Joanna's Muse (6)
'Prejac doing a spread on the Beauty of the East?'
Prejac was a quintessential Western luxury clothing company, selling high-end apparel and accessories with branches in countries around the world. It was hard to believe they'd make the East the main theme for their July issue.
'How? What the hell happened?'
I learned it was Joanna's designs that made it possible. Impressive, I thought. And part of me wanted to give it a shot too.
[I thought you'd be perfect for it. Who better to capture the Beauty of the East than May Lin?]
Yeah, she's right. I'm the best.
[So I want you to do it. Who else could I ask? You're the one for the job.]
True. No other photographer could handle Prejac's July issue but me. I had no choice but to agree with Joanna. I knew turning her down here would just leave me restless. Some other photographer taking the July shoot? I'd be pacing, fuming, sleepless from the moment I heard. I couldn't accept anyone but myself.
'Damn it, I fell for Joanna's sweet talk.'
I reluctantly accepted the Prejac collab. The real issue came next.
I planned to showcase my full skills, honed over years. That meant controlling every detail from start to finish. But absurdly, Joanna had already picked the model for the July spread—a rookie male idol group, no less. Not even real models.
'Using fresh debutants as models? Even if you're ruining your own rep, there's a limit... I can't accept this!'
To properly express the Beauty of the East, we needed proper models. But Joanna's reputation was stellar; the staff trusted her judgment. Before settling on this ridiculous rookie boy group as leads, I had to think of alternatives.
'In the end, we added more models and decided the mains after reviewing the results.'
I figured that would let me steer the July issue my way. No chance this no-name group "Airplane" would end up as leads. I'd make sure of it.
That is, until I laid eyes on the boy group Airplane myself.
'I get why Joanna's smitten.'
After seeing her muses in person, I understood her recommendation. Jin Haesol had a face that sparked insatiable greed in any artist—a face begging to be captured on film. The kind that stirred your soul, making it infuriating no one had shot it before.
'The problem is, the moment to shoot that face is now. A talentless model is just pretty wrapping, no matter how striking the face.'
They seemed to have prepared diligently enough. Each had a distinct charm and a lean, flawless physique—clear signs of model-level body management. Commendable, but it wouldn't solve my issues.
I needed models who could infuse soul into the shots, not just eye-catching shells.
'She knows how tough it is working with unskilled models... Joanna, I'm chalking this one up big time.'
Unaware I was grinding my teeth internally, Joanna had barged into my hotel room that morning, rubbing it in.
"What're you doing here first thing?"
"Too curious. What's your take on the models?"
"Bunch of clueless chicks. Driving me nuts already. Future looks bleak."
"Liar. If you hated them, you'd have flat-out refused, even if it killed you."
I flinched. 'Shit.'
Her words hit dead center; I couldn't retort right away. I needed to keep showing resistance to convince her, but I'd slipped.
"You gonna keep acting like a pro who knows a pretty face isn't everything?"
"You'll have to admit it eventually, Lin. That guy's no ordinary man."
"If he's really special, I'll see it during the shoot. No need to hype him up in front of me."
Swoosh—swish—whoosh—swoosh—
Joanna's hands flew as she chatted with me, sketching designs at breakneck speed. She'd come to talk, yet here she was working. Ridiculous.
"Heh heh, bear with me. It's such a rush; inspiration's pouring out. Too good to stop."
"My future's pitch black, and you're over here making me jealous with your thrill. Wish I could catch a spark of that inspiration."
A photo captures an eternal instant—that's photography's allure. But once snapped, that moment's gone forever. The shoot would run my way from start to finish, so I was certain Joanna wouldn't snag any genius shots from inspiration.
'Special or not, they're rookies. In front of the camera, they'll freeze or strike boring poses.'
Models who can embody their charm on film are rare. So I held zero expectations for Joanna's hype. No expectations, no disappointment.
Photoshoot day.
The studio, empty last visit, now brimmed with gear.
"Whoa, so pretty."
"Tons of props."
"Lighting setup's insane."
Definitely Prejac-level—massive, lavish props. Gulp.
"Must've cost a fortune..."
"Yeah."
Fwssh! Fwssh! Fwssh!
The lights blazed on. 'Ugh, eye candy overload.' Just glancing nearby made my eyes water. Standing under them soon had my skin prickling already.
"Oh, you're here. Hi, Director!"
—Outfits ready? Almost set—change and come out.
May Lin barely acknowledged our greetings, urging us to hurry and change. We dazedly shuffled to the waiting room, eyeing the rack.
"Way comfier than last time."
Twisting about, the custom fit felt perfect. Tailored clothes really were the best.
"Eek, so nervous. Hope we don't get yelled at."
Haunted by May Lin's sharp glares, we spent the remaining time intensely studying poses—consulting, helping each other for better ones.
But our efforts proved mostly useless.
—More tension! What're you doing with those limp poses?
"Yes, ma'am!"
May Lin's scoldings echoed throughout the shoot. Every practiced pose got trashed. She even warned us to ditch our lazy habit of aping other models' shots.
'Who'd guess she'd reject every single prepared pose? Everyone's in meltdown mode.'
She critiqued our prep poses, yet the ones she actually shot weren't revolutionary either. Sometimes she'd snap awkward ones that made me wonder why; other times, she'd nitpick and demand changes without clicking.
Tense under the hot lights for hours, we staggered off set with stamina critically low.
'Time for the Stamina Pouch?'
This wasn't over—group shots next. Seeing the guys wilted, they'd probably flop mid-group if we started now.
"Why so droopy?"
"Exhausted, hyung."
"Sweat ruining my makeup?"
Half the members needed touch-ups from sweat. By chance, I was last. Unlike the others dreading the wait, I was thrilled to step under the lights.
'Truth be told, I'd pumped my modeling skill with coins and was dying to test the effects.'
Watching their shots, I'd realized May Lin's genius. Poses that looked awkward live transformed stunningly in photos.
I got why she'd trashed our prep poses.
'Ours probably looked cliché as hell.'
With a pro directing, just follow her lead—no problem. Head warming under the glare, I took a breath.
My body hid modeling talent, boosted sky-high with coins. Now, real-world practice would bloom it. Plus, my leveled stats were kicking in.
'This move would look better.'
For the "Beauty of the East" theme, my outfit evoked hanbok. Holding a fan inscribed with elegant hanja, I brought the folded edge to my chin. The initially sloppy pose flowed naturally into perfection.
So seamless, the watching staff didn't notice. But May Lin, behind the lens, hesitated mid-click, sensing something. Only when the pose fully settled—click!
A few such delayed shots. May Lin cracked first.
Lowering her camera, she fixed me with a piercing glare.
—What the hell are you doing? Messing around?
—Pardon?
—Why hide your skill? Do it right from the start—we'd wrap quicker. Got time to burn? You start sloppy, then perfect it late. Not once or twice—it's constant and annoying.
—Uh... sorry.
Boosted talent needed time to settle, like dance stats requiring practice to fully shine. But to May Lin, it looked infuriating.
—I'm not proficient yet; takes time to adjust.
—Anyone can see it's perfect. 'Not proficient'? Hiding your skill? If you're hiding, hide it all the way. But you always switch at the end.
—Really not... uh... hard to explain.
I got her anger—dead serious at work, my antics seemed like pranks. But...
'Can't say my skills are leveling up in real time, right?'
Should've grinded coins for modeling earlier. But with so much to upgrade, no room for luxuries. And with debts to Poni, pumping rarely used stats didn't appeal.