“…….”
“I’ve been married for five years, and watching you two take photos had me all flustered for no reason. Goodness, really. Looking at how the photos turned out — they’re absolutely legendary. Like a full-on model photoshoot.”
The heat in his face refused to fade easily. Jiwon fanned himself with his hand. Just as the staff member had said, his heart was fluttering — and he tried his best not to let it show. Even after flustering someone like this, Ganghyeon’s expression hadn’t changed in the slightest. Jiwon, whose heart rate had spiked from being swept up in the atmosphere, worried that others might be able to hear it.
Fortunately, the rest of the shoot wasn’t difficult. Standing side by side with a little distance between them and gazing into the camera was the easiest, and the cut where Jiwon stood behind Ganghyeon — who was seated in a chair with his legs crossed — also yielded a good photo fairly quickly. As time passed, Jiwon found himself feeling a little more at ease, just as Ganghyeon had said there was nothing to be nervous about.
They took a short break, filled up on snacks, and then resumed shooting. The final session began on the building’s rooftop after night had fully fallen. The rooftop was wider than expected, and the pitch-black night sky paired with the glittering lights of the surrounding buildings made for a stunning backdrop. While the crew set up for the shoot, Jiwon looked around, taking in the breathtaking night view. He also liked the cool night breeze drifting past.
Dressed in a voluminous shirt and slacks, Jiwon stood at a distance and watched Ganghyeon, who was in the middle of a phone call. Without a tie, wearing a classic shirt and a fitted vest, Ganghyeon looked far more formal than Jiwon — and it suited him perfectly.
Feeling lighter at the thought that this was the last shoot, Jiwon moved smoothly at the photographer’s direction. When told to hold Ganghyeon’s hand, he held it. When told to smile, he smiled brightly. He felt swept up in the mood of the night.
“We’ll take the last cut now.”
The photographer said the last cut was the most important and personally positioned the two of them. Standing about a step apart, facing each other, Ganghyeon placed his hand on Jiwon’s back. The photographer lowered himself to capture an angle that elongated their legs, took a few test shots, and then gave Ganghyeon his instructions.
“On my cue, pull him in — bold and sharp! Just rough and sudden, like this — yank him into your arms. Got it?”
“Yes.”
Ganghyeon answered calmly and looked down at Jiwon. Bold? Yank him in? Not knowing quite what the result would look like, his large eyes darted around. His face, now fully relaxed, seemed to be rejoicing at the thought that the shoot was almost over.
“Here we go. Cue!”
At the photographer’s signal, Ganghyeon wrapped his arm deep around Jiwon’s back and pulled him forcefully toward himself. With a startled gasp, Jiwon was drawn in all at once. As Jiwon pressed against that broad chest, his pheromones surged more intensely than ever before.
Ganghyeon held Jiwon’s waist firmly and tilted slightly forward. Jiwon, his upper body arched back, stretched out his arms and clung to Ganghyeon’s shoulders. Their bodies flush from the chest down, the two of them were pulled close together — and the night breeze passed between them.
Jiwon’s hair, longer than Ganghyeon’s, scattered across his forehead in disarray. When the strands fell over Jiwon’s eyes, Ganghyeon lifted a hand and gently swept them aside. Their gazes locked, thick and lingering.
Following the unceasing click of the camera shutter, Jiwon’s heart began to race again. Ganghyeon’s hand hovering near his face was warm. The breeze carried Ganghyeon’s pheromone scent along with it. The eyes meeting his were as dark and intense as jet black. Jiwon’s heartbeat kept growing louder — beyond what he could control.
2. Is This Marriage Really Going to Be Okay?
The heat hadn’t yet risen, so it was still bearable to walk. Jiwon had been strolling along the walking path with his earphones in for quite a while when he sat down on a bench by the roadside, took out his phone, and opened his email. The sender of the new message was the person in charge of the wedding rehearsal shoot. They had repeatedly insisted that personal photos weren’t allowed — yet they had sent over photos they’d taken themselves, writing that “the two of you looked so wonderful together that I simply couldn’t help but take them.”
There were quite a lot of attached photos. His memories of it were nothing but awkwardness, yet somehow, none of that came through in the pictures at all. Their faces looking at each other, their smiling expressions — thankfully, it all looked natural.
Jiwon spent a long time looking at the photo of himself and Ganghyeon standing side by side. He wasn’t particularly short, but standing next to Ganghyeon, the difference in build was striking. Jiwon looked a little more carefully at Ganghyeon in the photo.
The eyes staring straight ahead were full of force. His prominent nose and the line of his lips were so defined they looked almost stubborn. Add to that his solid build, a broad forehead, and a face with just the right amount of angularity — and it all came together to form an overall impression that was strong and intensely masculine. The kind of face that looks like he’d never accept something he didn’t agree with.
So this is the aura Ganghyeon has. It was the kind of strong presence that could make the person across from him feel overwhelmed. Like a great, towering wolf. And they say we look good together? Jiwon figured the person in charge must have been flattering them and swiped to the next photo.
He had been happily scrolling through the photos, pleasantly surprised by how well they’d turned out, when his finger stopped. It was the photo from early in the shoot — the moment Ganghyeon had suddenly leaned in to kiss him. Ganghyeon’s face was invisible, his head tilted and his jaw turned away. Only Jiwon’s face was plainly visible — chin slightly lifted, eyes closed. Jiwon furrowed his brow and scratched at his thigh. Good grief, why does my expression look so… into it.
The next photo was even worse. Against the gorgeous night skyline, he was standing face to face in Ganghyeon’s arms. Having been pulled in so suddenly, his hair and the hem of his clothes were billowing in the wind, and his softly outstretched arm was just a moment away from landing on Ganghyeon’s shoulder. In the photo, his own eyes were wide with surprise, staring up at Ganghyeon.
Ganghyeon’s face, angled down to look at him, was cast in deep shadow, giving the photo an incredibly dramatic quality. Like a prince met at a royal palace banquet.
“Ugh.”
Jiwon stared at himself in the photo with a look of horror, then let out a long sigh and resigned himself to it. His situation was, in many ways, similar to that of the beauty in Beauty and the Beast. Not that Ganghyeon was the beast, of course.
He had finished checking all the photos and was just getting up when a call came in. It was his soon-to-be husband, the man he’d be marrying before long — and the formidably difficult beast-prince who could make him pause even just to answer the phone. Jiwon composed himself and took the call.
“Yes. Ganghyeon.”
— Sorry for the sudden notice, but do you have time this evening?
“Yes, I’m free. What’s going on?”
— Nothing in particular. I was thinking we could go to dinner at my family home together. It’s my mother’s birthday.
“Excuse me?”
Oh my god. It’s his mother’s birthday, and he calls it nothing in particular? That might be the case for him, but not for everyone else!
“Of course I’ll go! We absolutely have to.”
— You don’t mind? The thing is, I’m going to be running a bit late, so you’d have to head there ahead of me. Is that alright?
“How late are you going to be?”
— Hard to say for certain, but it won’t be too late.
“Alright, I’ll head over first then.”
Jiwon hung up, checked the time, and started walking home quickly. He had to get ready to go out, and if he wanted to put together a gift too, he didn’t have much time. At least he’d found out with a few hours to spare — enough time to prepare, and for that he was grateful.
Ganghyeon’s voice when he said his mother’s birthday was nothing special had sounded genuine. If that was just the kind of person he was — someone who didn’t place much significance on such things — then Jiwon was almost in a position to be grateful that Ganghyeon had even told him at all.
“A gift. What do I do about a gift?”
It was a household on a completely different financial level from his own. It was hard to even guess what price range would be appropriate. For now, his plan was to consult his mom, so Jiwon took out his phone again.
That evening, Jiwon sent a message to Ganghyeon saying he’d arrived, standing in front of the gate to Ganghyeon’s family home. Not that he’d expected one, but no reply came. Even having been there before, it was just as daunting as ever. This was his first time visiting on his own, without Ganghyeon — which made it even more so. The one to greet Jiwon at the entrance — bouquet and gift bundle in hand, arranged through a well-connected senior he knew — was the housekeeper who managed the household.
“Welcome.”
“Hello.”
“Yes. The madam is inside.”
After giving the respectful housekeeper a polite bow, Jiwon passed through the entryway and made his way toward the living room. The first time he’d come, he’d been startled by the sheer size of the place — but it was starting to feel somewhat familiar now. The house, which had been so quiet it felt almost serene with only Ganghyeon’s grandmother and parents, had the gentle murmur of voices drifting through it today. He passed through the hallway and stepped into the living room, where Mrs. Choi, seated on the sofa, welcomed him.
“You’re here.”
“Yes. Happy birthday, Mother.”
“Thank you, dear.”
“I should have known sooner — I only found out today.”
“It’s not that big of a deal.”
