♫ Alex Chu - 화분 (Flowerpot)

“They say when you are missing someone that they are probably feeling the same, but I dont think it’s possible for you to miss me as much as I’m missing you right now.”

- Edna St. Vincent Millay
 

It was the next day and the girls were all gathered in the living room of the safehouse for a very important and serious meeting.

“So what should we do.” Eunbi said with her arms crossed.

“There’s no other choice, we can’t just keep doing this for the remainder of the assignment.” Chaeyeon replied.

“We can switch every other day.”

“No, I think that’s a hassle. I also think it’ll be more comfortable for her if she had her own too.”

“I guess that’s true. Can’t we just let the company know? I’m sure they’ll help us out.”

“The assignment didn’t include anything about it, so I don’t think they’ll let us.”

“What are you guys doing?” Cherry said with an incredulous look after hearing enough of the two girls contemplating back and forth.

The two agents were debating what they were going to do with getting Cherry her personal things from her apartment. They were supposed to grab them yesterday when they went to pick her up, but of course, things didn’t go as they had expected. Now, both are worried about going back there in case the bad guys were still keeping an eye on the place, but they also couldn’t just ignore the problem at hand.

“I agree with Agent Feather though. I don’t feel comfortable asking you guys to supply me with your own clothes.

“I mean imagine all of the laundry you guys would have to do if I borrowed your clothes everyday.” Cherry cheekingly added.

The two agents glared at the girl, unamused. Chaeyeon had brought in a change of clothes for Cherry that morning, but they also agreed that bringing in their personal belongings for Cherry was not right. She should have her own clothes to wear.

“We can both go” Eunbi said.

“Are you even thinking now? Who is going to protect Cherry then?” Chaeyeon said dumbfounded.

There was a brief awkward silence as Eunbi stood there with an expressionless face, realizing how stupid her last comment was.

“Ahh, you’re right.” She said nonchalantly.

“We also can’t ask the other agents for help though. They’ll think we’re useless if we can’t even handle a small assignment like this on our own.” Eunbi added as she ruffled her hair in frustration and rubbed her temples to alleviate the headache that was developing.

“It’s ok, I can just go alone.” Chaeyeon suddenly said as she finally made up her mind.

“Are you sure?” Both Cherry and Eunbi said simultaneously, as they looked at Chaeyeon.

“Yea, we need to do it. I should be fine on my own. Besides, we still need to get groceries for Cherry. We can’t let her starve. You can do that Agent Rabbit after I grab her stuff.”

Worry can physically be seen on both Cherry and Eunbi’s face, but they had no other option but to trust Chaeyeon. It was their job as a protection agency, they can’t just let something like this scare them off. If they were going to advance to more difficult assignments in the future, they need to be able to handle something as simple as this.

“Fine, just don’t take too long. Just grab her the necessary things and get out. Some casual clothes, night wear, and 1 or 2 fancy nice clothes just in case should do. If you see anything out of place, abort the mission. If you get in but run into trouble, don’t hesitate to call.” Eunbi said as she patted Chaeyeon’s shoulder.

Chaeyeon looked down at Cherry who was sitting on the couch fidgeting with her fingers. Chaeyeon knew that was a habit of hers when she was nervous with anything. Suddenly, Cherry looked up to meet her gaze.

“Come back safely.” Cherry said softly.

•~•

Chaeyeon arrived at the apartment complex. As she scanned the area, she saw nothing was out of the ordinary or any signs of the bad guys around. The only thing amiss was a sign on Cherry’s door that read ‘under repairs’. Chaeyeon opened the door cautiously to find the apartment still a mess from yesterday. Wind was still blowing in through the broken window and tons of shattered glass sprawled out everywhere. Again though, she found nothing that would indicate danger in the apartment. She could now relax a bit as she gathered Cherry’s things.

How long have you been living here?

Why didn’t you look for me?

Why didn’t you let me know?

These thoughts suddenly came to Chaeyeon as she looked at everything around the apartment. She couldn’t help herself from thinking about these things. It’s been years since she has seen Cherry, but she looked like she was living so comfortably here, without a worry at all; without her.

Maybe she...

Chaeyeon stopped herself before continuing. She breathed a heavy sigh and shook her head to snap herself back to reality as she made her way to the master bedroom. She slowly opened the door and found the room still untouched. As she entered the room, she couldn’t help but crack a smile as she saw a little corner of the room was dedicated to some very precious people in Cherry’s life. That corner had all of Cherry’s Red Velvet merch and albums, as well as a giant poster of her bias, Irene, above her bed.

“You dork, of course you would dedicate a corner of your room to your beloved idol group, and have a huge poster of Irene. Or as you liked to call her, Irene-sama” Chaeyeon chuckled to herself.

“I guess your love for them hasn’t changed at all.” She added.

After staring at the poster, Chaeyeon headed towards the dresser and began packing some clothes into the duffle bag. As she was packing, she noticed that some of the clothes looked familiar. Some of those clothes she had were the same ones she wore back then too. This was surprising to her since Cherry was quite wealthy, but then again, this side of her was quite cute too. She liked that Cherry didn’t show off her wealth, and was humble about her belongings and how she didn’t mind wearing the same clothes for a long time. Not to mention the hand me downs she was always asking for. Chaeyeon slightly blushed as she imagined all of the clothes she could secretly buy for her. Maybe she could even sneak in some couple items too.

As she finished and stood up to leave, something at the corner of her eye caught her attention. She headed towards the windowsill beside the bed and stopped, staring at the items placed there.

(Flashback)

“What is this for?” Sakura said as she held the flowerpot in her hand, confused.

“It’s a present for you. It’s to celebrate our 1 year anniversary as a couple.” Chaeyeon said.

“I wanted to give you something unique, something different than what others would usually give. It has some meanings to it.” She added proudly.

“Why did you pick this pink flower?” Sakura asked.

“Well, the Azalea kind of reminds me of a cherry blossom, so it reminds me of you. It also means elegance, feminine beauty, remembering your home or wishing to return to it and…” Chaeyeon lowered her voice as she became more shy.

“And what….?” Sakura questioned, curious at what Chaeyeon was holding back.

“Passion….that is still developing” Chaeyeon muttered quietly.

Sakura snickered as she smiled lovingly at the shy younger girl who was looking down at her feet while blushing at her own explanation.

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t give this to me in a black vase.” Sakura said suddenly.

Chaeyeon’s head shot up quickly, wondering why the older girl had said such an ominous remark.

“W-why did you say that?” Chaeyeon asked.

“Because….” Sakura paused, her smile disappearing.

“It would’ve meant as a death threat.” She continued.

Chaeyeon gasped loudly as she cupped from the shock. She had no clue such a beautiful flower had such a dark meaning too.

“I-I’m sorry!” Chaeyeon said as she bowed her head to apologize.

“I’ll take it back if it reminds you of that.” She added as she moved her hands to take back the flowerpot.

“No, no. It’s ok. Don’t be sorry. I was just teasing you. I know you would never do that.” Sakura said as she moved the flowerpot in the opposite direction away from Chaeyeon. A smile appearing back on to her f