Chapter Text
Right, about the business partner mentioned earlier, it was really out of pure coincidence that they decided to start working together. Actually, Soonyoung suggested that Chan took in something like a disciple and recommended a schoolmate who was one year younger than the four roomies. Kim Mingyu was his name, and he claimed that the kid was exceptionally good with his hands.
Though when Chan met with the boy, Mingyu seemed extremely lost and admitted that he knew nothing about flower pressing, so that was a no-go. As an apology for troubling Chan, Mingyu offered him homemade jam. It had a very special fragrance to it, and Chan couldn't quite place a finger on what flavor it was. Granted, he wasn't all that well-read in culinary terms either, but even he could tell that it had an exquisite and unique taste to it.
"Oh, I'm glad you like it! It was my first time making rose jam..."
"Rose jam?" Chan had repeated dumbly while licking off remnants of the sweet substance from his fingers.
"Yeah, actually, I've been studying up on how to incorporate flowers with food to create new flavors and visual appeal. Most people use it in drinks, especially tea, but I'm sure there are more ways to appreciate the difference in fragrance-"
"You're hired."
Just like that, in addition to Chan's humble little workshop, the place also offered a small menu of flower-based light meals, but that was a whole other story on its own.
What Chan would really like to talk about was the absolutely bizarre, silly, yet just a little sad story of the two bundles of joy and sunshine that came with Mingyu, insisting on helping them with redesigning the space so that both businesses could function with a smooth blend, both architecture-wise and taste-wise.
"I'm in charge of tasting!" Seungkwan, their apparent resident gourmet master had immediately piped up when Mingyu came up with a menu draft.
"Then I guess I'll be in charge of making the design." Seokmin, the architecture student whom shared a couple of classes with Mingyu had offered.
Hearing this, Seungkwan's cheerful aura had diminished a couple levels but was quickly refueled, "Letting you do all the designing will only make it seem too textbook-y! Let me give you a couple of tips!"
"Of course, of course," Seokmin had laughed, a hand coming up to ruffle Seungkwan's hair as though it was the most natural thing to do, almost as natural as pouring milk after cereal, "In return, you'll let me have a taste of some samples, too."
"Deal!"
Chan and Mingyu exchanged exasperated glances, but smiled nonetheless. Anyone would think that Seungkwan and Seokmin were the perfect fit, probably even for a couple's criteria. However, Chan knew that it was impossible, and they knew as well. Granted, they didn't know back then, but things do change in the most unexpected and dramatic way. Whether they liked it or not.
It all started when Seungkwan asked for flower pressing tips, and by that point of his life and the encounters he's had, Chan already expected what was up. Under Chan's insistence, Seungkwan eventually gave in and showed the shop owner a half-done sunflower made up of orange rose petals. The handiwork was sloppy in Chan's point of view, but he wasn't really expecting much from amateurs anyway (but don't tell Seungkwan or he was never going to hear the end of it).
"It's a sunflower under the sunset, an evening sunflower. Don't you think it's a cool collaboration between Jun and I?" Seungkwan had joked when Chan inquired about the orange shade.
But in contrast to Junhui's sunset that was filled with yellow petals, Seungkwan's piece stood out much more in a darker sense, literally. To Chan, orange had always been an awkward color, even for an expert like him. It wasn't like it didn't go well with any of the other colors, on the contrary, it was a very good highlighter and orange petals were often his first choice when it came to sprinkling final touches. Yet, when you make a piece with orange as the main color, everything just seemed far too strong and overbearing, as though it was never meant to be the center of attention.
Which was why orange was often used only as a shading tool for Chan, so when he saw Seungkwan's "masterpiece" of strong bright orange (with little specks of dark here and there), he thought he was going to faint. If he were to describe the piece with the first word that came to mind upon laying eyes on it, that would be, without a doubt, "awkward".
But now that Chan thought back on it, that certainly was the case, whether they'd like to believe it or not.
Similar to Junhui, Seungkwan was stuck in a one-sided love with a guy who thought of him as his best bro; and like most, he was scared of ruining their friendship, so he kept his feelings buried while still pretending to be his usual goofy self around Seokmin.
Chan thought it was strange, the two definitely got along well and complemented each other more than any other duo he's come across, including all the couples he had met. So why did it have to be impossible between them?
As the days went on, Chan couldn't help feeling pain for the patient. Seokmin was definitely a nice guy, but the more he smiled at Seungkwan in his usual genuine manner, the more Seungkwan's smile faltered. Unwilling to see his friend suffer any further, Chan asked Seungkwan to consider removing the disease, but like Jihoon, the older refused, thinking that it'd be even more painful to forget these feelings all together.
"It might be hard for you to understand now, Chan, but... I don't regret falling in love. Even if it's just one-sided."
So he continued to watch on, just like how he did with Jihoon and Junhui. And just like last time, he wished he could do something about it. But unlike last time, as the days went on, Seungkwan and Seokmin only grew closer, yet there was still no sign of Seungkwan's condition getting any better. In fact, it appeared to be growing worse every time he visited the shop.
It was probably for the best, but at last, the breaking point came.
Mingyu had just finished a new sample of rose-scented honey, since Chan noted that he had some unused dried petals lying around, mostly from customers who visited once and then never came back to pick their progress up. Seungkwan had arrived later than usual, stating that he got caught up with extracurricular work, so Seokmin got the first taste of the sample.
Upon seeing Seungkwan rush into the workshop, Seokmin grinned merrily and waved him over. Once the younger student finally caught his breath, he began to explain the reason why he was late through uneven pauses as he was still just a little pooped out from rushing over, but mid-sentence, Seokmin interrupted him by resting one hand under Seungkwan's chin, pulling the younger forward in a gentle manner, then stuffed a piece of toast with the new honey sample into his mouth.
"Tasty, right? It's Mingyu's best creation yet!"
Maybe it was because of the rose scent suddenly spreading through his mouth and reminding him of his daily "practice", or maybe it was because of the intimate reaction finally crossing the invisible line they've both been dancing around, Seungkwan threw up. Thankfully, not over anyone, but still a fairly nasty sight.
"Seungkwan, what's wrong?! Are you-" Seokmin stopped himself, his eyes lingered upon the orange rose petals sticking to the corner of his underclassman's lips. Far from getting confused and shocked like Chan would have, Seokmin was actually enraged, grabbing Seungkwan's shoulders so tightly that Chan thought he could see the older's nails ripping into the younger's shirt, "Tell me, who's the bastard I have to beat up?"
Well, it's you. Chan thought but kept quiet, it was always a lot more scarier when the happy ones snap. Besides, Seokmin clearly knew exactly what the condition was, this might go a lot more smoothly than he thought-
"Seungkwan, tell me!"
"It's you!"
Seokmin's expression shifted from anger to confusion, to shock, and then curiously enough, to sadness. His hands that had been gripping onto Seungkwan's shoulders so tightly just a few seconds ago had slipped off, and were now hanging limply at his sides. He watched on with such a complicated expression that Chan almost felt bad for him, even without understanding at the time.
Seungkwan on the other hand, had begun sniffling uncontrollably, afraid to look directly at Seokmin. It probably was for the best, because the architecture student was definitely not looking the most encouraging either.
It wasn't until another wave of orange rose petals exploded into the air along with horrible gagging noises that Seokmin finally snapped out of it, placing his palms gently against Seungkwan's cheeks, "Seungkwan, listen to me... You need to go through with the operation."
That was probably the worst possible thing to hear from the person you've been pining after one-sidedly for quite a long period of time, so much so that you were fully prepared to die with this love. Yet, his feelings disgusted him that much he'd rather they disappeared-
"Seungkwan, no, it's not like that..." Seokmin sighed as though he had read the younger's mind, and from Chan's observation of the two's closeness, he would have believed it anyway, "If this continues, you'll die... Trust me, that'll hurt me a lot more than you think."
"...So no matter what, you're saying it's impossible between us?" Seungkwan finally spoke, fumbling with a single orange petal between his fingers, "But even so, I-"
"Seungkwan, listen..." The older heaved a deep sigh, tilting the younger's face up again so that eye contact was unavoidable, "Don't say anything, just listen. Do you know how Mingyu got his previous supply of roses for all his experiments? They came from me. Literally." When Seungkwan still didn't quite seem to comprehend what Seokmin was getting at, he continued, "I had Hanahaki Disease, but I got it removed."
"...Oh. Good for-"
"The person I was pining after, was you."
Seungkwan stared at him. The single petal had been reduced to a crushed up orange mess. He felt a fresh wave of tears welling up as he slammed a fist into Seokmin's chest, "Why...? Why did you give up?!" Although he was wincing in pain, Seokmin didn't budge, and instead wrapped his arms around the crying boy, pulling him closer, "And why didn't I realize sooner...? I made you suffer so much, Seokmin, I'm so sorry..."
Chan watched with a heavy heart as Seungkwan curled up into a shivering pitiful ball in Seokmin's arms, his sobbing slowly grew to a wail. They were so close to fulfillment, yet now it was gone forever as an impossible cause.
"You'll find someone better, so forget about loving me, Seungkwan..." Seokmin whispered gently, threading his fingers through the younger's light curls, "I know how hard it is to give up, but think about it like this... At least we can still be with each other, we'll really have nothing if you die."
"What exactly..." Seungkwan choked out with difficulty, "What exactly do we even have now?"
Seokmin smiled, but it wasn't his usual bright and merry sunshine grin. He pressed his forehead against the younger's, "Something beyond friendship..." but it won't ever reach love.
"Seungkwan, can you hand me the-" Before Seokmin even finished his question, Seungkwan had already placed the protractor in his palm, smiling at him brightly in the process, "Ah yes, that's it, thanks!"
Soonyoung shook his head at the sight while curled up at the makeshift bar (which was really Chan's cashier counter) with a glass of rose milk, with two straws, of course. Jihoon was just being shy and refusing to share at the moment, he'll want some later. It always happens.
"This is getting borderline creepy. It's like you can read his mind." Soonyoung commented, arching an eyebrow at Seungkwan.
"Well, of course! After all, we-"
"Finish each other's sentences!" Seokmin finished, slinging an arm around Seungkwan's waist affectionately as the younger laughed into his shoulder.
Chan sighed. They looked happy, they seemed happy, and they were undoubtedly happy. But sometimes, just sometimes, Chan would catch a glimpse of the evening sunflower resting in the corner of his workshop, and wonder to himself... If only Seokmin had waited a little longer, if only Seungkwan had accepted his feelings sooner, wouldn't they had been the perfect couple?
Perhaps not. A very familiar gentle voice sounded in Chan's ear. You see, Chan, some people are destined to be just friends, whether we like it or not.
He closed his eyes briefly before turning his attention back to the young self-proclaimed experts in gourmet and architectural design. I understand, Jisoo. But for now... Isn't it fine for them to be happy like this?
When Chan looked at the bantering duo before him, it made him think... Hey, maybe the friendzone wasn't such a bad place after all.
Love is strong when nurtured and returned, but friendship is far less breakable and fragile. Besides, friendship was more likely to last a lifetime, so in a way, maybe this was really for the best.
"Hey, Seungkwan."
"Hm?"
"You understand, right?"
"Of course," Seungkwan smiled, curling his hand around Seokmin's playfully, "What we have... is far better than love."
Orange rose = between friends and lovers