Kang Seulgi hates flowers.

Which is quite ironic, since her brother, Kang Ga Ram, happens to own the most popular flower shop in the area.

Flowers are so beautiful. And delicate. And symbolic. And short term. Aside from family members, she has yet to receive them from anyone else. And so now, she dreads that someone unimportant would surprise her with a single stalk of rose, or a bouquet of lilies. She doesn’t want to receive flowers from someone who did not matter.

Although it was a harsh way of describing it, yes. But she was cheated. She missed out on receiving flowers and she was now a full-grown adult.

She supposes that receiving beautiful flowers would count as a ‘first’ for her. She scoffed. And to think that she has gone through all the basic firsts out there.

Seulgi stood there, in her brother’s flower shop, thumbing the silky yellow rose petals that had fallen onto the counter.

Ga Ram sighed loudly. He had been busy arranging bouquets of flowers for some orders when his sister stopped by. She walked over to where he was standing and proceeded to ‘help’ him. And by ‘help’, she meant plucking the pretty petals off an unfortunate flower.

“Yah, I’m going to kill you if you kill another flower here. Now quit punishing my flowers.” Her brother spoke, finally breaking the silence.

“I’m not punishing them, you pig.” Seulgi quietly replied. She moved on to scooping up the fallen petals and sorting them out by size. They really are beautiful.

Seulgi’s brother scoffed.

“What?”

“Look at all those petals.”

Seulgi rolled her eyes. “Punish them for what, then?”

“For what your ex never did.” Ga Ram singsonged.

Seulgi’s hands hovered over the stalks of daisies lying next to her pile of rose petals. She released a soft sigh.

“I think we should stop blaming Jihoon for this.”

Ga Ram rolled his eyes. Just thinking about his sister’s previous relationship irritated him.“Well, even from a male’s perspective, he was an idiot, really. I honestly don’t know how the hell you put up with him for two years. I mean, come on. Aside fro-”

“Kang Ga Ram.” Seulgi emphasised.

“Okay, okay. There was basically no romance in that relationship at all! I mean, seriously. No flowers? What the hell is with that guy? And he even argued with you about corsages and boutonnières! What kind of guy would flat out say 'we don’t need them' to a girlfriend during prom? Unforgivable!”

Seulgi sighed, “I’m not really in the mood to recall high school memories, you know.”

Seulgi’s brother momentarily stopped arranging his bouquet.

“First of all, Seulgi-ah, it was only during your senior year of high school. That, and it’s your first year of college here. Secondly, I understand that flowers cost money. But that bastard wasn’t dirt poor. I still don’t understand how you went through two years without receiving any flowers from him. Besides, if he really wanted to, he could have tried asking me, I would have at least given him a discount.”

“You’re insufferable, brother. I’m your little sister. You couldn’t just give them to me for free?”

Ga Ram glared. “Of course not. For the number of flowers you’ve destroyed, a discount is already very generous.”

“Oppa, they’re just flowers.” There. She flat-out said it.

The atmosphere darkened.

“Seulgi-ah, get out before I cut y-”

The little bells on the door jingled, signalling that a customer had entered. A flash of pink, and Seulgi was already hiding behind the counter.

“Ah, Byungho-ah!” Seulgi’s brother exclaimed.

“Hi, hyung,” the boy greeted. His thick brows were scrunched, eyes darting from left to right. “I thought I saw another person in here with you?”

Ga Ram smiled. He felt a cool hand on his right leg. Looking down, he saw his sister, furiously (and silently) mouthing ‘I love flowers’ while huddled behind the workstation. He quirked a coolly arched brow before focusing his attention back on the customer.

“Must be your imagination, Byungho-ah! So, what can I do for you today?”

“Oh, I see. Well, I was wondering if I could see your new arrivals. The bouquet I purchased last week didn’t quite make it to Seulgi-ssi, sadly. Your sister is always too busy; I always catch her walking away whenever I try to visit her at the hospital. You know you’ve made riches from me alone, but none of those bouquets ever got to her! Imagine that!”

“Oh, really? How unfortunate!” Seulgi’s brother had to pretend that he was indeed perplexed.

“Yes! But do not worry. I always stop by the orphanage nearby. The sweet little girls there always enjoy your flowers,” Byungho concluded.

“I’m glad they didn’t go to waste!” Seulgi’s brother replied. Seulgi cringed at the conversation behind the workstation and just wondered why her brother would even be alright with Byungho pursuing her. Oh, right. The riches.

“Hyung?” Byungho started walking towards the counter.

The hand on his leg squeezed harder.

“Oh, the new arrivals, of course. Come with me to the back. I assembled a fresh bouquet. Very colourful. The kids will love it,” he answered.

“That would be fantastic! Of course, the kids will only see it if I miss Seulgi-ssi at the hospital again…”

As soon as Byungho and Ga Ram disappeared to the back of the store, Seulgi made a dash for the exit.

After several minutes of power walking, she finally settled on a leisurely pace. The weather was perfect today. The sun warmed her skin, and the cool wind played with her tresses. On a Saturday morning like this, she would usually head towards the library for some light reading.

 But she did not feel like it today.

Her feet carried her to a playground just blocks away from a park. She was glad to find an empty swing set.

She sat down on the blue swing, pushed herself off the ground, closed her eyes, and allowed her mind to relax.

Truthfully, Jihoon is nothing but a memory to her now. She cared about him. Loved him. They lasted for two years, and it took her over a year to get over him. She was heartbroken. But that was it.

Seulgi solidified a wall, after the break-up.

“It crumbled,” she muttered to herself. Her eyes were openly gazing at the fluffy clouds now. She smiled and wondered if her brother’s girlfriend would ever watch clouds this way. His girlfriend was an artist, drawing the most beautiful artworks. She had a hobby of cloud-gazing and had suggested it to Seulgi once since she was feeling a little bit stressed about her assignments. She said it helped her relax after a long day at work and Seulgi had tried it. It was now one of her favourite past-times as well.

Sighing, she went back to her thoughts.

Flowers.

She hated flowers.

But she doesn’t blame Jihoon for this hatred. She just doesn’t understand why she has not received them. She’s twenty-two now.

Seulgi can just hear her brother chastising her now for being too picky.

She smiled at this thought. Kicking off the ground, with more strength this time, Seulgi tilted her head back and enjoyed the sun on her face. Another memory resurfaced.

She lied.

She received flowers before. A flower, if she wanted to get technical.

Seulgi was about five, then. She was sitting on a small hill, in a park, busily getting grass stains on her new white sundress. She was also wearing a straw hat, which shielded her face from the sun.

A little boy of around the same age joined her. And a silly little dialogue ensued.

“Go away. This is my spot!” Seulgi spat.

“My parents own this park. You go away!” he retorted.

The little girl narrowed her eyes and stuck out her tongue. The boy mimicked the gesture but sat next to the girl anyway. She took note of his weird hair. Shabby-looking and sticking out everywhere.

After a few minutes of silence, he opened his mouth.

“Your dress is dirty.”

“I know.” Pause. “Your clothes are too clean.”

“I know.”

Little Seulgi grabbed a handful of grass and dragged them across the front of the boy’s shirt.

“There,” she said. “Yours is dirty too.”

He inspected his shirt. A messy green stain on a stark white shirt greeted his eyes. He laughed. “What are you doing here anyway?” He finally asked.

She smiled. Her feline eyes twinkled. “I’m looking for a four-leaf clover! My brother told me it’s very lucky! I want to find one and keep it forever and ever, so I’ll be lucky forever and ever and ever!”

“You talk too much,” he concluded.

She stuck out her tongue again.

“Stop doing that.” He found it slightly annoying. But only a little.

They decided to look for the four-leaf clover. She told him that she’s willing to share it if she finds one. He simply replied with “Finders keepers,” which prompted the girl to stick out her tongue again.

After what seemed like hours upon hours of fruitless search, they finally gave up.

Seulgi was sad. The boy was aggravated.

“I’ll tell someone to look for it,” he said.

“That’s cheating!” she replied.

“Let’s look again.”

“I’m tired. I have to go soon. Maybe next time?” She wondered if she’ll ever see this boy again. He was rude, but fun to play with.

“Maybe,” he simply answered.

“Okay,” she began, as she finally stood up. “N