The Red Cosmos

Orchids

Standing on her porch she waves at his retreating figure.

The golden hues of the sun setting in the distance casts an ethereal glow upon him. Like paint smeared on a canvas, the sky melds together with the clouds and there he stood among it all. Beautiful, dream-like.

He waves one last time before continuing down the empty street.

She remains, watching him until his figure disappears resembling the sun dipping below the horizon. Thinking back to his laughter, his lips curved into a delightful heart shape and the way their shoulders bumped occasionally.

She felt happier than she has in months. Despite the events of her past following her like a shadow, he was the light casting them away. Ushering in a new beginning.

Sighing contently, she turns to reach for her doorknob barely catching sight of the thin paper resting on the floor.

Another note?

Looking around anxiously she scrambles for the letter and quickly heads inside, bolting her door before plopping on the couch with a deep breath.

Flipping the letter over she finds a lavender stamped into the red wax seal this time, the aroma meant to be calming, does nothing to ease her.

Tearing the envelope open she scans the neatly scripted words.

Da Hye,

My love for you is beyond comprehension
The universe itself is in awe at how perfectly we fit together
Nothing can stand in the way of our love.
Not even him.

Until we meet
Yours truly,

-your rose.

Him?? Did this person mean... Seokjin? Were they watching the entire time? She drops the letter anxiously. Was this person the one in the shop?

"No" she wills herself to calm down "No it can't be". Taking deep breaths she flips her phone open finding three unread messages from Taehyung.

From: TaeTae 🐻
5:12PM
Hye! (o^∀^o)
Get it? Hi and Hye sound similar lol ('ヮ')
I know ur cracking up from my joke anywaaays, wanna get coffee tomorrow and catch up? I missed u while I was gone ('Д｀)
To: TaeTae 🐻
                                     6:00PM
                                    U are so not funny (￢з￢)
Of course u missed me!
Who wouldn't (◡‿◡✿)
              We can get coffee! Only if
                                      ur paying ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

From TaeTae 🐻
6:01PM
U never pay ( ಠ ಠ )
Ur lucky I like u (=n=)
Meet u at Jin's bakery 2morrow after work! Don't be L8 ('ヮ')

She scoffs amused, Taehyung always had a way of cheering her up. He was such a ball of fluff, she was grateful for his friendship.

Tossing the phone aside she rubs her face in exhaustion, she was in desperate need of a bath. The note is discarded to the left of her and one look at it sends a shiver down her spine. She shouldn't think much of it, it was probably just a harmless crush this person had. Or perhaps someone was playing a prank.

🦋

Drawing a steaming bath, she slips out of her dress and tosses it into the laundry hamper. Grabbing one of the many jars lined up on the shelf above the sink, she unscrews the lid and shakes the content into the tub watching as the white petals of the flowers flit down into the water and land gently flowing along with the water. She inhales the scent, gardenias were her favorite. Soaking in them sometimes helped her sleep better.

Stepping into the bath she marvels at how soothing it is. As she leans her head back against the rim of the tub, her hand absentmindedly finds its way down to the freshly healed scar upon her waist. It was a habit, to run her fingers across the jagged edges of uneven skin. It's a reminder, she thinks bitterly, that not all love was perfect. Sometimes it bit back, viciously sinking its teeth into your flesh, taking all that it can and leaving you with nothing. Abandoning you in a barren desert. Not once looking back at the hollow shell that was once filled with so much, too much to give.

The thought pricks her, brings tears to her eyes. She doesn't realize her nails are pressed into the scar until the pain jolts her from her thoughts. Sniffing, she sits up, peering down at it. The skin is unevenly toned, it's not that big a scar yet it reminds her every day of him and what he did to her. The reason she was in this town, to begin with.

But with every regret, there was a lesson, and sometimes even a gift. For her, it was the gift of a new start, a fresh beginning, one that paved the way for her to meet Seokjin.

Her cheeks burn at the thought of her hand held in his. He was a rose, one that bloomed after decades of dark, rainy days. Finally, a ray of light all for her.

Crawling into bed drowsily she barely has time to cover herself properly before her eyes are slipping closed.

🦋

The figure stands outside, eyes fixated upon the window of the second floor of the house. Watching until the lights flicker out. Movement from the house next door causes the figure to duck down shielding themself behind a bush.

A man climbs out of his car and stops in his tracks. He eyes the bedroom window of her house. There's an unreadable expression that crosses his face before he turns and heads into the house next to hers.