"They looked so beautiful together." Silja gushed, her eyes unmoving from the black and white object.
She had arrived early for the exhibition, excited to see the blown up photos, particularly this one of the couple which was unpublished.
Inga turned her head and looked at Silja. "Do you mean Dylan and Yue?"
"Who else?" Silja sighed.
"You are a hopeless romantic, aren't you, Silja?" Inga chuckled.
"Well, yes I am. So are you. Or else you wouldn't binge-watched the whole 49 episodes!" Silja teased her. She saw Esther walking in and waved at her.
"Guten Abend, ladies. Silja, you found my favorite photo." Esther smiled.
"Esther! May I commend you again for the pillow fight idea? It's just so brilliant," Silja's eyes sparkled.
"Dankeschön dear, Silja. I had fun myself. Shanghai was really a milestone for me." She remarked, turning her head to the photos.
"For all of us at ICON as well." Inga smiled.
"I wonder why you didn't choose this photo for the magazine, Inga. They are glowing in this one." Silja asked.
"Silja, even with the current ones we published, the fans had been ravishing them since the preview. If we give them more, I'm afraid it would create a pandemonium in the fandom." Inga remarked.
Esther nodded her head. "I agree. This photo tells about them too much."
Both Silja and Inga were now looking at Esther. "How did you get this shot anyways?"
"Are you sourcing for juicy news from me?" She winked.
She gazed at the photo with a faraway look. "A few years ago, I was in a little village in Tibet. There was an elderly couple sitting in front of their home, watching the world goes by. The lady spoke, and the old man reached out her hand and looked at her with a soft smile. That kind of smile that goes right to the eyes. And the old lady did the same. It was a split second but I managed to capture them on my camera. This photo..." she touched the frame, "reminded me of that elderly couple."
"Oh goodness, Esther. That was too lovely." Silja, said with a sniff.
"Silja, you need to calm yourself," Inga laughed. "Now you understand why I cannot publish some photos or the BTS videos."
"Plus, I'm just thinking about Yue. She went through a lot of bashing when I first released their initial photo on my Instagram account," she continued.
"Poor Yue. She is such a lovely child. Her eyes." Silja said. From the first moment she met Yue, they formed a connection. Silja could understand and speak little Chinese (she picked it up while watching Meteor Garden) while Yue did her best in speaking English. She found her bright and a breath of fresh air. When Yue told her she was open to any fashion ideas, Silja was excited to show off her set of eyes to the world.
"I love photographing Yue the most. She's like a hidden gem. I just wonder why there is so much hate for her," Esther shook her head. "Well, at least Dylan is protective of her." She said remembering how he called out to Yue when crossing the road and tried to pull her arm.
"And playful too!" Silja chuckled. She was in the room when Dylan came in for a break. He peered down at Yue with those cheeky eyes and touched her slicked hair, before giving a loud guffaw. She saw how Yue scrunched her nose and smacked his arm. Ah, the usual CaiSi banter, Silja thought smiling at them .
"Ladies, I am so thankful we are in the same team together! I cannot remember the last time I felt so much for a photoshoot." Inga said, linking her arms around theirs.
"Inga, we must thank YOU." Silja and Esther beamed. There was a comfortable silence among them for a few seconds.
Their thoughts were interrupted as the host announced that the event was about to start. The ladies hugged each other and started moving to their respective places. Esther saw down in the front row but her thoughts travelled backwards to that faithful day.
After their own pillow fight, when Yue smacked him till he yelped but she made up by hugging him back (or she fell on him to crush him, she could not decide which one), the two were chatting animatedly on edge of the bed. Esther watched them quietly from the corner. She sensed something was about to happen when Dylan softly called "Shen Yue." He said something but it was how he looked at her that prompted Esther to reach for her camera. Yue turned and smiled softly at him. Time stood still. Esther pressed click. She had preserved that moment.
While Esther was organizing her thoughts to present moment, there was another individual in the room who could not forget the looks and touches that were exchanged on that day. When Yue told her that she would be leaving with Dylan, she knew they wanted to spend time together. She watched as they left the rooftop, their bodies moved in sync, their arms brushed against one another, as they engaged in a soft conversation. She saw how Dylan stole glances at Yue several times during the photoshoot and break times. She caught Yue watching Dylan as he was being shot, with admiration in her eyes and a proud smile. They trusted us and were free to be themselves for one day. We must honor that trust.
The guests waited in anticipation as Inga took the microphone from the host. She cleared her throat and smiled, "Some things are best left unspoken. They are best seen and felt with our hearts. And this is how we feel about ICON September edition."
God bless the kids.
***********
Author's notes:
This 100% fictional piece is dedicated to these 3 amazing individuals and their crew who made ICON SEPT EDITION happened.
💛💜 Inga Griese (far right) - Chief Editor, ICON & ICONIST Magazine, for her vision and relentless efforts!
💛💜Silja Lange (far left)- Stylist, Fashion Editor/ Creative Consultant AND for her persuading Inga to watch Meteor Garden😀
💛💜Esther Haase (middle)- Official Photographer for her beautiful photos and clever ideas.
💛💜Also to all the make up artistes, stylists, crew, assistants photographers, videographers (who got us the fantastic BTS VIDEOS), Bvgari hotel sponsor, production team and all the others doing background work.
The photo that I imagined unpublished looks similar to this (but in their silk pajamas)
Now isn't that picture perfect?
Updated BTS by Ms Inga today! 21/9/2019 HAVE YOU SEEN IT? Ms Inga, you are causing pandemonium with this little snippet!! 😂😂
💛💜 Hsien