Chapter 17

Sehun had known Luhan for a long time. Having a certain family background, he was raised in an environment where he got no choice but to have a specific kind of friends who were coming from the same 'circle' as him. He didn't bother to befriend most of those rich kids as he found no benefit for him to do so, but Luhan stubbornly clutched his boney arms onto him, blabbering stupid stuff like Sehun was a cold ice mountain needed to be conquered (Luhan's life mission was to find the amount of visible teeth that could be seen when Sehun cracked a broad toothy grin smile -so far, toothy grin or not, Luhan had not managed a success yet. But it was far too premature to state that he was a fail; Luhan reasoned that he had only known Sehun for ten years or so).

It was a good thing that Luhan was four years older than him, so they only met each other in a very few exclusive banquets or party events, thus Sehun managed to keep his sanity intact and preserved. Having Luhan lurking around him, carrying a huge DSLR camera to snap a picture of him showing his teeth had managed to give Sehun a permanent scowl on his face.

Nonetheless, Sehun eventually got used to Luhan's annoying presence (as long as it was from a certain faraway distance) and he managed to not swat Luhan away like an annoying moth he was (Sehun said it straight to Luhan's face when the diva-ish male self-praising himself as a breathtakingly gorgeous social butterfly).

Sehun would forever be wondering what Luhan was thinking inside his head, for example now. The overly-energetic male was busily giving commands to his employees through a small microphone plastered to his face;

"All crews in position"

"Control booth operator are you ready?"

"Off white and grey are okay but not black"

"I can handle vanilla filling but if I find any chocolate in it-"

Again, Sehun decided that Luhan's inconsistent train of thoughts did not deserve a place in the grey matter of his brain, besides, he got something way more worth of his attention; one of Luhan's assistants came in to inform Kyungsoo's arrival, and when Kyungsoo had his way in, suddenly everything else was not a matter anymore.

Everything surrounding Kyungsoo was dimmed down, as if the shine was attracted to the boy's radiance glint; its warm light softly covering Kyungsoo like a soft blanket. Sehun held his breath, or maybe it was simply because he suddenly forgot how to breathe.

It was not because of the simple earth colored dress the boy was wearing. Kyungsoo could wear nothing -Sehun gulped. It came out erted, definitely far from what he really meant. Sehun coughed awkwardly. What he meant was that Kyungsoo could wear anything; a potato rack if he must, and yet he would look as serene and stunningly beautiful, because no attire could be compared to his natural glow.

Soft golden light illuminated like a halo over his hair that was left untouched, the flowing locks gently covering a part of his delicate face as Kyungsoo walked; too slow for his impatient self. Painfully too slow. It felt as if the boy was moving in slow motion, as time refused to quicken its step so that the ethereal beauty could be enjoyed forever.

Sehun was transfixed. For the first time of his life he-

"Luhan, cut it out. What's with the embarrassing narration? And I swear I would rip the screen myself if you don't turn it off. And get rid of the light for God sake...!"

"Tch. You boring poop."

Luhan deliberately forgot to turn off the sparkly microphone on his hold as he said the un-flattering words. The sassy male grumbled. His melodious voice had not yet reached the interesting part, during which he compared Kyungsoo's heavenly look to the most beautiful humming bird, so beautiful Sehun got a (Lulu is a classy, uber-gorgeous person, of course Lulu had strung up the word into pretty Shakespearian poetic style).

Luhan ordered a few commands through his microphone, and soon the huge screen from which the narration script was broadcasted went blank, and the blindingly bright light shone over Kyungsoo was turned off. Luhan then gave his final order for the lighting crew to activate the room's central lighting.

"Lulu, can I move faster? I won't ever reach the room if I had my way like you asked me to," Kyungsoo whined from the entrance.

"Surely sure, sweety. Come here, precious!" Luhan chirped, waving his hands eagerly toward the poor boy.

***

"Today I hire the most well-known, fashionably expensive photographer to embrace Kyungsoo's beauty perfectly," Luhan closed his eyes solemnly, fist over his chest,

"Me."

"Now come on, darling, follow my direction, let me do my magical work of art; to redefine the true meaning of fabulousity with you being my gorgeous canvas, now go stand in front of the huge screen be careful to not step on any cables okay- no, no sweetie raise your gown a bit I don't want you to trip-" Luhan began his non-stop babble the second he opened his eyes gracefully.

"You're gifted, baby." Luhan tapped Kyungsoo's delicate cheek.

"You're gonna blow me away with your talent. Stand a bit to your right sweet cheeks, I don't want excessive lighting to taint your natural shine," Luhan ordered Kyungsoo. He took the camera his assistant brought him. He frowned, sticking out his tongue in deep concentration as he set up his camera. "Vic, go check the lighting. Tell the crews I want my main light with a grid to give a dramatic look and feel," Luhan mumbled without looking at his assistant.

"I've never been a model before, L-Lulu," Kyungsoo stammered, his huge orbs staring at Luhan nervously.

Luhan stopped from what he had been doing. "You're gonna be just fine darling." He raised his head from his camera and smiled at Kyungsoo.

"Since the first time I lay my eyes on you, I know that you were born for this. You are a natural," Luhan stated a matter of factly.

***

A few check and recheck later Luhan was done with all the preparation. He ran his gaze around, smiling in content. Props: checked. Fabulous photographer -Luhan patted his chest lovingly- checked. Cute gorgeous model: checked. The photoshoot would go easy-peasy lemon-squeesy.

Or so Luhan thought.

"Give Lulu a smile, sunshine, a smile that will threat any living thing with your beauty-"

"No, no Kyungsoo, I said beauty, not creepy, gosh, I didn't mean that kind of threat... Stop, now you’re scaring me; if I were a student in a commoner’s public school I would have given you my lunch money already. Give me a less creepy smile darling- ah now you make me scared of my life what's with the serial killer smirk for the love of Prada...!"

"Forget the smile. Don't smile. Give me a pained look, as if your soul has been shattered mercilessly by the highest realm- wha- no, Kyungsoo, darling, that is not the kind of pain I'm looking for, you look constipated-"

Luhan sprawled lifelessly on the floor, placing his expensive camera carelessly next to his battered vessel of life. Sweat trickling down his golden locks -or maybe it was his soul leaking out.

"I told you I cannot pose, Lulu...!" Kyungsoo wailed, hugging the huge trunk of tree Luhan specifically ordered for the photoshoot. His small hands unconsciously clutched the stem, twirling and pulling out its withering leaves, causing the crunchy sound as he accidentally tore them.

"Now, now dear, please stop torturing the poor tree; I designed the autumn tree myself, it cost me a fortune, definitely not for free; far, far away from the free land, you can play with the tree la-" Luhan's voice trailed behind. A light bulb was lightening up above his head.

Luhan grinned, beaming brightly. He had found a great idea, or in Luhan's term; 'The Fashion God has just given Lulu the kiss of fabulousness.'

 

"Kyungsoo, I want you to act. That's right. Act. Not posing. Have you ever acted before?"

Kyungsoo bit his upper lip, his large eyes staring at Luhan in a hopeful manner, "I acted on a stage for my kindergarten's Christmas party once, does it count?"

"Of course, darling! For what role?"

"A tea pot...!" Kyungsoo chirped cheerfully.

".... Err... Splendid, now follow my instruction okay; I want you to close your eyes, to focus and quiet your mind... there, just like that..."

"Now open your eyes, grab one of the leaves on the ground, yes, that's right, you're doing a good job, baby..."

"Now imagine that the thing in your palm is not a leaf, but a food coupon."

Kyungsoo's eyes brightened up. His heart shaped lips stretched into a huge, pure happiness smile. "Can it be a meat discount coupon instead, Lulu?" the boy whispered, eyes fixed on the leaf.

"......"

"Sure baby...," Luhan choked.

 If Luhan didn't remember about his photoshoot he would've glomped the petite male already.

"Get the food- no, I mean the meat coupon discount closer, yes, marvelous, now you're inspecting every detail written on your precious coupon. Ah...? What was that?!" Luhan gasped dramatically, causing the boy listening to his instruction to gasp as well.

"The meat coupon!" Luhan cried. "It's already expired! You should've used the coupon yesterday, you're a day too late -no, not a day; it's only twelve hours too late...!"

"No...!!!" Kyungsoo wailed. His hopes and dreams had just ruined in a blink of an eye. The boy stared at the expired meat coupon heartbreakingly, sobbing for his loss.

"Yes, yes, gosh you're beautiful, keep the pose, umm, I mean act!" Luhan energetically snapped tons of pictures with every possible angle he could; he bounced, rolled, tip-toed, yelling commands at his crews as his mouth never stop sending praises of what he saw.

After his genius improvised action Luhan managed to get what he wanted, besides, Lulu always gets what he wants.

Luhan called the photoshoot a wrap, ordering his crews to clear out the autumn setting and change it into the winter one. His assistant efficiently led Kyungsoo to the dressing room so that Kyungsoo could change his clothes and have the touch-ups needed.

"I'm scared of you, Luhan," Sehun commented. He had been quiet the entire time, observing the whole scene in amusement.

"After all this time you’ve just scared of me now? Oh wow, I'm offended." Luhan clutched his pained heart dramatically.

***

"Ah, here comes our precious Kyungie," Luhan clapped his hands excitedly.

Kyungsoo walked in, effortlessly snatching all the attention. He was very beautiful as an Autumn spirit; but as the Winter Goddess he was beyond. Each of the seasons had been arranged to become a despairing transformation within a girl's heart; the autumn season was for the broken-hearted girl, whose dream of being with the one she loved had just shattered to the deepest pit of earth. She mourned, crying her soul out, and eventually her heart died. Thus came winter.

The Goddess of Winter had no soul or feelings, as they had been buried deep down in her core of existence. There was no way back; she was trapped for eternity. Not even when the one she loved once came to her begging for the love he had abandoned, would she ever have her innocence back. Her simple white dress was not a symbol of purity; it was the symbol of her vacant soul.

I'm struggling to find you who I cannot see

I'm struggling to find you who I cannot hear

I see things that I couldn't see before

I hear things that I couldn't hear before

After you left me, I have grown a power that I didn't have before

"Luhan I swear-"

"Pooooooooop" Luhan stuck out his tongue toward Sehun like a five years old, booing Sehun through his sparkly microphone.

"Screen off, background music off"

"Swirl fan off until my next cue, add more white feathers will you? It looks like a sad pigeon having a premature balding."

............................................................................................................................................................