snowdrop | 최범규

7 | hellebore.

D - 71

Beomgyu had come to the flower shop more frequently nowadays. he loved the flower shop, especially when he could sit in the back and paint alone. of course, nothing excited him more than when Lavender walked through the door, since it meant they could hang out more often together.

today was another day where Beomgyu sat at a table in the store, crossing his legs and painting flowers. he had a book where he would paint nature and label them, writing entries of them. mostly, he would write about Lavender in his entries. he wanted to gift it to her before he leaves in a few months but he thought it would be too embarrassing.

he hadn't seen Lavender after classes ended. she said she would stay for an hour alone at school but it had been four hours later and she still didn't come. he assumed she'd want time for herself after he knocked on her door and didn't respond. he just hoped she didn't stay inside the school, especially since it had been seven o'clock and it was nearing dark. the days got shorter.

today, he chose to paint Hellebore, flowers that bloom even when winter dies but they're poisonous. he decided to write an entry again to the side of the painting.

the old woman was out of town for the week, leaving the keys to the flower shop to Lavender. he wanted to lock the store since he would be leaving to go to school and see what happened to Lavender.

with his bag hooked around his arms, he ran to the school. what worried Beomgyu most was that he would walk in on her beating herself up on the smallest intricate details. she was a perfectionist who would fight herself if something was wrong.

he reached the building and tried to open the locked gates. he shook them but it was no use. running his fingers through his hair, he climbed up the gates and jumped to the ground, falling onto his knees and terribly scraping them. he could tell it would leave a mark but he didn't want to pay any heed to it. though, that was near impossible when it badly hurt to walk.

he feigned strength and walked through the doors of the building. it was dark and it scared Beomgyu that she stayed late this often.

Beomgyu walked into the building to see the light still on in one of the rooms: Lavender.

he opened the door to see the girl asleep on the ground, canvases piled all around her figure. the sculptures surrounded her small character. she was in fetal position, asleep on the ground. it was freezing cold, staying huddled with her legs exposed from her skirt. she hated that school policy, especially in the winter time, it was too cruel.

Beomgyu rushed into the room and placed his bag onto the ground, walking over to Lavender. he tried to nudge her awake, wiping off the paint on her face. he sighed, he knew she would overexert herself.

"Lavender." he felt terrible waking her up. he knew this was one of the only times she ever truly slept. he tried to pick her up from the ground, sliding her mere figure into his arms. he placed her onto the chair and cleaned up the paint and canvases from the private work station.

he picked up the canvases one by one and placed them to the side of the room. with the paints still open and the water still inside of the cups, he poured it out and took care of it.

wetting a paper towel, he walked over to Lavender and kneeled, trying to wake her up over and over again. her name felt redundant as he said it over ten times now.

"Lavender." he tapped her until her eyes flickered open slightly. he silently prayed Thank God and watched her eyes peer to the window at how dark the night had gotten. snow fell harsher and her eyebrows furrowed.

"w-what time is it?" she muttered, half asleep as Beomgyu helped her stand up.

"it's seven o'clock."

she widened her eyes. "seven?!" she exclaimed, leaping but falling back down to the ground. Beomgyu yelped at her fallen figure and helped her stand up, again.

"i have to go home!" she exclaimed as Beomgyu helped support her walk.

"yes, i know!" he joked and laughed at her foolishness.

watching as she fell asleep on the chair...again... he sighed and took his extra jacket out of his bag and wrapped it around her waist. with her arms around his neck, he hooked his arms under her legs and took her outside of the building.

she rested her head on his shoulder. her eyes fluttered open again as Beomgyu continued to walk the girl home. her legs were ice cold, he couldn't believe she wore it every day to the university. it felt like a crime during the winter time to make her do such a thing. thankfully, he wrapped his long jacket around her waist so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

it made carrying his bag in his hand easier and lighter. his back began to ache, but he powered through. he passed his house which was a couple of blocks down hers. he continued to walk through the snowy streets as the girl shivered in his arms. even her covered arms were ice cold.

he practically ran to try to get her home and avoid any sickness but it was practically useless when her door was locked. he turned to his left to see the girl asleep.

"Lavender." he whispered, gently nudging his shoulder so she would wake up. she opened her eyes, removing the snowflakes off of them. "i need the keys."

she sleepily nodded and handed him the keys in her pocket.

there had to have been at least fifteen keys on the chain. he sighed, as if the night couldn't get any worse, and tried every single key.

on his tenth try, he opened the door and closed it with his foot. he had never actually been inside of the girl's home, he had no idea where her bedroom was. he sighed and trudged up the stairs, staring at the three bedrooms. taking his chances, he simply opened the door to one of them and removed her from his back.

it was near impossible, he tried to pry her off but she was hooked. he whispered to her, more so himself.

"you have to let me go."

he sighed and could feel her breath hitch. her arms fell from his neck as she loosened off of him and fell to her bed. throwing the blanket onto her, she fell asleep again. he couldn't believe how she slept through all of it, but he was thankful that she finally got a wink of rest after overworking herself nonstop.

with his footsteps retreat to the door, Beomgyu felt a tug at his wrist holding him back. he turned his head to see the girl, her eyes still closed and holding his wrist with a tight grip.

"i wish i could stay." he whispered, knowing he wasn't just talking about for the night.

he, with a sad smile, removed her hand from his wrist. hesitant to walk away from her, he closed the light and shut the door, walking outside of the room. with the keys on the nightstand, he left the house. even though he wanted to protect her and make sure nothing would happen to her overnight, he didn't want her to get the wrong idea if he slept over.

he wanted to hold her hand.

he wanted everything. but he couldn't be greedy. so he walked home and hoped for the best.

and just like always,

he hoped.