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"Welcome to Park's Blooms, where every petal matters! How may I help you?"
"Change that tagline, for one thing. It's getting on my nerves," Sehun grumbles, taking off his helmet and running a hand through his black hair. "Your coffee and donut holes are on the counter, hyung."
"Thanks, Sehunnie," Chanyeol chirps, ignoring his dongsaeng's jab at his shop's tagline as he makes a beeline for his breakfast. "I'll pay you later. Are you off to class?"
"Yeah, unfortunately. I've got Ancient Lit in fifteen minutes. Remind me why I took summer classes," The literature major sighs, tucking his helmet under his arm as he steals a donut hole. "And please stop me when I try to enroll in them next year."
"Good luck," Chanyeol says instead, lips dusted with powdered sugar. "You should go. I still have to open the shop, anyway."
"If it's still closed, then why did you greet me with that annoying chant earlier?" Sehun raises a brow, pilfering another donut hole.
"Reflex. Now shoo," The tall man waves him off, reaching for the black apron hung on a peg behind the counter. "Thanks for the breakfast. I'll call you later if I need your services."
"I'll try my best not to ignore it," The younger replies, waving as he exits the shop and mounts his motorcycle. Chanyeol waves back from the shop window as he watches the blur that is Sehun speed off to university, chuckling. Now that's over, he can concentrate on readying up the shop.
Park's Blooms is his mother's flower shop, born out of boredom and a love for gardening that all middle-age moms seem to have. As it goes in family businesses, Chanyeol's manning the shop while he's on break. He serves as the all-around boy, while Sehun is the shop's self-employed delivery guy. He doesn't really mind all of the work, though; his mother pays him handsomely, they recently installed Wi-Fi in the shop, and he loves flowers. Plus, he gets to help everyone remember something or someone much more meaningfully—be it an anniversary, a birthday, or even just a random thought of sweetness. It's a noble, if not very romantic job. He loves it.
Humming along to the soft crooning of the radio that he cranked up prior to Sehun's visit, Chanyeol raises the blinds and lets the early morning sunshine filter into the flower shop. He flips the quirky wooden sign hanging on the door to 'open,' and unlocks the front door. The gentle summer breeze welcomes him as he opens the door and unfolds the easel that his sister purchased purely for aesthetic purposes, propping up a chalkboard sign that advertises ten percent off their potted succulents. Michael Bublé's Haven't Met You Yet starts playing, and Chanyeol manages not to kick any precious vase out of order as he attempts to dance his way to the backroom. Mrs. Park likes to display flowers in pastel tin buckets outside the shop, and so Chanyeol has to dance with four buckets of gloxinias cradled in his arms. It's no easy feat, but he manages it anyway. Still singing, he is in the middle of arranging the tin buckets on top of the ledge of the window when he sees him.
A blur of pink, grey, and blue. A short man pedals leisurely down the street, munching on a bagel as he maneuvers his way around parked cars and milling pedestrians with ease. His small frame is swallowed by an oversized grey sweater that skims the middle of his chinos. Large black glasses rest on his face, and tousled pink hair whip in the summer breeze.
The boy is just another passerby in this relatively busy street, but Chanyeol can't seem to look away.
Just who is that guy? Chanyeol has been opening up the shop for over a month now, got used to the slowly waking neighborhood and gradual influx of regulars and newcomers alike as the day passed by, but he never noticed him. Was he new? Did he just transfer to Chanyeol's neighborhood? Did Chanyeol just not notice him all this time?
He is jolted out of his musings when the old couple from the English breakfast joint not too far away greets him in heavily accented Korean. With a grin, he sets down the last bucket and runs to wrap up their order, busying himself with readying Malaysian mums and trying not to think about the boy with pink hair.
☼
Chanyeol is the one who chooses the flowers that they display outside everyday. Sometimes he gets lazy and leaves yesterday's buckets, but most of the time he brings out something new for everyone to enjoy.
Today's flowers are thornless roses, long-stemmed pink and white blooms. Chanyeol can't help but hum La Vie En Rose as he arranges them into tall vases shaped like bunnies. By the time he's done, the line of bunnies look like they have roses for ears. Beaming, he leaves them on the counter and goes to open the shop, ready to start the new day. The blinds go up, the sunshine goes in—
—and the mysterious boy pedals past the shop.
Oh, he's wearing a snapback today, but tufts of pink stick out from the bottom of the cap. He's still in grey, a shirt loose enough to billow in the wind. A red flannel tied on his waist, bleached jeans, scruffy Superstars, and the usual bagel.
Chanyeol watches the boy bike away from the shop window curiously. It's been three days since their first encounter, the boy always passing by his shop at seven in the morning, and Chanyeol is still mesmerized. Just who is that boy?
The familiar roar of a motorcycle brings him back to reality, and Chanyeol quickly scoops up the bunny vases to display them before Sehun finishes all of their shared breakfast.
☼
Waiting for Supreme Boy—a nickname that Chanyeol dubbed the pink-haired man, because for an entire week all he wore were Supreme hoodies—to pass by everyday has become a routine. No, scratch that, it became part of Chanyeol's morning routine. Now, it goes like this: wake up, shower, drink a cup of tea, ready the flowers, raise the blinds, arrange the street display for the day, watch Supreme Boy bike past his shop with a bagel, and go back inside to work on orders and generic bouquets. He passes by often enough—every morning without fail for over a month now, really—that Chanyeol couldn't help but mesh him into his otherwise monotonous routine.
Today is no exception to that routine; it's a regular Tuesday, and Chanyeol has to work. Yellow tulips, as vibrant as the morning summer sunshine, stand tall and proud in the large vase Chanyeol managed to dig up from the stockroom. With a grin, he hefts up the vase into his arms and steps out of the shop.
Just in time for Supreme Boy to slow down to a stop in front of him.
Chanyeol freezes as the boy pauses to answer a quick text right in front of his shop, bagel stuffed in his mouth. Oh, at least he doesn't text and bike? He really fails to care because oh my god he's here and he looks better when he's not moving god he's not wearing grey today and that pink hair—
Supreme Boy stuffs his phone back inside his jeans pocket and swallows the rest of his bagel, licking his lips. He positions himself back on his bike, ready to pedal away—Chanyeol mourns and rejoices at the same time—when he notices Chanyeol standing in front of the shop.
(Given, he's pretty hard to miss. He is six feet tall holding an equally large vase of bright yellow tulips.)
Supreme Boy beams at him and waves happily before pedaling off to his usual destination, a bright blue blur in the busy street.
It takes all of Chanyeol's strength not to drop the vase and collapse on the sidewalk in a happy, happy bundle of long, awkward limbs.
He is sure of many things—how much a bouquet costs, how to properly cut stems, how to take care of succulents so they don't die within a week. Today, he adds one more thing to that list: he has a crush on Supreme Boy.
☼
"So you're telling me," Sehun says around a mouthful of pancakes, "That you have a crush on this guy that passes by your shop every day?"
"Yeah," Chanyeol hums, alternating between eating his own pancakes and wrapping up bouquets of carnations for the shop. "He has pink hair, and he often wears oversized hoodies. He's really cute."
"And you're really creepy," Sehun quips, swirling a bite of pancake in syrup. He just came from his early morning jog, grimy running shoes making a mess on the tiled floor. Chanyeol has to mop again after eating. "Who crushes on passersby?"
"People fall in love in public transport all the time," Chanyeol argues, tugging on the bow that he just made out of gold ribbon to fasten it. "And besides, I just find him cute. He makes mornings much more bearable."
"But you're already a morning person, hyung," Sehun points out as Chanyeol slips out of the counter to raise the blinds, the bouquet cradled in his arms. "You love mornings."
"Well, he makes mornings much more beau—oh my god there he is," He exclaims, jabbing his finger at the window. "Supreme Boy's here!"
"Ooh! Where?" For all his snarkiness, Sehun jumps up from his perch on the counter to excitedly run beside Chanyeol, peeking. "Is that him? On the blue bike?"
"Yup," Chanyeol sighs dreamily, clutching the bouquet close to his chest. Together, they watch Supreme Boy bike leisurely down the street as he bobs his head to whatever his huge white earphones are blasting.
"He's wearing another Supreme hoodie," Sehun wrinkles his nose, because of course he has scathing input over Supreme Boy's fashion sense. The boy is a walking catalog for H&M. "Does he own anything other than them?"
"He wears flannels and shirts and thin sweaters," Chanyeol replies, still making moony eyes at the window. "And occasionally polo shirts."
"Ugh, you're so in love it's disgusting. I'm out," The younger rolls his eyes, going back to his pancakes. "If you like him so much, you should go and say hi."
"He did, last week," Chanyeol grins, placing the bouquet that he was holding on the stand so it faces the window. "I was out putting tulips when he stopped to answer a text, and he smiled at me and waved."
"Bet he did that to the ahjumma in the fruit stand a few doors down, too," Sehun snorts. "You're not special just because he waved at you, hyung. Go say hi."
"Maybe someday," Chanyeol hums happily, picking up the tin buckets for display and waltzes out of the shop to arrange them on the ledge. They're gardenias today, pure white blooms peeking out from pink buckets. Chanyeol thinks they're as beautiful as Supreme Boy's smile.
☼
Today is the day.
Today is the day that Chanyeol will say hi to Supreme Boy, and maybe learn his name, and maybe even grab breakfast with him.
It's sunny Wednesday, with a gentle breeze cooling the air as the neighborhood slowly wakes up to a new day. Everyone seems to be in a good mood—the ahjumma manning the fruit stall nearby, the middle-aged war veteran who owns the pet shop across the street, even the morose teenager who is also stuck managing their family bakery. And of course, Chanyeol. He had a hearty breakfast of oatmeal and tea, managed to find his favorite soccer jersey while looking for socks, and the delivery of carnations that he was worrying about all weekend finally, finally came. It's barely seven AM and he feels so accomplished already.
Today's the day.
With a huge smile, Chanyeol raises the blinds, refills the ready-made bouquet stand, and waters all of his plants. With a whistle, he arranges the flower display for the day on the ledge—pink camellias in green buckets, looking like floats in the parades he sees on TV. With a skip in his step, he goes back inside to work on arrangements for an upcoming debut, white roses in little clay pots spray-painted in cobalt.
And he waits.
Chanyeol signs with the local high school to make the corsages for their prom, which was in two weeks. They all have to be uniform, the teacher had said, and he argues on the probability of a single colorful design clashing with the students' outfits. They both decide on a pure white corsage with fern accents; it's a pretty sweet compromise.
And he waits.
Chanyeol saves a man who forgot his wedding anniversary by whipping up a grandiose bouquet of stargazers and carnations wrapped in sparkly silver paper. It's huge, pink, and beautiful. The man almost cries with relief.
And he waits.
A group of lanky boys wearing the uniform of the school that he just signed with wipes his bouquet stand clean around noon, right after he finishes his lunch. When he asks them what are the flowers for, they say that they're ‘promposing.’ Chanyeol thinks they should go all out and not just buy some ready-made bouquets, but he spots the huge cartolinas rolled up and stuffed at the back of the car where they all came from, and thinks they're alright. He wishes them good luck as he goes to the storeroom to brew some tea.
And he waits.
Sehun drops by after his class late in the afternoon, armed with chicken poppers and funny anecdotes about his professor. He gets promptly sent out after a few stories because someone requested for a bouquet of violets to be delivered to an office downtown. Chanyeol hogs all of the chicken poppers, much to the younger's chagrin.
And he waits.
Chanyeol flips the sign promptly at seven in the evening, tugging off his apron along the way. He closes the blinds, stores the flowers in their rightful coolers, and spritzes the succulents one last time. He keeps the ribbons in their usual chest, tidies up the papers he used, and tacks the order slip for the corsages on the corkboard so he doesn’t forget. He stashes the money into the shop's safe, does one final check to see if he forgot something, and locks the shop. He pulls on his cardigan—it's a bit chilly for a summer night—and walks back to his apartment.
Supreme Boy didn't come today.
☼
It's a Thursday. The skies are cloudy, gloomy. The neighborhood seems lethargic.
Supreme Boy doesn't pass by.
Chanyeol sighs as he pulls his jacket closer, moody. He places an order for the materials that he needs for the corsages—ribbons, wire, tape, flowers, ferns. He wraps up some bouquets. He waters his succulents. He saves another forgetful man who almost forgot their 1000th day today (seriously, Chanyeol thinks, that's what calendars are for).
Supreme Boy doesn't pass by.
The camellias stay on the ledge.
☼
Friday brings in rain, fat drops that fall harshly on the roofs.
The fruit stall is closed today. Chanyeol spends the rainy day cooped up inside the shop making corsages, nimble fingers looping wire around delicate white rosebuds. Sehun drops by for some tea, tracking mud all over his nicely mopped floor, but makes up for it by tidying up his ribbons.
Supreme Boy doesn't pass by. Chanyeol can't say he's not surprised.
The camellias are getting wet.
☼
Saturday is Chanyeol's day off. He spends the day watching Disney films in his pajamas as he listens to the rain beat steadily against his windows.
He wonders if Supreme Boy passed by today. He pushes the thought away and goes back to watching Hercules.
☼
Sunday brings sunshine and warmth after three days of gloom.
The smell of petrichor is strong in the air as Chanyeol unlocks the shop. He can't say he minds, though; he has always liked the rain. He likes a lot of things.
(Supreme Boy is, unfortunately, one of them.)
Today is the day that Chanyeol snaps out of his funk. Who cares if Supreme Boy stopped passing by? Maybe he found a different route. Maybe he walks now. Who cares? Not him! No sir, Chanyeol does not care! All he cares about is managing his booming flower business and making people smile, one bloom at a time.
That sounds like a nice new tag line. He files it for pondering later.
Chanyeol hums as he goes out to remove the old camellias from the ledge. Ah, they're now wilted and wet; he feels sorry for them, left alone in the freak storm like that. Maybe they grew tired of waiting for Supreme Boy too. You and me both, he thinks as he empties the buckets and leaves them to dry. Oh, well. He'll replace them later.
He's still mulling over what to replace the camellias with as he fastens the ribbon on the bouquet of irises that he was making when the quirky door chime jingles, signaling a new customer.
"Hello, welcome to Park's Blooms, where every petal matters," Chanyeol says distractedly, preoccupied with concealing the double-sided tape that he used to keep the fancy bow that he spent five minutes on in place. "How may I help—"
Oh.
It's Supreme Boy.
"...You," He finishes, fingers going slack. Oh, god, it is Supreme Boy—the pink hair doesn't lie. Today, he's wearing a crisp white polo shirt and khaki shorts, paired with his usual scruffy Superstars with his huge glasses resting on top of his head. Chanyeol feels like fainting.
"Hi," Supreme Boy says, and oh boy, he has the voice of an angel. It doesn't help that he's standing right in front of the window, the sunshine casting some sort of glow on him. Did he go to heaven or what? Hello? God? Are you there?
"Um. Hi," Chanyeol says, mentally high-fiving himself for keeping his voice steady (and his wits together). "How can I help you today?"
"Do you make custom bouquets? Or do I have to pick from the stand there?" Supreme Boy gestures to the bouquet stand, which Chanyeol has just finished refilling with new arrangements. "Don't get me wrong, they're beautiful. I just have something in mind."
"Oh. Um, yeah, we do," Chanyeol quickly scrambles for a pen and paper. "I can, um. Make you one." Anything for you.
"Really? That'll be great!" Supreme Boy lights up, and the sparkle in his eyes rival the bright morning summer sunshine outside. "I want something simple, really. Just white lilies and stock, maybe a few baby's breath as designs?"
"Good choice," He says, quickly scribbling it down. "Any preference for the color of the paper and the ribbons?"
"No, not really. Whatever you think fits," Supreme Boy smiles, and it's a bit bashful. Oh. "My uh, friend isn't that picky."
Oh. It's for a friend. Of course. Duh, Chanyeol, do you buy yourself bouquets of flowers? No. Of course it's for someone else.
His heart hurts.
"Got it," Chanyeol says quietly, his voice devoid of all of the excitement he had earlier. He moves to the register and rings up Supreme Boy's order. "That’ll be fifteen thousand won. It'll um, it’ll probably take around half an hour."
"Alright. I was planning to grab breakfast down the street anyway," Supreme Boy nods, smiling as he hands over his payment. "I'll be back in about an hour or so."
"Sure. Enjoy your breakfast," Chanyeol manages a weak smile in return as he watches the short man skip out of his shop. Once the door closes, he sighs and slumps on the counter, burying his face in his arms.
(He sets out daffodils on the ledge today. The brightness of the yellow blooms is almost mocking.)
☼
"You look like a lost, rejected puppy," Sehun observes.
"And you look like a noodle," Chanyeol retorts, glaring at him. It's been three days since Supreme Boy dropped by, and he's still in a miserable funk. The daffodils outside are wilting; he's not in the mood to replace them.
"Mhm. Real mature, hyung," The younger rolls his eyes, munching on a burrito. He doesn't have class today, so he's hanging around at the shop. "There are other cute passersby to crush on. Don't sweat it."
"Astute advice, Dr. Oh," Chanyeol quips, stuffing his face with fries. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind the next time I see cute short men in oversized hoodies."
"Oh, please. He wasn't that cute," Sehun scoffs. "And why are you so worked up? Maybe it was for a friend. I gave you flowers before, didn't I?"
"Yeah, as a gag gift. Sehun, he had a bouquet customized," Chanyeol sighs, throwing his hands up in the air. "Plus he chose stock and lilies. Of all things. He could've chosen... I don't know, yellow roses or something. But no."
"And this means what, exactly?" Sehun frowns. "I'm not a botanist."
"Idiot. It's floriography," He resists the urge to smack his friend on the head. Barely. "Ugh, never mind. You wouldn't—"
The door chime jingles merrily, and Chanyeol quickly wipes his greasy fingers on his apron to maintain a semblance of professionalism despite the array of fast food on the counter. "Hello, welcome to Park's Blooms, where every petal matters! How—"
"Hi again," Supreme Boy smiles at him, and from the corner of his eye he sees Sehun choke on a fry.
"Oh. Hello," Chanyeol says. "Need another bouquet?"
"Actually, no. I just need two dozens of asters," Supreme Boy replies. "My apartment needs some color."
"I'll get it," Sehun interjects, jumping up and scurrying to the stock room to get parchment and twine.
"Is he your employee?" Supreme Boy asks amusedly. "He's...something."
"A real pain," Chanyeol confirms. "So, um. Did your...friend like the bouquet you sent?"
"What bouquet?" The short man frowns. "I sent out a bouquet to someone?"
Wait, what? "The white and purple one? Last Sunday?" He tries.
"Oh! That one," Supreme Boy bursts out laughing. "Yeah, he liked it a lot, but that wasn't from me. It was from his boyfriend."
"...His boyfriend?" Chanyeol echoes.
"Yeah. My friend Kyungsoo broke his arm last week, but his boyfriend is out of the country on some conference," Supreme Boy explains. "Junmyeon felt really guilty, so he asked me to buy Kyungsoo flowers because he's a sap like that. Let me tell you, he researched on flower meanings for a good fifteen minutes before he settled on lilies and stock."
"Oh," He blinks. They weren’t from him.
"I know what you're thinking. How did Kyungsoo carry that huge thing? The answer is he didn't," The latter continues, sighing. "I did. I spent the latter half of my week nursing him back to health, and he repays me by making me carry his customized bouquet."
So that's why he didn't pass by the shop. Chanyeol's heart leaps for joy. "That sucks," He says. "But at least he's better?"
"Sort of. Junmyeon's back, so I don't have to be his personal nurse slash slave anymore," Supreme Boy chuckles. "Best friends. What can you do?"
"Tell me about it," Chanyeol jerks his head towards the direction of the stock room as he rings up the latter's purchase. "That'll be six thousand won, by the way."
"Ah, of course. Here," Supreme Boy hands over his card. "I'm Baekhyun, by the way."
"I know," Chanyeol grins, gesturing to the card. He runs a thumb across the embossed font, feeling the ridges against his skin. Byun Baekhyun. "Says right here. I'm Chanyeol."
"I know," Supreme Boy—Baekhyun beams back, reaching over to tap the embroidery on Chanyeol's apron with an elegant finger. "It says right here."
"Clever," Chanyeol rolls his eyes playfully. "Bet you thought of that yourself."
"I sure did," Baekhyun laughs, and his eyes turn into little crescents. Chanyeol is smitten.
"Two dozen asters," Sehun announces, bursting out of the stock room. "Sorry, I uh, made a mess with the paper."
Chanyeol is about to call him out on his lie, but from the open door he sees the disarray inside the stock room and shakes his head, exasperated. "You're cleaning that up," He sighs.
"Yeah, yeah. Hey, you're hyung's Supreme Boy. Nice to finally meet you," Sehun says, thrusting the flowers unto Baekhyun's arms. "I'm Sehun, Park's Blooms’ delivery boy."
"Supreme Boy?" Baekhyun faces Chanyeol, confusion written all over his features.
"You wear Supreme hoodies all the time," Chanyeol explains, ears turning pink. "Plus, you always bike by our shop. It's hard not to notice."
"You...notice me?" Baekhyun repeats. The confusion is still evident, but he seems pleased.
"You pass by my shop whenever I open. Plus with that hair, you're not hard to miss," Chanyeol says.
"Yeah, but I'm a passerby. A regular one," Baekhyun replies. "It's a busy street with many bikers."
"He thinks you're cute," Sehun pipes up helpfully, brushing past them with a broom as he goes to clean up his mess.
"Sehun," Chanyeol hisses, the flush spreading to his neck as Baekhyun bursts out laughing.
"Well, that explains things," The short man chuckles, hefting the flowers on his arms. "Say, when's your lunch break, Chanyeol?"
"Um, I don't have a fixed one, since someone has to attend to customers, but I usually go at around twelve?" He says tentatively.
"How does lunch at the pasta bar a few blocks away from here sound?" Baekhyun grins. "I'd love to take you out."
His heart drops to the floor.
"Oh. Um. Sure, great," Chanyeol stammers. "Is, um, is this—"
"A date?" Baekhyun laughs again, and god, Chanyeol is in love. "Why, if it is, will you bring me flowers?"
"Yes," He replies immediately, and recoils at his enthusiasm. Get it together. "Unless, uh, it isn't, then um—"
"I'll see you at lunch, Chanyeol," Baekhyun giggles, waving at him as he makes his way out of the shop. "Don't be late for our date."
The chimes jingle jovially as Baekhyun exits the flower shop, barely visible behind the bundle of flowers he was carrying. Chanyeol watches him go, frozen on the spot, until Sehun pokes his head out of the stock room.
"So did you score a date or what?" He asks.
"I did," Chanyeol mumbles back, still rooted in his spot from behind the counter.
"You did?" Sehun repeats, slack jawed. "Wow! That's great news! Who knew being a creep could pay off? Congrats, hyung!"
"Oh, shut up, Sehun," He retorts, but there's no real bite in his tone as he makes his way towards the shelves. He has no time to argue, he thinks as he reaches for the violets.
After all, he still has a special bouquet to make and a lunch date at noon.