“There you go,” Baekhyun said as he handed over the bouquet of flowers he had just finished wrapping to the young, fidgety teenage boy in front of him. “I hope she likes them.”

The boy smiled awkwardly and paid for the flowers before fleeing out of the shop.

“Ah, young love,” Baekhyun sighed, resting his elbows on the counter and cupping his face. “Young love is nice, isn’t it, Kyungsoo?”

Kyungsoo scoffed as he continued to trim the stems of some roses. “No. Young love is stupid and immature.”

“You’re dating stupid and immature. Isn’t Jongin five years younger than you or something? He’s like .”

“First of all, Jongin is not stupid and immature. Secondly, he is three years younger than me. And he is twenty, making it completely legal for me to date him,” Kyungsoo argued, knowing that Baekhyun was only teasing him, but sometimes Baekhyun’s teasing could get quite annoying.

It was at that moment the door of the flower shop opened the bell rang.

“Well, speak of the devil,” Baekhyun commented before standing up straight and waving at the person who had entered the shop. “Hey, !”

“What?” Jongin asked, confusion on his face as he walked up to the counter.

“Jongin!” Kyungsoo exclaimed, dropping everything he was doing and running around to the front of the counter to greet his boyfriend. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I finished class early and I was hoping that maybe Baekhyun would let you leave early and we could go on a spontaneous date.” Jongin looked over at Bakehyun, eyes full of hope.

Baekhyun laughed and nodded. “Get out of here, you lovebirds. You guys sicken me with your… mushiness.”

Kyungsoo thanked Baekhyun and did not take very long to exit the shop with Jongin for their ‘mushy’ date. Baekhyun finished off Kyungsoo’s unfinished job of t stems and gave the plants some more water. He grabbed the broom and started dusting away, trying to keep the shop as clean as possible. Sunshine Florals was his baby and he tried to take care of her as best he could. Being a florist was never Baekhyun’s dream but it was something that just fell into his lap one day and he went along with it. He never regretted owning a flower shop, being quite happy in life with where he was. Over the past few years, Baekhyun had realised that flowers were not a colourful thing on top of a green stick. No, flowers were more than that. They were simple yet elegant and beautiful. They carried powerful messages and Baekhyun wanted to help people send those messages to the people around them. Baekhyun understood that flowers were a powerful weapon when used the right way.

After Baekhyun had finished sweeping the floor, he went back behind the counter and began to wipe it down, humming a soft tune to himself. His head perked up at the sound of the bell at the door ringing again, indicating another customer. The customer stormed into the shop and slammed a $20 bill onto the counter.

“How do I passive-aggressively say ‘ you’ in flower?” the tall man asked, startling Baekhyun.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“I need flowers that say ‘ you’,” the man explained.

Baekhyun stared at the man for a couple of second before bursting out into laughter. “I am so sorry,” he apologised, wiping the non-existent tears from his eyes. “I’ve just never had someone come in here and ask me that before. What’s your name, sweetie?”

“Chanyeol,” the customer replied, scratching the back of his head awkwardly and averting his gaze. “Well, can you help me out though?”

“Of course I can! Let me see what I have here.”

Baekhyun stepped out from behind the counter and walked around his shop, tapping his chin in thought before picking single stems of five different flowers.

“What do you think of these?” Baekhyun asked, holding out the flowers for Chanyeol to look at.

“Don’t you think it will be too colourful?” Chanyeol looked down at the oranges, yellows and pinks staring up at him, feeling unsure if this was really sending the message he wanted.

“Not at all. You’ve got geranium for stupidity, foxglove for insincerity, meadowsweet for uselessness, yellow carnations for disappointment and orange lilies for hatred. It’s basically everything you need to say ‘ you’, passive-aggressively.”

Chanyeol thought about it for a few seconds as he stared at the flowers before nodding and smiling at Baekhyun. “You’re right, they’re perfect.”

Baekhyun grinned and picked more of the same flowers before going back behind the counter.

“So, who are you giving this to?” Baekhyun asked as he started to design the bouquet.

“My best friend,” Chanyeol answered, earning a chuckle out of the shop owner.

“What did they do?”

“He was being an .”

“I completely understand. My best friend is an too,” Baekhyun said, thinking of how Kyungsoo is only ever a happy, sappy sap around Jongin.

“But even though they’re being asses, we still love them,” Chanyeol commented.

“I don’t know if I love Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun joked as he put on the finishing touches for the bouquet. “He can be an too much. Let’s just say that I like him, just a little bit.”

Chanyeol laughed.

“Well, here are your flowers,” Baekhyun said, holding up the bouquet carefully as Chanyeol took it out of his hands.

“Thank you for this…”

“Baekhyun.”

“Right, Baekhyun.” Chanyeol grinned and pushed that $20 note that had been sitting on the counter over to Baekhyun.

“Pleasure doing business with you. I hope your friend likes them.”

“I’m sure he will.” Chanyeol gave Baekhyun an awkward wave goodbye and exited the store, hearing Baekhyun’s voice behind him: “See you again soon!”

Baekhyun smiled to himself and sighed softly. He really wouldn’t have minded to see Chanyeol again.

The next day Baekhyun was checking the stock of flowers whilst Kyungsoo was going around cleaning the shop, making sure everything looked perfect.

“So, how was your date with Jongin?” Baekhyun asked, not being able to handle the silence between them.

“You know, same old, same old,” Kyungsoo replied, waving Baekhyun off with his hand. “Did anything interesting happen to you yesterday?”

Baekhyun looked at Kyungsoo sceptically but decided to drop the subject about Kyugnsoo date, knowing that his best friend would tell him when he’s ready.

“Oh yeah, this guy came in yester –”

“Good morning!” Kyungsoo interrupted Baekhyun, in his chirpy customer service voice, as he heard the bell at the door ring.

Baekhyun turned to look at who at entered and felt a smile growing when he saw a familiar face.

“Chanyeol! You’re back!” Baekhyun greeted, bouncing with happiness towards the counter. “What can I help you with today?”

“Uh, yeah, hi,” Chanyeol replied with a wave. “I was wondering if you have any gardenias.”

“Of course we do. Did you want a bouquet of them or to mix them with other flowers?”

Chanyeol shook his head. “No, I just need one.”

“Only one?” Baekhyun cocked his head to side and smirked. “Are you giving it to someone special?”

Chanyeol let out an awkward laugh and looked away from Baekhyun. “Uh, I guess you could say that.”

Baekhyun grabbed a single gardenia and handed it over to Chanyeol. “Well, whoever it is, I hope this makes them very happy.”

“How much is it?”

“Don’t worry, it’s on me. I’m a supporter of love.”

Baekhyun could see Chanyeol’s cheeks reddening and chuckled. Chanyeol held tightly onto the flower and with a quick ‘bye’, he left the shop. Baekhyun sighed as he watched Chanyeol leave and walk down the street, disappearing out of his sight.

“Who was that?” Kyungsoo asked over Baekhyun’s shoulder.

“, Kyungsoo!” Baekhyun exclaimed, startled at his best friend’s sudden appearance. “He’s just a customer. I don’t even know him.”

“Uh-huh. You don’t know him but you know his name.”

“I know the names of a lot of our customers.”

“You know the names of the old ladies who buy a lot of flowers from us.”

“I just happen to know his name too, okay? He came in yesterday after you left and I helped him out. That’s all.”

“Did you help him to your number as well?” Kyungsoo asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
            “Ew,” Baekhyun said, pushing Kyungsoo away from him. “Please don’t do that again. And no, I didn’t give him my number. We barely know each other and he obviously has someone he likes. He bought a gardenia, remember? Secret love and all that.”

“You never know.” Kyungsoo shrugged and got back to what he was doing. “Well, tall, cute and awkward is your type so don’t fall too hard, okay? I worry about you.”

“You really are such an .”

Kyungsoo laughed. “You know you love me.”

The next day Chanyeol appeared in Sunshine Florals again, asking Baekhyun for another single flower.

“Can I get a red tulip today?” he asked, not being able to look Baekhyun in the eye.

Baekhyun nodded and went to grab a red tulip from the front of the shop. “Planning on confessing soon?”

Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun, wide-eyed and stunned. “What, um, what do you mean?”

Baekhyun held up the red tulip. “This means a declaration of love so I’m assuming whoever you’re giving it to will know how you feel soon.”

“Oh, right, um, I guess so... Um, how much…?”

“Don’t worry about it, it’s on me again today,” Baekhyun assured with a bright smile. “Whoever they are, they would be lucky to have you.”

Once again, Chanyeol’s cheeks turned red and he left the shop with a quick ‘bye’, clutching the flower against his chest.

“That guy has got it so bad for you,” Kyungsoo commented, earning him a punch in the arm from Baekhyun.

For the next several days, Chanyeol would continue to come into the shop around the same time of day, asking Baekhyun – never Kyungsoo because he seemed too scary to deal with – for a single flower. One day it was a yellow tulip and the next day it was a violet. On another day it was a sorrel and on another, it was blue salvias. It continued like this, Chanyeol always asking for a flower with romantic meaning causing Baekhyun to be even more curious about who this special could be. He interrogated Chanyeol about it the many times tall man came into the shop, but Chanyeol never gave him an answer, only smiling awkwardly and scratching the back of his head. Despite Baekhyun finding Chanyeol’s awkward tendencies adorable as ever, it also was starting to annoy him to no end because he was getting somewhat desperate to know Chanyeol’s secret.

It was ten days after the first time Chanyeol had entered Sunshine florals and, once again, Baekhyun perked up at the sound of the doorbell, smile growing as he saw the familiar face coming towards him with his arms behind his back.

“Good morning, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun greeted, coming out from behind the counter, ready to pick out the flower Chanyeol needed that day. “What flower did you need today?”

Chanyeol shook his head. “I don’t need a flower today. I wanted to talk to you.”

“What did you want to talk about?”

Chanyeol bit his bottom lip and took a deep breath before ing a bouquet of several different flowers into Baekhyun’s chest. “These are for you.”

Baekhyun grabbed onto the flowers and stared down at them, noticing how each one was different, how each of them were the flowers Chanyeol had gotten from his shop. Baekhyun inspected the paper used for wrapping up the bouquet and the ribbon and chuckled at how messy of a job it was. He took a whiff of the flowers and sighed contently.

“What are you trying to tell me, Chanyeol?” Baekhyun asked, looking up at the tall man before him, knowing full well what Chanyeol was trying to say.

“Well, I, um, really like you…”

“Yes? And?”

“I was wondering if, um, you wanted to have dinner with me some time,” Chanyeol answered, rubbing the back of his neck.

Baekhyun gave Chanyeol one of his biggest smiles.

“He would love to!” they heard Kyungsoo yell from the back of the store.

“Shut up, you !” Baekhyun shouted back before turning back to Chanyeol. “Sorry about that.”

Chanyeol shook his head and grinned. “It’s okay. I still haven’t heard your answer yet.”

“I would love to have dinner with you,” Baekhyun replied, taking one of Chanyeol’s hands in his.

“I told you!” Kyungsoo yelled out again.

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “Sorry about him. He’s an idiot.”

“I don’t really mind. It’s nice to know that your best friend approves of me.”

“I like you. Of course he has to approve.”

“You like me?”

“It wasn’t obvious?”

Chanyeol shook his head.

Baekhyun got on his tip-toes and gave Chanyeol a quick peck on his cheek.

“Is it obvious now?” Baekhyun asked, only to laugh when he noticed Chanyeol’s cheeks flushed red. “You are honestly so cute.”