Photographer(?)!SaTzu AU

*Squint for DubChaeng

*Squint for MiMo

*Their ages are normal (or as I’m writing this, 24 [SN] and 21 [TZ])

A/N:

I can feel my English slipping away as each day passes by.

I had this draft ever since The Devil’s Hour but never got into it. Then, I remembered that Tzuyu’s favourite season was spring so the inspiration and motivation finally kicked in. Also, I think creating dialogues is my weakness.

***

Day 3

The spring resurfaced with a gentle spirit, as one who realised that warming up softly often brought the best results to the heart and soul. Along the gravel pavement, 67 steps, rising wildflowers decorated on each side, offering a splash of colours that posed beautifully through the eyes of Chou Tzuyu. With her trusty camera nestled in her hands, she witnessed the playfulness in nature, in the skies, woodland and soil, inviting her lips to smile.

Cherry blossom trees were without a doubt the stars of springtime and Tzuyu thanked her father for granting her the passage to take a two weeks’ vacation in Japan, temporarily occupying one of his many holiday flats.

The park was nothing like those of the smaller towns. Theirs had miniature formal gardens for the elderly that had retired there for a quiet life. They had benches, ornamental trees, flowers year-round and water fountains in clear lakes. The scenery never failed to bring serenity in Tzuyu’s mind.

When she finally entered it, a slight breeze rustled the leaves, making them fall to the solid ground one by one. The air was pleasantly chill, the beams of sunlight glowed on her skin. She was absolutely enthralled with spring. To her, she visualised it as rebirth. New flowers, new trees, fresh grass or a new you.

In every angle, something would always catch Tzuyu’s attention, whatever it may be. A family picnicking, an old couple feeding birds, or children playing tag but if you asked her, she would admit that it was mostly the dogs she encountered in the park.

She lied, well, partially.

One day, she was capturing new pictures of her surroundings for her new collection, ironically enough, she was captured by a certain mysterious brunette standing, back facing her, underneath a cherry blossom tree. The sunbeams poured through narrow openings of the branches and petals of the tree, almost as if the brunette was in a form of the artwork itself. At this point, an enchantment allured her state of mind, leaving her completely captivated.

This was one of the many moments in her life where she would set her camera aside and bask in the beauty of life herself. No devices, just her curious eyes… except for that one time where she sneaked a picture of her. The downside? She never once got a clear good look on the person’s face. The closest she had ever gotten was the picture she had taken, the rear behind of her side profile.

Nonetheless, she would always come to see her after every stroll in the afternoons.

“So, you have a crush on a mystery subject?” Chaeyoung spoke through the loudspeaker of her phone.

“What the—don’t call her that.” Tzuyu rubbed her pinkish cheeks out of embarrassment.

“Okay, the object of your affection?”

“I hardly know her, much less seen her actual self,” she muttered as she grabbed a glass of chocolate milk out of the fridge.

“Are you sure that you were taking pictures of the flowers in the park or is she the flower?” Chaeyoung teased.

“Oh my god, stop.”

Chaeyoung hummed, “And why is it again that you’ve never gone up to her?” After a moment of silence, she chuckled, “Right, forgot that you’re not the one to do something like that.”

Tzuyu brought her delectable drink and phone, sitting down comfortably on a sofa. “I don’t even know why I find her so attractive, it’s just her back.”

“Was her nice?”

She was grateful that she had already gulped her drink, but it did not stop her from turning even redder. “Chaeyoung!”

“I mean, it’s been like what? Three times now that you’ve seen her?” Tzuyu could imagine Chaeyoung rolling her eyes by the tone in her voice. “You can’t tell me that you’ve never once looked at her .”

“I—” A couple of shuffles were heard before Tzuyu could have the chance to protect her dignity.

“Oh, sorry, got to go now. Dahyun’s having her random cravings again but don’t think that you’re off the hook,” Chaeyoung said quickly. “I expect a full description of her on the next phone call.” With that, she hung up, followed by the disconnect tone.

Tzuyu breathed in a deep sigh as she laid back, sinking herself in the sofa, trying to find any ounce of comfort. “Being a piece of furniture must be so easy, even if you’re broken, you could easily be fixed.”

She stared at the blades of her rotating ceiling fan and scoffed in amusement as she recalled the brunette.

Her was nice.

But it’s not like she would admit that out loud.

———

Day 8

Tzuyu confessed she once coexisted with an angel briefly. Unfortunately, it was when she was sitting on the freshly cut grass, being pensive regarding the park and its liveliness no matter the time.

She brushed a flower’s petal with her thumb. “Being a flower must be so nice. Alive but with no feelings.”

“Well, that’s quite depressing to hear.”

Tzuyu’s head snapped up and her eyes travelled to the source of the stranger’s voice.

From the cherry blossom tree, 31 steps, not staying for more than 4 minutes. That was Tzuyu’s rule in order to avoid the brunette but still being able to look at her without looking like a stalker. In the meantime, she would continue to do her usual routine of succumbing to mother nature’s blessings around her.

And yet, as the mystery brunette shields the sun from straining her eyes, all of her imaginations were thrown out of the window as they absurdly did not do well in envisioning an idea on what she would look like because this woman in front of her had gotten her awestruck.

“Uh,” Tzuyu cleared . “What?”

“What you said?” The woman squatted down next to her; her eyes focused on the flower Tzuyu touched. “About being a flower?”

The Taiwanese was pretty sure that her eyes were wide as saucers because she could not believe that she was having an actual conversation with her, but she promptly blinked back into reality. “Yeah, is there something wrong?”

“Don’t get me wrong, what you said was true, but,” Her honey-coloured eyes greeted Tzuyu’s dark brown once more, evoking an unfamiliar rhythm in her own heart. “Don’t you think that they’re quite similar to us humans too?” She grinned.

Oh, god. Her smile could replace the sun itself. “Elaborate?”

“For starters, they need to be taken care of and from time to time, we need to be taken care of too.” Her pointer finger delicately grazed along the stem of the flower. “They need water, like us and some are even carnivorous, again like us too.” Carefully, she split the stem from the ground and brought it closer to Tzuyu as she gently twirled it around between her two fingers. “They come in all shapes, sizes and colours, and”—she fixed Tzuyu’s loosened strands back behind her ear, she also included the flower—“they’re also reproductive.” She ended with a wink.

The cherry blossom could have matched with Tzuyu judging by the pink hue cast across her face that deepened with every word the brunette spoke. Words abandoned her mind and throat as she purely admired the sight of the woman.

“Cat got your tongue?” An endearing giggle erupted from her and Tzuyu thought it was the loveliest thing ever since she arrived in Japan.

“I’m more of a dog person but I do own three cats,” Tzuyu said rather absentmindedly.

“That’s so adorable!” The brunette cooed and made a spot for herself right next to the taller woman. “So, how’s it going?”

“It’s going.”

“What’s going?” She tilted her head, confused.

Realizing what she said was basically idiotic, Tzuyu frantically looked around to save herself from yet another series of embarrassments and nodded towards a dog catching a frisbee close by. “T-That dog! It’s going, I meant.” She mentally cringed for stuttering. “Sorry, me, I’m good, I’m doing good.” Nice work, now she’s going to think you’re stupid.

“You’re cute.”

Great, now she’s going to think I’m about to faint soon. “Excuse me?”

She watched her twiddle with her fingers and let out an awkward laugh. “Sorry, was that too upfront?”

“No, no!” Tzuyu held up her hands. “In fact, you’re beaut—”

“Satang!”

Both women turned towards the silhouette running straight towards them on the pavement. As the figure came into view, Tzuyu caught the shocked expression on her face, looking back and forth between her and this ‘Satang’.

“Ah, Momo!” The brunette got up on her feet and patted away any excess dirt from her outfit. “I should probably leave now, it was nice seeing you.” She bid her goodbye with a wave and jogged towards who she assumed was her friend.

Tzuyu did not move from her spot, even her eyes never left the brunette. She watched as the two exchanged a very intimate embrace with Sana’s arms positioned firmly around the other person’s shoulders as they walk away, eliciting an unsettling feeling to make its way in Tzuyu and she was hit with a brick made out of this valuable material called ‘realisation’.

She did not know anything about the brunette, who remained to be known as the mysterious woman from the park who often wanders underneath the same cherry blossom tree. She was not aware of her relationship status, age, interests, and a lot more. How dumb of her to be so fixated on a complete stranger? That ‘Momo’ could have possibly been her partner.

Her back anchored itself on the soft land as the gears in her head heavily processed what happened. What did I think I could get out of just staring at her and hoping she’d one day notice me?

Tzuyu never stepped foot in the park for the next few days.

———

Day 12

“You’re coming back soon, right?”

Tzuyu switched her smartphone to be placed securely between her shoulder and her cheek, holding it in place. “Yes. I can’t wait to see Gucci,” she sighed, bringing a snack in one hand and a drink in the other as she placed them both on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

Chaeyoung laughed, “I swear, you and that dog.”

“I love him, okay?” Tzuyu countered and left her on loudspeaker.

“Cause he’s single and won’t ever leave you until he dies of age?”

“Oh god.” She facepalmed herself. “Let me breathe and drop it.”

“Come on, Tzuyu. We don’t actually know for sure if she was her girlfriend or not! You just saw them hugging, big deal? Anyone could do that.”

“But—”

“Listen,” Chaeyoung cut her off. “To this day, you still haven’t described her to me.”

“What does that have to do with any of this?” Tzuyu groaned. “Wouldn’t Dahyun be jealous over your blatant obsession with her ?”

“Actually, I’m interested in knowing too. Besides, she loves my the most.” Dahyun’s voice chimed through and Tzuyu could practically imagine them high-fiving each other.

“I can’t believe you two.” She honestly thought she would pop a blood vessel anytime now.

“Just don’t let one person stop you from enjoying your time there. We know how much you love that damn park,” Chaeyoung pleaded. “You’re going to come back here anyway, so what do you have to lose? If you meet her again, so be it, you’re not staying anyway.”

“Plus, it’s not every day that you get to watch the cherry blossoms in Japan. Get the heck out there and live like it’s the last day!” Dahyun scolded.<