stosuh for the soul

four: bloom (edited)

Hosuh can agree that the flowers in the Ng’s florist are beautiful, but that's not what he’s there for. 

He’s actually only there for the attractive florist boy who manages the shop, who's just as beautiful as the flowers that surround him. Right now, he’s bathed under the soft yellow lights in the flower shop, smiling as he sorts through the cosmos flowers. 

Hosuh only watches from afar. He doesn’t need flowers, not right now. 

Perhaps he'll need them later.

He has no idea what on earth it is, but something is dragging him, slowly but surely, towards that forsaken flower shop.

With its exterior decorated in a sleek, minimalist style and the subtle addition of  lush green leaves here and there, fairy lights hanging among the diverse, delicate blooms and carefully potted plants, it was no wonder that the shop attracted many young couples. The shop probably saw more couples on Valentine’s than any other day, but simply thinking about Valentines made him want to puke. The boy inside saw him, and Hosuh looked away, continuing on till he reached the cafe next door. He picked a seat outside that faced the flower shop, ordered a tall glass of iced jasmine tea and a yuzu cake before taking the opportunity to do some people watching.

 It was a tiny shop, standing at around three quarters the height of the regular stores, but this didn’t stop the crowds of people that flocked into the store.

He wonders how the interior of a store that small manages to look so large when one stepped in. 

Hosuh watches the couples walking in and out of the shop while nursing his sweating glass of tea. The couples, who promised each other they were their forever, the couples who wrote sappy love letters filled with statements like “if you’re the waves in the ocean, i will be your rock,” “i love you forever, from the moon and back and maybe twice more,” and the couples who proclaimed their love for each other with big grand gestures.  

Exhibit A, the flustered boy asking the florist what flowers he should get for his girlfriend. Or perhaps Exhibit B, a young teen and their girlfriend picking out deep red carnations, and delicate pink wax flowers. Maybe even Exhibit C, the girl walking out of the store holding what seemed like two dozen roses. Hopefully they were dethorned. 

Hosuh envied them. They had their lives figured out. 

He gave up on trying to stop himself, allowing himself to step in and was greeted by the contrasting coolness, calling a greeting to the owner. She sent a smile back, beckoning him to go further inside. As the floral and grassy notes infiltrated his nose, he walked to an isolated portion of the store, looking through the pear blossoms, calla lilies, and jasmines that unsurprisingly had all piqued his interest. 

At the corner of his eye, he catches sight of the purple haired male, seemingly scolding someone over something. He pretended not to see, but that had failed as he realized the boy was staring back at him.

Abruptly (and almost all too soon), he forced his gaze away and brought his attention back to the flowers, taking his time to pick out jasmines, bluebells and forget-me-nots. Perhaps he could catch the purple-haired beauty at the counter. Heading to the counter while carefully balancing the three bundles of flowers, he could see that the boy was staring at the floor in order to avoid looking at him.

“Gav, could you get the counter please? I need to check the stock of periwinkles!" The flower shop boy suddenly yelled, raising his head for a moment to address his brother. He abruptly turned tail and ran all the way to what Hosuh assumed was, indeed, the backroom.