Chapter 3

“Will that be all, Mrs. Lee?” Yuri asked the lady, standing in front of the cash register. Mrs. Lee nodded as Yuri carefully clipped the steams of the dozen long-stemmed roses together.

“That’s it, dear. My husband’s coming back from a business trip & I wanted to surprises him.” Mrs. Lee told Yuri proudly, digging in her timbuk2 colby shoulder bag for the money.

Not for the first time since working here, Yuri felt a twinge of loneliness & bitter resentment. All these people coming in, buying flowers for their loved ones. Yuri was alone, she had no one & what was worse, she knew she never could.

Unaware, tears started to swell up in her eyes as she nodded automatically to Mrs. Lee’s cheerful ‘Goodbye, dear’. The tinkling of fairy wind chimes at the door meant more customers.

Yuri quickly turned away from the door to hide her teary-eyes & found herself stepping on Jaejoong’s polished ecco findlay tie coffee/marine shoe. Losing her balance, she fell backwards but Jaejoong’s strong hand automatically reached out to steady her.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Kim.” Yuri quickly stepped back, looking down so her long lashes hid her pain & sorrow. Wordlessly, Jaejoong handed her a tissue, pushing it carefully into her unrestraining hands, ‘Why do I feel like he can see through me?’ Yuri wondered, wiping at her eyes with the tissue. This wasn’t the first time in the three months she had been here that she had felt this. Under his supportive influence, she had already told him about her family & it made her uneasy, ‘What if he found out?’

“Thanks, Mr. Kim.” Yuri mumbled.

Gently, Jaejoong put cool, long fingers under her chin, making her look at him, “You may have noticed that my friends call me Jaejoong or Jae.”

Yuri stared at her boss uncomprehendingly. She had only met two of his friends; a handsome man named Shim Changmin & a gentle girl who also worked at everlasting boutique, Song Victoria. Yuri didn’t know they were Jaejoong’s only true friends. Even if she knew, she would have been wildly envious anyway. Yuri had never had friends to laugh with, to confide with. All her life, she had been looked down upon because she had no father.

Yuri looked at Jaejoong, hope struggling in her eyes, “Am I your friend?” She asked hesitatingly.

“I believe so.” Jaejoong whispered, leaning towards her & capturing her soft, reddish pink lips with his. He saw her eyelids flutter as her hourglass body stiffened then relax as she eased into the kiss. Jaejoong brought Yuri closer against him as he deepened the kiss, tongue flickering against hers slightly parted lips.

Jaejoong didn’t know what made him do it, ‘If you want it to happen, you know it won’t work with just one kiss.’ He told himself, but suddenly, Jaejoong found that part didn’t matter all that much at the moment. For some strange reason, with Yuri in his arms, everything felt right. It was a feeling Jaejoong couldn’t identify, ‘Yuri!’ Her mind yelled, ‘What are you doing?! Get away from him! You aren’t allowed to do this! Plus, Jaejoong Oppa is your boss! Alright, a very kind, charming boss but...Yuri! Don’t think like that!’ The sensible part of her mind yelled. Quickly, Yuri moved away, “Oppa, I…”

“Yuri. There you are.” A high, bubbly voice interrupted her.

Yuri’s heart sank & Jaejoong’s expression changed from an intense gaze to a polite, reserved one. Yuri was slightly upset at her aunt for interfering with what she was about to say but in a way, she was relieved, ‘What did I really want to say to him?’ She wondered.

“Hi, aunt Eunbyul.” Yuri greeted her aunt, feeling the energy drain out of her body. Eunbyul tended to have that effect on people, “Why are you here so early?”

“Hi, sweetie.” Eunbyul smiled expansively, “I have come to fetch you.”

“What?” Yuri asked, “But it’s only noon.”

“I know that, child, but my dear daughter is coming back from her french exchange program early today. I want you to help celebrate her homecoming.”

“Sulli? She’s back? Of course, I want to meet her but I have still got half a day of work left.” Yuri told her aunt.

“That’s alright.” Jaejoong cut in quickly, “Yuri, go meet your cousin. You deserve a day off. Everlasting boutique had never had so many customers before you came.” His voice was back to normal, upbeat & friendly & Yuri had a sudden feeling of having imagined the scene between them just minutes ago.

“Really? Are you sure you don’t need me?” Yuri asked, not quite meeting his eyes as her aunt began pulling her towards the door.

Jaejoong nodded, “If I need help, I can asked Victoria since she is still here.”

“Alright. Thanks then.” Yuri said, turning to leave. Jaejoong put a hand on her shoulder & let it linger there, reminding her silently that the scene had been real.