Ji-hun stood in the hallway and looked at the photography club bulletin board. A new piece of paper was pinned to the cork, so he stepped closer to read it. 

The club had a required theme for the month. It was family, and every student had to take photos of their parents or siblings. After that, they needed to present those photos on a projector in the auditorium.

—

Mr. Kim brought up the presentation list during their weekly meeting, and he checked the paper for a moment. Then he looked at Ho-jin.

"Who was the student with the photo in the school newspaper?" Mr. Kim asked.

"It was Moon Ji-hun," Ho-jin said.

"I think he should present," Mr. Kim said.

A few students looked at Ji-hun in the back of the room, but Ho-jin spoke up before Ji-hun could say anything.

"Sir, maybe someone else can do it," he said.

Mr. Kim shook his head.

"No, he should do it," he said.

He only showed up to the club maybe once a month, but he did not want to look like he let Ho-jin run the whole thing. The room stayed quiet, and Ji-hun just looked down at his desk.

Ho-jin did not argue anymore, but he was not happy about it, so he walked over to Ji-hun after the meeting.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to," he said.

"It is fine, sunbae." 

Ho-jin looked at him for a second and said, "If you are not fine, you can tell me."

"I know," Ji-hun said and they didn't say anything else.

—

The week went by fast and students talked about what photos they wanted to show. Some of them planned to use baby pictures and others joked about embarrassing family moments so things felt light for most of them, but it was not light for Ji-hun.

He spent two nights going through old photos at home, and he opened boxes he hadn't touched in a long time. There were thousands of photos of fashion shoots, news coverage, and landscapes from other countries. Every single photo still had his parents' names printed on the back.

His father sat at the kitchen table, and he listened to the keyboard and the mouse while Ji-hun worked.

"Are you busy?" he asked.

"It's for school," Ji-hun said. "We have to present family photos."

Dong-min looked happy for a second.

"Then you have a lot to choose from." 

Ji-hun looked at the screen and he didn't know what to say because he didn't want his dad to understand how much this was hurting him.

—

The day of the event came fast.

The auditorium was full of students from different grades while the stage lights were on and the projector was running.

Students went up and shared their photos one by one. There were childhood pictures and wedding photos and a few funny slides that made people laugh.

Then Mr. Kim called Ji-hun's name.

Ji-hun walked up to the stage and the microphone was a little too high for him so he fixed it. The screen behind him was blank for a second and then the first image came up.

It was an old photo of his mother at a fashion shoot and she held a camera close to her face. Her hair was tied back and she looked focused.

"This was taken in Seoul," Ji-hun said and his voice sounded steady in the speakers. "My mom was working on a magazine shoot."

The next photo showed his father in an open field and heavy equipment hung around his neck.

"He used to travel a lot," Ji-hun said. "He liked being out in places that were hard to reach."

He showed more photos of crowded streets overseas with dust in the air and foreign signs in the background. His parents looked young and busy and alive in all of them.

Ji-hun kept his explanation simple. He didn't rush or add any extra details. Then the last slide came up and the room felt different, even though nobody said anything.

The photo showed his father by the Han River after he left the hospital. His back was to the camera and the river stretched out in front of him, so you couldn't see his face.

"I took this one," Ji-hun said. His voice almost shook but he kept going. 

"It was late afternoon and the light was soft and everything felt quiet."

He didn't say that his mother was gone or that his father couldn't see anymore. He didn't explain what happened in the hospital. He only talked about the light and the moment.

When he looked up from the podium for a second, he saw Ho-jin sitting in the back row. 

Ho-jin was looking straight at him and didn't look away, so Ji-hun looked right back. Something in Ho-jin's expression helped him. It slowed his breathing and kept his voice even, and he finished the presentation.

There was a short pause when the screen went black before people started clapping. It wasn't loud at first but it got louder, and a few students nodded as he walked down from the stage. Ji-hun went back to his seat and looked out the window while Ho-jin watched him from across the room.

The next student went up to present, but Ji-hun barely heard her. The room felt far away. He stood up after a few minutes and left the auditorium quietly.

He walked fast down the hallway and pushed open the bathroom door. He held onto the sink as soon as the door closed. 

"Why did you leave us, mom?" he whispered, and then he couldn't stop himself from crying. He tried to stay quiet but it didn't work. It felt like all the things he didn't say on stage were pushing out at once.

The door opened again a moment later and Ho-jin stepped inside. He didn't ask if Ji-hun was okay and he didn't tell him to stop. 

He just walked over and pulled him into a tight hug.

Ji-hun went totally still for a second, then leaned into it. He grabbed the back of Ho-jin's shirt and held on, and Ho-jin rested his chin on top of his head. He didn't speak and just stayed there until Ji-hun's breathing finally slowed.

Ji-hun's eyes were red when he pulled back and he wiped his face with his sleeve.

"I am sorry, sunbae," he said.

"For what?" Ho-jin asked.

Ji-hun did not have an answer for that. Ho-jin looked at him for a second, and then he reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Come on," Ho-jin said. "You need to get some air."

Ji-hun did not pull his hand away, and he let Ho-jin lead him to the door. They stepped out into the hallway.

But now, Min-ji was standing right in front of them. 

She looked at Ho-jin, and then she looked straight down at their hands. Ho-jin was still holding on tight. 

Ji-hun felt his stomach drop, and he tried to pull away, but it was already too late. Min-ji looked back up at them, and the look on her face made Ji-hun feel sick. 

Her eyes looked like they were actually on fire.