[pairing: jeonghan x female reader, college au]
[word count: 1755 words ]
❛ what’s the most polite way to say fuck you with flowers? ❜
“honey, i’m home!” you yelled as you opened the door to the flower shop where you worked part time. a familiar “welcome home!” came from the back room behind the cash register. you couldn’t help but to smile — this little habit you and your coworker have developed indicated fondness towards each other, and it made you feel better coming to work. the scents and colors around you pulled you in, leaving you speechless for a second.
your little moment was aburptly ended when junhui decided to scare you. “YAH!” he yelled loudly, grabbing your shoulders from behind. “OH MY GOD!” you screamed in a high pitched voice. he laughed, and you joined him soon after. “jun, why do you always do this?” you asked, shaking your head. he shrugged his shoulders. “i don’t know, you’re really easy to scare.”
wen junhui was a college student, like you, but he was studying at a different university, and he was a year younger. he had a really playful personality, and he always managed to bright up any room as soon as he walked in. because he immigrated from china, you sometimes helped him with learning korean. during the six months that you’ve worked at the same place as him, you two managed to get pretty close.
“anyways, i have to go now, or i’ll be late to my lectures. have a nice day!” he said energetically before leaving. you waved after him as he did the same, and then went to the back room. you put away your belongings, pinned a badge on your soft pink romper with your name, and tied your hair into a low ponytail. you were ready to start your shift.
it was around two in the afternoon, and you were just talking to a customer on the phone about what kind of flowers he would like at his wedding. you were scribbling something on the blank white paper in front of you, so you didn’t notice when someone entered the shop. even the soft bell above the door didn’t get your attention.
you only noticed the presence of someone else when you finally put your phone down. he was standing right in front of the counter, his hands supporting him as he was leaning onto it, his gaze fixed on you. for a moment, you were too startled to say anything. his eyes were beautiful because of their shape, but his look was cold and determined. it was the only cold feature on his face.
“hello. how can i help you today?” you asked, studying his face more. he was handsome, there was no doubt in that. he looked like he could be an idol. but his unique eyes were something that you just couldn’t look past. they were slightly covered by his long blonde bands, but he didn’t seem to be bothered by that.
“what’s the most polite way to say fuck you with flowers?” he asked, his voice was calm and collected. this made you wide your eyes in surprise. his bluntness took your breath away for a second. “e-excuse me?” you asked, because you simply couldn’t believe your ears. you had to make sure you heard this man correctly.
he sighed, looking to the floor. “i asked, what’s the most polite way to say fuck you with flowers,” he repeated himself, looking really fed up with the fact that he had to do so. you quickly blinked a few times, slowly coming back to your senses. “what’s the occasion?” you asked as you were making your way towards the flowers displayed on the right wall of the shop. “me and my girlfriend are celebrating our second year anniversary today,” he explained.
you turned to face him, not sure if you missed a joke here. “then why aren’t you bringing her roses? we have many wonderful colors to pick from—” “she’s been cheating on me for the past few months,” he interrupted you mid sentence. for the second time in the last five minutes you found yourself at a loss of words. his gaze was fixed on yours as you tried to say something, but you had no idea what would be appropriate for this situation.
“please spare me your pity,” he said, assuming that you woud feel sorry for him. “just give me some flowers,” he asked, and you quickly turned away, facing the wall, so he wouldn’t see how confused you still were about this unusual situation. “okay, time to think,” you reminded yourself, taking a deep breath. “what is the least romantic flower you know?” you asked yourself, eyes scanning the entire shop. an idea suddenly popped into your head. “please wait a second,” you said and quickly went to the storage space in the back, where you stored decorations and some flowers.
after a few minutes you returned with a bunch of fern in your hand. the boy was leaning casually on the counter, scrolling through his phone, his facial expression not chainging at all. “do you want me to wrap this up for you?” you spoke a bit louder so you were sure he heard you. he looked away from his phone screen, and when he saw the plant in your right hand, it was like there was a new person standing in front of you. every single line of his face softened, like he tried really hard before to keep such a neutral expression. his lips curled into a wide smile that suited him nicely, and his cold, piercing gaze softened. he looked like a different person now, and the aura around him became warm. “please, arrange it like it would be the prettiest boquet you’ve ever seen,” he said.
the sudden change in his energy made you relax more, and you decided to do your best with decorating. minutes passed by, and he just watched your fingers do their job with the ribbon, like you’ve been doing this for your entire life. after you were done, you showed him the final product, and he just nodded, smile still plastered on his face. “it’s perfect. thank you for your hard work and effort,” he said. “you’re welcome,” you replied, as you printed out his receipt. “please shop here again soon!” you added, and you caught just a glimpse of his smirk before he turned around and left.
“what a strange customer,” you said quietly to yourself, before returning to doing the things you reguraly did when there were no clients in the shop.
»»————- two weeks later ————-««
it was saturday, and you had a day off at your job. you were just walking from the gym, and you decided to go through the park. the sun was shining brightly, birds were singing, and there were quite a few people having a fun saturday in the nature. nothing was out of the ordinary that day. it was just another casual saturday.
then, you noticed something on the side of the pavewalk where you were walking. it was a bush of fern. suddenly, you remembered the weird request from a customer about two weeks ago, when you sold him a bunch of fern. he hasn’t crossed your mind once since, but now that you were looking at this plant, you suddenly remembered his eyes. how unique and beautiful they were, and how they reflected his entire energy. there was something special in those eyes.
“it worked,” you suddenly heard someone say from behind. you got startled, and quickly turned your head to the left to see who spoke to you so suddenly. it was the same boy whose eyes you were just thinking about because you remembered them so well. “e-excuse me?” you manage to blurt out. he let out a little laugh. “do you always stutter and say excuse me when you get flustered and don’t know what to say?” he asked, a wide smile on his face. his eyes were just as soft as you remembered them from the last encounter you had with him.
now he really left you dumbfounded and speechless, because you didn’t know what to respond to that. you didn’t know what else to do, so you just looked at your running shoes, trying not to show how embarassing this was for you. “i said, it worked. it turns out you really know how to politely say fuck you with flowers,” he said. that made you happy. you were glad to see you gave a customer what they came in to look for.
“i’m glad i could help,” you said and smiled at him. now he was the one that looked down at his shoes, and you sensed his smile disappearing. “we broke up. it was hard letting her go, but i know it was for the best.” again, you didn’t really know what to say. he was a stranger to you, and here he was confessing his feelings to his ex girlfriend. but you heard it in his voice that he was hurt, and you somehow wanted to help him, even if you didn’t know him.
“it only takes time to heal. time, and someone you can talk to. it’s always easier letting go if you can talk about it. and get angry. go to the gym, punch a punching bag. scream into a river. it should help,” you said. these were the only advices you could give him. he looked into your eyes again, smile reappearing on his face. “you know, i’ve been to many flower shops on that day. they all looked at me like i was a creeper, and said they couldn’t help me. but you still did your job, even if my request was so odd. so thank you for that. you made it very easier for me.”
that made you happy. knowing that you’ve helped somebody made you happy. “i’m glad i could help. at the end of the day, all i did was do my job.” now you were both smiling, looking at each others eyes for a few seconds. the more you looked at his eyes, the more you realised how mesmerizing they were.
“are you by any chance interested in screaming to a river with me?” he asked, his gaze remaining fixed onto yours. his bluntness took the words out of your mouth yet again, but this time, you were already familiar with that feeling when talking to him. you shook your head slightly. “this is going to be the weirdest first time hanging out ever,” you said.
stormborns
andulkaphoto
izzy806
2087
dededos
jbbartram-illu
