Night Sky Bloom

14- Blue Hyacinth

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"I'll be there in a second!" Jisung yelled from the top of the stairs. He had spent the day cleaning his mother's room up- dusting, washing the sheets and pillow cases, wiping the windows and furniture down. Just because she was gone didn't mean her things shouldn't be respected. She loved this house, and she loved this room. Pictures of her, Jisung, and an unimaginable amount of flowers littered her walls. Most of the traditional floral wallpaper was covered in frames holding precious memories from the both of them.

He was in the middle of re-orienting her dresser after wiping it down, placing her favorite book on top- an entire book filled with information, theories, and beliefs about moonflowers. They only bloomed at night, under the moon's glow. She was obsessed with figuring out how to grow one in their village.

She never figured it out before her passing, and it broke Jisung's heart every time he saw the book laying still and mostly untouched.

"Coming!"

Someone was repeatedly knocking at the door with an obviously irritable rhythm. They had already waited a minute or two, so he didn't bother removing his gloves or the small yellow apron he liked to wear while cleaning. Out of all of the people he expected to be on the other side of the door, Lee Minho was nowhere on that list. He stood there, staring at the boy.

Minho had recently dyed his hair, he realized. The deep maroon was replaced with a velvety purple that looked soft and almost reflected the sunlight, making it appear silvery in some spots. His lips remained closed as he took in the older boy's presence on his doorstep, looking just as frustrated as he normally did when interacting with Jisung. It somehow only brought more attention to his dark toffee-colored eyes. They almost looked feline.

Pretty.

"You just gonna fucking stand there, looking stupid?" Minho clicked his tongue, one eyebrow raised.

"I- no. You're just..." Jisung swallowed, his eyes widening as he tried to take a deep breath in and maintain composure. "What do you need?"

Minho looked down at a brown package on the doorstep. "You gonna get that?"

Jisung wordlessly reached down to pick up the package and place it on the counter by the door. "Ah... someone's been leaving um... books, for me. To read. I don't know who-"

"I didn't ask." Minho looked like he was about to step inside before deciding against it. His eyes curiously darted around the interior of Jisung's home before he continued. "My dad's been having joint pains and muscle aches and shit. The old fucker can barely walk around anymore, which is fine by me, but I'm over his constant fucking complaining. Fix it."

Jisung felt his eyebrows furrow harshly as his eyes narrowed. He could feel agitation growing in his gut. "I need more information than that. And some basic conversational manners would be nice."

"I don't see why we have to be polite if this is transactional. I need something from you because he refuses to go see a real professional. You probably have something you need that I can take care of. If it's an even trade, I don't see why I have to pretend to be nice."

Minho looked as if he were stating the obvious, but his condescending tone and the look on his face made Jisung's insides feel like they were boiling.

It was fine.

He could be the bigger person. Someone needed help, and that's what he specialized in. If Minho wanted to act like this, he'd keep the conversation at a bare minimum so they could trade and get on with their lives.

"Come in." Jisung said, swinging the door open and sitting at the table, taking off his gloves and pulling out the miniature notebook he kept in his pocket.