Blurred Lens

Living the dream

"Perfect, that's great. Just one more quick shot, maybe grab his shoulder for me? Yeah, just like that, thanks." You snapped the photo quickly, making sure their shadows were intertwined on the ground to add some more interest and depth to the picture.

"Sorry, do you mind giving a little grin? Beautiful, alright." You crouched down slightly, getting the happy couple in the centre frame. Excitement began to bubble inside you because you knew this booking was almost complete and you could go home and shuffle through all the photos you got today, you knew there were some gems in there.

Being a photographer was always a hobby to you. Getting some great angles of the pier, catching a sportsperson in their element or simply a blooming flower in the garden really blossomed your love for the little things.

After creating an instagram account dedicated to non-personal photographs, requests for personal bookings from strangers began sifting in. An odd side job here and there, pocket money to keep you going really.

Gradually your popularity grew and you could officially call it your career now, which honestly still felt surreal. Living off your passion? Rare to find, but you worked hard and deserved every piece of success you had achieved.

"I think that's a wrap, we've got some great stuff here. I'll email you the best ones and then we'll sort the payment?" You said cheerfully. You'd always been an introvert, but this job forced you to put on a chatty front, which eventually just became part of your natural nature.

The couple nodded enthusiastically, exclaimed their thanks and wondered off, hand in hand. They had a spring in their step and their love bounced off one another, they were glowing.

With quick thinking you snapped a shot when they were unaware. It was stunning, the trees drooped over their heads delicately as the women's cheek rested on her fiancé's shoulder. Your contentment grew as you imagined their bright faces when they receive that photo by surprise. That was the only downside of this job, you rarely got to see your clients reactions to their complete photo shoot. But imagining it was fun in its own way.

You took one last glance at the picture before powering the camera off and placing it back in its case, allowing it to dangle around your neck.  Time to walk back to your apartment.

The walk back to the city was nice. A soft breeze brushed your hair from your face and the Seoul lights were glowing, welcoming you home.

A stray cat appeared in front of your feet and nearly tripped you up, it's tabby coat slipped away under a parked car while you gained your composure. You didn't recognise this particular stray, there were quite a few cruising the streets in this neighbourhood. Cats weren't very appealing to you, mainly because tufts of hair was always missing and found in random drains due to cat fights constantly. But they were alright, your opinion was pretty neutral. Sometimes ruffling their fur a little was enjoyable if you heard a faint pur escape their lips.

You could smell the fresh pastry's  being prepared for tomorrow morning in the bakery under your flat. You waved at Mrs Kim, the owner, as you strolled past. She sent a small smile back, her hands were in a bowl and her under eye bags could be seen from outside. Hopefully she'd close slightly earlier tonight and allow herself to rest.

You reached for your keys in your handbag and felt the fluffy keychain deep in a pocket. You lifted it up and used the heaviest key to unlock the narrow gate which allowed you to enter the building. The key would soon be replaced by a number pad, apparently, as many complaints had been received from your neighbours who kept forgetting their keys at nightclubs or on the streets.

Strutting up the staircase was exhausting after your long day, but eventually you reached your apartment on the second floor, number 8. Previously your unlucky number, which had made you extremely resistant to purchasing this flat. But give credit when credit was due, this cosy apartment had been nothing but good to you. Located in a relatively safe part of the city, you expected the price to be ridiculous. But a mutual friend had had a messy breakup and needed to get out of the place as soon as possible. You hadn't planned on leaving your parents home so soon. But at 17 years old, you got your parents permission and began your independence early. 4 months later and here you were, completely settled in.

You pushed the door open and chucked you bags on the floor. The sofa looked extremely inviting so you spread on it. You had a few things to do before calling it a day, so you decided to get them over with as soon as possible. You smiled while selecting your favourite photos form the photo shoots today and emailed them to the customers. Hopefully they reciprocated the happiness. The lighting and weather had been perfect today, finally it was summer in Seoul, usually your busiest season, possibly tied with Autumn because of the unreal colours.

You then found your list of clients for tomorrow. It was always fun to imagine people, who you hadn't ever met's, personality's, simply based off their name.

Sun-hee and Sena, a couple who had just come home from their honeymoon, in the morning. Maybe they'd be very affectionate to each other? But you reckoned they'd be more sophisticated and embarrassed to be seen doing any PDA in a public park. Maybe they had a reputation to live up to.

Then a group of friends, they had put the name 'Wolfcats' down, you could already feel that was going to be painful to get through. They had taken a huge time slot, ah - the joy continued. They probably would want some text at the bottom of their photos which says 'The Boys.' Or maybe some matching  god awful leather jackets, 'Lads on Tour!' Maybe the stereotyping should stop there...

That left time for one soon to be wed couple in the late afternoon. Maybe they'd be the all over each other couple, you would  have to keep asking them to keep their tongues in their own mouths. Getting a good photo was hard when saliva was dripping off your clients lips. Their names read, Bong-Cha and Jungkook.

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