Butterfly

 Ten days have passed, and Baekhyun is now standing a few blocks away from Eris Flower Shop, contemplating how he’s going to present himself, especially after his last visit. He bites his lip in contemplation, fighting the urge to pace back and forth in the middle of the street because everyone’s going to think he was crazy if he did. 

There’s a soft buzz coming from his jean pocket, and he fishes his phone out. 

From: Chanyeol

Where are you? Did you get the flowers yet? 

Baekhyun inwardly curses himself, pushing his sleeve up his arm and checks the time on his wristwatch. He was already late. . 

Today was Kyungsoo’s girlfriend’s birthday, and he was invited alongside his group of friends to celebrate. Everyone agreed to get her a bouquet of flowers as an additional gift from all of them. 

Surprisingly to everyone, even Baekhyun himself, he offered himself to buy them. He remembers stunning everyone in the video call after, but nobody said anything after, too occupied with their own shenanigans. Though if they paid enough attention, Baekhyun was sure they would hear how nervous he was.

And it was all because of a certain florist. 

It’s not that he was flustered to see her, but he was more embarrassed after what happened during his last visit. How was he going to face her? He was caught in a lie, and instead of confronting him about it, she was surprisingly calm, even going as far as to about it.

It was a first for Baekhyun, because usually, it was him who made the girls fluster and blush, not the other way around. He admits he feels a little powerless around the florist, but surprisingly, it doesn’t chase him away. Instead, her beautiful hazel eyes and blinding smile made him gravitate towards her even more. The attraction was obviously there, but for some reason, he’s hesitant to act upon it. 

He can’t even mention it to his best friends, who are usually the first ones to know everytime he would feel the slightest bit of attraction towards a girl. He doesn’t understand it himself, why he’s so reluctant to flirt with her, heck he can’t even muster up the courage to ask for her name. Something was terribly wrong with him, he knows it. 

His phone rings, and it’s Jongdae. He picks up instantly, a little annoyed, “What?”

“Oi! Jongdae shrieks, and Baekhyun winces, holding the phone an inch away from his ear. He curses inwardly, and before he could respond, the man on the other line beat him to it. 

“Where the are you???” 

“Jongdae, I know you’re a great singer and all but if you yell into my ear one more time I’m going deaf,” Baekhyun rolls his eyes, but he could feel the seething anger from his friend, so he answers right away. “I’m on my way to get the flowers.” 

“Kyungsoo’s going to kill you,” Jongdae grits out, “Do you even know what time it is? You’re supposed to be here by 4:30!”

, Baekhyun glances at his wristwatch, and curses again. He has been standing in the same spot for over 20 minutes, with no flowers in his grasp. “I’m so dead.”

“You think?” 

“I’ll get the flowers real quick and – ” 

“Forget it,” Jongdae snapped, Baekhyun furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. “My sister’s on her way here with the flowers already, just get your here!” 

“But –” 

His words get cut off when he sees a familiar figure stepping out of the flower shop from where he’s standing. She unties her loose bun and lets her raven locks fall over her shoulders, her yellow checkered dress flowing cutely down her knees. She had her hair decorated with a bright yellow butterfly hair clip that accentuated her pale skin beautifully. 

It was her, and she looked breathtaking, even from where he was.

He watches her run towards the bus, hopping onto the vehicle before it sped forward. It was too late, disappointment washing over him bit by bit because he can’t recall another opportunity in the near future to see her after this. 

This was the perfect excuse, and he blew it. 

“Byun Baekhyun!” A soft yell from his phone snaps him out of his reverie, and he rolls his eyes at his friend. “Are you listening to me?” 

“Yes, Jongdae, on my way there now. Calm your down.” 

He hangs up instantly, not wanting to hear anymore of his endless whines. He turns around to head to his car, but not before he stares at the bus drifting further away from his sight. 

“Did you get the flowers? Is dad dropping you off?  Oh, you’re on the bus? Where are you now?” 

Hyemi rolled her eyes, resisting the temptation to groan. She was on a delivery run for her brothers, who urgently needed some flowers as an additional gift for their friend’s birthday, since the initial person who was supposed to get them took too long to respond. 

She doesn’t normally do delivery runs since she prefers staying in the shop, worried that something might happen to her flowers if she was gone for too long but her brothers were bugging her too much. It doesn’t help that her mother was on their side, too. 

She was on a video call with her two brothers, who had cute pink party hats on. In the background, she could make out balloons and colourful party banners. It was noisy, and she assumes all of their friends were there.

“You got the right flowers right?”

“What about the card, did you bring it?”

“You brought the purple card, right?!”

“One at a time please!” Hyemi rolled her eyes and they both huffed. “I’m almost there, will you get the flowers from me at the bus stop or…?”

“No!” They shouted in unison, and she raised a brow. 

The younger of the two chirps, “I’ll come down to get you, our friend says you’re invited too! Since you went all the way here.” 

Hyemi hesitates, “It’s no big deal, I can just drop the flowers off and leave.”

“Kim Hyemi,” The older one scolds, and Hyemi sighs, knowing that she’s lost this one. “Listen to your big brother. I assure you, it’s going to be fun, you can finally meet our friends too!”

“Fine,” She says in defeat, “I’m at the bus stop. Getting off now.” 

“Jongin, go.” 

“On it!” 

The call hangs up, and Hyemi shakes her head, trying to make sense of how ridiculously protective her brothers can be sometimes. She puts her phone inside her tote bag, holding the big bouquet of flowers to her chest to keep it secure while she hops off the bus. 

While she thanks the driver for the ride, she sees her brother running towards her. He was wearing a blue sweatshirt with a big teddy bear in the middle, pink party hat still intact, pressed flat on top of his brown curly hair. 

She widens her eyes at the sight, “You permed your hair?” 

The older male smiles sheepishly, his fingers holding onto a corn dog that Hyemi failed to see before this. “Do you like it?” 

“Hm,” She ponders, tilting her head. “Nah.” 

“Yah!” Jongin grumbles, catching her head into a headlock with his free arm. She squeals, trying to escape from his grasp. “Jongin, stop! My hair!” 

“Take it back!” 

“You’re going to get the flowers all messed up, moron,” She groans, now more concerned for the flowers that’s tucked to her chest protectively. “Let go of me!”

“Not until you take it back!” 

Before Hyemi could even respond, someone interrupts them, prompting them to stand completely still. Shortly after, Hyemi sees a pair of Air Force Nikes appear in front of her, a little heart drawn onto the leather surface, the clean white sneakers brightening the asphalt floor.

“Hyung!” Her brother greets, and Hyemi furrows her eyebrows in confusion. “You’re late!” 

“What are you doing?” A low voice resounds her eardrums, and she wonders where she could have heard it before. 

Jongin looks at his friend in confusion, before the older motions his head towards the girl he has in a headlock. She stays still, and Jongin sheepishly lets her go, the butterfly barrette holding her raven locks in place falling into the ground. 

“Oh, sorry,” Jongin smiles boyishly. “This is my sister. She’s joining the party!” 

“Ugh, Kim Jongin!” She whines, her hair in disarray from his hold. She huffs a few strands away from her face when she straightens herself, sending her brother a sharp glare. The man shrugs unapologetically. 

Meanwhile, she fails to see the other male in front of her, who bowed down and reached for her yellow butterfly barrette while she was busy throwing daggers towards her brother. It was when the stranger reached over to hand the accessory towards her that she finally realised. 

“Hi,” Baekhyun greets, his smile stretching wider once he’s sure it was her. 

Standing before him was the florist he had met ten days ago, the same girl he thought he wouldn’t see anymore. “It’s really you.”

Blinking in surprise, Hyemi felt like she had her tongue stuck down , unable to say anything. She never thought she would see him again, and judging from the sounds of their previous conversation, he was her brother’s friend. What a small world. 

She flushes deep red when she notices how much of a mess she must look like right now, and how he must have witnessed the ungodly scene before this. She took the hair clip from his grasp and flashed him a smile. 

“Hello,” She says abashedly, cheeks still pink. She brushes her hair behind her shoulders, clipping her hair back to how it was before, completely aware that Baekhyun was still staring at her. But she feigns ignorance. 

With each passing second, Baekhyun feels his lips stretch wider and wider the longer he stares at her. The day suddenly felt a lot brighter than before to him. 

“Do you two know each other?” Jongin snaps him out of his own daydream, causing the two of them to look at him. 

“He came by to get flowers before,” Hyemi explains after a brief silence, noticing the glances Baekhyun was taking of her, but she r