Chapter 19
My boyfriend has a bandThe two had been walking quietly, both lost in their thoughts. Minji decided that it was best to shut up because Soonyoung wasn't in the greatest of moods.
After a while, Soonyoung spoke up, "I think.."
"What?" Minji glanced at him only to find that he had been looking at her the whole time.
"I think that we have a lot of catching up to do," Soonyoung said.
Minji nodded, "I think so too,"
"I know a place," Soonyoung continued. Minji gave him a questioning look.
He didn't say anything but pulled her towards a familiar street.
Soon, they came face to face with the Florist's. More specifically, the flower shop that Soonyoung's family ran. It looked like it could've seen better days. Minji wouldn't have been able to distinguish the place from the other run down stores beside it.
"What.." Minji was at a loss for words. The petite and pretty flower shop had turned into a gloomy, lonely place.
"What happened?" Soonyoung said as if he had read her mind, "What happened was that everyone stopped caring for it,"
Minji raised a brow.
"As I said, a lot of catching up," Soonyoung muttered before he tugged at the door and it opened with a creak. Minji thought that the whole door would've been pulled down if Soonyoung had tugged at it harder. They both entered and she saw that there was literally nothing left in there. No one had even bothered about providing some light in the place. It was dark and a little creepy. If it hadn't been for Soonyoung, Minji knew that she would have ran far away from the place.
Soonyoung walked to the corner and sat down, patting the space beside him. Minji followed suit and sat down beside him.
"Minji," Soonyoung took a deep breath
"Soonyoung," Minji replied.
"Okay, I want to tell you everything that's been going on but I know that i'll become an emotional wreck if i did so can we do this thing where i tell you the truth for like five minutes then we stop and say a joke or something to lighten the mood. Then, i'll get back to my story?"
"Okay," Minji set her watch timer to 5 minutes, "Start,"
"Okay. Going back to that night where I hurt you. Nothing happened. At all. The crazy girl just pounced on me, I swear she was drunk because she smelt really really bad. And I'm sorry Minji, for letting her do that. I pulled back though, but you were already gone. I tried to run after you but I saw you with Mingyu and I knew that it was too late so I went home. I just went home after that and I may or may not have cried myself to sleep because I knew that i'd lost you and-" Soonyoung's voice cracked and he felt tears threatening to fall again.
Minji held back her tears, "You didn't lose me, I've been here from the start," She said quietly.
Soonyoung gave her a small smile before continuing, "I tried to look for you but everytime I found you, you were always with Mingyu and I knew that he'd never let me talk to you considering what happened at the convenience store. Oh god, the convenience store-"
Minji's digital watch beeped. 5 minutes had gone.
She wiped her eyes and cleared , "I have this knock knock joke. You start,"
"Knock knock," Soonyoung started.
Minji stared at him.
"Damn it," Soonyoung chuckled lightly.
Minji smiled and reset her watch, "Go,"
"And during this period of time my family was already in a crisis because 1) my grandmother was hospitalised and 2) my dad decided that it was totally the right time to leave my mom and I." Soonyoung started.
Minji realised that she didn't really know Soonyoung. She thought that she had already understood Kwon Soonyoung at the start but she was wrong. All she knew was that he played soccer, loved music and had a flower shop. That was all.
"I just want to put it out there that my mom and dad were never on good terms and they only stayed together because of me. My mom worked day and night to make ends meet but my dad would always gamble away the money. This flower shop," Soonyoung gestured at his surroundings then continued, "is my grandmother's. It was supposed to be rented out ages ago when my grandmother became too old to care for it but my mom thought that we should continue her 'legacy' or something so my mom worked extra hard to pay the rent and to care for the flowers. However, when my grandmother was hopsitalised, everything went down the drain." Soonyoung's eyes became shadowed as he took a deep breath before he talked again.
"My dad left and took all of my mom's savings and it became extra hard for my pathetic family. My mom stopped caring for this shop and the owner tore it down. I started working part time at this conveniece store to pay for my grandmother's hospital bills. My mom was really tired everyday and I couldn't bear to watch her come home everyday fatigued so I started working everyday which is why I never turned up for soccer practice or sometimes even school,"
The watch beeped.
"The fact that you care about your family is really sweet," Minji squished his cheeks. He shook her off and smiled.
She reset her timer.
"So about my grandmother. She was hospitalised because she had a and when she woke up she had no idea who i was and i was heartbroken because she was the one who had looked after me when i was younger and i loved her to bits. Everyday I'd go to her hospital room in hopes that she would remember who i was but she never did. But i still went there everyday to feed her porridge and talk to her even though she would fall asleep as i talked. I brought with me these childish activity books to keep me company. Remember those numbers i sent you? Yeah, they were the activites in the book. Each number corresponds with the letters in the alphabet.
"When i went back to the hospital yesterday the doctor told me that she would be gone soon and I just sat there beside her crying and asking the angels not to take her yet. When I was younger, she had always joked around with me, telling me that she wanted her last meal to be steamed buns. She used to buy me those everyday after school. So today i went to get her the goddamned steamed buns because i wanted her to have something other than the bland porridge she eats everyday but i was too late. Again," The more he continued, the weaker he got. His mouth was frowned and his eyes were covered with water.
The timer beeped.
But he didn't stop.
"And Minji, I thought that we could eat the buns together like last time, you know. But when i got there I was crushed. I was in a really dull moment when nothing in the world mattered except that one thing. And then I bumped into you." Soonyoung glanced at Minji, his eyes glassy.
"Thank you. Thank you for appearing when I needed someone the most." Soonyoung broke down. It was like everything he was keeping inside, the sadness and the anger, was erupting all at once.
Minji reached out to hug him, "Hey,"
She held his face in her hand, "Remember what I told you? I've always been here from the start,"
And in that moment, the small and cramped flower shop didn't seem to be all that eerie anymore.
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A/N: I thought this needed to be a chapter by itself. :--)
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