[G] Through the Glass
Title: Through the Glass
Character(s): Kibum, OC
Rating: G
Genre: Friendship
Type: One-shot
Click. I leaned the camera away from my face to look at the shot I had taken. Smiling, I took another shot. Click. The beach really was beautiful. I rarely had opportunities to take photos of the sea since I was always assigned to photoshoots done in the city. But this was an exception.
A very special exception.
Click.
By accident, I had taken a picture of him. I pulled my camera away and looked at the snapshot. He looked beautiful. He really was extraordinary.
He seemed to have noticed me taking pictures of him because he looked up and flashed a smile my way. I returned a shy smile and bowed, looking away, blushing. When he directed smiles like that at me, my heart just went on a beating overdrive. I really didn’t know what it was, but I just felt like it would burst in joy. He had that effect on me.
I turned around and looked for the camera crew. We should be starting the photoshoot any minute now and I didn’t want to be caught dillydallying. Being part of this pictorial still really rendered me speechless when I think about it. Who would’ve thought that submitting a photo to one of the members’ Twitter accounts could actually lead to this? I gave Siwon an appreciative smile as he approached me.
“Having fun?” he asked, his camera on hand as he stood beside me, facing the waters. I nodded with a big grin on my face. He chuckled and ruffled my hair into a mess. “Your pictures are coming out great,” he praised me.
“Thank you,” I told him, not just for the comment.
I couldn’t thank him enough. I had replied to one of his tweets with a photo I had taken of them. Shockingly, he had responded in a direct message and asked me to send another photo. So I did. This went on for a couple of weeks until one day a SM Entertainment representative had called me in to their office, asking to look at my portfolio. Back then, I had assisted for a couple of magazine pictorials and had taken some wedding photos. I really loved taking photos of people. There’s just so much story to tell in one photograph of a person.
He grinned widely at me. “You’re welcome.” He took a photo of the other boys playing around by the shore. “You know,” he went on as he continued clicking. “He’s been asking about you.”
“What?” I asked, looking confused. “Who?”
“Who do you want to ask about you?” He looked at me pointedly. When I blushed in response, he snickered. “Really, you’re not obvious at all.”
“I really am not,” I defended myself. How could I be obvious? I had never talked to him, never approached him for anything. I never even looked at him as much as I observed the other boys.
He shook his head. “Just go over there and talk to him,” he suggested. “But don’t slack off,” he warned me with a teasing smile.
When Siwon had walked off to Eunhyuk and Donghae, who were throwing sand at each other, I searched for him through the camera equipment and the vastness of the beach. He was seated on some of the rocks, situated at the far end.
As I walked towards him, my hands started to feel clammy. I clenched and unclenched them, willing to calm myself down. The reason I had never talked to him before was because I was afraid that I had nothing interesting to say. Really. What do you say to someone who seemed so pensive all the time? I didn’t want to disappoint him and I didn’t want to be disappointed. I had always seen him in a certain way and that was how I wanted to keep him.
“Hey,” was my opening line as soon as he saw me approach.
He smiled. “Hey.”
And there went my heart, overbeating again.
“What are you doing here by yourself?” I wondered aloud, watching him as he doodled on the sand with a stick that he found.
He kept on doodling for a bit then he looked up at me. “Do you want to sit beside me?” He moved a bit and patted the space on his left.
Obliging willingly, I took the seat and tried to relax. It wasn’t easy. He was my favorite member after all so I really didn’t know what to say.
So we sat there, side by side, not talking. I wasn’t a very talkative person just like him, which was another reason why I avoided being alone with him and talking to him. I liked stepping back and observing people and the things around me. That’s why I took photographs. Everyone and everything else was more interesting than me.
To ease myself out of the awkward silence, I lifted my camera and started taking photos of the waves. Soon I had gotten immersed and had forgotten all about him being beside him.
“You’re very pretty when you’re taking photos,” he suddenly said, bringing my attention back to him.
And the very thing that I didn’t want to happen in front of him happened.
I blushed.
I put my camera down and bowed my head, burying my face in my hands. When I heard him laughing, I peeked through my hands. This was the last thing I thought he would do. He was usually so serious.
“Why are you laughing?” I demanded, my cheeks turning even redder.
“Because you’re funny,” was his straightforward answer.
“I wasn’t trying to be funny,” I replied, pouting a little.
“Well you’re funny anyway,” he insisted, chuckling. “Why do you like taking photos?”
“Because I like to preserve things,” I answered with a shrug, looking out into the splashing waves. “Things don’t always happen a second time around.”
He nodded, following my line of sight. “If I had the photography bug, I would probably be like you.” He shrugged. “But I just keep them in my head.”
“Is that why you’re so quiet?” I asked before I could stop myself. I bit my lip and shook my head, mentally slapping myself. “I’m sorry,” I apologized, bowing my head at him. “I didn’t mean to be rude.”
Snickering, he shook his head. “Don’t apologize. I like candid people.” He offered me a warm smile. “There’s a difference.”
Still I bowed my head. Being with him like this really messed with my head. I really didn’t know what to do. He had taken down my wall, my security blanket, which was my camera. Now I had nowhere to hide.
“My hyungs know what they’re doing,” he suddenly interrupted the silence. “It’s not that I don’t care. I just trust them. I speak up when there’s a need and, most of the time, especially when on interviews and such, there’s no need.”
I looked at him curiously. He felt so… real. It was extraordinary.
“Does that answer your question?” he asked with a smile.
Our conversation went more smoothly after that. He talked about what he did when they weren’t working, gaming, watching movies, sleeping; he talked about his family, how much he missed them when he was away; and he talked about how he cared about the members, which I found very endearing.
I found myself very much engaged in his stories, reacting and laughing at the right moments. Soon, all the barriers that I was trying to hold up came crumbling down. There was no need for them anymore. I then began to wonder why I was so shy in the first place. Silly me.
“Why are you so shy with me?” he then inquired, mirroring my thoughts. He looked at me curiously when we became quiet once again. “You’ve never talked to me before.”
I had thought of giving myself the easy way out by telling him a sweet girl answer. But all of a sudden, I didn’t want to. I found myself being brave and being honest with him. I thought it was something he would appreciate.
“Because you’re my favorite Super Junior member,” was what I said. His eyes widened at this, looking very surprised. I suppose he thought he was my least favorite since I ignored him most of the time. “And I wanted to keep you.”
When he gave me a confused look, I forced back a giggle. He looked a bit uneasy at the word ‘keep’.
“I’m not a stalker, I promise,” I told him before he could get any ideas. Seeing him smile and relax again, I went on, “I just mean that I’ve seen you in this certain way every since I started to be a fan and I didn’t want to change that.”
“Oh,” he said.
“But you know what,” I proceeded, smiling at him sincerely. “You’re the same in pictures and in person.”
“So I’m still your favorite Super Junior member?” he asked, grinning at me.
I nodded.
Yes, you are.
The camera is really a powerful thing. They capture sadness and beauty. My camera has caught your sadness and beauty. All these years you had never changed in my eyes. And meeting you now, it’s only reinforced what I already know. That you’re beautiful inside and out.
The Kim Kibum I’ve seen through the glass is the same Kim Kibum I’ve just witnessed through my own eyes.
Character(s): Kibum, OC
Rating: G
Genre: Friendship
Type: One-shot
Click. I leaned the camera away from my face to look at the shot I had taken. Smiling, I took another shot. Click. The beach really was beautiful. I rarely had opportunities to take photos of the sea since I was always assigned to photoshoots done in the city. But this was an exception.
A very special exception.
Click.
By accident, I had taken a picture of him. I pulled my camera away and looked at the snapshot. He looked beautiful. He really was extraordinary.
He seemed to have noticed me taking pictures of him because he looked up and flashed a smile my way. I returned a shy smile and bowed, looking away, blushing. When he directed smiles like that at me, my heart just went on a beating overdrive. I really didn’t know what it was, but I just felt like it would burst in joy. He had that effect on me.
I turned around and looked for the camera crew. We should be starting the photoshoot any minute now and I didn’t want to be caught dillydallying. Being part of this pictorial still really rendered me speechless when I think about it. Who would’ve thought that submitting a photo to one of the members’ Twitter accounts could actually lead to this? I gave Siwon an appreciative smile as he approached me.
“Having fun?” he asked, his camera on hand as he stood beside me, facing the waters. I nodded with a big grin on my face. He chuckled and ruffled my hair into a mess. “Your pictures are coming out great,” he praised me.
“Thank you,” I told him, not just for the comment.
I couldn’t thank him enough. I had replied to one of his tweets with a photo I had taken of them. Shockingly, he had responded in a direct message and asked me to send another photo. So I did. This went on for a couple of weeks until one day a SM Entertainment representative had called me in to their office, asking to look at my portfolio. Back then, I had assisted for a couple of magazine pictorials and had taken some wedding photos. I really loved taking photos of people. There’s just so much story to tell in one photograph of a person.
He grinned widely at me. “You’re welcome.” He took a photo of the other boys playing around by the shore. “You know,” he went on as he continued clicking. “He’s been asking about you.”
“What?” I asked, looking confused. “Who?”
“Who do you want to ask about you?” He looked at me pointedly. When I blushed in response, he snickered. “Really, you’re not obvious at all.”
“I really am not,” I defended myself. How could I be obvious? I had never talked to him, never approached him for anything. I never even looked at him as much as I observed the other boys.
He shook his head. “Just go over there and talk to him,” he suggested. “But don’t slack off,” he warned me with a teasing smile.
When Siwon had walked off to Eunhyuk and Donghae, who were throwing sand at each other, I searched for him through the camera equipment and the vastness of the beach. He was seated on some of the rocks, situated at the far end.
As I walked towards him, my hands started to feel clammy. I clenched and unclenched them, willing to calm myself down. The reason I had never talked to him before was because I was afraid that I had nothing interesting to say. Really. What do you say to someone who seemed so pensive all the time? I didn’t want to disappoint him and I didn’t want to be disappointed. I had always seen him in a certain way and that was how I wanted to keep him.
“Hey,” was my opening line as soon as he saw me approach.
He smiled. “Hey.”
And there went my heart, overbeating again.
“What are you doing here by yourself?” I wondered aloud, watching him as he doodled on the sand with a stick that he found.
He kept on doodling for a bit then he looked up at me. “Do you want to sit beside me?” He moved a bit and patted the space on his left.
Obliging willingly, I took the seat and tried to relax. It wasn’t easy. He was my favorite member after all so I really didn’t know what to say.
So we sat there, side by side, not talking. I wasn’t a very talkative person just like him, which was another reason why I avoided being alone with him and talking to him. I liked stepping back and observing people and the things around me. That’s why I took photographs. Everyone and everything else was more interesting than me.
To ease myself out of the awkward silence, I lifted my camera and started taking photos of the waves. Soon I had gotten immersed and had forgotten all about him being beside him.
“You’re very pretty when you’re taking photos,” he suddenly said, bringing my attention back to him.
And the very thing that I didn’t want to happen in front of him happened.
I blushed.
I put my camera down and bowed my head, burying my face in my hands. When I heard him laughing, I peeked through my hands. This was the last thing I thought he would do. He was usually so serious.
“Why are you laughing?” I demanded, my cheeks turning even redder.
“Because you’re funny,” was his straightforward answer.
“I wasn’t trying to be funny,” I replied, pouting a little.
“Well you’re funny anyway,” he insisted, chuckling. “Why do you like taking photos?”
“Because I like to preserve things,” I answered with a shrug, looking out into the splashing waves. “Things don’t always happen a second time around.”
He nodded, following my line of sight. “If I had the photography bug, I would probably be like you.” He shrugged. “But I just keep them in my head.”
“Is that why you’re so quiet?” I asked before I could stop myself. I bit my lip and shook my head, mentally slapping myself. “I’m sorry,” I apologized, bowing my head at him. “I didn’t mean to be rude.”
Snickering, he shook his head. “Don’t apologize. I like candid people.” He offered me a warm smile. “There’s a difference.”
Still I bowed my head. Being with him like this really messed with my head. I really didn’t know what to do. He had taken down my wall, my security blanket, which was my camera. Now I had nowhere to hide.
“My hyungs know what they’re doing,” he suddenly interrupted the silence. “It’s not that I don’t care. I just trust them. I speak up when there’s a need and, most of the time, especially when on interviews and such, there’s no need.”
I looked at him curiously. He felt so… real. It was extraordinary.
“Does that answer your question?” he asked with a smile.
Our conversation went more smoothly after that. He talked about what he did when they weren’t working, gaming, watching movies, sleeping; he talked about his family, how much he missed them when he was away; and he talked about how he cared about the members, which I found very endearing.
I found myself very much engaged in his stories, reacting and laughing at the right moments. Soon, all the barriers that I was trying to hold up came crumbling down. There was no need for them anymore. I then began to wonder why I was so shy in the first place. Silly me.
“Why are you so shy with me?” he then inquired, mirroring my thoughts. He looked at me curiously when we became quiet once again. “You’ve never talked to me before.”
I had thought of giving myself the easy way out by telling him a sweet girl answer. But all of a sudden, I didn’t want to. I found myself being brave and being honest with him. I thought it was something he would appreciate.
“Because you’re my favorite Super Junior member,” was what I said. His eyes widened at this, looking very surprised. I suppose he thought he was my least favorite since I ignored him most of the time. “And I wanted to keep you.”
When he gave me a confused look, I forced back a giggle. He looked a bit uneasy at the word ‘keep’.
“I’m not a stalker, I promise,” I told him before he could get any ideas. Seeing him smile and relax again, I went on, “I just mean that I’ve seen you in this certain way every since I started to be a fan and I didn’t want to change that.”
“Oh,” he said.
“But you know what,” I proceeded, smiling at him sincerely. “You’re the same in pictures and in person.”
“So I’m still your favorite Super Junior member?” he asked, grinning at me.
I nodded.
Yes, you are.
The camera is really a powerful thing. They capture sadness and beauty. My camera has caught your sadness and beauty. All these years you had never changed in my eyes. And meeting you now, it’s only reinforced what I already know. That you’re beautiful inside and out.
The Kim Kibum I’ve seen through the glass is the same Kim Kibum I’ve just witnessed through my own eyes.