Seulgi silently observed her girlfriend getting ready, both an excitement and solemnity expressed in her light movements. Irene would be graduating in about a month, and Seulgi could tell that she was nervous to start the next stage of her life. She’d decided on taking a gap year and working with an NGO in Korea to provide small checkups in poorer neighbourhoods, then see if she could potentially change her track to setting up a nonprofit. Irene turned down all her college offers as Seulgi had insisted, much to her parents’ disappointment.

“Hey, baby. Can we stop by a flower shop before we go? I wanna get something for him.”

Irene didn’t tell her who they were meeting, but Seulgi had a feeling that she knew who it was. There were only two options: Irene’s brother or her brother. After Irene’s emotional breakdown a week ago, Seulgi noticed her girlfriend’s mood brighten considerably, as if she had finally taken a burden off of her chest. She skipped out on her weekend volunteering rotation, saying that she was going to switch out with someone else. Again, Seulgi had a strong feeling as to why Irene did that.

However, Seulgi didn’t understand why Minhyuk hadn’t told her anything. She wondered how he would react upon meeting her if it was the institution that Irene was taking her to.

“Okay, I’m ready now. Let’s go!” Irene held out a hand to Seulgi, who clasped it tight with hers, intertwining their fingers. Irene’s hand was soft and small in hers, a protective instinct welling up and fighting with her need to let go of the girl.

They took a bus to a small flower shop just on the outskirts of their open campus, an personally-owned place that was bright yellow with sky blue interiors. A woman about ten or so years older than them stood t plants, dusting her hands off as the bell rang to indicate their arrival.

“Hello, welcome to Hundred Flower Boutique! How can I help you today?”

The woman smiled politely, until she spotted Irene. “Irin!”

Irene waved. “Hi, unnie.”

Seulgi watched as the two older women embraced each other. Irene seemed to know the florist quite well, based on how comfortably the two chatted, touching each other’s elbows as they caught up. Irene, remembering that she had brought Seulgi along, motioned for her girlfriend to join her side.

“Unnie, this is my girlfriend, Seulgi. Seulgi, this is Jiyoung unnie.”

Seulgi bowed. “Nice to meet you.”

Jiyoung smiled broadly, a genuine one this time, and patted Irene’s shoulder excitedly. “Omo, Irin-ah, you have good taste.”

Irene blushed. Seulgi had to hold in her laughter at the way Jiyoung was making suggestive faces at Irene.

“How did you meet? If you don’t mind me asking. This girl doesn’t share too much of her personal life, and my husband’s always away on business trips, so I don’t get much tea these days.”

“We met in school.” Seulgi glanced at her still-red girlfriend. “Through some mutual friends. We’re both on the student council board.”

“That’s great! Who made the first move?”

Irene started coughing but pointed at Seulgi. Jiyoung narrowed her eyes.

“Tsk, you’re not very brave, are you?” She turned to Seulgi. “How much do you want to bet that she was pining after you for months?” Then clapping her hands, “Wait, are you the one she bought all those orchids for? Do you like orchids?”

Seulgi scratched her head and waved her hand in front of her face. “No, I like orange and yellow tulips.”

Jiyoung hummed. “That’s interesting. Do you know what the flower meanings are for those two?”

Seulgi shook her head.

“Well, they’re both good things,” Jiyoung explained. “Orange tulips are used to symbolize a genuine connection with someone in a relationship, generally a romantic partner. It’s used to tell the other person that you understand and appreciate them. Yellow tulips symbolize hope and cheerful thoughts.”

“I see.” Seulgi glanced at Irene, whose red face had returned to its pale complexion. “And what about orchids?”

Jiyoung headed back to her workstation, picking up her shears. “You don’t mind, do you?” Seulgi told her it was fine, to which the older woman started t again. “Orchids are used often in reconciliatory gestures. They’re associated with regret and sincerity.”

Seulgi stood in silence, focusing on the way that the shop owner deftly cut out the excesses on the stalks. Irene gently took Seulgi’s hand and played with her fingers. She seemed to know that Seulgi knew who the flowers were for.

Jiyoung definitely noticed the tense atmosphere after she explained what orchids stood for, and she briefly wondered if the young couple was going through a rough patch. Wanting to clear up the air with a brighter mood, she laughed loudly.

“Well, don’t worry about her cheating on you. She did once tell me her favourite colour was purple, so she might have bought them for herself. If I had a face like that, I would love me too.”

Seulgi smiled awkwardly. “Indeed.”

“Umm,” Jiyoung continued, seeing that it didn’t work. “Aren’t you curious about my store name?”

“I...guess so. Do you only sell flowers in quantities of one hundred?”

“No!” Jiyoung laughed. “A lot of people ask me that, but it’s just a play on words.” She pointed to her nametag, which was too small for Seulgi’s horrible eyesight to make out. “My last name is Baek, so I thought it’d be funny to use it for a commonly used romantic gesture. Have you ever bought a hundred roses for someone?”

“No,” Seulgi said. “I’m not big on flashy things.”

“Aww,” Jiyoung teased. “Girls love that stuff. I bet Irene’s secretly waiting for you to pull it off too.”

Irene whined. “Unnie, stop teasing her!”

“Okay, okay.” Jiyoung raised her hands in defeat. “So what can I get you today? The norm? Or a little something for your beau?” She wiggled her eyebrows.

“Just the usual orchids, please.”

“Alright, I’ll get them ready in a minute. Feel free to have some of those candies.” She pointed to a basket near the cash register.

Irene dragged Seulgi over to the basket, shoving a fistful of sweets into Seulgi’s hand. Seulgi looked flabbergasted at the assortment of multi-coloured wrappings but dropped them into her coat pocket and ate a chocolate peppermint candy. She opened one and popped it into Irene’s mouth too.

“I guess you have an idea of who we’re visiting then?”

Seulgi nodded. “I didn’t expect that you’d take me to meet this person, but I guess that just means you trust me that much.” The words felt bitter in .

“Thanks for being here, Seul. Thanks for not hating me.”

Seulgi bit her lips as she pulled Irene into a hug so the smaller girl wouldn’t see her face. She noticed Jiyoung emerge from the backroom and wink as she went back in with the bouquet of purple flowers. Her heartbeat was quick, vibrating against her from where Irene pressed into her chest. She couldn’t tell if it was fear or the small hands gripping onto her shirt like she was the only thing Irene wanted in her life.

---

It was a place that Seulgi had visited a few times, but she was always amazed at the sheer size of the institution. This awe seemed to work in her favour, because Irene started rattling off facts about the building, including when it was built and how the architecture was specifically planned to accommodate for the blind. Her eyes were alight with enthusiasm as she explained how friendly all the peop