“Seungwan~ Take a picture!” Joohyun posed and made a v-sign, puffing up her cheeks and smiling as though she was the happiest person in the world. Seungwan sighed, yet still took out her phone and took a picture of Joohyun.

The two sat down at a table and Joohyun began speaking animatedly about a modeling offer she received. Seungwan nodded her head but to be honest she wasn’t completely paying attention to what her girlfriend was saying. Her mind wandered off and Joohyun suddenly stopped speaking, realizing that the girl wasn’t listening to her anymore.

“Hey...hey look at me. What’s wrong?”

Seungwan shook her head. “Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

She nodded.

“Liar.”

Joohyun sighed as well, stretching her arms a little. Seungwan watched her nervously and began to look worried, “hey, careful.”

The latter just rolled her eyes and continued to stretch.

“Seungwan?”

The girl glanced at Joohyun, “what? Joohyun I’m tired.”

Joohyun smiled and quickly posed. “Take a picture!”

As annoyed as she was with Joohyun, the girl couldn’t help but smile and get her phone out. It wasn’t her fault that Joohyun could be so cute sometimes. Putting her phone away, hopefully for the last time that day, Seungwan smiled at Joohyun. “What were you saying about that modelling offer?”

Joohyun grinned.

“It’s for school uniforms~ Ah and I want you to come, as my manager.”

***

Seungwan sighed and held her phone up, snapping a few pictures here and there of her girlfriend. The staff looked at her strangely and whispered among themselves. At the same time, a photographer was kneeling just a few metres away from Joohyun, taking more professional photos than Seungwan’s. When her arm began to feel sore, she sat down and simply watched her girlfriend pose in a cute high school uniform. She watched Joohyun smile easily and shook her head. It still bothered her how simple it was for Joohyun to be positive.

The photographer stood up and looked at the staff.

“Lunch break~!” He yelled out and handed his camera to his assistant and walked out of the room, three people following him and fanning him.

Seungwan scowled. “I took pictures too...someone fan me.” She demanded, looking around only to find that the room had basically emptied by now and only two staff members and her adorable girlfriend remained.

“Seungwan!” Joohyun yelled out from where she was standing, as the staff helped her out of the blazer. Her head snapped towards Joohyun, “take a picture of me! Only me!”

Seungwan whined in her seat, but as directed, she whipped out her phone and stood up, taking a photo of Joohyun. She made sure that the staff weren’t in the photo at all. Finally, the two were left alone and Joohyun bounced towards Seungwan and kissed her on the lips quickly.

“I love you.”

Seungwan blushed and turned her head away to hide it. “I know, I love you too.”

“By the way, how the hell does a 24 year old manage to look so cute and small in a high school uniform?”

***

It was winter and Seungwan’s hands were freezing cold. Her gloves were being worn by her girlfriend, who had forgotten hers. It took time to convince her, but eventually Seungwan managed to force the gloves onto Joohyun’s hands, using her illness as an excuse. Joohyun wore a thick wool hat to cover her head. She needed it, as her hair was beginning to fall out, and it was thin enough before the cancer.

“Seungwaaaaaaaan~” Joohyun called out. Shivering slightly, Seungwan stopped and turned around to face her girlfriend. She didn’t even realize that Joohyun had stopped walking a few seconds ago and was standing a few metres away. “Take a picture please?”

“Joohyun, I’m freezing, can’t we just-”

“please?” Joohyun pouted and Seungwan easily gave in. She took her phone out and took about 20 pictures of her girlfriend, who changed her pose every 5 photos or so. “Done.”

Seungwan put her phone back in her coat pocket and held her hand out for Joohyun to hold. “Come on baby, I’m about to freeze to death.”

Joohyun giggled and skipped towards Seungwan, taking her hand and kissing her on the cheek. Seungwan blushed, but her cheeks were already rosy so Joohyun couldn’t really tell.

***

Joohyun stepped out of the hospital, and looked around until she spotted her girlfriend waiting for her next to a taxi. She walked towards her and smiled, waving while Seungwan smiled and waved back.

“Picture~!” Joohyun yelled out excitedly.

Seungwan playfully stuck her tongue out and took a few photos of her girlfriend. A few minutes later and the two sat in the taxi and looked at the all of them. Seungwan held Joohyun’s hand tightly.

“How did it go? The chemotherapy…”

Joohyun frowned, but it only lasted a second and Seungwan had completely missed it as the girl smiled widely right after. “It’s going great! I think that I’m getting a lot better and the doctor even said so.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Seungwan nearly cried from happiness. She grabbed Joohyun’s face and kissed her, and pulled away to find the older girl had tears in her eyes and was blushing.

***

Seungwan was lazing around on the couch and took out her phone to check up on her girlfriend. She texted Joohyun and waited for an answer.

Joohyun❤: I’m fine, open the door stupid

You: wha

Joohyun❤: open.

Joohyun❤: the.

Joohyun❤: door.

Seungwan stood up and ran to her apartment door, unlocking it and swinging the door open, to find a petite, cute girl standing on the other side. Joohyun smiled and jumped into Seungwan’s arms while the latter swung her around once and kissed the side of her head.

“Did your parents drop you off?” Seungwan wondered, checking if there was anyone else, only to find no one and closing the door.

Joohyun nodded her head cutely, “they took me to the hospital and I asked them to drive me here.”

The two entered the kitchen while holding hands and Seungwan lightly pushed Joohyun against the kitchen counter. “You haven’t called me in 6 days…” she mumbled, pouting and pretending to be sad.

Joohyun giggled, “sorry, I was really busy, I think the chemo is going well, I think I’ll be okay soon.”

Seungwan beamed and leaned forward to kiss Joohyun softly. She ran her hand through Joohyun’s hair and Joohyun found her arms around Seungwan’s neck, holding onto the girl tightly. Seungwan’s forehead rested on Joohyun’s and she closed her eyes.

“I’m so happy.” Seungwan sighed in relief and stepped towards the fridge, “sit down and let me cook for you.”

Joohyun followed her around instead. Seungwan didn’t really mind. “Seungwan~ Take my picture...take 100 for me.”

Seungwan froze. “100?!” She dropped the tomatoes that had been in her hands and looked at Joohyun with wide open. Joohyun giggled and picked them up for her.

“It’s nice outside, I want a looooot of pictures.” Joohyun smiled toothily and Seungwan shook her head.

“Don’t you already have 1000 pictures of you? Agencies aren’t going to look at all your pictures, even if you’re the best model…”

Joohyun pouted. “Actually, 2000 pictures and I still want more! It will be the last time, I promise. No more pictures after this.”

Seungwan closed the fridge. “Promise?”

“I promise.” Joohyun grinned and ran to Seungwan’s bedroom. “Do you still have my blue spring dress here?”

Seungwan grinned. “Of course, do you remember why it’s still here?” She called out as she walked towards the bedroom, watching Joohyun change. She leaned against the doorframe, her arms crossed and gave Joohyun a wink.

“Stop being a ert. Maybe later, Seungwan.” Joohyun folded her shorts and shirt and put them inside Seungwan’s closet. “Get your camera, let’s go”

“You’re irritating, you know that right?” Seungwan huffed, and grabbed her camera, following behind her girlfriend. Joohyun spun around and stuck her tongue out at her. It was then when Seungwan noticed the hair on her girlfriend’s head.

“Joohyun?” Seungwan looked at her confusedly, “are you wearing a wig? I didn’t notice earlier…”

Joohyun’s smile faltered for a moment. “Yeah...I was beginning to think I looked ugly with no hair…” she looked down at the ground and nervously stood with her hands behind her. “I wanted to look pretty for you…”

The look Joohyun gave her when she slowly and nervously looked up at Seungwan made her heart swell. The butterflies in her stomach were going crazy and Seungwan sighed, stepping towards her girlfriend and hugging her tightly, giving her a soft kiss on her head.

“You look pretty to me all the time…” Seungwan mumbled, her eyes beginning to fill with tears, “you’re the most beautiful, Joohyun. I wouldn’t choose anyone over you.”

Joohyun began to shake in Seungwan’s arms, and so she was held tighter. “You’re so beautiful and you don’t even know it, Joohyun. Wig or no wig.”

They stood in silence for a few minutes until Joohyun’s shaking had stopped and Seungwan loosened the hug and moved away slightly to wipe away the girl’s tears. “Don’t cry, let’s go take some pretty pictures of my pretty girlfriend,” Seungwan gave Joohyun a light peck on her lips. Her hand held Joohyun’s and she pulled the girl away.

“Let’s go.”

***

Joohyun skipped through the field of flowers and spun around a few times. “It’s so pretty! Seungwan! Look!” Joohyun quickly posed and Seungwan held her camera up to take a picture, and then paused momentarily to admire her girlfriend’s beauty. She smiled but Joohyun didn’t notice because she bent over to pick up a flower.

“Seungwan, take it now!” Joohyun put the flower in her hair and smiled. Seungwan took the picture and walked towards her girlfriend.

She grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into a hug. “I still can’t believe how cute you are for a 25 year old,” the two laughed and went back to taking pictures.

They spent hours like that and Seungwan was starting to get tired. She had done everything from lying down to take pictures and running after Joohyun to take videos. Seungwan shook her head. “Joohyun, where the hell do you store all this energy?”

The latter just giggled and kissed Seungwan’s nose. The two sat down in the grass and Joohyun leaned her head on Seungwan’s shoulder. They sat there in silence for a while, simply staring ahead. It was already starting to get dark and the sun was setting just in time for the two to watch it together.

“How romantic..”

Seungwan scoffed, “do you think this is a movie?”

Joohyun lifted her head off Seungwan’s shoulder and looked at the side of the girl’s head. “No, but I can pretend can’t I?” She giggled and stood up, pulling Seungwan up with her.

“Seungwan?”

“Hm.”

“Let’s take one last picture.”

Seungwan stood a few metres away and held her camera up, facing it toward Joohyun who laughed at Seungwan and held her hands up. “Me and you.”

“Ahh, okay.”

Seungwan walked over and stood beside Joohyun. She put her arm around her and the two put their heads together and smiled. Holding the camera up and with her finger on the shutter button, Seungwan looked at Joohyun. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

She pressed down and smiled. Joohyun kissed her cheek right after and skipped away, “let’s go home!”

Seungwan chuckled and followed behind Joohyun, almost tripping along the way.

***

Joohyun was lying in a hospital bed and couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. She stared at the photo in her hand and rubbed her thumb over her girlfriend’s face. “Seungwan…”

She looked a lot different today. Her wig was thrown to the side, and she looked so weak and fragile. A nurse walked into the room and she smiled at Joohyun.

“Is there anything you need?”

Joohyun shook her head. “I’m fine.”

“Okay, the doctor is on his way to talk to you.”

Joohyun didn’t reply and watched the nurse leave the room. She sat up weakly and looked at all the tubes that were attached to her. Her smile slowly faded away and Joohyun began to cry. “Seungwan...I miss you,” she muttered.

A few moments later and a man in a long white coat walked into Joohyun’s hospital room. “Bae Joohyun?”

The girl looked up and wiped away her tears, she smiled at the doctor. “Doctor Kim…”

He smiled back, but looked uneasy as he flipped through his clipboard. “I’m very sorry that the chemo didn’t work-”

“no it’s fine, it’s okay really, I’ve done everything I need to do.” Joohyun looked at the photo that was still in her hand. “I don’t mind leaving now…”

The doctor looked at Joohyun sadly. She was around the same age as his oldest daughter, and he began to feel sorry for the girl over the past few months. To be honest, he knew from the beginning that her case was hopeless. But he had contacted doctors all over the country to try and help the girl out, and find a way to keep her alive just a little longer.

Joohyun bowed her head towards Doctor Kim. “Thank you doctor, thank you for trying your best even though my chances were slim. I’m okay now.”

Doctor Kim sighed and nodded his head. “I wish I could’ve done more.”

***

Seungwan stared at her phone worriedly. Three weeks. It had been three weeks since Joohyun had spoken to her and she was beginning to worry. The longest they had gone without contact was a week and a half and normally it was fine. The two would go on with their lives. Seungwan always knew Joohyun would come back.

She stood up from her couch and hurried to put on her shoes. It was too long of a wait and she couldn’t sit around anymore. Seungwan was already finding it difficult to sleep.

***

She knocked. Three times. But no one was home. Seungwan didn’t hear the shuffling from inside of the apartment that she’d usually hear when she knocked. The apartment door didn’t swing open like it always did. Joohyun didn’t appear like she always had. Seungwan swore under her breath and left the building, hailing a taxi as quickly as she could.

She told the taxi driver where she wanted to go, “get there quickly.”

***

Seungwan ran to the desk and tapped on it quickly. “Hey, excuse me? Excuse me.”

The woman sighed and put the phone down. “Just a second,” she replied and then held the phone back up to her ear

Seungwan swore. She began to shuffle her feet and continued tapping on the table impatiently. When the woman finally put the phone down, Seungwan stopped moving and leaned towards her. “Bae Joohyun.”

“Sorry?”

“Bae Joohyun, where is she? What room I mean.”

The woman looked at Seungwan weirdly but nonetheless she went into her computer and looked up the name. She frowned. “She...Bae Joohyun?”

Seungwan nodded.

“She died two days ago.”

Seungwan’s world stopped revolving at that moment.

***

Seungwan was dressed in all black for the first time in her life. She kneeled in front of a tombstone and laid a single red rose on the stone and smiled softly.

Bae Joohyun

1991-2015

The red rose was Joohyun’s favourite flower. She once told Seungwan why.

“It’s so beautiful, and it’s associated with love, isn’t it so romantic? Imagine getting a red rose from the person you love.” Joohyun laughed. “Well that would be me, wouldn’t it?”

Joohyun was her love.

Seungwan felt her eyes well up with tears and she quickly wiped them away. Her heart was heavy and she tried her best to stay strong. An arm pulled her up and Seungwan turned to find Joohyun’s father smiling at her.

He nodded towards his car a little far from where they were. He walked away and Seungwan looked around confusedly. Everyone else was mourning yet he was leaving. She hurried behind him. He might have something to tell her, Seungwan thought.

The young women had to take long strides to catch up to him. Finally they reached the car and Joohyun’s father opened a door, pulling out a book. Seungwan stared at it in confusion.

“It’s for you,” he smiled at the book as Seungwan took it into her own hands. “Joohyun loves you a lot. Thank you for taking care of her until now.”

Seungwan nodded, not really hearing the words he was saying. By the time she looked up, he had already returned to Joohyun’s grave. Opening the book slowly, Seungwan’s heart stopped for a moment.

“No…”

She flipped through it slowly, staring at every picture of Joohyun she had ever taken. Her eyes filled with tears and they began spilling on the book. Every page she flipped through was now stained with her tears.

Seungwan leaned against the car and reached the second last page. Her hand shaking, Seungwan flipped the page and found that the very last photo in the book, was the last photo she’d taken with Joohyun. She choked up as she read the words under the photo.

“Don’t forget me, Son Seungwan.

I love you”

-Bae Joohyun

She slid down to the ground and cried freely, holding the book to her chest. Seungwan had held in the tears for too long, and Bae Joohyun, who wasn’t even alive anymore, managed to break her down.

“You never wanted to be a model…” Seungwan wiped her face. “You idiot...you stupid idiot...this is why you made me take thousands of pictures?”

Seungwan didn’t understand how she felt so warm and loved and yet she was in so much pain. She couldn’t accept that such a beautiful girl had left her.

“Stupid...Bae Joohyun, I won’t forget you.”

Son Seungwan looked up at the sky and smiled, though there were tears still streaming down her face. “I love you too.”