Apple of My Eye

Apple of My Eye

Click. Click.

Inside Chanyeol's dark room, there were no sounds except for the clicking of mouse keys and the occasional keyboard. The videos and photos aren't due for another couple of weeks but Chanyeol had always forwarded the edited copies to his clients early, giving them enough time to look at his work and tell him of the changes they wanted done. A wedding requires nothing but perfect memories after all.

After clicking Finish and there is nothing left to do but wait for the video to process, Chanyeol allowed himself to stretch. His joints gave a satisfying pop and with it follows the settling of fatigue and sleepiness.

A brief glance to his watch tells him that he managed to work himself through the night. Again.

He was about to stand when his camera caught his attention. He had already made a copy of everything in his computer but he has yet to erase the contents of the camera. He had seen the pictures on the monitor but hasn't started editing them yet. He picked up the device, the feel of it familiar in his hand.

He browsed the photos there. It was a nice wedding, a garden wedding, with a variety of guests since the groom is Chinese while the bride is Korean. Even the collection of food was great, on the right was all Korean and the left was all Chinese food. He also heard that the bride personally arranged everything, being a restaurant owner and all.

He stopped at one of his favorite photos. It wasn't a photo of the bride or the groom, as was the usual case. It was a photo of the best man, a flower crown on his head, put there by the bride. He looked so beautiful with it that Chanyeol was already taking photos even before he thought about it.

Chanyeol observed the photo. He really was a beautiful man.

Moles. Chanyeol didn't notice them immediately but it was there, a series of four dots from the man's temple down to his eyelids. He made a mental note to pay special attention to those when he edits the photos.

A loud meow from the other side of the door stole his attention away from his camera. That's right. Salt would be demanding food by now.

Carefully, he put the camera back to where he picked it up and went out of his work room to feed his cat, and also himself, while he waits for the video to finish processing. 

Then, after a good sleep, he can get started with touching up the photos. He should be able to send the first draft in a couple of days.

~*~

Jongdae was cleaning up after Pepper when the email came. She was still purring at his feet when he grabbed his phone.

He had just read the email address and he wanted to strangle Luhan already. He would've called him and yell at him for it if he wasn't currently in his honeymoon with his wife. He won't be a jerk of a best friend that will disturb their vacation.

Massaging his temples a bit, he opened the mail sent to him by [email protected]

Good day,

We, at Apple Of My Eye, sends you this mail so you may see the first glimpse of your documented special day. We will appreciate it if you can give us your feedback, comments, requests and/or suggestions so we can make these memories extra special for you.

Attach here is the first draft of the wedding video and a few photos.

You may contact us through this email or you can also personally meet one of our staffs to discuss the adjustments you want to make. You may call us at 010-0506-1127

Yours truly, 
Admin Apple

The least Luhan could've done was tell him that he gave Jongdae's email address to the company that recorded the wedding. But no. His best friend hopped on a plane going to Spain the moment the wedding reception was over. He had to handle the clean up with the venue staff himself, but on that day, Jongdae was too happy for Luhan to be angry. But now, more than a week later, and most of the wedding induced adrenaline gone, Jongdae is definitely pissed.

He closed the email and called immediately. To hell with not being a jerk of a best friend. To hell with his honeymoon.

"Luhan, you ! You didn--"

"GOAL! Oh ! They scored! Did you see that?!"

"I swear, Luhan--"

"Hey. Call you back, Dae. Too noisy here."

"Lu--"

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Jongdae closed his eyes and took a deep breath, even if he so wanted to scream in frustration. Nothing to do now but to take care of this himself. Even if he's mad at Luhan, he's still going to be the good friend and make sure that his wedding photos and videos will be perfect.

He decided to open the files on his computer so he can scan them better. The email has a 30 minute video attached, with a note that says that it may be longer, along with around 30 photos.

It didn't take him long to scan everything, but by the end of it, Jongdae has his eyebrows pulled into a confused arch. He quickly reached for his phone again and typed the number mentioned on the email.

It only took two rings before the other line picked up.

"Good morning. You are calling Apple Of My Eye studio. How may we help you?"

Jongdae was momentarily stunned. He expected a woman's voice, or at the very least a soft sounding voice, not a deep baritone.

"Hello?" The voice asked again when Jongdae failed to reply immediately.

He shook his head a bit, trying to focus on why he called.

"Hello. I'm calling regarding the email you sent me for the Lu-Kim wedding." he started.

"Ah, yes. Did you see the attached files?" the man asked politely.

"I did. I really like the quality of the video, and the pictures came out really well." Jongdae said. It was true, the video and photos look very nice but...

"We're glad the quality satisfies you."

"But... Is it like a special or something?"

"Special? What do you mean, sir?"

Jongdae touched his neck, rubbing it a little. Just an old habit when he gets nervous. "It's just that... I noticed that most of the pictures and even the focus of the video is the best man? So I'm asking if this is like the "Best Man Special" like kind of a sample for the actual wedding footage?"

It was weird saying this himself since he's the best man. But the video and the photos really did mostly focus on him. Even a nonsense photo of him smiling when Minseo put a flower crown on his head was among the 30 initial photos that was on the attachment.

"Are you sure, sir?" the man asked, genuinely confused.

"Yes. I just saw the email so I'm quite sure." Now, he's worried. It seems like the "Best Man Special" isn't the case at all.

"We will check them right now. We'll get back to you in a bit."

Jongdae stared at his phone. More confused than before he made the call.

~*~

"Hey, Baek!" Chanyeol called over, coming out of his small office and to the shop proper. He doesn't really have a studio place, most of his clients find his ad on the internet or they meet him here, in Baekhyun's flower shop.

"Let me just finish this arrangement." Baekhyun answered from somewhere and Chanyeol decided to bring out his laptop instead of pulling Baekhyun to the office.

Around three minutes later and Baekhyun finally appeared from the shop front to the counter, holding a white rose that he gracefully put with the rest of the flowers.

"You called Pink Paradise. How may I help you?" he joked, which Chanyeol ignored for the sake of asking for a favor.

"Could you look at a video and some photos and tell me what you think?" he said, already opening the files he sent earlier.

"How long will this take? I still have a couple of arrangements to finish." Baekhyun asked, taking a seat in front of the laptop.

"I'll help with cutting the flower stems. The video is around half an hour but you can just browse through it if you want."

"I'll definitely do that. Can't sacrifice half an hour."

While the video plays, Chanyeol busied himself with the work he promised his best friend in exchange for watching the video. Less than ten minutes later though, "Yeol?"

"Yes?" he was in the middle of removing the thorns off a red rose when Baekhyun called for his attention.

"Is this a "Best Man Special" or something?"

"Eh?" He dropped the flower, gently of course, or Baekhyun will have his head, and went to the counter. "What do you mean?"

"I've hardly seen the bride and the groom unless they were interacting with the best man."

Chanyeol just stared at Baekhyun, dumbfounded. He hit the nail on the head. It was almost the exact same thing the caller had told him.

"And the pictures?"

"Show me."

Baekhyun's frown grows at each click and Chanyeol is growing worried.

"Please tell me this isn't the entire thing that's in your camera." he said with disbelief written all over his face.

"Why?" Chanyeol asked, already gripping the end of his shirt.

"Yeol. You have eyes. 90% of this is a shot of the same person." To emphasize his point, Baekhyun turned the laptop around and showed the photo of the best man on screen, a kittenish smile on his lips and a flower crown on his head. "Please tell me you had Sehun help out with this." he added, rubbing his temples as he looked at Chanyeol's expression. "This won't fly for wedding photos or video."

Chanyeol sighed, "Yeah. Sehun was free that day so I managed to ask him for help." It
wasn't like his assistant photographers and videographers were incompetent. It's just that, no one can quite capture the moments like how Chanyeol does. So his shots are always the pictures used for the highlight of the event.

But if his photos are as screwed as Baekhyun says, the only one who takes pictures as good as Chanyeol is Sehun. But Sehun does photography as a hobby and not as a profession. So he really lucked out that Sehun helped this time.

“You really ed up this time, Yeol.” Baekhyun says, going back to the laptop to have another look at the photos. “He really is a pretty guy though.” he said as a casual comment. He didn’t expect Chanyeol to perk up at that.

“He is, isn’t he? He has the prettiest eyes I’ve seen. And you should’ve seen the way his lips stretch into this really happy smile during the wedding. You can feel that he was genuinely happy for the couple. He also has this little crinkles at the corners of his eyes when he closes them as he laughs and the way---”

“Chanyeol!” Baekhyun exclaimed, halting Chanyeol’s tirade of compliments. “Oh my god! You like him!” he said in this accusing tone, complete with an exaggerated hand-on-mouth gesture like he’s a teenage girl discovering about her best friend’s little crush.

“I-- It’s just-- You also said he’s pretty!” he argued back trying to lightly hit Baekhyun’s arm but the latter had easily dodged, being on the other side of the counter and all.

“I admit he’s pretty but you’re gushing over him like a teenage girl.” Baekhyun walked around, grabbing a white carnation in one of the displays.

“Oh yeah? Like how you gush over Sehun every time his photo books come out?” Chanyeol shot back, earning him a white carnation swat from a very red florist.

~*~

After checking the photos from the camera Sehun used, Chanyeol called back the client to apologize and also to inform them that he should be able to send a new batch of photos in around three days, and the video in about a week.

“Would it be easier on you if I can help choose the photos before you can edit them?” the client asked.

“Would that be okay with you?” Chanyeol asked. It would certainly be easier for him if the client would choose the photos beforehand but he still felt the need to ask even if they offered.

“Yeah. It was mentioned in the email that a meet up is possible. Will it be okay if I choose the place?”

“Yes. Yes, that would be fine. So when will you be available to meet?”

~*~

Jongdae didn’t know what problem the studio had for sending photos and videos focused on him but they had sincerely apologized for it even though they didn’t give a reason for the mishap. And even though he currently still hates Luhan for dropping this on him without prior notice, he still is his best friend and would want nothing but the best memories for his special day.

“Would it be easier on you if I can help choose the photos before you can edit them?” he asked, not sure if the studio will agree for him to see the photos before they can touch it up. He just thought it may help with the work a little.

“Would that be okay with you?” The caller asked back and Jongdae silently sighed in relief, sensing that they are open to accept his help.

“Yeah. It was mentioned in the email that a meet up is possible. Will it be okay if I choose the place?”

“Yes. Yes, that would be fine. So when will you be available to meet?”

Jongdae thought for a moment. It’s a Wednesday tomorrow so the cafe won’t be packed, specially on the lull hours of the day. “Is tomorrow possible? Around 9 in the morning?” he asked.

“Yes. That will be fine. May I know where?”

Jongdae gave the address for the cafe and ended the call afterwards. He hopes this meeting would be worth it.

~*~

Even though the client had volunteered to help choose the photos beforehand, Chanyeol still felt guilty enough that he squeezed a few edits on the photos so he may at least have something to show them. He also saw a few videos that Sehun took but opted out of watching those for the moment. He’ll get a chance to see that when he starts editing the wedding video.

Also, when he agreed to meet with the client, he was expecting to see the groom with the small face and large doe eyes, not a kittenish smile and beautiful eye crinkles that he had memorized from looking at them so much.

“Are you the one from “Apple of My Eye”?” the man asked, approaching Chanyeol from behind the counter of the cafe.

He found himself mapping out the man’s face, searching for the four dotted moles on his eyelid going to his temple and Chanyeol was delighted to see that they are a lot more obvious in real life than the ones his camera captured.

“Hello?” the man called out, a bit unsure this time, probably wondering if he had approached the wrong person.

“Ah! Ah, yes. I’m Park Chanyeol from Apple of My Eye. I'm also Admin Apple, the one who sent the mail and the one you talked to on the phone.” he introduced, automatically offering his hand for a handshake like what he grew used to doing when meeting up with clients.

“Oh good. I thought I got the wrong person.” he took the offered hand and Chanyeol immediately noted the relatively smaller hand that fits perfectly with his big one. “I’m Kim Jongdae.” he introduced.

Chanyeol doesn’t really remember much but then they were both seated in one of the tables of the cafe and Jongdae was already browsing through Chanyeol’s laptop and choosing through the bunch of photos there.

He has such pretty eyes. Oh… I didn’t notice that before, but his eyelashes are really long, too. I should pay attention to those in the next edits. Ah! Please don’t frown. His lips, too… Oh, he’s talking about something. His lips are really thin and why are the corners upturned like that, I wonder. Why does it look like it’s pulled tight?

Chanyeol refocused, bringing himself back to Jongdae’s entire face instead of parts of it, and found him frowning at him with the most unamused look. “Mr. Park. If you didn’t want to listen to me, maybe you should've just declined my offer to help.”

Jongdae was about to stand up but Chanyeol scrambled to stop him. “I’m really sorry. Can you tell me again, please? I promise I’ll listen this time.”

The smaller man squinted at him, making his eyebrows furrow and his eyes crinkle and Oh, he looks pretty even when he's irritated and Chanyeol wanted to slap himself for being so easily distracted.

"I kind of stayed up last night to clean the photos a bit so forgive me if I'm a bit out of it." It was half the truth but he can't possibly tell Jongdae that he finds him so distractingly gorgeous. Even if it's truer than the excuse he gave for being distracted.

The crease between his brows softened and he reclaimed his seat. He went back to the laptop but not without a skeptic look at Chanyeol's direction first. He also repeated the things he said and Chanyeol struggled to focus, pinching himself when Jongdae would lean closer to explain something and he'd notice a brand new detail. Like how pretty it would be to apply eyeshadow on his eyelids, how wide and pretty the skin cavas would be. Or how difficult it would be to apply lipstick on those thin lips especially to those upturned corners. Or how cute he'll be in oversized shirts given his small frame.

"Could you include this shot of Minseo in the main photos? I'm sure Luhan would love this framed." Jongdae said, pointing at the screen and Chanyeol noted the thin wrists along with the detail of including this particular picture in the main batch of wedding photos. The thin silver bracelet also looked great on his wrist, hanging loosely like it was telling everyone to look at its delicacy and its owner's.

There was suddenly a cup of coffee being slid on the table and both he and Jongdae looked at the barista with a confused brow. Chanyeol also said a silent Thank you because he was most definitely too distracted, again.

"Thought he needs something stronger than tea." the barista said, motioning to the cup of milk tea they served before they started the conversation. "He looked pretty dazed there, Boss."

Chanyeol instantly reddened at the comment, not expecting other people to take notice of how distracted he really is or to say it out loud in Jongdae's presence.

"I don't pay you to give free drinks, Hyukkie." Jongdae replied. "I can deduct this on your pay."

"I know you wouldn't." he said, smiling mischievously before waltzing back to the counter when a couple of girls entered the cafe. "Welcome to Cafe Bean."

"Sorry about that. Sanghyuk likes to tease when he's bored." Jongdae said, looking very apologetic.

Fortunately, Chanyeol managed to respond immediately. "Oh. Ah. That's fine. I really think I need coffee rather than tea. I wonder how much this is though."

"It's on the house. And I wouldn't deduct this on his pay like he said." he said smiling. "Want some creamer and sugar?" he asked and Chanyeol nodded. He liked black but only when iced, a creamer and sugar is very much appreciated when it's piping hot.

He realized he really was completely out of it when Jongdae stood up and went straight behind the counter to get the little packets of sugar and the container of creamer. "Wait... You own this place?"

Jongdae looked surprised for a moment and then he was laughing and Chanyeol couldn't feel bad about being stupid if he made Jongdae laugh. Such a pretty laugh. 

"Wow. You really do need the coffee in your system. And yes, I co-own this place with my best friend, the groom." he explained, pointing at the laptop where it shows a picture of the groom, making such an ugly face as he laughs.

"Boss. He might need an extra shot of espresso instead of the creamer." Sanghyuk said after finishing the take out orders of the customers.

Thankfully, they wrapped up before lunch. Chanyeol managed to stay focused enough to understand the things Jongdae was talking about. Also, he doesn't know if he should be thankful or not to the barista for making all these side comments when he gets too distracted. It did help him not get too immersed over his thoughts about Jongdae.

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Kim." he said, swinging his laptop bag on his shoulder.

"Jongdae is fine." he answered, smiling a little and Chanyeol really wants to snap a picture. He looked great in a suit and a flower crown but a casually dressed Jongdae is a whole new set of beautiful. "I hope the pictures will turn out nicely, Mr. Park."

"Chanyeol. You can call me Chanyeol."

"Okay then, Chanyeol." And oh... Oh. That sounded really nice.

"Careful, Boss. He might get a heart attack." Sanghyuk threw again and Chanyeol has finally decided he'd like to strangle Sanghyuk sometime in this life.

~*~

When Jongdae said he hoped that the pictures will turn out nicely, he didn't expect to see them the following day immediately. But then Chanyeol was there, entering the cafe at nine in the morning with obvious bags under his eyes.

"Thought maybe you'd like to see the edited photos so you can see if you want to add other things." Chanyeol said as he approached the counter. That boyish charm of his still present even with the obvious signs of inadequate sleep. Also, even with his incredibly deep voice, he had managed to appear as innocent as a young boy, especially with the sheepish way he looks at Jongdae and the way he was clutching the straps of his laptop bag.

"Sure, sure." he answered, wiping his hands before rounding the counter.

He guided them to the same table but after they got seated, Chanyeol didn't take his laptop out immediately but instead spent a good few seconds staring at Jongdae's face. He decided to blame it on the obvious lack of sleep of the guy. Plus, he actually looked cute, movements slow and guards down. Jongdae almost wanted to pat his hair.

When Sanghyuk slid a coffee on their table without being told to, Jongdae sent him a thankful look and the barista just smiled in return, teasing Chanyeol, too, which effectively stirred the guy to move.

The pictures looked a ton better than the ones he was shown yesterday and out of the corner of his eye, he can see Chanyeol just quietly staring with a dazed look on his face. Jongdae was tempted to for it or maybe ask Sanghyuk for a stronger brew.

He saw the picture of Minseo he pointed out, too. This one looked really nice and he bets Luhan would like this in their living room instead of the official wedding photo.

His brows furrowed as he clicked the next one though. It was a photo of him fixing the flower crown Minseo put on his head, his eyes was shut tight as he smiled widely, completely unaware that a camera was capturing this moment. This certainly wasn't part of the photos he pointed out yesterday.

"Uhm... this photo..." he turned the laptop around for Chanyeol to see what he was talking about.

"Ah, sorry. This... I just couldn't help myself. It's a very pretty photo." Chanyeol said, almost embarrassed. Jongdae made a soft little Oh and went back to scanning the photos, trying his best to tell himself that Chanyeol said the photo was pretty, not him, the photo.

"You're very pretty." he heard and his head whipped up so fast to see Chanyeol looking surprised himself. His big eyes wide and his ears were red, his big hands were also covering his mouth.

Jongdae found himself averting his eyes and absently rubbed his neck, not sure how he should respond.

"Please ignore that." Chanyeol said, blushing furiously now.

He nodded, taking pity on Chanyeol and also because he has no idea about what to say. Or he might reply with a "You're cute." if he opens his mouth.

~*~

Chanyeol kept coming everyday, with enough sleep this time since Jongdae pointed it out before, even if it was just about consulting which photos should be in large frames and which should be in the wedding album. Then after discussing about whatever it was Chanyeol came to talk about, he was allowed to hang around the cafe and do a little of his work there while Jongdae return back to the counter.

He couldn't stop himself from wanting to see Jongdae again and again, which in turn made him do this project at a really fast rate since he needed the excuse to seek him out.

The dilemma was there, over taking his time doing it or producing something to show Jongdae everyday. He liked seeing him smile and laugh, and also when he pouts when he's thinking hard. Chanyeol also found himself drawn to the image of Jongdae manning the coffee machines when there are a lot of people in the cafe. The way he handles troublesome customers with class or the way he jokes around with their regulars. But his favorite yet may be those times when Jongdae will catch him staring and the smaller man will spend a few beats staring back at Chanyeol before averting his eyes and going back to work, with the tips of his ears red. 

Each and every time, he just wanted to grab his camera and start snapping pictures, because Damn! how can someone look so beautiful by just simply existing.

Chanyeol just keeps finding more and more things to like about him. And his excuse to see him is nearing its end. The only thing left was the wedding video and that will only take him around two to three days.

Hahh What the hell should he do now?

~*~

The following day, instead of finding Jongdae's warm smile behind the counter, it was the groom with the large doe eyes glaring at him with his arms crossed.

"What are you planning on Jongdae?" he asked, looking intimidating despite being shorter than Chanyeol.

"Boss, he isn't--"

"Stay out of this, Hyukkie." he said back to the barista and Chanyeol saw Sanghyuk rolling his eyes before retreating to the back. He really hoped Sanghyuk stayed to help him.

"What do you want with Jongdae? Answer me."

He didn't know what to say. This is all too sudden and he knows he may have looked like a creep coming here everyday but he hasn't really done anything against the law. He'd thought about sneaking a few shots but he never did so. He doesn't want to be labeled as a stalker.

"I swear to god if you lay one finger on him--"

"I like him!" he blurted out, "Sir." he added, when Luhan's glare intensified, realizing that might not be the best answer to give.

"You what?! I knew you were planning something!" he exclaimed, looking outright murderous now. "I left him for less than one month and you think you can get your dirty paws on--"

"I'm not planning anything!" taking an unconscious step back, "Sir." maintaining eye contact, afraid that Luhan will lunge at him if he took his eyes away from him.

"Oh, sure. So you mean to tell me you didn't want to date him or anything like that." Luhan said sarcastically, rolling his eyes for good measure.

"I think I'd really like to ask him out."

Uh oh. Wrong move.

When he thought Luhan would've really lunge at him, a voice tore away through the tension in the cafe.

"Luhan, you asshat!" and then suddenly it was Luhan looking afraid.

"Dae..."

"Don't "Dae" me, mister. Were you planning to make me drive all the way to the airport just so you can lord here without me?! And make me deal with all that traffic! Only to find you guys weren't there anymore?! What if Sanghyuk didn't give me a call to tell me you're going all ballistic here?"

Thank Sanghyuk, Chanyeol thought.

"Sanghyuk!" Luhan yelled, "I am going to fire you!"

"I'd rather stay on Boss Jongdae's side." Sanghyuk said, coming back out to the counter.

"I'll give you a bonus this month." Jongdae said.

"See?" he smiled back.

Luhan was left scowling at the smiling barista.

"Also, I didn't give you permission to mess with my dating life."

"But you aren't dating him!" Luhan pointed at Chanyeol and Chanyeol was nervous again, having the attention back on him.

"Yet." Jongdae answered. Luhan's eyes widened and then he was glaring at Chanyeol again, spitting venom through his eyes.

"You said you're swinging by the cafe to visit Jongdae, not to ambush his potential boyfriend."

Chanyeol turned his head to the entrance of the cafe, seeing the face of the bride with her big sharp pretty eyes. She's in a loose white blouse and blue skinny jeans, highlighting her petite figure. Her hair was also down, brown strands ending around her waist. She's pretty, even more so without the full course make up Chanyeol got used to seeing in her photos.

"Minseo..." Luhan said, deflating completely at the sight of his wife.

"Hyukkie? I owe you a dinner date, invite your boyfriend." she said, looking over her husband to talk to the young barista.

"Do you hate me?!" Luhan asked, his attention redirected at Sanghyuk.

"It's called "choosing your side well"." he answered.

"Seo, could you..." Jongdae said, motioning towards Luhan's direction with an almost tired expression on his face.

"That's why I'm here." She approached Luhan and grabbed her husband's arm dragging him out of the cafe as she scolds him. "I told you about it so you can be happy for Jongdae, not murder the poor guy!"

Jongdae released a sigh, rubbing his temples as Chanyeol remained frozen in place, not really following what happened. "How did stupid Luhan found out?"

"I actually told Jaehwan, guess he told Hakyeon and Hakyeon told Minseo and Minseo told Luhan?" Sanghyuk offered.

Chanyeol didn't recognize the names but then Jongdae was nodding so he guessed it made sense to him.

Jongdae glanced at him then, "Sorry about Luhan. He's an asshat, but he's just a protective asshat and my stupid best friend. Forgive him?"

He looked so small and apologetic, Chanyeol feels compelled to give him the world or even maybe just to pat his hair... or maybe just nod, for now.

"Now would be a good time to tell Boss the things you said earlier." Sanghyuk piped in, smiling with his chin perched on his palm. It was obvious that for him, the show isn't over yet.

Realizing what the barista meant, Chanyeol exploded into a blushing mess, remembering the things he had blurted out in the presence of Luhan's rage.

"And I'm pretty sure Boss already answered, too." he added, and then it was Jongdae's turn to blush. "I'll take a ten minute break and flip the sign board while I'm out, so you guys can have your talk and blush fest." After sending a knowing smile to their direction, he was out and Chanyeol is really torn whether he wanted to hug Sanghyuk or maybe plot to kill him.

"Give it up. He'll kill you before you can even plot his murder." Jongdae said and Chanyeol found him staring right at him, a completely reversed setting than their usual.

"I'm guessing you experienced it?" he asked.

"Not me. But you saw what happened with Luhan."

Chanyeol chuckled at the thought. Yeah. He guess it would be better to take Sanghyuk's words well about "choosing your side well".

"So... are you free Friday night? We can watch a movie and eat at this really nice place." Chanyeol said, awkwardly scratching his head.

"As long as we won't be talking about the wedding anymore, I think we've talked about it to last me a lifetime. I also hope you aren't talking about Minseo's restaurant. I don't want Luhan glaring at us the entire time."

~*~

"Chanyeol! Stop taking my pictures!" Jongdae exclaimed, trying to snatch the camera away from Chanyeol even if he was smiling from ear to ear.

"Please, just one more." he said, bringing the camera back up to his face. Jongdae looked exasperatedly smitten. "Could you hold the bouquet a bit closer to your face?" he asked.

Jongdae complied, indulging Chanyeol, loving the way he breaks into a wide smile behind the camera.

"White roses really suit you." Chanyeol said, staring at Jongdae again. More than two years of dating didn't really decrease Chanyeol's need to see Jongdae, in fact, it only worsened. He also always brought his camera after getting permission to take photos of the other man. "I've always wanted to snap pictures of you ever since day one!" he confessed, b with excitement at being allowed to bring his camera on their first date.

"I need to develop this one, it would look nice in our living room." he said, looking at the photo he just took.

"Chanyeol, our apartment is already full of my pictures. I'm sure Salt and Pepper are pretty sick of seeing my face by now." Jongdae said, but he was smiling, knowing full well that Chanyeol will still display it somewhere. If not their house then somewhere in his office. He finally managed to rent out the place next to Baekhyun's flower shop so he now have his own little place. While the studio proper has all kinds of wedding photos from different projects, Chanyeol's office is filled with Jongdae's photos, shots from their dates and even random pictures taken inside their apartment.

With the new place, Chanyeol also managed to hire a good photographer so he wouldn't have to be stressed out alone when Sehun can't squeeze in to help.

"Okay, enough of Jongdae's photo alone. I need a couple shot." Hongbin said, his camera already halfway to his face.

"What would Chanyeol do without you..." Jongdae murmured, smiling at Hongbin's camera as he leaned on Chanyeol.

"Stare at your photos all day if he can't stare at the real thing." Hongbin answered. He kept snapping pictures even as Chanyeol steps forward in an attempt to hit him.

"I can fire you!" Chanyeol threatened.

"I know you wouldn't."

"I regret letting you and Sanghyuk meet."

Hongbin promptly ignored him. "Anyway, go and take Jongdae to Hakyeon so we have a photo of them together. I need to get Wonshik to stop crying so I can take his photo with Taekwoon. We need a grooms with their best men photo so try to find Jaehwan, too." and then Hongbin was walking away, presumably to find Wonshik and get his boyfriend to stop crying about his best friend's wedding day.

"Sometimes, I wonder who the boss is between us." Chanyeol said.

"At least we know he'll be great at handling wedding pictures." Jongdae answered, playing with the wedding bouquet. Baekhyun really wanted to catch it, given that Sehun already proposed to him a couple of months ago, but Hakyeon threw it a bit too hard and it landed away from the crowd trying to catch it and into Jongdae's unsuspecting hands.

"You mean even ours?"

Jongdae arched an eyebrow at him. "Park Chanyeol, I wouldn't agree to marry you over a half-assed proposal. Or do you want Luhan to find out so he can drown you in the Han River personally?"

"So you'll agree if it isn't half-assed?"

"We'll see, Park Chanyeol. We'll see."

~*~

A week later. Inside Minseo's restaurant, with the lights dimmed and Chanyeol on one knee, Jongdae said yes. And Chanyeol got his very first photo of Jongdae crying. Happy tears, of course.

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ReadRealize #1
Rereading in 2022 badly misses chanchen
ReadRealize #2
Chapter 1: this is really good
vronvron
#3
Chapter 1: sooooo cuteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
nesi0806 #4
Chapter 1: This was so cute! ^-^
I can relate to Chanyeol; Jongdae is so very beautiful. *-*
BlossomingAdy
#5
Chapter 1: This was so cute, it made my heart swell up, especially the cute ending ♡
chrysantslurvletters
#6
Chapter 1: Awww.. So cuteeee~ ♡♡♡♡♡
BlackPearl1612
#7
Chapter 1: This is so cute ❤
RadiantOblivion
#8
Chapter 1: Ayy, I'm drowning in the cuteness.
MeeRaBell #9
Chapter 1: Cuuute ^_^
secutepanda
#10
Chapter 1: Such a beautiful story~ ♡♡