Work Text:
i.
There he was .
The guy responsible for all the commotion, dust and constructions from the previously empty space across the street. Before that guy, there was a cute coffee shop but the owners had to close it not that long ago.
The days filled with peace, that Minho was very happy about, didn’t last that long. Constructors started working on the empty space only a few days after the coffee shop closed, and it didn’t take a lot of time until the large ‘3RACHA’S INK ’ sign was hung above the entrance of the apparently new shop. The light brown colours decorating the space were soon covered in black paint, at least on the exterior. Minho never bothered to go inside the place, or even try to make conversation with the workers when they were there.
If anything, Minho was annoyed by the entire situation. He had to inhale the dust pretty much the whole time it was renovating, considering he was living just above the little, mint coloured flower shop. And if that wasn’t enough, he noticed the way the flowers placed outside started to get dust all over them. It was really a pain in the ass, if anyone wanted to know his opinion.
With his favourite peonies moved to rest inside the flower shop, Minho kept eyeing the tattoo parlour across the street every time he was free of clients. He just needed to know who was the person that would have the privilege of being the victim of his internalised hatred, and he was absolutely sure that he was going to show his face sooner or later.
He actually noticed the guy who apparently owned the tattoo parlour one time when he was visiting the construction site, but Minho was too busy making a bouquet for someone’s mother so he couldn’t really pay a lot of attention to what was going on across the street. But this time, his eyes were following every move the blonde guy was making, staring shamelessly. To Minho, it looked like the shop was finally opening, given to the just flipped sign on the door that read ‘open’ .
Resting his face in his palms just like his scowl was resting on his face, Minho noticed that he had a few seconds to occupy himself with something before the blonde he was looking so intensely at entered his shop. In his defence, he was pretty much in his head so didn’t really notice the moment he started heading to Minho’s shop.
When the bell attached to the front door chimed in the small room, indicating the guy’s entrance, Minho’s eyes raised from his stainless counter, like he wasn’t looking at him just seconds prior.
“Hello,” the blonde greeted before he had the chance to say anything. “We just opened across the street and I wanted to drop by and say hi,” he continued, a little bashful.
The oversized denim jacket hanging on his shoulders was pretty much hiding his entire upper half, but in Minho’s humble opinion it was actually a great look on him. After he quickly glanced at the boy, taking in his appearance, Minho realised that he wasn't just annoying, he was also annoyingly cute.
“Oh, hi,” Minho already had his customer smile on, the one his friends always laughed at him for, saying it was more of a straight line instead of a smile. “It’s nice to have someone new around here,” it wasn’t exactly the truth or what Minho had in mind when he saw the guy, but he wasn’t going to be an asshole to him the first time they ever had a conversation.
“Also, I’m Jisung,” the guy said with a cheerful smile and as he got closer, Minho noticed the small mole on his cheek, and he was not even going to mention his cheeks which were so round.
“I’m Minho,” he said and for the first time since Jisung went inside his flower shop, he felt his smile actually reach his eyes. He was really cute for someone who was able to cause so much frustration within Minho’s existence.
“I brought a little something, I thought it would be nice,” and suddenly Minho’s eyes shifted to the small but kind of fancy box in his hand that he didn’t notice when the blonde entered the shop.
“Thank you so much, that’s so nice of you,” Minho breathed out, excitement suddenly filling his voice, because that wasn’t his prime time to be rude, the guy was actually nice enough to bring him something. Maybe for a moment he could overlook what happened when the tattoo parlour was renovated.
Jisung handed Minho the small box, and the latter’s curiosity got the best of him as he tried to look through the transparent lid at what it could contain. With a small, yet genuine small on his face, Minho moved the box in the drawer of the counter when he could recognize rice cakes but his attention was quickly stolen by the cute blonde who was still so present in his shop.
“Pretty,” Jisung mumbled to himself and Minho’s eyes shifted to him but it was too late to tell who was on the receiving end of his compliments.
“Who?”
“Oh, I was just talking about the cute daisies here,” Jisung explained with a flush on his cheeks while he pointed at the small purple glass on the counter, which was almost filled with the white flowers.
They weren’t even for sale, Minho bought them on a whim that morning from a kid’s stand when he was on his way to get coffee. He also thought they were really pretty, but apparently they attracted cute guys as well.
“You can have them,” Minho said without much of a thought, but it was alright, he was feeling kind to Jisung all of a sudden, despite his anger from a while ago. Those feelings of frustration seemed to be actually somewhere far away, especially after the blonde went into the shop.
“Are they for sale?” there was so much hope in Jisung’s eyes, and suddenly Minho was ready to insist that he should take them.
“Not really,” Minho chuckled, and he couldn’t just ignore the disappointment on the blonde’s face. “You can consider them a ‘welcome here’ gift, so just take them,” he went on, already getting a small piece of wrapping paper to turn white flowers into a bouquet.
They were even prettier in the small bouquet Minho assembled, and he started to feel content just at the thought that their beauty could also bring happiness to someone else.
“Here you go,” he said with a small smile, after tying a bow so the flowers would be kept together, and he handed the bouquet to Jisung.
“They’re really adorable, thank you so much,” Jisung’s smile was so genuine, that Minho was already starting to look at him with fondness in his eyes, so he just nodded at him in response, feeling a bit lost of words. His heart shaped smile was just as pretty as the rest of his face apparently. “Well, I should probably get going,” he excused himself as he started to slowly retreat to the door of the shop. “See you around, Minho!”
And Minho just waved at him with a smile plastered on his face and everything else they would describe in movies as love at first sight. He watched the guy exit his store and his eyes didn’t leave the blonde’s figure until he was completely away from his vision field.
So the neighbour across the street wasn’t as annoying as Minho initially thought.
ii.
When Jisung entered Minho’s flower shop with two coffees in hand, the latter was actually a little surprised. And when he only smiled in reply to the florist’s questioning look (because he was busy wrapping pink tulips in paper), Minho’s heart fluttered a little.
It would be a massive lie to say that Minho’s mind never went back to the tattoo artist across the street during that week, especially after their first encounter. With every new work day, his shop was already open when Jisung was unlocking the door of the tattoo parlour. It was quite the experience to see the blonde every morning, and Minho noticed that sometimes his hair was covered up by a beanie or a bucket hat, but other times it looked a bit ruffled up but still so soft and Minho could only think about how cute he was.
“Hi, you,” Minho laughed softly, trying to get Jisung’s attention, after his clients left the shop. The blonde was curiously eyeing the red flowers section, sometimes getting closer to them but head snapped in Minho’s direction as soon as he started talking. It kind of reminded Minho of his demon cats when they were inspecting something that was new to them.
“Hello,” Jisung said, throwing his heart shaped smile at Minho like it wasn’t some sort of lethal weapon. “Here,” he continued after he stepped closer to Minho, standing across the counter and he passed him the extra coffee, along with a white napkin.
“What’s this for?” Minho’s curiosity got the best of him before he could even thank the boy.
“A ‘thank you’ gift maybe?” and the scowl on Minho’s face went even deeper as he set the coffee down on the flat surface in front of him, after placing the napkin first. The iced americano was already starting to form drops of water on the cup. “Every time I looked at the daisies I felt a bit guilty for not paying,” Jisung explained as he scratched with a hand at the nape of his neck, and a little flush started to paint his cheeks.
The blonde’s flustered gesture made the sleeve of his shirt roll up a bit, and Minho’s eyes shot to the small, coloured tattoo on his arm that seemed to be inspired by ghibli movies, completely ignoring the way his arm muscles were flexing.
“As you should,” Minho said, rolling his eyes playfully at the boy, the teasing obvious in his voice. “They were a fortune,” and maybe it was just in Minho’s head but when Jisung laughed, it felt like nature was starting to heal.
“Well, thank god the coffee is on me,” the blonde said after he calmed down, and Minho couldn’t help but lightly scoff at his reasoning but there was no bite behind it. It was a bit of a contrast to how he felt towards him a week prior.
“Thank you,” Minho finally said, before he picked it up to take a sip of it. “How did you get it right though? Did you sell your soul or something to find out?” he joked, side eyeing Jisung.
“Well, that doesn’t sound like such a bad idea,” the blonde started, a lopsided smile playing on his face. “I just got my favourite, and decided at the last second that you’ll have to endure it as well. But it looks like it’s quite a match .” and Minho couldn’t stop the small breath laugh that came out of him.
“What a shame,” Minho smiled as he leaned against the counter. “A contract with the devil would have been spicier, fit for a tattoo artist,” and god he wanted to curse himself for the impulsive wink he send Jisung’s way, cause it erased from his mind that he could only wink with both eyes. Still, he considered it worth it after hearing the blonde’s chuckle.
“Well you can consider me hot, cause I already did that when I signed the contract for the place here,” and now it was Minho’s turn to burst in a fit of giggles, and he felt like he was back in highschool, crushing over guys that he considered to be out of his league. He felt silly, just like his attraction towards Jisung, cause for some reason he couldn’t take his own feelings seriously.
They would eventually pass, just like they always do because no matter how fun it is at first, Minho inevitably gets bored and Jisung was probably bound to have the same fate when it came to that.
But Minho noticed that it was way easier to talk to Jisung compared to any guy he ever talked with, not even his occasional flings would get on that level. And that wasn’t because once they started talking, it seemed like they both forgot the notion of time. It was mostly because Minho, ever so focused on filtering his words, didn’t have to think twice before he said something to Jisung. He somewhat felt safe with the other, despite them barely knowing each other and Minho’s initial annoyance with him.
Jisung was nice to be around, and he didn’t even notice how much time passed since he made his presence in Minho’s flower shop, until the florist got his phone out to show him pictures of his cats and the blonde saw the time.
“Fuck, my break is over,” Jisung said and Minho’s eyes shifted to the upper corner of his phone, realising that half an hour was already gone.
“Sorry for stealing it from you,” Minho laughed, but his words were genuine as he watched Jisung check his pockets, probably to make sure he had everything with him.
“If anything, you made it better,” he said, a little breathless and his eyes met Minho’s again. “I’m serious, it was nice to talk to you again,” Jisung insisted after he noticed the florist’s unsure expression.
“It was nice to have you here,” Minho returned his words, before his mind could process too much of the situation. “Thank you for the coffee, again,” he smiled as he waved at Jisung, who was making his way to the exit.
“See you next time, cat butler,” he called out before the door closed behind him, and Minho couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled in his chest.
After the shop was empty again and Minho was left alone with only his thoughts and his flowers, he let out a small content sigh. Maybe Jisung was fun to be around and maybe, just maybe, he would stick around for longer than Minho’s usual romantic interests.
When Minho picked up the empty cup of coffee, set on cleaning the counter, the napkin underneath it flipped open for a second but it was enough for Minho to see something weird inside it. Putting the cup aside, he decided on opening the napkin once again, only to be greeted by scribbled black ink that read ‘you’re the prettiest person i’ve ever seen’ .
Minho decided the napkin would fit better in the pocket of his lilac apron instead of the trash bin.
iii.
A month later when Minho went down with a flu, it was genuinely frustrating. Sitting in bed all day, fighting demons just so he could keep his nostrils clean and not being able to do too much wasn’t his kind of thing. He was also thinking about how he wasn’t able to go to work, and how his flowers were probably withering away without him. It was a pain in the ass.
Three days after sitting his ass in bed more than it was ideal, Minho finally felt fine enough to show his face in the small store.
He was actually carrying fresh flowers inside which he ordered the day before when he noticed Jisung coming to the tattoo parlour across the street. When their eyes met, Minho shifted the flowers on one arm so he could wave at the blonde. What he didn’t expect though, was Jisung making his way to him, before he could even open his own place.
“Hi stranger,” Jisung greeted, following Minho inside. “Haven’t seen you around in a bit.”
“Missed me much?” Minho wanted to joke but a cough was already out, following right after his words before he could control it, and suddenly Jisung was taking from him the flowers he was holding.
"I think that actually answers my question," Jisung said with a small smile before placing the flowers on the counter. It wasn’t actually the first time he was helping Minho with his orders. During the last month he was by the florist’s side every morning he went to work and noticed Minho carrying as many flowers as he could inside the shop. To be clear, Minho didn’t even have the opportunity to choose whether he wanted or needed the blonde to help him, because he always insisted on helping. But Minho was still very grateful to him for that.
“The coughing isn’t even the worst part,” Minho laughed as he went back outside to take the last batch of flowers, with Jisung following him like a puppy.
“Makes sense why it was radio silence here for the last three days,” Jisung nodded and took the flowers from the delivery boy before Minho could get them, earning an eye-roll from the florist.
“What, were you worried about me?”
“It would have been a surprise if I wasn’t,” and Minho snorted at him, but there was definitely something buzzing in his chest. Jisung was also right, something about them spending enough time together during their breaks really pushed them closer, and it happened way faster than Minho initially expected.
It was always just playful flirting and teasing, and Minho was alright with that. It was a comfortable place to be, and he felt like he was finding a friend in Jisung, despite his still so present crush on the blonde.
“How are the babies?” Jisung asked with a soft laugh, pulling Minho out of his thoughts while making a pile of flowers on the counter when he added the ones he was carrying.
“One day I’ll start believing that you like them more than me,” Minho sighed but he was already getting his phone out of the back pocket of his jeans.
He decided on showing him the photos he took of them when they were playing with the toys Jisung randomly showed up with at his flower shop, on a nice tuesday. And even if Minho had quite a hard time taking pictures that weren’t blurry because his cats were constantly moving, he realised how worth the hard work of doing so was when he noticed the fond look on Jisung’s face. It seemed like his big, dark eyes were sparkling and maybe it was in Minho’s head, but the expression on Jisung’s face made him look like he genuinely adored the florist’s cat, the latter’s heart melting a bit at that.
“They’re really enjoying the toys you got them,” Minho added, even if it was obvious from the videos and photos he showed the blonde.
“I feel like I should feel honoured,” Jisung laughed a bit.
“It’s understandable, they’re so picky that I’m still surprised they like them,” Minho sighed, as he started to organise the flowers resting on his counter.
It wasn’t long before Jisung excused himself out of the small shop after chatting a little more with Minho, and it was only because he remembered that he still hadn't opened yet. And Minho allowed it, only after laughing at him for a bit because of the forgetful antics he had whenever he was near the florist. It was endearing .
And Minho was left alone, surrounded by flowers that had to be organised, just like the thoughts that were running in his head. It always happened whenever he and Jisung departed. He felt so comfortable and at peace in the blonde’s presence, that it was quite the contrast with the way he felt after he left.
It was always him coming to Minho shop, and it was him making his way under the florist’s skin and it was always him that had Minho smiling until his cheeks hurt, and laughing until he felt like covering his mouth. Sure, not every joke Jisung made was that funny but even the bad ones, they were so bad that they were funny. And all of that only resulted with Minho thinking about Jisung whenever he wasn’t around.
It happened when he wasn’t visiting Minho, or when the florist was doing his mundane activities, like grocery shopping or watering the plants in his apartment or even when he was feeding his cats. Jisung always popped into Minho's mind, and he would’ve probably been annoyed with it by now but the tattoo artist across the street was so cute that he couldn’t really get himself to do it.
Even the thought of getting annoyed at Jisung seemed bizarre to him at that point, Minho’s first impression of him being long forgotten. Instead of the initial frustration he felt in his chest before he met Jisung, there was only a fuzzy feeling that filled the space between in his ribcage. Minho felt like the feeling Jisung was causing in his chest was making life course in his veins.
Suddenly, Minho was feeling grateful that it was Jisung who took the place across the street.
iv.
When Jisung entered Minho’s shop all dolled-up, half an hour before it was time to close, Minho didn’t think twice about it. Saying that he was tired was an understatement, so he didn’t think Jisung looked anything but regular when he first got in.
“Thank god you’re still here,” he said as soon as the door closed behind him.
“Where else would I be?” Minho joked as he took in the blonde’s appearance further.
His hair seemed freshly dyed, the black roots from days prior were nowhere to be seen, and his makeup was subtle but it was definitely there and it was suiting him so well. Jisung looked handsome that night. He must be going somewhere , Minho thought to himself but for some reason he didn’t feel like asking about it.
“I really thought you were closed for the day,” Jisung smiled, and the small fidgeting of his fingers didn’t escape Minho’s eyes. “I really need your help,” to which Minho only nodded, willing to listen to the blonde, and most likely even help him if it was within his reach. “Do you think you could make me a bouquet?” Jisung asked a little flustered but Minho didn’t find anything suspicious in it, and it was also because it wasn’t the first time he was getting flowers from his shop.
“I would love to,” a gentle smile playing on Minho’s lips. “Tell me what are we going for?”
“I was actually thinking about a red bouquet? I don’t know what flowers would look good together, but I would really love some red roses in there.”
And the thing is, Minho isn’t stupid . He was tired that night, but he wasn’t stupid. Jisung definitely looked like he was going somewhere looking all pretty, and apparently he needed flowers for the event, but he wanted them to be red. Minho is also a florist, of course he knows what red means, especially red roses.
Jisung was most probably buying flowers for someone who could be a romantic interest.
There were knots tied up all up in his head and in his chest, and with his muscle memory guiding him, Minho moved to the red flowers, picking pretty ones, without forgetting the red roses Jisung requested.
Words and thoughts started to swirl inside of Minho’s head as he went back to the counter, set on picking a wrapping paper that would fit the bouquet. The shop was either silent or Jisung was talking but Minho’s head blocked it out. He wasn’t able to hear anything besides his own emotions running around and messing with his senses.
And that's when it hit Minho that Jisung was probably flirting with him just for fun, and probably out of boredom, like everyone else. He was feeling like someone was twisting his guts, and he tried his best to keep his fingers from shaking too much when he was tying the bow of the bouquet, or let the disappointment show on his face.
In a way, he was kind of expecting this, since he didn't take seriously the way he was feeling from the beginning. But Minho realised that he came to care for Jisung too much only that night, at that moment, when something started to tug his heart down. It felt heavy in his chest.
“Will you let me pay for it?” Jisung’s voice suddenly brought him back to reality, and if Minho was in a better headspace, where he wasn’t assuming all sorts of things, he wouldn’t have agreed to Jisung paying.
“Of course,” he went on, putting his customer smile on, determined to keep his feelings hidden behind that façade. He handed the bouquet to the blonde, telling him the price for it right after, as he often did to regular customers.
“It’s so gorgeous, I really owe you this time,” his heart shaped smile was almost glowing in the warm light of the room, but this time it felt like it was only making Minho’s heart sting worse, making him able to only nod at Jisung in reply.
After Jisung left and Minho was left alone in the flower shop, he kept staring in the distance as his mind was drifting somewhere else. He realised that it was an ideal day to close earlier than usual.
v.
And Jisung stepped into the flower shop somewhere a week later after the red roses incident, as Minho liked to call it, the florist’s heart still wasn’t in its best shape. His chest was still carrying weights everywhere he went, and some mornings he tried to keep himself as busy as he could, just to avoid the moment Jisung would eventually show up at the tattoo parlour.
So the moment Minho had to share the same small space with Jisung, his heart just started to sink little by little. And it was strange and maybe kind of weird because Minho considered him to be only a silly crush. A friend with a comforting presence, which wasn’t unusual, on whom Minho just so happened to crush on. But he wouldn’t put a big and somewhat scary label on his feelings, and he never felt the need to, so it didn’t make sense why he was feeling so horrible ever since that night.
“Hi, honey, ” Jisung joked, referring to Minho’s hair colour, honey blonde, but that didn’t mean Minho’s heart didn’t skip a beat at the nickname.
“Hi, Sungie,” Minho tried to act as normal as possible, despite the storm of feelings that was happening inside of him. Somewhere that week he also decided that he couldn’t really blame Jisung for having a romantic interest when Minho himself didn’t give him any signs of serious feelings towards him. It should always be a fair game.
“It’s nice to see your pretty face again,” and Jisung’s laugh was soft, and Minho could only hum in response to the compliment as his face dropped to stare at the flat surface of the counter because he genuinely didn’t have the energy to fake a smile.
“What business brings you to my humble little shop?” maybe if Minho tried to joke it would be easier to deal with Jisung’s presence until he left.
“Are these new?” Han asked, and the florist raised his head back only because he had to. He was pointing at the colourful flowers that reminded Minho of snow balls, which were indeed new.
“Yeah, the hortensia got here yesterday,” he mumbled with his eyes fixed on the small but beautiful flowers.
“Can I have a bouquet of them? They’re so pretty,” his voice was so fond that Minho would’ve considered himself a beast if he refused him.
With a sigh, the florist left the comfort space that was his counter and made his way next to Jisung, to get the needed flowers for the bouquet he wanted. If it was the first time he was in close proximity to the tattoo artist, Minho’s would’ve completely understood the way his heart was hammering against his chest, but at that time it just felt strange. It wasn’t even a cute, filled with emotions because of good things type of beating, it was the one that was threatening to shatter his ribcage if Jisung got any closer. The one that earned him a cold feeling running through his veins, and maybe if there weren’t so many walls around his heart, he would’ve crumbled.
But when the bouquet was done, wrapped in pretty paper and after Minho insisted that Jisung didn’t have to pay for it, which was mostly because there was a small part in him that felt a bit guilty for not treating the blonde in the way he usually did, the florist actually expected him to leave the shop. That didn’t happen, considering the way Jisung kept on shifting from one leg to the other in front of Minho, and the way the wrapping paper kept wrinkling in his hold.
“I was wondering if you would like to go out somewhere nice to eat tonight, after you close here. It’s on me,” Jisung started, and a small voice in Minho’s head was so quick to say that’s just great. If it wasn’t Jisung, of whom Minho was so fond of despite everything, that would’ve left his mouth without hesitation, laced with as much sarcasm he could mutter.
“I would love to but I already feel really tired,” Minho tried to excuse himself and it wasn’t actually a lie.
“Maybe tomorrow we could-” Jisung tried again.
“I don’t think we should, Jisung,” and for the first time since Jisung entered the shop, Minho’s eyes met the blonde’s. Maybe he was harsh, but he wasn’t going to sit around and pretend like a week prior he didn’t make a beautiful bouquet of red flowers for Jisung’s love interest. He wasn’t going to ignore the way he felt the entire week, and he didn’t plan on making himself feel even worse. Maybe it was for the best for both of them to keep their meetings as casual as possible.
“I don’t really understand that, but I respect it,” there seemed to be disappointment in Jisung’s voice and it only made the confusion in Minho’s head worse. Why would he feel like that because of Minho’s rejection, when he already had someone. It didn’t really make sense to him.
“Thank you,” it was a mumble and for a moment Minho himself wasn’t sure what he was thanking Jisung for.
“I think I should get going,” Jisung tried to laugh a little, maybe to ease the tension that was suddenly between them, but it sounded so empty to Minho’s ears. “Thank you again for these, I really appreciate it,” the blonde tried to give Minho a smile, but it didn’t really reach his eyes, and the florist could only give a small hum in return. “I’ll see you around, I guess.”
And he was out the door.
Minho watched as his figure crossed the street to get to the tattoo parlour, and his chest started to feel even heavier if that was possible. Genuine guilt was added to the range of emotions that took place inside of him, and Minho had a hard time containing his sighs.
Maybe they could continue their lives like that, pretending that nothing ever happened between them.
vi.
"Oh" was the only thing Minho was able to say when he went further into the tattoo parlour and was greeted by the bouquet of dried flowers that was sitting in the corner of the front desk. As he kept looking around the parlour, taking in his surroundings, he couldn't help but notice the dead flowers that were decorating the place. Despite the colours being drained from the flowers, Minho was able to recognize every bouquet he made for Jisung.
Maybe Minho was a bit foolish.
He realised he was gripping the flowers he was holding when the wrapping paper was starting to crinkle in his hold. He looked down at the bouquet he was holding and even the white flowers that were surrounding the daisies were looking back at him with pity.
“Hi, how can I help you?” the deep voice brought Minho back from his head to where he actually was, and if he was a little surprised to see a cute blonde boy at the front desk, and he sure hoped he was good at masking it. He just didn’t expect such a deep voice for a cute appearance.
“Uh, I’m here to see Jisung,” and he actually was.
That’s why he made an appearance in the tattoo parlour, because he wanted to see a certain tattoo artist from across the street. After Minho rejected him, there was radio silence from him for a little more than two weeks. Minho tried to take the first week like a champ, filling his head with different excuses for why Jisung didn’t come to his shop anymore. But after the second week, he felt like it was enough.
“He’s having a client right now, but I’m pretty sure that’ll be over soon,” the boy was so nice and Minho could only nod at him. “Until then, you can just sit here if you’d like to wait,” he chuckled, and the florist mumbled a ‘thank you’ to him.
Having enough time to overanalyze everything that was surrounding him, Minho noticed the way you could enter three different rooms from the front desk area, and he was suddenly reminded of Jisung telling him that he wasn’t the only tattoo artist working there. Apparently two of the three rooms were meant for Jisung’s friends.
After around five minutes of waiting, Minho inevitably started to think back about his day and how he even got there. He consulted with Soonie (his oldest cat) that morning on whether he should do something about the situation or not because he was starting to miss Jisung and his turmoil of emotions wasn’t getting any better. And maybe it was in Minho’s head, but the orange tabby actually seemed to encourage him.
The florist also needed an excuse to visit the tattoo parlour because he was determined to see Jisung, not to embarrass himself. So he realised that going with a bouquet of white flowers and daisies wouldn’t be the worst idea he had. But he also thought that the bouquet might not be enough and as impulsive as it may seem, he was set on asking Jisung to give him a tattoo. That was probably his worst idea, given his fear of needles but he would just get over it.
More like he had to get over it, because that week he came to the realisation that maybe his silly little crush on Jisung was more than that, and he might be dealing with real, actual feelings. Feelings he didn’t necessarily want since he was sure that all of it was one-sided, but he was also sure that one the few ways that could help him get over them was to confess to Jisung.
He could do that, it didn’t seem so hard but he was supposed to survive the needles first and deal with the confession later.
And if Minho was able to control the entire situation, he probably would’ve stalled the moment he met again with Jisung a little more, because his heart dropped to his ass when the blonde came out of the room.
“Hi,” Minho’s voice came out a little strangled, but they weren’t going to talk about that.
“Hey, you,” Jisung’s tone was so soft, gentle even.
“I wanted to drop this here,” Minho went on, pointing to the bouquet in his hand. “No one really wanted them and I thought that it would be a waste to just throw them away,” which was a lie because Minho arranged that bouquet right before he left his shop to get to the tattoo parlour. “And I put some daisies in, then I realised that maybe you would like it,” and that was also a lie because Minho went out of his way to get daisies just so he could put them in a bouquet for Jisung because he knew so well how much the blonde loved them.
“That’s really kind of you,” Jisung’s response finally came and it eased some of Minho’s nerves, even if it wasn’t all of them it was enough for the moment.
“I also really want a tattoo,” Minho quickly breathed out.
“Oh?” that seemed to crack through Jisung’s surface more than anything. “You want me to get you a tattoo? Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer Changbin, or maybe Chan?”
“I trust you,” which was true, Minho couldn’t imagine getting a tattoo from anyone else.
“Alright,” Jisung still looked a bit reluctant, like he wasn’t sure if the entire situation was a joke or not. “Let’s go, then.”
There were bouquets of dried flowers all over the place, but Minho felt his chest tighten when the first thing he saw after entering Jisung’s room in the shop, was the bouquet of red flowers that he made for the tattoo artist almost a month prior. The colour of the roses was darker than that night, and after drying they turned smaller, but there was nothing missing from the bouquet. The back of Minho’s eyes were starting to sting and he subtly bit his lower lip in an attempt to keep himself together.
Maybe Minho was a bigger fool than he initially thought.
“What are your ideas?” Jisung asked him, sanitising his tools before he could work on Minho’s tattoo.
“Could you do a doodle of my cats?” Minho started as he was placing the flower bouquet on a desk that was empty. “Like I want them piled on top of each other,” and Minho almost fried his brain until he came up with that idea that afternoon.
“That sounds cute,” Jisung’s voice rang in the room, and despite the small talk between them, the tension was still so present. “You can get comfortable here while I draw your tattoo.”
Minho followed Jisung’s instructions, and since he didn’t have anything else to do while the room was basking in silence, he started looking around at everything that was surrounding him.
“It’s really pretty in here,” he said more to himself, but he didn’t really mind if Jisung happened to hear it as well.
“You like it?” Jisung’s words seemed genuine at that moment, and almost a little vulnerable.
“I didn’t expect you to keep the flowers,” Minho said after he let out a little hum of affirmation, because he did actually like it there.
“I find them really pretty, no matter the state they are in,” he explained as his hand continued to scribble the paper in front of him. “I can never find it in myself to throw them away.”
“I didn’t know that,” and maybe Minho was referring to something more than the little piece of information Jisung gave him.
“What do you think about it?” Jisung turned to him, showing him an adorable drawing.
“It’s perfect,” cause that’s what Minho really thought about it. For an impulsive tattoo, it was really perfect.
“Are you sure? I could change it up or-”
“Jisung, I love it,” Minho reassured and watched Jisung’s ramble die in his throat.
“Let’s do it then,” and Jisung’s small smile made Minho’s heart ache with fondness for the other.
He got the drawing on a little sticker that was put on Minho’s arm after he decided that it would be the perfect place to have it. And then the sticker was removed, and Minho’s arm was left with the drawing on his arm, made in something blue that seemed to be a marker of some short.
If Minho’s pride wasn’t so big, maybe he would have told Jisung beforehand of his fear of needles, or maybe he would have mentioned the way a cold shiver ran through his body the moment the tattoo gun in Jisung’s hand started to pump the needle at a scary pace. He kept telling himself that he had to do this, and it wouldn’t be so bad but he was trying so hard to mask his fear away from Jisung’s eyes.
“I’m gonna start, okay?” and Jisung’s voice was soft and gentle, a massive contrast to the way Minho’s heart was beating.
Minho closed his eyes as soon as he heard Jisung’s words and simply waited for the impact. He was encouraging himself that he would easily get used to it in no time, but boy it hurt like a thousand bees stung his arm at once. Even the rolled up sleeve of his baby blue cardigan seemed tight around his arm, and his eyes closed a little tighter as the pain got even worse. His head felt dizzy, and maybe he would have said that if he wasn’t set on resisting until Jisung was finished but the room suddenly got silent, the tattoo gun was no longer making noise and the pain in his arm was gone.
When he opened his eyes, he felt a bit drowsy but he didn’t feel the need to question it. He was still in Jisung’s room in the tattoo parlour, but the blonde was nowhere to be seen and looking at his arm he noticed that his tattoo wasn’t finished. The door opened and when Minho’s eyes moved to it, Jisung was in the room with him.
“Oh, you’re awake,” he actually seemed so relieved for some strange reason.
“What the hell happened,” and god, Minho’s voice was hoarse.
“You fainted,” Jisung sighed as he took the seat next to the professional chair Minho apparently fainted on.
“What?”
“Didn’t care to tell me much about your fear of needles or getting a tattoo or whatever made you faint, huh?” Jisung chuckled, “I’m not gonna lie, I was about to lose it when I tried to check up on you and I didn’t get a response back.”
“I’m sorry,” were the only words that came out of Minho’s mouth because guilt was flooding every inch of his body. “I’m really sorry,” he tried to raise his head to meet Jisung’s eyes but it felt so hard to do it. “I really wanted to get a tattoo, and maybe I also really wanted to see you because I was starting to miss you-.. I’m also sorry for getting mad at you and being mean.. It really was for a stupid reason,” he knew he was rambling but his mouth just wouldn’t stop. “My head started making shit up, cause I started to feel something for you but when I realised it was too late, and I really understand if you don’t want to talk to me-”
“You’re so dumb,” Jisung interrupted him by flicking his forehead.
“Hit me harder and I’ll be right back to sleep,” and Jisung was fully laughing, like a genuine one laugh, not the small ones he kept giving Minho since he entered the tattoo parlour.
“How do you survive in this world with that head of yours,” but there wasn’t any bite behind his words. “I flirt with you for more than a month, then you reject them and then you come here to get a tattoo, faint, and start confessing your feelings for me when you wake up. Damn, you’re really something else.”
“But the red flowers- I thought you got them for someone because you were looking so pretty that night.”
“My parents were visiting, and my mom insisted on keeping the flowers at the store,” Jisung said like it was so obvious.
“Oh,” because Minho felt so stupid in that moment. He misunderstood everything that happened that night.
“Idiot,” Jisung said but there was no mean intention behind his words.
“Did you get tired of life?” it was easy to say that Minho felt back to his normal self.
“Sure, you go ahead and do that,” Jisung smiled like he had no other worry in his life, and Minho felt grateful for being able to see his heart shaped smile again.
“Are you trying to tell me in a very abstract way that you like me too?” Minho felt so vulnerable.
“God, you’re so dense sometimes,” and Minho’s hands were reaching to poke at Jisung’s ribs, but the blonde catched his wrists before he was able to do it. “Yes, flower boy, I like you too.”
“Really?”
“I thought it was obvious from the way I kept showing my face in your shop,” Jisung let go of his wrists, just to slide his hands so he could hold Minho’s.
“I thought you didn’t mean it,” suddenly Minho felt so small, but there was a certain happiness blooming in his chest.
“At least now you know that I did.”
“Does that mean you forgive me?” Minho’s eyes were so focused on Jisung’s.
“Depends, does it mean that you take back your rejection?”
“So it actually means we’re going out tonight,” Minho said a little thoughtful, as a genuine smile started showing up on his face for the first time in weeks.
“Oh it certainly means that,” Jisung chuckled, “What are we gonna do about that?” he asked Minho, pointing at the scribble that meant to be a tattoo of his cats.
“You can either distract me or sedate me so I won’t faint on you again,” Minho laughed as he lightly squeezed Jisung’s fingers, and it felt right.
“How should I distract you,” Jisung mumbled to himself but suddenly one of his hands was resting on Minho’s cheek and before the florist could process what was happening, their lips met in what was probably the shyest kiss Minho ever had in his life. Jisung’s lips were soft against his, and barely moving, as if he was afraid that Minho would run away if he went further.
So Minho decided to take the next step, making the kiss more eager and circling Jisung’s waist with his arms, even if they were in a genuinely awkward position like that. The blonde’s mouth parted and Minho took it as his opportunity to let his tongue slide between his lips. He was able to taste the subtle yet bitter coffee flavour on Jisung’s tongue, and Minho decided that it felt nice to be kissed by Jisung.
And they just went on like that, tasting each other with shy touches, and it felt like the moment could drag on forever if it wasn’t for Jisung’s need to breathe. Everything still felt so fragile .
“Did it work?” he was almost panting.
“What?” the confusion must have been clear on Minho’s face considering the way Jisung started to laugh at him.
“Did I distract you?” and then it made way more sense.
“I think so,” Minho could literally feel the heat go to the tip of his ears. “But if you’re going to keep it up, I don’t think you’ll get any work done,” and Jisung’s laugh rang so loud in the room that it made Minho’s heart flutter.
There was definitely something about the annoying tattoo artist from across the street that made Minho want to experience love.