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“Excuse me!”
Yushi turns to face the source of the noise, slightly surprised that anyone else had managed to find their way up to the rooftop.
There’s a man approaching them, gripping a tripod with a phone on it. Yushi can only assume they’re being filmed. Unlike most occasions when they’re being filmed without their consent, this interaction doesn’t make his skin crawl. Curious, he goes to answer.
“Yes?”
The word comes from Riku’s mouth, the other stood next to him, hand held in his own.
Yushi squeezes his hand tightly, refusing to let go of Riku’s grip. He can feel sweat beginning to form on his own palm, but Riku only rubs his thumb against Yushi’s skin soothingly.
“Are you two a couple?”
The question is quite out of left field. Yushi is sure that he must be wearing his shock on his face like a bright pink feather boa.
He doesn’t quite know what to respond with, if anything. There’s no denying that there’s something going on between him and Riku – it could definitely be considered dating. They’re literally holding hands and on a date right now.
But whether that’s information they should disclose to this stranger, holding a phone and recording them – two celebrities – is probably not the best idea.
Riku seems to sense Yushi’s unease, as he answers the stranger again.
“Yes, we are.”
He doesn’t say more than that, and apparently he doesn’t need to. The stranger doesn’t look as though he’s going to try anything at all, pausing the recording on his phone.
“Sorry about that. I’m a content creator, and I post couples and people on my page. The concept is that I’ll give you this disposable camera, and you can use it to take pictures of your daily life. When you’ve finished all the film, I’ll make a short-form video of the pictures and post it to social media. But of course, only if you both consent.”
Realistically, Yushi knows that this is something that should be approached through their company. There are hoops that need to be jumped through, permission and consent forms to sign. But for some reason, he feels like ignoring all of that.
This stranger’s proposal sounds fun. If they can edit the bit about them being a couple out of the video, then Yushi doesn’t see a problem with it.
He looks over at Riku, who meets his gaze with that mischievous smile that Yushi loves so much. They must be telepathically connected, because they both turn to the camera-guy at the same time and nod.
“Although, we are both quite well-known. And we do have an image to upkeep. So would it trouble you to maybe not include the part of us being a couple?” Riku asks ever so sweet and polite, and Yushi is so thankful that he has Riku to do the talking for him.
“Yes, of course. If that’s okay with you both, I’ll edit out that part, and we can film the next shot.”
Riku and Yushi both nod, and the camera-guy picks his tripod back up, pulling a disposable camera out of his pocket. He hits the record button on his phone again, nodding at them.
“If I give you this disposable camera, can you capture some images of your everyday life over the next few days? I’ll create a video with them.”
“Yes! Sounds good.”
Riku’s voice takes on a genuine, cheerful tone. Yushi smiles politely, accepting the camera in his free hand.
“Thank you.” His voice is soft, and quiet. Yushi isn’t sure it’ll pick up on this guy’s video, but he smiles again nonetheless.
Camera-guy stops recording again, places his tripod to the side.
“Am I okay to ask you the usual questions for couples anyway? I could make it quite ambiguous, so you can come across as just friends if you want to.”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
“Perfect, I’ll just ask about how you met, what you like about each other, what your first impressions of each other were. Things like that.”
Camera-guy starts recording again, asking his next question.
“Can you tell me how you first met?”
Yushi feels as though he should answer at least one question, and this one is quite easy. He musters up the courage to speak, gripping Riku’s hand as he starts.
“We met when we were training together. Now we work together and live together.”
It’s a very ambiguous answer, and he knows that any keen-eyed Czennies who find the video will know more about their first meeting – but he doesn’t want to bore this stranger with the details of their first encounters in the practice room, walking past each other outside the company cafe, and Riku’s strange singing requests for Yushi. The small details can stay between the two of them.
“What was your first impression of each other?”
Riku is quick to answer the next question.
He giggles, in that bubbly lilt, as though recalling the exact moment he had laid his eyes upon Yushi for the first time. Yushi already knows where this is going.
“I was excited because he was another Japanese person in our company.” He laughs fully now, and the camera-guy does too. Yushi pouts a little.
“No, but really I thought he was so handsome. He was very shy, of course.”
Yushi nods, as if to prove Riku’s point. Riku turns, and smiles at him again. Yushi is so weak for him.
“I thought his hair was very long. His bangs were past his eyes, so I couldn’t see him very well. But I remember his blue shoes.” Yushi answers.
“A strong impression no doubt. Next question. What do you love about each other?”
Riku is the first to answer, again.
“Yuu-chan is shy at first, but he’s different once you get to know him. He has a certain type of charisma. I’m really glad I got to know him.”
Yushi can feel his ears turning red in real time. His palm feels sweaty again, and he looks to Riku for reassurance, who nods at him.
“Riku-chan always cheers me up. He’s cute and cool at the same time. He needs someone by his side to keep him company, or he’ll get lonely.”
Both of their answers only scratch the surface of the deep ocean that is their relationship and love for each other, but they try to keep it brief for both the sake of their privacy and the short-form video that Camera-guy is making.
“That’s all for the questions segment.” Camera-guy pauses his recording, and briefly explains the details of the camera to them both.
“Press this to take a photo, and make sure you aren’t covering the lens. You’ll know once you’ve finished all of the film, as you’ll feel some resistance when you try to take a photo. I also need you both to write a short letter to each other for the video, and I’ll scan your handwriting and upload it. It doesn’t need to be anything too intimate or detailed, you can put whatever you’d like to say to each other in it.”
Beside him, Riku looks excited at this task they’ve been given. His eyes are practically glittering.
“And then once you’ve done that, please send the camera and both of your letters to this address. You can also include your social media handles if you’d like to be tagged once the video is done. I’ll develop the images and make the video.”
Camera-guy passes them a business card with a bright pink post-it note attached to it. What looks to be an address is written on the pink paper, and the guy has put his social media accounts on the business card.
“Thank you! We’ll look forward to the finished result.” Riku says, and Yushi hums in agreement.
“Thank you.”
“Thank you both for your time, and enjoy your date!”
Camera-guy walks off in the direction of the stairs, leaving just Riku and Yushi on the rooftop.
By now, the sun has started to set into beautiful hues of oranges, yellows, and pinks on the horizon. The rooftop is bathed in golden light and warmth.
Yushi pulls the camera out of his pocket, carefully looking for the button that Camera-guy had said to press.
Lifting it up, he aligns the lens with Riku’s form, on the edge of the rooftop, surrounded by the gorgeous sky.
The flash goes off on the first of many film photos, Riku’s hand still warm in Yushi’s own.
ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ
A while later, the video comes out.
Since they first received the camera, Wish had returned to Korea, completed a cycle of promotions, and started preparing for the next.
Needless to say, the camera holds a lot of memories in various locations.
There are a couple of shots with their other members in the background, just clear enough to make out some of their facial features, but blurry enough for the focus to remain on Riku and Yushi.
Yushi is pretty sure that most of the shots turned out well, but they’ll have no way of knowing until they view the video.
Thankfully, Camera-guy had also emailed them a folder of the individual developed shots, which Riku had suggested they print.
ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ
The video itself is wonderfully made and edited. Yushi is grateful to see that Camera-guy had added subtitles, since the audio didn’t pick up most of what he had said. As expected.
The first segment of the two of them on the rooftop is cute, although a little awkward to watch. In retrospect, both him and Riku do look a little apprehensive. Understandably.
Camera-guy hadn’t cropped out the bottom half of the video, and Riku is amused to see that Yushi is gripping his hand tightly the entire time. It does make for a cute addition.
The pictures themselves came out very well.
Casual shots of them both outside, in their dorm, eating dinner together. Wonky back camera selfies of the two of them on the sofa, watching dramas and eating takeout food. A few subtly-taken shots of each of them backstage at various music shows, in costume or the hair and makeup chair.
There are even a few pictures taken by the other members, who had just assumed that they’d picked up a camera for the fun of it.
Pictures of them holding hands, cuddling, just walking to the convenience store together.
Overall, there’s quite a wide variety. And all of the chosen pictures seem ambiguous enough to not get them in a dating scandal, or to be smartly played off.
The final segment including their letters to each other brings a true sense of deja vu for Yushi. It feels as though Riku is on hiatus again, and he’s reading his letter in front of the group, longing and yearning for Riku’s presence and touch again.
Yushi looks at Riku, whose attention is on the phone playing the video.
One sentence at a time, Yushi’s letter to Riku appears on the screen. Riku looks as though he might cry – eyes glistening and wet.
As the video ends, Yushi tackles him into a hug, knocking his phone onto the floor and pressing Riku’s solid form into the bed. Riku only has to look up at Yushi, before he’s being smothered with a flurry of kisses.
“I’m so glad you’re back, Riku-chan.”
ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ
“Riku-chan, I missed you a lot. I’m so glad that you’re back. You always cheer me up – I hope that you continue to stay by my side for a long time. Please continue to create memories with me and the others. I love you.”
“Yuu-chan, I’m really glad I met you. Let’s continue together as Wish for a very long time. Thank you for staying with me. I love you a lot.”