Ganghyeon, who had been about to pick between ‘adequate’ or ‘decent’ in a somewhat sharp-edged state, paused, steadied his breath, and swirled the glass he was holding. The ice shifted with a soft clink.
Calling to mind the image of Jiwon from today, the bold way he had said he wanted to grow closer to him and the image of him welling up with tears as he watched the movie overlapped. When he also recalled the sweet, quietly assertive pheromone Jiwon had given off in the moment of their kiss, and the warm breath that had scattered in short gasps, Ganghyeon finally landed on the right word.
“Cute.”
“Pfft — what?”
“Ugh.”
“Hey, what the hell. Han Ganghyeon’s finally lost it now that he’s about to get married.”
The out-of-character word choice drew immediate mockery and jeering. Park Mujin held out his glass while pretending to gag. Ganghyeon smiled and clinked his glass against it. It was a word he had never once used about anyone in his life, but as a way to describe Jeong Jiwon today, it seemed the most fitting.
“Oh my, oh my. Look at this. What is going on with the groom’s skin.”
The fair complexion, clearly lovely at a glance, was smooth and flawless without a single imperfection. Since there was no need to brighten the tone, the makeup artist, who was simply working on refining the skin’s texture, kept exclaiming in admiration. After defining the shape of his brows and adding a soft shadow to the eyelids, Jiwon’s already long, sidewept eyes became all the more smoldering. The artist applied his lips one shade deeper so they wouldn’t wash out under the strong lighting, then stepped back to check Jiwon’s reflection in the mirror and clapped in delight.
“Ah, I feel so fulfilled today. What are we going to do with this face. We’re getting a masterpiece today, we really are.”
At the excessive praise, Jiwon smiled awkwardly and his face flushed. His reflection in the mirror, all wedding rehearsal preparations complete, looked better than he had expected. But the makeup he was wearing for the first time felt far too unfamiliar, and being so openly complimented on his appearance to his face made him so embarrassed he didn’t know what to do with himself. A staff member who had finished checking Jiwon’s outfit — now fully dressed in a white tuxedo with a bow tie and cummerbund — guided him out of the makeup room and into the studio.
When Jiwon had asked whether the wedding rehearsal shoot was really necessary, Han Ganghyeon had answered that there were more uses for the photos than he might expect, and it wasn’t something that could easily be skipped. He had arrived at the studio right on time and been pulled every which way since, not even having had a chance to check whether Ganghyeon had arrived. Jiwon looked around as he walked through the spacious studio and came to a stop when his eyes landed on one side of the room, where a set designed to look like a window had been installed.
He could see Ganghyeon’s back — standing across from the photographer, deep in conversation. Dressed in a black tuxedo and standing with perfect posture, Ganghyeon was nearly a full head taller than the lean and slight photographer, and looked about twice as broad.
When he shifted his stance and crossed his arms, the back of his jacket pulled taut across his torso, revealing solid back muscles and a trim waistline. The trousers with their clean, narrow cut fell neatly around the ankle, the legs beneath them long and straight. It was a fine physique even to another man’s eye. The photographer spotted Jiwon approaching with an uncertain air, glancing down at himself as he came, and greeted him first with a warm smile.
“Ah. You’re out. All done with preparations?”
“Yes.”
Ganghyeon turned at the photographer’s reaction and took a slow, thorough look at Jiwon. Against the composed, sharp contrast of his own formal black suit, Jiwon in a detailed white tuxedo looked clean and warm.
Perhaps due to the soft curls in his brown hair and the makeup, he even came across as somewhat pretty. The shirt with its understated frill, paired with a lustrous cummerbund in place of a waistcoat, suited him well.
Whether it was from Ganghyeon’s unblinking gaze or embarrassment at his own outfit, Jiwon’s face went slightly pink. As Jiwon came over and stood beside him, Ganghyeon asked the photographer to walk them through the day’s shoot.
Having made clear in advance that he disliked anything excessive or overwhelming, the concepts he was shown were mostly simple, atmosphere-focused shots. From those, Ganghyeon eliminated a few more options before giving a nod.
“I think we can go with this. What do you think, Jiwon?”
“Looks good.”
Jiwon had no idea what was going on, but he nodded along agreeably. The first shoot began at the window set where Ganghyeon had been standing, light filtering in naturally. The lighting came on as the two stood side by side, and the photographer took a few quick shots at random to check the framing.
“Wow. The two of you just standing there is already a picture.”
The compliment did nothing to ease the awkwardness. Jiwon had never been fond of having his photo taken, and this kind of shoot was a first for him entirely. The photographer called out poses from the concept board, but his body refused to cooperate with his intentions. His joints felt like they were creaking, stiff as rusted hinges.
When he failed to properly recreate the designated pose, a staff member stepped in to help. She positioned the two facing each other, had Ganghyeon extend his right hand, and placed Jiwon’s hand on top of it.
“Now just look at each other with a loving gaze. Got it?”
A loving gaze. Jiwon swallowed dryly. Unable to hold eye contact, he let his gaze hover somewhere between Ganghyeon’s throat and the space below his nose and tried to look natural. Smile. Smile! No matter how insistently the photographer called out, a smile wouldn’t come.
They muddled through that shot and moved on to the next set. The photographer, wanting to draw out a warmer, more intimate atmosphere, decided to take the closer shots first. He seated them in chairs placed back to back against a set where the wall was decorated with flowers and green foliage.
“Now twist toward each other and face one another. We’re going for a feeling like the one on the left is leaning in. For your eyeline, keep your gaze on your partner’s philtrum or lips. So — this is three seconds before a kiss. You know the vibe!”
Jiwon’s nerves were written all over him. At this rate, the shoot would drag on endlessly and they’d end up with nothing but stiff photos that looked like two people running into each other at a class reunion.
What could he say to Jiwon, who couldn’t even look him in the eye, that would ease the tension and get this over with quickly. Ganghyeon thought for a moment, then leaned in as the photographer had requested and drew close to a Jiwon who was frozen stiff, and whispered.
“There’s nothing to be nervous about.”
“……”
“Is it because you can’t stand looking at me?”
“No — no, it’s not that.”
At the words can’t stand looking at me, Jiwon’s eyes went wide. Ganghyeon found those eyes quite to his liking. Against whites so clear they had an almost bluish tinge, his irises were larger than average. The iris spreading outward from the pupil in a radial pattern was an unusually pale, translucent brown for someone of East Asian features — so light it seemed as if you could see straight through it. And yet those remarkably fine eyes kept swerving away, refusing to look at him properly.
“The atmosphere right now is great. Director Lee, pull the lighting forward just a little. There you go. You two — can you get a bit closer? Three seconds before a kiss, remember? Let’s go for intimate but with an edge of something sexy!”
“You’re still not looking at me.”
“It’s just — I’m not used to getting my photo taken.”
“What would it take for you to relax?”
Ganghyeon leaned his upper body in close to Jiwon. The photographer seemed pleased with the composition of the two overlapping faces and started calling out ‘yes, yes’ as he pressed the shutter. Fully committed to the three-seconds-before-a-kiss concept, Ganghyeon’s gaze dropped to Jiwon’s lips — slightly parted, the tips of his front teeth just visible — and he asked in a low voice.
“Shall we just do it?”
“Do what?”
“…Kiss.”
Startled, Jiwon straightened up and lifted his head to look directly at Ganghyeon. So that’s what it takes to get a reaction. With their gazes locked, Ganghyeon pulled at the corner of his lips into a grin — and the photographer burst into rapid shutter clicking.
Leaning his upper body in close, Ganghyeon sent him a deep, smoldering look as if he might close the distance at any second. When Jiwon dropped his gaze again anyway, Ganghyeon casually slid an arm around Jiwon’s waist and drew him in slightly. The shutter went off in a frenzy again.
Ganghyeon released his pheromone at a level only Jiwon would feel. The pheromone that wrapped around Jiwon moved in a steady, gentle wave — but its presence was unmistakable, anything but weak. Jiwon, who had already committed Ganghyeon’s pheromone to memory, exhaled slowly and worked to steady his breathing. The end of that breath trembled faintly. Endearingly so.
Ganghyeon tilted his chin and leaned in. Lips that had been hovering at the distance of one second before a kiss made contact — lightly. He held the angle and posture steady to keep the shot looking its best, all while the soft, yielding press of those lips registered clearly against his.
“Ah, that’s it. Yes, that’s perfect!”
The photographer poured out praise, thrilled with the atmosphere he had been hoping for. Shot after shot filled the camera — the two of them kissing with a backdrop of mingled light and shadow. The image of Jiwon sitting up straight while Ganghyeon leaned in and kissed him tenderly looked just like a painting. Reviewing the kissing shots — captured sooner than expected — the photographer couldn’t contain his admiration.
“Ah, just as I imagined — these two photograph so well together. And my, the groom certainly doesn’t hold back, does he? Usually everyone’s shy at the start and the kissing shots get saved for later, but we already have a best-cut candidate.”
At the call to move to the next location, Ganghyeon sealed his pheromone away cleanly and rose first. Jiwon, face flushed a warm pink, let a staff member come and dab a powder puff over his face to touch up the makeup. The staff member’s voice was bright with excitement.
“I thought it was only our groom here who had the looks — but the other one is no joke either. You two are such a perfect match.”
