I had a gut feeling that where there were fireflies, there would be the silver roses as well. I remembered how it became one of our talismans. It was our freshman year Valentine’s day. Neither of us had a significant other so as a joke, we decided to be the most extravagant couple in the school.

            Every year there was an unofficial competition to see who would shower the other with the most flamboyant or romantic presents and we decided as a joke that it would be our year to win it. She refused to tell me what she was doing, so I had to think of something on my own.

            I wanted to give her something that nobody has ever seen before, something that represented all she meant to me. I thought of the typical presents. There were teddy bears, roses, and chocolates. Maybe if I combined all three and made some ultimate present, I can win.

            I went home, pondering what to do in the next thirteen hours to make sure that I could win. My mother was in the living room, crying over a drama. I raised an eyebrow and she patted the seat next to her.

            “Look, Donghae. This boy is so romantic. He knew that the girl was picky and wanted something from him to dedicate the sincerity of his love. He goes out and buys these super rare silver roses for her. She later retaliates by giving him a carved wooden mold of a heart, with their names imprinted on them.”

            My brain started working. I looked at my mom and hugged her. “Love you!” I ran upstairs to write down the ideas she had given me.

            I couldn’t carve to save my life. My only option now relies on the silver roses. I went out to a crafts store and bought silver paint and bought a large bouquet of roses. I prayed that the spray would not kill the flowers and set to work.

            My parents didn’t question but they made me air out my room. By the time it was nighttime, I had a bouquet of beautiful, blooming silver roses. I grabbed my tuxedo and prepared to give it to her tomorrow. A of brilliance hit me and I took a friendship bracelet we had made in summer camp and stuck it in between the roses.

            The next day, everyone was decked in their formal clothing and we waited painfully until lunchtime to fully disclose our ideas. The more popular boys went up, putting on performances and serenading their girlfriends.

            I walked up to Coral’s table where she was sitting with her friends and brought out my bouquet. “For you, my love.”

            The girls gasped. “Oh my gosh! He’s copying that drama! It’s so romantic. I’m so jealous. So much effort!”

            I blushed and Coral’s mouth dropped open. She took out her box and whispered, “open it.”

            I did only to find another, smaller box inside. Underneath that was another box and another until I reached the end. Lying on a cushion of cotton balls was a small wooden heart with our names engraved on it.

            She didn’t meet my eyes. I felt dumbstruck. It couldn’t be possible that this was coincidence. Of all the ideas out there, there was no way we both picked ones from the same drama. Everyone gathered and marveled at the similarity of our ideas.

            “Was it planned?” they asked.

            Later, Coral was sniffing her flowers and wrinkled her nose. “I’m glad to know that your love for me smells like spray on paint.”

            I stuck out my tongue. “How did you even come up with this idea?” I held up the heart.

            “My mom was watching the drama and she gushed about it to me. Yeesh, that heart took a long time too.”

            I stared at it, smiling at our initials intertwined. “Well it’s pretty.”

            She hit me on the head. “It better be. I got bruises over that.” She leaned over to hug me. “I think silver roses are now the epitome of romance.”

            I jerked myself out of my reverie and surveyed my surroundings. The sun was coming up and I could see an oddly lit patch of flowers in the middle of the field. I followed the path to them and fell on my knees.

            I was among an entire bed of silver roses. I collected as many as I could to form two bouquets and carefully wrapped them in water soaked towels. I placed them in my bag and smiled to myself. My heart seemed to be almost complete again.

            My journey has come to an end finally. I pulled my bag onto my shoulder and walked, walked my way back home. 

Thank you to all my readers. There are two more chapters left. I really can't believe how much love this story has been getting. It literally went from only one person to a bunch of you. 

And I am so super grateful.