the brown paper crumpled where uisoo’s hand curled around the stem of the bouquet. he would admit to knowing little about flowers, but he knew sen enough to believe he could have turned up with any sort and she would have been happy to receive them. he purposefully ignored the looks that were made in his direction as he headed across the school campus, his uniform still on from earlier that day and his bag still over his shoulder from the trip he’d made to study off campus. a purposeful reason to wander past a florist and linger in selection.
in his eyes, they were pretty; pink and vibrant in colour. sweet in scent. roses were too forward and romantic. besides the text messages, the dinners and times they spent together, he hadn’t made any move on her. he didn’t want to scare her off and chose instead to leave a trail, simple hints and affections that were made to sway her heart. a soft breath parted over his lips as he found the dorms, smiling at a girl he passed on the way in and heading in direction of sen’s room. #106. he hoped she was there, or her roommate. someone he could give the flowers to and make certain she received them.
he straightened the front of his blazer, adjusted the strap on his shoulder and checked the flowers were still intact. still pretty. fingers brushed over the petals gently to arrange them a little neater for his liking. everything in place before he cleared his throat and knocked on the door. despite the aura of aloof confidence that radiated from him as he stood there, he was nervous over such an act. eyes on the door until it opened.
“i got these for you. i thought they’d make you smile.”
some days, exhaustion visits her, overstays in the city of her body. it saunters down the map of her bones, pressing steps on the length of her spine and the width of her shoulders. this is the kind of ache that she cures with ignoring. don’t acknowledge its presence; it doesn’t live here. but then it explores, enters the museum of her mind with yells that resonate against the walls of her thoughts. today is one of the hardest to deal with. almost a week of having a tourist in the entirety of her being drains her. sen can’t complain, never protests about what it’s like to be a city full of lights. she only forces herself to do more, until she falls asleep in her study area.
it isn’t the knock that wakes her up, but the familiarity of the voice that comes with the spoken words she doesn’t manage to process. sen isn’t aware how long she has passed out, left cheek assuming a pillow in the form of an open chemistry book. panic is what she knows. it is the run towards the door, an attempt to fix disheveled hair when she sees the assurance in the flesh – he is in front of her dorm room, a height that stands tall with confidence. “sunbaenim, hello. i’m sorry, i was…” and he has flowers. “… it’s not important. anyway, you have peonies. did you, uh, want to give them to someone? are you here to ask me for approval?”
she’s restless, a mess, upset. “they’re beautiful.” she grins, conceals all sorts of negativity with the baring of her teeth, because sen never complains. she only forces herself to do more, and accepts it all.
