Blurred Lens

The virus

You were gobsmacked at Jungkooks confession, which he acted like it was more a casual piece of information tossed into the conversation.

Arranged marriage? You'd never known anyone in person who'd been forced into one. Your education about them was extremely small, but from your limited knowledge you thought they generally weren't amazing.

At least their was an explanation for all the weirdness and tension. You just thought maybe they'd gotten into an argument before arriving at the shoot. But - wow.

"Oh - uh..." You were truly at a loss for words. "Yeah, let's, um, go finish the photo shoot."

Jungkook brushed his jeans down and looked at you. He raised an eyebrow, almost in humour.

"I've made you uncomfortable with the arranged marriage talk?" He asked. "Don't worry, usually people are shocked, don't think too deeply about it, we're all good." He nodded quickly at you and strolled back to the tree.

You had so many questions. But it wasn't any of your business.

Be professional, you thought. Let's try and call this shoot a day.

The couple had become slightly more relaxed after warming up individually, so were willing to try some new poses. You didn't really want to ask them to touch in case it made them all tense again. After handing them some natural props you got some photos that didn't scream romance, but would probably satisfy some controlling parents.

Ok, you don't know they're controlling. It's not really your problem if they are anyway.

"Fantastic!" You exclaimed after wrapping it up. "You both are naturals and I think your parents will love these pictures. Thank you for cooperating so well, I'll email you the photos later or tomorrow. I hope everything goes well with your marriage," you said as you picked up your equipment and made your way out of the park.

Well, they couldn't have been further from your assumptions about them. You remember  predicting they'd be overly affectionate and the definition of PDA, but they could not have been further from that.

You felt some pity for the couple, only with your small knowledge on the subject. They were clearly not getting along well, but were forced into a relationship to profit a business. They seemed like good, happy people. If the scenario is as bad as you were thinking, maybe that happiness would be sucked out of them over time. Hopefully their family and themselves will prioritise their contentment in the future. But then again, maybe you just caught them on a bad day.

You continued your walk home and decided to stop by Mrs Kim's bakery once again to check if she seemed more lively.

You pushed the door open and were welcomed with the sweet smell of treats once again. Some slow music was playing in the background which helped create this lovely, calm environment.

Mrs Kim and another man were standing behind the long display counter of the homemade pastries. You smiled at them, simultaneously glancing at the array of baked goods.

"Y/N my dear! You're back again, I'm so glad. You seemed in a bit of a rush this morning, I feel we didn't have much time to chat," Mrs Kim said, her cheerful tone echoing around the small shop. She looked much more awake and happy, hopefully she'd had a good nap. "You remember my son, Daeshim. He visits here sometimes to help his mamma out."

Daeshim greeted you and then chimed in, "I remember you - you bought about 7 croissants for your work. I thought you just had the appetite of a blue whale." He laughed heartily.

You let out a small chuckle. "I remember too, my clients requested a picnic theme and I purchased a few too many for back up in case. In case of what I'm not sure, honestly. My lunch was sorted for that day then, though. It's nice to see you back in the city again." You smiled at him and asked how business had been that day.

"Excellent, actually," Mrs Kim gushed. "It was a little slow until lunchtime, but then people flooded in, I think some just wanted a minute in the shade! I'm not complaining, every single person who entered this store bought at least one pastry."

"I saw mamma sneak in a few between taking orders," Daeshim laughed.

"Hey!" Mrs Kim yelled, playfully whipping him with a tea towel.

You grinned looking at their healthy relationship before requesting a mouth watering pastry which had caught your eye.

"Ah - excellent choice! I'll wrap that up for you now," Daeshim exclaimed, popping out some tongs and a paper bag.

He handed you the goods as you said your goodbyes. You promised you'd pop in tomorrow as well since you'd arranged a day off for yourself.

You followed through the door to the left of the bakery and eventually arrived at your apartment. You unlocked the door and sighed happily at the peace in the room. The faint noise of the city could be heard, but you were finally alone and able to recharge.

You opened your laptop on the dining table and opened an editing software since you'd finished work early due to the cancellation. Editing photos was your downfall, you often overdid it and it looked awful. Your photographs often didn't need editing, but small adjustments could raise the quality even just by a little bit.

You practised on pictures off the internet and the edits turned out pretty good for a change. So you moved on to the pictures of Jungkook and Bong-Cha since the tree shadows darkened the corners of some of the shots.

Simple touch ups were completed. Some pictures flopped and you deleted every edit and kept it the same. But other photos looked more professional and finished.

After finishing, you created a file for Jungkook and Bong-Cha's photo shoot and a separate file for Sun-hee and Sena's pictures. You were satisfied with the results and emailed them off. All finished.

Your stomach started growling and it felt like a lifetime since your salad. You walked to the fridge and gazed over it's contents. It was practically bare with a few sauces placed on shelves. You'd have to go grocery shopping tomorrow.

You managed to throw together some vegetables and and egg, not very appetising, but would fill the hole. As they were cooking you felt a vibration in your pocket. You lifted your phone up and saw Jungkooks name flash on the screen.

"Hello Y/N. Sorry to bother you, but Bong-Cha was going through our emails and accidentally installed a virus into our computer. Our computer no longer is working until we get it fixed. Is it possible to send them via post? Thank you."

Oh. Well that wasn't great.

You texted him back quickly.

"Hi sir, sorry to hear about that. I'm afraid I don't have a printer for photographs, do you have another email I could possibly send them to?"

You flipped your eggs and veg onto a plate and walked back to the table. You sprinkled some salt and pepper on the egg for some flavour. Mid-way through eating, your mobile flashed again.

"That was our only email, unfortunately. This may be extremely irritating, but do you have an employee who could come out and show the pictures? I may be able to arrange them to be printed at the same time then."

You stuffed a piece of lettuce into your mouth and replied.

"I work alone, Sir, so have no employees. I have a free calendar tomorrow so could show you and your fiancée the photos on my laptop if that suits you?"

This wasn't ideal, but you didn't have any clients tomorrow so had the time to deal with this issue. Hopefully the atmosphere between the two wouldn't be as thick.

Your phone buzzed again.

"My fiancée will be out of town tomorrow, but I'm available to meet. Would a cafe be ok to meet? Possibly 'Froth and Flowers' in the city centre? There's a printing shop next door to it."

You smiled at the message. 'Froth and flowers was your go-to cafe in Seoul. It was decorated beautifully and served the best and fluffiest cupcakes. It would be even more enjoyable without the tension of Bong-Cha and Jungkook.

"Sounds great, I'll meet you there around noon?"

He responded instantly.

"Perfect."