reminded him lightly. She smiled and rested her chin on her hands. “Can you imagine how boring life would be if everything was just handed to you? Everything that’s worth doing requires some struggle. If it’s hard for you, then it’s something you should do.”

“So tell me something,” Jin Ri began as she dunked a big scoop of yogurt in . “Have you thought about Invictus?”

“I have,” Kyuhyun proudly declared.

“Do tell,” she pressed, chuckling at his enthusiasm.

“I bought this today,” he shared, picking up the black backpack that he always carried around. He placed it on his lap and opened the zipper.

“Did you get present for me? Oh you shouldn’t have,” she teased, looking at the bag expectantly.

Kyuhyun gave her a look, which sent her laughing. “It’s more for me. But I guess you could say that it’s a present for you, too.”

Jin R’s eyes widened when he brought out a Canon 450D Kit. She lifted her eyes to him. “You bought a DSLR camera?” She looked a bit baffled as he eagerly removed the camera from its case, along with the instruction booklets.

“I’m going to learn photography,” he declared animatedly. “I even bought some books.” He then started bringing out a couple of books that hadn’t been unwrapped yet.

“This is great, but I don’t understand,” she admitted sheepishly.

“I’ve always wanted to learn photography,” he revealed. “I’ve always thought how fascinating it was how people are able to capture moments in a single shot.” He shrugged. “I just haven’t had the time or the courage to pursue it. Now, I’ve decided I’m going to.”

She smiled at his enthusiasm. “There’s a catch, isn’t there?”

He gave her a guilty smile. “I was wondering… if you would teach me.”

“I hear Siwon-ssi takes good photos,” she suggested. “Why not ask him?”

“He’s taught me the basics,” he admitted. “He doesn’t really have the time.”

“And I do?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Please,” he persisted.

“I don’t really teach photography, though,” she informed him. “I wouldn’t know the first thing about teaching. Is this what you were talking about when you said that it’s a present for me, too?”

“You’d get to spend more time with me. That, in itself, is a gift,” he proudly declared, grinning. “And you’d get to teach someone something you’re passionate about.”

“What happened to the self doubting guy I met?” she joked.

“C’mon, Jin Ri,” he pleaded. “This is the only thing I’ll ever ask from you.” He gave her his famous puppy dog eyes and pouted lips.

This earned him a calculating look from her, which disappeared so suddenly that he thought he imagined it. Photography was something that was very personal to Jin Ri. She did it for many reasons, most of them very close to her heart.

She smiled her warm smile at him. “Is that a promise?” she wanted to know. When he nodded, she chuckled. “Okay then.”

He cheered, raising his arms up in the air, like a little kid. “When do we begin? What do we do first?” he inquired elatedly, removing the camera lens cover.

“Slow down, cowboy,” she told him, grinning. “The first thing you need to do is list down the things that you find beautiful in this life, things that you love.”

“What?” he asked, looking confused. He put down his camera on the table and looked at her inquiringly.

“Just like what you mentioned earlier, photography is about capturing moments,” she explained patiently. “I want to know what kind of things you’re interested in, what fascinates you, what kind of stories you want to tell.”

“I…” he began, speechless. He’d always thought that taking pictures was just, well, taking pictures.

“Just think about it and write them down,” she encouraged him. “You’ll be surprised.” She signaled the waiter for the bill. When Kyuhyun started to bring out his wallet, Jin Ri stopped him. “This one’s on me. You’re paying for the next ones since I’m taking time out of my very busy schedule to teach you,” she prompted with a chuckle.

As they walked out of Flo Gelato Dolce to Jin Ri’s car, Kyuhyun looked at her asked, “Why do you like taking pictures?”

“Because it brings time to a standstill.”