I’m lying in my bed, staring vacantly at the light grey colored ceiling. Despite looking like we were all cool after what happened, I know we actually aren’t.

          That was the most awkward walk back to the hotel, and I cover my face with a pillow. No matter how much we wanted what I avoided back in the restaurant to happen, I think we need to at least wait until work is over. Yeah. I made the right choice.

          The next morning, we meet during breakfast and we throw each other stiff smiles.

          “Did you sleep well?”

          I did a small nod. “So… Have you decided about today’s destination?”

          Jongdae fixes his sitting position. “I don’t have any particular place.”

          “What if we just take a stroll along the beach and visit that small café on the end of this road? We can rest in the afternoon and pack, then we’ll go to the airport.”

          “Sounds good. It’s been forever since I had a nap in the middle of the day, this is a good chance.” Jongdae chuckles.

          “Right?” I laugh.

          After breakfast we go out from our hotel and are greeted by a small beach right in front of the complex, just separated by a street. We cross the road and walk past the border, and the soft sand feels completely different from the asphalt we just stepped on.

          The beach is clean but empty and surrounded by dark large rocks, and the morning breeze brings the chills. “Whew.” I fold my arms on my chest, and shudder. Jongdae takes a few photos, and rubs his arms. “I really rarely see you without your camera.” I comment.

          “Well, I even sleep with it.” Jongdae laughs. He takes his camera again, and directs it towards me.

          “Aye—don’t.”

          He just smiles enigmatically, and continues takes photos of the beach. We start following the shore line, and take slow steps along the way.

          “I feel like I’ve done everything, but I still have a week left here.” I look at the slightly grayish sky. “We still have a lot to visit—Incheon, Goyang, Paju, Namyangju, East Sea…”

          “We’ll do fine. I’ve visited most of those places, I know what to capture.”

          “Oooh, our photographer.” I tease.

          Jongdae looks behind for a few seconds, and fidgets with his camera. “Do you want to take a photo?”

          “What?”

          “Together.”

          He lifts up his camera with a hand, and pulls my shoulder with another. I glance at his hand on me, and suddenly there’s a shutter sound. “Hey!”

          Jongdae laughs. “Sorry, I didn’t say anything. One more. 3—2—1.”

          I manage to smile, and I demand to see the preview. With the bluish beach as the background, there’s me and Jongdae glued to each other, grinning from ear to ear. We look equally happy in that photo, and my lips curl into a smile to see that. “It came out great.”

          Jongdae lets out an approving sound as he looks at the preview, and he walks to the front. “Shall we go to the café?”

          I nod, and follow his steps. I finally have a photo with him.

*

          We’re back in Seoul, and we’re staying there for the night while during the day we roam around nearby cities. While there aren’t many locations left, the lengthy time to reach the locations and vast area of the destinations quite exhausts us. Especially when we’re visiting historical places, we often need to go around the place twice to make sure we’ve caught enough details.

          In a blink of an eye, I’ve come to the morning where the on the next day I’ll be departing back to Tokyo. I lie down on my hotel bed, and cover my face with my hands. It’s basically the last day.

          Today will be fully spent in Seoul city, and we’re going to visit Namsan Tower and Bukchon Hanok Village. On our way to subway station, it felt strangely good to see the bustling city after spending the past few days mainly outside of Seoul.

          As we wait for the train, Jongdae peeks at my direction stealthily twice. “What?” I reply a bit too cheerily.

          “Are you happy because you’re going home soon?”

          “Eh? No. Hey, I’ve been trying to forget that, honestly. I’m happy to spend the day in the city.”

          Jongdae is heard heaving a deep sigh beside me. “We have no schedule tonight, right?”

          “Hm? Yeah. The itinerary stops at Bukchon.”

          “Do you want to go somewhere with me?”

          My eyes slowly divert to him. “Where?”

          “Somewhere nice. Not as business partners. As… Two people.”

          I suppress my smile, and nod. “Okay.”

          “Do you want me to go to the airport with you tomorrow?”

          “Really?” I might have said it too loudly but fortunately it’s covered by the sound of coming train. Jongdae just smiles, and we got into the train car.

          I feel giddy already thinking about tonight, and when we arrive, Namsan’s countless stairs don’t feel a thing to me. I turn around and see Jongdae attempting to hide his panting at least twenty staircases below me. “Come on!”

          He gives a frail smile, and continues climbing the stairs. At the top, we walk around the lining cherry blossom trees and the famed love lock area. In Saturday morning, it’s still not that crowded but as the sun goes higher, more people start to flock the area. We go down the place at the right time, and sneak our way to the Bukchon Hanok Village.

          The traditional housing complex is quite the opposite from Namsan—while it still has the view of the lowland, the surroundings are so much calmer with hanok houses lining up, separated by narrow roads for pedestrians. The width is just enough for a car to pass in one way.

          I fawn over the elegant wood gates and sophisticated roof designs of the houses, impressed by the meticulous details and preservation of the zone. “It’s quite different from the temples or palaces we visited, right? They were grand, crowded and huge, but here, it’s just… So calm, yet so extravagant.”

          “Indeed.” Jongdae says behind his camera, and puts it down for awhile to trace a brick wall on his side. “I went here as a kid, but only remembered running along the street. Glad I came back to properly appreciate it.”

          “I want to take some photos too.” I take out my company’s camera and turn it on. I’ve taken some lessons from Jongdae along our trip, and at least now I don’t capture blurry photos again. Jongdae looks slightly proud to see me using the camera all by myself, and I look at him. “Careful, I might be a professional photographer in a few years.”

          Jongdae laughs. We went inside an art house and guest house, and we have an appointment at a tea house to practice directly how to traditionally serve tea. I am going to do the activity while Jongdae move around to take the photos.

          “Only my hands, okay. Not a hint of my face or hair.” I demand as Jongdae sets the angles inside the tea room, with an open sliding door that overlooks the front yard of the house. The instructor, a lady in her fifties wearing a hanbok smiles looking at us.

          “A couple?”

          “Oh, no.” I instantly answer with an awkward laugh while Jongdae did the same. “We’re… Working.”

          The tea serving starts, and the usually slow action is made even slower by me to allow Jongdae capturing the whole process. I finish the flow safely, and we’re now enjoying the tea I made.

          “I’ll go to the bathroom quickly.” Jongdae says as he puts his camera down, beside my company camera near our bags. That leaves me and the lady inside the room, and she proceeds to tell me about how this village is nowadays. Her soft and kind voice streams smoothly through the calm and silent atmosphere, and it makes me a bit sleepy until I hear sound of drums and voices of people singing a folk song from afar. The sound gets closer and I send the lady a curious look.

          “Oh, it must be the extended parade group from Gyeongbokgung Palace. They usually come here once a week to entertain the village visitors.”

          “Really?” my eyes widen. Then I should hurry and see it—I grab a camera and tell the lady to inform Jongdae once he’s back to the room. I open the gate and look around. The group of people in lively palace attire and hanbok bringing drums and colorful flags are walking towards this tea house, still a hundred meters from here. The other village visitors are stopping on their tracks too, coming from the alleys and staying along the street line.

          I get closer to the parade, and thankfully they’re walking in a slow pace so I can take time to take their photos. I start taking the photos, and when I touch the lens I realize I'm taking Jongdae's camera. There's no time to return, and I keep moving.

          Sound of drum and their song is getting louder as they get closer, and I plan to walk past them to get a back view, with the background of the scenery from the lower land which oversees the city. I’m a genius. Maybe it’s not going to come out as I expected, but I should try.

          I try to move stealthily by sticking to the wall, and finally get to the back of the parade. I walk farther from the scene to adjust my wanted angle, and start taking photos. Wow, it’s almost like what I imagined, Jongdae would be proud of me—

          As I walk backwards, suddenly my back hits a sharp surface on a side but hollow air on another. I lose my balance, and got nothing to grab before I fell backwards.

          When I land to the ground, the camera flings to my side followed by a solid cracking sound, and my heart skips a beat.

          I sit down, and take the camera in my hand. My chest immediately feels heavy. I hit a corner of a house gate previously, and fell to an adjoining alley. I hear running from nearby, with Jongdae’s voice calling my name.

          Jongdae arrives to my side and touches my shoulder. “It’s a good thing I saw your back before you disappeared behind the group… Are you o—" he notices the camera, and his jaw tightens. He helps me up first, then takes it from my hand.

          “I took the wrong camera.” I say breathlessly. “They look so similar—I took yours to take photos of the parade—and I fell.”

          The crowd is thinning out, and the festivities is gone. We’re standing at the narrow empty alley while Jongdae examines the camera. I cautiously look at his hardened expression, and his fingers trace the broken screen. He switches the power, and nothing happens. “It’s not turning on.”

          “I’m—I’m sorry. Let’s get it fixed. Where is the service center for this brand?” I take out my phone and hurriedly search. “There’s one in Gangnam. Let’s go there.”

          Jongdae doesn’t reply and he grunts as he covers the lens. “Why did you use this without telling me first…” Jongdae sounds increasingly impatient. “Why can’t you wait for me—do you know how much it costs?!”

          My throat feels blocked. His tone aggravates me, and I turn from fearful to furious. “I’ve told you from the very first day that the contract prefers you to use the company camera!”

          Jongdae doesn’t reply. My voice is even louder than his, and a few passing people glance at us. I close my eyes, and let my head down.

          “Sorry. Since my company wouldn’t be pleased to hear this, let’s just keep this off the record. I’ll pay for the service fee.”

          “It’s not about the money.” Jongdae says sternly. I furrow my brows, irritated. Didn’t he just yell at me about the camera price?

          “Then what? Contract aside, there, I broke it. I’ll take responsibility.”

          “No. It’s my mistake, I should go by the contract.” he steps away from the alley. “Our bags are still at the tea house.”

          We take our belongings and leave the village. Outside the entrance, Jongdae is still holding the camera tightly, trying to turn it on. Still futile.

          “You don’t have to go to the service center. I’ll take you to the hotel, and I’ll go by myself.” Jongdae mutters.

          I turn to see him. He’s not even looking at me. “No need to, I’ll go back by myself.”

          I walk away with my back facing him, and I hop on a taxi. I just want to get to the hotel as fast as possible.

          I sit with an empty mind on the hotel bed and throw my body back. What did just happen? My chest feels tight, and my mind is flashing the memory of Jongdae shouting at me earlier. I never saw him like that before. He’s always smiling and laughing even when he’s tired. To see him that angry because of me…

          Time passes, and the sky darkens. I’ve sent a message asking where he is, but Jongdae hasn’t replied. It’s fully nighttime, and I stare at the closed window of my room. Of course I won’t be going to ‘somewhere nice’ he mentioned.

          And there would definitely be no ‘later’.