Chapter 4
Glistening
"It's all good, all safe, all fine and dandy. Unnie, c'mon, let's sleep already.."
Namjoo stumbled to the bed drowsily with Bomi in tow, who was having her own worries. It had been a long while since the episode, and Bomi was temporarily living in a cheap, run-down motel quite a distance from where she started. Namjoo taught her a lot during that period of time on her own.
In a couple of hours, it wouldn't be just the two of them anymore. Soon there would be six.
Was she ready? She was happy and nervous to meet those girls again, but what if she could never fit in? This anxiety tugged at the back of her mind. Bomi's place was... liveable, but on the other hand, Namjoo wanted desperately to go back to sleeping in her own cushiony, comfortable bed.
"It's better over there, hm? I can take care of you better over there, don't worry..." Namjoo mumbled, sensing the woman's distress. "The unnies will take care of you much better than me..."
The two eventually drifted off to dreamland.
~ ★ ~
Early morning, birds chirping, and two women lugging a suitcase down the street. Bomi was able to get a good look at the flower shop this time. Large glass windows opened to a sea of petals and greenery. Shiny glass double doors were outlined with gorgeous wooden beams and peach pink accents.
Namjoo jumped into a dramatic star pose when they neared the entrance.
"Welcome to Joo's Flora Emporium!"
Bomi looked at her strangely.
"Don't you mean Apink Flora Emporium?"
The large sign above clearly read "A Pink Flora Emporium", except the A and the P were too close together and the P positioned a little lower than they would've originally liked. So the name "Apink Flora Emporium" just kinda stuck, but they referred to it as the flower shop for simplicity's sake. The blatant mistake in the shabby installation job gave the place a homemade feel and an air of quirkiness. Bomi liked it.
"Eh, close enough." Namjoo shrugged. Rebranding the shop under her name was part of her funny little diva act. Though with how frequently she used it, sometimes people couldn't tell if she was joking.
The bell rung as they opened the door, signalling them entering the store.
"Welcome– oh, it's you guys." A petite woman with golden hair greeted them from the counter.
"Morning unnie!" Namjoo said cheerfully. It was beginning to feel like deja-vu for the three of them. A blush crept up Chorong as she faintly recalled what had happened next.
"You two had a traumatising introduction, right? Let's start over. Bomi unnie, you start."
The black-haired woman took a breath.
"My name is Yoon Bomi, um, nice to meet you," Bomi spoke rather timidly, a contrast from the oblivious person from before. She still needed time to warm up to everyone. What if she didn't belong here? That's right, she wasn't from around here..
"I'm Park Chorong, born '91, making me older than you," Chorong smiled, reassuring her effortlessly. "Call me 'unnie', okay? Unnie will take care of you."
Bomi's insides fluttered at the warm greeting and her shoulders relaxed a little. She felt welcomed.
~ ★ ~
And just like that, with Yookyung's leave came Bomi's entrance. Although the idea of having lovers in the dorm might have felt uncomfortable at first, the fact that Bomi and Namjoo hadn't actually come out with their supposed relationship, indicated that they were going to keep it on the down low, which was fine with Chorong.
That being said, it didn't stop the rest of the house from throwing jokes that hinted to it from time to time. The couple could be bickering in the kitchen or the flower shop about trivial things and someone would humorously say, "Get a room, you guys!"
As the eldest, Chorong felt it her responsibility to take care of her friends and roommates. It was for this reason that Chorong generally felt grateful about Bomi moving in because this meant that Namjoo wasn't going to be out at night.
Recently she had been worried about Namjoo. The younger girl would just openly leave for the night, or not come home for a few days. She would be staying wherever it was that Bomi lived and as a result, rarely slept in her own bed. Chorong couldn't imagine how long this must have gone on for, considering that Namjoo might have been sneaking out at night before the girls had even met Bomi.
"Is this natural?" Bomi asked, playing with Chorong's golden blonde hair.
"My hair? No... It's naturally black but I had it coloured.." Chorong answered slowly, not sure what to make of this situation.
Bomi's jaw dropped. "You can change hair colour!?"
Although Bomi's clueless behaviour had gre
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