Archive of Our Own

“I’m so sorry. I know it’s last minute, but I can't make it. I’m at the hospital right now.” Yeonjun apologizes over the phone. “Soobin is in the emergency room.”

“Oh my god, is he okay?”

“Yeah, he’s fine-”

“Then get your ass over here.” Beomgyu clenches his teeth, checking his watch on his wrist for what feels like the millionth time. He’s been sitting on the bench outside their university library for the last ten minutes, wondering where the hell his friend was. They were supposed to meet at 4:30PM and walk together to the art building.

Yeonjun had the audacity to keep him waiting and then call to cancel on him? Oh hell no.

“Beomgyu, I can’t.”

“Is he dead? Is he actively dying?!”

“Well, no, but-”

“Then he’ll be fine.” Beomgyu puts extra emphasis on the ‘fine.’ He wouldn't be saying all of this unless he was confident that Soobin was okay. But the fucker just fell and hurt his pinky finger, and is now being a baby about it. He’ll live. “Tell him you’ll be back in an hour.”

“I can’t.” Yeonjun says again, sounding like he has no choice. “He needs me.”

“I NEED YOU!” Beomgyu roars, not caring if he’s raising his voice and throwing a fit in public. This is an emergency situation. He stands up and begins pacing in front of the library, his stress rising with each passing second.

Yeonjun is supposed to be his model for his photography project. As an art major, film photography is one of the required courses he has to take in order to fulfill his credits and graduate. His final grade in the class is determined by three photography projects over the course of the semester and a final.

A few weeks ago, he asked both Yeonjun and Soobin to model for his first project in the class. A mistake he soon realized when it turned into a couples photoshoot against his will. He prepared poses for them that had them close to each other - simply draping an arm over the other’s shoulder, or standing pressed up against each other. It wasn’t anything sexy, or at least it wasn’t intended to be, but the two somehow ended up making out in the middle of the shoot. The looks they were sending each other, the touches that lingered - it was like Beomgyu wasn’t even there. Taking photos for a literal grade. It would’ve worked if the theme was something along the lines of “blazing passion” or “desire,” but the assignment was “memories.”

There was nothing Beomgyu wanted to remember from that day.

He wanted to set them (and his eyes) on fire.

Because he learned to never be in the same room alone with the most obnoxious couple on campus, he planned for his second photography project to be a solo shoot with only Yeonjun.

Beomgyu booked the photography studio for 5:00PM.

And Soobin just had to slip on a patch of ice and fracture his finger five minutes before their scheduled meetup time.

“Do you want me dead?! If I leave right now, he will literally kill me.” Yeonjun hisses into the phone. “And then I’d be the one in the hospital! You know how he is!”

Scary. Soobin is scary when he’s angry. But his grade is at stake here. Yeonjun’s life takes the back seat. “What am I supposed to do?” Beomgyu shoots back, annoyance and anxiety bubbling up inside of him. There is not enough time to come up with a backup plan; he was not expecting the main subject of his project to back out on such short notice.

“Can’t you find another model?”

Beomgyu runs a hand through his hair as he considers his options. “I mean, I guess I can? But in less than half an hour?” He already checked the schedule, the studio completely booked out for the next two weeks. Their university has a large art program but only one photography studio - horrible planning and foresight on their part. If he misses his scheduled time today, he will not get another opportunity to book a slot before the project is due.

Basically, he’s fucked unless he finds another model in the next twenty minutes.

His mind shuffles through all the friends he could possibly ask. Seungmin? No, he’s at work. Minho? He always commutes home after his last class. Anyone who isn’t already on campus won’t be able to arrive on time.

Beomgyu sweats and panic starts settling in, hoping there’s at least one person who doesn’t already have plans on this wonderful Wednesday evening.

“Oh my god, Soobin is calling for me.” Yeonjun breaks his spiraling thoughts of impending doom and failure, “I’m so sorry, Beoms. I hope you find someone to fill in!” The older hurries through his words and quickly hangs up the phone.

Oh, Yeonjun better hopes he can find someone too. Or he's going to be the one sending him to the hospital instead.

Beomgyu scrolls through his recent texts, cursing his model, who left him out to die, and his dramatic, clingy boyfriend. He’s never asking his best friends for any kind of academic help ever again.

He stops at Jeongin’s name. He should be on campus. Beomgyu quickly presses the call button, holding up the phone to his ear and praying that Jeongin will deliver him the good news he needs and be his savior.

The other picks up on the third ring. “Hello?”

“Hey?Areyoufreerightnow?” Beomgyu says in one breath, his heart racing in his chest as he awaits the answer.

“I’m painting rocks right now. Why? Did something happen?”

His heart drops. Right, how could he forget? He literally spent an hour laughing until his stomach hurt when his friend first told him. Jeongin enrolled in an art class once a week where they paint rocks. It’s weird and so fucking random, but art is art, Beomgyu supposes. The art class is located all the way across the city. “Damn, I forgot. I wanted to see if you were still on campus. I need a model for my photography project ASAP.”

“I wish I could help.” Jeongin sounds sorry, the absolute sweetheart he is. But useless. “Maybe Heeseung?”

Jeongin sends him a photo of the rock he’s currently painting after they hang up. A scene from Lord of the Rings on the flat side of a large rock. Once again, a strange hobby, but Beomgyu can’t deny that it’s impressive.

Beomgyu dials Heeseung’s number next.

He doesn't wait and immediately speaks when he hears him pick up.“Heeseung, where are you? What are you doing right now?”

“Why? Are you asking me out on a date?”

“No????” Beomgyu wrinkles up his face at the horrible accusation. “What the f- are you busy or not?!”

“Sorry, man, I’m at the ice rink. Sunghoon is going to teach me how to jump the triple axel.” Heeseung laughs.

Beomgyu seriously doubts that’s happening right now. Only the top figure skating athletes can perform an axel jump with three and a half rotations in the air. “Try learning how to stop properly on the ice instead of slamming into the wall first.” He clicks his tongue in disappointment as another one of his model prospects is ruled out. “I was going to ask you to model for my photography project, but it seems like you're too busy breaking your ankles.”

“You think I'm model material? I'm flattered.”

Beomgyu scoffs. Now this is why he didn’t want to call Heeseung first. It would only feed his ego. “No, I’ll take anyone who’s available. Even Shrek.”

“Shrek is fucking sexy, so I don’t really see your point.”

Beomgyu calls Jimin next. If anyone has his back, it would be Lim Jimin. When he discovered at four in the morning that his car was towed (because he stupidly forgot it was street sweeping day), after staying at the art building to finish a painting project, Jimin came and picked him up with no complaints.

When he answers the phone, Beomgyu doesn’t waste time and cuts to the chase, “Hey, are you busy?”

“I’m at Target right now, buying stuff I don’t need.” Jimin snickers, amusement in his voice. “There’s this light-up hello kitty clock that is calling my name.”

“Can you get on campus,” Beomgyu checks the time again, “in fifteen minutes?”

He can hear Jimin thinking and considering it over the phone.

“Is that a challenge? I think I can if I speed and run all the red lights.”

“Never mind.” Beomgyu shakes his head and sighs, already resigned to the fact that this one is a bust as well. “It’s fine, I’ll find someone else.” But with every rejection and the clock continuing counting down, Beomgyu is becoming less and less confident that he can.

There’s a suspicious pause.

“I’m serious, Jimin, don’t do it.”

Beomgyu calls everyone else he can think of. He even called Hyunjae, a classmate who he was paired up with for an art history class presentation last semester. They’re not even friends, but at least he knows he's a student and could be on campus.

Not one person is available.

Fuck, what should he do? Beomgyu is freaking out.

With only ten minutes until five, he might as well save time and head to the art building first. He’ll figure it out along the way. He has no other choice.

Taking the familiar route to the hall, Beomgyu continues scrolling through his contacts. He debates calling Yeonjun again and straight up guilt tripping him, he’ll make do even if he shows up late. He looks up momentarily to make sure he doesn’t bump into anybody on his way, when his eyes settles on a stranger twenty feet in front of him.

And Beomgyu can’t help but stare. Because walking in the direction towards him, is the most attractive guy he’s ever seen in his life. Strong angular features, a defined jaw, sharp nose, dark round eyes.

He would be the perfect model.

Beomgyu’s breath hitches, and he freezes in his tracks, a sudden thought popping into his mind. Should he ask a total stranger to be his model? Hell, should he ask this super hot stranger? Normally, he would be a little wary of talking to a stranger, even more if it's an attractive stranger, but he’s desperate right now. This photography project is worth 25% of his final grade. Fuck it, he's got nothing to lose. He sucks in a breath and decides to go for it.

He jogs to close the short distance between him and the handsome stranger, throwing pride and self-preservation out the window. “Hey!” he calls out, waving at him to gain his attention, “Do you want to be a model?”

The stranger comes to a halt and blinks, then looks behind him to check if Beomgyu is speaking to someone else.

“Yes, you!” Beomgyu points. He’s pressed for time, and the words begin to spill out before he can think. “I’m looking for a model, and I think you would be perfect for the job. It’s easy, don’t worry.” He says it so quickly that he’s surprised if the stranger had even registered it at all.

“Oh, I-” the stranger starts.

But Beomgyu keeps going, not yet finished with his unpracticed pitch. This guy screams model material, he can’t let this opportunity slip by. “Just a couple of shots. Only for an hour! I promise it won’t take up too much of your time! You are just the right person I need for this!” Adrenaline is pumping through his body, all reservations about approaching a stranger completely gone. There’s no shame anymore, he needs to give it all to convince him.

The clock is ticking, and Beomgyu can feel his heart racing along with it, “Right now!” he adds, “Literally right now. You just have to follow me!”

The stranger takes a slight step back, a confused look on his gorgeous face, “Can I have your name first?”

“Right,” Beomgyu says, nodding. He really should have started with that. “Beomgyu. My name is Choi Beomgyu.”

The man standing across from him purses his lips together, as if thinking deeply about his offer. “I need to think about it.”

“Um. I need to know right now. It’s urgent.” Beomgyu almost pleads, “I’ll pay you.” He offers as the last resort. He’s not sure how much, but surely that would be a great incentive for the stranger to agree to be his model. He needs him to say yes.

He nervously waits for the stranger’s answer. His hands begin to sweat, and his heartbeat is thunderous in his ears. If this handsome stranger says no, it’ll be over. He can kiss his perfect GPA goodbye. He’ll just sit alone in the photography studio and cry for the hour he has it reserved.

After a couple seconds of silence where Beomgyu can only hear the thumping of his own heart, the stranger finally answers: “Okay, just a second. I need to make a call.”

Beomgyu nods excitedly, hope exploding in his chest. It wasn’t an outright rejection! Perhaps the stranger is seriously considering it! “Okay, yeah. Sure!”

He waits as the stranger walks off the side to make a phone call. He glances at his wristwatch, stress levels spiking when he realizes he has less time than he thought. There's only five more minutes until 5:00PM. Beomgyu needs to get to the studio ASAP. If he’s not there by the check-in time, he will lose his reservation. He needs to know if the stranger is in or not.

Beomgyu makes his way towards where the stranger is standing, to let him know he needs his answer right away. He wonders what the stranger's call is about, his facial expression stern and serious. As Beomgyu comes a little closer, he accidentally overhears a bit of the conversation.

“Yes, I suspect it is a scam.” The handsome stranger says into the phone, “This could be a potentially dangerous ploy to lure students on campus.”

Scam?

“Yes.” he nods, “Please consider an investigation on potential human trafficking.”

What is going on?

“I do. I have his name and a description of what he looks like.”

Woah, this sounds pretty scary.

“Choi Beomgyu.”

. . .

WHAT THAT’S ME

“Hey!” Beomgyu blurts out, eyes wide open in shock. Did this guy just suspect him of being a scammer?! No, worse. A person involved in the illegal exploitation of another person?

The stranger looks up and they lock eyes for a solid second. He lowers his voice to quickly report, but Beomgyu can hear him loud and clear. “He knows I’m onto him. He seems extremely desperate and I think he’s going to abduct me.” He abruptly hangs up the phone and takes off in the opposite direction.

Beomgyu chases after him. “Wait!” What did he just get accused of? “This is a misunderstanding!” And why is this guy so fast? He shouts his innocence, trailing further and further behind. Damn, the stranger’s running form is so good! Who is this guy?! They must look crazy to all the onlookers, fellow students staring as they sprint past them. Beomgyu wants to die of embarrassment, his face red and hot (or is it from the running?), but he needs to clear things up before something really terrible happens and his reputation suffers.

“Wait!” He calls again after him, “I’m not a human trafficker!”

Oh fuck, people’s heads are turning. He shouldn’t have shouted that out loud in the middle of campus.

“Please!” He tries again, hoping the stranger can still hear him from the distance that is steadily increasing. “I’m just an art student here taking film photography this semester!”

That seemed to do the trick. Beomgyu thinks the begging and panicked sound in his voice contributed. The stranger looks behind his shoulder and starts slowing down, intrigued yet hesitant, but fully coming to a stop on the sidewalk.

Winded when he catches up to him, Beomgyu gasps for air. “Please, hear me out.”

He takes a second to catch his breath from the sprinting. “My friend was supposed to be my model” -wheeze- “but something came up at the last minute.”

He’s bent over, hands on his knees. The universe really did decide to humble him and show him just how out of shape he is today. Beomgyu looks up after regulating his breathing, “I really need a model for my photography assignment. Please, I was wondering if you could help me?”

The stranger still looks skeptical. Maybe it’s because of his cute puppy dog eyes, or maybe because Beomgyu looked so pitiful and pathetic, that the stranger pauses, and finally says “Okay.”

***

The good thing about the impromptu exercise is that at least they ran in the direction of the art building. Beomgyu leads them up the small rise of stairs and into the old building. “Thanks for agreeing,” he pushes the door and holds it open for the both of them, “what’s your name?”

“Taehyun.” The handsome stranger simply responds, quiet and cautious. He eyes him and keeps his distance.

Beomgyu turns to the left and heads towards the stairway. “The studio is in the basement of the art building.”

Taehyun shoots him a look.

It is now that Beomgyu realizes how telling someone to follow you to a dark basement might sound like. “I KNOW IT SOUNDS CREEPY. BUT BELIEVE ME.” He waves his hand in a panic, hoping Taehyun doesn’t change his mind and dash right out the door.

They descend the steps until they reach the lowest floor. Why the studio is here, Beomgyu has no fucking clue. And it doesn’t help that there is absolutely no one around. Since all the classes are in the morning, there are not many students currently in the building. Some students are probably tucked away in the painting studios or the digital lab, coming later in the day to work on their projects. But for now, it’s just the two of them on the basement floor. Beomgyu sweats nervously, the surroundings not helping his case. The lights are eerily yellow and flickering, the age of the building showing. This really does look suspicious.

When they reach the end of the hall, he turns and unlocks a room with a key given to him by the receptionist when he checked in at exactly five o'clock. Beomgyu enters the studio first and turns on the light. Even though the rest of the art building looks ancient and on the verge of falling apart (because the university pours all of its funds into the STEM buildings, but Beomgyu is not going to get into that), the professional photography studio is actually quite nice. It’s probably the newest and most updated part of the entire hall. There is a large white backdrop in the center of the room with fancy lighting surrounding it.

Taehyun doesn't follow after him and stops at the door. "How do I know you're actually not a scammer?" He crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow, "That you're not lying to me?"

He's still suspicious of him. Beomgyu can't say he blames him. But he's already gotten this far, he can't have Taehyun turn back now. "Because I'm a tired and poor college student? Do I look like someone that has time to scam someone?" He gestures to himself, hoping he looks somewhat trustworthy.

Taehyun looks at him for a long moment; his eyes flicker up and down as if checking him out. "Hmm. You're right," before stepping in.

What does that mean...whatever.

Beomgyu sighs in relief. He’s glad he found a model and made it on time, or another student could have taken his slot. “Okay, I have an hour booked.” Beomgyu says, shrugging off his backpack onto the floor.

He takes his film camera out of his bag, and gets everything ready for the shoot. There’s a wall by the door with a bunch of switches that control all the different indoor studio lighting. “Can you stand there?” He directs Taehyun to the center. Taehyun steps onto the white flooring and stands in front of the white backdrop.

He looks around the studio, silently observing the place. "So, how much are you paying me again?"

Right, he did promise that. “Depends. How much experience do you have?” Beomgyu attempts to joke lightly, walking over to the panel of light switches.

"I modeled when I was younger." Taehyun casually reveals.

Oh goddamn. Beomgyu can't afford him. What are the chances that he asked an actual model to model for him? But with Taehyun's looks, he guesses he shouldn't be that surprised. He holds up a finger, "I'll buy you coffee for a week."

"Add in a pastry."

Did Taehyun forget the part where he said he was a poor college student? "One blueberry muffin." Beomgyu tries to bargain - a pastry every day would break the bank.

The other stops to consider it. "A ham and cheese croissant and we got ourselves a deal."

"Deal." He can work with that. Beomgyu brings the camera up to his eyes, focusing on Taehyun through the viewfinder. He’s silent as he maps out the composition, testing out the aperture, and plans out his vision for the shoot. He begins fiddling and testing out the lighting, until he’s satisfied with how it looks on Taehyun’s features. The theme for the project is “details.”

"How do you want me to pose?" Taehyun shifts on his feet.

Beomgyu lowers his camera. “You don’t have to do any special pose. They are going to be pretty close-up shots.”

When Taehyun gives him a confused look, Beomgyu explains further: “I’m going to be focusing on the small details. The shots are gonna be pretty close, so if you’re uncomfortable, let me know.”

Taehyun only nods in understanding.

“You can just stand, but,” Beomgyu moves closer and lifts his hand, before stopping mid-air, “May I?”

When he gets permission, Beomgyu reaches and touches Taehyun’s face to move him how he wants him. With a finger, he tilts Taehyun’s chin up, guiding him and turning his face to the side.

“You can close your eyes.” Beomgyu says next.

“You want me to close my eyes?” Taehyun squints, “so I can let my guard down for you to kidnap me? This sounds like a tactic a human trafficker would use.”

“No?! What, I..that's-that's not." Beomgyu stutters. Is Taehyun still wary of him?

But Taehyun grins, Beomgyu now realizing the other was messing with him. He blushes and watches as Taehyun flutters his eyes shut in response to his command.

Beomgyu brings the camera up to his face, coming closer and zooming into Taehyun’s side profile. Damn, his facial features are stunning. It’s perfect for this project, every detail on his face perfectly sculpted. Beomgyu focuses on the details of his lips, nose, his cheek bones. He can't believe he got so lucky getting the most handsome guy he's even seen agreeing to model for him.

Beomgyu snaps a few close up shots of his eyelashes.

But with such close inspection on his face, Beomgyu can easily pick up the other’s unease. There’s a stiffness in the muscles of his face, his expression tense and uncomfortable rather than relaxed. It’s understandable given that they only met a few minutes ago. They're still complete strangers, it might take a while to get comfortable with each other. But, didn't he say he modeled before? An experienced model shouldn't look this awkward.

"Did you lie on your resume?" Beomgyu furrows his brow, "I thought you were used to getting your pictures taken?"

"I said I modeled when I was a kid. It's been a long time." Taehyun responds with his eyes still closed.

Beomgyu continues looking at Taehyun through the viewfinder. The other's nervousness still clear. He doesn't want this to translate in his photos.

He needs to do something.

Maybe Taehyun needs a little confidence boost.

“Sleepy beauty who?! She wished she had your eyelashes!” He says, an effort to make the other more comfortable by complimenting and hyping him up.

Taehyun blinks his eyes open in surprise, not expecting the sudden comment.

Beomgyu moves the focus of the lens down from his eyes to his jaw. “Damnnnn, this jaw line, so sharp!”

Taehyun snorts, "I know, you don't have to tell me." but it cracks a small smile out of him. And seeing him smile, makes Beomgyu smile a little too. He wants his model to grow accustomed and more comfortable with him - it would make the pictures turn out better and this whole process easier.

With every exaggerated compliment, the awkwardness and slight tension in the studio grows smaller and smaller.

He takes a picture of Taehyun running his hand through his hair, to get the details and texture of the strands and how they fall.

He takes pictures of the veins on his arms, every detail of how they run down and cover his forearms.

They're prominent, the sight of them making Beomgyu want to trace his fingers over them. “You’re the perfect patient for a phlebotomist; taking your blood must be so easy!”

Beomgyu instantly regretted his comment and his poor way of phrasing things when Taehyun side eyes him.

“Was that too weird?” Beomgyu blushes, coughing awkwardly and directs Taehyun to the next pose to hide his embarrassment.

It’s strangely intimate. Taking pictures and getting so close to another person’s body. Beomgyu gulps, this photo concept is not good for his sanity right now. He asked Taehyun to be his model because he was strikingly handsome, but god, now he wonders if this was a good idea after all. To ask such an attractive person, someone exactly his type, to be his model. To be alone, being up close and personal, for a full hour.

It’s fascinating how his camera is capturing all the little details of Taehyun. There’s so much about a person’s hands. The curve and length of his fingers, the shape of his pink nail beds and the roundness of them. The lines on his palms and where they crease when he closes his hand into a fist. The smoothness of his skin on the back of his hand, youthful and healthy.

It makes him want to touch his skin, to confirm whether it's really as soft and smooth as it looks. The camera is capturing it, but Beomgyu wants to experience it for himself. To run his fingers over each detail of Taehyun's features, tracing and mapping every curve. He's so fucking gorgeous, Beomgyu just wants to take a bite out of that collarbone.

He hasn’t noticed how quiet the studio has become, so captivated and engrossed with appreciating all the little details of his model, that he has forgotten to continue the compliments to ease the other.

Beomgyu snaps out of his heated thoughts, and clears his throat, ignoring how Taehyun is looking at him. “You’re so handsome! If you were trash, I would take you out!”

Honestly, a really horrible line. Taehyun pretends not to find it funny, but Beomgyu can see him shake a tiny bit with laughter.

He'll notice every detail of Taehyun by now, after spending an entire hour looking at him up close. Beomgyu swells with pride that his silly compliments seemed to work.

With Taehyun as his model, there’s no way he’s not getting an A on this assignment. If that isn’t the best nose he’s ever seen in his life, he doesn’t know what is.

“As promised, I will buy you coffee every day for a week as payment. Thanks again, you’re a lifesaver.” He’s relieved and glad that Taehyun is surprisingly easygoing, despite calling the campus police on him. Honestly, Beomgyu thanks the heavens he wasn’t billed $1000, the least Taehyun should charge for his looks and time.

“Why’d you ask me to be your model?” Taehyun asks as they leave the art building, soon to part ways. "You had no other friends?"

“They were all busy.” Beomgyu clicks his tongue. “The real question is: why did you accept?”

“You were pretty sketchy,” Taehyun admits, averting his eyes and looking back at the red brick building. “but film photography is pretty cool. I’ve never taken an art class before.”

“You can come with me when I go to develop the film tomorrow.” Beomgyu suggests without thinking. He doesn’t know why he does it; they hardly know each other.

Taehyun takes a second, as if going through his entire schedule for the day tomorrow in his head. He hums, “That would be cool.”

Beomgyu didn’t think Taehyun would take him up on his offer, considering the mess that was their first meeting. The thought of possibly seeing more of this handsome stranger is making his stomach feel all giddy and fluttery. “Sounds good. Can I have your number? I’ll text you when.”

Beomgyu
Thanks for modeling for me today
Seriously
I really owe you

Taehyun
No problem
I’m curious to see how they turn out

Beomgyu
also...can you take back that report
I dont want the cops after me...

***

Yeonjun and Soobin make fun of him and don't stop laughing when he meets up with them during lunch the next day and explained what happened.

"I can't-" Yeonjun wheezes, "a SCAMMER! oh god, that's hilarious! He even called security on you!" The older breaks out into a fit of laughter, Beomgyu holding himself back from throwing his sandwich in his face. It was this bastard's fault he had to find a replacement model in the first place.

Soobin snorts, "Honestly, I would've done the same thing."

Actually, it was this bastard's fault.

Beomgyu rolls his eyes, ignoring the two as they continue to crack up at his embarrassing first encounter with Taehyun yesterday. He pulls out his phone, remembering that he promised to text him about what time he's heading to the photo developing room today. Developing film takes quite a while, he would be spending a decent amount time with Taehyun again. The mere thought of seeing the other again is makes his heart rate pick up a little.

Beomgyu
I’m going to develop the film today around 5:30PM
Meet at the art building if you’re free?

Taehyun
I’ll see you there

They meet in front of the old art building. Beomgyu's hands are cold from the chilly March air, holding onto the two ice americanos he got for himself and Taehyun. He didn't know the other's typical order, so he ended up getting two of his usual.

“As promised.” He grins and hands the paper cup over.

“Iced americano even when it’s cold?” The other comments. "So you're that type, huh?" he says, still accepting the beverage.

The smile he receives from Taehyun is light and warm, a great contrast to the cool of the winter evening.

Beomgyu shows them the old elevator on the side of the building. It’s small, and he wouldn’t be surprised if it broke down because it’s so old it probably was around when mammoths were still walking the earth. But the darkroom is literally on the top floor - he’s not going to walk up all those flights of stairs. When they’re in the creaky elevator, Beomgyu pushes the button to the fifth floor. The elevator struggles to operate and starts making concerning noises as it begins to move. It rises so fucking slowly it’s embarrassing. The two stand in silence on what feels like the longest elevator ride ever.

They walk down the hallway after getting off the death elevator to where his photography class is located. The darkroom is on the left, and the developer room to the right. Beomgyu leads them into the developer room. There are multiple stools in front of a stainless steel three-compartment sink. Taehyun takes a seat on a stool.

Beomgyu removes the film cassette from his camera, and holds up the little plastic cylinder for Taehyun to see. “First, I gotta load the film onto the reel.” Beomgyu already feels like breaking out into a sweat. This is the most stressful part of the process, because he has to do it all in the dark. Exposing the film to light would fog and destroy the negative, losing his photos.

There’s a row of three small closets on the opposite side of the sink. He has to go in one of them to load the film onto the reel. Once inside, he has to open the film cassette with a bottle opener, take the film out of the cassette, and cut the end of the film with scissors. Then, he has to hook the film onto the metal reel and start winding. Imagine winding an entire roll of film around a metal reel in complete darkness, not being able to see what you’re doing. If he rolls it too tight, the photos would touch and wouldn’t be able to develop correctly. But if he winds it too loosely, because the reel is only so big, he could run out of space and have to start over. And if his fingers touch the inner parts of the film, it could ruin the photos. So many things could go wrong. He points to a closet in the middle, “I'm gonna go in there for a bit.”

Taehyun moves to get up from the stool, "I'll come with."

"What?" Beomgyu freezes, not expecting Taehyun to want to go inside the closet with him.

"I wanna see." Taehyun explains, "The process and how you do it."

"The point is that you can't see." Beomgyu scrunches up his face, "So, no. I'll do it by myself, you would just be distracting me."

"How? I'll be quiet."

The closet is an empty room with only a shelf to put your materials on. It's also tiny. Beomgyu thinks about him and Taehyun in the small closet together, and how they would definitely be touching and pressed up against each other. His skin starts heating up imagining how they would fit in the enclosed space, how close their faces would be. Yes, that would be plenty distraction. Beomgyu wouldn't exactly say no to being close in a dark space with Taehyun. But not now, not here. He can't afford to mess up his only roll of film. "Because there's no fucking room in there, and you'll be in my way."

He emerges from the dark closet a couple minutes later with his film safely inside a metal film tank that prevents light from entering. The lid of the small container has a special opening where the chemicals can be poured in, while still being light protected.

Beomgyu goes through the procedure of developing the film step by step, explaining as Taehyun observes quietly. Developer, stop bath, fixer - all in that order. He turns the timer clock leaning against the wall on the shelf for each step, each requiring a different amount of time. “This involves a lot of waiting.” He explains, holding onto the film tank and turning it in his hands every 30 seconds so the liquid can spread evenly. While waiting for the chemicals to do their thing,

“So, what's your major?”

“Chemistry.”

A chemistry major. His natural enemy. Beomgyu raises an eyebrow, “So, how’s the new STEM building? The shiny new labs must be nice.” While there’s a total of ONE art building, with an elevator that feels like he’s risking his life every time he steps foot in it.

“I don’t know. It’s mostly for freshman bio classes and labs.”

"Oh." Beomgyu is a jerk. He’s sure there’s no bigger jerk in the world than him. Okay, that’s false. He can definitely think of other contenders. Minsoo from the seventh grade who stole his art, entered it in their school’s yearbook cover contest, and won. At the tender age of thirteen, Beomgyu learned the dark sides of plagiarism.

Once he does the final rinse, Beomgyu takes the metal reel out and removes the film. When the film is completely unwound, Beomgyu stops and inspects it. The photos came out well, nearly all of them retained. Sometimes, after going through all the process, he would lose some photos from the film not developing correctly. The areas would turn out completely grey, those photos lost forever. He holds the film strip so it falls down vertically, and hangs it up using a clothespin in a closet for it to dry.

“Wow.” Taehyun comments after sitting with him throughout the entire process. His eyes are wide with curiosity. “It’s so cool seeing how it all works.”

“I only have film to develop because of you. Thanks for agreeing to be my model again.” Beomgyu says. “And for keeping me company today. As you can see, it can get pretty boring.” Developing film isn’t an exciting process, but the mere presence of Taehyun made his night all the better. The other asked him questions and seemed genuinely interested, it made Beomgyu feel pretty cool sharing his interest and expertise to the science major.

“No problem, it’s good to learn something new,” Taehyun responds. He frowns, “I’m sorry I called security on you.”

Beomgyu laughs, “I told my friends what happened yesterday and they said they would’ve done the same thing.”

“If you ever need a model again, I’ll be happy to help.” Taehyun offers.

“I’ll take you up on that.” Beomgyu jokes, “Don’t worry, I'll pay you with coffee every time.”

“A caramel macchiato next time,” Taehyun adds quietly, his face slightly turning pink, “with an extra pump of caramel.”

With how surprisingly cutely he said it, there’s no way Beomgyu would ever forget.

***

They meet up every day at Coffee Nap Roasters, a cafe near their campus, that week for Beomgyu to fulfill his end of the deal. Taehyun is slow to warm up, but it soon becomes more comfortable and less awkward between them. They share their every day, Taehyun curious about his life as an art student - so different from his own. The chemistry major is extremely dedicated to his studies, and has never skipped a lecture before. As they are both in their third year, Beomgyu cannot believe how that is possible. He was already behind on his readings by the second week of the spring semester. But he makes up for it by pulling all nighters a couple days before an exam. It’s not smart, and he feels like death every time, but it’s been working so far.

Taehyun frowns after hearing his terrible study habits, “You know, if you studied and reviewed every day, you wouldn’t need to cram like that.”

“Yes, that is correct. But I’m simply choosing not to make good decisions here.”

Taehyun gives him a pointed look. "So you like making your life hard for yourself."

“Okay, fine.” Beomgyu sighs, “Maybe having a fucked up sleeping schedule isn’t the best for me, but I just can’t seem to find the motivation to study a bit every day.”

“Maybe we could study together?” Taehyun suggests, casually twirling a pen between his fingers. “It might help for both you and me. Mostly you though.”

Beomgyu snorts at the comment. "What do we even have in common to study together?" He eyes the chemistry major.

"Fine, go turn to your energy drinks and die."

Since then, their little coffee exchange at the quiet cafe evolved into mini study sessions for both of them. They don’t exchange many words; just cups of hot coffee, the sound of typing on a laptop, pages turning, and scribbles of pen on paper. There's something so peaceful and calming about studying with Taehyun in the quiet cafe. Occasionally, Beomgyu would peek up from his notes just to gaze at the other sitting across from him. The sight of the his concentrated expression is incredibly motivating - it inspires Beomgyu to keep up and put in more effort. And maybe sometimes he’s bored from rereading the notes from his ancient western art history class, and looks simply to admire.

It's nice. He likes being around the other like this, in his quiet yet alluring presence. It's refreshing, an interaction so different than when he is with his other friends.

When his third photography project came around, Beomgyu didn’t hesitate to ask Taehyun to be his model again.

***

“What are you going to do for your final project?” Hueningkai, who is in his photography class, asks him while they’re developing film.

He has been brainstorming some ideas, but nothing concrete yet. “I’m planning on some shots with Taehyun.”

Hueningkai hums, agitating his film tank with his right hand. “Your boyfriend is good looking.”

Beomgyu chokes, nearly falling off the stool he was sitting on. He whips his head so fast he’s surprised he didn't strain a muscle in his neck, staring wide-eyed at the other, “Boyfriend? What?!”

Hueningkai wrinkles up his face in confusion, finding his reaction odd. “He’s the guy from your second and third project, right? And now your final project?”

Beomgyu opens his mouth and closes it again, still stunned and surprised from the assumption. Why would Hueningkai think so? He shakes his head to decline, “He’s-he’s not my boyfriend.”

Now it’s Hueningkai's turn to look shocked. “Oh, your pictures seem like you guys are close.”

“H-how?” He stutters, taken aback by the unexpected observation. Beomgyu is not even in the pictures.

After the initial bewilderment, Hueningkai explains, “The camera serves as an eye. You can tell a lot from the photographer’s gaze. The structure and content of your photos, a certain look.” He pauses, organizing his thoughts and choosing his words carefully. “There’s just this loving gaze in your photos.”

Beomgyu had no idea. Does his entire class think that? Pick up on that? He wants to crawl in a hole and never show his face again. He didn’t realize he was photographing Taehyun in a way that appeared affectionate, and obvious enough for Hueningkai to notice. That is so embarrassing. The thought of his pictures screaming ‘hey, I like you!’

Hueningkai taps his chin, "It's more like 'I want you!'" He pauses, then smirks, "Maybe loving gaze isn't the right word. It's more like an...appreciative gaze? thirsty gaze?"

Beomgyu buries his head in his hands. That's even more embarrassing.

***

“Hueningkai from my photography class thinks Taehyun is my boyfriend. Funny, right?” Beomgyu brings up to their table during lunch.

Yeonjun and Soobin exchange glances. “He’s not?” Soobin finally asks.

“What?” Beomgyu squeaks, his eyes darting between the two. “You guys thought so too?”

“You meet up every day at the cafe to have coffee together.” Yeonjun points out.

“I’m buying coffee as payment for agreeing to model for my projects.”

“I didn’t know buying someone coffee for a week extended to all the weeks.”

Beomgyu’s cheeks redden furiously at being called out. They have been continuing to meet up for coffee and study together every day since Taehyun first helped him out with his photography project. Even after the week where he promised to buy coffee for Taehyun as payment are up, Beomgyu continues to treat Taehyun to his favorite caramel macchiato. It’s become sort of a routine for them.

His world is still the same, with Taehyun making it a little brighter. He’s still taking the same courses, he’s still working the same part-time job, his everyday routine remains the same. But there’s a little more joy in his mornings, more pep in his step on his way to class, the iced americano he always gets somehow tastes better when he’s sitting with Taehyun in the cafe. There’s something about Taehyun that makes him feel at ease. He's doesn't talk much when he's serious and focused, but when he does, it's sarcastic and clever. His calming and captivating presence is something Beomgyu wants to spend more and more time in. He’s come to look forward to these meetings-

“You mean study dates.”

“Fine! Okay, maybe I like him.” Beomgyu throws his hands up and admits for the first time out loud. First Hueningkai, now Yeonjun and Soobin. He can’t believe it took multiple people around him to help him realize his feelings for the chemistry major. The feelings crept up on him from behind, it wasn’t flat out in his face like he expected. Beomgyu thought having a crush would sweep him off his feet, lead him down a road of disgusting lovesickness, engulfing him in a haze of passion and desire, someone that would turn his world upside down. But Taehyun came and turned that all around.

Yeonjun claps his hands together, “You should talk to him! You don’t want to take too long and dance around your feelings.”

Beomgyu knows that Yeonjun and Soobin took a long time to get together. They met in middle school, dated other people, and finally got together in their third year in university. Now that they've got their shit together, they're an insufferable couple, but he would much rather have that than the weird tension between them before.

“You’re one to say.” Soobin scoffs, rolling his eyes.

Yeonjun stops to send Soobin a glare. “How was I supposed to know your ex and your project partner for the whole entire semester had the same name! I thought you were texting and meeting up with your ex the entire time.”

“You could’ve asked.”

“Like you’re any better.” Yeonjun retorts, “You could’ve confessed to me first.”

“How could I? I wasn’t even sure if you were single or not! You had “darling” as a contact saved in your phone, and talked on the phone with this darling all the time. Can you blame me for assuming you and Wooyoung had a thing going on?”

Yeonjun shrugs, then grins, “They are my darlings, but you’re my only honey.” and blows him a kiss.

Soobin rolls his eyes, but Beomgyu can see the faint blush on his cheeks. Soobin ignores Yeonjun’s annoying grin and focuses back on the topic, “What we’re trying to say is, learn from us and communicate.”

Yeonjun laughs, “Exactly! What's the worst that can happen? You get rejected?”

“Yeah, like how you rejected me in middle school?” Soobin mutters under his breath.

“I didn’t like you back then!”

Soobin turns to him and points at his boyfriend, “You know what that fucker said to me back then? I told him I liked him and he said “I know” and walked away!” He explodes, “the fucking nerve!”

Yeonjun holds both hands up in an attempt to shield himself from Soobin’s wrath. “Anyways, the semester is ending soon. Beoms, you better make a move soon.”

Beomgyu thinks about it. What confessing to Taehyun would look like......no no no nope. Taehyun is so out of his league: drop dead gorgeous, witty, smart, and studious.

Beomgyu will cross that bridge when he gets there.

***

Beomgyu booked the photography studio for 5:00PM again for his final project.

The concept for the final is “form.” And oh god, does Taehyun have amazing form. He asked him to wear a tight, long-sleeve black shirt for the photoshoot, and now it’s going to be the death of him. The shape of his toned, defined arms and chest is clearly accentuated by the tight fitting shirt. Damn, he didn’t know Taehyun worked out.

As usual, whenever they begin a shoot, Taehyun always looks slightly uncomfortable. Beomgyu thought he would have gotten used to it and broken through his shell by now, in the past weeks since they’ve known each other. He even did his research and discover that Taehyun did indeed model when he was a child - a picture of baby Taehyun plastered on the packaging of kids toys still on the the shelf today.

“Okay, tell me what to do.” Taehyun stands in the middle of white backdrop.

Beomgyu brings up the camera to look at Taehyun through the viewfinder, “Do yoga poses or something.”

Taehyun starts by doing the tree pose.

"Really? That's the best you could come up with?" Beomgyu laughs at the simple pose. But even so, Taehyun makes it look good.

"Hey, you didn't give me any specific instructions." Taehyun retorts.

“...maybe some stretching instead.” Beomgyu changes his mind, a defined pose looking too forced for the concept.

Again, Beomgyu throws in some compliments and encouraging phrases to help Taehyun feel less tense. “Looking stunning as always, Taehyun!”

Taehyun starts by extending both arms to the ceiling, bending his left elbow and touching his left hand to the top middle of his back, his other arm bending at a right angle to grasp his right elbow. It’s the overhead triceps stretch, for loosening up the muscles of the back and upper arms.

“Can you turn around so I can take a picture of your back?” Beomgyu directs.

Taehyun does as he is told, turning around so his back is now facing him. Beomgyu takes a few shots of how his arms bend and the empty space it creates.

He's glad he's behind Taehyun, so the other doesn't see his face reddening staring at his shoulders, arms, and the muscles of his back flexing. Beomgyu gulps, his eyes trailing down the line of Taehyun's spine from where he rests his left hand along the top of it. Damn, maybe Hueningkai was onto something.

Taehyun does multiple other stretches, showing off his body line and effectively reducing Beomgyu into a blushing mess.

“How can someone make stretching look so good?!”

Click.

“Be my gym trainer!”

Click.

Taehyun looks up at him and they make eye contact. Beomgyu becomes breathless.

“Gorgeous, you're just my type! Be my boyfriend already!”

The second that leaves his mouth, Beomgyu pretends it didn’t. He freezes, wishing Taehyun didn't notice his slip of tongue.

But Taehyun heard him and stills. “What?”

Beomgyu’s mouth goes dry. He didn’t mean to say that. He could play it off as a joke, but too much time has already passed for it to be believable.

“Do you mean it?” Taehyun asks, interrupting his internal panic.

Beomgyu gulps. “Um-I..” he struggles to respond, unsure of what direction to go. Is this the right moment to reveal all his feelings?

He must’ve looked like a bumbling fool. Taehyun doesn’t wait for him to form coherent words and sentences, “Do you know why I always seem so awkward in the pictures?”

“Because...your modeling skills are rusty?” Beomgyu says slowly, unsure of why this is relevant.

Taehyun snorts, “No, it’s because it’s you behind the camera. Whenever we start, you become all serious and focused.” Taehyun's face reddens, “You look really cool and I just-um, how do I say it? Become a little nervous I guess.”

It wasn’t being in front of a camera, it was him making Taehyun all nervous and flustered.

It then hits him why Taehyun offered to model for him again, why he wanted to go with him whenever he developed film, why he suggested studying together. He thought Taehyun was the reserved one, but he’s been the one subtly pulling all the moves the entire time.

How could he have missed all the signs?

It gives him all the courage he needs. “When I first met you, I thought you were really handsome. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of you.” Beomgyu confesses, feeling shy tenfold for basically admitting he was attracted to Taehyun from the beginning.

“When I first met you, I thought you were a criminal.”

Beomgyu groans at having the worst possible first impression ever. The mood in the room instantly lightens at the embarrassing memory. When he sees Taehyun chuckling, he has the bright idea to turn it around and make the best out of it. He grins, “I think you might be the criminal here.”

Taehyun stops and tilts his head.

Beomgyu winks and delivers his killer line: “Because you have stolen my heart.”

Taehyun lets out a relieved sigh and shakes his head, “I was wondering where you you were going with that.”

“I felon in love with you!” He nudges Taehyun, wiggling his eyebrows and trying to get a reaction out of him.

Taehyun wrinkles his face in mock disgust and punches his arm lightly, a slight blush across his cheeks. “It’s too soon for that. Shouldn’t you take me out on a date first?” He raises an eyebrow.

Beomgyu looks up at the clock - it’s only 5:30PM, half an hour left of his reservation. But he'd rather be somewhere else. Beomgyu begins packing his camera away, already confident he has all the pictures he needs for his final project. He throws his backpack over his shoulder and offers a hand for Taehyun to take, “When you say it like that, I’ll have no choice but to ask you on a date.”

***

Taehyun picks a small local gelato place a walkable distance from campus. At The Gelato Fiasco, you can choose as many flavors as you want as long at it fits in the size of the cup or cone. Beomgyu orders blueberry, mint chocolate chip, and coconut in a waffle cone. Taehyun orders raspberry and is trying really hard not to judge him for his combination of flavors.

When they go up to the register to ring up their order, Taehyun pays for both of them. “Let me treat you this time.”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t have gotten a waffle cone!” Beomgyu pouts after they find seating in the small shop. A waffle cone is a symbol of luxury. “I’ll get next time then.” He adds, patting himself on the back for smoothly securing that second date.

“Hey, smile.”

Beomgyu looks up from his gelato, Taehyun’s phone flashing and taking a picture of him off guard. Taehyun lowers the phone with a sheepish smile, “You’re always taking pictures of me. I want some of yours too.”

“Hey, I have a better idea.” Beomgyu takes out his phone and pushes their chairs closer, so they’re sitting with their shoulders and arms bumping. He switches to the front view camera and takes the picture.

“Can I see?” Taehyun leans in, his gelato accidentally bumping into Beomgyu’s arm. "Oh, fuck. Sorry." He waves at the mess and quickly pushes back his chair to go grab napkins.

“Wow,” Beomgyu looks at the picture, there’s a sunset behind them from the window - a range of multiple colors and hues their backdrop. It’s a beautiful photo, “so picturesque.”

Taehyun returns, handing him the napkin. “Picture us?”

Beomgyu laughs at Taehyun for accidentally mishearing him. He leans closer and shows him their first photo together, a stupid grin on his face. “I can definitely picture us together.”