He sighed. Suho reached over to the passenger seat toward the flowers, he stopped short before touching them. The bouquet was a lost cause. I shouldn’t have come here

Suho had walked into the flower shop with a skewed mindset. He had made Kyungsoo believe that he was buying another bouquet for Tiffany, when in reality: Suho had visited the flower shop that day for an entirely different reason.

Suho wanted to see Kyungsoo again.

It was an odd reason, and he knew it. Tiffany was practically his girlfriend, and he was genuinely happy spending time with her. However, in the back of his mind he couldn’t forget the pleasant voice and heart shaped lips that had greeted him the first day he walked into the flower shop.

He didn’t mean to ruin the bouquet he would have gladly given Tiffany Kyungsoo’s beautiful creation; his anger got the best of him. Suho rubbed his temples. He didn’t want to hurt Tiffany but he didn’t want to deny himself anymore.

Suddenly Suho felt a vibration in his pocket. He was getting a phone call.

“Hello”                                                    

“Hey,” Tiffany’s voice rang loud and clear.

“Hey, Tif.” Suho melted into the car seat exhausted from his own anger.

“Sorry if this is a bad time but I couldn’t wait to tell you!”

“What is it? Is something wrong?”

“Haha, no Suho. Ugh I’m terrible for not knowing about this sooner but one of my cousins is getting married a few weeks from now and I was hoping that…”

Suho didn’t need further explanation.

“I’ll go as your date Tiffany. You don’t even have to ask.” He chuckled lightly.

“Oh what? Awesome! You’re a saint Suho. I’ll text you the details later. I actually have to get back to my class. Gosh, thanks so much!”

“It’s no problem.” He smiled

“Gotta go. Talk to ya later!”

“Bye Tif.” He said and hung up.

Suho tossed the phone where the broken flowers sat. He laid back and the engine to head back home. He glanced back the flower shop.

Suho let out another sigh before driving away.

►

A week later was the town’s annual Picnic Day; a day where tables and booths were set around the local park to advertise the community’s businesses and groups along with a few clubs from the local university. Adults and college students alike attended the event and there was always a big turnout.

Kyungsoo was sitting behind the faux-flower adorned booth he had set up early in the day to advertise his grandparent’s flower shop. He was rearranging the business cards on the booth’s counter for the tenth time when he heard a very familiar voice.

“Woah Kyungsoo! Your folks went all out this year on the booth, didn’t they?”

Kyungsoo looked up at his friend from across the booth. “Goddammit Jongdae, how long have you known me? It’s my grandparent’s shop not my parent’s.”

Jongdae let out an exaggerated laugh. “Same difference.” He said indifferently before taking a seat beside Kyungsoo under the springtime sun.

Kyungsoo’s eyes rolled. Jongdae was his best friend since junior high and was really a handful sometimes. Jongdae usually helped Kyungsoo out with flower shop duties and was always willing to lend a hand whenever his best friend needed it. However, Kyungsoo couldn’t keep up with his eccentric personality at times.

The pair soon stood together behind the booth for a good while answering questions about the shop and handing out business cards. After an hour they were growing tired; Kyungsoo frowned down at the stupid smiling-sun shirt he was wearing and noticed his friend was holding a small jar filled with a golden concoction that he kept eating out of. Nosily eating, at that.

“Watcha got there?” Kyungsoo said with little interest fanning himself with a business card; he was starting to sweat from the heat.

Jongdae his finger audibly causing Kyungsoo to grimace. “Honey from the booth over by the fountain. It’s organic.” He smiled smugly. “You should go buy some, stuff’s delicious.”

Kyungsoo raised his eyebrows at Jongdae and kindly refused.

“C’mon, let’s just pass by! I’m bored as hell and it’s freaking hot…isn’t it almost Seungsoo’s shift?” Jongdae said referring to Kyungsoo’s older brother.

“No Jongdae.” Kyungsoo said firmly, “And yea he said he’d be here in a few minutes.”

“Then let’s go once he gets here!”

Kyungsoo only glared at his best friend.

“Pleeeeeease.” Jongdae whined like a child and shook his younger friend’s shoulders relentlessly. He begged for nearly 5 minutes straight until Kyungsoo nearly had a hernia.  Kyungsoo pushed him away lightly only to have him latch on once more.

After a few more minutes of listening to Jongdae whine, Kyungsoo finally agreed to the little trip to the fountain.

Kyungsoo’s older brother had finally arrived to take over the booth for a few minutes. He advised them to return quickly since he wouldn’t be there for very long, and so the two friends made their way toward the park’s fountain.

The park was packed. Kyungsoo and Jongdae saw many people from school and bought a few trinkets from other booths while walking toward their destination. The sun was high in the sky and Kyungsoo was sweating profusely. His current sweating became even more unbearable once he caught sight of a young man with a light brown fringe standing beside the honey booth.

Suho.

“Oh my God,” Kyungsoo stopped short of walking and quickly tugged on the back of Jongdae’s shirt, “I don’t want to go over there.” He said to his friend in a trying-to-sound-calm-but-obviously-freaking-out tone.

“What?? That’s the only reason we left the booth!”

“Nooo, that’s the reason why you left the booth. I don’t even like honey.”

“Lies! Now stop acting weird and let’s go. My jar’s almost empty.”

“Jongdae, please no.” Kyungsoo’s expression was one of pure anxiety as he gripped onto Jongdae’s shirt tighter.

Jongdae looked back at his friend sensing his discomfort. “Kyungsoo, there’s a bathroom only a few feet away. I’ll gladly you to it.”

Kyungsoo let go of Jongdae’s shirt with a flick of his wrist. “My god, Jongdae no. I just don’t want to spend any more money.” He huffed. Kyungsoo’s gaze trailed past his friend’s dumbfounded face and toward Suho. He was looking down at a small jar of honey in between his hands. He looked so handsome out in the fresh spring weather, Kyungsoo noted.

“Fine,” Jongdae smirked, “you wait here while I go and buy my organic honey.” Before Kyungsoo could protest, Jongdae his heels and walked briskly to the booth with sass in each step.

In the instant that Jongdae left, Suho had turned away from the booth and was treading in the direction Kyungsoo stood. Kyungsoo froze, he didn’t know whether he wanted to talk to the man or run away. Kyungsoo wasn’t supposed to care about this man anymore, but he still felt something that he couldn’t suppress, especially now that the he was walking straight his way.  Suho looked up from his jar and met eyes with Kyungsoo as he stood a few feet away from him.

They both stood silent for a moment, obviously not anticipating meeting each other. Suho grinned “Hi.” His smile was even more radiant in the sunlight.

Kyungsoo’s stomach dropped like it had the first day he met Suho. His gaze trailed over the soft lips stretched in a smile and eyes curved into half-moons in front of him. The carefree Picnic Day atmosphere was in the air. Suho was greeting Kyungsoo without asking him to make another bouquet. He was acknowledging Kyungsoo because he wanted to, Kyungsoo thought.

Kyungsoo’s lips couldn’t help turning up, “Hello.”

►

Twelve dollars for a 5 ounce jar of honey!?!? Suho looked up from the price tag attached to the glass jar he held in his hands. The plump woman behind the booth wore a huge smile that showed all of her off-white teeth (and some of her silver ones). “It’s organic.” She added, eyeing the young college student.

Suho smiled nervously at her. He reluctantly reached behind himself into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He bid farewell to a Hamilton and two Washingtons as he handed the bills to the woman; he grabbed the small jar and walked away from the booth a bit disappointed. I don’t even like honey. He thought to himself.

The day was ridiculously warm but contained a light breeze that kept the heat from being completely unbearable. Suho was recently stressed out over school and saw Picnic Day as a perfect opportunity to get away and enjoy the fresh air. However, he didn’t plan on spending a lot of money. Since his dad was the one paying for his (expensive) education, Suho got a pretty limited allowance from him.

The wedding Tiffany had invited him to was three weeks away, and Suho would have to rent a nice suit for the occasion and meet Tiffany’s family, which only added to his stress and expenses. He was sure that he was going to have fun at the wedding, but Suho was never good with looking presentable in front of big groups of people. Also, he thought, how was Tiffany going to introduce Suho? As her friend? Boyfriend? Suho couldn’t believe he still wasn’t sure exactly what the two of them were even after spending so much time together. Maybe I should just ask her to be my girlfriend. That would make everything simpler.

He sighed and looked up from the honey jar he was holding only to meet eyes with a face he had grown familiar with.

Oh my God.

Kyungsoo’s dark brown eyes looked a bit lighter in the sunlight and his lips appeared a touch pinker. He looked beautiful even though he seemed a bit nervous as he met eyes with Suho. The older man stood in front of him and without a single thought to hinder his intentions he greeted the flower shop boy with a smile. His thoughts from moments ago flew out the window.

Kyungsoo smiled shyly in return with a greeting of his own. The smile made Suho’s shoulders feel lighter.

“What are you doing here?” Suho asked lightly moving closer to Kyungsoo and out of the way of the other Picnic Day goers.

“Just holding a booth for the shop.” The younger said with a small smile still painted on his porcelain face.

“Oh yea. It’s always good to advertise.” Suho said not knowing much else to say. He looked down at the younger man’s shirt and laughed lightly. “Nice shirt.” The smiling sun stared back at him with big eyes and equally as large smile.

Kyungsoo looked down at the sun’s stupid expression. “I really hate it.” Kyungsoo chuckled.

“Haha yea, I’d feel the same way if I was the one wearing it.” Suho rubbed his neck nervously, “I think it looks cute on you though.” His eyes met Kyungsoo’s again as the words fell out. Suho’s cheeks reddened at his own words.

A light pink was evident on Kyungsoo’s cheeks as well and he looked down shyly.

“I didn’t mean that in a weird way or anything!” Suho added nervously.

“No, it’s alright.” Kyungsoos smiled. “Thanks.”

A silence formed between them and Suho felt a tick of sweat slide down the side of his face. This was too sudden. Maybe it was a bad time to talk. Kyungsoo began to toy with the trinkets he had bought from some of the other booths until his name was being called frantically.

“Kyungsoo! Kyungsoo! This is terrible!” Jongdae ran up to the both of them taking Suho and Kyungsoo by complete surprise, “They ran out of honey! Some bought the last jar just now. What am I supposed to snack on??”

Kyungsoo’s facial expression went from a look of shyness to slight annoyance, “Jongdae, you can always just go to their bee farm and buy some there. That’s why they’re here: advertisement.”

Jongdae heard Kyungsoo but didn’t listen; he was too busy glaring at Suho. “Who’s this?” he asked curiosity plain on his face.

Kyungsoo went pale. Kyungsoo never liked telling Jongdae about new male friends he had because of how pushy Jongdae was about Kyungsoo getting together with them. This time was no different. “He’s..um…” his eyes met the ground and he continuously moved the trinkets in his hand.

“I own a greenhouse in town and Kyungsoo and I were just discussing the distribution of some flowers for the flower shop.” Suho spoke up in a very professional voice. Suho didn’t do it too often but he was always a pretty convincing liar. He looked down at the younger and gave him a knowing smirk. Kyungsoo replied with a thankful nod of the head.

“Oh.” Jongdae’s loss of interest was palpable in his tone of voice. “Anyway, about my honey-“

Kyungsoo’s phone began to vibrate and his look of annoyance deepened.

“Jongdae, Suengsoo is calling me. He’s probably about to leave can you go man the booth while I finish up here?”

Jongdae’s eyebrows furrowed. “But…”

“Please.” He looked up at him with pleading eyes.

Jongdae looked from his friend to the supposed greenhouse owner disapprovingly. 

“We won’t take much longer.” Suho said reassuringly.

Jongdae frowned and took a heavy sigh. “Fine.” he turned to leave, “You owe me Kyungsoo.” He called back as he walked away from the pair with more sass than earlier.

Once Jongdae was out of sight, Kyungsoo let out an even heavier sigh. He apologized to Suho for the inconvenience and Suho only smiled.

“It’s alright. I have stressful days too.”

Kyungsoo sighed again. He felt a kink in his neck and he seriously could not stop sweating. Suho noticed Kyungsoo’s shining neck and forehead; he felt pretty sweaty himself.

Suho figured that this was one of the only times he and Kyungsoo would be alone together. He knew it was weird but he wanted to make the most out of it.

“Kyungsoo, are you thirsty?” Suho said stepping closer to him. “There’s a bubble tea shop a little way from here. It’s a shame they didn’t choose to put a booth up today; their drinks are really refreshing. Do y-you want to drop by real fast and get something?” Suho said the last sentence timidly. It was an innocent enough request, he thought.

The younger man felt his shyness risen up once again. He almost refused. However, the way Suho was smiling was slight encouragement for him to not say no. He shook his head in approval. “I’d appreciate that.” he smiled.

“Great. Uh, it’s over this way.” Suho lead him through the crowd in the park. There were suddenly a lot more people than there were earlier and it was almost too difficult to get through them all. Suho looked back and noticed Kyungsoo was lagging behind. Suho reached out his hand behind him to pull the younger man through the crowd. Kyungsoo took the hand hesitantly and allowed himself to be pulled through.

They held hands while trying to escape the crowd. Suho admired the warmness of the boy’s soft palm. His hand felt different than Tiffany’s. It wasn't as small and the skin was a bit tougher. Suho figured that his hand and the boys were about the same size. He blushed to himself with the thought of Kyungsoo’s hand matching his almost perfectly.  Once free from the crowd, Suho was the first to let go automatically missing the warmth of Kyungsoo’s hand.

They both crossed the street and continued to stroll on the sidewalk without exchanging any words. Suho decided to break the silence by asking about how business at the booth was going.

“Not that well. Honestly, people only buy flowers on holidays where it’s expected.”

Suho frowned. “That’s a shame. You should have more opportunities to use your floral arranging talents.” he slipped the compliment in nonchalantly.

“Thanks, but I don’t really much care for flower arranging, to be completely honest with you.” Kyungsoo went on to explain the situation with his grandparents and why he worked at the flower shop. He didn’t hesitate to mention that he liked the pay the best.

Suho was a bit dumbfounded. He was under the impression that Kyungsoo really enjoyed his job. He thought it was odd that someone as young as him would settle for something he didn’t like.

“Why do you stay? Why don’t just find a job you really like?” Suho probed innocently.

Kyungsoo shrugged his shoulders. “I like the pay. My grandparents like me being there. And aside from that I just…don’t really know what I’m looking for right now. I don’t really know what I want to do as a job at this point in my life. I graduate high school in 2 months but I really have no desire to continue school”

Suho stared at the way Kyungsoo’s eyes glimmered as he looked off in the distance. He smirked. “I can respect that. I feel the same way. At school, I still don’t know what I want to major in. Career wise I’m still pretty lost. It’s a little annoying not knowing what you really want.” His nervous neck touching habit surfaced again.

Kyungsoo smiled at him. “I guess we’re both a little confused, aren’t we?”

Suho thought that over in his head for a while as they stepped into the tea shop. “Well, maybe we could help each other with that. I mean, not to brag or anything but my dad is a business lawyer and is pretty familiar with a lot of business owners in the next town over and some in this town. I could try to hook you up with a job and you can see which one you really like.”

Kyungsoo was taken aback. “I-I don’t know. You don’t have to do that. Working for my grandparents really isn’t that bad.” He laughed lightly.

Suho furrowed his brows, “But you don’t get paid as much and you don’t even like it.”

Kyungsoo looked away from him nervously and stared at the bubble tea menu on the wall across from them. Suho could see in his eyes that he was seriously thinking about it.

Suho put a firm hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. The younger boy jumped a bit and turned his gaze to meet Suho’s. The older man’s gaze was sincere. “Kyungsoo,” his voice was a thin wisp in the air, “don’t settle for something you’re not happy with. Let me help you.”

Kyungsoo’s heart fluttered. Suho hardly knew him but he was so eager to help him out. He gulped and gave him his answer. “Okay. But, I-I mean, how am I supposed to help you with your issues at school? About finding a major?”

Suho removed his hand and grinned. “Don’t worry about that. There are far more confusing things in my life right now.”

Kyungsoo laughed lightly. “Like what?”

Suho ignored the question without much notice from Kyungsoo and ordered their teas. They sat in the shop and spoke until time got away from them. Once they returned to the park the sun was already setting and it seemed like the Picnic Day events were wrapping up. Suho gave Kyungsoo his number to contact him later and the younger man hurriedly went back to the flower shop booth.

Suho waved at him as he ran back to his duties. He let out a sigh. Why can’t I take my own advice?

►

Kyungsoo arrived at the booth to find Jongdae wearing a very, very disappointed face. He narrowed his eyes at Kyungsoo.

“What?” Kyungsoo questioned out of breath from the run. He noticed most of the business cards were gone and that a lot of the other booths had already been taken down.

“”Won’t take much longer’” Jongdae said in a mocking voice. “psh!” He got up from his chair to walk straight to where he left his bag.

“Woah, woah, woah. You’re leaving?” Kyungsoo said grabbing Jongdae’s arm. Jongdae’s head whipped back to meet eyes with Kyungsoo.

“Yup, just how you left me. Now off.” He pulled his arm away harshly.

Kyungsoo stood speechless for a moment watching Jongdae pick up his backpack. “J-Jongdae. Time got away from me - I didn’t mean to. C’mon you can’t be mad at me for this.” He said a little more sternly.

“You think I can't, but I can..” He continued to gather his things.

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and stepped closer to his friend. “Jongdae, you’re overreacting.”

Jongdae laughed venomously. “Oh please.” He walked up to Kyungsoo so that their faces were inches apart. “I don’t know what the hell is up with you and that ‘greenhouse owner’ but I’m pretty sure it’s not worth ditching your friends.” He quickly turned to leave but not without giving Kyungsoo another glance. “And oh yea, Yixing called and told me he can’t make it to my cousin’s wedding. So I’m dateless, but luckily you owe me a favor.”   

Kyungsoo furrowed his brows at him.

“My suit’s grey so dress accordingly.” Jongdae called out leaving the park for good.

Kyungsoo sighed and was left to take down the booth on his own.