Chapter 68: Joanna (6)

'Fréijac is making a photobook with the theme of Eastern beauty?'

Fréijac is a typical Western luxury clothing company.

They sell luxury clothing and accessories and have branches in various countries.

The idea that such a company would feature Eastern themes in their July issue was hard to believe.

'How? No, how did this happen?'

I found out that Joanna's design made it possible.

Impressive.

And on the other hand, I wanted to try it.

[I thought you were the right person for this. No one can capture Eastern beauty better than you, Mei Lin.]

Right.

I'm the best.

[So, I'd like you to do it. If not you, who else could I ask? You're the right person for this.]

Right.

No other photographer could shoot Fréijac July issue.

Mei Lin had to agree with Joanna's words.

She knew she wouldn't feel at ease if she refused.

If another photographer took the July issue?

From the moment she heard about it, she would be restless and unable to sleep, feeling frustrated.

She wouldn't be able to accept anyone else but herself as the photographer.

'In the end, I fell for Joanna's persuasion.'

She had no choice but to accept the collaboration with Fréijac.

The problem was what came next.

She wanted to show off the skills she had built up over the years.

To do that, everything had to go according to her plan.

But surprisingly, Joanna had already decided on the models for the July photoshoot.

Not even real models, but a rookie male idol group.

'Using a newly debuted rookie as a model? You're ruining your own name…. I can't accept this!'

To properly express Eastern beauty, a proper model was needed.

But Joanna seemed to have a great reputation, as the staff trusted her opinion.

Before using an absurd rookie male idol group as the main model, they needed to consider other options.

'In the end, we decided to add more models and choose the main model based on the results.'

She thought this issue would go according to her plans.

'A group called 'S.K.Y' becoming the main model won't happen.'

She intended to make sure of it.

At least, that's what she thought until she saw the boy group 'S.K.Y' with her own eyes.

'I can see why Joanna fell for them.'

After seeing Joanna's muse in person, she understood why Joanna recommended them.

Jin Hae-sol had a face that made her want to capture it in a photograph.

He had something that stirred the soul of an artist, something that made her regret not having photographed him before.

'The problem is that the moment to photograph that face is now. An unskilled model is just a beautifully wrapped package, no matter how good-looking.'

They seemed to have prepared diligently.

Each had their own charm and a well-maintained physique, showing they had prepared for the photoshoot.

It was commendable, but it didn't solve the problem.

What she needed was not a beautiful shell, but a model who could capture the soul.

'Working with unskilled models is so hard…. Joanna, I'll remember this debt.'

She was silently gritting her teeth, but Joanna didn't seem to notice.

From early morning, Joanna had been in her hotel room, showing off.

"What are you doing so early?"

"I'm too curious. What do you think of the models?"

"They're all clueless rookies. Thanks to them, I'm going crazy. The future looks bleak."

"Liar. If you didn't like them, you would have said you'd rather die than do it."

'Oops.'

She was caught off guard by the pointed remark and couldn't respond immediately.

She needed to keep showing her disapproval to convince Joanna, but she made a mistake.

"You're not one of those who think just because someone is good-looking, they can do anything. Why do you keep doing this?"

"In the end, you'll have to admit it too. He's not an ordinary man."

"If he's really special, I'll know when we work together. You don't need to show off in front of me."

Scribble, scribble, scribble.

Joanna's hand was busy as she talked to Mei Lin.

She was quickly creating clothing designs.

She came to the room to talk but was working, which was ridiculous.

"Haha, please understand. It's such an exhilarating experience that I keep getting inspired. It's too precious to stop."

"I'm worried about the future, and you're doing things that make me envious. I wish I could get some of that exhilarating inspiration too."

Capturing a fleeting moment and making it eternal is the charm of photography.

Once a moment is captured, it doesn't come back.

In the end, the photoshoot would go according to her plans, and she was confident that a situation like Joanna's, where she got inspired and took amazing photos, wouldn't happen.

'Even if he's special, he's still a rookie. He won't be able to do anything in front of the camera or will just strike silly poses.'

A model who can capture their own charm in a photograph is rare.

So, Mei Lin didn't have any expectations from Joanna's words.

If she didn't expect anything, she wouldn't be disappointed.

•••°°°••••°°°••••

On the day of the photoshoot.

The studio, which had been empty the last time, was now filled with equipment.

"Wow, it's beautiful."

"There are so many props."

"The lighting is amazing."

Indeed, the props were impressive, befitting Freework.

Gulp.

"It must have cost a lot of money…."

"Yeah."

Flash! Flash! Flash!

Then, the lights came on.

'Ouch, my eyes.'

Just looking at them made his eyes hurt.

Soon, he would be standing under those lights, and his skin was already feeling hot.

"Oh, you're here. Hello, Artist!"

"Almost done with preparations, so please change into your outfits and come out."

Mei Lin, the artist, hurriedly greeted us and urged us to change into our outfits quickly.

We, who had been standing around awkwardly, rushed into the waiting room and checked the outfits hanging on the rack.

"Wow, this is even more comfortable than last time."

Moving around, he could feel that this outfit fit his perfectly.

That's why custom-made clothes are the best.

"I'm nervous. I can't mess this up."

Having experienced Mei Lin's sharp gaze, we practiced our poses diligently during the remaining time.

We discussed and helped each other find better poses.

But our efforts were not as useful as we thought.

"Put more strength into your body! How can you strike a pose without any energy?"

"Yes, yes!"

Throughout the photoshoot, Mei Lin's scoldings continued.

All the poses we had practiced were criticized by the artist.

She pointed out that we were just mimicking other models' poses and warned us not to be complacent.

'I didn't expect all our prepared poses to be rejected. Now everyone's in a state of panic.'

The poses we had practiced were all criticized, but the poses she captured weren't special either.

She took photos of sloppy poses that made us wonder why, and sometimes she didn't press the shutter and kept asking for different poses.

After standing under the lights for a long time, the members were exhausted by the time we came down.

'I need to use the stamina pouch.'

he thought he needed to use the stamina pouch because the kids' photoshoot wasn't over, and they had to go back in front of the camera.

The individual photoshoot wasn't the end.

After that, they had to take group photos.

But looking at the exhausted members, he thought they would collapse if they started the group photoshoot.

"Why are you all so exhausted?"

"It's too hard, brother."

"Do I look sweaty?"

Several members needed to redo their makeup because of the sweat.

In the end, he was the last one to go.

Because he had waited so long, the other members were complaining, but he was actually enjoying the moment he stepped under the lights.

'To be honest, I wanted to see how effective the model abilities I boosted with coins were.'

Watching the cuts the other members took, he realized something: Mei Lin, the artist, was amazing.

Poses that looked awkward in person looked surprisingly different in photos.

Hr understood why Mei Lin had criticized the poses they had practiced.

'Ordinary poses must have looked too cliché.'

With a professional like her, there would be no problem if they just did as she said.

He took a deep breath, feeling the heat on his head from the bright lights.

His body was now imbued with the talent of a model.

He had boosted his modeling abilities with coins, so all he needed to do was gain experience to fully realize his talent.

Moreover, the various abilities he had boosted with coins were helping him in this moment.

'I think moving like this would look better.'

The theme was 'Eastern beauty,' so hos outfit had a similar vibe to traditional Korean clothing.

Holding a fan with elegant Chinese characters, he brought the folded fan to his chin.

At first, the pose was awkward, but it naturally fell into place.

The movement was so natural that the staff watching the photoshoot didn't notice.

But Mei Lin, the photographer, seemed to notice something and hesitated before pressing the shutter.

Then, when the pose was complete, she pressed the shutter.

Click!

After a few such delays, Mei Lin's patience ran out first.

Mei Lin, the artist, lowered her camera and looked at him with a stern gaze.

"What are you doing? Are you playing around?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why are you hiding your skills? If you did it right from the start, we could finish quickly. Do you have too much time on your hands? You keep striking a sloppy pose at first and then fixing it later. It's not just once or twice, it's every time. It's annoying."

"Uh…I'm sorry."

The modeling talent boosted by his ability points needed time to fully settle.

Just like how he needed to practice after boosting his dance abilities to fully realize his skills.

But Mei Lin seemed to find his behavior very annoying.

"I'm not very skilled, so it takes me some time to adapt."

"You're striking perfect poses, and you say you're not skilled? Are you hiding your skills? If you're going to hide them, hide them all the way. You keep changing at the last moment."

"Really, it's not like that…uh…I don't know how to explain this."

He understood why Mei Lin was angry.

From her perspective, working seriously, his behavior must have seemed like a joke.

But...

'I can't tell her that my skills are improving in real-time, can I?'

He should have boosted his modeling abilities with coins earlier.

But with so many other things to boost, he couldn't afford such a luxury.

He still owed Pony money, so he couldn't justify boosting abilities he wouldn't use often.

* * *