Meet Me in the Afterglow (Purinz/Chaewon x Yunjin)

Sunlight (M)

THEN.

Halfway through October, Chaewon meets her at the campus entrance after Yunjin's last class of the day finishes with her camera bag slung over her shoulder, bubble tea in one hand and a paper bag of pastries in the other. It's become a sort of routine; their classes don't really sync up at all except for Tuesdays, when Chaewon only has one lecture that ends at 11AM and Yunjin finishes a microbiology lab at noon, so Chaewon will go and pick up lunch from the bakery down the road and then they'll find somewhere to sit, either on campus or at one of the nearby parks, and they'll spend the afternoon together.

"So, there's something I want to ask you," Chaewon says a little while later, when they've found a spot under one of the sprawling magnolia trees on the grassy lawn next to the library and Yunjin is enthusiastically digging into an enormous almond croissant. "You know how my photography classes have been focusing on portraiture this semester? We've been given an assignment to pick someone, preferably someone we're close to and are comfortable with, and to spend a week photographing them, to show everyone how you see this person. I was hoping that person might be you, if that's something you'd be interested in?"

"Me?" Yunjin asks through a mouthful of crumbs.

"Yeah," Chaewon nods. "You can say no. Like, no pressure or anything. I get that not everyone would be comfortable with having an entire class of strangers and one particularly critical professor looking at photographs of you, but I just— I can always ask Kazuha or Wonyoung or someone if you're not comfortable, but when Professor Kim started talking about the assignment, my mind just immediately went to you."

"Okay," Yunjin says, smiling when Chaewon's face lights up in response. "Sure."

"Really?"

"Mhm. I know how that brain of yours works, so I assume you already have some ideas in mind."

Chaewon flushes slightly, suddenly very interested in examining her chocolate donut. "I might have done some location brainstorming while I was waiting in the line at the bakery," she grumbles, but she's still smiling, one that widens when Yunjin laughs.

Yunjin leans in and kisses Chaewon, just because she can, her lips soft and tasting faintly of chocolate, both of them smiling through it.

"Just let me know when and where you need me," Yunjin says when she pulls back, dropping a final kiss on the tip of Chaewon's nose. "I'm all yours."

-

Yunjin is expecting to feel a little self-conscious spending the majority of the following week with a camera shoved in her face, but as always, Chaewon makes things easier, and by the second day Yunjin has mostly forgotten the camera is even there. Chaewon is always taking photos of her anyway, when they go out for lunch or to the park, this time it's just on her fancy expensive camera rather than a slightly cracked iPhone with a Shinchan phone case.

On the seventh day, they're taking a walk along the Han River after getting an early dinner with Sakura and Kazuha. It's late afternoon, almost sunset — golden hour, Chaewon called it with an excited glint in her eye as she dragged Yunjin towards the river — and every now and then Yunjin will hear the click of the camera shutter, or Chaewon will drop back a few steps and ask Yunjin to turn around.

They stop so they can go into a Starbucks that's about to close and get some drinks — a caramel frappuccino with chocolate syrup and extra whipped cream for Chaewon because she's an unhinged sweet-tooth and a peach iced tea for Yunjin because she's normal — and once they're walking again Chaewon prompts Yunjin into talking about her classes. Squinting against the fading sun, Yunjin launches into a ramble about atoms and molecules while Chaewon hums and nods, asking the occasional question to encourage Yunjin to keep talking.