As soon as the long-awaited last period school bell rings, every student immediately closes their textbooks and packs all their stuff. All of them cannot wait any longer to leave the boring school and go back home. The teacher in front is still not finish talking as he needs to wrap up his lesson but apparently he has turned into an irrelevant statue that none of the students listens to or cares about.

Just like her classmates, Krystal also gets ready to go back home. She cleans up her desk and put all her stuff into her backpack. She turns around when Sulli suddenly pokes her from behind.

“Yah, are you going back home already? Jiyoung and I are going to a photography exhibition at the town hall after this. Come on. Let’s join us,” asks Sulli.

Krystal thinks for awhile.

“Hmm… I don’t know. Is it interesting?”

“Of course! Everyone is talking about it. I heard that L’s artwork is the most daebak among all! We need to see it with our own eyes,”

“Nah, I think I better stay home and have some rest. You know it’s not everyday I can have free time like this,” rejects Krystal.

Since she won a modeling competition last year, she has been working as a part-time model with a famous modeling agency in South Korea which is known as NuABO Model Management. The agency offered her a 3-years modelling contract and Krystal accepted it gladly as working as a model has become her dream since she was little.

Be it weekend or after school, she spend most of her time going here and there for various photoshoots and CF filming. She doesn’t feel tired at all with her tight schedule because she enjoys working as a model very much. But no matter how much she likes her work or enjoys it, she does admit that sometimes she misses her friends and wants to have fun with them just like how they used to be before she became a model. Nowadays, she only sees them at school and contacts each other via phone or SNS.

“Soojung-ah, I know you’re busy with your work but it has been awhile since we last spend our time together.  Jiyoung and I miss hanging out with you. Let just come with us, okay? Okay?” begs Sulli.

“Alright, I’ll go with you,” she answers and gives Sulli a beautiful wide smile.

“Assa! I knew you’re not going to let me down! I love you Soojung-ie~!” exclaims Sulli as happily before giving Krystal a big hug.

*****

After waiting for Jiyoung whose class located at a different block, the three of them walk together to the town hall for the photography exhibition. The distance between the town hall and the school is just a stone’s throw away. It only takes about 5 minutes to reach there by walking. They don’t even need to catch bus to go there. This is the advantage of going to school which is located in the middle of a town. They can go to any place easily.

Along the way, Jiyoung keeps telling them on how much she looks forward to the exhibition. She especially can’t wait to see L’s artworks as she is a huge fan of him or her. Krystal doesn’t really know about this photographer named L. She only heard of him from Jiyoung, of course, and several photographers whom she previously worked with while doing photoshoot.

Briefly, L is a famous mysterious photographer who hides his or her identity. Nobody knows whether L is a man or woman. The only person who knows his or her real identity is Mr. Henry, L’s manager. Mr. Henry is a friendly and talkative person but when it comes to secret about L, he keeps his mouth tightly shut. People call him or her L simply because of a trademark he or she left in all his or her artworks. Alphabet “L” will always appear on those artworks whenever someone puts them in the dark. No one knows the reason or secret behind the alphabet and why L chooses it instead of other letters. But that what makes L even more special and famous, aside from his remarkable talent and amazing skill.

There are not too many people at the town hall when Krystal, Sulli and Jiyoung arrive which is good because it means they don’t have to line up to buy ticket. As soon as they get their tickets and enter the hall, Jiyoung pull her friends to go directly to second floor where most of L artwork being displayed. Krystal and Sulli follow her without any questions or complaints. They have no desire to go against her will since they are very aware of Jiyoung’s huge obsession towards L.

“There it is! L’s most famous artwork, Before the Dawn! Oh my God I can’t believe I’m standing in front of it right now and seeing it with my own eyes! Oh my God! This is perfection! How can L capture such an amazing photo? Wow, I can’t believe in this reality..!” screams Jiyoung like a mad fangirl as soon as she sees L’s photograph.

“What's the name again? Before the what?” asks Sulli, starting to get interested.

Krystal on the other hand stares the photo blankly with no reaction. As Sulli is busy hearing to Jiyoung explanation about the photo, Krystal strolls around to see other artworks from other photographers. She stops when her eyes land on a photograph entitled Mr Simple by a photographer named Lee Eunhyuk. She doesn’t know why but the photograph makes her feel like rolling on the floor laughing. She covers to restrain her laughter because she afraid her laughter might offend any Lee Eunhyuk fans. But her body is trembling like crazy. Whoever looks at it will automatically know that she’s laughing secretly.

“Do you think this artwork looks funny?” asks someone suddenly, makes Krystal almost die in shock.

Krystal turns around immediately. Her school senior, Kim Myungsoo is standing right in front of her with a charming smile on his face. Krystal is surprised to see him. She doesn’t expect Myungsoo to talk with her at all since they barely know each other. Krystal only knows him because he is in the same class with her neighbor, Amber. She has seen him hanging out with Amber and their other friends several times before. That’s all.

“Are you Lee Eunhyuk fan? Mianhae, I’m very sorry. I don’t mean anything,” Krystal apologizes.

“No, it’s okay. Don’t worry. I’m just a regular photography fan. I have no favourite photographer in particular. I respect them all, no bias. Please make yourself comfortable and express what you think. I would like to hear other people’s perspective,” tells Myungsoo.

Krystal let out a relief sigh.

“Phew, thank God. I thought you were offended and going to scold me or something,” expressed Krystal honestly. She then adds, “Actually I myself don’t even know why I found this picture so funny. Maybe because the man in the picture looks so weird with his blonde wig and net socks. And the title says Mr Simple? Like… Whaaaaaat? The man in this picture looks like he has some identiy crisis. It doesn’t reflect a simple life as it should be at all,”

Myungsoo smiles hearing to her explanation.

“That is… an interesting view,” he comments.

Krystal laughed.

“But hey, you know what? This is not the weirdest picture I’ve seen in this hall,” she adds.

“Really? Then, which one is it?”

“There, can you see that one with blue faced lady in it? Her face is half snake and her right eye is eagle eye, I think? Eww that’s not only weird but also disgusting and disturbing at the same time! And not to mention, the half-faced snake is an ice-cream made up of frog? Oh my God I can’t… I think the photographer was high or something when he took the picture,” explains Krystal while pointing at a picture not too far from them.

Myungsoo stares at the picture which Krystal points at.

“You mean that one? The Chaser by L?” he asks.

“What?! That picture is L’s artwork?” Krystal asks back. She gasps in shock.

Myungsoo nods and says, “Yes. That picture is L’s breakthrough artwork. L loves that picture a lot. He becomes famous because of it. It worth more than USD 500 000,”

Krystal gasps again.

“Really? USD 500 000 for a picture like that? Wow… This is beyond my sanity. My rational mind cannot comprehend. Gosh, if Jiyoung knows I talk crap about L, she’s so going to kill me. But seriously, what she likes so much about that weirdo?”

Myungsoo burst into laughter.

“You’re so honest and straightforward,” he says before continue laughing out loud.

 “Why are you laughing?” asks Krystal while crossing her hands across her chest and gives him a weird look.

“Nothing. I just feel sorry for L,” he answers after he manages to stop his laughter. “He must be surprised if he hears what you just said about him because all his life, he only hears compliments and praises,” he adds.

“Really? That’s sad,” says Krystal.

Lines of wrinkles formed on Myungsoo’s forehead. “What do you mean?”

“He’s apparently living with insincere people around him. If someone really appreciate him and cares about him, that person will criticize him so that he can know his weakness. Praises are good but not all the time,”

“Maybe L is too good and never makes mistakes, that’s why people around him never criticize him or say bad things about him,”

“Oh, come on. L is not God. He’s a human. Every human makes mistakes even once. The saying ‘to err is human, to forgive is divine’ does not exist for nothing. And if L never makes mistake, I pity him even more because he’s actually missing the greatest beauty of life,”

“The greatest beauty of life?”

“To be able to learn from mistake, use the lesson to have a better life in the future and help others with it,”

“You are interesting,” Myungsoo says after a long pause.

Krystal smiles at him.

“I am,” she responds cheekily.

“For someone who doesn’t know how to appreciate art, you are interesting,”

Krystal’s smile fades away immediately. “What did you just say?”

Now it’s Myungsoo’s turn to smile.

“I heard you’re a model,” he changes topic.

“Only heard? I become a model for people to see, not hear,”

“Then, that’s good. I’m looking forward to see how sincere of a person you are. Till then,”

Myungsoo then bows at her before leaving. Krystal clumsily bows back at him even though Myungsoo has already left. It would be rude if she doesn’t bow back especially Myungsoo is her senior.

“Weird people are weird,” mumbles Krystal to herself after Myungsoo gone from her sight.

*****

It is an ordinary Monday morning for Krystal. She grabs a sandwich from the dining table and stuffs it inside as she makes her way to the door.

“Drink some milk before you go,” yells her mother from kitchen.

“No it’s okay. Sulli never finish hers. I always end up drink it for her. And don’t worry, I’ll eat more during recess time later. Bye mum!” she answers before closing the door behind her and leave for school.

Suddenly her phone rings. She looks at the name of dialer on the screen. Lines of wrinkles formed on her forehead. It’s Park Luna, her manager from NuABo Model Management.

“What is this Ahjumma wants from me this early? It’s not my working hours yet!”

Even though she feels irritated, she picks up the call anyway.

“Soojung-ah! Soojung-ah! You just hit a jackpot!! Daebak! Daebak! OMG I smell new Korea’s top model title coming! Daebak!!” screams Luna from the other line as soon as Krystal picks up the phone.

Luna’s loud voice makes Krystal distance the phone from her ear.

“What is this all about? Can we just talk later? I need to go to school now,”

“No! This thing can’t wait! You need to hear it right now because this is gonna be the best thing ever happen in your career and life! Umm well actually this is gonna be the best thing ever happen in my life and career too because I’m your manager but that’s not the point now,”

“What is it? A runway project? Told you I cannot do runway project now. I still need to improve my walking,”

“No it’s bigger and better than that! Soojung-ah, close your eyes, forget the world around you for a moment and listen to my words carefully. Krystal Jung Soojung, you are chosen for L’s exclusive 1000^th photoshoot!! Yes, you, Krystal Jung Soojung are chosen for world’s most famous photographer's exclusive 1000^th edition photoshoot! Baby, even Tyra Banks can’t have the opportunity!”

GIF OF THE DAY

When he can only smile hearing what she said

A/N:

Kekekekekeke. Do you like the story so far?

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