Time to walk down memory lane
It was the middle of a sweltering summer, the last summer break of high school. My part-time job as an amusement park photographer, which I started during a slightly longer break than most, brought a little joy to what could have been a dull day. That is, until someone caught my eye.
There wasn't really a particular reason I chose a somewhat unusual part-time job at an amusement park, and a photography job at that. About a year ago? Someone taught me how to hold a camera and take pictures, so I got a taste for it. For me, photography was the only way to remember him. If only I hadn't taken more pictures of you back then... It's an inevitable regret and lingering feeling.
As I busily clicked the camera shutter to capture someone's memories, it was already my last day at work. The summer vacation I'd thought would be so long was less than a week away. Before I could fully feel the regret, several men stood before me.
“Please take just one picture of us.”
“Yes, how about developing the photos? They’re three thousand won each.”
“Please give me five.”
“If you stand in front of me, I’ll take a pretty picture of you.”
Five men, all of similar age, seemed to be trying to take a friendship photo. I responded with a bright smile and then raised one of the cameras next to me toward them. I gently closed my left eye and half-pressed the shutter. The moment the camera focused, the face of the man standing in the center was clearly captured.
"uh…?"
I couldn't do anything. I couldn't even press the shutter button on the face so clearly captured by the camera lens. No, more precisely, I let go of the camera as if my hands were giving out. The camera, which I had let go of, pointed straight at the ground, hitting the amusement park floor with a dull thud.
“J, Jun… definitely…”
As I dropped the camera, everyone nearby turned their attention to me. But I didn't have time to care about that right now. My mind was currently filled with the one person: Lee Jun.
Tears welled up in my eyes. The tears, seemingly ready to fall at any moment, clung precariously to the corners of my eyes, perhaps fortunately or not. In this situation, where everyone was likely flustered, the person who approached me was the one who had caused me to drop my camera. He picked up the camera from the ground and handed it to me.
“Excuse me, are you okay?”
“……”
“Why… are you crying?”
The tears that had been clinging tightly finally fell. Perhaps it was because of the face that resembled Lee Joon's, but the voice that seemed so different from his, that it seemed to tell me he wasn't Lee Joon.
Tears streamed down my cheeks. Even as I cried, thoughts of Lee Jun kept coming back to me, and the tears showed no sign of stopping. The man in front of me seemed flustered, blushing with embarrassment at my sobbing, but he didn't seem inclined to leave easily.
