Work Text:
“I am so screwed.”
Kim Minji said that while she tucked her face in between her hands. Her friend, Kang Haerin, could only look at her in pity (and a bit of amusement.)
“You are acting as if the world will end. Relax! You have a week to figure out who to be your muse anyway.”
Haerin said that with such calmness and confidence that Minji couldn’t help but reply with a glare.
“Easy for you to say.”
Haerin lifted her hands up into the air.
“I was only giving you encouragement! What happened to being positive?”
To give a little context, Minji was a member of the school’s photography club. She had always loved taking pictures, and when she was offered the chance to join the club by their senior Chaewon, she didn’t think twice about taking it up. The rush of finding the perfect objects or sceneries, and the thrill of setting and producing masterpieces with her lenses gave her so much joy. Although there were an abundance of projects she had to do and numerous competitions she had to attend, she didn’t consider it a burden in the slightest. In fact, she considered it a blessing.
Normally, Minji would pass on each project with ease, but it wasn’t the case with this one task.
Her photography teacher had assigned the class a task with a given theme of people. More specifically, he wanted each student to take a picture of one person using different techniques they had already learned. From the beginning of the announcement, Minji could feel her stomach turning. She was nervous for two reasons: one, she didn’t have too many friends at school, and two, the only friends she had were always so busy.
She still asked anyway. Trying wouldn’t hurt, she thought to herself.
They all replied as expected except one, and—
Ding!
Wonyoung: Sorry! I can’t next week. I have student council duties :(
Minji felt like crying.
She was now sitting in distress next to Haerin. She, too, was offered the role by Minji, but unfortunately had to say no because the youth cup was coming and as the school basketball club’s captain, she had to lead the team’s practice.
Her two other friends, Danielle and Hyein, couldn’t make it because one had a nation-level equestrian event the following week and the other had to model for the newest luxury brand collection.
Which left Minji with no other option but to do the one thing she despised the most: make new acquaintances.
“You’ll be just fine!”
Not minding Haerin’s (horrible) attempts at consoling her, she turned to see Danielle walking to their table. Oddly enough, she was walking with a friend; someone who Minji didn’t recognise. They talked for a bit with each other before parting ways, and in between that moment Minji caught a glimpse of the girl, who then smiled at them.
Oh. My. God.
Minji’s one desperate face suddenly lit up.
“Who was that?”
Haerin didn’t seem to notice how her friend froze in her seat.
“That was Hanni. She’s the science club president.”
So, the petite girl who wore a purple hoodie and black specs that was walking beside Danielle with the most bedazzling smile Minji had ever seen, was the president of the school’s most prized club.
She’s cute , Minji thought to herself.
“How come I’ve never seen her around before?”
Minji asked the same question internally.
“She’s pretty lowkey, I don’t think she hangs around much. I did hear she was pretty close with Wonyoung though.”
Wonyoung!?
“Excuse me—what?”
Haerin and Danielle turned to look at Minji, eyes as big as saucers as they stared collectively at their friend.
“What do you mean?”
“She's a close friend… of Wonyoung’s?”
Her expression was somewhat questionable; eyes peering at the two intensely. If they didn’t think she was crazy before, they definitely thought so then.
“Yes…?”
“Like Jang Wonyoung?”
Danielle and Haerin looked at each other. What had gotten into her? When was she ever this invested in someone she didn’t know?
“Yeah… You’re friends with Wonyoung too, right?”
I am , Minji thought to herself. But Wonyoung has never talked about her to me before.
She looked back at the direction where Hanni was supposedly at. The girl was now talking to a teacher at the edge of the dining hall. From what Minji saw, Hanni had a good posture and a lean figure. She was also very vibrant in expressions; something Minji had noticed when the girl was talking with Danielle earlier.
She had all the components that made up the perfect muse.
Wait.
“Oh my God…”
Haerin and Danielle looked at her with curious (and slightly concerned) eyes. Minji paid them no mind.
“Can I have her number?”
I think I just found my muse.
“Can I take pictures of you?”
Minji blurted out. Hanni, the girl from earlier, was now opposite of her, staring at her in complete surprise.
After the incident at the dining hall, Minji had gotten Hanni’s contact from Danielle. (“Please don’t do anything stupid,” she said to Minji, although she wasn’t sure the latter would oblige.)
She texted Hanni promptly that evening, introducing herself and asking if she could meet her the next day to discuss “a very important matter that requires Hanni’s assistance.” Hanni, slightly hesitant, agreed anyway. She wasn’t sure what she could do to help her, especially because they were strangers that had never been acquainted before.
They were now at the entrance of the art room when Minji blatantly spoke about her project.
“What?”
Minji, realising what she had just said, quickly retracted her words in panic.
“N-no! I just think you’re very pretty, and I still don’t have a muse! I need to finish the photography project by next week and I’d really like it if you–“
In contrast to what Minji had thought, Hanni didn’t need a clarification. She wasn’t even listening to the rest of the sentence.
“You think I’m pretty?”
Minji stopped blabbering; her full attention was now directed at Hanni whose cheeks were getting redder by the second.
“Well yes.”
Minji grinned widely afterwards.
“Will you be my muse now?”
Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable.
If Minji were to look back at what she said to Hanni right there and then, she would probably lock herself in her room out of shame. But frankly, she was too nervous at the time to care. Her reputation as one of the club’s best was on the line, and if she didn’t get a muse by then she might as well be screwed.
Hanni, on the other hand, was too stunned by the (adorable) girl standing in front of her, suddenly asking her to be her muse and even calling her pretty while at it.
Sure, she was a bit too direct. And a bit clumsy. And probably socially awkward. But hey, she was cute. And it looked like she needed it so much that Hanni would’ve been a villain to deny her.
Still a bit flustered, Hanni picked up her phone from her pocket to check her schedule.
Minji could only wait.
“I’m free on Thursday afternoon. Would that be okay with you?”
Minji jumped. Literally. About a foot high, which did receive some looks from the passerby around them. But her heart could finally return to its normal pulse and her face can now form a smile of relief. She pumped the air in delight, earning a chuckle from Hanni.
“Yes, that'd be wonderful! After school in the science room, okay?”
Minji’s overwhelming joy caused Hanni’s heart to swell twice its size.
“Yes, I’ll look forward to it.”
That night after their meeting, Hanni got a call from Danielle while studying.
(There was no greeting whatsoever.)
“So? Did she do anything stupid today?”
Really stupid, she thought to herself. But she was cute, so…
“No, she was just a bit awkward. I agreed to help her out though.”
Hanni didn’t know whether it was a sigh of relief or a smack on her head that Danielle did after hearing her response, but she decided not to question it anyway.
“When are you meeting up with her?”
“On Thursday. Afternoon.”
Danielle hummed.
“Please look after her for my sake.”
Hanni laughed.
“I will. Don’t worry about it.”
Up until the shoot, there were no further meetings between them. Or, planned meetings at the very least. There were a few times where Minji would catch a glimpse of Hanni around the school halls, and up until then their interactions were just mere greetings and shy smiles to each other.
(Hanni slightly wished it would be a bit more than that.)
The day came when Minji and Hanni had to meet for the shoot; Thursday.
Minji sat in the science room all alone while waiting for her muse. The school’s science room was basically a large laboratorium that contained equipment needed to conduct experiments in the field of science, which included microscopes, different tubes of chemicals and magnets. Minji sat at the edge of the gigantic room, waiting for her muse to arrive so they could begin the shoot.
It was quite odd for Minji to be doing a photoshoot at a lab, in all honesty. She did have to ask permission from their principal regarding the usage of the room, to which he did (although with a slightly threatening tone of agreement, and a fearsome stare at her.) The main reason was that she wanted to take a picture of where Hanni would feel the most comfortable at; showing her areas of expertise that would later be transferred onto the array of photos Minji would take.
Minji glanced at her mobile phone. There hadn’t been any other notifications. She was starting to get worried.
Did she forget…?
Just when Minji was about to go look for her, Hanni barged in the entrance.
“Sorry I’m late!”
Her hair was a mess, and her cardigan was facing countless directions all at the same time. Her backpack was loosely hanging off her right shoulder, still swaying from her run earlier.
Still panting, she spoke.
“Sorry about that, my teacher had called for an emergency meeting regarding the olympiads next week. I couldn’t ask for permission since it seemed really important, I hope it didn’t take too long.”
Minji smiled at her, making Hanni feel even more out of breath.
“It’s okay. You are not late, by the way.”
Another smile.
Hanni placed her bag in the corner of the room. In the meantime, Minji took out some beakers and a bottle of bright blue chemical, which Hanni recognised to be copper sulfate.
Her flustered state quickly turned into shock.
“Why are you taking out copper sulfate?!”
Minji, in surprise, jumped, nearly dropping the beakers and the bottle in the way.
“Because we need it for the shoot?”
She asked it in such an innocent way that Hanni sighed in disbelief.
“Minji, we do not need actual chemicals for the shoot. If you want a blue coloured liquid, I can grab a bottle of Gatorade from the vending machine. That thing is very toxic!”
Minji mouthed an O, not expecting such a concerning response from the latter.
(Hanni wasn’t mad per say, not a lot of people know what copper sulfate was anyway. She was just scared of Minji getting hurt.)
Minji returned the bottle but placed the beakers on the table anyway. While doing so, Hanni went outside. There was a vending machine near where they were at; she recalled it to have a large stock of Gatorade they could use as a substitute for the chemicals. She bought about three bottles, and one small can of caramel latte after much thought.
When Hanni returned with the drinks, Minji noticed the extra can of coffee inside the bag. She took it out and showed it to Hanni.
“Can I have this?”
“It is yours. Dani said you're a caffeine addict so I got you one.”
Minji felt something; similar to a punch that hit her chest.
“Oh, thanks.”
Hanni opened the bottles of Gatorade, pouring each coloured drink into separate beakers. Minji was slightly disappointed; she wanted the photoshoot to look as real as possible which was why she thought of using actual chemicals. She hadn’t thought about the safety part, and to her dismay her and Hanni’s wellbeing mattered more.
On the other hand, Hanni was now in her full lab gear, with goggles and her lab coat with their school emblem on it. Minji used the time to set up her camera.
She adjusted the aperture as well as its ISO levels so it wouldn’t reflect the LED light that would cause the end results to be grainy. Minji planned on taking two types of shots: one in full colour and one in monochromatic fashion, and choose which suited the theme best at the end. She took her spot at a point where she could blur the rest of the background, causing the focus to be shifted onto Hanni and her “chemicals”. This, according to Minji, emphasized the theme of portraits and removed any unnecessary distractions behind her muse.
Her muse.
That had a nice ring.
“Can we start now?”
Hanni turned to Minji. Minji couldn’t read her expression.
“Okay.”
Originally, Hanni had begun posing by herself, but something about how her hands stiffly grabbed the beakers made it look awkward and somewhat unnatural. Her posture was strained, and her expressions were also not as lively as what Minji expected.
She looked… nervous?
Minji placed her camera on her tripod, making sure it didn’t fall before heading towards Hanni’s spot. She grabbed the latter’s right arm lightly, moving it a bit upwards while adjusting her left to make it seem like she was conducting an experiment.
“Relax, Hanni.”
What Minji didn’t take into account was her distance. She was so close to Hanni that the latter could feel each breath of hers like snowflakes landing on her skin.
She ran back to her camera, not minding the frozen girl.
“Please smile.”
And so Hanni did. Or at least she tried to.
“Pretty.”
Minji muttered under breath, but still audible enough for Hanni to hear.
She continued several times throughout the shoot; unknowingly shooting compliments to Hanni and taking the latter aback everytime.
At that moment, Hanni felt like a glass statue.
Maybe it was something about how straightforward Minji was, blurting out sudden compliments she wasn’t so used to receiving. Or maybe it was the lingering warmth and the gentleness of her touches that moved her own hands into place, as if she was a fragile piece Minji was so afraid to break. Or maybe it was the way she looked at her; so empty yet so full of emotions at the same time.
Whatever it was, it was enough to make Pham Hanni, the president of the science club and the school’s most prized valedictorian, breathless.
“Minji, stop.”
Minji looked at Hanni, confused.
“Stop what?”
“Stop calling me pretty.”
“But why?”
“I’m just not used to it.”
Minji furrowed her eyebrows.
What did she mean by not being used to it?
Hanni was pretty. Arguably one of the, if not the prettiest girl she had ever seen. She had a genuine smile; one that would reach her eyes and would fill the whole room with brightness. She wore glasses, which became a magnifier to her smile that showed her a whole galaxy once stared directly into.
Okay, maybe that was a bit dramatic, Minji thought, but she was a photographer. And as a photographer, she should be able to recognize beauty when she sees it.
And she did. She recognized Hanni’s beauty, which in her opinion should be put in front of her lenses and captured. It deserved to be.
So she was puzzled.
“But you are pretty. People don’t tell you that?”
“No, they don’t.”
“Well you are. I think you should know.”
(Hanni thanked the heavens they didn’t end up using the copper sulfate, because the way Minji grinned afterwards made her want to drop every single beaker she was holding.)
“Let’s just continue, Minji.”
Minji nodded.
“Okay.”
Minji aimed her camera at Hanni and took another shot.
The two agreed to go on a break after a while.
While Hanni was tidying up the lab equipment, Minji took her camera off the tripod and transferred the photos into her laptop. At this time of day, when no one was around, the wifi connection was smooth. To her advantage, she didn’t have to wait too long for the photos to load.
When it did, photos of Hanni arrayed in her gallery like a handful of movie posters.
Some, she deemed, were too bright. Some could be composed better, while others were positioned slightly too much to one direction.
One thing was in common between all of them and it was that Hanni looked breathtaking in every single shot.
She was busy scrolling through them when Hanni came up to her, eyes brimmed with curiosity.
“Can I see the results?”
Minji nodded, panning her laptop to the latter’s direction.
Seeing the photos, Hanni was at a loss for words.
She knew that Minji was a good photographer. She had seen the girl’s name on the school newspaper several times before, always listing under the awards category. What she didn’t realise was that Minji was not only able to capture a photo, but bring it to life.
Although it was merely a portrait, Hanni could see how every single shot was put a lot of thought into. It was clear that Minji had mastered the basic compositions of what a camera could provide, while impressively adding more detail and style of her own. Her photos were like her way of telling stories of those in front of her lenses.
“You took them very well.”
That being the only thing she could mutter out, it still was effective enough to put a shy smile on Minji’s face.
“Thank you. You did all the work by being the muse, though.”
Here she goes again, Hanni thought to herself.
Amidst the flutter, she wondered if Minji knew that she was pretty herself.
(Because it would be ironic if she didn’t, right? Or maybe that oblivion made her more beautiful. At least to Hanni.)
“When’s the due date for the project, by the way? I never got to ask.”
Minji perked up at Hanni’s question. Their eyes met, with Minji connecting Hanni’s stare with her own.
“Saturday afternoon by the latest.”
Hanni pondered upon a thought after learning that.
“Are you free on Friday afternoon, then?”
Minji looked at her, slightly startled.
Where was this going?
“Yeah, I am.”
Hanni’s stoic stare broke into a smile. (Again, catching Minji off-guard.)
“Wanna hang out then?”
Minji looked at her innocently.
“Is this a date?”
“Maybe.”
Then queued a momentary pause.
Minji had no idea that this photography project would’ve let her meet someone outside her circle. It had never crossed her mind that she would ever meet someone this pretty, let alone would agree to be her muse. She especially would have never expected said cute girl to be the school science club president, and ask her out; potentially earning both an A and a date on the same week.
Frankly speaking, there was only one answer to that question.
“Sure.”