#066
After writing everything down, I folded the card and handed it to Yoon-u. The child took the card, unfolded it, and stumblingly checked the letters he knew. When he asked why the postscript was so long, I told him that I had written it for him. Yoon-u nodded in understanding. He said thank you, explaining that the handwriting was so pretty that even if he said he wrote it himself, his mom would probably know it was a lie.
The child who inserted the card into the bouquet bowed deeply at the waist in greeting, then turned around. As I watched his trudging figure walking away and said goodbye, he only turned his head back slightly and gave a light silent bow.
Ding- As soon as he opened the door and went out, the child immediately fell into his father’s arms, who spread them wide to welcome him, and burst into tears again. Lifted up and listening to his dad whisper in his ear, Yoon-u nodded vigorously while crying, then tightly hugged his neck again.
The man’s gaze turned toward me. The father and son, who finished greeting me with their eyes as if to say thank you, slowly moved away. After the two disappeared from view, I felt completely drained. Not much time had passed, but it felt like more than an hour had gone by. I slumped onto the sofa, closed my eyes, and leaned back deeply.
“Haah…”
This was the hard part about running a flower shop. When making and handing flowers to people who buy them for farewells. Just as I rubbed my dampened eyes and let out another sigh, ding- the bell rang. Thinking it was a customer, I straightened my slouched body and turned my head, only to see a man I didn’t want to meet yet smiling brighter than sunlight.
“I woke up and the house was empty, so I was surprised.”
His characteristic languid tone flowed into my ears. Woo Dohwan, who approached quickly with large strides, leaned against the table and stared intently at my face, which was completely covered by a mask. Then, noticing my eyes that weren’t completely dry, he straightened up in surprise.
“What, what happened again?”
“Huh?”
“You were crying. Did that bastard come again?”
“…No.”
Woo Dohwan, who had come close, pulled my mask down to my chin. After checking my reddened nose tip and eyes in turn, he reached out with hands that were deeply infused with the scent of the body wash I use. The scent that comes from me doesn’t seem to smell that strong or this sweet, but somehow the scent that comes from Woo Dohwan was sweet enough to make me want to bury my nose and smell it. When I leaned my face against the hand that cupped my cheek, his handsome face visibly hardened as if surprised.
“Did you sleep well?”
“I slept well. I thought the homeowner was there.”
“You were sleeping so well, I didn’t wake you.”
I closed my eyes while fully receiving the touch that gently stroked my eye area.
“So why were you crying?”
The fingertips playing with my lowered eyelashes tickled, making me smile faintly as I explained why I had tears.
“I sold flowers.”
“Is that something to cry about?”
“It was something to cry about. My heart hurt.”
“That’s sad. Seeing you crying from the morning.”
The hand that had been stroking my cheek wrapped around the back of my neck and gently pulled me in. I leaned my forehead against Woo Dohwan’s solid body and gathered my unsettled emotions.
“I’m going to the police station.”
“When?”
“Now, soon.”
“Can I come with you?”
“Um… it doesn’t matter, but there would be two witnesses going together.”
I lifted my head from where it had been leaning and looked into Woo Dohwan’s eyes.
“What the hell is wrong with that bastard anyway?”
Should I tell him? I stared at his face, which was deeply tinged with irritation toward Chu Gangmin, and pondered.
“Ranho.”
At the low voice, I hesitated then opened my mouth.
“He keeps… that person keeps having dreams.”
“Dreams?”
“Actually, he and I have no relationship at all, but apparently not in the dreams he has. Since such dreams keep repeating, now he says he can’t distinguish well whether it’s a dream or reality.”
“He’s just a fucking idiot.”
At the curse he spat out with a serious expression, I let out a laugh, “Pfft.”
“…I don’t know. Because that person speaks as if it’s so real, there are moments when I wonder if I’m the one who’s mistaken. I know it’s not true, but I get confused… Originally, everything that person says is correct… Am I pretending not to know, as that person says?”
“Ranho.”
“Then I suddenly come to my senses. Because that person is so unfamiliar.”
It’s strange, isn’t it? At my trailing question, Woo Dohwan firmly shook his head back and forth. He pulled my head into his arms again and answered that it wasn’t strange at all.
“I’m anxious. That at some point I might really… believe those words.”
“His eyes were rolling back too, and if he comes several times spouting that bullshit, you could easily get confused. That’s why brainwashing is dangerous and scary.”
“…I’m scared.”
“Are you going to sue him?”
The quietly asking voice was compassionate. At the soothing voice that seemed to say anyone could feel this way, my anxious heart gradually calmed down. I really did well to confide in someone. No, I did well to confide in Woo Dohwan. I can’t tell him in more detail, but just talking about this much made me feel relieved. They say worries are halved when shared, and it doesn’t seem to be completely wrong.
“I don’t know about that either. It’s not like I was actually assaulted, and I wasn’t actually dragged away. I wonder what good it would do me to sue. It’s complicated.”
“Hmm… honey.”
Woo Dohwan grabbed my cheeks with both hands and lifted my head upward. I was worried that my protruding lips might look exactly like a fish, so I tried to shake my head, but he stubbornly held my cheeks up. Woo Dohwan looked at my obviously ridiculous face and continued seriously.
“How about entrusting the lawsuit to my lawyer? With state institutions like police stations, it’s more effective to send a professional rather than having the complainant go directly. Even if it’s not that big a deal, they’ll at least take action saying ‘Oh, this is quite serious.'”
“……”
“If you file the complaint through my lawyer, you’ll have one less troublesome thing to do, and I can know the progress, so it’s good because I’ll be less anxious. How about it?”
Woo Dohwan bent down. A shadow fell over my face, and soft, moist lips lightly settled on my protruding lips.
“I’ll take the retainer fee in flowers.”
“This isn’t a flower.”
“It’s so pretty here that I thought it was a flower.”
I grabbed and pulled away Woo Dohwan’s hand as he rubbed his lips and acted coquettishly.
“Getting introduced to a lawyer and all that is a bit… burdensome. We’re not… that kind of relationship to go that far…”
“Ranho.”
“Yes?”
“If we kissed and slept in the same bed, isn’t that almost like promising to get married? Was I mistaken by myself, wondering whether to get our honeymoon home in Gangnam or Cheongdam? Wow, I didn’t see you that way, but are you trying to use me and throw me away right now-“
I reached out and covered Woo Dohwan’s mouth.
“Wh-what are you saying!”
“Who was it that begged to do more, saying we’re not that kind of relationship?”
“…What,”
“Just try saying you don’t remember. I’ll do it until you die.”
Emotions somewhere between affection and love-hate pooled completely in his black pupils. Bird kisses that felt like pecking with a beak fell peck peck- all over my face as I hesitated without being able to answer.
“Ow.”
“Don’t try to deny it. You like me too.”
“……”
“I’ll treat you well.”
No, it’s true that I like you, but this is too sudden. I avoided the eyes I had been meeting directly and looked down to check my appearance. You want me to confess looking this shabby?
“Wait, I get it. Not now, right now is too…”
I looked shabby. If I were to confess my feelings, Christmas would probably be better. That’s a special day when everything trivial feels like a gift. Besides, there isn’t much time left. I should think about what flowers to give Woo Dohwan too. Since the pinwheel likes pretty things, pretty flowers…
“We slept together. I hate men who are that irresponsible. This is my first time being like this.”
“What? What…!”
Woo Dohwan spouted nonsense with a serious expression. Emphasizing “I, I” while doing so. The pinwheel has met so many people until now, what kind of ridiculous lie is he telling?
“You know your wrist flies off if you lie, right?”
“Why do you think it’s a lie?”
“You said you met noonas like that because you didn’t have money.”
“Do you have to do that just because you meet noonas? Your mind is more promiscuous than I thought, my honey.”
Woo Dohwan smiled with the corners of his mouth curved.
“Ranho is more erotic than I thought. Fucking love it.”
“Are you crazy?”
“No refusal allowed, pay me back with a marriage proposal.”
His large hand carefully swept through my hair. He also placed his plump lips on my exposed forehead with a smooch, kissed it, and straightened his bent body. Then he pulled out his phone from his jumper pocket.
“This is something I’m asking just because I’m really curious.”
“Yeah.”
He moved his fingers busily without even making eye contact with me.
“You said you have no experience with men.”
“I studied.”
“…What?”
“I said I studied. I know all about how we should make love. I’ll follow your decision though.”
Oh fuck, Kim Yujin-ssi’s words suddenly came to mind. That among the five siblings, Woo Dohwan was the best at studying. I barely closed my gaping mouth and looked at his shameless face, when Woo Dohwan’s gaze gradually moved downward.
“I think I’ll be the top.”
“What kind of nonsense is that again? And can that be learned through studying?”
“If you don’t know, you have to study. I can’t just do whatever I want without knowing anything and end up hurting you.”
“…What?”
What do you mean do whatever you want? If you talk like that, what am I supposed to do with my rich imagination? My face is already turning red. I’m going crazy, really. You’ve been saying weird things since earlier.
“There was a lot to study. Anyway, you just focus on confessing well. I’ll prepare the rest.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
