“Gongchan-ah! Can you bring the roses from the back shop? We’re running out of red and yellow!” his boss yelled from the front.

The flower shop was overflowing with school girls in miniskirts and high socks, but Gongchan didn’t care that much, what he did care about though, were the flowers.

He made delightful bouquets, combinations of pastel colors, sweet and citrus scents, delicate blossoms and bright leaves. He could do anything, create every possible thing with just a few flowers and some branches, and he did it for the only sake of making people happy. Couples happy.

He came back from the back shop with a bucket full of water and shining roses and some decorative paper for the bouquets.  “Here, boss. I’m ready to get some work done” he said smiling

“Good, Chan-ah, go and start with the sunflowers in the shopfront and then you can start arranging some roses for Valentine’s Day”

By the time he was done with the roses, it was almost time to close the shop and Gongchan was sweating. His hair all undone and sticky, his sleeves rolled up, his throat thirsty. He was glad no school girls were there at that time, because he surely didn’t look handsome. The bell of the door announced the entrance of a new costumer, Gongchan looked at his watch; the last of the night, it seemed. It was a young man, probably a few years older than him, wearing fancy clothes and hipster glasses, he looked out of place in a place like a flower shop, but if Gongchan thought twice about it, maybe his long hair fit in there perfectly.

“What can I help you with?” he asked, politely, after a few minutes of the man wandering around the shop. Maybe he needed a little guidance.

“Oh, hello” the man smiled, he had a lazy smile that gave Gongchan a nice feeling of warmness “I need some flowers for my dining room. I’m having a family dinner”

“Don’t say no more” Gongchan said gleefully “I know exactly what you need”

After preparing a bouquet of orange lilies and pleasing the last costumer of the day, Gongchan could finally head home to rest.

Next day at the flower shop and everything was a mess, Valentine’s Day was just three days away and girls and woman of all ages came in and out the shop, getting everything out of its place and driving Gongchan’s boss crazy and moody. Luckily the day went by fast; Gongchan loved flowers, but he hated stress and crowds, and in his concerns a full shop was indeed a crowd.

The bell of the door ringed, and he swore to himself that if he had to sell another rose to a teenager he would explode.

“You look tired” a man said

Gongchan looked up and saw him, it was the same guy of the day before, his hair in a ponytail this time. Same sleepy smile.

“I am” he admitted “It’s been a rough day”

“I can come back another day” he offered

“Oh no, no. I didn’t mean that” Gongchan hurried “Please stay”

“Perfect”

The man stared at him for a few seconds, enough to make Gongchan nervous. Why wasn’t anyone talking? And why was he staring, too? He never thought a ponytail could look so manly. But it was a random thought, of course.

He coughed.

The man looked down, uncomfortable. Then his face lit up again.

“I’m Shinwoo” he said, bowing.

Very polite for a flower shop, Gongchan thought, amused. “Gongchan” he said out loud. “I guess you’re my hyung”

“Probably” Shinwoo said “Uh- I-“ and shook his head “I need some flowers”

“More flowers?”

“For a family dinner”

“Wasn’t it yesterday?”

Shinwoo went pale, then shook his head again in a hurry “No, no, is tonight but I forgot to put them into water and they died”

How distracted. Cute.

Gongchan laughed a little, until the expression on Shinwoo’s face stopped him. “I’m sorry” he apologized “Is just that you seem a little oblivious. I’ll prepare you another bouquet”

“Here they are” Gongchan handed him a new bouquet “Don’t forget to put them into water when you get home” he mocked.

“I’ll do my best”

Gongchan saw Shinwoo smile, but of course he was smiling because of the flowers. He just seemed so into it, the smile, I mean. He was looking at him directly in the eyes, and maybe, just maybe, he was smiling at him. Or probably he was just imagining things. Why would he smile at him like that? Because it was that kind of smile. But he wasn’t thinking straight.

“I’m about to close the shop” he found himself saying “we could walk together” , he didn’t even know where he was heading. Brace yourself Gong Chanshik.

But Shinwoo smiled more widely “It’d be a pleasure”

Shinwoo ended up having a great conversation. They almost didn’t noticed when it started to rain until it was like a waterfall falling from the sky. Gongchan worried that the flowers will be ruined, so he put his beanie on them to keep them from the rain. Shinwoo looked at him funnily.

“A beanie on flowers?” he asked, an eyebrow raised. The rain fell down his face like tears from a heart breaking cry, but his smile said otherwise.

“What? They will get ruined!” Chan defended himself

“Or cold.” Shinwoo laughed

“Don’t laugh at me, hyung. I’m just trying to save your family dinner”

“You’re getting wet just to protect the flowers”

“A man has to do what a man has to do, besides, I look even handsomer when wet”

They both kept quiet when Gongchan said this. And then Shinwoo laughed, a warm laugh, no harm on it. And Gongchan could breathe again.

“You do, actually”

And then they really kept quiet until they reached the subway station.

You do, actually.

Did he really look handsome when wet? No. Did he really look handsome to Shinwoo? No. Who cared. He probably had a girlfriend somewhere.

But he was still thinking about him when he dressed that morning, looking a little tidier than usual, just in case he would appear again. Non sense, Gongchan, he has no reason to go. Or later in the shop when he was getting rid of the dead flowers and plants. After lunch, though, he couldn’t think about him no more, because the shop was again full of girls, hurrying their last minute shopping for Valentine’s.

But he did show up. A little earlier than usual, again with a ponytail and a blue sweater. He saw him drowning in a sea of school uniforms, and waved at him gleefully. Gongchan hurried the bouquets he was making, and Shinwoo approached him when he saw he was finally free.

“So this is what it looks like when I’m not here” Shinwoo said as a hello

“It’s hell really, with all the Valentine’s Day stuff”

“Don’t you like it? Valentine’s Day, I mean?”

“Never had one” Gongchan admitted “So I couldn’t know”

“I see” Shinwoo’s face seemed to lit up a little, but maybe it was just Gongchan’s imagination. “I almost forgot, I’m here to return your beanie. I also brought this-“ he looked for something on his bag, and took out a little cardboard box “as a thank you”

“You shouldn’t have, hyung” the boy said as he opened the box “Oh, it’s a cupcake with a smiley face” he laughed “then yes, you should’ve have”

“You like it?”

“It’s great”

There were three girls behind Shinwoo, waiting for their turn to ask for their bouquets and flowers. Staring at him deadly, so he knew it was moment to duck out.

“I better get going so you can finish here”

“Um- yeah” Gongchan said, not convinced at all

“A last question before I go: If you were to confess to someone, what do you think would be the perfect flowers?”

“Baby roses, so the person can see them as they blossom” Gongchan said, almost without thinking “White roses, preferably, they are the most beautiful”

“Thank you, Chan-ah”

So he was going to confess. Well of course he was going to confess, he’d only known him for two days for god’s sake. What was he even thinking about? He shouldn’t care that much. But still he couldn’t sleep or stop staring at the ceiling that night. Maybe he shouldn’t have told him about the blossoms and white roses and all those things.

And then he realized. He had met him for more than two days. Shinwoo was always there, outside the window, looking at the flowers on the showcase. Or sitting on the bench in front of the shop. He had seen him for weeks. He had even entered the flower shop, only he never talked to anybody and then left. How much time had he been thinking about confessing to this girl? Was choosing flowers for her that difficult? It didn’t matter really, the point was that Gongchan was used to his face. He just hadn’t notice. That doesn’t give you the right to be in love.

He was just a florist, after all. Meant to make other people fall in love. But never himself.

Maybe what he was about to do was completely crazy. Maybe he should never have go to that flower shop at the other side of the town to buy white roses in blossom. And maybe, just maybe, he was feeling a little sick. He couldn’t even manage to do his ponytail in the morning.

The flower shop where Gongchan worked didn’t close until 7:30. Just in case, he was nearby since five. He had the flowers and a reservation to eat, but maybe it wasn’t enough, since Gongchan only knew him three days ago. He was never a man to take risks, but after almost a month of seeing him through the windows, he didn’t think he could handle it anymore. Even if he was a nerd, and Gongchan was somehow like a prince and all he wanted in everyway, he had to give it a try.

The hour went by and the sun set, making the sky all purples and pink, setting the whole place ready for what hopefully would be a romantic scene. Shinwoo saw Gongchan leave the shop and walk towards the park slowly, like he was some kind of blue. He went immediately behind him.

All those couples in the park. Maybe he didn’t choose the best way for heading home. He could almost see Shinwoo with a bouquet of flowers walking towards him. Stupid, stupid imagination. Only he rubbed his eyes and still saw him. And then rubbed again and when he opened them he was right in front of him.

“Gongchan-ah” said the hallucination “I need to talk to you”

And Shinwoo was touching his shoulder, so he was real, and also the flowers. Oh, so he probably needed last time advice.

“Shinwoo hyung, good to see you” he said, automatically. It was like his whole body was dead. “How’s the confession going?”

“I’m about to know” Shinwoo said, and went down on his knee. Gongchan froze in place, looking around, trying to find an explanation, whatever it was, but suddenly it only was the two of them. Shinwoo coughed, and Gongchan looked at him again, he had sort of an apologizing glare on his eyes. “Gongchan-ah, I’ve liked you since the first time I saw you taking care of a flower, since the first time I saw you smile, and I knew, the day I talked to you, that you were the kind of person I was looking for all along.”

Gongchan felt his heart pounding in his chest, his mouth dropping lightly, letting go an “I-I-“ he didn’t quite understand. He knelt down to Shinwoo’s height and looked him directly in the eyes, he looked as paralyzed as he felt, but he needed to look at him closer.

 “Please be my Valentine” Shinwoo said in a whisper, barely touching Gongchan’s lips with his.

Gongchan hugged him tight, then looked at him sweetly and peeked a shy kiss, he had never kissed anyone before, he didn’t know how to do it. Shinwoo deepened the kiss, suave, delicate, as if he was being careful of not breaking him.

“I’ll be your Valentine” the boy said “Only if you promise to buy flowers only for me”

“Every blossom in this world” Shinwoo said, and started kissing him again.

He was a florist, after all. He was in love with love. He was in love with promises.