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The first time he was in the shop it was a sunny day. That kinda day when the sun is bright, the sky is cloudless blue and the weather is so nice you wouldn’t care about your outfit because you’ll never feel too hot or too cold. He was wearing a black suit and a big smile that made Yoongi ask how someone could be so happy so early in the morning.
“Good Morning,” he said, looking out for some flower, “I need the help of a specialist.”
“Maybe I can help.” Yoongi smiled, answering him, “What are you looking for?”
The man looked at him like he was a savior. His hair was perfectly combed and styled but one part of his fringe had fallen on his forehead. He was breathtaking. His hands went to his head and for a second Min Yoongi saw all his life passing through his eyes while the man fixed the lock of his hair that was down. When Yoongi recovered his mind, he realized the man was clearly lost.
“Describe it for me. And tell me where you can find it.” Yoongi smiled. Namjoon taught him how to understand and read the client’s wishes so nicely that he loved asking these questions for everybody because once in a while he got some really good stories to listen to.
“I need that flower that has some red dot but is yellow. It’s never only one in a… thing… but there are a lot. I can see it in my mother’s house and my aunt’s so I guess it is the kind of flower that mon’s like?”
Yoongi started walking around the shop, looking out for flowers that matched that description. It was funny to wander around thinking “what kind of flower does my mom really like?”, imagining that man smiling at his mother giving her the beautiful bouquet that was making now.
That image inside his head made him really happy.
“Like a Pansy flower?” He asked, showing him the perfect one they got in the shop. “Or, Begonia?”
The man followed him around, observing their place of work. The flowers had this calm and sweet perfume that was making the man have second thoughts about buying only one bouquet.
Kim Namjoon says that flowers not only bring happiness to a place, but they also have this comfy aura where you can feel a little more free and peaceful only looking for it. And their smell can make anyone feel cozy and safe. Flowers are one of the best ways to show someone that you care about them. And Yoongi loves to listen to Namjoon talking about flowers.
That’s, actually, how they ended up working together. Namjoon’s flower shop was growing and he needed a helper. Yoongi was the only one who knew enough about plants and flowers to start working with him. They were happy enough to make everything else work.
“Yes! This one!” he said, pointing to a vase full of blooming begonia. “You’re a true hero! I’m taking this one!”
The man was almost hugging Yoongi, everyone could tell. He was really happy to see all of that working out so well into a pretty vase with a bow. He tried his best to make it really pretty for this man’s mother’s living room decor. It wasn’t always that some handsome funny man went to the shop to buy something. Normally it was a little all the same, a bunch of elder ladies, some men of questionable character, and, sometimes, young people who happened to fall in love.
The man walked to the register, right where Namjoon was. Yoongi said thanks for buying there and the man walked away, smiling and wishing for both of them to have a good day. It wasn’t his first day in the shop, but seeing that man it was the first of many.
The second time he went to the flower shop it was another sunny day. Namjoon was wearing some beige bermudas and a tank top, and that’s how you know it was really hot. As it was a day when Joonie could be inside the shop, dealing with the flowers and numbers that Yoongi didn’t want to care about, it was okay to be dressed like that. The flowers were asking for water from time to time because it was too hot. The man came in again, wearing a navy blue suit and a suitcase and a big smile.
“Hello, my hero!” he said, lifting his arms “Once again I’ve come to ask your help.”
“Good morning,” Yoongi answered, “How can I help you this time?” he couldn’t hide his smile.
The man was close enough to smell his perfume, and obviously, it was that kind of wooden fancy perfume that people that work at fancy places use. He was looking at some flowers, lost in his thoughts. His eyes were these glowing dark eyes that searched around for the unknown. In the case now, it was flowers that they were searching for.
“Today I need flowers with meanings.” The man was serious, without stopping to look around the shop. “I don’t want tulips because I know they mean true love and passion, but red roses are too off. What kind of flower could I give to someone and express my feelings?”
Yoongi could hear Namjoon laughing in his mind. Of course, his best friend was listening to everything while he was at the back door minding his business. Not that any of that matters, because giving a flower to someone special is already showing affection. You don’t need that much meaning for this.
Everybody likes receiving flowers. But not any flower or red roses. They want their favorite flower, that once in a lifetime they told someone on a date. So it’s a hard question to answer. How to give something to someone who you already know enough but not enough?
“Maybe a bouquet? You could mix some carnations with roses and peony.” Yoongi was grabbing some flowers while speaking to him. “Like this.”
He made an entire bouquet in a second. it was full of orange, white, and red flowers, with some garnish to make it some pretty rustic bouquet that was what everybody wanted nowadays.
“That’s--” he was speechless. “Yes! I want this!”
“This bouquet is full of meaning and meaningless at the same time,” Yoongi said. “The person has to know what these are to understand it.”
“I think he knows.” the man said. “Well, let’s go to the register, this is perfect.”
Once again, the man was off to his way to work, at least, that’s what Yoongi thought of.
----****----
The rest of his morning is full of nothing and boredom. Until their lunchtime.
“Hyung, can I ask you something?” Namjoon said, giving him a kimbap. “What’s with that early guy in the morning?”
“He came here last week asking me about a mom’s flower. It was funny because he doesn’t know anything about flowers. I could give him a cactus and he would believe me.”
“That’s because he thinks you’re pretty. I saw him looking at you.”
“Too bad. Today he was buying flowers for another guy.”
“Well, let’s hope this other guy isn’t handsome as you.”
“Please, shut up and eat your meal.”
How could someone that doesn’t even know your name could do something like that to someone’s heart? Yoongi only knew about this two times that he never bought flowers to himself and it was always with some meaning for something.
“One day, he’s gonna buy you some flowers and you're gonna be surprised by that,” Namjoon said, already running away from Yoongi’s punch.
The third time was completely different. The man came in a busy time, on March 14th. There were a lot of men there, asking for the same red roses again, and if they didn’t sell some chocolate boxes just to be easy. But Namjoon hates having some chocolate sponsor, so he never tried to do something like that.
Yoongi was busy making tons of red roses bouquets. He hates it. He hates how people are so basic that nobody thought about another flower. Red roses have their beauty, but so do other flowers. Some men were only waiting in a line, ready to pay for their bouquets. Namjoon was a little desperate, but every year was the same thing.
The man waited in line until he got his time to ask. But when he saw that it was Namjoon, the one who’s going to do his bouquet, he let the person behind him go first. Namjoon smiled and let his friend do his job.
“Please, I need my Anpanman.” the man said, smiling at Namjoon. “He’s the only one who can do my orders.”
“He’s almost at your service, sir.” it was the answer. “You can pay already for your red rose bouquet.”
“Oh, please, not red roses.” The man said. “Jimin said they’re bad flowers to give today. I need something else.” His face was pure scared.
“You’ll have to wait. Yoongi is a little busy.”
“Yoongi?”
“Yes. That's his name.” Namjoon said with a smile.
Yoongi had five different kinds of red roses bouquets in his hands. His hair was a little messy, but the man wasn’t looking away. He followed the little one through the store, running from one part to another to put something else and make the garment more beautiful.
“Ok. Your time!” He said smiling at the man. “How can I help you today?”
“I need a sunflower. Or some flower that reminds the sun.” The man smiled. “Could become a bouquet. I don’t care. The more, the merrier.”
“Yes, sir,” Yoongi said, going away, thinking a little too fast for anyone to follow.
He came back with the most exotic bouquet he had ever made. It was a yellow bird of paradise, full of little white flowers and green garments. It was fantastically beautiful and different.
“Here, the person will love this. It’s a tropical flower, so please, give it a lot of suns.” so he smiled and winked at the man. “You got it?”
“Yes! A lot of suns,” he said, writing on a paper.
“That’s when you say to the person ‘Hey, but if you let it be with you, this flower will never need more sun than already has.’ Then ask them out.” Yoongi said. “I mean, I think it’s a good move and all.”
“Yeah! Thanks!” he said. “I think it’s fair enough if you know my name because your boss told me yours. I’m Seokjin.”
“Nice to finally know your name, Seokjin.”
“Same.” he smiled again.
Namjoon and Yoongi knew the day was busy, but it got so bad that they didn't have time to eat properly. Their feet were asking for a week without working, their hair was a mess, with leaves and some sticks on it. They were on the floor, trying to enjoy their meal.
“Hyung,” Namjoon started “ that guy maybe has a boyfriend.”
“I imagined that,” Yoongi said, lifeless. “But that’s ok. It’s not like we could actually meet or something like that. He’s just a consumer.”
“The guy's name is Jimin,” Namjoon said between bites.
“It’s Seokjin.”
“The boyfriend.”
“Oh,” Yoongi said, almost sleeping on the floor. “It’s a nice name. Good for him.”
The fourth time Seokjin went to the shop was definite for Yoongi. It was on a weekend, so, for the first time, the man wasn’t wearing a suit. He looked like a different person without it. His hair was totally down, almost covering his eyes. He was wearing a yellow bermuda and some kind of jerseys from a team he never listened about. And some slippers.
“Good morning!” He said, with a smile that makes Yoongi's heart stop beating. “Can I have some help?”
It was really early in the morning, nobody could be that happy at that time. But Seokjin was smiling so hard it was difficult to not be happy only by looking at him.
“Of course!” Yoongi tried to smile but he failed hard on it, making Seokjin laugh. “How can I help you?”
“I need a friendship flower.” he said “Maybe something even a child could take care of without killing it.”
“Oh, that’s Namjoon’s specialty!” Yoongi said. “Hey, Joonie, what do you say?”
Namjoon came out of nowhere to talk with Seokjin. They spent at least one hour talking about how to properly take care of plants, which flower and plant were better to have in his apartment, and which ones even a child could take care of without killing it.
“I really like succulents,” Namjoon said at the end, grabbing some and showing it to Seokjin. “Like, they need attention, but it’s almost none. They just need a lot of suns and a little water sometimes.”
“Oh! Talking about needing sun, “ Seokjin said, laughing, “Your pickup line worked very well!” He said to Yoongi. “It was perfect, thank you!”
“You’re welcome! Come another day so I can tell you more to use.”
“Sure! I’ll need that for the future!” he winked. “So, I’m buying this! Thanks for the help!”
It took some time after Seokjin went away to Yoongi to start talking.
“I’m dumb.”
“Sometimes.” Namjoon smiled. “ What happened?”
“He used the pickup line with Jimin. Now they’re together. I am dumb.”
“Well, as I said, it must have something more. Nobody could ever buy this amount of flowers in so little time.”
“Maybe he’s rich?” Yoongi said. “The kind of person that works being the CEO of someplace.”
“Well, he works with a suit,” Namjoon said, thinking about his outfit. “And he doesn’t work on Saturdays. That’s something more!”
“He’s just a customer.”
“A handsome customer.”
“Like some others…”
“Hyung…”
“I know! That’s fine, ok?” Yoongi said. “Why don’t you start talking about the boy you want to hire? Who’s he again?”
“Oh, his name is Jungkook!”
The fifth and last time Yoongi saw Seokjin walking in the store was chaotic. Jungkook said to Namjoon it was a good idea to give some classes about decorating and creating things with flowers. And, as Namjoon loved the kid as his son, he totally went for it. So, the store was full of teenagers with good aesthetic social media, wanting to learn how to create the perfect flower crown.
“Good Afternoon,” Yoongi said, wearing one of them full of purple flowers, “How can I help you today?”
“Wow! It’s so crowded!” He said, trying to walk closer to Yoongi. “What’s happening?”
“Today Jungkook and Namjoon are giving classes. You might need some. Then you’ll stop asking for my help.”
“But that’s the fun of it! I love asking for your help.” Seokjin said a little lower, “And I need it again today because today is a special day.”
“Really? How come?”
“Today I need a bouquet like that first you made me. But here’s the deal: This person knows everything about flowers. How could I give him something so meaningful that he would be so in shock with my perfect mind and accept going on a date with me?”
“Wow. That’s huge. And really important.” Yoongi said, thinking, “Maybe Peonies? I mean, I love giving Peonies because of their meaning. I think it’s pure and sophisticated. We can mix with some lavender to give some good sweet smell and some Carnation because the colors would be great.” He showed the work to Seokjin, who wowed back “Then, we put some of these and these, and here we go! The perfect bouquet for a date.”
Yoongi gave the bouquet to Seokjin and the man almost lost himself behind the flowers. It was a huge bouquet, beautiful. Yoongi wanted to take a picture of it because he was really proud of everything he made to Seokjin. He looked at the adorable man holding the flowers and he knew that no one could say no to him.
“Have a nice date, Seokjin.” He said, smiling.
“Thanks! I hope it goes well.”
“It will be. I know.”
The rest of the day was slowly passing. Yoongi had to sell alone flowers while the classes were happening, but there weren't so many customers that afternoon. Only more teenagers. He started wondering if the girls who were coming were there to learn of because Namjoon and Jungkook are beautiful young men working with flowers. Maybe both, but who knows.
It was a little dark when they closed the store together. But Jungkook noticed something different the minute they were out. On the other side of the street, there he was, a man with a bouquet.
---***---
For the first time, Yoongi saw Seokjin outside the store. He was laughing along with Taehyung, Hoseok, and Jimin. They were coming to his direction, while he was on the cellphone asking where the hell Namjoon and Jungkook were.
“They’re late again,” Yoongi complained. “I hate them.”
“They’re young, let them be.” Seokjin answered, holding his hand. “Well, shall we go?”
“Of course!” Yoongi answered with a smile.
The walk to the most famous Itaewon pub wasn’t so long, but they could chat a little on the way. Yoongi felt like he’s in trouble, being around people that he didn’t know so well, but he thought he was doing great.
“Oh, by the way, huyng,” Jimin started speaking “My succulent is so pretty and huge! Maybe you’ll have to teach me how to change their pot. I’m afraid I could kill it.”
“Impossible,” Yoongi laughs “I’ll teach you. It’s easy.”
“Oh, so you could teach me how to not let my bouquet die again!” Hobi said. “That first one that Tae gave me was so beautiful I’m sad Jin only asked you out a month later so it died.”
“It was for you?”
“Yeah! The sun line!” Hobi laughed “I wanted to die listening to Taehyung saying that to me because it was too specific to be his idea. I loved it!” he gave two thumbs up for Yoongi.
“Oh, I thought the bouquet was for Jimin!” Yoongi laughed.
“Why?” Seokjin asked while Jimin was laughing out loud.
“Because you said something about Jimin to Namjoon, so after you bought Namjoon said Jimin was your boyfriend!”
“Me? Date Seokjin?” Jimin was crying, “Oh no, please. It’s enough to be his best friend and help him to help Taehyung ask Hobi out. No, please, he’s all yours.”
“You have so little faith in me.”
“Have you looked in a mirror? You’re helpless.”
“That’s why I need a hero to save me!” Seokjin almost shouted. “And that’s Yoongi if we’re talking about plants and flowers.”
Yoongi felt his face burn. It was the first time they were out with other people, and, although he was having a lot of fun, he was a little scared of how people could see him and not like him. Jin had all the time he wanted to talk and know, but the others may find him a little boring or off.
He lost the track of his thoughts when he felt Jin kissing his cheeks. Surprisingly, he felt butterflies coming out of his stomach.
“Don’t be shy. They are crazy enough to already like you,” he murmurs. “And, if it isn’t clear enough, I really, really like you.” And then he smiled again, making Yoongi lose his breath one more time.