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It's not an obsession. Well, at least he doesn't think it is. Jaebum just likes the way that Mark looks when he's cracking down on a tough calculus question; he likes the way his brows lower around his eyes and his mouth twists in different directions when he's deep in concentration. So being the photographer he is, Jaebum snaps a pic.
Jaebum ends up taking a lot of pics of Mark throughout the year; When Mark is taking a well-deserved nap after a tough tutor session, when the sun accentuates Mark's angelic features as they study in the field, the fireworks casting red and blue tints on Mark's face as they spend the New Year's Eve together. Every moment was a photo opportunity with Mark and every new day meant new photos for Jaebum to add to his collection in the darkroom.
It is not an obsession, but more of a way of communication. Jaebum has always been a man of few words, so photography is like a second language to him. He has pictures of Mark when he's deep in concentration or staring off into space. He has multiple shots of Mark playing basketball. There's just something about the sweat shining off of Mark's forehead and broad shoulders and his muscles in action that Jaebum likes taking photos of the most.
These feelings aren't new, it's been like this since middle school. Except instead of taking photos, Jaebum was taking lunch money and pushing Mark around. Irrational and stupid school-boy logic. He didn't mean for it to go so far that Mark left the school, he just didn't know how else to express the unsettling crush he had on his classmate.
So no, it is not an obsession, these photos are an apology. Mark thinks that Jaebum doesn't remember middle school, but he does. Though middle school shouldn't matter anymore. They are in college and Mark and him are close; that's all that matters now. Mark's reaction was all that Jaebum could think about as he set up the pictures in the darkroom; some placed in a heart shape around the table and others hanging on a clothesline above his head. He knew that the collection of photos weren't perfect, but Mark had found out about the pictures sooner than Jaebum thought he would have.
Jaebum looked at the red darkroom filled with photos of Mark and smiled to himself because he was ready. For once in his entire life, Jaebum was actually ready to tell Mark how he felt. He was ready to tell Mark that he wanted every day to be like the New Year's Eve that they had shared together, that he was the one for him and that he wanted to take photos with Mark and not just of Mark, that he wanted to make dances for Mark and write more songs for him because he loved him. He loved him back in middle school and he loves him even more now.
So no, It was not an obsession, Mark concluded as he watched Jaebum's body float face down in the flooded darkroom with a picture of him clutched against Jaebum's chest. Mark looked at the multitude of pictures of himself in a heart shape and hanging above his head like it was an odd mirror. As he hyperventilated and cried and yelled while the coroners took Jaebum's lifeless body out of the darkroom, Mark came to the realization that the photos of him were not an obsession like he had thought it was earlier that morning, but a confession. A confession that he will never be able to hear, and that's what made it hurt all the more.