Chapter Text
“Son, buy me some more flowers, please.”
His father said, tying some white sheer at the end of the aisle.
Jisoo nodded, dropping the box of décor on the floor—a thud echoing through the high ceilings of the chapel. He rolled up to his sleeves to his elbows, veins spiralling around his forearm. “What kind?”
It took a moment for his father to answer, too focused on trying to make everything as perfect as possible. Eventually, he replied, “White roses would be nice.” He gathered some flowers together and tucked the stem of the florals into the sheer that was tied at the end of the pew. “And I heard there was a new flower shop that opened nearby.”
Jisoo raised an eyebrow, “Really?”
“Yeah, Heaven’s flowers I think it’s called.”
Jisoo frowned, nodding—and like the good son he is—he obeyed his dad without any further questions and headed out of his father’s church.
Jisoo walked down the street.
The morning sun shining bright as sweat dripped down from his neck and under his black shirt. He shouldn’t be wearing all black with a long sleeve in spring, but it was much colder in his father’s church and he wasn’t expecting to walk some miles outside in the hot sun.
He turned his head to the side, finding a shop with some flowers peeking through the glass. Jisoo glanced up to double check if it was the correct one his Dad mentioned—though, it was kind of pointless considering this was the only flower shop open in town near church.
Heaven’s Flowers was written on the top of the store in a white, matte cursive with a white rose drawn next toit.
Jisoo wrapped a hand around the door handle and pushed the heavy glass open.
A bell rang above him, the sudden coldness of the shop gushed down his spine. Jisoo shivered as he stepped into the shop, the sweet and pure scent from the flowers swirling around and into his nose. He sighed at the smell of the shop. It was much more refreshing compared to the humid breeze outside—much more refreshing than the smell of the sun steaming his nose whilst his clothes stuck onto the excessive sweat dripping down his arms and back.
His eyes scanned around the store, recognising some simple flowers in all different colours: red, white, and pink roses and carnations.
Jisoo almost always prefered a more neutral and simple colour scheme and aesthetic; beige, white, gray, and brown, maybe some touches of a bolder and a more solid colour for some contrast. He didn’t like bold colours, he thought it was too obnoxious and blinding to the eye. However, the bright colours of the flowers were pretty to Jisoo and was kind of like a breath of fresh air—new and different from what he was used to, but done in a pleasant way.
There were also a bunch of other colourful flowers displayed on the walls that Jisoo couldn’t exactly put a finger on and name.
His eyes landed on a small man with not-too-long blonde hair. He was wearing a white dress shirt under a pastel pink apron. Jisoo made an obvious guess that he was a florist of the shop.
“Hi, how can I help you?” The florist’s voice was soft with an adorable nasally sound.
Jisoo approached the man.
And his jaw nearly dropped onto the ground.
Jisoo stared in shock, his breath completely taken away when he saw how beautiful the man was. He looked exactly what Jisoo would think of when an angel falls from Heaven. Beautiful blonde hair waved past his face and behind his neck, the strands framing his sharp and high cheekbones beautifully.
He had a flower crown on; the florals in blue and white with some green leaves peeking out. For once, Jisoo thought the flowers weren’t so pretty. They were like a shadow in the background, the paint on a wall. You never really noticed it until they were pointed out. The flowers were nothing against the beauty standing in front of him.
The florist had smooth pale skin, so porcelain not even a single speck could be found on his face. Jisoo swore could stare at the man forever and still be so shocked and amazed by how perfect this delicate beauty was—
Jisoo coughed, a blush crept up from his throat and spread onto his face and ears. He tried to collect himself as much as he could and bring himself back to Earth when he realised he was staring at the Angel for too long with his mouth open and eyes wide.
He shut his mouth closed before he could start drooling.
He bowed down as a greeting and the man did the same with a hand placing itself on his chest. He dropped it on the counter next to him when Jisoo starts to head closer to him until they’re face to face.
Jisoo couldn’t stop himself from inhaling a sharp breath that happened to be caught in his lungs.
Christ, he’s beautiful.
Jisoo was about to hyperventilate and die because of how absolutely gorgeous this man was up close. And he was only a few centimetres shorter than Jisoo so looking at this Angel’s face was like a gift from the Gods.
He tried his best to force the words out his throat and not stumble on it before he made a complete fool of himself and turned into a clown. “Uhh… I-I’d like to purchase some roses, please.”
He was normally great with talking with other people—even his friends considered him a total extrovert with how easily he could approach a complete stranger and come up with a whole one hour conversation with them. He didn’t know why he was suddenly so nervous.
“What colour?”
Jisoo thought for a moment, he usually had a good memory but, when talking in front of the pretty man he suddenly had forgotten all the colours of the rainbow. “P-Pink—” he blurted out, and of course he remembered exactly what colour his father wanted once he embarrassed himself in front of the Beauty. “No, sorry white.”
He mentally face palmed himself.
Wow. Good job, Jisoo. Good job.
The man did not seem to mind nor notice his mental crisis and only gave a cute little nod as he walked in front of a specific aisle Jisoo saw early when walking in. The wall was full of roses blooming out from it in all different colours.
Jisoo didn’t know whether to approach and follow the man again or not.
“How many?” The florist said, his voice was so cute and nasally it made Jisoo’s heart swell.
“Fifteen pieces, please.”
The Angel responded with a small “Hmm,” before walking back to the counter. He grabbed a basket from a pile of it and hooked the handle into the inner joint of his elbow. He headed back to the wall of roses and carefully picked some white roses.
Jisoo decided to approach the man, his shoes clicking lightly on the wooden floor boards. Once Jisoo was close enough, he stopped. The man didn't look back and continued to pick some flowers, and Jisoo thought it was adorable when he whispered the numbers of flowers he collected and counted them from the wall.
The florist could do the bare minimum and Jisoo would have thought it was either the most adorable or gorgeous thing in the world.
A very sweet and fruity smell curled under Jisoo’s nose and it stayed and lingered around him. He realised the fragrance was coming from the florist. He must’ve sprayed some perfume on; and if so, the scent was highly addictive and Jisoo couldn’t stop himself before getting another whiff of it.
Jisoo never drank before, but if he did, he would have thought this was exactly what alcohol would taste like.
His brown eyes trailed at the florist’s pretty face.
His heart swirled in circles in his chest as it pounded into his ribs, his breath being caught once more in his lungs. Jisoo could look at this man for a hundred hours and still be shocked at how drop-dead gorgeous he was.
He was convinced this man was an actual angel.
Normally, he wouldn’t swoon on people by their appearance, even if the person were considered incredibly beautiful. It wasn’t that he thought they were ugly or anything, Jisoo never thought of anyone so down based on their appearance before and would never in the future, it’s just he always ends up liking someone based on personality more than their visuals—and he’s sure most people do as well.
But, now he’s all charmed and fascinated with a man he only met less than five seconds ago.
The words spill out of his mouth like waves flowing on the beach.
“You’re honestly prettier than the flowers .”
The florist gasped, his eyes widened with his eyebrow raised. He froze just when he was about to pull a flower out when he heard Jisoo’s sudden confession.
It took Jisoo a solid three seconds for him to realise what caused the Angel to startle so much from doing his job.
Holy Jisoos Christ. Did I just say that? Out loud?
The Angel flushed, his cheeks bright red as he looked down on the bottom row of roses near his feet. “O-Oh, thank you.”
Jisoo just stood there, his eyes wide and his fist covering his mouth.
So much for my gentleman image, Jisoo. Now you have an image of a clown.
He unfroze from his frozen state and bowed down multiple times.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to say that. I mean sure, you’re beautiful, but I should’ve kept it to myself—” Jisoo cut himself off midway in a bow, realising that the florist was probably staring at him as if he was insane—and to be fair, he was. He faked a cough in his fist—attempting to cough out all the stupid words out his throat that would potentially jump out of his mouth. He straightened up and bowed once more, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that.”
The worker’s face was still like the colour of his apron, all pastel pink and absolutely adorable.
Thank Christ I didn’t say that.
The Angel only nodded, his tensed shoulders relaxing. He continued to remain professional and picked out some more roses and carefully placed them in the basket.
His fingers were so pretty and delicate it reminded Jisoo of glass—so smooth and fragile, you just want to hold it.
The blush on when he complimented him never left his face, however, and Jisoo wondered how a small change could make someone from looking so beautiful to adorable.
He also wondered whether that blush was from embarrassment or endearment.
“Sir?”
Jisoo snapped out of his thoughts, blinking a few times as he looked down at the Angel in front of him. “Yes?”
“I’m finished now, follow me to the counter, please.”
He nods, “Yes, of course.”
They head to the back of the shop, the florist stopped behind the counter. He placed the basket near the cash register on the empty section, carefully taking out the flowers and splitting them into two different groups. The florist started to bundle one of the piles of roses together and eventually made a bouquet out of them—the flowers wrapped together by a dark gray tissue paper underneath clear plastic.
Jisoo spotted a name tag on the top right of his apron that he didn’t get a chance to see before. The name Jeonghan was engraved on the small metal rectangle in black and in cursive. Jeonghan .
Jeonghan.
Perhaps Jisoo would remember this name forever even in his future life.
Jeonghan .
He was cut off by his thoughts yet again when he heard the soft sound of “Sir?” coming from the florist in front of him. Jisoo’s eyes were still focused on his pretty face, his features all sharp and soft. He couldn’t help but look at the Angel’s lips when he spoke.
Jisoo needed to stop staring at him before he made the poor man uncomfortable.
“May I ask; what are these bouquets for?” Jeonghan said too busy tying a white ribbon around the bouquet to notice that his customer was staring at him at all—and not in a normal, friendly way.
His lips looked so soft and juicy, Jisoo wondered what they felt like against his.
“Oh, they’re for church, my dad wanted to add some flowers for decoration.”
For a moment the Angel froze, processing the information he gave him. He looked up at Jisoo, and Jisoo felt suddenly so intimidated by how gorgeous Jeonghan’s stare and visuals was. He gulped when the florist asked, “Are you talking about the church nearby?”
Jisoo nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Yeah, my dad owns the church, you should visit it someday.”
Jeonghan nods, and he puts down the bouquet. Jisoo sensed the sudden change in the atmosphere. “I don’t know…” he whispered. “I’d love to, but I don’t think they’ll accept me.”
The taller male raised an eyebrow, “Why’s that? I’m sure the people there will love you.”
The Angel shakes his head. “It’s because of my sexuality, I’m…”
A moment of silence.
He didn’t need to finish his sentence for Jisoo to understand.
“Gay?”
“Yeah…”
For whatever reason Jisoo felt his heart sigh in relief when hearing that.
“No, it’s okay.” Jisoo said. “They’ll accept you. In case you haven’t caught on yet, I’m not the straightest either.”
Jeonghan looked slightly taken-aback from this. He looked up at Jisoo with such adorable puppy eyes it made Jisoo want to jump off a cliff. “Really?”
He chuckled, “Yeah. I mean, I thought it was kind of hinted at when I called you beautiful and all.”
“Oh,” the florist whispered. A few moments passed and the Angel suddenly giggled—a smile shining on his face. It sounded like Heaven in Jisoo’s ears. Jeonghan covered his mouth as more adorable giggles slipped between his fingers. “Oh, my, I’m sorry about that. For some reason I found that hilarious.”
Jisoo grinned, feeling a sense of accomplishment. He liked the sound of people laughing, especially if the bright atmosphere and sounds were caused by him. “Wow. In case you didn’t know, I’m actually a born comedian.”
Yeah, you’re also born as a clown.
“Oh, really?” Jeonghan asked, playfully. And there was a change in his voice when he tilted his head to the side and stared up at Jisoo. “I’m actually curious, but what’s your job?”
Jisoo shrugged, “I help my dad with church—I clean up after hours and set up everything beforehand. I also teach the choirboys how to sing.”
Jeonghan’s eyes lit up in amusement, he raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. “Woah, really? You must be a really good singer then.”
Jisoo waved his hands in front of him, laughing for a bit. “No, no. I’m thankful that you think that, but I’d say I'm a pretty average singer.”
The Angel rolled his eyes, “Yeah right, I’m sure you’re amazing.”
Jisoo only chuckled, a tint of blush rushing to his face. “I wish.”
Jeonghan let out a small ‘Hmm,’ his eyes fell onto his fingers as he tied the ribbon around the second bouquet into a bow. “Do you play any instruments, then?”
“Yeah, I actually do. Guitar and the voice.”
The florist let out a snicker, winking at Jisoo. Jisoo almost felt his heart stop. “Oh, wow, a man of talent, aren’t you?”
The taller male laughed again, the muscles on his cheek bones aching from the constant smiling; Jeonghan was too adorable and he couldn’t help it. “Thanks...”
The florist muttered a “You’re welcome,” and gathered both bouquets on the counter.
A moment passed by before Jisoo snapped out of his fairytale and was pulled back into reality. He suddenly realised that he was supposed to be here to buy some flowers for his father and for church and that he was talking to a complete—but very pretty—stranger and not to a friend he’d known for a few months.
The florist didn’t even know his name, and if it weren’t for the name tag, Jisoo wouldn’t have known Jeonghan’s name as well.
Get it together, Jisoo. You already proved how much of a clown you are today.
Jisoo paid for the roses, grabbed the flowers from the pretty florist and bowed to him a ‘thank you’ and goodbye.
“You seem awfully happy, Son.”
Jisoo smiled, his gums showing as he approached his dad with the bouquets in his hands. He grabbed the flowers from his son and settled them on top of one of the boxes next to him. He bent down in front of the side of the pew.
“What happened out there?” he asked, curious as to why his son was suddenly so enlightened. Just before Jisoo was drenched in sweat and absolutely exhausted from carrying all the boxes and helping him clean his church, and now he looks the happiest he has ever been. Did the flowers tell him a joke that cheered him up?
Jisoo shook his head, the smile still stretched on his face. “I met someone today.”
His father’s ears perked up in interest then, his focus shifting to the flowers as he unravelled them from the paper. “Really? Who is she…” he paused, a smirk curling at the end of his mouth. “Or he?”
“Yeah.” Jisoo said under his breath. His smile faltered for the sake of his cheekbones. Wiping the sweat with his forearm, he joined his father and tucked a rose through the white sheer tied at the end of the pew. “It was the florist. He was absolutely gorgeous.” Thinking about the man almost made Jisoo daydream into a fantasy. He shook his head, that smile forming on his lips again. “I was startled by how beautiful he was, I almost thought he was an angel.”
Jisoo’s dad raised an eyebrow. He never heard his son rave about someone’s beauty before—especially if that someone was a stranger. “His visuals must be a big deal if it’s coming from my son, especially exaggerated.”
“Dad, I’m not exaggerating! He’s so pretty, even prettier than the flowers you’re holding!”
A smile appeared from his father’s lips, “Well, I’d like to meet him someday, Jisoo.”
“Maybe,” Jisoo replied. “If we just so happen to run into him again. You'll be shocked at how beautiful he is.”