For shiningbeasts

Primrose

Growing up in the countryside made it hard for Sehun to experience the things that he thought to experience. Since he was a child, he had been getting up every morning, going to get some eggs from the chicken coop, eating breakfast, getting dressed, going to school, coming home, do some farm work, fit in time to do some homework, help clean up the house, eat dinner, go to bed, and the repeat. During the school breaks and weekends, he would have to then spend even greater amounts of time helping out with the farm. When he was a kid, Sehun used to enjoy it, but as he got older, he grew tired of seeing the same things day in and day out. His only escape was when he had time to watch movies, especially high school ones, because they showed him what it was like to move around in classes and meet lots of people. In his school, there was only four students, all male. They too, lived in surrounding farms. They were all friends, and most had desired to get out of the country and move into the city. He was the youngest of the four, and eventually, all of them graduated from school, and all of them had decided to go to a college in Seoul, leaving him behind.

When Sehun turned 18, and it was his final year of school, something happened that changed his whole perspective. A new farm house was built near his home, and a new family moved in. They had one daughter. He met her while he was tending to the fields. This patch of land was the common ground between the two farms. She was looking at the flowers. She sat down on the grass and just stared at them. Once in a while she would touch them, but eventually she would just go back to staring at them. He cleared his throat to make his presence known.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“You must be part of the new family that moved in.”

“I am. I’m guessing that you live over in that house.”

“I do. Where did you come from?”

“We came from Seoul.”

Sehun’s eyes went wide and he immediately sat down next to her.

“Why did you move here?”

“My family wanted a change of pace. They thought that it would be good we stayed in the countryside for a while. The city was getting a bit monotonous.”

“Are you kidding? I always dream about living in the city.”

“Why? You don’t like it here?”

“I like it. But I’ve lived here my whole life. I want to get out.”

“That’s a shame.”

She said that with a downtrodden look on her face.

“Why?”

“I really like it here. It’s just so…refreshing.”

“It’s not fresh if you’ve been here since you were born.”

“What’s your name?”

“Sehun. And yours?”

“Namjoo.”

“Let’s see how you like it here after a year.”

“Why a year?”

“After this year, I finish school. And when I do, I’m going straight to the city. I’m going to ask you whether you like it here after a year, okay? You have to answer me honestly.”

“Fine. But after a year, I’ll ask you if you still want to leave and why and you have to answer honestly. Deal?”

“Deal.”

Sehun and Namjoo shook hands and then they parted ways. Namjoo didn’t attend his school and he found out that she was home-schooled. The next time that they had met each other was on that same field. This time, his father had sent him to check on the flowers. They were currently experiencing a drought, and his father wanted to make sure that the flowers would survive. Most of them had died off, but there was a small patch that still had some growing. He brought two drums of water by rolling them across the field, and then he started his measly task of watering them. He decided that if he was going to do them, that he may as well have fun while doing it. He brought along his water gun and a few empty aluminium cans and set them up in a stack. He filled his water gun with some water, and then started to shoot at them. Then, when he got bored of that, he just aimlessly started spraying water. He heard someone scoff behind him.

“You really hate it here, don’t you?”

Sehun turned around, surprised and shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t hate it. It’s just, I don’t get why I have to water these flowers.”

“There’s a drought?”

“Still. Why try to save them?”

“Because they’re more important than you think.”

“They’re just flowers.”

“They’re not just flowers. They mean something. They make the world beautiful. Why do you think that guys give them to girls?”

“I don’t know. To impress them? Because it’s an overused gift? They don’t have any other ideas?”

“Maybe to you. But, to me, they mean more than that.”

She grabbed a small watering can that was attached to the barrels. She filled it up and started to water each flower one by one. Sehun just watched her, fascinated, at how much care he put into caring for the flowers. The last time that he cared about something like that, was when he was ten, and he was trying to grow vegetables for his family. However, they got hit with a drought and the vegetables died. He had given up soon after, and farming, to him, became a chore.

“Do you really like them that much?”

“I do. Because if you care for them, they’ll turn out beautiful. You reap what you sow.”

Sehun decided to just sit back and watch her. He ended up doing this every three days. Every three days he would go down to the field and find her there. She had taken over the job of watering the flowers, and she never failed to go water them. She always looked so happy, and Sehun wondered how someone could be so content with their life, repeating the same things every day.

As summer turned to autumn, and autumn to winter, then winter into spring, Sehun grew increasingly infatuated with the girl. He liked to see someone so happy, even from her backside, he could tell that she was happy. He could just feel it radiating off of her body, and he wanted a bit of that happiness too, even if it was just like standing in the shadow of someone to protect himself from the sun. Just the feeling of being around happiness, made him happy.

Sometimes, he caught himself going down to the field on his own, and spending hours just looking at the flowers. He would sit amongst them, and just think. Sometimes, he would talk to them.

“Wahh…you guys look a lot healthier. Must be because someone’s taking care of you. Must be because a beautiful girl is looking at you.”

He conversed with them as if they replied, but he never thought that he was weird. After spending time in the field, he noticed that he felt a lot calmer, and a lot happier.

“You’re here?”

He turned around to find Namjoo behind him.

“Yeah…”

“You talk to them often?”

“I’ve only started the past couple of weeks. You were right…”

“About what?”

“About flowers having meaning. They’re really beautiful.”

“You look a lot happier these days…”

“Well, I guess all the stuff on my mind, I can unload them here. Flowers are great listeners, you know?

“I do. I tell them my problems too…”

“Like what?”

“I’m not telling you!”

“Come on! I’ll listen very carefully…”

He bumped her on the shoulder and they both started to tease each other.

“The year is almost over…”

“I know…”

“Have you decided what you want to do?”

“I’m still thinking…I just need to confirm something before I decide to stay. How about you? Do you still like it here?”

“I still do…”

They were silent for a moment. Namjoo found this weird because he would always have something to say.

“What? You’re not going to say anything?

“No…I agree…I get why you want to stay here…”

“Really?”

“Yup. It’s just so…fresh…it’s…refreshing…”

“I think I’ve heard that somewhere before…”

“Oh yeah? You must’ve met this girl, then. You see, she’s really smart. She helped me change my perspective on the farm. Now, I’m not so sure about leaving. I feel like I want to stay here…”

“She’s a smart girl. She’s glad she met you too…you helped her feel like she’s made an impact on someone else’s life…”

“I think that everyone wants to do something special with their life…make a difference…even if it’s only a small one. Like these flowers…they just brighten up your day…And like you, you changed my life…”

“You changed my life too…I never had a friend…a real friend…especially a boy…”

“There was a reason that we met…it was to change each other…”

“It hasn’t been a year, but I want to ask you now…are you staying?”

“I am. Definitely.”

“Can I ask why?”

“Hmmm…because of you…because of the flowers. The flowers are like love. You have to take care of it, and then watch it grow. If you do that, it will turn out beautiful. I hope that I can take care of you, like you’ve taken care of the flowers…”

She leaned her head on his shoulder, and then he her cheek.

“I’m glad you’re staying…”

“I’m glad that I’m staying too…”

The flowers bloom…just like young love…