Chapter Text
“Seonghwa, I have really good news for you! I've finally found the photographer for your photoshoots!” Said his manager, Yunho.
They had a huge problem. It was the end of the year, and Seonghwa, as the most popular model in the city, had photoshoots almost every day. But his photographer decided to change his occupation and left without any warning. They worried that they had to cancel all the events until they found a new one. Luckily, Seonghwa's manager was very hardworking and managed to find the photographer within a few days. That meant that all the photoshoots were saved from failing.
“Thank you! I knew you would do great,” he answered to the manager. He was happy that he could continue this work.
“You will meet tomorrow before the photoshoot. I hope you can work together. I looked at his works, and they perfectly suit our concept. Moreover, he's so talented, look”, Yunho showed him some works of this photographer, “Can you imagine, he studied abroad for several years in two different universities! Also, he has worked with worldwide famous fashion designers! He's the best choice for us. I can't believe that he can work with us for all those projects!”
Seonghwa looked at the photos and his eyes widened. The works were perfect for their concepts and ideas. The quality was great and it was clearly seen that they were edited with a great care and attention to details. His manager was so happy as well. It made Seonghwa smile widely. He was also happy that everything was getting better now, and he liked the new photographer's techniques.
The next day started really early for Seonghwa. He was in the studio from 5 a.m., trying on a lot of new costumes and clothes for the upcoming photoshoot. Some of them were amazing and beautiful, others were weird and unpleasant to wear. But it's all Seonghwa's work and sometimes he can't choose. He barely had breakfast (just one cup of coffee and a small candy) and had to sit more than an hour waiting for his makeup and hair to be done.
“Seonghwa! The photographer is here already. He'll get ready for his work now. When you have your makeup done, put on the first outfit and come to the studio. There you'll meet the photographer. He seems to be so kind and nice, I'm sure you'll get along with him!”
Seonghwa was glad to hear that. He was so eager to get to know another creative person with whom he would work for several weeks.
Half an hour had passed, and Seonghwa was ready to start the photoshoot.
“Oh you're already here, that's great,” said the manager. “Now I'm ready to introduce our new photographer to you!”
That was the moment when Seonghwa saw him for the first time. He felt like his heart stopped beating, his knees became weak and he was sure he would fall to the floor. In front of him was Kim Hongjoong. The Kim Hongjoong. His ex. They looked at each other with millions of emotions inside. It was fear, anxiety, anger, and happiness. It all mixed up without an opportunity to distinguish those emotions.
~Seven years ago~
Hongjoong and Seonghwa studied together in the same group at uni. They became friends during the first day and were close to each other since then. After a short time they started to date. And it was their best decision ever. They were a great couple. They supported each other in every beginning. They spent time together and apart. They gave presents, quality time, and emotional support to each other. They graduated together and after that they had a lot of things planned: living together, taking care of a cat, earning money to travel. Until everything changed.
Seonghwa noticed that Hongjoong started to spend more time at his friend's house, and he felt that his boyfriend was hiding something from him. One day, Hongjoong came to him and said that they needed to talk. Thousands of thoughts were flying through Seonghwa's mind at the moment. Was it really the end?
“Seonghwa…” Hongjoong took his hands and squeezed them slightly, “I… I need to tell you something. I've got an invitation to a university in the States, and… I was considering it for several weeks... I spent a lot of time with my friend preparing for it, and I finally have found the answer to my doubts. I need to tell you that I'll go there. It's a great chance for me to improve my skills and to get to know a lot of famous and talented people...” He looked him at the eyes and sighed, deciding on what words to choose not to hurt him much, “We won't be able to meet and go there together, and I don't know if we'll be able to keep a long distance relationship. That's why… Seonghwa, we need to break up.”
Those words felt like a punch in the face, stomach, and heart for Seonghwa. He felt dizzy as if he would faint right now. Is it real? Is it the end of their perfect, as he thought, relationship? Maybe he's sleeping? But no. Everything was real as well as their break up. Tears, hot and full of pain, flowed down from his eyes. His body started to shake so much.
“No… No, please, Joongie. What do you mean? Don't leave me, please, don't… Everything will be okay, i promise! I'll wait for you, and we can be together after that… Please, I love you so much. Why…?” He said between tears, grabbing Hongjoong's sleeves to keep him close.
“I love you too, my moon, but… We can't be together. You'll find a good person, who will love you and cherish you, I believe it. Because you're a great person, loving and supporting.”
“Why…Why! I can't believe it… Please, say that it's a joke… Don't leave me alone… You are my everything,” Seonghwa whispered. His vision was blurred because of the tears, his voice broken.
“Sorry, moon, it has to be like that. I'm sorry. I love you. You will find your love ” Hongjoong hugged him for the last time and approached the door, "Goodbye, Seonghwa.” It was the last thing he said, leaving Seonghwa crying and shaking without control, with a broken heart.
Later, their mutual friends told Seonghwa that they saw Hongjoong at the airport with a friend he had spent a lot of time with before their breakup. This news made Seonghwa overthink the situation.
‘Well…It seems to be the reason for the break up. He spent so much time with that guy and fell in love with him, and his love for me faded away. That's why he decided to conceal the reason for stopping our relationships. He just wanted to be with him. Maybe he even cheated on me…’ Seonghwa was thinking all the time, trying to understand the situation fully. But it only made him even more sad and broken, without any desire to meet new people, to “find a good person” as Hongjoong told him that day. No. No more love for Seonghwa. He didn't want to be broken again.
~Present days~
Despite the hurricane of emotions, Seonghwa had managed to keep his face still and calm. He tried to make his gaze seem cold. He forced a polite smile on his face and stretched out his hand.
“Nice to meet you, erm…” He turned to look at Yunho, this move was a silent question about the name of the photographer. He wanted to pretend that he didn't know him.
“Oh, sure, Kim Hongjoong!” Yunho answered and smiled widely.
At that moment Hongjoong had a lot of thoughts in his mind. Why did he react like that? Does he not remember me? It can't be like that. He heard my name. And moreover, he knows all my face features really well. Is he still offended?
“Yeah, nice to meet you, Kim Hongjoong. I'm Park Seonghwa”
“Yeah, I know.” He shook Seonghwa's hand, trying to give him a hint with those words that he still remembered him, but the answer shocked him.
“Of course you know me, I am popular,” with those words Seonghwa passed by him and went to his place for the photoshoot.
Hongjoong stood still for several minutes, and was a bit shocked that Seonghwa reacted like that. But Yunho broke the silence.
“I'm so sorry for that. Usually he is not like that, I promise. When you get to know each other, you'll see that he is nice and kind! And now, let's get down to work. Good luck!” Yunho put his hand on Hongjoong's shoulder to support him on his first day at work.
Actually, Hongjoong missed Seonghwa. The reality was different from what Seonghwa had thought. Hongjoong didn't fall in love with anybody, and the man with whom he was seen at the airport was just his friend who shared his love for photography, nothing more. And even being single so far away from Seonghwa, he couldn't stop thinking about him. He had never, never, cheated on him. As well as he had never had any dates or romantic nights with anyone during his studying abroad. So now he was so happy to be able to work with Seonghwa. But he had never expected that their first talk after all those years would be like that. He was confused and he thought they would have a long talk, but now he needed to change his plan to win back Seonghwa's affection and attention. At least he could look at Seonghwa through the lens as much as he needed without any problem.
However, there was still a problem. Seonghwa was too beautiful in those outfits with different makeup and hairstyle. It was a real pleasure to look at him. But it was also a bit distracting. There were moments when Hongjoong just was standing still, looking at him through the lens, when he had to take photos really quickly. He had to force himself to think about something else, to focus on his work.
During the photoshoot of the first outfit it was clear that Seonghwa had some negative feelings towards Hongjoong. For example, when he came closer to look at the photos and expressed his opinion, he said “That doesn't fit the vibe, you better re-do them” or “I don't like them, the angle is making me shorter”. Despite that, he stayed professional and posed for the photos really quickly, controlling his facial expressions.
That's how their first hours of work together had passed and now they had a break. Seonghwa went straight to his dressing room and Hongjoong saw it as a chance to talk, so he followed him. When he was in front of the door where Seonghwa was, he knocked gently.
“Hello… Erm… Mr. Park.” It was awkward to call Seonghwa like that, but Hongjoong decided to follow this game of ‘not knowing each other’ for some reason, “It's Hongjoong, can we talk?” He waited for a minute to hear the answer, but it felt like an hour.
“No, I'm busy,” Seonghwa said with a firm and cold tone of voice.
Hongjoong raised his eyebrows as he didn't anticipate the refusal. He stayed next to the door for some time and walked back to the studio. He was confused and decided to talk with other workers.
“Hi, I'm new here, I'm Kim Hongjoong,“ he shook a hand with a man and continued talking, “I wanted to ask… Does Seonghwa behave like that all the time? Is it his character?”
Actually, he knew the answer very well, but maybe Seonghwa had changed with time. Talking to people who work with him all the time could help to understand the situation.
“Hi, nice to meet you! About Seonghwa… We are all confused, because he is always so kind, nice, and funny. He usually laughs, jokes, and smiles all the time, but today….We think something has happened, because it's a very sudden change of his behavior. Maybe he argued with someone or had an unpleasant situation. Who knows. But don't worry, he is not like that all the time, you'll see it and love his true character!” Said the worker and smiled.
But that man didn't know that Hongjoong already loved Seonghwa's real character for more than 8 years already. That he knew how Seonghwa behaved when he's stressed, happy, or scared. And he was going to return his moon back.