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Seo Yikang clutched her jacket as she felt the cold breeze envelop her. She opened their gate and walked towards a parked car outside her house.
Kang Hyunjo had been standing outside his car for the past five minutes while waiting for Yikang to come out of her house. He called her a while ago and told her to come out.
"What is it?"
"Ah, I wanted to give you a gift before I leave."
"You can give it to me when you return in two days, why now?"
A sheepish smile paints Hyunjo's face. He can't say the reason why he needs to give his gift at this time. Instead of answering, he gives her the paper bag containing his gift.
Yikang peeked inside the bag and saw that it was a plant pot. Because it was still dark outside, she could not make out the content of the pot. She looked at Hyunjo for answers, but he was only smiling at her. She was about to say something about Hyunjo smiling like an idiot but a cold breeze suddenly passed by and it made her shiver. As if in a reflex action, Hyunjo takes off his coat and puts it on Yikang in a gentle manner.
"I'm sorry for calling you at this hour, you should go back in now sunbae."
"Yeah. I'm going back to sleep. Don't call me again."
But Yikang didn't budge. She just stood there with an expecting look on her face.
"Sunbae, I thought you were going back in..?"
"I'm going to see you off, why?"
"No, I should see you off. Please, go back in now. It's only 5 AM, you should go back and rest."
"Okay, drive safe. We have a lot to do when you return okay?"
Hyunjo makes a salute as a reassurance to Yikang's request. For the last time, he looked at Yikang's retreating figure and a smile slowly crept on his face. It took him a minute before realizing that he is smiling like an idiot. So Hyunjo shakes his head and heaves a sigh as he went back inside his car. Looks like his day off is already off to a great start.
Yikang stretched as soon as she went out of her room She was awoken by her grandmother who was nagging her to wake up because it was already lunchtime. She looked at the plant pot placed beside the door of their house. It was the plant that Hyunjo gave her a while ago. Her grandmother must've watered it already as it looks damp. Observing the plant, she noticed the flowers already bloomed. Yikang confirmed that it is a camellia, specifically a pink one.
She crouched down and observed it carefully, but her moment of silence was disturbed when her grandmother saw her.
"Where did that come from?"
"Hyunjo gave it to me earlier, why?"
Her grandmother did not answer but eyed her suspiciously. Yikang was expecting she would say something to her, instead she only told her to go eat lunch.
Yikang looked at the plant again. A cold breeze passed by again, but strangely she was not bothered by the cold. She does not notice the small smile on her face until she heard her grandmother say lunch was ready. She snugged her coat closer to her and proceeded to help her grandmother prepare lunch. Looks like her day is already made and it just started.
Later that night, Hyunjo was about to go to bed when he received a text message from someone. It was already 11 PM and he was tired after a long day with his family, but all the sleepiness in his body was washed away with a single message from Seo Yikang.
The message was only a simple thank you for the gift he gave earlier, but Hyunjo was already filled with delight that he almost fell off his bed.
“Oppa, everything okay there?”
“Yeah, don’t worry I’m okay here Seungah!”
He sat on his bed properly and composes himself before looking at the message again.
“Thanks for the gift. Happy holidays.”
Yikang’s message included a picture of the camellia flower in a safe place where it can grow and bloom healthily. To be honest, she was the only one who received a plant from him. The rest of his colleagues were given a simple gift — mugs that were customized according to their personality and simple but essential accessories.
There was a reason behind the gift. It is a secret that will remain to be a secret until he’s ready. For now, his feelings of admiration, appreciation, and deep, heartfelt longing will hide behind the blooms of a pink camellia.