So, I guess my updates will always be slow.. sorry
Anyways, I hope this chapter isn't too boring. 

As a note, the setting is back to the present

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Soonyoung was sitting on a chair, waiting to be called in to visit Seokmin. A single flower rested on his lap, threatening to fall as Soonyoung bounced his leg up and down out of nervousness. He shivered slightly. Even though it was already spring, the weather hadn’t warmed up to a comfortable temperature yet. He was regretting not bringing a jacket by now. He was inspecting the goosebumps on his forearms when he heard a familiar voice call his name.

“Kwon Soonyoung.”

He stood up quickly, jerking his head up, making eye contact with guard he had met the last time.

“Kwon Geonwoo.”

Geonwoo’s lips hinted at a small smile, which Soonyoung returned. He opened the door to a hallway and tilted his head toward it.

“Let’s go see your lover.”

Soonyoung followed the guard as he took the same path as the day before. The only thing different was Geonwoo had a clipboard in his hand, which he kept tapping against his thigh with a steady rhythm, opposite of his steps. The two walked in an awkward silence for a while, but suddenly Geonwoo stopped, forcing Soonyoung to halt his steps as well so that he wouldn’t run into the guard. Soonyoung looked at him in confusion, since they hadn’t yet reached their destination.

“Is there something wrong?”

Geonwoo turned to face him. Soonyoung notice his fingers fidget from anxiety.

“Well, there’s nothing wrong, it’s just…”

The hesitation in his voice worried Soonyoung. Had something happened to Seokmin?

“What? Just what? What happened? Is everything okay?”

Geonwoo put his head down.

“It’s just… Sorry, curiosity got the best of me. I tried to resist, really. I completely understand if you’re mad at me.”

Soonyoung tiled his head in confusion.

“Mad at what? What did you do? I don’t understand…”

“I…” Geonwoo lifted the clipboard to turn Soonyoung’s attention to it. He looked at the boy with guilt.

“What is that?”

“It’s… his records… I read what happened…”

“Do you mean Seokmin? You read his case?”

“Yeah…”

“... oh.”

The guard raised his head at the anticlimactic response. He stepped closer to inspect the blond’s face.

“What? Oh? That’s it? You’re not mad?”

“I mean, you would have found out eventually. I expected you to at some point.”

“Oh… I guess so. Still, I feel like I should apologize. I feel like I stuck my nose where it doesn’t belong. I can’t help or hurt him either way, so. Though, the details weren’t all on here. I don’t know if this is a badly typed report, or if some files got lost, or what.”

“I can guarantee you that everything is in there.”

“Are you sure? What makes you say that?”

Soonyoung sighed, looking at the ceiling in despair for a brief second before continuing.

“The trial was unfair. It was rushed. There aren’t many details because they rushed to close the case without confirming much. They didn’t investigate enough, and they didn’t ask enough questions. Someone paid off Seokmin’s lawyer, so he didn’t fight for his case as much as he should have. That’s how he ended up locked up, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

A wrinkle formed as Geonwoo scrunched his brows in disbelief.

“How would they have gotten away with that? With the jury and everything...”

“Everything about this world is corrupt, you know. Everything. Anyone can get away with anything, so it’s only the honest ones that get the short end of the stick.”

“You say that as if you’re not honest.”

Soonyoung looked to the closest wall.

“You’re right.”

Geonwoo sighed.

“That’s pretty upsetting. That someone as young as you would have gone through enough to say that.”

“It’s not as upsetting as Seokmin being locked up like he is. The judges refused to see any side of the story except for one. The one that characterized him as a cold-blooded monster.”

“I know this might be… a bad question, but can I ask you something? About the whole thing?”

“What is it?”

“The trial was unfair, but did he actually…”

Soonyoung let out a huff of air.

“Yeah, he did it, okay? But if you actually looked at the situation, you would realize that it wasn’t his fault. It was self-defense from that bastard, okay? I told the jury over and over, but what power do my words have? Why should the court listen to some bratty high school drop-out, huh? Just because I didn’t finish high school doesn’t mean my words shouldn’t mean anything! It doesn’t mean I should be brushed aside like I’m trash to society! If I knew this would happen, I wouldn’t have dropped out. If I knew that I would become useless to Seokmin…”

Soonyoung’s jaw tightened as he pursed his lips. Thinking back to the unfair trial, he couldn’t help but feel regrets. He couldn’t help but think about all of the “what if’s” or “if only’s”. There was no changing the past, but he wanted to cling onto the slightest chance that he could change the way things were. If he were a university student, then maybe things would change. If he only had more power, he could erase the cold and cruel “guilty” plastered on Seokmin’s name.

After his rant, he looked up at Geonwoo, who wore an expression of pity and shock.

“I’m sorry for asking… I should have known it wasn’t his fault.”

Soonyoung sighed, releasing his tension, realizing he was getting mad at the wrong person.

“Don’t be. You had nothing to do with it… I was just taking it out on you...”

“Still… That’s not fair...”

“Yeah, well the world is never fair.”

“So then, he’s asking to appeal his case?”

“Yeah.”

“When is the retrial?”

“Soon. I don’t know the details, but it’s this month.”

“Do you have new evidence?”

“No. I’m just going to try to get them to see things my way.”

“I probably won’t be of much help, but I’ll be cheering for you on the sidelines.”

Soonyoung smiled. “Thanks.”

Geonwoo cleared his throat to change the topic.

“Just wondering though, what’s the flower for? Is there another occasion? Last time you came I thought it was your anniversary… What is it this time? No matter what it is, you know I can’t give it to him.”

Soonyoung lifted the bright, yellow tulip and his face visibly brightened.

“I know. I just wanted to show him. That’s all that matters really. It’s just a love letter.”

“A love letter?”

“Mmhmm. Seokmin really likes flowers to the point that he knows what a lot of them mean. Oh, like the language of flowers. Because flowers have a language. Sorry, I’m not as good at explaining things.”

Geonwoo chuckled lightly. “That’s fine. I understand what you’re trying to say.”

“Anyways, so he knows the language of flowers, and he basically confessed through them. I didn’t care for flowers much, so I had to look up their meanings, but it got the message across. Really we’ve been doing this from the start to communicate things that aren’t as easy to say with words. Well, he did this from the start. I didn’t know what was going on until later. But all I have to do is show him a flower and he’ll understand what I want to say. It isn’t as important that he gets to keep it. It’s more important that he saw it in the first place.”

Soonyoung glanced up at Geonwoo, who was smiling fondly. He was suddenly aware that he spoke so much about a topic not many people would be interested in, but thankfully the guard didn’t seem annoyed. The two started walking again to the visitation room after their long pause. Geonwoo put his hands comfortably behind his back.

“I see. It’s a nice way to get messages across. But don’t forget that words are just as important. You might not be able to get your entire message across with a letter. Especially when it comes to really important matters.”

“You’re right. But sometimes words are hard to say.”

“Even to your lover?”

“Yeah, even to him.”

“Well I have some advice for you, kiddo.  Say everything you need to say, when you need to say it. You never know when it will be your last chance to do so. If you don’t, you might regret it one day.”

“Do you regret something you didn’t say?”

“I regret a lot of things I didn’t say. I should have figured one day they would be gone, considering the line of work I was in.”

“You weren’t always a prison guard?”

“Oh, no. I was a firefighter before. And as you know, it’s a pretty dangerous job to have. We all have several partners, since trust is really important. You become a family when you have a bond like that. Of course, we’ll have disagreements and fights sometimes, but in the end, we all love each other.”

“Sounds like you really care for your partners.”

“Yeah. Which is why when a fire took them all away, I couldn’t work as a firefighter anymore. It wasn’t because I was scared for my life. If that was the case, I wouldn’t have taken the job in the first place. It was because it hurt too much to continue working there when none of my partners ever could again. I was the only one in my team of five who survived, and it was a miracle that I did. I was in critical condition for a week. I still have a scar on my arm from where a beam fell on me, but I’m glad it’s there. It’s a constant reminder of the family that I had there.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“I am too, kid.”

“So you regret the things you didn’t say… to your partners?”

“Yeah. I regret not thanking them for always having my back. I regret not apologizing for all the hurtful things I’ve done and said. I regret not telling them how much they mean to me. I regret not telling them a lot of things, even if I knew they understood how I felt. It’s just really meaningful to say the words rather than just conveying them, you know?”

“Yeah… I guess.”

“That’s why even if you don’t think anything will happen, you should say everything you need to. Even if nothing happens, it’s nice to get the words across anyways.”

Soonyoung looked at the flower he was holding and bit his lip. Geonwoo happened to see his distress and let out laughter.

“Don’t worry, it’s fine to keep sending each other your love letters. I’m just saying that you shouldn’t forget accompanying them with words.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for telling me something so personal.”

“I don’t mind. If my stories will help a youngster not make the same mistakes I did, then I’ll gladly tell them. And besides, you’re a fellow Kwon. We’re kin in a sense.”

Geonwoo winked and lightly slapped Soonyoung’s shoulder.

“And if you ever need someone to talk to, I’ll be here. When things don’t look good, when things are looking great, I’m willing to hear it all. Okay?”

Soonyoung looked at the smiling guard. Maybe it was because they shared a connection of a last name, but he felt that he would be able to rely on him.

“Thank you.”

By now, they reached the door to the visitation room. Geonwoo opened the door for Soonyoung.

“After you.”

The blond walked in, his face showing relief when he saw a cheerful Seokmin. He couldn’t contain his smile, and his heart felt warm. It had only been a day, but he had missed him so much already.

“Welcome back,” said Seokmin, his smile widening slightly when he saw the yellow tulip in Soonyoung’s hand. The change in expression was subtle, but Soonyoung noticed it. He noticed it, and let out a loving sigh, as there was nothing he loved more than Seokmin’s smile.

I’m home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yellow Tulips: There's sunshine in your smile
Note: The next chapter will go back to building up their past.