Black Orchid | BEOMKAI

Chapter 27

Fuck, I was happy.

What's a better word for happy?

Cheerful? Delighted? Euphoric?

Just all the words in a thesaurus that could describe whatever the fuck I was feeling.

Our combined garden was bursting with life now that Summer was in full-swing. I helped Kai tend to it every single day, now that I knew what it truly meant to both of us.

Kai still had his pottery business going. I arranged another advertisement for him to be put up in the shopping centre. Although most of his customers were regulars, spread via word of mouth. I had since invited my parents plus Soobin and Yeonjun over for dinner. Kai invited Taehyun over too but he was too busy at the hospital. My parents and friends adored Kai, especially my mother and Soobin. But there was something peculiar in the air between Kai and Yeonjun.

When Yeonjun walked through the front door to be greeted by us, it was as if time stopped. Yeonjun and Kai stared at each other in five seconds of strange silence. It ended with a bright smile from Yeonjun and him shaking Kai's hand. Although in the middle of dinner, Yeonjun excused himself to the bathroom and Kai left the table at the same time, something about "going to close the bedroom windows". I followed in stealth, because the windows were already closed. Hiding in the spare room down the hall with a keen ear to the door, I heard Kai grab Yeonjun's attention in the hallway. Many hushed words were spoken, none of which I caught, but I eventually heard from Yeonjun: "Don't worry. I'll let you tell him– if that's what you want."

In a staggered formation, we arrived back at the table and the evening progressed without a hitch. But after our guests left, I loitered in the doorway, watching Kai put the dried dishes away.

"Are we okay?" I asked, my voice tender and Kai glanced back in surprise.

"I should think so," he said, his smile slow and tentative. "Why?"

"There's nothing you want to tell me?"

For the first time since the day of our picnic, I caught the face of a liar on Kai as he looked away. "No," he said lightly and we both caught him trying to put a plate where the cups go. "Oops," he chuckled, glad for the distraction. "What am I doing?"

I left for the bedroom. "What are you doing?" I whispered to myself and upon seeing Kai's phone on the bedside table, I sunk to a new low and went through his messages. My heart ached and hammered with every one I read, both disgusted with myself and anxious to find something I hoped I wouldn't. But his messages were clean. He didn't even have Yeonjun's number in his phone. It took me hours to get to sleep that night, but at around four-thirty a.m., I finally drifted off and committed myself to patience and trust. The old Beomgyu would have burnt the house down in order to get answers, but the new Beomgyu knew that if Kai did have something to say, he'd do it in his own time.

***

Kai and I were in the garden. I was picking apples and he was watering the peonies with a hose. After having filled the basket with fruit, I almost jumped out of my skin from the feeling of water coming at me full-fucking-blast against the side of my head. Dropping the basket, I turned in soaked fury to see Kai fighting off a giggle. He returned to watering his flowers as if it didn't just fucking happen.

"You," I growled as I approached him with balled fists. Kai breathed out a laugh.

"Oh, what happened, button?! It's not raining! How'd you get wet?!"