-CHAPTER 1-

Mont Blanc Tortes

Everything around him was illuminating, almost blinding his eyes from the brightness of the snow covered nature. He stood there, holding his most pride possession in hand close to his body, waiting for the perfect moment. A gust of wind crept up his bare hands causing him to clutch just a little tighter to the expensive camera. It was cold, of course, seeing as it was in the beginning of January, but the scenery around him seemed to give him warmth. It was beautiful, far too perfect for any camera to capture. It was filled with peace and a beauty only Mother Nature could make. Every flower was tucked away by a heavy layer of snow, like a little child going to bed for the winter only to come back and shine once again in spring. The river was frozen in time, leaving people to happily explore territories they would normally avoid. His eyes wandered around the place, admiring how the snow had fallen perfectly over the delicate branches of the trees. It was harmonious, despite how everyone seemed to dislike the harsh cold of the Korean winters, that’s what he thought of the park he was in.

He liked the winter, to a point where his favorite memories were spent during the season. It was the only time of the year he didn’t have to worry too much about anything – he’d always have the opportunity to take beautiful pictures, his skin was seemingly white from the lack of sun and there would always be people in Café Okeu Namu asking for cups upon cups of coffee and plates upon plates of sweet treats. He didn’t understand why no one enjoyed winter as much as him. No, to Park Chanyeol, winter was a perfect season.

He lifted up his camera to his face and snapped a shot, capturing the moment in hand for the future. No one, including himself, knew why he loved taking pictures so much. It had turned into something way more than a simple hobby – it became a lifestyle, a way to live his life without too many complications. Maybe it was because he wanted to remember every moment in his life so that one day he’d be able to look back at the elegant pictures that captured his existence. Chanyeol didn’t know.

The sound of the shutter disrupted the silence within the park. It was four am, an hour before he was supposed to report for work and begin making his infamous Mont Blanc Tortes, so there was no chance for Chanyeol to possibly disrupt someone’s day because of an annoying click. Four am was a nice time to take pictures – the park was quiet and free of chattering people who opposed of his work but it was also nice to watch Seoul wake up slowly. Chanyeol enjoyed standing against the railing of the lake to watch a light one by one switch on inside the notorious skyscrapers that surrounded the city.

With the Han River being empty of conscious people, he certainly didn’t expect the young brunette that stepped into his shot. Chanyeol was just about to leave and make his trip to Café Okeu Namu to open up the French bakery but he kept his camera up against his face as he watched the man look over the iced river. He lingered a little bit longer than he should have staring at the man and noticed how exotic his get up consisted of – a sliver leather jacket, a pair of expensive, custom made skinny jeans in the color of maroon and countless rings and other accessories littered his hands and neck. It was way too cold for the man to wear such an outfit and Chanyeol thought he might be excruciatingly cold but the gorgeous man wasn’t shivering nor showing any signs of being cold. He looked remotely familiar to Chanyeol but he couldn’t put a finger on it. Was he an idol? He could very possibly be one but he didn’t really care.

He was about to lower his camera and proceed down the path he had originally come from when the shiny man in front of him dipped his head low on his shoulders and let out a rather loud groan. It sounded harsh and forceful against the man’s vocal chords, one a singer would definitely cringe at. Instead of turning around to leave, Chanyeol felt his finger press the shutter, allowing another click to emerge from the camera.

Looking at the photo at first glance, it didn’t seem like anything in particular – just a guy leaning against the railing with his forearms propped up on the metal and his head ducked low. It seemed like nothing in particular but once he took a closer to look, zooming in on the man’s porcelain face, the amount of emotions portrayed in his eyes took Chanyeol by surprise. The brunette in the picture looked broken, empty and almost dead. It was odd to see a creature of such beauty have such a sulking gaze. When Chanyeol zoomed out again, the picture spoke to him differently – a more gloomy, depressed light was radiating from the camera screen. It seemed almost like a magic trick how much the feel of the photo gave Chanyeol yet it was nothing but a simple picture of an above average man.

“Did you just take a picture of me?”

The sound of crunching snow came closer to Chanyeol’s tall frame. Bringing his head up to look at the man who had approached him, his eyebrows raised in questioning, but he didn’t say anything.

“Delete it,” the brunette said, a stern look in his eyes as determination filled him.

Chanyeol stood still and just looked at the man, admiring how beautiful his features actually were. They reminded Chanyeol of one of the models Dara used to work with when she was still a model. He was picture perfect, one fit for the excruciating lights of fame. Face painted with a delicate hand of makeup, hair cut to perfection in any light and clothes positioned to the very last detail with nothing but excellence - it was like the man had been created in the eyes of God himself.

Chanyeol felt the intensity from the shorter man’s voice and stepped back a bit, in both intimidation and with the intention to leave the gloomy man alone to wallow in his own misery. So he turned around swiftly on his heal, ignoring the brunette and walking down the snow covered path he came from, his feet making noise from stepping on the untouched snow and pebbles, disrupting the otherwise quiet park.

“Yah!”

He heard footsteps draw closer and quicken as they tried to keep up with Chanyeol’s long steps but he didn’t stop nor did he quicken his pace to get away from the picture perfect man. He ignored the man yelling after him and clutched onto his camera instead.

A harsh force yanked him back, almost making him loose the grip of his precious camera. He looked down to where the slender fingers had wrapped around his forearm and gripped hard and then up to the owner of the hand. The brunette stood no less than a meter away from him, giving him the privilege to see how precise and etiquette his makeup actually was – long lines of liquid eyeliner framed his beautiful brown eyes, creamy powder laid flat on his flawless skin and a light layer of a shining substance made his lips glisten in the early morning light. He was a lot more angelic to Chanyeol now that he saw him up close.

“Are you deaf? I said delete the picture.”

Chanyeol watched the lips of the man move elegantly but the tone was harsh and demanding, a huge contrast from his looks. He moved his gaze up to look the boy right in his eyes and surprise hit him hard. His eyes were a beautiful shade of dark brown but almost everyone’s in Korea were that color, yet the emotions and the wall that hid them were so different from anything else Chanyeol had seen. It was like a large brick wall was settled within them, hiding everything and anything that tried to seep out for the public to see. But Chanyeol could see through the few small cracks in the wall all those emotions this man was trying to hide so harshly.

Instantly, the muscles around the young man’s eyes softened but his eyes stayed the same.

“Are you deaf?” he repeated but this time his voice was filled with carefulness as he stated each word with slight hesitation. Chanyeol inwardly frowned – he disliked it when people referred him to being deaf because he could hear perfectly fine, in fact, he spent most of his time just listening to things around him, whether it be music or the lively chatter of people conversing in the café.

But just like all the other times the question had surfaced, Chanyeol remained silent and ignored the person whom spoke. Most of the time they'd stop pestering him with useless questions and just carry on with their everyday lives, and Chanyeol badly wished for the picture perfect man to do the same. His prayers weren't answered, he noticed, when the brunette's expression hardened once again, the same fiery gaze coming back.

"Delete the picture," he said, going back to the harsh tone that Chanyeol's mother would surely not approve of. Chanyeol sighed loudly, dropping his head to look at the professional camera perched in his hands delicately. He opened the menu and searched for the picture he had just taken of the picture perfect man. He moved over to stand next to him and showed his every move from the removal option to the actual confirmation of the deletion. And just like that, the picture was gone from the camera.

Happy? Chanyeol thought sarcastically.

"Thank you." The tone was still harsh but the relieved sense was evident in the melodic voice.

Chanyeol dropped the camera and let it hang around his neck by the strap before taking a cold step forward, away from Mr. Perfect. He heard as the man sighed out in relief, an action Chanyeol didn't understand. Sure, as a human being you might not want your identity spread throughout the world without your consent but it's not like Chanyeol would ever use the picture for official business. It would be completely out of place in his art exhibition.

A smug smile made its way onto his face, one out of complete amusement. Of course the picture wasn't gone. What kind of photographer didn't have a cloud system?

Thankfully, the picture perfect man paid no attention to Chanyeol anymore and walked away, slumped and lazy steps bringing him farther away from the photographer. Chanyeol watched as the brunette returned to his spot farther away on the railing, looking out over the frozen river just like he had done before. But this time, another voice interrupted the man's peace.

"Mr. Byun!" a small woman with abnormally high heels and a head set around her neck called, running up to the picture perfect man with careful steps. "Don't run away like that!" she laughed nervously, hitting the silvery shoulder of the man.

"Sorry," he apologized, doing a full 90 degree bow before following her back to where she'd come from. Chanyeol watched them until they entered the large, white building of KBS, then they were out of his sight.

A cold, shivering wind crept up on Chanyeol, making him shudder and hurdle together for warmth. Today would be a really cold day, which meant more people at the café. Maybe it was due time he made his way to Okeu Namu. Many batches of macaroons will be needed.

At the café, Chanyeol baked like it was the end of the world and peoples' last wish was to eat an