Daffodils

Pilot Chapter

If there was one thing that Byun Baekhyun struggled to master in all his life of twenty six, it would be trying to win over girls after the first date. He never understood the commitment of trying to win them over even after he clearly got them. He didn’t get it because the first date went successfully, she liked him, they hit it off pretty well, she went back to his place and – let’s say, it all went well. 

It was after he received a long text message from his last date (from three days ago) in the middle of his League game that he realised he had somehow messed up by ghosting her after that night.

So here he was, running out of the comfort of his own studio apartment into the cold afternoon of Seoul on a random Sunday, aggressively scrolling through his Google app on his phone to find a nearby flower shop in order to make up for his ‘mistake’. He had Kyungsoo on call while he went out, hoping to seek some advice from him since among his degenerate group of friends, he was the only one who was in a stable relationship. Though, it was usually Junmyeon who would be the first person he’d call, but knowing the man’s busy schedule, he would rather not disturb him. 

Grumbling like a child, he mutters a few profanities underneath his breath when he hears Kyungsoo laughing at him on the other line. “Are you done?” He hisses. 

“Not quite,” His friend says in between choked giggles. “She really said, word for word: ‘Don’t think you can ghost me after the mediocre meal you bought me, Byun Baekhyun!’”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “Where did you even take her?” His friend chastised. 

“Doesn’t matter!” Baekhyun groaned, ignoring his question while still scrolling through his Google app. “I didn’t know I had to call her the next day!”

Kyungsoo scoffs, and Baekhyun could feel him rolling his eyes through the phone. “You’re joking, right? Why would you leave your date hanging for three whole days?” 

“Some of them are fine even if I don’t call them for a week!” 

“Yeah, well, how many successful relationships have you had with those girls?” 

Silence. 

“Damn you, Do Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun stops in his tracks, making faces at his screen, hoping that his friend could sense them. “I don’t know how you do this.” 

“Okay, Baekhyun, answer me this,” Baekhyun makes a noise. “If you genuinely liked any of these girls, would you leave them hanging for days?” 

He bites his lips, habitually them while he ponders over his friend’s question. He never really thought of it because if he was being brutally honest, he never really liked them. The attraction was there, and it was the attraction itself that drove these dates into fruition. Whatever he did, he just couldn’t emotionally connect with these girls, it was all just physical to him. 

Baekhyun knows it’s unhealthy, but whether they believe it or not, he tries his best to feel something. No matter how hard he tries, he just can’t. Sometimes, he wonders if this is why he’s still single at this age, because he’s incapable of having romantic feelings. Twenty six years and the only time he’s ever felt close to liking someone was in third grade, but that was just a small puppy crush. 

“Hello? Earth to Baekhyun?” 

Baekhyun grumbles again. “Ugh, shut up and help me find a flower shop! I need to get flowers for her.” 

“Why do you even care? Clearly you don’t like her enough to even text her after your little date, so why bother with the flowers?” 

“It’s a parting gift, and an apology as well.” 

This time, it was Kyungsoo who was silent. “You really are an .”

“I need to apologize and tell her it’s not working out, Kyungsoo! I don’t want to be a ghoster.”

“You are a ghoster, Baek,” Kyungsoo sighs. “But whatever helps you sleep at night, playboy.”

A few groans escaped past his lips, but he expects this, especially from Kyungsoo, who was one of the few people who can actually call him out on his behaviour. The other two were Junmyeon and Jongdae, which were much better options than Kyungsoo, honestly. 

Kyungsoo relents, sighing once again. “There should be a flower shop near your area, let me text you the address. It’s not that far off from your place.”

“Thank you!” Baekhyun resists the urge to fistbump the air. “But how do you know that?” 

“Jongin introduced me to it when I was looking for flowers for Seri, he mentioned something about the shop being his family’s, but I think he was just bluffing.”

“Why so?” He asks, confusedly. Baekhyun knew Jongin, he wasn’t the type to lie but then again he always enjoyed teasing Kyungsoo with his antics. 

“Because the bastard can’t even get me a discount.” Baekhyun snorted in response, mentally thanking the heavens when Kyungsoo sent him an address in an instant, surprised to see that it was just a 5 minute walk from where he was. “Did you get it?”

“Yeah, thanks, Kyungsoo, call you later. I owe you.” 

Kim Hyemi wasn’t really fond of the cold, especially when the clouds were so visible that you could barely see the sun in between its fluffy compositions. It’s bad enough that the weather reminded her of heavy rain or possible thunderstorms and the fact that it was really cold, but Hyemi hated it the most because then her flowers would have to wait another day to fully blossom. 

She hadn’t expected the weather to be this gloomy today, because the Weather app on her phone mentioned that although it’s going to rain, you can still see the sun regardless of it. Clearly, the gods were against her and her Weather app because ever since she opened her family’s flower shop, there was not even an ounce of sunshine lighting up the store. Usually, when the sun was at its glory – shining the brightest it can be – her flower shop would be the main target of its light. 

Her mother chose the perfect spot in Seoul to open the shop, and Hyemi just hopes that one day, she’ll be able to open up her own shop at a perfect spot just like this as well, maybe even in Busan. Everyone says it’s always sunny there, and Hyemi could only dream to see how beautifully the flowers bloom in that city. 

Her mother was her biggest inspiration growing up, picking up her love for flowers at such a young age already. Her friends think it was a little silly, this dream and love of hers, but her family were her biggest supporters and that’s the only thing she needed. 

She was standing behind the cashier, sorting out a big vase arrangement when she heard a soft chime from the little bell hanging by the door frame, signalling that someone had stepped in. She glances towards the door, a tall figure stood by it. Hyemi couldn’t see the pe