Seulgi pushes the door to Shon’s flowers open a little too hard, she knows this because she hears the bells clang a cacophony of bangs against the door. Grandpa Shon and Grandma Shon have never told her off, but she still knows it’s not something she should do often.  

But she’s finally done it! It had taken the better half of a year and many, many sleepless nights, but she has it! The perfect design for Shon’s Flowers!  A revised monoline font and a flower crown to replace the o’s! Cute, quirky, and classy at the same time! She can’t want to see the look on Grandpa Shon’s face!

 They’ve been shop neighbours for years, ever since she and Sooyoung started up their tattoo business after finishing their apprenticeships. Grandpa and Grandma Shon have always been a pillar of support and love and Seulgi adores them.

‘Grandpa Shon! I’ve got it!’ Seulgi huffs. She did run all the way from her shop, after all. It’s only across the road and she tells herself that it’s the excitement making her lungs heave, and not lack of exercise. 

‘Got what?’ It’s not Grandpa or Grandma Shon. It’s a pretty girl in the mint green lower shop apron (with Seulgi’s smiling windflower design on the pocket). She’s holding a massive pot of red flowers and is currently peering around them to get a glimpse of Seulgi.

‘Pretty.’

‘What?’ 

Seulgi feels herself turn massive-pot-of-flowers red and stutters out a goodbye before excusing herself.  “G-goodbye! I’ll come back later! Farewell!” She runs out of the shop like she’s deathly allergic to pollen and doesn’t stop sprinting until she’s across the road and inside her own. 

There, she falls to her knees, crawls behind the counter, and uses it to shield herself while she screams silently into her hands.

The familiar buzzing of the needle comforts Seulgi, the look on Joy’s face as she speaks does not. 

‘So you burst into the shop like a maniac, made a fool of yourself in front of the girl, and then ran out like the maniac she probably thinks you are?’ Joy doesn’t look away from the patch of skin she’s currently tattooing, consummate professional that she is.

Seulgi has never seen her look away once. Which is great. Joy’s concentration is really something else

‘Yes. Let me live. She probably thinks I’m super weird.’

‘Was she pretty? Did you make a fool of yourself in front of a pretty girl again?’ Joy asks, sounding amused.

Seulgi thinks back to the girl’s large, expressive eyes and the almost comically large pot of flowers she had in her hands. Then she grits her teeth and straight out lies. ‘I didn’t notice. And don’t say it like I do that regularly.’

‘But you do.’

‘She’s lying, her ears are red.’ Joy’s current client chips in. 

‘Krystal? You’re back again? Do you even have free skin at this point?’ Seulgi’s pretty sure it’s the fifth time she’s seen Krystal this month. 

‘I can’t help it. It was buy ten get one free and I’m an addict.’ Krystal doesn’t look up from her phone and she sounds completely deadpan. Seulgi isn’t sure if she’s joking.

Seulgi doesn’t remember any sort of promotion like that, but Joy tends to spring stuff like this all the time, so she can’t be sure. She turns to Joy and raises a tentative eyebrow.

‘No. We don’t have that kind of thing, we’re not Starbucks,” Joy says, tracing the edge of the newly formed battle-axe.

Seulgi narrows her eyes and glares at Krystal. 

‘You’re like a puppy that’s trying to bark at a car. It’s cute but not intimidating at all. Not to mention you’re hiding behind the counter.’ She still isn’t looking up and Seulgi doesn’t know how she does it? Maybe she has really good peripheral vision?  

‘I don’t want pretty flower girl to see me ok?’

‘Hah. So she was pretty.’

‘Knew it.’

Krystal and Joy snigger silently to themselves .

‘S-shut up!’ Seulgi can feel her cheeks heat up and just knows she’s turning a weird, blotchy red. She rubs at her knees, trying to get the pins and needles to pass. 

‘Seulgi.’

Seulgi sighs and resigns  herself to more teasing. 'Yes Joy?’

‘You do know the windows are tinted right and one-way right? So our clients are comfortable getting their kit off so we can ink them?’

‘Oh.’

‘Pretty sure pretty girl fried her brain. That or the embarrassment did.’ 

‘Hush, Krystal! Why are you even here?’

‘I’m getting a tattoo. I thought that was evident.’

‘I mean, why are you here so much?’

‘My favourite girl’s here, where else am I supposed to go.’

Joy actually looks away from Krystal’s bicep and mumbles something before heading to the back.

Seulgi follows her with her eyes, trying to see what she’s getting up to. ‘Is Joy ok? She’s looking kinda flustered?’

‘Don’t worry, I’m just smooth.’

‘What?’

‘Don’t worry.’

Seulgi is scoffing ramen in the backroom like some sort of  starving, prehistoric cave-dweller when Joy calls for her.

She keeps her focus on her little folded-ramen-lid-bowl of noodles and when she looks up, chopsticks in hand and noodles hanging from like the deep sea creature she isn’t, she sees her. Pretty flower girl.

Oh god. Joy probably let her in. And then called her out. That absolute traitor! Seulgi is never going to trust her again. 

'Hnngahafk!' She makes a shocked gurgle that sounds alien before swallowing her noodles frantically. 

They clog up her windpipe. Seulgi regrets it. immediately.

‘Oh my god, are you alright?!’ Pretty flower girl rushes forward and starts to pound Seulgi’s back with a closed fist.

Magically, the noodles dislodge and Seulgi takes in lungfuls of live-giving air. 

‘Yes,’ Seulgi wheezes out. She rubs at her sternum and coughs a few times. ‘Yes,’ she repeats, this time sounding less like a chain-smoker.

Pretty flower girl smiles so brightly that Seulgi thinks it could make flowers grow.

‘What can make flowers grow?’ Pretty flower girl smiles impishly with her tongue between her teeth and Seulgi’s heart skips a beat. She really hopes she didn’t say it all out loud.

‘Florists! Hello Miss Florist! Thank you for saving me! I owe you my life!’ Seulgi places her palms behind her and leans back onto the fold-out-table, in a cool, suave manner, she thinks.

‘It’s nothing. It’s fine. Don’t mention it, Seulgi,’ she says, tinting a soft pink.

Seulgi thinks she’s never heard her name said so gently before. Every syllable sounds like it’s drifting on a cloud and she just wants to float along with them. Wait. Hold up. ‘You know my name?’ It comes out as an undignified screech and She wishes that the noodles had knocked her out.

‘Yes. Joy told me.’ 

Joy sure likes divulging things doesn’t she?

‘Well, Miss Florist, since you already know me,what’s your name? I can’t keep calling you Pretty Flower Girl in my head,’ Seulgi says, looking up towards the ceiling and  feeling her cheeks heat up. 

Guess is a traitor too.

‘Seungwan,’ Seungwan says, looking down and turning a darker shade of pink.

Joy finds them, standing there, silent and pinking, avoiding each other’s eyes. She rolls hers. ‘I need to dig through the supplies, would you guys mind heading out?’

‘So BBT?’ Seungwan points to the banner on the walls. ‘Bubble tea?’

One of the reasons that they’ve changed their shop sign is that twenty-five-year-old Seulgi had cringed at eighteen-year-old-Seulgi’s naming skills. ‘No. It stands for Bad Bear Tattoos. That’s our mascot Seulbear,’ she says, pointing at the bear in an apron and flower crown that’s spray painted onto the walls. ‘She’s supposed to be me.’ Seulgi just knows her ears are turning red at the embarrassing admission.

Seungwan stares intently at Seulbear for a minute before turning back to Seulgi. ‘Seulbear is adorable.’

Seulgi pouts. Because Seulbear is not adorable. She’s got a tattoo gun and an apron and- ‘She’s supposed to be badass.’

Seungwan stares at her pouting… And then with the greasiest voice Seulgi has ever heard and the smirkiest smirk, ‘She’s definitely cute.’

Seulgi feels all the blood rushing to her face and kicks at the floor with the toe of her boot. Stupid, greasy, pretty flower girl. 

‘Don’t say Seulbear is cute, Seulgi hates it when people say that. It’s her second most hated thing.’ Joy chimes in from behind the folding screen where she's with an unseen customer.

‘Yea. She sulks for ages.’ Nevermind, it’s just Krystal.

Seungwan apologises immediately, ‘I’m sorry.’

‘It’s fine.’

‘No, I’m sorry.’

‘It's fine if you think Seulbear is cute.’ Seulgi kicks the floor again and tries to follow the maddening spiral pattern that’s on the tiles.

She doesn’t see Seungwan redden to match the alarming shade she’s already sporting.

‘So, what’s the thing you hate the most? If people saying Seulbear is cute is what you hate second most.’

Seulgi doesn’t look up from the tile. ‘When people use raisins instead of chocolate chips. It’s misleading and mean and it’s like the cookies are catfishing me.’ 

‘Wouldn’t that be bearfishing.’

‘What?’ Seulgi looks up

‘What?’ Seungwan looks back at her with feigned innocence.

Seulgi rubs her bleary eyes and tries to insert the key into the lock.

Tries. Fails.

Tries. Fails.

Tri- The door slides open and Krystal’s head pops out. ‘It was funny to watch, then it got sad. Good morning sleepy head.’

‘Morning.’ Seulgi is not a morning person. She rubs her eyes harder, as if that will make her sleepiness go away faster.

‘Pretty flower girl left you something.’

All of Seulgi’s sleepiness evaporates.

There’s a paper box sitting on the counter with one of those little note cards attached. It’s one of those modular origami ones that appears to be constructed of about twenty separate pieces and Seulgi marvels at the intricacy. 

To: Seulgi

I think I’m going to catch a bear. (Don’t worry they’re not raisins. I made sure to use choc chips for you.) 

From: Pretty flower girl (XXXX XXXX)

Seulgi takes the lid off and finds herself staring at...bears?

Seungwan has baked little bear-shaped cookies, with a smart little bowtie made of icing and a row of neat little buttons. 

The bear’s eyes are choc chip and the buttons are mini m&ms.

Seulgi thinks they look too cute to eat.

Then Joy picks one up and decapitates it with her teeth. ‘Mmm... Delicious, crunchy, good mouthfeel. And the aftertaste…hmm...Do I detect a hint of flirting?’

Seulgi grabs the remainder of the cookies and sequesters herself in the back room. She’s going to take some photos so she won’t ever forget how cute they look.

Later, she’ll take a bite. And think that Joy may be right 

Even later, she posts those cookies on insta because she never wants to forget how cute they looked, and as Joy said before, if it’s on the internet it’ll live forever.

@bbt.bbt

[Delicious cookies from Pretty Flower Girl  (◠‿◠✿)]  

@ink_in_your_area: is that what you saved her number under?

@bbt.bbt: NO!

@lil_jung: you so did

@bbt.bbt: HUSH

Seulgi texts Seungwan the moment she gets home. 

Seulgi: Heeeey Seungwan! Thanks for the cookies! They’re the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten! ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ／

Seungwan: I’m glad you like them :) Did you enjoy the chocolate chips?

Seulgi: They were the best part!:D The bears had such cute little hands too! I wanted to hold them so badly!

Seungwan: Yes, I know exactly how you feel.

Seulgi: How did you italicise your message?  ʕ ᵒ ᴥ ᵒʔ

Seungwan: That’s the part you pick up on?

Seulgi: ????

Seungwan: Those emoticons are almost as cute as you.

Seulgi: They w-what? 

Seungwan: Don’t send a shocked bear.

Seulgi: How about a shy bear  ʕノ)ᴥ(ヾʔ

Seungwan: c u t e

The texts start and they don’t stop.

Seugi finds out that Seungwan is a Son and that she’s helping out Grandpa and Grandma Shon at the flower shop. And that’s she’s recently returned from studying abroad. Son Seungwan. Son Seungwan. Son Seungwan. Her name pops like bubble gum in Seulgi’s mouth.

She eventually finds out that Seungwan is greasier than butter.

If I were the bear would you be my honey?

If we went stargazing I would only look at you.

If you held my hand I would never let go.

Seungwan never tells her how she italacises her messages though.

Sometimes Seulgi would look up from smiling at Seungwan’s flirty messages to see Seugwan smiling at her from outside the shop. Seulgi knows that there’s no way Seungwan can see inside and that she might as well be smiling at her own reflection. But something about the way she winks at the glass makes her blush anyway.

Seulgi likes talking to Seungwan. Likes messaging her about movies and pets and travelling and the best type of meat to use for kbbq. Seulgi likes the lightness that’s between them, the way talking to Seungwan makes her feel like they’re weightless and they’ve known each other a lifetime and more. 

Seungwan fits in her life like she belongs there, and Seulg can’t fathom how she’s lasted so long without her.

Seulgi stretches and hears all the bones in her body rearrange themselves into their natural positions, cracking in relief. She’d been hunched over her sketchpad, squinting and waiting for motivation to overtake her, for the last couple of hours. She’d managed to get a few heart theme designs onto paper, but at the expense of her posture.

Well it’s not that surprising. An artist with decent posture? Seulgi hasn’t heard or seen of any. It’s probably an urban myth.  

When she sees a blur of yellow in the corner of her eye, she hunches back over and tilts her sketchpad up so that she can surreptitiously peer over it.

Seungwan is arranging flower displays outside the flower shop and Seulgi watches as she moves a garishly decorated vase from spot to spot, making faces and squaring her hands like she’s framing a shot. Seungwan makes a dissatisfied face and moves the vase yet again and Seulgi watches the lines of her bicep contract and flex and wow Seungwan has really nice arms. Must be all the flowering-moving. Then she looks put-out and picks up the vase for the nth time.

There’s a sudden, strong wind and Seungwan is sliding backwards, dress billowing, mouth open in shock as she attempts to dig her heels into the concrete and resist the force of the wind. Seulgi watches her grit her teeth and slide backwards, arms still clutching the vase.

She’s out the door before she knows it, ignoring Joy’s indignant ‘Seulgi!’ as the door slams harshly against its frame. There’s only one thought inside her head and it’s  Seungwan, Seungwan, Seungwan, on loop.  Tiny Seungwan with her giant vase fighting against the freakingly strong wind. Seulgi is willing to throw down with Mother Nature herself, if it means keeping Seungwan safe.

It’s part tackle and part grab but somehow the force of her colliding with Seungwan and wrapping her arms around that tiny body (with vase) has them stumbling into Shon’s flowers, Seungwan (and vase) intact. 

Seulgi has never been so glad to hear the bells slam outrageously against the door.

The bells let out one long, final peal and when Seulgi is done blinking the sound of her ears, she’s aware that her arms are still wrapped around Seungwan’s shoulders (and by extension, the vase). She drops her hands and steps back, silently cursing when they brush the hauntingly smooth skin of Seungwa’s arms. Oh god she’s going to think about how soft Seungwan’s skin is forever. Oh god.    

Seungwan is looking at her with hanging open and Seulgi resists the urge to use a finger and gently, very gently tilt Seungwan’s perfect  mouth closed. Instead she stares at Seungwan’s teeth. They’re perfect, too. Like the rest of Seungwan. 

‘Seulgi…’ Seungwan stares at her. Same look in her eyes as always, same tilt to her head, but there’s something about the corner of that's so interesting to Seulgi that she can’t but lean forward a little. In that moment, Seungwan encompasses her entire universe of thought and all Seulgi can do is be drawn into her gravity.

She steps forward and a vase slams into her chest. 

Seulgi stumbles backwards and braces herself on the counter. She doesn’t know if she walked into the vase or if Seungwan had used it as a Seulgi-deterrent. She’s not going to ask.

‘Seulgi! Are you okay?’ Seungwan finally puts that damned vase down and peers up at Seulgi’s face with a concerned furrow in her brow. Tiny, and impossibly gentle hands cup her chin and Seulgi’s mouth spills out words without any input from her brain.

‘The vase didn’t hit me in the face? Vase...face...wait am I pronouncing vase right?’ 

Seungwan’s hands slide from her chin to her cheeks and Seulgi watches her get onto her tiptoes so that she can look Seulgi in the eye. ‘Are you sure it didn’t hit you in the head? You’re not making sense?’

‘Nothing makes sense when you’re with me.’

Seulgi can’t meet Seungwan’s gaze, hopes her hands can’t feel the heat she can feel in her cheeks.

‘Seulgi.... I-’, before Seungwan can continue with her sentence, and shatter Seulgi into a million little pieces, they’re interrupted by a crack of thunder and a sudden onset of rain and Seulgi apologies to Mother Nature and thanks her for giving her this Out.

Seungwan looks at her with a question on the edge of her tongue and there’s a thousand possibilities between them in that moment and Seulgi opts for the one she knows is the safest. ‘I’ll help you bring the flowers in!’ 

She rushes into the pouring rain without a second thought and hopes that Seungwan won’t think she’s a coward.

What they have is delicate, light, like a dandelion. All it takes is one unwanted confession, a single disruption to the air between them and everything between them could shatter into a hundred different pieces and float away. 

Seugi had wanted to kiss Seungwan, for a brief, terrifying moment. Seulgi would have kissed Seungwan if a vase hadn’t slammed into her chest.  

And the thought terrifies her. 

She knows that she likes Seungwan, yes. But had thought it was because Seungan was kind and sweet and understanding. Because Seungwan fits into the Seungwan-shaped void that had been there her entire life. Because she likes making Seungwan laugh, and sending her videos of kittens in unexpected places. 

Not because she wants to kiss her.

Oh god, Seulgi wants to kiss her.

Seungwan: Do you have a favourite flower?

Seulgi: Yes. And also a favourite florist.

Seungwan: What flower? And who? 👀

Seulgi: I’ve always loved sunflowers, always wanted one too! But they’re so big it’s super cumbersome. And, you might know her.

Seungwan: Don’t you mean cumBEARsome? And I might? 🤔

Seulgi:  ʅʕ•ᴥ•ʔʃ

Seungwan: Meanie

She sits with Seungwan near the counter as they listen to Joy and Krystal bicker. Joy’s inking Krystal. Again. Seulgi is pretty sure that Krystal has dropped by every single day this week.

If she isn’t getting tattooed, she’s getting a coffee with Joy. If she’s not getting c