Daffodil: Used to symbolize new beginnings. 

Seokjin took a deep breath as he observed his surroundings, enjoying the pleasant smell. Lining all of the surround walls were rows upon rows of flowers. They all varied in colors, making it seem like a rainbow had wrapped itself around the small room. All the flowers had been arranged by Taehyung, who organized based on beauty and not anything practical like alphabetical order.

In front of Seokjin were a few daffodils that were looking a little worse for wear. For the past week Jin had been paying very close attention to the flowers. With spring having just begun everybody was trying to get their hands on the bright plants.

“Why won’t you just work with me?” Seokjin bent forward to come face-to-face with the flowers. To the average person, like Taehyung, the daffodils would look perfectly fine. Maybe even thriving! However, Seokjin knew better than that.

He had worked to closely with plants for the past three years. That in addition to being a single parent meant that nothing could escape from his ever watchful eye. The stems were sagging ever so slightly and the petals hadn’t blossomed out as much as Seokjin had hoped that they would. He had tried everything with these stubborn flowers, but nothing seemed to improve their health.

“You guys are the worst! I worked so hard to make you the prettiest and this is how you repay me? So ungrateful!” Seokjin scoffs at the flowers when they don’t fight back.

“Hyung, are you scolding the merch again?” Seokjin lets out a yelp when the deep voice of Taehyung sounds from the doorway.

The older man feels his face flush as he shakes it back and forth, “No, I was practicing my scolding for you actually.”

“What-”

“I left you in charge of the store for one night and when I come back in the morning it looks like a tornado swept through here!” Seokjin puts his hands on his hips as he turns his full attention of the younger man. He knows at a later date he will get made fun of for doing such a thing as he yells, but it’s a habit he picked up from God knows where. It just felt right to have his hands on his hips when doing such a thing. So what if Taehyung and Jimin say it makes him look like a mother!

“What are you even talking about? I cleaned everything last night and double checked to make sure everything was locked?” Taehyung crossed his arms against his chest, but the big, boxy smile on his face told Jin he was far from offended.

“When I came in this morning I had to resweep because petals were littered all about! What if I hadn’t noticed and somebody thought that we didn’t care for our plants! What if somebody left a review that said that we were just in this for the money?” Seokjin could feel himself begging to smile as well. He knew he was being ridiculous, but he was passionate about his craft.

“Hyung, you are overreacting.” Taehyung let out a loud laugh after he spoke.

“Yah! I’m your elder and boss, don’t talk to me in such a casual tone!” Seokjin quickly looked around the room, “Since you have so much time to make fun of me, how about you water and fertilize all the children back here.”

“Ahhh~ Come on, Jin. You know I hate it when you call them children in the same sentence as fertilize.” Taehyung whines, sounding more childish than Jungkook.

“Get your mind out of the gutter! All of these flowers are our children so long as they are in our care and I will refer to them as such. Now get to work.” Seokjin says while turning his nose up in a haughty way. He strides past Taehyung and into the front of the store with his head still head high.

He stood behind the counter that had an older register on one side and a simple, red tulip in a vase on the other side. Just below the counter were a few toys that Jin kept around on the off chance that he had to entertain his son. Also for Jungkook was a play pen that was tucked off in the corner. The five year old didn’t really need it anymore as he was taller than the gate for infants. However, the kid was incredibly shy and it made him feel more comfortable to be in there when a customer was around.

On the other side was a staircase that was covered in fake vines that Jin used as a sort of camouflage. Upstairs was were he and Jungkook had been living for the past three years. It wasn’t as large or extravagant as the home that he had lived in with Namjoon, but it also didn’t hold any bittersweet memories. Seokjin was content with the small slice of happiness he had carved out for his son and himself. He didn’t want to get overly greedy and end up burned.

The actual store front was organized by Jin, so it was far less harsh on the eyes. Yet again it wasn’t organized by alphabetical order, because who wanted to shop for flowers that way? To Taehyung  there was no order up front, just like in the back, but to Jin everything was where it needed to be. He couldn’t really explain his madness when it came to showcasing certain flowers. It was just a gut feeling and it somehow worked for everyone involved. Seokjin could find any of his flowers and it took just a simple glance around the room to know if Taehyung moved anything.

A lot of Seokjin’s decisions were based on a gut feeling. Dating Namjoon was one of the biggest gut feelings he’d ever had, and one of the best even after everything that happened. Raising Jungkook by himself was a challenge, but his intuition never failed him when it came to the sweet child. Deciding to open a flower shop on the outskirts of Seoul was also a random thought.

Seokjin had just woken up one morning and decided that he had enough sulking around. So within a week he had found a property that suited his needs and began to buy inventory. Slowly but surely Seokjin built a reputation for himself. Eventually the need for more hands around the shop arrose. Taehyung had just started college and could use some pocket change for all the fun that he wanted to have. Not like the kid was hurting for money. Much like for Namjoon, his parents were paying for his classes and dorm. However, it made Seokjin far less anxious to hire somebody he knew rather than a total stranger.

Speaking of strangers there was one looking at some red poppies. Seokjin would be lying if he said that seeing the man wasn’t a bit jarring. Not only was Seokjin still distracted by his conversation with Taehyung but the man also didn’t look like he belonged in a flower shop. Which the stranger must have agreed on since he was stiffly walking around and looked like he wanted to just leave this plane of existence.

Even though it was getting warmer every day this man was covered head to toe in clothing. In addition to that all of it was black. From his ball cap all the way to his boots. His shirt went up his neck and was covered in a thick leather jacket. All of this black made his pale skin stand out even more.

“Hi! Welcome to Just Flowers! Can I help you with anything?” Jin put on his best customer service voice as he beamed at the customer.

The man jumped in surprise at the booming voice. Once he recollected himself he stared at Seokjin with a calculating gaze. It felt odd for Seokjin to be under such a scrutinizing look, especially by some who was practically hidden all his layers.

“Do you sell balloons?” The mans gruff voice was muffled by his face mask. His voice made him sound far angier than he probably was. Or so Seokjin hoped.

“Uh… No… We only sell flowers here, hence the name. Just Flowers.”

The man just grunted in response and turned back to the poppies he had been observing. Seokjin was unsure of what to do with himself, usually everybody took him up on the offer to help. In order to not appear robotic, Jin tended to the tulip that sat on the counter and out of the corner of his eye he watched the customer.

After another moment of scrutinizing the plants he huffed out a sigh and turned back to Seokjin, “What… What kind of flowers do you get a friend?”

“Oh!” Seokjin immediately turned his attention to the pale man, beaming at him again, “Well what kind of friend is it?”

“I don’t understand the question. He’s my friend and it’s his birthday tomorrow.” The raspy voice opposed the cute way the man furrowed his brow and tilted his head.

“Well is he a friend that you wished you had a better relationship-”

“Oh god no! No! We are just friends! He’s actually dating one of my closest friends. Nothing romantic between the two of us.” The stranger looked like he was doing jazz hands as he tried to defend himself.

Seokjin couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh, which caused the other man to freeze. His hands fell to his sides and yet again he furrowed his brow at Seokjin. Once the laughter died down Seokjin wiped away his tears.The man was still staring at Jin with wide eyes and it felt like he could see straight through him.

“Sorry for laughing, it’s just you seemed so defensive. Well there are a few flowers that would be good for just friends.” A few more giggles escaped as Seokjin finally calmed down. The customer’s gaze hardened again by the end of Seokjin’s apology.

“Well.... Since it’s not romantic… Should probably avoid roses.”

Seokjin walked out from behind the counter and started to roam the aisles of flowers, muttering under his breath. The shorter man followed closely behind. Curiously taking in all the different plants that Jin took a second to observe.

“Could always go for a daisy… To simple… Wait! What’s your friend like?” Seokjin suddenly stopped his stroll, surprising the stranger who bumped into him. The shorter man let out a squawk and quickly made distance between the two.

“He’s… Um… Loud at times, but really sweet and caring.” The man said as his face flushed.

“Have you been friends long?”

“A few years now, yeah. Ever since he started dating my other friend.”

“Hmm, okay… Oh!” Seokjin snapped his fingers and the shorter man imagined a light bulb flickering on over the store owner’s head, “I have the perfect thing in the back! Wait up here!”

With long, purposeful strides Jin left the room and the other man frozen where he was. He didn’t even address Taehyung who was huffing and puffing as he swept the back. Once he found the yellow flower he had been looking for Jin let out another exclamation. It only had six petals per flower, three of them were narrower than the ones on the outside and had small black dots. Grabbing a pot of them, Seokjin rushed back up to the front. “How about these?” Seokjin asked, causing the other man to unfreeze.

“Those work… What are they?”

“These are yellow Alstroemeria! They are a bit tricky to get since they originated in South America, but I managed to give them everything they needed to survive here. They symbolize friendship and prosperity. If taken proper care of they can last for a really long time so it makes for a great gift, In addition to that you can even spout the line that it lasts long just like your friendship will.” Seokjin smiled down at the bright flowers.

“Sounds good.”

“Okay… So what is going to be the name on the order?”

“Yoongi.”

“No last name?”

“He doesn’t know any other Yoongi’s.” the shorter man huffs out and begins to fish out his wallet.

“Okay well that’s going to be-”

Seokjin’s phone begins to blare in his pocket, cutting him off. The flower shop owner finds it odd that somebodies is calling him at all, he doesn’t have many friends and even then all of them text rather than call. So he completely forgets that he is helping somebody when he reaches down to pull out his cell.

The smiling face of Jimin smushed against that of Hoseok greets him when he looks down at it. The picture was taken at Jungkook’s last birthday, the two of them were far tipsier than was normal for a five year olds birthday. Jin lets out a snort every time he see the picture, because to him it looks like Jimin is trying to fuse them into one person.

“How can I help you at-”

“Hyung! I’m really sorry to call you, because I know today you are running the shop, but Jungkook won’t stop crying!” Jimin’s panicked voice rings through the other end. Seokjin lets out a sigh and he feels his heart prick in pain. It was that time of year again. He can’t believe that he almost forgot.

Every year at the beginning of spring Jungkook got incredibly ornery. The child wouldn’t be able to explain why he got this way, but Seokjin knew why. Everybody in the kids life knew why he got that way. Not that Jungkook still remembered, but spring is when his other father randomly disappeared out of his life. As the years ticked on the tantrums grew less frequent and less disastrous. Even though the child didn’t remember it was like his body did.

“Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Seokjin covered the receiver and shouted, “Taehyung-ah! Please help Yoongi-shi with his order, I have to go out!”

“Will do boss!” The college student peaked his head in the doorway, eyes twinkling at the thought of getting out of cleaning.

Seokjin quickly turned back to Yoongi, who was looking back and forth between the employees with a startled gaze, “Sorry about this, but something urgent came up. I hope you have a great rest of your day and that your friend enjoys the flowers.”

After that Seokjin was once again making long strides out of the building. He hadn’t hung up on Jimin yet, but neither of them were talking to one and other. Seokjin was focused on walked the five blocks that separated Jungkook’s school with the flower shop. Jimin, on the other hand, was talking to some of his students in a hushed whisper. Jungkook’s cries rang through the phone and brought physical pain to Seokjin. He was never good at dealing with a crying Jungkook. It hurt him far to much to see his precious son in pain.

Seokjin decided that it was best to hang up on Jimin as soon as he had entered the building. The receptionist of the school didn’t even bother asking why Seokjin was there. There wasn’t a person in the whole building who couldn’t hear the wails of Jungkook. Seokjin knew that if the kid ever decided to pursue music he had the lung capacity for it.

The sobs got louder the closer Seokjin got to the classroom. He didn’t knock on the door, just swung it open. The scene that greeted him would have been a little comical if his own son wasn’t the one crying. Sitting on one side of the room was Jungkook, alone at a small table. On the opposite side of the room was the rest of the class who looked at the crying boy as if he had the plague. Jimin was standing in the middle of the crowd trying to calm down some other students who were getting upset as well.

“Jungkook-ah, look your papa came.” Jimin’s shoulders slumped once he saw Seokjin.

Said boy stopped his shrieks at the word ‘papa’ and blinked his large eyes a few times. His lip was still quivering and tears still slid down his cheeks while he took in the form of Seokjin in the doorway. His nose was beat red as were his eyes, most likely from rubbing them. Which Jungkook was currently doing with a balled fist, trying to hide the evidence of his tears from his father. Even though he was so young he could tell that his father didn’t like seeing him cry.

“Oh my sweet baby~” Seokjin cooed, his own voice cracking. He was at his son’s side within seconds, scooping the child up into a tight hug. Jungkook instantly tucked his head into the crook of his father’s neck, wiping his tears and snot. Carding his fingers through Jungkook’s soft locks, Seokjin spoke up again, “What happened, Kookie?”

“I-I was d-d-drawing a-and M-Mi-Mingyu woul-wouldn’t sh-sh-share his b-b-blue crayon w-with m-m-me!” Jungkook was hyperventilating with how hard he was crying. Seokjin had to bite his lip to stop himself from joining his son in a crying mess.

“What happened to your blue crayon?”

“I-I-I wanted to use h-his! It-It looked b-better!”

“With what, honey? What were you drawing?” Seokjin looked down at the page where his son had been sitting. He could make out three stick figures surrounded by a bunch of different colored flowers. The smallest of the figures was obviously Jungkook. He was a complete person, his shirt black and his hair featured a little spike that Taehyung liked to give him. On either side of Jungkook was a taller figure, one had a grey shirt and the other was incomplete.

“M-My f-f-family!”

Seokjin felt his heart drop.

“Who...Who are you drawing there, honey?”

“P-p-papa! That’s why I-I-I need M-Mingyu’s b-blue. I-It match y-your s-s-sweater better.” Seokjin knew Jungkook was referring to his favorite sweater that he wore every chance that he got. If only the kid knew that it was a sweater that Jin had taken from Namjoon.

“Ah okay… Well who is that other person.” Seokjin help his breath as he waited for his son’s response. It seemed like the kid wanted to , because Jungkook let out a few hiccups and rubbed at his eyes some more before responding.

“Uncle T-Taehyung. Can’t y-you see that, Papa?” Jungkook starred up at his father with glassy eyes and Jin smiled softly, wiping away a few more tears. Seokjin was so relieved after hearing Jungkook’s response. If the child had said Namjoon he would have broken down into a puddle of his own tears.

“Of course I can. It’s a lovely drawing. How about we go down to the store and get you the perfect blue crayon so you can finish it at home? That way you don’t have to ask Mingyu for his any more.”

“Yeah.” Seokjin lets out a grunt as he rises to his feet. He’s not sure how much longer he’s going to be able to carry his growing son around. “Jimin, is it okay if-”

“Of course, Hyung.” Jimin smiles, already knowing that Jin was going to ask for permission to take the child out. As Jungkook had calmed down so had the rest of the class so the students were starting to spread out and get back to their own drawings.

After having to bend down at an awkward angle, Seokjin gathered up Jungkook’s things, including his almost completed drawing. With one last round of goodbyes between the two adults in the room, with an almost silent goodbye from Jungkook, the father and son were on their way. Luckily for Seokjin there was an art supply store on the way back home.

“Jungkook?”

“Hmm?” The child snuggled into his father after being addressed.

“You know that you won’t get out of school every time you have a bad day, right?”

“Okay…”

“I love you, kiddo.” Seokjin said after laughing at his son’s response.

“Love you…” The child echoed, slowly drifting to sleep.

A day in the life of Jin~ 

You will find out more about Yoongi next chapter