Tulips and Roses

Chapter 7, dinner date

They had gone to Jisoo's car, Rosie had arrived on the bus. Though it took a while to explain to the slightly intoxicated Rosie that no, Jisoo would not be driving drunk, Rosie eventually realised that the CEO had someone to drive for her. With the pang of a new idea, the florist had almost immediately run over to the driver as he got out of the car, whispering something into his ear. With a quick nod, he opens the back door, allowing Rosie and Jisoo to hop in.

Though this more confident side was something Jisoo was not used to seeing from her florist, she found herself warming to it rather quickly. Attaching her seatbelt, Jisoo turned to Rosie, "Where are we going?"

Rosie smiled, "It's a secret," She reached over to Jisoo, removing her Rose pin, "You won't be needing that anymore."

Jisoo felt a small smile form on her face, "Are you going to keep it?"

Rosie stared at the pin thoughtfully, a couple moments passed by, "No."

"Give it back then," Jisoo held out her hand, "It's mine."

Instead of the pin, Rosie, placed her hand into Jisoo's. The business woman awkwardly accepted. Rosie intertwined her fingers, "I'll make you a new one."

Unable to respond, Jisoo curtly nodded her head. She stared at their hands for a moment, feeling the excitement she had been trying to avoid flood through her, she knew this was not good. Jisoo turned to looked over at Rosie who was staring out a window. Despite her self control, she found herself catching Rosie's eyes in the reflection, Jisoo winked, causing the florist to blush.

Finally too self conscious at her own corny antics, Jisoo released her hand, "Did you manage to get all your orders through for the hall?"

Deflated, Rosie responds, "Y-yeah, they're all through."

The two returned to their silence, Jisoo silently cursing to herself. How much could a little intimacy actually hurt? She thought, but she already knew the answer.

Soon, the car stopped on a quiet street. Almost instantly, Rosie hopped out, Jisoo following suit, muttering a quick thank you to her driver. She knew that this area definitely had not been reviewed by her company, in fact, every shop and restaurant there looked like a small business operation. She found it surprisingly comforting, reminding her of the quiet world she once belonged to, a world she had not cared to think of in a while.

She looked over to see Rosie entering a grungy restaurant. Following her, she tried her best to avoid touching anything, not knowing if this place abided by any health code. The inside was just as she expected.

The restaurant followed a dark brown and green pallete. Scratches and torn booths lined the walls to the right and left. The centre was filled with metal tables. Jisoo surveyed the stains on the walls and floors, accounting for the old flower-like lights, and decided that the establishment simply had not be redone in some time, or deep cleaned. Not to mention, the patrons currently in the establishment showed no interest in her whatsoever, something she liked.

Seeing Rosie at the counter, she took a seat in a relatively okay looking booth where the florist could see her. She took out her phone, noticing a few missed calls from some company executive. She wondered what that could be about.

Rosie sat in the booth opposite her. As Jisoo put her phone away, Rosie took out her own, holding up the screen for her to look at. Taking a look, Jisoo saw a small article from a couple years ago, that article. The one people know her for.

"Miss Kim, strong business woman, caught in local gay bar in uptown Seoul." Rosie recited.

"Miss Kim," Jisoo sighed. "How long have you known?"

"I read the article when it came out," She smiled softly, "I couldn't believe it was you until you told me your name."

Suddenly, everything fell into place with her; the original shyness she displayed at the very beginning, her pushiness to meet with her there after, and her confidence emerging as of now. She had expected Jisoo to come to her meeting with Lisa. Come to think of it, Rosie never even agreed to do the project until Jisoo said she could remain in contact. Jisoo was rather touchy at the start, but that was mostly to appease Lisa, right?

Jisoo raised an eyebrow, "Are you a fan?"

"No," Rosie replied abruptly, "It's nothing like that."

It was at that moment, a server brought over the food. Rosie certainly was not a stalker, having ordered her a burger. She wondered if the people here would throw her out if she ate it with a fork and knife.

The two girls were lulled into silence from this, slowly devouring their food which was surprisingly good. Eventually, Rosie finished and Jisoo was not far behind her. Taking a sip of her water, Rosie asked, "How did you come to be?"

"Excuse me?"

Rosie shifted a little, "How are you a CEO? You must only be a couple years older than me."

It was a story Jisoo did not like to share, though not disgusting by nature, she found herself to be quite sleazy. She swallowed another bite of her burger, "It's embarrassing."

For the first time since they arrived, Rosie smiled, "How embarrassing, Miss Kim?"

Against her own will, Jisoo felt a smile creep onto her own face, "I don't know, why where you so shy when we first met, Miss Park?"

"Touché."