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Shin-Ah’s favorite thing in all the world had to be flowers. If you show them kindness and consideration they will reward you with the most intoxicating beauty. They don’t expect more than you are capable of providing, nor ask prying questions that are difficult to answer in more ways than one. But flowers don’t get sold to other flowers; people are required for the flowers to have any sort of purpose. That’s what made working at the Dragon’s Lily such a blessing and a curse. His best friend Hak did everything he could to draw customers away and give Shin-Ah peace of mind to focus on the flowers. Coaxing a rose bud into a beautiful bloom was nothing compared to making small talk with strangers
Shin-Ah stood by his work table arranging lovely roses into a woven wreath in the shape of a heart. It was approaching valentine’s day so it was going to start getting busier around the shop. A customer walked in the door but he stayed right where he was. Hak would greet them and help them find what they needed
“Excuse me?” A delicate voice interrupted the peaceful silence of the shop. Shin-Ah gave a jolt and peeked up at the customer from under his hat, keeping his face shadowed. Red. It was as if one of the roses he was carefully weaving had lent its color to the woman’s hair. “Do you have any orchids for sale that are still potted?
Shin-Ah looked around for Hak quickly but couldn’t see him. He carefully took a deep breath and walked around the counter starting towards the orchids; he hoped the woman would understand and follow. She followed him, seeming to understand his intentions. Vaguely she wondered if there were wind chimes set up in the shop to produce such sweet jingling. Shin-Ah raised his hand and pointed at their orchids, showing a small bracelet of bells to be on his wrist. Well at least that explained the tinkling she had earlier. She smiled and turned to say thank you but he was already retreating taking the melodious bells with him
Shin-Ah rushed into the back room of the shop and found Hak with a clipboard in hand doing inventory. Hak looked up when he heard the bells signalling Shin-Ah’s approach. One look at his panicked eyes told Hak everything he needed to know.
“Sorry Shin-Ah I’m coming.” He put down the clipboard and walked back into the main part of the shop immediately setting eyes on the customer’s bright red hair. He walked over with a broad grin, Shin-Ah trailing (more like hiding) behind him. “Hello Young Miss, it there anything I can help you with?”
“Oh no thank you. I was just browsing for now, these orchids are very lovely.”
Hak could almost feel the happiness exude off of Shin-Ah behind him. He loved it when people admired the plants he had spent so much time nurturing. “Thank you. Who are you buying flowers for? A lover?” He couldn’t help it really, he had always had a teasing nature.
The girl’s face blushed a bit then gave way to a tinge of sorrow. “No they’re for my father’s funeral.”
Hak’s face fell, man did he really blow that one. He felt Shin-Ah give a light shove to his back, communicating his displeasure. “I’m terribly sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you.” She had a sad smile as she went back to admiring the flowers.
He felt another light shove and muttered, “Fine!” behind him. “Might I suggest we do an arrangement for you? We’ll even throw in a discount for being so rude.”
She looked thoughtful for a moment then nodded. “That would be lovely.”
Hak took her over to the desk to begin filling out paperwork. Shin-Ah went back to his work space and roses, but could feel a small bubble of happiness in his chest as he thought of the arrangement he was going to make. It turned out the funeral was closer than expected being on the following afternoon at 3 PM. Shin-Ah worked for two hours on a perfect arrangement that was truly stunning. Only the best flowers the shop had to offer were incorporated into this work of art.
Hak came over to admire his handiwork when it was time to leave. “Nice you really went all out didn’t you?” Shin-Ah cut him a scathing look. “Geez what’s that look for?” Hak asked a little surprised by the diversion of Shin-Ah’s gentle nature.
Shin-Ah sighed then responded very quietly. “You were insensitive.”
“Oh that. So you worked so hard to make up for my rudeness?” Hak asked with a chuckle which was responded with a quick nod. “Well we had better get going. The shop is short staffed today so you and I have to make the delivery.”
Shin-Ah gave Hak a slightly panicked look but Hak was already nodding. “I know. We will be leaving before people get there so you don’t have anything to worry about.”
Shin-Ah gave a small sigh of relief then picked up his arrangement, carrying it to the car. Instead of putting the flowers in the back, he curled up in the passenger's seat with them. His arms place protectively around the flowers to shield them from any jostling.
Upon arriving at the funeral home he followed Hak inside silently toting his precious cargo. Hak finally found the young lady who had ordered the flowers. “Excuse me Young Miss? Where do you want them?”
Her vivid purple eyes settled on the flowers and she got a wide smile. “They’re beautiful.”
Truly they were. In the dead center was a single light pink rose. Arranged around it were white stargazer lilies, white chrysanthemums, daisies, and Queen Anne’s lace. The edges were pocked with vivid purple statice that matched the redhead's eyes.
“They have meaning as well.” Hak said with a smile taking the flower’s from Shin-Ah who was growing uncomfortable with all the attention being drawn his way.
She tilted her head and looked curiously at the flowers. “Do they really?”
“Yes. The single rose in the center signifies enduring love for the deceased, the color for love and grace. The chrysanthemums signify your grief and lamentation. The lilies interspersed with them shows our sympathy. The daisies are for purity and loyal love, the kind of love from a daughter to a father. The Queen Anne’s lace represents a sanctuary meaning that your father has gone to a haven. Finally the purple statice signify your remembrance of the life your father lived.” Hak carefully explained pointing each flower out.
The girl had tears streaming down he face when he finally looked back up at her. “They’re so thoughtful!” she wailed.
Hak had no idea what to do. “Young Miss are you alright?”
“Yona.” She sniffled. “My name is Yona. Please won’t you stay for the reception?”
“I’m not so sure about that?” He was really concerned for Shin-Ah. He didn’t do so well around crowds…
“Please? I want to be able to direct people towards the person who made such a beautiful arrangement.”
Damn. This was a golden business opportunity for the shop to drum up a little more business. “Alright. Thank you.” Hak gave a somewhat half hearted bow, it was the best he could muster. He set the flowers down and tugged Shin-Ah off to the side. “We’re going to have to stay for a little while. I’m going to handle talking to the people so you can just find somewhere quiet and wait.” Shin-Ah gave Hak an absolutely mortified look. “I know, but this is too big of a business opportunity to miss. Can you manage?”
Shin-Ah shook his wrist so his bells tinkled a bit louder then nodded his consent. This was going to be rather unpleasant for him.
The viewing commenced and soon every nook and cranny was filled with grieving people; Shin-Ah had nowhere to hide. He was starting to panic so he gently shook his wrist causing his bells to tinkle cheerily. He focused on the sound, allowing everything else to fall away. The bells began to calm him down, so even the press of the crowd seemed far away.
“Excuse me?” A light tap on his shoulder intruded on his peaceful moment. “Are you one of the ones who made that lovely bouquet?” Shin-Ah gave a nod of affirmation trying to quell the panic. “Wow they’re super beautiful! How much time went into them? Are they symbolic? Do you grow them yourselves?” The questions were raining in too fast for him to follow. He gave a bow to the compliment then struggled for the words that simply weren’t coming.
“Ah there you are!” Shin-Ah turned around at the exclamation hoping and praying it was Hak come to rescue him. Unfortunately, it was one of the waiters who was keeping an endless supply of food on the buffet. He was handsome with dusty lavender hair that looked wild and untamable, fathomless blue eyes and adorable dimples. He walked up completely casual and gently took Shin-Ah’s hand, maneuvering himself in between the panicked man and the brood of middle-aged women bombarding him with questions. “Excuse me ladies I actually need to borrow him for a bit.” With a charming smile that left the ladies blushing he pulled Shin-Ah along through the crowd
Am I being rescued or kidnapped?
Shin-Ah thought slightly concerned that some stranger was hauling him off in some random direction. The hand wrapped around his was not demanding or insistent, more like asking Shin-Ah to follow. If he wanted to he could rip his hand away and flee until he found Hak. Feeling more comfortable now that he had an escape plan he decided to continue to follow the man. They walked through the crowd and through a swinging door into a quiet waiters station.
The man stopped and released his hand, coming up to ruffle his lavender hair a bit. “Sorry, you looked pretty uncomfortable. I’m guessing you don’t like crowds?”
Shin-Ah gave a fairly emphatic shake of his head, jingling his wrist to rid himself of the negative emotions associated.
“I’m Akira. What’s your name?”
He didn’t really want to answer but since the guy saved him from the crowd he felt like he owed him a bit. So it took a moment for him to gather his courage and make his voice work before he answered. “Shin-Ah. My name is Shin-Ah.”
Akira was struck by how beautiful his voice was. It was like a midsummer rain, tranquil and quiet. “Shin-Ah.” He said the name thoughtfully. “It suits you well. Are you hungry? I’m assuming you didn’t even try the buffet.” Shin-Ah nodded, he was pretty hungry but the thought of going up to the buffet surrounded by people judging sounded like a nightmare, enough to turn his stomach queasy and abandon all thoughts of food.
“Wait right here. I’ll go and get something for you.” Akira smiled kindly and walked back through the door into the hum of the crowd. Shin-Ah waited anxiously, shifting from foot to foot. He didn’t even know if he was supposed to be here. If he wasn’t and got caught how in the world was he supposed to explain how he got here? As he began growing more and more anxious Akira returned with a plate loaded with food. “I wasn’t sure what you liked so I just got a little bit of everything.”
Shin-Ah nodded his thanks and took a bite, it was absolutely delicious. He gave a warm smile at the taste that was almost too radiant for Akira to witness. Like a person kept in darkness finally glimpsing the first rays of sunshine. The whole world was suddenly full of more color, than it ever had been before.
“Is the food good?” Akira asked, a soft smile making its way to his lips. Shin-Ah gave a vigorous nod, pointing with his fork at the potatoes indicating they were especially good. “Really? I actually made the potatoes myself!” Akira was really excited that Shin-Ah liked something that he had made. A warm fuzzy feeling bloomed in his chest.
Akira played with his purple bangs self-consciously. “Some day I’d like to be a chef! But for now I’m learning new things about the kitchen as a waiter. I want to own my own restaurant, but it seems a bit like a pipe dream.”
Shin-Ah shook his head and smiled kindly. He reached out a tentative hand and lightly touched Akira’s shoulder. The light touch did funny things to his heart. It felt like it might be beating so hard it had stopped. A large goofy grin broke out on his face. “I guess you’re right, I just need to keep doing my best!”
Shin-Ah smiled softly, then got a confused look turning his head slightly to the side. “If you’re wondering how I understood what you were trying to say, I’ve always been good at that,” Akira explained. He quickly added in, “Sometimes I get it wrong though. I like the fact that you don’t mince words.”
Shin-Ah blushed lightly and hid his face under his hat by looking down. Akira thought it was exceedingly adorable, but didn’t want to embarrass the poor boy further by commenting on the rosy complexion of his cheeks.
Shin-Ah had finished everything on his plate so he held his plate out to Akira to find somewhere to put the dirty dish. “Oh you want some more? Okay I’ll be right back!” Akira grabbed the plate and went out the door to get some more for Shin-Ah. He looked dejected at the door, that wasn’t exactly what he had meant. He really didn’t want to be greedy at someone else’s funeral but the strange beautiful boy was already gone.
Hak was finally able to break away from the gaggle of old ladies asking him about the flower shop. They always seemed to gradually get off the subject to start talking about how similar he and their granddaughter was and how he just had to meet them. He was pretty concerned about Shin-Ah with how pushy everyone here was. Out of the corner of his eye he saw flame red hair disappear around the bend.
He went the same direction and found Yona taking a quick breather. “Excuse me young miss? Have you seen the guy I came in with?”
She raised a finger to her chin in thought. “No I haven’t. Is everything okay?”
“He’s very shy and doesn’t like crowds much. I just want to make sure he is doing okay.”
“I’ll help you look for him.” She smiled and started to walk around. “Have you known him for a long time?”
Hak shrugged. “Probably longer than anyone else. I had to save him from being arrested.”
“Really? Why?”
“He found a kid crying so he gave them a flower to cheer them up. He offered to help them find their parents. Someone else saw it and thought he was trying to kidnap the kid, when questioned by the cops, he couldn’t explain. We had been coworkers at the shop for a while so I stepped in and vouched for him. All in all the kid found their parents and he stayed out of jail. Been friends ever since. I couldn’t really leave the idiot alone.”
Yona giggled lightly to herself. When Hak turned a questioning eye on her she elaborated. “You two just seem like an unlikely pair, but its sweet.”
The two continued the search but came up empty handed. Eventually Hak started giving a description of him to see if anyone had seen him
“Excuse me? I think I know who your looking for. He’s in a waiters station if you want to follow me.” A lavender haired waiter led them off through the crowd. Sure enough there Shin-Ah sat fairly relaxed.
Hak breathed a quick sigh of relief. “I think we should get going.” He turned to the kindly server. “Thanks for keeping him company.”
“You’re welcome. It was actually quite enjoyable.”
Shin-Ah stood and gave a quick bow of thanks to Akira and Yona, then followed Hak out the door.
Halfway through the parking lot, Hak felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Sorry. For making you worry.” Shin-Ah said quietly.
Hak rolled his eyes. “Its fine. I told you to go hide somewhere. Sorry to put you on the spot.”
Shin-Ah shook his head and gave a small smile. “It was fun.”
Hak raised an eyebrow at that statement but kept it to himself.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Sometime after midnight the entire city seems to take in a quiet breath and settle in. The streets become vacant and peaceful. The neon lights get turned off for the night allowing just a little more beauty of the night to seep through. Shin-Ah tried to do most of his traveling around this time to savor the quiet. He filled his lungs with peaceful air allowing his gaze to drift to the heavens. The moon seemed to speak to him, matching the melody on his wrist from the small silver bells. The melody coaxed the most delightful tranquility from his anxious heart.
His quiet reverie was shattered by a piercing scream. Shin-Ah snapped his vision back down to Earth trying to find the source of such a soul rendering sound. In a dark alley, Shin-Ah saw three prickly weeds trying to choke out a beautiful rose.
Yona was on her way home from her second job, each step bitter-sweet to her aching feet. It had been a long night of bartending to prickly men and cleaning up sticky spilt drinks. She dreamed of her hot shower and soft bed.
Just a few more steps Yona.
She told herself. Similar to how she had been telling herself,
Just a few more weeks then things will get better.
She had been so absorbed in her own musings that she hadn’t noticed the shadowy figures entering the alleyway behind her. Her vivid purple eyes snapping up to see a leering man block the direction she was traveling.
“Hey baby, want to have a good time with a real man tonight?” He called out in a gruff voice. His bulk took up enough of the one lane alley that she would have to squeeze past him on the shoulder. The moon illuminated him from behind wrapping shadows about his frame to conceal his distinguishing features.
Yona stopped in her tracks to glare at the ruffian blocking her way. “Unfortunately you don’t seem to meet that criteria.” She quipped, waiting for him to move.
“Fucking bitch. I’ll show you!” The man gave a sharp whistle signalling to his two buddies at the end of the alley. The man grabbed Yona’s wrist slamming her against the brick wall, pinning her there with his own body.
The rancid smell of the man’s breath combined with his body odor deepened Yona’s scowl.
The man’s grin turned sour when Yona didn’t make a satisfactory sound of pain. He grabbed her roughly by the shoulders and slammed her against the wall hard enough to make her teeth rattle. Another rogue’s grubby hand reached in to tear at her shirt.
Yona had been trying to remain brave in the face of the situation but the reality hit her the same time the cold breeze hit her now exposed shoulder. She let out a terrified scream, hoping and praying that somebody might come and rescue her from her predicament. Her eyes filled with tears blurring her vision.
A sweet sound of tinkling bells filled her ears as moonlight chased away the shadows. “That girl will not be accompanying you.” A soft voice edged with rage spoke.
The man snarled and turned to the end of the alley where he was struck by fear. Two bright yellow orbs seemed to burn into him. It felt like the gaze of a demon, such rage and judgement in that gaze, filling him with unmistakable trepidation. He might be a thug but he was no killer. The eyes that he just saw belonged to that of a cold blooded killer. “C’mon guys this bitch ain’t worth our time.”
Yona felt the bruising grip leave her arm. She snapped her lilac eyes open to see the men fleeing down the alley. She sagged in relief against the wall, hands going to her elbows to form a protective wall around her. A gentle hand brushed against her arm and she snapped her fierce gaze to the newest assailant. She saw a silver bracelet of bells and blue hair peeking out from a familiar green hat, shadowing the face. She stared for a moment before she realized it was the boy from the flower shop. No wonder the bells had sounded so familiar.
Shin-Ah held out a hand, palm up. He wanted to take Yona back to his apartment to check for injuries and keep her safe. However the immediate danger had passed, his anxieties about speaking to a stranger flooded through him. The words seemed to die in his throat as his brain whispered he would come off creepy or weird.
Yona hesitantly placed her hand in his. She felt reassured by the gentle warmth there. The way Shin-Ah loosely held her hand to pull her back to the well lit street. He gently guided her towards the opposite way of her apartment. But Yona had to admit at least to herself she didn’t entirely feel like being alone after that.
The pair walked for a while, Shin-Ah keeping a loose grip in case Yona felt uncomfortable. Finally they came to a tan brick building with a green painted door reading 1709A. Shin-Ah used his right hand to dig his keys out of his pocket and unlock the door. He ushered her inside and then followed quietly behind.
Yona let out a small gasp at the sheer beauty of the apartment. The smell of flowers permeated the air giving it such a sweet tint. Lovely shades of greens, red, pinks, purples and yellows decorated every available space. Hidden among the flowers was a stove, refrigerator and a futon. Yona could see bags of potting soil stacked in one corner along with various pots of all sizes. It was a simple flat apartment but to Yona it looked like she had been transported to the garden of fairies.
Shin-Ah gently prodded her to the futon so she could sit down. He immediately went to get her a glass of water. Afterwards he pulled out his phone and typed out a few short words, hitting send.
Yona shuddered even though the apartment was quite warm. She felt a lot of nervous energy since the adrenaline hadn’t quite faded. Standing she began to roam about the apartment taking in all the flowers. Over by the potting soil she found a new sprout fighting to take root. “What will this be?” She asked curiously, looking over to where Shin-Ah stood watching her beneath his hat.
“A cyclamen.” He replied, voice soft.
Yona looked back to the sprout and tilted her head in thought. “I’ve never heard of it. What will it look like?”
Shin-Ah shifted so he could observe the sprout next to Yona, his bells jingling merrily with him. “It will be a light purple flower.” He didn’t particularly want to explain that he was growing the difficult plant because the blooms reminded him of the beautiful waiter’s hair.
Yona looked over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of a small smile before Shin-Ah moved further away. “I’m sorry. You rescued me and it suddenly occurs to me that I don’t even know your name?”
“Shin-Ah.”
Yona smiled brightly despite the puffy redness about her eyes. “I think it suits you. Well Shin-Ah, thank you for saving me.” She held out her hand so she could give him a friendly handshake. Yona had figured that Shin-Ah would probably appreciate that more than a hug.
Shin-Ah shook the hand very briefly, his bells singing loudly with the movement.
Yona’s eyes tracked the bells. Her curiosity got the better of her and she blurted, “Why do you wear the bells?”
Shin-Ah held his bells up closer to the middle of his chest so he could gaze at them. It took him a long moment to figure out how to best explain why he wore them. “They’re calming.” That was all he could muster. He hoped that she could understand from such a brief explanation.
Yona nodded, seeming to understand. Her bright purple eyes went wide with shock as she was struck in the back of the head by something solid. She let out a short yelp and reached back to see what was clinging to her apple red hair. There in her hands was a chubby squirrel looking up at her with large black eyes.
“Ao.” Shin-Ah chastised. He held out his arm towards Yona. The squirrel twitched free from Yona’s grip then jumped over to Shin-Ah’s arm. Ao ran up to Shin-Ah’s shoulder snuggling into the crook of his neck. Shin-Ah held up an acorn as a snack for the chubby squirrel.
Shin-Ah’s door clattered open as Hak burst in. He made a beeline for Yona, worry creasing his face. “Are you alright?” He asked breathless, almost as if he had run the entire way there. Which in actuality he did.
Yona smiled softly and nodded. Touched by the level of concern this man was showing her.
Hak nodded once then immediately rounded on Shin-Ah. “You idiot. Next time send more in your text than ‘Yona. Help. My apartment.’ You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
Shin-Ah bowed his head once in apology, but there was a faintly amused set to his mouth.
Hak scowled at him then looked back at Yona much more calm now. It seems the frenzied panic melted away leaving him level headed once more. “What happened?”
“I was attacked by three thugs on the street, but Shin-Ah saved me.” Yona calmly explained, throwing a grateful smile over to Shin-Ah.
Hak sighed heavily, like he was irritated by this whole situation. “What were you doing out so late anyways? Didn’t you know it was dangerous at this time of night?”
Yona’s expression turned sour at Hak. She scowled, amethyst eyes flashing in anger. “I was walking home from my job! It’s not like I had a choice!”
“Get a better job.”
Yona looked even more irritated at that comment. “Like where? I have to work two jobs just to get by. Most places that pay a decent wage want experience.”
Hak sighed once more attempting to let go of his irritation at the girl. He was just overall worried about her safety, but he had to admit to himself that he was sounding rather borish. “What if I can get you a better job during the day? Will you quit the other one?”
Yona blinked in surprise. She had expected him to say something else condescending and offensive. “Where?” She asked, guarded. She certainly wanted a better place to work, but she wanted to make sure she would be able to do the job before she agreed. In addition, she wasn’t sure he wasn’t going to ask for something outrageous in payment.
“You can work with us at the flower shop.” Hak replied, nodding over to where Shin-Ah stood cuddling with Ao. The shop had been looking for more help recently, and Hak was in charge of hiring anyways. This girl had a lot of fire in her that he found greatly enjoyable. When it wasn’t a pain that is.
Yona seemed to really consider her options. She had a lot of debts to pay back from her father’s passing. Her current jobs barely scraped out a decent living, not to mention her debts. She had to admit she was extremely exhausted from working so often, with little to show for it. So after she had carefully considered she nodded her agreement.
Hak seemed to sag in relief giving her a brief smile.
It struck Yona just then that Hak was very handsome. A very light blush came to her cheeks as she watched him.
Shin-Ah had watched the whole exchange. At first he couldn’t quite understand why Hak was so angry but as they had continued the exchange Shin-Ah realized that his best friend was crushing on Yona. His golden eyes didn’t miss the slight blush on Yona’s cheeks either. Perhaps she felt the same way?
“It’s late. Let me walk you home.” Hak said to Yona. His tone sounded much more like a demand than a request.
Yona scowled again. “I can get home on my own.” She insisted, her pride not allowing her to rely on Hak for protection.
Hak scowled right back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Right, like you did earlier this evening?”
Yona glared at him with all her might, however she really couldn’t find any words to dispute that. Begrudgingly she nodded, but only because he was being so pushy she told herself.
Shin-Ah saw them out, locking the door behind the couple. The silence of his apartment seemed to crash over him. A small feeling of loneliness blooming in his chest. Shin-Ah walked back over to his cyclamen plant. A smile graced his face when he remembered how content he had been to talk to the waiter. He watered all his plants then decided to retire that evening with Ao. His dreams filled with purple cyclamens, red roses and calla lilies.