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Endorsi jumped at the sudden camera flash, almost dropping her sandwich. She could hear Bam chuckling behind her. “Ha ha, very funny,” she said good-naturedly, rolling her eyes. “What’s that you got there? A camera?”
Bam nodded enthusiastically. “It’s a polaroid camera!” He lightly waved the printed picture up and down, waiting for the image to appear. “I was out shopping earlier and won it in one of those storefront lucky draws.”
“Well, if you’re gonna take pictures of me using that thing, at least get my good side.” Shoving her sandwich to the side, Endorsi fluffed up her hair and rested her chin on one hand. She tilted her head slightly and shot Bam a winning smile. “Something like this.”
Bam smiled politely. He didn’t really notice any difference in how the princess looked but decided to play along. He snapped another photo, then a few more as Endorsi insisted on posing this way and that way.
Bam then laid out all the pictures of Endorsi on the kitchen table. The princess carefully scrutinized them. She looked great in all of them, even the one where Bam caught her completely off guard. She huffed smugly - it was to be expected that a natural treasure like her would look good no matter what. The warm glow in the backdrop that appeared in all the shots really highlighted her beauty.
“Want to see the other photos I took?” Bam asked.
“Sure.”
The wave controller fished out at least a couple dozen polaroids he'd stored in the camera bag. Endorsi hummed as she sifted through them. There was Shibisu, Anaak, Hatz… all really nice shots of them with the same warm backdrop.
“I didn't know you were that good at photography,” she said. Bam managed to get everyone at their best angles.
“Me neither,” Bam said. “I’ve never used a polaroid camera until today.”
“Yeah, okay, Mr. Humble Bragger,” the princess joked.
They continued going through Bam’s pictures. More flattering shots of some other friends; Yuri, Hwaryun, Wangnan, Yihwa–
“What the hell happened here?” Endorsi pulled out a picture that looked pitch black save for what looked like a maliciously grinning clown face in the middle.
“Oh, that’s White,” Bam said flatly. “He wouldn’t leave me alone unless I took a photo of him.”
“Why does it look so cursed?!”
“Maybe because it’s White. He tends to ruin everything.” Bam took the offending picture and scrunched it up in his fist, vaporizing it with a shot of concentrated shinsu. “Keep going, there are a few left.”
Bam had taken some pictures of Rak, who looked oddly fuzzy and fluffy in the photos. The last several photos were of Khun. Endorsi’s eye twitched. It really was irritating how good that blue bastard looked in pictures. But what was really strange about Khun’s photos was the glittering pink sheen over all of them. Hearts and kiss prints decorated the pictures’ borders. She gave Bam a questioning look.
Bam laughed sheepishly. “Khun was the first person I tested the camera on,” he explained. “I think I accidentally turned on a filter so all his pictures came out looking like that. I don’t remember what button I pressed afterwards but I managed to fix it somehow.”
“Filter?” Endorsi said in confusion. “You mean you changed the cartridge?”
Now it was Bam’s turn to look puzzled. “What cartridge?”
“This is a polaroid camera,” she said slowly. “You can’t apply different filters and effects to your shots the way you would with a smartphone camera. The only way to do so would be to switch out the cartridge manually.” She fiddled around with the back of the camera, trying to find where the cartridge could be removed. To her bewilderment, there didn’t seem to be such a slot.
“I think I can help you solve this problem.” Shibisu grinned as he strolled into the kitchen. He took a long, audible sip of his juice.
“Are you gonna tell us or should I slap that irritating smirk off your face?” Endorsi griped.
Unfazed by the princess’s biting words, Shibisu said, “Bam, take a picture of me again.”
Bam nodded and did just that. Shibisu then said, “Alright, now give me the camera.” The wave controller handed the device over to the tracksuit man, who then took a picture of the other two. Afterwards, Shibisu lay the two shots side by side. When the images appeared, it left Bam and Endorsi even more baffled.
Bam’s photo of Shibisu looked the same as his other photos of him - a good, clear shot with that warm backdrop again. Shibisu’s photo however showed the pair as cute little kids.
“Wha– How did you do that?” Endorsi exclaimed, snatching up Shibisu’s picture for a closer look.
“Not me. The camera,” Shibisu chuckled. “It’s a novelty brand made with the same technology as shinsu polygraph machines. Basically, it reads the shinsu signature of whoever is taking the photo. The resulting image that prints out reflects how the photographer truly feels about the subject of the picture.”
“So the pictures I took of you guys look all nice and warm because I see you as my friends,” Bam said brightly.
“Bingo!” Shibisu took back the photo he snapped. “And because I see you two as my adorable children, you guys show up in my picture looking just as such.”
“Ick,” said Endorsi.
Bam looked both weirded out yet quite touched at Shibisu’s sentiment.
Endorsi continued, “You couldn’t have mentioned this to Bam earlier?”
“I assumed he knew,” Shibisu said defensively.
Bam shrugged. “When I won this thing, I just got the camera and a carrier bag for it.”
“Alright, say this camera does work the way you say it does.” The princess tapped a perfectly manicured nail at one of the photos of Khun. “So what does this mean, that Bam’s in love with Khun or something?” She and Shibisu burst into laughter.
Bam, however, suddenly went quiet. His eyes were wide with shock, his cheeks bright pink.
“Wait, seriously?!” Endorsi shouted. “Are you actually in love with him?!”
“I– I don’t know!” Bam stammered. “I mean, Khun’s my best friend! Of course he feels special to me! N-Not that you guys aren’t special, it’s just that Khun feels like a different sort of special! Like… like…”
“The kind of special that makes your heart flutter? That gives you the feeling of butterflies in your stomach? The kind of special you want to hold close, hug and kiss and all that?” Shibisu said, an excited grin growing on his face.
“U-Um, maybe?” Bam squeaked, squirming in his chair and looking adorably lost.
“Wow. Suddenly, you being oblivious to all the times I hit on you makes sense,” Endorsi muttered. “You’ve been oblivious even to your own feelings.”
“Huh– what do you mean you ‘hit on me’?” Bam asked, perplexed.
“Nevermind,” the princess sighed.
“What are you guys doing?”
It was Khun, who had walked into the kitchen to grab a snack. Bam reacted how anyone with a newly discovered crush would react - loudly shriek in a panic before bolting out the room.
Khun stared after Bam with a completely dumbfounded expression. He then turned his gaze towards the two left at the table. “Okay, what did you guys do to Bam?”
“Why do you always assume it’s our fault whenever your little boyfriend flips out?” Endorsi scoffed.
“Bam’s not my boyfriend,” Khun said, annoyed and having little patience for such jokes.
“Oh ho ho! Do I have news for you!” Shibisu said, shit-eating grin out in full force. He tossed an arm around Khun’s shoulder, guiding him towards a chair. “Sit down, my dear son. You’re going to want to hear this…”
*****
Bam had made a beeline to his room and turned himself into a Bam-sized lump on the bed, curled up and wrapped under a blanket. His heart raced, his nerves thrummed, and his head spun as he tried to process such a shocking revelation.
Him? In love? With Khun ?? It was like the pieces of the puzzle that were his unidentified feelings for the light bearer went from blissfully floating around to getting slapped into place. It was a terrifying sensation, not helped by the fact that he’d never fallen in love with anyone else before. This was completely uncharted territory and Bam was lost without a compass. Excuse him for freaking out just a little bit!
There was a knock on the door and a soft, “Bam?”
Bam’s heart lurched into his throat. It was Khun, the last person he wanted to see right now! He kept quiet, hoping the other would leave him to have his meltdown alone.
Of course, Khun did not leave, instead entering the room and sitting on the bed beside Bam, the springs creaking slightly under his weight. “Bam, listen… can we talk?” the light bearer asked, voice slightly strained. Bam didn’t reply. His heart was beating so loudly, he thought for sure Khun could hear it.
He heard Khun sigh. “Okay, well… sorry about this.”
In one swift motion, Khun yanked the blanket towards him. Bam squawked in surprise as he flailed onto his back, head popping out of his makeshift burrito. While Bam was still disoriented, Khun quickly snapped a photo of him.
“Ack! Khun!” Bam yelped as he reeled from the flash.
The polaroid printed out and Khun fanned the picture until the image started emerging. Wordlessly, he held it out in front of Bam’s face. The wave controller took it, looking quite indignant that Khun did such a thing, and squinted as he tried to make out what he saw.
It wasn’t a flattering photo of him by any means; the picture captured him with bleary eyes, messy hair, and faint lines imprinted on his cheek from the wrinkles of the blanket. However, an explosion of hearts and kiss prints framed his face. The entirety of the polaroid itself seemed to be laminated with a sheet of pink sparkles.
Bam’s widened eyes flicked between the picture and Khun rapidly. “Wait, this looks a lot like the photo I took of you…”
“Yup,” Khun said curtly.
Bam's breath hitched in his throat. “...So does this mean you also–”
“Yup.” A faint flush steadily grew across the light bearer’s face.
“Oh.” Bam bit his lip as his own blush came back in full force. He stared at the photo again. It was a picture that captured all of the wave controller’s imperfections. Despite that, it also radiated love.
Bam sat up, struggling a bit to kick off the blanket tangled around him. He scooted towards Khun until he was sitting close enough for their knees to touch. He fidgeted, not sure what to say. It was one thing to realize he was in love with his best friend. But learning that said best friend loved him back left Bam feeling all kinds of flustered.
Khun shot him a sidelong glance. “This… Nothing has to change between us,” he said quietly, almost sadly. “I don’t want to pressure you into doing anything. I just want you to know that your feelings are nothing to be ashamed of.”
“I’m not ashamed,” Bam mumbled. He took a deep breath. “I think… I’ve had these feelings for a while. So long that I’ve gotten used to seeing you in that way, the way the photographs show. It became normal for me. That’s probably why I didn’t catch on to the camera being special when the pictures of you turned out the way they did. Not until I took pictures with the others.”
Bam pulled his knees towards his chest. “If anything, I’m more embarrassed that I didn’t realize what it all meant sooner.”
Khun tentatively raised a hand before gently running it through Bam’s hair. The wave controller sighed, leaning in closer to his most precious one. “I guess it can be overwhelming. Certainly not helped by those two gremlins in the kitchen probably blowing everything out of proportion.”
“Khun, don’t be mean,” Bam chided, a small amused smile on his face. “They’re not gremlins, they’re our friends.”
“Not mutually exclusive,” Khun snorted. Then he said softly, “I mean it, Bam. There’s no need to rush into anything. Take as much time as you need.”
“Will you help me?” Bam asked, peering up at the other man shyly. “Being in love… you loving me back… it’s all very new to me. If it’s okay, I want to figure it out together with you.”
Khun - lovely and beautiful, with flushed cheeks and an adoring smile - took Bam’s hands in his and gently pressed their foreheads together. “Anything for you, my Wave Controller.”
Bam giggled, his heart soaring. “Please guide me well, my Light Bearer.”