I felt it the moment she looked at me with her pretty brown eyes and cute, dimpled smile of hers. She had a way to make my heart beat crazy fast in my chest and I was so scared that she might be able to see it. But of course I was being crazy then. It wasn’t until she talked to me for the first time. She asked me a question about where a building was on campus, and coincidentally, I was on my way to the same place she was looking for. When I saw her up close, she took my breath away. She was a true beauty even from a far, anyone could see it.

 

Months passed and we became closer, mostly because our majors were the same. But I found myself understanding her to a point where we no longer needed to speak in order to communicate. She could look at me and I do the same and we understand what we want, what we need and what we’re saying. We understood each other on an entirely different level than our other friends. There was a bond that we had and it terrified me to no ends, but she made it worth the fear.

 

“Petal,” I said, calling her the nickname I had been calling her by after a month we met. She looked at with her pretty eyes.

“Let’s go out this weekend,” I suggested.

 

“Dinner?” She asked with a growing smile on her face. “How about a picnic, Chan?” She said my nickname, making my heart skip a beat at how gentle she said it.

 

“Whatever you want,” I told her. She smiled bigger and nodded her head, beginning to talk about what to pack and how the weather was supposed to be beautiful for them this weekend. She continued to talk forgetting about her book she placed on my small coffee table.

 

“Channie, do you like anyone?” She asked me as we watched a movie after she finished talking about what we could do this weekend.

 

I turned my attention to her and I saw how her eyes glittered in curiosity and I saw how she was expecting an answer. I nodded my head and smiled. “Of course, Petal,” I said softly, “I like someone.”

 

“Really?” Her eyes widened for a second before she looked away. She was hurt? Her voice only sounded like that if she was hurt. Wasn’t it obvious though? I like her, it’s right in front of her, the reason as to why is long, too long for me to list, but I knew I liked my Petal. She had to have known it as well. “Is she pretty?”

 

I had to hold in my laugh at her question. She was beyond pretty-- beautiful, gorgeous, magnificent, she was a work of art. In my eyes, she was an angel. “She’s so pretty I can’t describe her,” I whispered. She heard me though. My beautiful petal heard me, but she looked hurt-- betrayed in a way. Maybe it’s because she didn’t understand what I was saying to her. “Petal--”

 

“I’m so happy for you, Chan,” I heard her voice crack a little before she turned her attention back to the screen. A few minutes later I felt her soft, delicate hands hold onto mines. “Do I know this girl that you like?” She asked. I glanced down and saw her small, soft pink lips in a pout.

 

“You know her very well,” I saw her eyes widened before she tightened her hold on my hand. “You know her inside out.”

 

Her eyebrows furrowed, trying to think of a girl she was close with. “I can’t think of anyone like that,” she mumbled. She placed her forehead on my arm and I felt those sparks ignite my body. “Blanket, Yeol,” she said quietly. I looked behind us and saw the blanket hanging on back of the sofa. I pulled it over us and she snuggled closer to my body and held onto my hand tighter with her legs pulled up, resting on mines. She was comfortable so I didn’t mind. As long as Petal was comfortable I was too.

 

“Are you done with the movie?” I asked, grabbing the remote. She nodded her head and gave me a grunt as an answer. “Isn’t today when when the new episode of the drama comes out?”

 

Her head shot up from my arm then came her snatching the remote from my hand. “Thanks, Chan for reminding me,” she gave me that pretty smile and I swear she knows what it does to me. Orange Marmalade, it’s kind of cute, but that stupid Yeo Jin Goo and what he does to that vampire girl, I think it has Petal wanting me to confess in a spontaneous way.

**

“Petal,” I glanced in the kitchen where she was and I saw her still preparing the food for our picnic.

 

She looked up at me and I saw her eyes were wide and pretty and they sparkled. “Hi, Chan. I’m almost done. Just give me another ten minutes,” she said. I would give her the whole day if she needed. “Chanyeol, can you pack the drinks, please?” I walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge and took out the drinks and placed them on the counter, letting her pack the food and drinks how she wanted. Petal was excited for the picnic so I was letting her arrange it. She told me where she wanted to go and I was the driver. She cooked all the food and I bought all the ingredients. She was my Petal and my Petal could do anything that she wanted and she was and is capable of anything. She had me wrapped around her fingers and even I knew it. I, Park Chanyeol, knew that Petal could do and say anything to me and it wouldn’t matter at all.

 

“I’ll be back, Petal,” I told her before disappearing into the depths of my apartment. She hummed a response from the kitchen and began to sing to herself, occupying the silence in the apartment. I went into my room and searched for my camera. We were headed to the beach today and whenever we went out together, I always made sure to take pictures of her, us, the sky. If she was in the frame, I would take a picture. She was worth every snap and every smile of mines. I walked back to the kitchen after grabbing the camera and extra shirts (one for me and one for Petal) for later.

 

“All set, Chan,” she told me, placing the drinks and food in the container. “You made sure to pack the mat and speakers, right? Everything that we need to go to the beach?” Petal glanced at me as she wondered if I packed it all. She dragged the cooler out of the kitchen and towards the front door where all of our stuff were for the picnic. We had a cooler for food and drinks, my backpack with our towels and sunblocks, her beach bag with everything that Petal needed and she made sure to tuck our phones in ziplock bags just in case they got wet somehow.

 

“Let’s go then, Petal.”

**

“What do you see yourself doing in ten years, Chan?" Petal took a bite of a the small cake she had made for us. Her question was random and I wasn't sure how to properly respond to her. But I knew that she was curious-- genuinely curious.

 

"I see myself married and raising my kids," I replied. "I'll be working as a photographer somewhere with my wife being my inspiration for my pictures. I'll be living in a house that would make her happy and we would have a dog and a lot of land because two kids need a lot of space to roam and explore. We'll have a garden-- a huge one at that. Or maybe a small greenhouse where she can grow her flowers and sing her songs late at night when she needs to get away from the three of us. But in ten years, I can see myself in love with my wife. I can see my future with her from now til eternity." Petal looked at me with a small smile and soft eyes. She looked as if I was already done and ready to settle down. Maybe I was, but I need to tell Petal before the day ends because I'm Park Chanyeol and Park Chanyeol is no coward.

 

"Really?" She said softly. A kind smile floated on her face. "That's really sweet, Chan." Petal looked through the cooler for some more food that she made earlier and I think it was to keep herself occupied and not thinking about what was being said. "I would like to have a family as well. I want a husband, one is nice and caring. Someone who'll listen to me when I need to rant," she laughed a little and I saw the cute, little dimple form on her left cheek. "I want someone to give me their jacket when it's cold, someone who'll hold my hand when we're walking in a busy street. I want a family guy. One that has a strong backbone, someone who wouldn't be afraid to embarrass himself when our kids need some cheering up. I need someone who'll support my dreams of becoming an editor; one who'll appreciate my art."

 

"I appreciate your art, Petal," I blurted. She looked at me with wide eyes and I saw that little sparkle. "I appreciate everything that you do," I grabbed onto her small hands and held them tightly in my hands.

 

"Chanyeol,"she said quietly.

 

"I really like you, Petal." Her brows furrowed and I saw her eyes grow bigger (if that was possible) before her face relaxed and a smile appeared. Petal was happy. "I was about to die the first time I saw you on campus, Petal," I confessed. Her smile grew wider and I saw her hold back a laugh. I shifted closer to her and she helped meet me halfway. "I'm not kidding. You were breathtakingly beautiful-- and you still are. But you always have a cute smile on your face and it makes me really happy when I see it. Your eyes sparkle in a way that I never knew eyes were able to sparkle. But you can do it. You can do all of these things, Petal, and so much more."

 

"Park Chanyeol," she looked as if she was about to cry. Her eyes were full of hope and light that only she had. “You took forever,” she sighed as she leaned her head on my arm like she always does. “Everyone kept saying that you liked me and I got so scared when you said you like someone else and it almost killed me,” she whispered. I let out a chuckle because Petal knew all along. Everyone knew and she didn’t believe them. “You are horrible for keeping it from me because Baekhyun told me to not give up because you’re just being an idiot.”

 

“I’m sorry,” I sighed. Petal let out a small laugh and held onto my arm tighter. “I really do like you, Petal.”

**

“Why do you call me Petal?” She asked me after we finished eating our food and talking about what we are. “You stopped calling me my name and called me Petal one day.”

 

Well,” I began, holding her tighter in my arms as we watched the waves hit the sand. “Petals on a flower make the plant seem brighter. They provide life and color to the world. Even if they begin to die, they still have color and Petal, you give my life color. You provide me with color and light and you make it beautiful. You are so fragile like a petal, too, love. Do you know that everytime I hold onto you I’m terrified to break you, Petal.” I felt her fingers interlock with mines and I gave her a small squeeze.

 

“You’re so cheesy, Park Chanyeol,” she breathed out. “Chan--”

“I will never pluck your petals off so they’ll fall. I would never destroy you, Petal. I don’t think I can ever take you out of the ground because you might not make it to tomorrow. You need your roots and stem to grow. You need the sun and rain to be nourished and the thought of me just taking you out of where you’re meant to be is too much for me to process. Don’t ever think you’ll get hurt by me. I promise you that I can never hurt you like that,” I knew she was hesitating with the entire confession from earlier. I knew that Petal and I were lost together in a garden, and she always told me she was terrified by the thought of being in a relationship. Petal was scared and I could tell by the way she tightened her hold on my hand. She was seeking reassurance from me. “Never will I pick you out of the ground when I know you need to live.”