Feel The Heartbeat | Yeonbin

Chapter 26 - Hybrid Flowers

So, after their meal, the two hit up some of the shops. None of the souvenirs were really catered towards grown adult men, but it was pretty nice browsing. Yeonjun had found some funny hats and headbands and proceeded to shove them onto Soobin's head and his own before taking selfies.

To thank him for taking him out, Soobin bought the two of them matching shirts with the amusement park mascots printed in the back - Soobin's shirt was red and Yeonjun's shirt was white.

"Thanks, Soobin! I'll always wear it!" Yeonjun exclaimed, happily hugging the bag to his chest.

On their way out of the store, another ride caught Soobin's eye and he paused, staring. It was one of the tamest rides he had seen so far that wasn't for toddlers.

Beside him, Yeonjun had followed his gaze. "Do you want to go on the carousel?"

Soobin blushed and was about to decline because, surely, Yeonjun would think he was so uncool for wanting to ride a merry-go-round. But, then Yeonjun had grabbed his arm (there was a lot of arm grabbing that day, more than what Soobin was used to) and dragged him to the ride.

The wait wasn't too long so they had managed to get their horses next to each other.

For the first time all day, Soobin was buzzing more from excitement than nerves.

When he was a kid, he and his older sister loved riding the carousel together. They would imagine that they were horseback riders, racing for the finish line.

"Wanna race?" Yeonjun asked from his horse, his expression mischievous as the ride began to move.

Soobin smirked. "You're on."

The ride lasted no more than 5 minutes but Soobin found himself smiling and laughing, anyway. Yeonjun had "won" since his horse had moved ahead when the ride ended and he was currently rubbing it in Soobin's face.

Soobin let him.

And by the end of the day, he was exhausted... but happy. Really happy. It was like a giant weight had left his shoulders. He was feeling lighter and even his head felt clearer.

As Soobin drove Yeonjun home, he let the other re-cap their day, singing along to the radio in between. He was feeling really grateful to Yeonjun for taking a day out of his own stressful life to cheer him up.

He arrived by the bus stop and parked.

"Thanks for today, Soobin," Yeonjun said as he gathered his shopping bags (he bought keychains for his staff, headbands and plush dolls for his nieces and nephews, and a shirt for Yeji).

"No, Yeonjun, thank you." Soobin smiled at him. "You really cheered me up. This was... kind of... a really bad week. And I was probably a killjoy, but I still appreciated it."

"Don't worry about it. You know I'm here for you."

Soobin sighed. "Should I let Ryujin go? Maybe she's right. Maybe she would be happier if... if she had someone else."

Yeonjun's eyes widened. "What? No! Don't give up! You shouldn't give up! You love Ryujin, don't you?"

Did he?

After thinking about their entire marriage, Soobin wasn't really sure anymore.

But, Yeonjun took his silence as a "yes".

"Don't worry, Soobin. Once I get Yeji to fall for me all over again, I can help you with Ryujin. We can do this."

Soobin smiled and before he could stop himself, he reached across the dashboard to wrap Yeonjun in a hug.

"Thank you," he said and he meant it.

He was truly grateful.

When Yeonjun arrived home, Yeji was sitting on the dining table with her laptop. She looked up when he entered.

"Welcome home," she greeted. "How was your day out with your friend?"

Yeonjun walked over to kiss her forehead. "It was good. I think they're feeling better now." He reached into the shopping bag to take out the souvenir shirt he got her. "This is for you."

"Oh, thank you," Yeji took the shirt and pressed it against her. "It's so cute!"

Yeonjun smiled, happy to see Yeji smiling for the first time in days.

He had hated seeing her so sad. His Yeji was always a cheerful woman.

Smiling, Yeji kissed his cheek and stood up. "I'm going to put this away. Let me take that too."

She gestured to the rest of his shopping bags and he handed it to her.

Feeling himself in a better mood, Yeonjun proceeded to heat up some leftovers for their dinner. When Yeji came back out, she set the table.

They sat down for dinner and made small talk. Yeonjun told her about his time at the amusement park, complete with exaggerated gestures that made her laugh and giggle. Maybe next time, he should take her too. They were long overdue for an outing as a couple.

"By the way, I have to go on a research trip in two weeks," Yeji said in between bites.

Yeonjun blinked. "A research trip?"

Yeji nodded. "A new client hired us to do the flower arrangements for her engagement party and there are these specific hybrid flowers that she wants that we don't carry in our shop. She's kind of high profile so our CEO wants me and a colleague to take a trip to a flower farm in Kangyang."

Yeonjun's brow furrowed. "Why Kangyang of all places?"

"They have the conditions for growing the hybrid."

Well, Yeonjun didn't really know much about flower so he would have to take her word for it.

"I'll be gone that entire weekend. You'll be okay by yourself, right?"

Flashing a smile, Yeonjun replied, "Of course. Aren't I, always?"

After dinner, while Yeji did the dishes and Yeonjun wiped down the tables, his phone ping-ed. He picked it up to see a text from Soobin that froze him in his tracks.

"Ryujin just told me she was meeting with a client outside of Seoul in two weeks. Did Yeji say anything to you about a trip?"

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a/n: LOL what do you guys think?

hope you all have a great day/night lovelies 💗