A Flower's Design

Chapter 3

"Wooyoung.. what are you looking at?" A deep, yet gentle voice spoke. Wooyoung, who had been lost in thought watching a couple with their kids, looked over at the man who sat across from him at the park picnic table and smiled. "Just looking at the people around. Y'know.. maybe one day we will be able to be open about our relationship like that.. and you won't have to hide your identity." He said softly, reaching out and lacing his fingers with the hand of the other man. The man smiled, dimples forming in the middle of both of his cheeks as he pushed his glasses up and fixed them on the bridge of his nose with his free hand. "I hope one day we'll be able to be open with our relationship as well, but that day sadly won't be soon. I still don't trust the public to have a positive opinion about us.. I'm too.. afraid.." The voice admitted, trailing off his words, almost as if he was ashamed of his fear. Wooyoung's eyes held a warm gaze as he let go of the other's hand and reached up, resting his hand on the side of the other man's face, the warm skin being soft to the touch as his thumb gently caressed the apple of his cheek. "You don't have to be afraid.. not as long as I'm here. When the time comes, we will get through it together, no matter what happens. Alright?" He asked, hope fueling his words as he spoke. The man was quiet for a few moments before his hand lifted to rest on top of Wooyoung's, the smile returning to his face.

"Thank you, my Flower.. You know you're everything to me.. and I love you so much.."
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Wooyoung's eyes shot open as he quickly sat up, a cold sweat sticking his shirt to his back and chest as his blurred vision came into focus. He let out a soft groan and ran his hand through his lightly dampened hair, throwing his feet over the side of the bed so he didn't decide to lay back down. He turned his head to look at the window and saw the beginning strips of light peeking through buildings as morning just now began. He looked back forward and rubbed his face with his hands, an exasperated moan of sorts leaving his lips. He could only vaguely remember his dream, but whatever the entirety of it was, it left him unable to go back to sleep.
He decided to just get up early and watch something on the TV while he waited for time to pass, making himself a bowl of cereal and sitting on the couch with the remote in hand. He flipped past different channels and just decided on a simple Disney film to pass the time. As he sat and watched the movie, his thoughts wandered. He thought back to his dream. The little tidbits he could recall were weird. He remembered himself talking to someone. Reaching up to hold someone's face. And the words that resonated the most.. "My Flower.." He repeated the words in a bare whisper. He didn't understand, but figured it was best not to dwell and focused on the movie instead.
When the time passed rather quickly while watching the movie and then deciding to watch another, Wooyoung got up from the couch. However, when he stepped down, he felt a sharp pain shoot up his leg from his ankle, and he winced, lifting his foot off the floor. "Are you kidding me?" He whined, lightly rubbing his ankle to try to soothe the pain. He let out an aggravated grumble and gently set his foot back down, carefully making his way back to his room. He went to his dresser and shuffled around a little bit before finding a roll of athletic tape to try and make it easier to walk by wrapping it around his ankle and foot. It did make it a bit easier after a bit.
The time was now almost noon, after two movies that ran for almost 3 hours each. Wooyoung felt a little lazy, having not done much aside from sitting around, so he grabbed his phone to text Yeosang, asking what he was up to. He didn't get a response immediately, and boredom was eating away at his brain. He laid on his stomach on his bed as he waited for a response when a thought popped into his head. He had forgotten he was meeting with San at 2. Now he had something to keep him occupied: figuring out what the hell he was going to wear. He wasn't sure if he wanted fancy or casual. He wondered what the best option would be that would make the best impression on San.
He went to his closet and shuffled through his plethora of clothing. As he was looking through them, his phone started ringing, and he picked it up again to look at the contact. It was his mom. His expression brightened to a wide smile, and he answered the phone, putting it on speaker so he could continue finding an outfit. "Good morning, Mama!" He greeted her. On the other end, Wooyoung's mom smiled, hearing her son's voice. "Good morning, Woo.. how's your day going so far? Have you eaten yet?" She asked, the warmth in her voice making Wooyoung's heart swell.
He adored talking to his mom. "It's alright so far.. I haven't eaten yet, no, but my ankle hurts. I think I landed wrong during practice yesterday.. so I'm taking it easy today. Oh, and guess what! You know that fancy runway show me and Yeosangie went to? I bumped into the designer who was running the show, and he gave me his personal business card. I think he wants to sign me as a model." He said excitedly. He could hear his mom laughing on the other line. "I already saw some photos of you. And some of my friends were sending me pictures that they saw. How did you end up on the runway?"
Wooyoung felt as if a steel pan smacked him in the face. "Uhh..." He hesitated, knowing that a good scolding awaited him in his very, very near future. "Well, one of the staff members mistook me for a model at the show, and instead of correcting it, I figured why not and joined in on the fun. Yes, I know it wasn't the right thing to do.. I could have gotten in lots of trouble. But the good thing is I didn't. And I got a new potential job!" He attempted to make the situation sound a bit better at the end, waiting for his mom's response.
His mom tisked, shaking her head as she spoke. "You always manage to find your way into troublesome situations.. but I'm not upset. Quite the opposite, actually. I've been getting so many compliments from my friends about how handsome you are and how I seemed to raise you well. And they're all right about that. I raised a stunning young man, and I'm very proud of you." She said, every word carrying the utmost sincerity. Wooyoungs eyes glossed over a little as her words brought forth a lot of emotion. He just smiled as he finally picked out an outfit to wear.
"Thank you, mom.. it means so much to me to hear you say that. But I'm not done yet. I still have so much more I want to do in life to make you proud. And I plan to do everything in my power to make life easier for you so you don't have to keep working so hard. I'm getting ready to go meet with the designer here soon, actually. I'll let you know how it goes afterward, okay?" He said, getting changed into the clothes he picked out. He threw on a fairly oversized white and grey tattered flannel shirt and a pair of black jeans with his black and white sneakers. He figured he would stick with a more monochromatic color scheme. "Alright, dear.. well, good luck with the meeting, and I will talk to you later, alright? I love you, sweetheart." His mom said. "I love you too, Mama. Bye." His voice was almost more childish and cuter when he spoke to his mom. "Goodbye, Wooyoung." And with that, she hung up the call.
Wooyoung was smiling bright as he picked up his phone. It was one of his favorite things to do to talk to his mom. He closed his closet doors and went to sit on the edge of his bed. His ankle was at least feeling a little better, thankfully, but he could still feel small jolts of pain here and there and a faintly lingering ache as he lightly rubbed his ankle to check the athletic tape. After their conversation, the time went on to almost 1 pm. Wooyoung figured he would head to the agency building early just so he made a good impression by being punctual. He got up and put his phone in his back pocket, grabbing the business card from his bedside so he had the address, and made his way out the door.
On his way to the address, his heart began to race. His nerves were on edge, and he could hear a faint ringing in his left ear as his entire being flooded with anxiety. Thoughts rushed in and out of his mind. Was he underdressed? Would he be able to make a good impression? Would he stutter his words or trip over his own two feet? Would his overly simple personal life be too boring for San's liking? He stared blankly at the road as he drove, his lips just barely parted and his hands gripping the steering wheel. Why was he even so anxious? As San's secretary said, he must be a special case for San to want to meet with him personally. But he still couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the whole situation. Maybe being in the spotlight wasn't for him, but that's all he's dreamed about for years, so of course he had to try his hand at it.
From how lost in thought he was, he almost missed his turn into the parking garage of the building and his panicked turn ended up being a little wide, which made his heart drop as he nearly ran over the curb. He quickly pulled into a parking spot and parked his car, a heavy, shaky exhale leaving his lips. "Oh my god.. that would have been terrible.." He muttered, unbuckling his seatbelt and getting out of the car. He walked over to the elevator to the main lobby and pressed the button, stepping inside when the doors opened. As the doors began to close, a woman ran up, asking Wooyoung to hold the doors, which, of course, he stopped the doors from closing to let her in.
"Thank you so much. I'm running a little late back from my break, and my boss would have scolded me if I was any more late than this." She told him, a little out of breath from running. Wooyoung just smiled as the doors closed and the elevator began rising. "It's no problem. I know how it feels to be in a panic from running late. I'm here for a meeting, and I made sure to be early just in case." He explained, leaning against the wall of the elevator. The woman looked at him, and a smile appeared on her face. "Are you, by chance, Jung Wooyoung?" She asked, eyes filled with interest. Wooyoung nodded in response. "Yea, are you Choi San's secretary? I knew your voice sounded familiar." He said, his nerves beginning to calm now that he had someone to chat with.
The two continued to chat, and the woman introduced herself as Hwang Yeji. The elevator stopped at the main lobby floor, and Yeji took Wooyoung on a mini tour of the lobby area before the two went to another elevator that led to the higher floors. She asked to know more about Wooyoung, like hobbies and interests, and Wooyoung was happy to answer any questions she had as they went to the floor where San's office was. Upon arriving to the floor, Wooyoung's eyes glimmered at the sight before him.
The internal design was beautiful. A monochromatic, modern design with splashes of color scattered around, but not in a messy way. There were photos on the walls of different outfits and models, and even some sketches, it seemed like, were printed into larger pictures to be framed. Yeji walked further into the area towards where her desk seemed to be and set her purse down on a little rack behind the desk. She looked at Wooyoung and smiled, gesturing to the nice futon that was in the waiting area. "If you'd like to wait here, I'll go make sure that Mr. Choi knows that you're here." She said before turning a corner towards what looked like glass walls from what Wooyoung could see.
As Wooyoung sat down on the futon, he quietly looked around to admire the photos on the walls. He couldn't deny that San was an amazing talented designer. Most people would kill for an opportunity to work for him or even get a personal meeting with him, and Wooyoung himself just so happened to be lucky enough to get that by doing absolutely nothing other than being himself. The room was quiet, save for soft music that played over the ceiling speakers. The quiet was a little ominous, though. The empty room started to feel smaller and smaller. Wooyoung began to fiddle with his sleeves and looked down at the floor, trying to shake the anxiety that ate away at his core. He didn't know exactly why he was feeling so nervous. It was only a meeting, but somehow, it felt way more intense and important than what it really was.
As his breathing and heart rate picked up, Wooyoung heard footsteps echoing from the hallway that Yeji disappeared into. His anxiety spiked. This was it. He needed to calm down. His hands gripped tight at his shirt sleeves, and his left foot began tapping uncontrollably. The footsteps grew closer and closer, and Wooyoung took a deep, trembling breath as he stood up, wanting to be more presentable. His mind was a mess, thoughts going every which way, overlapping into a chaotic frenzy of words that mixed together into static. It was only when that oh so familiar, gentle, and yet deeply toned voice spoke that he was broken away and saved from his own mindset.

"Wooyoung, it's nice to see you again. Are you alright? You don't look too well.." Wooyoung felt a sudden pang of realization. The man from his dream this morning felt familiar, and he couldn't quite place who it was until now upon hearing the same voice. He had been dreaming about San?! His head felt light, he couldn't breathe, and he collapsed back into a sitting position onto the futon. All he could hear were people calling his name and muffled voices talking in front of him, but his eyes were closed, and after a few moments, he heard nothing.