[Snapshots]
Snapshots
Haemin | PG13 | AU/Romance
6700 words
Photography is an art of feeling, of touching, of loving, of remembering. What you have caught on film remains forever, forever yours...
| originally wrote this for two people. peaches_n_kream , I hope you'll like it. the other person probably doesn't care anymore because I was insensitive |
The boy was cute, full scale Nikon camera around his neck, a pink camera case strapped on his arm, the other arm housing a simple backpack. He had a notebook wedged under his arm, certainly he didn’t look much older than himself. The main point was that he looked Korean, Asian at least, black hair tucked neatly inside a cap, loose comfortable clothes. There’s no harm in making conversation with a fellow Asian, they were, after all, in Moscow. Asians were rare.
“Hello.” Donghae chirped rather happily. The boy looked up at him, camera nested inside the palm of his hands. He looked puzzled, and very adorable, Donghae noted, and looked around before he realized the greeting was indeed directed at him. “It’s nice to see someone with black hair here.”
The boy looked mildly amused at the statement, his head tipping ever so slightly in agreement. Donghae smiled again, hand held out for a shake. The boy smiled, cocked his head as he held the camera up, kind of saying that his hands are full, and turned back around to his scene.
“You like photography?”
“Yeah, I do.” He answered plainly and Donghae stared at him, as if he was waiting for more of a response. Insert awkward lapse of silence, Donghae grew up familiar with those moments in his life.
“Ah, why are you taking pictures of the windows?”
“Contemporary shots,” Sungmin replied casually before looking down at their feet, “do you mind moving over a bit?”
“Oh, yea, sure, sorry.” Donghae stepped aside and Sungmin started sliding down the pillar, the sleek black camera still in his hands. Donghae was bewildered at what was so interesting about the windows, and while Sungmin mused over the angle and the contours of the lines, the loudspeaker blared inside the departure hall.
This is the final call for the connecting flight to Madrid, would passengers please proceed to gate 32 for boarding immediately.
Sungmin perked up, the camera falling down against his chest. Donghae took out his ticket.
“That’s my flight.” The two said simultaneously, Sungmin in horror and Donghae in delight.
This is the final call for the connecting flight to Madrid, would passengers with the last name Lee, first name Vincent and last name Lee, first name Aiden please proceed to gate 32 immediately.
“That’s me, Aiden, most people call me Donghae though. It’s my Korean name.” Donghae brought out his hand expectedly, offering a bright grin.
“Well, in case you didn’t notice, but we’re late,” Sungmin smiled, hand diving into his bag for his passport, and broke off into a run.
Donghae nodded, and the two of them took off for their gate, the message blaring twice more over on the loudspeaker while they journeyed their way past kids with cartoon luggage and families fussing over where they put their passports. An elderly woman looked at them, bemused with excitement.
They barely made it in time, the air stewardesses not amused as they made their way down the passenger shaft. The one in charge, Jessica was her name tag, scowled when Donghae stepped on her foot while they fumbled down the narrow corridor.
“You have got to be kidding me, right?” Sungmin bowed respectfully before he shoved his suitcase into the overhead compartment, “you’re sitting next to me?”
“I didn’t know, if I did, I would have been friendlier back there.” Donghae followed suit, shoving his bag into the already crowded bin. “At least we can get to know each other better during the flight? And your name is?”
“Vincent, the announcer back there kind of said it five minutes ago?” Sungmin took his seat and buckled in. “No? Doesn’t ring a bell?” It was going to be a long flight. Seven hours.
~/
“Well, that was an awfully,” Sungmin paused, certain adjectives would be rude, like annoying or painful, and others were just simply superficial, “talkative seven hours, it sure was nice meeting you, Donghae.”
“Yeah, do you want to meet up or something, because I don’t know anyone in Spain and you’re traveling by yourself, it’s better if we have someone to rely on, that’s what Kibum said.” Donghae went on before he snatched the notebook from Sungmin’s hand, scribbling down his phone, email address, and to his surprise, the hotel address where he was staying at.
“For crying out loud,” Sungmin wanted to cry at the turn of events, “I’m staying at the same place.”
“That does it.” Donghae chirped, bouncing away to the arrival hall and customs. Blasted Korean travel agencies and their commission with booking the same hotel for these vacation promotion packages and... Donghae turned around, wondering what was keeping him, and Sungmin shuffled forward with the rest of their flight’s passengers. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
Kangin always warned him about his pessimism, and the one time, the one time, he tried being optimistic about things, it blows up right in his face. It was bad. It was horrible. It was a disaster. A mini-disaster, because if could have been worse, and Sungmin curses himself at the optimistic outlook. It couldn’t be much worse.
Sungmin bit the inside of his mouth, scowling, as he unpacked his suitcase, taking out changes of clothes, his laptop, and he was about to organize his bag because there was no way he’s carrying that much weight in the city when the phone rang.
Yeah, it could be worse. Sungmin picked it up, wincing when Donghae was on the line, seemingly proud that he figured out the room to room dialling, and then he went on about going down to the concierge about scenic points and noteworthy attractions.
Sungmin complied, because he really needed to organize his bag. There was no way he’s going to lug around that much excess weight. Finally, Donghae hung up and Sungmin could attempt to sort his bag again, only to grit his teeth when Donghae called again moments later.
~/
Madrid was breath-taking; a dangerous mix of modern and ancient architecture weaved into patterned routes. The sights were breath-taking, building after building moulded to perfection, streets and streets lined artistically.
Sungmin was dazzled like a child in a candy store, the camera routinely went from his chest to his eyes, snapping frame after frame of the city, capturing still moments of the bustling city.
“What’s so interesting about the street, anyways?” Donghae wrinkled his nose, his sunglasses drooping down as they wandered about in the city. “They all look the same, buildings and lamp posts and fountains, it’s so boring.”
“Mmm...” Sungmin bit his tongue when Donghae flashed a pamphlet in front of his lens, the jarring colours startling him slightly, “what is that?”
“Zoo,” Donghae’s eyes twinkled, “let’s go to the zoo.”
“We’re in Spain, I don’t think, don’t you think seeing the cathedrals and churches would be more exciting, the history of their country, an -”
“It’ll be fun, come on Sungmin-ah!” Donghae tugged on his hand. Sungmin nodded uneasily at their hands, because honestly they barely knew each other. That was mostly the reason, because it would be impolite for him to decline Donghae’s insisting proposal. He stared at the admittance ticket with a cartoon giraffe, it was going to be another long afternoon.
~/
Surprisingly, Donghae agreed to take the two day side trip to Barcelona.
“Do you want me to take a picture of you?”
“What do you mean?” Sungmin asked without taking his eyes from the shutter, his fingers rotating the retractable camera lens.
“Like, with you in the picture.” Donghae answered quickly, as if Sungmin is the one that doesn’t understand his logic.
“No, it’s okay.” Sungmin angled his camera up.
“Oh, why not though?” Donghae stepped forward, taking out his own digital camera, “don’t you want to remember that you’ve been here though?”
“I prefer to take pictures without any people in them,” Sungmin looked up at the sky, letting the camera rest against his chest.
“Well, doesn’t that defeat the purpose then? I mean, you would want to take a picture with you in it, so it means that you’ve been there, right?”
“Perhaps, but I guess I’m more of the scenic person, I appreciate the contours and the lines and the hues, not the people.”
“Okay, fine, can you take a picture of me then? I want the cathedral in the background, and I want another one where I’m lifting my arms so it looks like I’m holding it up.” Sungmin shook his head, murmuring to himself about the light and the angles, and took the shots. Donghae bounced happily, content with the shoots and the tour guide began rounding them up. Sungmin snapped a few more shots before jogging off to their tour bus.
“You never told me how you got started with all of this, I mean, you seem pretty picky about it.” Donghae asked him once they were on the tour bus again, making through the busy streets toward their next attraction point.
“Mother was against it being my career, so now it’s more of a hobby thing.”
“Why not, don’t you like it?”
“She said it’s not a suitable profession, not professional enough, not stable enough, so I ended up going to business school,” Sungmin mused, reaching up to adjust the blinds, “I think it had more to do with the fact that she couldn’t present her eldest son as a photographer and not as an aspiring CEO.”
“Oh, I see.”
“She has a thing for hosting dinner parties, social banquets and such for my father,” Sungmin sighed, leaning back in the chair and stretching his legs. Their guide said it would be at least an hour, depending on traffic. “Fancy, overpriced appetizers, champagne and wine, a variety of cheese and exotic fruit, things like that.”
“You don’t like it?”
“Not really. I can tolerate a few of them, but having one every week is just too much. What about you, what do you do anyways?”
Donghae then proceeded to tell Sungmin about his aspiring career of modeling, despite how difficult it would be. He’s done a few spreads for magazines and clothing lines, Sungmin nodded at said lines because they were under his wing. But work is spontaneous and sometimes scarce, so he took on a night job as a barrister at one of the clubs in downtown Seoul.
“I bartend pretty much every night, you should come down for a drink sometime, the atmosphere is nice and relaxing,” Donghae said rather loudly, and Sungmin had to pat his shoulder to tell him to lower his voice, “oh, sorry, but I can get you free drinks here and there.”
“I’ll keep that in mind the next time mother decides to throw another banquet.” Sungmin chuckled. “I’ll definitely keep that in mind.”
~/
Spontaneity in work also applied in Sungmin’s case. The front desk told him hurriedly upon his return from their Barcelona trip, telling him that he’s been receiving urgent calls from a Nathan Kim since he left. The colour drained from Sungmin’s face, because he warned everyone to not disturb him, and Ryeowook would never call him unless it was something disastrous.
“Oh...” Donghae looked like a lost child in the mall, eyes casted down as Sungmin literally bounced around the hotel room, trying to gather everything, “do you have to go, can’t you stay one more day?”
“Yeah, I wish I could, seriously, there goes my plan for Venice and Athens,” Sungmin poked his head from the bathroom, “but no, not when they fucked up the entire plan for the upcoming year. Ryeowook was shaking on the phone, he was whimpering his words.”
“Well,” Donghae ducked when Sungmin started throwing clothes out of the closet and onto the bed, “I guess I shouldn’t be in your way anymore.”
“Thank you, at least someone knows what they’re doing,” Sungmin grumbled, glancing at the clock, “when was my flight again, oh shit, oh shit.”
“I can help you check in downstairs?” Donghae held up his passport and travel documents in a plastic bag. Sungmin shot him a relieved look.
“Hey, Donghae?” Sungmin stopped midway in between the automatic doors, turning around and pulling his suitcase back into the lobby, “Thank you, for the online check in.”
“It was nothing, I mean, I was glad to be friends with you,” Donghae smiled sheepishly.
“Mutual. Call me,” Sungmin handed him a business card, “seriously, call me, I think I can work something out for you.”
~/
Korea was a mess, everything pretty much blew up. Turns out that Lee Hyukjae messed up the shipments, and he didn’t tell anyone which pushed back all their dates, which lead Choi Sooyoung messing up all their potential clientele because she couldn’t give them exact dates for photoshoots and meetings, and then Seo Joohyun continues to stick by the book and not work around things, which was when Ryeowook finally decided to call him because things were going out of hand and phones kept ringing and he snapped.
Sungmin needed a drink, badly. He needed more than a drink, but time was always an issue. It’s been three days, three whole days, and things were still getting sorted out, schedules pushed back and forward, apologies left and right, new contracts being drawn.
“See, if Joohyun would just, not be so rigid with things, we could have, we could have minimized the damage,” Sungmin slammed his drink down, “I would have promoted her long ago if she could work around things, don’t you understand, she would been an excellent candidate as my right hand person.”
“It’ll get better,” Donghae mused while he wiped down clean glasses with a towel, “trust me, Sungmin. It’ll get better.”
“And I got to come up with a whole new line within a week for Heechul,” Sungmin buried his head in his arms, “why is my life such a mess...”
“Well, think about it,” Donghae put down the towel. It was a quiet Tuesday night, there was no demand for glasses, “you have a flourishing company, a good paying job, a rich family, I’m sure you can sort out these problems eventually.”
“Hae, you don’t understand,” Sungmin groaned, alcohol and jetlag doesn’t mix very well, and he’s learning it the hard way, “you just don’t understand.”
“Maybe I don’t, maybe I never will.” Donghae finished sliding the glasses into the rail and walked away, leaving Sungmin alone at the bar.
~/
“May I speak with Vin, er, Wincent Lee?”
“He’s busy right now, I can leave him a message.”
“Oh, never mind, I just wanted to tell him that he left his wallet at the club last night, and I have it. It’s Donghae, by the way,”
“Sure, I will let him know.” Ryeowook slammed the phone down and flew into the meeting room, clipboards clutched tightly because he was late.
The secretary hung up before Donghae could even finish his message. He looked down at the leather wallet, rotating it in his hands before he walked out of the grand lobby. Sungmin was the CEO for a large company, of course he would be busy.
“Sooyoung, call Heechul and confirm the dates, then call W&K and lock in a meeting date, get it to me by two, Hyukjae, take these and get them done,” Sungmin slid two files down the long table, “Joohyun, I need those three concepts by tonight, we all clear, meeting done.”
Sungmin sauntered out of the meeting room, Ryeowook hustling after him, files threatening to fall out of his arms.
“Any important calls?”
“No, nothing of importance. The relevant calls have already all been redirected respectively.” Ryeowook tried to not trip, using the files to push up his glasses, “oh, and there was a Donghae that asked for you, something about a club.”
Sungmin stopped, a small smile appearing on his face since the hectic mess four days ago. Ryeowook almost crashed into him before he fluttered back to his desk.
~/
“Rum and Coke, please.”
“Comin’ right up,” Donghae danced behind the bar, spinning a glass in his fingers, and turned around, almost dropping the glass, “Su-Sungmin.”
“Surprised to see me?” Sungmin leaned forward, holding the glass in place while Donghae fused the two liquids together, “You called today, why didn’t you come up or something.”
“Yeah, I mean no, why are you here?” Donghae tripped over his words. Something was not right, the way Sungmin just appeared at the club again. Something must have gone wrong at work for him.
“Well, I do need my wallet back. Technically it was against the law on my way here, I didn’t have my license.” Sungmin smiled, downing the rest of his drink.
“Wallet? Oh, right. Yeah.” Donghae ducked below the counter to the employee cabinets, finally pulling out the other’s wallet. “Here, you left it here yesterday.”
“Thanks a bunch.” Sungmin caught it swiftly and forced it in the back pocket of his slacks. “Say, when are you off tonight, did you eat yet?”
“I-I, uh,” Donghae looked around, when was he off again, was he doing middle or late shift, “uh...”
“He’s off in ten minutes,” Kibum popped up beside him, arms around his shoulder, “actually, he could leave now. I got it covered, Donghae.”
“Great, I’ll wait for you here.” Sungmin raised his glass at Kibum, thanking him as he threw down a bill, plenty more than what the drink cost.
~/
“What?” Donghae dropped his fork again, the echo seeming to go on forever inside the quiet restaurant.
“Yeah, you heard me right. I have a few upcoming photo shoots and I want you to be in them.” Sungmin repeated himself.
“B-but I haven’t, these are for Guess and CK, and Dolce & Gabbana, and I haven’t done these types of photo shoots before.”
“But you’re a model, aren’t you?” Sungmin waved a hand for the waiter, “You’ll be fine, it’s all the same anyways.”
“No it’s not, but Sungmin, I can’t, I’m just going to ruin things, and you have such a tight schedule, I don’t think I should.”
“Donghae, what did you want again,” Sungmin ignored his concerns, continuing to bombard the waiter with orders. Donghae sat back quietly, a million things going through his mind, most of them being potential catastrophes that could happen. “That’s all for now.”
“Hyung, I mean, Sungmin, I just don’t think it’s a good idea. I mean I know you said you could help me, but this just doesn’t feel right.”
“Don’t worry, you know what, I’ll be there myself during the shoot, now will you please just accept the job so I can confirm it with Ryeowook.” Sungmin held out his wine glass, “Please?”
Hesitating, Donghae nodded.
~/
“Brilliant, yes, head more to here, yes, perfect, yes there we go,” the photographer hollered as Donghae and the female model posed on the set. Sungmin stood behind them, pencil in his mouth as he nodded in approval. Donghae was a natural.
“Great,” the photographer put down his camera, “everyone take ten, and for Donghae and Tiffany, get a change of clothes, that was excellent.”
Everyone dispersed into their own corner while the two models bowed on set.
“See, I told you it’ll be fine.” Sungmin patted Donghae on the back, “You were phenomenal, seriously, here, we need to get you a new set of clothes. You guys take care of him, I’ll be right back.”
Donghae nodded, cheeks flushing pink since this was his first large-scale job. Two people were already busily getting the clothes off his back while another was fixing up his hair.
“Yes, yes, you go do that,” Sungmin ushered off two workers, “Donghae, we’re going to get you to do a few solo shoots, I’m really liking what I see so far. You and Tiffany, thank god I asked her for this shoot too, you guys are marvellous. I’m even tempted to shoot you myself right now.”
Donghae blushed again, partially because he was half naked there behind curtains, and Sungmin was literally right there, adding his opinion with the accessories and the overall outfit.
“No, try this on, or you know what, leave it both on,” Sungmin threw another metal necklace around Donghae’s neck and pushed him out, “come on, come on, we’re good.”
They did another two spreads with Guess before Sungmin took over the camera, getting Donghae in a DG suit with matching cufflinks.
“It’s just you and me, Donghae,” Sungmin smiled at him from behind the camera, and Donghae’s heart fluttered, “all you and me right now, come on, I need you to engage with me.”
~/
“Donghae, marketing loved your solo shots, you’d be okay with taking in more jobs, right?”
“Yeah, yeah, I would love to.”
“Okay, here’s her number, 5872 3452, her name is Sunny, tell her you’re Donghae, she should remember you.”
“Yep, got it. Thanks a lot, er, Sungmin-ah.”
“Say, Donghae, are you free this Friday? I want you to meet some people at a gathering, you up for it?”
“Um, yeah, sure.”
“Great, hey look, Donghae, I got to go, I might drop by tonight, later.”
~/
Turns out that the gathering Sungmin was so inclined on getting Donghae to attend turned out to be one of his mother’s social banquets. There were guests everywhere inside the ballroom, waiters taking careful steps, offering half filled glasses of champagne and wine. Others had silver trays of appetizers, smoked salmon with an olive dip, skewers of finely roasted cubes of meat, miniature sized sushi cones, anything you could imagine. The fountain in the center of the room had a cheese table and salad bar around the perimeter as guests weaved together during the expensive night.
Donghae was mildly taken by surprise when Sungmin said that they should go together, Kibum spent an hour teasing him while he was getting ready, and it felt like mere seconds during the drive to the hall since the pink on his cheeks refused to dissipate.
“Lee Donghae, one of our newest models. He did the D&G shoot for us last spread.” Sungmin laughed, clapping another guest on the shoulder, “Keep an eye out for him, trust me. He is amazing.”
“Well, for Sungmin himself to bring him to one of these occasions, I’ll definitely keep him in mind, if you’re willing to share, that is.” He was at least two decades older, probably an important family friend or something, and Sungmin laughed with him.
“Of course, by no means is he contracted yet, though I would most certainly want to.” Donghae smiled awkwardly as he shook hands with the small circle of people.
“If you’ll excuse us,” Sungmin guided them away, and finally did Donghae exhale, “why are you so quiet, you’re never like this.”
“I, uh, yeah, sorry,” Donghae murmured. Everything suddenly felt suffocating, this room full of rich individuals and expensive things, he didn’t belong with this tier of people, he was awkward and out of place and his hands were sweaty.
“Never mind, just be more natural,” Sungmin whispered, and Donghae barely realized how close their faces were until Sungmin pulled them into another niche of guests. The night was going to be long.
“Mother!” Sungmin released his hand. Donghae never realized that Sungmin had held it in the first place, and he awkward placed it on his other elbow, bowing to Sungmin’s mother.
“Sungmin dear, the barista just cancelled, what am I going to do, I can’t possibly find another one, and two just isn’t enough for this occasion,” She placed a gloved hand on her forehead, “What am I suppose to do?”
“I can do it.” Donghae stepped forward. Sungmin winced and his mother perked up. “I bartend a couple of nights in downtown, so I can, you know, fill in the spot?”
“Would you dear, oh thank you,” Sungmin’s mother leaned forward and hugged him, “wait, who is this again?”
“Never mind, mother, I think Ambassador Choi is over there, he just arrived.” Sungmin smiled gradually faded as his mother walked away. “Donghae, why did you do that?”
“I just, well your mother needed help, and I bartend, and,” Donghae stuttered, stepping aside politely when two people walked between them.
“But you were supposed to meet people here, I’m trying to get your name out there, people are already buzzing about you. Lee Donghae, nurtured by Sungmin himself, did you see how many people were interested to meet you?” Sungmin tossed a weary hand into his carefully styled hair, “how am I suppose to bring you around to meet people now?”
“I’m sorry,” Donghae felt like he ruined everything and no, he’s not going to cry, the last thing he could do was cry and make a scene at this glamorous party, “I’m sorry.”
“Oh god, please don’t cry, Donghae,” Sungmin lightened, his voice suddenly much softer, “please don’t, oh god, go, come on, let’s go to the bar now. You can make me a drink, you know, the one that you’ve always wanted me to try.”
“But you tried everything I made you already,” Donghae sniffed as he padded the corner of his eyes with his sleeve.
“I don’t know, make a new drink, just don’t cry.” Sungmin finally got them to the bar and Donghae felt like he was home again.
“So, Mr. Lee, what would you like today?” Donghae smiled widely as he tied a simple apron over his suit, “The usual, or something more tonight...”
“I don’t know, it’s been such a long night,” Sungmin pretended to sigh, leaning against the counter, “surprise me, would you please?”
“Gladly.” Donghae nodded and began reaching for bottles behind him, expertise uniting together a dangerously enticing cocktail.
~/
Hey, Sungmin, do you want to come down to the club tonight, I heard it’s going to be quiet, well, anyways, it’s Donghae, just in case you didn’t realize, but yeah, maybe you could come down tonight and I’ll show you something. Give me a call, okay? Bye.
~/
“You want me to make drinks?” Sungmin asked in disbelief as he shook his head, “only one question, do I get to drink the things I make?”
Donghae laughed, pulling Sungmin around to the back of the counter. “Just don’t throw up everywhere.”
Sungmin reached for the blueberry vodka, drizzling about two shots worth into a small glass. He looked up, slightly clueless, and Donghae reached for the lemonade, adding enough to fill half the glass.
“This is amazing,” Sungmin took another sip, the mix of vodka and lemon dangerously addicting, “how come you never made me this drink before?”
“Because I’d never thought lemonade would be your style, anyways, I’m going to assume you like mixing drinks now.” Donghae stopped when Sungmin held the glass in front of his lips.
“Try it, it’s seriously good.” Sungmin inched the cup forward, tilting it while Donghae drained the shot.
“Actually, that wasn’t bad at all. You’re a natural!”
Sungmin reached for the rum and orange juice, already mixing it into a tall glass, when Donghae stepped behind him, reaching for the pineapple juice on the other side.
“How much should I add,” Sungmin turned his head around and took a step forward, awkward because their faces were almost pressed together, “Um, Donghae, how much?”
“That’s enough,” Donghae took a step back as well, garnishing the drink with a shot of pineapple juice, followed by a dash of grenadine syrup, “try it.”
Sungmin nodded his approval, the tangy aftertaste strong and fragrant inside his mouth.
“This is so fun,” Sungmin tip-toed and brought down the bottle of peach schnapps, adding a glaze of it to some vodka, “Hae, what else should I add here?”
Donghae pondered momentarily, vodka and peach, before he stood up from the stool, taking the pump of 7up and filling it halfway. “Get the cherry juice and add a dash.”
Sungmin did as told, barely putting down the bottle when he reached for the drink.
“No, you have to shake it first,” Donghae shrieked, standing up almost immediately. Sungmin made some incomprehensible noise, and Donghae took his hands, guiding him through the process as they poured the liquid into a metal shaker. Sungmin’s hands felt warm as Donghae held them while he shook the drink to completion. “Put your hands here, and then mix it well.”
Sungmin nodded briefly, releasing his grip as he reached for the tequila instead.
A couple of hours passed, and the club was indeed quiet, which was a good thing because Sungmin was completely knocked out from all the alcohol tasting.
“Hey, come on, let’s go,” Donghae nudged the lifeless body slumped across the counter, “hey, Sungmin, wake up.”
“He’s gone,” Kibum called over from another island, the club had three of them strategically placed, “when you went to the washroom, he downed a lot of that vodka, you go take him home, I got this place covered.”
“Kibum, you’re amazing,” Donghae missed the wink as he lifted the body. Sungmin was pretty heavy for someone his stature. Obviously Sungmin was in no condition to take the wheel, and Donghae didn’t know where he lives, or how is he going to get home even if he knew where he lived, so he did the smart thing and went back to his own apartment.
“Holy hell, you’re heavy,” Donghae grimaced as he walked into the lobby, accidentally hitting Sungmin’s head against the wall, earning a loud groan from the body, “well, at least we’re home.”
~/
Sungmin woke up first the next morning, groggy and thank god it was Thursday, which meant he could walk in late. His memory was fuzzy from all the alcohol, but he did vaguely recall mixing drinks, and then, something hard against his head and he passed out afterwards.
Donghae was still fast asleep on the other couch, arms dangling off and mouth wide open. Sungmin smiled, draping a blanket over him. Donghae stirred, nuzzling against the wool. Donghae was a deep sleeper, and Sungmin walked off to admire his place, since he’s never formally been there before.
Typical two room flat, living room and a guest bathroom, a modest kitchen, which Donghae probably never uses anyways. His dining table is cluttered with mail and random objects, and Sungmin would help him organize it, because it’s Donghae and he always felt inclined to help him, especially after spending the night, but there was simply too much.
He did notice the digital camera, the same camera in Madrid, if he recalled correctly.
“Let’s see,” Sungmin picked it up, browsing through the stored photos. There were a few scenic shots, a couple shots of Sungmin doing random things, oh the two he took for him in front of the cathedral. Sungmin browsed further and further back, discovering more pictures of him, most of them blurry and unfocused, as if they had been taken in a hurry. Most of them couldn’t even suffice as a decent photo in normal standards, let alone professional critique.
The more he scrolled back, the more pictures he discovered of himself. Sungmin wasn’t the type that lied to him, sugar coat things and deludes himself with lies. It was awkward, borderline creepy, seeing so many pictures of him, most of them when he wasn’t paying attention. There were even a few from back in the airport at Moscow, before they even spoke for that matter.
“Hey, you’re up...” Donghae’s sleepy voice came from behind him and Sungmin turned off the camera.
“Breakfast?” Sungmin smiled when he turned around, and Donghae nodded.
“Here or outside? I can make a pretty nice omelette,” Sungmin began and Donghae was already pushing him out the front door. Cleaning the refrigerator was something very high on Donghae’s to do list.
~/
“Why do you need a digital camera when you have such a good camera at home?”
“I don’t want to bring around a huge camera every time I go out, so are you coming or not?”
“Okay fine, but can we please get some food too? I’m hungry and I didn’t eat lunch.”
Realistically, they met at a far away city, happened to be on the same flight to another far away city, stayed at the same hotel and became brief friends, there was nothing concrete. It wasn’t like his history with Hyukjae and Kangin, which date back to when they were small children. It was four days, in Madrid, and Barcelona, and Moscow.
“Please, can you not get a pink camera?” Donghae bubbled. Sungmin wasn’t even paying attention to what the salesman was uttering, it sounded dense and unimportant and highly uninteresting compared to his own thoughts.
To be honest, he barely knew Donghae. Sure, Sungmin agreed to help him with his modeling, but then everything just took off without Sungmin ever realizing which direction things were headed, let alone the ending point. Sungmin also single-handedly help Tiffany to where she is right now, but that’s because they went to music class together for eight years. He barely even knew Donghae for eight months.
“Sungmin, are you even listening?”
“Let me know if you need more assistance.” The man walked off politely and Sungmin finally snapped back. He was stupid for feeling awkward, because Donghae is Donghae and nothing’s going to change that. From the irritable, annoying, constantly yapping Donghae in Madrid to the much more sophisticated man beside him right now, Donghae is, well, a friend.
“Sungmin, stop staring, it’s getting creepy,” Donghae started nudging him and Sungmin broke off into a small grin.
They were naturally comfortable with each other. Hell, Donghae even slept on him during the plane ride to Madrid, and he looked so peaceful Sungmin didn’t have the heart to wake him.
“Can you not smile like that, you look delusional, Sungmin, snap out of it.” Donghae shoved him hard.
Come to think of it, I call him just as much as he calls me.
“Sorry, I was thinking about a new concept. Which one should I get again?”
Donghae rolled his eyes, and then he began reiterating what he remembered from the clerk, except he pointed at the wrong models and the man came back over to help them.
Maybe it had been more then friendship all along.
~/
“He’s actually pretty cute,” Kangin boomed in his ear and Sungmin shoved him away, “I’m serious, Sungmin, just ask him, it’s been going on long enough.”
“No, I don’t want to mess things up,” Sungmin continued scrolling back. Donghae always did this thing with his tongue whenever he was deep in thought.
“Hopeless romantic, whatever, I’m getting a drink.” Kangin left him alone.
“Kangin-ah, stay sober. I still need you for the marketing meeting in half an hour.” Sungmin sighed, there were a few pictures of Donghae eating, and that secret one on the pirate ship at the carnival, and those ones of his backside in the mall when he bounced off to stare through the window of the toy shops. There were the ones where they goofed off in the accessories store, with the scarves and matching hats and huge sunglasses.
Maybe he should stop being so pessimistic whenever it came to these things. Donghae, Donghae’s been there as a friend, Donghae’s been willing to hang out whenever work hit the curb, offering his ears when Sungmin needs to vent off steam from work and family. He picked up his phone, dialling a familiar number.
“Donghae, do you wanna hang out tonight?”
“Sungmin, sure, where are we going?”
“Hmm,” Sungmin put down his coffee, “I’ll come pick you up at your place, seven okay?”
“Okay, sounds good.”
Donghae, Sungmin smiled seeing Donghae make a goofy face at the camera, Donghae’s a great guy.
~/
“Smile!” Sungmin brought his digital camera up with one hand and took a picture of Donghae, ice cream cone in his mouth.
“Hey, give that back, delete that now.” Donghae snarled, reaching blindly for the camera, “Min, that picture can’t be seen, oh god, delete it.”
“No, it’s pretty cute, I’m keeping it.” Sungmin closed his eyes and made a face, only to realize it a moment too late when the flash went off.
“Nice picture, Sungmin,” Donghae giggled, his camera dangling from his wrist, “wouldn’t it be amazing if this picture surfaced on the press tomorrow?”
“You wouldn’t dare, Lee Donghae,” Sungmin looked threatening with an ice cream cone in his hand.
“You’re right. I wouldn’t, because I’m such a good friend.” Donghae brought up the camera, poised to take another shot. “Come on, eyes on the camera.”
Sungmin did the same, and through the lens he stared straight into the camera. His eyes looked past the camera and straight through to the owner, to the soft expression he wore on his face, to his pair of twinkling eyes. The realization hit, that feeling inside his chest, the way they look at each other sometimes, the way Sungmin could not bear to see Donghae cry, or even disappointed for that matter, everything warped into place.
“You know, we look like idiots,” Donghae still took a picture during the pause, and naturally Sungmin retaliated by taking a shot of his own, “oh, right, D&M told me to give you this package when I went in for their photo shoot today, figured that I had to go to your place anyways, they gave it to me to save them a trip.”
“You know, Hae,” Sungmin took the parcel, holding it under his arm as they left the ice cream parlour, “I’ve never properly thanked you for everything, so, thank you, for always being here.”
“Sungmin, please, can you not,” Donghae began, the ice cream in his hands forgotten, “you helped me so much, I don’t think I can ever thank you enough.”
“No, Hae, listen, you,” Sungmin began, and the feeling attacked his chest again, his heart racing much faster, “you mean a lot to me, more than you can imagine.”
“Min, I have something, there’s something I should tell you,” Donghae began, his voice shaky, “it’s something I should have told you a long time ago, but I was scared about it, a-”
“Shh, it’s okay,” Sungmin whispered softly against the night wind. A chilly gust of wind howled, sending a particular strong wave against the pier rocks, and Sungmin held onto his hand tightly, “it’s okay.”
“Sungmin,” Donghae spoke up a few minutes later, eyes misty when he turned his head, and their eyes met again in the dark.
“It’s okay...” Sungmin linked their fingers together and Donghae nodded, sniffling hard as they turned to face the waves.
~/
“Sir, can you help us take a picture?” Sungmin handed his camera over to the man before he jogged back over to Donghae’s side.
“Thank you!” Donghae yelled as Sungmin examined the photo. He began shaking his head and a frown appeared almost instantly.
“Look at this, he cut off half of the portrait, what is this,” Sungmin mumbled, “let’s get someone else, someone that looks smarter.”
Donghae groaned, took the camera with one hand, his other arm pulling Sungmin close and snapped a quick picture.
“There, done, can we please go now, I don’t want to have to run and catch our flight again.”
“We won’t miss our flight, and even if we do, we can just change our flight to somewhere else instead.”
Donghae first pecked him on the cheek, arms crossed in mock anger when Sungmin finished his sentence. Still, he insisted on asking a woman to help take their picture.
“Thank you,” Sungmin took back the camera, “yes we can go now, we still have ten minutes. You worry too much.”
“I worry too much? You said that last time in New York and we ended up chasing down our flight, again, and I am not doing that here in Rome.”
“Okay, okay, you’re right, I’m wrong. Can we go now?”
Donghae fell asleep before the flight even took off, and Sungmin browsed through the photos they took in the airport. The last one was pretty nice, the woman managed to not cut off the painting in the back. He clicked the left arrow, finding Donghae’s blurry selca. That one was perfect.