Work Text:
Mark stopped the car on the side of the road, wandering into the sunflower field to take pictures. He had his Nikon in his hands, a video camera in its bag at his side and an Instax camera in his backpack along with a portable tripod. He was spending the long weekend driving around, looking for perfect scenery to take pictures of. His project idea was stupid and probably overdone, but he was enjoying himself. His plan was to use Polaroids, videos, and pictures to show the little things in nature.
He wanted to take pictures of things that people usually missed in their daily lives, too busy to stop and smell the roses or however the saying went. He himself used to go full throttle every single day, working non-stop without ever taking the time to appreciate the scenery. Now, he was going at his own pace. He paused to take a photo of a bumblebee sitting on a flower, so close he could see every individual hair on its body. It flew up to him and landed on his sleeve before flying away. He laughed, waving goodbye before moving on.
Mark took more pictures of random things he found, meandering slowly through the flowers and trying not to destroy any of them. There was a thin path between them, and he walked it carefully. He found a stone in the shape of a heart and two bright red ladybugs sitting on a leaf. He took pictures of sky and the petals of a particularly beautiful flower, bending over to look at an ant crawling up the stem. He paused when he heard music coming from somewhere in the field.
He looked back at his car and shrugged, deciding to follow the sound. There was something magical in the air, he could sense it, and maybe following the music would lead him to a new adventure he’d never have if he returned to his car.
Cause when it gets dark
And when it gets cold
We hold each other ‘til we see the sunlight.
He stumbled into a little clearing in the middle of all the sunflowers, and startled when he found a boy laying in the grass. His eyes were closed, a boombox on the ground next to him playing the music. He had long honey blonde hair, a round face and ridiculously long legs. His eyes were closed, and Mark wondered if he was sleeping. He looked like a magical being -- a fairy or a sprite or something. He was beautiful.
“Hello,” Mark said cautiously, and the boy’s eyes opened lazily, though they focused on Mark as if he knew Mark was there all along.
“Hi,” was all the boy said in reply.
“Sorry to disturb you, I was taking pictures and I heard the music…” Mark trailed off awkwardly, clutching at his camera. The boy sat up, and Mark was struck with the sudden urge to take a photo of him. His baby blue shirt slid off of one shoulder, revealing a prominent collarbone and golden skin dotted with moles, a constellation that trailed up his neck and onto his cheek.
“Taking pictures?” The boy asked curiously, and Mark nodded, holding up his camera. “Can I see?”
Mark’s mouth formed a little ‘O’, but he nodded and sat down on the grass next to the boy, opening up the gallery on his screen. Up close, the boy smelled like pine trees and wildflowers. The scent made Mark’s head spin a little. “Here. I’m Mark, by the way.”
“Donghyuck,” the other boy replied sweetly, offering Mark a beatific smile. “Wow, that’s a really good shot.”
Mark paused on a photo of a robin that had landed on the branch he was sitting on when he had climbed a tree this morning. It had a worm in its beak and had flown up to a nest after Mark had taken the picture. It was one of his favorite shots.
“I’m surprised you managed to get so close,” Donghyuck said, “you must be like a Disney prince or something.”
“Nah, I’m no prince,” Mark replied, rubbing the back of his head. He scooted closer in the grass, surprisingly lush and soft beneath him. “Do you wanna see some of my other stuff?”
Donghyuck nodded, and Mark rummaged through his backpack to pull out his Instax and the empty film cartridges he had recycled by using them as carrying cases for his photos. He gently shook out the polaroids and handed them to Donghyuck, who slowly went through the stack with a soft smile on his face.
There were pictures of Mark’s friends in trees and on beaches. There were photos of flowers and trees and animals, anything and everything that Mark found beautiful.
“I love them,” Donghyuck told him, and when he turned his face was illuminated by the sun, and he looked like he stepped straight out of a dream. Mark’s gaze traveled from his dark eyes to his button nose and petal pink heart-shaped lips, down the column of his throat and at his delicate hands before he realized he was staring and cleared his throat. “So tell me more about this project.”
“It’s for school,” Mark replied, going through another stack of polaroids. “My focus is, like, the little things in nature. The stuff you miss when you’re going too fast.”
“Wow,” Donghyuck said, “that sounds lovely.”
“You really think so?” Mark beamed. “Thanks!”
“So do you go too fast, then?”
“Yeah, sometimes,” Mark admitted. “It’s so easy to get caught up in school and your social life and work and family and stuff, it’s hard to make time for yourself. So, in a way, this project is me making time for myself.”
Every word he spoke seemed to linger in the air, crackling like electricity. Donghyuck’s eyes were so attentive, and Mark felt golden under his gaze. The feeling seeped into his chest and warmed his heart, and without thinking, he reached to take Donghyuck’s hand. A delicate silver bangle slipped down Donghyuck’s wrist.
“Oh, wow, this is a beautiful bracelet,” Mark commented.
“Here, you can have it,” Donghyuck said, sliding the bracelet off his wrist and onto Mark’s. There was something about his tone that made Mark’s protests die in his throat, and he instead went back to looking at pictures, the bracelet on his wrist gleaming in the sunlight.
“So,” Mark began, putting the polaroids back into the cartridges, “are you from around here?”
Tinkling laughter, like the sound of bells. “You could say that.”
“You were listening to Michael Jackson,” Mark said, trying a different approach. There was something about Donghyuck that made Mark want to know everything about him. Like he had an aura of mystery surrounding him.
“He’s my favorite,” Donghyuck replied. “Would you care to listen?”
“Sure,” Mark replied, and Donghyuck reached for the boombox, pressing ‘Play’. Mark fiddled with the Instax in his hands, and finally worked up the courage to ask Donghyuck to take his picture. Donghyuck agreed, a strange smile playing on his lips, like he knew something Mark didn’t. Mark ignored the fluttering in his stomach, bringing the viewfinder up to his eye and snapping a photo of Donghyuck, then left the film facedown on Donghyuck’s boombox to develop.
“Lie down with me,” Donghyuck demanded, falling back on the grass. Mark felt compelled to join him, and so he did, sprawling on his back in the soft green. The sky was full of cotton candy clouds, big and puffy, and the breeze felt amazing on his skin. “Look how beautiful the world is.”
Mark was looking. He didn’t think he could stop.
“I hope you always remember this,” Donghyuck said, “even when your life is going too fast.”
“I will,” Mark promised.
“Then slow down,” Donghyuck said, his voice soothing. Mark’s eyes fluttered shut, and he listened to the music coming from the boombox. Felt the grass beneath him, the warmth of the sun on his face, and let his worries go in one single, deep breath. He felt the slightest brush of lips against his cheek and he gasped, but his eyes didn’t open. “Thank you for showing me your pictures. They’re beautiful.”
When Mark opened his eyes, Donghyuck was gone. The boombox was still playing, but Donghyuck was nowhere in sight. Mark got to his feet, looking around. He could have sworn he was in the middle of the field, but he could see the road and his car just ahead. He turned and reached for the polaroid film sitting on the top of the boombox and flipped it over.
There were sunflowers everywhere, and the sky was a bright blue. The clouds in the sky looked as white and delicate as a swan’s feathers.
It was a beautiful picture, but there was no Donghyuck.
He looked at the ground, and the boombox was gone. He stumbled through the sunflowers, climbing into his car. The sun was going to set soon, and he needed to get home to edit his pictures and have dinner. He looked at the photo once more, bewildered, but his gaze fell to the silver bangle still on his wrist.
Mark looked back at the sunflowers and waved. A gentle breeze made them wave back, and he laughed, sticking the polaroid on his dashboard. When he got home, he would frame it and put it on his wall as his reminder to slow down.
Don’t worry, Donghyuck, Mark thought as he drove into the setting sun, I won’t forget.