(The arc looks like this from the view of the Eiffel tower. And the way to get this view from down there, you guys will have to read this story) 

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Paris –the city of love, they would say.

Minjung begged to differ from the top of her head all the way down to the tips of her wiggly toes. Paris, as of right now, to her, was anything but the city of romance. She was dressed in overalls and a trench coat, all by herself out in the chilly weather. Her ‘friends’, so called, had ditched her to be with their own personal lovers and she was just there; in the midst of it all witnessing and harrumphing over everything that had happened to herself in the time span of that day.  

Her pad had leaked, thus causing blood to seep into the fabric of the skirt she was wearing, she had misplaced her phone and her wallet had almost gotten stolen as well from one of the mischief and menacing pick-pockets that were wandering about the Eiffel tower. She didn’t know whether she was just being unlucky that particular day or if she was just naturally unlucky every other day.

She didn’t want to know.

Minjung honestly did not know how she ended up near the Arc de Triomphe. She hadn’t realized that she had walked so dreadfully far.

 It was a crossroad for cars for God’s sake and it was a three- lane way. She was undetermined of where her next destination would be but luckily, she wasn’t alone in this.

Not far from her vision, she could see Jongin. He was one of the tourists like her and how she knew him was because they had conversed a little, and so ever little that may be (‘Oh my God, I didn’t miss the bus did I?’ was what she had said to him and he shook his head. They introduced their names to one another and that was basically the end to it.) before going their own separate ways without their shared tour guide.

He was holding a camera, as if trying to snap a picture of the arc (which should’ve been done all the way from the Eiffel tower.)

“Hey,” she hollered as her feet walked steadily towards him. His head tilted to the side before he turned around to face her with a confused expression planted on his face. “You’re Jongin, aren’t you?”

“Hey,” he seemed to say before lowering his camera. “We’ve met before right? I think I’ve talked to you before,”  And Minjung merely chuckled at how determined he seemed to want to snap that photograph. Minjung snuggled into the scarf she was wearing and dared herself to inch just a little closer to Jongin –just for reassurance that she wasn’t hallucinating out of pure depression.

Or maybe it was just for the sake of getting to know his scent.

No, definitely not that.

“What’s your name –again?” he asked politely, not wanting to offend her because of his horrid memory as he put one of his ungloved hands in his pockets. He was freezing, Minjung thought and she had no idea why he only had one glove. It was normal for people to have two, right? “My name’s Minjung,” she hesitated before answering clearly with her voice just a pitch higher than usual.

“Do you want to help me out, Minjung?” Jongin’s question sounded a little peculiar; she was suspecting that it had something to do with a camera. “Can you help snap a picture of me with this wonderful arc over here?”

“Well,” she didn’t really know how to break it to him. At any peripheral view, it wouldn’t work because the arc wasn’t visible from where they were. It was just mildly impossible and there was no way she could do it. “You can’t take a picture with it because it’s just impossible.” She stuttered and tried to find the perfect words that wouldn’t offend him in any way. “–you can’t, okay?”

“And why not?” he sounded so innocent, so fragile with that kind of taunting voice. But the words that escaped his lips after that were what annoyed her slightly. “You’re a pessimist, aren’t you? There’s always an angle for everything, Minjung. I should know that; I’m a photographer.”

“Then why don’t you just snap an angle of it by yourself? Considering you’re a photographer and all –I’m sure you’re able to do it by yourself. Why would you need my help?” Jongin grabbed his chin and it; he was thinking and what he was thinking of was what scared Minjung immensely. He wasn’t going to do anything dumb –or was he?

“See that’s where you’re wrong, Minjung.” He stated and stood straighter to fix his hunched posture from before. “I want a picture with the arc not the arc.” He smirked and pulled out his camera once more; probably focusing and adjusting it here and there, thinking that Minjung would actually do what he wanted her to.

“But in actuality, you’re right,” Minjung smirked when he commented so. “You can’t really take a picture of the arc from here. It’s got to be all the way from up there,” his finger pointed to the tall tower that the entire country could see, standing in its majestic stance.

“I told you so,”

“Maybe I’ll just take a picture of the arc not with the arc,”

“If you can’t do one, why bother doing the other? As you said so yourself, you can’t take a picture of the arc from here because it’s got to be all the way from up there.” She quoted Jongin, causing the older one to frown. However, moments later, it was a like a bulb pinged at the top of Jongin’s head because he was smiling like there was no tomorrow. He turned his head to the right at where the roads were.

Minjung knew exactly where this was going.

“No,” she said. “No,” she shook her head. “No!” she confirmed.

“Geez, you haven’t even heard what I’ve got to say yet,” Jongin grimaced her expression; she didn’t look too happy, let alone ecstatic. It was kind of humorous yet mortifying to see. “I was just thinking that we’d cross the street, snap a picture and run.”

Three steps; three life-threatening steps that could honestly end Minjung’s life –who cared about Jongin’s? He was on his own. Plus, she just talked to this guy a few mere minutes ago; she couldn’t honestly trust him in this sort of situation despite his dashing features and well-structured face (you couldn’t blame her for taking interest) –or in any situation at that. “Please?” those six letters joined together to become one word made her melt on the insides because to be frank, she wanted to do it also. Not that she was going to admit that.

“I said no three times. What makes you think I won’t say no again?” she fired again but he didn’t seem petrified in the least bit; he seemed rather amused if she carefully looked at the way his lips quirked from the corners. He laughed; and what beautiful laughter he had owned, she noticed. With his eyes shut, sounding like air was being into his throat.

 “Well, well, well. Seeing as to how you’re so confident that you’d be able to get a good photograph of the arc from the Eiffel tower, I suppose snapped a few pictures from that wondrous view, am I correct?”

“W-well, no,”

“Then that settles it. We’ll snap one photo –just one –I’ll Bluetooth it to your camera and then you can credit me later and I’ll do the same; considering how the both of us will be risking our lives right here, right now.” Jongin did have a point and although his point wasn’t all that strong, it still managed to trigger Minjung into wanting to participate in this dangerous activity.

“Plus, you’ll get great experience and it’s extremely fun yet the rate in the possibility that we could die is fifty to sixty percent.” He sounded serious, albeit not quite and Minjung didn’t know what to fathom anymore. “But it’ll be worth it, don’t you think?”

He was being realistic and she knew that it would be expected as to be hit by a vehicle –most probably being a car –but it seemed fun. And fun was all she wanted.

She contemplated before muttering under her breath, “I’m so going to regret this,” joining Jongin in his epic journey to the afterlife directly after.

 Her head was turned left and right, eyeing the road her feet had stepped on with Jongin dragging her arm in both giddiness and excitement. Minjung only looked at her surroundings meanwhile Jongin’s only focus was on what he was about to capture in the frame of his camera. With the click of the shutter, he smiled and he looked so happy right then and there –almost as if he had never been happier in his entire life.

After pressing a few buttons, Jongin managed to find his history of photos with The Arc de Triomphe at the top left. He clicked on it with his index finger, examining it to see he needed another photo of it; just because.

“Jongin, what are you doing?!” he heard buzzing before the sound of honking was overheard. A miniscule of moment later, he was dragged across until he reached to the other side with his arm looped around Minjung’s. The latter looked defeated, almost mad and it confused Jongin –just a little bit. What was so wrong?

“Why didn’t you move?!” she frantically waved her hands in front of his face; it was as if he had forgotten that they were in the middle of three-lane roads, as if he had not realized that he was almost killed. He was still looking into his camera when she was in the midst of scolding him for his careless action.

The adrenaline was still pulsing within her veins, her heart pumping fast and quick, her fingers curled and hands turned into fists.

“I forgot,”

There were numerous ways Minjung could kill this guy with her hands and her mind was already beginning to map out the things she should do in order to do so.

“But hey, we got the photo, though. Do you want me to Bluetooth the photo to you now?” he asked and it just made everything inside Minjung boil. “It came out really nice,” he stared in awe and amazement. All he cared was about his precious photos when all she cared was about the both of their lives. “Can’t believe we did it.”

Yes, both.

“I don’t even have a camera,” Minjung sighed and the both of her shoulders seemed to slump. Jongin’s eyes darted to where she was and he seemed a little glum at the fact that she didn’t share the same interest he did. However, there was one question on his mind the minute she stated so. “Who goes to one of the seven wonders of the world without bringing a camera?”

“Sorry if I’m not like you or anyone else for that matter. I take pictures with my S4 but even that I misplaced today,”

“In your hotel room, I suppose?”

“Probably,”

“I could always Bluetooth it to your phone though.” It was if the photo was only on Jongin’s mind and nothing else. It was if everything seemed to evaporate and disappear when he was with his favorite inanimate object. “Considering we stay at the same hotel and also on the same floor –what a coincidence, why haven’t I properly talked to you ‘til today?”

“There’s always a reason for everything,” she quietly said but Jongin heard her words. He knew that she was right.

Later on that day, they unraveled Paris; just the two of them –finding things interesting and intriguing, learning each others’ interests, likes and dislikes and even buying a few souvenirs with nothing but their pocket money and hard earned allowances. Jongin had been in Paris many times; just for the sake of peace and tranquility in a foreign country. Therefore, he led her and showed her places Minjung thought a tourist would never bring her to.

And when she closed her hotel room door that night, she realized how cliché her day must’ve been. Before she came to Paris, she couldn’t understand why couples would like to travel all around the world together because she thought that travelling alone would’ve been much more fun. You wouldn’t have any rules or boundaries and everything would be just the way you planned it.

However, Jongin turned the tables for her that day as he infatuated her mind with cuss words with no punctuations, lame jokes accompanied by unattractive snorting, furrows of the eyebrows before emitting slight smiles and stifled laughter –and as overused as it sounded, she kind of liked him. The fact that she had only spent a day with him was surprising, to say the least. She wished she had found him much, much sooner.

Let us all face the fact that Paris wasn’t and most probably isn’t exactly the epitome the city of romance for everyone.

However, it might just be the perfect city for Minjung and Jongin to get to know one another.

 

And maybe –just maybe –they’d fall in love in the midst of being entranced by it all.