summary: Hongjoong looks through his old photobook.
Smiling, he opened the photo book.
Hongjoong had always loved taking photos. He had taken photos every day. He found beauty in every little thing and every beautiful thing he had photographed, he had captured it with his camera. He had photographed plants, objects, nature and houses, but nothing could compete with his favorite thing to photograph.
His favorite thing to photograph was yn, capturing her soft features or her hair blowing in the wind.
When Hongjoong had first laid eyes on her, he had been overwhelmed by her beauty. A little shyly, he had asked if he could take a photo of her and yn had agreed.
Normally, Hongjoong wouldn't have dared to ask such a thing, but he couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful she would look through his camera.
Hongjoong looked at the first photo of yn, looking a little shy and embarrassed at the camera. Hongjoong couldn't stop looking at the picture. And so the first photo of yn ended up among all the others in this photo book.
The closer they got to each other, the more photos of yn were mixed in with the other photos.
A Photo of yn leaning over her laptop, a coffee cup next to her on the table. Her hair flowed loosely over her shoulders and the soft light streaming through the window behind her played around her features.
A picture of yn carefully sipping her coffee cup while standing in front of a busy street. Only they both knew that this picture had been taken during their first date. The first day that Hongjoong had realized that he loved her. On a busy street infront of a coffeshop. She had been wearing casual clothes, sipping her cup of coffee and Hongjoong hadn't been able to stop thinking about how her lips would feel on hers.
A picture of yn sleeping in his studio. She was curled up on the small sofa at the back of Hongjoong's small room. Her face carefree and relaxed. Hongjoong hadn't let many people into his studio but it had felt natural for him to have yn there.
Several pictures of yn in Hongjoong's clothes. Clothes that Hongjoong had upcycled especially for her. Clothes that she had worn more than any other.
A picture of yn standing in front of a floor-to-ceiling mirror. Hongjoong's arms were wrapped around her hips from behind. Even when other people looked at the picture, they could literally see the love that had hovered between the two of them.
A picture of yn and Hongjoong kissing. They were sitting together on a bench, with a beautiful river stretching out behind them. They were so lost in their kiss that they didn't notice Wooyoung and San giggling and taking pictures of them to tease Hongjoong later. Back then, Hongjoong had been annoyed by the two of them. Today, he would give anything to be able to experience such a situation one last time. One last time with her. Sighing, he turned the page.
A picture of yn's hand lying in Hongjoong's own hand. Their fingers were intertwined and a simple silver ring shone on both hands. The initials of the other were engraved on the surface. They had got engaged that day. You couldn't see it in the picture, but both yn and Hongjoong were beaming with happiness.
A picture of yn brushing her teeth. She grinned happily at the camera with toothpaste hanging from the corner of her mouth and you could see Hongjoong's reflection in the bathroom mirror. He was grinning just as happily. But if you looked closely, yn's skin was paler than usual and there were dark circles under her eyes.
A picture of yn lying in a hospital bed. Her eyes were closed and she looked unhealthily pale. Her skin was almost the color of the white pillowcase. She was emaciated. Her cheekbones stood out from her face, making her usually soft features sharp and angular. When Hongjoong had taken this photo, he still had hope, while hope had long faded from yn's eyes. She had come to terms with the fact that she would never get better.
A picture of yn holding a bouquet of flowers. Hongjoong had given it to her. To brighten up her dreary everyday life in hospital, from which she had not been able to escape for a while. Hongjoong had also lost hope. They were both just trying to make the best of the last few days. Yn looked at the camera. Her tired smile did not reach her eyes.
A picture of a letter. A last letter from yn for Hongjoong. A letter in which she assured him how much she loved him. In which she asked him to live on. She knew it was a lot to ask, but she really hoped that Hongjoong could be happy again. She had hoped that he would smile again. Yn had been happy. She had come to terms with the fact that she had to die. She was happy. She had led a beautiful life. She had laughed, loved and lived. She had one of the most wonderful person in her life and Hongjoong had enriched her every day. She loved him and he loved her. This love had made it easier for her to leave. Knowing that she had experienced something so wonderful had made it easier for her to let go.
A picture of a gravestone. Her gravestone. Her love had made it harder for Hongjoong to let her go. He loved her with every fiber of his body and he still didn't know how to function without her. His entire life was dedicated to loving her, kissing her and ultimately missing her. Sometimes Hongjoong wondered what a bad person he must have been in his previous life to deserve this pain.
A picture of a deserted coffee shop. It was the coffee shop, with the busy street, the place of their first date. At the time the picture was taken, it had been 5 years since Yn had left him and that day had been the first day he had felt pure happiness again when he thought of her. It had been their anniversary and Hongjoong had come to this place because he had finally found comfort in the thought that one day they would meet again. One day, perhaps in another life, yn would take his broken soul into her tender hand and take all the pain out of her and he would take new photos of her to fill this photo book or start a new one. But until then, he would do as she had wished... He was happy. For her.
Hongjoong leafed through the photo album with all these photos. Smiling, he leaned back in his rocking chair. His now wrinkled face beamed at the thought of his great love. He had never managed to truly love another woman after getting a taste of her love. But that hadn't been necessary. He had been happy in his life and even though missing her was now a familiar part of his heart, he had never lost hope. He knew the time had come. Today he would see her again, his yn. He could feel it. Smiling, he closed the photo book. Hongjoong had never been afraid of death because he always knew that she was waiting, so he closed his eyes peacefully and his last thought in this life was for his yn.
