“Good morning,” greeted the woman behind the counter with a smile as soon as Minho entered the flower shop. It was a small flower shop on the edge of town, not far away from the cemetery, run by an old couple. The assortment wasn’t huge, because they grow all flowers themselves. Yet, for some reason, Minho preferred this little shop to the famous and expensive ones in the middle of Seoul. Maybe it was the charm of an old house at the end of the road. To enter the shop, you had to walk past the small but colorful garden. Maybe it was the fresh air in the mountain, or maybe Minho simply enjoyed the long walk to this place.

“The usual?” The old woman asked, and Minho nodded.

“Would you like some coffee while waiting? I just made some.”

“Yes,” replied Minho.

“Please, take a seat,” the woman gestured with her hand.

“Thank you,” Minho said, sitting down at the metal and rusted table. It was small, old and retro, just like this shop. Minho looked out of the window, breathing in the flowers’ scents in the air. Tae would have loved this place. It was like a coffee shop and a flower shop in one, plus it was in the mountains. The younger had loved the countryside.

“Grandpa, can you bring us some coffee?” The woman called for her husband, and he answered with a loud “Ok” from the back room.

“Here,” said the old man as he placed a mug on the table. Immediately the scent of coffee reached Minho. It was just a cup of black coffee; nothing about it was extravagant or comparable to Seoul’s finest coffee. Still, Minho loved it.

“It smells heavenly. Thank you.” The gang leader replied, and both of the shop owners smiled.

“Don’t you want some lilies today? They are so beautiful this season,” asked the old man out of the blue, causing his wife to sigh.

“Old man, don’t bother our customer.” She nagged at him.

“I was just saying,” her husband argued, “even the favorite food shouldn’t be eaten every day. What’s bad about a change?”

“Leave the young man alone,” she said, slapping his upper arm as a warning.

“Grandma, I was just talking to our customer,” responded the old man with a shrug.

“Don’t mind him. I’ll get you the lavender flowers as usual.” His wife told Minho, who shook his head.

“Lilies sounds good,” Minho changed his mind.

Placing the pink flowers on the grave, Minho smiled. The old man was right. The lilies were beautiful. Minho’s eyes wandered from the flowers to the shiny golden wings on the gravestone. A leaf had stuck on it. Brushed down the leaf, Minho cleaned the wings with his handkerchief.

“You’re free now,” he said, knowing he would never get a response from Tae. Never again.

Minho kept silent for he had nothing to say. How often had he visited this grave? All the things he wanted to say had been said. All the tears he got had been shed. Tae was gone, and he was doomed to live.

“Till death do us part?” Who would have thought his vow would become real? Had he said that at their wedding? Minho couldn’t even remember the ceremony. Everything seemed so meaningless that day. Tae seemed so meaningless that day. Minho bit on his lip. He had been a fool. He had been so wrong.

After saying goodbye, Minho headed to the parking lot. On his way, the gang leader passed by someone whom he wouldn’t have paid much attention to if the man wouldn’t have covered his entire face. The cap and the mask would have been acceptable, but the extra glasses had overdone it all. And what was the deal about that red cap? The red was so bright. That man, did he want to be noticed or not?

Curiosity, or simply a weird feeling in the stomach, made Minho turn back, following that mysterious man. Minho clenched his teeth as he saw the man stopped at Tae’s grave. The gang leader hid behind a tree, trying to hear something, but the other man didn’t say a word except for reading out loud the name on the gravestone. His blood boiled even more as that person read his card to Tae. Who gave him permission?

Stepping out of the shadow, Minho asked. „It’s you, isn’t it? You’re Kim Kibum.”

“Choi Minho,” the man at Tae’s grave turned around, and Minho couldn’t help but stare at him from head to toes. So this was him, the real Kim Kibum? This was the person Tae did everything to protect? This was him?

“Did you follow me?” asked the man as he took off his mask. Minho frowned, for this person was anything but what he had expected. His face, his body build, even his voice… the one and only Kim Kibum was just ordinary, almost too boring for someone who was supposed to be the only heir of the Black Lotus.

“Why am I not surprised that someone like you would visit his own grave?“ Minho mocked, causing Kibum to yell back at him.

“Someone like me? The someone like me means? You think you know something about me?”

“I know you sent him to the front and went hide your , while he was targeted by your power-hungry piece of uncle,” Minho screamed back, running towards Kibum. The gang leader was ready to throw a punch, but Kibum was faster. It was Minho who received a fist.

“And who hid him in the arse end of nowhere? Do you think I didn’t look for him?” Kibum shouted at Minho who was growling because of the sudden attack. Kibum smirked in satisfaction, but it didn’t last long for Minho dragged him to the ground the next second.

Both men on the ground, all dirty and out of control, they both fought and screamed at each other until they were both out of breath. It was unclear who won or who lost, for it wasn’t important anyway. In the end, they both knew it was their fault.

„I remember you,“ Minho said through his gasps, “we’ve met before.”

“You do?” Kibum asked back calmly. For some reason, the fight had calmed them down like this was what they both had needed the whole time.

“You helped us with the handcuff. You saved Tae that time,” Minho added, pushing himself up from the ground. Kibum was also sitting on the grass, not having any strength left to stand up.

“Aren’t you gonna deny being Kim Kibum?” Minho asked.

“What’s the point in doing that? You know the truth already.” Kibum confessed, and after a short break, he asked back. “So, will you tell my uncle?”

“What’s the point in doing that? Whether you’re dead or alive, nothing would bring him back.”

By that Kibum kept silent. Minho was right, and he knew that.

“Til the last moment, he did everything to keep your secret. How could I ignore his last wish?” Minho said. Kibum stared at the man next to him. Maybe Tae was right when he said Minho wasn’t ‘that bad’.

“Why did he do that… for you? Are you his first love or something?” Minho had been wondered that for a long time. Finally, he got the chance to ask. Yet, by that question, Kibum curled his lips, letting out a loud “Ewh”.

“Did you think I was your love rival? Get your head out of your , Choi Minho. The world doesn't revolve around you.”

“What?” Minho yelled.

“Calm down. He is my… brother.”

“He was my brother,” Kibum corrected himself.

“That’s impossible,” Minho replied, “Kim Kibum is Kim Taeksoo’s only son.”

“That’s true. He was my half-brother,” Kibum said, “although he kept saying there was no such thing as “half” of a brother. He insisted on saying ‘brother’ instead of, you know, ‘half-brother.”

“That sounded like something he’d say,” Minho chuckled. Now everything made sense, all the things Tae did. They made sense now.

“Isn’t it?” Kibum laughed in reply until his laughter faded away.

“He was full of love and kindness,” he added while his voice was filling with sudden sadness, “he was too precious for our world.”

Minho nodded in response.

“Do you sometimes think one of us should have died instead of him?” Kibum asked after a short silence.

“Sure. Look at us. We’re dirty, broken, and twisted,” Minho answered without hesitation, and Kibum agreed.

“Then why do good people die while trash like us live on?”

“I’m not a believer, but someone once told me ‘When God decides to pick a flower, he picks the most beautiful one’, and I liked that idea. It was the only way to explain why we’re here and he isn’t,” Minho told the other. Also, he knew God wouldn’t “pick” him, for he must have his place reserved in hell already.

“Oh, that’s what the quote on the gravestone means? That’s beautiful.” Kibum admitted. He wouldn’t have thought Choi Minho could be so sentimental. As he felt the strength slowly came back to his legs, Kibum brushed away the dust on him, standing up.

“I’m leaving the country, so take good care of his grave, brother-in-law,” Kibum said, half-joked.

“You’re leaving? Just like that?” Minho wondered. Wasn’t Kim Kibum fighting for his heritage? Shouldn’t he be taking back the Black Lotus?

“I know what you’re thinking, but I’m not taking back the gang,” Kibum explained as if he could read Minho’s mind, “I never wanted to be a part of this world anyway, and as you said, he did everything to give me the chance to start a new life. He wouldn’t forgive me… I wouldn’t forgive myself if I don’t grab this chance.”

“So my uncle can take the gang. Even you can take the gang. I don’t care. Do whatever you want. I’m out. Korea is a Kim-Kibum-free-zone,” announced Kibum, throwing his arms in the air. After taking a last glance at the grave, Kibum told Minho goodbye and le