Polaroid
[05.17.12]
Falling in love should be like Polaroid's.
INSTANT.
Lee Gyu-Won let her hands hang on the railings of the window next to her seat. She let herself wordlessly breath in the amount of fresh air that came inside the public transportation through the open windows.
The scenery before her was indescribable; the lush of green pastures stood at the distance and the breeze swept up the scent of the mountain air. Some animals were grazing by the meadow and following their farmers'.
Wow so beautiful, if only hal – abeoji was here with me so we could spend quality time together. Gyu-Won thought quietly as a pout replaced the satisfying smile that was once evident on her face. Aish, why does he always have to attend those kinds of meetings?
The young lady retrieved a small device from her backpack and started turning it on. The device which turned out to be a camera was being aimed at different angles by the owner and after every shot a square – shaped sort of paper came out from the camera holding the previous image taken.
Gyu-Won took her time to take a few more pictures of the scenery and of herself before shuffling cosily back into her seat.
Country life seems much better compared to where me and grandfather lives in, she sighed, but I have to stay in the city to finish my college years as a Major in Traditional Music.
As the bus continued to drive along the bumpy road, she looked out of the window and recalled the events that took place earlier that day…
Flashback:
"Hal – abeoji, are you sure you're not going with me?" Gyu- Won asked as she dragged her red suitcase next to her.
"Gyu-Won ah, this meeting is very important to me. You know that I, the famous Lee Dong Gun, must attend that meeting for my grand – daughter's sake." the man next to her said as he aimlessly pushed his cane against the cemented floor of the airport.
"Then I will leave first grandfather, annyeong!" Lee Gyu-Won waved and started to head off towards the main exit of the terminal.
"Ya Gyu-Won ah be careful and don't make me unexpectedly rush to your side if ever the hospital calls me with an information that you got into an accident." Dong-Gun yelled within ear – shot.
The young woman turned and her expression changed into embarrassment. "Hal – abeoji!" she hissed.
Lee Dong-Gun waved her off with his hand and turned to the other direction, being escorted by a young man in a tuxedo towards another gate.
His grand – daughter on the other hand rushed with her belongings to the bus terminal but as soon as the vehicle arrived she struggled to get on because a wheel of her luggage disappeared due to her running earlier.
Before she could whine, a hand suddenly snatched her suitcase from her fidgeting hands and brought it up to the steps of the bus and left it there without a word.
"Mwo yeohateun!" she said after being relieved from the shock and looked up. The man that helped her with her suitcase appeared to be a tall – looking young guy, long brown hair and the bangs fixated on the right side of his forehead, wearing an olive green jacket over red slick pants and had a Sony A57 - Digital SLR bag slung over his broad shoulders.
When Gyu-Won paid her fare and found a seat somewhat close to the guy who had helped her she noticed that he was not alone. Two young men sat in – front of his seat and both turned around to look at the guy.
"Jun-ah, are we doing a shooting somewhere in the country?" the man with glasses on asked him.
"No I just felt like coming here before we go back to the studio, you know Japan worn me off." The guy in the olive green jacket said.
"Is it just me or is it a hobby of yours Seo-Jun to help people these days - let alone girls?" the other young man with brownish – light hair peered in from his seat.
"What?"
"In Japan you returned the phone of some random girl who happened to be a Korean citizen and now you helped that girl get her luggage on the bus." The brownish haired man explained and pointed a finger at the side opposite to theirs.
All eyes fell on Gyu-Won's direction and she immediately looked out the window, her face grew a bit pale as the intensity of their staring grew. She was afraid that she would be found out from listening to their conversation so she tried her best to calm her breathing and not play with her anxious fingers.
Seo-Jun raised an eyebrow while looking at the panic – stricken face of the girl and immediately got bored by her expression so he shrugged it off and looked away.
"I just felt like doing it," he began, "I may not be able to get in anyway if I did not help her."
oOo
Seo-Jun, so that's his name. Gyu-Won thought as she continued to look out of the window and lose herself in her heap of thoughts. He seemed weird but reasonable to help me with my luggage so that he and his friends could pass.
Lee Gyu-Won looked to her left to only see unoccupied seats left by the previous passengers.
Apparently Seo-Jun along with his friends had gotten down the bus when it made its previous stop and headed to who – knows – where.
I did not even get the chance to thank him… Gyu-Won frowned at this thought and let her fingers linger at the lens of her small camera.
She assumed that she was not going see him again but if she ever did then she would easily recognize him due to his moody behaviour and scowling, plus his tall built and long brown hair. When that happens then Gyu-Won would find a way to repay him of his kindness.
Before she mentally listed the possible tasks she could do for this Seo-Jun, the bus halted and she looked out the window and smelled the breeze of the seashore a few miles away from the terminal.
Lee Gyu-Won quickly gathered her things with her and made her way out of the bus. The minute the bus drove off without her, she breathed a contented sigh as she scanned her surroundings.
The scenery looked more welcoming and appealing from a personal glimpse than what she had seen behind the windows of the bus.
Woah yepuda! Her eyes roamed around as it danced in glee at the sight before her.
As she dragged her luggage beside her on the side of the road, a white high – ace van speeded up behind her and from Gyu-Won's view it parked beside the other cars near the shore.
She strolled along a different path and made her way up – hill towards the lighthouse. Its base looked old and worn but the body of the building was re-furnished with what seemed to be freshly coated paint and glass of the highest quality found.
Gyu-Won smiled and wiped her forehead that creased with beads of sweat from all the walking. For a few minutes she took her time to just admire the lighthouse and the beach down below.
When she got tired of all the stillness and the quiet, she again took out her small camera from her backpack and began taking random shots of the beautiful scenery she was in.
Since she was distracted from taking pictures, she was not able to hear the hurried footsteps of two people coming up from towards the other side of the building. The people talked in low – voices and searched for the entrance to the lighthouse.
"Ya where do you think Jun went?" the man with black hair asked his companion.
"How would I know Jo-Soo? Since you're his personal assistant should you not be aware of his whereabouts?" the brown haired man dramatically waved his hands in the air and opened the door to the building.
Jo-Soo followed him close behind and incoherently mumbled something while scratching the back of his head. "Aish, that Seo-Jun!"
When the two people were out of sight, not that she actually noticed, Gyu-Won looked through her collection of random shots and peered at each closely.
Not bad. She beamed and examined the newly taken pictures. Should I show it to hal – abeoji? After a few minutes of contemplating with her decision, she made up her mind. I shall take a few more pictures and show him how much fun I had without causing any trouble.
When she was finished stuffing the pictures inside of her bag, she fumbled with her Polaroid and turned around to face the lighthouse.
Gyu-Won took a step back to get a good shot of the building as a whole. After a few good shots she aimed the camera on top to focus on the light of the building. But before she could take a shot of the scene, she was blinded by a sudden flash coming from above.
It was from a camera.
She looked up and saw the same man who had helped her carry her suitcase up the steps of the bus earlier. Seo-Jun. Gyu-Won did not recognize him at first the way she thought she would but was taken aback when she recovered from shock and surprise.
A height above from where she stood was indeed Seo-Jun who was testing his camera and taking a couple of shots at different angles at the top of the lighthouse. He focused the lens of his DSLR on the ground and as it zoomed in on a random young woman with short hair and with sky blue summer dress on, his eyes grew wide.
Unconsciously his finger pressed the red button and this caused her to look back up at him from behind her camera, mirroring the same expression he wore… surprise.
Still in a daze and in complete shock, he watched her smile up to him and positioned her camera in front of her as she aimed the lens on him.
He did not know why he did it but Seo-Jun felt his lips curve up into a smile and he copied her actions, also aiming the lens of his camera on her petite frame.
1, 2, 3, Click!
Both their cameras flashed before their eyes at the same time and the bewildered expressions on their faces were replaced with calm and gentle ones.
Seo-Jun watched the young woman take her gaze off of him and examine the pictures that she had taken. His mood lightened as she watched her smile sincerely at the newly developed photos and his fingers immediately fumbled with his camera.
He aimed the lens of his Digital SLR at her again and took another picture.
A few moments after that Jo-Soo and the brown haired guy burst through the doors to the rooftop of the lighthouse.
"Seo-Joon do you even know how long we looked for you?" the other one began.
"Ya Seo-Joon! Seo-Joon?" Jo-Soo tried again as he stepped closer to the photographer.
But to both of their dismay, Seo-Joon never heard them.
-oOo-