Work Text:
Monday June 3rd 11:51am
Business is slow, as it always is. Having a flower shop on the outskirts of a small town is no doubt a terrible idea.
From the very start Shota knew this business was destined for failure. However despite his persistent comments, his parents were insistent on starting up a business right here. ‘Just you wait, I have a feeling this spot will become a hit,’ as they said.
Well how’s that working out now?
Shota lets out a loud sigh. It really does get boring sitting here with no customers. The view is definitely beautiful though. From his spot sitting behind the counter in the back of the store he gets to see the wide display of flowers. Bright colours staring back at him from every inch of the room.
A cold breeze flows in from the wooden double doors left open, ever so often ringing the bell hanging from the door frame.
He could almost fall asleep in here. From boredom or relaxation is left a mystery.
Just as he decides to rest his head down, the sudden noise of a loud car engine startles him upright.
Across the street is an old apartment block. The probably centuries old red brick foundation overrun with weeds. While the white paint on the ledges seems to chip away even more hourly. There are rarely any new residents, being in such a secluded area is evidently not that appealing to most.
A bright yellow moving van halts in front of the building. Taking Shota by surprise, he wonders if there’s a new resident.
His queries are soon proven correct when another vehicle pulls up behind the van and someone steps out, immediately walking over to help move boxes.
The boy appears to be about Shota’s age. His long blonde hair covers his face, resulting in Shota not being able to get a good look at him. He wears a casual outfit. Grey sweatpants and a black hoodie and he walks with a tiredness that assumingly is the result of a long move.
Shota wants to approach him, to welcome him in some way. He has never been good with words though, or people for that matter.
He watches as the boy and movers finish relocating the boxes and furniture. As the van drives off, he notices the boy surveying his surroundings. From where he’s sitting, he follows the blonde's gaze until it eventually lands on him.
He suddenly feels self-conscious with the attention on him. Immediately wondering if he looks weird. Shota brings up his hand to fix his hair which is somewhat (completely) dead from constantly dying it, his newest colour being a baby pink.
From across the street he can still see the slight smile that creeps across the boy's lips. Seconds later bringing a hand up to give a small wave. Shota reciprocates this before the two leave it at that and the blonde turns to enter his new apartment building.
Wednesday June 5th 9:37am
I have got to make this boy mine.
This is the very thought that has been plaguing Shota’s mind for the past 2 days.
He doesn’t know what happened. Or why these thoughts started. But ever since they locked eyes, Shota has not been able to get this stranger out of his head.
It’s weird, he thinks. He doesn’t normally get crushes, his last one being his friend's older brother way back when he was in elementary school. But now that he's here, with this beautiful mysterious stranger across the street, he is determined to get his attention.
He absentmindedly hums a song while sorting flowers on the exterior of the shop. Organising the placement in a way that is hopefully somewhat attractive to potential customers.
The bright sun shines down on him. Despite only being 5 days into summer, you would think it's at its peak.
Behind him he hears the slam of a door and turns to be faced with the very person he was hoping to see.
Now, his plan of catching his attention was clearly not very thought out. Shota freezes up, not knowing what to do other than just stare.
The boy carries himself with such confidence, the kind Shota wishes he had himself. His blonde hair is half pinned up in mini buns, the other half left untouched, swaying with the wind. He wears another basic outfit. Black jeans with a striped button up. Yet somehow he manages to make it look like the most stylish outfit in the world. A focused expression plays on his face. Noticing his earpods in, Shota thinks he must be engrossed in whatever song he’s listening to.
There is no better way to describe his face other than perfect. The way his boba eyes sparkle with the sun's reflection, as if he carries the entire universe in them. Or the way his softly defined lips with a gentle cupid's bow give him this soft and genuine look. It’s captivating, really.
Shota just admires, finally getting to properly see him. Wondering how anyone could look at him and not think he’s the most beautiful person they have ever seen.
He watches as the other boy treads down the few steps to reach the footpath and begins walking until he crosses a corner, putting him out of Shota’s vision.
Well that went well.
Deciding he may need another plan, Shota returns inside and begins thinking.
His eyes suddenly land on a beautiful bouquet of white carnations sitting in a jar on the windowsill. Shota knows he shouldn’t do it. His father would probably yell at him for ‘wasting flowers good for sale.’ But in all honesty, would they even sell anyway? The store is moments away from having to close down due to lack of sales.
Besides, who needs to know?
Grabbing the flowers, he wraps them in newspaper and tries to place the best looking flowers in the center. Lastly he scribbles a short note in his messy handwriting before setting off to place it on the steps leading up to the apartment building.
Hey,
I work across the road in the flower store and thought these flowers suited your vibe. I hope you like them!
– Shota :)
Saturday June 8th 4:07pm
The cold evening breeze flows in from the cracked open window next to Shota, sending a sharp shiver down his spine.
He intently stares at the clock on the wall. Minutes feeling like decades each. Only 53 left until closing. Today has been a long one to say the least.
A whopping 4 customers stepped foot inside today, only 2 of which making an actual purchase. The most memorable one being a middle aged man quizzing Shota on the ‘best flowers to win back a woman.’ Lasting give or take 30 minutes. Yeah, he can’t wait to clock out and return to the comfort of his own room.
Sometimes he wonders why he agreed to work shifts here. There are many better ways he could be using his time. Such as playing video games all day. Maybe it’s not as productive but it is certainly a lot more interesting.
Ding ding
The bell indicating a new customer rings from the opposing side of the store. Shota lets out a loud sigh, not wanting to deal with any more annoying people today.
Slowly raising his head to reach the source of the sound, he is met with the sight of none other than his cute neighbour. Well, not technically neighbour. But he’s working here so much it could be considered his second home.
“Oh, hey!” He is quick to speak. Surprising himself with his confidence. His eyes gloss over the other boy's figure before they snap up again when he speaks.
“Hi, Shota, right?” The boy questions as he walks further into the store, eyes never leaving Shota’s.
When he just nods in response, the blonde haired boy speaks again.
“Well I’m Jongseob,” he starts, a small smile creeping onto his face, “thank you for the flowers, really. I was nervous about moving here at first but that really brightened up my day and honestly reassured me in a way that it would be fine. Sorry, am I rambling?”
Shota feels shy with this sudden attention. Not really knowing how to respond to a statement as such.
“Ah, no you aren't, it's okay. And you’re welcome.” He manages to say in response before dropping his gaze and fidgeting with his hands in his lap. Out of the corner of his eye he watches the boy, who he now knows is Jongseob, walk around the store. Every so often stopping to smell a certain flower.
Eventually he seems to find a bouquet that is to his liking. Jongseob approaches the counter and places it down.
The bouquet consists of roses, peonies, and hydrangeas. The soft pink hues of each flower coming together to create a blend of colours that stand out against the green leaves.
Shota wonders what these flowers are for. People often come in here to buy some for their significant other. Or, to win them back, case in point his strange encounter earlier. He supposes this could be the case for Jongseob also. This leads to him feeling slightly embarrassed. Was he really crushing on someone before even finding out if they have a partner?
He doesn’t know whether it’s jealousy, or just pure curiosity that fuels him, but Shota inquires regarding his thoughts.
“So, what's the special occasion?”
Jongseob meets his eyes across the small distance that separates them. A look of confusion crosses over his face. Probably wondering why Shota asked such a question.
It’s stupid, I shouldn't have said that, he thinks.
“I’m going to my friend's wedding,” Jongseob finally counters, amusement lacing his words, as if he could tell the thought process behind the question.
So it’s not for a partner. That’s one step in the right direction he supposes.
Nodding in response, Shota begins going through the familiar motions of making a sale. However, having this cute boy watching his every move isn’t quite so familiar.
Jongseob hands over a wad of cash and Shota sorts it in the register indicating it’s time to part ways. Their eyes linger on each other for a moment, Shota feeling a slight blush creeping onto his cheeks. Someone should say something, before this gets awkward.
Rocking back on his heels, Jongseob peers down at the flowers before looking back up. “Thank you for this, I should be going now, don’t wanna be late you know?” He says with a chuckle.
“Right, yeah,” Shota mumbles in response. Watching as the blonde haired boy turns to leave.
Giving one last turn of his head, Jongseob offers a wave, just like the moment they first saw each other. Reciprocating this, their interaction ends.
Once Jongseob is out of his sight, Shota smiles to himself. All negative things that took place today completely forgotten. He realises he doesn’t mind working these boring days. If it means even one chance to see Jongseob.
Sunday June 16th 10:04am
It has been eight days since Shota last talked to Jongseob.
Not that he's counting or anything.
But in all honesty, it feels boring not seeing him. I mean, sure, he technically sees him every day. Like when Jongseob leaves and comes home. However they don’t talk or anything. It’s merely just Shota admiring from afar.
It’s his day off today. The store doesn’t open on Sunday, his parents’ decision. Something about it being a holy day. Shota isn’t very religious though, he's just happy for the day off.
He decides he wants to go into town. He doesn’t go out very much, rather spending his days at work and gaming all night.
Going out is stressful, Shota believes. Being surrounded by so many people and loud noises ringing in his ears overwhelms him sometimes.
Nonetheless, he needs to go out. All his clothes are old and honestly just boring. It’s definitely time for a wardrobe makeover.
His house sits right behind the flower store. It's small but it’s home.
His room shares a wall with his parents’ room so as quietly as possible, he gets ready. Grabbing the first somewhat presentable outfit he can find, he gets dressed.
The outfit consists of white weathered jeans and a long sleeve white shirt layered underneath another shirt, this one pink, matching his hair. He grabs his headphones which he leaves hanging around his neck before looking at himself in the mirror.
This outfit looks fine, right? Not wanting to allow himself time to overthink, he quickly grabs all the essentials before leaving the house.
Hopping off the bus, he arrives at the town center. While he does have his drivers license, he doesn’t have a car of his own yet. He is saving up in order to buy one, not wanting to go through the hassle of using the bus or burdening his parents by taking theirs.
This place is bustling with life. People walk down the street, engrossed in whatever conversation they are having. The bright summer sun shines down, making Shota regret wearing two layers.
As he enters the first store of the day he greets the workers with a polite bow and looks around. After a while he decides none of these are to his liking. This store seems to have more of a goth vibe which is not his usual fashion style.
Over the next hour he purchases a few items. Mostly basic shirts or pants. This concludes his shopping trip and he goes to catch the next bus.
That’s when he spots Jongseob.
The boy is seated in a cafe next to a large window. He rests his head in his hands, clearly frustrated over something. Shota concludes it must be school work, judging by the amount of books sprawled on the table in front of him.
Shota gets the urge to leave, not liking being perceived in public. However, he realises this may be his chance to get to know Jongseob better. Even if it's just seeing his coffee order or finding out what his major is.
He lets out a small sigh, nervous, but he knows if he doesn't do this he will regret it later.
The cafe has an ambient vibe. Dim square lights hang from the ceiling while a soft instrumental tune plays from the various speakers scattered around the shop.
Jongseob doesn’t notice him at first. This gives Shota a moment to admire him. He notices the small things, like how his brow furrows in frustration, or how he lightly bobs his knee every few seconds.
After a few moments the cashier calls out to Shota, asking if he's ready to order. This causes Jongseob to look up.
Quickly diverting his gaze, Shota places his order. Out of the corner of his eye he can see the blonde haired boy examining him though. Clearly having caught his staring.
Once the worker begins making his order, he sneaks a glance back. Jongseob, still staring at him, offers a smile and waves him over. Shota awkwardly smiles back before complying and approaching him.
“Hey!” Jongseob enthusiastically says, “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Shota fidgets with the hem of his shirt, nerves rising. “Yeah, I was walking around and saw you in here, sorry if it’s weird to disturb you like this. I can leave.”
“No, no it’s honestly fine. I was about to finish anyway. Just wait a minute.”
At this, Shota sits down across from the boy. Silently watching as he jots down a few last notes.
Beginning to pack up his stuff, Jongseob speaks again, “I was actually planning to have a look around the shops, window shopping you know.”
“Ah, yeah,” Shota retorts, not knowing where he’s going with this.
“Well I see you have already done some shopping,” starts Jongseob, referencing the shopping bags now sitting on the floor next to their table, “so it’s fine if you say no, but would you want to come with me?”
Jongseob wants to hang out with him? He knows it could just be in a friend way, sure. But he can’t help the blush that rises on his face.
For the next 30 minutes the two spend time together walking around and checking out random stores. They browse shops selling everything from clothes to music gear to figurines, and Shota can’t help the info dumping that occurs during the last one. Jongseob listening along intently.
During this time, conversation seems to flow seamlessly between them. Shota learns that Jongseob is a music major, that being what he wishes to pursue for the rest of his life. Shota shares in response that he dropped out after his first year to save up enough to hopefully have a chance of making it in the dance industry. He notices that despite the tough vibe, Jongseob actually is a sweet and talkative person when given the chance.
Every so often he sneaks a glance at Jongseob. Coming to find that he is already staring right back at him.
And Shota really can’t deny the fact that his crush on this boy is growing by the minute.
Once their time together is up and Shota has no excuse to hang out with Jongseob any longer, the two begin to head home. They catch the same bus, going to the same place after all.
Their chatter doesn’t end there. Their lively voices fill the bus, occasionally earning a sideways glance from others around them. Resulting in both boys giggling to themselves before starting off right where they left.
When it’s eventually time to part ways, Shota feels a wave of sadness wash over him. He never feels this comfortable and attached to someone he has only known a couple weeks. With Jongseob it’s just different though. He doesn’t know why, but for some reason it feels like they have known each other for years.
They stand in front of Jongseob's apartment building, ready to say their goodbyes. However, for a moment neither speaks.
It’s only a few moments later when Jongseob breaks the silence.
“Well, I should be going now.”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, I’ll see you around?” Jongseob questions with a hopeful tone, almost as if he wants to see him again.
“Yeah,” Shota responds. Apparently not knowing any other word.
Slowly turning to return to his apartment, Jongseob gives his wave like always. Shota reciprocates it, like always.
Reluctantly, he too returns to his house.
And he won’t admit it, but he definitely did fall asleep that night thinking about Jongseob.
Tuesday June 18th 8:30am
Shota starts the day on a good note. He woke up feeling extremely refreshed which is rare considering he gets 6 hours of sleep on a good day. He puts his playlist on full blast while he opens up the store for the day. Going through the motions of unlocking the door, opening the windows, checking the register, all that stuff. It’s basically second nature to him at this point.
He is at the point of setting up the outside flower display of the day when a thought pops into his head.
Now, is this idea just an excuse to see Jongseob? Maybe. But it will help the business; that's what Shota tells himself.
He quickly hurries outside and across the road, almost forgetting to look both ways in the process.
There's probably about ten apartment units total inside here. It’s basically a lucky gamble to which door Jongseob lives behind.
The first two he knocks on get no response. It’s not surprising no one lives in them. He supposes it must be nice for Jongseob living here. Less chance for noisy neighbours.
It’s not until the third room that Shota receives a response. Someone calls out from behind the door “Coming!” before yelling in his face for waking them up this early. Maybe he should have waited until later to do this.
Finally after knocking on a few more doors he hears the familiar voice he knows all too well.
“One second!” shouts Jongseob. Shota waits patiently outside.
What greets him a few moments later can only be described as a disheveled mess.
Jongseob, who has clearly only just woken up, stares back at him in confusion. He wears his pajamas, a light blue checkered set. His hair looks as if it hasn’t been brushed in days, messy and frizzy.
“Oh, hey.”
“Hm? What are you doing here?” Jongseob’s voice comes out raspy and tired.
“Sorry, I didn’t know you were asleep,” he says, sounding stupid in retrospect. What teenager is up this early? Nonetheless he continues, “I wanted your opinion on something.”
“I just woke up,” the other boy states bluntly.
“Just come with me,” Shota says before grabbing Jongseob's hand and dragging him out. Jongseob acts annoyed with this, letting out a loud sigh, but Shota doesn’t miss the smile that comes with it.
Back at the store, Shota gestures towards the front display.
“So uh, what do you think should go here? There are a couple options,” he asks.
Jongseob gives him a deadpan stare, looking back and forth between the flower display and the pink haired boy.
“Did you seriously wake me up at 8:30 in the morning to ask me this?” When Shota doesn’t say anything in response he seems to just accept his fate of being tired for the rest of the day. “Well that one inside seems pretty, I mean, if I was looking to buy flowers those would attract me.”
Shota feels relieved. Glad that he isn’t mad despite the looks shot his way earlier.
“Ok, thank you. I’ll put those ones out.”
He expects Jongseob to retreat back home after this conversation. However for some reason he lingers. Wordlessly, he walks inside and sits down in Shota’s chair.
“What are you doing?” He inquires genuinely confused.
“If I’m already woken up and out here, I don't see the point in going back to sleep,” Jongseob smirks as he says this.
For the next while they stay like this. Shota working on organising or doing inventory work and Jongseob just hanging around playing games on his phone. The two ever so often engaging in mindless chatter.
Jongseob goes home for a little bit and comes back properly dressed and presentable. Shota wonders why he’s here. It’s not like they are that close or anything.
Eventually he works up the courage to ask, “So why are you here? Not saying you should leave or anything. I'm just confused.”
“Isn’t it obvious?” answers Jongseob.
Answering a question with another question just messes with his mind even more. No, it’s not obvious please tell me!! Is what he wants to say. But instead he keeps quiet, not wanting to come off as weird for not knowing if it really is that clear.
After Shota finishes helping the first customer of the day, Jongseob turns to look at him. “Be honest, was that whole thing with the display just an excuse to see me?”
“No,” Shota lies.
Jongseob gives an amused laugh. Already having known the real answer before he even asked.
They continue with whatever this is for another half hour. Jongseob asks about a million stupid questions across this time. It seems like he is just talking to talk. Shota doesn’t know where it all came from. He’s not complaining though.
When the time hits 10, Jongseob decides it’s time to go.
“This has been fun, thanks for letting me hang out here.”
“No problem, it gets boring without you here anyway.” Shota doesn’t realise how romantic that sounds until after the words leave his mouth. Jongseob doesn’t seem to notice though. He just smiles and waves goodbye before quickly leaving.
Well that was strange, to say the least. He has never had someone come visit him at work before let alone stay for over an hour. Shota wonders what Jongseob’s motives are.
All he can do is smile to himself while he continues doing random tasks to distract himself from all the feelings swarming within him.
Monday June 24th 1:56pm
It’s almost a week later when the two meet again.
Ding ding
“Knock knock,” he hears Jongseob say. As if the bell wasn’t already an indicator of his arrival.
“Hi!” Shota exclaims while looking over to see him. He immediately notices a change in the boy. His normal confidence is gone and instead replaced with a look of nervousness. “Is everything ok?” He speaks again, thinking something might be wrong.
“Nope, nothing's wrong, I’m perfectly fine.”
He watches as Jongseob carefully walks around, seeming extra interested in the flowers today. He must have another event to go to, Shota thinks.
Leaving him to do his own thing, Shota sits back down at the counter and scrolls on his phone. Occasionally he looks up only to find Jongseob still searching.
“I’d like these,” a voice snaps his eyes up. The flowers Jongseob holds are a beautiful assortment of everything they have to offer. Expensive too.
“These are our most expensive flowers, are you sure you still want them?”
“Yes.”
“It must be a special occasion,” Shota says curiously.
“Yeah it is, I guess.”
He yet again goes through the motions of ringing Jongseob’s purchase up. Not missing how he nervously fidgets with his hands.
Once the purchase is complete he waits for their usual routine of waving goodbye but that doesn’t happen. Instead Jongseob stands there looking him directly in the eyes, not saying anything at first. An expression Shota can’t decipher plays on his face, almost as if Jongseob is studying him.
He lets out a cough before beginning, “Well uhm, these are actually for you.”
For him? Confusion washes over Shota, not knowing why Jongseob would ever buy him flowers.
“Why?”
“I like you, Shota.”
Oh.
Well that's new.
“You like me?” Is all he can fathom in response.
“I mean, I thought I was being kind of obvious with it but yes I like you. I think you are so cool and I really enjoy talking with you,” Jongseob lets out a nervous chuckle, “I’m not really great at expressing my feelings but from the moment I first saw you I thought you were really cute and wanted to get to know you more.”
Shota, too stunned to respond, stays silent.
Jongseob notices this and speaks again, “I guess where I’m going with this is I wanted to ask, would you allow me to take you out? Like on a date.”
Yes. Yes. Yes. He has never wanted anything more actually. All he can do at this moment is nod enthusiastically.
Seeing this, a wide grin breaks out across Jongseob’s face. “Great. That’s really great. I was scared you would say no.”
For a moment both boys just stare at each other, eyes communicating everything that needs to be said.
Jongseob extends his hand holding the flowers which Shota takes and immediately puts in a vase, placing it on the counter, his own special display.
“Thank you for buying me these, I’ll take good care of them,” Shota promises.
Jongseob earnestly replies, “I’m sure you will.”
Before leaving, he speaks again, “I’ll see you later.”
And this time Shota knows they will see each other again. Hopefully for many days to come.