#022
“Anyway. Being ‘dumped’ means kicked, not that. I’m the type who doesn’t want relationships I’d have to be responsible for.”
So is Woo Dohwan in front of me the kind of “△△ Family’s scoundrel” you only see in newspapers?
“So that’s why you got dumped.”
Both Woo Dohwan’s older sister who cut his card telling him to live like a human being, and Woo Dohwan who went around meeting rich older women because he had no money, were difficult for me to understand with my common sense.
“There wasn’t just one or two, so when I said I didn’t know, my older sister just kicked me. She said something like ‘You think you’re so great, you bastard?'”
People really don’t think that differently after all. I felt an inner intimacy toward Woo Dohwan’s older sister, whom I’d never even met.
“I couldn’t live like this anymore either, and there’s a limit to taking money from others… The real power in our house is my mother. I went to my mother and said I wouldn’t meet anyone for a while so please revive my card, and got hit with hands and hit with flowers too.”
“…Then by any chance, when you said someone would come once…”
“My mother.”
Actually, when I heard she hit him with flowers, I thought she was a bad person, but after hearing the whole story, I could fully understand why she hit him. Rather, isn’t it fortunate he only got hit with flowers… Don’t people in chaebol families usually hit with golf clubs?
“Oh right, my older sisters were also going crazy saying the flowers were pretty. If you regularly supply flowers to galleries and the hotels where my sisters stay, several years’ worth of rent would just come out naturally. Interested?”
“…Hmm…”
There are two things Woo Dohwan doesn’t know – one is that I also have enough money to eat and die, and the other is that this building is mine. Therefore, I don’t need to earn rent. Money accumulates every hour just from breathing, so why would I?
“I’m not running a flower shop to make money.”
I said while scraping together the scattered leaves and stems on the table.
“…What?”
“I’m doing this because I have a lot of money. I got bored of just breathing and living. If you go around thoughtlessly saying things like that, you’ll be in big trouble. It’s not like I’m doing charity work.”
“……”
“What are you to worry about my rent?”
Woo Dohwan’s eyes opened the second widest I’d ever seen – the first time was when I cut my finger. After his eyes widened, a gradual red color spread across his pale cheeks. For a “△△ Family scoundrel,” he was surprisingly quick to admit his mistake. He seemed to feel embarrassed too.
“Today I’ll let it slide since you didn’t know I have money, but I won’t overlook a second time. If you make me feel bad with money talk again, I’ll make sure you can never set foot in this flower shop again.”
“Sorry. I’ll be careful. Don’t kick me out. I like it here.”
“……”
“The flowers are pretty, and the person who touches the flowers is pretty too.”
“It would be really nice if you were pretty too.”
Woo Dohwan snorted at my words that came out like a sigh. What, why are you snorting? I’m serious.
“You think I’m pretty. I can tell by looking at your eyes. You were spacing out because my face is pretty.”
Woo Dohwan answered with a confident face, whatever that confidence was based on. That’s not it – I literally just looked because you’re pretty, it’s not like I spaced out or anything…
“…Never mind, go now. Don’t bother me.”
“Then make me one more bouquet.”
Since Woo Dohwan was looking at the sweet pea in his arms as if it were lovely, I naturally thought he wanted me to make one with those flowers and was taking some out when a fair hand with blue veins showing stretched out and grabbed mine.
“Not this one.”
“What?”
“You said this was the first one you gave me. So, not this one, but with different flowers.”
“……”
I didn’t think Woo Dohwan-ssi was like this, but he’s a really annoying type. Is it because he’s a chaebol? Or because he’s a scoundrel? I held the sweet pea stem then put it back down and opened the showcase.
“Who are you giving it to?”
“Hmm, the real power?”
“Do you know her preferences?”
“If I knew, I would have gotten my card back already.”
I didn’t want to, but I looked at the useless man who was only pretty-faced with slightly pitying eyes before reaching out.
“This is called Ice Queen tulip, how about this?”
I took out one tulip with bluish tips on the flower buds and handed it to Woo Dohwan.
“Ice Queen?”
“Yes. Pretty, right? I bought a little to use when making bouquets, but it didn’t match so I kept not being able to use it.”
“The flower is unique.”
Woo Dohwan was so absorbed in the sweet pea that he didn’t really look at the tulip properly. He only glanced at it once, so I decided to just make it however I wanted.
“I’ll use this then.”
Woo Dohwan nodded, seemingly pleased just that I wasn’t using the sweet pea. Good. I took out the Ice Queen tulips that were finally coming out into the world, white hyacinths, white stock and oxypetalum, and eucalyptus, and gathered the stems. Since the tulips were the main flowers, I matched all the surrounding flowers to white and only inserted blue oxypetalum here and there. I added freshness with a few eucalyptus stems and wrapped the bud area with blue tissue paper. After carefully spreading it so it wouldn’t wrinkle, I wrapped it with white cloth paper and tied a blue ribbon to finish.
“Here you go.”
“It’s pretty. She’ll like it.”
“Actually it’s 150,000 won… I’ll give you a discount. 70,000 won.”
I’m doing this because I’m sorry for misunderstanding him as a “that kind of guy” who’s a playboy. Of course, Woo Dohwan was also “that kind of guy.” That kind of guy without a girlfriend. At my words that I’d discount the bouquet price, Woo Dohwan’s eyes narrowed.
“Why, why, why are you doing that?”
“No, I was wondering why you’re giving a discount.”
“……”
“Since you’re discounting it like this, I’m wondering if you’ve been selling things really expensively just to me all this time.”
Unlike the beginning, Woo Dohwan took out his wallet that had become much thinner and handed over three 50,000 won bills.
“Sev-, seventy thousand won-.”
“Why are you discounting something this pretty? Take it all. And you already gave me a gift.”
“Th-, this tulip is really expensive. It’s not sold many places, and it’s a flower that only comes in small quantities-.”
My excuse about why the bouquet was expensive went on and on. With one table between us, I was desperately trying to give Woo Dohwan a discount while he was leisurely smiling and nodding.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“……”
“Instead of discounting it, tell me the flower meaning. That should be enough for today.”
Three 50,000 won bills were neatly placed on the table.
“…Look it up online.”
“Why?”
“…I forgot.”
That’s a lie. It’s kind of awkward to say with my own mouth… because of the flower meaning, I didn’t want to tell him. No, of all things to give as a gift…
Woo Dohwan picked up his phone as if he was about to search for the flower meaning right away. I was shocked and desperately stopped his action. I felt like heat was rising to my face, but I hoped it was just my imagination.
“What, what, what, what are you doing?”
“You told me to search for it. So I was going to search.”
At his effeminate voice and eyes full of bewilderment, I stammered and reached out. My bandaged finger covered the bright screen of the phone. Woo Dohwan’s gaze fell on the finger wrapped tightly with the bandage.
“No, why are you doing that now-.”
Woo Dohwan’s finger brushed over the bandage where blood had lightly seeped through.
“It’s bleeding.”
“It doesn’t hurt.”
I removed Woo Dohwan’s hand that was holding my finger and snatched the phone floating in the air, stuffing it into his jacket pocket. Then I forcibly put the bouquet in his arms and pushed his broad back.
“Go now.”
“Why.”
“I’m tired today too, so I’m going to close.”
“I have nowhere to go.”
“That has nothing to do with me.”
I had positioned Woo Dohwan, who was being pushed along as I gradually pushed him, in front of the entrance and was reaching out to open the door. He was looking at me intently with a face that really didn’t want to leave. Our gazes met in the air. Looking straight at him, his even more handsome face made me momentarily breathless. Is this what they call a honey trap or something? But I’m tired to death, so what good does a pretty face do?
“No.”
Just as I was shaking my head firmly and about to push the door decisively, Woo Dohwan’s lips parted.
“If you’re going to hire a part-timer, how about me?”
“……”
“I’ll do well.”
“……”
What kind of confession is this? Where in the world is there someone who says they want to work part-time in that way? Woo Dohwan habitually scrunched his nose bridge and smiled, whispering “I’ll do well” once more. I looked at him indifferently and opened my mouth.
I didn’t think I’d have to say this again…
“…Sorry, but please don’t take this the wrong way.”
I repeated exactly the same words I had said to Ban Hajoon, not missing a single syllable.
“To work part-time at a flower shop, you basically need to know flowers and know how to handle them. All Woo Dohwan-ssi has going for him is his face, and hiring someone based on just that would be too much of a loss for me. You don’t know how to do anything but I’d still have to pay you a salary.”
“……”
“And I’m hiring someone to make flowers instead of me, not someone to exclaim in admiration while watching me make them.”
It’s better to be honest about this kind of thing without leaving room for hope. Since I’m not going to hire him anyway.
“Wow, you’re really firm.”
“Goodbye. Come agaaain sometime.”
It was the moment the entrance door touched my fingertips. Before I could even send Woo Dohwan out, a familiar man opened the door and came in. Ding-a-ling- the wind chime rang clearly.
“Hyuuu- ung?”
Ju Isin, who opened the door while drawing out the end of his words, couldn’t immediately see me hidden behind Woo Dohwan’s bulk and encountered him directly.
“Who- oh, hyung?”
His round eyes immediately went toward Woo Dohwan, then confirmed me as I poked my head out to the side. He walked right past Woo Dohwan without hesitation and came inside. Ju Isin grabbed my hand that had been pushing the broad back and pulled me close to his side. I stopped lightly in front of Ju Isin like a sheet of paper.
“Why did you come here?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
