Return of the Genius Photographer

“I need to leave early.”

As soon as class ended, I went to my homeroom teacher and made my request.

“What? Why?”

The teacher’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I’m not feeling well.”

I came up with a plausible excuse, despite feeling perfectly fine.

“Why leave early? Just take a break and get back to class.”

“Ow, ow, ow. Cough, cough!”

I clutched my head and faked a cough right in front of my unsympathetic teacher. It felt ridiculous, but I didn’t want to alarm my parents.

Skipping school entirely wasn’t an option, as it would likely result in a phone call home, causing more trouble later.

“I think I need to see a doctor….”

My teacher sighed as he watched my exaggerated performance. Did he see through my act?

“Alright. Bring a doctor’s note tomorrow.”

Even though he still looked suspicious, I didn’t care. My goal was to get out of school.

I figured I could always make up an excuse about forgetting the note later.

Since doing well on recent exams, my teacher had been more lenient. He probably wouldn’t make a fuss over a simple note.

With permission granted, I left school and called So-hyun.

– Hello? Photographer?

She answered almost immediately, as if she’d been waiting for my call.

“I just finished class. Where should I go?”

I asked So-hyun. From her text, I gathered that their original photographer had canceled last minute, and they needed a replacement quickly. She had thought of me.

I was curious about the specifics, but it seemed she didn’t have much more information either. I’d just have to see for myself.

– Come to the VOTUS studio at the Korea Times building near Jongno 3-ga.

“How much time do I have?”

– The shoot starts in two hours.

VOTUS? The name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it. There wasn’t time to dwell on it; I needed to leave immediately to make it on time.

“Alright. I’ll head out now.”

I’d figure everything out once I got there. I quickly hailed a taxi.

Meanwhile, the studio was bustling with activity.

“Hey! Move that prop later!” Suncheol’s voice echoed as staff hurried about.

“Lighting team! Check the lights now!”

He was all over the place, inspecting the preparations.

Despite having almost given up earlier, he was now pouring his energy into making sure everything was ready, thanks to So-hyun’s help in finding a new photographer.

“Make sure the models are dressed according to the plan when they arrive.”

The studio, though chaotic, was coming together.

“Now, we just need the professor to show up….”

With the photographer’s arrival being the final piece, Suncheol nervously checked his watch and tapped his foot. The shoot was about to start.

Although they had prepared quickly after deciding to use a substitute, the earlier communication breakdown left him uneasy.

Therefore, he couldn’t relax until he met the photographer in person.

Having committed to moving forward with the shoot, there were no other options left.

At that moment.

“The photographer has arrived.”

While Suncheol was staring blankly at his watch, the awaited news finally reached his ears.

“Really? Tell them to come in quickly.”

Brightening up, he turned to the staff member who brought the message and directed his gaze towards the door.

‘I wonder what they look like. They probably aren’t that young…’

Suncheol had seen some of the photographer’s work through So-hyun, and his expectations were high.

He began to imagine the photographer who was about to walk through the door.

‘Maybe in their 40s? At least in their 30s.’

Having collaborated with countless photographers, Suncheol liked to think he could almost see a photographer’s face through their photos.

The photos So-hyun had shown him were undeniably those of a seasoned veteran. He could see the expert touch in every shot.

Because of this, he envisioned a middle-aged professor with a camera.

However, what he first noticed when the door opened was….

“A school uniform?”

It was a high school uniform.

For a moment, Suncheol doubted his eyes. A school uniform? Did he really just see that?

He rubbed his eyes with one hand, squinting and looking again, but there was no mistake. It was indeed a school uniform.

“Who is that?”

A question mark popped up in his mind. Where was the photographer they were expecting, and who was this unknown kid being guided in by the staff?

As if to answer his question, the boy following the staff looked around the studio briefly before approaching Suncheol and speaking up.

“Hello, I’m photographer Nam Woojin.”

At that moment, Suncheol felt like his head was spinning.

Where was the middle-aged photographer he had envisioned, and why was a kid in a school uniform claiming to be a photographer standing in front of him?

Suncheol, who had naturally assumed the photographer would be a professor, couldn’t believe the situation.

He was so taken aback that he couldn’t speak.

After standing there in a daze for a while, Suncheol suddenly realized he hadn’t responded.

“Oh… ah, I’m VOTUS editor Won Suncheol.”

Breaking out of his reverie with his reply, Suncheol slowly looked at Woojin up and down.

Up close, it was clear he was young. The only notable feature was that he looked a bit delicate?

Other than that, he seemed like an ordinary high school student.

After sizing up Woojin and concluding he was just an average student, Suncheol felt a surge of irritation.

‘This is why you shouldn’t trust people easily…’

In his desperation, he hadn’t properly vetted the person, and now he had made a mistake.

He felt frustrated with So-hyun. No matter how urgent it was, bringing a high school student was too much.

‘How good could a high school student’s skills be…?’

If someone heard his thoughts, they might call him old-fashioned, but that was the reality.

In his career as an editor, he had worked with young photographers like Woojin before.

Occasionally, there were those hailed as prodigies or geniuses by those around them, which raised Suncheol’s expectations. But never, not once, had any of them impressed him.

To him, the most important quality in a photographer was understanding.

A photographer’s ability to understand their subject determined the depth of their work.

Since photography expresses what the photographer sees, their ability to perceive their subject was crucial.

Simply put, just as someone who doesn’t understand love can’t express it, a photographer who doesn’t understand their subject can’t take good photos.

This is why experience mattered. The breadth of a photographer’s experience indicated their capacity for understanding.

‘How can I trust such a young kid with this… I’ll just take the photos myself…’

After much deliberation, Suncheol concluded he couldn’t leave the shoot to Woojin.

Freelance photographers were everywhere, but finding one who could grasp the editor’s vision and intent was rare.

‘In magazine shoots, understanding the concept is the most crucial part…’

Just as Suncheol was sighing in half-defeat,

Woojin suddenly spoke up.

“Are you giving up without even trying?”

“What?”

“If you give up before taking a picture, you’ll never get a good one.”

It was as if Woojin had read Suncheol’s mind. His words hit the mark.

Suncheol looked up, surprised by the unexpected remark.

At that moment, he met Woojin’s eyes.

Just a moment ago, Woojin had seemed like a plain high school student, but now his gaze was sharp and calm.

That gaze made Suncheol feel as if his inner thoughts were being laid bare.

“You can’t know the results until the picture is taken.”

Could such words really come from a high school student? Suncheol felt overwhelmed by the boy in front of him.

Normally, he would have ignored him and kicked him out of the studio, but somehow, Woojin’s words were hard to dismiss.

“Hey! Do you even know what this shoot is about?”

Suncheol barked, feeling uneasy.

He wasn’t actually expecting an answer. He just didn’t like how the conversation was flowing towards Woojin.

There was no way a stand-in photographer who had come in for a last-minute replacement could know what this shoot was about without being told.

But.

“Reinterpreting scenes from famous paintings.”

“What?”

“Isn’t that what this shoot is about?”

With Woojin’s continued words, Suncheol was left speechless.

“The visible ones are Mona Lisa, Girl with a Pearl Earring, and Rembrandt’s wife Saskia, right?”

Suncheol’s eyes gradually filled with astonishment. All of them were correct.

“H-how did you…”

It had only been ten minutes since Woojin entered the studio.

How could he deduce what the shoot was about just by looking around briefly without any explanation?

Suncheol, now with a baffled expression, looked at Woojin, who responded nonchalantly.

“I told you. I’m a photographer.”

* * * * *

‘He must be surprised.’

Woojin thought as he looked at Suncheol, whose eyes were wide open.

The studio was bustling with preparations. Although the place was filled with props, guessing the nature of the shoot from them alone wasn’t easy.

While one could identify the subjects, pinpointing the intent or theme behind them was particularly challenging.

However, this shoot was different.

‘I thought it seemed familiar.’

From the moment he heard the name of the magazine, Woojin had a vague sense of déjà vu. He never forgot anything related to photography.

Moreover, this shoot was notoriously known for negative reasons.

In his memory, this shoot had been a complete disaster.

The fifth-anniversary special issue of the famous magazine VOTUS had been highly anticipated by photographers.

Given the magazine’s reputation for being fashion-forward, people had high expectations for the quality of the photos.

But the result was…

‘It was trashed as being close to a storyboard level of poor quality.’

Having seen the magazine himself, Woojin recalled the moment he entered the studio and recognized the scene.

While he now understood the backstory about the original photographer canceling, it was clear that if things continued this way, the same disaster from the past would repeat itself.

‘No, actually, this could be a good thing.’

But the past could change. No, it had already changed. He was proof of that.

‘Just wait. I’ll create the best photos.’

So,

“Let’s create a masterpiece together.”

Woojin said to Suncheol with conviction.