Hae-Yeon

 
“Yeah, Tae. The photos will be ready by tomorrow, and I will upload them and send you the link and password to access the album,” I inform him over the call as I pour out a cup of hot water for myself.

“That’s so quick, and I must say that you were so cool yesterday. The arrangements were so good too. You did a great job, Hae,” Taehyung wholeheartedly appreciates me, speaking in a muffled tone, probably because he is eating something at the moment.

“Thank you, Tae. But your friend was actually a prick,” I blurt out without any regrets.

Upon hearing my comment, Taehyung lets out a loud and hearty laugh that makes me smile too.

“Oh, sometimes he can be quite a prick, and I noticed it from how tense the room felt yesterday,” he laughs again, soon collecting himself together and clearing his throat. “Did he pester you about feeding Haewon? Because he does that all the time with her nanny, like, even when he is at work. He’s so paranoid,” Taehyung complains and lets out a long breath.

“Yeah, a little about that too, but that’s how most new parents are,” I grumble softly.

“Don’t mind him. That’s how he is when it comes to Haewon. I’m getting used to it, but you don’t have to,” he calmly pacifies me.

“How did you even befriend him? I wonder if all your other friends are like this too,” I sulk, rolling my eyes as I flop down on the couch and lift my legs to rest them on the small coffee table that’s in front of the couch.

“Ahhh… It’s actually quite interesting how I met Jungkook. When I was in high school, there was this one time where blind students had to give their exams on paper that year, with an allowance of one additional hour. So, I volunteered to be a scribe, mainly because I was also working on my speed of writing. Jungkook was the student for whom I was a scribe, and we instantly clicked because we were close in age, and he was also so thorough with his subject that I could finish writing his exam way ahead of time,” Taehyung reminisces, laughing softly thereafter.

“Wow, I never knew that you did such good deeds like being a scribe. So, then you guys were like ‘Hey, let’s be friends,’ isn’t it?” I sip my cup of hot water and quiz him, not that I’m interested in the topic by any means, but mostly because he seems totally invested in the discussion.

“Yeah, kind of like that. And I almost became a personal scribe for him from then onwards. We’ve been close friends for a long time, and trust me, he isn’t like this always. He’s a very nice guy, just a little edgy at times, which is just his way of self-defense,” Taehyung explains calmly, earning a soft hum from me.

“That makes sense, and it’s good for you if he isn’t a snob all the time. Anyway, I’ll send you the link once I’m done uploading, okay? I’ll be working on it in some time,” I speak to him as I lift myself off the couch and replace the cup in my hands with my camera before heading over to my desk where my laptop is charging.

“Okay, Hae. I’m eager to see the photos. And, hey, how did you befriend Mi-Seul? I want to know too.” Mischief and eagerness are oozing in his voice, and I can visualize him speaking with a pout, which makes me chuckle.

“You’re already so whipped for her, aren’t you?” I make fun of him, and he giggles, probably even blushing hard right now.

“She’s cute, okay?” His tone deepens all of a sudden as he defends his stand.

“Yeah, whatever. We’re friends from college, and she was interested in this venture too. So, we started out some five years ago.”

“So does she take photos too?” His curiosity spikes with every bit of information he learns about her.

“Yeah, she does. She clicks all the maternity photos, and my work is mostly limited to the baby photos,” I laugh softly when I hear him let out an ‘aah’ of revelation.

“Explains why those maternity photos on your Instagram page were all so brilliant. She’s got quite a taste there… So beautiful and artistic,” Taehyung seems to be lost in his own world as he keeps pouring out his words of praise for Mi-Seul’s work, but I’m assuming that it’s all mostly targeted at Mi-Seul herself, even though her work is still amazingly captivating.

“And she’s single too, so try your luck. She might be a little whipped for you too… Maybe? Maybe not?” My voice cracks into a laugh when I recall how Mi-Seul was eating Taehyung up with her gaze the entire time that he was there at the studio yesterday.

“Hae, I’m about to text her right after this call,” his words make me choke on air, my hands almost dropping the camera to the floor.

“I wanted to ask you about that. I saw what you did there yesterday. That’s pretty fast, Tae. Wow!” I exclaim, still a little frozen from shock, also feeling slightly abashed about my pathetic skills with men.

“I have my ways, and I’m pretty good at this, you know?” I bet he winked his eyes and flashed that infamous proud smirk of his when he said that. “Anyway, you make the photos look pretty and get some sleep too, okay?” He checks with me before we both bid goodnight and end the call.

Powering on my laptop and connecting my SD card to the device, I copy all the one hundred and twelve images that I captured yesterday and put them all into one folder on my desktop. I wear my glasses, press play on my phone’s playlist that’s filled with Jake’s songs arranged in chronological order, and then, I begin a slideshow of the copied pictures.

My hand comes to rest under my jaw as I keep my eyes glued to the screen, concentrating on the changing images that flash by once every five seconds.

I still find it hard to believe that Jungkook is blind, and his face actually looks so perfect in all the pictures, from every possible angle, as does his body—so sculpted and toned, looking almost like he is the most-desired Greek God. The suspicion that he could actually be one is evidenced by his shoulder-long hair which only further adds to his breathtakingly, jaw-droppingly stunning visuals.

The tattoos on his arm and hand are a sharp but sexy contrast to his God-tier visuals, and I take the time to zoom in on each tattoo from every possible angle, taking in the little details and also observing the dates inked onto his arm. There are numerous designs, all of which seem disconnected from one another design-wise, yet connected in some way to him, and it makes his entire arm a true work of art.

I could look at it all day.

The music in the background with Jake’s calming vocals pulling at my heartstrings is making my skin feel like it is being touched in the gentlest ways, and it is as though all my senses are being pampered at the same time.

A sigh of adoration falls from my lips when I notice how strong Jungkook’s hands, his arms, his broad and tough shoulders, and not to mention his chest are, and how tiny and fragile his little baby looks in his strong, yet loving hold. They are undoubtedly the most beautiful father-daughter pair that my lens has captured in all these five years of me being a baby photographer.

Ignoring the fact that he spoke mean things about Jake, I actually think Jungkook is a nice person, going by what Taehyung told me.

I also feel a little bad that we never got to photograph his wife when she was pregnant with their baby, Haewon. She must have definitely looked like an angel, and it suddenly pains me that the little baby is missing out on the warmth of her mother.

No nanny or babysitter can ever be even a light year closer to what a mother could be, and even though Jungkook, the father, looks all warm and safe, a mother is still so special, and I’m ready to fight anyone who says otherwise. I could say it is even a kind of longing within my heart that manifests as this thought, having never experienced love and warmth from my mother even when she is still well and alive.

The last photos are those of Taehyung and Haewon, and those pictures look great too. I strongly believe that my studio and my camera, if they were people in their previous lives, must have definitely saved a few nations to be able to have such handsome dudes present in and around them.

Yeah, probably Mi-Seul and I did something noble too.

Once I have skimmed through all the photos, I carefully pick out the best ones in each frame and decide to make some adjustments to those pictures to make them worthy of being displayed in the living room of Jungkook’s home, or probably even put one inside a frame and keep it at his workstation.

It takes me about two hours and a cup of coffee to finish editing the selected images, sorting them out, and deleting the ones in which either Jungkook or Taehyung had closed their eyes. Finally, I am left with sixty-nine perfect photographs, which I upload to my drive.

While the photos are being uploaded, which shows an estimated twenty-three minutes to be completed, I rise from my seat and crack the stiffness in my neck and back before I head over to my nightstand to retrieve Jake’s letter.

It has been three days since I received his letter, and I’m yet to write back to him. I’m still thinking about what to write back to him, and it’s not even that I don’t know what to write about. I actually have quite a lot to tell him, but most of it is connected to my work, and I haven’t yet told Jake what kind of job I do. It is mainly because there aren’t many specialized baby photographers in this part of the city, and it wouldn’t be a hard job for him to filter me out.

And what if we happen to meet someday?

Noooo!

I don’t think I’m ready for it yet, and I would rather prefer to keep things this way between the two of us, mainly because I might grow so nervous, self-conscious, and insecure around him if I ever meet him, and I’d end up making a fool of myself.

This anonymity feels good, and it gives me a sense of security and freedom, both of which I don’t want to give up so easily. I’m pretty sure that these would be the exact same reasons why Jake has chosen to remain a mysterious recluse for all these years, and I’m not complaining at all.

I pick up a piece of paper and a pen and sit down on the floor as I clip my paper to a clip-pad and lean my back against the side of my bed. My fingers keep tapping the pen on my temple while I mentally string together the words that I want to write to Jake.

Just yesterday some random guy at my studio pissed me off with his snarky comments about Jake, which no one even asked him for in the first place. But I can’t tell that to Jake because it’s going to hurt him, even though I’m confident that he must have faced a lot of contempt and dissing all along.

Being famous isn’t easy at all, and especially when he has a tag of mystery attached to him, it makes him an even more attractive target for the hate hoarders.

Exhaling softly, I bring the tip of the pen to the paper, my fingers wiggling as the pen ghosts over the paper, yet not touching it.

Okay, the age. Let’s begin there.

I begin writing my letter starting with the answer to his question—one that he has been asking in his past two letters. Somehow, just like every time, my words begin to flow freely when I start writing to him.

It feels as though I’m talking to him as I’m writing, and he’s just surrounded by these words and listening to them silently. Writing to Jake makes me feel less lonely, and I also feel undoubtedly happy and content every time I do so.

With him, there is no fear of being judged because I can be my most vulnerable self and pour out all my raw thoughts and insecurities to him, just like I did in my first letter, and still, he wouldn’t judge me for it. That makes me feel safe with him, almost like he’s my home, and the truth is I have never felt so comfortable talking to and opening up to someone, not even to Taehyung, even though we have known each other since birth.

This sense of security and comfort could be, and it most definitely is because we both are anonymous to each other, or at least I am to him. He is a famous person, but still, his true identity is anonymous to the entire world.

It is even a little surprising to me sometimes to think that he too feels so comfortable in opening up to me and at many times even letting me into the little sneaky details about his ongoing work.

I mean, I could be some insider from Dispatch or a stalker or a Sasaeng for all he knows, yet he chose to blindly trust me. Luckily, I’m not any of those, and I’m someone who values his trust above everything else, and I want to always live up to it.

That’s also the reason why I haven’t even told anyone else except Mi-Seul about my friendship with Jake, and it’s not that I don’t trust anyone, but it’s only because I trust Mi-Seul, and I also send and receive these letters at her address.

I also chose to keep this whole matter completely private because Jake trusts me a lot, and it would be unjust of me to break it just because I want my world to know that I’m pen-pals with the most coveted musician in the country and that I have also been privileged to the inside news on his work-front.

I don’t ever need that kind of attention.

Once I finish writing, I revise the content of the letter twice, and I don’t know what takes over me when I decide to add a tiny heart by the side of my name that’s signed off at the bottom of the letter. It does look a little cringe and cheesy, but if I try to fix it now, it will look even more noticeable, and I don’t have the energy to start over and write another letter now.

My eyes are already drawing close, and if I stay awake for any longer than five minutes, I might actually decay on the spot.

Quickly placing my reply letter and Jake’s letter inside the drawer of my nightstand, I check the status of the photo upload on my laptop. Fortunately, it is completed too, and I disconnect the devices and shut them down, setting up a reminder to email the link to Taehyung first thing tomorrow morning.
 

💖

Published on : 09/06/2023