His Naughty Lessons-Chapter 243: Fake Filters, Real Disgrace

** Eli **

It took Eli the will of steel to keep his feet planted inside the photo booth, instead of scurrying away as fast as he could through the curtains that tempted him with an easy escape.

"Let’s see what we’ve got here ..." Harper, on the other hand, was already tapping excitedly on the machine, browsing through the menu that Eli had no courage to look at. "Oh, this must be an ancient Rome themed booth. See this gladiator outfit? It must look so perfect on you!"

Hmm, gladiator? That sounded just about ten thousand times better than what he was imagining.

Tentatively, Eli let his eyes land on the screen. It turned out that the photo booth worked in a similar way to those beautifying selfie apps, applying filters to modify certain features of a person’s face or clothing. There were easily hundreds of presets on the menu, each one with a different design of costumes and makeup, and to be honest, the one that Harper was considering at the moment ... wasn’t all that bad.

"Are these muscles real or added with a filter?" He leaned in closer, studying the sample picture curiously. Maybe he had actually misinterpreted Harper’s intention. She simply wanted a delicious photo of him with those shiny abs and rippling biceps.

"What, you think someone truly has muscles like this in real life? Of course it’s all edited special effects!" Harper huffed, darting an unimpressed look at the model on the sample. "Especially considering the target market that comes here ... You think a bodybuilder is going to get inside a photo booth at an arcade?"

"... Yeah, if they’ve got a bossy girlfriend." Eli spoke the truth innocently. "And hey, that’s also quite a judgy thought. I can easily prove you wrong. Just give me some body oil and really, really harsh lighting. I’ll make you a poster-quality photo just like that one, without fake filters."

He flexed his arms, meaning the challenge.

Harper looked up at him, tilting her head. Then she gave him a big, expectant smile and licked her lips.

"Alright, item added to our todo list when we get home. No fake muscles for you then." She scrolled past the gladiator option. "Hmm ... Ah, I like this one too. Princess and slave?"

Eli’s photo-ready mood evaporated as he followed her gaze and stared at the new picture, which was a beautifully dressed patrician girl holding the handle of a harness that was wrapped intricately around a topless man.

... Maybe his first intuition of her evil intentions had been right all along.

"I disapprove of the slave not having enough abs," he protested. "If someone has to labor all day— Ooouch!"

He hadn’t finished whining when Harper pulled on his collar in the same pose as the sample photo, and she clicked the camera button before he had the chance to save himself from disgrace.

"Ha, perfect! I got the angle so nicely!" The girl admired her first stolen snapshot of the day in blatant satisfaction. "And look at that expression on your face — it’s so perfect! Completely fitting for a new pillow to go next to my rollercoaster one!"

She chuckled at his speechless glare as she clicked "accept". The machine quickly started cycling through various processing options, removing both of their clothes and replacing them with various costumes. The girl’s choices varied between countless dresses, crowns, staves ... whereas the guy’s, obviously, included harnesses of different materials, all equally bare and suggestive.

"Ohhh, leather looks so good on you ... Should I go with this design or this one? Does it look better crossing in front of the chest or in the back? What about metal attachments? Ah this is giving me so many new ideas to play with in the future ..."

... This evil girl was having such a good time at the price of his disgraceful image that Eli couldn’t help but put up a fight. "If I get to wear that, shouldn’t you opt for some clothing that’s more historically accurate as well?" He pointed at the girl’s tunic on the screen. "If I remember correctly, people in ancient Rome only covered half of their torso with these tunics. You should be showing at least one of your breasts."

"..."

He laughed at the look on her face, knowing he had made it even on that round. free𝑤ebnovel.com

There were plenty more rounds, though. Once Harper picked her favorite "slave" photo and printed it out, she didn’t give him a break before dragging him over to the next booth. Soon he was dressed up as a caterpillar, as a strip dancer, as—

He was hoping he could at least avoid dresses when they finally came to a booth with a Renaissance theme, covered with pictures of ornate ballgowns.

"Oh oh, these are my favorites!" Harper exclaimed in pure thrill as soon as they entered. Turning back to him, she winked meaningfully. "This booth is special. Notice anything different about it from the rest?"

"... Other than the fact that there are only dresses in the ads?" Eli answered dejectedly.

"Aww, come on, we’re not putting a dress on you. I’m not that evil." The girl was probably thinking exactly the thought, but she was in her angel mode now, reassuringly patting him on the arm. "Look behind you. This one is one of the only booths that has a door, not curtains! Because—"

She reached under the photo machine, pulling out one of the many drawers lined up beneath. "Because this one has real costumes, and a changing room, on top of all the fake processing." She pointed to a screen divider behind them that separated out a corner of the space. "This booth was my favorite back in the day, I’m so glad they didn’t get rid of it. Come, pick a dress you like for me!"

Ah. Now they’re talking. "Do I get to lace you up too?" A slow smile curved Eli’s lips as he considered the pile of colorful bodices to choose from.

Finally, he liked that part.