On a wedding day, it was impossible for the bride to have some peaceful quiet. 

 

Silence. That was what Yewon desperately needed now, but she had nowhere to go. Everywhere she went, someone would stop her in her tracks and make dreadful small talk. 

 

“Oh, Yewon, you look gorgeous.” 

 

She didn’t even have makeup on or her wedding dress.

 

“We’re so excited for your ceremony.” 

 

She didn’t know who they were. 

 

“Your parents must be proud of you.” 

 

Who were they trying to fool? 

 

The worst ones were the reporters hiding and waiting to ambush her. Yewon avoided them as much as she could.

 

And now, seated and trapped by her makeup artist, Yewon was drained. Drained of energy and it wasn’t even evening yet. There were still hours to go before the main event everyone anticipated. 

 

“How are you feeling on your big day?” Her makeup artist, Jieun, asked as she patted powder onto her face. 

 

Yewon shifted her gaze from the vanity to the mirror. The dark circles that adorned her eyes were slowly being covered up. She forced a shaky smile. “Nervous. There’s a lot of people around.” 

 

“That’s to be expected, considering you’re marrying someone so famous,” Jieun said. “Really. You got a catch.” 

 

The sinking feeling in her gut came back. “Yeah.” 

 

She wondered if all brides experienced that on their wedding day. That uncertainty crawling and settling in the front of her mind, occupying her thoughts and tugging at her heartstrings. Whispering doubt. 

 

“I’m going to rest for a bit,” she addressed Jieun. 

“Of course, you need to keep your energy up for later!” 

 

Yewon closed her eyes and drowned out her surroundings. She ignored the rattling of Jieun’s makeup box, the booming pop music from the radio, her whispering doubts and tucked them all away. 

 

It worked temporarily. Her mind had settled into a fragile calm. Yewon had her peace and quiet when she forced out the world. 

 

Until her voice came. Soothing yet sorrowful, sounding so close to her like she was there.  

 

You're my downtown baby

Your eyes are the stars of the night

I wanna dream of everynight

 

Baby without you

I can't do this anymore

 

Her hands trembled. Yewon wrung them together to halt it. “Could you change the station?” 

 

“Huh? But it’s Yuj—” 

 

“Please.”

 

Maybe it was the tremor of her speech that got Jieun to move to the radio even as she gave her confused glances. Yewon didn’t care, she just wanted it to stop. 

 

Don't waste your time and hold my hand

I don't wanna let g—

 

The station changed. The vice grip around her heart didn’t.

 

Yewon tried to settle her mind again, but her efforts were futile. No matter how hard she tried, Yuna was there with her sweet voice and adoring eyes promising love. 

 

She gave in and fell into her memories. 

 

~

 

Contrary to what some people assumed, Yewon met Yuna at a nightclub four years ago. 

 

She didn’t understand why people liked nightclubs so much. It was hot, sweaty, and so stuffy. On the dance floor you had strangers trying to rub their bodies against yours and Yewon couldn’t stand it. 

 

Still, she endured for the sake of her best friend. Party a little, Sinb had complained, You need to get out of your parent’s office. It was on her insistence that they went to a club to celebrate her birthday and she was having the time of her life, unlike Yewon.

 

“I’m serious, call me if you need help!” She shouted over the pumping of the techno music as Sinb slid away from the bar into the arms of Sojung, the pretty woman flirting with her friend all night. 

 

Sinb waved a dismissive hand at her as she stumbled with the blonde-haired lady into the dance floor crowd. Yewon kept an eye on her. None of them drank much alcohol and Sinb had good tolerance, but she still couldn’t help but worry. 

 

Her thumb idly wiped the condensation on her cocktail glass as she monitored Sinb until her antics with Sojung got too much for her to continue. She wasn’t so concerned that she would watch her best friend make out with a woman on the dance floor. 

 

It was strange to be left alone in the nightclub amongst the groups of partygoers. Yewon distracted herself with her drink. She sipped her cocktail and sighed at the burn. The little umbrella in her drink rolled when she set the glass down, drawing her attention to it. It was blue with purple flowers on its design. With nothing else to do, Yewon kept shifting the umbrella around her glass and watching it swivel. 

 

Sinb would call her boring if she knew how she was spending her time at the bar. Sitting alone, dead silent and entertained by a drink decoration making circles in her cup. She had spent a bulk of her life chasing grades and success, and in doing so neglected her social life. Yewon had no clue how to enjoy herself in such an intense place. 

“Here.” 

 

Another cocktail was set before her. Long elegant fingers were curled around the handle of the glass, maneuvering it closer as Yewon examined the cocktail quizzically. Raising her head up, she tried to make sense of why she was getting a drink. 

 

The giver was a woman, the bartender to be more specific, standing behind the counter. A smile played at her lips as she reached beneath the bar and pulled out a yellow cocktail umbrella. It was dipped into the drink.

 

“I didn’t order this…?” 

 

The woman shook her head.  “It’s on the house.” 

 

“Oh,” Yewon glanced at the new cocktail. The tiny umbrella now had light red flowers etched onto it. She didn’t recognise the flower. “Why?” 

 

“Just thought you might like it,” the bartender leaned forward with a chuckle. The black fringes of her hair shifted with the movement, revealing more of her face and Yewon took it all in. “It’s carnations. On the little umbrella.” 

 

Her eyes were prettier up close and conveyed a warm friendliness. Yewon couldn’t help but notice as she stared back, getting so distracted she almost forgot to conjure a reply. 

 

“And what do carnations mean?” 

 

The woman’s smile widened at her interest.  “It means—”

 

“Hey, over here, hot bartender!”

 

The moment between them was cut as a man whistled from the other side of the bar. Yewon frowned at the distasteful call and the interruption. 

 

“I guess I’ll have to tell you later,” the woman huffed. She drew back from the counter with a reluctant sigh, tugging the sleeves of her blouse up. “Maybe when I’m off my shift.” 

 

She left her with a playful wink. Yewon realised she didn’t catch her name at all but she had already gone to fix a drink for the man. 

 

So Yewon did the next best thing. She got out her phone and searched for the meanings of light red carnations. The results made her cheeks flush and it wasn’t from the alcohol she drank. 

 

‘Admiration.’ A grin threatened to burst and she was sorely tempted to bury her head in her hands to not behave like a fool. ‘What could she even be admiring about me?’ 

 

Something had transpired in that brief interaction. Yewon wasn’t sure what exactly, but it was impossible for her to have imagined the strange tension between them before they got interrupted. 

 

God. She wished Sinb was here to give her opinion. Her friend’s words were harsh but honest. She could hazard a guess and say that the bartender was flirting with her but she had little confidence in herself. 

 

“Yewon, I’m gonna go with Sojung.” 

 

She jumped in her seat as Sinb appeared next to her. Her friend’s short hair was unkempt and her shirt was ruffled, but her eyes remained alert. ‘She’s still sober,’ Yewon concluded.  

 

“Want me to call a ride for you before I leave?” Sinb continued, before a scowl overtook her expression. “Why are your cheeks so red? Did someone harass you?” 

 

Yewon peeked at the bartender again, who was fixated on mixing a concoction. “No…” 

 

Sinb followed her line of sight. Her scowl morphed into a grin and she clapped Yewon’s shoulder. “Her? Really?” 

 

“Maybe. I don’t know,” Yewon fiddled with the handle of her glass. “She gave me a cocktail and the umbrella has carnations on it. It means admiration. What do you think? Is it a coincidence?” 

 

“Tiny umbrellas and flower meanings,” Sinb raised an eyebrow. “I think that is a sappy gay head over heels for you.” 

 

Yewon felt a pinch of hope. Maybe she had a chance after all. Not many people approached her first and she was always too shy to flirt with strangers, so the current situation was unfamiliar to her. It was hard to judge someone’s intentions when you had no experience with flirting at all. 

 

“I take it you’re staying longer?”

 

“Yeah. I’ll be fine, go enjoy yourself with Sojung.”

 

Sinb patted her on the shoulder once more before leaving.  Now Yewon was truly alone in the nightclub by herself and she would be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous. She didn’t even have a plan. Sit here until the lady’s shift is done?  Get another drink and hope for an opportunity to talk? Yewon was out of her element here and it made her jittery. 

 

She finished her first cocktail to give her some liquid courage. With the alcohol burning and easing her nerves, Yewon searched for the bartender and found her attending to a new group of patrons. 

 

It was getting hectic with the sudden crowd, which made her unfortunately busy, but at some point the woman turned to her direction and caught her staring. Yewon almost ducked her head away on instinct and it took a lot of restraint not to. Even from afar, she could see the pleasant surprise in her eyes and her lips quirked into a grin. 

 

‘Oh god she’s walking here,’ Yewon straightened her posture and prayed she didn’t appear as anxious as her body felt. 

 

“You’re still here,” the woman sounded cheery as she came over. “I was afraid you would have gotten scared off by me.” 

 

“What’s your name?” Yewon blurted out before could clamp up. The question had been repeating in her mind for so long she had to know who she was. 

 

There was a beat of silence as her empty cocktail glass was taken away. “Yuna.”

 

Yuna. Yewon thought her name was beautiful. So were her attractive eyes. Her jawline. The supple skin that peeked beneath the collar of her sleeved-shirt. Everything about Yuna was so perfectly sculpted it was almost unreal. 

 

“I want to know your name too,” Yuna dropped another cocktail umbrella into her drink. “Or are you going to just stare at me all day?” she teased. 

 

Yewon jerked from her daze and the flush in her cheeks came back with a vengeance. “Yewon.” 

 

“So, Yewon,” Yuna placed her palms on the bar. “Here’s another tiny umbrella.”
 

Her drink had a new addition next to the carnations. Yewon peered at the design. There was a twinge of familiarity, although she was rather thrown off by the blue colour. “I know this one. Roses?” 

 

“What do you think it means this time?” 

 

All the guesses that popped into her mind were too embarrassing to vocalize. “Um,” she opted to say dumbly.

 

“Blue roses symbolize mystery,” Yuna said when Yewon continued to fumble. She paused, and Yewon didn’t expect her confident demeanour to grow shy as she blushed. “I think you’re intriguing.” 

 

It was somewhat comforting to know that Yewon wasn’t the only one nervous with their interactions. Though, Yuna was concealing her feelings better than her and way smoother. 

 

With another warm smile, Yuna returned to her bartending duties before Yewon could reply. It left her heart pounding and craving for more, wondering who exactly was this woman flirting with her through cocktail umbrellas. Mystery. The word suited Yuna to a tee.  

 

It turned into a game between them. Yuna would find little moments to escape from her work and present her with more flowers designed on the drink decoration. Each time she did, Yewon learnt more of her and shared a part of herself to Yuna. 

 

A white camelia. You’re adorable. 

 

Ranunculus. I find you attractive. 

 

Red orchids. Desire. 

 

The last one made her heart skip a beat. The five cocktail umbrellas that crowded her glass to the point it almost overflowed should make a ridiculous sight, but Yewon found it a proof of Yuna’s charm. 

 

“Won’t you get into trouble giving me so many of these?” Yewon gestured to the assortment floating in her cocktail. 

 

Yuna shrugged her shoulders. “The bar has plenty and it is my duty to make my customers happy. Service and all that. Besides, this is a temporary job.” 

 

“I thought you were a full-time staff member,” Yewon tilted her head. With Yuna’s deft hands and experienced ease of mixing drinks, she had assumed so. 

 

For the first time that night, Yuna hesitated in answering. Her eyes darted away as she picked up a glass and wiped it with a cloth. “No. I’m studying music and taking vocal lessons at a school now. I’m just trying to save up a bit by taking jobs.” 

 

Yewon sensed her discomfort, switching to a different topic. “How do you know so much about flowers?” 

 

“My friend is a florist,” she beamed. “She pestered me about flower language so much I memorised all of them.” 

 

The alcohol she drank throughout the night imbued her with courage. Yewon propped her warm cheek in the palm of her right hand and grinned. “To seduce women?” 

 

“Only the pretty ones named Yewon.” The inflection of Yuna’s voice lowered as she spoke. “Is it working?” 

 

Her breath hitched. The bar between them felt too much like an obstacle now and if it wasn’t for it, Yewon might have made an impulse decision from the foreign heat boiling in her. No one had made such an effect on her except Yuna and her quaint charm. 

 

Yewon managed to muster to move. She didn’t recognise her own voice. “Maybe.”

 

Yuna reached out to her and Yewon had a bout of flustered panicking, but instead an object was slipped behind her ear. A light touch brushed against her skin as she tucked her hair behind as well, and Yewon knew her ears were now red. 

 

“One last gift for tonight.” Yuna’s hand lingered by her cheek before dropping back to the counter. “To change your answer.” 

 

Yewon retrieved the object. It was yet again another cocktail umbrella and she checked its design, finding blue irises and ten digits written into its paper. Her number. 

 

Like the other times she received something from Yuna, Yewon asked, “What does it mean?” 

 

“Blue irises speak of hope.” Yuna took a deep breath. “Work isn’t as boring with you here but my shift doesn’t end for another three hours, and I don’t want you to keep you waiting for so long. I mean, if you were waiting for me.” 

 

There was a soft tapping on the bar. Yewon found Yuna’s right hand fidgeting and she willed herself to hold it, wishing to calm her. Yuna relaxed under her touch.

 

“So I hope that we can meet outside when we’re free,” she continued, sounding bolder. “We can continue to get to know each other. What do you think, Yewon?”

 

Yewon knew her answer. And from the way Yuna gazed at her, she did too.