A Flower's Design

Chapter 2

The morning sun began to peek over the horizon, casting a soft, golden glow across the sleeping cityscape. A few wispy clouds float lazily, catching the first light and turning shades of soft peach and lavender and small silhouettes of birds fluttered across the sky. 6 in the morning rolled around a lot quicker than Wooyoung had thought, and his phone alarm blared just loud enough to stir him from his slumber. The sun was still merely hinting over the skyline, and a few rays of light seeped through the slight openings between the window curtains. With a small groan as he awoke, shifting under the warm blankets, Wooyoung's eyes opened ever so slightly to glance to his phone. He reached over and pressed the button to stop the alarm, his eyes fluttering shut again for what only felt like 10 minutes.
The moment he finally decided to open his eyes for the day, the sun at its peak shone bright through his windows, casting a vibrant glow over him. Reaching over and grabbing his phone to check the time, he realized six hours had passed, and it was already high noon. In a panicked frenzy, Wooyoung threw his blanket off of him and got up out of bed, almost losing his footing as he scrambled to get himself ready for the day after waking up so late. He dialed Yeosang's number, throwing on a plain black t-shirt with a pair of loose grey sweats, black slides, and a white ball cap. Nothing too fancy. Once Yeosang finally picked up, Wooyoung asked him what time everyone got to the studio and what the plan was today. "I texted you, but I guess you haven't seen it yet. We decided to meet up later at four instead of nine because Yunho had a few family things to attend at ten, so he wouldn't be able to make it so early. Did you just wake up? Have you had too much fun last night you couldn't sleep?" Yeosang teased, he himself running a few errands during his free time.
Wooyoung just offered an amused laugh, finally heading out the door with his phone on speaker so he could hear Yeosang better. "You have no idea. It took me forever to try and sleep. It's still crazy thinking about what happened." He said, clicking his key fob to unlock his car. The two chatted for a bit longer before they said their goodbyes, and the call ended. Wooyoung set his phone on its platform in his car so he could drive without any distractions, and he made his way out to his usual spot for what was supposed to be his early morning workout. As he slowed to a stop at a red light, he just so happened to pass by a section of large video screens on a building. With a slight glance turned to double-take, he made eye contact with himself. Seeing himself in such a way brought a smile to his face, a sense of pride and confidence swelling deep in his chest. The screen changed through a pretty colored gradient, and his eyes now connected with one's all too familiar.
The next image was of that charming, sophisticated man he came across the night before. In the photo, San sported a stunning white suit, adorned with a white flower made from frilly fabric pinned to the chest above his heart. Wooyoung was lost in his gaze. He knew it was just a photo, but he could feel the emotion in the image just through looking at his eyes. So expressive. So sharp. So alluring... A loud honk of a car horn startled Wooyoung from his thoughts, and he faced forwards to see the light had turned green. He quickly let go of the brake pedal to continue driving, his hands now tightly clenched around the steering wheel from the shock of the car beeping at him. It was always something that could alarm anyone into a state of silent focus. He continued down a few more roads to his destination, pulling into a parking spot with acute precision and parking his car.
A heavy sigh escaped his lips and he leaned back against his seat, looking out into the clear baby blue sky that blanketed a small park by the Han river where he went on his runs in the morning. 'I have to stop that..' He thought to himself as he grabbed his phone and finally got out of his car, putting the keys, after locking it, in his pocket and heading over to a nicely shaded area to start his run. Putting his earbuds in to play some music, he scrolled through his playlists to find one that fit his mood, opting for a more upbeat and happy playlist. He put his phone back in his pocket and began his run.

Hours passed before Wooyoung finally made it home to grab his duffle bag to head to the dance studio to meet up with everyone. He went into his room, putting his phone on the charger while he changed into some gym shorts to keep cool. When he went back to check his phone percentage, his eyes caught the subtle glimmer of the black business card that was on the stand. He picked it up and looked at it, reading the number that was printed on in gold lettering, and decided to call it to schedule a meeting. He figured it was better to try his hand at it sooner than later. The line rang a few times before a sweet sounding woman, probably a secretary, picked up. "Thank you for calling, Mr. Choi's office. How can I help you today?"
Wooyoung hesitated for only a moment before responding. "Yes, hi.. my name is Jung Wooyoung, and I was calling to schedule a meeting, I guess, with Mr. Choi? He gave me his business card and told me to contact him.." He said, a little bit uncertain. The woman was quiet for a good few moments and politely asked Wooyoung to stay on the line so she could confirm what he said just for safety reasons. As the hold music played, a flurry of doubt washed over him, and he started getting anxious as he paced around his bedroom. What if San had just been nice to him that night and didn't really want to sign him? What if he was just embarrassing himself by calling and would never be able to show his face to the world ever again? What if-
"Sorry about that, Mr. Jung, I just have to make sure sometimes. But yes, Mr. Choi said he's available tomorrow at 2 pm, if that works for you? He would love to meet with you to chat as soon as possible. If not tomorrow, we can figure out a day that works better." She told him. Wooyoung felt his worries wash away like words in the sand as a wave of water passed over. "Tomorrow is perfect, actually.. Um.. is there a specific dress code for the building, by chance? I just want to make sure I look my best but not go to overboard. Do you have any advice?" He asked, hoping he didn't sound dumb by asking a secretary how to talk to her boss.
The woman simply laughed a little and explained to him that San would prefer if he were to just be himself. He didn't like it when people changed who they were just to get a better deal on things or just to look better. He wanted authenticity, not a forced image. Wooyoung soaked up the words like sponge and nodded as he listened. When she finished, he politely thanked her. "You're very welcome. And just so you know, Mr. Choi is rare to just hand out his personal business cards. He only hands out the ones for the company itself. You must be of very much interest to him, and I myself am excited to meet you. I hope you have a wonderful day, Mr. Jung." And with that, the call ended.
Her words stuck to his brain like a tack, sharp and precise, and spiking his ego like no other. He felt pride bubbling up in his chest as he thought about how San figured he was special enough to give him a personal business card. "I feel like I'm in a fairy tale.." He said under his breath, putting his phone back onto the charger to continue gathering his things. On his way out the door, he made sure to grab the business card and put it in his back pocket so he could show it to the other guys and tell them about what happened. He texted the group chat, telling them he was on his way, and started his car.
When he arrived at the studio, he walked in to see everyone already in the midst of their stretches. He greeted them and set his bag down. "You're glowing, Woo." Is the first thing Yunho said to him. Wooyoung's cheeks flushed a very faint shade of pink, and he went over to the others. "I'm just excited, is all. Did Yeosang tell you guys what happened yet?" He asked. "Yea, but we didn't expect you to look like the vampires from Twilight about it." Minho said with a laugh as he stretched his legs while sitting on the floor. Wooyoung rolled his eyes. "I'm not glowing all like that.. am i?"
He turned to Yeosang, who just smiled at him. "Okay, maybe I am! I'm just excited about it it's such a good opportunity." He said with a huff. Felix piped up in a teasing manner. "Are you sure it's not because that Choi San designer caught your eye? Yeosang told us how you looked after you met him. Eyes in a daze, the tips of your ears were red. Hmm?" Wooyoung yet again turned his gaze to Yeosang, who now wore a playfully apologetic look. "It's true. You looked like you were swooning. It was adorable." Wooyoung felt the heat rise to his cheeks, and he did his best not to pout. "Well- yea, he's attractive, but I'm not going to thirst over him when he's my potential boss.." He crossed his arms, the others just laughing at his reaction to their taunts.
"Don't worry, Woo, it's just nice to see you finally having feelings for once. You've been single for what feels like forever." Yunho chimed in as he grabbed his water. Wooyoung gave him a look, in which he just returned with a cheeky smile. Wooyoung then sighed, sitting on the floor as he began to stretch his legs. "Even if any feeling do come up, it's not like I can act on them. Do you know how inappropriate and messed up that'd be? He kindly offers me an amazing job, and I start flirting with him. I could never." He said with a small grunt as he reached over to hold his foot, stretching out his side and his leg.
The room was quiet as the friends continued to stretch before their practice. They all had their own separate thoughts, but figured it was best to leave the subject be for now. Wooyoung, however, was now lost in thought. He wondered if, in the future, would he even be able to have a chance? Maybe San would be nice enough to give him a chance.. or maybe it wasn't worth the embarrassment and possible loss of his potentially brand new job. Wooyoung shook his head a little at his own thoughts. It wouldn't be worth it, and he knew that fact all too well.
As the sun finally disappeared behind the line of the horizon, and the faint glow against the skyscrapers fell to darkness, streetlights began to illuminate the bustling roads. Wiping away his sweat from his forehead and the back of his neck with a towel, Wooyoung grabbed his duffle bag, getting ready to leave. They practiced a little too intensely today, and he was already starting to feel the ache. Yunho noticed Wooyoung's expression and went over to him, setting a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright, Woo?" He asked, expression laced with concern. Wooyoung glanced up and gave a curt nod. "Yea, I think so. But my right ankle is starting to hurt a little bit. I might've landed wrong on a jump or something.." He said, taking a sip from his water bottle.
Yunho's gaze went from his face to his ankle and back up to meet his eyes. "Well, if you did do something, how about you take it easy for the next few days, okay? I'll let the guys know. You go ahead and leave first." He patted his shoulder. Wooyoung smiled, holding out his fist, in which Yunho fist bumped him and smiled as well. "Thanks, Yunnie. I'll see you later. Tell the guys I said bye." He said before he made his way out to his car. He hoped he hadn't done anything too crazy to mess up his ankle. Especially since he was meeting with San tomorrow. How embarrassing would that be if he showed up limping or in crutches. Wooyoung shook his head at the thought and got into his car, starting the engine and pulling out of the parking lot. As he drove, he thought about how San's secretary mentioned it was rare for him to hand out personal business cards. Was he really that interested in having him as a model? He felt a sense of pride yet again, a smile forming on his lips. He couldn't deny it boosted his ego a little.
As Wooyoung settled into bed later that night, he thought of things to talk about or potential questions San might have for him. He wanted to be prepared. He made little notes in the memos app of his phone, listing questions and answers so he had them as a just-in-case. Once he felt satisfied with his list, he shut his phone off and set it on the charger, yawning and laying his head back. His anxiety about the meeting tomorrow was pushed to the back of his mind as he felt sleep take over, and his eyelids became heavy rather quickly, finally falling shut.