It all started with a bouquet.

Yes, Jiyeon clearly remembers. The image has burnt into her mind and she hasn’t succeeded to get rid of it, yet.

Not that she wants to.

Yes, she remembers the sight of the petite girl catching the bouquet Soyeon threw behind as part of the tradition that came with her wedding perfectly, the shocked expression that spread through her features like a wildfire in the moment the flowers ended up in her hands. She also remembers how the girl immediately dropped the bouquet on the ground after having let go of it in surprise and a possibly symptom of her shock. Jiyeon found it quite strange back then, knowing how much her unnie wanted to marry and yet, saying she would be the next to get her troth plighted, this assumption that she unintentionally created when catching the group of flowers, it had such a shocking effect on her.

Now, obviously, she understands the reason.

It took her a while until she figured it out. But she noticed the change in Boram’s attitude towards her instantly, not long after Soyeon’s wedding has ended. The girl who was the oldest member of the girl group they were once both part of, the one whom she insisted on keeping in touch with besides the now married woman suddenly became awkward and somewhat cold around her. Jiyeon didn’t like it. Every time she skipped over to the older to tickle her or pull her into a tight embrace – a few things that were considered a daily routine for the two by then –, Boram would mumble a short, stupid excuse and escape her arms. Every time she approached the older to talk to her or commented on something she said, Boram would make a face and turn around, ignoring Jiyeon.

And Jiyeon really didn’t like that at all.

This whole thing went on for a few days until Jiyeon finally gained the courage and stood in front of the older to ask what the heck was going on. Boram was left speechless, probably not having expected a sudden outburst from the younger regarding the case, but she should’ve known better than to think Jiyeon would’ve let something like that slip. Jiyeon didn’t like being ignored, and less did she fancy being treated that way by someone who was so special to her. So, so special.

But the older, of course, had no idea about that.

Perhaps that’s why at the first time, Boram didn’t answer Jiyeon. Instead, she denied everything passionately and laughed into the ex-maknae’s face saying that she was just being dumb and overdramatic.

Jiyeon didn’t see Boram the following day. No matter how many times she had called, how many messages she had left, the older didn’t answer to anything and kept her apartment locked, obviously not opening the door even when the younger went to visit her personally.

Jiyeon knew something was up and she sure as hell wasn’t going to sit down and wait for a miracle to get things sorted out.

Later that day, Jiyeon returned to Boram’s apartment with a sleeping bag and some food. She was ready to camp in front of her door until she finally decided to step out of her hideout. She spent the entire night on the floor, body covered with one of her favorite blankets – The Little Mermaid, she got it from Boram for her twenty-first birthday –, her back leaning against the door.

She was woken up by a loud bam she herself caused when she fell backwards and her head hit the floor, followed by a startled, raspy scream she knew so well.

“Jiyeon?! What the hell are you doing in front of my door?” Boram yelled as she bent down to help the younger up whose hand was still rubbing against the throbbing point somewhere on the back of her head. Snapping back to reality, she placed both of her hands on her hips and shot the older a sharp look.

“You!” she pointed at Boram who blinked in surprise and took a few steps behind. “I spent the entire night here, waiting for you to come out because you wouldn’t answer my calls or messages. Or open the door for me, for that matter, although that would’ve made things so much easier,” she snorted, reaching down to pull her pants up as an automatic habit she has yet to overcome. “Now that you are finally willing to accept my existence, would you please tell me why you’ve been neglecting me and cold towards me in the past days? If your goal was to make me feel like , you did it exceptionally well.”

When Jiyeon finished, Boram couldn’t say a word. Her lips would fall apart to utter something but no matter how badly she rolled the words on her tongue from one side of to another, they wouldn’t roll off. Suddenly, the older’s face was flushed with a dark tint of red and her head dipped.

“I’m…” she finally started, “do you remember the bouquet?”

“The one Soyeon threw? Of course I do,” Jiyeon nodded. “That was when you started behaving like this. What’s with it?! It’s just flowers!”

“Those flowers meant that I would be the next one to marry,” Boram nodded as well, finally looking up and locking eyes with Jiyeon. “And that made me realize something I was burying in the deepest pits of my mind until it hit me and I wasn’t able to deal with it.”

Jiyeon cocked an eyebrow, confusion all over her features. “What the hell are you talking about, unnie?”

Boram hesitated.

Jiyeon waited.

Finally, Boram exhaled a sigh.

“The thought shocked me because I realized that I wouldn’t want to marry at all. Not if the person I marry is not you.”

Jiyeon clearly remembers her own reaction to those two sentences and it makes her chuckle now, thinking back of it. Four days of mild depression, caused by Boram’s endless stupidity and timidity to confess to her.

But then again, she didn’t confess to Boram either.

A pair of short, soft arms suddenly wraps around her and she turns to face – or more like, look down – on the petite girl who wears a small, but delight smile.

“Hey, my love,” Jiyeon croons and captures the other’s rose, plump lips in a sweet kiss. Boram’s eyes fall shut as she enjoys the kiss, a cheerful chuckle escaping her when she pulls away.

“I missed you,” she says as she nuzzles into Jiyeon’s neck and tightens their hug. “I’ve been waiting for work to end so I could come and tell you that there’ll be a company dinner on Friday and we need a partner. Will you accompany me?”

“With pleasure,” Jiyeon offers a wide smile and slips her fingers into the other’s, lifting their now connected hands and her eyes land on the two golden rings next to each other.

It ended with a bouquet.

But it was also a start of something: their happy, married life together.