Eight

Behind That Frown

The next day, Jiwoo is in a floral shop looking at flowers to buy for her parents anniversary.

Suddenly, the bell on the door rings indicating a customer has come in.

"Hello," the owner greets happily.

"Hello," the man greets back. He's wearing a hat and is keeping his head down, so Jiwoo can't tell who the person is, but she doesn't say anything. He starts looking around.

"Is there anything specific you're looking for," the owner asks him.

"No," he replies. "I'm just looking around."

"Sure. Tell me if you need anything."

He nods his head. 

Jiwoo doesn’t pay attention and continues to look for flowers.

"Excuse me," the man says. "Do you have pots of flowers here? Or do you only sell bouquets?"

"I do have pots of flowers," the owner replies. She walks over to the section and starts telling the man what flowers she has. "This is the most famous one. It's called Lily. The flower means death, but I guess people think it's pretty, so they buy it a lot."

"I'll take this one," the man points to a pink flower. 

"Ahh. You have good taste. It's called cherry blossom. It means to have a restart. Pick whichever one you want."

The man picks one. 

"Come this way," the owner says. She leads him to the counter. 

Jiwoo chooses a bouquet of flowers heads to the front counter. 

"Thank you very much," the owner says. "Would you like a hand book on how to take care of it?" She gestures to the bookshelf next to the counter. 

The man reaches over and pulls out the hand book. "How much is it," the man asks.

"It's free," the owner replies. “I hope the flower grows well.”

“Thank you,” the man says. He grabs the flower pot and exits the store.

Jiwoo puts the bouquet on the counter and greets the owner.

The owner rings her up.

As Jiwoo waits, she looks at the front door window and catches a glimpse of the side of the man’s face. Jiwoo tilts her head to the right and observes the man. “Have I seen him before,” she asks herself. Right away when the man walks away, Jiwoo remembers. “Yoo Taeyang,” she says. 

Taeyang walks into his bedroom and sets the flower pot into the windowsill. There is only a small tree trunk and stubs on the branches of the tree. Taeyang sits down at his bed and starts reading the book.

The next day, Jiwoo is at the supermarket buying some groceries. On her way out, she notices a man wearing all black. It reminds her of what Taeyang was wearing yesterday. He is approaching the supermarket. When he is close enough for her to see, Jiwoo confirms the man to be Taeyang. She smiles and starts walking after him. When she is next to him, she asks, “Have you been well?”

Taeyang stops walking and turns his head. He sees Jiwoo smiling at him.

“Jiwoo,” he asks. “You recognized me?”

“Of course,” Jiwoo says. “We were seat partners.”

“I’ve been well,” he answers her.

“That’s great,” she sings.

“It was nice meeting you, but I have to go now. Bye.” Taeyang quickly walks away.

Jiwoo watches as he gets further. She walks to her car and drives home.

After that day, Jiwoo doesn’t see Taeyang again.

One night, after work, Hye Mi and Jiwoo are eating dinner together at a restaurant. 

“Can I sleep over today,” Hye Mi asks.

“Of course,” Jiwoo says. “I get lonely sometimes.”

Hye Mi smiles. “Of course,” she says. “You’re living alone now.”

“At least you don’t have to worry about paying the bills,” Jiwoo says.

“Perks of living with my parents.”

The bell on the door rings. 

“Jiwoo,” Minhyuk says happily.

Jiwoo looks at the man who just walked in. Hye Mi turns around.

“Hye Mi you’re here too,” Minhyuk says. He walks over to them.

“Yes,” Hye Mi replies. “You’re here too.”

Minhyuk nods his head. “May I join you two,” he asks.

“Yes,” Hye Mi replies.

Minhyuk sits down next to Jiwoo.

A lady comes and takes his order.

“How was your day today, guys,” Minhyuk asks.

“Fine,” Hye Mi replies.

“Fine,” Jiwoo replies.

“How about you,” Hye Mi asks.

“Fine,” Minhyuk replies. “Stressful, but it’s okay.”

“What’s making you stress?”

“Work.”

“Why is that?”

“People not doing their work correctly, so I have to clean up after them.”

“Ahh. That must be hard.”

Minhyuk shrugs his shoulders. “It’s work,” he says. “I have to do what I have to do.”

The lady comes back and gives Minhyuk his food.

“Thank you,” Minhyuk smiles brightly to the lady.

“Enjoy,” the lady smiles back.

Minhyuk takes a bite and hums. “This is great,” Minhyuk says.

They eat silently.

“Hey,” Minhyuk starts. “Our class is going on a camping trip this weekend. You guys are coming right?”

“Camping trip,” Hye Mi asks. “No one told us anything.”

“I recently got the message. I think they’re not done messaging everyone yet. Are you guys coming?”

“I’m not doing anything this weekend,” Hye Mi says. “And it sounds fun. Sure. What about you Jiwoo?”

Jiwoo nods her head. “Sure,” she agrees.

Minhyuk smiles happily.

Jiwoo and Hye Mi go to Jiwoo’s house. They are both sleeping in the living room in their sleeping bags. The tv is on. The volume is on low.

“When you first moved here,” Hye Mi starts. “How did you feel? This place is so much smaller than your parent’s house. You only have one bedroom too.”

“It wasn’t hard to adjust,” Jiwoo says. “Since I’m by myself. Having one bedroom and one bathroom is fine. I just get lonely living by myself.”

“Should I come live with you,” Hye Mi asks.

“I’d love that,” Jiwoo says. “But there’s only one bedroom.”

“I’ll sleep on the ground.”

“I don’t think you’ll last a week.”

They laugh. Their phone dings, so they pick it up.

“Minhyuk was right,” Hye Mi says. “There is a camping trip this weekend.”

“Let’s sleep in the same tent,” Jiwoo says. 

“Agreed. I’ll bring my tent, and we can share it together.”

Jiwoo sets her phone down and cuddles with Hye Mi.

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reniyeol #1
Chapter 6: I am waiting for your update. Nice story too??❤️?
PuffTedEBear
#2
Chapter 2: Minhyuk seems like a good guy, let's hope he remains that way. But with people you never really know. Thank you for the update! Glad you are still writing and hopefully having fun doing so.