Jae’s POV

Nevertheless, the fun had to end and Jung had to leave for some planned thing with his friends. I put my hood back on, slung my bag on my shoulder, and saw that school had ended. At a nearby flower shop, I decided to buy a get-well bouquet. The woman at the desk’s name tag read: Cheong Taeyeon.

“Ah, excuse me, Mrs. Cheong.” I asked, hefting my bag. “What flowers are best for get-well bouquets? Like hospital patients.”

“Oh. For a get-well bouquet, you should choose flowers that don’t make you sneeze, in case he’s allergic. They also may not allow flowers that make you sneeze. Carnations are good, because the pollen is in the flower, not exposed.” I nodded, understanding, as she explained. She had her hair in a ponytail, and she looked around twenty. “Chrysanthemums and roses are also good. Why don’t you have bouquet of those three flowers? Carnations, chrysanthemums and roses.” Mrs. Taeyeon pulled up three small pots, all with a single flower in them to show me each.

http://www.flowers-cs.com/Pictures/CARNATION.jpg

http://diffusibility.com/diffusibility-pic/rose-5.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Chrysanthemum_sp.jpg

“Can you put one rose in the middle of carnations and chrysanthemums?” I inquired, thinking it would be a good idea.

“Of course. Would you like to try arranging them yourself?” She offered, pulling up two other pots, both filled with flowers. I blinked. “It’s better if you put your feelings in it like that.” Mrs. Cheong added, and I nodded.

***

I set the green-wrapped bouquet down on the side-table. Taemin was asleep right now. He looked infinitely peaceful. I breathed a sigh of relief, and I heard the door open. A doctor in white stepped in, holding a clipboard.

“His concussion isn’t all that serious. He might be able to go home tomorrow.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Good… thanks.”

He left. What a lovely conversation that was. I dropped into the chair beside him and smiled at him. He can get better easily. My gaze landed on the soup thermos I gave him this morning, and I opened it.

Oh.

It was full. Was he asleep the entire day? I frowned, capping the thermos. I can make a fresh one later, I thought as I went to put the thermos in my bag.

“I was going to eat it.”

“HOLY MOTHER OF PINECONES.” I jumped up and knocked my chair down, and fell. One of my hands had been holding the thermos, the other holding the cap, and they came apart.

Lovely.

I stopped, taking hold of the situation. I was sitting in a puddle of chicken soup, drenched in the soup as well.

“Omo.” Taemin started, and then got a good look at me. I heard a held-in laugh, and I tried to stand, then slipped and fell again, face-first.

OH MY GLASSES. Lifting my head, I saw my broken glasses on the ground, swimming in soup and I sighed.

“…Jae?” He leaned over, not noticing my glasses. I turned my head and gazed at him, using one of my special talents: creeping people out.

I made my left eye twitch as I stared impassively at him, when a soup dumpling dropped from my head, and then he burst out in a wild fit of laughter. I couldn’t help it; I started to laugh as well, and almost collapsed from giggles while I crawled away from the deadly, slippery edible.

When I was finally standing, Taemin made a face. “What happened to your glasses?” I lifted up the broken frame, and he stopped laughing. “Ah, sorry… it’s my fault, isn’t it? I’m sorry.” He ducked his head, and I looked from his head to my glasses, then to his head, then to my glasses. I picked up a soup dumpling and chucked it at him. “What?” Taemin lifted his head, wondering what hit him, and then another dumpling went splat on his nose.

***

The nurse was really annoyed at the soup mess she had to clean up. The hospital asked me to leave, even though I only threw two dumplings at him, and then he bombarded me with all of them. They asked me to call my parents so I could leave with them. Oh, I’d also have to face them being upset about my skipping classes. I was… in some deep doo-doo.

Yes, doo-doo. Taemin glanced at me apologetically as I left, and I stuck my tongue out, and went to sit in the ‘lobby-like-thing’of the hospital.