✔︎ unrequited flowers | nishimura riki

VII

"Thank you." Ayano says sincerely, pulling back. "Come on." Sunghoon pulls her hand into a room. Ayano was quite scared at first but calmed down as Sunghoon was just rummaging through his closet, searching for some clothes for Ayano. "You don't mind sleeping in my sister's room right ? Well she doesn't live here anymore so you can stay in that room and here." Sunghoon handed her a towel and some clothes. "Thank you."

Sunghoon showed her the room and Ayano went to take a shower. It was weird but Sunghoon gave and respected her privacy which was the best. They both got changed into t-shirts and sweats, and now they were in Sunghoon's room, sitting on the bed. His room was almost the same as Ni-Ki's except the big window was now on the ceiling. It was like a stargazing room.

As they lay down, the moonlight streaming in through the glass ceiling allows light in as the room is pitch dark. Ayano was just staring at the ceiling, not knowing what to do but the scene from earlier is just... heartbreaking.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sunghoon nearly whispers, turning to face Ayano. "No, not really." Ayano puts on a smile, ignoring the ache that returns, wishing she didn't feel anything but happiness for her friend. The girl just wants the stabbing ache to subside. "My throat still burns though, I feel very lazy to talk because it hurts." "Then don't. It's okay, want me to hug you ?" Ayano nodded, really craving comfort from someone right now.

Ayano goes through the 45 minutes on autopilot, she was listening but just letting Sunghoon whisper sweet nothings and running his hands through her hair. Sunghoon attempts to shift Ayano's thinking towards another topic. He tells the girl in his arms that she can move on, and their friendship doesn't have to suffer.

However, every time Sunoo smiles at Ni-Ki, lips turn up in a sweet expression, her chest constricts, just feeling jealousy filling her up. It's like another needle stuck into her, hooked and barbed through her skin and into her glass heart.

Because at the same time, Ayano watches Ni-Ki fall for Sunoo. Ni-Ki carved a place out for himself in Ayano's heart, and then gave his own to Sunoo, and with every passing day, every reminder of what she'll never have, Ayano just feels the pain in her throat worsen. "You're always welcomed here, Ayano."

.

A week had passed and it was the weekend now. Ayano remembered Ni-Ki asking her to hang out. "Ayano?" Ni-Ki calls with urgency in his voice. "Ayano, you're not even listening to me." he's pouty and whiny, as if he was saying something important and not just telling the story of how his family dog doesn't like him since he dyed his hair pink.

"I'm listening," Ayano shifts in the hard mall chair, resting her chin on her hand as she stares at Ni-Ki, whose mood is now ruined by the lack of attention. Two seconds, Ayano spaced out for two seconds, imagining she could literally feel the roots of the sprout growing in her arm going deeper through her flesh as she stared at Ni-Ki.

"But why do you care?" Sunoo says from Ni-Ki's side, his arm stretched over the back of Ni-Ki's chair. He carries on his face that easy smile that makes everyone like him. Ayano likes him, the one good boyfriend Ni-Ki has had. "You never liked the dog anyway."

"That's besides the point."

Sunoo laughs lightly, and Ayano looks at him over the pile of empty plates and cups they left on the table after dinner. "Why are you wearing that?" Ni-Ki asks, looking at Ayano, the story about the dog being left aside completely. He points at the girl's sleeve.

Because I'm blooming flowers for you, idiot.
"Because everything else was dirty and I wasn't in the mood to do laundry."

Ni-Ki knows the girl better than to believe she'd go so long without doing laundry that she'd have to wear a black shirt with long sleeves in this weather. Even though it was almost winter, Ayano wouldn't wear warm clothes until snow starts to fall. "Aren't you hot, though? Why don't you pull your sleeves up?"

"I'm fine," Ayano smiles and waves a hand to dismiss the subject. The most recent point of sprouting was on the inner part of her elbow. Sunghoon pointed it out the other day. It was just a swollen bump now, not pushing out of the skin yet.

Ayano didn't even know why she was there. Ni-Ki invited her to go to the mall so he could buy a new outfit for a date he was going to have with Sunoo. It was a fun idea, they hadn't gone out together in a while because Ayano was... um yeah. We all know about flowers growing in her while Ni-Ki had been busy with Sunoo. Good for him, great for him.

It just so happened that Sunoo was close by when they arrived at the mall and Ni-Ki asked with puppy eyes is it ok if Sunoo comes along and Ayano, poor girl, is just really fucking stupid (her own words, in her head) and she agreed with it. At least she had made Ni-Ki very happy, it seemed. Ayano was miserable, but the thing about Hanahaki Disease was that it only manifested itself in miserable people in the first place.

No cure for that besides waiting.

She didn't have as much to offer Ni-Ki but by the end of the next month she'd probably be able to gather a whole bouquet made of the flowers her body produced for him. Some would have withered and it'd smell of rotten blood and be dark and ugly. But it'd be a bouquet.

In the moment Ayano spaces out again, lost in her thoughts as she sees a vision of flowers, Sunoo holds Ni-Ki's hand. It sounds like a great opportunity, then, for Ayano to pick up her phone and check the time.

"I should get going." It's still early, but the girl doesn't want to stick around too long and start getting hints that the couple wants to get rid of her. "Oh, are you sure?" Sunoo laments, and it sounds genuine, even though Ayano was getting in the way of whatever they were talking about.

The corner of Ayano's mouth tips up in a half smile. That's the love of her life sitting right there, acting clumsy and she's more worried about that than about finding the outfit they were supposed to find. Sunoo was not sprouting flowers for Ni-Ki

And neither is Ni-Ki for him.

"I'm going now. Have fun you two." Ayano says, and she grabs her only shopping bag from the chair beside her. Ni-Ki couldn't decide on anything to buy, so he didn't but Ayano had found a cute sweater to give to Sunghoon and even got herself a matching one but a different colour. Ni-Ki meets Ayano's eyes with parted lips, like she's about to say something that never leaves her mouth. The girl walked out, almost bursting into tears.

She looked at her phone to see her reflection on the screen. Ayano's freckles were getting darker and more visible. She hated it, she really wanted to go get it removed but it was a part of her now. It was flower pollen that looked like freckles.

At least Sunghoon thinks they're cute.

I forgot to upload this chapter- 
here- 
i'm going to go rollerblading now heheh