Imagine an alternate universe, where your entire life you’ve only ever smell the scent of flowers. But when you meet your soulmate, all of the scents that exist, from food to perfume fill your nostril in that moment. And everything smells wonderful. 

 

 

Kyungsoo is the owner of a flower shop called Star Blush in Manhattan and all he ever smells are the scent of flowers. Hence, that’s why he became a florist. There are different abilities in different people, for some, they can smell only the scent of food or some who can even smell the scent of nature. It’s quite fascinating, because it helps determine your future job and also, most importantly, it helps you find your soulmate. 

Gardenia. Kyungsoo smelled Gardenia the moment he entered his shop. Seems like we got Gardenias today. Wonderful. He walked in and was greeted with a tableful of Gardenias and his favourite employee Junmyeon. Said employee was having his breakfast- hot americano and sandwich while placing the newer Gardenias behind the slightly elder ones. Kyungsoo smiled adoringly at the flowers and looked up to Junmyeon, “Morning Junmyeon. You’re always early.” Junmyeon looked up and flashed Kyungsoo a bright smile, “Morning boss, of course I am, I need to come early to take care of these beautiful flowers.” Kyungsoo nodded and added, “Please don’t call me boss again, it sounds awkward for me.” Junmyeon only smiled, and Kyungsoo walked to the back of the counter to place all his stuff. “You bought me croissant? Thanks, hyung.” Kyungsoo smiled delightedly and thanked Junmyeon, he preferred croissant than sandwich and everyone knew that. “There’s this new coffee shop few walks away my apartment and it looked really delicious so I bought it, their sandwich is nice too!” Junmyeon took a bite of his sandwich and moaned, Kyungsoo smiled at his silly expression. 

Jumnyeon is different from Kyungsoo, he could smell everything because he’d met his soulmate and his name’s Yixing, a Chinese where he met 4 years ago. They lived together now in a small apartment not far from Star Blush. 

After finished his breakfast, Kyungsoo put on his apron, ready to start his day. The day in the life of a florist is anything but boring or mundane. That is why Kyungsoo love his job so much. Kyungsoo busied himself with preparing the other fresh flowers that were still in boxes, lining up buckets of fresh water and unpacked those boxes of flowers. It’s already 7 in the morning, sunlight had filled the sky and after two more hours, the shop will be opened. 

The flowers were artfully arranged in pretty containers of all shapes and sizes just on time before the opening time. Kyungsoo flipped the ‘close’ sign on the entry to ‘open’ indicating the start of the business. Junmyeon began to spray mist over the perishable plants while Kyungsoo stood behind the counter, humming to an old English song. Not long after, the florist’s regular customers arrived and Kyungsoo served them with warm smile in his face. Both of them busied themselves from the morning until noon, Kyungsoo placing the orders of the customers and Junmyeon wrapping the flowers into a beautiful bouquet. A busy day as usual. 

It’s half past three when the flower shop’s business slowed down. Both of them were taking a break behind the counter, Junmyeon talking happily to Kyungsoo about his anniversary with Yixing the previous night when Kyungsoo caught a whiff of something. And it’s not the scent of a flower. He stood up and ran out of the shop abruptly, ignoring the worried calls of a confused Junmyeon. Once outside, Kyungsoo looked around, trying to find the strange scent again but what that greeted him was only the cab that stopped in front of his shop drove away. He stared at the street blankly, letting out a long sigh of despair before returning back. 

“What happened, Kyungsoo? You scared me!” Junmyeon asked worriedly the moment Kyungsoo came back but the latter only gave a bitter smile and shook his head. Junmyeon didn’t questioned more. It was until the shop was closing when Junmyeon asked Kyungsoo what happened the second time. “I-I thought I smelled something…something strange.” The younger replied, and Junmyeon seemed surprised. “Really? Are you sure it wasn’t the scent of a flower?” Kyungsoo nodded, “Yes, I’m very sure. It smelled like something mixed with…err...” That scent smells different. Kyungsoo stopped talking and recalled the moment when he smelled and scent and aha! “It’s rosemary! And something else.” He said surely. Junmyeon widened his eyes and asked, “So it’s the scent of something mixed with rosemary?” Kyungsoo pondered for a second and nodded, “Yes.” 

 

 

 

It was two weeks after when Kyungsoo smelled the same scent again. He was wrapping a bouquet of flowers when he smelled the same scent. He ran out the shop immediately but the result was the same as the last one. For Kyungsoo, it was amazing to finally smelled something different- other than flowers, but he was more excited to meet someone, someone he can called as his soulmate. For Kyungsoo, there is nothing better on this earth than a soul that you can connect with on every level. 

 

 

He really can’t wait to meet his soulmate.

 

 

It was Valentine’s Day the next day, so Kyungsoo and Junmyeon arrived an hour earlier than usual, busied themselves with wrapping flowers. When the shop opened, an old lady came in to buy flowers for her husband who passed away half year ago, saying that it’s their tradition to buy each other flowers on Valentine’s. Somehow Kyungsoo knew they’re soulmates based on the short story the old lady told him and his urge of finding his soulmate became stronger. After the old lady left, a few college and high school students had come in to buy roses.

Flowers were in and out and phones ringing nonstop, it was a hectic day for both of them even it’s a small florist. Even Kyungsoo’s cousin Jongdae came to help after class.  Customers continued flowing in and out; three of them didn’t even have time to rest until half past three in the afternoon. Junmyeon and Jongdae were eating in the office at the back while Kyungsoo slumped on the counter, too tired to even stand up. The door opened signalling a customer when the owner of the florist almost dozed off. Kyungsoo quickly stood up to greet the florist with a cheerful (less cheerful than morning) “Welcome to Star Blush how can I help you?” Woah, he’s huge. The owner noticed that the customer was so tall the moment he looked up, the top of Kyungsoo’s head probably just reached his shoulder. “Hello! Good afternoon! Do you still have roses?” The customer chimed cheerfully, showing all his pearly white teeth. This is probably the most cheerful customer Kyungsoo had seen throughout the day. “Good afternoon and yeah, we still have the last bouquet.” Kyungsoo said with a small smile. “Oh really? I’m so lucky!” If the customer looked happy earlier, Kyungsoo swore he looked happier now. “Yes, you are.” He nodded and smiled, finding the customer amusing. “I’ll have the last bouquet then!” The taller said, already taking out his wallet. “Do you need a gift card or something?” Kyungsoo asked, eyeing the gift cards on the shelf. “Oh yes, I definitely need one.” The customer mumbled to himself but it’s too loud so Kyungsoo grabbed a gift card from the shelf. “Mister, what would you like to write?” The customer seemed to think very hard before he spoke, “Happy Valentine’s Day Baby! Oh and please draw a heart too.” Kyungsoo chuckled and nodded, he started to like that customer already. “Okay, here, done.” Kyungsoo showed the guy the card which the later showed him a thumbs up. “Thank you, so how much is it?” The customer opened his wallet and asked. “It’ll be $45, mister.” Kyungsoo smiled, carefully placing the card on the roses. “Hmm, thank you…Kyungsoo.” The customer took a glance at the nametag on his shirt and smiled. “You’re welcome, hope you have a nice day!” was what Kyungsoo said before the customer left happily. 

 

It was one pleasant Saturday evening and Kyungsoo was out spending his time in the coffee shop one street down his apartment. He always enjoyed his free time alone by reading and having his favorite cup of latte. The coffee shop he’s at was the one he frequents, the employees there knew him quite well, always greeted him with warm smiles and his favourite latte. He was sipping his latte when the door of the coffee shop was pushed open, he happened to looked up and was surprised at the sight, no, more at the person. There were two guys, one taller and the other shorter. Kyungsoo couldn’t helped but gawked at the taller guy who seemed familiar. Oh, he was the customer. Kyungsoo then remembered a certain cheerful and extremely tall customer whom visited his shop a few days ago. He stared as the two guys ordered their coffees and walked to a seat adjacent to his. He continued to stare as the taller one took out his laptop, failed to notice the waiter- Minseok standing in front of him asking if he’s okay. “Hellooo, earth to Kyungsoo.” Minseok waved his hand in front of the florist. The call drew not only Kyungsoo’s but also the other two customers’ attention.

 

Kyungso’s alone time in the coffee shop turned out not alone at all. The taller of the duo- his customer actually waved and greeted him, which then turned into countless conversation. He introduced himself as Park Chanyeol and his boyfriend (which is the shorter) as Byun Baekhyun. He knew they’re lovers the moment he saw them, to be honest, they looked cute together. Kyungsoo was beyond shocked when he learned that two of them were in an underground band. Chanyeol’s the drummer and Baekhyun’s the lead singer. “What’s your band name?” Kyungsoo had asked and apparently, their band’s name is called Kokobop. What a weird name, Kyungsoo thought but at least it’s weird in a cool way. 

The conversation ended when Kyungsoo suddenly remembered he needed to go grocery shopping, if not, there will be no dinner for him. But before he could go, Chanyeol stopped him, asking if he’s interested in underground music because they’re holding a mini concert in Music Hall of Williamsburg on the following week. Kyungsoo nodded slowly, he’s still thinking about it when Chanyeol gave him the concert ticket and whispered, “I expect to see you there okay Kyungsoo?” He ended with a wink and Kyungsoo can only stared at him dumbly. 

 

It wasn’t the first time Kyungsoo’s in a daze. Junmyeon chose not to interrupt him as the younger stared unblinking into nowhere. To go or not to go, that is the question. It’s not like he’s not interested in the concert, he’s kind of interested but he had promised to hang out with his cousin, Jongdae. Hence, that means he’s unable to go. Maybe I can ask Junmyeon later. 

Junmyeon was in the office at the back when Kyungsoo smelled the familiar scent again. He wasted no time to follow after the scent as it led him to an alley between the buildings.  His steps halted when he realized where he was, after a good five minutes of contemplating whether to follow, he decided not to. 

When he returned to his shop, Junmyeon was literally pissed. This is not good. The older is usually sweet and calm. “Kyungsoo! Where were you? I was calling for you at the back but then I realized you wasn’t even here!” Kyungsoo smiled apologetically and apologize, a pissed Junmyeon is rather scary. “Sorry, I was just…never mind. Oh Junmyeon?” Kyungsoo called, wanting to ask the older about the concert. Junmyeon just hummed, and Kyungsoo swallowed the lump in his throat, thinking how to not be awkward asking it. 

A ring on his phone cut off his thoughts abruptly. It’s Jongdae. Kyungsoo swiped his phone to answer, Junmyeon then busied himself with cleaning the shop. It ended up Jongdae couldn’t attend their said meeting and Kyungsoo was kind of relieved because that meant he could attend the concert. Well, he was beyond excited because he’d never attended one before. 

 

 

Next Saturday came by in a blink of an eye. Kyungsoo was beginning to panic because of his lacking choices of outfits. Who wants to wear a fancy outfit when you’re wearing an apron 24/7? After half an hour of hesitation, he made a decision to go for a white button up and an olive-green pants paired with a black sneaker. He thought the outfit he’d chosen was simple but not too casual. He always liked it simple. The clock struck exactly at 6 when he exited his apartment. 

Kyungsoo was so relieved that he didn’t drove his car when he reached the venue of the concert, it was really crowded and for once, he didn’t regret taking public transportation. Kyungsoo spent a few minutes wandering outside of the hall before entering it. His eyes scanned through the well decorated hall and landed on the dimly lit stage. He then looked around himself only to find that he’s not the only one in his twenties, even some people looked barely over eighteen. He tried hard not to snort at the couple few feet in front of him bickering about who’s the most handsome in the band. Clearly Kyungsoo’s not a fan of the band Kokobop because he didn’t even know who’s in it besides Chanyeol and Baekhyun. Well, at least he knew some of the members. Kyungsoo continued to let his eyes wandered around the hall until someone tapped on his shoulder. The florist’s eyes widened when he saw who it was but he had no time to recover from his shock because he was dragged away the next second. 

 

 

They didn’t stop until they reached upstairs, and what filled Kyungsoo’s vision was the supercool murals around him. A booming voice broke his reverie after that and he broke into a wide grin after realizing who it was. “Hi Chanyeol, fancy seeing you here.” Kyungsoo said smugly, and Chanyeol laughed, loud and cheery. “I know right.” The latter winked, and the person behind Kyungsoo scoffed. And then Kyungsoo remembered, he was dragged there by the said person. “Hi Baekhyun, do inform me where are we going next time if you want to drag me somewhere.” Kyungsoo turned around and said, Baekhyun gave him a flirty wave and chuckled, clearly amused by Kyungsoo. This is their second meeting after all.  “So I have your permission now to drag you whenever I want?” Kyungsoo clearly didn’t expect such a comeback. 

They were interrupted by a stranger entering the bar, moreover, an extremely handsome one. “Sehun! You’re here! Come, let’s have a drink before going on stage.” Chanyeol called, handing a glass of wine to the other. Kyungsoo stared at the stranger and wondered, are all the band members this good looking? “Our Sehunnie is handsome right?” Baekhyun teased the florist and winked, making the latter flushed a deep red. “Oh? Who’s this?” The stranger- Sehun asked Baekhyun, smirking. Before Baekhyun could say anything, Chanyeol interrupted. “He’s the owner of a flower shop I went and we just kind of get along well so I invited him to see our concert.” The drummer smiled widely and Sehun nodded, eyes still on Kyungsoo. “I’m Sehun, the bassist of Kokobop, nice to meet you.” Sehun smiled and handed a glass of wine to Kyungsoo. “Hello, I’m Kyungsoo, nice to meet you.” The florist took the wine and introduced himself. 

All of them spent about 15 minutes chilling at the bar before going on stage and Kyungsoo was standing by the stage when the performance is about to start. He was taking a picture of the stage when he caught a whiff of cinnamon. And of course, he didn’t know how cinnamon smelled, but he knew this scent wasn’t from flowers. Thus, the florist looked around, trying to find the source of the weird scent. He almost turned around but the lightning on the stage changed and the performance started. He noticed Chanyeol playing the drum behind, Baekhyun singing in the middle, and Sehun playing at the side but what he didn’t expect, was to see another stranger on stage. And for Kyungsoo, this one, is the handsomest of them all. The stranger seems to be the guitarist of the band, with a guitar hanging coolly over his shoulder. Kyungsoo took in the beautiful slick back black hair, almond shaped eyes, pouty cherry lips and honey caramel skin, the stranger looked ethereal to the florist, this is the most attractive guy he’d seen in his 23 years of existence. The florist couldn’t help but stared at the guitarist, and he swore he didn’t only smelled cinnamon but also other scents, like perfume and even sweat.  

Aside from the overwhelming scent, Kyungsoo was mesmerized by the ethereal beauty of the guitarist. 

The performance was great overall, the music seems to fit Kyungsoo’s taste very much, he even shouted encore just to listen to more. Maybe he just wanted to stare more at the guitarist, who knows? The audiences were exiting the hall by the time Kyungsoo came back from the restroom after the concert ended. He checked the time on his phone to see the screen showed 09:05pm, wow, time certainly flies, he thought. 

 

 

Kyungsoo was about to walk out of the hall when someone called his name. The florist turned around to see Chanyeol waving and motioning him to come closer at the side of the stage. “Come, Kyungsoo, join the fun too! We’re having a party and you’re invited!”  The taller dragged the florist with him without waiting for Kyungsoo’s reply. Chanyeol lead Kyungsoo to the different bar where a bar was located. Kyungsoo was surprised when he saw not only the band members were there, but also a few new faces. 

Of course, the handsome guitarist had to be there. Kyungsoo thanked the lighting for being dark if not all of the people would be laughing at his tinted cheeks. The moment he entered the bar, he spotted the guitarist right away and somehow they managed to make eye contact. Kyungsoo brushed off all the different scents that he caught and instead focused his attention on the guitarist in front of him. The guitarist was talking to Sehun and beside Sehun was Baekhyun, who was talking to a stranger. Chanyeol pulled him to the group and introduced him, earning him curious stares from several strangers. Kyungsoo wasn’t really good at socializing, luckily, Chanyeol saved him. “Guys, this is Kyungsoo, we met a few weeks ago.” Everyone greeted him with a smile except the guitarist who stared at him and IS THAT A SMIRK? Kyungsoo felt his blood rushed to his face right then and he stuttered out a hi weakly. 

Everyone in the group was really friendly and Kyungsoo warmed up to them very quick. All of the guys were eager to talk to him except one guy, who’d only sent him a small smirk every now and then. The after party ended before midnight as all the band members claimed that they’re too tired to stay awake. Kyungsoo was walking to the nearest subway station when someone fell into step with him. That pair of Vans looked oddly familiar. He looked up only to be met with a pair of full lips. This is too close. Kyungsoo took a step back cautiously and the guitarist chuckled, voice smooth and deep and it sent shivers down Kyungsoo’s spine. “Kyungsoo, right? In case you don’t know, the name’s Jongin, Kim Jongin.” The guitarist introduced himself suddenly and Kyungsoo nodded, yes, he already knew his name (Baekhyun had told him back then when he sensed the tension between them). “Y-Yeah.” The florist could only stutter out a weak acknowledgement. “I won’t bite, you know?” Jongin chuckled, again and Kyungsoo’s face heat up at the words. “I-I uhm yeah.” Kyungsoo definitely won’t say it out loud that Jongin was intimidating as hell. Jongin chuckled at the florist again, and Kyungsoo felt better in a sudden. “How old are you?” Kyungsoo blurted out abruptly and he face-palmed himself internally. “I-If you don’t mind me asking.” He added weakly. The answer he got definitely wasn’t what he expected. “I’m 22, and you?” Jongin’s actually younger than him,wow. “I’m 23.” He answered then turned to look at the younger’s expression. “Wow, then that makes you my hyung.” Jongin smiled, the first time that night and Kyungsoo was mesmerized. 

The subway station was just few meters away and Jongin’s still walking with him. “You’re taking the subway too?” Kyungsoo asked and Jongin nodded, apparently they’re going the same way. After they’re both on the train, Jongin took out his phone and handed it to the older. “Key in your contact hyung.” Kyungsoo was utterly shocked but did as told. He could felt his face heat up at the sudden request (and also Jongin’s address of him), he could only pray that Jongin didn’t noticed that. “Here. Done.” The older handed the phone back to the younger. They stayed silent most of the time because it’s getting more crowded since that’s the last train of the day. 

 

“Sorry.” The silence was broke in a sudden when Jongin got pushed nearer to Kyungsoo until their chests almost touched. Apparently, the train stopped at the main station and more people flowed in causing them to be squeezed so close together. Kyungsoo tried not to be flustered when he could felt Jongin’s gaze on top of him. He tried to focus on the other things that were happening on the train; like the guy with really ripped jeans, the girl with a gold headphone chewing on gum and also the couple that were giggling beside him instead of the really good looking guitarist in front of him. Kyungsoo’s focused was gone the second he caught whiff of something. It’s cinnamon, again. And it’s overwhelmingly strong.

Kyungsoo was confused by the strange scent but he didn’t hate the scent one bit, if anything, he actually liked it. But it’s still strange for him because why he could suddenly smelled a different scent, and moreover, it smelled oddly familiar. It seemed that Jongin had notices something too because he seemed focus and the frown on his face definitely meant something. Kyungsoo’s reverie was broken when the train has reached his stop. He tried to squeeze himself out after bidding Jongin goodbye but because of his small statue, it’s really hard though. “Excuse me.” Jongin’s voice came behind him and seemed that Jongin’s voice was loud enough to grab everyone’s attention because one second later, everyone was making a way for them. Jongin followed Kyungsoo all the way out and Kyungsoo couldn’t help but ask, “You live around here too?”  Jongin answered as he checked the time, “No.” That was the second time Kyungsoo got baffled by his answer tonight. “Then why did you come out?” Kyungsoo was completely perplexed by the younger. “I want to walk you home, to make sure you reach home safely.” Jongin’s answer caught Kyungsoo off-guard and to say he’s shocked, he’s more touched. His heart was thumping wildly right then and his face blushed scarlet, silently hoping Jongin wouldn’t notice. And if Jongin noticed, he didn’t show it. “Thanks, that’s nice of you.” Kyungsoo said, head lowering down to hide his heated cheeks. 

Their walk to Kyungsoo’s house was silent despite there’s too much going on in Kyungsoo’s mind. The weather was getting colder and Kyungsoo’s nose is getting redder. At one point, Jongin even said he looked like Rudolph. But after that, Jongin handed him a scarf. Kyungsoo was touched, again. He found out that the younger was very considerate and sweet despite his intimidating demeanor. “Hyung…” Jongin called, sending Kyungsoo out of his reverie. “Huh?” The older blinked, waiting for Jongin to say something. “Uhm, nothing. Where’re you living?” Jongin turned away from the older and asked. “You should call me hyung more…” If Kyungsoo thought Jongin didn’t hear that, he’s hundred percent wrong. “Uhm… I live just around the corner.” He pointed to the direction and Jongin nodded,then they fell into completely silent again. 

Kyungsoo slumped on his bed as soon he’s out of the shower. It’s been a tiring day. Jongin went home after he’d sent the older back and Kyungsoo couldn’t stop thinking about him. He knew even though Jongin looked cold and distant, he’s actually a really sweet person. Just as Kyungsoo’s about to fall into slumber, his phone dings, signaling a message. He groaned and unlocked his phone, hoping it’s not his parents because he really wanted to sleep now.  Instead of his parents, it’s an unknown number. 

 

 

Hyung, this is Jongin. 
Goodnight. Have a sweet dream. 

                                    Goodnight Jongin. 

After sending that message, Kyungsoo fell asleep. 

 

 

Kyungsoo was lazing at home the next day. The weather outside was too unbearable to go out so he chose to stay at home enjoying his peaceful Sunday morning. He had Junmyeon and Jongdae to take care of his shop every Sunday so that he could rest. The TV was playing an old drama as Kyungsoo clean his house. He’s about to do the laundry when he realized there’s a scarf lying on his bed. It’s Jongin’s. Speaking of the guitarist, Kyungsoo remembered the younger had messaged him last night, so he thought of telling the younger about his scarf. 

 

Good morning, Jongin. I have your scarf with me I’ll wash it before returning it to you but how should I return you? 
        10:14am  

Jongin’s reply is immediate, as soon as Kyungsoo sent the message, Jongin replied.

 

Good morning hyung. 
No don’t wash. 
Will you be at home today? 
I’ll go take it later.     
10:14am     

 

Kyungsoo didn’t understand why the younger didn’t want him to wash the scarf but still did as he was told, leaving the scarf neatly folded on his bed and went to do the laundry. 

 

It was already 6 in the evening when Jongin came, Kyungsoo being told in advance that the younger will be going to his house around 5pm. “Hi, hyung, sorry I’m late.” Jongin said immediately after Kyungsoo opened the door. “H-Hi. No it’s okay, I don’t mind.” Kyungsoo knew how good looking Jongin is but when he saw him again, he couldn’t help but feel nervous again. “Here’s your scarf, thanks again, Jongin.” Kyungsoo smiled, handing the neatly folded scarf to the younger. “No big deal, hyung.” Jongin smiled warmly and suddenly Kyungsoo felt warmer. The florist was staring at his own socks-clad feet when Jongin blurred out something that shocked him. “It smells like you, the scarf. I’ve never smelled something like your scent…” Hues of pink crept up Kyungsoo’s cheek, if he’d paid more attention, Jongin’s too. The elder was flustered at first but then he realized something sounded wrong.

 

 

Jongin said he smelled like something he never smelled before. 

“W-Wait Jongin, you said I smelled like something you’ve never smelled before?” Kyungsoo asked, big owl eyes staring at the younger. “Y-Yeah?” He nodded, confusion clearly written in his eyes. Right then, something hit Kyungsoo. 

 

He realized he’d never smelled Jongin’s scent too. 

 

Also, Jongin’s scent smelled familiar to him too. Just like the sweet scent he smelled in his flower shop weeks ago. 

 

Two of them could smell a different scent now. So, does that mean?

 

Kyungsoo felt like his heart has stopped working at that moment and when he looked at Jongin, he knew he found out too. 

 

They are each other’s soulmate.  

 

“We’re soulmates.” Jongin said.

 

“We’re soulmates.” And Kyungsoo confirmed.

 

 

And he concluded, "Everything smells wonderfull." 

 

 

We stood there, looking at each other, saying nothing. But it was the nothing that meant everything. 

 

And then my soul saw you and it kind of went “Oh there you are, I’ve been looking for you.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-The End -