Days turn quickly to weeks and weeks to months.  Kyungsoo was able to pass the required pictures for the company and more requirements for more things that needed his pictures.

What he didn’t think was a waste was the conversation he had in the bar with a total stranger.   It replayed on his head like a broken record; all the lines and all the laughs, the good ones and the not-so-good ones.  The only thing was that he was not able to get the other’s name.

“Aww, is Kyungsoo lovesick?”  Baekhyun cooed over the phone weeks after, when the other confessed he was not getting over the conversation.

“I am not lovesick like you, Baekhyun.”  Kyungsoo said.  “It’s just that sometimes it comes to me and I wonder what his name was.”

“Want me to talk to the bartender?  He might know.”  Kyungsoo almost agreed on the thought for a second before shaking his head.

“No, don’t.  I’ll leave it to chance.

Well, chance sure is funny.

Three weeks ago, his older sister called him—and he immediately knew it was something.  She never called; always a text or a message online.

“Noona?  What is it?”  Kyungsoo said as the other line clicked, signaling it was alive.

“Huh—oh, the missed calls.  Yeah.  You free three weeks from now?”  She said, startling Kyungsoo.

“What—what three weeks from now?  What is this again?”  He asked.

“Something—“The line crackled.  Kyungsoo sputtered a “Noona, noona?”  before the line went clear again.

“I sent you a ticket already—“Another crackle, “so just come here alright, Kyungsoo?  Bye, brother, I can’t hear a thing.”  Line went dead and Kyungsoo was left to stare at his phone, sighing. 

So here he is, three weeks from then inside the departure area of the domestic airport, looking at his bags and phone.  Checking his phone proved to be fruitless because his sister has never contacted him since then, which left him to think that this was all a plan to have him in a vacation.  Probably concocted by Baekhyun too, but he wasn’t that sure.  All he is sure now is that he is going to Jeju island, take pictures (because with the ticket e-mailed to him was a note to bring his cameras, as if he would actually leave his ‘babies’ behind), and he would be away for three days.

He checks his bags for the nth time if there was an item he forgot.  It would be a disaster if he forgot just one lens, or worse—his tripod.  Remembering that he packed the right stuff because Baekhyun was with him and the latter was being a bossy kid when it comes to packing, he sighs in relief.

Just then, someone sits beside him.  Being the anti-social airport person Kyungsoo was, he never looked until a voice, very much familiar, pierced his consciousness.  It was the voice that was always taking up the space in his mind when it goes floating on air, the voice that had no name but had a face, the voice that actually made his heart feel like that again, whatever that was.

“Hi?”  The other guy says.  Kyungsoo sits up a little straighter and turns, very slowly, to look at the other.

“Hi there—sorry but have we met?”  He says, feigning ignorance.

“The photographer guy—‘I’m no photographer but I can picture us together’?”  Tanned guy asks and Kyungsoo laughs, really laughs, because it was one of the lines that stuck in his mind for the simple reason that it was his job, and a pick-up line about it was very funny indeed.

“Oh, you—yes I do remember you.”  Kyungsoo says after a while, the other chuckling quite nervously.  “Sorry, I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.  But hey.”

He was not shocked but rather a little happy, and his heart really picked up the pace when his comrade said: “Then we should probably clean up the clutter on your mind and put me there.”

“Don’t worry: you’re all I can think about right now.”  Kyungsoo says, half-joking. 

Laughing, the two starts all over again—cheesy pick-up lines, laughing at stupid jokes, being good friends, actually, even until they boarded the plane and the other asked Kyungsoo’s seatmate if he could probably exchange seats with him?

Seated comfortably with the person he had been thinking for quite some time now, Kyungsoo tries to be calm and not look stupid until he feels the airplane’s rumble underneath his feet, and he grips the armrest tightly again.

“Afraid?”  The person beside him says.

 “Um—yes, a little bit.  I’m not much a fan of traveling, in general.”  Kyungsoo confides.

“I see.  Well, don’t worry now, I’m here.”

As the plane leaves the land and takes off, Kyungsoo feels safer than usual, laughing with the person that made him realize that this trip could well be worth it.

“So what’s a person who isn’t fond of traveling doing in a plane to Jeju island?”  His acquaintance asks. 

“Well, honestly?  I have no clue whatsoever.  All I know is that my older sister rung me up, told me I have tickets to Jeju island, and that she is expecting me there.  End of story.”  Kyungsoo lifts his hands in effect.  “I have absolutely no idea what to do.  How about you?”

“I’m attending my funeral.”  This earns the other guy a light punch on the arm from his seatmate.

“Shut up—don’t joke about that here.”

“No, but I am!”  He says indignantly.  “I really am.”

“Let me guess—birthday present slash surprise?”

“No, my best friend’s wedding.”

Both were silent for a while after that, prodding the other to go on with the story.

“It was a long time ago, actually—some years back, when I was still in high school.  We were best friends, you know, the usual drill—until sometime mid-high school when I started feeling that I liked that person.  Wasn’t long after when I finally realized I must have been feeling love.  But well, I’m not exactly the vocal type of person, so I just kept it to myself until we graduated high school.  College came, with it something new as we were in different faculties and different fields of study.  I eventually got over with it, but of course, the feelings come back once in a while to haunt me.”  He says, finishing the story.

“So. . .who are you in the entourage?”  Kyungsoo asks in curiosity.

“The best man, of course; who else do you think will the best friend pick?”

“So you mean—“

He merely nods, and Kyungsoo understands.  Suddenly, the smaller feels a jolt, a very light jolt of hope and spark run through his body. 

Kyungsoo ends the pregnant silence with: “I hope everything goes well.”

“I do hope so too.  Truth be told I’m just excited to go home right now.  It’s been such a week for me.  I hope you could come and make my house a home.” 

The plane landed safely with Kyungsoo and the guy who sat beside him the whole trip exchanging laughs and lines.  It wasn’t long when they were step the bay that Kyungsoo sees a taxi and frantically flags it down.

“Hey, where are you staying, by the way?  Let’s just split the fare.”  He asks the other person.  Latter person shakes head and flashes him a genuine, honest-to-goodness kind smile that had the smaller’s heart fluttering again.

“Thanks for the offer but I’ve got some things to attend to.  I guess, see you?”  The male says as Kyungsoo puts the luggage on the trunk with a “careful, careful” warning to the driver. 

“See you—whenever that is.”  They smile at each other and as Kyungsoo waves goodbye, he cannot help but think that the whenever he was pertaining to would be nearer than he expects.

--

“Little brother I am so glad to see you.”  His older sister says, scaring Kyungsoo out of his wits.  The last thing he wants is for someone to see how he was being greeted by his noona—like she was greeting a lost pet or baby, complete with patting of the cheek, hair, shoulders, arms, and body in general.  The fact that he was called ‘little brother’ also did not help.

“Noona, save the greetings for later, will you?”  Kyungsoo whispers as he smiles.  His sister nods and grabs one of his bags—apparently the one with the equipments—and starts walking inside the hotel lobby.  The guy was so immersed in making sure his equipments are safe that he fails to grab one of his bags from the taxi who ultimately had to go back and drop it off.  When at last all has been accounted for, his sister asks the keys for a cabana reserved in advance and drops everything there, including Kyungsoo’s bag.

“Be careful, noona, how many times am I going to tell you that?”  Kyungsoo practically hollers as the bag with his lenses, a laptop and his favorite camera—the one that still uses the films—are dropped unceremoniously on the bed.  He rushes over and checks them one by one, making sure that their conditions are still pristine.  His sister looks at him weirdly.

“See, this is why you don’t get a girlfriend or a boyfriend.  You’re weird.” 

“Thanks, Taeyeon.”  He says, earning a smack at the back of his head and a lecture on honorifics.  When they settle down and Kyungsoo has already readied his cameras, he asks the question he should’ve asked eons earlier.

“Noona, why am I here again?”  Kyungsoo turns to his sister, now peering at the monitor of the camera to see her brother’s pictures.  She does not answer for a minute, letting his photographs seep through her consciousness then she speaks.

“Right, right—the line was choppy when you called.  My college friend is getting married; remember Sooyoung?”  Taeyeon says, making Kyungsoo shake his head almost immediately.  He knew some of her college friends but they were just too many to be memorized, let alone be remembered.  “No?  Okay, but she remembers you quite clearly.   She also said you were a very cute sized kid.” 

“Thanks for that very wonderful comment.”  The guy sarcastically retorts.  “Noona, you know I don’t do weddings.”  He looks, hopeful that his sister would change her mind and make him go back to Seoul.

“You’re a great photographer.  I’m sure you also have that person-centered streak in you.  It’s been tough on Sooyoung and her groom as it is to find a wedding photographer and a videographer too so I hope you take this one, Kyungsoo.  Consider this as—“

“Yes, noona, because what else am I going to do with my stay here, right?”  Taeyeon hugs his brother and pats his head, telling him that she will just go fetch Sooyoung so that they’ll plan the details more.

Leaving Kyungsoo alone makes his mind fly away to the clouds again, back to the conversation with the random stranger he first met in the bar, who took the time that was supposed to be allotted to the imagination.  Now that they’ve met on the plane to Jeju (and he is pretty sure the other’s just somewhere near because Jeju is a pretty small place), he hopes that they can meet again—and then Kyungsoo will remember to ask for his name and probably, just quite probably, his number too.

The bride-to-be, Sooyoung, comes after a while.  Kyungsoo tries to change the basic contrast and brightness of the pictures he took back in Seoul when she arrives, arm-in-arm with his sister, knocking lightly on the door.

“Kyungsoo?  Is that really you?”  The girl who apparently is Sooyoung says as she approaches the guy to give him a hug and pat on the head.

“H-hi, noona.”  Kyungsoo could only say, nodding his head and grinning at his sister who plopped down on his bed.

“Hello!  You look nice.”  Sooyoung nods and trails eyes up and down Kyungsoo.  “Anyway, my husband’s going to be here any minute soon; he just had to fix some matters with the videographer and his best man.”

Hearing the word ‘best man’ made Kyungsoo think of his seatmate on the plane again, and it was all he could do to stop the lines from coming because he would be stuck again, and it would be long before he could even come back to his senses now.

“So, how’s Taeyeon’s cute little brother doing?  Heard you’re applying for a scholarship somewhere in Europe—“

“It’s in London, noona.”  Kyungsoo shoots a glare at his sister because it was supposed to be their secret. Kyungsoo sent requirements for a scholarship on photography classes abroad, but it has been almost two months now and he was sure that it was all a waste of time Apparently, that secret wasn’t made for two.   His sister apologetically shrugs and smiles. 

“Well, that’s about great!  I’m sure you’ll get in.”  Sooyoung says without batting an eyelash, oblivious to the silent war between the siblings.  “Anyway, can we take a look at that picture you were fixing? “  She stands up and walks to the computer while Kyungsoo gives his sister a pinch on the arm before walking to where his camera is, taking a candid picture of Sooyoung.

“Sooyoung noona, please face here.”  The camera poised in front of his face, Kyungsoo beckons for the bride-to-be and as she faces the camera, he takes a picture, catching the other off guard.

The picture makes it as one of the photos that will be used in the reception of the wedding.

They talk about the details of the wedding: its theme, the colors that should and will be present, the things that Kyungsoo needs to consider and the things that the bride and groom should remember.  The groom eventually comes in, followed by what looked like siblings.

“Hi, honey.”  The guy says to Sooyoung who was quick to go and hold her fiancée’s hand, introducing him as Oh Sehun.  The guy named Sehun shakes Kyungsoo’s hand then introduces the siblings as the videographers of the wedding.

“It wouldn’t be too big so I guess my friend just sent us two videographers.”  Introducing themselves as Junmyeon and Jongdae, the two quickly set up their equipment as Kyungsoo goes on to quickly brief Sehun on how the shoot will go.  

As the bride and groom go to change their clothes, the videographers and the photographer made small talk.

“You a friend of the bride?”  The guy with blonde hair asks, making him remind Kyungsoo of the person who also started small talk to him and ended up catching his heart.

“My sister is; I’m just the friend’s brother who turns out to be a photographer.”  He answers, looking at the screen of his camera, willing the face he is imagining right now to appear.  “How about you guys?”

“Junmyeon here knows the best man, I think.”  The guy named Jongdae says with a quick glance at the blonde guy who just shrugged.

“Well, he’s pretty much the nearest person to a friend back in grade school.”  Junmyeon says with a shrug.  Kyungsoo nods and suddenly turns, taking a picture of the two.

“What—“  Jongdae says, and Junmyeon widens his eyes as Kyungsoo laughs. 

“It’s okay; just take it as a sign that I do want to remember you guys.”

At the back of his mind, Kyungsoo wonders why he didn’t do the same to the person beside him on the plane.

The pre-nuptial shoot went well, with the couple insisting that they want a sunset shoot which meant Kyungsoo constantly changing the settings of the camera.  When they weren’t shooting or when the couple takes a leisurely stroll at the shore, Kyungsoo would whip out his old camera, the one with film, and take a picture of the scenery. 

Nighttime came and with it came the real job—that of digitally processing the pictures and adding them to the videos.  They were in one cabana: Jongdae, Junmyeon and Kyungsoo, taking time processing each picture and each video until it was perfect for the wedding.  All three work silently and Kyungsoo was eternally grateful for the silence that they preserved, opting to talk in hushed tones.  Kyungsoo’s mind flew away again as he edited another picture and thought:

What if he did know the best man to this wedding?

 

--

 

The wedding takes place the next day and with it came the stress of making sure everyone is well covered, especially the bride and groom.  No one is to be left behind, and Kyungsoo makes his rounds together with Jongdae and Junmyeon when he feels Mother Nature calling him. 

“Jongdae, take pictures, will you?”  Kyungsoo hurriedly gives him the camera and rushes to the bathroom nearest them.  Just then, Sehun comes, his arm slinging on someone’s shoulders, both a picture of glee and happiness.   Jongdae eagerly captures the moment and Sehun takes the opportunity to introduce the other guy, tanned skin contrasting that of his friends’, lips plump and face so achingly familiar in Kyungsoo’s sight.

“Jongin?”  Junmyeon asks, smiling widely.  The guy named Jongin widens his eyes and rushes over to hug the guy, patting his back.

“Jumyeon! Wow it’s nice to finally see you again!”  Jongin grins widely and looks at his friend.  “I thought you were always in my heart, turns out you’re also in my mind.”  Everybody laughed at the pick-up line and Junmyeon ruffled the also blonde haired guy.

“I thought you’d change when you enter high school; seriously, Jongin.” 

“Oh, he became worse.”  Sehun replied almost immediately.  He excused himself then to go to the wedding set up, and Jongin excused himself to go to where the bride was, the room where the photographer and videographer made their stop. 

Kyungsoo came back a few minutes later and as Jongdae gave the camera he said, “The best man’s here.”

They went downstairs then and took pictures and videos of the pre-wedding set up when Jongin came from where the bride’s room was.  Kyungsoo was looking away when it happened; Sehun approached Jongin and as they turned their backs, the photographer took a picture of them and asked:

“Is that the best man?”

Because it looked like he did know who the best man was.

 

--

 

The wedding started a little after four.  Everything was in place, Kyungsoo poising his camera to take multiple pictures with Jongdae with his other camera as Junmyeon managed to set up his cameras so all cameras will be recording the event at different angles.  When he swiveled his head, though, to take a photograph of the altar, though, he stops and just peers at the view finder because right there, in his camera, is the guy that has been occupying his mind since the first day they met.  What’s more, he’s looking directly at the camera too, a small smile taking on his face.  Kyungsoo clicks and takes that photo, remembering that moment in his mind.

When the wedding march started, and the groom was beside the best man now, and Kyungsoo was trying hard to preoccupy his thoughts with the ongoing event, he chanced a look at the best man and saw melancholy written on his face.  Kyungsoo cannot help it.  He turned, took a quick picture and got back on taking photographs of the, he must admit, very beautiful bride.

It wasn’t that Kyungsoo liked the other guy to be always in the pictures but it always ended up with him in the background, or out of focus, or a little cropped—but the thing was he  was always there.  He who was apparently the best man of the same wedding Kyungsoo was covering.   The wedding ended with no untoward incident happening and for that everyone, including Kyungsoo, was very grateful. 

The family pictures immediately after the wedding proceeded and it was all Kyungsoo could do to hide his smile as the newly-wedded couple requested a solo picture from their best man and maid of honor, respectively.  The best man smiles at the camera but he was also smiling at the person behind it, chuckling to himself and slightly embarrassed that he made a pick-up line about his job.  After the picture, he quickly approaches the photographer to say “Nice job” before smiling and walking a few steps away, watching as the family then gathered to take a picture.

Reception started at dinnertime, everyone dressed in their cocktail dresses, even the bride.  Smiling faces weren’t just for the pictures, they were also for the newly wedded couple—the new Mr. and Mrs. Oh.  Kyungsoo continues to take pictures, snapping away happily.  When he thinks he has enough for that time, he approaches the bar, wiping his eyes tiredly.

“Can I have one on the Beach please?”  He says to the bartender who was quick to do the cocktail as no one was yet crowding the mobile bar.  When the drink is mixed, Kyungsoo takes the glass and rests his elbows back, watching the party going on inside; the guests happily chatting with each other about how beautiful the bride is and how the groom is dashing in his suit and who made the bride’s dress because her dress was so stunning?  Kyungsoo processes all of these and chuckles, then slightly flinches as someone accidentally bumps his elbow, making him look to where the person is—the same person that was occupying his thoughts since a long time ago.

“H-hey there.”  Kyungsoo stammers, making him mentally curse.  This wasn’t how he envisioned this to be.

“You’ve basically made a house inside my heart and head.  Do you like make that house a home by staying there?”  The other says, smirking while asking a Blue Hawaii from the bar that slowly had increasing orders.

“Why, you’ve never changed—it’s like you’re in a picture.  Can I take us one?  Because I’m sure it’d look great.”  Kyungsoo chuckles at his pick-up line. 

“About that. . .”  The other guy says, scratching his nape.  “I’m sorry; I didn’t know you were really a photographer.”

“It’s okay, I didn’t actually say I was one.”  The photographer smiles and faces the other.  “So, what did you say your job was again?”

“I am an editor.”  This piece of information takes Kyungsoo off guard and stares at the other person now sipping on his drink.  When silence became unbearable, the other continues.  “I read the final manuscript and tell if they pass or fail.”

“So basically you own your own publishing company?”  Kyungsoo asks and the other nods.

“Want me to write our own love story?”  Tanned guy asks but before the smaller could reply, his sister walks toward them and looks at them with a bemused expression.

“Hi, I think you’ve met my brother here—you’re the best man, right?”  Taeyeon says, patting Kyungsoo’s hair that made the latter wince from embarrassment.

“Hi there.  Nice meeting you too and yes, your brother here has made quite a nice impression.”  Offering his hand for a handshake, the tanned guy bowed respectfully, eliciting a chuckle from the girl and the milky skinned guy.

“Well then, I guess I’m happy Kyungsoo here got some good company.  I’ll see you inside later?”  The smaller will really talk to his noona about keeping secrets safe.  It was one of the last things he was holding on to about his life and now that his sister quite easily revealed that information, Kyungsoo could do nothing but to nod and almost literally push Taeyeon away.

“Finally.  It’s a pleasure meeting you, Kyungsoo.”  There lies a tinge of amusement hovering on that voice that the other used and the smaller looks beside him and resigns to his fate.

“It’s my honor. . .”  Kyungsoo trails off, expecting the guy to say his name.  When no answer is heard, the smaller pointedly raises his brows at the other who took his cue and said it.

“Hi, I’m Jongin.”  He offers his hand and Kyungsoo quickly takes it, shaking with glee for at last he knows what the name of his mystery, cheesy guy is. 

It was a good quiet minute before anyone speaks again.

“Kyungsoo, right?  Would you like another drink?”  Jongin gestures at the now empty glass Kyungsoo is holding.  The latter shakes his head and places the glass back on the bar, gesturing the camera hanging on his neck.  Jongdae comes in moments later, looking at the two with interest before approaching Jongin.

“As much as I would like to not interrupt this moment you two are having, it seems that the best man’s speech will be in any moment so it would be most appreciated if you were there.” 

The photographers come in moments later with the best man, just in time to let him catch his breath before giving his speech which is short, with all the proper jokes at the proper places that Kyungsoo immediately knew this Jongin has a way with words.  Kyungsoo grins and takes pictures of him, enough to fill his need for a picture to hold on to.  He barely notices that Jongin purposely faces his cameras at some angles and once, winked directly to it.  The owl-eyed photographer only notices this when the pictures have been saved and stored for safekeeping and further editing the next day.