Yoon Jooho placed his hands on both sides of Song Hyunsoo’s waist, looking down with a sullen expression and pursing his lips.
He seemed to hesitate, unsure if he should speak or not.
Finally, as if he couldn’t hold it in any longer, he grumbled discontentedly.
“What’s with all that sentimental talk?”
“What do you mean?”
“Saying we’re both in Paris and all that… Isn’t that a bit much?”
“Oh, that… It’s just because this is the first time I’m meeting Jin hyung since he moved here. I meant it as something to look forward to.”
“Too much.”
Song Hyunsoo looked up at him, struggling to hide his smile.
“Were you jealous?”
“I wasn’t jealous.”
“Then what?”
“I was displeased.”
“Seems the same to me.”
“Jealousy is a feeling you have toward a rival of equal footing, at least.”
It seemed another one of Yoon Jooho’s long-winded speeches was about to begin, but Song Hyunsoo, not wanting to upset him at the very start of their trip, pretended to listen intently.
“Is my rank in your heart so low that I have to be wary of Jung Jin?”
Almost as if he’d been waiting for this, Song Hyunsoo immediately and firmly shook his head.
“No way. Of course not.”
Hmm. Judging by the tone of his breathing, it seemed Yoon Jooho’s mood had eased a bit.
“But I still don’t like hearing it. It’s not pleasant.”
“Alright. I’ll be more careful.”
Song Hyunsoo answered briskly, tightening his arms around Jooho’s neck and hugging him even closer, until their chests touched.
Yoon Jooho, who had awkwardly rested his hands at Hyunsoo’s sides, now wrapped both arms firmly around his waist.
Reporting every detail—what he ate, who he met, where he went—and having to explain himself to resolve feelings of jealousy or suspicion; to Song Hyunsoo, such a relationship had always felt like labor.
Yoon Jooho had once said as much, sharing a cigarette with him after sex, that he just couldn’t get used to those things.
But now, here he was, not just explaining himself over jealousy, but openly feeling jealous and asking Hyunsoo to correct his behavior.
He disliked having anyone else come between them, tried to ease his own displeasure by acting affectionately, and reconciled by embracing each other.
Every time he realized how used to this process they’d become, Song Hyunsoo thought, so this is what being lovers is like. Smiling slightly, he pressed his cheek to Jooho’s.
“You changed clothes, right? Should we go out?”
“There’s one problem.”
“What is it?”
“Team Leader Jo is against it.”
Team Leader Jo was Yoon Jooho’s chief of security.
“He told us not to go out?”
“He said strolling nearby is fine, but we should avoid Champs-Élysées. Or, go out with the Personal Security Team.”
It didn’t take Song Hyunsoo long to decide.
“We don’t have to go as far as Champs-Élysées. Let’s just go out, the two of us.”
“You want to?”
Without a second thought, Song Hyunsoo nodded, and Yoon Jooho laughed as he brushed Hyunsoo’s hair back.
Then he handed over one of the jackets resting on the sofa—a hooded windbreaker.
“Put this on.”
“Why?”
“It’s better to wear something different from what you had on at the airport.”
Maybe they’d shaken off the fans well enough on the way into the city, but it didn’t seem like the hotel’s location had been exposed yet. Still, it didn’t hurt to be careful.
Song Hyunsoo pulled on a deep-brimmed baseball cap, while Yoon Jooho pressed down the bucket hat Hyunsoo had gifted him.
The very hat he’d asked Jung Jin to pick out, only to feel unexpected pain because of it.
There’d even been a light argument over what to do with the hat—Song Hyunsoo wanting to throw it away, Yoon Jooho refusing. He’d been firm.
‘It’s the first gift you ever gave me. It means nothing else.’
Strangely, after that, seeing the hat no longer reminded him of Jung Jin.
In the elevator, Song Hyunsoo hooked his finger around Jooho’s.
When the bell rang on the third floor and the elevator stopped, Hyunsoo tried to hurriedly pull his hand away. But Yoon Jooho intertwined their fingers even more tightly, not letting go.
To the elderly lady who greeted them warmly with a “Good evening,” Song Hyunsoo could only return the greeting with an awkward face. Yoon Jooho trembled as he suppressed a laugh.
Instead of heading for Champs-Élysées, the two wandered Jaurès 5th Avenue and Montagne Street—alleyways lined with luxury Flagship Stores for shopping.
Since most of the shops had already closed, the streets were almost eerily deserted.
Maybe it was because he’d eaten too much on the plane, but even though they skipped dinner, Hyunsoo didn’t feel hungry at all. Maybe he was just too excited.
Night had fallen dark and quiet on the southern side of Champs-Élysées. It was the perfect hiding spot for lovers wishing to remain unseen.
Hand in hand, they boldly strode down the streets.
They captured each other with their phones.
They became each other’s passionate Photographer, directing poses as if practicing for the next day’s photoshoot.
They even took selfies with their cheeks pressed together, just like any ordinary couple.
With every building they passed, the Eiffel Tower would vanish and then reappear, like the moon that used to follow him everywhere as a child.
“Sunbae, look! It must be right on the hour!”
Shouting as he pointed to the sky, Song Hyunsoo tugged Yoon Jooho along.
At the end of Montagne Street, the Eiffel Tower glittered, putting on its hourly light show.
No matter how many times he saw it, Hyunsoo never tired of it; gazing up at the tower with a dreamy face, he murmured,
“The pretty one became even prettier.”
While holding Song Hyunsoo’s warm hand and watching his profile, Yoon Jooho felt like something inside him that had long been neglected was finally being restored.
He glanced around, then gently cupped both of Hyunsoo’s cheeks.
When Hyunsoo turned, wearing a “What is it?” expression, Jooho quickly kissed him.
The chill autumn night made their lips cold on the surface, but after all the walking, warmth lingered inside.
Grinning at Hyunsoo’s startled face, Jooho draped an arm around his shoulders and looked up at the Eiffel Tower.
Instead of scolding him, Hyunsoo wrapped an arm around Jooho’s waist and gazed at the same sight.
Perhaps whenever the Eiffel Tower sparkled, Paris was casting a spell. At least, there was something that made him believe so.
S#3. Long Take Film
The photoshoot went smoothly.
For Song Hyunsoo, it was not just his first pictorial, but his first outdoor shoot as well, yet he adapted quickly thanks to Yoon Jooho’s skillful guidance.
Still, perhaps because he was more nervous than he realized, or maybe due to jet lag, after the first day’s shoot, he crashed on the hotel bed without even eating dinner.
Then, at the crack of dawn, he woke up and filled his stomach with room service.
Complaining about how no couple on their first trip falls asleep before 9, Yoon Jooho still pushed the salad Hyunsoo favored closer to him from across the table.
It seemed tsundere-ness was not something that could be completely cured.
They hadn’t spent a romantic evening in a rose petal-filled bathtub (not that there’d been such plans), but thanks to their good night’s rest, they started the second day’s shoot in even better condition.
The basecamp for the shoot was a studio near the Rodin Museum.
The Editor explained that it was a place they rented whenever they had a shoot in Paris.
The studio sat atop a typical Osman Style apartment, on the sixth floor, and from its balcony, you could see a clear view of the Eiffel Tower.
Outfits for the pictorial were arranged neatly on several racks, and the Photographer team was bustling about, prepping equipment.
Sitting before a large vanity, Song Hyunsoo clipped his hair back with pins and began his makeup.
The Hair & Makeup Director checked his skin and looked at Hyunsoo through the mirror.
“Hyunsoo, you must have slept well last night, right?”
“How did you know, Director?”
“I can tell by your skin. It was good yesterday, but today it barely needs any foundation.”
“I slept like a baby last night.”
“You must have been tired.”
“I went straight to sleep without even eating dinner.”
They’d gotten close after a whole day of shooting, so the atmosphere was much lighter from the start today.
As the Director dabbed foundation onto various spots on Hyunsoo’s face, she joked playfully.
“Didn’t the CEO scold you?”
“Huh?”
“When you said you were too tired and needed to turn in, Jooho followed you, right?”
“Oh…”
Even though they’d all worked the same grueling schedule, the staff had somehow stayed full of energy after the shoot.
Hyunsoo had no choice but to decline their invitation for dinner; his eyelids had been drooping shut.
‘I’ll head in, then.’
As soon as he excused himself, Yoon Jooho had, of course, followed right behind.