Gardenia

Gardenia – "You are lovely."

Daehyun arrived at Yongguk’s house with the said man that afternoon. It was a lot more tranquil than he expected compared to the last time he came here. He was brought to the dining room as soon as they entered the house and Yongguk’s mother was the first one to greet him.

Sensing the older woman approaching based on her light footsteps and sweet scent, Daehyun held out the paper bag he was holding in her direction. “I brought some cupcakes,” he said with a sheepish smile.

“Really?” Minjee smiled broadly as she accepted it. “Did you make them yourself?”

“I tried, but Jongup ended up doing most of the things.” Daehyun laughed bashfully.

Placing the bag on the dining table, Minjee took out the container and opened the lid. “Wow, they’re so pretty!” Her eyes sparkled at the sight of small cupcakes with pink frosting and colorful sprinkles on top.

“Thank you. I hope they taste as good as they look.” Daehyun being his humble self, scrunched up his face diffidently. It put a soft smile on Yongguk, who was still standing next to him.

“Oh, I’m sure they will,” Minjee genuinely assured. “Why don’t you take a seat, Daehyun?”

At his mother’s words, Yongguk was already pulling one of the chairs out of the 22 seater dining table.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” Daehyun asked.

Minjee patted Daehyun’s back. “It’s okay. Everything’s almost ready.” She gently nudged him towards his son. “Just make yourself at home, okay?” she said before going to the kitchen, bringing along the cupcakes with her.

Yongguk guided his mate to the chair intended for him. After Daehyun was finally settled there, he placed his hands on those narrow shoulders and asked, “Can you wait here for a minute? I need to go call my dad.”

“Sure.” Daehyun looked up and smiled.

He heard Yongguk’s leaving footsteps after the man’s warm touch slipped away from his shoulders. Yongguk’s mother was not lying when she said the lunch was almost ready. He could smell several types of delicious dishes laid out on the table and if he’s not wrong, there was a smell of cheesecake too. It seemed like Yongguk wasn’t kidding when he said that he would ask his mother to make one for him. It smelled so good though. He couldn’t wait to try it.

A different sound of footsteps could be heard coming towards him. Daehyun straightened up in his seat and turned his head in the direction of the unknown person.

“Did Yongguk just leave you alone here?” A woman’s voice sounded in disbelief.

“Yeah, but he’s only going to call Uncle Dongwan,” Daehyun explained.

“Still, he should’ve told me or his mom first. It’s not nice to leave a guest on his own,” she sighed.

Daehyun could hear a glass dish being placed on the table and it smelled like hot rice. “Nah, it’s okay,” he brushed it off.

“I am Yongguk’s aunt if you’re wondering. We haven’t had the chance to meet last week,” she sat herself at the table after putting down the large bowl.

Daehyun noticed that the woman was now sitting across him. He quickly bowed at her. “Ah, nice to meet you, aunt…?” He lifted his head before tilting it quizzically.

“Bang Eunbyul,” she answered in a warm friendly tone. “Yongguk and his cousins call me Aunty Byul so you can call me that too.”

“I will.” Daehyun smiled. “I believe you’re Sooyoung noona and Junhong’s mother, right? Since Junhong told me that he lives here with his parents.”

“That’s right.”

“Is Junhong’s father also here?”

“He’s with Uncle Dongwan upstairs. Must be discussing about their business. And you can just call him Uncle Jungsu.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Daehyun noted. “Where is everybody else?”

“The youngsters always disappeared during weekends,” she let out a sigh while shaking her head.

“All of them?” Daehyun asked incredulously.

“All of them,” Eunbyul affirmed. “They usually hang out together. So if one person wants to go out, he’ll drag everybody else with him.”

Daehyun laughed lightly. “They’re very close, aren’t they?”

“They are, and Yongguk too. Though Yongguk rarely goes out with them, but if Himchan is going, then he’ll definitely join them.”

“So, what does Yongguk hyung usually do on his days off?” Daehyun wondered.

“Nothing much. Sometimes he’ll go out on his own or with his friends, sometimes he’ll go to Himchan’s place. Or he’ll just stay home and help with whatever he can; the house chores, the yard.” Eunbyul told him in detail and eventually, her lips grew a smirk. “Such a dream guy, isn’t he?”

Daehyun immediately blushed. He had no idea why it affected him so much. Maybe it was the way Aunty Byul said it, like she knew that he was always thinking about Yongguk every night before going to sleep. He could only smiled awkwardly at her because how was he supposed to answer that?

Their conversation was halted by the entrance of Dongwan, which made Daehyun feel so relieved. “Afternoon, Daehyun,” he greeted their one and only guest for today. “I’m glad you can make it.”

“Yes, thank you for having me here,” Daehyun bowed in the direction of the older man’s voice.

“That’s not a problem for us. We always like to keep this house full,” Dongwan stated cheerfully. He took the seat at the end of the long table while Yongguk went to sit next to his mate.

“Your brother doesn’t come along?” Another man with unfamiliar voice asked and Daehyun knew it was meant for him. He guessed the man must be Junhong’s father since he heard him took a seat beside Aunty Byul.

“No, he got club activity at the university,” Daehyun replied.

“Oh, right. Suwoong had gone to the university too this morning,” Jungsu said as a reminder to himself.

Minjee came in after that with a jug of fruit juice and Daehyun’s homemade cupcakes that had been put on a plate. She placed them on the table before sitting next to Daehyun. Dongwan told them to eat right away, but instead of busying themselves with filling their own plate, they were more concern about their young alpha’s mate.

“Do you want some rice, Daehyun?” Minjee asked.

“Sure,” Daehyun answered.

“You should try the kimchi that Aunt Minjee made, Daehyun,” Eunbyul said. “It’s very tasty.”

“Of course,” Daehyun smiled.

“Aren’t you going to pour a drink for him first?” Jungsu commented.

“Right, right,” Dongwan was the one to answer. “Jagi, pass me Daehyun’s glass.”

Minjee had to stop filling Daehyun’s bowl with rice to do that. Daehyun was actually quite surprised at their unexpected but extremely warm way of tending him. He tried to be modest as their guest, but now he was kind of lost in their overly concerned voices.

Meanwhile, Yongguk was watching the elders’ act with wide unbelieving eyes. Daehyun’s glass, bowl, plate, were all taken by them. Before they got even more out of control, he stepped in and stopped them.

“Guys? Everyone?” Yongguk called and all of them turned to him, including Daehyun. “Why don’t you just let me take care of it?” he suggested with a forced smile, taking the plate from his aunt’s hold and put it back in front of Daehyun.

Then, he stood up to take Daehyun’s rice bowl and drink from his parents. After settling everything back to its place, he gave the spoon and fork to Daehyun by putting them in his hand.

The elders were still speechless, having their gaze locked at the young pair, until Dongwan cleared his throat. They quickly snapped out of the trance. Only then they began to manage their own meal.

The sound of the dishes clattering again made Daehyun feel relieved. He thought that he had caused things to be awkward just now, but the elders had started talking with each other too. So, he could focus on what Yongguk was currently saying to him.

Of course Yongguk could feel the elders’ eyes on him and he was pretty sure they had a teasing smirk on their face too. But he just ignored it and continued to tell Daehyun what had been filled in his plate by his aunt and uncle. They were already being this embarrassing when he and Daehyun were still friends. He wondered how it would be when he was finally mated with Daehyun one day.

Dongwan didn’t waste any time after they finished their lunch. He straightaway got Daehyun to go with him and led the young man out to the yard. Yongguk trusted his father to take care of his mate since he told them to go without him first. He would join them later after he had done washing the dishes.

“Yongguk, I’ve got something to tell you,” Minjee voiced out when he was standing next to her son by the large sink, doing the same task like him. “You know the tonic that Aunt Narae gave us?”

“The one for us to keep in the house in case of emergency?” Yongguk figured. “What about it?”

“I’ve been thinking…” Minjee slowly began. “Maybe we can give some of it to Daehyun…?”

Yongguk instantly stopped scrubbing the plate before turning to look at his mother. His stare was fixed on her for a moment, pondering all the possible reasons for his mother to say that, until she looked back at him. “Why should we do that?”

“I’m not saying this for sure, but who knows, maybe the tonic can… Return his eyesight?” Minjee suggested carefully.

Yongguk averted his gaze down as he fell into a deep thought. He had never considered something like helping Daehyun regain his eyesight since the man was already so perfect in his eyes. But if there was something that could do it, of course he wouldn’t miss the chance. He had always wanted to show his mate all the beautiful things in the world.

“How do we know if it can be returned?” he spoke up after a moment.

Minjee shook his head. “You have to ask him about that.”

“Do you really think it’ll work?” Yongguk frowned in concern. “Daehyun is totally a human, he’s not like us. What if it would turn out wrong?”

“I believe nothing can go wrong,” Eunbyul intervened, coming into the kitchen with her husband after both of them went to collect the remaining dishes on the dining table.

“You do know that the tonic is harmless against creatures other than weredragons,” she added while placing the dirty dishes on the counter next to Minjee.

Jungsu did the same thing with Yongguk. “Yeah, your Aunt Narae had tried giving it to humans before and nothing happened to them,” he tried to convince his nephew too.

“See? Nothing happened.” Yongguk shrugged his shoulders. “So why do you think something will happen to Daehyun and bring back his eyesight?”

“I told you I’m not sure about it too.” Minjee sighed. “I asked Aunt Narae and she said that since the tonic is harmless, why not just give it a try?”

“We all know Daehyun is not just a human, Yongguk.” Jungsu patted the younger man’s back. “Daehyun is your mate.”

Yongguk stared at his uncle, starting to think that it actually made sense. Then, he turned to his mother and aunt, who were already looking at him with eyes full of hope and assurance. He looked above his head after that, giving the matter one last crucial thought before huffing out a long sigh.

Minjee smiled slightly, knowing that her son was already giving in. “We’re only taking a chance, okay? Don’t put too much hope in it,” she reassured.

“The tonic can heal injuries quickly, so if there’s something with no chance of getting cured, it wouldn’t work. Remember to ask Daehyun about that, okay?” Minjee reminded her son.

“Alright,” Yongguk nodded his head at her words with a thin smile and the elders were more than happy with their young alpha’s decision.

Holding onto Dongwan’s arm, Daehyun followed him in a tour of the yard. The walking stick was kept in the back pocket of his pants since he didn’t want to hit and break something while using it. He had enough trust in Dongwan to lead him around because just like his son, the man was such a gentle person.

Dongwan began by bringing Daehyun to the front yard. He described how he had planted the tall trees around the house near the brick wall. Other trees in the yard were all decorative trees that reached more or less their height. He also told Daehyun about the water fountain in the middle of the front yard, a fish pond at one side, and a playground at the other side.

Daehyun now knew that there was an enormous water fountain located in the route from the front gate to the porch of the house, so it was like a freaking roundabout in a front yard. He ran his hand along the smooth edge of the fountain, liking the sound of water splashing in it.

“Are you growing some flowers here?” he asked.

“Of course you’d know.” Dongwan let out an amused laugh.

“I do have a strong sense of smell,” Daehyun chuckled.

“Here.” Dongwan moved Daehyun’s hand a little further to the side, letting him touch the small flowers in the planter attached to the fountain. “It’s ‘sweet alyssum’. I grow the same flowers around the fountain.”

Daehyun grinned brightly at the soft and delicate feeling of the flowers before leaning down to breathe in more of their strong fragrance.

Dongwan just gazed at the young man with a smile. His heart swelling in happiness, knowing that someone could appreciate the same thing as he did.

Moving on, they went to the other parts of the yard with Dongwan stopping once in a while to let Daehyun touch and smell most of the flowers. Daehyun found that it was easier to walk in the garden since he was led through a paved path which was more than wide enough for two people. There was small greeneries along the sides of the path with more flowers behind them. So, Daehyun wouldn’t have to worry about being steered to a different direction and got lost if he were walking alone in the garden.

When he was told that they were going to go to the backyard, Daehyun noticed the warmth of the sunlight was gone. He wondered if there was a roof there, but then Dongwan clarified it to him, saying that they were actually walking through a wisteria tunnel.

“Really?!” Daehyun squealed. No wonder he could smell a different kind of fragrance there. “Are they low enough that I can touch them?” he asked, already reaching up above his head.

Dongwan laughed at Daehyun’s excitement. “You’ll know.”

Right after that being said, his hand met the dangling flowers. He was chortling along the tunnel, just by letting the flowers touched his skin as he passed by them.

“You really like flowers, don’t you?” Dongwan asked.

“I love them!” Daehyun was smiling so wide that his eyes turned into slits.

“What kind of flowers do you have in your garden?”

“I have all kinds of flowers, but not as much as you do.” Daehyun brought down his hand as they were finally out of the tunnel and felt the presence of the sun again.

“That’s actually a problem to me.” Dongwan sighed. “I have almost all kinds of flower that other people commonly have in their gardens. I don’t know what else I can plant.”

“Are you trying to say that you want to plant something different?”

“Why not, right?” Dongwan shrugged his shoulders. “Do you have any suggestions?”

Daehyun let out a snorting laughter. “If you ask someone who can’t see like me, I can only suggest flowers with good scent.”

Dongwan raised his brows, not really getting the point Daehyun was making. “That’s even better, isn’t it?”

“No, not really. Jongup said my flower pots look irrelevant to each other even though their scents are really good.” Daehyun pouted.

“Why don’t you ask him for help?”

Daehyun scoffed. “No way. He just knows how to complain,” he said in annoyance, but it was just for a second and the radiant smile was plastered on his face again.

“I can give you lists of flowers with good scents and you can look for their pictures before choosing,” he suggested. “And I only know the types of flowers, whether they are focal, filler and line flowers, their best seasons to grow and their lifespan. I’m not really sure about their sizes, so you have to look them up too.”

“I can guess it will be a super long list,” Dongwan joked around. “Where did you get all the knowledge about flowers?”

“Well, most of it were learned from my dad, some of it were what I got from the flower shops I visit, and the rest of it were from the internet,” Daehyun went along with the older man by answering him in a playful manner.

Dongwan laughed and halted both of them before a big bushy tree. “It’s gardenia,” he informed Daehyun and at the same time, guiding the smaller hand to one of the blooming flowers.

“Oh, it’s my favorite!” Daehyun claimed happily, his fingers caressing the familiar touch of the flower and of course, sniffing its pleasant scent.

“So you really grow flowers with good scents only?” Dongwan asked.

“Yeah, that’s the only way I could feel connected to them. They make me feel happy and complete with their own fragrance and I don’t have to worry about how they actually look like,” Daehyun explained.

“It’s not something wrong to do.” Dongwan shrugged his shoulders. “Looks aren’t the only thing that matters for flowers. Some flowers do look good, but then their scents are so bad, sometimes there are no scents at all.”

“Right, and for the flowers that are both beautiful and fragrant, most of them are hard to care for,” Daehyun added.

“It’s hard to find those kind of flowers with low maintenance.” Dongwan nodded in agreement. “Basically, it’s just dealing with people, huh?”

“Yeah, even if some people don’t look good, they can actually be so nice the closer you get to know them. Just like flowers, you have to go closer to smell their scents. There’s definitely something good in everything.”

“You’re right. Everything has their own reason to be in this world. Flowers, animals, people, even supernatural creatures,” Dongwan purposely stressed out the last part.

“What?” Daehyun turned his frowning face towards the latter. “Supernatural creatures? You mean like vampires and werewolves?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought they’re just myths.”

“I don’t know, but what if they really exist?” Dongwan said as if he was testing Daehyun about it.

Daehyun pursed his lips as he gave it a serious thought. “The power to control their existence isn’t in my hands,” he said after a moment.

“You mean?”

“I’m okay with them as long as they don’t harm me.”

Dongwan nodded his head at Daehyun’s simple, but rational opinion. “There are others like mermaids and shapeshifters too,” he stated randomly, just because he was liking the human’s reaction so far.

Daehyun furrowed his brows, wondering about the truth of those creatures’ existence. “If they really exist, I think they have extinct,” he joked.

Dongwan laughed out loud at that. “We can never be sure about that.” He shook his head before proceeding with their tour.

“There’s a swimming pool not so far behind you and a patio next to it, just across the back door. And further to the side is just an open space. Then, at the back here, I planted some fruits, vegetables and herbs.”

Once again, Dongwan brought up Daehyun’s hand to one of the ripe fruit. “Can you guess what it is?”

“Strawberry?” Daehyun was quick to answer once he recognized the shape and the achenes on the outer skin of the fruit.

“You’re very good at this,” Dongwan was truly impressed.

“It’s so big!” Daehyun uttered in awe.

“I’ll pluck it for you so you can have a taste,” Dongwan said and Daehyun released both his arm and the strawberry. “I’m going to the water tap to wash it so wait for a second.”

“Okay.” Daehyun smiled. His hands spontaneously stretched out to touch the fruits again. A hard surface met his fingers first. Running his hands along it, he identified it as a big, long planter. He had a thought that the strawberries were grown in stairs. He was correct when he found another planter on a higher step.

Daehyun let his wandering hands down at the sound of approaching footsteps, expecting it to be Dongwan, but it was his son instead.

“What are you up to?” Yongguk asked, standing right next to his mate.

Only by hearing the gravelly voice caused his heartbeat to be getting out of rhythm again, as if Yongguk’s presence had brought the ultimate, long-awaited happiness to him. “Oh, I was just figuring out the new surroundings,” Daehyun smiled shyly.

“Here, Daehyun. Try it.” Dongwan returned, taking Daehyun’s hand before placing the strawberry in it.

Daehyun straightaway bit the fruit into half and his eyes immediately widened. “It’s very sweet!”

Dongwan snickered at Daehyun’s adorable reaction. “It is?”

“Yeah!” Daehyun confirmed.

The fruit was indeed very succulent that the juice was dribbling down to Daehyun’s fingertips. So when Yongguk grabbed Daehyun’s hand to take the remaining of the fruit into his mouth, he used the chance to them clean.

“Wow, I don’t think it has ever been this sweet before,” Yongguk said while Daehyun was blushing so hard after realizing what just happened, moreover in front of Yongguk’s father.

On the other hand, everything occurred too fast for Dongwan to notice anything and his son’s comment kind of drew him away from getting to see Daehyun’s flushed face.

“Really? Then I should pick all the ripe ones.” He began to head to the shed to get a cutter and a small bucket.

“You do that, dad. I’ll take Daehyun with me!” Yongguk shouted when his father had already got in there.

“Hey, we haven’t finish the tour!” Dongwan hastily peeked out of the shed, only to find Yongguk was already walking away with his mate. He could only sigh after that before shaking his head with a fond smile.

“Can we really leave just like that? I feel bad for your dad,” Daehyun spoke up with guilt, having his hand clasped tightly by Yongguk.

“Just finish the tour next time you come here,” Yongguk casually told the latter. “If my dad can show you his favorite place, I want to show you mine too.”

“Where is that?” Daehyun asked, suddenly feeling excited about the plan.

“I’ll tell you when we get there.” Yongguk ushered Daehyun to the narrow gateway of the tall brick’s fence of the backyard. “Mind your step,” he reminded as he intently watched over Daehyun stepping out of it.

“Where in the world are you bringing me?” Daehyun asked, hearing the dead leaves and branches crunched under his feet. His hand had moved up to Yongguk’s arm to get a better balance of his body from the grip.

“Well, we are currently getting further into the woods,” Yongguk clarified as he carefully kept an eye on Daehyun’s path, afraid if his mate would trip over something. He didn’t have to worry too much though. The path was quite clear since he often used it. Even the trees had quite a large gap between each other and were tall enough that the branches wouldn’t get in their way.

“Is it still far?” Daehyun asked. “I’m afraid we’ll take hours to get there with how slow I’m walking.” He had started to cling on Yongguk’s arm using both of his hands now instead of just holding loosely onto it. The uneven ground had caught him off guard for a few times.

“No, it’s not that far and you’re not that slow. We’re not in a rush to get there,” Yongguk assured, reaching out to the other side to pat Daehyun’s arm.

“You better not be playing lame pranks on me and leave me alone in here,” Daehyun warned, turning his face to the other man and tried to glare at him.

Yongguk chuckled at Daehyun’s failed attempt. Not because the glare didn’t even meet his eyes, but Daehyun looked too cute to be taken seriously. “Damn, my plan have been found out,” he jokingly said under his breath.

“Yah!” Daehyun tugged the arm in his tight hold. “Seriously, don’t! I really won’t be able to get out of here and die,” he chided before pouting his lips.

“How do you plan to die? By starving to death or by being a meal to the beasts?” Yongguk asked and Daehyun gasped.

After a few more teasing and remarks, they finally arrived at their destination. It was a clearing, fully covered with green grass. Further down the open space was a rock cliff with a wide ledge.

“We’re here,” Yongguk announced and halted their steps.

“So, what about this place that you like so much?” Daehyun wondered when there wasn’t much difference between the spot and the woods. Only the ground felt softer and more even now.

“I don’t know, but this place calms me,” Yongguk stated. “I always come to see the sunset from here. The sun will disappear behind the other side of the mountain.”

“The same mountain as where we are right now?”

“Yeah, but this side is separated from the other side by a huge, deep ravine. People call this side as light and the other side as dark.”

“Can’t we cross the ravine and go to the other side?”

“We can. There’s a rope bridge not far from here. Have to go through the woods again to find it,” Yongguk said. “Let’s sit down for a while.”

He dropped himself onto the grass cushioned ground. Daehyun followed suit after taking out his walking stick from the back pocket and put in on the ground next to him.

“The wildflowers are everywhere,” Yongguk commented while looking around.

“It’s spring anyway.” Daehyun was already smiling so wide at the mention of flowers.

“There’s a cluster of them right in front of you.”

Daehyun quickly folded his legs that were previously pulled up to his chest. His hands searched for the flowers and giggled when it only took seconds for him to find them. “They’re tiny!”

Yongguk’s lips carved a smile at the younger man. “I’ll pick a beautiful one for you,” he said, already searching for it in other clusters near him.

“Don’t!” Daehyun stuck out his hand towards Yongguk and ended up hitting his chest in urgency. He made it as a guide to Yongguk’s forearm. “You’ll kill the flowers,” he protested with a deep frown.

“There are a lot more of them here,” Yongguk reasoned nonchalantly.

Daehyun huffed. “Don’t you know that every flower is a soul living in the nature?”

“I picked it.”

“What?!” Daehyun shrieked in total disbelief.

“You should’ve said that earlier.”

“You’re officially a killer now,” Daehyun snarled as he pushed away Yongguk’s arm.

It didn’t affect Yongguk in any way. He scooted even closer to his mate before slipping the flower at the side of his head.

“What are you doing?” Daehyun frowned at the gentle touch, his hand rising up to the spot to find out the answer on his own. Yongguk’s hands were still there, earnestly tucking the small flower behind his ear.

“We can’t just throw it away, can we?” Yongguk backed away after his final touch, leaning back on his palms. His head tilted to the side as he stared at his work and smiled in satisfaction.

“Pretty,” he commented while nodding his head. “This one flower must have died proudly because it goes to a beautiful creature like you.”

Daehyun jutted out his bottom lip despite the growing shade of red on his cheeks. His finger tenderly the tiny petals above his ear. “I feel like I’m being your partner in crime and the guilt is eating me up right now,” he sulked.

Yongguk tried so hard to hold his laughter and finally gave in. “Alright, I’m sorry, okay? I won’t do it again.”

Daehyun just released a long sigh as a reply because what’s done is done. “What is it?” he asked about the flower.

Yongguk squinted at it, trying to recognize the flower based on his very little knowledge. “I don’t really know,” he said after a moment of humming to himself.

Daehyun made an annoyed face at the other man. “They don’t have a strong smell.” He noted, still rubbing the smooth petals between his fingers. “Ah… I really wish I can know what it is just by looking at it.”

Daehyun’s words piqued Yongguk’s attention. It was his chance to ask his mate about something he had been keeping in his mind ever since the talk he had with his mother. Straightening up his body, Yongguk brushed the dirt off his palms while taking in a deep breath.

“Don’t you… Wish for something… That can return your eyesight…?” he carefully spoke up.

Daehyun wasn’t anywhere near surprised or offended, but he was clearly not expecting it. “Um… I don’t know. I’m okay either way. I’m just saying it; about seeing this flower.” He smiled.

Seeing Daehyun being comfortable with the topic, Yongguk continued. “Is there any possibility you can regain your eyesight back?”

Daehyun blinked his eyes repeatedly with his brows furrowed together. His blank gaze towards the other side of the mountain gradually casted down to the ground. “I don’t know, but my dad said it is permanent.”

“Permanent?” Yongguk questioned more since he couldn’t stop his curiosity from growing. “So, there’s no chance of getting treated?”

“You know that I lost my sight when I was two,” Daehyun remembered that he had told Yongguk about it before but, he just left it at that. “It was because of an infection,” he added while his hands were mindlessly the flowers and grass.

“My sight could be saved if the infection was treated earlier, but my parents were expecting another child at the same time. My mother was at the hospital, ready to give birth to Jongup and my dad was busy taking care of her and the new baby’s needs. He brought me back and forth to the daycare, the hospital and our house but not even once noticing that I was having trouble seeing with my eyes.”

“Was it because of the infection?” Yongguk asked. “How did you get it?”

“It was hard to tell. The doctor couldn’t find the exact reason too.”

Yongguk just nodded his head at that. “It must be hard for your father to take care of everything on his own.”

“Yeah, he even had to take a few days off.” Daehyun chuckled.

“How did he find out?”

“It was after Jongup was born. My mother couldn’t make it because of complications during the birth. My father was devastated. To do the funeral, he sent me to the daycare again, while Jongup was still at the hospital. That was when I started having a fever and the workers called my dad. It was very high when my dad took me to the hospital and my eyes started reddening and swelling. The doctor told my dad it was because of the infection in my eyes. It made him recall about how strange I was acting for a few days before, like how I always rubbed my eyes, bumped into things, and kept telling him that everything looked weird or funny. I was put in medication right away, but it didn’t work. So, they suggested that I undergo a surgery. Both the infection and fever were gone after that, as well as my eyesight. My dad was told that it was too late to save it.” Daehyun pressed his lips together, more of acceptance than regret.

“My dad told me about this when I was eleven. I got mad at him for being too overprotective of me.” Daehyun smiled as he recalled about it. “Then, he cried so hard because he didn’t know what else he could do to repent his mistake. He blamed himself for my blindness until the day he passed away.” His voice started to quiver, so he in a good amount of air to calm himself before clearing his throat.

“Jongup too was told about it when he was big enough to understand. He’s also forever blaming himself; for his mother’s death and for my blindness, because if he weren’t born, my mother could still be alive and my sight could probably be saved.” Daehyun finished by blowing a puff of air, ruffling his hair fringe as a result.

Yongguk too breathed out through his mouth after getting to know a little bit more about his mate’s bitter history. Slowly, his hand moved towards Daehyun’s, taking it in a firm hold. “There’s a reason behind everything that happened,” he tried to lift up Daehyun’s spirit.

Daehyun pointed his face in Yongguk’s direction with a thin smile on his lips. “In my case, like what?”

Yongguk didn’t have to think twice before giving an answer. “Like you don’t have to see my ugly face.”

Daehyun’s smile grew wider before he was finally laughing. Bringing his free hand towards the older man, he found the neck first. Yongguk’s skin was rough against his, but he didn’t dislike it. As his hand traveled upwards, there wasn’t much difference in his face. He began running his fingers along the half of Yongguk’s face and the warm tingly feeling that was sent to his heart was as strong as the first time he did it.

“I can’t feel any ugliness here.” Daehyun couldn’t stop smiling as he said it.

“Wow, you just made my day,” Yongguk deadpanned.

Daehyun was about to let his hand down, but it unknowingly touched something on top of Yongguk’s ear. It almost felt like the tiny flower he had on him and so, he gasped. “What’s this? Didn’t you say you won’t pick any flower again?”

“It’s not a flower. It’s a leaf.” Yongguk took it down and put it in Daehyun’s hand that was still in his hold.

Daehyun had a good look at it by thoroughly feeling for its features. “Ah…”

“Aren’t you going to scold me again?” Yongguk snorted with laughter. “So it’s just the flowers that have their own soul? What about the leaves?”

Daehyun just grinned sheepishly. “Um… Well…”

Yongguk smiled at his confounded mate before letting out a sigh. “There’s a saying; anyone can love a rose but it takes a great deal to love a leaf. Have you ever heard about it?”

“No…” Daehyun said, trying to get what it meant at the same time.

“It’s just telling us that it's ordinary to love the beautiful but it's beautiful to love the ordinary,” Yongguk explained frankly. “Don’t you think so? Because I do.”

He picked the leaf from Daehyun’s hand and tucked it together with the flower behind Daehyun’s ear, causing Daehyun’s face to redden.

“So, it’s okay if you think that you’re not beautiful, not like everyone else, not perfect, because when you found someone who can love you just the way you are, then that means they truly loves you from the bottom of their heart, and for them, you’ll be the most beautiful and perfect person.”

Daehyun had always known that he was imperfect. He never cared about finding someone to love or someone who loves him because he knew he was not worthy for anyone. He needed help in lots of things, so why would anyone wanted to trouble themselves being with him for the rest of their life?

Daehyun thought he didn’t need someone like that in his life, not until now, when he realized that his heart was wishing for that someone to be the same man who told him that he was beautiful the first time they met, who led him home when he was lost, who made him take off his dark glasses in front of strangers, who didn’t laugh at his dream about flying while running at the gym, who caught him before he could fall, who saved him from danger, who taught him that music can be colourful, who opened his mind to other little things in this world, who had always made his heart beat faster every time they met. For him, Yongguk is the most beautiful and perfect person.

Daehyun had truly fallen in love with Yongguk, but he knew he shouldn’t hope for his feelings to be returned because how could someone like him deserve to be loved by someone so perfect?

A/N:

It's happening! Bangdae is happening!! O_O

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