Jisoo lifted the tray with the new batch of carnation flowers, the strong fragrance of the flowers sending a jolt of delight through her mind. 

The smell of flowers never failed to clear Jisoo's mind, the colourful array of flowers seemed to keep her spirits up, like infinitesimal happy pills blossoming in the laboratory of a mad scientist.

Jisoo loved her job at the florist- she loved the sweet, warm scents that the flowers exuded, and the bright, aesthetically pleasing flowers that were displayed in all corners of the little shop; proud exhibitions of nature's finest products.

Simply put, Jisoo loved flowers, and so she obviously loved her job at the flower shop.

Jisoo walked along the rows of ready made bouquets toward the back of the shop where the potted plants were. 

She placed the tray of carnations onto an cleared space designated for the new arrivals. She shifted the pots just so they were perfectly aligned.

There we go, Jisoo thought, smiling at the resulting neat rows of flowers.

"Jisoo!" a familiar sounding voice resonated within the small space, startling Jisoo out of her thoughts, "I need to go meet the contractor for a little while, can you watch the shop?"

"Sure, Jennie," Jisoo called over her back at her best friend, who was also her boss, owner of the flower shop.

Jisoo heard the ringing of the bell placed next to the entrance of the shop, signalling Jennie's absence.

Jisoo diligently returned to her duties, wiping the soil that had escaped from the airing holes beneath the pots onto the tabletop. 

She was in an extremely good mood today, humming softly under her breath as the sweet, intoxicating scent of the flowers filled her senses.

Then Jisoo heard the ringing of the bell again. "That was fast, Jenduekie, did you-" Jisoo started, turning towards the person whom had entered the shop, thinking it was Jennie, but instead she found herself face-to-face with a stranger.

A gorgeous, tall stranger with pink tinted, fluffy cheeks and striking red hair. 

Also known as Exactly Jisoo's Type.

"Wha-" Jisoo blurted, before finding her tongue quickly again, "Welcome to Jensoo Flowers, may I help you?"

She couldn't afford to lose a customer; the shop wasn't doing as well as expected and Jisoo felt as if Jennie was only keeping it open for Jisoo's sake.

The customer took a sweeping glance around the room, before her eyes found Jisoo's again, "I'd like to know what kind of flowers I should get for a confession," the girl blushed, "you know, for, um, a specific someone."

Jisoo nodded slowly. She did, in fact, get what the customer was asking for.

But why did she feel disappointed at the prospect of the stranger having a significant someone? 

Jisoo shook away any other thoughts that strayed from finding the customer a beautiful, appropriate flower for her purposes, "Of course! Uh, There are many types of flowers that are fitting for the purpose of confession but nothing beats the classic red rose." 

Jisoo held up a bouquet of velvety red roses she herself had arranged just a while ago, "A bouquet of roses will do the trick!" 

The customer seemed to hesitate, her eyes avoiding the confused glance of Jisoo's.

"Miss?" Jisoo was starting to become unsure of herself, was there something about her that caused the customer to be displeased? Jisoo didn't have a clue.

"I-" the stranger started, but was interrupted by the jingle of the bell, this time Jennie bustling through the entrance with bravado.

"ChichU can you please help me with these boxes," Jisoo exclaimed dramatically, her arms loaded with large boxes that towered over the small woman.

Jisoo rushed over to the aid of her best friend, struggling to reach the highest box.

"I-I can't-" Jisoo started, her voice straining from the effort of reaching towards the box. Then Jisoo felt someone reach over her, easily taking the box Jisoo was struggling to reach.

But who else was in the shop, Jisoo thought, except-

The customer. Jisoo had almost forgotten about her.

"Need help with the rest?" the customer asked, her voice low and soft, bending down to place the box onto the ground before reaching over Jisoo once again.

Jisoo was used to the fragrance of flowers wafting through the air, an aromatic mix of mild pollen scent and the stronger scent of flowers; but the scent that washed over her when the customer leaned over her was sweeter than anything she'd ever smelt. 

It was addictive, intoxicating and unlike anything Jisoo could ever imagine. 

It was akin to an aphrodisiac to Jisoo- and its effects were instantaneous. Jisoo felt her face heat up until it was almost unbearable, goosebumps raised along the surface of her skin. She felt a warm, tingling heat pool at the pit of her stomach, and all her words deserted her.

Jisoo stood rooted to the spot, slightly agape at the beautiful redhead who was leaning over her, clueless of the invisible hold her scent was having over the raven-haired girl.

The tall girl, sensing something amiss, glanced down at Jisoo, about to say something but was cut off by Jennie, "Gee, thanks ! Are you a friends of Jisoo's ? I'm Jennie, nice to meet ya!"

Jisoo's cheeks blazed red, not quite finding her tongue yet.

"I'm...a customer, I was just asking...Jisoo about something." the customer said, coming to Jisoo's rescue. Jisoo liked the way the taller girl said her name, her voice low and y.

"Oh," Jennie intoned, her eyes sliding over to Jisoo, "I see, well I'll just, uh, put these boxes away."

Jennie dragged the boxes to the back of the store, winking at Jisoo when their eyes met. Jisoo knew that look. Jennie always coupled a suggestive wink with one of her sayings, "go get yo womans." 

Which was what Jennie was mouthing at her right this moment. 

Jisoo rolled her eyes internally at her best friend, cursing Jennie for embarrassing her.

"So about what we were talking about," the customer sidled up to her, the taller woman's scent once again filling her senses.
 
Jisoo though that the best way to say she loved the customers scent was that she was truly, truly drunk on it.

"Do you think I could get a single, thornless rose today?" the customer asked. Jisoo thought she could see a hint of red on the blonde's cheeks but she couldn't be sure.

"Y-yes of course," Jisoo rushed to the single flowers section, getting the lone thornless rose. 

"Thank you for coming and we hope to see you again!"

##

Over the course of two weeks, the rarity of the customer's visits decreased; it was as if her visits were part of Jennie's daily routine- the blond girl would enter the shop everyday, her cheeks dusted with pink, speaking softly and slowly everytime.

And yet she only ever asked for one thing every visit.

A single, thornless rose.

Jisoo was puzzled over the amusingly blatant pattern the customer's visits seemed to follow; had the girl not confessed yet? 

But Jisoo held a tiny flame of hope that the girl, the one with the most intoxicating scent she had ever come across, the sweetest smile she had ever seen and the softest, most arousing voice she had ever heard, was visiting her for reasons beside the flowers.

But Jisoo buried these wistful thoughts deep into the recesses of her mind. 

Jennie had sensed the obvious attraction Jisoo held towards the stranger- she had claimed that the sparks that flew when Jisoo and the redhead were together was so bright, it was almost like watching a firework show.

But Jennie hadn't been much help in calming the brunette's nerves- Jisoo was a tongue-tied wreck in the presence of the customer, and she believed the mysterious patterns that the customer's visits had to have a hidden meaning behind it. But what could it be? 

The soft chiming of the door bell signalling the customer's arrival dissipated Jisoo's thoughts. That could wait.

##

When the taller woman left the shop, she walked straight towards a deserted alleyway and hunched down into a squat. 

Her heart was palpitating at the speed of light, her palms sweaty. Quickly, she whipped out her mobile phone, fingers in a rush to hit the right numbers.

"Oh. My. Gosh." she squealed into the receiver, her voice raising, "LaliSa you won't believe I-"

"Finally manned up?" she was cut off by the muffled reply of her best friend, "and about damned time, you cowardly horse shoe." 

"I'm not a horse shoe, you, you palaka," she finished proudly, quite sure that her friend would have no idea what the heck that was. And she wouldn't tell her either.

"What the-" Lisa said, outraged, although she had no idea what the girl had said, "I'm never helping you with stupid cooking mama ever again. Just remember, you only passed the fried ice cream stage because of me."

Chaeyoung huffed, knowing full well she could have passed that stage without Lisa's help, but she held her tongue. They had more important things to discuss.

"ANYWAY, remember that girl that I told you about? The one that-"

"Works in a flower shop and with whom you're heads over heels for?" 

"Well, yes, I...I think I'm finally ready."

"About damn time. How can I help?"

##

Jisoo caught herself glancing at the door of the flower shop for the nth time that day, subconsciously looking out for a flash of auburn hair which implied the customer's arrival. 

She looked down at her wristwatch. Ten minutes to closing time. Jisoo flicked her eyes up to the door once more, the golden rays of dying sunlight streaming through the glass display window of the shop. 

Maybe the customer had finally confessed, Jisoo thought, the thought stirring up a well of emotions within her. She'd never imagined a single customer could make her feel the way she was at that moment.

It had been a month, after all, the customer was bound to confess. 

Maybe our time together in the shop meant nothing, Jisoo thought, her eyes welling up at how attached she had become, and the thought that the customer didn't feel the same way made her chest ache.

Jisoo sighed, before she returned the stray pots of flowers to their rightful places, brushing the soil that had escaped from the potted plants off the table onto a sheet of plastic. She would dispose of it later.

Jisoo moved to the door, turning the 'open' sign over to reveal a 'close'. She turned away, the day's exhaustion washing over her, as she busied herself with packing up the shop for closing.

Just then, Jisoo heard the tinkle of the bell at the door. "Sorry we're closed now-" Jisoo said, turning around to witness the customer holding a bouquet of red roses, the redhead's cheeks turning a similar shade.

Jisoo stared at the customer, not sure what was happening.

And yet, she had a feeling that this was what she'd been waiting for this whole time. Jisoo felt her heart flutter with excitement.

The customer walked up to her, a shy smile on her face. 

"I collected these roses, everyday, until I could pick up the courage to tell you my feelings," the redhead slowly let out a breath she had been holding, her eyes shyly looking up to meet Jisoo's, "would you be my girlfriend?"

Jisoo stared, speechless and slightly disoriented. What did the lovely, shy girl standing in front of her just say?

The redhead shifted uncertainly, moving her weight onto the balls of her feet. "W-we could start of as friends first, if you'd like," she said, holding out her hand to Jisoo.

Jisoo surveyed the girl's eyes, her own moving over the soft, golden brown streaks that were reflected in the taller girl's eyes from the setting sun. She found specks of orange, fiery red and dark umber. 

But she also found comfort in them.

Jisoo reached out her own hand, tightly grasping the redhead's. The taller girl smiled at her, the sides of her eyes creasing a little.

Then Jisoo tiptoed, reaching up to pull her into a kiss.

Their lips met in a gentle kiss, (a bit of a surprise on the taller girl's side) the mild frangrant scent of flowers around them, and that sweet, intoxicating smell of hers.

They kissed for a long time, the anxiety Jisoo felt at the girl's absence expressed in a way that words couldn't. Hesitant, asking melding into needy insistence.

And when Jisoo finally pulled away, (for fear her lungs would collapse if she didn't) breathless and wanting more, she felt the girl putting the bouquet of roses into her hands.

"I'm Chaeyoung," the girl said, "and I'm heads over heels in love with you."

Jisoo looked up, stunned by the taller girl's candidness. "I'm Jisoo," she replied, "and yes, I would love to be your girlfriend," before Chaeyoung pulled her into another kiss.

The shop smelled a little differently when the pair left the place. And Jisoo hoped it would remain that way forever.