#020
“You know the light comes on when you press the button, right?”
“…Ah.”
He was carrying that around. When Ju Isin pressed the button below the ring, the ring glowed with various colors.
“So pretty…”
Ju Isin laughed at my dopey response.
“Right?”
Click, the door opened and Ju Isin, who moved faster than me, went around the hood and opened the passenger door. He supported my body that had gone completely limp and walked toward the officetel entrance.
The ring was still sparkling on my pinky finger.
“I like this, so don’t forget to give it to me tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
“Good boy.”
“Ah… my back hurts.”
Groaning sounds kept bursting from my mouth as I leaned against the elevator wall.
“Your back?”
“It hurts like hell…”
“Your back? Why?”
“After drinking… there was an accident with a friend’s friend… but he says he planned it…”
Ju Isin’s expression gradually hardened.
“What did he plan?”
“Ah… I mean… how do you plan something like that?”
“No… what, wait, hyung?”
Just as Ju Isin opened his mouth, the elevator arrived and the doors opened. I moved slowly, got on the elevator, and pressed the 8th floor.
“Goodbye.”
“……”
I leaned my head against the wall and closed my eyes. Ah, my head hurts. I have to make a bouquet tomorrow…
***
Even while drunk, I praised myself for setting more than ten alarms and opened my eyes. I turned off the alarms that rang every minute, barely came to my senses, went straight to the bathroom and finished showering. My stomach was upset so I tore open a cup of instant noodles, quickly drank just the broth, and headed to the flower shop.
I’m lucky the flower shop is close. I just have to leave the front door and take the elevator down.
After exiting the officetel entrance, the weather I checked was good today too. I looked briefly at the high, clear autumn sky, then immediately disabled the security system. As soon as I opened the door, I went inside and opened the window I had kept tightly closed. I reached out to check the condition of the dry flowers.
“Still not dry enough.”
Then I opened the showcase and took out white calla lilies, cream-colored Savanna roses, and astilbe.
Unlike my condition, the flower condition was good.
I decided to make the bouquet last and started with the boutonniere and corsage first. Since calla lilies are naturally long and large, I put just one calla lily in the boutonniere to make it neat, then started on the corsage. Having done it once with lily of the valley, I was fast.
I placed the completed boutonniere and corsage in the flower box without overlapping and checked the time. It seemed like it would finish faster than expected.
I held the calla lilies, Savanna roses, and astilbe and shaped them. I positioned the calla lilies as the main flowers and filled the spaces between with roses. The green stems of the calla lilies added freshness to the bouquet. I secured the middle part so the bouquet shape wouldn’t fall apart, wrapped the stem area with white lace ribbon, then secured it once more with pearl decorations. I took several photos and sent them to the bride, then filled the edges of the flower box with pompom chrysanthemums and ranunculus.
Finally, I checked the flower condition once more and secured it firmly in the round frame. Just as I finished packaging to match the time they said they’d come pick it up, the door opened.
“Hello! I’m here to pick up the calla bouquet I reserved today!”
I gathered the beautifully packaged bouquet and the stock flower bouquet I had made in advance instead of a flower crown.
“Here you go. This is a wedding gift. I’d be grateful if you could give it to the bride. Since it’s a flower shop, flowers are all I have to give.”
“Wow, it’s really pretty! Thank you!”
“Please tell her I sincerely congratulate her on her marriage.”
“Yes, yes!”
The customer’s eyes sparkled as she smelled the fragrance of the stock with a bright smile. She really likes it. Her crescent-shaped eyes made my expression soften as well. Her steps were careful as she held the flower box, worried the flowers might get damaged.
I did well to accept the bouquet order. Having my bouquet be part of two people’s beginning was more wonderful than I thought.
After sending off the customer, I collapsed. I was so tired. I stretched out long on the two-person sofa, put my legs on the armrest, and closed my eyes. Just… I was just going to close my eyes for a moment… but…
“Excuse me.”
“…Ah.”
“Excuse me.”
“…Yes?”
Someone sat down at my feet and tapped my knees. I removed my arm that was covering my eyes and blinked my stiff eyes several times to clear my vision.
A round face that had risen below my knees was immediately visible. He blinked his round eyes and muttered, “Boss?”
“Ah, flowers, are you here to buy flowers…”
“No. I’m not here for flowers, I came after seeing the posting about looking for part-time help.”
The innocent-looking man seemed slightly older than me, or… no, he didn’t seem younger than me. As I brushed my disheveled hair and sat up straight, the man who had been sitting at my feet stood up and sat across from me. Ah… he’s tall.
“I, hmm. I did say I was hiring part-time help…”
“This is my resume.”
“Ah…”
My gaze went first to his arms and legs. His thick knuckles and palms, muscular forearms, thick legs, and broad shoulders made me think he’d be good with physical strength, but flowers needed to be handled delicately. I needed to keep the flowers from getting damaged, but his pot-lid-sized hands only looked threatening, as if they’d break the flowers.
“Should I… get you some tea?”
“No. I’m fine.”
His gently smiling face brought a strange sense of déjà vu. Is it because I just woke up… or because he’s unfamiliar? My heart beat rapidly – thump, thump, thump. I opened the paper bag and took out the resume. The moment I unfolded the neatly creased resume with the characteristic rustling sound of crumpled paper.
“……”
Ah.
The handwriting neatly written on the white background was tidy. I read the resume carefully from beginning to end, seeing traces of each letter being pressed down firmly.
“Can you tell me why you applied for the flower shop part-time job?”
“Because I like flowers.”
Because he likes them. Prejudice really is this scary. A man who would look threatening even just holding a trowel says he likes flowers. I nodded with a somewhat dubious expression and slowly traced upward from bottom to top.
“…You did taekwondo for a long time.”
“Yes. For a long time.”
“May I know why you quit? It looks like you have a certificate too.”
“Well… my ACL was torn.”
The man answered very matter-of-factly while tapping his left knee. My gaze went to his knee then back to the resume. My hands holding the paper became sweaty.
“You have a barista certification too.”
“After I quit sports, I helped out briefly at a friend’s cafe. I got it then. They said having certification makes it easier to open a shop, so it was for multiple purposes. If I really had nothing else to do, I looked into opening a cafe for a while.”
The man’s eyes curved gently as he looked around. He smiled with a slightly embarrassed expression. His innocent and naive-looking face and black pupils that seemed slightly small compared to his eye size gleamed between his curved eyes.
“…Do you know any flowers?”
“Just roses… tulips, things like that.”
I nodded without taking my eyes off the paper.
“I put up that posting too impulsively… I was having a really hard day when I posted that.”
“I’m good with physical strength.”
“You look it. I mean, yes. You’re in very good shape.”
“From doing a lot of sports.”
He stretched his hands forward, repeatedly opening and closing them, showing in real-time what looked like muscles moving alive.
“Well… since this is a place that handles flowers… regardless of liking them, not knowing anything about flowers is a bit problematic. So I think I need to consider it for now. I’m sorry I can’t give you an immediate answer.”
I chose my words as carefully as possible and spoke gently. When I said I needed to think about it, I could clearly see his curved lips gradually stiffening.
“I’ll think about it and contact you at… the number written here. Um… your name is Chu, Chuga-ng.”
Just as I was stammering over the name, the wind chime rang perfectly on cue – ding-a-ling. I didn’t know who the customer was that came in at just the right time, but right now I felt like I could give my entire back to Ban Hajoon, or buy a truck full of sparkling rings for that drunkard. Accumulated sweat flowed down my spine. I could feel it.
“Welcome.”
I reflexively straightened up and turned around to see a man who looked more gaunt than last time casually waving his hand. The man was walking in wearing a white shirt with a jacket hanging on his finger, not caring whether the hem dragged on the floor or not.
The man who had instantly changed his stiffened expression smiled gently and straightened up.
“Then I’ll be going. Please be sure to contact me.”
“Ah, yes. I’ll contact you. Get home safely.”
I neatly folded the resume I was holding, put it in the envelope, placed it carefully inside the table, and saw him off to the door. I stared at his reliable retreating figure, then turned around to see the other man also looking at the broad back walking away and asked.
“Part-timer?”
“What? Ah, no. Not yet…”
“The flower shop must be very busy. Seeing that you’re working with a part-timer.”
It’s all because of you guys. Looking like you’ve never bought flowers in your life, yet coming here every day to buy them. If just these guys came less often, I wouldn’t be this busy. And why do they all appear so suspiciously…
“I’m thinking about it, but I might just not hire anyone. Maybe I’ll hold one-day flower arrangement classes or something.”
“That sounds fun too. Let me know if you do. I’ll take it too.”
“I’ll do it early in the morning. At 8 or 9 o’clock.”
“Then I can’t do it.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
