*press on the links to see how the flowers look like :>

blood flowers

Staring blankly at the blood flower application form in his hand, Daehyun flutters his lashes several times. He brings the paper closer to his face several times as if unable to see the words, then putting it further once more like having forgotten his long-sighted glasses.

Youngjae picks out a few stalks of Cymbidiums from the bucket. He carefully cradles the bunch of pink flowers in his arms and places it on the table in the back, along with the rest of the flowers he chose. Surveying the collection, Youngjae excitedly paces back out. Daehyun had offered to make him a bouquet, having nothing to do since his errands have been done. He does bouquets exceedingly well (though Daehyun says Youngjae's biased since he doesn’t have much to compare with). Be it nosegay bouquets where the flowers are tightly packed to dramatic cascade bouquets, Daehyun’s arrangements are always stunning, flowers complementing each other in intricate placements. One client loved Daehyun’s autumn basket bouquets that she would come in every start of the season and order one before she passed on. Dahlias and ranunculus tied with a plum ribbon and berry stalks for a prim while shy basket bouquet by the bedroom window.

Youngjae notices Daehyun’s expression, much to his amusement. “What’s wrong?”

Daehyun stares up at him like a deer in headlights. He glances down at the rather crumpled piece of paper in his hand, blinking hard.

“What are you doing?” Youngjae furrows his brows. He walks over and takes the blood flowering form from Daehyun, scrutinising it. Before he can gasp, Daehyun speaks.

“One of my blood flowering client… It’s a guy. “ From his expression, Daehyun seems quite taken aback, though his voice remains neutral.

“What? Really?” Youngjae blurts, scanning over the words again.

Kim Jinhwan, age 28, loves dogs and singing. Youngjae shuts his ajar mouth as he goes over the profile. This order was put in a a few months ago by Jinhwan’s supposed boyfriend, Koo Junhwe. This guy sent in his partner’s profile late, likely on purpose to avoid being rejected.

Tearing his eyes away from Jinhwan’s photo, Youngjae gapes at Daehyun with his eyes comically huge.

“Are you okay with this?”

Daehyun peers back at Youngjae, silence staling between them. Daehyun rubs the back of his neck as the surprise evaporates from his eyes.

“Yeah.” He stacks up the previous forms and slot them into another file, expression indifferent.

Worried, Youngjae offers gingerly, “You know, Daehyun, you can reject this client if you’d like.”

“It’s fine. They already put in their deposit,” Daehyun sighs. He marks off Jinhwan’s profile and clips it to the invoice.

Youngjae discreetly dissects Daehyun’s face. He seems uncomfortable, despite the facade of nonchalance he’s trying to push. It’s blatant from how he doesn’t meet Youngjae’s gaze when he speaks to him.

“You can just return their deposit,” Youngjae pipes up. “I can write up the rejection letter.”

“It’s alright. It’s not good to treat customers like that, Youngjae,” Daehyun says, a pointed edge now to his words.

“Your policy states that you can reject them at anytime without giving a reason,” Youngjae protests. “Just say that you have too many clients this year.”

“I already accepted his application months ago. Even if I have a policy like that, I’m not going to abuse it.” Daehyun jots down Jinhwan’s name into his journal below the name Kim Jisoo.

“Daehyun, really, just back out of-“

Daehyun flickers his hardened gaze up. “I said I’m fine with it,” he snaps, voice dripping of coldness. “It’s not your business, Youngjae. Why do I need to back out of it?”

Youngjae parts his lips, caught off guard by Daehyun’s sudden outburst. In annoyance, he spouts, “I’m only saying so. You can back out if you want to.”

“Well, I don’t. I haven’t turned down any clients and I don’t plan on doing so for this one.”

His voice drops in volume, though the peevishness subsists. “I’m not homophobic.”

Youngjae his lips. “Then why do you look so uncomfortable?” He shoots back.

“I’m not. Are you sure you aren’t the one feeling that way?” Daehyun rises and shuts his files in the drawer. He promptly walks out of the backdoor without mentioning a word.

Flabbergasted, Youngjae gawps at the door. “What the hell?” He yells, grumbling under his breath.

“Hey, where did Daehyun go?” Hanbin pops his head out from the back, taking off his headphones.

“I don’t know. He stormed off after I told him he could reject this blood flowering client,” Youngjae retorts, folding his arms.

“Why? What’s wrong with this one?”

“It’s a guy. I was just saying, since he looked uncomfortable… Then he got angry and walked off.” Youngjae huffs.

Unsure on what to do, Hanbin pats Youngjae’s back. He glances to the door with some apprehension. “I’ve never seen Daehyun storm out before. Maybe you touched a sore spot?”

Youngjae bites his lip. Hurt stirs in his guts after the vexation dissipates into an odd emptiness. “I was just trying to help.”

“It’s okay. I’m sure he’ll come back soon. Probably went out just to blow off some steam.” Hanbin squeezes Youngjae’s arm to comfort him.

It takes half an hour for Daehyun to return, but his mood hasn’t been placated. Lips pulled in a thin line, Daehyun goes about his own work, making bouquets in the back. Deciding to play the rebound, Youngjae ignores Daehyun equally, painstakingly avoiding Daehyun in the small store. All the while, Hanbin remains quiet, afraid to broach the tension despite his clear worry at seeing Daehyun unusually upset.

As evening sets in, Hanbin goes home, not before wishing Youngjae some luck. Pink bleeds through the window, glow slithering over the flowers as a soft ambience flourishes in the store.

Youngjae gazes out the window in wistfulness, thoughts fading as he takes in the contrast between city and leaves. His irateness has long subsided, now simmering into the silence like remembering his first few awkward days at work. He eventually came to understand that Daehyun simply wasn’t a talker.

Daehyun sits by the pantry and does some paperwork while Youngjae mans the front. Youngjae steals a peek at him and catches Daehyun glancing at him as well, both of them staring with doe eyes at one another.

Youngjae breaks the quietness. “I’m going to get my dinner,” he says softly, some tiredness to his words.

“Oh, okay.”

“Do you want anything?” Youngjae gets up and puts on his winter coat.

“No, it’s fine.” Daehyun seems to want to say something more, but as the pause prolongs, Youngjae heads for the door.

He buys back some jajangmyun. After some thought, he gets a kimbap for Daehyun in case he decides to skip dinner again. The stroll back with the busy footsteps allows him some time to walk through what happened between them.

Was he insensitive? Now that he thinks about it, he probably was. He might have misinterpreted the way Daehyun reacted. In the first place, he shouldn’t have been so pushy just because the next blood flowering client is a guy.

Youngjae slouches back into his thick coat. It’s chilly with the winter here, plants fighting to stay alive in the fabricated heat of the flower shop. Daehyun’s hands always get rough when winter comes, skin peeling off his knuckles. Youngjae nagged him yesterday and got him a tube of hand cream.

Youngjae sighs, his breath fogging up the air. Daehyun’s right. They have been fighting a lot recently.

Stepping into the store, Youngjae hangs up his clothes while Daehyun watches him from behind the counter. Just as Daehyun opens his mouth to speak, Youngjae holds out the kimbap.

“Here. In case you’re not getting dinner.” He flutters his lashes and mumbles, “Sorry for just now.”

Youngjae paces past Daehyun into the back, sitting by the pantry. He opens up his food box and pulls out his phone, munching noisily while surfing the net.

He hears the sound of a stool being dragged over. Daehyun sits beside him and remarks, “You always eat like a cow. It’s so noisy.”

He checks the flavour of his kimbap and hums, unwrapping it. “Wow, not bad. You actually remember that I like tuna.” He promptly shoves half of it into his mouth.

“Mm.” Youngjae makes space on the table but doesn’t attempt to continue the conversation. A cumbersome silence stagnates the small space, flowers standing by in scrutiny.

“Sorry. Don’t know why I got so worked up like that,” Daehyun emits a hefty breath. “Been stressed lately so I took it out on you.”

“You’re lying,” Youngjae remarks bluntly, though he makes no heed to pursue the matter.  He scrolls past some advertisements of the latest movies now screening in theatres. He leans over and nudges Daehyun.

“Want to go catch a movie at night? The latest horror one is out. The Dead Don’t Speak Lies. A lot of people say it’s good.”

Daehyun leans away and Youngjae notices it, in spite of how casually Daehyun had done so.

“Great idea. Let’s watch a horror movie at night, so you’ll get scared and beg to sleep at my place, right?”

Youngjae scrutinises Daehyun, briefly wondering if he’s still pissed at him. Daehyun doesn’t seem to be, however.

“What? Why are you staring at me like that?” Daehyun’s speech comes out garbled through his bites.

“Nothing.” Youngjae promptly yelps when Daehyun tugs his cheek.

“Alright. Let’s go watch the movie. You still haven’t done the bridal bouquet, by the way.”

“Hm? I thought you already did it.” Youngjae frowns.

“No, I was doing yours,” Daehyun snorts.

Youngjae gazes at him before melting into a small smile, warmth tinting his face. “I thought you were mad at me. You still did it for me?”

Daehyun doesn’t reply. “Did Hanbin put our last order in the fridge?”

“Mm. I want to see the bouquet you made for me.”

“Finish up the order first,” Daehyun nags. “She wants white roses and white peonies. I suggest you do a cascade bouquet. Add some foliage, else it’ll look dull. Just a couple of side fillers like myrtles and baby breath’s will do.”

“Should I hand-tie it? Since the wedding’s going to be outdoors, I think that kind of look would be nice for the atmosphere.”

“Yeah, good idea.”

After Youngjae finishes up his meal, he spends the hours dethorning the white roses. T the stems, he arranges the roses carefully with the peonies, tying the stems together with floral tape. Settling in some baby’s breath and myrtles as Daehyun had advised, Youngjae admires his handiwork in satisfaction.

“Good job,” Daehyun praises. He puts away the bouquet and angles his chin towards the door. “I’ve already cleaned up, so we can close up now.”

“Do I get paid for 10 minutes overtime?” Youngjae cheekily says. He breathes in the scent of lemon on his fingers.

“Sure. In that case, should we talk about the number of times I let you go early too?”

“What were we talking about again?” Youngjae furrows his brows, feigning ignorance.

Daehyun muffles a laugh and helps Youngjae into his coat. Roaming to the back, he gets the bouquet and hands it to Youngjae.

“Here,” he hums, voice small.

“Oh my god…” Youngjae widens his eyes in pleasant surprise as he receives the bouquet, shimmering awe radiating from his now fluffed-up cheeks. The pink Cymbidiums and pale Eustomas he chose are bound together with violet hydrangeas and magenta heather flowers. To soften the look, Daehyun had mixed in cotton flowers, finishing the bouquet with a lavender ribbon.

“It’s… so, so pretty,” Youngjae wheezes. He gently touches the cotton flowers and presses the bouquet to his chest, gazing up at Daehyun in utter enthrallment.

Daehyun shrugs in return, looking away in discreet embarrassment. “It’s nothing great.”

“Are you kidding me? It’s beautiful.” Youngjae’s heart titters with elation, an odd fervor underlying his tingling skin.

“Thank you. It means a lot, Daehyun.” Youngjae suppresses a soft laugh, still marvelling at the flower arrangement. “Seriously, it’s gorgeous. I wish I could keep it forever.”

Daehyun melts into a minuscule smile as haze envelops his eyes. “Let’s go or we’ll miss the movie.”

They stroll to the cinema, Youngjae cradling the bouquet and mirthfully peeking at the flowers every once in a while. Upon realising the horror movie they wanted to watch is sold out, they switch to a slice of life one, Youngjae unwilling to call it a day.

They get popcorn and drinks, settling in the cinema early. The theatre is largely empty with a few couples and friend groups sitting several rows in front of them. Still thrilled by the bouquet, Youngjae plays with the petals, tracing the rim of the hydrangeas.

“Do you like it that much?” Daehyun chuckles.

“Yeah,” Youngjae honestly replies. He stops to survey the surroundings and then to the two of them. Waving around the bouquet, Youngjae carelessly jokes, “People would think we’re on a date or something.”

He shuts his mouth immediately, realising the inappropriateness of his words. It’s strange because he doesn’t care about such things when it comes to Daehyun.

Daehyun whips his head over with a deep frown. “What are you saying?”

Youngjae points to the bouquet. “Plus, we’re watching a movie together. Just the two of us.”

“I told you to leave the bouquet in the shop. I’ll get a bag for you.” As Daehyun rises, Youngjae grabs his wrists, brows creased.

“It was only a joke,” he mutters, squiriming at his unexpected irritation. “Why are you so bothered?”

Daehyun blinks. He settles down after a short nod, digging into the popcorn. Youngjae glances at him through the side of his eyes.

“Will blood flowering work this time round?” Youngjae asks. “Since it’s not a girl, but a guy.”

Daehyun shrugs. “I don’t know. Hopefully. I don’t want to disappoint them.”

“You’ll have to go on dates with that man, like with the other women clients,” Youngjae remarks offhandedly.

Daehyun sighs, restlessly rapping his fingers against the armrest. Conflict scrawls into his expression and he tries, “Do you think it’s weird?”

“What’s weird?”

Daehyun his lips. “Dating. Between two guys.”

Youngjae purses his lips. “I mean, I don’t hear about that kind of stuff often, but it doesn’t bug me.”

“Oh. Do you think it’s wrong?”

Youngjae makes a face as he deliberates. “Uh, they’re not bothering anybody, so we should just let them do what they want.”

Daehyun nods slightly. He leans back into the seat and exhales tiredly. “Well, sorry for lashing out at you today.”

Youngjae’s eyes thin into slits. “I thought you were uncomfortable. That’s why I told you to back out. It’s not because I think it’s gross. It’s because I know you like girls.”

Daehyun bats his lashes slowly. He lowers his gaze, sinking into his hoodie.

“I’ve…” He takes some time to find his words. “Always been open to falling in love with anyone. Any kind of person.”

His voice is low and strained to the point Youngjae would have easily misheard if he wasn’t paying attention. Youngjae stops fiddling with the bouquet and peers at Daehyun with large eyes. He catches the insinuation immediately in Daehyun’s words.

“Oh,” Youngjae answers a little too loud, belatedly nodding to show approval.

“I mainly like girls,” Daehyun hastily clarifies, anxiousness clear in the way he sits up. “But I’m just saying that-“

“I know,” Youngjae interrupts. “It’s okay, Daehyun. Girl, guy…”

Youngjae thinks to himself. “As long as it’s not flowers, it’s fine.”

Daehyun presses a fist to his mouth to contain his laughter. Youngjae grins and exclaims, “Just get a human being, will you? I don’t want to see you waiting at the altar while someone drags down a flower bouquet as your bride-to-be.”

“I’m not that pathetic, alright?” Daehyun drawls, knuckling Youngjae’s head. The tension from his shoulders collapses away into a lighthearted smile.

Youngjae’s heart flutters as consequence. He’s touched Daehyun would tell him, of all people. It’s not easy to say something like this. This must have been why Daehyun got so mad at him.

“Seriously speaking, I really don’t mind who you date, Daehyun. Go ahead and do what you want. It doesn’t bother me. It shouldn’t,” Youngjae states firmly. The lights dim at this moment, the theatre hushing somewhat.

“Thanks. I’m glad,” Daehyun says. He meets Youngjae’s eyes and simply stares, not uttering a word.

Youngjae’s throat goes dry as he peers back in confusion, heat melting into his skin. Daehyun averts his gaze and finally, in an oddly faint and hoarse voice, he speaks.

“What about you? Do you think you’d ever fall in love with a guy?”

The question catches Youngjae off-guard. “Me?” He repeats dumbly, taking some time to process the question. He swallows as he runs the scenario through his mind. So far, he’s only had crushes on girls, albeit very few. In fact, Jisook was the one who asked him out. He came to like her after some time of dating.

Would he ever like a guy?

Daehyun chuckles. “Hey, don’t think so hard. I just randomly asked.” He snacks on his popcorn and diverts the topic. “This movie got pretty good reviews. Too bad we couldn’t watch that zombie one.”

Youngjae flutters his eyelashes and says, “I think I might.” He scratches his neck, thinking for a moment more. He doesn’t know what might have happened if he didn’t meet Jisook. He could have liked another girl, or maybe found himself attracted to a guy—even if the prospect is severely unfamiliar.

“Yeah. I might,” Youngjae ends off.

Daehyun peers at him wordlessly, astonished by his reply. He shortly chuckles and nods.

“Jisook’s pretty,” Daehyun mentions, lying back into his seat. “Smart, responsible, nice too. You’re lucky. Better treat her well, or she’ll leave you.”

A trailer rolls at this moment and decisively ends their conversation. Youngjae feels uncomfortable, for some reason—perhaps from that revelation about himself. He’s never been attracted to guys, but it’s not as strange as he thought it’d be to imagine himself with a guy.

After some time, the movie begins. It’s a little bland, more romantic than they’d both believed—something that Daehyun would indulge in more than him.

Bored, Youngjae glances at Daehyun through his periphery. Daehyun has his eyes trained on the screen, notably engrossed.

It’s not stupefying that Daehyun would be open to dating a guy, since he often finds it easy to appreciate the little things about people. (He even managed to fall for that witch Jessica.)

Youngjae’s mind wanders. He didn’t get to thoroughly read the profile of the next blood flowering client, but he remembers the man’s face. He thinks about Daehyun going on dates with that man as he does with his other female clients.

Youngjae’s shoulders fall. He leans over and rests his head on Daehyun’s shoulder, immediately igniting a jolt in Daehyun.

“Bored? We can leave if you want to,” Daehyun whispers.

“I’m not bored,” Youngjae returns. He twiddles with the bouquet while disinterestedly watching the movie, inhaling Daehyun's scent of firewood.

He falls asleep in the midst of the screening and wakes up to the rolling credits, drool lining his jaw. Sitting up with a start, he hurriedly looks around as Daehyun chortles. They exit the theatre to the sparse chatter here and there.

“You should have told me if you didn’t like the movie. We could have done something else,” Daehyun intones.

“Does your shoulder hurt?” Youngjae weakly asks, post-sleep stupor keeping him drowsy. “I didn’t mean to sleep on your shoulder.”

“I’m fine.” Daehyun delicately combs down Youngjae’s messy hair, stepping back to look at Youngjae as a whole.

“The flowers look nice on you. Makes you look... prettier.” He slightly coughs and lets out a heavy sigh.

Youngjae's ears perk up. He sensitive to these kind of sounds with Daehyun's usual cough bouts thanks to his blood flowers. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Stop worrying about me so much,” Daehyun clears his throat, swallowing with some discomfort. He manages out a smile and tucks his hands into his hoodie pockets.

“Let’s go.” He hesitates for a moment before his lips curl just the slightest, fatigue washing over his irises. “I’ll walk you home.”