Archive of Our Own

jihoon sets his soda down on the table after finishing the last of it. he gets up to throw the can away when his eye catches the calendar on his desk, seeing a little star he drew around the date next tuesday. ah, right. it’s his mom’s birthday soon.

he thinks he could get her some flowers. that’d be nice, wouldn’t it? flowers and a handwritten note are always a good gift.

he pulls out his phone and searches for flower shops in the area. there’s only one nearby, called ‘lucky flower’. his eyes widen when he sees the store hours: 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

his face twists slightly. huh, such short hours. there’s no way he’ll be able to make it on a weekday. he sighs, at least the place has good reviews. he’ll arrange for a trip there this weekend. 

-ˏˋ ❀ ˎˊ-

jihoon wakes up on saturday morning feeling sore and burnt out from yesterday’s practice. he really wants to sleep in a bit more, but can’t risk missing the already short window of time that the flower shop is open, so he gets ready to go even though everything hurts.

before he leaves, he looks in the mirror again, fixing up his hair a bit more and applying some lip balm. he walks out of the apartment, not bringing anything with him except his wallet, phone, and keys. lucky flower is supposedly only a short walk from his place, so it should be fine.

he enters the address into his phone and follows the directions to the shop. soon enough, he spots a blackboard sign with ‘lucky flower’ written on it a bit messily, and he enters the building, a bell chiming as he opens the door.

he looks around. the place is small and cute, but as soon as jihoon’s eyes land on the man behind the counter—

wow.

jihoon’s breath catches in his throat.

it’s been a long time since he saw someone so stunning. the man’s eyebrows are striking, jaw defined, and his dark hair frames his face beautifully. he totally looks like he could be a celebrity; someone with that face has no business working at a small flower shop. he looks young too, around jihoon’s age probably, maybe just a bit older? jihoon cannot take his eyes off him.

jihoon is completely starstruck for all of two seconds before the man looks up from the bouquet he’s making and makes eye contact with the girl in front of him. he begins flirting shamelessly with her, and jihoon’s mood immediately sours.

oh. of course. he’s one of those people.

the girl seems to be giggling shyly, pleased with the attention. she reaches in her purse to get her card and the man watches her the whole time, smiling. jihoon can see the girl’s ears turn red even from here.

the man hands her the flowers in… a clear plastic coffee cup? what? jihoon is appalled. is he serious? but the girl accepts it, smiling and ducking her head shyly, clutching the cup of flowers close to her chest as she leaves like it’s the prettiest thing she’s ever seen. jihoon can’t believe it.

a pretty face really gets you far in life, huh? this guy has a five-hour workday, unprofessional-looking bouquets, flirts with customers, and still manages to have good reviews. what is that if not pretty privilege?

but it’s not like there’s another flower shop nearby, so jihoon sucks it up and walks up to the counter, sighing. he reads the man’s nametag: kim dohoon.

“what can i get for you today?”

jihoon tells dohoon what flowers he wants, and dohoon turns around to get them for him. before dohoon starts making the bouquet, he pulls out his phone and sets it up against the counter to film himself doing it. jihoon rolls his eyes.

finally, dohoon finishes, and jihoon looks at the pathetic plastic cup of flowers in his hand with a measly little bow tied around it. ugh, whatever. it’ll do.

he pays and leaves the shop, thankful that it’s done with. but he doesn’t miss dohoon’s flirty smile at the next girl in line.

-ˏˋ ❀ ˎˊ-

jihoon comes back to his apartment, still slightly irritated. when he steps inside, his roommate and best friend hanjin is sitting on the couch, halfheartedly watching some trashy k-drama on the tv while scrolling on his phone. hanjin looks over when he hears jihoon and raises an eyebrow at the cup of flowers in jihoon’s hand.

“what the hell is that?”

jihoon groans.

“i said i wanted to buy flowers for my mom, right? well, turns out the only flower shop in town is run by some total slacker with no care for the job. all he does is flirt with customers. and he packages the flowers like this!” jihoon says, holding out the cup and shaking it. “is he serious?”

hanjin snorts out a laugh.

“oh! well… that’s not good.”

“right.”

“is he hot though?” hanjin asks curiously.

“what does that have to do with anything?” jihoon asks, irritated.

“it has a lot to do with this, actually,” hanjin points out.

jihoon grimaces.

“okay, yeah, he’s hot. but that doesn’t change anything! he’s just using his good looks to get by.”

jihoon sets the cup of flowers on the table and takes them out. he neatly arranges them into a more presentable bouquet. frustration wells up again. ugh, isn’t this dohoon’s job? why do i have to do more work?

but when he’s finished, he looks at the newly made bouquet and smiles. at least the flowers look pretty, he thinks.

-ˏˋ ❀ ˎˊ-

jihoon and the rest of his dance team are at dinner together after another successful performance. they’re all having their own conversations in pairs, talking over each other, when kyungmin lightly knocks on the table.

“everyone, youngjae has something to say!”

youngjae smiles a little sheepishly when everyone gets quiet and turns to look at him.

“ah, i just wanted to tell you guys,” he starts, “i found a new apartment and i’ll be moving in soon. it’s much closer to here! and i’ll be having a housewarming party, so if you want to come…”

the table erupts into chaos. everyone starts cheering for him, patting him on the back, clapping.

“oh my god, congratulations!”

“so proud of you!”

youngjae smiles brightly as everyone surrounds him. gosh, jihoon is so happy for him. he’s heard youngjae complaining about the awful commute time enough and it’s always made him feel bad. he can’t wait for youngjae to move into his new place.

-ˏˋ ❀ ˎˊ-

jihoon wishes he never had to step foot into this stupid shop again, but alas, he finds himself waiting in line at lucky flower once more. he’s already irritated at having to go on a weekend due to the short hours, but it’s the least he can do; it’s only polite to bring flowers to a housewarming.

“yah! i’ll have to break up with my boyfriend if you keep saying things like that, you know,” the girl in front of jihoon says, giggling.

dohoon only laughs.

“do it then,” he says, smirking.

the girl gasps, turning red, and dohoon turns around to get her flowers, looking pleased.

jihoon cannot believe the audacity. who even talks to customers like that? his irritation boils over and he can’t keep his mouth shut when he approaches the counter.

“must be nice to have a fake job and make money just using your pretty face, huh? what a life,” jihoon says bitterly.

dohoon just smirks and leans in a bit, tilting his head to the side.

“so you think i’m pretty?”

jihoon’s face turns red in annoyance and embarrassment. he keeps his mouth shut, determined to not embarrass himself further. there’s no use arguing with someone like dohoon who doesn’t take anything in life seriously.

dohoon sets up his phone to record himself making the bouquet once again, but it’s obvious the camera is focused on his face rather than the flowers. dohoon keeps making various kissy faces at the camera. jihoon only rolls his eyes.

“no one wants to watch your shitty vlogs,” jihoon says. “just give me the flowers and stop wasting my time.”

dohoon looks up from the camera and pouts exaggeratedly at jihoon, batting his lashes.

“then how am i supposed to get sponsorship money?”

jihoon is fully pissed off now.

“try doing your actual job, maybe?”

dohoon laughs at that and ties a little bow with string around the cup, and then hands the flowers over.

“come again soon, sweetheart!” he calls out as jihoon leaves.

jihoon walks out of the flower shop, pathetic little cup of flowers in hand, grateful that it’s cold outside. he doesn’t know why his face is so hot. he hates it.

-ˏˋ ❀ ˎˊ-

“he’s so irritating!” jihoon whines as soon as he steps inside the apartment. hanjin looks up from his book, his eyes landing on the flowers in jihoon’s hand.

“the florist again, huh?”

“you won’t believe what he said. he was flirting with some girl and he literally told her to break up with her boyfriend!”

“oh! so he’s actually crazy. he really acts like this?”

“yes!” jihoon says, frustrated. he drops his keys on the counter.

“i’ve never seen you this heated with someone before. he’s really getting to you, isn’t he?” hanjin asks, slightly amused.

jihoon clicks his tongue.

“you don’t get it! he’s just exploiting the girls who come to buy flowers, and they’re going along with it because he looks good. how is that fair?”

hanjin chuckles. unfortunately, jihoon only looks cute when he’s angry.

“i’ve never heard of someone that shameless. i need to see him for myself.”

hanjin turns back to his book and jihoon starts rearranging the flowers into a proper bouquet.

“you know, you look like a girl sometimes,” jihoon says, after a moment of thought.

“so i’ve heard. what exactly are you getting at here?”

“i was thinking…” jihoon says, “you should go see for yourself. i’m serious, he flirts with every girl who comes to his shop.”

“you want me to dress up as a girl to see if he’ll flirt with me?” hanjin asks, incredulous.

“i mean, it wouldn’t be very hard! you already do your makeup really well and i’m sure we can find some clothes in your closet that would sell it. all you have to do is go buy one bouquet.”

jihoon seems to be very serious about this and hanjin can’t help but laugh. but he does love a good scheme, and so he gives in without much resistance.

“sure, then. but you have to pay me back for the flowers, yeah?”

“of course!” jihoon replies, grinning.

hanjin goes over to his vanity to touch up his makeup. he doesn’t do anything too different from his usual routine, just puts on a touch more blush and a glossy lip instead of matte. maybe a tiny bit of shimmer on his eyelids too, for fun. jihoon is digging in hanjin’s closet and pulls out a slightly cropped baby pink sweater with darker pink detailing on it.

“this will be perfect,” jihoon says.

hanjin changes into the sweater and a cute pair of flare jeans and comes back. jihoon smiles so wide his eyes turn into crescents.

“oh, hanjinie, you look so pretty!” jihoon exclaims, squealing and clapping his hands. “i’d totally think you were a girl if i didn’t know better.”

hanjin grins, putting on a bracelet and fixing his bangs.

the two of them walk over to lucky flower, and jihoon smiles at hanjin whenever their eyes meet. when they reach the shop, jihoon stands against the brick wall and waits while hanjin goes inside.

jihoon watches through the glass door. he notices dohoon leaning in too close and giving hanjin that same easy smile he gives all the girls. dohoon winks before turning away to get the flowers for hanjin.

a few minutes later, hanjin comes out of the shop holding a coffee cup full of roses. he starts laughing hysterically when he sees jihoon. 

“he’s so shameless!” hanjin says, wiping a tear from his eye.

jihoon returns hanjin’s smile, feeling a bit smug. his plan went exactly as he expected it to.

“he definitely thought i was a girl. he kept telling me i was so pretty, said he hadn’t seen a pretty girl like me around before,” hanjin continues, giggling. “he said he’d remember if he’d seen a face like mine.”

ugh, how sleazy, jihoon thinks. hanjin looks a little too pleased for jihoon’s liking, but he chooses to ignore it.

“i told you! he flirts like that with every girl who walks in. he’s literally exploiting them.”

hanjin just chuckles at that.

they start walking back to their place. a few minutes in, hanjin turns to jihoon again.

“but he’s kind of charming, isn’t he? i see why the girls like him so much.”

jihoon scoffs.

“you cannot be serious right now!”

-ˏˋ ❀ ˎˊ-

jihoon is laying in bed, scrolling on his phone before going to sleep. he’s bored, switching between apps every few minutes. he doesn’t even know why he’s still awake; it’s so late.

he closes twitter and opens up instagram. he finds himself typing ‘lucky flower’ into the search bar, clicking on the first account that shows up. the profile picture is the same logo he recognizes, so it must be the right one.

his eyes widen when he sees how many followers the account has. way too many for a local flower shop, at least. the account is fully some kind of gen z marketing gimmick, and dohoon is clearly capitalizing off of his looks.

most of the posts feature dohoon’s face front and center: fake candids of him pretending to arrange flowers, mirror selfies with the bouquets, pictures of him leaning against the counter. jihoon isn’t even surprised; of course the shop’s instagram is all about dohoon. it’s not like they have anything else to show off.

still, he’s a bit surprised by just how many likes the posts have. he opens the comments, already prepared to be pissed off.

“he’s so handsome… i don’t even need flowers but i’d go every day just to see him.”

“where do i find a florist like this?”

“forget the flowers, i only want to see dohoon’s face.”

jihoon rolls his eyes. he clicks on a different post, a rare picture without dohoon in it. it’s a photo of coffee cup bouquets lined up on the counter. jihoon can’t help but laugh at how few likes it has compared to the photos of dohoon. people are so shallow, aren’t they?

there are only two comments on this post. he opens them, and they’re just praising it for being ‘trendy’ and ‘aesthetic’. jihoon scoffs. in what world is that aesthetic? is everything more forgivable when it’s a handsome guy doing it?

he scrolls a bit more before finding a reel. the thumbnail shows dohoon in the blue shirt he wore the last time jihoon went to get flowers. jihoon clicks on it, curious. he glances at the caption. 

[vlog] a day in my life as a flower shop owner born in ‘05 💐 …show more

huh. so dohoon is only a year older than him. 

the video shows dohoon going about his day: short clips of him tying his apron, picking out flowers for a bouquet, putting them into plastic coffee cups with water, and tying a little bow around the cup. there’s a short montage of him posing in the mirror along with the coffee cup bouquets, making exaggerated kissy faces, with heart and flower emojis edited around him.

wow, jihoon scoffs. not even subtle.

the comments are all over dohoon once again, just as jihoon expected. 

“can i be the florist’s wife?”

“if the owner of the flower shop looks like this, i’d arrive early just to be the first person in.”

“does such a handsome man exist in real life? where is this?”

ugh. jihoon closes the comments section. he scrolls to the next video, seemingly taken on the same day. it’s a video of dohoon putting together a bouquet that jihoon quickly realizes is his. oh, he remembers dohoon filming this. dohoon is in frame more than the bouquet, pouting at the camera, just as jihoon remembered. 

jihoon rolls over in bed. he’s getting a little sleepy, but doesn’t feel like putting his phone down yet. he lets the video play a few more times.

-ˏˋ ❀ ˎˊ-

at the flower shop again, jihoon finds himself standing in line behind another girl. dohoon leans in too close, giving her his usual sleazy smile, but the girl’s face sours at that.

“i’m literally buying flowers for my girlfriend right now, what makes you think i want a man flirting with me?” she asks irritatedly. jihoon smirks a bit, satisfied at someone else calling out dohoon’s behavior.

dohoon immediately stands up properly, his face flushing slightly. he scratches the back of his neck.

“oh, i’m really sorry. i didn’t mean to,” he says, looking sheepish. jihoon has never seen such an expression on his face before.

the girl hums in response. dohoon puts together a bouquet for her without a word.

after she pays, he hands the cup of flowers to her.

“thank you for coming. i hope your girlfriend likes the flowers,” he says, smiling politely.

jihoon walks up to the counter once she leaves.

“you could just be like that all the time, you know,” he says.

dohoon pouts.

“but where’s the fun in that?”

jihoon cannot believe him.

“good god. someone really needs to put you in your place.”

“hot…” dohoon says, biting his lip and looking away playfully, before locking eyes with jihoon again. “is ‘my place’ under you?”

jihoon just sighs. there’s no point in arguing with someone like that.

“i’d be down if you ever wanted to,” dohoon starts. “i’d let you—”

jihoon walks out before he can hear the rest of that sentence. god, how does dohoon manage to get under his skin every time?

-ˏˋ ❀ ˎˊ-

everyone on the dance team is completely exhausted after a long morning of rehearsals, so they take a break for an hour or so. jihoon could really use a pick-me-up, so he decides to go over to the café and get something to drink. hanjin works there, so jihoon hopes he might get to talk to him for a bit, too.

hanjin’s eyes widen when he sees jihoon come in, but when jihoon walks up to the counter, he switches back to his fake customer service smile, a mischievous glint in his eye.

“welcome in, sir. what can i get for you today?” he asks with exaggerated politeness.

jihoon just stares at hanjin like he’s crazy. hanjin starts laughing at that and puts in jihoon’s usual order without a word. jihoon chuckles too, rolling his eyes playfully, and takes out his card to pay.

he waits near the counter, watching hanjin make his drink. when hanjin finishes, he looks at jihoon in a way that tells him he’s going to say something stupid.

“do you think i should start flirting with my customers like the florist guy? i could really use some more tips. like,” he hands jihoon the drink, “here you go, babe. just for you,” he winks, but can’t control his laughter afterwards. jihoon’s jaw drops.

“you absolutely cannot stoop to his level! whatever happened to professionalism?” 

“you don’t think i’m pretty enough?” hanjin pouts jokingly.

“that’s not what i said. at all. there are just more respectable ways to make money.”

hanjin laughs and jihoon can’t help but smile back. he goes over to a table, drink in hand.

a bit later, hanjin comes over to jihoon’s table, presumably on his break. he sits across from jihoon.

“so,” he starts, “how’s practice been going?”

jihoon sighs.

“i’m so exhausted. i have a solo coming up too, so it’s way more work than usual.”

“of course you do. you’re the best dancer on the team, aren’t you?”

jihoon warms at the praise. the exhaustion is always worth it for moments like this. 

“kyungmin said he’d do it instead if it was too much for me to handle,” he says. “and i love that kid, but i can’t do that.”

“makes sense. but don’t overwork yourself, yeah?”

jihoon grins.

“i’ll try.”

-ˏˋ ❀ ˎˊ-

against his will, jihoon is back for more flowers. there aren’t any customers inside, so dohoon is on his phone. dohoon looks up and smiles when he sees jihoon enter the shop.

“hi cutie,” he says.

jihoon doesn’t respond to that.

“what’s your name, anyway?” dohoon asks.

“why does it matter to you?” jihoon retorts, irritated.

“come on, i can’t know the name of the pretty boy who always comes in here all mad at me?” dohoon pouts. “it’s kind of hot, you know. when you’re mad,” he adds, casually.

jihoon’s face flushes pink. he doesn’t know what to say to that, so he just tells dohoon his name.

“jihoon. han jihoon.”

dohoon grins.

“of course you’ve got a pretty name too.”

jihoon tries his hardest not to roll his eyes.

“so what do you do for a living?” dohoon asks, curious.

“i’m a dancer.”

“yeah? that’s so cool.”

and maybe jihoon is just ridiculously tired, but he finds himself telling dohoon about his dance team, about his solo, and about how exhausted he is these days. dohoon looks at him intently as he speaks, encouraging him to continue.

jihoon can’t help but think dohoon looks genuinely interested, not flirting for once. but maybe he’s just falling for dohoon’s stupid charms again and it’s all an act and he’s embarrassing himself. whatever. he can worry about that later.

finally, dohoon turns to make jihoon’s bouquet. jihoon finds himself staring at dohoon’s side profile, the delicate way his hair falls in his eyes. he notices for the first time that dohoon’s nose is just the slightest bit crooked. cute, his brain supplies, before he immediately shuts that thought down. what the hell is happening to him today?

sure enough, dohoon’s voice cuts him out of it.

“what are you staring at, hm?”

“nothing,” jihoon says pointedly, suddenly finding his own hands very interesting.

dohoon chuckles.

“it’s okay. i know you like me.”

jihoon doesn’t. but maybe, he hates dohoon a little bit less.

-ˏˋ ❀ ˎˊ-

jihoon is walking home from practice one day when he sees a bunch of balloons tied to a new blackboard sign on the pavement. 

“shin’s flowers: now open! 8:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.” it reads, along with an arrow pointing towards the shop and a few roses drawn along the border. 

oh? jihoon is curious. it’s only around five o’clock so the shop must still be open, unlike lucky flower. he has no need for a bouquet right now, but he walks into the shop anyway, just to see what it’s like. finally, that idiot has some competition.

the place is decorated nicely, warm late-afternoon sunlight streaming in through the window. the man behind the counter is beautiful, jihoon thinks. he has the kind of face moms would love. jihoon absentmindedly wonders where all these handsome florists are coming from, and then chuckles at the thought.

he walks up to the counter after the customer in front of him leaves. the man’s name is shin junghwan, jihoon notices. he must be the owner, then. 

junghwan smiles at him politely, asking him what he’d like. jihoon isn’t sure; he hadn’t come in wanting anything in particular.

“surprise me!” jihoon says, grinning.

junghwan’s eyes widen for a moment, but he smiles warmly at jihoon once more and nods.

“give me a minute,” he says. he picks out a few different types of flowers from the display case behind him and places them on the counter before arranging them neatly and putting them into a bouquet. jihoon watches him work.

when junghwan is finished, he presents it to jihoon, tilting his head slightly.

“what do you think? if you don’t like it, i’ll redo it!”

“it’s beautiful!” jihoon smiles brightly at junghwan, thanking him repeatedly before paying.

junghwan smiles back kindly as jihoon walks away from the counter, holding the bouquet.

“thank you, come again!”

-ˏˋ ❀ ˎˊ-

hanjin raises his eyebrows when jihoon walks into the apartment holding an elaborate bouquet.

“wow, did dohoon finally figure out how to make a decent-looking bouquet? and what do you need the flowers for, anyway?”

jihoon hands the bouquet to hanjin.

“there’s a new place open, actually. i just wanted to check it out. isn’t this pretty?”

hanjin inspects the flowers and nods. 

“it’s really well-made. we should put it on the counter,” he says, getting up to do just that. after putting the flowers in a vase, he sits back down on the sofa.

jihoon tells hanjin about shin’s flowers: about the longer hours, the professional atmosphere, and the polite owner.

“and what about the owner? is he hot too? hotter than dohoon?” hanjin asks teasingly.

“he’s pretty, yeah,” jihoon says, absently. hanjin sees right through him and smirks.

“but you like dohoon.”

jihoon blushes.

“no, i don’t. he just gets under my skin.”

later that night, jihoon stares at the flowers on the counter. they’re beautiful, really, but he doesn’t feel a thing looking at them. feeling nothing is probably better than his usual annoyance at seeing those pathetic little plastic cups, but he doesn’t know. it just feels a little empty.

-ˏˋ ❀ ˎˊ-

the next time jihoon needs flowers, he finds himself carving time out of his weekend and walking past shin’s flowers, straight to lucky flower. he refuses to think too hard about what that says about him. 

genuine surprise colors dohoon’s expression for a second when he sees jihoon at the door, before he masks it with his usual easy smirk. 

“i thought you hated me?” 

“i do.”

“why aren’t you at the new place, then? junghwan’s super professional, isn’t he?” dohoon says, enunciating ‘professional’ like it’s a dirty word. “totally your type.” 

jihoon doesn’t know what to say to that. 

 “unless,” dohoon continues, resting his elbows on the counter, “there’s another reason you’re here.” he pretends to be deep in thought. “my face, maybe?” he grins. 

jihoon scoffs.

“don’t flatter yourself.”

“whatever you say, sweetheart,” dohoon says, still amused. “same flowers as usual?”

-ˏˋ ❀ ˎˊ-

hanjin looks way too amused when jihoon comes back with another coffee cup bouquet. god, jihoon wishes hanjin could be just a little less perceptive sometimes. he feels like there’s a spotlight on him as soon as he steps through the door.

“look who went back,” hanjin starts. “whatever happened to the new place? didn’t have your favorite pretty boy there?”

jihoon groans. he’s not doing this today. he goes straight to his room and shuts the door, but he can still hear hanjin laughing through it.

he places the flowers on his bedside table and covers his face with his hands. god, why is he acting like this? every fiber of his being knows that shin’s flowers is the better option… and yet. here he is, with another stupid coffee cup.

he looks over at the cup and suddenly notices a small bunch of tiny white flowers stuck in the bow, clearly not part of the actual bouquet. ugh, how unprofessional. he pulls it out and looks over it; it seems to be a laceflower. he twirls it between his fingers for a second and then sets it aside.

-ˏˋ ❀ ˎˊ-

jihoon’s solo performance goes well, thank god. the other members of the dance team all came to watch and congratulate him. youngjae ruffles his hair afterwards, and someone suggests that they all get dinner together. kyungmin hands him a coffee cup of yellow roses and jihoon can’t help but burst out laughing. wow, wonder where he got that from.

he’d like to rest for a while, maybe, but the gayo daejeon summer festival is coming up and he’s one of txt’s dancers. it’ll be his biggest stage yet; he hasn’t performed at such a large-scale event before, so he’s a little nervous. it’s definitely a challenge, but he doesn’t mind the work.

rehearsals with the txt members go smoothly for the most part, even in the heat. huening kai is kind enough to buy cold drinks for all the dancers, and god, jihoon really needed that. he sits on the floor, sighing as he takes a sip of his drink.

after their last rehearsal, jihoon is totally exhausted. he says goodbye and thanks the txt members as well as all the other dancers, wishing them all good luck for tomorrow. sighing, he heads home.

hanjin comes back later that night and sees jihoon laying on the floor. he raises an eyebrow.

“are you good?” he asks, with a mouthful of cookie.

jihoon looks up.

“yeah, just tired. but only one more day, right?”

hanjin hums, and holds out a cookie for jihoon.

“they were gonna throw these out at the café since it was the end of the day, but i just stole them. don’t tell anyone, okay?”

jihoon laughs and accepts the cookie. he takes a bite and smiles wider, his eyes crinkling up.

“thank you, hanjinie! this is just what i needed. this is why you’re the best,” he says.

-ˏˋ ❀ ˎˊ-

after weeks of hard work, jihoon is finally finished with his biggest performance yet: the gayo daejeon summer festival. he has a whole week off to do nothing, which is practically unheard of. he sleeps in for half the day, plays on his switch, and watches some k-dramas with hanjin. they’re objectively terrible, but hanjin seems to enjoy them.

he starts getting bored after a few days though. hanjin can’t believe it when he sees jihoon learning new choreography on his break.

“you’re such a workaholic. you can’t go one week without dancing?”

jihoon just laughs.

“i’m bored!” he whines playfully.

“go outside for a bit then. the weather’s nice,” hanjin says.

jihoon sighs. hanjin is probably right, so he changes into some nice clothes and goes out on a walk. it’s a bit hot honestly, but the breeze is pleasant.

when he sees the ‘lucky flower’ sign from a distance, he considers going inside. he doesn’t need anything, but maybe it would be entertaining. fuck, is he really bored enough to ragebait himself for no reason? but he goes inside anyway. he’s never gone on a weekday before, so he’ll have to see how it’s different.

“i saw you on tv, you know,” dohoon says when jihoon walks in.

“huh?”

“at the gayo daejeon summer festival, during txt’s set. one of the dancers was you, wasn’t it?”

jihoon’s jaw drops. he can feel his face heating up.

“how did you know? i was only on screen for a few seconds.”

“i know your face too well, cutie,” dohoon smirks. “and i searched on twitter and someone took fancams of you. a lot of people think you’re really hot.”

jihoon’s mind is scrambling. what the fuck does dohoon mean he watched fancams of him on twitter?

dohoon just laughs at jihoon’s lack of response. 

“you’re really good,” dohoon says sincerely, before biting his lip playfully. “wonder what else you could do with—”

jihoon shoves his shoulder.

“don’t say things like that!”

he only then realizes that dohoon has been putting together a bouquet of pink and yellow roses. huh, he didn’t even ask for anything yet. dohoon draws a few hearts on the cup and ties a bow around it before handing it to jihoon.

“on the house, sweetheart. congratulations on your performance,” dohoon says with a wink.

jihoon flushes pink and accepts the gift. his heart flutters, but he tries his best to ignore that.

“thank you,” he mumbles.

-ˏˋ ❀ ˎˊ-

jihoon is lazing around alone on a sunday afternoon when he suddenly remembers that kyungmin has a performance tomorrow and he needs to buy some flowers. he throws on some nicer clothes and fixes his hair before stepping outside. it’s a bit later than he usually goes to the flower shop, as he usually doesn’t like cutting it close around closing time. ah, whatever. if lucky flower is closed by the time he gets there, he’ll just go over to shin’s flowers instead.

but he still finds himself walking a bit faster than usual. the weather is nice, at least. he makes it to the shop and checks the time on his phone before stepping inside: 2:47 p.m.

there’s still a little over ten minutes before closing, so he should be good. the shop is empty except for dohoon, who is filming himself in the mirror. ugh, what a nuisance. dohoon stops recording when he hears jihoon come inside, and smiles at him.

“oh, jihoonie, you’re here to see me?” he asks, teasingly.

“shut up. i’m here for flowers.”

dohoon pouts before taking some flowers out of the display case and putting them into a cup with some water.

“who are the flowers for, anyway?”

“my friend kyungmin,” jihoon replies. dohoon thinks for a second.

“kyungmin, hmm… from your dance team?”

jihoon is a little surprised. he hadn’t expected dohoon to remember.

“yeah, him. he’s got a performance tomorrow night.”

dohoon hums, tying a bow around the cup.

after paying for the flowers, jihoon turns to leave, but dohoon’s voice stops him.

“i’m about to close up soon, you know,” he says. “wait a few minutes and we could get a coffee together, maybe?” he looks oddly sincere.

jihoon can’t hide the blush spreading across his cheeks. he doesn’t say anything, but he does turn back around towards dohoon.

“just let me clean up, yeah? and then we can go,” dohoon continues.

he sprays a bit of cleaner onto the counter and starts wiping it down.

“why do you even close so early, huh? it’s only three in the afternoon,” jihoon deflects.

dohoon looks up and bats his eyelashes at jihoon a little exaggeratedly.

“how else would i have the time to take a pretty boy like you out on a date?”

jihoon’s cheeks flush pink. he forces himself not to respond to that.

“what about the girls, huh? you’re so shameless with them.”

dohoon only laughs at that.

“it’s all in good fun, isn’t it? they love me. and besides,” he winks, “it gets me good reviews. why wouldn’t i?”

ugh, jihoon is so annoyed. he points back at the counter, looking at the cloth in dohoon’s hand.

“alright, alright,” dohoon says, giggling, before he goes back to cleaning.

dohoon picks up a small blue flower from the counter (a delphinium, maybe? jihoon thinks that’s the name) and gently tucks it behind jihoon’s ear. the blue is striking against jihoon’s bleached-blonde hair and his steadily reddening ear.

“my lucky flower,” dohoon says softly. jihoon’s heart stutters, suddenly too aware of how close dohoon is. 

dohoon pulls out his phone and takes a few photos of jihoon’s side profile. jihoon doesn’t know why he lets him.

“don’t post that anywhere. i’m not marketing for you,” jihoon says, but it comes out a bit weak.

“of course not, jihoon-ah. you’re just for me.”

jihoon feels a bit dizzy at that. he needs to sit down.

-ˏˋ ❀ ˎˊ-

at exactly 3:00 p.m., dohoon is ready to go, untying his apron and hanging it on the rack. he opens the door to leave and jihoon follows. he turns the sign around and locks up the shop before dropping his keys into his pocket and looking at jihoon with a smile.

“let’s go?”

jihoon nods, still blushing slightly.

the two of them are halfway to the coffee shop when jihoon suddenly realizes exactly what going to the coffee shop entails and he freezes. no, no, no. this cannot be happening. 

dohoon continues walking a few steps ahead before realizing jihoon isn’t following. he looks back at jihoon, a bit confused.

“are you okay?”

jihoon is so flustered and doesn’t know how to explain properly. he just stammers.

“i just— can we—”

“are you rejecting me? it’s okay, you know,” dohoon says kindly. “if you don’t want to go out with me, i get it.”

“no! that’s not it. that’s really not it,” jihoon says, panicking slightly. he decides to just go through with it, and keeps walking. he smiles at dohoon, slightly strained.

the rest of the way there, jihoon prays that hanjin is not behind the counter when they walk in. he doesn’t know how he’ll ever live that down. before opening the door, he braces himself for the humiliation.

unfortunately, god is not on jihoon’s side today. hanjin is right there, front and center, not even any other customers in line to distract him. hanjin looks between jihoon and dohoon, trying to hold back his amusement for a second before immediately failing and bursting out into laughter. 

“look who’s here with a date,” hanjin says, a mischievous glint in his eye. “could’ve sworn you hated that pretty boy?”

dohoon’s eyes widen, realizing why jihoon had been acting weird earlier.

“shut the fuck up,” jihoon hisses. hanjin does not listen.

hanjin turns to dohoon, whispering as if jihoon won’t hear.

“he’s totally obsessed with you, you know,” he says conspiratorially. “he even made me dress up as a girl one time to see if you’d flirt with me.”

dohoon’s jaw drops for a second before he starts laughing too, partly in disbelief and partly at jihoon’s sheer ridiculousness.

jihoon covers his face with his hands and groans. this cannot be happening right now. he wishes he could sink into the floor and disappear.

dohoon just leans in and ruffles jihoon’s hair.

“you’re so cute,” he says affectionately. “and a little crazy too. but i like it.”

-ˏˋ ❀ ˎˊ-

jihoon avoids making eye contact with hanjin and asks dohoon if they can leave the café once they get their drinks. he absolutely cannot have hanjin spying on the entirety of his first date. dohoon is still laughing, but he agrees easily.

they take their drinks and leave the café. there’s a nice breeze outside, so they just walk around aimlessly, taking sips of their drinks. when the wind blows too strongly, jihoon worries that the flower might fly out of his hair, but dohoon reaches out and holds it in place.

“let’s go inside somewhere, yeah?”

dohoon leads him back towards lucky flower, taking the keys out of his pocket and unlocking the door. he goes inside, holding the door open for jihoon, and jihoon follows. dohoon takes him to the back of the shop, passing the mirror the usually films himself in front of. jihoon stops in front of the mirror to admire the beautiful blue delphinium tucked behind his ear, and he reapplies his lip balm too, just because. 

he goes to the back, where dohoon is sitting at the table near the sink. the extra stock of string and ribbon is mounted on the wall, and clear plastic cups are stacked on the table. jihoon looks around for a bit before his eyes land on dohoon, who is already staring at him with a lazy smirk.

“so, what do you think?” he asks. “i’m still the prettiest thing here?”

jihoon laughs.

“that’s not a very high bar now, is it?”

dohoon looks mock-offended for a second before bursting into laughter and shoving jihoon’s shoulder. jihoon can’t help but laugh harder too, his eyes turning into crescents.

-ˏˋ ❀ ˎˊ-

“so, how’d your little date go?” hanjin asks when he gets home after his shift.

jihoon narrows his eyes.

“you’re going to hell.”

hanjin just laughs and goes to his room without another word.

jihoon finds himself scrolling lucky flower’s instagram once more, a bit absentmindedly. there are still way too many photos of dohoon, but jihoon lets himself appreciate them a little bit more. dohoon is really attractive, after all. even if he’s incredibly irritating.

he lands on the vlog in the blue shirt again, recognizing it as the first reel of dohoon’s he watched. he watches it again, glancing over all the bouquets made in that video. his eyes widen when he sees a few stems of delphiniums in one of the cups. curious, he clicks ‘show more’ to open up the caption fully.

[vlog] a day in my life as a flower shop owner born in ‘05 💐

↓↓ 🌹 flower info 🌹 ↓↓
🩷 pink rose: happy love
💛 yellow rose: perfect achievement
🩵 delphinum: i will make you happy
🤍 laceflower: news of love

jihoon blushes slightly and pulls the delphinium out of his hair. he slowly runs his thumb along the petals. i will make you happy.

he places the flower on his desk and walks over to hanjin’s room. the door is ajar, so he doesn’t bother with knocking; he just pushes it open. hanjin is laying in bed, scrolling on his phone.

“give me one of your books. preferably your thickest one,” jihoon says from the doorway.

“since when do you read?”

“i don’t. now give me a book.”

hanjin raises an eyebrow and walks over to his bookshelf, picking out the largest book in his collection.

“i don’t really think you’ll enjoy reading this,” he says warily.

“doesn’t matter. thank you!”

jihoon goes back to his room and places the book on his desk. he hasn’t pressed flowers since he was in art class at school, but he thinks he vaguely remembers how. he gets some paper towels from the kitchen and gently places the delphinium between them, neatly arranging the petals. they’re slightly crushed from the wind earlier, but he manages to fix them.

once he’s satisfied, he opens the book to a page near the end and puts the paper towels inside. he’s not sure how long it needs to be left in there; he’ll have to look that up later. but he smiles anyway.