“Sehun, darling, can you take the second shift in the afternoon at the flower shop today? I’d like to go some errands.”

“Of course, mom. I can take it all day if you want. I don’t have anything planned at all and I’ll only sit by the computer if I don’t work.” Sehun’s mother smiles in pride over her diligent son. He’s always been one of those boys who offered his help no matter what the work was about. Sehun walks into his room to change his clothes. He wants to be casual if he’s going to work in the flower shop; a chequered shirt, a pair of blue jeans and some ordinary shoes should be perfect, Sehun thinks. He rolls up his sleeves too, just to make sure no dirty will come onto the newly washed shirt. After that he helps out with the lunch and sits down to eat with his parents, like any regular day. They talk about what has happened in the world, how Sehun’s studies are going and other things that all families discuss.

Sehun is one of the nicest boys you could ever have the pleasure to meet. He’s very well-mannered, tall, handsome, kind-hearted, sweet, caring... The whole package. There’s only one thing that he struggles with; his secret. You see, Sehun is secretly gay and hasn’t had the courage to tell anyone about it. He doesn’t know why, but he suspects that it’s because he simply doesn’t know how others would react. And since it wasn’t a problem before Sehun began his high school years, Sehun chose to not talk about it. When Sehun was in high school, he read the florist courses. He and a lot of girls... They were 24 in one class and he had been the sole guy in that entire programme. Sehun could still think about the morning when he stepped in through the classroom door and all girls thought he’d gone wrong. Sehun always chuckles thinking about these memories. His ‘manliness’ complicated it even further, because he was always hit on by different girls who thought he was cute. Every time he turns one of them down, Sehun can’t help but feel guilty. He knows how much easier it would be to just let everyone know, instead of having to come up with excuses all the time. And now he’s 20, so he feels that at some point, people will have to know about it. If only he could read minds. That way he could know on beforehand how his parents would think of him then he wouldn’t be so scared. It’s a daily struggle that Sehun is tired of. He needs someone to help him. Only... who would do it?

“All right, mom. I’m leaving. Take good care of yourselves.”

“Goodbye, son!” his father shouts from his room. His mother sticks out her head from the kitchen and waves him off. Sehun waves back with a smile. Then he takes his leave. The family’s flower shop has been in the family for over four generations and Sehun knows it’s expected from him to take over the flower shop at some point in his life. He likes the thought of that since he loves flowers and to take care of them, yet his mind longs to see the world first. It’s good his parents are so supportive; otherwise they might not have let him go anywhere. But Sehun has promised that he’ll stay home this summer too, not only for their sake but because he wants to. Sehun opens the door to the flower shop and inhales the sweet scent that hits his nose. He organises all the plants, puts them outside the little shop, switches the ‘closed’ sign to ‘open’ and lastly cleans up here and there. When it’s gone nearly half an hour more, the first customer of the day comes in. It’s a friend of his mother’s who Sehun used to love to visit when he was small because she always made such amazing cookies.

“Good afternoon, Mrs Cho. How are you today?” Sehun greets, displaying his friendliest smile. Mrs Cho smiles back.

“Good afternoon, dear. I’m doing very well. Your mother isn’t here, is she?” she wonders. Sehun shakes his head. “Oh. Is she busy today, you think?”

“She was going to make some errands, but I don’t believe she’s left yet,” Sehun says. “You can try calling home to see if she’s there. Otherwise she’ll be here all day tomorrow.” Mrs Cho nods. “Can I help you with anything else?” Sehun offers. She smiles and nods.

“Yes. I need a pretty flower to put in my boring window. Could you get me one? It doesn’t matter what kind of flower it is. Just pick something pretty, something you like.” Sehun nods; he knows exactly which flower he wants to give Mrs Cho. He hurries to get it.

“Will this one do?” He shows her a beautiful hyacinth. The woman agrees right away and Sehun prepares it for her in a basket that she can bring home.

“Thank you so much, dear. You’re an expert! Hope you stay for a long time. We need good boys like you around here.” Sehun waves her goodbye, taking the compliment to heart. He likes to help people. In fact, no, he loves it. To see the customers’ delighted faces when they leave with their wish is the best thing Sehun knows. As you might have guessed, he really isn’t like other guys his age. He often ponders on why he’s like that, thinking it might have to do with him being gay. He usually changes his mind, telling himself it’s got nothing to do with that whatsoever.

This time, Sehun ponders so much about this question that he doesn’t notice the new customer that has come inside. Once he becomes aware of the other one’s presence – by hearing a plant clinking against the shelf – Sehun can’t take his eyes off of the boy that stands by some flowers. Even though the boy’s wearing a jacket with flowers on, Sehun instantly spots the insecurity for picking flowers. He decides to offer his help. “Excuse me, do you need any help?” he carefully asks. The other boy swings around and stares at Sehun. The small awkward moment makes Sehun rather uncomfortable. He eyes the boy quickly. God, that jacket is ugly... he thinks. When the boy doesn’t reply, Sehun quickly adds, “What do you need help with? Are you searching for any particular flowers? For a special event or just to have some at home?” Sehun observes the boy who seems fairly interested in the question he just asked. He forces himself to stay professional and smile, even if he can’t understand what the other one is doing. Is he... looking for something? The hell is he doing? Do I have something on my shirt or? Sehun hands get a little sweaty as he holds them together awkwardly. He lets his arms fall down to his sides instead, but that doesn’t feel natural either.

“Uh... I’m... Err...” Sehun tries to hold himself back from wanting to rush the customer, but honestly, what’s up with the guy?

“Yes?” he says, trying to help the boy out a little bit.

Finally the boy answers, “Yes, I’m looking for a cute thing. Quite tall... Good looking, nice face, soft lips and lots of charisma! Do you have any of those?” Sehun freezes. Wait, what? He’s GAY? Is he flirting with me?? The confusion in Sehun’s face is total and he lets out a very nervous chuckle. He just wants to back away right now. The boy is freaking him out!

“Um... I’m sorry. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he tries to excuse himself. He gulps when the boy’s smile broadens even more than it was before.

“I’m talking about you, of course! You’re adorable!” the boy bursts out, pointing a finger at Sehun’s chest. He clenches his fists to not rudely slap the boy’s hand away, although it’s hard to not do anything and just stay still. WHY is he so close, Sehun thinks over and over in slight panic. “Tell me, what’s your name? A handsome guy must have a name that fits. Like me. My name’s Luhan. I’m from Beijing, China,” the boy introduces himself. Sehun feels so chocked that he doesn’t know what’s up or down anymore. He’s never met someone like this one ever in his life. So straightforward... Sehun has no idea how to handle this kind of person.

“N-nice to m-meet you...” Due to nervous, he ends up stuttering. His limbs are so stiff that it’s hard to back away, no matter how much he wants to.

“You too! Tell me your name now! I’m dying to know!” Luhan exclaims. Finally, his legs move and he’s able to back away. The other boy may be shorter than him, but, dear God is Sehun scared of him. Yet he can’t shake it off that somehow Luhan is alluring to him, interesting and definitely attractive in some weird way. Sehun doesn’t know exactly what to feel but while being frightened he wishes to talk more with Luhan. He’s rather intriguing... he secretly admits to himself. This confession helps him build up a little more courage.

“I-it’s Sehun,” he mumbles, although quietly. Luhan moves closer, holding his hand behind his ear. Dammit, he didn’t hear me. Sehun can feel the sweat on his back. Why is this boy making him so nervous?

“Come again? Se...?”

“Hun,” Sehun fill in, raising his voice a tiny bit. He concludes that, no, this is too tough for him. He needs to get some space now, thus he says, “I better get going now. If you need any help, call again.” He turns around to leave, letting out a small sigh in relief.

“I need help,” the voice behind him announces. Sehun bits his lip hard. Why? Okay, just be professional. Calm down, Oh Sehun. He hardly bites. He turns around again to meet the two sparkling brown eyes.

“Yes?” he asks.

“Do you have a girlfriend? And in either case, would you still want to go have some bubble tea with me?” Luhan wonders, his tone is lighter and not as jumpy as before, this calms Sehun down a tiny bit. Sehun’s wrinkles deepen as he thinks hard about what to answer. He realises that this has to be the first guy that has actually flirted with him. For some reason, that gives Sehun enough reason to give Luhan a chance. Plus, he’s quite cute.

“Sure, but I don’t get off work until six tonight. Are you really going to wait that long?” Sehun’s inquiry is clever, according to himself. Now he’ll truly know if the other one thinks he’s worth the wait or just some ‘one-night-stand’-type.

“Of course. I still have to bring the flowers home to my mother’s little tea party, so I’ll come pick you up in four hours. It’ll give me lots of time to make myself look even more stunning and you’ll just have to keep looking stunning. It’s a date!” Luhan says, surprising Sehun in a good way. He plucks some random flowers and pushes Sehun to the cashier. “And I’ll have these. Mom has always loved lilies,” Luhan tells him confidently. The fail attempt to suppress his laughter because of the other’s mistake causes Sehun to feel a tine tiny bit guilty.

“Only, those aren’t lilies. They’re orchids. Want me to go fetch you some lilies instead?” A smile creeps up on his face. The boy is really cute now, especially since he wanted to impress, Sehun can’t help but feel flattered too. Luhan scoffs.

“I meant orchids,” he objects confidently. Sehun gives him a raised brow. Y