Return of the Genius Photographer

The reason Young-ho started to have doubts was because of Woojin.

“A photographer….”

Young-ho muttered quietly as he watched Woojin’s back fading into the distance.

“Of course, he had a dream.”

It seemed typical of Woojin.

When Woojin first said he was going to study, honestly, Young-ho dismissed it.

He thought it was just a phase kids that age go through, and that after a few days, Woojin would be back to his old self.

But contrary to that expectation, Woojin remained unchanged even after a month. Young-ho found that incredibly irritating.

Was it a kind of jealousy?

It felt like his close friend had grown up without him knowing.

He felt as though Woojin was moving further away from him, who was standing still.

“I envy him…”

But it didn’t take long for that jealousy to turn into admiration.

Watching Woojin receive applause from others, Young-ho found himself wanting to change like his friend.

That confident demeanor seemed incredibly cool.

He realized how admirable it was to work hard for a dream.

“One day, I’ll be like Woojin too…”

Staring blankly into the alley where Woojin had disappeared, Young-ho made a vow.

For his own dream, whatever it might be…

Clearly, Woojin’s actions had a profound impact on Young-ho.

To a high school student still close to being a boy, a friend’s influence is significant.

Although today’s realization would be a major turning point in Young-ho’s life, he wouldn’t recognize it until much later.

Unbeknownst to Woojin, he was gradually but surely changing his surroundings.

And this was not limited to his friends alone.

*

“I’m home!”

I turned into the alley and nearly ran to the house.

I couldn’t wait to show my report card to my mother.

“Son, you’re home early?”

“Yes, today’s an early dismissal day.”

My mother seemed surprised by my early return.

As she quietly watched me catching my breath from running, she seemed to remember something and asked.

“The school called earlier. They said report cards were out?”

The moment had arrived. I almost laughed but managed to hold it in, responding calmly.

“Yes, I was about to show you.”

I took out the report card envelope from my uniform pocket.

How surprised would she be?

To see the unexpected improvement in her son’s grades.

“Did you do well? You haven’t forgotten our deal, right?” she asked pointedly as she took the envelope.

“Mom is not going to go easy on you. You should just give up.”

“Yes,” I answered briefly, fearing that saying more would make me burst into laughter.

“Judging by your answer, your grades must be…” Her reading of the report card stopped midway.

“What… What is this…”

She rubbed her eyes three times, unable to believe the “7th in the entire school” written on the card. It took her quite a while to speak again.

“You didn’t bring the wrong report card, did you?”

“Look, my name is at the top.”

“Well, yes… That’s true. Perfect scores in Korean, English, and Math…” She nodded, still in a daze, struggling to grasp the reality of it.

Of course, she couldn’t believe it. Her son, who had never ranked in the top 200, was suddenly 7th.

“Oh, right! This is no time to be just standing around.”

After mumbling to herself for a while, she suddenly exclaimed, as if she had realized something.

“Son, is there anything you want to eat?”

“What?”

“If there’s something you want, just say it, and I’ll make it for you. Actually, why don’t we eat out? Your father would love it too. Let’s wait a bit and go out for dinner.”

It was as if all her earlier doubts had never existed. My mother was as happy as a child.

“No, this isn’t the time for that. I have to call the other moms who used to boast about their kids’ grades. You have no idea how envious I was.”

Waving the report card proudly, my mother beamed. She looked more moved than when she had received any gift.

Seeing her so delighted made me smile contentedly too.

Right now, I felt happier than ever before.

Receiving applause at school or hearing Young-ho congratulate me hadn’t really moved me, but seeing my mother’s joy was different.

Why did I dislike such trivial things so much in my past life?

“Woojin, I’m sorry for doubting you. It must have been tough studying all this time.”

My mother stopped her celebration and hugged me tightly.

Her emotions are always so intense…

“It’s okay. It’s true I wasn’t studying before. But from now on, you won’t have to worry.”

I patted her back gently. I didn’t elaborate further.

Whether it was a product of coincidence or a gift from heaven, I had been given another chance.

For my own success and my family’s happiness, I wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip away.

I would achieve it all.

Right now, the best thing I could do for my parents was to get good grades, but they could expect more in the future.

“I’ll be in my room until Dad gets home.”

“Alright, rest in your room.”

Feeling a bit awkward in this situation, I quietly headed to my room.

I could hear my mother talking to my father on the phone, but once I closed the door, the room became silent.

In the stillness of my room, I collapsed onto the bed, basking in the good feeling.

“This is great…”

My mother’s smiling face kept coming to mind. Dad would definitely be happy too.

I should not forget this feeling…

“I should write it down before I forget.”

Happiness is fleeting; it vanishes quickly. Writing it down is the best way to remember it.

I took out a notebook from my bag. It was the same notebook where I had written down my goals after coming back.

I had decided to add more goals as they came to me. Now seemed like the right time.

I poured my honest feelings into the notebook.

– Let’s make the people precious to me happy.

Today I realized how much happiness there is in seeing someone I care about smile.

How valuable it is to bring joy to those dear to me.

I want to make all the important people I will meet in the future happy.

-Ding!

Just then, as I was deeply moved, a notification sound from my phone interrupted my thoughts.

– This is Lee Minjung from 3rd Street Market. Don’t forget about the shoot tomorrow, okay? What time do you plan to come?

It was a message from the shopping mall. I had almost forgotten about it.

“Has it been a week already?”

We had scheduled it a week ago.

I had postponed the photoshoot due to my exam preparations, and now it was tomorrow.

The timing couldn’t have been better.

– Yes, I’ll bring the necessary documents tomorrow.

I replied immediately, leaving out the part about having forgotten.

*****

Saturday.

Unlike the first time I came, the office was now very tidy.

“Woojin, you’re here?”

Hearing the sound of the wind chime hanging by the door, Minjung came out and greeted me.

When I bowed my head in greeting, Minjung gestured for me to come inside.

“How does it look? Much cleaner, right?”

Minjung was referring to the waiting area I saw when I first came here.

Not only was the previously cluttered space neatly organized, but it was also equipped with a proper desk and a whiteboard.

“We’ll use this as a meeting room from now on. You can wait here before the shoot.”

Minjung smiled as she showed me the meeting room. Her demeanor was bright yet not impolite.

I appreciated that she didn’t treat me lightly despite knowing I was a high school student.

If she had treated me condescendingly because I was in high school, that would have been problematic. Here, before being a high school student, I was a photographer.

I had no intention of tolerating any dismissive treatment.

In that regard, Minjung’s manners were spot-on.

Well, that’s probably why she’s successful.

“Should I give you the documents now?”

“Yes, you can give them to me anytime. But let’s talk about the shoot first, shall we?”

After making a quick assessment of Minjung in my mind, I followed her into the meeting room.

“Hello!”

Inside the meeting room, there were two more people.

“I’m Hyunwoo. We briefly met during the interview, remember?”

One of them was the man wearing an apron when I first entered the office. Introducing himself as Hyunwoo, he extended his hand for a handshake.

“I’ll handle all the props and lighting for today’s shoot. Just tell me what you need.”

With a friendly smile, he shook my hand. So that’s why he was in the meeting room.

“Yes. We won’t be using props for anything other than the background in today’s shoot. I’ll discuss the lighting when we start.”

I answered Hyunwoo and then took a seat. But who was the person sitting in front of me?

“You two are meeting for the first time today, right?”

Perhaps noticing my curious expression, Minjung, who had followed us in, quickly introduced us.

“Woojin, this is So-hyun, the model helping with today’s shoot. So-hyun, this is Woojin, the photographer.”

“Hello, I’m Park So-hyun.”

“Hello, I’m Nam Woojin.”

The woman finally bowed her head towards me awkwardly.

Her long hair moved with her head, and she habitually brushed it aside.

She looked quite haughty yet strangely drew my attention. That was my first impression of her.

“Shall we talk about how we’re going to shoot today before we start?”

As everyone took their seats, Minjung began speaking as if waiting for this moment. Thus, in a slightly awkward atmosphere, the meeting began.

“Today’s shoot is for the new summer clothes.”

Minjung pointed to the clothes hanging on one side of the meeting room.

“These are the outfits we’ve coordinated in advance. There are a total of 10 sets, including tops and bottoms.”

I already knew this from the text message, so I just nodded quietly.

Meanwhile, I was busy thinking about how to photograph them.

‘For now, there’s a thin blouse and linen pants. Is that a striped dress?’

It’s still April, so there’s a bit of time until summer, but it looks like they’re preparing early. The clothes were all cool and light.

‘I should prioritize saturation over brightness in the photos. The lighting should be side and cross-lighting.’

Summer clothes are generally bright, so it’s important to capture the colors well rather than focusing on the brightness of the clothes.

Images of suitable backgrounds and reference photos flashed through my mind.

Fashion photography might seem easier compared to documentary or fine art photography, but it requires a trendy sense, making it incredibly subjective.

The way clothes are photographed depends entirely on the photographer’s skills.

‘How should I shoot this time….’

While one ear was tuned to Minjung’s words, Woojin was lost in deep thought.

And watching Woojin, So-hyun wondered,

‘Is he really good at photography?’

Having arrived early at the office, So-hyun had heard quite a bit while waiting in the meeting room.

Among the stories, the most intriguing was about Woojin.

In her line of work, she had met many photographers.

Through numerous projects, she learned that young photographers were extremely rare.

Even though a photographer’s skill isn’t necessarily proportional to their age, producing good results requires personal expertise.

Thus, young professional photographers were exceedingly rare.

And a high school student?

If she hadn’t known Minjung well, she would never have believed it.

‘He does have a decent face.’

Curious, So-hyun glanced at Woojin, but Woojin didn’t look her way, lost in his thoughts.

‘Well, I guess I’ll find out soon enough.’

Without lingering on her curiosity, So-hyun quickly looked away.

She would soon find out if Woojin was a truly talented newcomer or someone who had tricked people with coincidental good results.