Hyungwon sighs, leaning down against the railing of his patio. He sips at his coffee, entirely content with the world. He’s bundled up in his favorite clothes and blankets, watching the sun rise over the horizon lined by the unmarred ocean… This is paradise, he thinks, falling in love with this little stretch of place of his own all over again as the last few stars twinkle out of existence and give way to the impending day.

That is… until he hears it.

“I DON’T WANT TO BE ALONE!!!!!!!”

Hyungwon huffs out a sigh, craning his neck to look around and see what new desperate little soul has wandered onto his beach now to scream their wishes to the rising sun. He doesn’t have to look far, however, to see a short-looking man with brown hair, his fists balled up at his sides as he expands on his wish.

“AND I DON’T WANT TO BE BROKE!!!!!!!”

The elegant man can’t help but chuckle at the addition, finding something entirely enthralling about the way the stranger practically demands things from the heavens. His high voice carries his wishes to the clouds, and the seemingly indignant glare almost seems to ensure that the wishes will be carried out, just to keep the man from glaring any longer.

When the stranger turns, Hyungwon feels as if he’s seen him somewhere before. He straightens up curiously and goes over to the side of his patio, leaning over and squinting to get a better look. All he can make out as the boy turns is a black beanie in one of the fists, one that gets shoved atop the brown hair as he turns and stomps off.

Hyungwon sighs, slumping against the railing as he blatantly watches the stranger stomp off and back towards town. It’s not as if he’s worried about being seen. No one that comes out here to wish never notices him. They’re all just caught up in what they want out of life without putting forth the effort. It’s especially common around this time, at the beginning of the year when everyone’s got New Year’s resolutions they don’t want to fail at for the fifth year in a row.

The stranger disappears as he goes over the ridge, leaving Hyungwon’s sight probably for good. Hyungwon stares for a moment longer before heading back inside, sitting down at his desk to sribble down an idea. Something about a young boy shouting his prayers to the unfeeling sky several times throughout his life, only to realize it was ultimately him that made those wishes come true… Yeah, that’d make for a great poem, Hyungwon thinks.

Hyungwon goes through his days as usual, all thoughts of the stranger out of his mind. He goes to the cafe in town around midday to have lunch and people-watch, then he goes to the park to do the same until evening comes. He then goes to some tiny restaurant, either to get dinner there or to-go, and returns to his home on the beach for the night.

He’s in the middle of such a routine when he sees the stranger again. He’s sitting at his typical window seat, drinking his typical cappuccino, when he hears it.

“Thanks,” a vaguely familiar voice mutters, drawing Hyungwon out of his own hazy mindset with underlying recognition. He glances around, just catching sight of a black beanie out of the corner of his eye. Hyungwon’s eyes widen ever so slightly, and he realizes this is the same man he’d seen almost a week ago on the beach…

Before he knows it, Hyungwon’s standing up and throwing a tip onto the table quickly to follow the stranger out the cafe. He doesn’t know what drives him to virtually stalk this literal stranger, but he doesn’t bother questioning it. He just goes along with it, like he does many things, staying at a distance as he glides down the sidewalk. He follows the man to a flower shop, where he pauses only to push a key into the lock.

Hyungwon hovers where he stands, watching as the neon sign gets , declaring the store being open for business. He looks around to get a sense of where he is, realizing he’s followed the man almost to the other side of town without even realizing… Not that it really matters, what with the town being so small, but still. At least this explains why he’s never seen the man around before. He never ventures over here.

He pushes into the store after waiting a few more minutes, letting the stranger get situated in what appears to be his store, before following him inside. He doesn’t know exactly why he’s so fixated on this stranger… Maybe it’s because of the way he glared at the heavens. Most people that come to wish to the sky do so with a ‘please’ or a meek little yell. But, not this man. He shouted at the top of his lungs, uncaring of who might hear.

He’s different from the others, Hyungwon can see that. And it fascinates him greatly.

“Hi, welcome to Yoo’s Florals,” the voice greets, sounding rushed and absent. Hyungwon hums in reply, glancing around the store casually. It’s a small place, with only a few empty vases here or there on display with the rest practically bursting with flower arrangements. Hyungwon can’t help but smile, leaning down to sniff at a particular pair of white roses.

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

Hyungwon straightens up, making direct eye-contact with the stranger. He glances down with a graceful little smile pulling at his lips, taking note of the name meticulously scrawled on the nametag: Kihyun. Hyungwon glances over to the arrangement of roses, stepping back a pace.

“I’d like to buy these, the vase and all, please,” he says simply, filing the name away for future use. He’ll test it on his tongue at night, when he’s writing his poems and looking over at the new flowers he’ll have placed on his desk. Kihyun blinks as if confused, looking between the flowers and the man for a moment before shrugging and taking them off the stand, a bright smile pulling his lips back and stretching from ear to ear.

Hyungwon watches with an unblinking stare as he follows Kihyun to the register, trying to figure out why he likes the looks of that smile so damn much… His heart is beating a bit faster, and his palms feel damp with sweat. Is he getting sick? Maybe. That isn’t entirely impossible what with the cold weather and all.

“Card or cash?” Kihyun asks, typing the order up on the register. Hyungwon gulps thickly, fumbling for his wallet and pulling out his card.

“My name’s Hyungwon, by the way… You have a very lovely store.” He doesn’t understand this drive to speak to Kihyun, this desire to keep hearing the man’s voice. He just knows the musical undertones of Kihyun’s pitch, the almost playful lilt to his inflection, makes him feel so incredibly comfortable. It isn’t like this usually with people. Others tend to speak either too loud or too quiet, either bombarding Hyungwon’s ears with shrill noise or making him strain himself to carry on a simple exchange.

But, not Kihyun. Kihyun’s voice is, in a word, perfect.

“Thanks…” Kihyun says, giving Hyungown an unreadable glance as he wraps a black bow around the ivory white vase. He hands the card back, blatantly eyeing Hyungwon up and down. When the receipt prints, he scribbles out a string of numbers onto it with a flower-tipped pen, sliding it over the counter.

“If you ever want to, you know, do something other than follow me around town, give me a call… Hyungwon .”

Hyungwon’s eyes blow wide, clearly shocked to be called out like that. He hadn’t even realized Kihyun knew he was being followed… This florist is clearly more than Hyungwon’s ever met before. More of what, the poet isn’t quite sure, but definitely of something.

“Thanks,” Hyungwon says, taking the receipt. He doesn’t bother denying it. Something tells him Kihyun wouldn’t buy whatever cover story he would come up with on the spot. “I’ll be in touch… Kihyun.” His expression turns sweet at saying the name.

As he leaves with the vase in tow, all he can think of is how right he was… That name is absolutely divine to say.