Genre: Fluff, Romance, Slice of Life

Summary: From the very first time Chaeyeon saw Eunbi, she was already half in love with her. And she knew she was gone the next time they meet.

She just didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Word Count: 3711

Hashtag: #KwonChaeng_LovePhotograph

we keep this love in a photograph

“That’s the thing about girls. Everytime they do something pretty… you fall half in love with them.” (J.D Salinger)

So how many times can they do it before you’re already gone? In love and gone.

Infinite, apparently.

Because Eunbi was the prettiest girl Chaeyeon had ever seen. And she was certain that no one else could have measured up, not unless they were blessed by the gods themselves. Yet if anyone was to be compared to Adonis or Aphrodite, then Chaeyeon figures it must be Eunbi.

From the very first time Chaeyeon saw Eunbi, she was already half in love with her. And she knew she was gone the next time they meet.

She just didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

++

Yena, her best friend and work colleague at the photography studio they own together, had to take her girlfriend to the hospital at the last minute and practically begged Chaeyeon to fill in to shoot one of her clients. She insisted that this one couldn’t be postponed, though she didn’t say why in the midst of frantically rattling off her excuse, while talking to someone distractedly on her side of the call.

“I have lunch with my sister.”

“Please, Chaeyeon, I’m begging you, we can’t lose this client. You need to come in for me.”

“Who’s the client, Yena?”

“It’s a photoshoot for Vogue… so, high end... looking for dark, elegant vibes… they’ll let you know what they want once you go in––! That’s the doctor. I gotta go. I owe you one, Chaeyeon!”

And that’s how Chaeyeon ended up as head photographer, coming into a photoshoot she has absolutely no idea what about, oblivious to the fact that she was about to meet someone that would change her life forever.

++

“Ms. Choi? Are you Choi Yena?”

Someone was suddenly standing in front of her, clipboard on one hand and a smartphone in the other, and she was wearing a bluetooth earpiece that was loud enough Chaeyeon could hear the voice on the other side. It was clear this woman was the one in charge of the photoshoot.

Chaeyeon shook herself out of her thoughts. “Hi, yes––no. Choi Yena had an emergency to take care of. I’m here to replace her. I’m Lee Chaeyeon, a colleague from the studio.”

“Oh." Her eyes widened. "Please hold," she says, raising a hand, telling Chaeyeon to wait. “Did you hear that?” she talks to the person on her earpiece. There were muffled voices coming from the other end and when the woman looks back at her, she puts on a polite smile.

“Follow me, Chaeyeon, I can show you where to set up your equipment.”

Chaeyeon was glad she had the sense to come to the set early. It almost seemed like all the staff around her was in high spirits, and Chaeyeon found out quickly that it was because of who was the star of the photoshoot.

Kwon Eunbi was the idol.

Kwon Eunbi was a rising star. Fresh off her very successful solo debut, everyone is in anticipation of her comeback. Everyone wanted to work with her, everyone asked for her, everyone talked about her. And Chaeyeon must have seen the idol countless times on the covers of magazines and plastered on billboards, but she’d never seen Eunbi.

Chaeyeon was setting up the backdrop with the lighting guy and set designer when Eunbi walked in, her face half-covered by a mask, huddled up in a large hoodie, bowing shyly to everyone as she was ushered to the hair and makeup team.

It only made Chaeyeon even more nervous.

When she saw her again, Eunbi was wearing full makeup, and a white and gold, backless, flowy dress. It took Chaeyeon’s breath away and she could barely feel her legs to make herself approach the idol.

Chaeyeon usually liked to talk to her models before the shoot started, it’s how she got rid of any tension between them. But somehow, making small talk with Eunbi now only made the tension thicker, and made Chaeyeon all the more nervous for this photoshoot that she wasn’t even supposed to do in the first place.

Their greeting could have gone better, if not for how rigid they both sounded, but it wasn't the worst.

“They told me they want to show a more mature look, but do whatever feels right, okay?”

“Alright, thanks.”

“You ready?”

“Yeah. Let’s do this.” Eunbi smiles and Chaeyeon returns her own.

They started the shoot straight away and Chaeyeon was sure she was blushing from behind the camera. From the moment Chaeyeon closes in to look through the viewfinder, she sees Eunbi in a new light. Her cheekbones and jawline sharp, her lips plump, her eyes sparkling. Her beauty was enhanced in the highest definition. Each click of the shutters was followed by a new pose that accentuated Eunbi’s every curve, and there was an elegance that couldn’t be fabricated.

Eunbi looked absolutely breathtaking.

“You’re beautiful.”

Everyone in the set had paused, stopping in their tracks with whatever they were doing, instead staring at Chaeyeon’s comment. It was only then she realized she had said it out loud, and in the most breathless of whispers, an adoration that Chaeyeon wasn’t capable of hiding.

“Thanks.” Eunbi blushes but a smile escapes her.

Chaeyeon looks down, slightly embarrassed, but also happy that she had made Eunbi smile like that, before going back to take more pictures of the goddess before her.

++

After meeting Eunbi, and taking pictures of her, Chaeyeon couldn’t take the image of the idol out of her head. For the next few weeks Chaeyeon watched countless interviews and videos on YouTube, bought albums, listened to every song. And it still just wasn’t enough to satiate her curiosity.

There was a line somewhere between attraction and obsession, and Chaeyeon was sure becoming a fansite master was just on the edge of crossing that line. Yet here Chaeyeon was, wearing a mask covering half her face, a black hoodie, and a baseball cap, camera on hand ready to take pictures of Eunbi at her fansign for her recent comeback.

“What’s your name?”

There was something almost terrifying about meeting Eunbi’s eyes. The idol looks at each of her fans with so much attention, like she actually cared about what each person is saying. Chaeyeon thought hiding away behind her getup would have made her less nervous. But clearly, she was wrong.

Chaeyeon couldn’t last very long in the staring match with Eunbi before looking away shyly, her cheeks blushing.

“Ch––” she starts to answer but stops herself. “Space Bunny,” she tells her fansite name to Eunbi.

“Space Bunny?” Eunbi giggles, immediately catching the reference to the song she wrote and the nickname her fans gave her. “Are you starting a new fansite? I’ve never heard this one before.” She looks down to sign her autograph on the album.

“I just opened it.”

“So, you’re a new fan?”

Chaeyeon nods, too shy to say more.

“Well, thank you for being my fan.” Eunbi finally looks up again and meets Chaeyeon’s eyes, a glint that probably meant she found Chaeyeon’s coyness amusing. “I’ll look forward to seeing your photos.”

That night, Chaeyeon posted the photos she took at the fansign and ones from the music show parking lot. It made her happy to post the pictures she took. All Chaeyeon wanted to do was share Eunbi’s beauty for all the world to see. She was an image––a vision––that deserves to be admired.

Her twitter for the Space Bunny fansite gained so many new followers right away. Everyone on twitter kept raving about Space Bunny, a new fansite that takes insane photos of Kwon Eunbi, showcasing her beauty, amplified in every angle. Many were thanking her for taking the pictures and asking her if they could save the photos. It made her happy, at first, her goal to showcase Eunbi’s beauty was a success.

But for some reason, Chaeyeon seems to slightly regret her decision right after. She realizes that she felt the selfish impulse of wanting to be the only one to see Eunbi, in the pictures she shot herself, a perspective of Eunbi that was entirely her own.

++

Chaeyeon’s heart was pounding.

Yesterday when Chaeyeon was packing up her equipment, ready to go home, the studio phone rang. It came as a shock when the person on the other side was none other than the idol that she couldn’t stop thinking about. It became even more surprising when Eunbi asked to hang out with her.

Chaeyeon almost immediately said yes.