TWO

me : thank you for the beautiful flower

xx : you actually kept my number, kihyun-ah?

me : i prefer knowing someone who holds interest in me
me : it makes dating much easier, don't you think?

xx : w-wait what?
xx : i think i just went to heaven or something

me : i am serious, if that's what you're thinking
me : i want to get to know you
me : it's also been a long time since someones liked me

xx : okay, someone has to have taken kihyun-ah's phone...
xx : my heart is dying
xx : this has to be a joke right?

me : no joke
me : i want to get to know you
me : also you can drop the formalities
me : call me kihyun

xx : okay, kihyun
xx : i think i'm gonna faint now
xx : g o o d b y e

me : no don't go
me : how can we talk if you leave?

xx : i'll talk more after the next flower

me : there's another?

xx : of course
xx : i promised you didn't i?
xx : i will keep sending them, till you know who i am
xx : goodbye for now, love

❀

kihyun blushed scarlet when he finally put down his phone, matching parts of an amaryllis flower that sat lonely in it's vase on the kitchen's countertop. continuing to eat his now cold-food like he hadn't been texting for the last twenty minutes, the short male disregarded his friend's questioning stares that he could feel burning into the crown of his hair. after all, when was the last time that kihyun blushed looking at his phone— or to be more precise, when was the last time he had blushed at all?

it wasn't like he didn't want to have someone to be his other half, because he did, but no one ever approached him. and the only person who really caught his eye was found within a good quarter of his photographs, but jooheon rarely brought his friend around which meant barely a sentence had been spoken between the pair. so it left the brunette almost-pining rather hopelessly after the other, taking pictures of the blossoming sakura tree and claiming that it was beautiful, whilst the tree was, it was rather the boy under the said tree that was truly beautiful.

choking a little on his food, kihyun coughed when one of his better photographs of the male popped into his head. the other's head was leaned back, body weight resting on bent elbows with his legs stretched out lazily in front of him. face relaxed with his eyes closed, kihyun had only watched fascinated as a blossom floated down and tangled itself his currently-dyed black hair, calmly taking the shot and  praying that the shutter wasn't loud enough to make the boy open his eyes at the noise, before getting up and walking away.

minhyuk merely giggled when the younger choked, turning to whisper something into hyunwoo's ear. the eldest of the three turned a bright shade of red as well, hiding his face away in his hands to hide his embarassment that the words that had just left his boyfriends mouth. why did his sweet minhyuk not have a filter?

focusing back onto his two friends across from him, kihyun creased his eyebrows a little when he noticed just how strange they were acting. minhyuk was smiling, with a mixture of a look both knowing and proud whereas hyunwoo was trying to bury himself into his hands like he had when he'd accidentally walked into hoseok and hyungwon making out quite heavily on their couch. letting out a soft laugh, he easily concluded that minhyuk had to have whispered something dirty into his ear since it was the only time that he went his signature fire truck-red in the face. 

"come on, you two, we might want to head to class now if we want to be on time" kihyun ended up commenting minutes later, when hyunwoo still hadn't moved an inch and neither had minhyuk. the blonde scoffed playfully, standing up and putting both his and hyunwoo's dishes in the sink "if we run late, it's more your fault than ours. we weren't the ones staring at a phone and blushing red for a good fifteen minutes— at least!". the brunette flushed a pale pink when he remembered what the other person, xx, had called him.

"okay okay, now come on. i have my photography class first today remember, and i really need mr. park to have a look over my portfolio and check my progress" he easily chided back, also standing up and putting his dishes in the sink, leaving hyunwoo to be the last to stand. his face had calmed down, not a vibrant red any longer but now a dark pink that was quickly becoming lighter. "don't see the reason to rush then, you are mr. park's favourite student after all" minhyuk called back from his and the tallest male's shared bedroom, popping his ruffled blonde head out as he pulled a thick grey sweater on. kihyun sighed "favouritism gets you nowhere though, it's effort that does"

all three of them were silent after kihyun's breathed out reply, quietly walking around to get dressed for the day. they all pulled on thick sweaters, winter was still a good week and a half away but the wind already had it's bite. after a second thought, kihyun also put on a thinner zip-open black jacket over his thick cream knitted sweater, being more sensitive to the cold than his friends.

the walk to the university was quicker than the day before, not really intent of walking slower and letting the cold wind freeze them to the bone. instead of meeting at the front steps, the group of six sat at the university's cafë with warm coffees in the palms of their hands, watching as the wind carried off all the fallen leaves and blossoms of the autumn season. hyungwon had perched on hoseok's lap, slightly curling into the older male for warmth, he was more sensitive to the cold than kihyun was. minhyuk finished his drink before doing the same, hyunwoo's bicep easily curling around the younger's slim waist.

it made both kihyun and jooheon's hearts pang ; only for two different reasons. jooheon wanted to be like that with gunhee, but being an idol-trainee had it's limitations so he wasn't able to physically go to university and instead had to take the online classes. kihyun's heart just panged from loneliness, only now putting the emotion to the feeling since he continuously pushed it back, pushing it to the corner's of his mind so he could put his friends first. but having these flowers show up and the sweet messages with them, pushed kihyun out into the spotlight. he was so unbearably lonely.

that thought alone made him finish his drink quicker than usual, the vanilla latte warming his chest as he collected his precious portfolio that rested on the table "guys, i'm going to head off now" he announced, waving goodbye and hearing minhyuk playfully call out "professor's pet" to his retreating back.

he entered the room with clear intent to talk to his professor about his portfolio, instead he saw the older man with a frazzled look on his face, clutching a letter in one hand and holding a second flower delicately in the other. "sir, i wanted to talk to you about my portfolio" kihyun asked easily, pushing away the fact that what was being held in the professor's hands could possibly be meant for him. blinking the professor turned his eyes towards him, his eyes crinkling at the corners with crow's feet to betray his age "ah yes kihyun, these are for you. a boy just dropped them off, looked quite spooked too if i must say. a boyfriend of yours?" 

kihyun just smiled warmly in return, taking the gifts from the professor's outstretched hands "no sir, more like a secret admirer". the male turned a light pink for the second time that day, smelling how sweet the flower was. it was a tulip, that much kihyun could tell, with wide yellow petals with a ruby red almost leaking in from the bottom. "he must be pretty infatuated with you. if i'm not wrong, that's a variegated tulip and it means 'beautiful eyes' in the flower language. i buy my wife those tulips every year for our anniversary, she loves them" the professor replied easily, not helping his student's blush at all as it deepened further. walking back to his desk at the front of the room, he sat down "talk about your portfolio after kihyun, i would much prefer you to read your letter. after all, there's still twenty-five minutes until class actually starts" he said in a fatherly tone, pulling a book out of one of his drawers and beginning to read.

kihyun obliged and opened the letter with hasty but careful fingers.

hello love,

did you know that the first thing that caught my attention was your eyes? they were so captivating and warm. i always slowed my steps a little when i saw you with your friends, just to see those eyes of yours crinkle when you smiled, becoming my favourite type of crescent. also when you would laugh, not only would your eyes crinkles but the smallest of dimples would appear, marking both sides of your gorgeous face. my heart would pound frantically, begging me to go to you. maybe on day i will get the chance...

yours sincerely,
xx

❀

for anyone that is a little confused by how different the first and second chapter is in sappiness, it's because the first chapter focused more on kihyun and what his daily life at university is like (as well has who he hangs out with— so that their personalities build on as with the main characters), rather than the message and the flower which although mentioned a lot, isn't really the main topic. chapter two focuses more on the pair, both kihyun and xx, looking into more of kihyun's thoughts and emotions rather than his actions, also how xx thinks of kihyun (which will also eventually grown in the future also). so stay tuned, cause this story is only just unfolding. are you ready, my little honeybees?