Chapter Text
doyoung hadn’t realized he’d been working late until a knock had resounded at his office door. a glance to his left to the clock on his desk revealed the time to be 6:48, nearly an hour after he usually left his firm.
“mr. kim? may i come in?” a kind voice coaxed him out of his thoughts.
doyoung cleared his throat, straightened his back and said, “yes.”
the wooden door opened to reveal a smiling figure, who had jet black hair, pale skin, and eyes that nearly disappeared whenever his lips turned up.
upon the sight of lee jeno, doyoung’s youngest co-worker, doyoung instantly relaxed.
“i don’t mean to bother you, but i wasn’t sure if you knew what time it was. you’re making great progress on this case, mr. kim, but we don’t want you to over-exert yourself.”
doyoung returned the soft smile, “thank you, jeno. i lost track of time, is all. and, you know you don’t have to call me mr. kim, right? doyoung is fine.”
jeno’s grin widened, “of course, mr. kim. i’ll keep that in mind.”
doyoung sighed, while the other giggled and continued, “don’t forget the office party next friday. mr. seo explicitly said that everyone has to bring something. you wouldn’t want to deal with his wrath if you forgot.”
doyoung laughed at the thought, thinking of his boss. johnny seo was possibly one of the nicest people he had ever had the pleasure to know, despite the fact that he was incredibly good at his job and very lucrative. imagining him getting angry at his employees for such a thing was nearly impossible.
“oh, i wouldn’t dare. i planned on stopping and ordering flowers after work, anyways. would you like to join me?”
jeno shook his head, “i have plans already, but thank you for the offer. i’ll see you tomorrow morning, mr. kim. have a good evening.”
jeno was already almost out the doorway when doyoung called out a, “you as well, jeno.”
after packing up the rest of his belongings and heading out the door to his car, doyoung realized he had no idea where to even begin looking for a florist. he’d lived in this town for a short couple of years, but had really only spent most of his time working and relaxing in his apartment. his time in college had consisted of lots of worrying about where he was going to get a job after he graduated. landing an admirable job where he was had only prompted his worries on keeping it, forcing him to put all his best efforts into his cases, limiting his time to explore his area.
at a loss of where to go, doyoung settled on searching the internet for a florist near him. flashy names and long titles made him furrow his brow, until he eventually settled his gaze on a place called “flower shower.” it was about a twenty-minute drive from his workplace, and near his apartment. doyoung pressed “navigate,” and switched his radio on to a low volume.
☼
doyoung arrived about half an hour later. with his tardiness in leaving work, the sun was just beginning to set. a mix of pretty pink, orange, and purple invaded the usual pale blue of the sky, making doyoung smile. without thinking, he pulled out his phone to take a photo. his collection of sunset shots at this point was excessive, but doyoung couldn’t help himself whenever he saw such a beautiful sight.
after inspecting the photos he took, he finally looked up at the building in front of him. it was painted white and looked fairly new. the windows in front stretched from the ground to the top of the building, giving doyoung a wonderful view of the flowers and plants inside.
he entered the building, a bell dinging above his head, and was instantly met with the sweet smell of roses and jasmine.
“hi,” a voice chirped from behind the counter, “how can i help you today?”
doyoung looked up from where he’d been studying the flowers around him to meet the eyes of the person who’d just spoken. he was about the same height as doyoung but looked so much frailer in comparison. he had mint green hair, pale skin, and dark brown doe eyes. he adorned a simple olive-green button-up, with black slacks, and a black apron tied around his waist. despite this, he looked almost ethereal, causing doyoung’s brain to short-circuit. he blinked twice, staring at the man in front of him.
“um,” doyoung cleared his throat, “i’d like some flowers.”
the man stared on, almost prompting. “oh!” doyoung continued, “for-for a party. but, like, an office party. not a frat party, or anything. i’m not even in college anymore, so like, that wouldn’t make sense.”
a grin spread across the beautiful boy’s face, making doyoung realize how dumb he sounded.
he blinked again, attempting to finish his explanation. “it’s supposed to be a spring party, so i wanted to maybe get something that would look nice but, like, also have spring colors. would you- do you have...?” he trailed off.
doyoung looked back to the man in front of him, who pursed his lips. his eyes dropped to the nametag on his apron, which read “taeyong.”
“hmm,” taeyong hummed, sending a glance behind him, “well, i have been working on an arrangement that might work. would you like to take a look at it?”
doyoung nodded, following taeyong when he turned to walk to the back. there, he saw assorted flowers organized in bins by color, and plants that were lined up in rows by type. a table stood in the middle, surrounded by varied gift baskets with pretty ribbons tied around them. atop the table stood a mix of baby blue, lilac, pink, white, and yellow flowers in a simple, clear vase.
taeyong stopped in front of the table, looking to doyoung, “it’s not completely done yet, and you could switch out the vase, or even any flowers you may not like. but it might match what you’re looking for. when would you need it done by?”
doyoung looked at it, nodding again, “um, by next friday. on the seventeenth. and, yeah, i really like this. i think it would be perfect.”
the look on taeyong’s face made doyoung’s heart flutter. pride danced in his eyes when he thanked doyoung, making him want to continue.
“did you make all of these?” doyoung asked, gesturing to the other baskets and assortments near the floor by the table, “they’re very pretty. i wish i knew how to do something like that.”
taeyong promptly lit up, “yes! do you like them? i make majority of the assortments here, while my co-workers organize the store and help sell them and stuff. but, i’m the only one here tonight, so that’s why i’m showing you this instead of them.”
doyoung reveled in the reactions he was pulling out of the other, “well then, i’m glad i came tonight.”
a faint blush spread across taeyong’s cheeks. he smiled again, and said, “are you ready to checkout? or is there anything else you’d like to look at this evening?”
doyoung shook his head, following taeyong back to the front of the store, where they discussed quantity, transportation, and prices.
“could i have a name for your order?” taeyong asked.
“doyoung. kim doyoung.”
taeyong smiled once more, “well, mr. kim doyoung, i will see you on friday the seventeenth. thank you for doing business with us, and i hope you have a good evening.”
“you have a nice night too. thank you.”
then, doyoung was leaving the store, the pretty boy’s voice echoing in his head.