Work Text:
Jungwon tied his apron around his waist and surveyed his shop. The floors were swept and mopped, the deliveries were received and sorted, and the cash register was balanced and set to the correct trading date.
Jungwon was a florist and he loved his job. He admired the flora as he walked to the door to open up for the day. He smiled at the freshly bloomed cornflowers. Tiny white, pink, and blue starflowers lined the rack of potted plants. Jungwon halted beside a sad looking viola and crouched before it.
“What’s got you so down?” Jungwon asked and grabbed a nearby watering can, shaking it lightly to check if it was empty.
He watered the drooping flower gently and hummed a soft tune. Jungwon felt a special connection to his plants. He could never really find the words to explain it (and he wouldn’t even if he could because it sounded crazy) but he could understand them.
Not through any spoken words, but through the energies and feelings he received from them. The viola seemed happier now that it was watered and Jungwon stroked its petals lightly. He set down the watering can.
He approached the door again, pulling out the shop keys from his apron pocket. Once again, he found himself distracted. The window display caught his attention and he slipped between the buckets of bouquets.
He stopped before a small bouquet of snowdrops. Jungwon’s flower shop was one of the few, if not the only, to be fully stocked in mid-winter. He researched his suppliers thoroughly and even though his range of flowers were seasonal, many arrived in less-than-perfect conditions.
Jungwon’s success lay with his ability to ‘hear’ the plants needs and cater to them accordingly. His sixth sense had never failed him. The energy radiating from the snowdrops was tired and sad. Jungwon promised he would take them home if they weren’t sold during the day.
A loud knock on the door shook him from his thoughts. Jungwoon stood quickly and saw Riki’s excited face pressed against the glass. His young part-timer was late as usual, but Jungwon found himself unable to ever be upset with him.
Riki was a hard worker, trustworthy, and he had a certain gentleness with plants that Jungwon immediately approved of on his first day. Jungwon unlocked the door. Riki burst inside talking a mile a minute.
“Hyung, you’ll never believe what happened!” Riki’s eyes shone as he rushed behind the counter and grabbed his apron.
Jungwon wiped the imprint of Riki’s face off the glass with his sleeve and flipped the sign on the door from ’closed’ to ’open’.
Riki bounced on his heels excitedly, “Hyunggg!”
Jungwon laughed and sauntered back inside, leaning against the counter, “Good morning, Riki.”
Riki flushed and opened his mouth but Jungwon cut him off by lowering his voice in a bad imitation of the younger, “Good morning, hyung. I hope you’re well. It’s been a busy morning. I’m so sorry for being late. Please don’t fire me.”
Riki, having realized he was being teased, rolled his eyes, “That’s a terrible impression of me. I just went through puberty. I didn’t transform into Ja Rule.”
“You sound like you’re thirty-five,” Jungwon teased.
“You look like you’re thirty-five!”
“Yah!”
“Hyung! Listen to me,” Riki whined. “I actually have a reason for being late today.”
Jungwon walked behind the counter and pulled out a his favorite pair of carbon blade scissors. The camellia shrubs could use a trim.
“So you admit that there was no excuse for being late all the other times?” Jungwon raised his eyebrow.
Riki threw up his hands in defeat. He took the scissors and headed to the back of the store to the camellia shrubs. Jungwon smiled. He hadn’t mentioned what plant needed trimming. Riki was such a natural.
“Okay, tell me,” Jungwon followed him.
Riki glared at him, but took utmost care in watering and then delicately trimming the plant.
“Don’t pout Riki,” Jungwon poked his cheek. “I thought you didn’t like when you looked like a duckling.”
Riki relaxed his face immediately, “I almost got mugged this morning.”
Jungwon felt his heart drop. All hints of teasing left his voice and he kneeled beside Riki, pulling his face toward him and checking for injuries.
“Are you okay? What happened? Riki, I’m so sorry-”
Riki pushed him away gently and laughed, “Calm down, I’m fine. It was awesome!”
Jungwon gaped at him, “Awesome? Being mugged is not awesome. You could have been hurt-”
Riki slapped his free hand over Jungwon’s mouth, “Chill out, unc. I said almost. I was rescued.”
Jungwon raised his eyebrows.
“By 'The Heartbreaker'!” Riki declared.
Jungwon rolled his eyes so far up he went blind for a second.
'The Heartbreaker'. What a ridiculous name for a superhero. Superhero was generous actually. ‘The Heartbreaker’ was a lone vigilante who was taking over local news stations by storm.
In the last few months, crime levels in their area rose drastically, to the point where Jungwon installed reinforced steel gates to his shop and Riki started walking his best friend to his vocal lessons before his shifts on Saturday mornings.
Jungwon wasn’t sure why Riki kept that a secret from him (Jungwon panicked and called Riki’s mom the third time he was late and she spilled the beans and thanked Jungwon for caring), but he supposed the younger wasn’t the type to bask in praises. Jungwon was proud of him anyway.
The increase in crime came with another addition. Affectionately named ‘The Heartbreaker’ by the tabloids, the man behind the mask began appearing just a few weeks ago.
He stopped a hijacking one night as an attorney headed home after a late night at the office. Witnesses claimed he stopped the car with his bare hands before tying up the suspects and disappearing.
He foiled a jewelry store robbery by single-handedly taking down four thugs and locking them in a vault.
The newspaper sitting on the counter boasted ‘The Heartbreaker’s’ most recent accomplishment of saving a child who fell from the seventh storey window of an apartment complex by jumping up and catching her.
‘The Heartbreaker’ gained his moniker because of two reasons. One, because of the way he left a scribbled message beside the tied up criminals on a pink sticky note that always ended in ‘XO’ – Jay. Which was ridiculous because clearly Jay sounded much cooler then ‘The Heartbreaker’. Seriously, who okayed that?
The second reason was pure gossip. A few witnesses claimed that he was exceptionally handsome. This was something Jungwon found difficult to believe since the only video of him floating around social media showed him wearing a hoodie pulled over his head, a face mask, and bangs hanging over his eyes. If anything, he looked like the a villian from every K-Drama ever.
Jungwon thought the whole thing was senseless tabloid drivel. Riki thought it was the coolest thing since BTS.
Jungwon pulled Riki’s hand off his mouth, “So you’re saying you saw this guy?”
“Yes!” Riki’s eyes were sparkling. “I just said goodbye to Sunoo and-“
Riki froze, his face turning a brilliant shade of red.
“You said goodbye to Sunoo and?” Jungwon kept his voice neutral.
“Er, yeah and I took the alley shortcut-“
“Riki!” Jungwon smacked the bill of Riki’s cap gently. “The alley is dangerous.”
“Yeah, but I’ll be even later to work if I don’t use it,” Riki grumbled as he adjusted his cap.
“Your shift can start later and I’ll pay you the same,” Jungwon said firmly, crossing his arms. “Don’t argue with me.”
“Thanks, hyung,” Riki said shyly.
Despite the fact that his younger employee towered over him, Jungwon still saw him as a little kid.
“Anyone back there?” a voice called from the front of the store.
“I’ll be right out!” Jungwon called. “You finish up with the trimming. I’ll manage the counter for a while.”
Jungwon’s customer was a frantic, middle-aged man who was looking for a romantic arrangement for his tenth wedding anniversary. He was on his way to surprise his husband at the office and only just realized how much he wanted to show up with flowers.
Jungwon heard the scillas crying out to be picked so he arranged a bouquet to showcase their beauty. They were pleased and showed it by deepening their hue and opening the few stubborn buds to full bloom.
The man, Heeseung, accepted the bouquet gratefully. He tipped Jungwon generously and waved goodbye from outside the shop.
Riki emerged from the back and got to work cleaning the blades of the scissors, “’The Heartbreaker' is shorter than me.”
Jungwon tossed the store copy of Heeseung’s receipt into the trash bin, “That’s true for most people.”
“He’s a kick ass fighter. He took down that guy Jin Kazama style,” Riki posed in a fighting stance and aimed a few swift punches at the air in front of him. “Oh my god! And he left a note. Look I took a picture!”
Riki pulled out his cellphone and pushed it to Jungwon’s face.
Jungwon snorted. The kid had made it his wallpaper. Jungwon squinted to read the scribbles.
”Our kids should be safe to walk the streets. XO - Jay”
Well, Jungwon couldn’t dislike him completely. The media did tend to exaggerate and sensationalize things.
“I’m glad that you’re safe Riki,” Jungwon ruffled his hair. “If I ever meet this guy, I’ll thank him.”
The rest of the day passed quickly. The shop got busy and the next time Jungwon glanced at his watch, he was shocked to see that it was already time for Riki to head home.
“You sure you’ll be okay?” Jungwon asked worriedly. “I can call your mom and ask her to fetch you.”
Riki pulled off his apron and pulled on his hoodie, “Nah, I’m good. Getting mugged twice in one day is crazy. I’ll be fine. Besides, Sunoo is waiting for –“ Riki froze again.
Jungwon glanced at the display window to see the snowdrop bouquet still moping, “You want to take him some flowers?”
Jungwon bit his lip to hide his shriek of delight at Riki’s face. There was practically steam spewing from his ears.
“N-no!” Riki stuttered. “I mean…not yet. He likes daffodils. I planted some last week so when they bloom I’ll – er-“
“Okay, don’t hurt yourself, kid,” Jungwon patted his cheek affectionately. “Store supplies are at your disposal if you need them. Get home safely.”
The next few hours went slower and Jungwon cleaned up to close the store. As he was about to lock up, a man burst in and leaned his arms onto the counter.
“Oh my god, please tell me you aren’t closed ?”
He was but Jungwon loved his job so smiled warmly, “How can I help you?”
The man buried his face into his arms, “My husband is too perfect.”
“Doesn’t sound like you need much help,” Jungwon laughed.
“He came to see me at work today,” the man said. “With a huge bouquet. Mark from finance was fuming. But what I mean is…he’s so thoughtful. And he took time out of his day to do something special for me and I forgot our anniversary like an asshole so I left work early to cook him supper and look for a gift but all I could find was this dumb video game-“
Jungwon wondered if he should stop him so he could take a breath.
“-but its been ten years and I can’t give him just that! So I got some – er – other stuff he might like but I want to give him flowers too because he’s so beautiful and this is the only florist still open. Please help me!”
He finally stopped and breathed heavily.
“What’s your name?” Jungwon asked.
“I’m Jaeyun,” he said breathlessly.
Jungwon remembered Heeseung mentioning how much his husband Jaeyun would love the carefully crafted bouquet Jungwon had arranged for him. He also remembered how Heeseung stared at the hellebores as he cashed him up.
“I know exactly what to do,” Jungwon approached the haughty hellebores.
They fussed a bit but the biggest one was nursing a crush on Jaeyun so she convinced the others to behave as they were neatly arranged and wrapped in brown paper.
Jaeyun was also a generous tipper and Jungwon couldn’t resist shouting out behind him as he left the store, “I’m sure Heeseung will love it!”
Jaeyun waved but looked confused. He couldn’t remember saying Heeseung’s name. But he was so in love he guessed he must blurted it out without realizing.
When Jungwon finally cashed up for the day and shut off the lights, it was already dark outside. He hurriedly wrapped up the bouquet of snowdrops and grabbed his backpack.
Jungwon lived in an apartment just ten minutes away. He usually enjoyed his walks home, but with crime on rise and most other shops closing early because of the weekend, the streets were empty.
Jungwon was no pushover. He went to the gym and practiced taekwondo. He was strong and level headed in a difficult situation. But having a gun pointed to his head on a street where all the streetlights didn’t work was more than he could handle.
He clutched his snowdrop bouquet. If only he left them behind, they wouldn’t have to witness such violence. The robber rifled through his pockets and pulled out his wallet. Jungwon was frozen in place but heard the man behind him curse.
“There’s barely anything in here,” he complained. “Useless piece of shit.”
The robber pushed him hand and he fell to his knees. He would have used his hands to stop his face from scraping the ground but he didn’t want to let go of his snowdrops. The man kicked him onto his back and Jungwon groaned. His knees burned and his face felt raw.
“Hey, you’re real fucking pretty…” the man grinned revealing yellowed teeth.
He cocked his gun. Jungwon closed his eyes tightly. Then he heard a gasp of pain and something fall to the ground.
He opened his eyes quickly and saw the robber on the ground, his gun a fair distance away on the street. It was ‘The Heartbreaker’. He wore the same hoodie from the blurry video but the hood was off, revealing dark hair and sharp eyes. His wore a face mask, but similarly to Jungwon’s plants, he emanated energy.
And it was angry. He kicked the robber hard in the stomach. He flew off the pavement and groaned. He rolled onto his hands and knees and crawled toward the gun. ‘The Heartbreaker’ walked behind him slowly.
The robber grabbed the gun and aimed. ‘The Heartbreaker’ pulled it from him and crushed it between his large hand.
“What the fuck?” The robber crawled backward. “What kind of freak are you?”
‘The Heartbreaker’ kicked his jaw hard. The robber rolled over, moaning in pain. The superhero (Jungwon decided that he might as well accept it considering he had now witnessed his power firsthand) pulled off his back pack and retrieved thick rope from inside it.
He made short work of tying the robber up securely. He grabbed one end of the rope and dragged him toward where Jungwon was still seated on the pavement. He knelt on one knee before him.
“Hey, don’t be afraid. I’m Jay. You’re safe now,” his voice was low and his eyes concerned “Are you hurt, Jungwon?”
Jungwon could have said yes. He could have said no. He could have thanked him.
Instead he blurted out, “How do you know my name?”
Jay's eyes widened, but he laughed and pointed to Jungwon’s name badge. Jungwon screamed internally.
“Hey, you’re bleeding,” Jay pointed to Jungwon’s knees.
He took of his backpack again and pulled out a first aid kit.
“I-Ill be fine!” Jungwon said. “You’ve helped enough!”
“It's okay, I got you,” Jay said and pulled down his mask.
Jungwon was so distracted by how breathtakingly gorgeous Jay was that he didn’t notice him soaking a cotton ball in disinfectant until his knees burned like he just kneeled in salt.
“Ow, fuck me!” Jungwon clutched Jay's arm tightly and willed his tears not to fall.
“Sorry about that,” Jay said sincerely as he used medical tape and gauze strips to cover both knees. “These are really nasty if infection sets in and you hit the ground pretty hard. Can you walk?”
“I think so,” Jungwon mumbled over his snowdrops.
“Okay, give me a second,” Jay pulled out a pen and sticky note pad and scribbled something onto it before pulled off the note and sticking it to the robbers forehead. He tied the free end of the rope around the defective light pole.
Jay packed up his backpack and swung it over his shoulders. He slipped an arm around Jungwon’s waist and lifted him to his feet like he weighed nothing.
Jungwon’s stomach swooped. Jay tried letting go but Jungwon stumbled. Jay’s strong arm gripped his waist again tightly. Jungwon’s knees weren’t that sore anymore, but he would have preferred being shot than having to admit he had just swooned like a spoiled princess in a period drama.
“Okay, I got you,” Jay said. “Where do you live, Jungwon?”
“My mum said I shouldn’t tell strangers where I live,” Jungwon wanted to die. Why was he spouting such horseshit to this super hot guy?
Jay just laughed. It was a sexy laugh. Jungwon wondered if he had a concussion.
“Even strangers who just want to get you home safely?” Jay looked down at him. “Your face…”
He reached out and Jungwon hissed.
“You’ll bruise, but no scarring,” Jay told him.
“Oh thank god,” Jungwon hobbled forward and Jay moved with him despite his surprised expression.
“Are you a model?” Jay asked.
Jungwon laughed incredulously, “No, just vain.”
Jay hummed in understanding, “Common problem amongst the good-looking.”
Jungwon could feel himself turning red. A ringing sound saved him from responding. Jay dug his cellphone out of his pocket, his other arm still fixed tight around Jungwon.
“Hello?” he answered.
Jungwon heard a mumble from the other person.
“Yeah, sorry I got distracted,” Jay smiled at him. “Before I forget, corner of Main and Decelis, new pick-up for you.”
Jay must have friends on the police force. Jungwon suspected this, it was the only way to explain how fast the police showed up to arrest the trail of criminals Jay left behind.
“Thanks a lot, Sunghoon-ah,” Jay said. “See you tomorrow.”
He cut the call and slipped his cellphone back into his pocket.
“So you’re a cop,” Jungwon asked.
Jay froze and his eyes widened comically, “How did you-“
“Not just a pretty face,” Jungwon said.
“Please don’t tell anyone,” Jay said. “The media is already on my ass. I just want to help people. I hate attention.”
“And here I was thinking you made up ‘The Heartbreaker’ yourself,” Jungwon teased as they slowly turned a corner onto a more brightly lit street.
Jay groaned, “Oh god no. I hate it. Turn toward me for a second, I need to get a better look at you.”
“W-what?” Jungwon’s face was tilted toward Jay and he realized how close they were.
Jay had a scar on his nose and lip, and worst of all, an adorable heart-shaped birthmark on his neck. Jungwon kind of wanted to kiss them in that order.
“Okay, its not bad,” Jay said after thoroughly examining his face. “Was kind of worried it was worse than I thought. But you look good.”
A wave of heat settle in his abdomen and Jungwon hated how starved of affection he was if something like that affected him so deeply.
“Why do you do this?” Jungwon asked curiously.
Jay studied him for a moment, “My mum was murdered in a bank robbery. She was just a bystander. The guy only got seven years because he ratted out the ringleader.”
“That’s bullshit!” Jungwon was appalled.
Jay squeezed his waist slightly, “I decided to become a cop because I thought things would be different if I had more power. But it was just the same shit on different days. People do bad things. I’d arrest them. They bribed judges or got out early on ‘good behavior’.”
“So how did you end up as our cities very own Batman?” Jungwon asked.
“I have no idea,” Jay laughed. “One morning my partner and I were chasing down a suspect and we ran into an ambush. We were getting our asses handed to us. Someone pulled a gun to him and I lost my shit. I killed two of them and the rest were hospitalized for weeks. I’ve been strong ever since and I deal out justice fairly now, the way I see fit. Some of the worse criminals don't make the papers because there's not always a body to tie up."
Jungwon stared at him. Jay’s muscles rippled against the arm supporting his waist.
“Does that scare you?” Jay asked, his eyes dark.
“You’re taller than I expected,” Jungwon said.
Jay stared at him in disbelief. Then he tossed his head back and laughed. Jungwon marveled at the sight.
“You’re kind of a brat, you know that, Jungwon?” Jay squeezed his waist again.
Jungwon stared straight ahead. Stupid Riki and his abnormal height.
“I’m not scared of you,” Jungwon said. “I’m really grateful to you for saving me. I think you're brave for cleaning up this city. And I think I'm a little bit in shock because my mouth won’t stop saying stupid things.”
Jay chuckled, “It’s okay. It’s cute.”
You’re cute.
“Never been called cute before,” Jay's tan skin sported a light flush.
Shit, did I say that out loud?
Jay smiled at him, “What do you do, Jungwon?”
“I’m a florist,” he said, face still burning.
“Ah, that explains the bouquet,” Jay said. “I thought they were for someone special.”
Jungwon took a deep breath, “I guess they are now.”
He pulled out of Jay's strong grip and pushed the bouquet into his arms. The snowdrops were radiant. Jay looked at him confused.
Jungwon pointed the building beside them, “This is me.”
“Oh, that’s good,” Jay sounded rather crestfallen.
“Those are to thank you,” Jungwon said. “For saving me and telling me your story. Your mom would be proud of you, Jay.”
Jay stepped closer and Jungwon could feel his warm breath on his face.
Jay's eyes were like honey, sticky and warm, and Jungwon was trapped, “My name is Jongseong. Park Jongseong.”
“I like it,” Jungwon said. “It suits you.”
Jay smiled, “Take care of yourself, Jungwon.”
Jungwon thought for a split second that Jay was going to kiss him, but he stepped back and slid his arms into his hoodie pockets.
Jungwon was waiting outside the elevator of his apartment building when he remembered. He ran as fast as he could out the door and down the driveway, doing his best to ignore the stabbing pain in his knees.
“Jongseong!” he yelled at the figure still standing on the pavement and examining the bouquet.
“Hey, you shouldn’t be running –“
Jungwon grabbed onto the front of Jay’s jacket and pulled him into a searing kiss. Jay's lips were chapped, but also warm and inviting. His arms wrapped around Jungwon's waist. He kissed back eagerly, pulling on his bottom lip slightly. Jungwon moaned as electricity shot through him.
Jay used the opportunity to deepen the kiss. He slid his tongue into Jungwon’s mouth and sucked on his tongue. Jungwon felt warm despite the biting cold air. His hands slipped into Jay's soft hair and he tugged lightly. Jay groaned and Jungwon felt something hard press against him.
When they pulled back for air, Jungwon was panting lightly. Jay’s eyes were dilated and his grip on Jungwon’s waist was tight.
Jay kissed softly down Jungwon’s face, avoiding the slightly swollen area, “What was that?”
“That was - oh another thank you. For Riki,” Jungwon managed to say.
“Riki?”
“My part-timer,” Jungwon mumbled. “High school kid. You saved him from being mugged this morning.”
Jay laughed against Jungwon’s collarbones. “Tall kid.”
“That’s the one,” Jungwon pulled him into another heated kiss.
He pushed on his well defined chest and Jay loosened his grip, “Good luck with the bad guys, Jongseong.”
“I want to see you again,” Jay blurted out.
Jungwon smiled, “Then you’ll have to find me.”
Jungwon gave him one last lingering kiss and returned to his apartment.
X X X
The next Monday afternoon, Jungwon was checking on Riki’s daffodil sprouts when the younger called him for assistance.
Jungwon wiped his hands down with a clean towel and hurried to the front of the shop.
Jay was leaning back on his elbows against the counter in full police uniform. His black combat boots made him even taller. His shirt tucked into his pants highlighted a slim waist but his shirt stretched deliciously over his chest.
His sharp eyes looked Jungwon up and down.
He smirked, “I found you.”