she never wanted any of this in the first place; her predilection for her kindhearted neighbour, a disease stemming from unrequited love and the crippling debt that comes along with treating it.

it starts with one single red petal in the bathroom sink, no blood, no blemishes, just a single perfect petal. the itch at the back of forces it out of her lungs with a cough, but as a fresh graduate who just woke up late for her impending job interview, joohyun merely picks it up and tosses it into the bin without a second thought.

it's only during the interview when more petals begin to pour from her lips in a hacking cough does she recognise what this is — a death sentence guised as love. the chances of dying from the disease have drastically decreased over the years but nobody wants to hire a potential liability even if they do have promising qualifications. starvation will likely get to her before she coughs up an entire bouquet of flowers.

a trip to the doctor gives her an estimate of just how much she needs to get rid of her feelings and if she's already struggling to pay rent, there's no way she'll be able to afford treatment. it's bad enough to be a broke graduate, but to also suffer from an expensive affliction? joohyun's once bright and promising future is now bleak and full of yearning, and to top it off, the floor of her apartment is scattered with more red flowers than she can count, each one in near pristine condition. the doctor calls her a lucky one, flowers from the disease rarely look as flawless as hers. 

lucky is one way to put things.

the idea pops into her head after her alluring neighbour witnesses her trying to toss a bag of flowers into the dumpster. son seungwan, also known as the source of all her woes, picks a stray stalk from the ground with an amused look plastered across her face.

what a waste to throw away such lovely flowers, i hope you didn't just break someone's heart. she comments with that usual charming smile that makes joohyun's lungs twitch, not knowing that these flowers weren't gifted but rather a product of joohyun's feelings for her.

their interactions have been few and far between with conversations that only exist during the short ride up the elevator, but for some reason, flowers are still threatening to suffocate her. maybe it's a temporary indisposition, maybe it'll be over in a week or two.

can i keep this? i think it's really pretty. seungwan chances a question after examining the perfect carnation in her hand.

scratch that, her life is over because she has a crush on her neighbour. the graduate can only offer her a swift nod before racing back to her apartment to cough up more flowers. she has two problems now, she needs money and has more pretty flowers than she knows what to do with.

the epiphany dawns upon her after she shakes the image of seungwan holding a flower she coughed up away from her mind. it's a slow revelation that takes its time to build into a rising crescendo, but the ingenious idea allows a laugh to slip from her for the first time in days.

she would sell the carnations she's been coughing up for a whole week, use the money to be free of her disease and then move on with her life.

it's the perfect solution with one problem solving another — she wishes she could kiss seungwan for planting the thought in her head, but then again, this is also partially her fault.

it was carnations for the first two weeks, followed by daisies for the next three. within three months, joohyun has grown from selling flowers at farmer's markets to leasing her own shop. a little much for a temporary gig but with how flowers pile up at her feet every morning, there's no better way to get rid of them.

chest pains are a common occurrence at this point, and so are her interactions with the root of her yearning. seungwan has made known her fondness for flowers more than once, so joohyun makes it a point to leave her a bouquet of whatever she's been coughing up every week — a little twisted, she knows, but seungwan does not need to know the truth. her disease worsens when she's around the blonde, but a tinge of physical pain is nothing compared to seeing the smile on her face.

the two consistently trades flowers and baked goods, and joohyun finds out that seungwan is an upcoming musician who has a penchant for stress baking. instead of having excess flowers, she occasionally has a muffin problem and an adoration she can't seem to get rid of.

six months down the line and joohyun forgets why she even worried about the flowers in her lungs in the first place. the money for her treatment sits in a separate bank account, waiting to be used, and she knows that the longer she lets this disease fester, the worse it'll be in the long run. but perhaps, part of her isn't ready to give this up just yet. her doctor has constantly urged her to get treated but she refuses and hides behind the excuse that the money is good — it's not entirely a lie, the money is good, but she has other reasons as well. 

she wants to hold on a little longer until she needs a career change or can withstand the idea of feeling absolutely nothing when she crosses paths with seungwan.

it's a rainy january morning when joohyun crawls out of bed to hunch over a basket placed in the corner — this has been her morning routine for months; wake up, cough up a fresh batch of flowers before getting ready for the day. today is a little different, with the sound of raindrops pelting against her window pane, joohyun finally pinpoints the oddity.

her chest doesn't hurt at all.

the urge to cough has been reduced to a mere tickle at the back of , but she tries anyway and all that escapes is a singular red petal of a spider lily. she'd been coughing up spider lilies for the past three days, more than usual even, which she chalks it up to her growing affection for her neighbour — seungwan had given her cookies before that, baked with love as her neighbour had joked.

with love indeed. as delicious as they are, it leaves joohyun with more spider lilies than she could ever sell, she's come to learn that flowers with the symbolism of a final goodbye aren't all that popular.

a puzzling situation she finds herself in, but joohyun decides to give it another day, maybe the flowers will return tomorrow. thankfully, with how much she's overworked her lungs, one day without coughing up flowers will hardly hurt her business. the day goes on as always, she works on orders and whatnot, forgetting her little problem until she bumps into seungwan at the lift lobby after a long day.

her neighbour is dressed to the nines in a sleek black dress which exposes the majority of her back and joohyun had the pleasure of taking it all in since she approached from behind. a sight like this causes her heart to race and she braces herself to suppress an impending cough – but it doesn't come, strange.

"hey." she actually manages to speak without the urge to throw up a whole bouquet in front of seungwan. very strange, but she'll worry about that later. "date night?"

the blonde swivels and forces a light smile, she raises her broken heels for the florist to see. "more like a bad night," she murmurs, "she broke up with me and my heels broke on the way home."

joohyun bites the inside of her cheeks to mask her grin, there must be a special spot in hell for the ones who are happy over their neighbour's break up and she wants to avoid having a front-row seat.

"sorry..." she offers an apologetic smile before noticing a bloodied white rose in her other hand. as someone who's suffered from the disease of unrequited love for the past few months, joohyun has become adept at recognising flowers that are a product of the affliction. she holds back a question, fearing that she might come off as nosy but seungwan catches her in the midst of staring anyway.

"it was our second anniversary today," the blonde explains with a wry smile, "she knew it was over when she coughed it up in the morning."

so seungwan has fallen out of love with her girlfriend, and joohyun has stopped coughing up flowers — a terrifying yet hopeful coincidence.

"you fell for someone else?" the nosy neighbour crosses the line by asking a question, joohyun regrets it the moment the words leave her lips but thankfully she's saved by the lift arriving.

the pair steps in while the air around them swirls with an awkward silence, joohyun should've just kept shut instead of probing her freshly heartbroken neighbour with difficult questions. it's too quiet and the florist still wants a friendly relationship with seungwan, so she opens to speak, but seungwan finds her answer in that very moment as well.

"i'm—"

"yes."

turning their heads, a beat of silence passes before the lift erupts in giggles. the tension is sapped away by seungwan's laugh that sounds anything but forced, it's a gentle melody that touches joohyun's ears and she basks in it, wondering which fool had the heart to break up with her.

"i apologize for prying, i didn't mean to come off as a busybody." joohyun lifts her lips in a small smile, "i hope everything goes well for you."

seungwan's break up sounds like the first good news she's had in a long time, but joohyun has made her peace with her one-sided pining. there's no need to get her hopes up if she's content with what they have now, seungwan can love another for all she cares, after all, it's no different from the norm. maybe it'll bring about an inexplicable heartache if seungwan starts coughing up flowers as well, but that's a problem for another day.

"thank you, joohyun."

her name rolling of seungwan's tongue causes joohyun's breath to hitch, how does this blonde stress baker have so much of a hold on her? again, just when she thinks the flowers will come pouring out of her lungs at any given moment, they don't. there's not even the slightest hint of an itch.

she masks her confusion with a polite nod, and for the first time ever, tries to drag their fleeting conversation out for a little longer. "there's a cobbler across the street from where i work, i could get your heels fixed," the florist offers, "if you'd like that."

seungwan's face lights up with a bright smile, "really? you'd be a lifesaver, these are my favourites."

ethereal, that's what she is. the corners of joohyun's mouth tug upwards unconsciously but she quickly catches herself when seungwan hands over her broken heels. clearing , the florist bobs her head and to her surprise, the blonde slips her arms around the nape of her neck and pulls her into her warmth.

they try to convince themselves it's an appreciative hug, but with the way seungwan tries to tuck her head into the crook of her neck and how joohyun's cheeks are becoming flushed, it'll make for a terrible lie. the florist is the first one to pull away, muttering a soft goodnight before leaving her neighbour pondering in the hallway. 

the door closes behind her in a hurry and joohyun slides her back against it. her knees feel too weak to support her weight so she crumples to the ground and sets aside seungwan's broken heels. instead of flowers, her heart is threatening to jump out of .

noticing the lack of flowers despite how flustered seungwan has made her causes her blood to run cold. tulips, along with spider lilies still dot every corner of her apartment and she wonders how an apartment devoid of flowers would be like. better yet, she allows her mind to drift, picturing seungwan's soft lips against hers.

maybe, just maybe, her feelings aren't one-sided anymore.

flowers have stopped growing in her lungs.

that's the diagnosis she gets from her doctor. just as it mysteriously appeared, the unwanted affliction has miraculously vanished as well. her doctor offers two plausible suggestions, either she's fallen out of love or her love is finally being reciprocated. either way, it's good news that her lungs aren't suffering any longer.

but that's not good news to joohyun, in fact, it's far from it. first things first, she would have to profess her love to the blonde, and admitting she's had a crush on her for the past six months sounds oddly embarrassing. secondly, how the hell is she going to run a flower shop without flowers? the main reason she started her flower shop was for money, and also to get rid of the copious amount of flowers. now that she's stopped coughing up flowers, the threat of losing her business and source of income looms over her like a dark cloud.

she keeps her worries away from seungwan, who only reaffirms her suspicions when she constantly appears at joohyun's door. without the urge to cough up an assortment of flowers every time the blonde makes her heart swell with joy, the two are finally able to progress from mere neighbours to friends. seungwan bakes her a cake to thank her for fixing her heels, and conversations lasting the majority of an afternoon take up the rest of their sunday.

her love life is taking a positive turn, but the same can't be said for her floral business. two weeks without hacking up flowers have caused her stock to run dry, seungwan's feelings are causing her to go out of business.

but there's always a way out of everything, and if six months of pining has taught joohyun anything, it's that even if the sky falls, she'd be unwilling to give up on her feelings. so she thinks of the next best thing — make seungwan give up on her.

to get the blonde to give up on her feels like a monumental task because seungwan keeps asking her out on dates. one hopeful smile or a disappointed pout has her caving and putting on her coat. they've gotten breakfast together multiple times now and with every date, it gets harder for joohyun to broach the subject.

when the last bouquet in her store leaves in the hands of a satisfied young man, she knows she has to do something or it's time to start job hunting.

"we need to talk."

the florist shows up at seungwan's door after work, she'd spent the whole day thinking and rehearsing what she would say but the moment the blonde appears, she thinks she might waver again.

"hey, what's up? do you need something?"

now is not the time to waver, love won't pay rent and neither will seungwan. expelling a sigh, she gathers her nerves while averting her gaze from seungwan.

"i need you to stop liking me so i don't go out of business."

well, that sounds more pragmatic than it was in her head. it's too late for regrets because she hears seungwan sputtering in shock. the blonde shifts her weight from one leg to another, mind whirling at the mystery of how joohyun discovered her feelings. she's certain that she'd been pretty discreet, keeping her actions treading on a fine line between friendly and flirty. maybe she isn't as sleek as she thinks.

"i..." seungwan stammers weakly, "how did you know?"

"because i stopped coughing up flowers the same day you broke up with your girlfriend."

her mind races to connect the dots with everything joohyun has just said. coughing up flowers, going out of business— right, joohyun is a florist, and if she stopped coughing up flowers because seungwan likes her then—

"you... you..." the blonde gasps, eyes popping open at the realisation that joohyun has been suffering from the disease of unrequited love for god knows how long, "oh my god."

joohyun has dreamt of a romantic confession on more than one occasion and this is far from it, but being nice is the last thing that will help the flowers to start growing in her lungs again. she does feel a little apologetic for putting seungwan through this, it is a little strange and maybe it will be better for the both of them in the long run.

"you've been selling the flowers from your disease?" is the only thing seungwan says after a brief eternity of silence, and joohyun can't believe that it's her first concern.

ticking an eyebrow up slightly, the florist nods. "yes, do you know how expensive it is to get it treated? and nobody wants to hire a liability, i didn't have many options." she shrugs.

"but you don't have to get it treated anymore... right?" seungwan points out while rubbing the nape of her neck nervously, she would've assumed that anyone would be elated to know that their disease has been cured. anyone but the florist who has been harbouring feelings for her.

"i still need a living, seungwan." joohyun sighs, "your cookies and muffins are delicious but i still have to pay rent. so can you stop liking me for a month? at least until my lease is up."

her new crush is... insane. seungwan stitches her brows in an offending gasp and cries out, "i can't help my feelings! you should know that better than anyone else! why did you start a business for a temporary disease?"

"why?" an incredulous scoff rips from , "yah, son seungwan, do you have any idea how long i've been coughing up flowers? six whole months! does that sound temporary to you?"

six months of pining makes seungwan wince, the pain joohyun must've gone through and to hide it so well that the blonde had no clue? she definitely deserves to be yelled at now.

"i'm sorry... i don't know if it'll stop soon..." she murmurs softly, "is there anything else i can do to help?"

the look of guilt plastered across the blonde's face melts away any trace of anger within joohyun, getting mad isn't even an option anymore, neither one of them can control what they feel. the flowers probably won't return in time, so it's probably time to consider a change of careers.

"teach me how to bake."

"bake?" seungwan quirks a brow in confusion, "that's sudden."

"if i can sell flowers from my own lungs, i can sell cupcakes and muffins."

seungwan blinks at her neighbour, questioning if this woman standing before her is actually insane or secretly just a really talented entrepreneur.

"can't you just buy flowers?"

"with my prices? i'd be selling them at a loss." joohyun shakes her head, "and unless you can find me someone who can cough up near-perfect roses, i'd say my flower shop is a goner."

the flowers that joohyun have been gifting her all look immaculate and nothing like the torn up petals that are more commonplace. to find someone with that standard of flowers feels like she would be searching for a needle in a haystack, it already sounds like an impossible feat.

"i'll teach you on one condition." seungwan declares with an exhale.

the soon-to-be jobless florist folds her arms across her chest unimpressively, "you're the reason why i'm in this mess in the first place, between the two of us, you're hardly in any position to bargain."

"yet, i'm also technically the source of your income." seungwan retorts with a small smile, "so do you want to hear me out?"

joohyun nods and motions for her to continue but the blonde does not utter a single word. instead, seungwan pops up on her tiptoes and leans in to leave a feathered kiss on her lips. a brief peck is enough to stun her, and when seungwan backs off, a goofy grin makes its way onto joohyun's cheeks.

to say that she's been dreaming about this moment for months would barely scratch the tip of her pining. six months of allowing flowers to fester in her chest suddenly feels worth it. every cough, every ache, it's worth one little kiss from seungwan.

"we can start with cookies tomorrow, how does that sound?"

joohyun allows a quiet laugh to slip and she nods, maybe she does want this predilection for her neighbour after all. the flowers are but proof of her love, and she would give all of them to seungwan. 

"sounds perfect."

joohyun goes from being a well-known florist to becoming a decent baker with her girlfriend's help. the first few months are a little rough but seungwan is a great teacher and she's a quick learner. the money that she's set aside for her treatment is used to turn her flower shop into a bakery, it's hardly the outcome she had envisioned but who is she to complain when the love of her life serenades her in the dead of night while she experiments with new recipes?

her girlfriend fills the void of flowers in her life, seungwan is more than she could've imagined, and she was a fool for even wanting to dissuade her from loving her. 

two years fly by in a blink of an eye and their lives are better with each other, seungwan ultimately finds success as a singer, gaining recognition for her honeyed lyrics about a girl who gave her flowers from her own chest. cheese, scoffs joohyun when seungwan sings the lyrics to her, yet, she still tackles the blonde into an embrace, peppering kisses on her cheek without restraint. 

on the night of their second anniversary, seungwan presents her with a single red carnation. instead of seeing it as romantic, the first thought that comes to mind is that the flower came from her girlfriend's lungs and it fills her a dread unlike anything she's ever felt. seungwan has to hastily pull out the ring she buried in between the petals to assuage joohyun's fear, they break into a fit of giggles and joohyun allows her to slide the ring onto her finger.

joohyun surprises seungwan with her own matching ring days later, baked into a delicious chocolate chip muffin, an improvement from seungwan's original recipe. seungwan unabashedly stains her lips with chocolate despite being in sight of customers, one would think that the rising star who goes by wendy would be a little more cautious about her public image but neither of them cares if it's bad for business.

flowers wither, unlike their love and joohyun knows for a fact that not a single petal will leave her chest ever again.

end notes:

hope this was fun to read, i had a lot of fun twisting this au into something lighthearted! no angst on MY watch!! thanks for reading~