“Aigoo, so tired! Seriously, three hours of lectures! Urgh, I hate Wednesdays!” I whined and plonked my head onto the desk.  

“Aigoo, there there.” Jiyeon patted my head and I gave her the broadest grin I could manage. “Eunji, ya, Roy alert!” Jiyeon slapped me on the shoulder and I lifted my head up, spotting Roy walking along with his group of friends, a guitar case strapped onto his back.  

“I’ve already told you, I don’t like him anymore.” I said nonchalantly, trying to sound as calm as I could. She stared at me dubiously. Ok, so maybe I still had some lingering feelings for my high school crush...but you know, just a bit. “Omo omo, he’s waving at me!” Ok...so maybe more than just a bit.

“Hey Jiyeon! Eunji, wow, haven’t seen you for a while!” Roy exclaimed, casually placing his hand onto my back. My body tensed. To be exact, it was five months ago, ever since I swore to give up my feelings for him. When we became lab partners in high school, I always thought that it was more than a coincidence...you know, something like fate that bound the two of us together? Aigoo, I really must’ve been delusional then. Bumping into him at school, catching the same train as him, that wasn’t fate...that was a girl in love, desperate to see who she thought was the one.     

“Oppa, why aren’t you performing at the music festival?” Jiyeon asked him.

“Oh, I signed up last minute. By the way...I’m hunting for a photographer. Eunji, can you-”

“She’s taken.”

“Joon Young! Whoa, where did you-”

 “You’re late.”

“What? No, it’s still-” He grabbed my wrist and pulled me up, dragging me with him as he walked away. “We still have an hour.” I hissed at him.

“Better early than late.”

I scoffed, “You mean better on time than extremely early.”

He shrugged, “We can finish the photo shoot early then, and you’re tutoring Gun Tae tonight. We don’t want you to be late for that now do we?” Whatever, I thought.  

***

The day was calm, the breeze soft as it brushed through his almost jet black hair. The saffron sunlight settled onto the outermost strands of his hair, revealing their faded black, deep brown ends. The movement of water from the river below the bridge was barely audible, and hardly anyone was around.

“Joon Young, relax your fingers.”

“Why exactly am I lying on the ground?” He asked me.

“Ok, don’t move.” I kneeled beside him and a strand of his soft, slightly rough hair away from his eyes. “Your songs aren’t simply rock, it’s somewhat...dark.” I gazed at him, trying to probe into his blank expression. I’ve been pondering over his songs lately, which he had given to me on a disc. They made me curious, and the more I listened, the more I wanted to enter his mysterious, enigmatic world. What was his past like? “Was he hurt?” I stared into space as I wondered and then caught a glimpse of his dewy eyes which were watching me carefully. I cleared my throat and continued to explain, “So I’m just experimenting with different ways to portray that.” I stood up and climbed onto the railing of the bridge to get a bird’s eye shot of him.

“Whoa, that’s dangerous!” He sprung up onto his feet and quickly reached out for my wrist.

 “Andwae! Aissi, I told you not to move!” But his grip only grew firmer. “It’s ok, I’ll- I’ll hold onto this lamp pole!” I linked my arm around the pole and nodded at him. He gradually let go and went back into position. “Ok, relax relax.” I told him. I held the camera in front of my right eye, looking through the viewfinder while adjusting the focus ring. Then, I saw him through the camera, a different Joon Young, one that was weary and forlorn.

“3, 2, 1-” The shutter sounded. “Nice! Wait, one more.” I took another shot, becoming more excited. I let go of the pole, shifting further away from it as I tried to look for the best angle. I leaned backwards having forgotten that I was standing on top of the railing, and lost my balance. I let out a squeal, my body in mid-air.

“Eunji!” I heard him frantically yelling, but his voice faded...along with everything else.