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When Haru called his name, the last thing Kai expected was the blinding flash of a camera coming at his face.
“Hey!” he cried out in surprise, instinctively holding his hands up to block the flash. It was the brightest hour of the day, with warm spring sunlight washing into the clubroom. There wasn’t a need for any more lights, especially ones coming from cameras.
“Oh, oops. Sorry about that. Looks like I accidentally switched on the flash,” Haru lowered the camera in his hands. He looked at the screen thoughtfully, before tapping on some buttons.
Kai eyed the camera in Haru’s hands. “Since when did you get a DSLR?”
“This?” Haru grinned, lifting the camera to give Kai a better look. It appeared to be a very sleek model, and it was in good, almost pristine condition. “I loaned it from the Media Club in school. Handsome, isn’t it?”
“Ah, no wonder,” Kai watched as Haru continued adjusting the camera settings. If the secretary of the astrology club really was knowledgeable about cameras or taking good pictures, well, Kai wouldn’t be all that surprised, to be honest.
“Why did you loan it, though?” Kai asked, getting up from his seat and reaching for one of the biscuit packets placed between the two of them. The snack bowl had recently been topped up with all kinds of rice crackers, including the varieties that Kai enjoyed. Even though their club president Shun didn’t do much in club, he at least could upkeep his one and only duty of keeping their refreshments stocked.
“Oh, the university’s getting something like a magazine published,” Haru explained. “They want the clubs to submit some candid shots.”
“And you’re doing the photo-taking?” Kai laughed.
“Well, I don’t think our president is going to do it, and Hajime’s not exactly known to be the best photographer,” Haru chuckled gingerly. “And I don’t think I should push the responsibility to our juniors.”
Typical mother hen, Kai mused to himself.
He tore open his biscuit packet and shot Haru a teasing grin. “And how about me?”
“You can be my model.”
There was nobody else in the clubroom—with Hajime and Shun off to cram some study hours and the juniors running late because of afternoon lectures—so the answer was near obvious.
Nevertheless, Kai laughed. “Sure, sure.”
“I’m serious. I want to test out these camera settings,” Haru raised the camera to his face, aiming the lens at Kai. “Kai, say cheese!”
Kai managed to pull off his camera smile and a peace sign with the hand holding his biscuit packet as the camera shutter clicked. Haru lowered the camera, inspecting the shot, while Kai took the opportunity to eat his snack.
“Hmm, the lighting’s too strong,” Haru murmured. “Maybe the exposure is too high?”
“Mm,” Kai made a noncommittal sound as he took bites from his rice cracker.
“Right. Let’s try this again. Say cheese!”
The shutter went off before Kai even had time to react. By the time the picture was taken, Kai was still in utter shock.
“Hey! I wasn’t prepared!”
“Don’t worry, you look fine,” Despite Haru’s words, he sounded anything but reassuring, stifling chuckles as he gazed at the photo taken in his camera. Kai set down his half-finished packet on the table, trudging over to where Haru was sitting.
“Give me that,” Kai swiftly plucked the camera from Haru’s hands, earning a noise of protest from the latter. Kai looked at the photo taken on the screen. It wasn’t that bad to the point he wouldn’t show it to anyone, but it was still taken at a moment when he was completely off-guard, looking childishly occupied with eating his rice cracker.
But other than that, the lighting was good and Haru really had a good eye for composition.
“So? What do you think?” Haru’s tone was almost sing-song.
“You know quite a bit about photography, don’t you?”
“Just as much as every other person,” Haru said dismissively, leaning back into his chair. “By the way, don’t delete that. I might want to submit it.”
“No way,” Kai was already navigating through the buttons, figuring out which button would let him erase the photo.
“Come on, you have to admit that shot was pretty cute,” Haru insisted.
Kai looked up and raised an eyebrow. “Cute?”
Haru gave this smile that Kai associated with him being his playful self. “Absolutely adorable.”
Kai let out a bitter laugh. “Nice try.”
“Alright, fine,” Haru lifted his hands in defeat, shaking his head slowly. “How about you take a shot of me? Then we’re even.”
Kai didn’t even need to consider. “Deal.”
Seemingly satisfied with Kai’s response, Haru briefly looked around the room. “Well? So where should I—”
The tell-tale sound of the shutter going off cut off the rest of Haru’s sentence. The look of genuine of surprise and sheer disbelief spread on Haru’s face, in Kai’s opinion, was utterly priceless.
Kai grinned teasingly, lowering the camera. “As you were saying?”
“Hang on, that’s dirty,” The chair scrapped against the floor as Haru got up and paced towards Kai, in a futile attempt to get back the DSLR. Thankfully, Kai’s athletic prowess was in his favour, as he effortlessly dodged Haru’s swipe.
“You took a photo of me off-guard first,” Kai said.
Haru reached forward and tried to grab the camera, but Kai held it past his reach. “That was legitimately to test the settings.”
“You were going to keep it.”
“Only after I decided it was worth keeping. Now will you please return me that camera before you drop it and cost me an arm and a leg?”
“You won’t have to worry about that. I’m sure Shun would be more than happy to foot the compensation,” Kai joked.
“I’m not too sure how Shun would feel if he heard that,” Haru said.
“I was kidding,” Kai held out his hand and returned the camera to Haru. “Anyway, have this back. But don’t delete that photo. It’s only fair.”
Haru took the camera and looked at the playback. The picture of him that Kai took was, well, not exactly the most glamourous shot, but it wasn’t the most unflattering either. In the photo, Haru was sitting on the chair, relaxed with his arms crossed, his eyes focused on the area of their clubroom outside the frame. The angle was awkward and there were vague blur lines from when Kai moved after taking the shot, but everything else about the photo was natural, unadulterated, a sincere, split fleeting moment.
Kai tried to read Haru’s expression. “Well…?”
Haru felt the corners of his lips tug upwards. “It’s a keeper.”
“Of course it is,” Kai playfully punched Haru on the shoulder. “Don’t forget to send me that photo, alright?”
“Okay, okay,” Haru replied. “Even though I’m pretty sure you have a whole gallery amounting to more than 1000 photos of me.”
“Hey, that’s not true,” Kai laughed. “Don’t make me sound like a creepy stalker. I don’t have that many photos of you.”
Haru pretended to wipe a tear away from his eye. “That hurts, Kai.”
Kai leaned against the table. “Now you’re just exaggerating.”
Haru laughed. “But honestly, how many photos did you take of us last year? Of the club, I mean.”
“Good question,” Kai fished his phone from his back pocket, opening up his gallery. “Let’s see… it’s about 1000.”
“Oh, God. I was only joking about you having a gallery of a thousand photos, you know.”
“I can’t help it! I just have the urge to capture the moment, you know?” Kai gave this amusing expression that Haru considered to be the equivalent of a young child pouting.
Haru moved over to Kai’s side, placing the DSLR on the table and leaning against him to get a better look at his phone screen. “It really is about 1000…maybe you should delete some of these shots, before, say, Hajime finds out and gets mad at you.”
“No way,” Kai said. “I’m going to keep it. They’re all keepers.”
“For what?” Haru questioned. “For when you look back and reminiscence when you’re 50?”
“Close enough,” Kai turned to Haru. “It’d be nice to look at these photos after we graduate, don’t you think? They may be kind of embarrassing but they’re all good memories, aren’t they?”
“Oh, yes, right,” The mention of graduation had thrown Haru a little off-guard. It was a little hard to digest that in about a year’s time, Kai would graduate. Haru and Kai had both been in the astrology club since the start, and it hardly felt like three years had passed in reality. Everything seemed to move so quickly, and looking back, it seemed like there just wasn’t enough time spent.
Three years, Haru thought, was far too little for the two of them.
“Haru?” Kai gently nudged Haru’s elbow, jerking him back out of his train of thought.
“Huh?” Haru blinked. “What is it?”
“You were spacing out,” Kai tilted his head forward, pocketing his phone. “Something wrong?”
“No, no, nothing like that,” Haru shook his head slowly, feeling his mouth curve upwards in a small smile. “I just remembered that you’re going to graduate by next spring.”
“What about it?” Kai pressed on, keeping his gaze focused on Haru.
Haru absently combed his fingers through his hair. “It’s going to be different without you around.”
“Hey, don’t make it sound like I’m going to die.”
Haru appreciated Kai’s attempt at lightening the mood, and gave a small smile. “I know. But it’s been really nice having you around, so that one year without you is going to feel strange.”
“Hmm,” Kai folded his arms, deep in thought. “I’m pretty sure you can handle it. After all, it’s not like we’re going to stop seeing each other, right?”
Haru took in Kai’s words. “True.”
“And we still have each other’s contacts,” Kai pointed out. “We can always find time to meet. Just because I won’t be in school anymore doesn’t mean we’ll stop seeing each other. And if you want to talk responsibilities, I already have a good idea of who’s going to take my position in the club when I graduate.”
“That’s honestly reassuring to hear,” Haru felt something in him relax, and the tension slowly dissipate from inside him. Hearing Kai word it aloud somehow was far more than just reassuring. It was like a conviction, a promise, because Kai was a man of action and of his word.
Haru considered himself the kind of person who easily puts his faith in others, but he wholeheartedly trusted Kai, in a fashion even different from that of his closest long-time friend Hajime. Haru would be lying to himself if he said that he didn’t see Kai as more than a friend; they had clearly and happily breached the boundaries of friendship in his record, but just far they were willing to go was a whole new question mark altogether.
Haru never thought so deeply about this kind of relationships before. Perhaps it was the sickness of being a young university student.
Sensing the slight insecurity in the silence, Kai suddenly spoke. “It’s a little stuffy in here. I’m going to open the windows a little more.”
Haru watched as Kai crossed the room and pushed the windows a little further. The gentle spring breeze let itself in, lightly tousling Kai’s hair. Kai leaned against the apron of the window, his hands dangling out on the windowsill as he faced the view outside.
“You know there’s a really clear view of the cherry blossom tree in our school, right?” Kai said.
“Yeah, I’m aware,” Haru joined Kai at the window, looking out as well. As Kai said, he could see the sole cherry blossom tree in their school, just next to the running track. Some students were gathered underneath the tree, talking to each other.
“Outside the main entrance of the school, there’s a whole row of cherry blossom trees by the street,” Kai went on.
“I think they’ll stop blooming soon, though,” Haru said. “It’s almost past cherry blossom season.”
“That means spring is ending,” Kai murmured.
Haru sighed softly. “So it is.”
Kai kept his gaze fixed outside, his voice bordering the tone of a gentle lullaby. “The next time the cherry blossoms bloom again…next spring, I want you to be there as well.”
Haru turned his head. “Pardon?”
“I said, next spring, I want you to be by my side,” Kai said.
It took Haru more than just a few moments to fully comprehend what Kai was saying.
“Next spring would be your graduation,” Haru pointed out.
“Exactly what I meant,” Kai nodded. He turned around to face Haru properly. “Next spring, I still want to see you. And the spring after that.”
Haru’s mind was conglomerating. “Alright…?”
“As so long as spring comes, I’ll want to see you,” Kai gave Haru a smile, one that Haru realised he rarely saw. It was a gentle smile, one of sincerity and honesty. And one, Haru realised, he had only ever seen when he was with Kai.
It didn’t take much thought to know that Haru got his answer.
Haru returned a smile. “That’s unbelievably cheesy but romantic of you.”
Kai chuckled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“No, you’re supposed to take that as an invitation,” Haru said teasingly.
Kai paused for a moment, figuring out Haru’s words, before a knowing look from the latter got the penny to drop. “Oh! Right.”
Kai took Haru’s hand and leaned forward to press a gentle kiss to his lips. Haru was familiar with the sensation, since he had kissed Kai before, but the feeling was entirely different, knowing that they both were finally confident in their relationship, and the future they held in it.
“Wait, hang on,” Haru said once they broke their kiss. “I’ve got a good idea.”
“Hmm?” Kai tilted his head curiously.
Haru freed himself from Kai’s grip on his waist—which he didn’t even realise was there—and went up to the table, picking to the DSLR. “Let’s take some photos of each other.”
Kai laughed, rubbing the back of his head. “Seriously?”
“The atmosphere is just right,” Haru insisted, lifting the camera in his hands. As he did, the door behind him clicked open.
“Sorry we’re late,” Hajime strode into the clubroom, with Shun by his side. The scene with Kai leaning against the window and Haru holding onto a camera drew a rather inquisitive look from him.
“What are you two doing?” Hajime raised an eyebrow, directing his question at Haru.
“Taking some photos,” Haru explained. “Since you two are here, maybe you can help us take some shots together?”
“Like wedding photos?” Shun suggested, which earned him a rather disapproving look from Hajime.
Kai and Haru exchanged looks.
“Well…Maybe?” Kai replied, to which Shun looked way too overjoyed at his response.
“Oh, that’s great!” Shun enthused, striding over to Haru excitedly. Hajime sighed out of exasperation, resigned, as Haru taught Shun how to operate the camera.
Spring was about to end soon, but for Kai and Haru, it felt like their spring had only just begun.
(And after seeing the numerous shots Shun had taken of Kai and Haru, Haru decided it would be a wise choice to hand the president of the astrology club an extra duty of taking all their photos.)