Chapter 21
“Why… I don’t want to.”
Haeyoung met Taeseong’s gaze with her own unwavering eyes.
Her eyes trembled slightly with a vague sense of hope.
But that glimmer of hope quickly faded.
“Gijun hyung… he changes girlfriends every quarter. Or like, every two months.”
Taeseong’s voice was calm and rational.
“I think he’s a good person, but he might not be the same for you.”
“What are you trying to say?”
Haeyoung frowned, not understanding his meaning. Taeseong messed up his own hair with one hand in frustration.
“Do I have to spell it out for you?”
Like someone who’d run out of patience.
“I’m saying, don’t fall for Gijun hyung.”
“……”
“You’re the only one who’ll get hurt.”
The annoyance in his eyes had melted into concern before she knew it.
“…Ah.”
But Haeyoung didn’t feel grateful for that concern. In fact, it twisted her heart in a strange way.
Concern is a good thing. It should be.
Then why…
“I’ll handle it myself.”
She couldn’t understand why she wanted to say something so cold.
“We’re not close enough for you to meddle in that kind of stuff.”
“Right, we’re not that close… is that what you thought I’d say?”
“What?”
“Not just Gijun hyung, don’t go out with any guy who looks like he’ll hurt you.”
Taeseong looked more serious than ever before.
“Still, haven’t we gotten close enough to worry about each other like this?”
Seeing the sincerity in his eyes again, Haeyoung felt her chest grow heavy.
She didn’t know why, but it was a strangely painful feeling.
But she couldn’t lash out at someone who was worrying about her.
There was only one thing she could do.
Wear the mask of a joke.
“Ha, really. Hey, Gijun oppa and I are in a purely teacher-student relationship, okay?”
She didn’t know how to maturely handle the emotions she didn’t understand.
“And why would Gijun oppa like a high schooler like me?”
“……”
“You’re surprisingly good at daydreaming, huh?”
“What?”
“You’re probably imagining weird stuff at night, huh—mph.”
As Haeyoung narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice mischievously, Taeseong quickly covered her mouth.
“Seriously, you never give me a moment to be serious. Cha Haeyoung.”
“Mmph, mmph!”
“Ah, hey! Your spit!”
Haeyoung said something with her mouth still covered, and Taeseong quickly pulled his hand away.
“Then don’t go around covering people’s mouths.”
Haeyoung stuck her tongue out a bit and glared at him.
But Taeseong, unbothered, changed the subject.
“By the way… is someone bothering you?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, from what I overheard earlier with those thuggish guys… it sounded like something’s going on.”
The way this high schooler could see through people so sharply made Haeyoung’s lashes flutter slightly.
“No, it’s just… there’s someone I have a bit of trouble with.”
“Who is it?”
“And if you knew, then what?”
Haeyoung, having regained her composure, answered in a slightly defiant tone.
“You gonna go fight for me or something?”
His steady gaze oddly tickled her. The word “fight” struck her heart with an unexpected thud.
If she saw her own reflection in a mirror now, wouldn’t she look like a complete fool?
That thought alone made Haeyoung avoid his eyes.
She didn’t want Ju Taeseong to see her like that.
“What do you mean ‘fight’? You don’t need backup when it’s girl vs. girl, right?”
“Still—”
“You think I’m the kind of person who’d get beat up somewhere?”
Taeseong looked up as if recalling their first meeting and shook his head.
“…Guess not.”
With that thought pushed aside, he gently placed his hand on the crown of Haeyoung’s head.
“Still, if you ever need backup, just tell me. Don’t cry alone.”
“……”
“Okay?”
After a moment of hesitation, Haeyoung gave a small nod.
But she couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes.
Because for the first time in her 19 years of life, this strange new feeling was hitting her chest like soft waves.
The sun had almost completely set now, casting the sky in a mix of indigo and purple.
On the way back to the bus stop, Haeyoung suddenly stopped walking.
“Wow, the sky is so pretty.”
Lifting her head to the sky, she pulled out her phone to take a photo.
Taeseong, watching her as she clicked the shutter toward the sky, reached into the front pocket of his bag and pulled out a film camera.
Click—
He took a photo of Haeyoung taking a picture of the sky.
The mystical sky color, the raw expression of awe on her face.
Something instinctive had moved Taeseong’s hand.
One, two, three.
Click—
He silently counted as he pressed the shutter.
At that moment, Haeyoung turned her head.
“…Did you just take a picture of me?”
“Yeah.”
“Whoa, I’ve never seen a camera like this before.”
He thought she’d start nagging him about why he was taking her picture, but instead, she approached with curious eyes.
Not minding at all, Taeseong handed her the camera.
“Wanna try taking a picture? Of the sky.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Haeyoung took the camera and seriously clicked the shutter.
But her seriousness didn’t last long—soon a playful look spread across her face.
And then—
Click—
“I can’t be the only one getting photographed.”
She took a picture of Taeseong.
Later that weekend, Haeyoung packed her things to go to the library.
As she passed through the hallway into the living room, she saw Taeseong.
As a senior in high school, he should’ve been buried in books, but instead, he was fiddling with a camera.
“What are you doing?”
Unable to hold back her curiosity, Haeyoung asked.
While wiping the camera lens, Taeseong answered.
“Going out to shoot today.”
“…Aren’t you supposed to be studying?”
“Even seniors need a break once in a while.”
He finished cleaning the lens and closed the cap.
“Besides, this is all preparation for the future.”
“Huh?”
“My dream is to be a movie director.”
There was excitement in his voice, like a kid standing in front of untouched snow.
“Well, it suits you.”
Haeyoung nodded and responded in a small voice. Taeseong stood up with a bright smile.
“I’m in the mood. Wanna see my hobby room?”
“Hobby room?”
“Yeah. I don’t show it to just anyone, but I’ll make an exception.”
“Well… I guess I can go to the library a little later.”
Haeyoung followed him, pretending to be reluctant.
The place Taeseong led her to was a small annex in the backyard.
Chairman Joo had built it the year Taeseong was born.
It was filled with toys when he was younger, but over time, those toys were replaced with cameras.
By the time they crossed the yard—where fresh spring buds were sprouting—Haeyoung’s eyes grew wide like a rabbit’s.
“No way. Are all of these… cameras?”
“Yeah.”
Haeyoung turned her head left and right to look around the room.
It was a whole new world she had never seen or heard of.
One wall had a four-tier shelf with what were clearly expensive professional cameras neatly displayed.
Another wall had a lineup of massive lenses, including the infamous “white cannons.”
In another corner, a small room had been partitioned off, marked with a sign: “Darkroom.”
“This is… quite the hobby.”
Haeyoung carefully stepped inside to look at the cameras.
“Wow, this one’s body is huge.”
“It’s a model professional photographers use.”
“Ooh… Must be expensive…”
“About seven hundred.”
“What?”
Haeyoung quickly pulled her hand back.
“Then, what about this one?”
“Six hundred.”
“Then this one?”
She pointed to another camera, and Taeseong answered without hesitation.
“Twelve hundred.”
“Whoa…”
Her mouth hung open in awe.
Taeseong, as if to say it was no big deal, motioned toward the lens shelf.
“Then those must be crazy expensive too?”
“Yeah, the cheapest one’s over ten million won.”
“…Now I really get that you’re a third-generation chaebol. I thought you were just a penny-pinching rich guy who turns off the bathroom light to save electricity.”
At that, Taeseong let out a chuckle.
Then he went to the shelf and pulled out a small camera from the bottom.
“This one shouldn’t be too overwhelming.”
“R-Really?”
“Go ahead. I don’t use it much anymore.”
It was actually a rare vintage film camera from the ’80s that he’d barely won at an auction—worth just as much as the others.
But Taeseong decided not to say that. Haeyoung might faint if she knew.
“So, um… how do you use this?”
Soon enough, she was holding the camera up to her eye, fumbling a little, and Taeseong naturally stepped behind her.
“You adjust the focus with this ring here.”
And then, without thinking, he gently placed his hand over hers.
