Two weeks later

A plant placed just outside of Jaehwa’s door wasn’t something she was expecting to see in the morning. She didn’t notice it at first. It had been part of her routine to water the plant in the hall, but she then remembered that only two weeks ago the plant’s leaves had all withered, a few days after that talk she and Taehyung had about it, and a week after that someone had come to finally take it and throw it away.

It was a small plant, its leaves not as large as the one which used to be in the hall, and it also looked like the green of its leaves were dulling, but it was in adequate condition, much better than the plant in the hall was, that Jaehwa thought she probably could do something so that it looked – well –  a little more alive. There was a neatly folded, beige piece of paper under the pot when she lifted the plant from the ground. She picked the note up and unfolded it.

‘To Jaehwa. My uncle was about to throw it out. I told him I knew someone who would want it.’

Jaehwa couldn’t restrain the smile etching her face. Of course. She took the plant into her apartment and shut the door with her foot. By her window she had a small table where she kept the white orchids her older sister gave her the last time she came over from a trip from the Philippines. Her sister’s job required her to travel a lot, and she regularly bought things from her travels for Jaehwa, either sending them by mail or giving them to her when she visited. Her sister had given her orchid seeds and had bought Jaehwa a small pack of soil and a pot to plant them in when she arrived in Seoul. The seed bloomed beautifully, and the good thing was that orchids don’t require as much watering. But the bad thing was that it was autumn now, which meant that temperatures would be dropping, and there were a few of the orchid’s flowers which had shriveled already. Jaehwa continued to try her best though, and now she had another plant in her responsibility. But it was no problem. If anything, Jaehwa felt happier.

Taehyung had been doing so many little things for her ever since they gotten a lot closer, and his actions never failed to make her day a little brighter, and her mood a little happier. As they talked more they learned more about each other, but even so, Jaehwa still thought there were a lot of things he was hiding. But she didn’t think much of it; he didn’t have to share them with her if he wanted. It was already established that Taehyung was a strange person. Not in a bad way, but he thought differently to what Jaehwa thought, and knew things which Jaehwa had never even thought about.

A few days ago while they were walking together to their workplaces, he declared that he had the universe in his pocket. Jaehwa had stared at him bewilderedly and thought he was crazy, and asked him to prove it. And so he did. Turned out, it was an old pocket watch. At first she didn’t understand – how was a pocket watch relevant? She knew by now that whenever Taehyung claimed something, he always had a reason, even if it was sometimes illogical; his reasons still somehow made sense, depending on the viewpoint. For the pocket watch, she couldn’t get anything from it other than that she had ten minutes left to walk to work until she was late. She asked him to elaborate what he meant when he said that he ‘had the universe in his pocket’. He had held it closer to her and said, “Behind the face, behind the hands, is a universe in miniature. The cosmos in a casing. The language of time. Not ‘the time’, Jaehwa. Time.”

She decided not to question it and not ask for further explanation otherwise she’d be late, but she still pondered on what he said. The cosmos in a casing? The language of time? It seemed like perhaps she wouldn’t be able to ever see the world through Taehyung's eyes.

After brushing her teeth, she looked one more time at the plants before grabbing her coat and heading out. Today she had a morning shift at Ms. Kwon’s bookstore and then in the afternoon she had four hours at the new pizza restaurant across the shopping mall. She didn’t walk with Taehyung today because she decided that instead of chasing time and risking being late, she would leave her apartment twenty minutes early. She was sure Taehyung would understand.

Jaehwa had ten minutes left to spare when she arrived at the bookstore, and was on her way to the cloakroom for the staff to put her jacket there when she saw Hana, chatting with Ms. Kwon who was manning the checkout desk. Seeing her best friend, she wanted to run over talk to her, but first she hurriedly went to the cloakroom to put her jacket away. They turned their heads to her when she approached them. “Hana? I thought you had class now?” Jaehwa said, puzzled as to why she was here and not at the college.

Hana grinned and opened her arms for a hug, which Jaehwa gladly took. There arms were tight around each other, and Jaehwa felt sad that it had been so long since they hugged each other like this. “Yeah, but I’m early. I just wanted to see you since it’s been ages since we’ve met up. How have you been? Happy?” Hana asked.

“Life’s been okay, nothing much. But how’s university?”

Hana’s face fell, and Jaehwa began to regret asking. “Oh my God, Jaehwa. It’s tiring, but I’ve been coping with the workload.”

Ms. Kwon cleared , which caused them both to turn their heads at her. “Jaehwa, why don’t you and Hana talk for a few minutes, and I’ll man the checkout desk? I can see you two haven’t seen each other in a while?” she said.

Jaehwa’s eyes distended. “Are you sure, Ms. Kwon? I can man it if you wan –”

“Honestly, my dear. It’s fine.”

“Thank you, Ms. Kwon,” Jaehwa said, a grateful smile on her face and her hands clasped in front of her as she bowed at the older woman. Ms. Kwon laughed when she saw Hana make a face at Jaehwa who still had her head bowed, until she finally shooed the them away from the desk. They went outside and lingered outside the front, and Hana released a deep sigh which made Jaehwa wonder the reason behind it. She knew Hana for being a carefree girl with no impending worries, and it was a rarity for Jaehwa to see a strain in her smile along with weary eyes which were once glazed with confidence and security. Jaehwa found it hard to see those in her gaze now. University work must be hard for her, she asked Hana if she was alright before, but each time, she’d hammer the message that she was fine. Jaehwa knew better. But after the same thing happening each time she’d ask, in the end, Jaehwa could only continue to hope that Hana was fine like she said.

“I can’t believe I’ve been so busy that I never see you so much anymore. I feel like I just become busier as the days’ pass, it’s so sad, isn’t it?” Hana pondered as her weary gaze were upturned to the cloud-scattered sky.

“Yeah,” Jaehwa admitted, “I’m just glad we’re still talking.”

Hana smiled. “Me too. Even if we do drift apart, we’ll still keep in contact, right?” She then added with a snap, “And you better invite me to your wedding if you ever have one.”

“Of course I will, as long as you tell me when you’re having yours too.”

Hana nudged her with her hip. “If I ever have one. I have no time to date now, the more I think about it, the more I believe that I’m going to be single for the rest of my life.” She said this for humour, but Jaehwa could tell that deep down Hana was dreading it. She always talked about how she dreamed of having her own family someday.  

“Then don’t think about it,” Jaehwa said to console her.

Hana shifted her eyes from the sky to the ground and stared at the cracks in the pavement. “I’ll try not to,” she replied, even her voice unsure. Jaehwa didn’t want their conversation to be like this, and she began to regret ditching Hana that day when she took her to the mall. Time was such an easy thing lost, and it took her a while to realise that her friends which she had a close bond, such as Hana and even Jungkook, would drift away when she wasn’t paying attention. She had a lot of friends in high school, but now she barely talked to them. She had to work towards the commitment so that they didn’t break off entirely, and treasuring moments to talk like her and Hana now was one of them.

But it ended way too soon, and Hana had to go. They exchanged one more hug until Hana finally went on her way. Jaehwa sighed, then breathed in. Wow, she thought. It was autumn already.

She checked the time on her watch, it was time for her to start her shift.

Disclaimer:

“Behind the face, behind the hands, is a universe in miniature. The cosmos in a casing. The language of time” is a line from a documentary called The Watchmaker’s Apprentice. I take no credit for it.

A/n: There are a few time skips for the moment, mainly because if there weren't it wouldn't be progressing anywhere and so there won't be filler chapters. Don't worry though because the things you need to know will be included.

happy belated birthday Taehyung! <33 I wish I could throw a tea party dedicated to you, but I unfortunately don't like tea. May your life be ever fruitful and happy :)