Hyejin pulls her coat closer to her chest in an attempt to keep out the growing September breeze. As she walks towards her front door, she recalls the night when Wheein suddenly appeared at her shop with teary eyes, telling her about the recent death of her grandmother. Since that night, Hyejin has provided a healthy balance of comfort and space for Wheein to take care of herself and so far, things were getting a lot better.

She’s about to enter the parlour when she sees Wheein on the other side of the glass of the flower shop. It all seems normal until she sees her standing at the front counter and notices someone—a male someone—leaning over it. Wheein is smiling and laughing at him and Hyejin feels an unpleasant seed starting to grow at the pit of her stomach.

What am I thinking? Hyejin says to herself. I’m not jealous. Wheein isn’t something I can possess.

She’s so caught up in her internal brooding that she barely notices Yongsun outside managing some flowers, impatiently calling her over for help. She forces herself to forget whatever unpleasant feeling she has and walks up to her.

“Hi, unnie.” Hyejin greets her and tries her best to drown out the voices from inside. Yongsun smiles as she turns back to managing her flower pot and holds two lilies up in front of her.

“Would you mind holding these for a sec? I gotta pull this…stupid…weed out.”

Hyejin grabs the flowers and while Yongsun is busy struggling, she decides to let her curiosity get the better of her.

“Hey, unnie, who’s that guy Wheein’s talking to?”

“Hmm?” Yongsun’s gaze flickers from her flower pot to the boy inside the shop. “Ah, that’s Taehyung sunbaenim. He delivers special flower orders from the growers upstate.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Yongsun continues pulling until she finally takes out the obtrusive undergrowth. Hyejin decides to ask a bit more.

“How often does he visit?”

Yongsun thinks for a moment. “Uhm…maybe monthly depending on how many orders we ask for on one occasion—why, Hyejin-ah?”

“Nothing. Just curious.”

She gives Yongsun a somewhat strained smile before she hands her back her flowers and excuses herself, pushing her way into the tattoo parlour with more force than necessary.

***

“This is it for me.”

Hyejin is sitting by the window overlooking the shop next door where Wheein and Taehyung are busy unloading crates from a van. Both are smiling at each other, walking side by side and Hyejin wants to cry in the nearest ditch.

“Jealous much, Hyejin-ah?” Moonbyul teases from behind the counter. “He’s only been there, what, two days in a row?”

“That’s two days too many,” She fires back. “And I’m not jealous. I’m not like that.”

Moonbyul shrugs in that ‘whatever you say’ way and carries on spying out the window.

“The only thing bothering me is that he’s been coming during my lunch breaks, that’s all.”

“The only thing.”

Hyejin shoots her a glare before standing up to grab her purse and leaving the parlour. At this time of the day her feet would normally take her to the direction of Wheein’s shop but after seeing them outside once again—seeing Taehyung playfully nudging her and that dimple on Wheein’s face—makes her turn the opposite direction to where she’ll spend her lunch alone inside some random coffee shop instead.

Before she can disappear, Wheein notices the familiar figure walking away and calls her name loud enough for her to hear. Hyejin ignores it and keeps walking, making Wheein’s happy expression turn into a frown.

If Hyejin can pretend not to hear Wheein’s voice then maybe she can pretend not to hear the sound of her own heart aching in her chest.

***

Hyejin isn't the type of person to hold a grudge on someone for a long time, but rather accepts it and moves on. That’s how she handles Moonbyul whenever she gets annoyed at her sometimes and right now, after two days of seeing Taehyung next door, that’s how she handles him.

She accepts that he’s there and goes out to a coffee shop for her lunch break instead, for the next few days. She doesn’t bear a grudge towards him or Wheein at all since Wheein is happy and smiling because of him. It’s just not Hyejin tha