“No, it’s not…… I’m totally fine!”
The two people looked at Jang Juwon simultaneously with worried expressions. Jang Juwon thought he might actually get a fever if he stayed like this. So he quickly picked up the light again and hurriedly escaped from that spot.
Baek Huiseon looked at Jang Juwon’s retreating figure as he walked away flustered and said to Baek Iseon in a small voice.
“Hey, Baek Iseon.”
“Yeah?”
“That kid’s your type, right?”
“You noticed?”
Baek Huiseon glared at Baek Iseon who was grinning cheekily.
“Don’t touch that kid. If you touch him again and he says he’s quitting or whatever…… I’ll cut off all your allowance then, you know!”
“Oh no…… What should I do.”
Baek Iseon muttered in a small voice.
“I’m not confident.”
“Haah. How did this become my younger sibling?”
Baek Huiseon pressed her throbbing forehead.
* * *
Throughout the shoot, Jang Juwon was lost in thought. And when the shoot was approaching its end, he finally came to a conclusion. It seemed right to quit the part-time job after all.
Because the opportunity to learn work under someone like Baek Huiseon didn’t come often, he felt very regretful. Jang Juwon really liked and respected Baek Huiseon. The first time he picked up a camera was because of some man, but the one who made him not put down the camera was that woman, Baek Huiseon.
On a winter day when he wanted to give up everything, what ended the wandering that seemed endless was a crumpled magazine stuffed in his mailbox. Though it was Jang Juwon’s mailbox, the owner of that magazine wasn’t Jang Juwon. He roughly pulled it out of the mailbox, thinking he’d throw it away. Just as he was about to toss it in the trash, his gaze was suddenly drawn to the cover.
A black and white photo with a woman’s face prominently featured decorated the cover. Her outfit and makeup were modest, but she was clearly a stunning beauty. Jang Juwon unknowingly made eye contact with the woman in the cover. She had her eyes narrowed while cupping her cheek with her hand. The hair flowing down her forehead line, her thick eyebrows, her pursed lips—somehow they all felt lonely and desolate. It wasn’t difficult to feel a sense of kinship.
Jang Juwon stood right there and turned the pages as if entranced. And he succeeded in finding the paragraph with her interview.
Loneliness disappears when confined. The world inside the lens has that kind of power. When I feel lonely, I take photos. That small world made solely of my gaze takes away my loneliness. Only then do I finally gain the strength to face the world outside the lens. A photograph is a small world that confines my emotions.
Baek Huiseon would probably never know what meaning those words brought to Jang Juwon at that time. Jang Juwon thought he wanted to verify whether her words were really true. So he was curious whether he could confine these unnecessary emotions eating away at him, whether he too would really gain that kind of power. At that time, only proving that could move Jang Juwon. And it was effective.
After that, he couldn’t believe how surprised he was when he first got the opportunity to work with Baek Huiseon. Jang Juwon didn’t want to disappoint her, who had created a turning point for him. It wasn’t right to insist on a job position just because of his own regrets. If he couldn’t focus properly, it was right for the position to go to someone else.
After the shoot was finished, Jang Juwon confirmed that Baek Iseon had gone back into the waiting room, then approached Baek Huiseon and carefully spoke up.
“Um, writer-nim.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m really sorry, but I don’t think I can work during this vacation……”
“What?”
Baek Huiseon’s expression crumpled. Jang Juwon felt guilty.
“Why?”
“Actually, I’m also taking summer session classes this vacation, and I think I need to focus on my lectures. I’m really sorry. I was too greedy.”
Baek Huiseon’s expression darkened rapidly. Jang Juwon thought he’d get an earful from her. Words like how he had no sense of responsibility, how it would disrupt future work, and so on.
“Is it…… because of my younger brother?”
“What? The sunbae?”
However, the words that came out of her mouth were enough to greatly surprise Jang Juwon. Moreover…… it hit the mark. But how did Baek Huiseon know that? He felt embarrassed, thinking it was because he’d shown his discomfort too obviously.
“Yeah. Did he act burdensome or maybe come on to you?”
“What? No, it’s not like that……”
Jang Juwon’s voice grew smaller and smaller. Then Baek Huiseon stared at Jang Juwon with her eyebrows raised suspiciously.
“It’s not, it’s really not…… Has this kind of thing happened before……?”
“Haah, don’t even get me started. Whenever a kid who’s even a little cute comes in, he hits on all of them…… I’m sorry, Juwon-ah. He’s a bit like that. He’s the late-born youngest, so he grew up being coddled and is totally selfish. How did I end up with that as a younger brother…… He was quite cute when he was little though……”
“Ah…… I see.”
The strength completely drained from Jang Juwon’s voice. As expected, Baek Iseon didn’t act this way only toward him. He’d suspected as much. Even so, those words hit him too hard. He felt a tingling pain in his chest.
“But it’s really not that. It’s really because of summer session. I’m sorry……”
Then Baek Huiseon’s expression brightened and she firmly grasped Jang Juwon’s hand.
“If that’s the case, could you do just a few more days? Hm? Or even just weekends!”
“Uh……”
“We’re doing outdoor shoots starting tomorrow and we’re short on help. Juwon-ah, please!”
“Ah……”
The look in Baek Huiseon’s eyes looking at Jang Juwon was earnest. Even though he was the one who suddenly announced he was quitting, there was no way he could refuse when she was asking like this rather than blaming him.
“Yes…… I will.”
“Thank you, Juwon-ah!”
“Um, but if you’re really short on help……”
And another person came to Jang Juwon’s mind.
“Can I bring my friend? She’s strong, tall, and you can work her hard.”
“Great!”
With this, it seemed there’d be no reason for Shin Jisu to curse at him. Having finished the conversation, Jang Juwon quickly fled home before Baek Iseon came out of the studio again.
* * *
A new part-timer came to the busy studio.
“Hello!”
“Uh…… Hello?”
Shin Jisu bent her waist 90 degrees and greeted Baek Huiseon in a bright, cheerful voice. Baek Huiseon received her greeting with a slightly flustered expression. Her expression said she hadn’t known that the person Jang Juwon was bringing would be her. That was because she’d only heard Jang Juwon’s words and thought it would be a guy.
“Sunbae was here too.”
“……Hello, hoobae-nim.”
Shin Jisu also acknowledged Baek Iseon, who was standing next to Baek Huiseon. She showed no sign of surprise at all that Baek Iseon was there. Rather, she even smiled brightly at Baek Iseon, but it didn’t seem to be a smile of gladness. A spasm occurred at one corner of Baek Iseon’s mouth as he looked at her.
Unlike his concerns, Shin Jisu carried out her work efficiently without complaints. At any rate, she was indeed tall and strong. She loaded large and heavy equipment into the van along with the other staff. Jang Juwon felt a little relieved. Both because Shin Jisu was working better than expected, and because he could somewhat disperse his attention that kept trying to focus on Baek Iseon.
The shooting location they arrived at by car was a small forest nestled against a low mountain. Well-maintained deciduous trees shone green in the midsummer sunlight. Work was carried out for quite a while setting up parasols in a flat area and taking out the equipment that had been loaded in the van to set it up.
No matter how much the shade of the trees blocked the sunlight, the outdoor weather was extremely humid compared to the cool indoor studio. Beads of sweat formed on Jang Juwon’s forehead too. Still, this was rather better. In the cramped studio, no matter where he turned his gaze, he kept catching sight of him. But now, only green grass and large trees filled his vision.
Jang Juwon, who had set down the small generator for equipment in place while straining, stood there for a moment admiring the scenery while wiping the sweat on his forehead. His cheeks, flushed from the heat, burned and wouldn’t cool down. At that moment, something cold touched his cheek. His body flinched at the cold that suddenly spread. When he turned his head, Baek Iseon was holding out a half-frozen water bottle to him.
“Ah, thank…… you.”
Jang Juwon immediately opened the bottle and gulped down the cool water.
“How about it, was I at least a little useful now?”
“What do you…… Ah.”
The moments when he’d told him several times that he didn’t need someone like him came to mind. Anyway, holding a grudge…… Jang Juwon slightly frowned.
“I heard you said you were quitting.”
“Ah, yes.”
It seemed Baek Huiseon had told him.
“I heard noona scolded you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“If it’s because of me, don’t do that. Anyway, I’m only doing this shoot. A different model will come again.”
“Ah…… I see.”
