#075
Woo Dohwan looked down at the Sweetness in his arms and said firmly. He did that before too… Looking at the pinwheel stubbornly shaking its head side to side, I reached out and opened the showcase door. I was torn between Keira and Mansfield. Which would be better between the two? After thinking a bit more, I decided to take out Mansfield roses and white Oxypetalum to make a bouquet.
Since they had round flower shapes, it was important to wrap them so they wouldn’t look too bulky. I gathered the trimmed roses, shaped them, then filled the gaps with Oxypetalum. I secured the stems and wrapped the bouquet with white wet paper and light sky blue Claude paper. After tying it with a light pink ribbon to finish, Woo Dohwan’s expression brightened when I handed it to him.
“It’s pretty.”
“It is pretty.”
“Have a good visit.”
“Do I have to?”
“You have to. This is a bribe.”
A puzzled look crossed Woo Dohwan’s face.
“The youngest son who was supposedly the smartest among people with considerable social status and dignity is saying he wants to date a man.”
“Ah, that bribe. Don’t worry about that. My parents will scold me asking who I think I am to ruin someone’s life, but they won’t say anything to you.”
“Whose life am I ruining?”
“They’ll think I’m ruining the life of someone cool like you who works hard and does their job properly.”
The eyes staring intently at my face glistened like glass beads. There was a hint of regret in that gaze, making me feel like I couldn’t bear not to hug him.
“Am I ruining your life?”
“No way. You know how much I like you.”
“Would I really be doing this with someone trying to ruin my life? Even though I think your face is pretty, I don’t find you pretty enough to tolerate that kind of thing.”
I embraced the neck of Woo Dohwan who bent down with a light laugh and continued speaking.
“I’m meeting you because I like you. So don’t ever think thoughts like that. Who’s ruining whose life.”
“But is this a confession?”
At his question asked out of nowhere, I shook my head firmly and answered decisively.
“No.”
I let go of Woo Dohwan’s neck that I had been embracing and turned his body around. When I placed two bouquets in his arms and pushed his back, Woo Dohwan reached into his pocket as if to take out his wallet.
“The flowers are a gift.”
“I know best how expensive the flowers here are, so how can you give something like this away for free?”
“You bought me expensive food.”
“That was just food.”
“This is just flowers. Go on, hurry.”
Woo Dohwan, who had been gently pushed to the entrance, held flowers in both hands and lightly embraced my body. I’ll go. When I nodded at his low voice, soft lips brushed against my earlobe.
“Ah, I don’t want to go.”
“Drive safely.”
“I’ll call you. What are you doing for dinner?”
“Well. Getting off work?”
When I answered his quiet question, Woo Dohwan made an “ah” sound as if he had an epiphany.
“Invite me to your house.”
“Suddenly?”
“What do you like?”
“…Chicken and beer?”
“Deal.”
“Alright. See you later.”
Even though we’d been together the whole time, it seemed both I and Woo Dohwan felt it wasn’t enough. We burst into laughter while facing each other after making plans without hesitation. A ticklish feeling flowed throughout my entire body. I waved gently at Woo Dohwan as he pushed through the door and left. See you again. Those words that had become like a habit rode the wind and penetrated my ears.
***
After sending Woo Dohwan off, I trimmed flowers. Then I talked with a security company. I received consultation about CCTV installation and was informed that since it’s the weekend starting tomorrow, they could only visit the store on Monday next week. They said after confirming where to install it then and coordinating with the installation team, they could install it that week, so I quickly answered that I understood. I could only hope nothing would happen until next week. Please, even if something happens, let it happen after the installation. I looked up at the ceiling for no reason and thought about where it would be good to install it.
Then I quickly came to my senses when a customer appeared saying he wanted to give flowers to his girlfriend. I made a bouquet with various types of tulips I had brought in and sent him off, then made and handed over a bouquet using Keira roses as the main flowers to a customer who came to buy flowers to commemorate quitting their job.
“Are these really roses?”
“That’s right. Since they’re roses often used in bouquets, they have a more glamorous feeling than others, don’t they?”
“They’re totally pretty. This is no joke.”
The customer who kept pouring out compliments about how pretty they were while looking at the abundant petals held out a card while receiving the bouquet.
“How much is it?”
“80,000 won. Do you need a receipt?”
“No, please throw it away. The flowers are seriously pretty. I came here because it’s famous on SNS, and I think I know why it’s famous.”
I showed an awkward smile to the customer who was making a fuss and praising how pretty the flowers were. Wait, hold on… this place is famous?
“Pardon?”
“Something like baby’s breath was posted recently and the feed was really hot. Purple flowers.”
The customer muttered while turning to leave. I remembered hearing this kind of thing several times. I heard it from Ban Hajoon and also from the customer who had reserved a bouquet. And again today. What kind of photos and reviews are circulating on the internet…? I tilted my head and followed the customer.
“Ohio Blue.”
I called out the name of the purple flower to the customer’s back as they pushed through the door.
“It’s not baby’s breath, that flower’s name is Ohio Blue.”
“Wow, the name is pretty too. So it wasn’t baby’s breath. I thought it was baby’s breath.”
“I’m glad you found it pretty.”
“It’s true I came here with expectations, but thank you for making the flowers even prettier than I expected. I’ll come again.”
“Yes, have a safe trip.”
The customer walked away waving the bouquet gently. I watched the gradually shrinking figure and only turned my head to check the time. The clock on the wall was showing exactly 4 o’clock. I thought I should gradually clean up and close the door. I swept the floor without closing the open door.
I scraped together dust and leaves or stems that had fallen on the floor, put them in the trash can, and organized the table. I turned off the sign light and pressed the coffee pot while estimating when Woo Dohwan might arrive, then walked toward the entrance.
I was about to close the open door and try making a call, but I encountered an unexpected customer. Ah, it was too early to meet now.
“…Wow, welcome.”
I turned my body and stepped aside so Yeo Dongju could enter.
“It’s been a while. You look too surprised.”
Of course. I never thought I’d see him today. When I greeted him with a sour expression, Yeo Dongju in front of me moved his eyes as if gauging whether I was welcoming him or not. I barely managed to curl up the corners of my mouth and opened the door I was about to close wide to welcome him.
“I was actually waiting, wondering when you’d come. Did you like the flowers from that day?”
“That’s why I came. They were annoyingly pretty. When Gyoyeon handed them over saying this was a gift from Ranho, I was a bit bewildered when I received them. We weren’t on good terms then, you know? That’s why I felt that way.”
Why the hell is she giving me this? Yeo Dongju muttered barely audibly, then glanced around inside and moved slowly. Should I close the door or not? Even in that brief moment, I agonized intensely. At least Yeo Dongju wouldn’t hurt me, so should I close it? Or should I leave it open so Woo Dohwan could enter even one step faster?
“It’s cold. Are flower shops usually this cold?”
Yeo Dongju twisted his head to look back and said it was cold. I checked the open door once, then the round back of his head as he calmly moved, then closed the door. I followed behind Yeo Dongju while taking out my phone. I never knew I’d use this function like this.
I quickly pressed the voice memo recording button among the phone menu and pushed it into my pocket with the speaker part facing up.
“The store is clean. I saw from outside that you even turned off the sign light.”
“Ah, yes. I have an appointment today. And I originally close at 5. It’s past 4 now.”
“You close just after 4?”
“Maybe because the weather is cold, customers completely stop coming after 4. There’s no point keeping it open when there are no customers. I cleaned up early today for that reason too.”
I leaned against the already clean table since I had finished organizing, then smiled harmlessly at Yeo Dongju.
“It was very cold outside, would you like some tea?”
“Do you have coffee?”
“I have drip bags, if that’s okay, shall I make you some with those?”
Yeo Dongju nodded. I pressed the pot with boiled water once more and took out a mug. I took out a drip bag, hung it on the cup, and exchanged awkward glances several times while waiting for the water to boil.
“You must feel sorry. Judging by the flowers you sent. You were rude to me then, you know. Was it a mistake?”
That shameless bastard. As if I’d be sorry, crazy. What state must his head be in to think such thoughts? I was so dumbfounded I wanted to splash coffee on him for talking such bullshit, but since I couldn’t, I nodded slightly.
“I’m happy you came back.”
“…It’s not something to be happy about.”
Before his quietly muttered answer could be properly heard, Yeo Dongju’s gaze that had been staring at me turned toward the showcase. Wondering if I should give him flowers again, I thought of something suitable to send him off with. Since I brought in a lot of tulips, it would be better to send him off with tulips—
“What’s that?”
“Pardon?”
“That. It looks like a rose, is it right?”
While pouring water on the drip bag, I turned my head to check the flower Yeo Dongju was asking about. Ah, of all things, that one. The place his fingertip pointed to was the Sweetness I had made into a bouquet and given as a gift to Woo Dohwan.
“It is a rose. It’s quite unique, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know about unique, but it’s pretty.”
Yeo Dongju’s gaze wouldn’t leave the Sweetness. I really didn’t want to give him that flower, so I tried to direct his attention to the tulips.
“Today the tulips are prettier than the roses. That’s how I see it, but I guess the roses look pretty to Dongju-ssi’s eyes.”
When I checked the adequately steeped coffee and held out the mug while asking, Yeo Dongju’s gaze turned from the showcase back to me. As we made direct eye contact, Yeo Dongju laughed with a deflating sound.
“You probably hear a lot that you’re being coquettish.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
