Ch.4242. Docking With the Ideal

As the homeroom teacher had forewarned, the bus arrived at our destination after exactly one hour of additional travel.

Our first course was Cheonjiyeon Waterfall in Seogwipo City.

According to the explanation on the entrance sign, it’s a well-preserved habitat with several natural monuments within the park.

I don’t really know the details.

To summarize briefly, it seems to be an impressive place anyway.

“Phew.”

Lost in various thoughts, I entered the men’s restroom. After dozing off during the entire bus ride, my head still felt fuzzy even with my feet firmly on the ground.

So to wake myself up and regain my senses, I turned on the cold water and washed my face.

-Swoosh.

“Whew.”

The water was so cold that my hands were almost numb. Splashing that ice-cold water on my face instantly cleared my mind.

After quickly washing up and drying off with the paper towels provided, I left the restroom.

But then.

“Huh?”

The classmates who had been gathered just ahead were nowhere to be seen. Did I exit through the wrong door?

Feeling confused, I looked around, but this was definitely where I had been standing just moments ago.

As soon as I realized this, I immediately understood. A class had left without me.

“…”

I never thought I’d become a lost child at this age. For a moment, I felt cold sweat running down the back of my neck.

Hmm, what should I do? Should I contact the homeroom teacher despite the embarrassment? But I don’t have the number.

While I was conflicting internally, someone poked me in the back as I stood there blankly.

“W-what?”

Perhaps because I was anxious, I flinched and turned around abruptly. But the person who poked me was even more startled than I was.

“Ah, you scared me! Why are you so surprised?”

The person standing behind me was a female student with pink hair—Hwa Nabi. She looked up at me with wide eyes.

“You poked me suddenly from behind, of course I’d be surprised.”

“Even so, I was more surprised because of you, Siwoo. Men are so easily frightened.”

“With all these random crimes these days…”

As I made up excuses off the top of my head, I gradually came back to my senses. Setting aside Hwa Nabi’s anachronistic comment, I asked what I was curious about.

“But where did everyone go?”

“Huh? Siwoo, what are you talking about? Didn’t you hear what the teacher said?”

“Huh? What did they say?”

“What do you mean? The teacher just told us to look around freely and meet back here in an hour.”

“Ah… did they?”

Since this was completely new information to me, I awkwardly scratched the back of my neck. Come to think of it, the homeroom teacher did gather us and say something earlier. Was that what they were talking about?

I sort of heard it, but I was half out of it at the time, so I guess I didn’t properly understand.

“But why are you here? Aren’t you going around with your friends?”

“Well, that was the original plan.”

Hwa Nabi’s voice suddenly stopped there.

Then she raised her gaze and stared into my eyes.

“Someone kept spacing out, so I thought I’d look after them.”

From the nuance, it seems she’s talking about me… I unconsciously blurted out a blunt response.

“…I’m not a child.”

“Then are you an adult? If you’re not an adult, you’re still a child, right?”

It would be pointless to insist I’m an adult here. Giving up on responding, I nodded.

“Well, let’s say that’s the case. So, Hwa Nabi, is there anywhere you want to go?”

We only had an hour. Considering the time it would take to return, it was already cutting it close even if we left right now.

“There’s only the waterfall here anyway, but should we go see Cheonjiyeon Waterfall, which is the most famous one?”

“Sure, let’s do that.”

Since Hwa Nabi seemed to know better than me, I followed without argument. So our first destination was decided to be this Cheonjiyeon Waterfall place, and I checked the information sign before departing.

“Siwoo, what are you doing there?”

“Nothing much, let’s go now.”

It’s better to know than not know. According to the sign, Cheonjiyeon Waterfall can be reached by following the walking path. No need to worry about getting lost.

“Oh, right. Siwoo, do you know what Cheonjiyeon means?”

“Well… I don’t know. Do you know?”

To be honest, I have a rough idea. But since Hwa Nabi seemed eager to show off her knowledge, I pretended not to know.

“Yes, of course I know. I’ve been here several times with my family.”

“Really? What does it mean?”

“Are you curious?”

“…”

I thought she was making a big deal out of something trivial, but her shrugging shoulders looked cute, so I let it slide.

“What is it? Tell me quickly, I’m curious.”

Since it had come to this, I might as well play along properly. I urged her as if I couldn’t wait to know, and Hwa Nabi nodded with satisfaction. Now she seemed ready to talk.

“Siwoo, Cheonjiyeon means a pond formed by the meeting of heaven and earth.”

“Heaven and earth…”

So that’s why it’s Cheonjiyeon (天地淵). Although I had somewhat expected it, learning the exact meaning made me appreciate how poetic the expression was.

I suppose every tourist spot has an impressive name. But they did name this waterfall well.

Just then, the refreshing sound of falling water could be heard from the distance. Hwa Nabi brightened up and tugged at my sleeve.

“Oh, we’re here. Siwoo, over there! Over there!”

“No one’s chasing us, so take it slow. You might fall.”

She barely seemed to hear what I said.

With no choice, I matched my pace to Hwa Nabi’s quick steps.

After walking a bit further, we finally arrived at Cheonjiyeon Waterfall.

A magnificent spectacle lay before our eyes.

A dense forest with thick vegetation, and strange peaks surrounding steep cliffs.

And in the center, a powerful waterfall flowing through a huge crevice in the rocks.

“Wow.”

Hwa Nabi kept exclaiming like a child, and I silently marveled beside her. The wonder of nature makes one forget their age and become immersed.

“Oh, right. Siwoo, there’s a photo we must take when we come here.”

“What is it?”

With those words, Hwa Nabi ran ahead. Wondering what she was up to, I watched.

Hwa Nabi positioned herself by the waterfall, opened her mouth slightly, and pointed to her lips.

“Siwoo, please take a picture with the angle matching the falling waterfall and my mouth.”

“Ah.”

Though the explanation was a bit vague, I immediately understood what she meant. Hwa Nabi was requesting a forced perspective photo.

In other words, a composition that makes it look like the waterfall is flowing into her mouth.

It might be a bit funny to take a picture of a girl with her mouth open, but when else would I get to take such a photo? Memories eventually fade, and in the end, only photos remain.

So without hesitation, let’s take it.

“Okay, got it.”

I took out my phone from my pocket. Then, following Hwa Nabi’s request, I adjusted the angle well and took a photo.

-Click!

“Did it come out well?”

“See for yourself.”

Though I took it, it came out remarkably well. I confidently held out my phone, and Hwa Nabi burst into laughter as soon as she saw the photo.

“Heh, ah, that’s funny. This turned out really well. Siwoo, please send me this photo through chat. I want to post it on Instagram.”

“Sure, just a moment.”

I sent the photo I just took to Hwa Nabi and put my phone back in my pocket.

Then Hwa Nabi said to me:

“Siwoo, you should take some photos too.”

“Me? Nah, I’m good. Photos aren’t my thing…”

“Why not? Since we came all this way, it would be a waste. Come stand here. I’ll take them for you.”

Though I pretended to dislike it, I reluctantly took the position Hwa Nabi indicated.

She began to demand various poses from me as if she were a photographer.

“Siwoo, don’t just stand there, try some other poses. The photo looks too plain.”

“…”

She keeps making troublesome requests, but while I’ve taken many photos of male models, I have almost no experience being the subject.

So I tried a few simple poses. Like putting my hands in my pockets and standing with one leg crossed, or tilting my head slightly to create a mood, things like that.

“That’s right, Siwoo, you can do it if you try! Now, shall we try a little exposure?”

“…What did you just ask me to do?”

Exposure? That’s definitely not a word that should come from a high school girl’s mouth.

Perhaps because of this, the tourists around us all started staring at us with wide eyes. Their gazes seemed to say, “What are these people doing?”

“Don’t say weird things. Let’s just take a few more photos of you and go.”

“Huh, already? Why? We still have plenty of time.”

“What do you mean why? You only took one photo but kept taking pictures of me. It’s only fair if you take more too. And considering the time to get back, we should start heading back soon.”

“Ugh, fine. But you have to take pretty photos of me, okay?”

I was going to do that anyway, but with Hwa Nabi as the subject, the results would be pretty much the same no matter who took the photos.

She’s quite exceptionally good-looking. They say the face completes the photo—with a good model, even a casual shot becomes a work of art.

“Hmm.”

Well, I should still put in my best effort. It would be rude to take mediocre photos when such an excellent subject is available.

I approached a bit closer with my phone. To take good photos, you just need to remember three things.

First, always align the feet with the bottom of the frame.

Second, keep the photo level.

Third, always shoot from a low angle upward.

Of course, there are exceptions to these rules. For instance, when it seems difficult to capture body proportions well no matter how you shoot.

There are ways to deal with such situations too, but that’s not really important right now.

Aligning the feet with the bottom of the frame, adjusting the level, and bending my knees as much as possible.

-Click, click.

Following my self-imposed rules, I took several close-up photos of Hwa Nabi. One didn’t seem enough.

“Hmm.”

After a brief moment, the shooting ended. I checked the gallery app on my phone to see if the photos turned out well, and they weren’t bad. Not bad for someone who hasn’t taken photos in a while.

As I was evaluating the photos I just took, Hwa Nabi approached hesitantly and asked me.

“Siwoo, how are they? Do I look good?”

“Yeah, I think they came out well. Want to see?”

Hwa Nabi took the phone I handed her and scrolled through the screen.

And her eyes filled with clear surprise. She seemed quite shocked.

“Wow, Siwoo. These photos turned out amazing! My leg proportions don’t even look like mine. Didn’t you take these too well?”

“No, it’s because the model has good proportions.”

“No way. It’s because you took them so well. Siwoo, can I post these on Instagram?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

That’s what I took them for, after all. When I nodded, Hwa Nabi quickly operated her phone to access her SNS.

Then, tap-tap-tap—her fingers moved so fast they were almost invisible as she created a post. The keywords were something like “School trip, Cheonjiyeon Waterfall, Photos turned out AMAZING!!~♡”

“…”

I really can’t understand that unique SNS sensibility. Is it that enjoyable to show off like that?

After a moment, having finished uploading the post, Hwa Nabi met my gaze and said:

“Oh, right. Siwoo, we haven’t taken a photo together here, have we?”

“We’ve only taken individual photos, so I guess not.”

“Perfect. Then let’s take one together now.”

“Why would you want to take a photo with a guy? Forget it.”

“Aww, why not? Let’s take one together, please? Just one.”

What’s the big deal about a photo that she’s suddenly acting cute when she normally doesn’t?

Honestly, my heart fluttered a bit, but I pretended otherwise and responded.

“Ah, fine. Let’s take it.”

I figured we’d just stand next to each other for the photo.

That’s what I thought, but then:

“Great, then I’ll take it right now!”

The excited Hwa Nabi pressed close to my side.

And then, she linked her arm with mine from the right.

“…”

The sudden soft sensation, the unilateral docking of a soft and elastic object.

If paradise exists in this world, it must be here. I forcibly pulled down the corners of my mouth that were trying to rise on their own.

“Siwoo, why are you so stiff? Smile so the photo turns out well. Cheese!”

As she said this, Hwa Nabi made a certain hand gesture with the arm linked with mine.

At a glance, it looked like she was bending her middle and ring fingers while extending the other three fingers… what does that mean?

-Click!

“Let me see. The photo… Huh? Siwoo, the photo turned out really weird! Where are you looking instead of at the camera?”

“Huh? Ah, sorry.”

“This won’t do. Let’s take another one.”

“No, we already took one. Why do we need another?”

“I’m going to use this as my profile picture. It can’t look weird. So hurry up, just one more.”

“Ah, fine! Wait, let’s rest a bit and then take another.”

…Hwa Nabi, who had said she would take just one photo, ended up taking more than ten before she was finally satisfied and smiled.