Chrysanthemum & Gloxinia \ hyukhae
Chrysanthemum & Gloxinia | Hyukhae | PG, fluff, slight angst | Oneshot -4,900~
Disclaimer: Nothing is moine.
I hold out my hand but I can't touch you. I keep remembering your smiling face under the sunlight. {sj's mid-season}
Notes: lol flower!au bye (long ass a/n at the end)
Chrysanthemums. Little chrysanthemums.
He observed his surroundings. Everything looked so new, everything looked so peculiar to him. Had everything been like this? Had they ever changed? He was not so sure. After all, this was the first time for him to see this new kind of vicinity.
He could not quite remember when he came into existence and where he came from.
He stopped observing the things which he found interesting when he heard a very distinct sound. What was that? He pondered on the sound, trying to acknowledge the sound with his very little and limited knowledge. He frowned.
“Uncle! I’m leaving now. Is there anything else?” who was that? Uncle? Who? He was lost.
“Donghee-ah, wait a minute!” he saw a huge long object, with another two thinner objects attached respectively to their upper part and lower part. One round object was on top of it. ‘Ah, human,’ the little chrysanthemum thought to himself, chuckling.
‘Hey! Put me down!’ he complained, whining at the human who was scooping him into his palm.
“Donghee-ah. Take these chrysanthemum’s seeds to that eccentric Kim,” the old human said while putting him in a small transparent plastic. “That florist might like them.”
That Donghee-human (this human was quite plump, the little mums chuckled to himself) laughed. “Heechul. Kim Heechul, uncle,” Donghee said, taking the packed seeds from his uncle and stuffed it into his chest pocket.
‘Hey, hey! It’s dark. I can’t see anything!’
-
“Hyung! New delivery!” Donghee practically shouted when he entered the nursery, carrying a small board with papers clipped on them.
“Yah, yah. Learn some manners. My babies are still asleep,” a tall and lean male came out from the small door’s frame, apron neatly wrapped around his body. Donghee snorted and mumbled a playful ‘good morning’ to the plants in the nursery.
Heechul and Donghee exchanged greetings and proceeded with their weekly routines of dealing with stuffs for nursery. Fertilizers, soil and other various plant supplements. Checked.
“Ah, hyung!” Donghee reached into his chest pocket and pulled out a small packaging.
Heechul was already smiling. He picked up the transparent plastic and scrutinized at the small seeds. “Chrysanthemum,” he said. Donghee just nodded.
“Uncle said you might like it.”
“They’re cute. Say thanks to uncle. Do tell him to come and visit this eccentric nephew of his sometimes. I bet my nursery looks grand compared to his old garden,” Heechul flicked away a few strands of his hair. Donghee just chuckled and collected the board he brought with him earlier before heading towards the entrance of the nursery.
“See you next week, hyung.”
Heechul waved at retreating man who was climbing into a lorry, the small chrysanthemum’s seeds were still clutched carefully in his palm.
-
“Hello little sweetheart,” Heechul cooed sweetly to the small seeds.
‘Eh? New human,’ he wanted to squirm his way out of this human’s palms but it felt so comfortable here.
“I’ll take good care of you until you blossom into beautiful chrysanthemums, okay?” this new human had a pretty long hair. He looked like a… that one animal with four legs and fur and sharp eyes. Cut? Cot? Ah, cat! He looked like a cat.
He was then settled into a small pot filled with well-drained soil and other plant supplements that were supposedly to do good to him. It felt even nicer here!
Heechul smiled at the newly potted plant. He scribbled something on small sticky paper before pasting in on the small brown pot. The little chrysanthemums should bloom into a beauty when fall arrived.
Heechul carried the small pot and placed it on the shelf, finding the perfect place for the little mums to receive enough direct sunlight. It was next to a small baby daisy.
‘Hey, daisy! Hi! I’m chrysanthemum!’ he chirped happily at the young white flower in the small pot next to him.
“Hello, Leeteuk!” Heechul picked up the daisy and carefully brushed his finger on the small petal. “How are you?” he smiled, giggling to himself when he saw the small flower waver slightly due to the soft blow of his breath. “Oh, look! I brought a new friend for you. Let’s call him…”
“Heechul-ah!” a small, shrill voice interrupted Heechul and his little conversation with the two babies of his.
“Aish, this little witch! What is it, Dambi?” he shouted back in reply.
“Customer!”
“Okay, okay! Be there in two minutes!” he turned his attention back on the little daisy. “Hm, let’s call him Donghae! Is it okay?”
“Kim Heechul!”
Heechul quickly and gingerly put down the small pot and looked at his two babies, leaning down and closer at Leeteuk, whispering softly,
“Take care of Donghae, okay, Teukie?”
“KIM HEECHUL!”
“Ugh, coming!”
-
“Heechul!”
“Dambi, tone it down,” Heechul glared at the petite girl standing next to the shelf which held variety of flowers and plants in small pots.
“Heechul! Come here!”
“Dam-oh my god! My baby is growing up!” Heechul literally squealed, followed by Dambi who was making some unidentified noises at the small mums. Heechul scooped the small pot into his hands and looked at it with wide eyes.
Donghae looked at these two humans weirdly. What were they getting worked up at? Heechul put down the brown pot on the shelf back.
‘Uhm, hi?’
Donghae heard a small, soft sound. Not from these two loud humans, but from something beside him. He looked around and saw a young daisy. White and pretty.
Donghae smiled at the daisy, moving his tiny leaves to make out a greeting gesture. The daisy swayed a little, grinning back at Donghae.
‘You are so pretty!’ Donghae said happily, beaming. Donghae noticed that the two humans had retreated back to the counter.
‘Thank you, Donghae! You are cute, too!’ Leeteuk replied at the sweet little mums. ‘Are you feeling well?’
Donghae nodded, he liked this daisy. He was so nice and pretty. ‘Thank you for looking after me,’ the small mums kind of blushed while saying it. Donghae heard Leeteuk chuckle and the daisy called him cute one more time.
Before Donghae or Leeteuk could prolong their little chat, the two small flowers saw two humans approach them. One of them looked new to Donghae.
‘I know the new human!’ Leeteuk whispered. ‘He’s nice! His name is Hyukjae. Heechul’s best friend.’
Donghae merely nodded at what Leeteuk told him. He almost whimpered when the new human crouched down and took a closer look at him. The new human’s breath was fanning over Donghae’s tiny leaves.
“Christmum?”
“Chrysanthemum, stupid,” Heechul whipped the back of the new human’s head.
Donghae let out a small laughter when the new human pout at the florist. ‘Cute.’
‘Hyukjae is really cute, isn’t he?’ Leeteuk also giggled at those two best friends’ interaction.
“Is it hard to take care of this crisemum?”
Donghae and Leeteuk giggled again at Hyukjae’s another wrong pronunciation.
“Chry-san-the-mum, idiot!”
“Yah! Be nice to your customer,” Hyukjae brushed the back of his head after getting the second whip from Heechul.
-
‘No! I don’t want to go. Teukie, help me!’ Donghae wailed. Leeteuk looked at Donghae sympathetically but he could not do anything. Heechul had already packed Donghae and his pot into a medium sized plastic bag.
“Take good care of Donghae,” Heechul said, eyes darting straight into Hyukjae’s.
“Yeah, yeah. I will,” Hyukjae scoffed at the name of the plant. This florist friend of his surely had a weird method of naming his plants. “I will take a good care of Donghae. Can I call you anytime if I need help on Donghae?” Hyukjae added a small cheeky smile at the end of his sentence.
“Sure,” Heechul’s lips curled sweetly, “but not at two in the freaking morning, dumbass! I almost flew to your place and choked you to death,” the glare from the florists was directed straight on the chuckling guy.
Hyukjae picked up the bag containing the little chrysanthemums and waved at Heechul before leaving the nursery.
“Expect my calls tonight, hyung!”
“Yah bastard, get out!”
-
‘Let me out, let me out!’ Donghae chanted from inside the plastic bag. He assumed that they had already arrived at the destination they were heading to because he felt the man -Hyukjae- place the plastic bag on a hard and flat surface.
Hyukjae cautiously took out the small pot from the bag and settled it on top of the table. He also picked out all the companion plant supplements that Heechul had given along to him and laid them all on the table next to the flower pot.
He tapped his finger on his lips, looking at the scattered gardening stuffs and the small chrysanthemums on the table. “So, Donghae,” he pulled a chair and sat on it, “welcome to your new home!”
Donghae squeaked in delight when he saw Hyukjae smile. The smile looked and felt like sunlight. So bright, so nice and so fresh. He loved it instantaneously.
‘Hello, Hyukjae!’ he chirped gleefully.
“Hey little Donghae, you know what? You could have some friends here but Sora noona just had to take Jessica to her place,” Hyukjae pouted and Donghae giggled softly, “but I’ll let you meet Jessica one day. She’s so pretty! Her colour is so bright and fierce. She’s kind of scary at the first glance but you will instantly fall in love with her!”
Okay, who was this Jessica? Another human? No. Donghae did not want to meet another human. Hyukjae could not meet another human!
“Ah, she’s a rose! So pretty,” Hyukjae’s lips twitched and the pink gums peeked out once again. Ah, Donghae liked this human and Donghae could not wait to meet Jessica, too!
-
Donghae had been staying with Hyukjae for quite some time already and Hyukjae was taking care of him nicely. Sometimes Hyukjae would approach him with a rectangular device (Hyukjae used this device lots of time, Donghae noticed) and put it next to his pot. Later on, he would hear a small, disrupted voice from the device.
“Heechul-hyung, you can speak now.”
‘Heechul? Heechul! Where is Heechul? I can’t see Heechul!’ Donghae frowned when he failed to locate Heechul’s presence.
“Hello, Donghae!”
‘Heechul, I can’t see you!’
“Oh baby, how are you doing? Are you growing up well? Has Hyukjae been taking good care of you?”
“Yah, hyung!” Hyukjae interrupted.
Donghae pouted. He could not see Heechul! But he wanted to tell Heechul that yes; he’s growing up very well because Hyukjae took a really good care of him.
A few minutes later, Donghae was left alone when Hyukjae picked up the small rectangular device and resumed the call somewhere else in the house.
Donghae looked at himself. His leaves are getting bigger and he had turned brighter than the first day Hyukjae had brought him home. His petals were blooming too! Ah, so exciting!
-
“Hyung, do I need to move Donghae into a new pot? He’s growing larger and it seems like he’s too big for the small pot. Oh, I think, Donghae is the daisy mums. He has a row of petals around a centre, just like the baby daisy at your place, Leeteuk, is it?”
Heechul hummed on the other line. “Ah, it’s almost fall already. Take note that chrysanthemums bloom the best in fall. So yes, I suppose we can give Donghae a new place? Do you want to do it by yourself?”
“I see. Nope, I’ll give Sora noona a call and see if she can make it to my house tomorrow? She’s been keeping Jessica to herself and I haven’t seen the princess since the last time noona came here,” Heechul chuckled over the phone and he could picture Hyukjae pouting childishly while saying it.
“Let me know at what time she’s coming. I’ll drop by. I need to see how my baby mums are doing.”
Hyukjae snorted into the call and it had Heechul scolding him about manners when speaking to older people.
“Yeah, like you have one, hyung.”
“Lee Hyukjae, I’m so going to bury you along when we plant Donghae at his new place. Watch out, primate!”
They both laughed over the line and Heechul hung up on him when a new customer arrived.
-
Donghae heard a loud knock on the door. Was someone coming to visit Hyukjae?
‘Yah, keep it down!’ Donghae screamed at whoever was knocking at the door.
“Yah, yah! Noona! Are you crazy, banging on other people’s door like a madwoman that you already are?!” Hyukjae shouted from his bedroom, walking out of the room with a small towel dangling around his neck and dressed comfortably in t-shirt and sweatpants. He slipped into his slipper and ambled lazily towards the door before opening the wooden door to reveal a petite young woman, hugging a small pot of red roses in her arms.
The young lady slipped into another pair of slippers and scurried over to Donghae’s place. She watchfully placed the light brown pot next to Donghae before pulling Donghae’s pot closer to her.
“Oh my god!” this young woman literally squealed in Donghae’s small petals. “These mums of yours are so cute! What’s the name?” she grinned and Donghae noticed the resemblance of her smile with Hyukjae’s. Hyukjae’s sister?
“Donghae, Sora-noona.”
Her eyes brightened at the new information and she returned back to gushing on how cute and delicate Donghae was.
“Donghae, you are so so so cute! Anyway, meet my beautiful roses, Jessica!” Sora hauled the small pot beside Donghae and put them two closer.
‘Hi, Donghae! I’m Jessica!’ the roses exclaimed happily at Donghae. Her bright petals were so gorgeous. Her thorns looked rather scary but her overall appearance made you fall in love with her hopelessly. Donghae already liked this new friend.
‘H-Hi. I’m Donghae. It’s nice to meet you, Jessica!’
Donghae swore the two new friends; Sora and Jessica squealed on daily basis. Jessica also squealed at Donghae and kept calling him cute.
‘Donghae! You are so cute and tiny. Adorable!’ Jessica giggled and cooed to Donghae.
“Okay you two; let’s wait for Heechul-hyung first. He’ll come here soon,” Hyukjae squatted down so that his face was on the same level as the two pots.
Before Hyukjae could stand up back, Sora jumped onto his younger brother’s back and squeezed the younger man like a teddy bear.
“Aww, Hyukkie! I missed you so much! How has my baby brother been doing? Is he behaving well, Donghae?” Sora peeped from Hyukjae’s shoulder and looked at Donghae.
Donghae just grinned and Jessica chortled at these two siblings. Hyukjae groaned and attempted to remove Sora from his back but failed miserably. Sora just laughed his younger brother.
Heechul arrived at Hyukjae’s apartment a few minutes later with a new pot and the other gardening stuffs and tools.
Heechul picked up Donghae and eyed the chrysanthemums thoroughly. Donghae liked it when Heechul was doing that to him because Heechul seemed like he knew what he was doing and he was so nice after all.
“Is there something wrong with Donghae? Is he infected?” Hyukjae quipped, looking at Donghae the same way Heechul was doing earlier. Donghae chuckled when Hyukjae made a funny face, clearly having no idea of what he’s doing right now.
“Nah, nothing. Just checking up on the growth of his roots. They are looking fine. Donghae is a healthy chrysanthemum.”
Hyukjae heaved out a relief sigh and Heechul smiled fondly at him. “Just take good care of him and he’ll be fine, okay?” Hyukjae nodded at the florist.
Heechul carefully picked Donghae out of his old pot while Sora was digging out a small hole on the soil in the new pot. The florist put down the mums into the new bigger pot and Hyukjae helped Heechul transfer some of soil from the old pot into the new one.
“Donghae, you look better and prettier here! My baby grows up so well,” Heechul leaned closer to the flower and kissed the petal softly. Donghae giggled due to the ticklish feel of Heechul’s lips.
‘Thank you, Heechul, Hyukjae and Sora! It feels better here,’ Donghae looked around and spotted his old pot beside his new one. This new pot gave him more spaces for his roots to grow. Nevertheless he was still thankful to his old pot. That’s where he initially grew up. ‘Thank you, old pot!’ he murmured quietly to the old brown pot.
Donghae watched the three humans left the shelf he and Jessica were on and they were heading into the kitchen.
‘Tea time,’ Jessica told him. Donghae ohh-ed at her.
‘We can have our sun-time too! Ah, the sun today is so nice! Heechul gave me some water too today,’ Jessica said happily, the petals of hers were titled towards the beams of light and the two flowers basked in the great sunlight.
-
Donghae was growing up fast; his daisy-like petals were blooming into full blossom. Fall was at its peak. His brownish orange petals matched the fallen golden leaves. They were so pretty.
Although fall was doing well to Donghae, he was not quite happy. Hyukjae had not been talking to him recently. The man was either on the phone or locked in his room. He did not quite remember what Hyukjae’s work was but the young man was rather busy this fall.
He had not listened to Heechul’s voice through the small device anymore since the last time Heechul visited him to change his pot.
Fall was Donghae’s month but he did not like it. Everyone was ignoring him. Donghae wanted to ask Hyukjae if Jessica could come over but Hyukjae was too busy to notice his loneliness.
Even though Hyukjae’s schedule was hectic, he still never failed to water Donghae and provided him with enough supplements. But still,
Donghae wanted a non-busy Hyukjae.
That one particular night, Hyukjae came home quite late with files and papers carried in his arms and his phone tucked between his ear and neck.
“Yes, hyung. He’s fine. He blooms alright. Donghae’s getting brighter and orange-ish,” Hyukjae told into the line as he dropped his stuffs onto the couch in the living room.
Donghae perked up at the mention of Heechul. He missed Heechul!
He heard a shuffle of slippers and later on Hyukjae was standing in front of his shelf before crouching down and standing on his knees.
The call had already been ended.
Hyukjae let out a heavy sigh. He sounded so tired.
“I’m sorry, Donghae. I haven’t been doing well at taking care of you. Maybe I should send you to Sora noona’s place and let you stay there with Jessica,” it was not a question. It sounded more like a statement. Donghae wanted to protest. Suddenly, the cold of the autumn crept into small apartment and got to Donghae.
“Sorry, Donghae,” Hyukjae pecked Donghae’s petals and smiled forlornly at the chrysanthemums.
‘No! Hyukjae, let me stay here! I don’t want to go anywhere else!’
Hyukjae stood up and left Donghae alone in the dark.
‘Hyukjae! Wait!’
-
The hectic life got the best of Hyukjae. The young man was now barely at home. He practically spent the most of winter in the office. Sora had been more than glad to take care of Donghae.
Heechul threw him a snide remark when Hyukjae went to visit the nursery last week. Calling him with different names he could come up with.
“I shouldn’t have given Donghae to you. I should have given him to Sungmin since he was far more interested in chrysanthemums. Plus, he’s working at an agriculture centre. He would have more interest and ideas in chrysanthemum. Not you, a busy bastard working at a company I don’t even know what the name is.”
Hyukjae said another sorry and asked for a hug from the older man who refused it the first time. Heechul gave in eventually and pulled the lanky younger guy into his embrace, wishing him good luck, telling him to look after himself first and lastly to not mess up with his plants because plants grew a bond with their owners as they grew up.
Hyukjae wished Heechul and Dambi happy holidays and he rushed back to his office to finish his piled up, never ending works.
On the night of New Year’s Eve, Hyukjae managed to squeeze out some time for his family and returned to his parents’ house to have a dinner together. Hyukjae was hoping for Sora to bring the two flowers but Sora had jokingly slapped him on his back. “Are you crazy? Jessica and Donghae are growing up so well and big. I moved them into the larger pots and it’ll look weird for me to carry the large pots in my car.”
Hyukjae laughed at that. He felt lighter and better when he heard that Donghae was growing up well. Jessica seemed to be doing really well too.
-
Winter passed and spring caught up with it. Hyukjae could finally sigh in relief. His hectic life was back to the normal one. Though he still had a lot to do at office yet he still managed to come home on time.
He was thinking of dropping by at Sora’s place to see how Donghae and Jessica were doing. He did not have any chance to talk to Sora these days.
When Sora opened the door, Hyukjae was greeted by the fluffy Pomeranian running to him. He picked up the dog and cradled her in his arms. “Hello, Choco! How are you, princess?” his lips curled into a smile when Choco nestled deeper into his chest.
“Am I warm enough for you?” he kissed the Pomeranian’s little nose.
“Look at her, look at her. Playing hard to get with me yet flirting at her best with my younger brother. Oh, Choco! What a playgirl,” Sora exclaimed dramatically, her thin fingers poking and tickling the puppy in Hyukjae’s arms. Choco made a small noise similar to a purr when Hyukjae hugged her tighter to his chest.
Hyukjae placed the golden furry onto the couch and walked into her sister’s kitchen, grinning already when the two flowers came into his sight.
“Hello Jessica. Hello Dong-“
Hyukjae immediately leaned closer and stood on his knees to observe Donghae closer.
“Noona! What happened to Donghae?” Hyukjae asked frantically. The cheer in his voice earlier was gone.
‘Ah, Hyukjae,” Sora’s voice was low. “Well, um, you know that winter this year had been quite harsh, right? I suppose Donghae is not used to it so he kinda wilted a bit for the last few months. But Heechul had paid a few visits and he said Donghae should be fine in this weather. After all, spring is all flowers’ time.”
Hyukjae took the medium sized leaves in between his two fingers, caressing them gingerly. They were not as green as they used to be. The chrysanthemums looked weak.
‘I’m sorry, Hyukjae. I should have looked after Donghae better,’ Jessica, in the flower pot next to Donghae whispered quietly. She had been so sad when she saw Donghae start to wilt. Sora had been fumbling on that matter for a few days. She also tried to calm down her owner but true to what Sora said, winter this year had been pretty cruel to Donghae.
“Have you given any fertilizers and supplements to Donghae?” Hyukjae asked and Sora nodded.
“But Heechul said to not give too much to him. The fertilizers could worsen the condition.” Sora informed Hyukjae as she took out a few bottles of fertilizers and plant supplements from the cupboard above them.
“Can I take Donghae home?” Hyukjae brushed his fingers on the rough surface of the pot.
“I can’t let you take him. Heechul won’t let you take him back. Worse is, Heechul is going to take Donghae if he doesn’t get better any sooner.” Sora patted the taller man on the shoulder. She sprayed some water over Jessica before leaving.
‘I’m sorry again, Hyukjae,’ Jessica mumbled.
“I’m really sorry, Donghae.”
-
“I took him back to the nursery. He did not seem to cope with it very well either and I checked his roots, they are badly damaged. Apparently the soil he was in was wet throughout the winter. Chrysanthemums really resent ‘wet feet’ and it’s winter, Hyukjae. Sorry, Hyukjae.”
-
The bell on top of the door chimed in when a new customer entered.
“Hello Hyukjae!”
“Hi, Dambi. It’s been a while,” he returned the hug from the midget young lady. “Where is your cousin?”
“Heechul? Oh, he’s at the back, arranging some stuff with my brother. Do you want to look around while I go and drag him here?”
Hyukjae let out a small chuckle. “Yes, sure. Why not, Dambi.”
He went around the nursery and stopped at some flower pots to look closely. When he reached at the most right shelf, his eyes were caught on this certain flower.
“Daisy. Are you Leeteuk?” he asked to no one in particular.
“Yep, that’s Leeteuk,” another voice answered him. Hyukjae spun around and he almost knocked off some pots in the process.
“Yah, Sungmin-hyung!” Hyukjae brushed his palm over his chest. “Stop creeping out on me like that. You are taking away one year of my life by doing so.”
The newcomer, Sungmin chuckled at Hyukjae and helped the poor male to calm down by patting his shoulder.
“Yah, yah! What are you two doing in my sacred home? Romance is not allowed here,” Heechul approached them with his usual witty remarks. The three friends burst into laughter.
“It’s been a while, hyung,” Sungmin said, pulling the oldest of the three into his hug and Heechul tried to get the agriculture researcher off him.
“I said no romance is allowed here- yah, Hyukjae!”
Hyukjae joined the two by wrapping his arms around those two friends of his. Heechul was thrashing around, threatening the younger men with nonsense threats if they did not let him go. Hyukjae and Sungmin finally broke the hug and laughed at Heechul’s flushed face.
While they were chatting happily with each other, there was a noise coming from a broken vase was heard.
“Oh, man. Not again. Donghae-yah!” Heechul took a deep breath before making his way towards the source of the noise. Hyukjae’s ears perked up at the name though so he and Sungmin followed in tow behind Heechul.
Hyukjae saw a young boy with brunette hair crouching on the floor; he was wearing the apron similar to what Heechul’s wearing right now. Heechul squatted down as well and helped the brunette clean the mess he made.
“How many vases have you broken today, huh, fish?!”
The man called ‘fish’ by Heechul just smiled cheekily at the older and Heechul returned the favour with a playful glare.
“Yah, you two! Help us!”
“W-What?” Hyukjae and Sungmin asked simultaneously.
“Get down here and pick up the broken pieces, carefully. I don’t want any bloody accident in my nursery.” Heechul threw two pairs of gloves to the standing men and they quickly put them on.
“Oh, Hyukjae. Remember your chrysanthemums? They’re named after my cousin. So now, Hyukjae, meet Donghae. Donghae, meet Hyukjae.”
“W-What?” Hyukjae stuttered for the second time today. The boy named Donghae looked up at him and chuckled silently. The brunette’s bright and wide eyes were looking at Hyukjae. Hyukjae was mesmerized for once.
“Then, who is Leeteuk named after?” Sungmin broke the awkward contact.
“Leeteuk? Nah, just the guy living next to my apartment.”
“You are so random, hyung,” Sungmin scoffed, earning a playful smack on his shoulder. They all erupted into a loud laughter.
-
“So, you are Donghae?” Hyukjae asked, shyly, when they were both alone at the most end of the nursery.
“Yes, that’s me. And you are Hyukjae. You bought Donghae,” Donghae replied, along with a chuckle.
“Yeah, Donghae died, though,” Hyukjae mindlessly said and only then he realized how stupid it sounded.
“No, no! I meant, the chry-“
“Don’t worry. I know about that. I suppose you need more practises with handling plants?” Donghae said jokingly.
Hyukjae watched what Donghae was doing. He was transferring a red flower plant. The petals were red in quite darker shade with each of their tips having the little hue of pale pink. So breath-taking.
“What’s the name of this flower?” Hyukjae inquired, looking interested in what Donghae was doing; filling the medium sized pot with the soil.
“It’s gloxinia, red gloxinia. It means ‘love at the first sight’.”
-
“Hyukjae, get out!” Heechul adamantly tried to push the said man out of his nursery. Hyukjae whined childishly at that.
“I repeat once again, no romance is allowed in my nursery. Now, get out!”
“But hyung-“
“Don’t hyung me. Get out!”
Hyukjae pouted and held tightly to the door; trying to hold against Heechul who was pushing him with such a great force.
“Donghae, I’ll meet you tomorrow, okay?”
Donghae just chuckled and waved his hand at Hyukjae. “Sure, Hyukjae.”
“Remember Donghae, gloxinia.”
“Oh my, geez these two people. Get out now, Lee Hyukjae!”
“Bye, Donghae!”
Hyukjae saw Donghae blush; his cheeks turning to the colour of the gloxinia. Dambi was teasing him from the counter and the blush got brighter.
“Bye you too, hyung.”
“Idiot, Lee Hyukjae.”
“Love you, too, hyung.”
.
.
“See you, Dong-“
“LEE HYUKJAE!”
“Yes, yes. See you guys.”
-
END
A/N: HA HA HA. wtf is this shit. Wut iz dis.
So here’s the little explanation on the flowers mentioned in this story (I hope it makes sense because it really does in my non-existent brain):
Chrysanthemum generally means “You’re a wonderful friend”, “cheerfulness”, and “rest”. So, I wrote /donghae/ as chrysanthemum because I wanted him to be Hyukjae’s /friend/ but, come on, relating it to the reality (or probably just my non-existent life), friends are always taken for advantage. Pfft. So yeah, that was explained through how donghae was abandoned (intentionally or unintentionally -ask Hyukjae) by Hyukjae. I hope you are on the same lane as me. No? SORREH.
Gloxinia means (as mentioned there) “Love at first sight”. So yep. That’s that. Lel. Bye. HAHA. NO. BYE. YES THAAAAAT’S ALL. BYE BYE. GO NOW. SHOO.
Disclaimer: Nothing is moine.
I hold out my hand but I can't touch you. I keep remembering your smiling face under the sunlight. {sj's mid-season}
Notes: lol flower!au bye (long ass a/n at the end)
Chrysanthemums. Little chrysanthemums.
He observed his surroundings. Everything looked so new, everything looked so peculiar to him. Had everything been like this? Had they ever changed? He was not so sure. After all, this was the first time for him to see this new kind of vicinity.
He could not quite remember when he came into existence and where he came from.
He stopped observing the things which he found interesting when he heard a very distinct sound. What was that? He pondered on the sound, trying to acknowledge the sound with his very little and limited knowledge. He frowned.
“Uncle! I’m leaving now. Is there anything else?” who was that? Uncle? Who? He was lost.
“Donghee-ah, wait a minute!” he saw a huge long object, with another two thinner objects attached respectively to their upper part and lower part. One round object was on top of it. ‘Ah, human,’ the little chrysanthemum thought to himself, chuckling.
‘Hey! Put me down!’ he complained, whining at the human who was scooping him into his palm.
“Donghee-ah. Take these chrysanthemum’s seeds to that eccentric Kim,” the old human said while putting him in a small transparent plastic. “That florist might like them.”
That Donghee-human (this human was quite plump, the little mums chuckled to himself) laughed. “Heechul. Kim Heechul, uncle,” Donghee said, taking the packed seeds from his uncle and stuffed it into his chest pocket.
‘Hey, hey! It’s dark. I can’t see anything!’
-
“Hyung! New delivery!” Donghee practically shouted when he entered the nursery, carrying a small board with papers clipped on them.
“Yah, yah. Learn some manners. My babies are still asleep,” a tall and lean male came out from the small door’s frame, apron neatly wrapped around his body. Donghee snorted and mumbled a playful ‘good morning’ to the plants in the nursery.
Heechul and Donghee exchanged greetings and proceeded with their weekly routines of dealing with stuffs for nursery. Fertilizers, soil and other various plant supplements. Checked.
“Ah, hyung!” Donghee reached into his chest pocket and pulled out a small packaging.
Heechul was already smiling. He picked up the transparent plastic and scrutinized at the small seeds. “Chrysanthemum,” he said. Donghee just nodded.
“Uncle said you might like it.”
“They’re cute. Say thanks to uncle. Do tell him to come and visit this eccentric nephew of his sometimes. I bet my nursery looks grand compared to his old garden,” Heechul flicked away a few strands of his hair. Donghee just chuckled and collected the board he brought with him earlier before heading towards the entrance of the nursery.
“See you next week, hyung.”
Heechul waved at retreating man who was climbing into a lorry, the small chrysanthemum’s seeds were still clutched carefully in his palm.
-
“Hello little sweetheart,” Heechul cooed sweetly to the small seeds.
‘Eh? New human,’ he wanted to squirm his way out of this human’s palms but it felt so comfortable here.
“I’ll take good care of you until you blossom into beautiful chrysanthemums, okay?” this new human had a pretty long hair. He looked like a… that one animal with four legs and fur and sharp eyes. Cut? Cot? Ah, cat! He looked like a cat.
He was then settled into a small pot filled with well-drained soil and other plant supplements that were supposedly to do good to him. It felt even nicer here!
Heechul smiled at the newly potted plant. He scribbled something on small sticky paper before pasting in on the small brown pot. The little chrysanthemums should bloom into a beauty when fall arrived.
Heechul carried the small pot and placed it on the shelf, finding the perfect place for the little mums to receive enough direct sunlight. It was next to a small baby daisy.
‘Hey, daisy! Hi! I’m chrysanthemum!’ he chirped happily at the young white flower in the small pot next to him.
“Hello, Leeteuk!” Heechul picked up the daisy and carefully brushed his finger on the small petal. “How are you?” he smiled, giggling to himself when he saw the small flower waver slightly due to the soft blow of his breath. “Oh, look! I brought a new friend for you. Let’s call him…”
“Heechul-ah!” a small, shrill voice interrupted Heechul and his little conversation with the two babies of his.
“Aish, this little witch! What is it, Dambi?” he shouted back in reply.
“Customer!”
“Okay, okay! Be there in two minutes!” he turned his attention back on the little daisy. “Hm, let’s call him Donghae! Is it okay?”
“Kim Heechul!”
Heechul quickly and gingerly put down the small pot and looked at his two babies, leaning down and closer at Leeteuk, whispering softly,
“Take care of Donghae, okay, Teukie?”
“KIM HEECHUL!”
“Ugh, coming!”
-
“Heechul!”
“Dambi, tone it down,” Heechul glared at the petite girl standing next to the shelf which held variety of flowers and plants in small pots.
“Heechul! Come here!”
“Dam-oh my god! My baby is growing up!” Heechul literally squealed, followed by Dambi who was making some unidentified noises at the small mums. Heechul scooped the small pot into his hands and looked at it with wide eyes.
Donghae looked at these two humans weirdly. What were they getting worked up at? Heechul put down the brown pot on the shelf back.
‘Uhm, hi?’
Donghae heard a small, soft sound. Not from these two loud humans, but from something beside him. He looked around and saw a young daisy. White and pretty.
Donghae smiled at the daisy, moving his tiny leaves to make out a greeting gesture. The daisy swayed a little, grinning back at Donghae.
‘You are so pretty!’ Donghae said happily, beaming. Donghae noticed that the two humans had retreated back to the counter.
‘Thank you, Donghae! You are cute, too!’ Leeteuk replied at the sweet little mums. ‘Are you feeling well?’
Donghae nodded, he liked this daisy. He was so nice and pretty. ‘Thank you for looking after me,’ the small mums kind of blushed while saying it. Donghae heard Leeteuk chuckle and the daisy called him cute one more time.
Before Donghae or Leeteuk could prolong their little chat, the two small flowers saw two humans approach them. One of them looked new to Donghae.
‘I know the new human!’ Leeteuk whispered. ‘He’s nice! His name is Hyukjae. Heechul’s best friend.’
Donghae merely nodded at what Leeteuk told him. He almost whimpered when the new human crouched down and took a closer look at him. The new human’s breath was fanning over Donghae’s tiny leaves.
“Christmum?”
“Chrysanthemum, stupid,” Heechul whipped the back of the new human’s head.
Donghae let out a small laughter when the new human pout at the florist. ‘Cute.’
‘Hyukjae is really cute, isn’t he?’ Leeteuk also giggled at those two best friends’ interaction.
“Is it hard to take care of this crisemum?”
Donghae and Leeteuk giggled again at Hyukjae’s another wrong pronunciation.
“Chry-san-the-mum, idiot!”
“Yah! Be nice to your customer,” Hyukjae brushed the back of his head after getting the second whip from Heechul.
-
‘No! I don’t want to go. Teukie, help me!’ Donghae wailed. Leeteuk looked at Donghae sympathetically but he could not do anything. Heechul had already packed Donghae and his pot into a medium sized plastic bag.
“Take good care of Donghae,” Heechul said, eyes darting straight into Hyukjae’s.
“Yeah, yeah. I will,” Hyukjae scoffed at the name of the plant. This florist friend of his surely had a weird method of naming his plants. “I will take a good care of Donghae. Can I call you anytime if I need help on Donghae?” Hyukjae added a small cheeky smile at the end of his sentence.
“Sure,” Heechul’s lips curled sweetly, “but not at two in the freaking morning, dumbass! I almost flew to your place and choked you to death,” the glare from the florists was directed straight on the chuckling guy.
Hyukjae picked up the bag containing the little chrysanthemums and waved at Heechul before leaving the nursery.
“Expect my calls tonight, hyung!”
“Yah bastard, get out!”
-
‘Let me out, let me out!’ Donghae chanted from inside the plastic bag. He assumed that they had already arrived at the destination they were heading to because he felt the man -Hyukjae- place the plastic bag on a hard and flat surface.
Hyukjae cautiously took out the small pot from the bag and settled it on top of the table. He also picked out all the companion plant supplements that Heechul had given along to him and laid them all on the table next to the flower pot.
He tapped his finger on his lips, looking at the scattered gardening stuffs and the small chrysanthemums on the table. “So, Donghae,” he pulled a chair and sat on it, “welcome to your new home!”
Donghae squeaked in delight when he saw Hyukjae smile. The smile looked and felt like sunlight. So bright, so nice and so fresh. He loved it instantaneously.
‘Hello, Hyukjae!’ he chirped gleefully.
“Hey little Donghae, you know what? You could have some friends here but Sora noona just had to take Jessica to her place,” Hyukjae pouted and Donghae giggled softly, “but I’ll let you meet Jessica one day. She’s so pretty! Her colour is so bright and fierce. She’s kind of scary at the first glance but you will instantly fall in love with her!”
Okay, who was this Jessica? Another human? No. Donghae did not want to meet another human. Hyukjae could not meet another human!
“Ah, she’s a rose! So pretty,” Hyukjae’s lips twitched and the pink gums peeked out once again. Ah, Donghae liked this human and Donghae could not wait to meet Jessica, too!
-
Donghae had been staying with Hyukjae for quite some time already and Hyukjae was taking care of him nicely. Sometimes Hyukjae would approach him with a rectangular device (Hyukjae used this device lots of time, Donghae noticed) and put it next to his pot. Later on, he would hear a small, disrupted voice from the device.
“Heechul-hyung, you can speak now.”
‘Heechul? Heechul! Where is Heechul? I can’t see Heechul!’ Donghae frowned when he failed to locate Heechul’s presence.
“Hello, Donghae!”
‘Heechul, I can’t see you!’
“Oh baby, how are you doing? Are you growing up well? Has Hyukjae been taking good care of you?”
“Yah, hyung!” Hyukjae interrupted.
Donghae pouted. He could not see Heechul! But he wanted to tell Heechul that yes; he’s growing up very well because Hyukjae took a really good care of him.
A few minutes later, Donghae was left alone when Hyukjae picked up the small rectangular device and resumed the call somewhere else in the house.
Donghae looked at himself. His leaves are getting bigger and he had turned brighter than the first day Hyukjae had brought him home. His petals were blooming too! Ah, so exciting!
-
“Hyung, do I need to move Donghae into a new pot? He’s growing larger and it seems like he’s too big for the small pot. Oh, I think, Donghae is the daisy mums. He has a row of petals around a centre, just like the baby daisy at your place, Leeteuk, is it?”
Heechul hummed on the other line. “Ah, it’s almost fall already. Take note that chrysanthemums bloom the best in fall. So yes, I suppose we can give Donghae a new place? Do you want to do it by yourself?”
“I see. Nope, I’ll give Sora noona a call and see if she can make it to my house tomorrow? She’s been keeping Jessica to herself and I haven’t seen the princess since the last time noona came here,” Heechul chuckled over the phone and he could picture Hyukjae pouting childishly while saying it.
“Let me know at what time she’s coming. I’ll drop by. I need to see how my baby mums are doing.”
Hyukjae snorted into the call and it had Heechul scolding him about manners when speaking to older people.
“Yeah, like you have one, hyung.”
“Lee Hyukjae, I’m so going to bury you along when we plant Donghae at his new place. Watch out, primate!”
They both laughed over the line and Heechul hung up on him when a new customer arrived.
-
Donghae heard a loud knock on the door. Was someone coming to visit Hyukjae?
‘Yah, keep it down!’ Donghae screamed at whoever was knocking at the door.
“Yah, yah! Noona! Are you crazy, banging on other people’s door like a madwoman that you already are?!” Hyukjae shouted from his bedroom, walking out of the room with a small towel dangling around his neck and dressed comfortably in t-shirt and sweatpants. He slipped into his slipper and ambled lazily towards the door before opening the wooden door to reveal a petite young woman, hugging a small pot of red roses in her arms.
The young lady slipped into another pair of slippers and scurried over to Donghae’s place. She watchfully placed the light brown pot next to Donghae before pulling Donghae’s pot closer to her.
“Oh my god!” this young woman literally squealed in Donghae’s small petals. “These mums of yours are so cute! What’s the name?” she grinned and Donghae noticed the resemblance of her smile with Hyukjae’s. Hyukjae’s sister?
“Donghae, Sora-noona.”
Her eyes brightened at the new information and she returned back to gushing on how cute and delicate Donghae was.
“Donghae, you are so so so cute! Anyway, meet my beautiful roses, Jessica!” Sora hauled the small pot beside Donghae and put them two closer.
‘Hi, Donghae! I’m Jessica!’ the roses exclaimed happily at Donghae. Her bright petals were so gorgeous. Her thorns looked rather scary but her overall appearance made you fall in love with her hopelessly. Donghae already liked this new friend.
‘H-Hi. I’m Donghae. It’s nice to meet you, Jessica!’
Donghae swore the two new friends; Sora and Jessica squealed on daily basis. Jessica also squealed at Donghae and kept calling him cute.
‘Donghae! You are so cute and tiny. Adorable!’ Jessica giggled and cooed to Donghae.
“Okay you two; let’s wait for Heechul-hyung first. He’ll come here soon,” Hyukjae squatted down so that his face was on the same level as the two pots.
Before Hyukjae could stand up back, Sora jumped onto his younger brother’s back and squeezed the younger man like a teddy bear.
“Aww, Hyukkie! I missed you so much! How has my baby brother been doing? Is he behaving well, Donghae?” Sora peeped from Hyukjae’s shoulder and looked at Donghae.
Donghae just grinned and Jessica chortled at these two siblings. Hyukjae groaned and attempted to remove Sora from his back but failed miserably. Sora just laughed his younger brother.
Heechul arrived at Hyukjae’s apartment a few minutes later with a new pot and the other gardening stuffs and tools.
Heechul picked up Donghae and eyed the chrysanthemums thoroughly. Donghae liked it when Heechul was doing that to him because Heechul seemed like he knew what he was doing and he was so nice after all.
“Is there something wrong with Donghae? Is he infected?” Hyukjae quipped, looking at Donghae the same way Heechul was doing earlier. Donghae chuckled when Hyukjae made a funny face, clearly having no idea of what he’s doing right now.
“Nah, nothing. Just checking up on the growth of his roots. They are looking fine. Donghae is a healthy chrysanthemum.”
Hyukjae heaved out a relief sigh and Heechul smiled fondly at him. “Just take good care of him and he’ll be fine, okay?” Hyukjae nodded at the florist.
Heechul carefully picked Donghae out of his old pot while Sora was digging out a small hole on the soil in the new pot. The florist put down the mums into the new bigger pot and Hyukjae helped Heechul transfer some of soil from the old pot into the new one.
“Donghae, you look better and prettier here! My baby grows up so well,” Heechul leaned closer to the flower and kissed the petal softly. Donghae giggled due to the ticklish feel of Heechul’s lips.
‘Thank you, Heechul, Hyukjae and Sora! It feels better here,’ Donghae looked around and spotted his old pot beside his new one. This new pot gave him more spaces for his roots to grow. Nevertheless he was still thankful to his old pot. That’s where he initially grew up. ‘Thank you, old pot!’ he murmured quietly to the old brown pot.
Donghae watched the three humans left the shelf he and Jessica were on and they were heading into the kitchen.
‘Tea time,’ Jessica told him. Donghae ohh-ed at her.
‘We can have our sun-time too! Ah, the sun today is so nice! Heechul gave me some water too today,’ Jessica said happily, the petals of hers were titled towards the beams of light and the two flowers basked in the great sunlight.
-
Donghae was growing up fast; his daisy-like petals were blooming into full blossom. Fall was at its peak. His brownish orange petals matched the fallen golden leaves. They were so pretty.
Although fall was doing well to Donghae, he was not quite happy. Hyukjae had not been talking to him recently. The man was either on the phone or locked in his room. He did not quite remember what Hyukjae’s work was but the young man was rather busy this fall.
He had not listened to Heechul’s voice through the small device anymore since the last time Heechul visited him to change his pot.
Fall was Donghae’s month but he did not like it. Everyone was ignoring him. Donghae wanted to ask Hyukjae if Jessica could come over but Hyukjae was too busy to notice his loneliness.
Even though Hyukjae’s schedule was hectic, he still never failed to water Donghae and provided him with enough supplements. But still,
Donghae wanted a non-busy Hyukjae.
That one particular night, Hyukjae came home quite late with files and papers carried in his arms and his phone tucked between his ear and neck.
“Yes, hyung. He’s fine. He blooms alright. Donghae’s getting brighter and orange-ish,” Hyukjae told into the line as he dropped his stuffs onto the couch in the living room.
Donghae perked up at the mention of Heechul. He missed Heechul!
He heard a shuffle of slippers and later on Hyukjae was standing in front of his shelf before crouching down and standing on his knees.
The call had already been ended.
Hyukjae let out a heavy sigh. He sounded so tired.
“I’m sorry, Donghae. I haven’t been doing well at taking care of you. Maybe I should send you to Sora noona’s place and let you stay there with Jessica,” it was not a question. It sounded more like a statement. Donghae wanted to protest. Suddenly, the cold of the autumn crept into small apartment and got to Donghae.
“Sorry, Donghae,” Hyukjae pecked Donghae’s petals and smiled forlornly at the chrysanthemums.
‘No! Hyukjae, let me stay here! I don’t want to go anywhere else!’
Hyukjae stood up and left Donghae alone in the dark.
‘Hyukjae! Wait!’
-
The hectic life got the best of Hyukjae. The young man was now barely at home. He practically spent the most of winter in the office. Sora had been more than glad to take care of Donghae.
Heechul threw him a snide remark when Hyukjae went to visit the nursery last week. Calling him with different names he could come up with.
“I shouldn’t have given Donghae to you. I should have given him to Sungmin since he was far more interested in chrysanthemums. Plus, he’s working at an agriculture centre. He would have more interest and ideas in chrysanthemum. Not you, a busy bastard working at a company I don’t even know what the name is.”
Hyukjae said another sorry and asked for a hug from the older man who refused it the first time. Heechul gave in eventually and pulled the lanky younger guy into his embrace, wishing him good luck, telling him to look after himself first and lastly to not mess up with his plants because plants grew a bond with their owners as they grew up.
Hyukjae wished Heechul and Dambi happy holidays and he rushed back to his office to finish his piled up, never ending works.
On the night of New Year’s Eve, Hyukjae managed to squeeze out some time for his family and returned to his parents’ house to have a dinner together. Hyukjae was hoping for Sora to bring the two flowers but Sora had jokingly slapped him on his back. “Are you crazy? Jessica and Donghae are growing up so well and big. I moved them into the larger pots and it’ll look weird for me to carry the large pots in my car.”
Hyukjae laughed at that. He felt lighter and better when he heard that Donghae was growing up well. Jessica seemed to be doing really well too.
-
Winter passed and spring caught up with it. Hyukjae could finally sigh in relief. His hectic life was back to the normal one. Though he still had a lot to do at office yet he still managed to come home on time.
He was thinking of dropping by at Sora’s place to see how Donghae and Jessica were doing. He did not have any chance to talk to Sora these days.
When Sora opened the door, Hyukjae was greeted by the fluffy Pomeranian running to him. He picked up the dog and cradled her in his arms. “Hello, Choco! How are you, princess?” his lips curled into a smile when Choco nestled deeper into his chest.
“Am I warm enough for you?” he kissed the Pomeranian’s little nose.
“Look at her, look at her. Playing hard to get with me yet flirting at her best with my younger brother. Oh, Choco! What a playgirl,” Sora exclaimed dramatically, her thin fingers poking and tickling the puppy in Hyukjae’s arms. Choco made a small noise similar to a purr when Hyukjae hugged her tighter to his chest.
Hyukjae placed the golden furry onto the couch and walked into her sister’s kitchen, grinning already when the two flowers came into his sight.
“Hello Jessica. Hello Dong-“
Hyukjae immediately leaned closer and stood on his knees to observe Donghae closer.
“Noona! What happened to Donghae?” Hyukjae asked frantically. The cheer in his voice earlier was gone.
‘Ah, Hyukjae,” Sora’s voice was low. “Well, um, you know that winter this year had been quite harsh, right? I suppose Donghae is not used to it so he kinda wilted a bit for the last few months. But Heechul had paid a few visits and he said Donghae should be fine in this weather. After all, spring is all flowers’ time.”
Hyukjae took the medium sized leaves in between his two fingers, caressing them gingerly. They were not as green as they used to be. The chrysanthemums looked weak.
‘I’m sorry, Hyukjae. I should have looked after Donghae better,’ Jessica, in the flower pot next to Donghae whispered quietly. She had been so sad when she saw Donghae start to wilt. Sora had been fumbling on that matter for a few days. She also tried to calm down her owner but true to what Sora said, winter this year had been pretty cruel to Donghae.
“Have you given any fertilizers and supplements to Donghae?” Hyukjae asked and Sora nodded.
“But Heechul said to not give too much to him. The fertilizers could worsen the condition.” Sora informed Hyukjae as she took out a few bottles of fertilizers and plant supplements from the cupboard above them.
“Can I take Donghae home?” Hyukjae brushed his fingers on the rough surface of the pot.
“I can’t let you take him. Heechul won’t let you take him back. Worse is, Heechul is going to take Donghae if he doesn’t get better any sooner.” Sora patted the taller man on the shoulder. She sprayed some water over Jessica before leaving.
‘I’m sorry again, Hyukjae,’ Jessica mumbled.
“I’m really sorry, Donghae.”
-
“I took him back to the nursery. He did not seem to cope with it very well either and I checked his roots, they are badly damaged. Apparently the soil he was in was wet throughout the winter. Chrysanthemums really resent ‘wet feet’ and it’s winter, Hyukjae. Sorry, Hyukjae.”
-
The bell on top of the door chimed in when a new customer entered.
“Hello Hyukjae!”
“Hi, Dambi. It’s been a while,” he returned the hug from the midget young lady. “Where is your cousin?”
“Heechul? Oh, he’s at the back, arranging some stuff with my brother. Do you want to look around while I go and drag him here?”
Hyukjae let out a small chuckle. “Yes, sure. Why not, Dambi.”
He went around the nursery and stopped at some flower pots to look closely. When he reached at the most right shelf, his eyes were caught on this certain flower.
“Daisy. Are you Leeteuk?” he asked to no one in particular.
“Yep, that’s Leeteuk,” another voice answered him. Hyukjae spun around and he almost knocked off some pots in the process.
“Yah, Sungmin-hyung!” Hyukjae brushed his palm over his chest. “Stop creeping out on me like that. You are taking away one year of my life by doing so.”
The newcomer, Sungmin chuckled at Hyukjae and helped the poor male to calm down by patting his shoulder.
“Yah, yah! What are you two doing in my sacred home? Romance is not allowed here,” Heechul approached them with his usual witty remarks. The three friends burst into laughter.
“It’s been a while, hyung,” Sungmin said, pulling the oldest of the three into his hug and Heechul tried to get the agriculture researcher off him.
“I said no romance is allowed here- yah, Hyukjae!”
Hyukjae joined the two by wrapping his arms around those two friends of his. Heechul was thrashing around, threatening the younger men with nonsense threats if they did not let him go. Hyukjae and Sungmin finally broke the hug and laughed at Heechul’s flushed face.
While they were chatting happily with each other, there was a noise coming from a broken vase was heard.
“Oh, man. Not again. Donghae-yah!” Heechul took a deep breath before making his way towards the source of the noise. Hyukjae’s ears perked up at the name though so he and Sungmin followed in tow behind Heechul.
Hyukjae saw a young boy with brunette hair crouching on the floor; he was wearing the apron similar to what Heechul’s wearing right now. Heechul squatted down as well and helped the brunette clean the mess he made.
“How many vases have you broken today, huh, fish?!”
The man called ‘fish’ by Heechul just smiled cheekily at the older and Heechul returned the favour with a playful glare.
“Yah, you two! Help us!”
“W-What?” Hyukjae and Sungmin asked simultaneously.
“Get down here and pick up the broken pieces, carefully. I don’t want any bloody accident in my nursery.” Heechul threw two pairs of gloves to the standing men and they quickly put them on.
“Oh, Hyukjae. Remember your chrysanthemums? They’re named after my cousin. So now, Hyukjae, meet Donghae. Donghae, meet Hyukjae.”
“W-What?” Hyukjae stuttered for the second time today. The boy named Donghae looked up at him and chuckled silently. The brunette’s bright and wide eyes were looking at Hyukjae. Hyukjae was mesmerized for once.
“Then, who is Leeteuk named after?” Sungmin broke the awkward contact.
“Leeteuk? Nah, just the guy living next to my apartment.”
“You are so random, hyung,” Sungmin scoffed, earning a playful smack on his shoulder. They all erupted into a loud laughter.
-
“So, you are Donghae?” Hyukjae asked, shyly, when they were both alone at the most end of the nursery.
“Yes, that’s me. And you are Hyukjae. You bought Donghae,” Donghae replied, along with a chuckle.
“Yeah, Donghae died, though,” Hyukjae mindlessly said and only then he realized how stupid it sounded.
“No, no! I meant, the chry-“
“Don’t worry. I know about that. I suppose you need more practises with handling plants?” Donghae said jokingly.
Hyukjae watched what Donghae was doing. He was transferring a red flower plant. The petals were red in quite darker shade with each of their tips having the little hue of pale pink. So breath-taking.
“What’s the name of this flower?” Hyukjae inquired, looking interested in what Donghae was doing; filling the medium sized pot with the soil.
“It’s gloxinia, red gloxinia. It means ‘love at the first sight’.”
-
“Hyukjae, get out!” Heechul adamantly tried to push the said man out of his nursery. Hyukjae whined childishly at that.
“I repeat once again, no romance is allowed in my nursery. Now, get out!”
“But hyung-“
“Don’t hyung me. Get out!”
Hyukjae pouted and held tightly to the door; trying to hold against Heechul who was pushing him with such a great force.
“Donghae, I’ll meet you tomorrow, okay?”
Donghae just chuckled and waved his hand at Hyukjae. “Sure, Hyukjae.”
“Remember Donghae, gloxinia.”
“Oh my, geez these two people. Get out now, Lee Hyukjae!”
“Bye, Donghae!”
Hyukjae saw Donghae blush; his cheeks turning to the colour of the gloxinia. Dambi was teasing him from the counter and the blush got brighter.
“Bye you too, hyung.”
“Idiot, Lee Hyukjae.”
“Love you, too, hyung.”
.
.
“See you, Dong-“
“LEE HYUKJAE!”
“Yes, yes. See you guys.”
-
END
A/N: HA HA HA. wtf is this shit. Wut iz dis.
So here’s the little explanation on the flowers mentioned in this story (I hope it makes sense because it really does in my non-existent brain):
Chrysanthemum generally means “You’re a wonderful friend”, “cheerfulness”, and “rest”. So, I wrote /donghae/ as chrysanthemum because I wanted him to be Hyukjae’s /friend/ but, come on, relating it to the reality (or probably just my non-existent life), friends are always taken for advantage. Pfft. So yeah, that was explained through how donghae was abandoned (intentionally or unintentionally -ask Hyukjae) by Hyukjae. I hope you are on the same lane as me. No? SORREH.
Gloxinia means (as mentioned there) “Love at first sight”. So yep. That’s that. Lel. Bye. HAHA. NO. BYE. YES THAAAAAT’S ALL. BYE BYE. GO NOW. SHOO.