I Want to Be Photographed Beautifully
Hyeonwu sat carefully on the edge of the fold-out bed while Doyun leaned back on an overturned plastic box. Both still carried the faint atmosphere of the pub on their clothes. The cuffs of Hyeonwu’s hoodie were slightly stretched out, and two of Doyun’s shirt buttons were undone for comfort. The clothes were neither expensive nor particularly neat. Yet on their young bodies, even that casualness looked strangely bright and light.
Eunju watched them for a moment. They were at the age where it would not seem strange to eat cup ramen in front of a convenience store, laugh and chatter until dawn, then fall asleep exactly as they were. And yet those boys were sitting in front of her now. Calling her Eunju nuna. Their eyes already holding the quiet wish to one day place her body before their cameras.
The workshop was not large. A single ceiling light, a small desk lamp, and the hazy glow of a signboard drifting in from outside were all that illuminated the space. In that dark, narrow room, the gazes of the three men naturally gathered on Eunju. Minjun’s gaze. Hyeonwu’s gaze. Doyun’s gaze.
Eunju felt every one of them. They were not the same eyes that had peeled her clothes away back at the pub. Yet they were not meaningless either. All three men were looking at her. Quietly. Patiently. Like people waiting to see what she would say first.
It made her nervous. But she did not dislike it. On the contrary, she realized she was instinctively enjoying being at the center of their attention. That discovery amused her even more. Before she knew it, a wry smile had formed on her lips.
Hyeonwu did not miss it. “Why are you smiling?” His voice was small.
Eunju looked at him. He still could not hold her eyes for long. But his face showed he did not want to miss even the smallest shift in her expression. She thought for a moment, then slowly turned the water glass with her fingertips.
“Just because.”
“It feels a little funny that I’m sitting here.”
Hyeonwu looked puzzled. Doyun watched her in silence. Eunju let out the smallest sigh.
“It’s funny. And maybe even funnier because I don’t dislike it.”
The tips of Hyeonwu’s ears flushed red. Doyun still did not look away. Meeting those eyes, Eunju realized she had no desire to dodge this conversation. She set the glass down.
“We should talk about the work.”
At her words, both young men shifted slightly. Hyeonwu clenched and unclenched the hands resting on his knees. Doyun straightened his posture on the box. Minjun remained seated beside her, silent, missing nothing.
Eunju looked from one to the other. “I’ve seen you two, you know.”
Hyeonwu’s face burned crimson at once. Doyun briefly lowered his gaze, then lifted it again. Their reactions made Eunju feel a flicker of embarrassment, but she did not stop.
“The photos you sent. I looked at all of them.”
“But I haven’t shown you anything yet.”
The workshop grew quiet. Only the faint hum of the ceiling light remained. Hyeonwu seemed at a loss for words. After watching her a moment, Doyun slowly spoke.
“A man’s body…”
“Honestly, it’s not that secretive, and not particularly beautiful, is it?”
Hyeonwu glanced sideways at him. Doyun smiled a little sheepishly but continued.
“It’s just a guy’s body. We see each other’s all the time, so it’s nothing new. What we sent you… we don’t think it was anything that impressive.”
Eunju lowered her eyes. For him to call those images unimpressive, they had been more than strong enough for her. They were young desire laid bare while thinking of her, images that had filled her mind completely for days.
“But a woman’s body is different.”
“Especially someone like you, nuna. It’s beautiful, and it’s dangerous. It’s not something you can just casually ask to see.”
Beneath Doyun’s tone lay a fundamental respect for a woman’s body. Hyeonwu added in a small voice.
“And nuna… you have so much more at stake.”
Eunju met his eyes. This time he tried to hold her gaze longer, his face straining not to flee. He could not manage it for long. His cheeks flushed and his head dropped. Still, the words were sincere.
“We’re men, so it might end with a little embarrassment. But not for you, nuna. Your photos… they’re far more dangerous for you.”
At those words, Eunju’s heart settled quietly. These boys wanted to see her. Their desire was unmistakable. Yet they were also thinking about the risk she would carry.
Doyun spoke in a low voice. “Beautiful protagonists always appear later, don’t they?”
Hyeonwu looked at him, flustered. “Hey, isn’t that a little too much flattery?”
Doyun smiled, embarrassed. “It’s not flattery. I really think so.”
Hyeonwu started to say something else, then closed his mouth. Watching them, Eunju gave a small laugh.
“Even if it is flattery, it still feels good.”
Both young men looked at her at the same time. In their eyes Eunju became aware of her body again. The narrow workshop. The fold-out bed. The lighting. The camera. And the two young men waiting for her.
She adjusted her posture slightly. The movement pulled the fabric inside her clothes in a subtle way. Outwardly it was nothing. But Eunju felt that small pressure bloom softly inside her. It was a sensation that could not be put into words. So she simply picked up the water glass again.
Minjun remained silent. He was watching his wife guide the two boys. She spoke gently, soothing them with care, drawing lines, preparing to tell them to wait. On the surface she looked like a kind nuna, a mature woman. To Minjun, however, it looked different.
His wife was raising predators with her own hands. For now they were still clumsy, cautious boys who could not quite meet her eyes and blushed at every word. But one day these boys would lift their cameras and face Eunju standing in the light with a man’s eyes. They would look at the woman they called nuna as a beautiful female body. And perhaps after that, they would feel desires no longer containable by the word nuna.
No, it was not a matter for later. The current had already begun in this moment. His wife was taming them herself. Teaching these young males—who might one day swallow him whole—how to open a woman named Eunju.
Minjun said nothing. This was not the time to intervene. It was right to watch how far she would open the door on her own.
Eunju felt his silence. It was not abandonment. It was permission. And observation.
She looked at Hyeonwu and Doyun again. “It’s not that I dislike the idea of shooting itself. Actually, I came here because I want to do it.”
Both their eyes changed at once. Seeing the shift, Eunju continued slowly.
“I’ve seen your workshop. I’ve seen the photos. And I’ve seen the two of you.”
A short silence fell.
“So I’ve made up my mind. I will do it someday.”
Hyeonwu’s hands froze on his knees. Doyun drew in a breath a fraction late. Eunju smiled faintly at their reactions.
“But that doesn’t mean I’m setting a date today. At first I thought it was simply a matter of choosing a day and shooting. After seeing you two, though, I don’t want to do it half-heartedly anymore. I want to be photographed beautifully too. Not just naked, but truly beautiful in your eyes.”
She paused.
“For that, you need to know, don’t you? Where I’m beautiful. What expressions suit me. What words make me shy, what gazes make my body melt.”
Hyeonwu and Doyun could not speak. Eunju smiled, a little shyly.
“I think we’ll need time to learn those things. If you want to photograph me properly, then I want to be photographed properly by you.”
Hyeonwu hesitated, then nodded. “To be honest… I want to shoot soon.”
Doyun did not hide it either. “Just seeing you now has already made me curious.”
His gaze rested on her—not crudely, but unmistakably. “The way the bridge of your nose catches the light when you turn your head. How slender the line of your neck looks when your hair slips aside. Even how delicate your wrist seems when you hold a glass.”
Unconsciously Eunju tightened her fingers on the glass. Doyun seemed to notice that tiny movement as well.
“And your ankles. The high heels make them look even thinner, and the flow from ankle to leg is really good.”
Hyeonwu’s face grew redder. Doyun kept going.
“When you’re sitting, the eye goes to your waist first. Then the hips shaped by your jeans. Those things stand out even with clothes on…”
He paused.
“The parts that are still covered only let me imagine. So I want to know more. Where you’re pretty, nuna. Where you become shy when shown. Where to shoot so you come out most like yourself.”
Doyun added quietly, “I’ll follow your wish to take it slow. But during that time, we’ll keep looking. Because to photograph you beautifully, we have to know first.”
Eunju could not answer. The words were polite, yet she did not miss the anticipation hidden beneath them.
“Then… instead of talking only about work, you can come by sometimes. You can eat with us. You can look at photos.”
Hyeonwu added quickly, “We can’t afford to treat you, but… we can prepare something better than cup ramen.”
Eunju finally smiled. “Then I suppose I’ll have to bring it.”
Hyeonwu panicked. “Ah, no, that’s not what I meant…”
“I know.” Eunju spoke gently. “Just that if I want to do it that way.”
Hyeonwu could say nothing more. Doyun glanced at him and gave a small laugh.
The air in the workshop loosened a little. The tension had not vanished; it had simply sunk deeper.
Eunju would meet these boys several more times. She would feed them, look at photographs, and perhaps answer their questions about women. About the female heart and body, about shame and desire. Sometimes embarrassed, sometimes laughing. Through that process they would come to know her better, and she would come to know them better. Only then, someday, would she stand before the lights.
Eunju did not push the thought away. Instead she held it quietly. The way she sat made the fabric inside her clothes pull again in that subtle way. The sensation spread faintly through her body. With a perfectly calm face, she smiled.
“Let’s take it slow. But that doesn’t mean letting it fade into nothing.”
Hyeonwu and Doyun’s eyes changed at the same time. Eunju saw it clearly. Expectation. Tension. And desire carefully held in check.
Receiving those gazes, she smiled with gentle affection, like a nuna giving her younger brothers a difficult assignment. But she already knew. At the end of that assignment lay her own body.