The trip back home was their hour of karaoke. Ranging from genuine singing, especially the romantic songs to each other, to sounding like dying seals near the end. Despite having the windows down, Hyejin took the longer and scenic route so no one had to hear their yelling and be disturbed. The only thing they disturbed was the quiet peace of the trees and birds, and the occasional cow or two.

Eventually they saw the familiar welcoming sign as they came into town. 

“Do ya wanna see Ms. Manju first?” Hyejin asked. They made the decision to come back into town but they didn’t decide on what order they were going to do things in. One step at a time always made things a bit more fun and interesting.

Wheein hummed in approval before sticking her head out the window to look at the passing buildings. Despite living here for about ten years now, she is still surprised by finding out all the little details that had managed to escape her sight. Leaving for a good while then coming back changes your perspective on things and lets you see things in new light. Like how she never noticed how one alley led to a small little resting alcove. Or how one of the buildings on the square has a basement that has access to the sidewalk. Nor did she notice the crescent moon with seven stars that adorn the top of the old three story corner building. She had to admit, she wants to explore that building in its entirety. She just wanted to know what was in those rooms. Are there living quarters up there? She never saw or heard anyone actually living in the building itself though. The ground level was a small little store front, and as they drove by, the basement level seemed to be converted into either a shop or a restaurant. From there, she noticed all the subtle changes. Some businesses are gone, leaving empty spaces, while other businesses remain thriving. It was strange noticing such things though. Noticing how something truly is just by looking away then looking back. It’s strange and frightening. How many signs can you miss by just looking at the same thing over and over?

Eventually Hyejin found a parking spot that was right on the square that had a convenient walking distance to all the places they wanted to visit. They came right on time too. They left their apartment early enough to make it into town right before the tourist and lunch rush combo. The perfect time to enjoy themselves without having to worry about a distracted tourist running them over, or worst, a distracted tourist that doesn’t know how to drive on the square.

“What do you think she’s gonna do?” Hyejin asked as she wrapped her arm around Wheein’s waist and rested her hand on Wheein’s hip as they slowly walked towards Ms. Manju’s flower shop.

Wheein hummed in thought while pressing herself as she could against Hyejin without making walking awkward.

“I think she’ll probably whack you with a broom.” Wheein said with certainty.

Hyejin chuckled and gave Wheein a kiss on the head.

“And I think she’ll be a tender and loving grandmother to you.”

“Of course! Afterall,” Wheein grinned big and placed a finger in her dimple like the cutie she is, “I baby.”

A laughter full of love escaped from Hyejin’s mouth. 

“You are baby. My baby~” Hyejin ended her sentence by planting as many quick kisses as she could before Wheein could run away.

The second the quick kisses became overbearing, which took five seconds, Wheein wiggled her way out of Hyejin’s embrace while giggling. Or, tried to. Hyejin’s grip was like steel but it felt like feathers. It was firm but soft. Which usually meant that Wheein would gladly be in Hyejin’s embrace but not now. Now she’s trying to escape the barrage of kisses that Hyejin was trying to give her. 

Despite Wheein’s struggle to get away from the overly affectionate Hyejin while laughing with all of her body, they still somehow made it to Ms. Manju’s in one piece. In one piece and breathless from their laughter. They quickly regained their composure before entering the shop. The door chimed as per usual and they found the shop full of fall flowers. 

“Welc--” Ms. Manju slowly walked out from the back, ready to greet customers but stopped short when she saw it was Hyejin and Wheein.

“Ms. Manju!!” Both of them cried out in unison while they went to the older woman for a hug.

“‘Bout time you brats came back to visit!” Ms. Manju nagged but gave them a warm hug nonetheless.

“Oi, we aren’t brats anymore. We’re adults.” Hyejin proudly said with a huff.

“Technically though. You just turned into an ‘adult’ a couple of months ago.” Wheein stated.

“See? Wheein-ah gets it. Now, help me with this Hyejin. You stay over there, WHeein. Don’t want you to get hurt now.” Ms. Manju left them to get something behind the counter with Hyejin in tow.

“Wha--Why are just worried about her safety? What about--” Hwasa didn’t even see it coming.

The minute Ms. Manju was behind the counter, and Hyejin was within range, she struck. A bright plastic toy hammer came crashing down onto Hyejin’s head with a loud squeak. 

“Gah!! The , Ms. Manju?” Hyejin said as she rubbed the spot where she was hit with a deep pout on her faace. It didn’t hurt but she was going to milk it. Maybe get Wheein to coddle her.

“That’s what you get! Leaving me with a good chunk of your flowers to take care of because there wasn’t enough room in your apartment.” Ms. Manju crossed her arms and tapped her foot as she glared at Hyejin.

“Awww,” Wheein lazily went over to Hyejin, “I told you, you can bring some of them to the apartment.” 

Wheein grabbed Hyejin’s head and placed it on top of her chest in order for her to kiss the injured spot easier. Hyejin hummed with enjoyment. She was going to milk this as long as she could.

“But Wheein-aaaaah,” Hyejin whined while nuzzling more into Wheein’s bosom, “I can’t pick favourites!”

“I’m still here,” Ms. Manju emphasizes by whacking the toy hammer against her palm and causing it to squeak. 

Hyejin tried to hide herself by burying herself further into Wheein. Wheein’s soft laughter enveloped all of them while she gently patted Hyejin in an attempt to offer comfort. Ms. Manju just continued to stare at them.

She did miss them. In a way, she did see them as the grandkids she never had, but sometimes, just sometimes, they were disgusting with each other.  So disgusting that she wanted to throw a blanket on them. It also made her heart sting a little. She’ll always wonder if that’s how she would’ve been if things had gone differently. But, she’s too old to be having such thoughts. There were more pressing matters. 

Ms. Manju shuffled over to the entranced love birds and gently hit Wheein on the head. Wheein graciously accepted her punishment of not staying in contact more often. Ms. Manju, now satisfied, shuffled away to give them more space. And to get the flowers that Hyejin asked for yesterday.

“See, I told you she’ll dote on you.” Hyejin mumbled.

Wheein looked down to see Hyejin’s piercing gaze looking up at her. With a tender smile, Wheein leaned down to kiss the exposed forehead.

“Well, duh. I am the favourite.” Wheein gave a large smile.

Hyejin glared, and Wheein could tell that the glare was accompanied by a pout that she could not see due to their positioning. She opened to say something else but the words stopped at the tip of her tongue. Hyejin’s eyes became illuminated by the bright sun that got reflected the moment a small reflective disk shifted and fell at an angle. The normally dark brown eyes became a molten river of chocolate, and to Wheein’s surprise, there was a hint of red. It made Hyejin’s eyes look more like a deep mahogany with deep red accents in the iris. To be honest, Wheein doesn’t even know how to describe Hyejin’s eyes at the moment. Despite all the colours that she knows, none of them come close to what she’s seeing. 

The more time Wheein stared in amazement, the more the smirk grew on Hyejin’s face. It grew it until it became Cheshire like. It was clear that the more mischievous side of Hyejin came out to play.

“Oh? Something on your tongue?” Hyejin said with a glint in her eye.

“I--mmf.” Barely a syllable escaped Wheein’s still agape mouth before Hyejin kissed her. 

A deep kiss.

A hungry kiss.

A kiss that would have continued if a certain toy hammer didn’t come crashing down on their heads. 

“What do ya think ya doin’? Kissin’ in the front like that. Ya could’ve scared off some customers!” Ms. Manju berated them while waving the hammer threateningly at them.

Wheein had the decency to look a bit ashamed while Hyejin just looked proud. 

“Good. It would’ve given us the privacy we needed.” Hyejin said with such pride that Ms. Manju only gave a tired sigh.

“Do ya want ya thing or not?” Ms. Manju asked with a tired expression.

Wheein couldn’t help but notice how old Ms. Manju was. All their lives, Ms. Manju seemed ageless, but returning back after some time away reveals an ugly truth. Ms. Manju has aged and has been aging and it is only now did she see the deep wrinkles and weak stature and form that Ms. Manju was developing. While Hyejin retrieved her item from Ms. Manju, Wheein quickly erased the unwelcoming thought of the harsh truth.

“Wheein-ah, here.” The confidence and pride in Hyejin’s voice gave way to something more timid and a bit shy.

By the time Wheein made the unwelcoming thought go away, a bundle of flowers were being held in front of her. She looked at Hyejin with a soft smile and gaze. The confidence from earlier now vanished and in its wake was a small baby handing her crush a gift. Wheein gently took the bundle of flowers with a thank you and examined them.

“If you can guess them all then I won't wait until the last minute to do my homework for two weeks.” Hyejin offered. 

Wheein eyed Hyejin suspiciously while Ms. Manju just shook her head and shuffled back into the back room. 

“Ok, but what do you get? And why homework?” Wheein continued to eye Hyejin, knowing that she was up to something but unable to determine what.

Hyejin flashed a big smile, “If ya don’t then for lunch we go on a picnic! And homework because what else could I offer? Buy you lunch or somethin'? But I already do that so , ya know, what is one thing I don't do.”

Wheein shook her head before examining the flowers a bit more thoroughly.

“Alright, this one is a primrose, these red, white, and pink ones are camelias,” Wheein turned the bundle around to get a better look at the remaining flowers, “This one is a aster aaaaand this one is….”

Wheein stared.

It was a flower she’d never seen before. It was all white with five petals and it looked very familiar. THe more she concentrated the more of the name appeared in her mind. Despite how loud it was in her mind, it was still in 240p. It just looked like a blob so there was no way to even tell the letters apart. 

While Wheein struggled to remember the name, Hyejin began to vibrate with excitement. She knew that Wheein doesn’t know or else she would’ve said it already. All according to plan. Not really though.

With a defeated sigh, Wheein looked at Hyejin with resignation. A look that made the already big, smug smile even bigger.

“Those are orange blossoms.” Hyejin sounded like a child excitedly explaining an interest.

“Oh my god, the scent,” Wheein softly hit her forehead with her hand, “It was citrus.”

“Yup! So, let’s go on that picnic!” Hyejin was an excited bean. Maybe it was because of her non-existent plan that is going so well. Or maybe because she finally gets to be outdoors after a couple of days being indoors. Or maybe it was the thought of food that was within grasp. Or could be all three. 

Wheein took a moment to smell all the flowers individually before finally nodding in agreement and letting Hyejin wrap a arm around her again.

They said their goodbyes to Ms. Manju and went to the cafe next door. Hyejin practically ordered everything off the menu while Wheein did the mental math and came to the painful realisation on what the cost is to get everything on the menu. 

All the while, Hyejin’s goofy smile and Wheein’s tender smile never left their faces.