After leaving the studio, Seungwan was still buzzing with the energy of that fantastic recording session. She felt that the occasion called for a celebration, grabbing her phone and readying herself to call Irene when she noticed a text message.

seulbear: 

Doing anything today?

3:22 PM

me:

just finished my recording session!!

5:04 PM

seulbear: 

Congrats Wannie!! I'm actually downtown today, and

there's this really nice cafe near your studio : )

Let me treat you~~

5:05 PM

Seungwan had to contemplate whether to accept the invitation. On the one hand, she had promised Irene a date if the recording went well (more like half-promised, if she was honest). On the other hand, she hasn't seen Seulgi in a couple weeks, which was a couple weeks too long to not be seeing the bear. Of course, they had been texting and calling regularly, but that could never replace the surprise hugs and crescent eyed smiles she had gotten so used to. She could always take Irene out another time. After weighing the options, she shot off a quick text.

me:

send me the address and i'll see you there

can't say no to free coffee >: )

5:10 PM

seulbear: 

Reve Cafe

80114 Velvet St.

5:12 PM

Seungwan pulled up the directions, and it was luckily only a five minute walk away. As she walked, she thought about Irene and wondered what she was up to. This was the first day in two weeks that she was not around to entertain her in some way, whether they were lounging on the couch watching old films or just talking. Seungwan especially loved hearing about Irene's escapades throughout the years, like the one time she served a pirate sailing the high seas or when she was skirting the authorities under the direction of a crime lord. She was like a walking history book, and though Seungwan never paid too much attention to those lessons in school, she found that Irene made the subject riveting. Surely a simple life in Seungwan's apartment couldn't compare. Speaking of, she must be bored at home alone. Seungwan recalled giving full access to Seulgi's collection of movies in the cabinet under the T.V., but those were bound to get old. Beginning to feel even guiltier for meeting up with Seulgi, her hands had acted of their own accord and dialed Irene's number. 

There has hardly half a ring before she heard Irene's small voice come through the receiver. "Seungwan? Did you need something?"

It sounded just like Irene to ask about what Seungwan needed, putting her needs first even when she must be bored out of her mind right now. The thought warmed Seungwan's heart. "Just checking in to see how things are going. Are you finding enough things to keep yourself preoccupied with?"

"Yeah, I'm doing fine. I found more than enough things to do, so you don't have to worry about me."

Seungwan was relieved. She figured that a couple hundred years of existence would teach you how to fill your time, but she couldn't be sure until Irene's reassurance. "Well that's great! I just wanted to let you know that I'll be coming home a little later than planned because I'll be spending some time with Seulgi. Is that alright?"

Irene scoffed, "Since when did you need my permission for anything? It's about time you went out anyway."

"What a nice way to tell me that I'm a homebody. Guess you don't miss me after all," Seungwan posed.

She could almost hear how Irene cracked a grin. "I've found out that Manen is much better company. He's much more receptive to my humor, not to mention an excellent cuddle buddy and --" There was a crash in the background. 

Out of shock, and a grave sense of danger, Seungwan sputtered, "Irene... what was that? Are you okay? Should I call the cops?"

"No, no! Don't call the cops! I'm just," Irene paused strangely, "I'm just cleaning is all. I dropped a plate, but I'll make sure to get rid of the mess before you get home! Hurry and go hang out with Seulgi, I hope you have fun!"

The line went dead.

Seungwan couldn't help but feel that that was one of the stranger interactions she's had with the genie. Maybe she was just antsy about leaving glass on the floor. Either way, Irene could handle herself, and Seungwan trusted her enough to not leave the apartment a mess. Though they've only lived together for a short period of time, she felt that Irene was not the sort to revel in untidiness. Losing herself in these thoughts was enough to pass the time until she arrived at her destination. At least, that's what Google Maps said. She was on the right street, but couldn't seem to find this "Reve Cafe". There was a clothing store, a quaint antique shop, and a salon, but no cafe in sight. Seungwan swore she put on her contacts this morning, but hell, her eyes must be going. 

Breaking her out of her bout of squinting at various storefronts, she felt two hands wrap around her head, covering her eyes. Before Seungwan was able to throw her hands up in protest, or possibly attack, as her fight-or-flight response was urging her to, she felt a warm breath on her ear, the perpetrator leaning closer. With a teasing lilt to their tone, they asked, "Guess who?"

There was no illusion as to who the "stranger" was. Seungwan huffed, "Kang Seulgi, if you do not remove your hands this instant I will be forced to use the lessons from that one self-defense class I took against you."

Suddenly, Seungwan's vision was restored. She turned around to see the photographer pout, arms crossed. With her characteristic suede jacket, beat-up converse, and prized camera swung across her shoulders, there was no mistaking her best friend for anyone else. "It's no fun if you don't guess Wannie."

"What's the fun in guessing if you're the only one I know who would do that?"

Seulgi gave Seungwan's shoulder a playful shove. "I also happen to be one of the only people you do know."

"See? It wouldn't be very hard of a guess at all!"

"Okay, okay, loser." Seulgi stuck out her tongue and put her hand in an L shape on her forehead. If she was supposed to look menacing or mean, she was doing a very poor job of it. "Anyways, we should be heading inside," she said, taking Seungwan by the wrist as she started walking down the alley between the clothing store and salon. 

"Are you planning on kidnapping me Seul? What's with taking me to this shady alley? My revenue money won't make for a very good ransom."

"Oh, shut up, Seungwan. Since when did I ever put you in danger?" Seungwan thinks back to the times that Seulgi decided to try her hand at cooking, and she was the convenient taste tester. Food poisoning for three days straight qualified as danger in her eyes.

Seungwan's wince was enough of an answer for Seulgi. "Okay, maybe a few times, but now is not one of those times! Here," Seulgi stops in front of a wooden door that gave the appearance of a secret entrance embedded in the concrete of the surrounding buildings. Foliage draped across the top and sides of the frame, a warm feeling emanating from the location despite the rigidity of the architecture around it. With such a unique and inviting atmosphere, Seungwan had to take a second to contemplate whether or not Seulgi had stumbled across a fairy's den.

She must've been staring too long, as Seulgi interrupted her train of thought. "If you keep gawking at the cafe through the window instead of going inside it, I might change my mind about not kidnapping you and getting that sweet, sweet ransom money."

Seungwan relents, opening the door for herself and her friend, but not without getting the last word. "Who's to say I wouldn't sell you off to one of those art critics because I got fed up with all of your wit, Seul?"

"Did you just admit I'm witty? You must've had a really rough day in the studio."

"Watch it! Just one call and the critics will come collect you in an instant!"

The interior was more magical than even its interesting entrance would initially indicate. As soon as they stepped foot through the door, the strong scent of coffee and the more gentle scent of vanilla intermingled, filling the room. It had the feeling of a still oasis in the midst of the bustling city. As Seungwan grabbed a corner booth and Seulgi went to the counter to order, she wondered how Seulgi ever encountered such a place. There were only a few patrons dispersed throughout the small interior, pleasantly chatting about their days in their dreary corporate lives or gossiping about what stranger their roommate brought home last night. What the cafe lacked for in space, it more than made up for in homeliness and comfort.

Seungwan was just about to dissolve right into the velvet cushions when a tray was placed on her table. Seulgi slid into the booth, beaming like a dog that had retrieved a tennis ball for their owner. She was right to be proud. It was a wonderful assortment, everything from delectable slices of red velvet cake to kiwi tarts. This was far too much food to consume in the period of a quick meet-up, but the way Seungwan's mouth was watering told her that today was a day to push her limits. Surely her stomach could handle a little more sugar than usual.

This was too good to be true. Literally, though. Seulgi wasn't one to impulsively buy, nor did Seungwan think that one recording session was enough to warrant such an extensive congratulations. 

"What's all this for? Did I forget my birthday?"

Seulgi shakes her head in an amused manner. "No, but something almost as good! I know we're here to celebrate you getting back into the music scene, but I have just as much reason to celebrate!" The comment evoked a questioning head tilt from Seungwan, prompting Seulgi to continue. "So, you know how I've been in this rut with my photography recently. As much as I love the craft, I've been lacking inspiration these days." Seungwan almost wanted to laugh at how similar their situations were, but nodded in understanding.

"Anyway," Seulgi took a bite of the kiwi tart, "I think I've found my muse."

"Muse? As in metaphorically or literally?"

"Literally. I was walking through the park two blocks down and I," Seulgi paused in recollection, eyes lighting up. "I found the most beautiful person you could ever meet."

Seungwan doesn't recall introducing her to Irene. "Not that I'm complaining, but this person must've surely been something for you to splurge on all of this dessert." 

Seulgi nods, hands readying to take another tart. "Well, it's a long story, and we have some time."

"Don't let me stop you, I'll just be listening attentively in between mouthfuls of all this cake."

Her best friend is too excited to care about a retort.

"So..."

"Something beautiful, something beautiful, something beautiful..." Seulgi was mumbling this odd mantra to herself as she ambled about the park walkways. Her eyes scanned the blossoming trees, watched the shifting amalgamations of pigeons, viewed the rows of ducklings peeking behind the reeds at the edge of the pond. She was used to scenic shots, but none of these scenes were... scenic enough. 

She sighed, fidgeting with the cross-section of the strap of her camera and satchel slung across her torso. When her agent told her that the audience was starting to become tired of the same old still-lifes, seeming to lack, well, life, Seulgi thought that she might want to shoot somewhere that was full of it. Cities, of course, were full of life, but they were also full of people. Seulgi's type of photography was not people photography. They were too performative at times, hard to pose, hard to please. Inanimate objects nor nature could protest to innovative angles or a differing artistic vision, and she found that there was a subtle beauty in stillness that she couldn't quite achieve with people as subjects. It was always interesting how she had the ability to make an impersonal subject more personal than an actual person. 

Though the slow ripples of the pond seemed to echo Seulgi's quiet disappointment, she decided to stay optimistic, returning to her strange chant. She crouched down near the pond's edge, unclasping the buckle of her bag and pulling out her polaroid camera, seeking to take some test shots with the instant film. "Something beautiful, something beautiful, something--" The eye of her lens trailed the concrete of the paved walkway, gazing up to linger on a figure seated on the bench. The woman's eyes were fluttered shut, wind breezing through her long hair at a pace that matched her cyclic exhales. A houndstooth coat was loosely draped across her shoulders, legs and arms crossed tightly, heels forming sharp angles in contrast to the feeling of serenity that she was radiating. Despite the eddies and swirls of the pigeon formations, despite the rustling of the reeds like a lover's whisper, despite the cherry pink of the blossoms overhead, she found this dozing woman the most captivating. Seulgi lowered her camera in awe, as if the seeing this display through a lens was not enough to do it justice. She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, "Beautiful."

Her hands moved on instinct, manipulating the shutter speed, centering her subject within the shot. With a snap, this moment was imprinted permanently on film.

But something was not quite right. If only she could tilt her chin a tad bit to the right, everything would be perfect. Without thinking, Seulgi reached out and gently adjusted the woman's head, thumb grazing the soft lines of her jaw, aiming for an ideal angle to complete the shot. 

A hand wrapped around her wrist. "Usually, I get paid for photos taken of me, you know."

"You did what?" Seungwan exclaimed. ""Why would you interrupt a lady taking a nap?"

Though Seulgi was the one who committed the questionable act, she replied with just as much confusion. "I don't know, I don't know! I wasn't even thinking, I just did it!"

"There you go sounding like me in gay panic! Seulgi, you've officially evolved to the level of useless lesbian."

"Can we stop bullying me and continue with what happened?"

"There is literally no way that this interaction can end well, but you can continue."

"Ahem..."

Seulgi retracted her hand like touching a hot lady. Hot olive. No wait, hot stove. She was really floundering here.

“Take a picture, it'll last longer. Oh wait, you did,” The stranger scoffed. “If I knew I'd have my first encounter with the paparazzi today, I would've dressed up a little more.”

As if begging to continue her string of blunders, Seulgi sputtered, “I think you look great as you are.”

”You must have been, since you were so eager to get a photo.” Her arms tightened her pose, looking so intimidating even as she was looking up at Seulgi from her seat. Her index finger tapped at a breakneck pace on her forearm, a symptom of growing impatience. “I'm still waiting for an explanation, Suede.” 

Two minutes into this awkward encounter and Seulgi had already received a demeaning nickname. This was going great.

”I'm so sorry. I'm Kang Seulgi, a photographer. I mean, I don't even usually photograph people, I was just walking around, looking for a place to shoot when I happened to see you here. You looked so serene. I like my shots to be as still and as accurate as possible, and most people aren't like that but everything about this was so perfect, and—“

”Joy,” the woman interjected, pulling the brakes on Seulgi's trainwreck of an explanation.

”What?”

”I just thought I should introduce myself, since it is becoming eminently clear that there was no reasonable motive behind your strange actions.” She got her there. “I'll tell you what, since you don't seem like the stalker type, way too soft and way less creepy, I'll let you off easy.” Seulgi nods vigorously, anything to get her off of this beautiful girl's bad side sounded like a wonderful opportunity.

”Just show me the photo.”

Now that... That was something tricky to accomplish. Seulgi didn't make many people privy to her portfolio (much less a complete stranger) until she was a hundred percent sure that she had crafted the finished product. She still had to adjust the lighting, correct oddities, check the frame. Not to mention this was one of her few forays into portraiture post-college. It wasn't even intended to be anywhere close to the finished product, taken as a test shot with her polaroid rather than with her trusty Canon. The conditions might have been perfect, yes, but the photo was nowhere near it. She was afraid this imperfect photo would not live up to its perfect subject just yet. 

“I- I can't.”

Joy was appalled. “What do you mean you can't? I'm sure that I could sue you for ownership of a photo that carries my likeness without my permission! Besides, aren't you a professional? What is there to be embarrassed about?”

Everything, Seulgi thinks. Imperfection. Awkwardness. Everything. But now wasn't the time to be nervous. She'd arguably already crossed far too many lines. She seemed to squirm in her indecision. "What if you don't like it?"

Joy rolled her eyes. "That's really what you're concerned about right now?"

As if to punctuate the awkwardness of the air, the camera in Seulgi's hands whirred, slowly pushing out the photo like a grocery store receipt. Joy and Seulgi locked eyes, striking lightning. Before she could even blink, Joy leaped from her seat. Within an instant, their hands clashed, darting toward the film.

"Got it!" Joy held the photo up triumphantly. Seulgi tried reaching for it, flailing as Joy simply got on her tiptoes to keep it out of the shorter's reach. How unexpectedly childish from someone who looked so mature. Of course, Seulgi could not win this battle when her genetics had destined her to fail, admitting defeat and relenting to her fate. She watched as Joy lowered the photo to eye view, the teasing smile gradually softening into an unreadable expression. Was it bad?

Joy wordlessly handed the polaroid back to Seulgi, turning toward the bench and scooping up her bag before securing her coat more tightly around her shoulders. 

"Of course she's just going to walk away! You screwed up big time, Seul!"

"We're just getting to the good part, Seungwan. Stop interrupting!"

"What more is there to say? Doesn't it just end here?"

"No, you idiot, I would've ended the dang chapter if it ended here!"

"Chapter?"

"Anyways..."

"Are you doing anything today? I'm assuming not, since you appear to have enough free time on your hands to stumble through a public park taking pictures of strangers."

"No, I'm not." Seulgi turned the photo in her hands, looking at the scene it displayed. The pink bloom of the trees formed an arch behind Joy's head, arms crossed and hands neatly folded echoing a recurring horizontality of the image despite the verticality of the frame. Seulgi thinks that her type of photography just might've become people photography. She looks back up at her subject, lively expression and tone drawing sharp contrast with the soft silence of the picture. "Why do you ask?"

"You'll see. Walk with me." Without waiting for Seulgi's response, she simply started back down the path towards the exit of the park, leaving Seulgi with no choice but to follow. 

Trailing slightly behind Joy's long strides, Seulgi had to quicken her steps to match pace. "Where are we going?"

Joy began her explanation. "You see, I'm not the type to spend a whole day lounging in a park. I'm too busy these days." Seulgi looked Joy up and down, as if verifying she were the type. Her businesswoman-like demeanor and professionalism seemed to indicate that this was true. "But..." The taller woman's expression turned a slight bit more regretful, "I do enjoy getting out from time to time. Work had been a little stifling lately. Speaking of, the break is just about over, which is why we're returning to my studio." 

Seulgi was confused. "We?"

"Well, you're walking with me, aren't you?"

The photographer didn't have a response, finding that it was all too easy for Joy to shut her down. It wasn't unfriendly, either. With all of her aimless misdirection in her recent life, it was sometimes refreshing to be dragged around. "So, a studio. Are you a photographer too?"

Joy smiled. "No, I'm on the other side of the lens." Pulling out a business card from her coat pocket, she offers it to Seulgi, who takes the card with avid curiosity. She skims over the contact details, emails, and numbers.

"Joy: model."

Sliding the card in the back of her jean pockets, she snuck not-so-subtle glances at the woman walking ahead of her. With her air of sophisticated confidence, there was no doubt that she had the skill to be a model. Seulgi almost swore that she recognized her face from flipping through the pages of a coffee table magazine.

"You don't know me, do you?" Joy posed. 

"No, I don't, I'm sorry. But I feel like I've seen you somewhere before. Maybe on a billboard or something?" This elicits a restrained chuckle from the model.

"Oh, I don't think I'm big enough to have my own billboard yet, but I've done quite a few shoots here and there."

"You should be."

Joy stops walking, turning around to look at Seulgi for the first time during their spontaneous walk. "Come again?"

"You should be big enough to get your own billboard!" Seulgi gestures toward the skyscrapers towering overhead. "I feel like I can already see your face plastered across the glass."

Whether it was shock or any other emotion that kept Joy from responding, Seulgi had yet to know.

"We're here."

They stopped in front of another glass-encased building, almost indistinguishable from the surrounding architecture excepting the large white letters jutting out from the facade. "Perfect 10 Modeling", the letters read.

Joy swung the door open for Seulgi who she waited to anxiously enter before following in herself. With a curt nod to the receptionist, the model stalked past the entrance area and deeper into the building. Seulgi just happened to be caught up in the storm that the powerful woman generated, whisking after her like a lost leaf trailing the wind of her coattails. Suddenly, Joy ducked into a random room off of one of the long hallways they had been walking down. There was already a backdrop, studio lights on, people milling about adjusting camera stands or wheeling racks of clothing in and out of the room.

The model took a beeline to the center of the room, pulling Seulgi along with her. With a booming voice, she announced to the various staff scattered about the studio.

"I brought our newest photographer."

Seungwan's eyebrows quirked up. "What?"

"Yep." Seulgi, said popping the p.

"So you're working for a modeling agency now?"

"Apparently, yes."

Seungwan felt exasperated. "You don't even photograph people, why did you ever agree to this?" If it was possible to have secondhand anxiety, Seungwan surely felt the symptoms of it right now. 

Seulgi opened to respond, but was stopped by the ringing of her phone. She takes a look at the caller ID. "Sorry, Wan, I have to take this."

"Who is it?"

Seulgi grins. "My muse." She stands up from the booth and starts walking toward the exit. "I think this might take a while. I've already paid for everything, so you don't have to worry about it. Maybe grab some boxes and head home? I'll catch up with you later!" The photographer doesn't wait for Seungwan to protest, enthusiastically waving her short goodbye. Conversation over, Seungwan guesses. There was nothing left to do except gather her things and the leftovers and head back to her apartment. Seungwan had a feeling that Irene might like some of these tarts.

Turning the key and entering, bags of dessert boxes in hand, Seungwan announces, "I'm home! Did you miss me Irene?"

She looked across the room, eyes landing on the genie smiling from her seat by the island. But she couldn't help but direct her gaze to the person across from her...

"Irene, what's my landlord doing here?"