Candids Plus Us. | j.jk, OC

Zero.

"Today we'll be starting on Candid Photography." The professor began, which made the entire auditorium noisy all at once. Lots of people were whispering furiously, probably because it was the first assignment for this term. Everyone was looking forward to it, but not Y/N. She was particularly troubled. In the previous terms, she had done well because it was just still shots.

Living shots was particularly an obstacle, mainly because she had no interest in them. Scenery shots and close up shots of inanimate objects was what she liked. She had signed up for this course in hopes of utilising her forte to the maximum to get more credits, but this sudden announcement had her head spinning. She was already absorbed in planning out worse case scenarios. It was even worse with her non-existent social skills. Excusez moi, she had no need for those till now.

Humans - peculiarly to her - was a mess. They had way complicated feelings that are too much for her mind to process. She had always liked things to be simple, factual and understandable. She can be considered as very antisocial, and very might not even be the correct word that described the intensity of immense dislike for human interaction.

"Please note that you cannot use models, or those you know as muses in your photographs." Her mind drifted back in time to hear the professor talk about his condition for the assignment. She sank deeper into her seat as she wallowed in that despair that came slapping her across her face. Great, now I need to find strangers. It had awoken the introvert within her, sending ripples of anxiety through the pits of her stomach.

That's how she ended up roaming the lawns in the open spaces of her campus after class. She could be now snuggled in her nest of blankets binge watching dramas after the bell rang, but she needed practice with a muse. Her heeled boots clicked against the concrete pavement as she swung her arms around, using her camera lenses to guide her way round. Slowly, the crowd began to thin out and she found herself wandering into one of the more desolate lawns. People were scattered loosely around, which good shots then became a rarity. She wanted to stomp her feet in frustration, but she was in public so it's a no-no.

She managed to get some shots, but they were sub-quality. Her swipes across the camera screen slowly became fast as she got frustrated. Why can't she get a decent photo of a human in an unguarded moment? Her finger stopped its motion and her eyes looked down. It was a picture of a guy with his eyes closed, earphones stuck in his ears. He was resting against the trees, and it looked perfectly aesthetic and up to her standards. Retracing her steps, she tried to find the exact location where she took that accidental shot. It took her a while to recognise that she was still in that spot, due to her confirming multiple times with her camera. She spun her head around and tried to look for the guy in the short.

She was very certain he was the inspiration to her assignment. This was a chance to ace her assignment, and she was going to exhaust every means to achieve it. She finally found him near a tree, clicking away on a computer. His headphones were slung around his neck. She approached him slowly, rehearsing the words in her mind.

Clearing her throat, she waited for their eyes to meet. His brown eyes slowly rose to meet hers, holding them in a deep intensity that left her frozen. Those eyes flashed annoyance when she didn't speak for some time. "What do you want?" His deep voice said curtly. Shaking her head to clear the daze, she slowly began. "Can you help me with a photo-photography assignment? I...I just need to tail you around for a few days...." She stuttered and trailed off, waiting for his reply. She prayed fervently that he would accept, but..

"No." His brief response got her mind flooding in despair. His body moved slightly backwards when she jerked forward. She kneeled down, her hands clasped together. "Please..please help me. I've got no one else but you to ace this assignment and..and..." He turned away, his mind in a dilemma.

"Give me time." He said, standing up. Gathering his belongings, he walked away. She began following him at a distance, wanting to try to beg her way through to him. Her boots clicked softly against the concrete as she maintained a distance between them. Huffing, she took off her boots and ran after him. But she had lost him when she wasted time taking off the troublesome straps. Her head wildly turned around, trying to spot a brown head.

Tripping over a stone, she lost her balance and felt herself fall. Clutching her camera tight in her hands, she waited to make impact but it never came. Opening her tightly shut eyes, she found him staring back at her. Both were caught in a moment together, frozen. A loud chime from the clock broke the spell, and they untangled from each other.

"So you have been following me." He deadpanned. She placed her head down guiltily. She could've waited patiently, but she was afraid of rejection. "I'll do it." He sighed. She looked up, her eyes wide in disbelief. "Can..can you repeat that again?" She said softly, not believing what she heard. "I'll do it, since you won't take no for an answer, don't you?"

That's how we met, 10 years ago.

====

"Hey, you. Are you listening to me?" I stared up at him, a soft smile on his face. I laughed as I shook my head. "Fool." He scoffed as he turned back to his computer. Focusing my lens, I snapped another picture of him.

An album of me and Jungkook, that started with a photography assignment.