Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’s the early hours of the day in a quaint apartment in Berlint, Ostania. The only noise was due to the soft snoring that came from the main bedroom. The peaceful sleep of the house’s occupant was suddenly disturbed by her alarm. A hand extended out from under the duvet reaching for the phone sitting quietly on the nightstand. The phone’s screen did its best to light up the dark room, and to wake up the person holding it; the screen read “5:00 am Time to Wake Up!”

Knowing that she couldn’t hit the snooze button for an extra five minutes of sleep, Yor sat up in her bed, eyes still closed but trying to get her bearings straight. “Monday already,” she ran her hands across her face to help remove the sleep away.  She sat there in a daze for a moment, then her eyes shot open. “The order!” She grabbed her phone to check the time; thirty minutes had already passed. “Oh no! Oh no!” Pushing the covers off of herself, she quickly ran to the bathroom to get ready before heading over to the floral market in downtown Berlint to pick up the day’s order for the flower shop she had inherited, “The Garden.”

—

“I’m here! I’m here!” Yor burst through the doors of a warehouse in Berlint’s floral district. After taking a moment of catching her breath, she made her way towards counter where the owner was sitting. “I’m here.” She said again looking at the man behind the counter as she slid a inventory sheet towards him.

“Running late again?” The Shopkeeper took the form to confirm the order she was here to pick up. “Don’t make me regret giving The Garden to you,” he stood up from his chair to walk around the counter.

“You can’t take it back,” Yor’s voice somewhat confident. “Besides, its been what? Two years since you gave it to me? Still the number one flower shop in Berlint.” Shopkeeper laughed at her statement, as she wasn’t wrong.

“Sure sure,” he said while grabbing a cart before making his way towards an aisle of peonies. “How’s business these days?”

“Still good,” Yor walked through an aisle of carnations. “A lot of girls have been coming in a lot lately.”

“That’s good. Is it dance season for the schools?” Shopkeeper was keeping up with conversation as he was loading up the cart with Yor’s flowers.

“It’s too early for that. Apparently its for their idols.” She had grabbed two bunches of lavender to add on top of her order.

“Idols?” He stopped what he was doing to look at her. “Like gods?”

“No no no,” she giggled. “Singers. Popstars. Actors even.”

“Why do they call them idols?” The shopkeeper turned into another aisle to grab lilies and roses.

“They just do. Probably because their talent is near god-tierd.”

“Do you have one? A favorite?”

“Hardly. With running the shop and taking care of Yuri, theres no time for me to indulge in those kinds of things, as much as I want to.”

“You should start to. My wife recently started this new drama with that one blonde actor.”

“What’s it about?”

“I’m not too sure. Something about an heir to an airline company falling in love with a girl who works for the city. My wife is at the part where the bad girl is trying to convince the heir to marry her, but his true love is there to stop her.”

“Sounds pretty interesting,” Yor’s interest was piqued to say the least. She did like romance and love conquers all types of shows.

“I’ll ask my wife the name of the show, and I’ll let you know.” Shopkeeper had finished collecting all the flowers that she needed for the next few days; ready to help her load them into the van. “The main lead is pretty handsome, according to my wife.”

“I’ll take your word on that, Shopkeeper.”

—

Across town, in an upscale neighborhood of Berlint, a man was on his morning stroll. He worked well into the night, and had just woken up; it was nearly noon. With another full workday ahead, a walk was just what he needed before being driven to set.

“If only most days can be like this,” said the man as he was taking in the peacefulness of his neighborhood with coffee in hand. Unfortunately, the stillness of this sleepy neighborhood was interrupted by his cell phone ringing. “Hello?” The man tried to hide the annoyance in his voice.

“Are you awake? Have you eaten already? Where are you?” The man on the other line kept firing questions at him.

“So many questions, so early in the morning.”

“It’s 12pm! You are needed on set by 3.”

“Fne fine.” The man sipped his coffee. “I’m just out walking. Luckily, no one is around.”

As the man continued his call, he could sense something coming towards him. As the object came into view, he made it out to be a woman on a bike that was slowing down.

“I’m so sorry to bother you, but do you know which direction Magnolia Street is? I missed a turn and now my navigation is not doing the best job.” The girl on the bike laughed out of embarrassment. The woman was wearing helmet with tinted shades covering her eyes. The man couldn’t tell what she looked like, but he liked the sound of her voice. Sweet, like nothing he has heard before.

“Oh.” The man put his phone down a bit. “Just take a left here on Elm Street,” he pointed towards the sign with was a block away. “And the next right is Magnolia.”

“Thank you so much! I hope you have a wonderful day,” the girl flashed a smile as she pedal off towards Elm Street. The man watched the girl disappear, but noticed the amount of flowers sitting on the storage rack of her cruiser.

“What a pretty smile,” he said quietly.

“Hello? Hello? Who has a pretty smile?” The man on the other line was still there. “Loid?”

“The Garden” Loid put the phone back to his ear as he read the barely visible sign on the back of the girl’s bike.

“Who were you talking to? Garden? What garden? Are you at a garden?"

“No no, there was a delivery girl. She asked for directions.” His voice was on near autopilot as he confirmed that he couldn’t see the girl anymore. “It just said The Garden on the thing— anyways. What?”

“Did she recognize you?”

“I doubt it. She seemed to be in a hurry.” Loid turned around to walk back towards his home.

“Well that’s good. Can’t have a fans swarm around you like last time. In your own neighborhood no less.” Loid just hummed along to his manager’s words. “I’ll be there soon, I’ll bring food over to you.”

“All right. If you’re coming from the agency, can you bring my scripts too? I seemed to have left them there.”

—

The Garden, a flower shop, sits just outside of downtown Berlint. The shop has been around for decades, and two years ago it has gone through a change of ownership. The Shopkeeper, as he was known by the locals, had first opened The Garden, with his wife, soon after they got married. They had provided flowers for all occasions and people, ranging from politicians, first date bouquets, and celebrities. During his time at The Garden, the Shopkeeper and his wife had taken in Yor and Yuri Briar. Their parents had suddenly passed away, leaving no other family with the siblings. As the Briars were loyal customers of their shop, the Shopkeeper’s wife wouldn’t allow the Briar siblings to be left in the system. Instead, they had furnished the apartment about the shop for the siblings to stay. To this day, Yor and Yuri still lived there.

The day the shopkeeper told Yor about his decisions to step back from the shop, was the same day he told her that she will be taking over. In years past, the Shopkeeper started to prefer the simpler life, spending more time at his flower farm in the countryside. Yor had been working at the shop since she was in middle school, there was no better choice than her to take over.

In present day, the reputation of The Garden has continued to grow with Yor at the helm.

“Welcome to The Garden. How can I help you?” Yor’s lines flowed from her lips out of habit whenever the bells chimed, signaling that someone had entered the shop.

“It’s me!” Yuri Briar had walked in with a paper bag in one hand. The younger brother is currently a sophomore at Berlint University.

“You’re back early,” said Yor as she put the finishing touches of a flower arrangement.

“Classes ended early and my study group doesn’t meet up for another few hours. Thought I have lunch with my sister.”

The Briar siblings are very close, after all, at the end of the day, they only have each other. Although seven years apart, they were nearly attached at the hip, especially once they were under the Shopkeeper’s care.

“Were you busy today?” Yuri had pulled out boxes of food after cleaning up a worktable.

“A little bit.” Yor took her seat opposite of her brother. “I went over to the Shopkeeper’s warehouse to pick up my order for the next few days. A few people came in to buy and pick up. Same old, same old.” She smiled as she opened up her box of food letting it’s aroma waft up to her nose.  “How are classes?”

“Tough,” he swallowed a mouth of food. “My professor in my political science is so strict with assignments, and psychology concepts are starting to get difficult to understand.”

“I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it soon.” Their conversation had came to a natural quiet as they were enjoying their meal.

Yor began to people watch as she looked out of the shop’s window. Since it was afternoon, there were more people walking around. She noticed a few people peering into her shop, but none of them came in.

“Oh look!” Yuri’s voice broke through the silence. “That one actor is participating in this year’s Children’s Day charity event.” He turned to show his phone’s screen to his sister.  On the phone, there was a photo of a handsome blonde man standing next to a banner in front of Children’s Hospital of Berlint. “It says here that the highest donor gets to go a date with him.”

As she she studied the picture on the phone, the sense of familiarity had washed over her. Has she seen this man before? Aside from TV that is. “That’s a good incentive, I guess.”

“It is for a good cause.” Yuri took in another spoonful of his meal. “Are you going to donate? I know Shopkeer is always donating to any charity that involves kids.”

“You’re right about that,” Yor agreed as she pushed left over food to the corners of her take out box. “It would be good to keep the legacy of The Garden going, in that regard. I’m sure Shopkeeper will be happy too.”

“Are you going to try and win the date?” Yuri teased.

“I don’t need that,” she scoffed as she looked at the photo again.

“I do admit he’s handsome. Loid Forger.”

“Who?” She looked up at her brother.

“The actor in that photo. His name is Loid Forger. Come on, Yor, I know you aren’t caught up in the latest dramas on tv, but this guy is big! I’m not to afraid admit that I’m a fan of his.”

“Then you go donate and go on a date with him.”

“No can do, sis!” Her brother began to clean up the counter, “Chloe will kill me.” He grabbed all the boxes along with his bag pack. “I’ll see you tonight, no need to wait up for me. I’m meeting Chloe for dinner.” With that, he had walked out The Garden, leaving Yor surrounded by flowers of the shop.

—

In a conference room at Wise Entertainment, Loid Forger is going over his lines before leaving to go to set. He has another long night of filming. Not so much as a fresh face to the industry, Loid Forger has been in the game since he was a college freshman. He started off as a trainee and later debuted into a boy group. Along with his idol duties, he modeled part time, which eventually lead to commercials with speaking roles, and now a full blown actor and singer. He doesn’t mind the fame, but savors every quiet moment that comes towards him. His love life? Don’t ask him anything about that, there is no time for it when everyday is filled with a scheduled no matter the type.

“The children’s hospital is so excited to have you as an ambassador for this year’s charity event.” Franky, Loid’s manager and friend, had walked in with coffee cups in hand.

“I’m excited too! It’s been a while since I’ve been asked to be a part of something like this.” Loid smiled, taking a break from studying his lines.

“I can’t believe you agreed to go on a date withe the highest donor too,” Franky sat next to his friend opening a copy of the script for himself. “I thought it would be a hard no.”

“I think it would be fun.” He looked at his friend. “Give a fan a chance to spend time with their favorite celebrity, man or woman.”

“If its a girl, you could fall in love,” Franky teased as he sipped his coffee. “That is a drama I’d watch for sure.”

“That would be funny, right? Sadly the dramas I act in are nothing like the world we live in.” Loid’s expression had darkened, love was never in his favor even if he fought for it.

“You never know.”

“Okay, enough of this talk.” Loid changed the topic quickly. “I hope tonight’s shoot goes smoothly. I could really used a good sleep.”

“Luckily for you, after tonight, the production will be on break.” Franky took out his phone to go over their schedule. “But the day after tomorrow, we do need to film a short video about the charity event.”

“That’s not a problem.” Loid looked out the windows of the room to see the tops of buildings that littered the Berlint skyline.

—

The Children’s Hospital of Berlint holds a charity every year. Donations are received in a week long period, and no matter the amount one has donated, they are given gifts in return. In the past, gifts included shirts, bags, even movie tickets. This year, though, will be different. Along with the usual shirts and bags, some donors could receive tickets to Loid Forger’s latest movie, signed merchandise from Loid Forger, and this year’s grand prize for the highest donor: a day with Loid Forger himself to thank them for their generous donation.

Yor Briar could care less for any of the gifts, let alone the grand prize. Its not because she doesn’t know who Loid Forger is.  Its because there is no need for any of it. Knowing that she is doing something good because she wants to is more that enough of a reason to donate. Besides, there is already a good standing relationship with many organizations and the Garden, the children’s hospital happens to be one of them.

Before opening up shop, Yor is sitting with her laptop ready to make a donation. “A couple hundred should’t be too bad,” she said to herself. The shop is doing well, as always, so there is no need to be stingy about it. Having done a good deed, she felt this sense of energy surge through her as she unlocked the doors and flipped the closed sign to say “open.”

—

Another workday means another long shoot day for Loid, but he’s not filming right now; he’s not in the scene. Currently, he is sitting behind a monitor watching his costars act out their scenes. Not wanting to do nothing and not wanting to go over his lines again, he decided to scroll through his phone. A representative from the hospital has told him yesterday that since the event has started they have raised thousands of dollars. He wanted to check for himself. “Oh wow, this person donated two thousand dollars?!” Of course he shouldn’t assume that the donors are his fans, but its safe to assume that they are the majority of them. “This person must really want to go on that date with me.”

“Who?” Franky had appeared behind him.

“Look at this,” Loid held up his phone. “This person who is registered as ‘The Garden’ donated two thousand dollars. There’s only two days left to donate.”

“Could be your girl,” Franky hasn’t stopped teasing him about fate and finding love.

“Could be a guy; Garden seems to be gender neutral.”

“Whatever. If it turns out to be a guy, I’ll eat my socks.”

“Is that a bet?” Loid stood up. Before hearing an answer from his manager, a production assistant had approached them.

“Mr. Forger, if you’re ready, your scenes will be up next.”

“All right, I’ll be there. And please, you can call me Loid.” Forced to drop their conversation, he handed his coat to his manager before following the assistant to set.

—

The charity event has come to a close and the hospital has promised to announce their winner within the week. Across the city, fans are eagerly waiting to know if they are the grand winner. Will they be the lucky girl or guy to spend the whole day with heart-throb, the nation’s son, Loid Forger?!

“Yor! Yor! Yor!” Yuri burst through the doors of their flower shop. His sudden entrance has startled the customers who were attending Yor’s floral arrangement class. Wide and surprised eyes were trained on him as the only sound in the shop was his heavy breathing.

“Ah, please continue to place the flowers as I have demonstrated, and I’ll be right back.” Yor tried to save the moment before she walked briskly towards her brother. “You know this is when I teach.”

“I’m sorry, but I have to tell you something.” Yuri could barely contain the excitement in his voice.

“That has to wait till after class.” Her voice was stern. “Wait in the back, and organize the order forms for me too.”

“Fine…” with his head hung low, the younger brother made his way to the back room.

Thirty minutes had passed since Yuri came in, “All right, what is it that you wanted to tell me?” Yor walked into the back room holding a box of supplies that was used during her class.

“You are the highest donor,” he answered.

“What?”

“You are the highest donor of the Children’s Hospital of Berlint’s Charity Event of this year.”

Chapter Text

“What are you talking about?” Yor heard what her brother said, but couldn’t wrap her brain around it.

“You’re ‘The Garden’ aren’t you?” Yuri was quickly tapping on his phone to find the post he’s looking for. “You probably received an email about it too.”

“I can’t be the highest donor. I only donated two hundred dollars.” Panic setting in, Yor thought back to a few days ago when she made the donation.

“Ah, here it is!” After finding the post he was looking for, he turned phone towards his sister and hit play. A male’s voice begins to speak.

“Hello Everyone, It’s Loid Forger. After a week long full of your generous donations, together we have rained nearly one-hundred thousand dollars. Give yourself a round of applause.” He claps along before continuing. “For those of you who have reached certain reward tiers for the event, you have been notified via email, so don’t forget to check! Although the event has ended, it doesn’t mean that your generosity has to end as well. Keep a look out throughout the year for more events and other ways you can support the Children’s Hospital of Berlint. Thank you again for your generous donations.”

The video has ended. “He didn’t say my name.” Yor was still in denial. Yuri, somewhat ignoring his sister, was scrolling on his phone.

“Is this not your email?” He turned his phone towards her once again. Only the first letter and the domain name were visible as the rest were covered by asterisks.

“He didn’t say my name…” she repeated as she ran to fetch her laptop from the office.

“They don’t mention the names for privacy reasons. Can’t have the winner be stalked or threatened for winning a date with Loid Forger.” He teased as he followed his sister into his office.

“This cannot be happening.” Yor’s eyes were wide and filled with defeat after reading an email.

“Congratulations Yor Briar of “The Garden”! With your generous donation of  Đ2,000, you are named the highest donor. As a sign of gratitude for your donation, you have won a date with world-renowned actor and singer, Loid Forger.

In the coming days, we will contact you with details of when and where you will meet Loid Forger.”

“I can’t believe it.” She sank onto the work stool. “I meant to only donate two-hundred. I must’ve added another zero by mistake…”

“Did the shop take an unexpected hit? Will we feel that unexpected hit?” Yuri’s voice had some concern.

“Not really,” she looked towards her brother. “We’ve always been in the green, even when Shopkeeper transferred ownership to me, but this is still a bit unexpected.” After some quiet thinking, an idea had popped into her head. “You think I can get out it?”

“Out of what?”

“The date?”

“What?”

“You also read that email. In the next few days someone will contact me with details about the date. I can say no…”

The expression on her brother’s face was a mix of disappointment and amusement. “It didn’t say you can say no. Why would you do that?”

“I don't want to go! I’m not even a fan! I barely know about the guy. Isn’t it better if a fan got this chance instead of me?”

“Think of it this way,” he sat on the stool across from her. “If you were in Loid Forger’s shoes, wouldn’t it be better to go on this ‘date,’ with someone who isn’t a fan? They wouldn’t be weird around him or ask questions that could be too personal.” Yuri snapped his fingers, “Think of it as a blind date!”

“I don't want that. I just wanted to go a good thing.”

“And you did!”

“But I don't want this reward…” Yor’s voice was a near whine, but her brother wasn’t having any of it. “By the way, why are you so adamant that I go? You were never a fan orf celebrities, besides Loid seems like the type of guy you’d hate.”

“What can I say?” He shrugged, “ I just want you to be happy.”

“What does my happiness have to do with this?”

“Because you got a date out of it.” He grinned mischievously. “You haven’t been on a date in a while.”

“I have been on dates!”

“The ones set up by Millie and Camilla, and where are they now?”

“Look,” Yuri put his hands up in defense. “Celebrity or not. Date or not. I still think it’ll be fun if you go. You can probably show up and tell him that you don’t want to spend time with him. Tell him that he doesn’t have to waste his time with you because you just wanted to do a good deed and don’t need anything in return.”

After soaking up her brother’s words, Yor had agreed. Although his reasonings were valid, she can’t help but feel bad about her feelings towards all of this. In the end, she had decided to meet Loid and tell him the truth.

—

“Sometimes I wonder why acting is so exhausting. It wasn’t like this before.” Loid is sitting on the couch of his home; staring up at the ceiling. He had just arrived a short while ago after a long shoot. “I should probably sleep, but I can’t be bothered to move to my room.”

It has been a few weeks since he had given directions to the delivery girl. A few things stood out to him: her smile, her voice, the sign on the back of her bike. On a day like today, those little features brought him peace. Yet, he wasn’t at the point of regret to where he didn’t ask for her name. The only thing he had connected to her was the sign at the back of her bike. Even with that, he had no idea what “The Garden” is.

Pulling out his phone to check the time, he had received an email about the charity event. The email entails that the highest donor has been notified that she will be going on a date with him; name included. “Yor Briar….The Garden… This can’t possibly be connected to the girl, right?” Unable to keep his eyes open for a bit longer to marinade on the thought, he had fallen asleep.

The following day had found Loid sitting in a conference room at his agency. He was meeting with people from the children’s hospital to discuss the date.

“Initially, we had a date planned,” said a representative as she handed Loid a packet. “Lunch, a walk in the park, tickets to the fair that is currently in town, and end it off with dinner. Unless you would want to plan the date yourself. We just need to confirm the date and time so that we can relay the information to the donor.”

After thumbing through the packet and looking at his manager, an idea had come up. “I think I will plan the date.” The answer came as a surprise, although it was a suggested plan. “You did come up with great ideas for this date, but I think it would be better if all of it came from me. I want to give the donor a day to remember.” He smiled at everyone in attendance. The idea was genuine. Maybe the teasing conversation about fate and love with Franky had come to mind during this meeting, but he truly couldn’t be bothered by it. The donor had a rare opportunity, he wants to make the most of it for them.

“Seems a bit unlike you to pitch your own ideas.” Franky got into the driver seat of their van. The pair had decided to go out for lunch, since their work day has ended.

“Excuse me, I consider myself a nice person; in both aspects of my life.”

“As you are,” his manager answered, “But its still pretty rare of you to be willing to want to do something like this on your own.”

“Let’s say, I’m feeling generous to our donor. I’m actually getting excited thinking about it. I can’t remember the last time I planned a date. Especially this one, since I don't know who I’ll be meeting.”

“But you were told who won”

“Yes, but no photo was attached. The only affiliation that was attached to the name was “The Garden.”

“You kept saying “The Garden” for the past few weeks now, since that girl asked you for directions. How come?”

“I just can’t get it out of my head. I didn’t even get a good look at her because of the helmet she was wearing. But I do like her smile.”

“I can look it up for you, if you want. Maybe they’re local.”

“Yes, please. Then maybe the mystery of the delivery girl will be solved.”

“What if she’s Yor Briar, the highest donor.” Franky laughed as the pair arrived at the restaurant.

“Now now, don’t wake up the hopeless romantic in me.” Loid laughed as he unbuckled his belt to step out of the van.

—

The afternoon had slowed down at the flower shop. Yor could finally catch a break after fulfilling orders and attending to all the walk in customers. The quietness of the shop was interrupted by an alert from her phone. She had received an email.

Hello Ms. Yor Briar,

Attached are the details of the time and place where you will meet Loid Forger.

Also, please confirm you contact information as someone from his team will be in touch with you for more details of your day with him.

Thank you again for your generation donation to our hospital, and enjoy your day with him!”

“This sounds like a blind date set up more than a formal email.” Yor said to herself as she followed the instruction. She did find it odd that the email wasn’t as detailed, but who can she blame? She just felt bad for whoever planned their day out because she was going to turn him down.

—

The dreaded day had arrived for Yor. She had asked Yuri to watch the shop while she was out and promised to be back soon.

“Good luck on your blind date!” Yuri bid his sister goodbye while standing in the doorway of their store.

“I already told you.” She turned towards him, “It’s not a date. I won’t be gone for long. I’m going to tell him we don't have to go through with it.” Yor turned around to say one more thing, “and I’m not asking him for an autograph for you.”

The meet up location was only a few blocks from “The Garden.” Yor had decided to bike there, as the weather was great. Besides, if needed, at least she had a vehicle to help her escape.

The cafe was quaint, especially since there was barely anyone there; maybe thats why this place was chosen. She sat a table against the window, hoping to blend in with her new surroundings while waiting for the celebrity.

—

“Nervous?” Franky asked Loid as he looked at him through the rearview mirror.

“A little bit,” Loid chuckled nervously. “I haven’t been on a date since freshman year of college. Kind of feels like a blind date,” his laugh continued. “Pretty excited about that aspect.”

“Do you have any high hopes?”

“Not really.” Loid looked out the window. “I just hope they’re nice, and will enjoy the time they will spend with me today.”

Before long, Loid and his manager arrived at a local cafe where he will meet the donor. The cafe sits just outside of downtown in a quiet neighborhood; hopefully he isn’t spotted and their day won’t be ruined.

“I’ll sit at another table and watch from a far,” said Franky. “Just signal if you need me.” 

“Thanks, but you can probably head home. I won’t need you. Not even to drive.” Loid smiled.

“I’ll stay for a bit then.”

As the celebrity and manager walked into the cafe, the site of a woman sitting near a window had caught the actor’s eye. She had long black hair and was wearing a powder blue dress. Before assuming that she is the one he is meeting, Loid scanned the place. No other woman who is sitting alone was present.

Taking a deep breath, Loid made his way towards the woman by the window. “Hello, are you the donor? Yor Briar?” Startled by his words, the woman stood up to greet him.

“Yes, hello. I am Yor Briar.” She dipped her head slightly. “It’s nice to meet you.” Her voice a bit shaky and quiet.

Upon hearing the woman’s voice, he couldn’t help but felt it sounded familiar. He quickly shook the thought away. He can’t be thinking of someone else right now. “It’s nice to meet you as well. I’m Loid Forger.” He mirror her actions as he greeted her. “On the behalf of the Children’s Hospital of Berlint, thank you for your generous donation. I’m quite excited to spend the day with you.” He gestured for her to take a seat while he sat down as well.

“Uhm, about that.” Yor looked up at him. There was something in her ruby eyes that he couldn’t pinpoint how she was feeling. “I don’t want to do this.”

“Huh?” He didn’t realize he let out a sound. “I’m sorry, excuse me?”

“I don’t want to go on this date with you,” Yor said with more confidence this time. “I donated because the cause was special to me, and I wanted to do a good deed. I had no intention of wanting to win the grand prize to spend time with you.” Loid was looking at her with a dumbfound expression. Not a fan of the silence moment that was about to loom between them, she kept talking. “I donated more that I expected to and it led us here. I’m aware of your work, and I have friends who are watching your current drama. I have yet found the time to watch.” The sound of her chair as she stood up rang throughout the cafe. “I’m so sorry for wasting your time.” She bowed apologetically and began to make her way towards the door.

“Ms. Briar, wait!” Loid stood up reaching for her hand. Their fingers brushed against each other, but just outside of his reach.

“I’m so sorry,” her voice was pleading as she wanted to walk away.

“Let’s talk about this?” He followed her. “I want to spend the day with you, genuinely.”

“But someone else who is truly a fan of yours should be able to. Not me. I don’t need this type of incentive.”

“I can understand if you’re not a fan of mine, but did I do something to make you back out? We just met after all.”

“I simply don’t want to go on a date with you.” Yor’s voice was more firm this time, standing her ground. “Please, don’t make it harder to turn you down that it already is.”

“Please, Ms. Briar, let us talk at least. We don’t have go anywhere or do anything else. I just want to talk about why you don’t want to do this.” He wanted to hold her hand, but she quickly pulled away.

“I’m sorry. I need to go back to my shop. I’ve been away for too long now.” She quickly push through the cafe doors. He followed her, making this his last attempt to make her stay. “I’m sorry this day, date, blind-date or whatever you want to call it didn’t turn out the way you thought it would. This isn’t for me. It should be spent with someone who truly appreciates you and your work.”

“Ms. Briar!” He was too late, she was already on her bike.

As he watched her ride off, he realized that the bike she was riding was the same one from a few weeks ago. While Yor was still in his sight. He searched for “The Garden,” hoping this would give him more information about Yor Briar, who is now a mystery.

Walking back into the cafe, Loid couldn’t ignore the whispers.

“Did he get dumped?”

“Poor guy, he must’ve really liked her to go after her.”

“Doesn’t he look a lot like Loid Forger?”

“No no, that can’t be him. He’s more handsome. And why would be at this cafe anyways?”

“I wonder what he did for her to leave him like that.”

Feeling defeated, he walked over to the table where his manager was sitting. He witnessed the whole thing.

“How does it feel being dumped?” Franky asked as the actor sat in the seat across from him.

“I wasn’t dumped.”

“Sure looked like it did.”

“Whatever,” Loid scoffed as his mood turned sour. This has never happened to him before, and why wouldn’t someone want to spend time with him?

“Should I tell the hospital about this?”

“No need. Since I offered to take on all the planning and what-not, it officially ended things between us. This I all on me now.”

“So what are you going to do? Drop it?”

When the question was posed, Loid didn’t speak. He was thinking. It makes sense that he should let it go, right? Essentially, they’re strangers so there is no need to dwell on the matter. But this is Loid Forger we are talking about. He wants to know why Yor Briar didn’t want to spend time with him. Would’ve been a free meal and then some. She said she wasn’t a fan of him, he couldn’t care less, but an outright no upon meeting? He needs to know why. He will get to know why. What doesn’t help, is this nagging feeling that Yor is the delivery girl he met a few weeks ago. Her voice is the same as the delivery girl. She has the same bike with the same sign as the delivery girl. If only she smiled, then would he knew it was her.

“I’ll let you know. This is getting somewhat personal.” His sour mood had lingered.

“You know, you could put this energy into finding the mysterious delivery girl.” His manager mentioned nonchalantly before he got up to order drinks.

“But what if that mystery is already solved. I just have to win her over,” said Loid under his breath as he began to solve his puzzle.

“Hmm? Did you say something?”

“No, just get our coffees,” he waved his manager off. “And get a slice of their strawberry cream cake too.”

—

Right when she reached The Garden, Yor hopped of her bike, walked through the doors, heading straight to her office, ignoring her brother. Her heart was racing, and she couldn’t understand why. As she entered her office, she shut the door behind her.

“I can’t believe I did that.” Part of her felt guilty for turning a handsome man down, but the other part of her felt proud of herself that she did what she set out to do. “I don’t need that date, it’s not fair to him to have to go through something like this, agreed or not.” Yor began listing off reasons to justify her actions.  “I know he’s famous, but how come I feel like I’ve met him before today?” Leaning against her door, she thought back to the last few days. She couldn’t think of meeting a tall blonde man recently. Well, there was this one incident where she asked for directions a few weeks ago. He was tall and easy on the eyes, but she couldn’t tell if he was blonde or not due to her vision being obstructed by her helmet. Was it his voice that rang a sense of familiarity to her? “At least the next time I’ll be seeing him is through a screen.”

—

“I want to see her again.” A few days has passed since the that was supposed to happen, never happened.

“Why?” Franky asked as he entered Loid’s home.

“Because I need to know something.” He let his manager in his home, leading him to the kitchen.

“And what is that?”

“Did you look up The Garden? Because I did, when she left me standing there. It’s a flower shop in town.”

“Oh yeah, I saw that. They have quite the reputation in town. Our agency has even ordered flowers from there before. Does that have to do something with this girl?”

“I think so, but I want to confirm it.”

“That doesn’t answer why you want to see her again.”

“There has to be more than not being a fan of mine or anything. I don’t buy her excuse. Its the principal that I know now!” The look in Loid’s eyes was something Franky has never seen before, in all the years they’ve been friends and as his manager. There was a hint of determination, but it was a different determination that he had towards his work. “I’ll convince her that she does want to go on a date with me in the end.”

“And how are you going to do that?” Franky was now in the kitchen. “You have no way of contacting her.”

“That’s where you come in.” A devious smile appeared on his lips, to which Franky was not excited about.

Chapter Text

“Have you found out any more information about her?” Loid had come back to his chair behind the cameras as he finished filming his scene. He was allowed a break for now.

“Not really.” His manager took out his phone. “The only lead we have is the Garden, but the only thing that came up is that it’s a local flower shop. No address is listed online, not even their website.”

“That’s odd,” said Loid as he picked up his script to prepare for his next scene. “How do they get customers? I read that it has a strong reputation in Berlint.”

“Word of mouth maybe?” His manager suggested. “Why? Do you plan on showing up there?”

“I don’t think that would be a good idea. Thats actually the last place I want to show up. I’ll just ‘run’ into her.’”

“And how are you going to do that? You’ll be spotted right away.”

“I’m pretty good at disguises.” Loid’s voice, full of confidence. “How else did you think I got away with escaping the dorms during my trainee days?”

As for Loid’s plan, there wasn’t much. He just planned to “run in” to her numerous times hoping that she would give him some type of chance to talk. He just wanted one answer anyways.

—

“Excuse me, miss?” The words felt like a fog. “Miss? Miss?” A woman’s voice was calling, but no one was replying. “Miss? Excuse me, can you help me with something?”

“I can help you,” Yuri stepped in. “Sorry about my sister. How can I help you?” The customer didn’t seem upset as she began with her request.  She wanted to order a bouquet for her friend’s birthday.

Yuri and the customer’s conversation drifted away from Yor as they walked towards a corner of the store. With her head down, she was working on auto pilot, wrapping three to four stems of roses in craft paper or clear plastic.

“Yor, are you okay?”

“Huh?” It appears to be that only her brother’s voice could reach her. “I’m sorry?”

“A customer had been calling for your assistance.”

“They were?!” She stood up immediately looking for said customer. “Are they still here? Do they still need help?”

“I took care of it already,” he produced an order from. “You have an order for pick up this Saturday.” Concerned for her sister’s recent lack of attention, he pressed on. “Are you sure you’re okay? You’ve been acting different since your not-date with Loid. Are you feeling guilty?”

“A little bit,” she slumped back onto her stool. “Is that bad?”

“I don’t think so,” he leaned against the worktable. “I mean we are talking about you. You went on so many blind dates set up by Camilla and stayed till the end. You won a date with an actor, and you shut it down immediately.”

“I should’ve went along, even if I didn’t want to.”

“No, you can’t do that to yourself.” The younger brother tried his best to console his sister. “You explained your reasoning, no reason to feel bad.”

“But Yuri,” she looked up at him. “You should’ve seen his eyes. They were filled with this plea and confusion. I knew he heard my words, but whatever I said didn’t make sense to him.”

Feeling that this conversation was going to go in circles, again; Yuri stood up. “If you really do feel that bad, you should apologize to him then. Tell him everything; whatever the real reason is.”

“How can I do that? How can I even contact him? He’s super famous; as you keep reminding me.”

“Didn’t you get his number?”

“I don’t think that’s his personal number…”

“Well then, if anything, he might’ve forgotten all about it. He is a busy man after all.”

“You’re probably right.” Yor agreed after thinking it over. “Who am I to him, right? Its probably best to forget all about it.”

What Yor hasn’t told Yuri is that those crystal blue pools that Loid has for eyes was quite difficult for her to forget.

—

Standing on his mark, Loid was quietly rehearsing his lines for the scene he was about to shoot.

“Let’s make this a good one,” A woman stood next to him, on her mark.

“One take.” He responded, tone with a hint of ice when he looked up at who it was.

“Always wanting to finish scenes with me right away,” the woman let out a sigh. The actress who stood across from him was Fiona Frost. Her fame isn’t quite like Loid’s, but she aims to dethrone him as WISE Entertainment’s top artist.

“Well that’s because its better to get it right the first time, and not waste the staff’s time.” He did his best not to roll his eyes out of his head.

“That’s their job.” She shot back, a voice icier than his. As he was about to say something else, the director called for the extras to take their places as they were about to begin.

“Action!” The director called out followed by stillness on set.

“Have you thought of our proposal?” The actress spoke first. “It would be a shame if you missed out on it.”

“It’s also a shame to put one’s greed over what the company needs. I decline your offer.” Loid stood up to walk away.

“You’re making a mistake, Robert.” The actress stood up in reaction.

“It’s not, Rebecca.” Loid turned around to face his co-star. “I will not let your greed ruin the legacy my family has built.”

The scene continued with the actors arguing about how Rebecca’s proposal for a company merge will benefit no one, especially those who work for each company. Loid’s character is a spy who is currently undercover in order to take down the family that Rebecca belongs to.

“And cut!” The director called out. “Let’s take a few minutes to reset. Loid, we’ll continue with your scenes after the break.”

“We have to do this scene again,” Fiona spoke as she walked towards the director after she had watched the scene they just filmed. “I don’t like the lighting on me here and can we angle the camera a bit. Show off my good side.” The entire production staff took a collective deep breath as to not argue, but it was difficult as this was the fifth time they had to reshoot her scenes that day.

“So much for one and done,” Loid had stayed on set as his make up artist approached him for a touch up.

“She’ll never change,” Susan sighed as she asked Loid to turn to examine which parts needed to be redone.

“Let’s just hope this isn’t another long day,” said Franky.

“Why? Are you busy?” Loid asked.

“I’ve got a date,” Frankly flashed his phone at them. He was texting a girl he planned to meet with later that night.

“I do agree. I want to get home.”

“So you can start Operation: Garden?” Frankly said quickly.

“What’s that?” asked Susan as she applied powder.

“The highest donor who turn him down! Now he wants to find her so he can talk to her about it.”

“She did?!”

“Okay okay,” Loid put his hands up. “Stop gossiping.” He cleared his throat. “I wasn’t turned down. She just didn’t want to go on the date… that day.”

“You got turned down,” the make up artist and manager said in unison.

“Whatever,” Loid let out a big huff, “But I’m determined to find out why. She didn’t seem to be an anti fan, so there has to be something.”

“You should let it go,” Susan spoke up as she closed a compact, “She must’ve had her own reasons. And its been what? A week?”

“Still, I need to know. Theres so many unanswered questions. All she said was she felt like someone else is better in deserving that date with me instead of her. It’s not like she was going to fall in love with me. We’ve just met. It’s become principle at this point!”

“It was essentially a blind date the moment you took over date details.” Franky pointed out.

“Besides the point, I just want to talk to her and get it all sorted out, then I’ll be done with it.”

The manager and make up artist shared a knowing look. For as long as they’ve known and worked with Loid, the look in his eyes when he talked about the donor was never seen before. Could it be that he has planned something more than just talking?

—

The Garden is closed today. The reason being: Yor had errands to run for the shop and for her home. Errands such as stopping by Shopkeeper’s warehouse to pick up a few things, stopping by the tailor, and grocery shopping.

Nearly halfway through her errands, Yor had decided to stop by a coffee shop to grab a drink, to help her get through the afternoon. While waiting for her drink, she couldn’t help the feeling that someone was watching her. Once in a while, she turned around but no one was there.

“Cafe latte for Yor!” The barista called out. As her name was called, she made her way towards the counter as another name was being called. “Americano for Robert!”

“Excuse me, miss.” A man’s hand slipped passed reaching for the coffee. This voice. It sounds familiar. Going against her judgement not to look, Yor directed her eyes towards the owner of the voice. The man was wearing a cap and a mask, leaving his eyes exposed. She know’s those pair of eyes everywhere.

“What are you doing here?” She nearly hissed. “Your name isn’t Robert.” Her voice now a loud whisper as she looked around.

“I’m just getting a cup of coffee.” Loid stuttered out. “Just like you. My name is Robert when I’m out and about like this.” Not believe his answer, she looked around to see if they had grabbed anyone’s attention.

“Right…” She nodded while looking for her opportunity to leave.

“But since we ran into each other here,” his voice became lighthearted to change the mood. “Care to talk for a bit? I want to talk to you about something.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Her voice was kind, but her tight smile said otherwise. “Now, If you’ll excuse me. I have things to do.”

“Miss Bria-“ He barely said her name as she rushed out the door.

Unhappy with her run-in with Loid, Yor tried her best to get away from the cafe as fast as possible, but the traffic light had betrayed her.

“Miss Briar!” Loid had caught up to her.

Taking a deep breath, Yor turned towards him. “What do you want from me? I’ve already told you that I didn’t want to go on that date with you. Isn’t a no enough? Why are you following me!?”

“First, I’m not following you. This cafe happens to be close to my neighborhood.” He pointed in the direction of his home. “Second, you forgot this.” In one hand, he held up a coffee cup and a small bag. “You wanted to leave so fast that you forgot your drink.”

“Th-thank you,” Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Yor took the cup and bag from him. “But I didn’t order a pastry.” She opened the bag to take a peak of what’s inside; it was a piece of apple tart. Closing up the bag, she handed it back to him.

“My treat.” He took off his mask to smile at her. “Think of it as a preview of our date.”

“No no no, we are not going on that date. I didn’t agree to reschedule it.” She pushed the bag back to him.

“I insist,” he pushed back. “You seemed pretty tired back at the cafe, I thought you could use it along with your coffee.” The flush in her cheeks had returned, but she didn’t feel embarrassed. What is this emotion then? “I would still like to talk to you about why you don’t want to spend time with me. I understand if you’re not a fan but-“ At that moment, the light had turned green.

“I must go,” she turned towards him. “I’ll pay you back for the apple tart.”

“With a-“ he tried his luck. “Let me show you a good time.” A hint of plead in his voice.

“I don't need it.” said Yor. “Give another girl good time.”

“Another girl isn’t you.”

“Does that line work on everyone?” She scoffed.

“No, because I haven’t used that line at all.” His words took her aback. “Please, just a few minutes.."

“It’s still a no,” she said with confidence after some hesitation. “But I will pay you back with something else, if we run into each other again that is. I promise.”

No other words were exchanged between them as Yor crossed the street.

—

The Garden was coming into Yor’s view, but she kept patting her chest. Her heart hasn’t stopped racing since she left Loid standing in the intersection. “I can’t believe I ran into him like this. Should I find another coffee shop to go to? He might realize that I go there often and might do the same too.” She unlocked the doors to the shop. Yuri was inside, restocking a few flower buckets as well as checking inventory.

“You’re back!” Yuri greeted his sister. “Is something wrong?”

“Huh? No uhm.” Yor was searching for something to say. “Everything is fine.” She looked at her brother. “Is that another delivery from Shopkeeper? I thought I picked up everything this morning.”

“Yeeeah,” He dismissed his sister’s odd behavior. “He delivered them after realizing that he forgot to include these when you were there. He also asked when are going to visit the farm. He said that we haven’t visited the portion he gifted us when we inherited the shop.”

Yor slumped onto a stool, half hearing her brother. “I don’t know. I don’t think I have the time to go with all the orders coming up. But you can go.” She looked at him, “Take Chloe too. Our farm is near the coast.”

“Maybe during the the upcoming break.” Yuri took off his apron and made his way towards their apartment above them. It was his turn to make dinner for the both of them.

Yor went into the office to take care of a few paperwork. Having difficulty focusing on the numbers on the screen, she decided to take a break. She replayed running into Loid at the coffee shop. The way he said Miss Briar. How he bought her the apple tart, which was staring at her now. She felt her cheeks grow warm at the thought of him. “Do I like him?!” She shot out of her seat. “That’s ridiculous. I don’t know the guy. I only know he’s an actor. Celebrities are all the same right? They don’t care for someone like me. And what he said “another girl isn’t you’ please.. I won’t fall for it again.” After a few minutes, her curiosity got the best of her. She began to look up Loid Forger.

This is what she has learned.

Loid Forger has started as a trainee at WISE Entertainment, a top agency in Westalis, who debuted as part of a boy group. After the group’s tenth anniversary, some members have decided to retire. Although he had solidified his position in the industry, along with his members, he took on opportunities to pursue acting, which became his second love. What started with small commercials, Loid soon began to land roles in dramas and films before becoming a breakout lead actor. While it may seem that he is focused on acting, he’ll always go back to his first love, singing.

After learning about him, Yor had caught herself looking at photos of him during his idol singer days up to his current brand ambassador campaign. “Now I get why everyone loves him, even here in Ostania.” She clicked out of the window. “But, we simply can’t be. Not like I want to be with him. I can’t deny that he’s handsome, even in person.” Her voice trailed off.

“Be with who? Who’s handsome?” Yuri popped his head through the office doorway. His sudden burst has caused his sister to shriek. “What happened?!”

“Nothing!” She nearly yelled before taking a deep breath to calm down. “I mean, what do you need?”

“It’s time for dinner.” Now standing in the doorway, “Are you sure you’re okay? You’ve been jumpy since you got back.”

“It’s nothing.” She thought for a moment, might as well tell him. “It’s just that I saw Loid Forger today.”

“You did? Where?!”

“At the coffee shop on First, the one we go to often.”

“But we have coffee here? We even sell it to customers.”

“I was in the area!”

“Did you guys talk?” Yuri bought back the conversation to the main topic.

“He wants to talk about why I turned him down, basically.”

“Did you?”

“No, because I already told him when I initially met him.”

“I wonder why he wants to talk about it.” He leaned against the doorframe.

“Who knows.” She shrugged. “Berlint is a big city. I probably won’t see him again anyways.”

—

A few days have passed, and Yor has seen Loid a few times while running her errands. Yet, she never got close enough for him to talk to her. Most of the time, as soon as she thought that they locked eyes, she would turn around before he could say anything. Despite purposely avoiding him, she felt that her heart was being torn. Part of her was happy not seeing him, part of her was sad, even though she didn’t want to admit it. If they were to approach each other and talk, she knew he’d only ask about the reason why she refused to go on the date she had won; why won’t she reschedule. Another reason why she didn’t want to see him, she didn’t have anything to pay him back for her tart.

With bags of groceries in hand, Yor walked into The Garden. “Hi Yuri, what do you think about mother’s stew for dinner tonight?”

“YOR!” Yuri’s burst nearly made her topple over with the groceries still in her hand. “We got a big order!
“We do?!”

“Yes!” Yuri went back to the counter to grab the invoice. “While you were out, I got a call from WISE Entertainment! They want us to provide flowers for an event for one of their artists.”

“That’s wonderful! Do you happen to know who?”

“They didn’t say,” he shook his head. “They only gave me the date, but said someone will call back to talk details about arrangements and types of flowers.”

Yor looked down at the invoice and notes Yuri took down. This was a great opportunity for their little shop. Even though The Garden has big reputation in their city, they haven’t had a event like this since the Briars had inherited the shop. This will be Yor’s first big project that isn’t a wedding. She can’t mess up this chance.

—

In all the times that Yor thought Loid had spotted her out in town, he, indeed, saw her. “Miss Briar,” he called out to her, but every time he did, she quickly turned on her heel before he could even reach her. Not wanting to scare her nor to make it seem as if he’s following her, he had decided to watch her from afar if their paths were to cross. 

Loid had the intention of learning why Ms. Briar didn’t want to spend time with him. He could understand if she wasn’t a fan of his work, whether a singer or an actor, but there has to be something else, right? Was the reason being because it was a reward for doing a good deed that didn’t need to be rewarded? She did mention that to him when they had met, but was that it?  

While walking through his neighborhood, he had spotted Ms. Briar. She was carrying a few bags and a box, and it seemed that she didn’t have her bike with her. After watching her for a few moments, Loid noticed that she seemed to be struggling. Quickening his pace to reach her, he made it just in time. “Be careful!” Ms. Briar miscalculated how high the curb was, as she stepped down causing her to slip. He caught her mid fall while trying to prevent the box, that has now become airborne, from falling on top of them. “Are you okay?” he looked down to see Ms. Briar’s eyes shut tight as if waiting for something to happen. “You can open your eyes, Ms. Briar.”

The woman in his arms open her eyes, “Loid,” she breathed out. Taking in her surroundings and registering what was happening, she pushed him away. “Loid! What are you doing here?!” Her attitude changed as she was in a fluster grabbing her bags and looking for her box.

“I was on my usual walk through my neighbor and saw you from across the street,” he picked up the box that was now on the sidewalk, “Then I saw that this” he held the box up, “was blocking your view and I wanted to make sure you stepped off the curb safely.” Miss Briar narrowed her eyes at him, but couldn’t deny he was telling the truth. She was struggling for a bit. “Let me help you, Ms. Briar, for nothing in return.”

Thinking it over, Yor let out a sigh of defeat because she did need the help. “All right.” She picked up her bags. “I just need to drop off that package at the post office then stop by the food pantry to donate these bags of food.” Loid offered to take a few bags off her hands, to which she complied. She couldn’t help but notice how bright his smile was when she agreed; she ignored it.

“Lead the way, Ms. Briar.”

“You don’t need to call me that. Yor is fine.” She looked up at him. Loid swore that a hint of a smile was present.

“Okay, Yor.” She could hear the smile as he said her name. “What a beautiful name.”

“Don’t push your luck,” she pushed him in the direction of the food pantry, hiding the blush that had reached her ears.

They completed Yor’s tasks quickly and fortunately for them, no one had recognized Loid. “Thank you for helping me,” Yor admitted. “Especially since I know I might’ve been rude to you in the past.”

“I never thought you were rude,” said Loid as he shook his head. “I can understand where you’re coming from.” She nodded at his words.

“I haven’t forgotten that I owed you for that apple tart.”

“I told you not to worry about that.”

“No no, I insist.” She put her hands up. “The next time I see you, I promise. I don’t have anything with me for this time.”

“And if you don’t…?”

“I will keep my promise until I fulfill it,” she answered.

“Pinky promise?” Loid held out his pinky.

“What are you a child?” she scoffed.

“How about his,” Loid put down his hand to make a proposal. “In the next three times we happen to run into each other, and you have not paid me back. You go on that date with me.” He meant every word. 

“And if i do pay you back within the three times?”

“I will leave you alone.” He added, even though it pained him to say it. Yor took a step back, not expecting to hear this. “But if you don’t, you owe me the date that you won for being the highest donor. That’s fair, don’t you think?”

Yor thought it over and all options possible. She held put her pinky, “Looks like I have to find something for you and carry it with me at all times, but aren’t we lucky that Berlint is a big city.”

Loid hooked his pinky around hers and they made a pinky promise. He secretly wished that Yor would forget and they would go on that date.

Chapter Text

Walking through the halls of WISE Entertainment, Loid made his way towards a pair of doors. He had an appointment with his agency’s CEO. The assistant sitting outside of the office had greeted him and let the CEO know that he had arrived. “She’s ready for you now, Mr. Forger.” He thanked the secretary and walked into the office.

“Can’t believe you’re releasing an album in the midst of filming your current drama,” said a woman who was sitting her her desk, sipping on her coffee.

“Well, you are the one who approved and pushed for it,” said Loid making his way to sit on the couch.

“You could’ve said no,” she looked at him.

“You know, sometimes its hard to say no the CEO,” Loid gave her a tight smile.

“Very true, but your fans want it, and you happen to have a big gap in your filming scheduled due to a colleague.”

“Don’t remind me,” he tried his best to not roll his eyes.

The woman in front of Loid was Sylvia Sherwood, the current CEO of WISE Entertainment. Before being in her current position, she was one of the head managers of Loid’s boy group and his manager, when it came to solo activities. During her time as manager, she was promoted through the ranks up until a few years ago when she was voted by the board to become the sitting CEO. Her relationship with Loid hasn’t changed much, but this time he can no longer say no to her.

“Excited about your comeback?” She set her cup down.

“A bit,” he admitted. “It’s been a while.”

As they continued in conversation, there was a knock at the door. It was Franky, Loid’s current manager. “I just wanted to let you know that the florist has been booked for your live stream event.” At the words, Loid’s face lit up.

“Is it?”

“Yes, it’s The Garden. They had agreed to do it.”

“”Yes!” Loid cheered a bit loudly than he expected.

“Oh The Garden,” Sylvia chimed in. “They’re pretty famous aren’t they? Or used to be?”

“They still are,” Franky answered. “I saw that the owner had changed a few years ago, and they were quite hesitant to accept our request. I’ve also looked at previous florists that we’ve worked with, The Garden was one of the most used shops WISE Entertainment has worked with.”

“I’m glad they accepted.” Loid was nearly beaming. He knew this could be a chance to see Miss Briar again.

“There is just one thing,” said Franky.

“What’s that?” asked Loid.

“You can’t come to the meeting with The Garden.” He slipped his phone into his pocket.

“Why not?” Loid did his best to hide his emotion.

“For one thing,” he looked at Sylvia before looking at Loid. “I didn’t tell them who the streaming event is for. I’m afraid that if you show up, they might back out.” 

“Oh, right.” Loid fixed his jacket. “Of course, we can’t have that.”

A moment of silence hung in the air as manager and idol-actor shared a knowing look of understanding. 

“Is there something that I should know that’s going on?” Sylvia cut the tension in her office.

“Not at all,” said Loid with a smile. “Just trying to keep details as private as can be.”

—

It was midday at the Garden, Yor was working on a bouquet that would be picked up that evening. As she was picking the flowers that the customer had requested, the phone rang. She set the flowers down and rushed towards the counter. “Hello, this is the Garden, Yor speaking.”

“Hello, this is Franky Franklin,” said the voice on the other line. “I called a few days ago about needing flowers for a live stream.”

“Ah yes!” Yor’s voice was cheerful. “You talked to my brother about it.”

“Yes! I’m calling to set up a meeting to go over the details.”

Yor checked the calendar for the shop, she was free in two days as she had to teach a floral arrangement class the next day. “I can send over some arrangements that correlate with the theme. We can hammer out more details when we meet.”

“That sounds great!” With the click the phone, Yor had let out a breath that she held during the entire phone call. Her first big project since taking over the floral shop, and for an entertainment agency no less! The excitement in the shop was palpable that even Yuri and Chloe felt it as soon as they walked it.

“What are you so happy for?” Chloe asked as she walked over to Yor.

“I’ve just set up a meeting with WISE Entertainment!” Yor nearly squealed. “I’ll head over to the agency in two days to talk about arrangements and themes. Which means you’ll be in charge that day,” she looked towards her brother.

“Do you know the artist that the flowers will be for?” Yuri asked sitting on a stool next to Chloe.

“No,” Yor shook her head. “But it doesn’t matter. Yuri, if this goes well The Garden will live up to its reputation just as it did when Shopkeeper was running the place!”

“I’m excited for you!,” said Chloe. “How funny would it be if its for Loid Forger.” She laughed but the siblings shared a knowing looking, fortunately for them, she didn’t see it.

“That would be something, now wouldn’t it?” Yuri swept in to dismiss the awkward moment that was looming.

Chloe had stayed for dinner, but had to leave to join a study session, leaving the Briar siblings in their kitchen.

“If it ends up being that you are working with Loid Forger, are you going to be okay with that?” Yuri asked as he set down a mug onto the table.

“Yeah,” said Yor as if she’s dismissing a thought. “It’s not like I hate the guy . Besides I don’t think I’ll be working with a celebrity directly for this project.”

“Its good that you don’t hate him,” Yuri sipped his tea.

“Why do you sound so concerned?” She tilted her head, why was he being protective suddenly?

“From what you’ve told me the day you met him and that time you ran into him, he seems like a hassle to deal with.”

“But that’s mainly my fault…” Yor admitted.

“How is it your fault?” His voice had an edge to it.

“Because I’ve been rude to him.” She looked into her mug, timidly. “The last time I saw him, he had offered to help me with some of my errands… I’ve accepted it. He’s seems nice… but he’s a celebrity!” She looked at her brother. “Who knows if this is genuine or if he wants something else; like knowing the real reason why I won’t go on that date with him, no matter how many times he asked!”  Yor stood up from the table, “I’LL KEEP MY GUARD UP!” She took her mug with her to her room followed by the sound of her bedroom’s door closing.

“I wonder what that was about,” Yuri said to himself as he was trying to process what just happened.

—

The day of meeting at Wise Entertainment had arrived. Yuri had left for his morning classes, leaving Yor gathering her materials in the shop’s office. The meeting was set for noon.

Since this will be her biggest floral project to date, she decided to dress up a bit to make a good impression. If they are happy with her work, hopefully she becomes a floral vendor in their rotation. “Okay, that should be everything.” Yor looked down at her desk; laptop and tablet in her bag along with portfolios of her work on events since she has started working at the Garden. “Now what to wear,” she made her way to her room to get ready.

—

“What time is your meeting with the Garden?” Loid blurted out as he walked into the conference room. “Will it take place in this room? Is it a lunch meeting?”
“Noon. No and no.” Franky didn’t look up from his laptop screen as he and another team member were going over concept ideas to propose to Yor.

“No and no!?” Loid slumped down into an office chair.

“I told you, you can’t be in this meeting.”

“I can’t have any input? Aren’t the flowers for me anyways?” The idol-actor pouted as he pulled out his phone.

“They are, but we’ve already agreed that you won’t participate in this meeting. If Ms. Briar learns that they’ll be for you too early on, she might back out.” Manager shot a look at the idol-actor. “You wanted this, remember?” Loid sank deeper into his chair in defeat. “I’ll let you know the details, unless you have ideas of your own. I can pass them along to her.”

There was a brief silence before Loid slid a piece of paper towards his manager. “I’ll be in practice room B. If you need anything else, let me know.” He stood up to leave.

—

“Wow.” WISE Entertainment’s building was coming into view as Yor turned onto the street. She’s never seen a building that big and pristine; it almost stands out too much for Berlint. A security guard had asked her what her business was for being on their property. After a brief explanation, the security guard had let her into the underground parking lot along with directions of where to go. Turns out, she didn’t need directions as someone was waiting for her at the garage elevator.

“Hello, you must be Yor Briar from the Garden.” A man with curly hair and glasses had approached her with an arm stretched out. “I’m Franky Franklin, we spoke on the phone a few days ago.”

“Ah, yes!” Yor’s voice was cheerful with a hint of nervousness as she accepted his handshake. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“I hope it wasn’t difficult finding your way here,” he opened the doors then pushed the elevator button.

“it wasn’t difficult,” she chuckled. “I don’t normally frequent this area of downtown Berlint.”

“That’s good to hear,” he smiled at her before turning towards the elevator door. During the elevator ride and the walk to the conference room, the manager and florist made small talk. For Yor, her business. For Franky, how he became a manager of a celebrity.

Walking through the agency, posters of albums, movies, and TV dramas lined the halls. As Yor looked at them, she was surprised that she knew of some of them. A poster was coming into view, and she stopped in front of it. The poster was an action shot of a blonde-haired man dressed in a clean suit with a gun in his hand. The actor was posed as if he just made a clean shot and had to get away quickly. Yor squinted her eye as if to get a clearer view. In a breath, it dawned on her. It’s! That’s!

“Loid Forger.” Franky’s voice was suddenly behind her. “Are you a fan of him?”

“Ah. Uhm.” Completely caught off guard, Yor had to look for an answer. “I’m aware of him, but not much of his work.” She laughed nervously.

“This is his new drama coming up. The Deadly Thorn.”

“What is it about?”

“By day, Robert, his character, works in corporate Ostania, and is a spy for his country by night. We follow him as he navigates through life balancing two different lives.”

“Sounds interesting,” she nodded slowly as Franky gestured that they keep moving.

“The drama is still in the early production, but he is releasing an album pretty soon and he finished filming his last drama a few months ago.” He smiled as he opened the doors to their destination.

The meeting went on with ease. Yor proposed suggestions on arrangements, such as arcs, walls, and columns. While Franky agreed with her ideas as well as proposed the concepts he had mentioned over the phone. As their meeting continue, a sense of feeling made its presence known in Franky’s pocket. The paper that Loid had slipped to him earlier is waiting to make it’s appearance.

“The last thing we need to talk about is.” Yor’s eyes glided down the screen of her tablet. “The color scheme.” She looked up with a smile.

“About that.” Franky’s voice had a hint of defeat, but he did away with it quickly. He pulled out a piece of folded paper. “This is the artist’s concept. I know we’ve agreed on a lot already, but these are his suggestions.”  Without hesitation, she took the folded paper from his hand.

Inside the paper was a concept sketch of the space. In the center were simple objects that probably represented chairs and other items the artist will use. Surrounding the objects were lush flowers and decorations that were symbols that represent the artist and the album release. There were also flower stems hanging from the ceiling to give off an ethereal and calm feeling. She looked over the sketch in awe, it was as if she could feel the comfort through the rough sketch. There was a note at the bottom in beautiful handwriting: “preferable flowers of shades of blue and white with pops of green if possible.”

“We can use this instead,” she looked at Franky with a slight smile. “I love this concept. I wish I thought of it.” Her eyes went back to the sketch. “It seems like he likes simple yet beautiful things.”

Franky was shocked with her decision. He didn’t expect her to go along with Loid’s concept in the first place, yet if she knew it was Loid who came up with this, would she go for it? Not wanting to dwell on the what ifs, he spoke up. “I think he would be happy that you want to bring his idea to life,” he smiled. “Since he did not mention specific flowers, I’ll leave that decision up to you.” Yor nodded in agreement, this meant she was still able to be creative. 

“Then it’s settled!” Yor’s voice had a ring of glee. “Now, i just need you to sign a contract and a down payment to make it official.”

“Of course,” he complied as she pull out a portfolio that contained the forms. “I can’t wait to tell him that his idea got picked.”

“I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he sees it.”

—

The day of Loid’s comeback live stream had arrived. He had went to get his hair and make up done and changed. All he needed to do now was to go over the script and go over a few cues with the director.

“We’re ready for your blocking,” a production assistant had walked into a dressing room. “The florist is still on set, so please be mindful. She promised not to be in your way.” Upon hearing the word florist, the idol-actor’s ears couldn’t help but perk up.

“Thank you, I’ll head over soon.” His voice was steady as he looked into the mirror to make sure everything is in place. If his assumption is right, Yor Briar will be on set, setting up for his broadcast. He placed his hand on his chest to learn that his heartbeat has quicken at the thought of her.

—

“It- it.” A man had walked into the set.

“Isn’t it lovely?” The woman’s voice finished his sentence. “I made some changes to the concept, I hope the artist doesn't..” Her words drifted out at the sight of the person in front of her.

“You chose my concept?” Blue eyes, that were near identical to the blue flowers that littered the room, shown in brilliance towards the woman. “You brought it to life? You added things?”

“I did.” The smile that was on Yor’s face had fell at the sitght of him, Loid Forger. “What are you doing here?!” Her voice quiet as she approached him.

“This is the set of my comeback life.” He said nervously, trying his best to look at her.

“This is for you?!” She took a step back.

“Ah, wonderful,” Franky had just walked into the room. “You two have met.” He smiled as he had approached the two. “Yor Briar, owner of The Garden, this is Loid Forger” he looked over to his friend. “It is his album comeback that we are celebrating today.” Although Franky is aware that Yor and Loid had met before, its just that he isn’t aware that the two have met numerous times before today. He just knows they met when Loid was turned down for the date.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Loid quickly cleared his throat and offered his hand. “When Franky told me about my decoration concept has been picked for this broadcast, I couldn’t believe it.” He was genuine. “Thank you for bringing it to life like this.” A faint yet warm smile had appeared across his lips.

“Likewise,” was all Yor could let out before realizing that it could’ve been rude. “I mean.” She cleared her throat. “It’s nice to meet you as well.” She accepted his handshake. “Your sketch was something that I wish I thought of.” A subtle blush danced across her cheeks. “It matches well with the other designs I’ve created for the Garden. I also love the color palette you chose.”

Blue crystal pools met deep rubies. Yor had to blink multiple times to bring her back to the present as well as to stop her heart from racing. “Excuse me, I’ll go put on the last touches.” She took a step back as a hand reached towards her.

“Do you need help?” Loid blurted out. “I still have time..”

“No, no. It’s okay.” She laughed nervously as she continued to walk backwards. “It’s just a few things.” Taking a few more steps, she didn’t realize she had walked into a step stool causing her to lose her footing. With not enough time to prevent herself from falling, she felt something grabbed onto her.

“Are you okay, Yor?” The pair seem to find themselves in a position that had happened before. “You’re not hurt are you?” His voice was soft, allowing only her to hear him, even though they were in a room surrounded by the agency’s staff. As the world opened back up, the sound of footsteps rushed towards them. Loid braced himself to be shoved like last time, to the point that he even shut his eyes.

“I’m okay,” her voice was soft. “Are you?” Yor was gripping on this his shirt waiting for him to open his eyes. “Oh, his lashes are so long.” She thought to herself as she looked at his face. Making more mental notes about his facial features, she had to stop herself. Now wasn’t the time! Why is she admiring him all of a sudden?! Deep breathes had to be made to prevent any form of blush that wanted to make an appearance.

“I am.” He lifted her up back on to her feet, yet she winced as she put some weight on her right leg. “It seems that we keep finding ourselves in this position.” Yor did know what to say this this, but noticed his eyes were looking down.

The two looked down to see a scratch on the side of her leg. He squatted down to examine the wound. “Oh its not a big deal. I can take care of it when I’m done.” Her voice fell on deaf ears as Loid stood up.

“Can I get a first aid kit please?” He called out as one staff member ran off to get one. “Come sit.” He gestured her to sit on the stool that gave her the cut.

“It’s okay, Loid, really.” Even in protest, she followed his orders.

“It doesn’t look okay.” He pointed at the wound. “It’s a long scratch and it’s bleeding.”

Yor wanted to protest some more, but a staff member had returned with the first aid kit in hand.  With precision, the idol-actor donned on gloves and set out some ointment and a bandage. “It’ll sting a little, okay?” She nodded and extended her leg out just a bit to help him. He was right, once the ointment had touched her wound, it stung. As she winced she pulled her leg back. “I’m sorry, I just have to put a little more.” Again, she extended her leg, but this time held out as more ointment was applied. Loid blew on the wound before applying the bandage “There, all better.” He stood up and offered his hand, which she accepted. “Are you sure you need more to do? It looks perfect already.” He looked around; her gaze followed his.

“I guess if you’re happy with it, then I’m happy with it.”

As they shared this short moment, Yor had remember where they were and their deal. She quickly let go of his hand and took a step back. “I don’t have anything to give in return for the tart!” She blurted out, which caused Loid to laugh. “And I assume you won’t accept the decorations as payment?”

“No,” he shook his head still laughing. “You still have two chances left. But…” he looked around as if making sure no one was watching them. “Can you stay till after the broadcast? I still want to talk to you.”

“Yes,” she said with near hesitation. “I had planned on staying anyways, since I have to take everything down once you are done.”

“You’ll take the flowers back as well?”

“Yes, there was no mention of wanting to keep them.”

“What do you usually do with them?”

“I donate them,” she said with a smile. “To a hospital, a senior home, to anyone who could use flowers.”

“That’s wonderful,” his laugh was like sweet bell chimes. “Do you mind if I tag along?”

“Aren’t you super busy?”

“Not today, this is my only schedule. I’ll even treat you as a-“

“Don’t say date.” She quickly stopped him.

“And why not?”

“Because according to our deal, the date will only happen unless I fail to give you something in return for the tart.”

“Ah yes, I gave you three chances.”

“Two remain,” they said in unison.

Loid wanted to continue their conversation, as it was the first time she wasn’t running away or completely avoiding him. He liked talking to her. Unfortunately, they had to stop as the director called for everyone’s attention and for Loid to take his mark. The live broadcast is about to begin.

—

During the broadcast, Franky had led Yor to a waiting room until it has ended. She even got to watch the show.. This would be her first time watching anything like this. Loid was so lively on camera, interacting with fan questions, going along with fan requests, even laughing with the staff behind the camera when they laughed at him. It is her first time seeing Loid in his element. To her surprise, she enjoyed this broadcast.

Soon after the broadcast has ended with the live feed shutting off, a knock came at the door. It was Loid. “Did you enjoy the show?”

“I did!” She stood up. “You’re such a good dancer!” She laughed.

“Oh that,” he scratched behind his head. “The fans wanted me to a dance challenge.”

“You did very well.” Her voice was soft, she meant her words. “You did a good job,” out of habit, she went on her toes to pat him on the head, but quickly realized what she was doing and went back onto her feet. “Sorry, I tend to do that to my little brother.”

“I don’t mind.” Loid bent down for her. When nothing happened, he thought that she had decided against the gesture. As he was about stand up straight, he felt her palm on the top of his head.

“You did great, Loid.” She gently patted his head. Both of them had on a blush that was hidden from the other.

“Ah well,” he cleared his throat. “I’ll bring you back to the set to disassemble everything.”

When the pair had reached the sound stage, Yor noticed that nobody else was around, not even Franky. “Where is everyone?”

“I sent them home, or more like a team dinner.” Loid set down a box and opened it.

“But why?”

“Because I want to.”

“Don’t they still have work to do?”

“Yeah, but I can send them home early.” He looked around for something. “There should be some buckets around. I had asked for them.”

“Wait, what are you doing?”

“Taking everything down.”

Yor blinked at the blonde, not following what he is saying, "But that’s my job…”

“I know, and I want to help you.” Loid placed a flower arrangement in a box. “You said I can accompany you when you donate these. I might as well help you clean up and pack up everything. Besides, I also want to spend time with you.”

Standing on the set, trying to comprehend what just happened, Yor is watching Loid pack up flowers and dismantling arches and columns. As this was something that she usually did on her own, she liked that someone has offered to help her. That someone happened to be a celebrity.

The pair took down each piece with ease as they talked about themselves. To Loid, it seems as if the wall that she had put between them was starting to chip away. Yor found herself starting to enjoy his company.

“Will you still take me up on my offer of dinner that isn’t a date?” Loid asked as they stared at the boxes of fresh flowers that were going to be donated.

“We will see.”

—

Days after his comeback live, there seems to have shift in Loid. He found himself thinking about Yor at odd moments of the day, the thoughts made him happy. Because of this, his campaign of giving Yor the date she had earned has lessened. If his feelings for her has grown to be more affectionate, he should properly ask her out instead.

“Why are you happy?” Fiona snapped as she stood on her mark. “Its so fucking early.” She rolled her eyes as she waited for the director to start shooting.

“Well good morning to you,” Loid’s happy expression has been extinguished.

“Doesn’t answer my question, but fine. Let’s get this is one take okay?”

This scene, which involved a serious conversation between their characters did not happen in one take. But it didn’t matter, the scenes of his time with Yor after his comeback had replayed themselves to help Loid get through this shoot.

Chapter Text

“Oh, Yor.” A familiar face had walked in to The Garden. “What am I going to do?! Dominic’s mother is coming over for dinner tonight, and I don't have time after work to get her something.” Camilla leaned against the table where Yor was starting an arrangement. “She was really upset that I didn’t get her anything the last time she was here. What should I do?”

“Hello to you too, Camilla.” Yor laughed as she brought a vase to the table.

“Hello, Yor.” She gave her a tight smile before continuing. “So any ideas?”

“What have you gotten her before?” Yor began cutting the bottoms of roses.

“Nothing really,” Camilla placed her elbows on the counter to rest her chin on her palms. “Because that’s Dominic’s job as thats his mother. He usually buys her chocolates and the like. This time he’s been so busy with work that he asked me to get something this time.” The florist hummed along as she was focused on her task. “Yor, are you even listening?”

“Huh, yes!” She turned towards her friend. “Well, since you’re at my shop, how about flowers? Who doesn’t like flowers?”

“Are you trying to sell me something?” Camilla narrowed her eyes.

“I’ll throw in a discount.”

“Will the coffee I’m about to order also be at a discount?” The blonde’s eyes narrowed more.

“Of course,” Yor laughed. “The usual order?”

“Yes, please,” Camilla grabbed a floral arrangement catalog that was on the counter. “While you do that, I’ll pick out an arrangement.”

“You could also pick the flowers you want, I can create something for you.” Yor called to her friend as she went towards the back to switch aprons.

—

With the change of ownership, the Garden has also gone through some changes. Well there was only one change, but that change wasn’t planned.

One day a few years back, Yuri had bought a two-in-one coffee and espresso machine. The catch to his purchase, it wasn’t for a home but for a restaurant instead.

“Why did you buy that?!” Yor walked into the shop to see her younger brother setting up the machine one of the back counters.

“A coffee machine.” He turned to his sister proudly. “Chloe and I found it at an estate sale for a steal, and we’ve been wanting a new machine anyways.”

“For our kitchen! This is an industrialized one.” She hurried over. “Take it back!”

“No!” He blocked her from touching his find. “I put it down here because think about it.” Here was his pitch for making the Garden current with the times. “We sell drinks along with flowers.” The reaction his sister had given him was less than excited. “Flowers, coffee, and tea!”

“This isn’t a cafe. Its a flower shop.”

“I know.” He could sene his sister’s growing frustration. “A flower shop that has recently offered flower arrangement classes, and one could also purchase a cup of coffee to sip on during class.” The expression on Yor’s face hasn’t change. He straighten his posture. “Okay how about this. If there is no profit from this machine in one month, I’ll take it out of the shop, but you must learn how to make drinks too.”

“Fine,” she offered her hand to shake on it. “One month.”

“Thank you,” he shook his sister’s hand. “Besides, I know you’ve been thinking of opening up a cafe too. Just combine your loves!” His sister shot him a look of daggers warning him not to push his luck with her. “I’ll go look for table and chair sets too!” He quickly darted out of the shop.

Since then, Yor was happy she made the deal with Yuri. The coffee side of things for the shop had brought in more customers, especially a younger audience.

—

As Yor placed a lid on the drink, Camilla had come back with a list in hand. “Can you make a bouquet with these flowers?” Yor examined the list, roses, carnations, Lillies, peonies, and asters.

“Of course,” she looked up at her friend. “Shall I put in the order? And for a pick up this evening?”

“Yes, please.” Her friend smiled as they finished the transaction.

“By the way, did something happen?”

“What do you mean?” Yor didn’t know where this question was going.

“You seem, different.” Camilla had picked up on something.

“Different how?”

“I don’t know, you aren’t as stiff as before. The aura around you is just.. different. Did you meet someone?” Camilla’s smile grew bigger, even though she slightly offended her friend.

“Hardly.” Yor wiped the counter. “You know I don’t have time for that. After him, my interest in dating and love is ceasing to exist.”

“You can’t let that jerk, Daniel, ruin your chance at love and happiness.”

“But he did,” Yor threw the towel onto the counter. “I was ready to fully commit to him. We were engaged! Until I saw who he really was, a manipulative piece of shit. I should’ve listen to you guys and Yuri about him.” She shook her head in regret. “I don’t think I’m able to open up myself to someone like that again.”

Camilla remembered all the sleepless and crying nights that Yor had endured at the hands of her ex. She really did love Daniel, right up until she caught him cheating on her with another Garden employee at the time. Still, she didn’t want her friend to give up. “I’m thinking no more  blind date set ups from me and Millie?”

“Maybe not now.”

“But Yor, that happened nearly two years ago. I know it’s not that long ago, but.”

“But it’s my choice.” Yor was firm. “I appreciate what you, and the rest of you girls do for me, but all those guys just aren’t for me. Most of them just didn’t understand that I wanted to take my time with things after what I’ve been through.” Her friend placed her hand on top of hers.

“You’ll meet someone,” Camilla’s voice was hopeful, “Maybe he’ll come when you least expect it, or maybe you’ve already met him.” Yor scoffed at the latter. As the last person she met was an actor, and she already knew that was not going in the direction of love. But her friend is right, maybe she shouldn’t shut the door on love and happiness completely.

—

There was a lull of silence in the shop until a few girls walked in. “Hello, welcome to The Garden. Let me know if you need anything.” Yor called out to the customers as she prepared the work table to start another arrangement.

“Excuse me, but may we place an order?” One of the girls approached her timidly.

“Yes, of course.” Yor’s smile seemed the put the girls at ease. “Let me grab a few things first, but go ahead and look at the flowers you want to include.” The girls had followed her instructions as she went to grab a few forms.

Once Yor retuned with forms, she began the impromptu meeting with her customers. The girls shared how they wanted a bouquet each filled with flowers of white, blue, and purple flowers; irises, roses, peonies, forget me nots, hydrangeas and more.  The bouquet would be wrapped in plastic and tied with blue and white ribbons. “Do you also do inscriptions on the ribbons?” One of the girls asked.

“Yes! For a small fee, there is no limit to what what you want to say.” Yor opened a drawer to select ribbons that match with the design of the bouquet.

“We want it to say, ‘We will always be on your side, Loid Forger. Good luck with you comeback!’”

As she heard the words from the girls, Yor nearly froze. These flowers are for him?! Suddenly, the shop was empty leaving her to her thoughts. Will I have to deliver them to him? I can’t see him again so soon, I haven’t gotten anything to pay him back. Before she began to spiral, her customers brought her back to reality, “We wrote it here!” A girl pointed to the words she wrote.

“Oh that blue ribbon! That’s perfect.” The other girl chimed in as Yor set the ribbon samples in front of her.

“Ah, would you like the inscription to be in silver or gold?”

“Silver,” said one girl. “Don’t you think it’ll complement the white flowers perfectly?” She was speaking to her friend more than to Yor.

Minor details and payment were quickly settled. “The bouquets will be ready for pick up Saturday morning.” Yor smiled towards the girls. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“That’s it! Thank you for all your help, Yor.”

“I’m so glad we were able to make an order here,” said the girl. “By the way, the flowers you did for Loid Forger’s comeback live were beautiful.”

Yor stopped in her tracks. Unaware of the expression she just made, “Excuse me?,” managed to escape her lips. She knows that she never left any semblance of a business card or a signature for an event she had worked on. So, how did these girls know that she was the one responsible for the decoration?

“He shared a bouquet that he kept after his broadcast,” a girl pulled out her phone to look for the photo. “He posted it on Instapost!” Once she found the photo, she turned her screen towards Yor. The caption underneath said:

“Thank you to the Garden for such beautiful flowers. You’ve made day a lot brighter.”

Loid held onto the bouquet lightly as he wore a soft expression in the photo. Yor can’t help but notice how the forget-me-nots in the bouquet complemented his blue eyes so well. The white roses and lily of the valleys looked like pure snow against his appearance. No doubt about it, the bouquet he was holding in the photo was the same one he had asked to keep while they were donating the flowers after his broadcast. Since she had turned him down for dinner again, he asked if he could have a bouquet instead. She had allowed it and gave him the prettiest one. With the exchange of flowers, Yor thought it would con’t as repayment, but Loid said no.

“Wouldn’t it be great when he finds out that he’ll get more flowers from here?” The girl was giddy as she continued talking to her friend. “Anyways, thank you so much Yor! We’ll see you on Saturday, and hopefully we get to see Loid when we go to his music show recording!”

The girls had left.  Yor is sitting in her office to put in the order into their system. “He must’ve really liked them if he wanted to share them with the world.” She felt as if she was working on autopilot, doing her best to dismiss the thought of him creeping up on her.

—

It is mid-afternoon, Loid is still in bed as he got home at the early hours of that morning due to a full night of rehearsals after a shoot. Fortunately of him, he has the next two days off to rest before his string of music show appearances were to begin on Saturday.

As he sat up in bed, sleep was trying his best to keep him there, but he knew better and that he had to get up. Lines won’t learn themselves. Before all of that, he should start his day with his routine walk around the neighborhood.

Grabbing his usual cap and deciding to forgo wearing a mask, Loid headed out the door to his usual coffee shop. Fortunately for him, the streets weren’t busy, considering that it is in the middle of the week. Now being a block away from his home, Loid could make out a crowd of people as he was coming up to a part of his neighborhood lined with shops and restaurants.

“Is that?” He spoke to himself as he saw a woman in a red sweater, who seems to be trying to avoid someone. He continued his walk as he was nearing the cafe. As he got closer, he was in range of a conversation.

“Can we talk?” A man’s voice was loud with a hint of anger. “It’s been two years, Yor.” The man was holding a bouquet of flowers.

Yor? Loid turned his attention towards the man. He can’t be talking to Yor Briar, right?

“There is nothing to talk about,” the woman’s steady voice answered him. “And exactly, it’s been two years. There isn’t a reason for us to see each other, let alone talk.” Loid can’t mistake that voice, he knew it was her.

A scene was about to unfold in front of his eyes, and he wasn’t the only one who has noticed. A few eyes were looking towards the man and woman.

“Now, excuse me. I have to get back to my shop.” With her head held high, Yor was about to walk away from her ex.

“But we’re not done talking,” said the man. “It’s been two years, the store is thriving. But I can tell that you haven’t moved on. I’m sure its because you never wanted to hear me out.”

“I have moved one. And talk about what? How you cheated on me with Rachel? The girl I hired?! Tell me how would explaining to me that you not having a single a loyal bone in your body will give me closure?” She whipped back at him not standing for his nonsense. “I’m not that weak girl who fully committed to you all those years ago. Hell, you proposed to me and then turned around and cheated? You don’t deserve my time. I don’t ever want to see you near me or The Garden, ever again. I don’t want your damn flowers. I don’t want anything from you just so you can feel better about yourself.” Yor took a step back, but the man wasn’t having any of it.

“You don’t know what you’re doing,” the man gripped the bouquet so tightly that you could hear the stems snap. He took a step forward as his demeanor has changed. He isn’t going to leave until he got what he wanted. “You’ll regret this.” He took another step. Yor also took a step back, but it was almost too late.

As the man was about to grab on to Yor, another man had stepped in between them.

“There you are!,” said the man, who had stepped in between Yor and the other man. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

“Excuse me. Who are you?” The man’s voice was growing angrier.

“Her’s,” the man looked at him with cold eyes before turning towards Yor to block the man from being able to see her. As he looked towards the woman in front of him, her eyes had widened. It was Loid who stepped in between them. The expression on her face was a mixture of anger, shock, and fear. He gave her a knowing look to play along. After a few seconds of understanding what he wanted to convey, she nodded slightly at him.

Loid had heard everything that was happening between Yor and this man. He could no longer stand by and watch her be treated this way, although he knew that she can fend for herself. He did see that unfold.

“Where have you been?” Loid asked as he cupped her cheeks in his hands. He had assumed her cheeks must’ve been warm due to her growing frustration, but it was the opposite. The warmth in his hands began to melt her icy cheeks. “Your cheeks are like ice.” He moved his hands to hold hers, “Your hands too.” He slipped off the cardigan he was wearing, “It’s supposed to get colder soon, let’s get you home.” He draped the cardigan over her shoulders while turning her so that her back is facing the man. “But before we go home, we have to try this new bakery up ahead.”

“I’m not done talking to you. Yor, we aren’t finished.”

“She is done talking to you,” Loid looked back at the man. “There is no reason for her to talk to you.”

“I’m not talking to you,” the man’s voice was rising as he directed it towards Loid. “And who the hella are you to interrupt our conversation?”

“We are done talking, Daniel.” Yor turned to face her ex. She held onto the cardigan to prevent it from falling off of her shoulders. “You don't even deserve to know that his man is better than you’ll ever be. He’s everything that you’re not.” Not wanting to admit this, yet not wanting to tell a full lie. “He knows how to love someone whole-heartedly.” She looked at Loid, who’s expression was of a bit of shock. “Let’s go, Loi— Robert. I’m sorry you had to see this and waste your time on him.” The pair turned and began to walk away.

The man was left standing in a busy street as he slammed the bouquet to the ground out of anger.

—

The pair walked for another block until they were sure that Daniel was not behind them.

There was tension between them.They haven’t said anything since they walked away from her ex. Yor wanted to say something, anything. They had to talk about what just happened,  especially what she said before they left. About Loid being a better man and how he knew how to love someone. She couldn’t find the right opening to bring it up. But then, after turning a corner, Loid faced her.

“Are you all right?” He looked over Yor with concern. “He didn’t hurt you or anything, right? Are you getting warmer now? I’ll look up a coffee shop right now so we can get you something to warm you up.” He quickly pulled out his phone, but not until he rubbed her arms and shoulders to give her some warmth.

Surprised by his sudden kindness, she nearly forgot what she wanted to say. She watched as the glow from his phone would change as he was looking for a shop. She listened to his suggestions then throw it out as it wasn’t the right one for them. He was so focused on his search, but she needed to break it.

“Why did you do that?” She asked softly.

“Huh?” He was caught off guard and wasn’t sure if she said anything.

“Why did you do that?” She asked again. “Why did you step in?” Still holding on to his cardigan, gripping it tighter in her hand, she looked up at him waiting for an answer.

Bracing for both a good or bad reaction, Loid spoke. “I couldn’t stand watching him talk to you like that.” He was honest. “I heard you though. I know you were defending yourself. Neither of you were backing down. When I saw him take that step towards you, I knew he had the upper hand and didn’t want to wait and see what he would do to you. It looked like he was about to raise his hand towards you. I had to.” He looked at her. For the first time, he noticed a soft expression in her eyes, this was something he never saw in her before. He could tell that she has been holding her breath while he was talking. “I had to protect you…” his voice became quiet, but enough for her to hear him. She didn’t answer, so he continued. “I’m sorry if I over stepped.” He took a step back, “Only now, did I realized that my actions might’ve been over the line. I-“ Quiet sniffles could be heard as he noticed her breathing wasn’t even. “Yor?” On instinct, he took a step forward, wanting to envelope her in his embrace, his need to protect her growing stronger.

“That was so hard,” Yor managed to say in between her small sobs. She leaned forward, resting her forehead on his chest as she let out more cries. The warmth embrace of his arms surrounded her. Knowing that she should push him away, yet couldn’t bring herself to do it. This one time, she’ll allow him to be there for her. She knew she needed it.

He stood there, allowing her to cry.

—

Soon enough, the pair did end up going to a cafe. A cup of tea and more conversation was needed for the mood to turn for the better.

“I’m so sorry,” Yor was staring into her mug, ashamed of facing Loid after that crying episode.

“There is no need,” he said nervously. “If I didn’t step in, you probably wouldn’t have cried. I should be the one to apologize.”

“No,” she slowly lifted her head. “I should actually be thanking you. No one has ever defended me the way you did, before. He’s a real piece of… work, isn’t he?” She managed a small smile, but it didn’t last long.

“If you don't mind me asking, who is that guy? And what did he do to you?”

Yor took a sip of her tea, debating whether to tell him or not. She hasn’t spoken about her horrible breakup since it happened. The most recent was when Camilla brought him up a few days ago, but even then, she didn’t dive into details. “How much did you hear before stepping in?”

“That he… cheated.” Loid’s voice was low, as to not allow anyone around them to hear.

Around the time that Yor inherited The Garden, she felt that she was on top of the world. She became the owner of the store she grew up in. Her brother got accepted into Berlint University. She was newly engaged to be married. Six months after her engagement to Daniel, Yor was given heartbreaking news: Millie had spotted Daniel and the new hire of the Garden out on the town together, looking to be more than friends. She quickly confronted him, yet he denied and did his best to convince her that her friend was wrong. Luckily, Yor never bought his words and saw through every single lie he told her.

She ended things immediately. Gave back the ring. Gave back everything he had ever given her. Three years thrown away because the guy, who she thought loved her as much as she loved him, didn’t know how to keep his eyes from wandering.

Since the breakup, Yor had put herself to work to maintaining the Garden’s reputation in Berlint. She was going to move on. With the help of friends, she was able to do it all, she even went on dates. Everything was going well, until today.

“The betrayal was hard, I won’t lie about that. But three years is still a long time.” Her mug grew cold, even though she wrapped her hands around it. “I’ve been on dates, but none of them ever lasted. The hurt I’ve been through had affected my ability to trust people.” She looked at Loid. He has been quiet this whole time; listening intently. With his expression, she couldn’t fight it anymore. No more hiding the truth of why she didn’t want to go on the date she had won. As much as she wanted to avoid this topic with the man in front of him, she had to come clean.

“Is that the reason why you kept denying to reschedule our date?” Loid asked in a way that he was sure of each word he wanted to say. She nodded.

“I know that it wasn’t a romantic date or anything, but my brother began teasing me on how it was essentially a blind date between us. I didn’t like that, even though I knew he meant well. In a way, he was right, and it had caused me to overthinking things. I still do think that an actual fan deserves to go the date with you-“

“Don’t say that,” Loid cut her off.

“But its true,” she tried to laugh, but his expression was nothing to laugh at. “Someone, like a fan of yours, who loves and adores you should spend time with you….”

“I still think you deserve it. Like you said, romantic or not, you still deserve to have fun and be happy.”

Not knowing what to say next, Yor stood up and made an excuse that it was time for her to go. Loid followed suit and asked if he could walk her home. She said yes.

—

While walking home, the pair continued to talk. They talked about the weather, their work, anything for that matter. Yor began to feel comfortable being with him.

“Have you considered acting?” Loid switched topics.

“Why do you say that?” She laughed, wondering where the conversation was heading.

“Well,” his voice dropped. He wanted to address a few things she said back there. “What you said about me to Daniel.”

Oh

Yor began to stutter looking for an answer, “Ah, well.”

“I know you didn’t mean any of it, as we don’t know each other but- Actually, never mind. Forget I said anything.” Loid quickened his pace and walked ahead of her.

“Loid, wait! Let me explain.” Yor grabbed on to him.

“There isn’t a need to,” he turned to her, he tried to laugh it off. “I know you had to say something to shake him off.” His expression softened. “Maybe one day, you’ll say those words about me and mean it. Because you’ve experienced it for yourself. Now come on, we can’t be that far from your place, right?

Before they knew it, they’ve reached the flower shop.

“This is me,” she said looking at the door.

“You live at the shop?”

“The apartment above it.”

There was an awkward silence, as they don’t know how to end their time together.

“Oh, I should probably give this back to you,” Yor began to take off the cardigan, but Loid stopped her.

“No need,” he smiled. “Let it keep you warm until you get inside.” He looked up at the apartment before giving her a smile. Then something hit her.

“Oh, shit!” She face palmed

“What happened!?”

“I don’t have anything to give you.” She let out, “I should’ve paid for your coffee and cake today as payment.”  Loid laughed at her outburst. “What’s so funny?”

“I nearly forgot about our arrangement,” he continued to laugh. “But you have on more chance left.” He held up a finger.

“First you laugh, and now this reminder,” she crossed her arms and stuck out her bottom lip to pout.

“It’s not my fault,” his laugh had subsided. “But I guess that this means, I have the chance to see you again sometime?”

His words. Why is he talking like that? Does he really want to see me again? Feeling the oncoming blush, Yor quickly unlocked the door. “Ah. Uhm. Thank you for everything. Bye.” She quickly escaped into the shop closing the door behind her. Not wanting to leave yet, she waited to see what he was going to do next.

“Your welcome,” said Loid, even though he knew that she might not be able to hear him clearly. “I hope we can meet again.. Goodbye, Yor.”

—

“What is happening to me?!” Yor was pacing back and forth in her room. The same thing that happened before is happening again. Why does her mind keep replaying the day’s events? Especially when its days spent with Loid? Despite wanting to do away with possible growing feelings towards him, she can’t deny that she liked what he did for her.

In the next few days, she found herself smiling at the thought of him without even realizing it.

“No, I can’t be like this. I won’t allow those feelings to grow. I won’t allow myself to open up only to be hurt again.”

As much as she wants to keep the distance that is between her and Loid, the growth of her feelings is something that she can’t even deny. Butterflies were beginning to arrive at every thought of Loid.

Chapter Text

Yor’s heart never seemed to rest during the walk from the shop up to her room. The day’s event replayed, the way she saw Loid began to shift. Is there really no motive behind his actions? Is he really like this, even while he’s working. Why does it seems so odd that I keep seeing him around since we’ve met months ago?

What replayed the most was Loid draping his cardigan around her. At the time, his scent had engulfed her, allowing her to smell like him; of sea breeze and cotton. The scent from the cardigan never decreasing. It’s been hours since he left; she brought up the sleeves towards her nose. The cardigan still smells like him, a vision of him in the cardigan appeared before her.

“This can’t be. I can’t fall for him. Dear heart of mine, we can’t be hurt again.”

“….But he seems genuine,” her inner voice is speaking.

“How can it be so sure that he is?” She moved down to the floor balling up into herself feeling the warm protection of a simple blue cardigan.

—

“How’s Operation: Garden going?” Franky asked as soon as Loid got into the van. “Any progress?
“Barely,” Loid buckled his seatbelt as he let out a heavy sigh. Operation: Garden is actually going well, but at this point he’s ready to get rid of the operation name.

“Really?” Franky put the van in drive and made his way towards the network building. “Did nothing happen after the livestream? Nothing came out of spending time with her? Or was it,” he looked at the rearview mirror. “Your charm has lost its touch and didn’t work on her.” He couldn’t help but smirk.

“No, I didn’t even use any charm on her,” Loid scoffed, nearly offended that his manager thought he had to go through such lengths to get a girl to like him. “Because no charm was needed for her,” he looked out the window and watched the people pass by. “We just talked, and parted afterwards.”

“What? No dinner? And you didn’t take her home?”

“She refused,” he was now sulking at the memory. “She gave me flowers instead.” The voice had no trace of sour.

“So, does this mean that you’re going to end the operation?”

“Who knows,” Loid leaned his head against the window. “If I see her again, it could change.”

“And that means, no.” Franky turned on the radio and they began to drive without speaking another word to each other for the time being.

Loid has the intention to end Operation: Garden, but he has no intention of stopping in his pursuit to win Yor’s affection.

The last few meetings had left him wanting more of her presence in his life. Since their first meeting, he has never felt a cold attitudes towards him, despite her apologizing for acting so. Long shoot days. Grueling dance rehearsals. Sleepless nights. They have become more apparent in the past few days, even thought of leaving the industry has crossed his mind. But the thought of Yor kept him going. Her laugh from their last encounter was more than enough to give him the energy to keep going.

—

Once at the broadcast studio, Loid and his team went straight to work. First, he and his dancers made their way onto the stage for a light dress rehearsal and to know where to stand. Cameramen and stage staff were milling about getting their positions right for when Loid would perform.

After dress rehearsal and camera blocking, it was time to change. Loid sat in the dressing room getting his make up done, changed into his outfit and even got fitted with his headset. “We’re ready for you, Loid,” said a production assistant who had walked into his dressing room.

“All right,” Loid stood up to follow the assistant to the stage. While en route, the assistant had explained to him that he would be performing his songs twice, each performance with different camera angles.

As soon as Loid steps onto the stage and walks towards his mark, the fans began to cheer. He can’t hide the laugh the he had let out. It has been some time that he has met his fans like this.

“Hi, everybody,” he greeted his fans, which they returned the greeting. “It’s been a while hasn’t it?”

“Yes!” The crowd said in unison.

“Thank you for continuing to support me,” he smiled at the crowd. “I’ll be performing my new single and another song as well. I’ll do my best so that filming doesn’t take too much time.” Collectively, the fans coo’d at him while telling him that he doesn’t have to rush.

“It’s okay! Just do your best!,” said a fan.

“We’re okay to stay with you all day!,” said another.

“LOID, WE LOVE YOU!” A fan in the front said, which caused him to smile.

The director had walked out to go over a few more things with Loid and his dancers before turning towards the crowd. His direction to the crowd was to remember to have fun and to cheer on Loid the best they can. “Let’s have a good shoot, everyone!”

—

“Good work everyone! Thank you for all your hard work,” Loid addressed his staff in their dressing room after he had changed out of his stage outfit and began to help clean up. It didn’t take long for them to finish the task, especially since they began cleaning up once he performed his last song. Thankfully, there is nothing scheduled after this, which means a nap would be waiting for him once he gets home.

Walking out towards the van, fans were lined up hoping to get a glimpse of him. Franky was in front of Loid to act as a barrier. Their van was in sight, but Loid decided to stay a bit longer to say hello to the fans who had waited for him. As he approached the crowd, most of them held out pens, his album, and other gifts. The singer went through them all. He gave autographs, took pictures, and accepted a few gift bags. By now, he had reached the part of the crowd that was near his van. Two fans were holding similar bouquets and huge smiles.

“Hi, Loid!” One of the girls spoke first. “I love your new song so much!”

“You are so cool on stage,” said the friend.

“Thank you so much,” Loid smiled at them as he signed their albums. “Thank you for giving up your Saturday morning to come here and support me.” He smiled at them as he handed back their marker and album.

“These are for you!” Together, the girls held up their flowers. “You did so well today, Loid.” They said in unison.

Loid’s eyes has widen at the gesture. All his years being in the industry, he has always been given flowers, from staff to fansites, but not like this. It felt nice that to know that there were people who still believed and supported him. “Thank you,” he took the bouquets from him. “These are quite lovely.”

“I knew you’d like them,” one of the girls couldn’t hold back her smile.

“How so?” He entertained them.

“Because we got them from The Garden!,” she said, her proud smile never fading. Loid’s eyes grew wide at the shop’s name.

“We got to talk to the owner about them,” said the other girl. “She even made these herself. What was her name..?”

“Yor!”

“Yor?,” he said as his expression still present, but eyes soft at her name.

“Yes, Yor!” A girl sighed, “she was so helpful and kind. Very pretty too.” She laughed with her friend.

“Because you posted with flowers from The Garden, we might as well give you flowers from them too. Since you seemed to really like them on your post”

“You’re right,” he brought up the flowers to get a better look at them, “I do love the flowers from The Garden.”

—

Meanwhile at The Garden, the Briar siblings were working. Yor was working on an arrangement while Yuri was taking a break and had turned the TV on.

“You should be working. It isn’t lunch yet,” said Yor without looking up from her work.

“It’s so boring without anything playing.” Yuri complained as he began flipping through the channels. “Don’t worry, I’ll find something quick, and then I’ll get back to cleaning.” A few more clicks from the remote before he landed on a music program. On screen, the hosts were announcing their next performer.

The music began to play followed a voice that filled the shop. Yor looked up from her project for the first time today. Her eyes widened as a familiar man was there, with a voice so soothing and heartwarming that she had walked around the counter to get closer to the screen. “Loid?,” she let out. Surprised by his singing voice, she can’t help but enjoy the song.

“Yeah, that’s Loid Forger. The man you dumped,” her brother teased.

“Yuri!” She elbowed him causing him to flinch in pain, “That isn’t nice to say.” Eyes going back to the screen, she watched the singer perform in perfection.

“I told you he’s pretty good.”

—

A week later, Loid is sitting in his living room staring at the bouquets he had received after his first music show. He was surprised that the flowers had lasted this long. Then again he made sure to take great care of them in order to enjoy their beauty for as long as they would allow. With having no more TV appearances, he had a few days off before returning to the drama shoot schedule.

The flowers kept looking at him, as if they wanted to say something. Loid could just feel their eyes on him. “What do you want me to do?,” he said out loud towards the vases as if he was waiting for an answer. “Of course I want to see her again. It doesn’t help that she created the both of you,” again no response. Feeling defeated, Loid fell back onto his couch figuring out what to do next. “Oh!” An idea had popped into his head. He could contact her right? There is no harm in sending a message. He could ask her if she saw him on TV this week. Thinking that it was a brilliant idea, Loid pulled out his phone and opened his messaging app. His thumb hovered over the screen as realization had sunk in: he doesn’t have her phone number. Not even social media that he can use to send a message. Defeat had quickly sunk in yet again.

“Should I just visit the shop? She must be there right?” He stared at the ceiling for a moment before shifting his gaze back towards the flowers. “I should go right?”

—

The Garden was bustling!

The agenda for today was that The Garden would hold four flower arrangement classes. As it may be typical for the shop, today wasn’t the case. Yor had accidentally scheduled these classes back to back as two of them were private events. Fortunately, she had the flowers needed for each class and had sent her brother to the Shopkeeper’s warehouse to buy more just in case.

“Yuri, I need to you man the counter today.” Yor came out to the floor from her office. “Hopefully it won’t be too busy with all the classes I have today.”

“Still can’t believe you nearly overbooked yourself,” Yuri was setting up the main counter before heading towards the counter where the coffee machine sat.

“Neither can I,” she sighed heavily as she looked at her tablet. “Thankfully the private event classes are first. Both of them are small.”

The siblings went over their tasks for the day and ended with their signature handshake ready to take on what the day will bring them.

—

The first three classes flew by that Yor nearly forgot to eat her lunch until her brother brought her something.

“Just one more,” said Yor as she look another bite. “Then you can get off work.”

“I don’t mind staying until we close,” Yuri handed her a cup of tea. “It’s our shop.”

“But you said that you had plans tonight with Chloe,” she accepted the cup and took a sip.

“Her study group had asked if they could meet later. She has an exam next week,” Yuri leaned agains the counter. “I’ll go see her afterwards.” His sister nodded as she finished her lunch. The shop had to be set up for the final class of the day.

The participants of the last class were a mix of people. There were two couples, a few older ladies and a few high school and college girls. Those who sign up for a flower arrangement class learn about it through word of mouth or on the shop’s social media.

“I’m so excited,” said a girl towards her friend. “It’s my first time doing this.”

“Me too! So glad we decided to do this instead of our usual outings. Its refreshing,” said the friend.

“Hello, everyone. I’m Yor Briar. The owner of The Garden and your teacher for today. Our goal for today’s class is to create one of two arrangements.” She gestured towards the display on her counter. “Either a bouquet or an arrangement in a glass vase. Please take a moment to decide on which one you want to create today, then I will guide you on the best way to assemble them.” Her cheerful voice rang through the shop encouraging her students. As she looked around the shop, her gaze happened to land on her brother, who was pointing towards the coffee machine. She slightly rolled her eyes and laughed at him. “And if you would like a coffee, Yuri will be going around to take your order. A complimentary drink is included in your class fee.”

Throughout the class, Yor would give instructions for both projects before making her way around the shop’s floor to assess each student’s progress. She always looks forward to what the students make. Some would turn out beautiful, some were so creative, and others.. you could tell they tried their best to follow along.

As the class continued, someone was standing outside. He kept walking up towards the door then turned around to walk away.

“You can do this, Loid.” He said to himself as he was in front of the door again. “The only thing you could lose is the chance to see her again.” With the confidence he had given himself, he pushed the door open. The bell chimed signaling his entrance.

A room full students turned towards the door to look at him. All eyes were wide, except for one pair; those were in shock. “Ah, hello.” He dipped his head and waved shyly as he looked at woman standing behind the front counter. He didn’t expect the shop to be so busy today.

“Wha-what are you doing here?!” Yor nearly dropped the vase she was holding, as she watched Loid walk towards her. Her voice a mix of shock and annoyance.

“I’m here to buy flowers,” he smiled. Not in his usual mask and cap ensemble, Loid began to draw the attention from the other customers.

“Oh is that Loid Forger?!”

“Did you see the latest episode of his newest drama? I’m so hooked on it.”

“He’s so handsome in person.”

Wanting to shift the mood of the shop, Loid began to accept the attention that was given to him. Smiling kindly to the customers and even accepting requests of autographs and photos. While this was happening, Yor was behind the counter doing her best to not grit her teeth at the scene in front of her. She didn’t mind customers coming into the shop, but what she disliked the most was her class being interrupted. She didn’t care who you were, you cannot interrupt her class. With the customers loving the site of the celebrity, its not like she can make him leave as it would cause issues for the shop, and that cannot happen.

Loid’s gaze met Yor; he could sense that she could be all but happy to see him. Still, he made his way over to her. “Hi, I would like to buy some flowers.” Instead of a hello, he was greeted with a tight smile. Before Yor could say anything, Yuri’s voice came from the apartment above. From irritation to fear, Yor grabbed Loid’s arm and quickly pulled him towards her office.

“Continue with your arrangements, I’ll be right back,” said Yor with a nervous smile. “And you,” she turned towards Loid. “We’ll talk later.” She pushed him into her office. “Don’t leave. Don’t open the door. I can’t have my brother see you.”

“See who?!” Yuri suddenly appeared behind her. In reaction to his presence, Yor shoved Loid into the officer and slammed the door shut.

“See the…” she had to think fast. “The beautiful arrangements my students are making right now.” She laughed nervously. “What are you standing here for? The high school girls had asked for another latte, go now!” This time, she shoved her brother towards the shop floor.

“All right all right.” Not wanting to question what he might’ve seen, he walked towards the shop floor.”

Yor tried her best to continue on with her class, but what was waiting in her office was a constant distraction.

—

Stuck in the back office of the floral shop, Loid decided to take a look around. The walls of the office were adorned with photos of the shop throughout the years, as wells as certificates, awards, and recognition the shop has received. There was a photo of the previous owners, the Briar siblings both as kids and adults. The last photo was of Yor in front of the shop with a proud smile. While admiring the photo, the office door open.

“Hey,” said Loid as she walked into the office.

“Hello,” her voice was even as she stood in the doorway. “I assume you’re here not just to buy flowers?” He shook his head slowly. “Okay,” she let out a sigh. “Let’s talk out there. You must be dying to get out of this little room.”

“It’s okay,” he said quickly. “We can stay in here.” But she shook her head this time.

“Come on,” she gestured for him to follow here. “The shop is closed for the day, and my brother left to meet his girlfriend. Its just us now.”

The shop floor was empty except for the low hum coming from the refrigerators that housed the flowers. The lighting was low so that customers passing by knew that the shop was closed for the day.

“So, what is it that you want to talk about?” Yor set down a cup of coffee in front of him before taking a seat across from him.

“Agreeing so easily this time?” He didn’t mean to tease her; he was surprised.

“It’s seems like we can’t stop seeing each other.” She signed. “So might as well face it.” Her smile tight.

“I want to break our deal.”

“What?” She nearly dropped her cup.

“Forget the third meet up. Forget our deal.” Loid kept his voice even, despite his heartbeat betraying him. “Yor, I want to ask you out; with no condition attached to it. I want to take you out, because since meeting you and seeing you throughout town, I’ve come to the point where I hope that I would get to see you. So,” he could feel the lump forming in his throat. “What do you say?”

Stunned, Yor closed her mouth that had fallen open at his words. What is he even saying?! “Wait, wait, wait,” she put her hands up as if trying to swat the thoughts away. “What? You still want to go out with me?” She pointed to herself. “After how I’ve treated you since we met? I’ve been so cold to you. Yeah, we’ve seen each other. I was a vendor to your agency. You helped me get away from my ex. With all of that, you still want to go on a date with me?” Loid couldn’t help but pick out the annoyance that was in her voice, but he wasn’t going to give up.

“Yes, I want to.”

“But why?” Her voice softer. “Why do you think we would be a match? Look at me. Look at this place. This isn’t something for your-.”

“My what?” He cut her off as he stood to follower her as she paced around the shop. “My lifestyle? My social standing? My job?”

“Yes,” she admitted. “We are so vastly different. If word had got out that we are seen together. Your life could be ruined, this shop and my life could be ruined.”

“Is that all that matters to you?”

“Of course not!” She hit back. “Isn’t that very important to you? You are a public figure. Your image is everything.”

“iI’s not,” his voice was even. “It never was.” He made his way back to his seat. “I love my job, don’t get me wrong. I just hate the public side of it. After my group had debuted, I immediately knew I was going to keep my life out of the spotlight and stay private.” He looked at her with tired eyes. “When you told me that you barely knew who I was, I felt relief. And if we went on that date that day, I thought I could really be myself and not have to put up a front because I was with a fan; someone who has this idea of who I was because of my job.”

Yor had gone back to her seat. She had sensed that he had more to say. “I just ask for you to listen to me for a few minutes.” His eyes never left hers, as she slightly nodded. “I know this sounds fake. That it sounds like I could have a hidden motive, but I don’t. I truly want to get to know you.” He sighed heavily. “I understand your past. I understand why you didn’t want to go on that date with me. But this isn’t about the donor-awarded date anymore. I want to date you as Yor Briar, not the winner but the woman who owns the Garden. I found myself wanting to see you; that I have to see you. The days seemed so long because I haven’t seen you. That’s how I’ve been living since we met. I found myself missing you.” He gave her a slight smile. “I also understand that you may not want to; that you may not feel the same way..” He stood up. “I’ll accept your answer no matter what it is. If it ends up being a no, then I promise that you’ll never see me again.”

A heavy silence lingered in the shop as Loid waited for her answer.

Was this a sign for her to give into her feelings towards him? Should she risk it all again to see where these feelings could lead her? Could lead them?

No longer being able to take in the silence, Loid took it as a no. “Well then, I guess I know your answer.” His heart heavy, he turned towards the door. “I’m glad that I’ve met you, and it was nice to have known you.”

Before Loid placed his hand of the door, Yor spoke. “Well, technically.” Her footsteps reaching him. “Today, was our third meet up, and the coffee isn’t enough to repay you for my pastry.” She gave him a weak smile, but it was enough to make his heart flutter. “Besides, I did see that you left cash on the counter for your coffee.”

“So is that a yes?” He tried to hide his smile.”

“Yes,” she smiled back at him. “Even if we had agreed to break the deal, I would still like to go out with you.”

Loid let out a breath that he was seemingly holding since he arrived at The Garden. “Really?” She nodded happily. He wanted to hug her, lift her and spun her around, but knew that he can’t. Not right now anyways. A million thoughts of were racing through his head, but he put a stop to them. “I guess its appropriate to ask this now.” She titled her head at his words. “Can I have your number?”

“Oh..” Slightly shocked, Yor pulled out her phone. “Can I have your number as well?” The pair switched phones to add their own contact information. While entering his number, Loid noticed that it was already saved.

“It looks like you already had my number?” His brow furrowed in confusion, “I\It’s saved under ‘BCH date details’,” he showed her the phone screen.

“And you also have my number already…” her voice trailed off. “‘Donor Winner’” she mimicked his action and showed the phone screen to him.

Another silence hung between them as realization was settling in.

“AHH!” Said the pair in unison.

“We had each other’s contact this whole time?!” They said in unison, again.

“I thought I was talking to a rep from your team!!” Yor took a step back. “I really had your number? And you had mine?! This whole time!?”

“I didn’t know it was really you!,” said Loid in slight defense. “I thought this was a business number! Thats what the rep from the hospital told me!”

The pair continued to stare at each other. “If you had known that the number was my personal one this whole time, would you have contacted me?” She asked out of curiosity.

“No, because it would seem that I was using my connections to get to you.” He admitted. “Besides, I liked randomly running into you and being able to spend time with you because of that.”

“Fortunately for you, yet unfortunately for me. That is a good answer.”

Chapter Text

While cleaning the shop before it opened, Yuri was startled by a sound that seemed to have come from the apartment upstairs.

The sound had come from Yor.

“I can’t believe that happened!” Yor hid herself under the covers. It has been a few days since she agreed to go on a date with Loid Forger. Along with agreeing to a date; she had also agreed to swap contacts, yet she has not received a call or text from him since. “What did you get yourself into, Yor?!” She continued her whining before freeing herself from the covers of the bed. Maybe getting ready for the work day will distract her from thinking about him. “But if I said no, and I had repaid him, he would’ve kept his word right?” She stared up at her ceiling. “I wouldn’t have to see him again?” She felt a pang of sadness as she said those words. “At first it was a little annoying him seeing everywhere, but it was nice..” Her eyes quickly widened as she shot up from her bed. “What are you saying, Yor!?” She shut her eyes and placed her hands over her ears before shaking her head as if to shake away the thoughts of wanting to see him. “No no no! I can’t. This can’t be. Do I want to see him?!” In the midst of her emotions, her phone ran out. She received a text message.

Upon reaching the nightstand for her phone, “LOID?!” A message from Loid?! With minimal hesitation this time, she unlocked her phone to read what he had sent her.

“I know that we haven’t spoken since we saw each other last. Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about you. I’ve just been busy."

“Oh, just an explanation.” She let out a sigh of relief. “I can handle this.” Before she can put her phone down, it had pinged again. “Who is it this time?”

“One more thing.” It was another message from Loid. Her heart began to race as she watched three dots flash before her waiting for what else he had to say.

“Good morning, Yor. I’m heading off to set now. Just wanted to say hello :) - L”

Yor nearly wanted to throw her phone away from her. He sent her a message. Multiple messages. And a good morning message at that. Should she reply? Is that bad? No, not now. She had left him on read; thinking that if she replied right away it would give him some type of hope. She can’t have that right now. Taking it slow and the time to figure out her feelings is the priority for this situation.

After getting ready for the day, she took a look at herself in the mirror. “We have a busy day today, Yor. No distractions whatsoever!” She hyped herself up before making her way down towards the shop.

—

Across town, Loid and Franky are en route to set. Someone in the back seat cannot contain his smile.

“What’s got you all smiley like that?” Franky looked at the actor through the rear view mirror. “And at your phone no less.”

“Nothing,” Loid’s demeanor swiftly changed to his default expression: serious and no emotion.

“Uh-huh.” Not believing a word he said. “Did you happen to read the review of the latest episode of your drama? Seems like everyone is hooked even more.”

“I’ve seen it,” said Loid with an aloof tone. “Good to know the show is still maintaining its high ratings.” He looked out the window, watching the city pass by as they inch closer towards the set for the day.

In between shoots and in between reviewing his script, Loid kept checking his phone. The actor kept hoping for a message, a notification, a poke, anything from the one he liked. But nothing. He can’t lie to himself. He wants to hear from her. Should I send her another message? No, right? I already sent three this morning. Not being able to win this internal debate, he began to sulk.

“Okay okay, something has to be up.” Franky couldn’t take it anymore as he sat next to Loid during their lunch break. “Why are you so attached to your phone lately?”

“It’s nothing,” Loid quickly placed his phone face down after pressing a button. “Just checking something. You’re one to talk, you’re always on your phone too.”

“It’s part of my job,” Franky quickly responded. “I have to maintain your schedule, making sure you see what i see. Maintain my own schedule. Make sure Susan and I coordinate our schedules.” As he was talking, Susan had just arrived with her tray of food. 

“But i’m usually the one taking the lead in our coordination,” she smiled sweetly at Franky. “Why is he so worked up?” she directed her question towards Loid. 

“Because, apparently I’m on my phone a lot more.” Loid did his best to not roll his eyes. 

“It’s not normal, is all i’m saying,” Franky took a bite of food. “He barely looks up any news on himself or any projects that he’s involved in.” The frustration in Franky’s voice was being known around their table.

“He’s allowed to be private,” Susan, always the mediator in their team. “Even around you, Franky.”

“Thank you,” said Loid as he stood up. “Now if you’ll need me, I’ll be going for a short walk.” 

“Don’t be late for your call time!” Franky called out to him only for Loid to wave him off.

–

Everything in the Garden is going as planned. Yuri is taking care of walk-in customers. Yor is busy building flower arrangements and talking to customers coming in to pick up their orders. She has not had time to think about a certain person since morning.

“Yor!” A woman had burst through the Garden doors, startling the Briars and a few customers.

“What is it Millie?” Yor asked as she set down a few flowers. “Did something happen at work?”

“No, I just miss you,” Millie smiled at her friend as she sat down on the stool in front of her.

“Oh really?” Yor went back to focusing on her arrangement.

“Of course!” Millie was nearly offended, but laughed. “I was able to get off early, and happened to be in the area. Those look lovely.” She pointed towards the arrangement.

“You think so?” Yor took a step back to get a better look. “It’s for a teacher. A few of her students came by and placed an order. Seems to be she is retiring.”

“That’s sweet of them.”

“Isn’t it.” Yor then cut pieces of ribbon to tie around the vase.

“Are you guys still selling drinks?” Millie asked after a moment of silence.

“Yes, just go ask Yuri.”

“All right, I’ll be back!”

As Millie left to walk over to Yuri, Yor thought about asking Millie for some advice. Since she had broken up with Daniel, she hasn’t talked to other guys since. With Loid messaging her, she felt as if she forgot how to talk to a boy. With Millie here, she could ask for how to go about it, carefully.

“Sometimes I think, why bother going to a cafe to pay so much for a drink, when you guys sell the same thing at a cheaper price.” Millie came back with her latte. “This place feels so cozy too, especially since you allowed Yuri to set up a few tables.”

“Did he tell you that I allowed him?” Yor placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow towards her brother. “He did it without asking.” She puffed, which caused her friend to laugh.

“You two are so funny,” Millie took a sip of her drink. “You guys should start selling food.”

“That’ll be a bit much,” said Yor. “We’d have to look into getting permits and theres not even a kitchen on this floor. Besides, I want to preserve the legacy of this place for as long as I can.” She tied the last ribbon around the vase. A beautiful arrangement that consisted of roses, carnations, and lilies have been completed and ready for pick up.

Millie was still at The Garden, browsing the flowers for sale. Yor had finished another arrangement, while Yuri went out to pick up their lunch.

“Millie.” Since it was just the two of them, Yor is going to take this chance. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course! What is it?”

“If someone messages you good morning, along with a few more. How would you respond? Also, you just got his number and had been seeing him around town a few times.”

“Are you talking to someone?!” Millie stood up in excitement. “Who is he?! Do I know him!?”

“Hypothetically!” Yor quickly shut down her friend’s excitement.

“Oh,” Millie had deflated, but still knew that she must be talking to someone. “Does your friend have feelings for this person?”

“She isn’t sure.”

“Do they like spending time with them?”

“Yes,” Yor said a bit too quickly.

“Hmm,” Millie thought about it for a bit. “If they aren’t sure about their feelings but like being in their company; then tell them to just be themselves.”

“Really? No ploy? Nothing to do to play hard to get? You do that all time time.”

“I’m offended you think of me like that, Yor.”

“But am I wrong?” Yor crossed her arms across her chest.

“No… but i’ve changed! I now have a loving long-term boyfriend.” Millie’s voice was confident. “But what I just said about being yourself is what I did when I met Jonathan.” She looked towards Yor, “Feelings of affection will come the more you talk and spend time with him.”

Seeing how genuine Millie has become when talking about her partner, had made Yor see that her friend had grown up when it came to situations that involved love. “Okay, then. I’ll do that. I mean, I’ll tell them.” The friend narrowed her eyes towards her due to her own suspicions, but she let it go.

“If he’s willing to send morning texts and messages throughout the day, he must be thinking of them a lot. I may not know these people, but tell your friend to give them a chance.”

“I will. Thank you, Millie.”

“Let me know how it works out. For your friend.” Millie linked an arm with Yor.

“Okay okay, I’ll keep you updated if I can.”

After their conversation, Millie had left to meet her boyfriend. Yor wasn’t alone for long as Yuri can come back with Chloe, their lunch in hand.

Time to close the Garden for their lunch break.

It has been decide. Yor would respond to Loid’s messages from that morning. She grabbed her phone from under her work counter and saw that she had a few messages. Could it be Loid again?

“Just finished lunch ^^ have you eaten today yet? - L” 

Along with Loid’s message, he sent a photo of a tray of food. His tray consisted of barbecue meat with rice, soup, and a few side dishes. The photo nearly made her mouth water. His lunch was better than hers.

–

Some time had passed, and Loid was heading back to set. He would have to meet up with Susan to get touch ups done. Several of his scenes needed to be shot before the work day will end for him.

“Can you just crouch a bit for me,” said Susan with a compact in one hand and a brush in the other. “You’re a bit too tall.”

“Sure,” but instead of bending over, he widened his stance just enough to be at her eye-level.

“Don’t need to go that far,” she laughed, as she began fixing his make up.

“It’s probably better for you this way, anyways. Isn’t it better to work on a canvas that is looking straight at you, rather than angled down.” A sly smiled appeared.

“Whatever,” she threw out his reasoning, “Close your eyes for me, please.”

Silently going over his lines while make up is being applied, Loid felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. With plenty of time before having to step onto set, he decided to see who had contacted him. Barely opening his eyes, as to not ruin Susan’s work, he peaked at his phone. He only saw the letter Y. The singular letter was enough for him to lose his sense of gravity and take a step back from his make up artist.

“Are you okay?!” Susan asked as she watch Loid catch himself from falling backwards.

“Yes,” he looked up to her from his phone then back again towards his phone. “I’m so sorry, I need to take care of this.” Loid quickly walked away towards a quiet space.

Loid needed to calm his heart before opening his phone. Could the Y be Yor?! Holding his breath, he had unlocked his phone. A message from Yor Briar was waiting for him.

“I’m about to eat. My brother had ordered noodles - Y” she sent a photo of a bowl of take out noodles and iced tea.

“Your lunch looks delicious”

Loid stared at his phone for a few minutes. He wasn’t expecting to receive an reply from her; let alone two messages. He felt like he was in high school again, not knowing how to respond. He wanted to. He needed to. He didn’t want to play the waiting game with Yor. Besides, he should reply now while he can, before shooting begins.

“We can get something like this for our date that we still need to plan.

If you want, of course.” - L

As soon as he pressed send, he could hear the director calling for him. He needed to get into his character now.

—

“Cut!” The director called out. “Let’s change the camera angle then reset. Loid, we’ll start back at where Twilight learns that his cover family is the target of Rebecca’s newest scheme.”

“Yes, sir.” Loid nodded in agreement.

“Wow, who knew that the golden boy of WISE can slip up too.” Fiona had to leave a comment before walking over towards her team.

“At least I don’t force them to reshoot scenes.”

“These people don’t appreciate the art that is my acting.”

“I’m sure they do, thats why they’re here.” Loid’s tone matched her. He always hated how she looked down on the staff.

“Typical,” she clicked her tongue in disgust. “Always looking out for those beneath us.” She quickly glanced at Franky and Susan, who had just arrived.

“Fiona, they aren’t-!”

“I don’t have time for this.” She snapped at him before he could finish his sentence. “I still don’t understand what Sylvia sees in you! So what if she was once your manager, doesn’t mean that you are the top artist in our agency. Karen! Where are you!” Fiona turned away before the three of them could say anything more.

“The hell is her deal; bringing up Sylvia and in-agency rankings.” Now Loid’s mood is sour.

“Apparently a few fansites has released a ranking of top artists in each agency.” Franky was scrolling through his phone. “And for most of them, you are the top rank for WISE.” He showed his phone screen to the actor and make up artist.

“But those are fansites, most of them are for fun anyways. Its nothing serious.” Loid shook his head in disappointment. “It’s not my fault the board all voted for Sylvia to be the current CEO. If I knew she was also in this project, I would’ve dropped out.” He let out a heavy sigh.

“I think they production team knew that and withheld it from you.”

“Yeah, until the very end.” Susan had joined the conversation. “Now close your eyes.”

“But she is right though,” Franky hate when he agreed with whatever came out of Frost’s mouth. “You usually don’t need to reshoot scenes a few times. What’s up?”

“Nothing,” Loid opened his eyes. “I just got some good news. That’s all.” He smiled at his staff. “Good things.”

The manager and make up artist share a glance before shifting their gaze towards the actor. What is he up to?

—

The day was nearing it’s end. Yor was sitting at her vanity in her room, going through her bedtime routine. She had to be up early the next day to pick up flowers from the Shopkeeper’s warehouse.

“Still nothing?” Yor set her phone down, after seeing that there were no new messages. She was beginning that it was a mistake replying to him.

As she was about to get up and move to her bed, her phone had pinged. She quickly reached for it to see what has come through.

“So sorry for responding so late. Shooting ended later than I had expected. - L”

“That’s okay… Good work today! :> “ - Y

“but back to what were were talking about earlier.

Do you still want to get barbecue with me?”

Yor took her time to respond to his question. This was it. If she were to say yes, they were going to go on their first date.

—

It was getting late, but it didn’t matter. Loid was pacing back and forth in his living room waiting for his phone to ring. He had just asked a girl, who he has been falling for, out on a date.

“She did agree to go on a date with me, when we last spoke at the flower shop.” Loid said to himself. “But since I had formally asked her, she could still say no, or delay the date even further.” He continued his pacing, then his phone lit up. He jumped over the couch to reach the coffee table sooner, yet he dove head first.

It wasn’t a text message that was coming, but a call instead. Not wanting to let Yor wait any longer, he quickly answered the phone despite taking a hard landing on the floor.

“Hello?” He tried to even his voice as much as he could.

“Ah, hello.”

“Hey, Yor.” His breath was settling.

“I’m so sorry that I called! I’ll hang up now-

“No, don’t do that!” He cut her off as he sat up from the floor. “I don’t want you to hang up.”

“I meant to respond to your message, but I ended up calling you instead. I was going to hang up, but you picked up.” Yor’s voice was low on the other end of the line.

“You can tell me your answer now, instead of through next.” Although Loid’s breathing had settled, his heart isn’t.

“I’m free Sunday night,” Yor finally said after what felt like hours of silence. “The Garden closes early on Sundays. So I’m available, unless you aren’t…”

“I’m also free this Sunday,” Loid said too quickly. “That happens to be the start of my short break.” His smile had reached ear to ear upon hearing that she had said yes. “I can meet you outside of your shop?”

“That would be nice.”

“Great. If only Sunday can come sooner,” he hummed through the phone.

“Ahh, all right. I should probably be going now.”

“Wait! You can’t talk for a bit longer?” Loid shifted as he was still sitting on his living room floor. “I want to hear about your day.”

There was another pause on the other line. Yor was thinking.

“It was pretty busy today,” she broke the silence. “A friend of mine visited me, as she got off work early. I got jealous of your lunch.”

“I’m sorry,” Loid laughed hearing that she was jealous of his food. “I promise to feed you something similar or better than that.”

The pair continued talking late into the night.

Yor woke up late, and nearly got scolded by the Shopkeeper for picking up her flowers late.

—

It has been a week since Yor said yes to going on a date with Loid. Now they have set a date for the coming Sunday, which is tonight.

Yor was in their apartment alone. Yuri had convinced her to close early for the day, as he had plans with his girlfriend. She had agreed, as they barely got any customers today. One early closing day wouldn’t hurt.

Now, Yor was facing a different predicament. What to wear? She kept staring at her closet, but couldn’t think of what to wear on her date. Her usual red sweater? How about a dress? Pants? Where was he taking her anyways? In the end, she had decided to wear the same blue dress she wore when they met at the cafe. Might as well change the memory associated with this dress.

As she was putting on the finishing touches of her make up, her phone rang. “Hello?”

“Yor!” It was Loid, his voice was sweet and cheerful. “I just got to the shop.”

“All right, I’ll be out soon.” She hung up the phone and looked at the mirror one more time. “Be yourself. Have fun, Yor. He’s a nice guy. This could be fun.”

—

Once Yor stepped outside of the Garden, a handsome blonde man was waiting for her. “Did you wait long?”

“Not at all.” Loid smiled and handed her a bouquet of flowers. “I know you own this shop and surrounded by flowers all the time, but you still deserve to receive flowers of your own.” He handed her a a small bouquet of orange roses with red tips.”

“Do you know what these roses mean?” She accepted the bouquet and brought it her nose to take in their scent.

“Yes,” his smile unwavering

“Do you really feel with way towards me?”

“Yes,” he admitted.

At his answer, Yor felt a mixture of surprise and relief. Relief because it meant that his feelings towards her are genuine. Surprise, because she didn’t think he would admit it. “They are lovely.” She smiled.

—

To Yor’s surprised, they pulled up to a house. Is this a house date?

“I bet you’re wondering why we are here and not at a restaurant.” Loid said nervously as he parked his car. Yor only gave him a nervous smile. “I was looking up places to take you, and I could’ve booked a private room too. But..” He opened the door then quickly went around to open Yor’s door. “I think this would be better.”

Loid led Yor through his gates and into the open yard. Before them was a picnic setting. A tent with two chairs, a table, a grill and a lot of food. String lights were hung up to give the yard a soft glow. “I think this would be better. I also don’t want to risk getting recognized outside and it ruining our date.”

Yor took in her surroundings. It didn’t feel like a yard, but somewhere outside of Berlint. He went through the lengths to decorate his yard for their date. “Do you like it?” He asked nervously.

“I do.” She smiled up at him. “It’s beautiful.”

“I’m glad. I hope you’re hungry.”

As his promise to feed her delicious food, Loid had delivered. For their date, he had bought meat, vegetables, and all the fixings. While preparing the meal together, Loid had learned that Yor might not be the best cook. She has accidentally burned a few pieces of meat, but he salvaged most of it and deemed it edible. Aside from that, she helped make a few side dishes. The couple grilled the meat together while talking about anything. As the date progressed, Yor found herself to be more at ease with him. She did enjoy his company.

“Are you having fun?” Loid poured her a glass of wine before pouring himself a glass.
“More than I expected,” she admitted. “And you?”

“More than I could imagine.” He smiled.

“What?” She had caught a glint in his eyes. “Why are you looking at me like that. It makes me nervous.”

“Your very pretty, especially in that dress.”

“You’re not drunk already, are you?” She tried to play it off.

“Nooo.” He shook his head. “Also, isn’t that the dress you wore when you dumped me?”

“I didn’t dump you,” she said defensively, although she couldn’t hide her laugh. “But yes, it is. I thought that I should wear it again to rewrite that memory with you.”

“Do you regret saying no? The first time?”

“No,” she admitted.

“Why?” He leaned closer to her. “Because it wouldn’t lead you to this moment?”

“That, and I probably would’ve hated every minute of that date, if I wasn’t honest with myself.” He nodded, understanding where she was coming from.

“And now?”

“I’m happy that it had happened this way.” She said slowly. “You gave me a choice. It wasn’t forced upon me.”

“Are you happy being with me now?” He asked. Yor couldn’t fight the smile that she wanted to hide. She nodded subtly before hiding herself behind her hands. “Why are you hiding?” He laughed as he lowered her hands to reveal her face.

“Because right now, I can’t lie to myself anymore,” she said. “I know its been one date, but I’m really happy right now. And you did all this?!” She referred to their set up. “Was this your plan if I went on that highest-donor date?”

“No,” Loid shook his head. “This whole thing is for you only.”

“Ah, smooth.”

“No really!” Loid sat straight in his seat. “I had a whole different plan for that.”

“Will you tell me?” She leaned towards him.

“Next time.”

With the date going well, Loid decides to bring up something.

“Did you know that we’ve met before the highest donor date?”

“We did?”

Chapter Text

“What are you talking about?” Yor took a sip from her wine glass. “I’ve never seen you before the donor-date.”
“You deliver flowers too, right?” Loid chuckled. Hoping this would be the best way to tell her.
“Yes, sometimes on my bike. The same one that I used to run away from you.” She laughed.
“Do you remember delivering flowers to someone on Magnolia Street?” The girl in front of him just tilted her head, not following. “A few months ago, there was this girl asking me for directions around my neighborhood.” He looked down, “I thought she was pretty.” He laughed again. “I only saw her smile, because the rest of her face was covered by the helmet she was wearing.” He looked up towards the sky. “The only clue that I had about her was a sign on the back of her bike that read “The Garden.” He hummed a laugh before looking back at the girl in front of him and taking a sip of water.

“I remember that day,” Yor’s voice was low as a whisper. “I remember the man with striking blue eyes.” She looked away before continuing her thought. “I’ve never seen blue eyes like his. I remember feeling so mesmerized that I didn’t even look at his face.” She laughed. “Then the day we met at the cafe for the donor-date, I knew I saw those eyes before, but didn’t want to believe it.” Her laugh was quieter.
“When you left that day, I noticed you had the same bike as my mysterious delivery girl. I had to do some digging to put two and two together.”
“Were you disappointed when you learned it was me?”
“Not at all,” A smile had appeared and lingered for as long as it could.

“I don’t know if its the wine or my own curiosity, but can I ask you something?”
“Sure, ask anything you want.” He sipped on his water glass before leaning back on his wrists.
“Why are you…” she paused, looking for the right word. “So determined to talk to me after I turned you down?”
“Do you want my honesty?”
“Yes,” She brought her knees to her chest, resting her head on the top of her knees.
“At first, I was very determined to make you reschedule and tell me why you were so hell-bent on not wanting to go on our date. I’m not going to lie to you,” he laughed, “but you hurt my ego pretty bad.” He paused to re-adjust his position. “I wanted to prove to you that i wasn’t like any other celebrity, or whatever you thought I was. But when we kept running into each other in town, the incident with your ex, and everything in between, my determination began to shift.”
“Why? Were you beginning to fall for the flower shop owner who turned out to be your mysterious delivery girl?” She teased him.
“I did.” His voice was soft as he locked his eyes with her. “I thought you were pretty when we met at the cafe for the donor date. But when I saw you smile the day of my comeback broadcast, I knew I was done for.”

Yor couldn’t tell if it was wine or if it was Loid who was making her smile like a school girl. She quickly hide behind her hands. “Always the gentleman, I see.”
“Not to everyone.” His voice was low.

Still hiding behind her hands, she could hear movement. She dared not to peek through her fingers to learn what Loid was up to. It didn’t take long for her to sense his presence coming closer. Sliding her hands down, blue eyes shone bright in the dark night; they were face to face. Yor closed her eyes tightly in anticipation of what he was going to do, but nothing. “Sorry,” he finally broke the silence. “A light behind you was about to fall on you. I didn’t want you to get hit by it.” He stood up, to readjust the light back onto its hook. As Loid sat back down, he could help but notice the flustered expression on her face. “What’s wrong?”
“I thought you were-“ she didn’t want to continue.
“Thought I was going to what?” He looked at her, but she kept avoiding his gaze. Then it dawned on him. “You thought I was going to kiss you?” She retreated back to the wall that was her hands, nodding in embarrassment. “I’m sorry. It’s not the time for that.” He smiled, hiding his intention behind it.
“Ah, okay.” She nodded; not knowing if she was disappointed or relieved as she brought her hands down.

“Did you want me to?”
“It’s not the time for that answer.”

—

It was getting late into the night, Loid didn’t want their date to end. But it must. He could tell that Yor wanted to stay and keep talking, but the wine was getting to her. It was time for her to go home.

“I’ll take you come,” Loid draped a blanket over her. “Can you stand?”
“I can stand.” Yor got to her feet, albeit wobbly, and managed to stand up straight. She couldn’t hold her stance for long, as before they knew it, she landed in his arms. “see, I can stand.” Her head was buried in his chest as she gripped his sleeves.
“You can,” his voice was sweet. “Can you walk?”
“Of course!” She looked up at him, her cheeks matched her ruby eyes. “Now, let’s go!”

—

Yor was in and out of sleep during the car ride back to her home. She wanted to talk, but she didn’t have the energy to complete her sentences. Loid just listened as he drove.

“Yor,” Loid had parked a few shops down away from the flower shop. “We’re here.” The woman turned to face him. The expression on her face was hard to read. Was she upset that they had to part ways?”
“Oh, okay.” As she was unbuckling her seatbelt, Loid had gotten out to open her door. In a short while, they had reached The Garden.

“I guess this is the part where we say good night?” Yor looked at him, almost not wanting to unlock the door.
“It’s that time already?” He didn’t want say goodbye. “Can I see you again?”
“I think that would be nice.” She nodded with a smile.
“As soon as I know when my next filming break is, shall we go out for dinner again?”
“I would like that.”

As the pair continued their conversation, a pair of footsteps were approaching them. They looked towards the direction of the noise and noticed another couple walking towards them. It didn’t take long for the man of the approaching couple to call out to them.

“Yor?”

Yor knew that voice. Yuri was coming home. “Yor! I didn’t know you went out. Are you just coming home now too??” Yuri and Chloe were closing in on Yor and Loid.

Panic began to set in for Yor. She kept darting her eyes between her date and her brother. Yuri can’t know about Loid, not right now anyways. “Oh, is that your brother?” Loid was turning his head towards them to say hello, but she stopped him.
“You need to go. Now.” her voice was a loud whisper.
“Why? Shouldn’t I say hi to them? Introduce myself?”
“Not yet. He can’t know.” Her tone remained the same, despite the confused look on Loid’s face. “I can’t explain right now, but you need to go. My brother and his girlfriend are somewhat fans of you, and i don’t want something to happen.”
“But-”
“Please..”

Before Loid could protest, Yuri and Chloe were mere feet away from them. “Yor! You couldn’t here me?” As Yuri was in better view of his sister, it also meant that he may have noticed that a man was with his sister. “Who’s…?,” he came to a stop to see that his sister pushed a man in the opposite direction. “That?”
“Nobody!” she quickly turned towards the couple.
“Really?,” asked her brother.
“Yes.” her voice was barely even. “He- He just asked what time we open tomorrow.”
“But we don’t open on Mondays.”
“I know. That’s what I told him, and to come Tuesday. Oh hello, Chloe.” Yor thanked the heavens that Chloe was there, she could change the subject quickly. “Staying over?”
“If you don’t mind,” Chloe joined the conversation. “We didn’t realize we were out way past the last train, and Yuri didn’t want me to take the taxi home this late.”
“You know you’re always welcomed here.” Yor turned to unlock the shop. “Since we know it’s late, why don’t we head in and get some sleep.”

Yor couldn’t wait to reach her room to not only digest her date with Loid, but also what just happened.

“I’m so sorry I pushed you away T-T
Did you get home safe?” - Y

“Don’t worry about it :)
I just got home.” - L

…

“Good night, Loid. I can’t wait for next time.” - Y

–

In the next few days, Loid and Yor did their best to stay in contact with each other. Texting, calling, and the occasional video call slowly became the norm between them. The pair are still in the dating phase; there hasn’t been any talk about being exclusive to each other. Despite the busy schedules of an actor and a shop owner, the pair somehow managed to find the time to see each other, whether it be late nights, early mornings, or the occasional run-in while in town.

As the days went on, who knew that one date and small meetups could stir up some trouble.

“Where are you!? Did you see what is being said about you online?!” Franky’s voice through the phone was a mix of anger and fear.
“Uhm, good morning to you too,” Loid was still in bed.
“What have you been doing the past few days?”
“Nothing. I’ve stayed at home every time you dropped me off after work.” Loid didn’t know what his manager was alluding to.
“Are you home? I’m on my way, and I’ll explain everything there. Just don’t look online for the time being.”

It didn’t take long for Loid to hear that someone had walked through his gate, then through his front door. “We need to do damage control, now.” He scanned the room for the actor. “How can you be so reckless, Loid?!”
“What are you talking about?” Loid stood up from the couch. “You haven’t made any sense since you called me. And what damage control. If it had to do with my image, I would’ve gotten a call from Sylvia by now.”
“I don’t think you want the Handler, to step in right now,” Franky seemed to calm down a bit as he approached his friend.
“Handler does make her sound nicer, than Fullmetal Lady. But anyways, back to the point. What happened? And why won’t you let me look online?”

Franky took a seat on the couch and took out his laptop. “I don’t know if you’re still pursuing Operation: Garden or whatever, but you need to be careful.” The screen woke up from it’s sleep. “A few people on social media supposedly “spotted” you out and about with a woman.” The manager had motioned the actor to sit next to him. He began to scroll through posts that included images of Loid and a woman he is talking too. It only took a few photos for Loid to know that the woman is Yor Briar. “Tell me, was your Operation: Garden a success?” His expression serious. “You need to tell me the truth, its the only way we can keep her, whoever her is, out of the spotlight.”

Loid bit his lip. He had two choices: lie to his manager and agency and try to hide his relationship with Yor or to tell Franky the truth.

“I ended Operation: Garden a while ago,” Loid admitted. “I genuinely asked Yor Briar out on a date. She said yes, but before that we’ve met up a few times. It did take some time for her to say yes, but she said yes nonetheless.” His manager’s face fell. “The back of that woman’s head, in those photos, thats Yor Briar.” He pointed at all of them. “I knew I was being careful,” his strong facade cracking. “I kept looking behind my back at each turn. I even invited her to a at-home date the other night, to avoid all of that.”
“You’ve been seeing each other for that long!? Loid, with your job, you can’t keep secrets like this, especially me.” Franky’s frustration began to grow. “I don’t know your feelings for each other, but-“
“I’m not going to stop seeing her,” Loid stood up, his voice matching Franky’s. “I really like her, I’m not going to lose her. You can’t make me-“
“I wasn’t going to say that,” Franky turned towards him, looking at him as his long-time friend not his manager. “I know how you are when you like a girl, and when you saw Yor for the first time, I knew you were done for. But Loid, we can’t let this out. I don't care who you date or for how long. For Yor’s protection and safety, your relationship cannot be revealed.”
“I know…”
“Fortunately, for all of us. The reports are only on social media sites and not any official entertainment news outlets. It seems that your fans are fighting about it, with the majority agreeing that its just some random girl and no connection to you at all. So we’re safe for now. No apologizes need to be made.”
“Good,” Loid let out a breath of relief.
“But if anything,” Franky warned. “If you decide to pursue anything further with Yor. You have to talk to her about it. I’m sure she has an idea of what could come, but still.”

—

The Garden is lively today, which isn’t the norm.

Since Loid Forger had posted about getting flowers from this particular shop, business has been doing well for the Briar siblings. Even Yuri’s coffee counter at the shop is getting a lot of traction as well. Due to the growing increase in customers, it’s slowly becoming a popular place to be in Berlint.

While Yor is refilling the flower buckets, she passed a few girls gossiping about someone.

“Did you see?!”
“See what?”
“A few fans online claimed to have seen a celebrity out on a date.” The girl who was speaking garnered gasps from her friends.
“Who is it?!”
“The person isn’t sure, but they think its Loid Forger.”

“Loid?” Yor thought to herself as soon as she heard his name. She dare not turn around to make it seems as if she was listening in on their conversation. She continued to put more carnations into the buckets.

“Loid Forger?!” A few girls said in unison.
“Do they know who the girl is?”
“No!,” said the main girl. “No one knows who it is, but they’ve only been spotted once.”
“Oh, tch.” said a girl. “Then thats nothing. He was probably talking to someone while shopping or whatever.”
“Geeze, the things people do to create a dating scandal.”
“Especially for Loid. He doesn’t deserve this.”

Yor couldn’t hear it anymore. She quickly finished her tasks before retreating into the back room.

“Did someone spot us while we were out in town?” Yor said to herself as she shut her office door behind her. “I did notice Loid would look around from time to time whenever we saw each other. Did they see him defend me from Daniel?!” Similar thoughts were racing in her mind, as she tried to pinpoint a moment they were caught. In the midst of her of her thoughts, a sound had broken through. She was getting a call.

“Hello?”
“Hey, Yor.” Loid was on the other line. “It looks like I’ll be able to leave set early. Would you like to grab dinner?” His voice was calm.
“Ah yes.” She said after a pause. “I would like that. It has been a while since we were able to see each other, and I want to talk to you about something.”
“All right, I’ll pick you up?”

Yor looked around her office, as if she was looking for something. “How about we have dinner at my place.” After hearing the gossip in her shop, she wanted to be mindful about Loid and his image. “My brother will be spending the night with his girlfriend, which means I’ll be home alone… what do you say?”
“What would you like me to bring over?”

—

“Ah!! This place needs to be spotless. Have I been neglecting the cleanliness of my home?!” Yor was running between the living room and the kitchen cleaning. Yes, she was the one that proposed an at-home date, but she did it without realizing how messy the apartment as been. With the vacuum in hand, she went to town, making sure there was no speck of dust when Loid gets here.

The sound of the vacuum had drowned out any other sound of the apartment. While cleaning, she thought she had heard something. With the vacuum off, no sounds; with the vacuum on, Yor thought she had heard the doorbell. After this back and forth, she decided to go look out the window. “OH!” Putting the vacuum back into the closet as quickly as she can, Yor ran down the stairs to open the door. “I’m so sorry!” She was out of breath as she swung the door open. “I was vacuuming and I didn’t hear my phone or the doorbell. Did you wait long?”
“Not at all.” There it was, his sweet smile that she had grown to love. “I got all that you asked for,” he held up a bag of groceries, “as well as these.” Unlike the roses from their first day, Loid had brought her a bouquet of pink and red carnations.” He handed her the bouquet, to which she accepted, but her expression wasn’t what he was expecting. “Is everything all right?”
“Yes,” said Yor with a bright voice. “Come in, you must be hungry after a long day at on set.” She grabbed his hand and lead him up to the apartment.

—

The apartment was big, for it sitting on top of the flower shop. “Welcome to my home,” said Yor as she went to the kitchen to look for a vase. Loid followed and placed the groceries on the kitchen island. The couple went to work, tonight’s dinner will include steak, pasta, and a few sides.

As they were cooking and setting up the table for dinner, Loid couldn’t help but notice something about Yor. She seems nervous? Distant almost? The conversations they were having weren’t like the ones prior. “Yor,” he sat in the chair across from her. “Do you not want me to be here?” He spoke carefully.
“Of course, I do.” Her eyes went wide, which reminded him of a puppy. “Why do you ask that? If I didn’t want you here, I wouldn’t have invited you.” He nodded. She looked down, not wanting to hold his gaze as she continued speaking. “But I do want to talk about something with you.” The tone in her voice shifted, he noticed how careful she was speaking now. “I know I shouldn’t believe what is being said about you-“
“Wait,” Loid stopped her. Now he knew why she was acting this way. “Are you about to tell me that you heard something about me?” She looked at him nodding slowly. “Was it about me being seen with a woman…?” She nodded again. He leaned back, thinking of the best way to approach this.

“If you are more interested in someone else, I understand. We should probably put some distance… or better yet; we should end whatever it is going on between us.”
“There isn’t anyone,” Loid nearly stood from his chair. “There never was anyone else, but you. Since the beginning.”
“Then who is it? The woman in the photos?” Truth be told, she never saw the photos the girls from the shop were talking about. At first, she did assume it was her, but she never looked it up to make sure. “Probably one of those beautiful actresses; at least they can understand you more than me.” She hung her head in defeat.
“It’s you..” Loid looked at her. “Didn’t you see them?” She shook her head.
“I couldn’t bare to see them if it was another woman.” He left out a light laugh. “Why are you laughing? Loid, this isn’t something to laugh at. You know my past, if you wanted to pursue someone else then just tell.” She was holding back her anger by gipping her hands together. “Don’t lead me on."

Without saying a word, Loid stood up to walk over to her with his phone in hand. “I’m telling you the truth, there is no other woman.” He showed her the phone screen. “Because that woman I’ve been seen with, is you.”
“What?” Her voice was harsh, not wanting to be vulnerable in the moment.
“Look.” Yor took his phone to look at the photo on the screen. The photo was of a couple’s back; Loid and her.. that was her headband, no mistake, and her red sweater. “Now do you believe me?”
“Oh, Loid.” She buried her face in her hands.
“Now, can we enjoy the night together?”
“This still doesn’t dismiss the fact that we should slow things down.” She couldn’t hold back anymore. “I don’t want to cause you any harm. I don’t want to be the reason you get involved in a dating scandal or anything of the sort. I don’t want to be a -“
“Don’t finish that sentence.” He held her hands and brought them towards her lap. Behind her hands, she was crying. “The rumors going around; none of that is your fault.” His voice was comforting; its what she needs. “You are never a burden. I think I’m the one who’s the burden here, I’ve been bothering you until you agreed to go out with me.”
“But still,” She sniffled, “would’t be better if there is some distance between us? Until this dies down.”

Loid could feel his heart break at her words. No, it wouldn’t be better if they didn’t see each other as often anymore. “Is that what you want?”
“No..” Her voice broke again. “I want to keep seeing you,” she wiped a few tears away. “I don’t want to admit it, but I’ve started to miss you.”
“Then,” he knelt down by her side, “There is no need for a talk about putting any type of distance between us. I’ll do my best to always stay by your side, so that you don’t miss me too often. Is that okay?” She nodded in agreement as her words were caught in her throat. “Good,” he wiped her tears aways. “Now, let’s eat.” Instead of taking his seat across from him, he sat next to her. “And you should know, I don’t plan on taking it slow with you.”

—

In another part of town in a luxury high rise apartment building, an actress was going over her lines. “When does filming for this show end?” Fiona threw her script onto the coffee table in front of her. “The plot is so boring. At least it pays well.” She sipped her wine as she looked towards her manager, Karen.
“Your filming schedule will be done in a few months,” Karen looked over her tablet. “Then you start filming the movie you booked a six months after that.”
“I think this should be my last TV show I work on,” Fiona swirled her wine glass. “I’m starting to prefer bigger cinematic projects.” She sipped her wine as she waited for her manager to respond. When the the silence was too long for comfort, she snapped. “Are you listening to me?”

Karen’s eyes grew wide as she was reading something on her tablet. “What’s got you so invested?” Fiona walked over to take peak at her manager’s screen. “What is that?!”

Karen had discovered a thread of posts of fellow actor Loid Forger being spotted with a woman. As of now, now no official news outlets had picked up on the news. “This,” she took the tablet out of her manager’s hands, “could be what I need to finally become WISE Entertainments top artists, and show Madame Sherwood who is the best talent they cannot let go.”

—

Its been weeks since the initial rumor of Loid and the mystery woman. The world seems to be back to normal.

While out on his usual walk, Loid had this sense that he was being followed. Granted, today’s walk didn’t take place in his neighborhood or the other places he has frequented. Good thing I grabbed a mask in case I need it later, he thought to himself as he pulled his cap lower.

The scene of being followed grew stronger as whispers became more apparent. To his surprise, there happened to be a fan at the park he had just entered. A few fans have spotted him. Before he was able to say something to them, they ran off. This happened multiple times. He needed to get out of there. He can’t grab a taxi; that could cause more problems. He can’t call Franky, he has a day off. Yor, maybe? But as far as he knows, she doesn’t have a car. As he was thinking of his escape plan, a crow began to form around him. The best plan of action right now was to be kind, he was ready to take a few photos and sign autographs; which he did.

“I’m so sorry, but I need to be going now.” Loid needed to get out of this park. The crowd is getting bigger and beginning to get out of control. He searched through the crowd to look for an opening; it took him some time, but he found a small window and made his way. His fans kept following him while asking requests; he turned them down. The demands were growing, the pressure on him was mounting.

“Loid!” A singular voice broke through the crowd. He was searching for the source. “Loid!” He followed the voice until he reached the park’s exit, his fans were on his tail. “Loid, hurry!”
“Yor?” He saw her clearly. Instead of her bike, she was riding a Vespa. “What are you doing here?”
“I think questions shouldn’t be asked right now,” she nodded towards the crowded coming towards them. “Hop on. We need to get out of here,” she slid down the visor of her helmet then handed him a helmet. He followed her instructions and sat behind him; wrapping his arms around her waist. “Hold on!”
“Where are we going?” He asked as they sped away from the park.
“You’ll see when we get there!”

Chapter Text

For some time, Yor has been debating on buying a scooter to replace her bike. There was nothing wrong with the bike, its just that it was time to have a new vehicle when it comes to small deliveries. Thankfully, the Shopkeeper had given her a delivery van with the shop for the big event orders. The scooter is for having to deliver a bouquet a few streets over.

“I just need one more signature here, and it’s all yours.” A vespa salesman slid the last piece of paperwork across the table towards Yor. “Here are the keys to your new vespa. It was a pleasure doing business with you, Ms. Briar.”
“Likewise, thank you.” Yor signed the form and took a keys and walked out of the showroom to where her new scooter was waiting for her. “Now, lets take you home, do some work, and take you out to the farm!”

With her new ride, delivering flowers was a breeze. Yor loved all the extra free time that she had and was in no rush to go back to the shop. “Well, let’s take you for a bit of a drive, shall we?” She was referring to her new scooter before zipping through town.

—

Berlint has a few parks within its city, but the one near the city center is the biggest. Festivals, concerts, rallies, you name it will take place at this park throughout the year. Yor happen to arrive at the park to take a break from riding her new scooter.

“Oh, I wonder what’s happening today?” Yor was still sitting on her scooter as she noticed a large crowd. The crowd seemed to be growing and moving… towards her? She was about to turn on her scooter to park somewhere else, but noticed someone trying to escape the mass of people. “Is that?” She leaned forward, strained her eyes to heighten her vision. A gasp had escaped her lips as she knew who it was. “Loid!” She called out for him as she put her helmet back on. “Loid!" She called again, this time succeeding in grabbing his attention. “Hurry, Loid!”

The blonde man managed to create some distance between him and his fans. “Yor? Am I glad to see you,” he took in the site before him. “Wait where did you get this vespa?”
“I don’t think we have time for some small talk right now,” she looked behind him. “Get on,” she nearly commanded. “We need to get you out of here.” Not questioning it, Loid swung his leg over the seat and sat behind her.
“Sorry…” he said quietly, as he wrapped his arms around her waist and putting on the extra helmet.
“It’s okay,” She was thankful that he couldn’t see her face, she knew she was blushing. “Hold on tight!”
“By the way, where are we going?” The couple sped away from the park as fast as they could.
“You’ll see when we get there!” She called back to him before they hit a speed bump.
“Do you know how to drive this thing?!” Loid was beginning to fear for his safety.
“Of course! I just bought it this morning!” Her words weren’t so reassuring to him, as he tightened his grip around her and buried his head into her back as she drove them away.

Once in a while, Loid would turn back to see if anyone was following them. “Uh, Yor.” He tapped her shoulder.
“Yeah?”
“Is there anyways you can go faster?” He turned back around.
“I think so, why?”
“Because the Twilight Stars are after us.”
“Huh?” Yor didn’t know what he was talking about, but looked in her rearview mirror. The crowd that she saw at the park was now following them. “What is that?!”
“My fans!” Loid answered not wanting to look back at the wave of people that could crash into them at any moment. “I know what I said about your driving skills, but we need to lose them!”
“Okay, hold on!” Yor revved up the engine of her scooter hoping it would do something as she began to maneuver around Berlint to lose the crowd.

It didn’t take long for Yor to lose the crowd. She was good at driving her little scooter, so good that she even surprised herself. Now, it was time to head to the farm.

—

“What is this place?” Loid saw rows of flowers coming in over the horizon and a house at the end of field.
“My flower farm,” Yor pulled up to the house. “Along with the shop that I inherited, the Shopkeeper gave my brother and I a portion of his flower farm. Although, he still maintains it when he cans, and his farm mainly supplies the shop.” She got off of her scooter and opened the seat to grab the bag she packed.
“And all this? It doesn’t go to the Garden?”
“Once in a while,” she admitted, taking the place next to him. “But this farm does supply a small shop in the town we drove through. Now come on, let’s get inside before it gets too cold.” Yor looked towards the horizon and noticed clouds coming in.

–

“Home sweet home,” said Yor as she turned on the lights of the little farmhouse. “I know it’s not much, but its enough.” She turned to smile at Loid.

Loid wouldn’t say the home was small, but it was cozy. He walked into the living room and watch Yor turn on all the lights and the heater. “I thought your home was the apartment.” He sat on the couch.
“It is.” She answered, “but I guess you can call this house my childhood home.”
“Did you grow up in this town too?”
“Yeah.” She was in the kitchen now, turning on the stove to boil water for them. “Yuri and I moved here when I was around thirteen. We are originally from Eastern Nielsberg; that was until my parents died in an accident.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s all right,” she turned and smiled at him before making her way towards the living room. “I remember that I had to figure out what to do, because I didn’t want to get separated from Yuri.” She took a seat on the floor next to Loid, who was on the couch. “But thankfully, Shopkeeper and his wife took us in.” A wam smile appeared on her face. “He was the original owner of The Garden and the apartment above it. This little house and my little farm sit on his property. He’s somewhat retired now; living on his farm, and still supply shops with flowers. That little flower shop in town that I mentioned earlier, that was his first one. They are a bit older, so they’re like grandparents to my brother and I.” She looked up at him, the light of the living room warmed Loid’s appearance. A comfortable silence was quickly interrupted by the whistle of the kettle. “It’s done!” Yor got up to make tea.

While the tea was steeping, Yor began taking inventory of the kitchen. It has been a while since either her or her brother has been at this house, so expecting food would be a miracle. “Everything okay?” Loid had appeared in the doorway of the kitchen.
“We may have to go into town to get some food,” said Yor as she closed the refrigerator door.
“On your vespa? Will it have room for both of us and the groceries?”
“No, not on that” she laughed. “There is truck here. We can use that.”
“Then let me drive this time?”
“Sure,” she laughed and handed him the keys to the truck.

The truck in the back was older than expected, but as soon as the key turned in the ignition, it roared to life with ease. The drive to town didn’t take long. “Oh those clouds don’t look too good,” said Loid as he looked towards the sky.
“Hopefully the weather doesn’t change too much until we get home.”

—

With groceries and other essential’s completed, the couple made it back to the farm house and began preparing dinner. In the midst of there cooking, a loud bang had startled them before the lights flickered. They walked over to the window to take a look outside. The clouds they had noticed earlier are now above them, and they had brought wind and rain.

“The flowers!” Yor noticed the hydrangeas, azaleas, and lilies were beginning to shrink under the rain. In a swift motion, she grabbed a raincoat and slipped on some boots.
"Where are you going?!” Loid tried to stop her from going outside.
“The flowers!” She repeated. “If I don’t cover them, they’ll get damaged and the petals will fall, or worse the stems will break.” She opened the door to be greeted by strong wind and rain before she stepped out.

Luckily by the time Yor arrived to the field with plastic in hand, only the wind was strong while the rain wasn’t. “Okay, what do we need to do?” A male voice came up to her.
“Loid?! What are you doing here?” Her voice was loud so that he can hear her over the rain.
“To help you! I’m capable of these things, you know.”

Not having the time to argue, Yor went into work mode. “Take this and stand on the other side of the row. I already connected the end to the rods.” She handed him the plastic and a few ties. “You see those rods standing up? Tie the plastic down to it. We need to create a covering for these flowers.”
“Okay!” Loid followed her orders.

As the pair continued work, the rain became as strong as the wind. They struggled with the last row, the hydrangeas. Yor told him to be careful as they petals were too delicate. The last rod of the hydrangea row had to be tied, but she was beginning to struggle. The rain was causing her vision to blur, until the raindrops were less. She looked up to see that Loid was trying his best to shield her from the rain so that she can finish the job. She smiled a thank you and tied down the plastic covering tightly. “Let’s go back inside!” She grabbed his hand as they walked back together.

“Thank you so much,” said Yor as they made it back inside the house. They were both cold and wet, but at least the flowers would be protected.
“Of course,” said Loid, who was slightly out of breath. Working in this kind of weather was no joke.
“Here,” she handed him a towel to dry off. “You can go ahead and take a shower. While I was grabbing towels, I found some clothes that Yuri had left behind. You can borrow them.” Her voice was low, why was she shy all of a sudden. “When there is a break in the rain, we can head into town to get you some clothes.”
“Uhm, thanks.” He smiled. “You can go first though.”
“Oh no,” she said too quickly. “I insist, besides, I need to check on a few things. With how strong the weather is outside. I should check on the generator, in case it needs to be used tonight.”
“Do you want help with that?”
“No, I can manage.” She gave him a reassuring smile. “You should hurry and shower though, or you’ll catch a cold.”
“All right,” He ran the towel through his hair. “You don’t take long either. The longer you stay in those wet clothes, you’ll catch a cold before I do.” He placed his towel on the top of her head, and began to dry her hair.
“Go,” she said nervously as she noticed how close they were. Their breath began to mix with each other as the only thing that she could hear was her own heart beat.
“Okay,” he whispered before heading towards the bathroom.

“Geeze, Loid,” said Yor as soon as Loid had disappeared into the bathroom. She fell to the ground. “Don’t do that to me.”

—

The storm kept raging on causing the lights to flicker on and off from time to time. The lights in the home were dimmer than before.

“It seems that the power has been shut off,” said Yor as she walked out of the hallway and into the living room where Loid was sitting. “We still have gas for the stove, but the generator is running low on gas. Might have to have to drive back into town.” Loid nodded. “Sorry, you probably didn’t expect today to turn out like this.”
“No need to be sorry. At least I’m spending time with you.” Yor blushed at his words as she sat down next to him.

“Stop doing that!” She grabbed a pillow to bury her face in it.
“Doing what?!”
“That! Being nice and sweet to me,” her voice was slightly muffled as she spoke into the pillow.
“Do you not want me to be nice and sweet to you?” Loid was standing on his knees, next to her. But before Yor can answer, there was a knock at the door.
“Who could that be?” She got up to open the door.

“Oh, Yor!” It was the Shopkeeper. “I thought that Yuri was going to be here.”
“He was, but he has exams coming up and rather stay in town. What are you doing here, Shopkeeper?”
“Well, I remember that Yuri told me about the generator situation the last time he was here. So I brought gas to fill it up; especially with the weather we are having.”
“What perfect timing, we were about to go into town to buy more.”
“We?” The Shopkeeper asked, as he didn’t see anyone in the house but Yor.
“Did I say we?” Yor felt that she got caught.
“Yes… who else is here?” The Shopkeeper was looking behind Yor, as she did her best to block his view. It didn’t work; he spotted a figure in the back. “Who is that?”

The shopkeeper was someone she couldn’t lie to; he was a parental figure to her after all. “Ah, well.”
“Who is he?”
“Loid Forger…” Yor wanted to hide while Loid stayed hidden.
“Get more supplies from town,” The shopkeeper spoke. “Then come to the house, you two will join the wife and I for dinner.”

—

Back in Berlint, Franky was in panic. He had caught wind of Loid being spotted in town and being chased by fans before he had vanished. As he scour the internet to find anything that could lead to the actor’s whereabouts, nothing could be found. It didn’t help that Loid wasn’t answering his calls.

The rain was getting heavy in the city.

“Where could you be, Loid? Nobody can know that you’re gone, or it’ll cause trouble.”

After what seemed to be an eternity of waiting, Franky finally got a phone call from Loid. “WHERE ARE YOU?! YOU JUST DISAPPEARED?! YOU’RE NOT EVEN HOME?! What do you mean you’re at the countryside? How did you get there? Yor?! Why are you with her?!”
“Franky, calm down. I’m fine and safe,” said Loid. “She helped me escape my fans earlier today.”
“At least you’re safe. When are you coming back?”
“Next week.”
“NEXT WEEK?! What about all those meetings and shoots?!”
“Cancel them. Filming is at a halt, and with the album promotions all done, I deserve a break.”
“But Loid-“
“Besides, theres a big storm out here and no one will know what the road conditions will be like later.”
“Loid.”
“Franky, I need this, please. I’ll talk to you soon.”

Manager could not let out another word as his artist swiftly hung up on him.

—

“What a surprise this is!” The shopkeeper’s wife had sent down a big pot of stew in the middle of the dining table. “Loid Forger is in our home, dear! I’m such a fan! I love your latest drama!”
“Thank you, ma’am.” Loid said nervously. “Thank you for having me for dinner.” It felt like he was meeting his girlfriend’s parents. It's close to it, right? The couple in front of him did raise the Briar siblings. Except he was not in a relationship with Yor, not yet anyways.
“Any time!” The woman gushed as she looked towards her husband. “Who knew our Yor was dating my favorite actor.”
“We’re not dating,” the young pair blurted out as they mirrored each others blush.
“Yet, anyways.” Loid muttered in the end, that caused Yor to look at him in shock.
“Well, its not like I could allow you two to not have a nice meal in this weather,” the Shopkeeper added.
“We bought groceries before you came by.” Yor protested. “We even started cooking.”
“But you’re here now,” the Shopkeeper ended their argument. “Now, let’s eat.” He looked at Loid with a semi-cold stare, “you too.”

“So when did you two start dating?” The wife placed a heavy portion of stew onto Loid’s plate.
“Grandma…” Yor wanted the conversation to stop before it started.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but Yor and I aren’t dating.” Loid admitted. “We’ve only been on a few dates, so I wouldn’t consider that I’m dating her just yet.”
“Oh is that so,” the woman looked at Yor. “Why won’t you let this man be your boyfriend?” Loid coughed on his food. “He has a great job. He’s handsome. He’s much better than that other guy.”
“Grandma, how do you know all of that? You just met him; just because he’s your favorite actor right now doesn’t mean I’ll automatically let him be my boyfriend.” Yor leaned back into her chair. “Just as Loid said, we’ve only been a few dates, and we really haven’t talked about it…” This fact was true, mainly. Loid did want to talk about the next steps in their relationship, but Yor kept putting off.
“Does Yuri know?” The shopkeeper asked.
“No… no one knows.” Yor looked down at her lap. “Except you two.”

Silence as they continued with their meal.

“Loid,” the sudden call of this name by the Shopkeeper caused him to drop his utensils. “I know you may be a celebrity, but if she allows you to date her, promise me that you’ll be good to her. Better than the man who broke her heart, before you came along.”
“Shopkeeper!” Yor got up from her seat. “What about me?! Thats my decision to make.”
“I’m just giving you two my blessing.”
“Blessing?” She asked as she stood still.
“I watched him help you cover those flowers earlier today.” Shopkeeper sipped his water. “And how he shielded you from the rain so that you can finish the job.” He looked at the two of them, as Yor slowly sat back down in her seat. “Even though it may seem minor, those are still things he did for you that Daniel never did when he came to the farm. That boy didn’t lift a finger to help us any time he was here.” His gaze shifted to Loid, “Promise me that you treat her well, as she deserves it. That is, if she allows you to get closer to her.”
“I will,” said Loid in full confidence. “I promise that I won’t hurt her.” He looked at Yor, grabbing her hand from under the table. “Nothing in this world would cause me to hurt the woman I care deeply for.”

—

The couple had left the shopkeeper’s home. He had told them that the roads were flooded, so it would be near impossible to drive back to Berlint in the next few days.

“Will that be okay?” Yor asked once they got back to the little farm house.
“What do you mean?”
“I closed the Garden for the week. I had already planned to stay here. I brought you here, don’t you have work back home?”
“Not really,” Loid shook his head. “The production team is fighting with the production company over fair treatment and pay, filming has been halted for the time being. I’ve been done with all promotions for my album. So, I’m on break.” He sat down on the couch. “Besides, I could use a vacation.”
“Vacation?”
“As we left the city and entered this town, I couldn’t help but feel a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I’ll be honest with you, I’ve been feeling burnt out from work lately.” Yor listened carefully. “I don't mind being away from Berlint. Of course, if you’ll have me here that is.”
“I would like that.” She sat next to him. “Even though I planned to stay here, I didn’t want to be alone. Now, I don't have to be.”

A tension began to form between them. A lamp was the only source of light in the living room, giving a soft glow in the night.

“Did you mean what you said?” Yor asked. “During dinner with grandma and the shopkeeper. Did you mean it?”
“Of course I did,” his voice, confident. “I wouldn’t lie about that.” He swept stray strands of hair behind her ear, leaving his hand to cup her cheek.
“Are your words just words, or do actions follow them quickly?”
“They follow, only if you allow me to act on them.” His voice, above a whisper as the pair inch closer to each other. “But only if you want it.”

With Loid’s hand still on her cheek, Yor placed a hand on top of his. “Is it all right if I admit something to you?” He nodded.
“What is it?” His lips are nearly hovering over hers.
“I-I think I like you, Loid.” She had admitted something that’s been weighing down on her heart. It was something that she can no longer deny. The feelings she had for Loid had come to fruition, and now she didn’t want to let him go. “I like you, Loid Forger.” Instead of an answer, she felt a warm sensation press onto her lips.

The kiss was slow and sweet. He kissed her with so much care that Yor was in full bliss.

“I like you too, Yor Briar.,” said Loid as he broke their kiss. “I’ve liked you since the day we met. When I saw you at the cafe for the first time without your helmet, it was the moment that I began to fall for you. I’m happy that now is the right time for this.” He kissed her again, pulling her closer to him to eliminate any space that was between them. “You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting to do this.”
“I agree.” She could feel him smile through their kiss.

The pair had stayed in their embrace as the sound of the rain began to lull them to sleep.

“Does this mean we’re together now?” Loid asked as they watched the raindrops slide down the windows.
“Would that make you happy?” She drew shapes along his chest before looking up at him.
“It would,” he held her hands, looking at her with loving eyes.
“Good, because I would be happy to be with you, Loid.”

—

It was still raining the next morning. No trace of sunlight to wake up the sleeping couple. Yor had woken up. The previous night had felt like a dream. Their confession. Their kiss. It didn’t feel real. She allowed her fingers to dance on her lips, as she felt the touch of his lips linger on hers. “His lips.”
“What about my lips?” Loid was leaning against the doorframe of the bedroom holding a mug in each hand.
“N-nothing,” she looked away. “Where did you go? I remember that you bought me to bed, and you were next to me.” She nearly pouted. “You could’ve slept in the bed with me. It was so cold last night.” He placed the mugs on the nightstand.
“I could’ve,” he sat on the bed next to her, “As much as I wanted to maybe not right now. I know we’re together now, but can’t rush into things like this.”
“Ever the gentleman,” she sat closer to him, “but I thought you wanted me..?” Yor had an idea to tease him. “I never noticed how cold a lonely bed could be; that was until I woke up.” She noticed the strong blush that appeared across his cheeks. “It was cold without you, and since the heater hasn’t been performing its best..”
“Tonight.” He grabbed a strand of hair to play with. He caught up to the game she’s playing. “I’ll sleep here tonight,” he whispered in her ear, “Is that what you want? is that okay with you?” Lips found their place along her neck causing her to let out a sharp gasp. “I’ll give you more of this and then some,” a trail of kisses began to form up her neck. She felt his soft lips along her jawline.
“oh-okay.” Leaning into his touch, she closed her eyes anticipating for the trail to end on her lips, but nothing happened. When she opened her eyes, he wasn’t on the bed anymore.
“C’mon, I’ve made breakfast.”
“So mean.” She pouted.
“Now, don’t say that.” He walked back to give her a kiss to leave her breathless. “Let’s go eat.”

—

In a room at Wise Entertainment, someone was plotting a scheme on how to claim the throne of the agency’s top artist.

“Did you find anything?” Fiona asked as her manager walked into the conference room.
“Hardly,” Karen shook her head. “I saw something that he was was seen leaving the city, but nothing was confirmed.”
“What is this guy doing?”
“Do you think it’s best to dwell on how you can bring him down?” Karen was beginning to see through Fiona’s plans. “Your schedule for this week is packed, full of shoots and meetings. Your first table read for your new drama is this week.”
“if I don’t focus on tearing someone down, how can I go up?” The actress shot at her manager.
“Fanservice, even if you have to fake it. Thats how everyone in this business is getting popular. You might as well do more fan service since you refuse to do any variety shows.”

Fiona doesn’t want to admit that her manager is right. She hated how she had to appeal to the public so much in order to get her ratings higher. “What happened to quality performance to being the only reason why you’re good at your craft,” she scoffed.
“Its that and being popular with the general public.”
“So lame.”

Chapter Text

Yor’s flower farm sits in the country side of Ostania, which isn’t far from the coast. One could see the ocean while walking the flower fields. It was still raining, but a lot better than it was the day they had arrived.

Its been two days since they’ve arrived at the farm. 

It’s been two days since Yor had confessed her feelings towards Loid after all this time. They’ve confessed. They’ve kissed. On the second night at the farm, they shared a bed.

Yor sat up in bed, as she had woken up before the sun was fully in the sky. The rain was light and the fields were covered in mist. She looked to her side to see her partner, who was still in a peaceful slumber. His breathing was even; his face was relaxed. What could he be dreaming about? After some observation, she laid down back onto her side as she continued to watch him sleep, not wanting to disrupt his peace. 

Loid shifted in his sleep, yet his eyes remained closed. He had turned to his side as well, facing Yor. She had kept quiet. Soon, he had retuned to a peaceful sleep; she couldn’t hold in her giggle before allowing her fingers to ghostly trace his facial features. Her delicate fingers traced over him so carefully, as if she were studying his feature so that she wouldn’t forget a single detail about him. When her fingers reached his lips, she stopped. 

His lips were on her mind for the past two days. Since their confession, they have kissed quite often. Each one had left her even more breathless then the last. She recalls how soft they felt against her own, wanting to feel them again now, but she didn’t want to wake him. It was time to move on, to continue her tracing of his being. Before she could move her fingers from his lips towards his chin; a hand had grabbed her. She let out a gasp. Still with his eyes closed, Loid puller hands towards his lips and kissed her fingers. “You’re awake?!” Her voice was quiet, but loud enough for him to hear. He nodded. “Did i wake you?” he shook his head before his eyes fluttered open.

“No,” his blue eyes shining in the morning light. “I’ve been awake for a while now,” he kissed her fingers again before placing their hands on his cheek. 

“Did you not sleep well?” Yor was able to free her thumb from his hold, and began to softly rub his cheek. “You should have said something.”

“It wasn’t that.” He shook his head and smiled. “Since we got here, i’ve been sleeping well.”

“Then what?”

“I didn’t want to wake you,” he admitted. “I have debated on getting up and making breakfast again, but it couldn’t hurt to stay in bed a bit. I’m glad that the first thing I saw today was you.”

“So cheesy,” she said as she felt a rush of blood fill her cheeks out of embarrassment. Loid let out a laugh before kissing her forehead.

“I’m sorry, I’ll be less cheesy from now on. I just like seeing how you react to it.”

The couple stayed in bed a bit longer, watching the rains hit the window.

—

The shopkeeper had arrived that morning. He wanted to know if the house and the field had suffered any damage due to the sudden storm of the last two days. Both Yor and Loid put on boots and coats to help him survey the flower fields.

“I was in town earlier and was told that the roads back to Berlint have been closed for the time being,” said the Shopkeeper as they walked the rows of flowers. “They don’t know if maintenance is needed yet, but be prepared that you may have a longer stay.” Although he was talking to both of them, he mainly directed his words towards Loid, who got the hint.

“Is that going to be a problem for you?” Yor asked after the shopkeeper had left. The couple was sitting on the porch of the house. “I can check the train schedule for you.” The town we drove through has a station.” She took out her phone and began searching for the next train heading back to Berlint.

“Do you not want me to stay with you anymore?” Loid pouted. “We’ve only been here for two days. We’ve agreed to stay here for the week, and it seems we may have to stay longer.”

“It’s not that.. but what would happen if we’re for more than a week?”

“I’ll just tell Franky to cancel anything that may have been planned?” After he said this, he took out his own phone to check his scheduled for the next week.”

“Playing hooky, I see.”

“Hardly,” he grabbed Yor’s chair to pulled her towards him. “Can’t I just spend time with my girlfriend?”

“You can… but” she looked away. This was the first time that he called her his girlfriend. She was caught off guard.

“But nothing.” He kissed her cheek. “I want to be here with you, for you, and everything in between.” A smile had never left his face. “So what should we do today?”

“Well since the rain has stopped, Her gaze returned towards the fields. “I should go check on the fields more often. I know we did a walk through with the Shopkeeper, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful.” She stood up and held out her hand. “Are you coming? We should check on the hydrangeas you protected from the rain.” Without missing a beat, Loid took her hand to join her.

—

While the couple were monitoring the fields, Yor had gotten a call from the shopkeeper. It seems that the shop in town is in need of flowers. She thought it was a bit odd, considering how a storm had passed through and couldn’t think of something that was coming up needed flowers. The Shopkeeper didn’t have an answer, as he didn’t know the reason why the shop’s manager had put in the order. The flowers that were needed were: roses, lilies, lilacs, carnations, and hydrangeas.

“We have an order to fulfill!” Yor called out to Loid as she put her phone away before motioning for him to come towards her.

“All right,” he’s trying not to hide is excitement. “And how do we do that?”

Yor laughed at his response. He was suddenly so cute in her eyes. “First, we need to grab a few buckets from the storage house, then come back here to harvest the flowers that were requested. Load them up to the truck and drive them into town. Who knows, if you do a great job on your first delivery, I might buy you lunch.”

“Oh, am I your employee now?” He raised an eyebrow, playfully.

“Well,” she placed her hands on her hips. “I have provided boarding for you, so you must compensate me somehow.”

Loid took a step closer with a distinct look in his eyes. Yor didn’t know whether to laugh it off or be scared. “Oh,” his voice had hint of seduction. “I thought I’ve compensated you plenty already,” he snaked his arms around her waist, pulling her into an embrace that she couldn’t escape from. “I mean, I’ve already done some manual labor,” he tightened his grip on her, as he referred to helping her during the storm. “Cooked meals for you. Made sure you slept well,” he placed a kiss just below her jaw. “And now this?” His lips barely touched the corner of her mouth only to remove them as she turned to meet her lips with his. He caught the pout and need in her eyes before she hid them away. “But, you know I’ll do it; since you asked.” Before releasing her, he quickly kissed her. “Now, which way is the storage shed?” He began to walk away, leaving a stunned Yor to stand alone in the flower fields.

“Why did you do that?!” She finally said after he was a few feet away from her now.

“Because I want to?” He responded with a laugh.

“But-but..” Yor was now standing in front of him. “You can’t always do that,” she cutely puffed. “You’re getting too comfortable…”

“Shouldn’t I be?” He bent over to look at her.

“Yeah- but but,” clearly flustered by his reaction, she couldn’t find the right words to say, until she felt a warm sensation on her forehead.

“No need to overthink things, honey.” He stood up and took a step back. “Now come. We can’t be late for your delivery.”

Loid had continued walking, but after a moment, realized that Yor wasn’t behind him. She was still standing where he hand left her. As he was getting closer, he had noticed that she was whispering something to herself. “Yor, honey are you okay?”

“Honey.”

“Yes?”

“Honey.” She repeated.

“Yes!” He laughed. “Is something wrong?”

Yor blinked up at him. “You called me, honey?”

“Of course, and you just called me honey.” He smiled.

Yor continued to look at him in disbelief. “I’m your honey?” She pointed to herself as if she was slowly grasping the concept.

“Mhm! You are. And I’m yours too,” his smile never faded. “Unless you don’t want me to call you that.”

“No!” She blurted out, “It’s not that..” She looked towards her feet, suddenly feeling embarrassed. “It’s just.. it’s new to me..?”

“Being called honey?”

“Yes…” she admitted. “Pet names or nicknames were never a thing before.” She slowly looked up to meet his eyes.

“Well,” he held her hand again, “I’m glad I’m the first to call you honey then. But I must warn you. You better get used to it.” He playfully winked at her before dragging her along. “Now, we really need to fulfill you order, don’t we?”

“Yeah,” she hummed. “We do, but we need to go this way.” She led them towards the opposite direction.

—

After gathering buckets of flowers, Loid brought them over towards the workshop where Yor got to work cutting the stems to size and removing thorns. Once the flowers were prepped, the couple wrapped the buds in paper or plastic bunches and placed back into their buckets.

The work was hard, but Loid found it to be enjoyable. It was a world of a difference from his usual job, and he didn’t mind it. He liked being out in the fields gathering up flowers. Every once in a while, he caught himself staring at Yor, she was in her element after all. For every flower they picked, she would ask him what they represent. He rarely knew the answer, as he only knew what roses meant.

“Why are you smiling so much?” Yor interrupted herself as she could no longer ignore it. “Are you even listening to me?”

“Yes, I am!” He chuckled. “It’s just..”

“Just what?”

“It’s just that you look so happy explaining all of this to me,” he smiled. “You really love what you do huh?”

“I mean, it’s my job.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” He cleared his throat. “You don’t talk about flowers and how to care for them ‘because its your job.’ You talk about them as if it’s your craft. Your eyes shine when you explained how hydrangeas have different meanings depending on the culture. How roses can mean so many things from love to loss. I’m also learning a lot about you.”

“You are right about that,” she admitted. “This is what I grew up doing.” She looked back at the fields. “I started working for the Shopkeeper when I was old enough, as a way to earn our keep because we were living with them. He said that I didn’t have to work, but I insisted; I had to pay them back for taking us in. It wasn’t a necessity at first. I love the flowers that he grew, my mother would only buy flowers from him,” she looked back at Loid with a smile as she remembered her mother. “When the shopkeeper and his wife took us in, I started off by cleaning the shop floors, eventually he let me help at the farm, then interacting with the customers. From there, my love of flowers grew. I even minored in floristry when I went to college. And now I’m here.”

“And you’re happy?”

“I am. I own the shop I grew up in. I’m able to send my brother to school. I had these things for a while now, but couldn’t help but think something was missing.”

“What was it?”

“A partner that likes me as much as I like them,” her smile grew as she caught the subtle blush that danced crossed his face, reaching his ears. “I just hope that person doesn’t hurt me like the others did..”

“Ah, uhm—“ he looked away, not able to hold her gaze for the first time today.

“Oh?” She walked around him trying to find his eyes. “Could it be that I’ve left the actor speechless?” She laughed. 

“N-no..” He looked at her after some time. “It’s not that.”

“I hope that wasn’t something that scared you off or anything,” she said. “I know we’ve agreed to be together just days ago, but like you’ve said so many times before: I meant everything I’ve said. I fought with myself a lot over the last few months, as I feared that I would be heartbroken again the next time I were to love someone. Even before our confessions to each other, I could sense your feelings towards me were genuine, and the thought of that scared me. But after our first date all of that began to change. I can’t believe I’m going to say this,” she laughed nervously. “You've already shown what it feels like to be loved in return. I’m excited about what it’ll be like being with you.” She kissed his cheek before placing a pink rose in his hands. “I also ask that you have patience with me.”

Before, Loid was pink, but now he was as red as the roses surrounding them. “Where is Yor?” he muttered.

“Huh? Excuse me?”

“Who are you? Where is Yor?”

“I’m right here.” She didn’t know what he was talking about. There isn’t another Yor Briar.

“You aren’t the Yor I’ve met months ago.” His tone was serious yet with disbelief, but she caught on quickly.

“I’m right here, silly.” She repeated before she laughed. “Did you think that I’d always be that cold and distant woman you initially met?”

“I did…” he admitted. “I was so used to you pushing me away every time we met. I was determined for you to like me and to go on the date that you won. But as time went on, my feelings towards you grew and your kindness broke through the wall that you’ve put up. Since you’ve confessed to me, I've gotten to see how sweet and kind you truly are. I’m still a bit thrown off, if I’m being honest.” he cast his gaze aside again, feeling the embarrassed blush rush towards his cheeks yet again. “I kind of miss the cold Yor…” His comment resulted in her hitting his arm, but they both laughed in the end.

“I hope you like this side of me that I’m allowing you to see,” her voice was sweet and comforting. All of his words had filled her heart with warmth. “Because this is who I am.”

“I’m glad,” he pulled her into an embrace, wrapping both arms around her waist. “Because I wouldn’t want it any other way.” He leaned to kiss her, but his lips only met with air. Yor was now a few feet away from him with a bucket of flowers in hand.

“We have to get going! We can’t be late for our delivery!”

—

“Do you want to drive again?” Yor asked as she closed the gate of the pick up truck.

“Sure,” Loid gladly agreed. “I think the second time around with this truck would make it easier for me.”

“While we’re in town, we might as well get you some new clothes,” she added. “I don’t think there are any more of Yuri’s clothes back at the house.”

“We can do that, after you buy me lunch.”

The drive to town was nice. Since most of the roads were still flooded, the couple had to take the long way around.

“You’ve been smiling a lot,” said Yor as she turned to look towards him. “What’s up?”

“I like it here,” said Loid as he quickly smiled back at her as the truck is driving through a neighboring farm.

“You do?”

“I do.” His eyes returning to the road in front of them. “I’ve never been outside of the city. If I traveled for work, it was to another city, never a countryside or a small town.”

“Not even for variety shows?”

“I don’t count those.”

“Why not?”

“I can’t enjoy it like I’m enjoying it now,” he steps on the brakes as they are approaching a crossroads. After a brief pause, he made a left turn. “Even though I would be there, it was still for work.” Yor nodded in agreement; his reasoning had made sense. “You know, I could see myself here.” He let out a small laugh.

“You like it that much?” This came to a surprise to her.

“mhm!” He said cheerfully. “Maybe instead of traveling abroad, we could come here when we need a break.”

“I think we can make that work.”

Before long, the couple had arrived at the flower shop. Yor was talking to the owner about the deliveries, while Loid had unloaded the truck.

“Thank you making the delivery, Yor,” said the owner of the shop, “Especially since shopkeeper told me that you’re here for vacation.”

“It’s not a problem,” said Yor with a smile, as she put her copy of the invoice into her bag. “I’m always glad to help out when I can.”

“By the way, Yor.” The woman beckoned her to come closer. “Who’s that handsome man that is with you? Did you finally decide to settle down.”

“Ahh, about that.” Yor had to hide the irritation she was beginning to feel as the waves of questions were approaching.

“Isn’t he that actor?” As another auntie said these words, Loid took his place next to Yor. 

“Can’t be,” said the shop owner in slight disbelief as she looked at all three of them.

“But he is…” said Yor

“But I am,” said Loid with a smile. “But more importantly, I’m Yor’s boyfriend.” His smile became brighter as he finally got to say this fact out loud to someone.

The two older ladies step closer towards the couple ready with their arsenal of questions. Before they could get any closer, Yor placed her hands on Loid’s back and proceeded to push him out of the store. “Oh look at the time! We must be going now! Bye!” With that, the young couple had left the women standing in the store alone.

“I’m sorry about that,” said Yor as the couple were walking towards a restaurant. “I knew I’d see familiar faces, but I didn’t expect them to recognize you.” 

“It’s all right. It was kind of nice.” He chuckled, “It’s different from fan interactions back in the city.” He grabbed her hand. “So there is no need to apologize.” After a moment, he noticed that Yor had stopped walking. “Is this the place?” He looked up at the sign on the building before looking at her. She turned to look at him and nodded with a smile before she led him inside.

The restaurant wasn’t big, but it felt warm and cozy. After saying hello to the owner, Yor found  a table for the two of them. As Loid was browsing the menu, he didn’t know where to start or what to order, everything looked so good! The only time his eyes were able to break away from his menu was because of a sweet laugh.

“What’s so funny?” asked Loid, to be greeting with Yor’s smiling face.

“You!” she said in between laughs. “Your face is all scrunched up because you’re so focused on the menu.

“I don’t know what I want!” Loid put the menu down. “We worked so hard today, I feel like I could eat everything.”

“Shall I order for us then?”

“That would probably be easier, or I’d order one of everything.” Loid admitted. It was decided, Yor had called over the owner to place their order.

As the food arrived at the table, Loid could help but get excited over the delicious food. He watched the waitress place each dish in front of them one by one, waiting for her to finish. Suddenly he felt so hungry.

“That should be everything,” said the waitress. “If you need anything else, just call for us.”

“All right, thank you,” said Yor with a smile before turning to Loid, who had on a big smile on his face. “Hungry?” She was talking to him now.

“Maybe..” He let out an embarrassing chuckle trying to mask his excitement.

“Well, dig in. No one is stopping you.”

—

While the couple were enjoying their meal, Yor began to feel the number of eyes on them growing. She would look around the restaurant every now and then, and see another pair of eyes land on them, mainly Loid. That being said, the man sitting across from her is acting like he doesn’t know that the whole town is watching them.

“Did you try this?!” Loid was using his spoon to point at the stew in between them. “It so good, but,” he leaned in closer to whisper to Yor. “I think the shopkeeper’s wife’s stew is a lot better.” He let a mischievous laugh slip before leaning back into his chair. “Eat more!” He began putting more food onto Yor’s plate.

“Loid,” she said nervously. “How can you eat with everyone staring?” He blinked at her a few times before swallowing.

“You just get used to it.” He admitted before grabbing his water glass. “Since we are away from Berlint, I don’t mind it as much.” He turned towards the other customers to give them a quick wave and a smile. “Now go eat, before the food gets cold.” Yor was hesitant, but after watching him enjoy his meal, she let it go.

“Excuse me,” a woman had approached the couple as they were finishing their meal. “Are you that actor from ‘Hidden Beyond the Rose’?”

“I am,” Loid said with a smile. The woman’s eyes lit up.

“Oh, I just want to say that you were wonderful in that show.” She beamed. “Why are you are all the way out here? For work?”

The couple shared a knowing glance and a tight smiles “Ah, well.” Loid looked at Yor once more before returning towards the woman. “I’m here on vacation.”

“Vacation? In this little town?”

“Yes.  Since, my girlfriend grew up here.” He gestured a hand towards Yor.

“Girlfriend?!” The woman looked towards Yor. “You’re dating our little Yor?!”

“I am,” he voice was proud and confident. “I really like her. But, can you keep it a secret?” By now Loid was talking to the whole restaurant. “I don’t want anyone to know right now.” His voice was still full of confident with a sense of pleading.

“Of course,” said the owner, who had joined them. “If something happens to Yor because of a few big mouths, the Shopkeeper will have our heads. And we can’t have that.”

“Thanks, auntie.” Yor had let out a breath.

“When you’re here,” said the owner of the restaurant, “You can be you and not some famous actor.”

“Thank you,” said Loid as he looked around.

“But in return, you come and eat here every time you visit”

“Deal!”

—

“The roads are still blocked here. I’ll try to be back midweek” - L

Once Loid’s message had hit Franky’s mailbox, it had sent him into a panic. It has been nearly a week since the actor has “disappeared,” and the upper management at WISE is not happy about it.

“Do you have an idea of where he is?!,” asked a board member. “How can you lose your artist?!”

“I have an idea. I just don’t know where he is exactly,” Franky admitted under the pressure of the board. “He has told me a freak storm had happened that caused road damage that is in need of repair. A few more days at most, then he’ll be back. But, this shouldn’t be a problem right? Shooting for his current drama is at a standstill with the strike.” He did his best to give justification. “Loid needs a break.”

“It doesn’t matter!” Said another board member as he slammed his fist on the conference table, causing everyone to flinch. “I’ve been told he canceled a whole week of engagements at the last minute, which cost the companies thousands!” He clicked his tongue. “How can someone like him be so careless! Madame Sherwood, you were his previous manager. I think it’s time you reign him back into his senses.”

“Isn’t he aware that the company anniversary is approaching?! He needs to be involved with the broadcast or no onewill watch!

“Now now,” said Sylvia in a calm tone. “Let him have his vacation. He does deserve it after all.”

“But, Madame! He has cost the company-“

“Nothing,” she finished his sentence as she looked at him with cold eyes. “After Manager Franklin had told me about Loid’s sudden break, I personally took a look at the cancelations he had requested. Out of habit. And by some stroke of luck, some of the companies were glad with the sudden cancelation of photoshoots and interviews. Some of them were happy to reschedule, while others were willing to rescheduled as they wanted to  have no one else but Loid Forger.” After watching the other board members retreat back into their seats, Sylvia directed her gaze towards Franky. “Make sure Loid is back by next week as he should be here for the company wide shoot, and once you know when he’s back; follow up with those companies who he canceled with.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Franky had let out a sigh of relief.

“One more thing,” she said before dismissing him. “Contact The Garden again, I want them to provide flowers for the company anniversary event. They did such a good job with Loid’s comeback.’

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Once you set up a meeting, let me know. I want to sit in on it this time.”

Chapter Text

The couple had received an update on the roads from the Shopkeeper: in three days, the roads will be cleared. The couple will be able to return to Berlint.

One would think that they would be happy with the news, but it was the opposite, especially for one. After the shopkeeper had left, Loid couldn’t help but feel his heart break. He tried his best to hide his true feelings about returning home.

“There you are,” Yor had stepped out onto the back porch of the farm house to find Loid sitting on a chair looking beyond the fields towards the sea. “You’re up early.” She stood next to him, still waking up. 

“I had this idea of getting a head start with the morning chores, then I realized that wasn’t much to do since we did all of it yesterday,” he looked up at her with a half smile.

“Then why didn’t you go back to bed instead?” She sat on the arm rest that had led him to wrap an arm around her waist.

“I saw the view, and didn’t want to miss it.”

Silence had hung between the couple as they watched the sun rise over the horizon, signaling that the day was about to begin.  Yor had moved on to chair next to her partner. She watched him. The man next to her had this look in his eyes that she hasn’t seen before. Was he worried? Upset? Unhappy? He was fine all week until the Shopkeeper had told them about the roads.

“Loid,” she spoke softly, as if she didn’t want to break his concentration. “Is everything all right?” Yor reached out to grab his hand, but pulled back; thinking that it would be inappropriate. No words were said, he simply turned to look at her.

There it was. A look of worry and guilt were present in his eyes; dimming the bright light that she grew to love.

“Please, tell me what’s wrong.” Yor didn’t like the feeling building in her heart. Since being together, she has never encountered this type of uncertainty when nothing was said between them.

“It’s nothing.” He let out after sometime.

“There is no such thing as nothing,” her voice was colder than she wanted. “Your whole attitude has changed ever since dinner last night.” No longer cold, but a voice with small pleads.

“Once I say it, you’ll think it’s childish.” Loid was trying to brush off the matter, despite thinking that he was hiding his emotions well.

“Loid, you have to talk to me.,” said Yor, sitting straighter in her chair, not wanting to get up just yet. “I’m not going to allow the start of our relationship to be like this: keeping secrets and lying about how we really feel; childish or not.” She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks out of anger. This was something that she wanted to avoid, this part of her history is something that can’t repeat itself.

Loid’s mouth was left open, not expecting this type of reaction to come from her. Trying recover quickly, he blinked a few times as if to reset himself. “I don’t want to go back home,” he admitted quietly; his gaze never leaving her. When she didn’t say anything, it was his turn to feel the frustration growing within him. “I told you its childish,” he got up from his chair.

“What do you mean you don’t want to go back home?”

“I don’t want to leave,” he said as he turned back towards her. A laughed tried to escape to ease the tension, but he wouldn’t release it. “I really like it here. The people are nice, I don’t mind the work here at the farm. I can see myself staying here.”

“Loid, you’re life isn’t here.” Yor stood up to stand next to him.

“But yours is,” a tint of jealousy was in his voice.

“Just because I grew up here, doesn’t mean my life is here.” Yor held on to him. “My life is in Berlint, and has been for a while now. And so is yours.”

“But thats because of work,” he countered.

“Are you telling me that the country air has gotten to you?”

“Don’t say It like that…” he turned towards her. “But something along those lines.” His voice got softer and he grabbed her hands. “It’s a bit hard to explain right now, but I know that I’m not ready to go back to Berlint..”

There it was. The reason she was been waiting to hear from him. “Oh, Loid.” She went up on her toes to place a small kiss on his cheeks. “We have three days before heading back home. Let’s make the most of it.” She wrapped her arms around him, “Forget the farm chores and the work around the house. Let’s just enjoy our time here until we have to go back to our reality.”

“For three days?”

“For three days,” she confirmed. “For three days, we can do whatever you want.”

“Besides,” said Yor after moment. “Life in Berlint without you is something I couldn’t image.”

These simple words have brought joy to Loid’s heart. She had let him into her life.

—

“We’ll be back in Berlint in three to four days.

I’m sorry for making you wait longer, and for worrying about me.

I’ll accept any lecture/punishment when I return.

Thanks, Franky.” - L

“When you get back to the city, take an extra day off. We’ll talk more when you get back. 

Tell Yor I said hi.” - F

After reading the string of messages from Loid and replying to them, Franky placed his phone back into his pocket. “Finally, some good news,” he said to himself.

“Was that Loid?” Madame Sherwood was sitting at her desk.

“Yes, ma’am. He’ll be back in about three days.”

“I hope you told him that he could take an extra day off. We can’t have him in a sour mood for the company anniversary meeting,” she sipped her tea. Sylvia was always calm when it came to matters that involved Loid. The amount of trust she has in this particular artist is second to none. “By the way, did you contact the Garden?”

“Ah, yes!” Franky pulled out his phone again to look for an email. “I’ve scheduled an appointment with them for next week. It timed out well with Loid’s return. I’ve cc’d you in that email.”

“Oh yes, I just saw it.” Sylvia smiled as she clicked a few times before looking back at Franky. “I want you to meet with our marketing and design teams to discuss the theme of the anniversary.” Her request was met with a raised eyebrow. “You’re the only one in the company who has worked with The Garden in recent years. I think it would be wise for you and the teams to come up with a concept pitch like you did with Loid’s comeback a few months ago.”

“Oh, of course, Madam. I can do that.”

“Perfect.”

–

Today was the last full day at the farm before Loid and Yor make the drive back to the city. 

The days in between now and Loid confessing that he didn’t want to leave, were filled with work and relaxation. Even though Yor promised that the last few days wouldn’t involved chores and errands, some things couldn’t be ignored.  Loid had no problem with this, by now he had grown accustomed the work it took to grow such beautiful flowers. Besides, after a long day of working in the fields, it meant that he could stay in bed all night with the woman he loved.

It was still early morning, Loid was the first to wake up this time. He looked out the window and noticed how the sunlight was trying to break through the curtains of their room. The rays landed on Yor, as if they were trying to wake her up. That couldn’t happen. It was their last day here, she should be allowed to sleep in.

Just as days before, while Yor was still asleep, Loid wanted to study every feature of her body; starting from the tip of her head.

Yor has been sleeping on her side, facing him, as she usually did this past week. One of the first things he noticed were her lashes. He knew they were long, but as she slept her lashes looked feathery light, like raven’s wings. Next were her cheeks, especially whenever she would smile at him. They were small yet plump, and the apple of her cheeks were prominent when she smiled. Sometimes, she reminded him of an apple; good thing they happen to be her favorite fruit. Now, lips; arguably one of his favorite parts of her.  Lips that are equally as soft as her cheeks, as he couldn’t resist the chance to kiss her whenever it happened. Like right now, he wanted to kiss her, but he didn’t want to wake her up. 

After a few moments of studying her features, Loid noticed Yor scrunching up her face. He froze, hoping that she wouldn’t wake up, but instead she kept moving and started shaking her head. She began to hum and shake her head more, is she having a bad dream? On instinct, he held her. She kept moving as if trying to release herself from his hold.

“Yor, it’s okay,” he said, trying to understand what she is going through. 

“No..” she said quietly as she brought her hands up between them.

“I’m here, Yor.” He patted her head as he tightened his embrace. She was having a bad dream. 

“Loid..!” she was calling him now. He couldn’t ignore the tone in her voice. Was she looking for him? He loosened his hold to look at her. Her eyes were still closed, but tears were streaming. 

“Yor, sweetheart, wake up.” His voice was calm, trying not to panic himself. “I’m right here.” She called out for him one more time, then suddenly she had open her eyes. She was awake and had tear stains on her cheeks.

“Loid..” she said softly in relief before wrapping her arms around him. “It was so scary. We were together, then all of a sudden a crowd of people surrounded us, trying to separate us. They somehow split us apart. I kept reaching out for you, to hold on to you, since you were doing the same. I almost had you, you were at the tips of my fingers. Our fingers brushed together, and then you were gone.” She looked him in the eyes, there were fresh tears. “My heart broke, i can’t believe I lost you after fighting to get back to you. You were right there, they made you slip away from me.” Tears were pooling at the bring, but she didn’t dare to blink. She didn’t want to lose sight of them.

“It’s okay,” was all that he could say as he began to wipe her tears away. “It’s okay now, I’m right here.” 

“It’s not okay,” she pushed him to create space between time. “I know it was a dream and it’s not real. But it did feel real, and I never want to have that heart wrenching feeling ever again. Dream or not.” More tears were threatening to fall again. “Promise me, we won’t be apart like that.”

After a moment, a wave of confidence had washed over him, “I promise.”

“You better not break that promise, Loid.”

“Of course, I won’t.” Instead of wiping the tears away, he kissed them away. He kissed his favorite parts of her: lashes, cheeks, and lips hoping that it would prevent more tears from spilling again.

The day had brightened up for the couple after breakfast as they talked to help Yor get over her nightmare.

They began to clean the house and pack up their belongings so there wasn’t much to do in the morning before the drive.

“So what are we going to do about your Vespa?” Loid asked as he looked out the window towards her scooter.

“We’re taking it with us, of course.” Yor walked over to the window. “I bought it to help speed up deliveries.”

“So we’re going back to the city on your scooter?”

“Oh no no,” she shook her head as if that was such a silly idea. “We can load her up in the truck’s flatbed.”

“Then there won’t be a truck here…” 

“That’s okay, it’s due for it’s annual service anyways. Yuri will bring it back when he comes.”

“You got it all sorted out, huh?”

“I thought about it the day we got here. It wasn’t the original plan, but then I had to rescue you.” she patted him on the shoulder before walking to the kitchen. 

—

“This kind of reminds me of our first date,” said Yor before she took a sip of wine. While Loid was out buying groceries, Yor had decorated the back porch with whatever she could find in the house. Fortunately for her, there was a box of string lights in the back of the closet.

“This whole set up?” Loid asked as he switched his plate for hers, after cutting up her steak. “It does look similar to what I did in my yard.”

“You could say that I took some inspiration from you.” She had on a slight drunken smile. “Maybe after this date, I’ll get a kiss at the end.” She playfully tapping him with her foot under the table. “Maybe even more than a kiss,” she spoke into her wine glass.

“Could be lucky this time around,” he caught her hint, “but let’s take a walk first?”

For as long as the couple has been at the farm and in this town, they have yet to visit the beach. With the freak storm that occurred earlier in the week, the beach was closed for clean up. It had opened up a few days ago.

With shoes in one hand, and Yor’s hand in the other, Loid led them down the beach allowing the water to wash over them their feet. They arrived just before sunset.

“Can we come back here?” Loid asked as he watched the sun dipped behind the water

“You like it here?” she said in slight disbelief. “I know you mentioned it the other day, but you like it here that much?”

“Yeah, I do.” he turned to look back at her. “I feel that I can breathe much easier out here. I don’t mind the farm work either. It’s enjoyable.”

“We can come back whenever you want,” she said before resting her head on his shoulder. “We can come back next month if you want, if our schedules allow it. I’m sure grandma would love to have you over for dinner again.” She laughed.

“She would, wouldn’t she.” He draped his sweater around her. “When we get back and after every thing is sorted with the agency, I’ll check the next time I have a long break. Let’s come back here, then.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

With some future plans set, they couple shared a kiss as the sun gave way to the stars above.

Both of them were sad to head back to the city.

—

The drive back was silent as each of them looked out the window as they leave the countryside behind. Neither of them could of think of anything to say.

With the silence growing uncomfortable, Yor decided to turn on the radio; hoping music would lighten up the mood.

“I hope you enjoyed that commercial break!” The DJ’s voice rang within the truck’s cabin. “While we were away, we got a huge number of requests for a specific song that has reappeared and stayed at number one for the past four weeks. It’s everyone’s favorite. The song of the summer: Together by Loid Forger.”

As the first few notes of the song played, the couple looked at each other. They both went through the same stages of emotion: confusion and surprise, before bursting into laughter. Yor turned up the volume and the pair began singing along as Loid lowered their windows.

You know, We’ll stick together

Below the sunlight Forever

Let me shake it shake it for summer”

The couple sang out together as they danced the choreography.

“You know what’s funny about this song?” Yor had come down from her excitement as the song continued to play.

“What is it? It’s fairly new. It was the b-side track that I performed along with my title track.”

“The first time I heard it was on a music show,” she looked at him with a smile. “Yuri had turned on the TV at the shop, and then you were there. I haven’t listened much to your music or your group before we met. And it’s a bit embarrassing to say this,” she laughed deciding if she should tell him or not.

“Well, you have to tell me now!” Loid quickly looked at her before returning his gaze towards the road. “Did you like it?”

“I did! I stopped what I was doing to watch the whole thing,” now her laugh was used to hide her embarrassment.

“I’m glad that you liked it.” A big smile appeared on his face.

“Did you write that song?” She  turned towards him.

“Most of it, yes.” He nodded.

“Did something inspire you to write it?”

“What’s with the sudden interest?” He chuckled as he slowed to a stop for a brief moment.

“Just curious.”

“For this song, the idea came to me during one of my walks. It was in the summer, and I saw two students walking together. They seemed to have finished their after school class and excited to spend time with each other. You know, that pure young love.”

“Did you have someone like that?”

“Not really.”

“Really?!” There was a bit too much surprise in her voice than she wanted.

“Damn, Yor. Surprised much?” He laughed.

“I mean, you are a handsome man after all. Girls must’ve been all over you.”

“I would say in-between. I was a trainee while I was in high school, but by then I already knew girls only liked me because of that. I did date, but when I couldn’t see them as much or couldn’t bring them to any events, they all left me. So, I think it’s safe to say that I don’t have much experience in that type of love.” He caught her nodding in his peripheral. “What about you?”

“I thought I had it.”

“With Daniel?” There was a tint of disgust in his voice.

“Yes, we were engaged at some point, remember. But when I was younger, no,” she shook her head. “My situation is similar to yours, except that I wasn’t a trainee. I was already working at the Garden, so I didn’t have much time for friends or boys. I also had Yuri to take care of.”

A soft smile appeared on his lips as he listened to her. The people around Loid had similar upbringings to his, mainly because they were in the same industry. In an odd way, it felt comforting that Yor had experienced something similar to him.

“What about now? Or when you recorded the song? You did sound like you were thinking about someone or something.”

“Ah, well there was something like that,” the corners of him mouth turned into a playful grin.

“Who is it?!” she turned back towards him, well as much as she could since she was being held back by her seatbelt.

“You,” he eased his foot on the brakes to park the car. “Of course. I thought of you.”

“Oh come on, Loid.” she flicked her hand away at his words. “You must’ve recorded that song before we met.” 

“The song was written before we met,” he clarified. “I record it a few weeks after we met.” he turned to smile at her.

“What…?” 

“Come, I’ll explain it while we have lunch,” he reached for something in the back.

“Lunch? I didn’t pack anything!” She watched him pull out bags from the back seat.

“I know. I grabbed a few things when I filled up for gas before we left. Might as well take our time before he head back to reality.”

Loid had parked by a small park that was littered with tables. 

“So yeah, I recorded the song after we met.” He brought they conversation back to the topic they had in the car.

“I don’t believe you.”

“There was some difficulty during the recording sessions. The director wasn’t happy with how I was singing and the emotions I was putting into it. It felt like my rookie days,” he laughed at the memory. “So he had to remind me of the story about the students, the inspiration I had when I wrote the lyrics. Then,  just imagined that we were the students. I thought of what it would be like to be carefree with the one I love if I were there age. What it would be like to have feelings for them and whether to confess or not. When I tried to imagine who I would be with, you appeared. All of this happened during our deal. Before I confessed. Before our first date. Everyone at the company was so surprised with the final version of the song. All thanks to you, in a way.”

“You’ve thought of me?” by now, she knew that he always thought about her, but in this situation, she was surprised.

“Yes, I would think of what we would do, how we would spend our time together all of that.” He grabbed her hand from under the table. 

As the couple were finishing up their meal, a warm sensation pressed on Loid’s cheek. “What was that for?” His words were slightly muffled as his mouth was full. 

“For today.” Her smile was met with a raised eyebrow as he swallowed. “Our conversations today really meant a lot to me. Whenever I shared about not having time for fun when I was younger, I was always met with sympathy. I did what I had to do, and so far no regrets. But, with you telling me that you had similar experiences and validating my choices made me happy. No one has done that before.” She swiftly placed another kiss on his cheek before standing up. “Now, we better go before its too late!” Before Yor could take a step, she was pulled back down to her bench.

“I’m happy that you are happy.” 

“You make me happy, Loid.”

–

Berlint’s nightlife was about to begin as the streetlights and store signs flicker on one by one. After a long day of working and studying, Yuri returns to the Garden with Chloe.

Yuri unlocks the Garden and steps inside with Chloe close behind him. The shop was barely lit, as he had closed early to attend his evening class and study session. He turned on the lights of the shop floor to see two people behind the main counter: his sister and a man.

Yor and Loid had been caught in an embrace. At the sight of her brother and his girlfriend, Yor quickly pushed Loid away from her, as he dived behind the counter.

“Who is that?” Yuri’s voice was a mix of anger and shock

“Who is what?” Yor tried to hid the nervousness in her voice as she tried to deflect.

“That man?” he pointed to the spot where Loid is hiding as he stepped towards the counter.

“What man?” Yor tried her best to not take her eyes away from her brother.

“THAT TALL MAN hiding behind the counter.” The top of Loid’s head was visible.

Not being able to hide their secret now, Loid slowly stood up from behind the counter. “Hello…” he said nervously waving towards the younger couple

“Is that?!” Chloe’s eyes grew wide at the site of the Loid.

“Chloe, I don’t think you can sleep over tonight.” Yuri’s voice was getting cold. “I’ll call you a cab to take you home.”

–

In the middle of the living room of the Briar’s apartment, Yor and Loid kneeling apologetically in front of Yuri, who is hurling questions at them while pacing.

“What is he doing here? Are you two dating? How long have you been dating? Does anyone know? I thought you dumped and ghosted him?!” Yuri stopped in his tracks as a realization came to him. “Did you take him to our farmhouse…”

“I can explain!” Yor blurted out.

“And you!” he walked towards Loid. “What did you do to my sister?! What did you say to convince her to go out with you after she said no!”

“Yuri, don’t hurt him!” Yor lunged forward to put herself between her brother and the man she loves. Her arms were spread out as she was protecting him. “Please, let me. I mean, let us explain.” Her words were met with a raised eyebrow, which caused her become defensive. It was time to put on her big sister pants and set things straight. 

Yor stood up before she helped Loid get back onto his feet. “First, Yuri, call our usual place for take out.”

“But Yor! How can you think of food right now?! I still don’t have any idea why this guy is in our home right now?!”

“The guy who you told me to give a chance to?! The one you kept encouraging me to go on the date with? You even told me to reach out and apologize to him after I told you how bad I felt for turning him down!”

“I didn’t think all of this would happen? I was poking fun at you, but you took it as a serious thing?! I thought you knew better, Yor.”

“I did! I knew you were joking, but my feelings about my actions were real!” She quickly looked towards Loid before back to her brother. “And now we’re here. You spoke it to existence!”

“Oh no no no, I’m not the blame for this!”

“Why are you mad in the first place? If I recall, you’re a big fan of Loid in the first place!”

As the siblings were bickering, Loid had learned new information. It seems that Yor had some sort of feelings for him since the beginning; feeling guilty for telling him that she didn’t want to spend time with him. Yuri was the one who encouraged her to go, but to be honest about it. Yet, here they are. They’re dating, in love and happy, and he’s meeting her brother for the first time.

“And you took him to our farm?! Yor, thats our home.”

“Okay, that was different,” her tone had softened by now. “I saw him at the park after my round of deliveries. He was running from his fans, and I happened to have my bags for my stay at the farm. After he got on my scooter, I just headed straight to the farm. They would’ve found us if we stayed in Berlint.”

Accepting the answer, Yuri had another question. “Does Shopkeeper know?”

“He does… Grandma knows too. We’ve had dinner with them.”

“Okay then,” he said grumpily. “I’ll accept it then. I’m not going to stand in the way of your happiness.”

“Really?”

“Yeah…I mean if Shopkeeper and grandma likes him, then he mustn’t be that bad.” he continued grumbling. “You did look happy when I walked in on you two.” Upon hearing this, she happily hugged her brother and thanked him for accepting their relationship.

When the dust had settled from the siblings' argument, Yor stepped into the kitchen to call for delivery. The men were left standing in the living room.

“I think I’ll just go.” Loid said after a moment. “We’ve been away for a while now. I’m sure you want to spend some time with your sister.” He turned towards Yuri to give him a slight bow. “It was nice meeting you. I’ll just say goodbye to your sister.” He was about to take step towards the kitchen.

“Wait,” said Yuri. “Stay for dinner…”

“Excuse me?”

“If you leave, she’ll think its because of me. And I don’t want that.” He looked Loid in the eyes. He had a gaze that was cold and protective. “From the way she talked about you, defending you, she seemed different.”

“Different?” Loid asked not knowing where this will lead.

“I can’t explain in right now, but she’s just different somehow,” he wanted to continue but her footsteps were approaching. “Just don’t hurt my sister, please.”

“I won’t” Loid gave him a small smile. “I wouldn’t dream of hurting her.”

–

A few days have passed since Loid and Yor had arrived back to Berlint, and they were back to their busy lives.

“I hope your sudden vacation went well,” said Sylvia as she entered the conference room. “I hear the countryside is nice this time of year.” her voice had a hint of sarcasm.

“Aside from the storm that trapped me there, it was beautiful.” Loid answered. “I could see the ocean from the farm.”

“As much as I would love to hear about it, a few things need to be done first,” she had set the tone of the meeting. 

Since Loid is now back in Berlint and has been spotted around the city. it was time for them to do damage control due to his sudden disappearance, as the public has called it.

Chapter Text

The day after meeting Yuri Briar, Loid had contacted his manager. He was ready for any lecture, punishment, and anything under the sun that he will be dealt with due to his actions. Hopefully the gifts he brought back will smooth things over.

“Madame will see you now. Mr. Franklin is already inside,” Sylvia’s assistant had opened the door as soon as she saw Loid coming down the hall. He nodded a thank you and headed inside.

“Now, was it the countryside or a seaside village that you ran off to?” Sylvia spoke as the sound of Loid’s sneakers had entered her office. “And with someone?” She didn’t look up from the papers sitting on her desk.

“It was both,” the tone of voice he used was the same when he met his fans. “Not so much the countryside, as the ocean could be seen from the farm. A harbor and a beach were quite accessible. I also brought gifts.” Loid had brought back flowers that were harvested from Yor’s farm as well as some baked goods from the shopkeeper’s wife. “I’ve brought an apple pie and an apple tart. Yo-” he quickly stopped himself before revealing too much. “ A woman who I met while in town baked them early during my visit. I told her how much I enjoyed it, so she made more for me to bring home. I thought it would be best to share them with you.”

“Well, then.” Not able to resist the treat, Sylvia had pinged her assistant to make tea for them. “Can’t let these go to waste, now can we?”

Once the formalities and buttering-up his old manager has ended, Team Forger had gotten to work. 

Franky explained the events that happened in Berlint once Loid had “disappeared” after being seen at the park. Fans online began talking about how they saw Loid get on a scooter and ride off with a mystery woman. Some fans theorized that the mystery scooter woman is the same as the mystery woman who he was caught with a few months ago. Fortunately, Franky was able to put those rumors to rest, quickly. A few days after his disappearance, stopping rumors began to be a harder task to fulfill.

“I think by now, I have to ask the question that is looming over us.” Sylvia looked at the actor as their meeting was about to come to a close. “Who is this woman? What is her relationship with you?” To his surprise, there was no anger or frustration is her voice. “I’ve been keeping tabs when photos of you and this woman first appeared, even before it it was starting to become a problem. I’m not against whatever this is. But-”

“If I tell you the truth,” Loid’s voice was low as he spoke. “Will you help me protect her? Identity and all?” He looked up at his former manager and his current manager with eyes full of determination. “Do you promise me that you’ll do that?”

The expression on Loid’s face is one that made Sylvia suddenly feel nostalgic. The look on his face now was the same look he had when was given the news that he would debut. She was there with him from the very beginning. Madame Sherwood leaned back against her chair as she softened her gaze towards the artist. “With that look in your eyes, you must care deeply about this woman.”

“I do.” His voice was strong. “I’ve made promises to her and those around her that I wouldn’t hurt her.”

“It seems that it is now our job to help you fulfill that promise.” Sylvia leaned against her desk to be able to rest her chin on her hands. “Now, who is this mystery woman?”

–

Yor could not sleep for the past few nights. The events of the night when she got caught with Loid kept replaying in her mind. The look on her brother’s face when he learned that she had been in a relationship for so long and it was kept a secret from him, caused guilt to seep into her. The siblings haven't spoken much since that night. They slowly became like passing ships in the night, Yuri only talked to his sister about his work schedule at The Garden and whether he would be home or not. Their current living situation was beginning to cause a rift in their strong bond. 

Whenever she tried to bring up the subject, Yuri always brushed it off with some excuse or say, “We’ve talked when you and Loid told me about it. What else is there to talk about?” This wasn’t enough. This isn’t how they should be living.

A few more days have passed and the tension in the house was growing stronger. Both of the siblings have a late start today. When Yor walked into the kitchen, Yuri was sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal while scrolling through his phone.

“Good morning,” she said as she walked towards the cabinets to begin to prepare a bowl of cereal for herself.

“Morning,” Yuri’s voice was empty of emotion. 

“No classes this morning?” She felt that she was starting to grasp at straws, when a topic like this was an everyday occurrence for them.

“Morning classes got canceled before I could even walk out the door,” he didn’t look up from his phone. “So just a few in the afternoon and then study group.” As Yor was thinking of something else to say, he continued. “By the way, while you were out galavanting, I’ve scheduled a meeting for you with WISE Ent., and did you set the schedule for The Garden next week?”

“Wait, what?” Yor rushed towards her brother’s side. “A meeting with WISE Entertainment?! When did that happen? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“You didn’t check the Garden’s calendar or email yet? Someone had come by the shop looking for you too. That was when I set up a meeting for you.”

“No, Yuri, I haven’t. Its only been a few days since I got back and the shop is still closed. Besides, how can I think about work when my own brother won’t talk to me!” She let the last sentence slip out. The frustration that has been building since that night had boiled over.”

Yuri looked up towards his sister, “What did you say?”

“Are you that mad at me that I hid my relationship with you?” She pulled out a chair and sank into it. “Am I that horrible?”

“Yor…”

“Don’t you feel the tension that's been growing since you met Loid? I hate it…”

“Then why didn’t you tell me when you started seeing him?” He let out, trying his best to remain calm.

“I didn’t want to tell you until I was sure myself.” She finally met her brother’s eyes. “You’ve seen me since the beginning of all of this; from when I won a date with him to how  told you that I kept running in to him all over town. I thought that if I told you about him right away, you would think that I finally gave in and actually went on that highest-donor date. But it wasn’t like that. Loid threw out the donor-date and had asked me out on a date. I fought with myself a lot about this. My feelings towards him were beginning to overwhelm me, at first I was scared then slowly I wanted to embrace it.” 

“Why couldn’t you tell me about these problems earlier? We could’ve talked it out..” 

“Because I know how you are. Ever since my engagement ended, you’ve become so protective over me. Don’t get me wrong, its not a bad thing and I love that you care for me that much. But ultimately, it became something that I had to face on my own. Because if I didn’t, then nothing will change.”

The siblings sat in silence for a time, which had allowed Yuri so absorb everything his sister had said. All this time, she was in a battle with herself because she didn’t know if she was willing to give someone a chance, with the risk of history repeating itself. He couldn’t bare to see his sister get hurt again, especially when he knew that she truly loved the last man she was with.

“I guess I could understand where you are coming from,” his voice was light and sincere.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Yor asked as she patted her cheeks to help reduce the puffiness that had formed.

“When I introduced you to Chloe, we’ve been seeing each other for a while. Actually, it was longer than you and Loid right now.” His sister blinked at him in disbelief. “I had the same thought as you,” he looked down at his hands that were on his lap. “I didn’t want you to meet her until I was sure about her. I’m sorry that I lied to you and told you that day that we had just started dating. Since I did the same thing, I shouldn't be upset with you.”

Yor let out a breath as she felt the sense of relief wash over her. She didn’t even care that he had lied to her about his relationship; in the end, her brother was happy and she loved Chloe too. 

“I’m truly sorry, Yuri.”

“I am, too,” he said. “But now we are both in relationships, lets be able to confide in each other when we need it.”

“I agree.”

“By the way, can I have Loid’s number?”

–

Still sitting in his CEO’s office, Loid couldn’t find the right words, yet he had to. The woman sitting across from him had just asked him a question. It’s a simple question, really: “Who is this mystery woman?” Upon hearing this question, he had realized that this will be the first time that he is going to tell someone about Yor.

“Her name is Yor Briar” Before continuing, Loid looked at the faces in front of him, he was waiting for a reaction.

“Don’t tell me that’s..” Franky nearly cut him off, but had stopped himself when he is met with a short nod. The men ignored Sylvia’s glance that shifted between them.

“She is the woman who was the highest donor of the Berlint’s Children’s Hospital Charity event months ago. The winner of a date with me. She also owns the Garden, the shop that provided the flowers and decoration for my recent comeback.”

“Did you fall in love with each other during this date?,” said Sylvia, as she thought it be the obvious and cliché reason. But she’d be surprised.

“No, actually.” His voice was low, as if embarrassed to admit this. “When we met for the date, she refused to spend time with me.” Sylvia’s eyes widened in shock, as Franky remained calm. “I tried to convince her to stay, but she didn’t.” He took a breath to pause, thinking of the right words to say before he continued. “At first, I was determined to make her want to go on a date with me. Even if she said no and didn’t deserve it, I still think her good deed should be rewarded. I didn’t have a way to contact her, but then we started to run into each other throughout town. Now, I do admit that a few of the meetings were on purpose on my part, but I didn’t think I would start to think about her in a certain way.” As memories of them meeting in the city came to mind, a faint smile had appeared. “As time went on, my goal of making her go on a date with me, for the principle had turned into something that I wanted  because I had fallen for her, genuinely.”

“Then she said yes?” Sylvia asked. 

“It took some time, but yes. She had agreed to go on a date with me. And now we are here.”

“Now explain how you disappeared without a word.”

Loid had recounted the events of that day: running into his fans at the park during his usual walk, running from his fans when the crowd became rowdy, then running into Yor at the park before driving them away to her farm.

To Sylvia and Franky, the story of how they met seemed crazy and out of a TV drama, but they knew it was real. They also knew that by the way Loid had talked about Yor, he truly cared for her.

“So again,” said Loid after answering all the questions related to Yor. “Can you please help me protect her from the public eye? I just want to live a happy and quiet life with her.”

“We will certainly do our best,” said Sylvia as she let out a breath. “It not like it hasn’t been done before. We just need to be careful and make sure no one else outside of this room knows, unless it is someone that you trust.”

“Thank you,” Loud bowed deeply towards the company’s chairman. 

“Now, for your punishment for suddenly disappearing on us.”

–

As more days pass, everyone is easing back into their daily lives.

Yuri had some unexpected free time. One of his classes got cancelled. He didn’t have work at the Garden today, his girlfriend still had classes to attend, and he didn’t want to go home. A sudden idea had popped into his head. While making his way off campus, he pulled out his phone to send a message, then made his way towards a cafe a few blocks away.

The cafe was empty except for a few customers and the employee at the counter. Yuri quickly scanned the cafe looking for someone. Once his eyes landed on them, he nodded before heading towards the counter.

“Thank you for meeting me on such a short notice,” said Yuri as he pulled out his chair to sit across his company.

“Of course, I happened to be in the area anyways,” said Loid.

“By the way, do you always wear that get-up when you’re in public?”

“No, not really.” Loid let out a nervous laugh from behind his mask. “But I have to be careful for a while. Unless its bothering you, I can take off my mask.” As he was about to slip of the mask, Yuri raised a hand to stop him.

“That’s not necessary, just stay comfortable.”

“If you’re wondering, the times I’ve met with your sister, I was rarely in a mask.”

The men sat in awkward silence, not knowing what to do or say next. Loid didn’t know how to act, especially since he was asked to come. Should he start small talk? Ask questions to get to know him? After settling on good questions, he began to speak, but Yuri had beat him to it.

“I want to apologize for the way that I’ve acted that night,” Yuri let out, with his head down. “I know it was wrong of me, given that we have just met and that you are well…you. I’ve treated you like a criminal and accused you for tricking my sister.” He met Loid’s eyes.

“Not at all,” Loid gave him a small smile. “I probably would’ve acted the same way if I was in your position. I’m sorry that we’ve kept it from you for so long..”

“It’s all right,” Yuri turned to look elsewhere. “I’ve realized that the two you must have had your reasons. For Yor to go along with it; the two of you must care deeply for each other. My sister has told me about seeing you throughout town. I didn’t think much of it, but who knew she’d fall for you, despite telling me so. But I do admit, that I’m at fault too.” He turned back to look at Loid.

“What do you mean?” Loid raised an eyebrow.

“I’m sure you heard her say this on the night that we met. But when Yor told me that she turned you down, I told her that she should apologize.”

“Apologize? For not wanting to go on the date?”

“Yeah, she came home pretty torn up about what she did to you. No matter how many time I’ve told her that it wasn’t her fault, she felt bad. I guess it worked out in the end.”

Yuri brought his coffee to his lips to take a sip as the night’s events began to replay. A small instance had caused him to chuckle.

“What’s so funny?” Loid had asked as he took off his mask to take a sip of his coffee as well.

“It’s nothing, but before I exposed you and my sister in the shop, I remember the way she looked.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her look that happy before.” He met Loid with a soft gaze, who knew that the man in front of him would allow him to see his sister happy again. “I guess I should thank you for that. For making her happy and for promising to not hurt her. She’s been through a lot, and I never want to see her go through something like that again.” The actor, sitting across from him, nodded.

Loid was silent. He knew he made Yor happy, but didn’t know the full extent. Of course he knew about her past relationship and how it had effected her and everyone around her. In a way, he was happy to know that stepping into her life had caused something good to happen.

“Oh shoot,” Yuri looked at the clock and noticed the time, he had class in half an hour. “I can’t miss this class! I’m so sorry to leave like this, Loid.”

“It’s fine, what class is it?”

“Psychology, I have to take a class as part of my major. I like it, but for some concepts, I can’t understand. It’s my hardest class this semester.” Yuri was speaking and packing up his bag at the same time, trying not to rush.

“Oh, I can help you if you want. Psychology was my major in college.”

“Really?” A wide-eyed Yuri couldn’t believe that an actor would choose that field.

“Yes,” said Loid in a slight offensive tone, “I took an intro to psych class and well here we are. It does help me get into character for some of my roles.” Yuri nodded as it made some sort of sense to him, but there was not time to talk about this.

“I’ll see you around, Loid.” Yuri turned to walk out of the cafe, but quickly came back. “Is it all right if we do this again? Maybe you can tutor me too?”

“Sure, kiddo.” Loid ruffled his hair.

“I’m not kid,” Yuri quickly re-did his hair. “Bye, Loid.”

–-

In a different cafe in another part of town, high school and college girls were sitting in tables gossiping about the latest celebrity news. A specific idol-actor, has returned to the headlines.

“I’m telling you, the girl who was on the scooter is the same one who was with Loid a few months ago!”

“No, It isn’t!”  A girl pulled out the photos. “They look so different.”

“There is no difference between the two. Look, the earrings are the exact same!”

“Where do you think they went? The fans following them lost sight of them as soon they  took the road that goes through the hills.”

“Can’t be anywhere far, given that they were on a scooter.”

“Who does she think she is? Taking Loid away from us!”

“Yeah! He’s ours and no one else’s!”

“How dare she!”

A woman at another table clicked her tongue as she heard these pockets of conversation, “In a way, I’m glad I’m not their age anymore. No longer obsessive over an idol singer.” Camilla was on her lunch break with Sharon and Millie. The three had planned to spend their break with Yor at the Garden, but Yor has a meeting.

“But aren’t you curious?” Millie asked the group. “I mean, Loid Forger is around our age, maybe the woman is someone we know!” She giggled as she sipped her latte.

“I hardly doubt that,” Sharon was scrolling through her phone. “Who in any of our connections could lead to the top celebrity in our country?” She quickly looked at Millie up from her glasses.

“You never know! Maybe thats why Yor closed the Garden early today.”

“Don’t make jokes like that,” said Camilla.

“Whaat?! I’m not being mean.”

“I know that, but you know Yor. She’s not one to be in the light.”

“But how nice would that be?” Mille rested her chin on her hands as she thought of her friend being this so-called mystery woman.”

“Well, I think we’d agreed that Loid Forger would treat our Yor a hell of a lot better than the last one,” Sharon had put her phone down to fully join the conversation.

“Agreed,” the other two said in unison.

—

In the city center, Yor had just parked at Wise Entertainment. How lucky is she that has another meeting with this company! They must’ve really loved her work with Loid’s comeback broadcast.

As like before, she grabbed her tablet and bag before making her way towards the elevators.

“We meet again.” Franky was waiting for her by the doors. “Hello, Yor.”

“Hello, Franky.” Her smile was radiant as she tried to keep her excitement at bay.
“We are so glad to be working with you again.” He opened the door for her.

“Wait, this isn’t a pitch meeting?” Yor nearly had the door close on her.

“No, we want to work with you for our anniversary event.” He said with a smile. “I thought I had mentioned in the email.

“Oh! I must’ve glossed over it. I saw your email shortly after I arrived home from my vacation. I guess I got too excited that I could have another opportunity to work with this company again.”

“Our CEO had asked me to contact the Garden.” Franky had held the elevator door open for her. “She loved you work for Loid and loved the public response to it as well.” Yor couldn’t believe what she was wearing, a lot of people love her work. “This time around though, you will be working along with our design team to help create a beautiful space for our anniversary event.”

Although she has been in the building a few times before, Yor felt comfortable walking though the halls as compared to her first visit. She even noticed new posters of Loid in the hallway.

“Here we are!” Franky stopped in front of a pair of doors. “A few more people will join us this time around. Don’t worry, I’ll be with you the whole time.” Yor nodded and braced herself for what is to come behind those doors.

As the doors opened, a large conference table was in the center. On one side, a few people were sitting and talking amongst themselves with their devices out in front of them. They stopped their conversation as the two stepped into the conference room. A woman who was sitting in the center stood up and walked around the table.

“You must be Yor Briar, from the Garden?” The women held out her hand, to which Yor accepted.

“Yes, hello. It’s nice to meet you.” Yor smiled towards the women.

“I’m Sylvia Sherwood. The current CEO and chairman of Wise Entertainment. I’m so glad to have finally met you.”

“You are?”

“Of course! Whenever a chance came up, Loid would talk about his broadcast and the beautiful flowers he had on set. I thought it was a bit much, but then I visited the Garden.”

“You did?”

“Yes,” Sylvia motioned for Yor to take a seat. “Unfortunately, you weren’t in, but I did meet you brother. Such a nice boy. When I heard that the date had been finalized for this meeting, I just had to sit in.”

“I agree,” said Yor, which surprised herself. “You are the one who runs the company, so that means you should also have a say in how the flowers should be selected for your anniversary.”

“I like you already,” said Sylvia with a smile. “Now, lets get started shall we?”

“Yes, lets.”

Chapter Text

“For the anniversary, I was thinking of a theme to represent a ‘Night to Remember’.” A team member spoke up, as several members of the design team began to talk about their own ideas. 

“Ethereal, maybe?” spoke another member.

“No, we can’t have that,” it was Sylvia who spoke now, as she leaned back against her chair. “That is too close to Loid’s overall concept, especially with his latest comeback.” She shook her head before flipping through proposals. “Yor, what do you think?”

Yor looked up at the sound of her name. She was busy writing down notes about each concept presented. “You want my idea?”

“Of course, I think a floral designer like you should have some type of input.” Sylvia smiled. “I loved to hear any ideas you may have.” 

Yor looked at the notes in front of her and began thinking. It took her some time to come up with an answer. “I think we should go with a classic theme, yet make it playful since we’ll be heading into the summer season. You did plan to have a concert of some sorts too, right?” She looked at the people in front of her. As no one responded towards the comment about the concert, she was ready to take it back. “Unless that rumor wasn’t true…”

“Oh, it’s true.” Sylvia spoke before another team member had the chance. “The announcement was made yesterday along with concert dates,” she smiled a bit before returning to the main topic at hand. “But I do like your idea,” she then turned towards the others sitting around them. “What do you all think?”

There was a murmur amongst the team members, some were nodding, while others were jotting down notes. They included Sylvia and Franky in their conversation.

“Do you think the combination will go well though? When you mentioned classic, one would think of elegance, something that is completely different from summer at the beach…,” a team member spoke up. “I don’t quite understand how you’re going to combine them.” Her voice was skeptical with a slight hint of positivity. 

“I was thinking something like this,” Yor slid a sheet of paper across the table. On it, a sketch of a quintessential summer get together in the middle of a lush garden. She even sketched a few figures to show how it would look towards the viewer filled with artists of WISE Entertainment. “When I mentioned classic, I wasn’t talking about high society dinners or alike,” she smiled. “But with what I know of the type idol groups, actors, and songs that this company produces, this came to mind first. I always see how the girl groups from here would always have the song of the summer. Why not kick off the summer season as well as your anniversary with a party?”

The audience in front of her shared murmurs again which soon lead to each of them nodding in agreement. “We love that idea!”

“It was a lot better than what I was originally thinking,” said a team member with a tinge of embarrassment in her voice.

“So its settled then?” Sylvia looked around the conference table, even towards Franky. “Are we all in agreement with Ms. Briar’s idea?” A unanimous yes quickly followed her question. “All right then, Franky,” Sylvia turned her attention towards him. “Please contact legal to draw up a contract for The Garden and Ms. Briar,” returning her attention to Yor, “How about we meet again next month to go over more details about the design as the event approaches?”

“A month sounds great,” Yor replied.

“Wonderful, I’ll tell my assistant to call you to schedule a meeting for then. If you need any help in terms of supplies, don’t hesitate to contact Franky and everyone here. Starting today, they’ll be working alongside you to bring this vision to life.” Sylvia stood up, signaling that the meeting has ended and would say her goodbyes.

After the other team members had left, Franky and Yor remained. 

“Congratulations,” Franky broke the silence. His greeting caused Yor to jump as she was packing up her things. “Oh, I didn’t mean to scare you!”

“It’s all right,” she said with a smile as she turned to face him. “And thank you, I never thought i’d get another chance to work with you again.”

“You heard it from our chairman, you did a wonderful job with Loid’s comeback. It’s one thing if his fans love it, it’s another thing if Madame Sherwood loves it.”

“I’ll take your word for it!” Yor’s smile hasn’t left. She couldn’t wait to tell Loid the good news.

“If you’re available, we can get lunch. It is lunchtime after all.” His suggestion was met with curious eyes. “I mean, it’ll be food from the company cafeteria, and I’ll pay for you; of course.”

“As much as your offer is tempting, I do have to go back to the Garden. It’s currently closed, and I should open up soon.”

“No worries,” Franky responded. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

During the walk, the conversation between the two consisted of catching up since their last meeting. Yor talked about work and had mentioned that she came back from a trip. She shared only enough information to not give away who she was with. Nearing the midpoint of the hallway leading towards the garage, a familiar figure was walking towards them. As the distance between them began to close in, they recognized each other.

“Yor?!” Loid’s voice was full of surprise, as he was happy to see her. Realizing that Franky was standing next to her, he quickly changed his tone. “Ah, Ms. Briar, what brings you back to WISE? It’s been a while since I saw you last." Although Franky knew the truth, He didn’t tell her that his manager and CEO knows about their relationship. The plan was to tell her tonight.

“Ah, Loid!” Yor, somehow, couldn’t find the right words to tell him her good news. “I had a meeting today and just signed a new contract! I’ll be part of the decor and planning team for your company’s anniversary!” She did her best to contain her excitement. Before asking him what his plans for the evening was, she had caught on to his change of tone. Franky was with them after all.

“Congratulations!” LoId stepped back to bow slightly towards her. “I’m excited to be working with you again.”

“Did you submit a concept idea again?” Yor asked with enthusiasm. 

“Oh no, not this time.” he scratched the back of his head out of shyness. “I’ve been given an important role for this event.” he did meet franky’s eyes.

“What is it?” her voice contained excitement and curiosity. 

“I’m hosting the event.” 

“That’s good!” she looked at franky before looking back at Loid. “that’s an important part to have, right?”

“Yeah, it is.” Loid had returned to his relaxed self. “That’s actually why i’m here today. I’m meeting with a few from the production staff to go over a few things.” a small smiled had appeared on his lips. 

“Ah, i see.” yor couldn’t help but feel disappointed. She wanted to spend more time with him, but he was busy. Since getting back from their trip, they haven’t seen each other as much as they liked. “We’ll still have dinner together tonight though, right?” 

After those words had left Yor’s lips, the three adults looked at each other with wide eyes.

“Huh?” Loid’s voice was the first to break the silence.

“I mean-” Yor had to think quickly as she her eyes flicked among Loid, Franky, and the wall behind them. “I mean on TV in ‘The Deadly Thorn’ that I planned to watch while I have dinner…”

“Oh yes! It premieres tonight.”

“Yeah!” the couple shared a nervous laugh as franky gave them blank stares.

“I better go,” Loid, yet again, broke another awkward silence amongst them. “I shouldn’t be late for this meeting. I look forward to seeing you around.” he shifted his attention towards Franky, “You’ll still be here, right?”

“I will,” Franky finally got to speak after all of this time. “After i walk Yor out to her car, i’ll be there.”

“Oh no, i can walk the rest of the way there,” yor insisted. “Both of you can’t be late for this meeting it seems.” she slowly backs away from them. “I better get going anyways, the Garden should be closed any longer during the day.” she bowed slightly towards them before saying her goodbyes one more time.

As soon as Yor was no longer in sight, Franky turned to Loid. “So, you didn’t tell her that you told Madame Sherwood and me about your relationship?”

“I haven’t had the time.” Loid’s eyes were still fixed towards the garage. “We’ve both been so busy lately, that even when i’m with her, i can’t find myself to bring it up. But i will tell her tonight.”

“I think you should,” Franky added. “Especially since it would allow her to not have to walk on too many eggshells while she’s here. She already met Madame Sherwood.”

“She did?! When?! How come I wasn’t told this?!”

“It was during the meeting Yor was talking about. I also didn’t expect to see Sylvia there. Her reasoning is that she really wanted to be involved with the anniversary planning, but she spent most of that time talking to Yor and favoring any idea that she may have.”

“Did the other staff say anything about it?”

“Nope”

“No?!”

“Your girl is quite the creative.” Franky placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “They loved all the ideas she had, especially Sylvia. Now, let’s go, I can tell you more about it after the writers and producers meeting.”

Loid slightly sulked at the fact that Yor and Sylvia met without his presence. He began dragging his feet towards the conference room.

–

“Before we begin,” said a producer once everyone had arrived to the conference room, “I just like to thank Loid Forger to stepping up to be our host for this year’s anniversary event.” The room erupted with applause. “Although you are one of our top artists, we never thought you would be willing to take on such an important role for this event. Again, thank you very much.” 

Loid looked around and smiled at everyone in the room. “No, I should be thanking  you instead. You took a chance on me all those years ago, its a way to give back to the company that has given me my start.” After the producer had introduced Loid to the rest of the production staff, the meeting began.

This would be the first of many meetings Loid will have with the production staff and the writing team until the day of the shoot. Today, the meeting was more of a formality as they were awaiting for a concept confirmation so that the writing staff has something to work with. The head writer would keep in touch with the actor once details arrived.

“I can’t believe I’m hosting this.” Loid muttered has he walked out of the conference room with Franky.

“Well,” said his manager, “You did say that you’ll accept anything for your punishing for disappearing.” Franky couldn’t hide the smug tone in his voice. “Besides, you've had hosting duties before. What could be different.”

“Yeah, but those were music shows and presenting at award shows. This will be different.” Loid turned to look at his friend. “I have to keep the show going and the energy up. How am i going to do that?”

“That is something you can talk about with the writing team. You are quite likable…” Franky thought hard of how this could be easy for Loid. “Think of it as just another performance. Instead of singing or speaking lines, you’re just engaging with the audience and your peers. In a way, think of it like hosting that broadcast for your last album release.” The pair had reached the elevators.

“Hmm, maybe.” said Loid as the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. “It is the same, isn’t it.”

“Exactly.” Franky followed Loid into the elevator. “How about a late lunch? On you?”

“Sure, but I get to pick where.”

“Fine by me.” Franky said happily as he pushed the button that would lead down to the garage.

–

Rushing through the gates of his home, Loid realized that he was going to be late for his date. After running into each other at the agency, the couple had messaged each other to finalize their plans for that night. they were to meet at the park before walking towards a restaurant that Yor saw while making deliveries. 

Twilight was approaching, he couldn’t be late. 

The park was nearly empty when he arrived. It didn’t take long for him to find her. A lovely woman sitting alone on a park bench. Slightly out of breath, Loid took a moment to compose himself before approaching her.

“I hope I’m not too late,” he said as he stood next to her.

“You’re not late, Loid.” she looked up at him with warm eyes. “We promised to meet before the sun had the chance to set.” Yor stood up to get a better look at him, then she smiled.

“What?,” he laughed nervously.

“This twilight glow suits you,” she leaned in and up on her toes to plant a light kiss on his cheek. Taken aback by her sudden gesture, he turned away to hide the blushing mess that he’d become.

“I should be saying that to you, not the other way around.” He said before turning back to look at her.

“Well, thank you.” She giggled while grabbing his arm. “Now, let’s go. I’m sure we both had a long day, but I want to hear about your day first.” Yor had took the lead as she walked towards their destination.

—

The restaurant was sitting in a quiet neighborhood in the opposite direction of their homes. If you weren’t looking for it, you’d miss it completely. The place had the façade of an old house; it even felt like you had walked into someone’s home when you entered the lobby.

Yor spoke to the hostess about their reservation, which was confirmed quickly. The woman lead the couple to their table located in the patio that was a just in the other room. The restaurant was filled with fellow diners and students.

“How did you find this place?” Loid asked once they were seated.

“I was in the area while making my delivery rounds. Actually, I had delivered a bouquet to a man who wanted to give them to his date. It was his first date with her too.” Yor smiled at the memory. “I looked up this place once I got home. The food looked good, and I love the feel of this place.” She looked up at the man in front of him, “I wanted to take you here.”

It seems to be that Yor is the only woman who can make Loid blush like a school boy. During past relationships, he was always the one putting in the effort to make the dates worthwhile. This time, he wasn’t the only one putting effort the most effort into the relationship.

“Why me?” He asked.

“Why not you?” She replied in a puzzlement. “Even though the last time I was here was a short stop, I felt a sense of relief. I even thought to myself, that I would want to come here if I wanted to rest away from home. But since meeting you, I no longer have the need to want to be alone.” As she admitted this, it was her turn to blush. “Also, I just want to spend time with you every chance I get.”

“Why do you say it like that?”

“With both of our jobs, we can get busy and not find the time to meet each other,” she cast her eyes away. “Every time we meet, I want to make the most of it and make it last as long as I can…”

Loid reached for her hand across the table, “Is this a worry for you?” She nodded, still not meeting his eyes. “When did this start? When did you start thinking like this?”

“A few days ago…” Her eyes never looking up from the menu. “When we left town, all those fans chasing us. It made me realize what your job comes with and what dating you could be like. I pushed those thoughts away and told myself to just cherish all the moments I’m able to have with you.” She eyes were beginning to puff as she squeezed his hands. “I- I won’t bring this up anymore. No more nega-“

“Remember what you said to me?” Loid cut her off, his voice was soft and comforting.

“What?”

“What you said to me while we were at your farm.” She shook her head slightly. “You said to me we aren’t going to allow our relationship to have secrets and that we won’t be keeping anything from each other. You remember, don’t you?”

“I do..” Before she could look up, Loid had wiped a tear away.

“So tell me all your worries, no matter how big or small. I want to be there for you like you have been for me.” He smiled. It was so warm. She felt all her the worries that were flooding her brain, melt away. “Now, lets enjoy our time together.”

While walking through the streets of Berlint after dinner, Loid had stepped away to buy them dessert.

“I hope its an apple tart!” She teased, as soon as she saw him approaching with a bag in hand.

“Nothing but the best apple tart in town for the apple of my eye.” He knew the line was cheesy but fully committed to it, because he knew she’d laugh. Which she did.

“Am I really?”

“Yes, nothing compares to you.” He took the tart out of the bag and cut up a piece for her. Yor took a happy bite and washed it down with tea.

“The best part of tonight’s date.”

The couple had returned to the park where they had met up, and found a bench where they can finish their tarts.

“Yor, I have to tell you something.” Loid waited until she finished eating to tell her about his meeting the day they arrived back to town.

“What is it?”

“I know that our relationship is a secret, minus your brother, but I had to tell a couple of people about you.” He waited for her response, not knowing if she’d be upset at he did this without telling her.

“Is Franky one of them?” She asked and was met with a wide eyes. “He is your manager, and you have mentioned that you’ve been friends before he became your manager. So it makes sense that he should know about us.” A small smile appeared, as she wasn’t upset. “Did you tell anyone else?” He nodded. “Who?”

“Sylvia Sherwood.”

“Sylvia…?” She repeated slowly. “As in, the CEO of WISE Ent.? As in Madame Sherwood??”

“Yes… you see, she isn’t just the CEO of the company, she used to be my manager too.” Yor nodded slowly. “A few days after we came back from the farm, they asked me questions of where I went and who I was with. As you know, there are dating rumors going around about me and some mystery woman, who we know is you.”

“What did you tell them?”

“I told them everything,” he held her gaze. “I had to because I wanted their help with protecting you.”

“I don’t need protection.”

“I know you don’t, Yor. I know, but in this industry, it’s best that you and your privacy is protected. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you, your friends, Yuri, and anything you love because of me and what the public could say to you and about you.”

There was a hint of worry and desperation in his eyes. This was something that Yor couldn’t brush off. If he was willing to tell the most important people in his life about her and their relationship to protect their happiness, then there is nothing she could say.

“You and I know that there is nothing out there that can take away our happiness.” She placed a hand on his cheek before giving him a sweet kiss.

—

Its been a few days since the couple has last seen each other. Loid’s filming schedule has caused him to be busier than before, while the Garden was the middle of dance season for all the local high schools. The shop was getting flower orders left and right, causing Yor to work around the clock so that boutonnieres and corsages would be ready for the dance.

After a particularly busy day, Yor fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillows.

Sleep did not last for long. The nightmare that Yor had while at the farm had come back. She kept tossing and turning to go back to sleep, but it didn’t work. There was debate about whether or not to wake up Yuri or not, to talk about it, but she remembers that he was spending the night with Chloe. “Should I call him?” She thought to herself as she reached for her phone. The time displayed on the screen said 1:15 am. “I shouldn’t… he should be resting since his shooting days are really long.” She put her phone down and tried to go back to sleep.

Moments later, Yor found herself in the middle of a field. Someone was calling her name. She kept searching for the source of the voice until a figure appeared in the horizon. Her feet began to carry her towards the figure, soon enough the it had materialized into Loid. She called out for him, reaching towards him. As their hands were about to meet, a crowd of people were descending on them. Loid grabbed onto her and told her to not let go and to run. Yor followed his instructions and tried to keep up, then a familiar scene had played once again. Her hands slipped out of his. He noticed and turned to go back to her, but the crowd had surrounded them. It was the crowd’s mission to keep them separated. Loid and Yor fought through the crowd to reunite, but nothing was working. She continued to called out to him, and he did the same but the distance between them kept growing.

“No! No! Loid!”

“Yor! Keep fighting! We’re almost there!” Loid shouted towards her, but it felt that his voice was fading. He was right in front of her. He’s so close. Right in front of her, but why does it seem like he’s so far?

“No, Loid! I’m right here! Follow my voice! Loid! Don’t leave me!”

Yor shot up from her bed in a cold sweat and in tears. She was dreaming. Remembering that Loid not was next to her unlike before, she did not hesitate and grabbed her phone.

—

With his work day done, Loid entered his home ready to go to bed. After kicking off his shoes, his phone rang. “Hello?,” his voice groggy as he yawned his greeting.

“Loid…” Yor on the other line. Her voice was so quiet, he barely heard her.

“Yor??” A burst of energy has found its way to him as he heard the uneasiness in her voice. “What’s wrong?
“I’m scared..” Her voice was a bit louder.

“Where are you?!” Loid turned around to grab his keys before heading towards the door.

“I’m at home…. I had that nightmare again.”

“The one where we got separated by a crowd?” His voice was calmer as he waited for a response. There was only silence coming from the other end, but he already knew the answer. He could feel his heart break. “I’ll be there soon.” He was already out the door and making his way into his car towards Yor.

As fast as he could drive, he arrived at the Garden. Once he stepped out of his car, he noticed a faint light coming from the shop. To his surprise, the shop’s door was unlocked. A thought that something more than a nightmare had happened to Yor, had occurred. He opened the door, ready for anything. He saw her. “Why aren’t you in the apartment?” He found her waiting for him on the shop floor. “You’re freezing!” There was a blanket around her, but it wasn’t enough. He knelt down to place his coat over her.

“Loid.” Her voice was still quiet like it was on the phone. She kept saying his name as buried herself in his chest. “Why did I have that dream again? Its been months? Why now?”

“I don’t know, but let’s get you back upstairs.” He scooped her up in his arms to carry her back into the apartment.

—

After placing Yor on her bed and making tea for them, Loid brought a chair to her bedside, vowing not to leave until she fell asleep. He held her hand as she laid in bed.

“Please tell me about you day. Maybe it’ll help me fall asleep.” She looked up at him as she waited for him to talk. He told her about the long shoot he had earlier. A few funny moments and scenes without giving the whole plot away. She would smile and yawn, but never fell asleep. “Won’t you join me in bed?” She asked. “There’s enough room for both of us.”

Before answering her question, he noticed what she was wearing. It was his cardigan. The same blue cardigan he had draped around her, when he helped her leave the confrontation with her ex.

“What is it?” She asked after not hearing answer to her question.

“That’s my cardigan… right?” He asked as Yor nodded and she sat up.

“I know this will sound childish, but when I woke up from that nightmare and couldn’t fall back asleep, I thought wearing it might help me. I did it when I was little. Whenever I missed my father, I would sleep with one of his old shirts. I didn’t want to wake you, so I thought if I did it with something of yours it would help me too. I guess it wasn’t enough… I needed you here.” He didn’t know how to react. He felt touched by the gesture, but his heart broke as well. She should know by now that she can call him no matter the time, he would leave and go to her right away. “Thats okay, right?

“Of course, but I thought you knew that you have the right to call me whenever you need me…”

“But-“

“But nothing.” He held her hand tighter before she released another yawn.

“Please,” she patted the space next to her. “Stay with me here.”

“Would you be okay with that? Is that what you want?”

“Of course it’s what I want. it’s not like we haven’t shared a bed before,” she squeezed his hand as she made more space for him. “It is a lot be better than our current arrangement.“ She looked at the distance between them as he was still sitting on the chair.” After a brief moment, Loid climbed into bed with her. Without wasting time, Yor clung onto him to make sure that he isn’t going anywhere. "It was scary not waking up to you from the nightmare, unlike last time. I kept searching for you. Wishing you were here.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you.” He held on to her and kissed the top of her head.

“You’re here now. Stay the night, please.” She tightened her hold on him as she spoke into his chest.

“You don’t have to ask. I will always stay with you.”

Soon after, the couple was able to drift off to sleep

—

The next day, Loid kept thinking about why Yor was having these nightmares. Could it stem from over thinking about their relationship? About the worries she expressed to him? He can’t help but relate the description of her dreams to that day they left for the countryside. They seemed similar to him, but he couldn’t be sure.

Chapter Text

For the next several days, Loid had spent the night at the Briars. Yor’s nightmares were still present, and he couldn’t leave her alone. Instead of going to his home after work, he went straight to The Garden.

One night, he laid awake in bed while Yor was holding on to him. She whimpered in her sleep and tightened her grip on him, but she doesn’t wake up. After making sure the dream has passed, Loid slipped out bed and walked into the kitchen for something to drink. Since the nightmare has returned, he kept trying to think of a reason as to why she was having these certain dreams. Might as well put his psychology degree to use.

While writing notes on the kitchen table, the light in the living room flickered on.  He turned around to see who it is.

“Loid? and awake?” Yuri had come back home. Since staying over, this was Yuri’s first time seeing Loid when he came home late. Loid always left befre Yuri got up in the morning. “Is Yor sleeping?”

“She is,” Loid leaned back and stretched his neck. “Another study group?”

“Yeah, finals are coming up. So, I may need to take you up on your offer of tutoring me.” he gave him a tight yet warm smile. “Why are you awake?” he pulled out the chair to sit across from him.

“I couldn’t sleep. I’m trying to figure out why Yor is having these nightmares.” Loid picked up his pen and began tapping on his paper.

“Nightmares?” Yuri’s eyes widened a bit. “It’s been a while since she had nightmares.” he leaned back into his chair trying to think of the last time he woke up in the night calming her down. “When did they start?”

“About a few months ago or so now. She had one while we were at the farm, and they came back a few days ago. This time though, they’re occurring more often.” seeming defeated, Loid let out a sigh. “Probably against all that i’ve learned, but i should probably consult dream books or something.”

“Do you know what these nightmares are about?” Yuri leaned forward. If he’s thinking the right way, he could be able to help.

“She dreams of us being separated. When they first occurred, she told me that she and I would be reaching out to each other, but crowds of people kept pulling us apart. There is another version of it. We are together trying to run away, hand-in-hand, then suddenly a crowd of people are chasing after us. As much as we try to escape, we are somehow separated. The last one, she kept calling out to me, but either she had no voice or i couldn’t hear her. She wakes up in tears and a cold sweat… The version with the crowd, I can understand. It was something we had experienced together. She helped me escape from my fans.”

Yuri was quiet as Loid was speaking. The description of his sister’s dreams sounded all too familiar.

“What is it?” Loid asked after Yuri’s silence lingered longer that it should have.

“She has had these dreams before,” said Yuri. “Quite a few times, in fact.”

“What do you mean?” Loid leaned forwards, interested to know more.

“She first had these dreams when we were younger. Our dad worked a lot. He would come home late, or be at work for days at a time. I remember him telling us to have something of his close by when we missed him. Yor took that to heart.” Upon this, Loid remembered Yor saying this when he noticed that she was wearing his cardigan to sleep, when he rushed over. “It helped us a lot. More for her than me. Then when our parents died… I noticed she did it more often.” He looked up at Loid. “She would never admit that she did it, but I would see her. I would see her folding one of mom or dad’s shirts that she kept whenever she did the laundry. I remember asking her about it, and said that she didn’t need to do it. Now, this was a few months after our parents had passed.”

Loid listened intently, never having the need to interrupt Yuri. He could only imagine how he felt, seeing his sister act like this as a child.

“This is when she started getting those abandonment nightmares, as I called them.”

“Abandonment?” Loid said aloud. “But your parents didn’t abandon you two.”

“I know, and she knows.” Yuri’s voice became small. “But its the best I could describe it. At first, when she dreamed of our parents after they had passed, they were good dreams. But slowly, they turned into those nightmares. Luckily, they didn’t last long. I guess she came to terms with it on her own.” He shrugged, although he knew that it wasn’t a good answer.

“Has she had these nightmares when she was with her ex? Or any relationship prior?”

“Oddly enough, no. She only had them with our parents, and now… you.” Yuri’s eyes widened at his own words. What could this mean?

Loid leaned back into his chair and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger. What Yuri had said was making some sense, but he wasn’t sure. He’d probably has to talk to Yor about it soon.

“I don’t know what it means,” said Loid after thinking it over. “But I can agree that it’s a bit odd that these nightmares have not happened with her previous relationships…”

“I think it would be great if you could figure it out,” said Yuri. “Its hard seeing her like this.” He looked towards his sister’s room. “I’m sure you can tell too, its been effecting her sleep. This isn’t good for her.” Loid nodded in agreement before the two men decided that it was time to call it a night.

—

The days after Loid and Yuri talked, had become busy for everyone.

Yuri has barely seen anyone other than Chloe as finals were the next week.

Loid was book for shoot after shoot as well as rehearsals for the anniversary show.

Yor’s nightmares were still present, but not as they were initially. Still, her lack of sleep was starting to effect her work at the Garden as well as designing and preparing for WISE Entertainment’s anniversary show.

As the director has called cut, signaling for a quick break as the crew sets up for the next scene, Loid made his way towards his team. Susan was ready in case he needed a touch up. Franky had water in one hand, the script in the other. Right now though, Loid just needs to sit down. The scene he had filmed included running and a few stunts, a chair is what he needs right now. Once he sat down, his phone rang. His energy was drained due to his scene, but with the name that flashed across his screen, he became revitalized.

“Hello?” He tried to hide the sweetness in his voice, as his team was still around him.

“Loid!” Yor was on the other line. Her voice was excited, but he knew it was masking how she truly felt.

“Hello, Yor. How’s your day been so far?”

“Been good… I was able to get through more orders today, which is good.” Loid hummed in agreement. “How about you? Are you on set now?”

“I am. You called at the right time, I’m on a break before filming the next scene.” There was a slight pause on the other end of the line.

“Oh.. should I hang up then? I mean, we can talk later. You need to focus on the next scene right? I’ll call back-”

“Wait! Yor!” He nearly stood up from his chair as he said her name. He gestured towards Franky for keys to the van. The rest of his break was going to be spent there as he talked to Yor. “You don’t need to hang up,” his voice was calm again. “I have plenty of time before my next scene.” He smiled, although he knew she couldn’t see it. “I wanted to hear your voice.. I’ve missed you.”

Another silence hung on their line. “I missed you too…” she finally said. “I don’t like it when you have to work late into the night, but I guess that can’t be helped.

“And why do you say that?,” he chuckled as he got into the van. “You didn’t have a problem with that before.”

“You could say that I grew accustomed to having you next to me while we slept..”

“Is that so?,” he leaned back into his chair. “Is that all?”

“And..” her voice was quiet, as if she was being careful with what she was going to say next. “I miss you.. Can we see each other tonight?”

These simple words had pierced the heart of an actor. He’s heard them before. He’s heard her say these words before, but why do they feel different tonight.

“Is it possible to meet tonight?” she began to backtrack on what she had just said. “Even for a short moment…” Still nothing from Loid’s end. “I’m sorry,” a light-hearted chuckle, that was anything but, had escaped her lips. “I’m suddenly so clingy now, aren’t I?”

“Not at all. Never,” said Loid “Who said you’re clingy? In fact, I want you to be.”

“You want me to want you by my side?”

“Of course. Because spending time with me also means I get to spend time with you.”

Another chuckle came from the other line, this time it sounded genuine. “You and your cheesy lines.”

“You know you’ll never tire of them,” he smiled. “I end around eleven tonight. I can go straight there.”

“Are you sure? Don’t you have a busy day tomorrow?”

“Only a few things, but that isn’t until late afternoon. So you’ll have me all of tomorrow morning too.”

“All right, I’ll have a cup of your favorite tea waiting for you. I look forward to hearing about your day.”

“I can’t wait either, see you soon.”

Loid hung up and carefully set his phone down. He was the only one in the van, but why is it so loud? It took a moment, but he realized that it was his own heartbeat. How did this one conversation allow him to feel like a high schooler who fell in love for the first time? His fluttering heart quickly stopped as he remembered something. During their call, he should’ve brought up that he wanted to talk to her about something. But with her missing him, would it be appropriate?

If he doesn’t ask her about her nightmares now and the connections, the solution may never be found.

–

“Why did I do that?” Yor had hung up the phone and felt like tearing her hair apart. Since meeting Loid and since the start of their relationship, she had never acted nor wanted to act clingy or needed, but why now? Is it because they’ve been together nearly everyday, that the past few days without him felt odd to her? “What are you thinking, Yor?! He’s an actor AND singer. He’s so busy, you can’ expect him to drop everything for you.” She saw her reflection in the floral refrigerator. “You got lucky this time, Yor.” she pointed at herself. “Now, get back to work.”

–

Loid was lucky tonight. After the crew had come back from their lunch, the producer and director had announced that production was ahead of schedule. The workday would be able to end early. What’s even luckier? Loid was not on the call sheet for the next few days, minus tomorrow with his work being related to the anniversary show. 

It was ten at night, a rarity for Loid to be off set an hour early. With most of the shops being closed, he managed to find a bakery that was still open. As he was walking towards the door, an employee was about the flip the sign to say “Closed.” Since the employee happened to recognize him, they let him in. He bought everything that was left. Whole cake and cake slices, pastries, and bread. Figured that even though its late, a dessert or two wouldn’t be so bad. They could even share with Yuri and Chloe if they were home. With full bags in each hand, Loid set off to his destination for the night, Yor.

As it was every night he went to the Briar home, a dim light was on in the Garden. It became a signal for him to know that she was up waiting for him. Still with bags in each hand, Loid had managed to open the door, but before he could fully step into the shop, a warmth had wrapped around him. 

He looked down to see shiny ebony hair accompanied by a pair of ruby eyes, that he can never get enough of. “Hello,” he said. “Or should I say, I’m home.” 

“Let’s go to your home,” she looked up at him.

“What do you mean?” He couldn’t move from his spot as Yor still had her hold on him. A bag was sitting just a few feet behind her. “And what’s that bag for?”

Moments lingered on before she released him. “I know its last minute and you just got here, but Yuri is freaking out right now. I’m sure he and Chloe could use the quietness to focus on studying.”

“About what?”

“His psych final exam! Finals week for them starts tomorrow, and his first one is his psychology class.”

Loid nearly dropped  the bag of goods. “What?! But we studied all of last weekend!” Without thinking, he went towards the staircase that lead to the apartment. Before going up, Yuri was already standing there with his psych textbook in hand. 

“Loittie! I don’t get it! The mind-body theory and dreams!” 

“Yes you do, Yuri! We spent two days going over it! You know these concepts like the back of your hand!”

“How do you know?!”

“Because you’re a smart kid. You asked a lot of questions and the same questions multiple times. You’re going to be okay.”

Yuri pulled a face that Loid never thought he’d see from the man who didn’t like him when they first met. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.” Loid was about to turn around to retrieve the bags he brought, but Yor had come with them. 

“Yuri, he’s here for Yor, not you.” Chloe was standing in the middle of the staircase.

“She’s right,” Yor chimed in with a smile.

“Here,” Loid took one of the bags and handed them to the young couple. “Take these to help fuel your study session. Don’t pull an all-nighter. You guys are going to finish the semester strong.”

“And as soon as we hand in our last exam, a whole month at the Briar Flower farm, right, Yuri?” Chloe is now next to her boyfriend. 

“Ah yes. The countryside and seaside is the best way to relax after this tough semester.” With the reminder of what their reward was going to be after exams, he took the bag from Loid. “Thanks, Loid.” Chloe had made her way back into the apartment.  “I know she asked to go back to your place,” he turned  back to face the actor. “Please take care of my sister, and I hope you can get to the bottom of her nightmares.” Loid responded with a firm nod. 

–

The car ride to Loid’s house was mostly silent. Loid thought back to when was the last time he cleaned his home, or if it was presentable for a guest. Yor was nervous, as this would be her second time going to his home. Technically, it’s her first. She was there for their first date, but that took place in his yard. She never stepped in to the house.

“Welcome to my home,” said Loid, who is a tad nervous now. For one thing, he rarely had guests over, other than his team and his members. He can’t even remember the last time he had brought a girl home, or if he ever had. Yor could be the first one. 

His house was spacious as soon as you walked in, Yor’s apartment was nothing compared to this. Despite how open it felt, the sense of a cozy home was present in the air. “Feel free to sit anywhere,” Loid had called out to her as he made his way towards the kitchen. “I’ll make us some drink to go with the baked good that I bought. But before that.” Loid set down the bag of goods and took her overnight bag in his hand. “I’ll bring this to my room first.”

Yor didn’t sit just yet. She wandered around the living room. A wall was home to a bookcase that housed his albums, awards, and other items related to his job. Photos from his trainee days were also sprinkled throughout. One particular photo had stood out to her. It was a family portrait; Loid was with his parents, all three of them with bright smiles.

“That was taken after my debut stage with my group. They were waiting for me in the dressing room.” Loid set the tray of coffee and tea onto the coffee table. “I remember that I could hear them calling my name during the performance.” He looked at the photo as a warm smile appeared on his lips. “I was embarrassed about it at the time, but then again, only they knew that I was working hard to reach my dream.”

At the mention of his parents, Yor realized that he had never mentioned them until now. “Where are they now?”

“Ah, well.” He hesitated for a moment. “They are no longer with me.” The smile was still present, but it had lost its warmth. “Like you, they also died in an accident.”

“Oh… I’m so sorry to hear that.” 

“It’s all right. Enough time has passed that I’ve finally come to terms with it. I know they’re still watching me.”

“You must’ve been so young too.”

“Not as young as you and Yuri,” he looked at her, his expression soft. “I was already of age when they passed, but barely twenty. I’m grateful that they were able to see my debut and win my first award with my members.” He sat down on the back of the couch. “The parents of my members took care of me as if I were their own, from then on. My members became the family that I needed.”

“You’re quite lucky, aren’t you. You still had people who cared about you and wanted to see you thrive, especially after your parents have passed.”

“I think we’re both lucky, if you mean it like that.” He took her hand in his as he looked up at her.

“What do you mean?”

“I had my members and their families. You had the shopkeeper and his wife. After we both had gone through great loss, we still have people around us who cared for us. And all of that had led us to each other.” Yor’s free hand cupped his cheek. 

“You are right about that,” she said before placing a gentle kiss on his cheek.

–

Now that the couple have settled onto the couch with drinks and treats, Loid thought it would be a good opportunity to talk to Yor about her dreams. Especially since the mood is right following their previous conversations.

“Yor, can I ask you something?”

“Of course.” she smiled before taking a sip of her tea.

“Your nightmares.” Loid’s voice was hesitant, but how else could he approach the subject other than being direct about it. “I know they aren’t as frequent… but.”

“You want to know where they’re coming from or why I’m having them?” her smile was still there as she turned to look at him. 

“Yes, only if you’re okay with talking about it.”

Yor set her mug on the table in front of them. Her posture the same, tall and elegant. “I don’t know how much Yuri has told you, but I started having them soon after our parents had passed. I was at an age that I understood that they didn’t leave my brother and I, but instead something had happened to them. Despite knowing that, there was still a part of me hoping that they’ll walk through the door of our home.” She had a far-off look in her eyes now. “With that thought, there was this underlying feeling of them abandoning us made its presence known.” She turned to look at him. “That’s when the nightmares started. When it kept happening, thats when I found my dad’s old shirts and slept with it. I had a feeling that Yuri might’ve been going through the same thing, but didn’t say anything to me. But there were times where I found him going through our mother’s things. As we got older, we talked about what we went through growing up.” 

She paused, thinking of how to continue.

“A part of me was afraid to tell you all of this, because I thought that you didn’t have the time to deal with what I’m going through. I thought it would pass like it did before. Since my parents died, I have had a fear of being abandoned by those I loved. I know what happened to them was an accident, and they didn’t abandon us. Its just that the thought kept creeping in. I know the shopkeeper and his wife did their best to raise us, and I’m forever grateful. I thought the nightmares were over when I didn’t have them during past relationships, especially with my ex… but they came back when we met. As we kept spending time with each other and got closer, they happened more often, more than before.” She looked up at him. “I guess it means that I love you, Loid. I love you to the point where I don't want us to be apart from each other or that I fear that you’d leave me one day.” She had a soft smile as her eyes glistened in the low late night light. Then her eyes grew wide. She realized she had just said three important words… “Loid, I-”

“You love me?,” he asked. His voice was barely above a whisper but full of warmth. Yor could feel her ears burning. “You love me, Yor?,” he repeated as he placed his hands on top of hers.

Not wanting to take it back, nor brushing it aside. Yor faced the moment head on. “I do,” her voice is similar to his. “I love you, Loid Forger. I know I said these words suddenly, but I know that when I tell someone that I love them I mean-” Unable to complete her thought, she felt a warm sensation wash over her. Beginning from her lips, the warmth spread down to her chest, causing her heart to race. He cupped her cheek as he deepened the kiss.

The kiss was passionate yet soft; he was being gentle with her as she reciprocated the feeling towards him. Time stood still as they were locked in each other’s embrace.

A moment later, lips parted. With heavy breathes between them, Loid leaned his forehead onto hers. 

“I love you too, Yor Briar.” He kissed her again. “I would never leave you. I promise.”

“I know you’ll keep it.” She said softly. “You’ve always kept your promises.”

–

Upon hearing three simple words from the woman he loves, Loid felt something shift within him. From that moment on, their relationship would be at greater risk due to his status as a public figure. He knew how harsh the public could be once they learn about her, but he was ready to protect her no matter the cost.

But one step at a time.

The company’s anniversary is fast approaching, and both of them will be busy. After the event, Loid plans to talk to everyone on his team about how to go forward in protecting his relationship. This meant keeping Yor safe from public scrutiny, even if it meant if he had to move heaven and earth to ensure that he will always be by her side.

Chapter Text

The afternoon had slowed down in the Garden. Yor was about to finish cleaning up after teaching a class. The quietness of the shop was interrupted by the sound of the bell as the shop’s door opened.

“Hi Yor!” Millie sang out as she entered the store, followed by Sharon and Camilla.

“Hello!” Yor smiled at her friends as she put the broom back into the closet. “Lunch time for you girls?”

“It is!” Millie led the group towards the side of the shop that had chairs and a table set up. “We’ve finished our meal though, but we can’t go back to the office without coffee.”

“Isn’t it your lunch break too, Yor?” Sharon asked as she trailed behind. 

“It is now,” a bright smile appeared on Yor’s face, as she walked towards the door to place the “Out to Lunch” sign. “Will it be the usual, girls?” The friends said yes in unison. 

Once the drinks had been made, Yor joined her friends at the table to catch up with them. Conversations included the new work gossip, which Millie is adamant that Yor remains updated, despite no longer working there; as well as updates on their current love life.

“Someone new started working at the office, Yor.” Millie gushed.
“I thought you guys already found my replacement.”

“Oh we did.” Millie answered. 

“He’s currently a temp,” Sharon interjected. “The workload was starting to be unbearable when its split between the three of us, so Chief Barnes and Mr.. MacMahon brought him in. If he works well, he could be permanent.”

“I hope he becomes permanent.” Millie’s hands were placed on her cheeks, as if to suppress the blush that was beginning to form.

“What’s his name?” Yor asked. “Is he a good worker?” Yor asked before taking a sip of her tea.

“His name…” Camilla searched her memory for his name. “Oh, his name is -
“Mr. Jones!” Millie cut in. “Director MacMahon only told us his last name, but in due time I’ll figure it out,” she had on a confident smile.

As the ladies continued talking about their dating life, Yor could only listen, smile, and respond at the appropriate times. Of course she wants to tell them about her boyfriend and all the fun she’s been having in her new relationship, but knew that she couldn’t. At least for right now. Although a part of her likes that she gets to keep her relationship with Loid a secret from the world.

In due time, she’ll be able to share all of this with her friends, like they do with her.

–

In the heart of downtown Berlint, one of its many screens was attracting attention from the people below. Everyone stopped and looked up, workers who were getting off the bus, students who were on their way to after school classes. All of them looked up as the screen shifted to something new.

“Hello everyone,” said a group of men in unison. “We are STRIX!” The men on the screen raised their hands to say hello. 

“We are excited to announce that we’ll come together to celebrate the thirtieth  anniversary of WISE Entertainment,” said one on the far left. “Please join us next week on BerlintLive as we’ll be live alongside our labelmates.”

“I hope you'll be able to join us, as it has been a while since we’ve met together like this,” said Loid.

“See you soon!” the men said in unison again as they waved goodbye to the crowd before the screen transitioned to another ad.

“OMG! Did you see that?”

“A STRIX REUNION?!”

“I knew that they didn’t officially disband!”

“Did you see Tommy?!”

“Loid is such a good leader. To be able to bring the members together again like this.”

This is the first time in a few years that STRIX was seen as a whole when it came to group activities. Fans couldn't stop talking about the sudden news.

“So does this mean none of the members left WISE Ent??.”

“I guess so!”

“I smell a comeback.”

“Oh I hope so! It’s almost STRIX’s debut anniversary”

“Anything can happen.”

Fans began talking and speculating of what this sudden full group appearance of STRIX could mean. 

“It’s been so long since we’ve seen them all together!”

“I knew this day would come again!

–

Since the tenth anniversary of STRIX, the members have kept in touch despite a few members no longer being active in the industry.

*A few months ago

A man had walked into a cafe that was just outside of downtown Berlint. He had placed an order and looked for a quiet table with plenty of seats. Soon after, another man walked in and did the same thing. Instead of looking for a table of his own, he scanned the area, looking for someone.

“Tommy!” The man at the table raised his hand slightly.

“Mark!” The man who had just walked in hurriedly made his way towards his friend. “It’s so good to see you!” He naturally went in for a hug. “Will the others be here soon?”

“I think so?” Mark pulled out his phone and opened the STRIX group chat. “When I said that I was on my way, all of you said the same thing. We’re just the first ones here.” He smiled as he put his phone away.

“Typical,” Tommy chuckled. “That’s our members for ya.”

“Couldn’t have agreed more.”

Slowly, the other members of STRIX arrived at the cafe.

Loid was the last to arrive.

After the last set of greetings and drinks orders were completed, Calum was the first to break the ice.

“Okay, Loid. As much as I love spending time with you and everyone here, what is the real reason you asked to meet us out of the blue?” Calum cocked his head towards the side, while the other members directed their gaze towards their leader.

“I have two things I want to talk about.” Loid took a deep breath. “As you may know, the company’s 30th anniversary is this year. WISE is not only having our annual WISE’s World concert, but also a broadcast that will involve variety show-type games and artists sharing memories of their time in the company.” There was no hint of nervousness in his voice. “With this year being somewhat significant, I was hoping that you all would like to participate in it, and that we can perform as a whole group again. I know it’s been a long time, but I would like to celebrate our company’s milestone with my members.”

Silence hung amongst the group of men as looks were exchanged, somewhat avoiding Loid’s gaze.

“Did Sylvia ask you to do this?” asked Tommy, who along with Loid, is still an active idol. “Because if she did, why didn’t she tell me? Or was this from Franky?”

“No,” Loid said quickly. “I wanted to do this. I wanted everyone here to be on board with the idea before telling Sylvia.”

“That’s a pretty big ask,” said Calum as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I mean, I do brand deals and modeling here and there. Robert and Mark are basically homebodies. Only you and Tommy are still active.”

“I know it's a lot that I'm asking of all of you. I just thought that it would be something fun we can do. I know it’s been a while since we’ve appeared and worked together like this, but I know we can pull it off.” The rest of the men looked at each other and leaned in, as if forming a huddle to discuss what they should do. 

“We’re in.” Calum said with a smile that the others soon followed.

Loid’s eyes widened at the sound of those two words. He stood up quickly and bowed towards his members. “Thank you so much for agreeing to participate in this year's anniversary show and company concerts.” 

There was a small pocket of silence while Loid was still in the bowed position. He was beginning to feel nervous about the situation. 

“Of course we want to participate,” said Calum. “You asked us to do it. Of course we”ll listen to our leader.” He smiled as loid slowly stood up tall,

“But you didn’t need to, even if I asked.” Loid’s voice was low as he slowly stood up straight.

“What are you talking about?” Calum stood up and walked towards him. “Do you remember the promise we made to each other when we first debuted?”

“That no matter what happens, what life as an idol throws at us..” Loid began.

“We will always be together and be with each other, through it all.” The rest of the members said in unison.

“Besides, isn’t it lonely being a solo artist?” Tommy piped up to break the tension. “I know I get lonely sitting in the waiting room all by myself.”

“You didn’t like our mini-unit during company concerts?!” Loid’s voice had a hint of betrayal.

“You know what I mean!” Tommy huffed as he turned towards Mark. 

“To be honest, I’ve been itching to get back on stage again,” Robert admitted shyly.

“Is that why you’re taking dance classes again?!” Mark asked, to which Robert nodded slowly.

“You guys know that you’re still welcome to come and use the facility at WISE right?” Loid chuckled. “All of you are still under the company.”

“Yeah, but isn’t really the same…”

As the members' excitement grew, talks of what songs they should sing and possible future plans began to take place; Loid looked on, listening intently. It has been a while since he saw his members be this happy talking about group work.

“Wait wait wait.” Calum broke up through the conversation, as he suddenly remembered something. “What is the second thing that you wanted to talk to us about?” He pointed his question to Loid, who suddenly had a very visible rosy tint to his cheeks that went up to his ears.

“Is it that girl…” Tommy said quietly. He has heard about the rumors and how hard Franky has been working to deny everything. The men leaned in waiting for their leader to say something. In fact, it wasn’t just Tommy who heard of the rumors, all of them did. They wanted to hear it from him first.

Loid looked around the cafe, and noticed that no other customers were present. He looked towards his lap, trying to figure out the best place to start. “If only I asked to meet with you guys sooner.” He was still looking down as he spoke. “I wanted you all to be one of the first people to know.” His friends were waiting with bated breath for the next words that were going to come out of his mouth. “Her name is Yor Briar.” He looked up at his friends with a soft smile. “She owns The Garden, a flower shop downtown. We’ve been in a relationship for some time now.

–

“What?!” 

It took a moment for the rest of the group to process the words that had just come out of Loid’s mouth.

“You’re in a relationship?” Tommy blurted out loud before anyone else. “Since when? How do I not know?! Not any of us know!?”  A slight hint in offence was becoming apparent in his voice. “Does anyone know? Franky? Syliva?!” He was nearly rising from his chair. “We’re still in the same company, Loid!”

“Hold on a minute, Tommy.” It was Mark, along with Robert, who brought Tommy back to his seat. “He might have a good reason for taking it this long to share this news with us.”

“But still!” Tommy wasn’t letting off, as he looked at Calum, who was unofficially second-in-command in their group. “We’re family! He shouldn’t have kept this from us, at least not for this long.” He unwillingly sat back down in his chair with a huff.

With a heavy sigh and a slight shake of his head, Calum finally spoke. “Mark and Robert could be right, and we should listen to Loid’s reasons.” He turned towards Loid. “So, tell us about her. I’m sure we’ll understand why it took you this long to work up the courage to tell about this new person in your life.” His voice was calm, which Loid was thankful for.

“Do you remember that charity fundraiser event I did with Berlint Children’s Hospital?” Loid started off.

“YOU FELL IN LOVE WITH A FAN!?” Tommy was about to spring up from his seat again, but was blocked by Mark and Robert, again as the pair told him to be quiet in unison.

“It’s not what you think it is,” Loid continued with an embarrassed chuckle. “The date never happened. Actually, as much as I hate to admit this, I nearly begged her for the date to happen.” He saw that his members were about to pounce on him, but he needed to keep going. “It was the principle of the matter! She was named the highest donor of the event, and in turn she deserved to be recognized and be treated accordingly! It was a date with me! And I had to make sure I also fulfilled my promise no matter what!”

“Did she ghost you?” Mark asked, slightly wide eyed. In all the years he’s known Loid, a girl had never turned him down.

“No…”

“She rejected you in person!?” Robert asked next, which caused the rest of the men to audibly gasp when Loid silently responded to the question.

“So, you chased her and for-” Calum spoke as he was beginning to put the pieces together.

“I didn’t force her!” Loid quickly interjected. “Let's make that very clear. I did not force Yor to go on a date with me… We made an agreement..”

“Her name is Yor?” Calum had a sweet supportive smile towards his friend, but his comment was glossed over by the other three members.

“What was it?!”

Loid continued to explain that they have kept running into each other throughout town. The agreement was: if Yor didn’t repay him for the coffee and pastry that he bought her, they would go on a date.

“Mutual feelings began to grow. One thing led to another, and now here we are. Happy to be together.” A loving gaze was apparent in Loid’s eyes as he talked about Yor. The sense of relief had washed over him, as he was able to share this news with his friends.

“Wait wait wait,Tommy"All of this happened recently and you didn’t tell anyone?! Does anyone on her side know?”

“Just her brother… and his girlfriend… and the couple who are basically parents to know.”

“How did they get to know about the relationship before any of us?!”

“It happened!” Loid’s voice was stable as he cut in. “We’ve agreed to keep our relationships a secret from everyone for as long as we can. Mainly to protect her. You already know that we have to go through such great lengths to keep our life private. We were already caught once.”

“Does Chairman Sherwood know?” Robert asked before Tommy could go into another rampage.

“Yes,” Loid looked at him. “As soon as I realized my feelings towards Yor continued to grow, I told her immediately.”

“Good, you went about it the right way. Since you’re still with Yor, she is supportive?” Robert continued.

“Very much,” a smile on Loid’s face made its second appearance of the day.

“But why weren’t we the first to know?” Tommy was begging to sulk. “Aren’t we a family?”

“Yes, you are…” as Loid was to give his friends another reason for his decision, Calum cut in.

“He had his reasons, given our line of work; and he already told us a reason. I know I would do the same if I was in his situation, so the questioning of why we weren’t told first should end here.” He looked at his friends who nodded in agreement, even Tommy who was still hesitant. “Besides, we know now.”

“Do we get to meet her?” Mark asked after the mood had softened amongst them.

“I plan to introduce you to her soon, but I'll focus on this anniversary broadcast first and releasing our new single.”

“A NEW SINGLE TOO?!” The rest of the boys said in unison as Loid, their leader sprung this surprising news to thim. 

“Of course, only if you want to.”

“What do you say boys?” Calum asked the other three. “You think it's time for STRIX to make a comeback?!”

–

Months after the initial meeting of STRIX coming together again, the final preparations of WISE Entertainment’s anniversary broadcast were well underway. 

Yor was nearly at the agency everyday going over set designs and arrangement placements. While Loid had back to back rehearsals, this caused the couple to rarely set time aside to be with each other. They occasionally cross paths at the agency, doing their best to not share a knowing glance in order to not to expose their relationship.

“Are you nervous?” Yor asked during dinner in her apartment.

“About the show tomorrow?” Loid was looking at his place, pushing food around. “A little bit.” he looked up at her, “Should be okay though. During rehearsals yesterday, we did only one run through and it went without a hitch.”

“That’s good!”

“How about things on your end?” Loid asked as he leaned back in his chair.

“Everything is done. I do have to go in early to ensure delivery goes smoothly and set up does as well.”

“Good luck to both of us, then.”

“It’ll be fine,” Yor winked at him. “I just know it.”

Chapter Text

Tomorrow is the anniversary broadcast. Loid and Yor had dinner together, although they had to part for the night.

“So,” said Loid as he looked up from his plate. “It looks like you’ve become the lead set designer.” During the past month, he had noticed that Yor was at the agency more often than she was during his comeback broadcast.

This comment caught Yor off guard. “Hardly,” she laughed nervously. “I wasn’t  expecting them to constantly ask for my opinion and ideas, aside from the floral arrangements. It started as opinions, then all of a sudden those opinions and suggestions became final decisions.” She felt uneasy confessing this, none of this was supposed to happen. It just did. The other lead designers had agreed with what she had said and went along with all of her ideas.

“Do you like it?”

“I do, it’s a nice change of pace and I’m learning a lot, but…”

“But?”

“I don’t think I'll expand my business into set design or planning. As much as I like it, I’d rather stick to floral design and arrangement. That’s more for me.”

“As long as you’re happy, Yor.” Loid smiled at her.

“What about you, Mr. emcee?” Yor giggled, as she knew that Loid was nearly forced to do this job.

“This isn’t the first time that I've hosted a show,” He let out a heavy sigh.

“Were you selected to do it this year?” She asked while taking a bite of her dinner.

“Kind of…” Now it was Loid’s turn to become uneasy, as he realized that he never told her the truth of how he got this role for the broadcast.

“What do you mean?” she tilted her head to the side as her brow furrowed.

“Well,” Loid sat up and cleared his throat. “When the rumors of us dating started to take on a life of their own, Sylvia asked me about it. I told her the truth about us: how we met and how we got to where we are now. I also asked for protection.” He noticed that Yor was about to interject, probably to say "But I don’t need protection,”  which is true, but in this world, privacy is something that must need protection. “I know you can protect yourself, but Yor, this is a different. I don’t want the public to know who you are. Not because we’re dating or that you are connected to me, but because once they find out who you are, they’re going to find you. They’re going to want to know everything about you and your life. That isn’t something that I want you to go through. It’s-”

“I understand.” She had on a soft smile as well as a  warm light. It was probably due to the lighting of the dining room, but Loid believes this aura was coming from her. “I do. I know you’re doing it for us. But how does this lead to your role as the host?”

“Since I confessed to Sylvia and asked for protection and everything, in return I had to be the host for this year’s anniversary broadcast. She and my team had to cover it up while we were at the farm. And, it so happened to be a big anniversary year too.” Loid because to slump into his chair. He didn’t mind hosting, he’s done it before, numerous times actually. It's just not his favorite thing, especially if he has to be the host of a program that he’s also performing. 

He could deal without being overworked.

Yor got up from her seat and walked around the table. “Well, aren’t I a lucky girl.”She slid her hand along his shoulder to hook around his neck as she sat on his lap. “What would I do if I didn’t have a man like you?” To show him her gratitude, she placed her lips onto his. The kiss that they shared was warm and sweet, like they always were. It didn’t take long for this kiss to take a turn, as it began to linger, she felt something warm slip past between her lips and wrap around her tongue. Before it was too late, she broke the kiss.

“Loid!” Her voice was a far cry from being a scold, as the blonde man made a show of sad icey blue eyes. “This isn’t the time for that.”

“Of course it is.” He looked up at her, as she was still sitting on his lap. “There is always a time for this, especially when we have such a long day tomorrow.” He nuzzled his head just under her chin and along her neck. “I’m hardly going to see you tomorrow.” he placed a chaste kiss on her chest. “What if during that time, I’ll-”

“You’ll what?” Yor tried to keep her voice steady, doing her best to not fall for his advances. If they didn’t have an early start the next day, she would’ve given in by now.”

“I don’t know what I’ll do,” he kissed along her jawline, which he learned a few nights ago was one of her weak spots. “What if I lose focus, won’t you feel guilty?” The next kiss was at the corner of her mouth, as he began to explore the small of her back underneath her sweater.

“Loid,” her voice was breathy, it was just enough to cause Loid to stand up from the dinner table with her in his arms. “Loid, where are you taking me?” She knew he was heading somewhere fast.

“To my room.” There was a look in his eyes, that she knew nothing would stop him from getting what he wants. And quite frankly, she wasn’t mad about it.

So much for parting ways after dinner. It was decided that Yor would spend the night, and leave in the morning before heading to the sound stage. 

The decision was made on account that Yor collapse onto the floor as she tried to get off the bed. Loid had way too much fun with her tonight.

–

The morning of the broadcast had arrived. Yor was still at Loid’s home. Having breakfast together wouldn’t hurt. His call time isn’t until the afternoon, and she isn’t needed mid morning. 

“Hey Yor,” Loid asked as they were on the couch watching a morning drama. Her legs over his lap as they sat comfortably. She responded with a hum. “Is it alright if I introduce you to my members?” The words tumbled out of him, not knowing what her answer might be, as they’ve agreed to let more people know about their relationship. “A few months ago, I met up with all of them, and they asked me about my dating rumors.”

“Did you tell them…?” She sat up, with her cup of tea in her hands.

“I did…” He looked away, as if he was ashamed for telling them without notifying her first. “I know I should have talked to you about it but didn’t want to hide it from them any longer. They’re not just my members, but my best friends, family. I just-”

“You don’t need my permission to tell people about our relationship.” Her voice was comforting, as it always has been for him.

“I know, but in a way I do. With everything we agreed upon regarding our relationship.””

“Loid.” She put her mug down onto the table. “They’re important to you, of course you should be able to tell them about us. I’m sure they must’ve felt the way Yuri had when he found out about us.” She noticed how he still looked uneasy, and took his hand in hers. “Really, Loid. I’m okay with you telling them about us.” The smile that he loves spread across her face. “If it leads to it, I cannot wait to meet them.”

–

As soon as Yor had left Loid’s home, the day began to fly by them. Before heading to the sound stage, Yor had to stop by her apartment to shower and begin packing up the delivery van with all the flowers and decor for WISE Entertainments 30th anniversary show. 

Once Yor had arrived at the soundstage, staff members and production crew were scattered all over the place. With no time to take in her surroundings, she immediately began to unload her van and bring the flowers inside. 

“Yor!” A woman’s voice was approaching her. It was Sohee, a member of the design and events team. “You’ve made it on time! Did you have trouble finding the place?" After her initial greetings, Sohee spoke into a device asking for more staff members to come and help them.

“It wasn’t too much trouble,” Yor answered. “I’ve been to this area once, for a wedding. Is it just staff members that are here?”

“Yes, except for Loid…” Sohee’s voice became quiet as a van appeared and parked before Yor’s van. “And now.. Fiona frost…” She quickly looked away.

Before Yor could ask who is Fiona Frost, the sliding door to the van burst open while a man and woman stepped out from the other side.

“My dressing room is ready, right?” She woman with silver hair said, with a slight hint of disgust in her voice.

“Yes, ma’am,” said a woman with short blonde hair. “I triple checked, and Ryan went ahead to make sure everything was in order.” The woman had her head down.

“Good, because you do remember the last time you made me wait for my dressing room.” 

“I do.”

Fion had passed by Yor and Sohee before making her way towards the building. She gave the girls a look over before looking at the floral arrangements that were behind them. As if unsatisfied with the flowers, she looked at Yor. “Make sure I get the best arrangement. It's what I deserve for all that I do for this company.”

With papers in hand, Yor quickly looked through the list. “There wasn’t a specific request for you. Miss..”

“Excuse me?” Fiona turned towards her. 

“I have it right here,” Yor showered her the inventory list. “I have not received a request to create a specific arrangement for you.” As Yor’s words left her mouth, Sohee noticed the look of horror on Fiona’s assistant’s face, Karen.

“That’s impossible.” Fiona snatched the paper from Yor’s hand. Quickly scanning the form, Fiona didn’t see her name listed along with her fellow label mates. “Whatever,” she shoved the forms back towards Yor. “Just make sure the biggest arrangement is near me at all times. Like that one,” she pointed towards an arrangement that a pair of staff members had carried out.

“I’m afraid that's not possible,” Yor’s voice was still sweet despite dealing with a difficult… client. “That one is meant for,” Yor quickly flipped through her forms “STRIX!” 

“STRIX?!” It seemed that Fiona was going to blow at any moment. Sohee and Karen knew this. Karent quickly stepped in to intervene while looking for Ryan. “They’ve disbanded for such a long time!”

“If you have questions, please direct them to the design and events teams. As  I’ve tripled checked all orders with my staff, the design and events team as well as Chairman Sherwood. Also if you're curious, that arrangement you pointed to, STRIX’s fans placed an order for them.” Yor’s smile was sweet, but it hid her feelings of how proud she felt putting someone in their place.

“Karen, where is Ryan?! Take me to him now!” The assistant nodded with slump shoulders as she said yes ma’am before taking Fiona towards her dressing.

“This isn’t over,” said Fiona as she looked down on Yor. “You’re just a staff member here. The help. Don’t think I'll let this little incident slide. “I’ll make sure your shop never sees a customer again after this broadcast airs.

Unfazed by the threats, Yor’s composure did not break. “Good luck with the show today, Ms. Frost.”

“I don’t need your fucking luck. WISE wouldn’t have seen a 30th anniversary if it wasn’t for me.” 

–

Tension was still in the air, even after Fiona had left the docking area. Sohee couldn’t help it, she had to talk to Yor.

“Yor, are you okay?” she asked after closing the delivery truck. “From that encounter with Fiona, I mean.”

“Can I be honest?” Yor said after letting out a sigh, to which Sohee nodded. “That was terrifying.” Yor let out a small laugh, “I don’t know how I did it. But this isn’t the first time that I had to deal with a customer so entitled as she is.”

“She is known for causing issues like this,” said Sohee. “And what she said about WISE, is not true.”

“What do you mean?” The pair started walking towards the main stage. 

“WISE isn’t still standing because she joined the company. If I had to pick an artist who kept WISE afloat, I’d said it would be STRIX, as a whole. They were one of the first groups to debut from our company. Each of them worked hard, even after they announced their lou]ng hiatus after their tenth anniversary. Fiona is probably still bitter that Loid Forger has been ranked our company’s top artist for the last few years running.” Yor listened quietly and nodded at the appropriate times. “I hope this encounter with her doesn’t reflect on how the other artists in our company may act. I know you’ll probably have the chance to meet some of them tonight. If we see Loid Forger, I’ll definitely introduce you to him.” Sohee winked at her.

Knowing Yor, she could care less about the information she had learned, but she was mad. 

Mad but not quite furious on how a person can treat staff in a way that Fiona did. Good for Loid on maintaining the top spot in their company. She thought all of this to herself and let out an audible huff before heading towards the main stage; leaving a confused Sohee who hurried after her.

–

A few hours after Yor had arrived, Loid had arrived with his staff. He had to come a bit earlier than his members to go over directions with the production staff. 

“The dressing room is ready,” said Franky walking alongside Loid. “Kevin and the others are on their way to pick up the other members. Speaking of members, I was able to secure one of the biggest rooms for STRIX, just like you requested.”

“Oh, great!” said Loid, following his manager. “It’ll be like old times.” He attempted to stifle a yawn, but to no avail. 

“I don’t think I've seen you this tired since your rookie days.” 

“Well, it has been a while since STRIX performed as a whole. Luckily for us, it didn't take long for us to remember how to work together. Performing three songs together is already proving itself to be a challenge.”

“It hasn’t been that long since the “break.””

“I know, but still.” As Loid was about to let out another yawn, something, no someone, caught his eye.

A few feet away from him, surrounded by columns of flowers and fake clouds stood Yor. She was commanding and working with the staff members on where to place arrangements and clouds. 

Loid had to restrain every fiber from preventing himself from going up to her to say hello and give her a kiss. For one thing, that would be quite unprofessional of him. Then two, may cause a scandal. And three, he could inadvertently expose their relationship because he couldn’t resist a moment that he can hold his girlfriend. 

Instead, Yor happened to look in his direction. The two quickly made eye contact before she dipped her head to say hello. Loid did the same and was about to walk away until someone had called his name.

“Oh, Loid!” it was Sohee. The team member walked over to say hello. Once the small talk had run its course, Sohee had an idea. “If you have the time, can I introduce you to someone?”

“Sure, I have some time before rehearsal,” said Loid after checking the time on his watch. “Who is it?” He gestured for Sohee to lead the way.

“She is an outside contractor and owns the flower shop that provided all the flowers and props for today’s show!” Loid feels this sense of pride oozing off of her. He felt a smile fighting its way onto his lips, as he already knows who she is talking about.

Separated from a group of staff members who were listening to Yor’s directions, Sohee had called for her to join her. “Loid, this is the woman that I wanted to introduce you to, her name is Yor Briar, she owns The Garden, one of the oldest flower shops in Berlint, but I think you’ve met before… right?” After the introduction she gave, Sohee’s memory of Loid’s latest album release had come to mind.

“Hello, Loid. It’s nice to see you again,” said Yor as she joined them.

“It’s good to see you too, Ms. Briar. And yes,” said Loid with a bright smile. “Someone on my team had reached out to the Garden regarding my album release show. We were in meetings together going over designs and materials. She was able to bring my visions to life.” Yor caught the twinkle in his eyes when he talked about her work. “I did hear through the grapevine that we had another opportunity to work with her again.” He bowed slightly towards Yor. “Thank you for taking on such a task. On the behalf of WISE Entertainment and our fans, thank you for working with us again.” You could hear everyone in the room swoon over this man, and yes, Yor was one of them.

“Now that is why he’s so popular,” said a staff member.

“He definitely deserves to be the top artist in this company!”

“What a sweet man!”

Helping Loid to stand up tall, Yor spoke. “There is no need to thank me in such a manner like that. I’m very fortunate to know that you and this company loved my designs so much that you were willing to work with me again. I should be the one thanking you instead.” She smiled, and the staff began to swoon again for her as well, and yes Loid was one of them.

“What a wonderful woman.”

“So glad the designs team hired her. Everything here is so much better than last year!”

Embarrassed by all the sudden praise, Yor jumped in to change the subject. “I don’t want to keep you from your schedule, Loid. So please go on ahead. Hopefully we’ll run into each other before the day ends.”

“I think I would like that,” he replied. “If possible, could you save an arrangement for me?”

“Of course,” said Yor without any hesitation, “Just tell me which one you want.”

–

The sound of a disgusted click of the tongue could be heard throughout a small dressing room that was located not too far from the design and events team. Fiona Frost has seen the whole interaction between the help and Loid forger.

“Who does that woman think she is?” Fiona huffed out as she sat down in the makeup chair. “Acting like a complete bitch to me, then when it's the other staff and Loid, she’s sweet as syrup?”

“Ms. Frost, you need to calm down,” said Kevin, who was standing behind her and the makeup artist. “You don’t need to concern yourself with her. Besides, she wasn’t acting like a bitch…” he said timidly, as he felt the glare coming from the actress. “I asked to check Ms. Briar’s forms, and there really isn't anything for you, minus a few small arrangements from your fanclub.”

“What?! That means you.. Forgot?!” She exploded out of the makeup chair. “How did you forget?! How am I stuck with such a staff member?! Am I the only one who doesn’t have flowers from the company?!” She looked at her team, but no one would make eye contact with her. “Imbeciles. Truly only fans care.” She sat back down in the chair, arms crossed. “Well, get back to work!”

“But, since you know this information,” Kevin bravely spoke up. “You don’t have to give yourself this unnecessary stress.”

“I know, but after how she acted towards me just ticked me off and now you.”

“Kevin’s right,” Karen chimed in. “Don’t give yourself unnecessary stress because of some stranger.”

“Tsk,” Fiona scoffed, “She’s probably acting like that because of Loid. Golden child of this company, when he and his group didn’t deserve it, especially since I debuted.”

Moments after the confrontation, retelling of the encounter soon began to spread throughout the studio as staff and artists were going over final rehearsals before it was time to go live.

–

“Do you have a minute? If  you do, come by my dressing room. I want to introduce you to a few people.”