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one

CAMERA shutter-noises had never been a bother to chae hyungwon. 

instead of wincing like most of the other photographers did surrounding him, the dark-haired male revelled in the overlapping cacophony of sound that their cameras released. to him, it meant that he was doing one of the best parts of his job, and also one of the most uncommon. 

now, if only he could fix the little problem that happened an hour ago, then tonight would have been perfect.

hyungwon, for someone who could expertly handle a camera, had horrible coordination. that meant for him that an hour before the group he was to photograph took to the stage, he'd managed to trip over another photographer's foot and fall into an unsuspecting male who had been walking past.

the pair had fallen to the ground in a mass of limbs, the photographer's camera strap managing to twist its way around the shorter's hand when he had taken the brunt of the fall. his cheeks still burned with embarrassment just thinking about his stuttered apologies and the fact that the other male didn't seem fazed at all to brush away the locks of hair covering his eyes and call him beautiful.

he knows he cops a few weird looks from the people around him when he relives the memory, probably even more when he covers his face with his hands because he's blushing and making small inhuman noises. hyungwon couldn't find himself to care, a total stranger had called him beautiful, easily turning it to the highlight of his night even if he had ruined the moment with his stuttering red-faced self. 

when was the last time someone, apart from his friends, had called him that?

breathing in and out slowly, hyungwon refocuses his attention when he spots familiar figures walking on the stage out of the corner in his eye, all dressed in white. they get into position, the idols at the beginning of the three rows having their backs towards him. 

the blue stage-lights shine and make the stage mystical, catching on the idol's outfits and highlighting their tanned skin. 

hyungwon shakes his head in annoyance, seeing more beauty in the tan rather than the alabaster-skin of whitewashing that he had found when researching them last month. 

raising his camera, he thanks his tall height and takes a couple photos, the flash non-existent because he relies on the bright aqua coloured lights instead. he checks the end-products briefly before the music begins and he lifts his camera once more, knowing that he won't be pausing again until the song is over. 

the idol group began to dance, and his jaw almost dropped, they were good.

they had a synchronisation exact to older groups, groups that had gone through many albums together and had plenty of practice, one that usually shouldn't be with a group so young in their experiences with each other. 

it was breathtaking and hyungwon couldn't understand for the life of him why a photographer had been assigned to them so late, and that was a statement he made very rarely. 

throughout the song, although the photographer missed it, one of the six idols continued to glance only at him. he would pretend to look out to the crowd, when in reality he was focusing only on one camera, something that the male wouldn't notice until he went back through his photos. 

hyungwon worked at the high-end of the photography business, unlike the fansite photographers around him, and had been doing so since he was barely sixteen.

his company, shining star, provided not only to the entertainment companies with high-quality unbleached photos of the idols, but also to the fans. and the photographers like hyungwon, who had years of experience and good reviews, were placed in contract with a popular male group for a year. they would take photos of not only their stage-life but their dorm-life also, which was a massive hit for the fans who wanted to completely familiarise themselves with the boys.

it worked out great in hyungwon's favour, going from a boy with a number of friends he could count on one hand, to ending up with nine crazy-idol best friends over the years, who he wouldn't give up for the world. 

the newest group to his list finished their song 'all in', the once bright blue stage darkening as they made their exit, and it was time for hyungwon to also make his. 

he weaved his way through the excited sea of people, waves of them crashing into his side as the next performance started up almost immediately. noticing the song to be the same as the one his best friend had been spamming him with for the past week, he looked up and smiled, internally cheering him on. 

when finally freed from the surging waves of photographers, hyungwon breathed in over-dramatically causing one of the security guards to laugh. 

"it's not funny, hongchul, why don't you try standing in there for a solid hour" he pouted and the security guard just laughed a little harder, snorting once or twice, causing hyungwon to smile. 

"i don't think i would last two minutes, hyungwon. and i'm guessing your new group is the one that just finished?" the security guard, hongchul, asks and hyungwon nods. 

"thought so, your luggage is inside on the right. their room is down the hall, seventh on the left" he continues and hyungwon thanks him quickly, heading through the now-open door. the male collects his belongings, and makes his way down the crowded hall, moving out the way and apologising as the stylist-noonas speed past. 

one, two, three, four, five, six and... seven

he finally arrives at the seventh door, painted a plain white, with the idol group's name on a piece of paper sticky-taped on. he knocks, twice before entering, deciding to look at the floor instead of the surprised idols as he bows ninety-degrees.  

"good evening, i am chae hyungwon and i will be living with you for the next year. please take care of me"

his year with monsta x had now officially begun.

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written : 2017.01.30
edited : 2017.08.12