Where the wind remembers (Continued)

The wind didn’t ease.

If anything, it grew stronger—pulling at fabric, at hair, at the quiet control Persephone had wrapped so carefully around herself.

“Alright,” she said, lifting her camera slightly. “We’ll start near the edge. The light’s better there.”

Staff moved instantly, adjusting reflectors, fixing details.

Jimin stepped forward first, easy as ever, hands sliding into his pockets as if this was second nature.

Jungkook followed.

Quieter.

Watching.

“Face the ocean,” Persephone instructed, her tone calm, steady. “But not fully. Slight angle—yeah… like that.”

Jimin adjusted immediately, glancing back at her with a small smile.

“Like this?”

“Almost,” she said, stepping closer without hesitation.

Professional.

Focused.

She reached up slightly, adjusting the angle of his shoulder, then stepping back again.

“Perfect.”

Click.

The camera shutter cut through the sound of the waves.

Jungkook’s turn.

“Same position,” she said, meeting his gaze briefly before looking through her lens again.

He moved into place.

But not the same way Jimin did.

More controlled.

More deliberate.

“Relax your shoulders,” she said.

No movement.

She lowered the camera slightly.

“You look too aware,” she added.

A pause.

Then—

“Maybe I am,” Jungkook replied quietly.

Her grip tightened just slightly around the camera.

“Don’t be,” she said. “It shows.”

Silence.

Then, slowly—

He exhaled.

His posture shifted—just enough.

Click.

This time, the photo felt different.

Less posed.

More… real.

“Good,” she murmured, almost to herself.

They moved through shots like that—alone, together, shifting positions as the light softened around them.

Jimin kept the atmosphere light.

“Are you always this serious?” he asked at one point, glancing over his shoulder as she circled them.

“Only when people don’t listen,” she replied without missing a beat.

He laughed.

“Then I’ll listen.”

Jungkook didn’t laugh.

“Closer,” Persephone said after a moment, adjusting her lens.

They stepped slightly nearer to each other.

“Not like you’re strangers,” she added. “There’s a concept here.”

Jimin leaned in easily, relaxed.

Jungkook hesitated—

Then followed.

From behind the camera, Persephone stilled for a second.

Because suddenly—

The frame shifted.

The space between them felt… charged.

Not just for the concept.

Something quieter.

Something unspoken.

“Hold that,” she said softly.

Click.

Click.

Click.

“Look at each other,” she added.

Jimin turned first, expression playful but softening.

Jungkook followed slower.

More careful.

And for a second—

Everything else faded.

The wind.

The crew.

The noise.

Click.

“Break,” someone called out.

The tension snapped.

Just like that.

Persephone lowered her camera, exhaling slowly as she stepped back.

“Five minutes,” a staff member repeated.

Jimin stretched slightly, rolling his shoulders before glancing over at her again.

“You’re good,” he said simply.

She nodded once.

“Thank you.”

“Seriously,” he added, stepping a little closer. “You make it easy.”

She let out a quiet breath.

“That’s the point.”

“Do you always work like this?” he asked, tilting his head slightly.

“Like what?”

“Like you don’t feel anything,” he said lightly.

She met his gaze.

“I feel what I need to,” she replied.

Something flickered in his expression.

Interest.

Behind him—

Jungkook watched.

Again.

He didn’t step forward this time.

Didn’t interrupt.

But his eyes didn’t leave them.

Persephone felt it.

That same pull.

That same awareness pressing against the back of her mind.

And this time—

She almost turned.

Almost.

But she didn’t.

“Alright, back to positions!” someone called.

And just like that—

They returned to work.

The rest of the shoot blurred into motion.

Movement.

Angles.

Light fading slowly into something softer, colder.

But the tension?

That stayed.

Lingering in every glance.

Every pause.

Every moment that lasted just a second too long.

By the time it ended, the sky had dimmed into a quiet grey-blue.

“Great work, everyone,” the director called.

Applause followed.

Light.

Brief.

Professional.

Persephone packed her equipment carefully, methodically.

Focus.

Control.

Routine.

“You’re leaving already?”

She looked up.

Jimin.

Of course.

“Yes,” she said. “I have edits to start.”

He nodded slowly.

“Right.”

A pause.

Then—

“Maybe I’ll see you again?”

The question was casual.

But not entirely.

Before she could answer—

“I’m sure you will.”

The voice came from behind him.

Jungkook.

Persephone’s breath caught for half a second.

Jimin glanced between them, something unreadable flickering across his face.

Then he smiled.

“Well,” he said lightly, stepping back. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Persephone didn’t respond.

Couldn’t.

Not with the way Jungkook was looking at her now.

“Good work today,” he said.

Simple.

But heavier than it should’ve been.

“You too,” she replied quietly.

And then—

She left.

— Jungkook's POV —

The car was quiet.

Too quiet.

Jimin sat beside him, scrolling through his phone, relaxed like nothing had shifted.

Like the entire day had been… normal.

Jungkook stared out the window, watching the blurred lights pass by.

But his mind—

Wasn’t there.

“She’s interesting.”

Jimin’s voice cut through the silence easily.

Jungkook didn’t respond immediately.

Didn’t look at him.

“Yeah,” he said after a moment.

Too neutral.

Too controlled.

Jimin glanced at him briefly, then smirked slightly.

“You knew her already, didn’t you?”

A pause.

“Met her once,” Jungkook said.

“That’s not how you looked at her.”

Jungkook’s jaw tightened.

“Don’t read into it.”

“I’m not,” Jimin replied lightly. “I’m just saying… she’s different.”

Silence.

“She didn’t treat you like you,” Jimin continued.

That—

That hit.

Because it was true.

Jungkook exhaled slowly, leaning his head back.

“She’s working,” he said. “That’s all.”

Jimin hummed.

“Sure.”

Another pause.

Then—

“I might ask her to shoot for me again.”

Jungkook turned his head slightly.

“What?”

Jimin shrugged.

“She’s good. And I like her style.”

A beat.

“And her.”

Something sharp twisted in Jungkook’s chest.

Unexpected.

Unwelcome.

“That’s your decision,” he said.

Flat.

Careful.

Jimin watched him for a second.

Then smiled.

Slow.

Knowing.

“Relax,” he said. “You sound bothered.”

“I’m not.”

“Mm.”

Jimin leaned back in his seat again, satisfied.

Jungkook looked away.

Back out the window.

But this time—

The city lights didn’t blur.

They sharpened.

Focused.

Like everything suddenly had edges.

Why does that bother me?

He didn’t know.

Didn’t understand it.

Didn’t want to.

It didn’t make sense.

He barely knew her.

One night.

One conversation.

And now—

This?

His jaw tightened again.

“She’s just—”

He stopped himself.

Because he didn’t even know what he was going to say.

Jimin didn’t push.

Didn’t need to.

Because the silence said enough.

Jungkook closed his eyes briefly, exhaling.

Trying to shake it off.

Ignore it.

Push it down.

But the feeling stayed.

Quiet.

Persistent.

Unfamiliar.

And for the first time—

He didn’t like not understanding something.

Especially not when it came to her.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***