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The city of Seoul was an inimitable place. Blue skies drizzled with clouds, sun shining against the high buildings' windows and reflecting on the concrete roads, air reminiscent of fresh greenery and the stench of pollution — all was very new to the countryside boy, Oh Sion.
As unique as Seoul was, no city could compare to Mokpo, the place where Sion had grew up in, where he had been living ever since he was born. There was nothing like returning home after a long day school to the smell of homecooked meals floating around the entire house, that horrible, pungent odour of manure and farm animals that somehow managed to be comforting, or the precious starry nights with warm breeze blowing his hair right out of proportion. The sun just seemed to shine so much brighter in Mokpo than in Seoul.
Sure, Seoul was amazing, but was it better than the sweet feeling of his own hometown? Not really.
Alas, Sion wasn't the type of person to dwell too much on the negatives, and well, he did choose to move here, so that was his problem. Besides, moving to a new city called for adventure. He had some exploring to do.
So there he stood, in the midst of a rocky streets that had a combination of grand, overly fancy and expensive looking shops, miniature, cosy retail stores selling cute trinkets, plus delicious restaurants with a variety of cuisines, though most was authentic Korean city food. Honestly, he had no idea where he was, but everything surrounding him was piquing his interest quite a lot.
He already bought a few things from shops here and there — some jewellery he liked, plush keychains for his purses — and was originally planning to go back to his apartment. It had been around two to three hours, all the walking was becoming tiresome.
That was until he came across a shop in the corner of the street. It wasn't big or extravagant, it didn't stand out, it was kind of just... there. But it was beautiful. The building was decorated with bunches of flowers with names that Sion probably couldn't pronounce, the walls seemed to be hand-painted, fascinating designs coating them in colours and a white picket fence enclosing it from the rest of the lively city. The boy found himself drawn towards it, like a moth to a huge beam of light.
His footsteps drew in closer, him basically lifting his own body off the floor and pulling it nearer and nearer. It was a weird feeling, as if he was possessed and getting lured in by the attractiveness of the shop, reeled in like a fish caught on a rod.
As soon as he reached the cobblestone path that led to the entrance of the shop, he was hit by a wave of a million different species of flowers all at once. The scent was overwhelming, a jumpscare to be honest — still, Sion wasn't scared away just yet.
He stood in the middle of the path longer, feeling the quiet energy float around him. Not obvious or exaggerated, simply minding itself, living and breathing slowly unlike the rest of what surrounded it. Examining the shop even further, he could make out a sign sitting by the door.
Starlight Flower Shop:
OPEN
A flower shop, huh? Sion pondered, eyes lingering the tiniest bit more on the minimalistic sign. Sion wouldn't really consider himself a big 'stop and stare at the beauty and excellence of the world' kind of guy, but it wasn't like he lived life in such a fast pace he never appreciated anything. It was more so he didn't realise it. He didn't take in the things around him as often as others may have. Flowers were the sort of thing that people who care about nature would like, and to be honest, Sion couldn't even remember the last time he even entered a flower shop.
He took another look at the entrance.
...
Maybe that could change?
After what felt like an eternity of idling in front of the flower shop, Sion finally approached the glass door that found itself fixed before his eyes. He put a hand out to grab onto the doorknob, hesitant, for some reason.
With an deep exhale, he opened the door.
A jingle of the bells attached to the door sounded, ringing through Sion's ears like an alarm. It echoed throughout the entire shop, bouncing around the walls and right back at him. Is there anyone in here?
He took cautious steps further in. Honestly, it felt like he was the main character of a horror movie, about to face the worst monstrosity known to humankind, because the place was extremely silent. Like, eerily silent. He didn't want to admit it, but internally, he was freaking the fuck out.
Taking away from the creepy vibes the shop had, it was stunning nonetheless. There were rows upon rows of blooming, radiant flower bouquets, pots of exotic plants — a crazy amount of things. It made Sion wonder how much care really went into keeping these plants healthy and glamourous like that. There was no way that this shop was abandoned or anything, there had to be someone here.
"Oh! Hello, welcome to Star—"
"What the fuck?!"
Ah. Sion covered his mouth, half to shut himself up, half in utter embarrassment. He quickly went into a deep bow. "I am so, so, so sorry," he apologised frantically, then straightened himself again. "I..."
Clearly there was someone here.
Before he could even continue his sentence, he froze completely still. He was at a loss of words.
The boy who stood before him, looking no older than Sion himself, was incredibly and insanely gorgeous.
He had straight dark brown hair curling slightly around his neck, hugging it tight, gentle eyes like a deer and an adorable lopsided smile, so wonky that it almost didn't look like a smile. His aura was soft, like it wasn't even there in the first place and though the boy hadn't said much — only a few words before Sion began screaming on top of him — but the voice he had heard was quiet and sounded unsure, as if it would break from someone listening too hard.
In other words, this was most beautiful person Sion had ever seen.
"W-Woah, uhm," Sion stammered, letting his eyes gaze upon the sight of this pretty boy. "Hi, nice to meet you."
The boy looked confused, lost and scared all in one. "Nice to meet you too?" he replied sceptically, with a tone sweeter than cotton candy.
The interaction was beyond awkward, filling the air with tense energy that both were unable to shake off. But Sion couldn't just let a beautiful person go like that. He needed to think of something fast.
He started to walk around the shop, examining the plants and flowers that sat on each aisle. There were daisies, chrysanthemums, forget-me-nots, others Sion wouldn't be able to identify even if he really thought about it — pretty much any flower you could ever ask for — and all of them were so vibrant, so perfect. Sion smiled to himself, "These are so beautiful," he marvelled, trying to break the tension.
The other's head shot up, visibly taken off guard by the sudden remark. "Y-Yeah, they are," he politely smiled with his response. It seemed like he was holding himself back from something, afraid to reveal too much. His shy demeanour was notable, and only allured Sion even more.
"Is there any you like in particular? I don't really know much about flowers so..." Sion chuckled, scratching the nape of his neck.
The boy pursed his lips in thought, scratching his head lightly. "Well, it depends on who you're buying them for. Who are you planning on giving these to?" he queried, quiet voice barely reaching high decibels.
Oh. This was a question Sion was trying to avoid. How could he tell this poor florist boy that he wasn't actually buying flowers for anyone and is only staying in here because he was extremely cute?
Sion opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it once more, "Uhm... I-it's for a friend. Just a friend," he lied with a swallow.
"Hmm, in that case, I would recommend hydrangeas or sunflowers. If you want a more bright flower, then sunflowers, if the person in mind might not like that then hydrangeas are nice," the boy walked towards Sion and picked up a pot of each flower he mentioned, holding them up to him. "What do you think?"
Oh gosh, Sion bit his tongue. The guilt of his lie was slowly seeping into him — now he had to pick between two flowers without even knowing what the difference is. Seriously, weren't they both flowers at the end of the day?
"S-Sunflowers would work. But, what even makes them different from each other?" Sion asked, taking the sunflower pot from his hands.
"Different flowers have certain meanings, like hydrangeas represent gratitude and thoughtfulness, while sunflowers represent happiness and loyalty. That's why it really depends on who you're buying it for. For example, you wouldn't buy roses for a friend, they're a more romantic flower," he answered, making minimal eye contact as he spoke. It was adorable and interesting to see how his shyness fully vanished one he talked about flowers, his speciality — it seemed like he could talk about them for hours and hours on end.
Sion grinned in endearment, "I see... That's so cool!"
Again, silence fell between the two. It looked as if the florist realised how much he was talking and was embarrassed about it, making Sion feel slightly bad for him. They looked at each other for a moment before quickly breaking the contact, bashful body language filling in the gaps of quiet.
"D-Do you wanna pay for it?" the florist boy questioned as he walked over to behind the counter. "It's thirty-thousand won.
The other held back a sigh, but he tried to see the brighter side of this. Maybe wasting your money on flowers that might die in a week just to hold a conversation with an undeniably pretty boy was really worth it...
"Yeah, just give me a sec," he said while grabbing his wallet from his pocket. He placed the notes into the boy's hand who swiftly put it into the register.
Sion was walking towards the door to leave, but something was stopping him. He turned his head to face the boy standing at the counter with a soft expression, melting right on the spot seeing it. He took a breath in, then out.
"Hey, uhm," Sion began, going back to where he was standing previously, step by step. "You... You should take this, it's pretty."
"Huh? What—"
"Thanks for helping me!" he blurted, shoving a sunflower into his hand before sprinting out as fast as he possibly could.
In the shop left a puzzled boy, standing there dumbfounded at what had just occurred. But most importantly, there was a vivid, yellow sunflower laying in the palm of his hand, placed by none other than Oh Sion himself.
🌻
Did Sion regret anything he did yesterday? Absolutely not.
Okay, perhaps there was one thing he regretted. But he was going to fix it today.
He planned to revisit the flower shop — to do the right thing, to not slam a flower into a vulnerable boy's hands and then run out like he was being chased.
The one thing that bugged him the entire night after he left the shop, minus the fact he made a fool out of himself in front of someone who was drop-dead gorgeous, was the fact he forgot to ask this drop-dead gorgeous person for their name.
It was around noon, the world feeling calm and relaxed. The sunlight wasn't too bright, occasionally covered by the drizzle of clouds in the sky, there wasn't any wind or coolness. It was a warm day, but not the uncomfortable kind of warm, the kind of warm that you get in mid-spring when it's just starting to get hotter as each day passes.
The more Sion walked around, the stronger the déjà vu he was having became. Each building he went past started to familiarise with him, and some he even recognised from the day before. At first, Seoul was terrifying, but now the fear was lessening, feeling more like a neighbour you only see outside of their house ever so often.
Eventually, he arrived at his destination — a place he thought he was going to end up very frequently within the next few weeks. The exterior was no different, still the same bundles of flowers and aroma that was impossible to miss. He couldn't help but smile to himself. The existence of flowers was growing on him, the stems wrapping him arms tightly into knots, making it hard for him to be freed.
After an exhale — similar to the one when he first came to the shop — he pushed onto the door, swinging it open.
It squeaked, the bells jingled and his footsteps turned more gentle, more cautious, afraid of breaking anything. The shop had remarkable pottery and decoration for gardens which he wouldn't even dare to break.
"Welcome to Star—"
The voice paused and breathed in as if there were in shock. The break in their words was long, very noticeably long, but it seemed like they were trying to piece their thoughts back together and take in the situation happening.
A intelligible stutter sounded before a quiet mumble and then a sigh. "Sorry, uhm, welcome back."
The two in the shop made lasting eye contact and Sion felt like all of the hairs on his body stood up. His heart was racing to the point he was scared it was at risk for a heart attack and his throat went dry. He was beyond confused. Sion was never the reserved, dismissive type, the one who hid in the back while everyone else around him carried the conversation. He always had a healthy amount of confidence and pride, bringing people up when they were nervous, loud and talkative. But with this boy... it was different. The florist didn't know it yet, but he grasped Sion's life and flipped it completely upside down.
C'mon, Sion, get it together, he scolded himself in his head, closing his eyes with clenched teeth.
"Thank you," Sion smirked, slowly picking his confidence up again. "It's nice to see you again."
The boy seemed to get visibly shy from this, turning the slightest bit of a pink colour. "I-Is there something you want this time?"
Sion's eyes shifted expression, going from sheepish to playful. "Hmm, well, nothing in particular this time," he chuckled. "I... kind of just wanted to see you again."
A quiet gasp filled the silence in the room as Sion could see that his cheeks were getting even more pink by the second. "That's nice?" he replied awkwardly, like the words were too big for him to say, like a foreign language he found hard to wrap his mouth around. Sion couldn't help but giggle at the sight — it was adorable.
"The weather's great, isn't it?" Sion questioned, trying to keep a conversation going. "I'm not from around here so I enjoy the warmer weather."
The florist's head perked up in curiosity as he asked, "Oh, where are you from then?"
Sion tried to not melt from his sweet voice, though it a challenge. "I'm from Mokpo, the countryside of Mokpo," he answered, reminiscent smile on his lips.
"What's Mokpo like? I've never been there before," the boy looked up at Sion, interested in what he was saying.
Sion grinned, "Mokpo is... home. Do you know what that feels like? It's like everyone and everything there knows me and actually wants me to be there. The faces are familiar, the ajummas at the street stalls all know my name and give me kisses when I walk by, the paths, roads and brick buildings feel like childhood. I miss it there, a lot."
Tears gradually began brimming his eyes, but he attempted to keep them from spilling. "I get what you mean. I'm like that too, 'cause I'm not even from Korea," the florist responded with empathy and sorrow in his tone.
Sion realised the tears that were falling down his face and let out a sad laugh. "Sorry for dumping that on you, I didn't mean to," he said, wiping the water on his cheeks.
"No, no, don't apologise, please. It's okay," he responded, voice soft in a desperation to comfort the weeping boy. "Really, I understand how you feel."
This is so embarrassing... Sion internally sighed, closing his eyes to stop crying. The whole point of him returning to the shop was to try and flirt with the florist, to get to know him, but now he was humiliating himself by sobbing in front of him.
"Are you alright?" the florist put a gentle hand on his shoulder from across the counter. The touch sent a shock through Sion's body, his temperature rising each second that goes by. It was like there was a spark inside his chest, growing into a firework and exploding the longer the boy kept his hand on his shoulder.
Sion smiled, "Yeah, yeah, I'm alright."
The two went quiet again, yet it wasn't awkward or tense. It was comfortable and felt normal, like they had known each other for a while now. But as Sion stole glances at the other, it seemed like he wanted to say something, and was too scared. Sion couldn't say that he wasn't the same, because he also wanted to talk, wanted to know this boy between each of his crevices. Unfortunately, he wasn't in a perfect fairy-tale where he was sure that this boy was truly in love with him. He just needed to hope.
"Uhm," his soft voice mumbled, catching Sion's attention. "Can I give you something before you leave?"
Sion's head tilted, visibly taken aback from the sudden request. Regardless, he beamed, "Yeah, of course!"
The boy ducked underneath the counter, rummaging through the cupboards attached to it for something. After a few moments, he shot back up with a new thing in his hands. He was holding a medium-sized pot of flowers — beautiful and light pink — with a bashful grin plastered on his face.
"I feel like you would like these... They're carnations, really nice flowers," he put them out towards Sion, the scent instantly striking him. "I mean, I hope you like them. A-And don't worry about paying for them, it's free."
"Awh, you really didn't have to!" Sion exclaimed, grabbing them with excitement and a huge smile. He didn't even notice the heat crawling up his neck, reaching his cheeks and staining them red. "These are really nice."
The boy giggled quietly — the cutest thing Sion had ever heard — and said, "Make sure to keep them in direct sunlight and water them once a week or whenever the soil goes dry, alright?"
"Okay, thank you, thank you," he nodded, hugging the pot close to his chest and protecting it like it was a precious artefact. "But I better get going now. It was great to see you again though."
"Yeah, it was," he agreed, a bit shyly.
"See you tomorrow?"
"See me tomorrow?"
"Of course."
And with that, Sion walked out of the door with a new, blooming feeling inside of his chest. It was a bit odd. He hadn't really felt this way before towards anyone — silly crushes in kindergarten and early school years, secret admirers in college — never. The florist gave him a surge in his heart that made it beat faster than normal, as his cheeks heated up and went an embarrassingly red colour. It sounded like he was in a teenage romcom, everything was so cliché.
Though Sion wasn't the kind of person to believe in love at first sight, all of this was starting to change his mind.
The flowers were comfortably tucked under his arm, the stems caressing his face. He put his nose into the buds to take a smell, but a pointed corner pressed against it instead. Folded between the leaves, hidden by the large petals, laid a small piece of paper. It was hard to see, so Sion carefully moved them out of the way and picked up the paper inside.
Tokuno Yushi
xxx-xxxx-xxxx
🌻
You started a new chat!
Is this Tokuno Yushi from Starlight Flower Shop? :)
yuu 🐈
yes...
who exactly is this?
are u that guy who keeps coming to the shop?
I'm glad to say that is me! My name is Oh Sion
Nice to meet you 💜
Sorry I didn't message you earlier I was busy unpacking 💔
yuu 🐈
all good! its nice to meet u too 😺
So... Tokuno Yushi
Cute name
Fits the owner
yuu 🐈
oh stop it
I'm just telling the truth! Sorry
You are so adorable I literally can't explain
yuu 🐈
😒
no need to say all that
u barely know me
Well, we can change that, can't I?
yuu 🐈
...
did u like the flowers i gave you?
Yes omg! They're beautiful
I put them in my room hehe 😋💜
yuu 🐈
thats nice 😸
are you gonna visit today too?
Awwwwww do you want me there now???? How sweet
yuu 🐈
no
i mean
yeah
but like
jhdjkdshds
Don't stress I was kidding!!!!
Yes I would love to come back 💜
The shop is really nice :)
yuu 🐈
well come on over then
were open
if u want
Of course I would. See you there!
yuu 🐈
see ya
Sion put his phone down as he came to notice the stupidly huge grin he had stuck onto his face. This boy, Yushi, was so different in real life than over text. It was like his shy nature morphed into a quiet wittiness, one that made Sion fall head over heels. Yushi was made for Sion, without a doubt. He buried his face into his pillow, kicking his feet like a delusional teenage girl. It was so dumb, so, so dumb, but he couldn't help it.
After a while, he quickly changed into some nice clothes — a black jacket with dark grey baggy jeans, along with a black purse that had a small kitty keychain on the zipper. It kind of reminded him of the emoji in Yushi's contact name. Was it coincidence that Sion loved cats and Yushi seemed to as well?
Upon stepping outside of his apartment, a big gust of wind blew in his direction. It tousled his hair and made his nose cold to the touch, but it didn't bother him. The only thing on his mind was Yushi, Yushi, Yushi. He picked up his pace and began sprinting in the way the shop was located.
He ran for quite a while — too long for his liking since he wanted to see Yushi so bad. So, right as he made it to the front door, he barged into the shop.
"You look like a mess," a soft voice spoke over the noisy bells jingling through the store, signalling Sion's entry. "N-Not like it's bad or anything, just..."
"It's fine," Sion huffed out, trying to catch his breath. "You don't need to clarify everything you say, y'know?"
Sion walked over to the counter and there he was, looking as beautiful as ever. He let himself gaze for a few seconds, taking in the gentle way Yushi's bangs fell on his forehead just below his eyebrows, adding to his shy, timid appearance. His hair looked incredibly soft — Sion had to fight the urge to ruffle it — and his eyes had an indescribable shine to them, a shine of innocence and purity he hadn't seen with anyone else before in his life.
And then his heart started to beat again. The same kind of beating that he'd been feeling for the past few days, every time he laid his eyes on Yushi.
Gosh, he was in love. He was insanely in love.
"Sorry," Yushi muttered, rubbing the nape of his neck.
"Don't be!" Sion frowned, making the other giggle and turn away. "Even if I do look like a mess, you look so pretty. We can be the beauty and the beast, hm?"
Yushi faced Sion again, his eyes widened, looking like he had just seen a ghost. He stammered, trying to find his words, but they came out as blabbers of nonsense. It was cute. Really cute. Sion fought back a smile.
"Yeah, sure, whatever," he replied, even quieter than before. "That was a bit cringe."
"You're so fun to tease though, it makes you get all cute and mad," Sion smirked, leaning over the counter, his head resting in his hands. It was so casual that it made Yushi blush noticeably hard. Sion could tell he hated his calm nonchalance, acting all relaxed when he was clearly flirting with him.
The boy on the other side of the counter scoffed, "And you're unbearable, I hope you know that."
"But you love it, don't you?"
Yushi couldn't make up a response to that, so he stomped lightly towards the back of the shop where a small shed was, a place Sion hadn't realised was actually there. When he returned, he slammed down a watering can next to the register. It wasn't very big, and it was blue in colour with flower designed painted on top of it.
"If you wanna stay here, at least make yourself useful," Yushi nudged the item a bit closer to Sion's arm, causing him to play one of those insufferable grins on his face. "Water all the plants please, except the ones with green stickers on them."
Sion picked the watering can up, getting to it immediately. "How much water do I use for each one?"
Yushi sighed and walked over to Sion, taking the can out of his hands. Their hands slightly grazed as he did it, so slight that Sion doubted Yushi even noticed. But he definitely did, and for some reason, his body began heating up despite the cool weather from outside.
"Maybe like... this much?" Yushi poured a moderate amount of water into the pot of flowers in front of them, demonstrating how much Sion should be pouring.
Well, that information stayed in Sion's head for a maximum of two seconds. How was he supposed to focus on what Yushi had to say when all he could feel was his body heat transferring to him? His scent was filling up Sion's insides rapidly — a sweet, vanilla-like smell, cosy and comforting. The gentle presence that radiated from such a small boy was making him crazy. Everything about it was crazy, but Sion was the most crazy thing of it all.
"Sion...?" Yushi crashed the blond's train of thought. It had been the first time he had said his name, and it felt... perfect, like Yushi was destined to have that sound roll of his tongue. His name sounded so good coming out of his mouth, it was hard to explain.
"Y-Yeah, sorry," Sion stuttered, snapping back to reality.
The other raised an eyebrow and asked, "Did you even listen to what I said?" He placed his hands on his hips in an attempt to look angry, but in Sion's eyes, he just appeared as a grumpy kitty.
"Kind of, I-I mean... yes?"
Another sigh escaped Yushi's mouth as he handed the watering can back to Sion. "Just keep going, but don't pour too much water. Trust your gut, okay?"
Sion grasped onto the watering can, his eyes falling deep into Yushi's longer than he would have wished to. He was afraid it looked obvious — it felt like Yushi would question him any moment...
"Why are you staring at me like that? Do you want something?" Yushi raised his eyebrow once again, confused.
He flinched at that, not actually expecting Yushi to say anything. But something was screaming inside of him to say something, to speak up.
Trust your gut...
"Yushi," he began. "After your shift today, do you mind coming over to my apartment... to stay? You can obviously say no, I'm not forcing you or anything, and I know this is so fucking dumb because I just met you a few days ago, but I think you're really cool and cute and—"
"Woah, slow down," he said, a chuckle trailing behind his words.
Sion looked up, face feeing hotter than the sun. "Sorry.
"Don't apologise, it's fine," Yushi smiled warmly, his teeth showing. "And I'd love to come to your place. I think you're cool too, Sion. So cool."
At first, he looked puzzled, but his facial expression slowly lit up, morphing into a beam. "Really? That's great." He stopped watering the flowers and went up to the boy, picking up his hand from the wrist. "I'll see you then."
"What are you..."
Sion placed a light kiss on the front of Yushi's hand before placing the can down and dashing out of the shop, leaving the brown-haired dumbfounded. It was a fast gesture, which made it difficult for him to fully process, but it put him at a loss of words.
After gaining his consciousness again, he picked up the can Sion placed down and ran over to the door, yelling, "You didn't finish your job, Sion!" but to no avail. The taller had already made his way down the end of the street — there was no use chasing him down.
"That idiot..." Yushi grumbled, with no malice behind it, just endearment.
🌻
It had been a few hours since Sion had kissed Yushi's hand. The thought of it was stupid, and he knew that, but it was worth it either way. His lips still tingled with the feeling of Yushi's soft skin touching them, a sensation he didn't want to forget ever.
He was waiting in his bedroom for Yushi to arrive — the boy messaged him around a few minutes ago that he was on his way, though Sion was extremely impatient. He couldn't wait to see his face again.
It was nearing 7:00pm, the time of evening when the sun was just about set and the city went dark. This particular night, Sion could hear the faint drops of rain falling on the top of his apartment. It began slow and steady, but grew into loud clashes of noise, drowning out any other sound from making itself known.
This worried him. He knew Yushi was out there somewhere in that rain, whether he was driving or not, both situations had their own bad outcomes. What if he was walking and the rain was so strong he couldn't find his way around and got lost?
Still, he had to be positive like he always was. Yushi would be fine, surely. He just needed to wait the tiniest bit longer until he'd be at his door, in this very apartment.
...
A few long minutes passed before a knock was heard at the door. Sion jumped up from his couch in excitement, rushing towards the front door and pulling it open aggressively.
"Yushi!" he yelled, grabbing the boy's arm and yanking him inside. "Are you alright?"
Yushi stood in front of the closed door with a shocked expression on his face. He was wearing a blue jacket and white pants, but it was drenched head to toe from the rain. There was also a bag on his back, similarly soaked by the rain as his clothes. Water dripped everywhere even though he wasn't moving, spreading and coating Sion's apartment floor. At Sion looked closer, he could see that he had worn light makeup that got smudged and washed away.
"Oh my gosh, let me get you a towel," Sion speedily snatched a towel out of the nearest cupboard and wrapped it around the shaken-up, cold Yushi. "C'mon, let's sit down on the couch."
"Would that be okay? I mean, don't wanna get your couch all wet..." Yushi mumbled.
Sion assured him, "It's fine, who cares? The most important thing right now is getting you warmed up, alright?" And with that, he slung his arm around Yushi's shoulder and sat him down on the couch. He had another towel which he began rubbing against his face to wipe the rainwater off with. "Sorry, I'm probably wiping your makeup off."
"It's fine... I should've brought an umbrella, stupid me," he hit a hand against his head in frustration.
"Hey, hey, don't blame yourself. You're all safe now so it's okay," Sion stopped rubbing with towel to rest it on Yushi's cheek, heating up the area. He wasn't sure if it was him or because Yushi was blushing, but it didn't matter. He could feel the buzz of their hearts vibrate in unison, creating an electricity that hadn't been there before. "Maybe, uh, do you wanna change your clothes? You can pick whatever you want from my closet, I don't care at all."
Yushi looked up, into Sion's eyes. It made his stomach do backflips and sweat at his palms. "Would that be okay?" he asked.
"Of course!" Sion smiled, lifting his other hand to gently caress Yushi's face which visibly flustered him. "My room is that way, and the drawers inside of the closet have my clothes."
The shorter got up from the couch and made his way into the room. He gave Sion one last glance — the other grinning in response — before stepping in and closing the door behind him.
Sion's room wasn't too big, but it wasn't completely snug either. Majority of it was taken up by his bed, which was placed in the middle of the room next to a bedside table. He also had a projector by the foot-side of the bed and flowers decorating the television cabinet that it was on. Yushi recognised these flowers to be the two he had given him the past two days — the sunflowers and the carnations. It made him smile to himself to think Sion put them in his room, near a place he assumed he used often.
Yushi walked to the closet and opened it, showing a fairly tall chest of drawers, the ones Sion said his clothes were in. After some searching, he put together an outfit and started changing into it. It was just plain jeans (Sion only seemed to own them, rarely any other pants) and a random baggy t-shirt with a hoodie he liked. Most of the items didn't fit him at all and were overly large, but it was definitely better than wearing something that was absolutely sopping wet.
"I'm done," he said, coming out of the bedroom. "Where should I put these?"
Sion let out a small laugh, but it became a cackle as Yushi approached him. "You look so cute in my clothes, Yushi!"
Yushi's eyebrows furrowed, making a angry face at the blond. "It's not my fault your legs are so long! Half of your stuff doesn't even fit me."
"You're adorable in this hoodie too. My friend from Mokpo gave it to me for my birthday once and I've worn it almost every day ever since," Sion held Yushi's arm up to have a better look at the hoodie.
"It's nice. Really comfortable," Yushi lifted the hood and put it over his head, though it was huge and it almost covered the entire top half of his face.
Sion's eyes creased as he scrunched his nose, having cuteness aggression from the boy in front of him. He pat the top of his head and said, "How about we have some food now? I'll cook for us."
Yushi nodded eagerly before Sion took his hand and brought him over to the kitchen counter and sat him down on a bar stool, giving him a good view of the entire area. "What are you gonna make?"
"I can make a lot of things. Noodles, fried rice, any standard Korean food," Sion responded, digging in a cabinet for a pot to cook food in.
"Noodles, please," Yushi blurted, basically cutting Sion off.
Sion couldn't help but laugh at him, though it did catch him off-guard. "Someone seems excited to eat. But yes, of course, I can make you some noodles."
"Sorry, I just really like them. It's my favourite food, so..." Yushi said, his words getting quieter the more he talked.
"Don't apologise, you're just really cute," Sion grinned, leaning over the island to pinch the boy's cheek. He scrunched his nose in reply, only making Sion melt even more. "Okay, anyways, you can sit back and watch now. Do you want a drink?"
Yushi rejected the offer, to which Sion nodded and proceeded to his cooking. The other watched him closely, examining and analysing all of his movements. Sion moved in a certain manner that Yushi could easily see just from looking at him for a few seconds. He noticed it the first time he laid eyes on him, that day he walked into the flower shop in his beautiful knit sweater and jeans, the very day Yushi knew he fell hard for this Oh Sion and he couldn't get up, even if he tried.
Sion's movements were strong, as if they always had a meaning and purpose, but a part of them were clumsy and awkward like he was. Sometimes he looked confident and proportional, other times it seemed that his limbs were too long for him to control. People may have found him odd or annoying — which honestly, Yushi also felt that at first — yet, all he could feel now was his heart warming up from how endearing this unfiltered, charming boy could be.
"Hey, Yushi," Sion spoke, breaking Yushi's trance. "You alright? You were spacing out."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking," Yushi dismissed him, avoiding eye contact.
"Were you looking out of the window? 'Cause I saw the lightning too."
Yushi tilted his head and faced his attention to the window by the living room. The deeper he looked, the better he could see the flashes of light brightening the dark sky and reflecting on the raindrops that didn't seem to stop falling. "Oh, yeah, the storm outside's pretty bad."
"We're gonna have to hope it goes away soon because how would you get home then?" Sion's expression turned distressed, like he was thinking about all the bad things that could happen from Yushi walking back home in a heavy storm.
"It'll be fine, Sion. I'll be fine," Yushi folded his hands over each other as Sion turned around to cup his own over them. The two shared small smiles before the taller went back to the stove, but the tension remained between them. It wasn't a negative tension, however, it was extremely prominent and very much there.
"Uhm, what drinks do you have?" Yushi questioned in an attempt to break the tense air.
Sion turned back around and leaned down on the counter, meeting the other boy at eye level. "Hmm, I have juice, flavoured milk. And soju, If you really want," he laughed slightly. "There's water too of course."
"Could I have... soju?" Yushi asked, Sion's eyes widening right after.
"Oh, I-I was kind of joking about that. I mean, I have it, but do you actually want it?"
"Yes? Is that a problem or—"
"No! No, of course not. You just don't seem like the type of person to drink," Sion bit the side of his cheek, going to the fridge and taking a bottle of soju out to give to Yushi, also grabbing one for himself.
Yushi raised his eyebrow like he always did when he was confused. "Well, I guess I'm not a huge drinker, but I drink more often than you'd think," he said while taking the bottle and opening it.
"That's a surprise. I barely drink 'cause I don't really love the feeling of being hungover, you know? Like in the moment, it's fun, but then you just feel like shit after," he sighed before taking the pot off of the stove and began preparing the food.
"I get what you mean," Yushi took a sip of the soju and put the bottle down gently. "It does suck."
Sion placed the two bowls of noodles along with some utensils on the counter, one in front of Yushi and one next to him. "This looks good," Yushi remarked, staring at the food.
"That's nice to hear, thank you," Sion chuckled, sitting down on the other stool by Yushi's side.
Not many words were exchanged while they were eating, which was expected, but the silence didn't make any difference. All Sion could hear was the clink of the soju bottle hitting the counter every time Yushi would take a sip and put it down along with the rain pounding against the walls of the apartment, encapsulating the duo in a cocoon of noise.
But then, all of a sudden, Yushi's head fell down to Sion's shoulder, resting itself there. Sion immediately dropped his utensils and looked down at him in panic, "Yushi? Are you okay?"
"Mmh, yeah, I'm okay," he answered in a mumble. "I'm not hungry anymore."
"Oh, alright, that's fine. Let me take your bowl for you," Sion said while standing up from his seat.
Instantly, Yushi clutched onto his arm and pulled him back to the chair, "No, stay with me."
"Yushi, I..."
"Don't go," Yushi slurred. "Please."
"I'm just gonna put the dishes in the sink, it's right there!" Sion pointed to the sink, but Yushi still didn't look satisfied.
"No."
Sion couldn't win against this boy. He had an unexpectedly tight grip on his bicep — seriously, he didn't know Yushi was that strong — and he was nesting his face into Sion's neck, breathing heavily. It sent chills down his spine to feel Yushi's breath so close to him.
"Yushi, c'mon," Sion said sternly, putting his hand on his. In response, Yushi held onto Sion even tighter, his nails practically digging into him. Sion let out a sigh, unsure of what to do.
After a few seconds he asked, "Let's go to my room or sit on the couch at least." Yushi made a grumble noise, but complied regardless. They stood up and went over to Sion's room, where he sat Yushi down on the bed. "You can lay down, I don't mind."
"Sion, come here," Yushi said, glaring at Sion directly in the eye.
The blond closed the door and walked up to Yushi, who was at his waist level. The way he looked up at him made him look like a sad, lost kitty trying to find a home. "Gosh, you only drank a single bottle and you're this drunk already?"
"I'm not drunk!" the boy protested angrily. "I'm not, I'm not."
"Sure," Sion chuckled, putting a hand on his cheek and rubbing it with his thumb. "Your face is literally red and you've got insanely watery eyes. Yeah, totally not drunk."
Yushi peeked at himself in the mirror and squinted, "My face— My face, it's not red," he grunted out a broken sentence, turning back around to face the taller boy again.
Sion didn't respond, he just looked Yushi in the eyes with a smirk stitched onto his mouth. Yushi seemed to be staring at Sion noticeably hard, furrowing his eyebrows and pouting. This boy is definitely drunk. Sion thought to himself.
"Sion."
"Mhm?"
"You're so pretty."
Oh, Sion's mouth gaped open, his brain scrambling for words to say. It wasn't very often he got a gorgeous drunk boy sitting between his legs, on his bed, calling him pretty. He could really kiss that adorable face right that moment. Goodness, maybe the alcohol was getting to him too.
"Thank you, Yushi. You're also very pretty," he replied, trying his hardest not to blush.
"I want to look at you, for a long time," he stated plainly, like it was the most normal thing on earth.
Sion coughed, not expecting that at all. "Is that so...?"
Yushi ignored him and held onto Sion's hand that was planted on his face. He grabbed the fingers and grazed them on his lips before letting go to wrap his arms around Sion. He pulled him closer and closer to him until there was barely a gap between them, their soju-scented breaths spreading onto one another's face. Yushi giggled, smiling against Sion's lips, then slowly leaned in. The gap was almost closed, so incredibly small that their lips were touching. Sion could almost taste the strawberry soju reminiscent on Yushi's mouth.
No.
I can't.
Sion quickly jumped away from the boy, rebuilding the distance between them. Yushi's face turned from happy to confused and sad within a second, which felt like a punch in the stomach to him.
"Sion!" Yushi whined, standing up and going to the distraught looking Sion. "Wait, don't go yet."
"I... I'm not going anywhere, Yushi," Sion stuttered.
"Come back, please," he begged, attempting to grasp Sion's arm again.
Sion pulled his arm away from his reach and shook his head. "No, Yushi, you need to get some rest."
He got a strong hold onto Yushi and dragged him over to the bed, trying to calm Yushi fighting and arguing. "Shh, shh, it'll be okay. It's bedtime, alright?"
With a bit of a struggle, he eventually got Yushi into the bed and started tucking him in under the blankets. It wasn't really in his original plans to keep him at his house after this, but with the bucketing rain outside and his drunk state of mind, there was no way he was sending him to walk home alone.
While Sion was laying the blanket over him, he heard his soft voice break through the covers. "Sion, why?" he sniffled, eyes becoming teary — not from alcohol intake this time.
"Yushi, you're drunk. Don't worry about it, just please, go to sleep," Sion urged, swallowing to fight his own internal feelings from releasing themselves.
Yushi's frown broke Sion's heart to see. He really didn't want to do that — if anything, he would have crashed him down onto the bed and kissed him right then and there, but it felt wrong. Something in him wouldn't let him do it. Something in him was... scared.
Despite his flirty attitude and charming personality, Sion was never the irresponsible, 'fuck around and find out' kind of person that people might have suspected him to be. Kissing people wasn't just a daily-life action to him. It was real, it was packed with emotions and feelings and meaningful things that words couldn't ever express. He didn't treat it like you think nothing of it.
And yeah, he'd kissed many, many people in his twenty-five years of life, but majority of them were random people from high-school he hadn't actually felt any true feelings for or situationships from his old job that didn't work out. None of them were like Yushi.
With Yushi, he felt like whatever was between them was true, that they had this shared love for one another. Yushi was special, different, and he didn't want to risk losing that.
Sion groaned loudly, burying his hands in his face. He went over to his closet and took out some random blankets and a pillow to set up a sleeping place on the floor. As much as he wouldn't mind sleeping with Yushi, he needed to clear his mind of this mess he put himself in, and doing that would not help in the slightest.
As he as laying on the ground, he could hear the light breathing of Yushi over the heavy rain — a noise that was comforting and relieving. He took a deep breath in, and out.
Then slowly, he closed his eyes, the walls turning into a void of darkness.
🌻
The bright Seoul sun shone through the curtains and into Sion's eyes as he opened them. He shot up from his makeshift bed in an instant and peered over to see if Yushi was still in his bed.
"Yushi?" he called softly. The boy stood up to have a better look, though Yushi wasn't there.
At this point, he was a bit worried, but he knew that Yushi wouldn't leave without telling him, right? He quickly fixed his hair up in the mirror and left his bedroom — maybe he was just in the living room area.
"Yushi?" he sounded once again and to his expectations, there he was, curling himself into a ball on the couch.
Right as he said his name, Yushi looked straight at him. He was originally gaping at the window, staring at the outside view, but the very moment he heard Sion's voice, it was like an alarm he couldn't ignore.
"Oh, good morning," he smiled innocently, outshining the sun's glare casting a golden glow throughout the entire apartment. "You slept for quite a while."
Sion inhaled — it appeared that he didn't remember a single thing from last night, which perhaps was for the better, but it couldn't shake how awkward it was for him. "Yeah, I-I did..."
"No worries, but sleeping on the floor wouldn't have been very comfortable, was it?" Yushi's expression turned solemn, like he was the one who forced him do it.
"It was fine," Sion waved his hands in dismissal.
"You know, you could've just slept with me," Yushi shrugged, but immediately covered his mouth. "Shit, sorry, I shouldn't say things like that. Obviously you didn't sleep with me because you weren't comfortable a-and that's one-hundred percent valid."
"Yushi."
"Yeah?"
Sion walked over to the couch and sat directly next to the other, close enough that their arms were brushing against each other. "You don't have to apologise for everything, it's totally fine. And yeah, I wouldn't have minded sleeping with you, I just didn't know if you didn't mind too," he said — a half-truth which he wished he didn't need to make.
Yushi put his head down, mostly in embarrassment. "Yeah, sorry."
"You did it again."
"It's impossible not to say sorry though!" the boy cried, clenching his fists.
The two shared a chuckle before Sion abruptly came to a stop. "Wait, the dishes," he muttered to himself, standing up to go over to the kitchen and clean up the chaos he left in the kitchen yesterday.
Yushi pulled him back down onto the couch and pat his arm. "Don't stress about it, I did all of them," he beamed, to which Sion put on a mortified face.
"Fuck, oh my gosh," he cursed. "I'm sorry, you didn't have to do that. It was my responsibility to clean up, not yours."
"Sion," Yushi glared at the blond with a teasing intent behind it. "You're doing the same thing I do now."
Everything just cause them to break out into an explosion of laughter again as they held onto each other. It was sickeningly domestic — Sion could feel his insides go round and around like a rollercoaster, the familiar heartbeat — but he couldn't prove or believe that Yushi felt the same way too.
"Well, it's about time I go home, hm?" Yushi checked the time on his phone, reading 8:45am. "I have work today and my shift's at 10:00pm"
Sion let go of Yushi and nodded, "Yeah, it's best you get going. I don't wanna be the reason you're late to work."
"Well, I think being with you is better than working so maybe the lashings from my boss will be worth it," Yushi said whilst getting up from the couch.
The other couldn't help but laugh at that. "Being with me is better than doing anything, so, of course."
Yushi rolled his eyes and gave him a playful punch and shove, "I was going to tell you to shut up, but I'm afraid to admit you're kinda right."
Sion grinned at him with honey-dripping eyes and stood up as well to guide him out of the apartment complex. His now-dried and folded clothes that got drenched in the rain were folded on top of his backpack resting by the door. Yushi picked up the clothes first, then the bag, but before slinging it on his back, he gasped loudly.
"Oh gosh, I almost forgot something!" he exclaimed as he put the bag down. "Shit, shit, shit, they might be dead by now."
The boy zipped open the bag and pulled out a huge bouquet of flowers, like huge. Sion had no idea how he even managed to fit them into that seemingly small bag, but that was the least of his concerns because there was no doubt he was a pink and red mess right now.
"Ah, they're a bit crushed but, uh, these are for you," Yushi fiddled with a few of the petals and then passed them over to Sion. "Any guess on what kind they are?"
Sion's cheeks heated up at an alarmingly high speed as Yushi gave the bouquet to him. "Goodness, Yushi, these are beautiful," he marvelled, his eyes unable to rip themselves away from the blooming, ruby red flowers. "Th-they're... roses, right?"
"Exactly right, good job!" Yushi clasped his hands together in a quiet, Yushi-like excitement. He opened the front door to leave, Sion following him out with his eyes fixed on the roses. Yushi let out a huff of air, something a little less than a giggle, but still almost halfway there. "I'm glad you like them, you seem hypnotised."
"Thank you. I love them even though they might be a bit imperfect," Sion said, finally looking up. They had made it up to the elevator, so Sion pressed the ground button and they waited for it to arrive. "I'll add them to my collection. In a way, it could be yours too."
Yushi's smile only grew wider, his prominent teeth showing themselves even more. "Mhm, I saw it when I was changing out of my wet clothes. You made it so pretty."
The elevator dinged and the doors opened, the two stepping inside. "Thank you very much," Sion smirked like an idiot, making Yushi scoff and look away. "I put a lot of effort into it and I'm taking extremely good care of them!" he said as if it was the best thing on the planet.
"That's great," Yushi replied sarcastically, the elevator dinging again, indicating they were at the floor they were going to. "Well, I have to go now."
"Aww, I miss you already though," Sion's smirk turned itself upside down.
"C'mon, you can visit me at my shift! It won't be too long," he put his hands on Sion's cheeks and dragged them up to make it look like he was smiling, which successfully made him actually do it. "I'll see you later, okay?"
"Fine, fine, I'll come. Of course I will."
They shared one more look, but right as Yushi was about to turn around and leave, Sion rushed up to him. Without warning, he engulfed the boy in a tight hug, pretty much swallowing the small boy whole. "Bye, Yushi," he said into his neck before letting go.
Yushi looked slightly shocked and confused, but it swiftly melted into a sweet facial expression as he walked out of the apartment with a big smile and wave.
And there Sion was left, standing alone with the big bouquet of roses. He looked at them once more, really examining them, staring.
Roses were one of the only flower types Sion actually knew, hence why he was able to name it correctly so fast. It was a gorgeous flower — the colour was so vibrant and pigmented that he couldn't hardly believe it was real, the smell was actually pleasant and not foul or odd and the shape of it was so interesting. He couldn't deny that he loved them.
Love.
He loved these roses.
Suddenly, his brain remembered something one of the first things Yushi said during their starting encounter. It wasn't a big deal in the moment, for he was simply doing his job and helping a customer with their stupid questions. But now it occurred to him. It was calling to him, like it was an important detail.
When Sion asked what the difference between certain flowers was, Yushi had explained that you wouldn't buy roses for a friend because they were a more romantic flower.
Everything seemed made sense now. What was Sion so scared about when the answers were right in front of him, sitting in his hands?
Fuck.
Sion sprinted as fast as he could back to his apartment.
🌻
Thursday morning shifts were always quiet and uncrowded, and that was exactly how Yushi liked it.
When the shop was busy, it was too overstimulating for him and he hated it, but on the weekdays, it was almost never like that. It gave him time to do things he actually enjoyed, and be by himself with things he loved for a while.
The shop was peaceful and silent. There was the tunes of random music playing from the radio that was buried in the clutter of things on the counter which accompanied the chirps of the birds from outside. Everything was perfect.
"Yushi!" a loud scream broke the quietness, barging into the shop with a bang.
Normally, Yushi would despise rowdy customers who disrupt the mood that he put a lot of effort into setting, but once he saw who the culprit was, he couldn't ever get angry,
"Sion! You're finally here," he yelled from the other end of the shop, already giddy just from seeing the boy.
Sion breathed in and out so he could speak without sounding like he ran all the way here (even though he very much did). He made his way over to the Yushi and went around the counter to stand with him instead of staying behind it. "Yushi, I-I... I have something to tell you."
"Yeah? What—"
The taller held onto Yushi's face and aggressively pressed their lips together, shutting him up. The way Yushi's hands tensed up against Sion's sides in shock showed how unexpected this was, but Sion knew it was right. Now he did.
They both melted into each other, able to taste each other without fear, without being unsure. Sion tasted like a sweet tiramisu, warm like hot chocolate on a cold winter's day, while Yushi was more on the sweeter side — strawberry bubblegum and grape soda. The combination sounded weird in theory, but it created a contrast that was a beautiful mix of the two's different personalities and souls.
Yushi wrapped his arms around Sion's tiny waist and pulled him into the shed to hide them from the outside world. Doing this also made them closer than before, and the intimate action made Sion warmer than he already was.
They separated for a bit to catch their breaths. It was enough for them to actually talk, though the kiss definitely spoke for itself, sorting out feelings and thoughts that both weren't brave enough to voice out themselves.
"I am so sorry that I didn't do this eariler," Sion exhaled out.
Yushi didn't even to to make up any response to that. Instead, he pulled Sion even closer. "Just shut up and keep kissing me already."
And Sion could never say no to Yushi, so he did exactly that. Everything about the situation was messy — there were things on the shelves in the shed falling onto the floor by their feet, they didn't even have a proper conversation before this — but neither of them cared. This was what they needed so that they could finally realise that they were meant for each other.
"Okay, okay, c'mon," Sion pulled away from Yushi fully. "We can't do this here, you have to get back to work and I really don't think your boss will appreciated you making out with your boyfriend in the back shed instead of doing your job."
"Boyfriend? You're unbelievable, Sion."
The brunet boy placed once last kiss on Sion's lips. "I have something for you though," he walked out of the shed and went to the counter, where he pulled out yet another bouquet of flowers. "Alright, I know you must be sick of flowers already but... y-you like purple, right?"
Sion's eyes turned soft because he seriously couldn't understand how one could be so adorable. "Yes, I do. How did you know that?"
"It's kinda obvious, I mean, you use the purple heart emoji all the time, most of your outfits have at least one purple item in it and a lot of the stuff in your apartment are purple," he rambled, counting with his fingers as he listed each of his evidence. "Anyways, unimportant. These are some purple tulips and I-I don't know, they just suit you, okay?"
Sion took them from Yushi's hands and pecked his cheek. "I love them, thank you so much, sweetheart."
"That's good," he mumbled. "I love you, Sion."
"I love you even more, Yushi," Sion replied, ruffling the boy's fluffy hair with his free hand.
All of Sion's internalised fear had completely disappeared now. Yushi was such an amazing boy with so much love to give that it filled him up to the point he was about to explode. His heart was like a patch of soil and Yushi was like the roots of a flower. He was planted into his heart with no warning and made his way deeper into it, yet in the end, he and Yushi's feelings managed to bloom into a stunning, thriving flower. He couldn't imagine anyone else this perfectly made for him.
He thought back on the bouquets of flowers he had received that heavily resembled to the growing hearts of the two. Each and every one of them were precious things he would cherish forever. And yes, though of course they were precious and dear to him, but there was nothing he could possibly cherish more than the person who gifted them to him. The most important of them all: Tokuno Yushi.
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