sixth bloom

{where roses were red, violets were blue; if Yifan saw it, Luhan wanna see it, too}

What a lovely idea! At least, that's what Luhan thought when he offered Minseok a job in his sister's fashion corporation. Just a small business, really, but they couldn't find a handy assistant/receptionist who would be willing to handle the front desk all because their grandfather, who was the founder of their large fashion enterprise, visited them every so often and well, he wasn't what they could call a friendly visitor. He wasn't the CEO anymore but he still meddled with some of the company's affairs and one of his policy: to have a pleasant, accommodating frontdesk officer as she  (they strictly hire female employees only) became the very first person their clients would see when they enter their place. Failure to do would lead to immediate termination without any compensation, and wouldn't have the right to apply to any of the other companies held or associated with the Wu.

       Harsh? Well, where do you think Luhan inherited his madness and allergy to the peasantry life other than this old man?

       So, for the next minutes or so, this was what's giving Yifan a headache as he stared at Minseok's effiminate form as the younger greeted people who entered the building. He already knew who the perpetrator of this very unsettling scene. It was his brother of course, and he'd surely exchange his brother's toothpaste with wasabi paste when he gets home. 

       "Isn't she lovely?" her sister said as she entered the office room encased with glass walls. They were both staring at Minseok from the inside, and Yifan admitted that Minseok definitely nailed disguising as a girl. She—sorry—he even had an artificial chest (and they were as round as his cheeks). Yifan swayed his head in disgust. He couldn't believe he was thinking of that.

       "That's dirty!"

       "Dirty? But I actually find him adorable. At first, I thought Luhan's idea was ridiculous but look at that," Victoria, their sister, exclaimed excitedly. "That's the kind of beauty I won't bargain for anything else. If only Minseok's a girl..."

       "Stop."

       "Why? It's true."

       "So it's Luhan's idea, huh?"

       "Who else? He called, which he didn't really do often and it surprised me a bit, asking if there's a vacant position that urgently needed to be filled. Well, frontdesk was often empty."

       "You only hire females."

       "But Luhan was pleading and crying over the phone. I couldn't say no to our youngest brother. He's too cute to be rejected." Victoria give out that sympathetic look, blinking her eyes as she pouted her lips. She and Luhan were pretty similar, only, she's on a lesser degree. Yifan felt sorry for himself for being the only sane and close to normal among them. 

       "Wait. You said that Luhan called you. So, he hasn't been here?"

       "Oh no. He just sent Minseok here by his car and drove away."

       "You mean, he hadn't seen Minseok transformed into a girl."

       Victoria swayed her head as she sipped from her cup. 

       "Well, that's interesting." Yifan leaned back to his chair but almost spilled his coffee when Minseok attempted to pick up a piece of paper on the floor. "Did you require him to wear female underwear?"

##

When he thought of it, he actually did a very charitable act, offering Minseok a job so the boy wouldn't have to pay for his damaged jeans. He's actually kind. But more than his benevolence lurked a more sinister plan. He knew his sister only hires female employees. He also knew how harsh the frontdesk job was. He bet Minseok would have run off the building after just ten minutes of starting. No, give him five. Yes, that's right. Minseok might be crying by now. He even bet Minseok looked ugly with make-up, like a clown or a drag queen maybe. Oh, Luhan was so happy just by thinking about it.

       "Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha—"

       "Don't do that; it's creepy," Yifan entered their study room. He looked exhausted than ever.

       "What?"

       "Laughing. Why are you laughing anyway?"

       "Nothing."

       Yifan's eyes narrowed suspiciously before shrugging. Suddenly, there's a grin on his face as he picked a magazine from the rack and started scanning it. "By the way," he started, "have you been to Victoria's store lately?" From the corner of his eyes, he saw Luhan twitched.

       "Wha—what do you mean?" his brother replied, stuttering. He was shifting uncomfortably on his seat. A sign of guilt.

       "Nothing. I just asked you in case you've already been there. They have a new frontdesk. It's her first day but she seems popular."

       "WHAT?! I mean, what? That has never happened before," he murmured. 

       "I know but all the clients entering the shop seemed fond of her even just on their first meeting. One customer even said that she has the most lenient smile he had ever seen."

       "He?" There's an angry tone embedded in Luhan's voice. "Who's that customer?"

       "Just an old client," that Yifan made up just to see Luhan's reaction, and he knew it! He knew his brother still had that worrying tinge in him for Minseok. He just didn't understand his full intention at all. "You sound worried."

       "Worried," he chuckled nervously. "I—I'm not worried. Why would I be? I don't even know that girl."

       "Are you sure?"

       Luhan looked at him. "I am sure," he said firmly.

       "Because Victoria told me that you dropped Minseok off to the office earlier and by coincidence, the girl on the frontdesk actually resembles Minseok. Only, she's a female and prettier."

       "WHAT?!" Luhan was now standing in front of him, face closed to his.

       "Do you really have to shout? And pull your face away. You're spitting on me."

       Luhan raised his hand, admitting his defeat. "Ok, you got me but that wasn't part of the plan at all. My plan is to..." When he saw his brother's eyes peering at him intensely, he found his way to his seat again and tried to avoid his gaze.

       Yifan took a deep breath and tried to ask Luhan calmly, "What's your plan?"

       "Ah..." He started nipping on his pencil.

       "Stop avoiding me. What's your plan?" he asked again with the same low tone voice.

       "Well, he asked me!" Luhan raised his voice as if he was the 'victim' here. "He said he wanted to pay so badly for the pants he ruined, and he didn't want me to symphatize on him and just let it pass, so I have no choice."

       "Ha, you have no choice AND YOU GAVE HIM THAT JOB? That job that made him wear a skirt and a wig?"

       "Does he really look good?" he asked inquisitively.

       "He's wearing a pink lingerie," the words escaped Yifan's mouth unconsciously. "Wait, forget that I said that and, that's not the point! Your nose is bleeding."

       Exactly as Luhan stared at him with gaping mouth and blood trickling from his nose. His eyes looked like they're going to pop out anytime and his expression was flaring in anger. 

       "What?"

       "HOW DARE YOU TAKE A PEEK UNDER HIS SKIRT?" 

       The next thing Yifan remembered was his head crashing on the floor as Luhan pounced on him and attacked him with his claw-like hands.

##

"I'm aware of how much you hate each other but I didn't expect for you to kill each other off sooner. What's the reason behind this, a girl? Although that would be funny since I know Luhan only likes guys and Yifan—" Chen shut his mouth when he saw Yifan sending him deathly glares. "Sorry." He dropped the cotton swab he was dabbing on Luhan to tend Yifan instead but the older just swatted his hands away, and Luhan started whining like a baby for being left out.

       "Stop talking to the ert. He didn't deserve help," Luhan insisted. Chen's eyes widened because that adjective had never been used to Yifan before. Even Luhan was afraid to call him that. What changed his mind now?

       Instead of getting angry, Yifan was surprisingly calm which was unusual unless Luhan was stating a fact. 

       Chen gasped. "Oh my goodness! You're a real ?"

       "No," Yifan denied, irritated, but couldn't do anything since he knew it was his fault—not because he accidentally saw Minseok's undergarment but because he accidentally spilt a fact that Luhan could easily misunderstands. And he did misunderstood, which was more regretful because Luhan would consider him now as a ert that was definitely not his nature. Besides, he was as straight as hell. "Look, you just misheard it."

       "Misheard?!" Luhan still sounded furious. "I clearly hear it, Yifan, when you said that Minseok was wearing pink ."

       Chen fell back from his seat. He didn't expect this. "Minseok is a girl!"

       "NO!" the two shouted in unison. 

       "But are for girls unless...Minseok's a cross—"

       "Shut up. I'll explain it to you later."

       "That's unfair. How come you know more things about him than me? Minseok's fanclub pays any amount for any information about Minseok so I demand the truth!"

       "You what?" Luhan asked, glaring at him. "Don't you dare spill what you'll about to know or else..." His eyes were threatening. Chen never felt more violated and threatened before until now.

       "It's not as if Minseok is hiding the truth about his status or background. People just assume things they want to believe, and it grows uncontrollably," Yifan said.

       "Wow, very well said seonsang-nim." Chen clapped briefly. "But, really, what's the fuss all about? And what's the secret that isn't really a secret?" He draped his arm around Yifan but, as always, he was pushed away. "You're so harsh!" he whined.

       "Minseok's not a prince," Luhan muttered.

       "I'm sorry. What?"

##

"OH. MY. FREAKING—I don't even know what to say."

       Since all three of them—Minseok, Luhan, and Chen—finished their classes at the same time, Luhan volunteered to drive Minseok to his sister's company like what he did yesterday. But since Minseok was carrying some of his heavy architecture tools. He asked (with the blushing cheeks and all that Luhan immediately covered his nose in case of potential nose bleed and Chen bit his knuckle for restriction) if he could drop by his house to leave his things there. Of course, Luhan couldn't say no to that.

       So here they were, waiting inside the car, while Minseok shortly went inside an abandoned cafe/their house, and Chen was crying beside Luhan.

       "Don't do that. He might be offended if he sees you."

       "But...but..." Chen started wailing again until Luhan blocked his mouth with a tissue roll instead of handing it to him to wipe his face. He frowned, taking the tissue off his mouth and the bits of paper left inside. "Since when have you known about this?"

       "Not too long ago."

       "You are quite a stalker."

       "I'm not!" Luhan defended immediately which just proved Chen how staker-ish he was. "I swear it was an accident."

       "Accident that you landed in front of his house of all places, unless you followed him all the way from the university until here. That sounds stalker-ish to me."

       "I'm desperate, okay? I wanna know if he's really the 'prince' that you all keep on saying and assuming even though you don't have evidence."

       "Well, he's nice and princely. Who would think that he's this poor and—" Chen started tearing up again, fanning his face overly dramatically. "Oh my god, don't make me cry again."

       "Such a diva!" Luhan rolled his eyes. 

       Minseok came back shortly after, waving a goodbye to that little boy again, the same one that Luhan saw when he first got there. Chen was biting his tongue hardly because the boy was as cute as Minseok that he wanted to adapt him (together with Minseok because why not).

       "Bye, Minseok-hyung. Please come home earlier."

       "Bye, Hunnie. I will go home early. Promise."

       Luhan forced Chen to sit at the back because he was a sobbing mess as he suggested Minseok to sit beside him. Just when he thought it was a good idea...

       "Ah! I forgot my bra!"

##

"This is unbelievable," Luhan could hear Chen kept on saying over and over again. His friend, together with Minseok, Victoria and the company stylist, Krystal, were all at the dressing room probably harassing Minseok with their silly uncreative styling while the other, as always, happily accepted anything given to him. 

       "You're so beautiful!" It was Victoria's voice.

       His ears would bleed anytime soon. If only he was there—which was the last thing he'd ever do—he'd wacked their heads with rolled-up magazine. It's irritating to hear them say how beautiful, how cute, and even how y Minseok was. His hands felt clammy. He was quivering NOT in excitement but due to nervousness. What if Yifan was lying? What if Minseok really looked like a fusion of a clown and a drag queen? Or what if he's really beautiful? And more importantly, what color was he wearing today?

       Luhan clutched his head in frustration, swaying his dirty unwelcoming thoughts. He didn't realize his forehead was sweating profusely. He immediately touch his nose. He sighed in relief when there's nothing dripping from it.

       "Safe..."

       "What are you whispering there?" Chen asked as his head peeked out the door. "Are you ready to see Minseok?" He had the stupid grin again.

       "Whatever." Luhan tried to appear nonchalant and calm about it but deep inside, he was praying, 'Don't bleed. Please don't bleed.' Yet, his eyes couldn't help but widened and his mouth couldn't help but gaped as Minseok went out the door, walking ever so slowly like a wind-up doll. 

       "Welcome to Wu Corporation!" Minseok greeted him in a high-pitch girl-like voice. He started walking towards Luhan that he didn't notice the glossy paper on the floor that he accidentally stepped on. Unfortunately, Minseok staggered backwards before falling onto the floor, landing on his back.

       Instead of Luhan helping him, it was Chen who came for an immediate help. And Luhan...

       "It's violet." Luckily, his nose didn't bleed but he fainted.

Your comments are lovely! Thanks for your suggestion. Btw, this is partly crack so expect a lot of silliness. And this is how I imagine girl!Minseok would be like. That's Park Bo-Young, the same girl in B2ST's Fiction MV.