"I—I'm fine with it!"
Yeon-chae startled herself, clutching Moo-young's sleeve.
Still cuts? What was he thinking? She could barely press a shutter without trembling—how was she supposed to take those? She was lucky if she didn't ruin a scene, let alone help it.
"You don't want to?"
"It's not that I don't…"
Of course she did. She wanted it desperately.
She'd entered university for this exact dream—to make photography her life's work. Every small on-site experience was a priceless opportunity, a piece of her future.
But knowing her limits, she whispered honestly,
"I don't even have my camera right now. I left it in the car."
Across the room, the representative gave a half-shrug, silently asking what was going on.
The rest of the staff were too busy to step in—just glancing, moving along.
"You can use your phone," Moo-young said. "The still cuts are for my personal account, not an official upload, so it's fine if they're casual. Oh—actually, that makes it perfect!"
Realizing that, he waved both hands in an X toward the representative—no need to worry—and rummaged through his bag.
"If 'still cuts' sounds too formal—here."
He handed her his phone, plain camera app open, no filters.
Yeon-chae accepted it nervously with both hands—and suddenly realized her shaking had stopped.
"Could you take a picture for me? My first pictorial shoot. I want to keep the memory."
"Uh…"
"Make it look nice, okay?"
He patted her shoulder, grinning like it was nothing—a stranger's small favor.
Then Jun-ho's voice boomed across the room.
"Moo-young! Throw this on!"
"Do I have to change?"
"Bora's putting on a skirt. You want one too?"
"Hard pass."
Laughing, Moo-young waved and walked off.
Left behind, Yeon-chae just stared at his retreating figure, gripping the old phone tightly.
The lens was grimy, the screen foggy. He really doesn't take many photos, does he?
"What are you doing?"
"Ah! Photographer!"
She jumped as the photographer called her over.
Flustered, she explained everything.
"Moo-young asked me to take a few pictures for him…"
"For still cuts?"
"Would that be okay?"
"What's there to be okay or not? As long as you don't set anything on fire, it's fine."
His bluntness made her face flush red.
She'd been brought along as an assistant—recommended by a senior—but so far she'd only done menial tasks and even managed to turn off the lights mid-shoot.
"I—I'm sorry."
"Whatever. Just finish prep. We're resuming soon."
The photographer sighed as he adjusted his camera.
A friend of a friend had vouched for her—said she had talent but lacked confidence.
He wasn't so sure now.
That hand tremor's practically a medical condition… how's she going to make a living like that?
He clicked his tongue and focused on his work.
"Ready."
"Yes, sir. Starting!"
Moo-young and Bora stood back-to-back in the set.
Even without instruction, both instinctively found the best angles—the camera loved them.
"Didn't you say they were both new at this?"
"Moo-young, yeah. Bora was a child actress though—maybe she's done this before. But they both live for the camera."
Jun-ho smiled, watching his old classmate through a different lens.
In their school uniforms, he'd never noticed—but here, Moo-young looked born for the spotlight.
"Looking good, Ha Moo-young!"
Moo-young laughed silently, mostly posing toward the photographer—but his eyes kept drifting to Yeon-chae.
She stood off to the side, holding the phone awkwardly, unsure when to press the button.
"One sec, let me fix your hair."
"Okay."
As the stylist stepped in, the photographer lowered his camera.
Standing still, Moo-young glanced sideways and smirked.
"Bora. Look over there."
"Huh?"
Click!
The first shot.
Yeon-chae had pressed the shutter. Her hands were still trembling—but she'd done it.
Bora glanced at her like, Is that even going to come out right?
"Still cut?"
"Yeah. Smile."
Moo-young threw up a playful V, arm brushing Bora's, his grin boyish and warm. Then he waved, mock-glared, laughed again.
Click! Click!
Through the lens, Yeon-chae met his eyes.
It was the first time.
The first time she'd photographed someone in an unfamiliar place—
and felt the moment itself move through her hands.
The lighting, the angles, the motion—everything aligned, almost magically.
"Resuming main shoot!"
Click!
Even as the official shoot started again, Yeon-chae didn't stop.
She circled the set like she'd forgotten herself, capturing every fleeting expression.
Huh?
It felt right.
Each press of the shutter fit perfectly beneath her fingers—no tremor, no hesitation.
The DSLR's heavy clack mixed with her phone's light snap, filling the studio in harmony.
"Good work!"
"That's a wrap!"
"Thank you, everyone!"
Bowing to each staff member, Moo-young finished strong.
Meanwhile, the photographer, rep, and manager began selecting shots on the monitor.
Rustle—
"Um…"
"Ah, thank you. You were really into it earlier, huh?"
Behind the curtain, Yeon-chae waited, flushed with excitement. Her phone was hot in her hands, battery nearly dead.
"Th-thank you."
"For what? I should be the one saying that."
"For helping me when I messed up the lights. And for asking me to take pictures… You did it so I could gain experience, right?"
Her voice was quiet but sure.
"...And it was fun."
"Fun? Taking pictures?"
"Yes. You're… really captivating. Oh! I mean, as a model! I haven't felt this thrill in ages. When photography became work, I stopped enjoying it. But today… I remembered why I loved it."
Behind her thick glasses, her eyes sparkled.
"Anyway, thank you. I know it's presumptuous, but… you'll make it big, Moo-young."
"Haha! Really? Then you'll succeed too, Yeon-chae. You've got golden hands!"
"'Photographer'—you just called me photographer! That's the first time anyone's said that to me…"
Tears welled in her eyes as she nodded earnestly.
"I'll work hard. And next time, let's do a personal shoot together. Please?"
Next time… Maybe at Today University, Moo-young thought. But instead of saying so, he simply extended his hand.
"Deal. I'll be waiting."
They exchanged a firm handshake before parting.
At the entrance, his team was already calling out.
"Hurry up, Ha Moo-young!"
"I'm starving!"
"Manager, send me those preview shots! I wanna post them!"
Laughing, Moo-young dashed over to join Bora, Jun-ho, and his manager.
Yeon-chae watched them go, then clenched her fists.
All right. Let's start again.
She'd taken a leave from school, lost faith in herself, drifted without purpose—
but not anymore.
"Yeon-chae, you'll come again next time, right?"
The photographer asked while putting the camera into the bag.
Her tone was half coaxing, as if trying to persuade her not to leave.
But Yeonchae, whose head was filled with hopes for the future, didn't notice.
"No. Thank you for everything."
"So what are you going to do now?"
"I'm thinking of going back to school."
First, she'd return to campus and study more—this art of photography she had once loved so much.
Dozens of plans began to unfold in Yeonchae's head.
"Still, if you ever need an assistant, please let me know. I'll make time if I can. Thank you for taking care of me all this time."
"You look like someone who's going to live a really busy life."
"Probably. I want to."
"When you go back to school, what about Onil University?"
At the photographer's words, she hesitated for a moment.
"Well… I'll probably have to quit, right? It's hard to do both."
"What should we eat for lunch?"
"I don't know. Since hyung's buying, let's get something expensive."
"You're not calling him 'Director' anymore?"
"The job's done, what's the point? Oh, right. The assistant photographer took some shots of you earlier. Check them out."
The manager had taken some photos too—though they were shaky, poorly framed, and utterly devoid of "aesthetic vibes."
But Muyeong stopped as soon as he opened the gallery folder.
"Huh?"
He was sure they'd taken a ton of pictures, but only about a dozen remained.
Yeonchae had trimmed out the unnecessary ones herself.
"Whoa, what's that?"
"Is this what they call a 'boyfriend pic' or whatever?"
"These look really good."
Crude as the term was, the photos oozed style.
They had just the right tone and emotion to do well on social media—most of all, the warmth of the photographer's gaze shone through.
Everyone crowded around, craning their necks to look.
"Hey, Bora looks so pretty in this one too!"
"Can I post this?"
"Yeah. Tag my account."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"...Give it here."
Bora snatched Muyeong's phone and started tapping away.
His account still only had the BigWin Entertainment logo as its sole post.
Followers: around 5,100.
'What? Why are there so many?'
Muyeong didn't really use social media, but having that many followers with only one photo was unusual.
Ding.
[Hello, I'm Ha Muyeong. Today I had a photoshoot with Bonturi. The new shirt line looks amazing. I'll be posting more photos often! ?(´?`?) #Bonturi]
"Tag Enbin too—just tag everyone!"
At Junho's words, Bora nodded.
As soon as the photo went up, the comments and likes started pouring in.
Ding ding.
– Been waiting! Thought this account was private.
– Omg. He's so handsome. Seriously.
– Wait, isn't Bonturi the brand Enbin modeled for? Are they connected? Let's interact~
– These boyfriend pics are everything. I don't even know where you are, but I'm bowing in all four directions. Love you oppa.
– Who took these photos? Staff? Their skills are insane!
– Muyeong-ah… Grandma… supports you ㅠㅠ
Judging by the comments, they were mostly people who came over from MeTube.
The flood of gushing remarks made him burst out laughing.
Meanwhile, his manager stood by the roadside, talking on the phone.
"Why's everyone so funny?"
"They just like you, that's all. The edited shots will go up on the official Bonturi account later—maybe in a week. Judging by the director's expression, there'll be more than ten final cuts."
"Really?"
Junho leaned in and whispered some insider info.
The results were so good that the director and photographer couldn't pick an A-cut.
And if they couldn't choose? Well, they'd just have to post them all.
Honk! Honk!
They were scrolling through SNS, laughing, when Junho's brother pulled up with the car—apparently done tidying up inside the studio.
"Get in! Let's go eat!"
"Wow, the ugly hyung who buys us food!"
"Im Junho, you're out. Only Muyeong and Bora can ride."
Laughing at their banter, Muyeong turned to the manager, who had finished his call.
"Hyung, you're joining us for lunch?"
"Sure. But I just got a call from Montnet. They're scheduling script readings a week before the shoot."
"A week?"
"They said the casting's finalized."
It was finally starting to feel real—
he'd be filming a movie he'd only ever watched before!
Go Kyungmin relayed the rest of the info.
"The role of Jin will be played by Lee Hee-jun—you met him last time."
"Ah! So we'll meet again."
"And Seong Hye-jun, Hyo-jung, Jin-su…"
All familiar names—except Muyeong's.
He was the only true newcomer.
Kyungmin smiled nervously and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Pretty amazing, huh?"
"My legs are kind of shaking."
"So before the reading starts, how about doing some acting practice? If you're okay with it, the CEO and I can help you out."
"Of course!"
Muyeong nodded vigorously.
Junho, already in the car, leaned halfway out the window and called to them.
"Hurry up! You want us to leave without you?"
"Okay—!"
Half nerves, half excitement.
Muyeong quietly gazed out the window from the back seat, watching the studio grow smaller in the distance.
'We'll definitely meet again, right?'
They were connected by Onil University, after all.
Whether Yeonchae would end up managing his profile there, or have something entirely new waiting—that he didn't know.
'Can't wait. I hope time flies.'
Whatever it turned out to be, it would surely shine.
Especially this—his very first crank-in.
Muyeong smiled, counting the days with his fingers.
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