Work Text
Pinks, purples and reds. Hayoung was swimming in colour as she stood in the brightly lit corner of her local florist. She’d entered the establishment looking for flowers for her co-worker Chorong’s birthday but found herself overcome when faced with the wall of bloom in front of her. Hayoung had never been into a florist before, well not that she could remember. She’d never been particularly bothered with buying gifts for colleagues either but Chorong held a special place in her heart. Hayoung was an amateur gift-giver so when Namjoo suggested she bought flowers for their co-worker, Hayoung was quick to agree, believing it to be easiest option. Oh boy was Hayoung wrong. A sign on the wall next to the floor-to-ceiling display of beautiful flowers notified Hayoung of the meanings of the stunning blooms before her. Hayoung found the idea that each flower meant something different mildly peculiar, although her inner romantic swooned at the mystique of it all. Hayoung angled her head to examine the board closely. According to the board, tulips signified a declaration of love. Perhaps not those. She dismissed before continuing to peruse the board. Lilies? Purity and refined beauty isn’t an awful message. Hayoung tilted her head deep in thought. “Quite confusing, isn’t it? I’ve been working with flowers for years and I still forget the significance of some of these blooms.” Hayoung turned at the unexpected sound of a voice beside her. An employee of the florist must have sensed her puzzlement from afar and taken pity on her. Hayoung eyed the young woman who’d come to stand by her side. She appeared to be around the same age as Hayoung, curly brown hair tied into a messy ponytail with a dirt stained pale pink apron on. Incredibly beautiful. The name tag on the left side of her chest read Naeun. “Looking for anything specific?” Naeun turned to look, raising her eyebrows at Hayoung. “A bouquet. It’s my friends birthday and I thought some flowers would be a good gift,” Hayoung brushed her hand over the pink carnations directly in front of her, “Any ideas?” She turned to Naeun who had her head directed towards to the board that Hayoung had been studying previously, eyes hurriedly reading up and down the board in order to refresh her memory on the flowers. “Important to choose something with an appropriate meaning then.” Naeun began to run her hands over the flowers situated on the display before her, frowning. “Orange roses… hm. Possibly not. Purple hyacinths? No, definitely not.” She mumbled to herself. Naeun turned back to Hayoung, a glimpse of indecision in her brown eyes. “When’s your friends birthday? Perhaps that’d help?” “3rd of March. March is-“ Hayoung paused, trying to recall the one piece of information she’d researched before her trip to the florist, “daffodils? Right?” She glimpsed at Naeun to confirm. Naeun nodded, impressed by Hayoung’s knowledge, a wide smile blooming on her face. “Yep! It’s so adorable that you know that!” Naeun exclaimed. A small blush crept onto Hayoung’s cheeks at the compliment and she was suddenly glad of the ten minutes she’d spent during her lunch break hurriedly trying to learn a little about flowers – she hadn’t wanted to turn up to the florist completely unaware. “Daffodils could work. A bunch of daffodils is generally considered to indicate joy and happiness. That sounds suitable.” Naeun broke Hayoung out of her small daze, reaching towards the bright yellow flowers at the top of the display before them, not quite reaching them. Hayoung estimated that she and Naeun were roughly the same height, but the heels that Hayoung had worn that day made her a few inches taller than Naeun, which also meant that she could reach the daffodils much easier. Reaching up for the flowers, Hayoung quickly retracted when her hand made contact with Naeun’s. Stepping back, startled, Hayoung almost stumbled backwards into the display of orchids directly behind her, bracing herself for contact before she realised that Naeun had stopped reaching for the yellow flowers and had turned her attention towards Hayoung, grabbing her wrist to stop her from knocking over the stand. “Be careful, silly!” she cooed, pulling Hayoung backwards towards safety. “Mina!” she shouted, “Come and reach these daffodils for me. Thank you!” Naeun turned back to Hayoung, dragging her to another display, still holding her arm gently. Hayoung looked down at contact, a little awkward about the close proximity and a little embarrassed about her near tumble. She must think I’m some sort of klutz now. “Let’s choose something to mix into the bouquet with the daffodils.” Naeun halted in front of another colourful display; similar to the one they’d met in front of. She let go of Hayoung’s arm, which swung back to its place at Hayoung’s side. “How about some peonies? They symbolise—” “—a happy life and good health.” Hayoung finished, reading from the sign that both women had studied previously. “Yes, I think they’d be perfect.” Hayoung turned to Naeun, smiling. Naeun returned the smile, grabbing a handful of pink peonies from the display before turning and indicating for Hayoung to follow. “So, buying flowers for people, you must do it a lot?” Naeun quizzed, tilting her head towards Hayoung. Both were walking side by side towards the station where Naeun could prepare her bouquet. “Not really, unless you count the occasional posy for my mother when I’ve done something wrong.” Hayoung shrugged, coming to a stop in front of a counter, waiting for Naeun to walk to the opposite side. Naeun’s co-worker appeared with the handful of daffodils and soon Naeun was busy arranging the flowers they’d chosen into a beautiful bouquet. Hayoung watched as Naeun’s hands made light work of the task, making small talk about anything she could think of whilst Naeun was hard at work. Hayoung took the time to study Naeun again. She was able to take in the details of her face, her smooth skin, and the dark chocolate of her eyes, which were currently full with wonder as she arranged Hayoung’s flowers. She clearly loves her flowers. Adorable. Hayoung continued to study Naeun – the way her mouth curled up into a small smile as she was concentrating, her little giggles towards Hayoung’s awkward comments. Hayoung almost got lost in her enchantment. It wasn’t long before Naeun began tying string around the flowers, wrapping them in decorative pink tissue paper, signalling she was done arranging the flowers. Hayoung reached into her bag and took her purse out before paying for Naeun’s hard work. Hayoung grasped the precious arrangement off the bench, clutching the bouquet safely. Mumbling a small thanks to Naeun, Hayoung turned to leave before she was stopped in her tracks. “Wait!” Hayoung turned and watched as Naeun ran from behind the counter, making her way over to one of the numerous displays in the florist. Naeun studied the display, searching, before plucking a single lavender rose from one of the buckets towards the bottom of the stand. Blushing, she made her way back to Hayoung, reaching out and extending the flower to her. “On me.” She spoke as Hayoung shyly grasped the flower from her hand. Smiling widely at Hayoung, Naeun turned around, searching for another customer to aid, before rushing off to help an elderly lady who was deeply interested in the potted plants the florist had on offer. Hayoung turned to leave again, this time making her way to the door interrupted. Quickly remembering the single rose she had grasped in her right hand, Hayoung turned to glimpse at the board of flower meanings on the right wall of the building, smiled to herself and then walked out to the busy street.
A lavender rose, like its colour, conveys enchantment. It also expresses ‘love at first sight’. Generally these flowers are used to express fascination and adoration.