Viridescence | Yunho

༻ 8 ༺

"Why fill your precious time with hatred?"
- Boca by Dreamcatcher

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"Mommy, what are you doing?" The little four year old girl asks her mother. 

It is a fine sunny afternoon, the warm rays of sunlight smiling down on the mother and daughter. While the child stands like a statue exactly one metre away, her mother fidgets with something in her beautiful flower garden outside.

It's peaceful. There is nothing to be heard except for the melodic chirping of the birds paired with the soft whisper of a refreshing summer breeze.

"I'm planting some flowers! Would you like to help me, Jangmi?" The mother turns to her daughter, flashing her a smile full of love. "Yes!" The girl skips over a bit closer. "Which flower are you planting?"

The woman shuffles aside, the grass tickling her ankles. Behind her are a few white roses, bloomed to showcase their full glory. There is a wide gap between the roses and the mother.

"I'm planting white roses! They're my favourite flower," she reminisces. The younger girl's face lights up, challenging the bright sun in the sky. "Is that why you named me after it, mommy? Do you like me better or the roses?" The girl pouts cutely, expecting a serious answer.

"Of course I like you better! You're so pretty, I nearly thought they named the flower after you!" The mother giggles loudly with her child before pulling her into a tight hug. "What's so special about white roses then? Is white your favourite colour?" she asks.

The mother's eyes grow sad as she pulls away from her daughter. She turns to look at her precious flowers again, observing the colour in particular. Memories flash through her mind, some painful. The heat beats down on her scalp, adding extra strain rather than comfort.

"I guess they remind me of someone."

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Jihyun breaks out of her trance with a start. At this point her and Jongho are already at the top of the stairs. Her eyes don't leave the bouquet of white roses that sit bunched together in large frosty green vases on either side of the staircase. It forces some hidden memories to erupt to the surface of her mind. White roses became her favourite flower too after that encounter with her mother that day.

Her gaze finally leaves the flowers and she notices white roses decorating nearly every corner on this floor. The walls are crisp white, and the floor's red plush carpet is replaced by a light pastel green tiling. She notices that the lights are now a bit more humble too, not one crystal chandelier to be seen.

The atmosphere of this floor causes a strange nostalgic feeling to wash over her.

"This floor is quite special for our leader. Hongjoong chose the design for everything here all by himself!" Jongho exclaims. Jihyun nods along, eyes moving down to her crystal clear reflection on the ground. The cleaners really do their job well here.

They travel down the hallway on the smooth ground together in silence, which Jihyun uses to her advantage by concentrating on her surroundings. The walls are no longer empty. Some random abstract paintings are hung up every few metres, however they don't seem very important. One big difference the girl notices though is the presence of windows on this floor.

It's much brighter than the bottom floor, being illuminated by natural light from low morning sun. A smile breaks onto her lips at the sight of the outdoors. Who knows how long it has been since she last got some fresh air.