Petals of Romance

Chapter 6 +  There will always be a reason why you meet people. Either you need them to change your life,

                     Or you're the one that will change theirs. Or maybe perhaps, it happens for both purposes......

 

 

 

 

It was already late in the afternoon and so, their flower shop doesn't expect much to receive any incoming customers to arrive at that unsettling hour. But nonetheless, they still kept it open until the exact time for its closure and afterwards they can finally call it a day. Just a while ago, the truck of their monthly supplier had just arrived, and a bunch of buckets filled with flowers had made its way to crowd in their not so spacious shop.

 

Since its quite obvious that it isn't a busy hour for their business, Suho had decided to take the boys with him to the storage area, carrying with them the newly arrived plants. It also serves as a strategic way to make the boys useful, especially the two maknaes who doesn't have any productive thing to do at that hour of the day. They would just either take turns in shamelessly flirting with his cousin right on his presence, or end up engaging in their nonsense constant bickering.

 

And so, being alone and free from the noisy boys around that distracts/entertains her, Jasmine busied herself at the counter, contouring beautiful ribbon designs to adorn the line up of her bouquets. It wasn't long enough when she suddenly felt startled and she almost jumped from her seat at the sudden ringing of the chimes at the door, signalling a customer's arrival. 

 

And instead of diligently following the usual instructions said to her, she took the rather risky way of ignoring it and have her own way to deal with the current situation. She impetuously decided not to press the buzzer of the intercom that's connected to the storage area. Therefore, preventing the boys to know that she needs their help to interact with the present customer.

 

But then again, who exactly told them that she needed their help? She personally believed that she can actually take it from here. Afterall, she used to do this job before. Not until that dreadful day, when everyone else had deemed her helpless with her pathetic disability. She always insists that she's still independent in some ways, and all she needs is a handful of trust from them. And today seems to be the right time to prove that to them.

 

On the other hand, Kris entered the flower shop hastily, like he always does everytime he's about to attend a last minute emergency meeting. His eyes immediately scan the various flowers lining up in a neat row, searching for that particular flower he usually buys. He had been so engrossed in his searching mission that he didn't even notice the girl at the counter. He remained oblivious of her presence all that time, not until she decided to officially make her existence known and welcomed him in the shop.

 

"Good afternoon!" she cheerfully greeted. "Welcome to Nightingale's Flower shop. How may I help you?"

 

Hearing those words, his face lighten up after sensing that he's finally getting help from his trouble. Kris snapped his head at her direction and marched towards her right then and there. As he was about to ask for the availability of the flower he's so eager to get his hands on, he immediately stop on his tracks the moment he saw her face up close. The time in his dimension had seemed to go in slow motion that moment, and the next thing he knew, he suddenly blurted out in surprise.

 

"It's you!" he said, ponting a finger at her, and almost instinctively, he pulled his finger back down, not wanting to look rather rude. "Don't you recognize me?" he urged on when the girl just gave him a puzzling look.

 

"Excuse me?" her voice had gone an octave higher because of confusion. "Do I perhaps know you?"

 

"U-uh, nevermind" he dismissed the thought. "Maybe you don't remember" he said, almost in a whisper. "Ahm.. anyways, I came here to buy a bouquet of flowers" he tried to regain his cool composure.

 

"Ofcourse sir,"  she silently chuckled. "what else would you buy in a flower shop but flowers" she suddenly felt like she shouldn't have said that when she sense that he felt embarassed by her remark. Afterall, he's still a stranger, and a customer to be exact. Well, anyways. 

 

Jasmine had made sure that she can finally prove that she can handle a customer without anyone's help. She immediately stood from her chair and pressed her palm along the outlines of the counter to serve as her guide. And in no time, she successfully made her way towards the row of flowers. She cautiously picked up a stalk from the first bucket and smothen its petals in between her fingers, then she brings it close to her nose and smelled it.

 

"We have a variety of flowers where you can choose from" she said and smelled the flower on her hand once more. "First up are the sunflowers" she smiled, hoping that her attempt to please him would be a success.

 

She made the same repetitive action of picking a stalk from each bucket, feel its petals and then smelled them before naming the kind of flower to him. She was actually happy and surprised that she successfully made it until the very last bucket without making a wrong move. Finally!

 

"And last but not the least, we have daisies. So which one of those would you like to fill up in your bouquet" she excitedly smiled and turned to face him, or so she thought. She didn't know that that single turn had proved to be her wrong move. Because believe it or not, she actually faced the concrete wall, and not him.

 

Kris doesn't know if he was suppose to laugh at her strange actions or to compliment her on the dedication she has towards work. He doesn't even have any clue on what he's suppose to react when she suddenly turned and talked to the wall instead of him. Does he really look intimidating for her that she doesn't want to look at him when he's just right behind her?

 

"Ahm... I hate to tell you this, but I think you turned the other way. I'm right here behind you. That's the concrete wall you're facing and talking to right now" he simply stated the obvious fact to her.

 

Jasmine's mind went blank and she immediately tensed up at his revelation. To make it less awkward, she quickly gathered up her wits to come up and think of a lame excuse. She turned towards where his voice came from and bowed in apology.

 

"Oh, I-I'm sorry. I wasn't really looking, I mean I didn't notice, yeah~" she cracked a sheepish smile and sighed.

 

Kris instantly knew something wasn't right. She's been acting unusual, but not in a weird way. Infact, he already sensed it from the moment he accidentally met her at the rooftop a few weeks ago. There's something mysterious about her that he can't point a finger on. And right now, he wanted that mystery to be revealed to him.

 

He moved closer to her, cautious of every step he makes as he holds his breath when their proximity grew smaller. He doesn't want to invade her personal space, but he thinks that he has to cross it this time. When he got closer, her eyes immediately caught his attention. Aside from the fact that he's mesmerized again by its beauty, it striked him in a different way this time. Now, that he got to intently look at her orbs, her eyes actually seem to be a bit strange.

 

It looks lonely, dull and void of anything. The more he looks at her, the more it entrances him. That's when he realized something, and the fear of confirming that truth had hit him so hard he doesn't want to believe in it.

 

He reluctantly started waving his hand infront of her. And to his dismay, she didn't blink and her eyelashes didn't flutter like it should have, due to his sudden action. She's standing there, with her eyes staring right at him, but there's no intense feeling from it, like her vision just passes right through him. Then, the dreadful reality had finally sink in him.

 

That's why she can't get the weather right.

 

That's why she needs to touch and smell each flower first before knowing what variety it was.

 

That's why she turned and talked to the wall instead of me.

 

That's why she can't even recognize me.

 

Well, how could she, when she can't even see me at all.

 

How could I not notice that all this time, she's.............blind.

 

Kris had a hard time believing it. His shoulders had deflated from the sudden remorse he felt for her. The charming lady that he met a few weeks ago, the one with the pretty alluring topaz-like eyes, is actually......blind. It's such a shame that she can't even see how captivating her beauty is.

 

"Ahm, excuse me. Sir, are you still with me?" she suddenly asked, not sure if she's still talking to someone because the atmosphere had turned too silent for her liking.

 

"A-ah, y-yes ofcourse" he stuttered a reply after snapping out from his thoughts. "Don't worry, I'm still here with you" he casted a sad look at her.

 

"Good. Now, have you already decided which flower would it be? Just say it and I'll arrange it beautifully in the bouquet" she sweetly smiled.

 

Oh, that beautiful smile. It unknowingly makes his heart flutter in a strange way, but at the same time it also painfully clenches his heart. Because he knows that behind those smile, she tries to conceal every pain that she endures just to build a strong and reliable facade for herself.

 

"Well then, could you give me some Azeleas, please. And take your time, I'm not in a hurry"

 

She simply nodded and return to her repetitive actions once again. Taking a stalk from each bucket along the way and smells them until she finally reached the bunch of Azeleas that he requested. Kris wanted to help her and reach for the flower once and for all, but then he retracted back to simply let her do her thing. His conscience had warned him that he might offend her with his actions, even though he's just trying to be considerate. Afterall she looks so confident in what she does and it simply amazes him just looking at her like that.

 

She took a couple of stalks with her and brought them to the counter. He watched her take cautious steps in every way and he stood close behind her, preparing to catch her if she took a wrong step or turn on the process. But she didn't disappoint him. He even wanted to cheer for her when she successfully made it back to the counter again where she layed the flowers and began her work.

 

"She must be a very special person for you" she stated, which unknowingly startled him because that time, he's so busy in just shamelessly staring at her. "Huh? I'm sorry, what did you say again?" 

 

Gosh, he hates to admit it that he was actually caught on act. He suddenly want to hide his blushing face away from her even though he knows she can't see him. His cool image had deserted him and he actually looked like a blushing teenager, rubbing his nape out of shyness infront of her.

 

"Are you even listening? I said that she must be a very special person for you" she reiterated as she arranges the flowers in the wrapper. "I'm referring to the person you're giving this bouquet to, don't get confuse" she couldn't help but chuckle at him.

 

"I'm listening to you, alright" he pouted. "And yes she is, definitely"

 

She smiled at his short answer. She doesn't know what got into her that she somehow felt comfortable being with him even though she can't see him. But his presence alone tells her that he's an approachable and friendly person. Kris on the other hand felt like he's an open book infront of her. Like she can easily read through him and it felt unusual considering that they're still strangers to each other.

 

"She must be very delicate and charming. A person full of patience, elegance and daintiness. Someone with a heart kindled and burning with unconditional love" 

 

Her statement had once again left him in awe. His ego suddenly felt inferior thinking that she might point out his boring personality just like that. Now, this sure is one of the amazing experiences he ever had. How could it possibly be that a blind person is so knowledgable it pointing out the perfect character of a person? Not to mention that she hasn't even known nor met the person she's refering to.

 

"Wow! How'd you know that? I don't know if I'm suppose to be impressed or scared of you" he blurted out while calming the goosebumps on his arms.

 

She laughed at his remark and shook her head. "Oh no, please don't get it wrong. Don't over rationalize it. I'm not a psychic" she explained as she ties the ribbon at the bottom of the bouquet.

 

"Then, how come you can describe a person's personality so easily like you've met them before?"

 

"I figured it out the moment you choose the flower" she begun. "You see, flowers also have their own language. They have their meanings and they also kind of represent the person you're giving them too"

 

Strange as it may seem, but the business-minded Kris Wu had found himself extremely interested in the discussion about the hidden language of flowers. I mean, all his life he's been dealing with marketing strategies and numbers, but all of a sudden his interest shifts to...... flowers. And it looks like, it's still unknown to himself that he's not only interested about the growing topic, but also with the person who's explaining about it.

 

"It is fascinating" she continued on. "Just like spring, it's refered to as the season of love, and do you know what it's best represented with?" she intriguingly queried him. "What?" he eagerly asked back like a child who hungers for knowledge.

 

"Flowers!" she said while snapping her fingers. "And speaking of which, your bouquet is now ready to go. Here it is" she passed it onto him.

 

"Wow! It's beautiful!" Kris exclaimed as he held it in his hand. Beautiful just like the one who arranged it. "So how much would it cost?"

 

"Hmm..." she thinks as she taps on her chin. "Since you're a very interactive customer, I'll give you a discount. It's 1,500 won. Free off charge to the additional trivias I gave you"

 

"Hahah.... Okay~" he smiled at her statement. "but before I'll give you the money, I want us to atleast know each other. So let me introduce myself first, I'm Yifan. How about you?" he reached out to grab her hand for a handshake.

 

"Wait, you're Chinese?!" she asked in surprise and Kris just replied with a simple yes. "Wow! For a foreigner like you, you speak our language fluently just like a real local. I'm impressed" she beamed excitedly while he just smiles at her. "Well anyways, I'm--"

 
"Jasmine~!" she was suddenly cut from her self introduction when she heard the boys coming back from the storage area and her cousin is calling out for her.

 

"Well, there goes my name" she chuckled and shook his hand in return. Jasmine, what a lovely name, he thought. "I'm here at the counter, oppa!" she told the boys. At the mention of the word oppa, Kris suddenly felt a pang in his heart and he innocently don't know why. He even found it strange to himself because he never felt that way before.

 

"Jasmine!" Suho came running towards them like a mad man, panicking at the sight of a guy together with his delicate cousin. He didn't even bother to know who it was and just run towards her right away. "Why didn't you press the buzzer and told us that there's a customer so we can attend on him instead" he sternly told her, and it didn't help to cool him down when he saw that the guy is holding Jasmine's hand.

 

Kris on the other hand noticed that Suho is fiercely looking at his hand as if trying to set it on fire and burn it to ashes. And by instinct, and also for the good of his survival on earth, he immediately let go of Jasmine's hand that he unknowingly was still holding on at that moment. He looked at the other five boys and gulped on how ferocious they look right now.

 

"Ahm.... I don't mean to pry but you don't need to reprimand her" he started and finally got all their attention. "She really did a great job in attending me. Infact I'm really impressed" he smiled towards her. 

 

"It's not that I'm reprimanding her. Were just being protective of her" Suho interjected and looked at him for the very first time now. That's the only time he realized who it was all this time. His face automatically drained in pathetic horror.

 

"Omo!" he gasped and immediately bowed. "Mr.--"

 

"Please, just call me Yifan" Kris immediately reacted when he's about to say his American name. He doesn't know why he suddenly want himself to be known to them by his real name, especially Jasmine. "By the way here's the payment, keep the change" he said and gave Suho the bill.

 

"Nice knowing you, Yifan-sshi" Jasmine said with a smile and prepared to recite the usual line for a leaving customer. "Thank you for patronizing Nightingale's Flower Shop. Please do come back again"

 

"Hmm...You're very much welcome and thank you for the beautiful bouquet too" Kris replied back and smiled at her, hoping that his grateful words would reach her heart. "I'll go ahead" he finally said and went out of the shop.

 

If it is written in my book of fate that I'll have to see you again, then so be it. I'll be glad to meet you again, Jasmine. 

 

"Wait! What did I just said? Oh no no no. That's not it! Definitely not!" he battled on his own self as he shakes his head with the previous thought. Gosh, what's happening to me?