Flower Boy [Kim Taehyung]

Part 2

  She might as well have yelled his name because Taehyung whipped back around and was up his sidewalk and through his front door with a slam before Rin could even inhale.

            She blinked at his snow-white door.

            "What?" she said.

            "What is it?" Her dad's voice came from right behind her, and Rin spun around in a flutter of nerves.

            "D-don't do that," she sputtered. "You know I hate being snuck up on."

            Her dad's eyes slid from her, then down to the porch.  He pointed. "What are those?"

            Rin looked back down at the bouquet innocently resting on their doormat.  The wind picked up, rustling the loose petals.  Her knees bent on their own accord and her hand closed around the stem of the bouquet.

            "You sure you wanna be touching those?" her dad muttered, but he made no move to grab the flowers out of Rin's hands. "Who put them there?"

            "I... I think Kim Taehyung," Rin said, and an odd jolt went through her at saying his name.  She'd lived across him for six years, gone to school with him all her life, yet just talking about Taehyung felt so foreign on her tongue.

            "Who?"

            She peered down at the flowers, their pink hue even deeper under the house lights. "He lives across the street.  He's in my grade-"

            Her nose twitched.  Rin's muscles locked up, knowing all-too-well what was coming next.

            "Ah...Ah... AHH-CHOO!" Rin doubled over, crushing the flowers between her ribs and stomach.

            Her dad ushered her into the house and closed the door behind them.

            Eyes watering, nose burning, Rin thrust the flowers out to her dad. "Take them."

            Mercifully, he grabbed the flowers, eyes roaming over the whole bouquet.  He chuckled. "Don't tell me he got these for you.  Probably didn't even know you're allergic." He blinked. "Or did he?"

            "How would he?" Rin said, wiping her nose. "We never even tal- ah... ah..."

            Her dad stepped two feet back from her, using the flowers to shield his face.

            Rin blew out a breath of air and grimaced. "False alarm...  I think we're good now."

            Her dad relaxed. "Ah, well, blame your mom for the allergies," he said, then his fingers grazed over the flowers and he went still.  An odd expression crossed her father's face. "Um... I think you'll want this."

            He carefully extracted something within the flowers, pulling out a string attached to a small, folded note.  Rin's nostrils stopped flaring.

            She reached out and pressed the cold paper between her index and thumb, before slowly pulling the card open.  Rin's heart skipped a beat. 

            Two words written in neat handwriting.

            Happy birthday.

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