♪ love blossom

After the two friends had received their orders, they found the atmosphere in the cafe to be too suffocating and uncomfortable for them to stay in. They decided to take their drinks to go and as they exited the shop, someone stumbled by and crashed into Aejin. Her hot beverage attacked her upper body and the liquid immediately seeped through her shirt, kissing her bare skin underneath. “Ahh, hot!” Aejin yelped, dropping the cup.

She tugged onto her spoiled shirt, separating it from her skin while her other hand fanned her body. “Are you okay?!” Suho exclaimed worriedly. After, he looked at the direction the culprit had taken and just as he was about to drag him back and force an apology out, Aejin brushed her fingers against his arm.

“Don’t. I’m alright.” Just from her touch, Suho felt the anger evading his body as he gazed at her with soft and gentle eyes. He showed her he’d oblige with a small nod of the head and Aejin smiled appreciatively. She did not want Suho getting injured because of her again.

“Your shirt’s ruined now.” He stated and Aejin sighed.

“I’m not going to have time to wash my clothes. This was the last clean white button up I had too.”

“I have a washing machine and dryer at my house. You can wash it there.” He offered a bit shy.

Aejin’s face brightened only to fall seconds later. “But I’ll still be late.”

Suho chuckled and pulled out his phone. “And this is what phones were invented for. Call your boss and tell him you’ll be running a little late. I’m sure he’ll let you slide.”

Aejin’s bottom lip was wedged in between her teeth as she gave the suggestion some thought. She was rarely late nowadays and therefore, she chose to take Suho up on his offer. She took the phone and punched in the eatery’s number. Holding her breath, she could hear it ringing and after ten seconds, she was greeted with Chanjo’s voice. “Yeobsayo, how can I help you today?”

“Ah, Chanjo-sshi. It’s me, Aejin. I’m going to be a little late because my uniform got dirty, will it be okay?” She questioned anxiously.

There was a pause on the other end before he replied. “Yeah, that’s fine. Just get here before seven though.” With that said, he ended the call and Aejin smiled before she handed the phone back to Suho.

“He said I’m clear as long as I get there before seven.” She told and Suho checked his watch. It was only ten minutes before six which meant she had almost a whole hour to spare. Silently, he thanked the reckless fellow who caused the unfortunate event as he tried to suppress a glowing smile from appearing.

“Really? Your employer is rather kind. I guess we should get going then.” He declared and she nodded. The two of them were making their way towards the car, neither engaging in conversation but instead paying attention to other things.

Aejin was constantly looking at her spoiled shirt with her brows furrowed and lips pursed out while Suho on the other hand was tracing her every movement. She was so focused with her shirt, she was completely oblivious to his blatant staring. His eyes were twinkling as he noted how adorable she was. She kept blotting the stain with napkins, thinking it would make a difference and it amused the man as he shook his head. Suddenly, a breezy gust of wind whipped by them and the cold air struck Aejin. Since her shirt was dampened, she involuntarily shivered.

Suho noticed this and scolded himself mentally for parking far. Aejin had stopped trying to clean up as she rubbed her hands together to create some friction and warmth. A storm had just passed by up north and the cold fronts were traveling through Seoul now. “I knew I should have brought my gloves with me today,” she grumbled quietly.

Then she felt a hand slipping into hers and as she snapped her head to her left, she found Suho smiling sweetly at her. Her breathing staggered as he placed his warm cup of tea in her grasp. “It should help for now. Now get it in before you catch another cold.” Next, he let her go only to open the door for her. She sent him a small bow of gratitude and climbed into the vehicle. As the door closed, Aejin’s hand slid over her rapidly beating heart. She stared at the cup of vanilla chai and the corner of her lips curled upwards.

So what if he only saw her as a friend? Having Suho as a companion was better than not having him at all. After, he entered the vehicle and buckled his seatbelt. Aejin quickly did the same thing and then the engine roared to life. As Suho was driving to his home, Aejin couldn’t help but steal glances of him. It was silly of her really. How could she be so childish as to avoid Suho just because she realized he didn’t have romantic feelings towards her. She was lucky enough as is just to have encountered someone as kind as he was.

So what if Suho didn’t like her that way? So what if he didn’t see her as a woman? It wouldn’t change the fact that he had helped her in more ways than one and displayed benevolence towards her when nobody else would. It wouldn’t change how he acted towards her and it should certainly not alter how she behaved around him. The moment was sort of like an epiphany for the young woman as she chuckled softly.