Chickadee - A Yoonmin Fanfiction

Part 12

•Yoongi•

I focus my equipment on Jimin, toying with a set of colour gradients displayed in my camera menu. The young dancer is suspended several feet in the air, his limbs tangled in a pair of thick white sashes. Jimin's neck is bent far back, hair falling away from his forehead, and I am pleased by how vulnerable the pose makes him appear.

I don't know what inspired me to use aerial dancing for this shoot. It took ages to hang the twin pieces of material Jimin is now using to hold himself in midair. The sashes aren't tied to him at all, which means it takes him a lot of time and strength to get into position, but looking down at our images so far, I can tell that it will be worth the extra effort.

"Glance towards me Jimin." I call, snapping a dozen pictures as he turns. I look down at the camera in satisfaction. If I can only get him to smile naturally, these will be perfect.

"It's a good thing I've done a bit of this before." The dancer says, coiling his arms around the thick aerial silks. "It takes a long time to get the technique for these sorts of acrobatics."

I watch him drifting through the air, his movements carefully coordinated. "Jimin."

"What?" He asks, looking at me with an all-too-conscious expression.

"Try to smile naturally."

It's not that he looks bad. Jimin can pull off a fake smile just as well as anyone, but the stiffness of his expression tends to transfer into his pose. Even whilst moving with so much grace, he doesn't look relaxed.

"It's hard to smile properly when there isn't a reason for it." Jimin sighs. "I've been thinking about Taekook for the past half hour, and the novelty is starting to wear off."

He glances across at the full length mirror spanning one side of the studio. Jimin's reflection has been nothing but a distraction to him all day, but I'm starting to realize that it has nothing to do with vanity.

"Hey." I say, a bold idea beginning to form in my head. "...You're handsome."

Jimin turns away from me shyly, trying to hide the grin tugging at the corners of his lips. "What are you doing?" He splutters.

"It doesn't matter." I respond. "Turn towards me. I am trying to get the picture...And Jimin," I add, smirking a little, "you're handsome."

"Don't do that." Jimin whines, covering his face, "it's embarrassing," he adds, but I can tell he is secretly pleased.

"It's not embarrassing." I argue, cocking the camera shutter with a sly expression on my face. "I'm your photographer. You have a nice smile. Now use it."

Calling the dancer to my side, I instruct him on on the next set of poses he is to imitate. Unlike last shoot, I'm not using any of the choreography from his dance. I want the performance to be fresh for the audience, so I would rather elude to his theme, not copy it. "Just do these over and over." I say, catching his eye with an expression of mock severity. "And Jimin," I add, poking his shoulder teasingly. "Stop looking so good."

Jimin flees back to the twin curtains, gurgling softly under his breath.

I'm actually enjoying this.

Taking a step closer, I adjust the camera settings so that everything behind him looks blurry, centering all focus on the young dancer.

"Ah Jimin." I yell, my voice lowering an octave. "So sexy!"

"Be quiet." Jimin chides, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment. "Someone will hear you."

"What does it matter?" I ask, pretending to be mystified by his words. "They will agree with me because it's the truth. Now keep going, you have a routine to do." I snap a picture, the shutter of my camera emitting a soft click.

Click. Click. Click.

I'm enjoying this so much that secretly, I don't want to stop. "Hey." I whisper, catching his gaze with a sly expression. "You're freaking adorable."

Jimin hides his face.

I pester him mercilessly over the the next hour, sometimes yelling at him, sometimes singing the words. The images filling up my camera roll get better and better as Jimin gradually gains confidence. By the time ten thirty comes around, I have more than enough material to work with.

"Why did you have to do that?" Jimin moans, untangling himself from the white sheets. "It was horribly cruel to manipulate me in such a way."

"Who says I wasn't being serious?" I ask, turning back to my equipment with a smirk.

I coil an extension chord around my arm, waiting for him to respond. But he doesn't.

"Hey." I call, checking over my shoulder to make sure he's still in the room. "You stopped talking. What do you think of your costume?"

Jimin is sitting at the far end of the wall, a silly grin plastered on his face. "Do you want to know something?" He asks, wrinkling his nose with delight.

"I asked you a question first." I respond stubbornly. His eyes are soft, and a part of me immediately wishes that I had waited to hear his what he had to say.

"Oh." Jimin says, his expression turning shy again. He runs a hand lovingly across the material. "It's so comfortable. I wish I didn't have to return it to the academy."

"You don't." I say after a moment, turning back to my equipment. "I bought that myself."

It took me hours of calling around before I found the right costume. I don't know why I spent so much time on it, looking for the perfect design and material, but I suppose part of me wanted Jimin to feel comfortable.

To be honest, I've been a little alarmed with myself recently. Everything I have done for Jimin makes sense. I only gave him a ride to the shoot because I forgot to drive him yesterday. It would have been inconvenient for him to black out again, so I brought him food. Even complimenting him was a selfish move, when I stop to think about it. I used flattery as a way of getting a good picture. There was nothing 'nice' about that.

Even so, I can't seem to shake the thought that I am going to an awful lot of trouble for a coworker.

"You own this?"Jimin asks, staring at his costume in amazement.

"No. You do." I respond, gathering up a second extension chord. I'm not being kind, I just don't want that thing lying around my house.

Jimin scurries to my side. "Oh, at least let me buy it off you." He begs.

"Absolutely not." I say, looping the extension chord into a firm knot. "I won't accept any money from you."

A moment of silence passes between us, then Jimin leans his head against the side of my shouder, heaving a pathetic sigh. "How can you expect me to pay you back then?" He complains against my sleeve.

I feel a strange prickling sensation in my gut, glancing sideways at his ruffled hair. Jimin hasn't been this close to me since his blackout. Standing frozen, I wait for him to move away.

"There's no point, is there?" Jimin sighs, pulling back from me. "I'm always going to be in your debt, whether I like it or not."

"Oh, the melodrama." I say, rolling my eyes in an attempt to relieve the tension building up inside me. "Don't worry, I'm not a demanding master."

Jimin giggles, glancing shyly at his watch. "I have to get to class." He announces regretfully. "Can I come back later to help you take everything down?"

"Don't worry about it." I say, waving him off with a shrug. "Hurry up, otherwise you'll be late."

"Hey Yoongi." Jimin calls from the door. "Do you think...do you think I could come to the cafe tomorrow? You know, to help with the pictures?"

I'm surprised that he asked. To be honest, I guess I just assumed he would be there. "You'd better."