BEHIND THE LENS
CHAPTER ONE: Caffeine to Kick Start the Day
A young man stood in front of a polished oak counter at a small café. He was waiting for the clerk to finish another order. He had a busy day ahead of him and—even though he had the energy of a five-year old—he knew he would need that sweet burst of caffeine in his system to endure it. It's the weekend.
He eyed the clerk as he was getting ready to take the next order, making a blowfish face as a sign that he had been waiting for a little over than five minutes. When the clerk finally looked at him, he smiled as his shadow-like eyes twinkled genuinely.
"Sorry about that, sir. Are you ready to order?" asked the cashier.
"Um, yes—" the man said, looking at the menu posted by the register. "I'll have a vanilla-coffee milk Frappuccino, please."
"Will that be all, sir?" the employee asked politely.
"Yes, that is all—" he answered slowly, making sure that was all he wanted.
"Okay, that's three-thousand won." The cashier nodded and smiled as it was company policy (because nodding and smiling courteously encouraged the customer to pay up more willingly—apparently).
The boy reached into his pocket to retrieve his wallet. "Here you go," he said, giving the cashier the payment.
"And what name should I put on the order?" The cashier asked apologetically.
An innocently-shocked look came on the boy's face. "Oh?"
"Sorry, I know who you are. Just. It's company policy to ask."
"Oh, okay," the boy said smiling. "In that case, you can put my name down. It's Taemin."
Beep, beep, beep. Taemin placed his wallet back into his pocket and grabbed his phone out. He received a text message from his fellow members, saying that they were almost at the Cozy café. Replying with an 'okay', he pressed send. He then proceeded with looking around for an open table to sit at while he waited for his order to be called out. It didn't take him long until he found a spot at the front corner of the building. The seat was right next to a large window, allowing him to keep an eye out for his hyungs when they arrived.
Meanwhile, a young woman walked into the café. A Nikon D40 camera hung around her neck. Her dark golden brown hair, up in a terra-twist, was bouncing to the rhythm of her brisk walk. She made her way to the counter, her long, slender legs taking their turns to bring their owner to her destination. She smiled at the cashier as he asked her the same question he asked every customer that comes by. 'Are you ready to order?'
But, she offered an apologetic look to the cashier. She tilted her head slightly and spoke in the softest tone. "I'm sorry, but I don't speak Korean."
The cashier furrowed his eyebrows before giving the girl a nod that meant he understood. The man pursed his lips as he scanned the work area behind him in search for another co-worker that spoke English. When he found one, the girl bowed in thanks as she knew it was customary in Korea. The new cashier greeted her with a friendly nod, "Hello, how may I help you?"
A small sigh of relief escaped the girl's lips. Finally, a stranger I can properly converse with. "Hi," she said timidly. "Can I get a caramel crémise, please?"
"Of course!" answered the more-than-enthusiastic cashier. "Do you want whipped cream on that?"
The girl smiled brightly, "Yes, most definitely."
The caramel crémise was not the reason behind her smile, however. She was simply glad to have a conversation in a language that she knew by heart. Ever since she arrived at Seoul, she was bombarded by a language that she knew how to read (having learned Hangeul, the Korean alphabet), but not comprehend. Granted she knew basic polite words like kamsahamnida which meant thank you; and jinjja mianhae that meant I'm very sorry, but other than those words, she knew nothing as far as understanding Korean is concerned.
"That will be four-thousand won, please," the cashier said, nodding and smiling in encouragement. "Oh and what name shall I put on the order?"
The girl pulled out a slim, black, leather wallet from her pocket and looked inside. Several bills in U.S. currency were contained in one side of the wallet and several bills in the Korean currency in the other side. She took out a five-thousand won bill and handed it to the clerk. "You can put Mai on there," the slender girl said, receiving her change from the cashier.
The clerk showed Mai the name written down, it was in Hangeul, but it was spelled differently. 매이 was the correct spelling, but the clerk put it as 메이. After correcting the spelling, Mai was told to find a seat and that she will be called when her order was ready. She searched by the window at the front of the café. There was only one unoccupied table and it was across the only other person in that corner of the café.
Mai gave the cashier one last smile before moving to the empty table. She sat down and placed her Nikon D40 on top of the table. She gave her surroundings a once over before her eyes rested on fiery brown hair and golden brown eyes that were cast towards the window's direction. They belonged to the boy sitting opposite her. Mai's eyes observed the boy, noting his soft-looking complexion, the carefree-ness in his sparkling eyes, and his smile that plainly said "life is good."
Mai suddenly found those carefree eyes staring back at her own. Her eyes widened slightly and her cheeks began to acquire a rosy tint. She looked away slowly, shifting her eyes towards her camera. She had a habit of observing people, particularly their appearance. Every now and then, the subject of her observation would catch her in the act. This was one of those moments.
Taemin uttered a small chuckle. He scanned the girl, noticing her rosy cheeks, her adorable nose, her soft-looking pink lips, her trim stature, and her timid aura. When he saw her looking at him he was almost caught off guard by her mysterious dark eyes, they had the slightest hint of brown in them, but overall they looked completely black. Black, but very enticing.
"Order for Taemin!" a worker called out.
Almost everyone in the room looked up to see Taemin retrieve his order. Even Mai, who had occupied herself by playing around with her camera, turned her attention to the boy named Taemin. As he walked by her to return to his seat, he smiled at her.
Seeing this, Mai returned his smile with a shy one of her own. She then turned her attention back to her camera, making sure she had enough battery and memory for her appointment a half hour from now. She was going to meet her godfather, a famous professional photographer established near the heart of Seoul. Her godfather had contacted her father after seeing her photography portfolio. Mai was a gifted photographer, though quiet and shy, she worked like a professional. She knew which angles, exposures, and apertures would produce the most captivating photographs. Photography, second to music, was her life. She would shoot anything and everything that had the potential to become a breath-taking photograph.
"Taemin-ah!" someone shouted from behind her.
Mai made a 180-degree turn and saw four men approach Taemin. They greeted each other and conversed for a bit before the quartet went to the counter to order their drinks.
"Order for Mai!" called the English-speaking cashier.
Mai stood and approached the counter crowded by the four men. "Excuse me," she muttered in English.
"Foreigner," one of them pointed out, his accent dripping off every syllable.
Mai was unaware whether or not the remark was meant as stating a fact, or something more, but she ignored it and grabbed her drink from the cashier. "Thank you," she added.
Taemin watched Mai leave. His hyungs saw him following Mai with his eyes as she walked out the door. Jonghyun, the second oldest in the group patted the maknae on the shoulder. "Taemin-ah, she's very pretty, isn't she?"
"Very, Jonghyun hyung," Taemin said, grinning broadly at the lead vocals in their group.
"Do you know what her name is?" asked Onew, the leader and also the oldest of the group.
"Ne, her name is Mai," Taemin answered happily. "I only know because they called her name out for her order," he added innocently.
The hyungs laughed.
"Taeminnie! You're such a stalker!" Key, the third oldest, joked.
"Hey, guys!" Minho, the second youngest, yelled from the exit. "We've got to go. Manager hyung is waiting for us outside. We have a photo-shoot to get to! Bali!"