#xuminghao

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the moment he entered, you felt your heart light up. minghao is finally back in you and your brother's abode. only the heavens know how much you missed that angelic face of his. you smiled at him as soon as he entered and he did the same. your brother was oblivious to the exchange and went straight to the kitchen, “i'll cook us food. what would you two like?” and when minghao was about to answer vernon, you protested, “i'll cook... please?” vernon, however, raised a brow at you.

“you have never cooked in your life.” this made you turn away from him as he still looked at you questionably, “yeah, but, you know, i saw this cooking asmr on youtube and i wanted to give it a try.” “do you want to poison minghao? or maybe me?” you looked at vernon, offended by what he said and before you could go and attack him without a word, minghao spoke up, “it's fine with me. i'd love to taste your cooking.” he said and pet your head- even sneaking a wink at you.

“well, if it's fine with you, bro.” you frowned at vernon and cursed with your eyes. “i'm gonna burn it on purpose and give it to you.” and minghao laughed at your statement.

you were left there blushing while vernon and minghao went up to the former's bedroom.

currently, you are in the kitchen, trying your best to follow the cooking asmr (it has ingredients and measurements) and struggling is an understatement. the amount of flour on the kitchen countertop just to make youtiao, for what? to impress minghao.

you were about to give up and just order out when you heard someone come down. you looked back and saw minghao smiling softly at you.

after making sure your brother is still in his room, you immediately ran to minghao's arms, hugging him tightly while his left arm rests at your back and his right arms caressing your head.

“i missed you so much, haohao.” you said with a pout and he kissed the top of your head, “i missed you too, love.” that made you smile and melt. you looked up at him with puckered lips and he giggled before leaning down to give you a quick smooch.

“what were you making, pretty?” he asked as he started to put away baby hairs from your face. you looked back at the kitchen then back at him, “well, i tried to make youtiao for you but...” and with a laugh, minghao wiped your face, “no wonder why you have flour on your face.” you smiled at his laugh; oh how much you missed that.

“but baby, i don't think your brother would like youtiao.” you rolled your eyes and went back to make youtiao, “i don't care. i'm making this for you, not him.” you heard minghao laughing behind you as you start making the chinese snack again.

you thought he went upstairs to vernon's room again because of the silence until you felt a pair of arms slowly wrap around your waist and feel a head bury itself on your shoulder. you couldn't help but smile at his gesture.

when you felt his head lift and his chin on your shoulder blades, your hands suddenly moved on its own, wiping flour on minghao's face.

the look on both of your faces when the two of you were processing what just happened was like looking into a mirror; eyes wide. you were frozen there until you felt a finger wiping flour on your face as well.

and the battle commenced, the other trying to wipe more flour on the other's face. the kitchen had never been filled with laughter like the two of you are doing now. it was really lively, full of smiles, laughter, and flour.

the kitchen is so messy but who cares, right? well, vernon, apparently, “what the fuck is going on?” the two of you froze on the spot and comically looked at vernon who's face looked terrified.

“i'm gonna question later why the two of you are so close with each other but why is the kitchen in a hot mess?” he asked, ignoring the fact that the two of you are hugging at the moment. you two pulled away from each other faster than lightning.

“sorry, nonnie. i'll clean it up later.” you said timidly, “i'll help, vernon.” vernon nodded, “we'll talk after you guys finish cleaning. i was wondering why minghao was taking so long at the bathroom.” vernon walked away, mumbling the last sentence. the two of you looked at each other and laughed before you started cleaning.

let's just say that vernon was shocked to find out the two of you were dating and started to list to minghao the things you like and don't like. minghao was internally taking notes while you try your best to stop vernon from talking too much and accidentally say something.

YAYYYY WE'RE DONEEEEEE \(@^0^@)/

You breathe heavily as you stare down at the dying man before you, feeling as if you’re almost about to collapse yourself with the deep cut on your thigh. 

He coughs tiredly, and you watch as a bit of blood trails down his chin. Blinking, you lean forward and grab his chin harshly, making him look you in the eyes. He notices the crazed look in your gaze, replacing the trust that used to harbor it whenever the two of you were together. 

You suck in a breath, before hissing, “You were wrong.”

With that, you let go of his chin and throw the blade across the room. He watches as it impales the wall, and he can’t help but feel a swell of pride and sadness fill his chest. Your eyes trail down to the broken photo of him and your father sitting on the floor, shattered glass surrounding it as you stare at the big smile on your dad’s face. 

“Y-You…” Your head slowly turns back towards the man, watching as he raises his hand up with the last of his strength to point at you. 

“Your father… would be so proud.” He breathes out, before his hand falls limp. You stand in silence, seeing the emptiness gloss over his eyes as he stares blankly at the photo that lays on the floor. 

Clenching your fist at your side, you limp past the dead man, and push the doors open. You drag yourself down the luxurious hallway, ignoring all the lifeless bodies that lay on the floor as you almost stumble into the elevator. 

Biting the inside of your cheek, you rip off part of your shirt, and tie it tightly above the deep cut on your leg. You wince in pain, knowing that this is only a temporary solution before you can get yourself back to your apartment. 

Once the elevator doors open, you drag yourself out of the building. The cold, Winter air, blows past you, but you don’t feel the frigid temperatures against your skin. 

You find that your heart is as cold as the Winter weather.

one year later

“Are you ready?” Mingyu asks his best friend, standing beside him as they wait for the okay to enter the conference room. The black haired beauty adjusts his tie, the corner of his lips tilting upwards as he looks at his friend. 

“Always have been.” He murmurs right as the doors open, and his smile falls off his face as he enters the room. Mingyu stands off to the side, watching as the camera flashes go crazy to try and get the perfect photo for their cover story.

He sits down at the table in the middle of the front of the room, allowing the cameras to continue taking photos for a moment longer. Out of the corner of his eye, he watches as Mingyu and his publicist advise the photographers to sit down in order for the announcement to begin. 

Once the cameras stop flashing, and everyone is seated in their seats, the black haired beauty lets out a breath at the silence that fills the room. Leaning forward towards the microphone, he begins, “After my father’s coldblooded murder in December of last year, I have spent my time in China thinking of what to do as the heir of his company.”

He waits for the loud sound of typing on the laptops to stop, before continuing. 

“After a year of deliberating with those around me, I have decided to take over Westin Josun as the new CEO.” 

A ruckus erupts in the conference room, the mixture of the sound of typing, cameras flashing, and loud shouts of his name fill the room. He leans back into his seat, and his gaze falls onto the expensive watch that lays over his wrist. 

Removing it from his arm, he reads the short sentence that’s engraved onto the back of the clock. 

To Xu Minghao, my one and only son.

“Yn!” You’re woken up by a face full of pillow, and you quickly grab it and chuck it across the room. You turn towards the person who woke you up with a seething glare, and he just shrugs his shoulders at you.

“Boo Seungkwan…” 

“What? You told me that by whatever means necessary, to wake you up for work if you ever oversleep.” The blonde tells you, and you hold back the rest of your argument, knowing that he’s absolutely correct. He grins in satisfaction, before turning and leaving the room after making sure you’re 100% awake.

Letting out a sigh, you fall back onto your pillow to rest for a moment longer.

“Do you want me to go get a bucket of ice cold water?” You hear Seungkwan’s voice ask from your doorway, and you groan in frustration. Sitting up from your bed, you turn towards your friend, just to find him pouting in disappointment. 

“Damn, I really wanted to pour water on you…” Seungkwan murmurs, and you shoot him another death glare. 

“I’m awake, Seungkwan.” 

“Unfortunately.” 

Spraying the flowers in the display window, you listen to the soothing tune of the piano play through the speakers of the flower shop. You glance out the window for a moment, and you let out a breath when you see the first snowfall of the year begin its descent from the sky.

Your attention is soon grabbed by the sound of the bells chiming, and you quickly turn around with a smile painted over your features to greet the customer.

“Hi! Welcome to Bloom Bloom—” The rest of the greeting dies in your throat when you lock eyes with the prettiest man you’ve ever seen in all your days. His black hair is grown out into a mullet, with silver highlights to contrast. His attire screams the word expensive, with the designer black overcoat and matching boots. His sharp brown eyes bore into yours, and you find yourself unable to move another inch. 

You blink when the bells chime again, and you both turn to find another tall, handsome man stepping in. He smiles at the pretty man who first entered, and the two begin to converse, making you suck in a breath when you realize that you’re on the clock. 

“Welcome to Bloom Bloom! You guys can take a look around and come to me whenever you have any questions.” You tell them with a smile, ignoring the warmth to your cheeks as you walk past them. Minghao’s eyes trail after you, finding you to be rather endearing as you refuse to look at him and Mingyu.

“Thank you!” Mingyu says in response for Minghao, before dragging the latter over towards the flowers so that they can choose some. He begins to pick out some flowers he thinks would look good, but he knows that Minghao’s not listening. 

Mingyu looks over in your direction, watching as you spray the flowers near the register with a small smile on your face. The corner of his lips quirks upwards, “They’re cute.” 

Minghao slowly nods his head, turning away from you and beginning to gently touch the petals of the white flower. He stares at the plant, finding the bulbous shape of the flower to resemble a bell. Turning around, he walks over towards the front counter without another word, leaving Mingyu to just chuckle in amusement.

“Excuse me.” You slowly look up from the small plant you were tending to, finding the pretty man standing before you. You clench your hand into a fist at your side, trying to fight back the warmth that threatens to flood your features. “Y-Yes?”

You pinch your thigh after you stutter.

“What is that flower over there?” Minghao asks, pointing over to where Mingyu is standing. You lean over the counter to get a better look, and the black haired beauty stares at your side profile from close up. 

“Hm, I think I should just go over there instead of leaning over the counter—” You’re rendered speechless a second time when you turn your head back, just to find your face inches away from his. Your eyes widen and you quickly pull away, grabbing onto the counter until your knuckles lighten. 

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize how close our faces were.” You immediately apologize, and he just waves his hand at you. “It’s okay.” 

Biting the inside of your cheek, you step out from behind the counter and head towards the flower he was inquiring about. Minghao follows after you, the visual of your face inches away from his remaining in his mind.

“Which flower was the one you were curious about?” You ask once you’re standing next to his friend he walked in with, and the pretty man points at one of your favorite flowers. “This one, it resembles a bell.” 

You smile softly and nod your head, “This is a leucojum, otherwise known as a spring snowflake. It makes its first appearance usually when there’s still snow on the ground.” 

Mingyu lets out an, ah, before beginning to talk to you about your knowledge on flowers. However, Minghao stays quiet as he stares at the spring snowflake, remembering the small smile on your face as you talked about the flower. 

“What’s the meaning of it?” Minghao asks, promptly interrupting you and Mingyu’s conversation on why you think there are much more romantic flowers than roses. You blink and look towards the tall man, who just waves his hand at you, “It’s okay, he does this a lot.” 

Minghao chooses to ignore his best friend’s jab at him, and instead waits for you to answer his question. Giving him a tentative smile, you reach out and softly touch the petals of the pretty flower. “Small, white, delicate flowers typically have the same meaning. The spring snowflake means purity, innocence, and memory of youth.”

Minghao notices the sadness that flashes past your eyes as you stare down at the white flower, before looking back up at him with the same smile you showed him when he first entered the shop. 

A rehearsed smile.

“Do these flowers suit your taste?” You ask, and Minghao shakes his head. “Unfortunately, no. Can you perhaps make a bouquet with flowers that are suited for a funeral?” 

You suck in a breath, having not expected him to come in for a funeral. Nodding your head, you gesture over towards the front counter again, before walking over. Minghao and Mingyu follow after you, standing on the other side as you log into the computer. 

“White lilies represent the soul of the deceased returning to a place of peace, if you’d like that to be the main flower in the bouquet?” You ask, and you watch as the pretty man nods his head. “That’s perfect, thank you.” 

“Okay, I’ll go prepare the bouquet for you right now.” You tell him, before quickly turning around and heading towards the back where the flowers are. 

Minghao watches you until you disappear behind the doors, wondering why his thoughts are so jumbled as he pulls out his phone to check his messages. He reads through a few texts, only for his attention to be grabbed by Mingyu nudging him with his elbow after a few minutes pass. 

“What?” Minghao asks as he glances up at his friend, only to turn to find you walking back out with a beautiful bouquet in your grasp. You give him a small smile, holding out the flowers in his direction. Stepping forward, he gently takes it from your hands, and your eyes widen when his fingers brush against yours. 

“How much do I owe you?” Minghao asks once he’s holding the bouquet in his hands, and you quietly tell him the price. Nodding his head, he pulls out his wallet from his jacket, and you watch with bated breath as he swipes a black card. 

I was definitely right about him being rich.

“Thank you for the beautiful flowers.” Mingyu says with a grin, and you bow your head towards him. 

“Thank you for coming, and I’m sorry for your loss.” You tell the two, and Minghao just shrugs his shoulders at you. “It’s already been over a year, so it’s not as fresh anymore.”

And with that, the two wave at you one more time, before walking out of the flower shop. You let out a breath, leaning forward onto the counter as you think of how pretty that man was. Shaking your head, you look over at the printed receipt, 

XU MINGHAO

“Minghao…” You murmur quietly, remembering the way he had looked at you when the two of you were inches apart.

Minghao walks quietly beside Mingyu, bouquet in hands as his best friend opens the passenger door for him. He steps into the car, sitting down in the seat as he stares down at the white lilies in his grasp. 

“They really knew their flowers, huh.” Mingyu says once he gets into the driver's seat, pulling on his seatbelt as he notices the faraway look to Minghao’s gaze. He chuckles, already knowing what he must be thinking about as he asks, “Did you get their name?” 

And Minghao looks out the window, nodding his head as he recalls the shy look on your face after you quickly pulled away. He had managed to read your name on your nametag before you turned around, and the corner of his lips quirk upwards in amusement as he mutters, 

“Yn…”

Minghao walks into the private columbarium, and places the bouquet of lilies onto the glass. He takes a step back and stares at the framed photo of his father smiling, before going down onto his knees and bowing towards him. 

He hears the sound of multiple people behind him following suit, and he stands up after a moment of staring down at the floor. He reaches out and gently touches the glass, a small smile escaping him, “I’m sorry that I’m late, father.” 

He lets his hand fall back to his side, and turns around to glance at all the men in suits kneeling before him. Becoming the new CEO of the hotel chain, Westin Josun, Minghao knew he would have more power than he did when he was abroad. 

But becoming the new boss of Dongcheon, South Korea’s largest underground gang, he didn’t expect to have this much power. 

A smirk forms on Minghao’s lips as he looks at Mingyu, seeing his best friend staring at the large group of people that he will also help lead. However, while coming back to South Korea to take over his role as the sole heir to his father’s legacy was a reason he came back, it’s not his main purpose.

Letting out a breath, he glances back at his father, wondering when was the last time he had seen him smile at him. Biting the inside of his cheek, he murmurs,

“I’ll find whoever killed you, and I’ll make sure they never see the light of day again.”

“Yn!” You look up from the sink, just to find your dad waving at you through the window outside. You laugh at how excited he looks, and he gestures for you to come into the backyard where he is. Drying your hands on the kitchen towel, you step out of the house and walk over to him. “What?” 

“Look! The hydrangeas are blooming beautifully.” He tells you with an excited grin, and you glance down, seeing the pretty pink flowers glowing underneath the sunlight. You nod your head, reaching down to gently touch the petals. “Do you know what they mean?”

You turn towards your dad, watching as he cares for the flower with such tenderness. You shake your head, no, and he grins, having expected that. Leaning back from the flower, he turns to you, reaching out and patting your head fondly. 

“Hydrangeas have a lot of different meanings, but I planted the pink ones here because they symbolize heartfelt emotions for the people you love. These flowers are for you, my precious yn.” 

“Yn.” The fond memory disappears almost immediately at the call of your name, and you turn your head to find Seungkwan standing by the entrance of the flower shop. A small smile appears on your lips when your friend walks up to the counter, placing a bag of to-go food on top of it. “For me?” 

“Mm, I decided to be the best friend ever and bring you lunch.” Seungkwan tells you, and you chuckle as you nod your head. 

You and Seungkwan had met last year in December a few hours after everything occurred. You were passed out in the alleyway behind the restaurant his sister owns, and he panicked at the blood that surrounded you. 

Your eyebrows furrow at the stinging sensation you feel on your thigh, and you slowly blink open your eyes, but quickly shut them when you’re met with a bright fluorescent light shining down on you. 

What happened? You find yourself wondering, trying to piece together the last of your memories before you passed out. 

It’s almost as if you’ve gotten punched in the stomach when everything flashes past your eyes like a montage in a movie. From breaking into the building, fighting and killing everyone without so much of a second thought to get into the office, to his last words.

“Your father… would be so proud.”

You freeze when you remember passing out in a dark alleyway, and your eyes shoot open when you feel a stinging sensation on your thigh again. Grabbing the dagger in your pocket, you quickly sit up and grab the back of their neck. Holding the knife against the person’s throat, you stare into his fearful eyes with a burning gaze.

“Who are you?” You ask coldly, watching as he does his best not to look down at the blade you’re holding to his neck. “I-I’m Boo Seungkwan.” 

You squint at the pretty man, “Where have you taken me, Seungkwan?” 

“T-To my apartment! You were passed out in the alleyway behind my sister’s restaurant, and I couldn’t leave you there, so I brought you here to clean and bandage your wounds.” The words rush out of his mouth in panic, and you blink at him. Your eyes trail away from his face down to your legs, and you see the gauze and bandages resting beside you on the table, along with the rubbing alcohol and bloody cotton pads from cleaning the cut.

Biting your bottom lip, you glance back at Seungkwan, seeing him blinking back tears as he stares up at the ceiling. After a moment of you analyzing him, you release him and pocket the dagger. He lets out a breath of relief, raising his hand up and resting it over his heart as he tries to regulate his breathing. 

“Sorry.” You mutter, and the blonde just raises his hands up to wave them at you with a small (scared?) smile. “It’s okay! It seems that you were badly hurt by someone, so I can see why you’re on edge.” 

You nod your head at his statement, clenching your fist at your side at the memory. Turning away, you start moving to get off the table, and Seungkwan’s eyes widen. 

“Wait! I haven’t finished dressing your wound—”

“I’ll be fine.” You interrupt, and he blinks at you in silence. “It’s best that I leave.” 

However, as soon as you put weight on your leg, you collapse to the floor. Seungkwan yelps in shock when your body slams onto the hardwood, and he shakes his head while tsking at you. 

“You’re in no shape to be walking right now! Let me finish cleaning the cut on your leg, and if there’s anywhere else that hurts, tell me! Don’t be stubborn…” You listen to this complete stranger start scolding you worriedly as he helps you up off the floor, placing you back onto his kitchen table as he prepares the rubbing alcohol. 

When you lie down onto your back, he continues to scold you as if he’s known you for years, and you can’t help but feel tears flood your eyes at his worries.

After that night, Seungkwan told you to stay a couple of days until you feel better, and you agreed. But a few days turned into two weeks, then two weeks turned into a month, and a month turned into a year. You had ended up becoming best friends with the stubborn blonde who took in a person he never knew. 

Seungkwan saved your life.

“My sister made the tangsuyuk extra delicious for you.” Seungkwan says as he pushes the container in your direction, and a small smile forms on your face. “Tell her I said thank you and that I’ll make sure to go and help out over there when I’m free.” 

Seungkwan shakes his head with a wave of his hand, and you raise an eyebrow. Placing a few pieces of food into your bowl, he says, “My sister said she feels bad whenever you come to help and that you don’t need to.” 

Now it’s your turn to wave your hand at him, “Tell your sister that it’s the least I could do for the help the two of you have given me over the year that I’ve known you both.” 

Seungkwan just sighs, picks up some rice with his chopsticks, and shoves it into your mouth so that you can do more chewing rather than talking. You giggle with a mouthful of rice, and even if he tries to appear annoyed by you, you see the traces of fondness in his gaze as he looks at your smiling face.

“How has your shift been so far?” Seungkwan asks, and you’re about to shrug your shoulders when the memory of the pretty man had come in a couple hours earlier. He notices the hesitation in your eyes, and he raises an eyebrow and points his chopsticks at you. “Who’d you meet?” 

Your shoulders slump forward, knowing that you can’t hide anything from Seungkwan since he can practically read you like a book. You glance at your friend, “This pretty guy named Minghao.”

“Was he buying flowers for his partner?”

“For a funeral, actually.” 

“Damn.” Seungkwan states, having not expected that answer at all. The corner of your lips quirks upwards, and you shake your head as you place some rice into your mouth. Pointing towards his full bowl of food, you say, “Eat your food!” 

And Seungkwan shoves a piece of pork in his mouth before pointing at your bowl, “You too!” 

“I am!” 

“Good!” 

The rest of your lunch break continues with the two of you bickering playfully just like this, and you wouldn’t have wanted to spend it any other way.

Minghao pins the last photo onto the large cork board, before taking a step back and staring at the big picture. 

“Hao—” The rest of Mingyu’s greeting gets lodged in his throat when he looks up from the floor of the doorway, seeing the large cork board filled with red string, sticky notes, and different photos scattered over it. He blinks slowly as he walks towards his friend, and he tentatively reaches out and rests his hand on Minghao’s shoulder, causing him to glance back at him. 

“Oh, Mingyu. When did you come in?” Minghao asks, acting like this is just a normal day on the job. Mingyu holds out the manila folder, “Just a second ago, I brought you the files you asked for.” 

Minghao quickly says thank you and takes it from Mingyu’s grasp, opening up the folder and reading its contents right away. Mingyu turns his attention back towards the cork board, and his attention is grabbed by the scratched up photo of Minghao’s late father next to a man he doesn’t recognize. There’s a big smile on Mr. Xu’s face, matched by the guy beside him as they look into the camera. 

“Who’s that?” Mingyu asks, pointing towards the picture. Minghao looks up from the folder to see the photo of his father and his late best friend, and he lets out a breath. 

“He was my father’s right-hand man. They were best friends like us, but he was murdered a few years before my dad was. They never found his killer.” Minghao explains, before looking back down towards the file. Mingyu purses his lips at the new knowledge. He already knew how dangerous this line of work was, but Minghao’s his ride or die. 

He’s saved his life, and helped his family with their financial struggles without a second thought. 

“Do you think whoever killed him is connected to your father’s death?” Mingyu asks, and Minghao shrugs his shoulders. Letting out a sigh, he places the folder onto his desk and walks up to the cork board. 

He points at the screenshot of the CCTV footage of a hooded figure wearing a mask entering and leaving the building. “They were able to enter and find my father’s office right away, as if they’ve been in this place many times before.” 

Mingyu squints at the photo, unable to see any detectable features of the person. He tilts his head at the lack of security standing at the doors, and he turns to Minghao, “Where are the guards in this photo?” 

Minghao lets out a dry chuckle, tilting his head as he squints at the pictures, “They killed them all.” 

Mingyu’s mouth drops open, and he looks back at the photo with wide eyes. He points at it, “By themself?!”

“By themself.” Minghao mutters, clenching his fist as he turns away from the cork board. Walking over to his desk, he picks up the folder and sits in the large chair. He glances at Mingyu, “That’s why there were so many deaths that day, not just my father’s. Whoever killed him is skilled, and I haven’t met anyone that skilled except…” 

Mingyu watches as Minghao gets a faraway look in his eyes, and he bites his bottom lip. Minghao glances down at his desk, seeing his dad’s smiling face in the framed photo, and his eyes ablaze. 

“Except for my father.” Minghao finishes, looking up at Mingyu with murderous rage. 

Mingyu knows how affected Minghao was after his father’s death, having been at his side when the news reached him. A moment before, they were in Minghao’s office discussing floor plans for the hotel, the next? Mingyu had to hold Minghao back from breaking one of the windows in his monstrous rage.

“Minghao! Minghao, please!” Mingyu begs, standing helplessly as Minghao throws everything off his desk. Tears flow past Minghao’s cheeks, numerous thoughts flowing through his brain as he destroys his office. 

How could his father be murdered? Who killed him? Why is he dead?

When was the last time Minghao saw his father?

“MINGHAO!” Mingyu shouts when his best friend throws the pc against the wall, destroying the framed painting in the process. Mingyu’s about to ask Minghao to stop again, but his eyes widen in panic when Minghao picks up his office chair and moves towards the window. “XU MINGHAO!”

Mingyu’s arms are placed on Minghao’s shoulders, making him look him in the eye as tears flood his vision. The black haired beauty bites his bottom lip, and slowly lowers the chair until it’s safe on the floor again. 

“Minghao, we need to go back to South Korea.” Mingyu tells him, and Minghao blinks, unresponsive as he sees all the memories with his father flash past his eyes like a montage. Raising his hands up to his head, he falls to his knees, and rests his forehead against the floor. 

“Minghao—” Mingyu’s cut off by the heartbreaking scream that escapes Minghao’s lips, currently inconsolable as he begins to sob. 

And Mingyu can only kneel beside him, offering Minghao as much support as he can while holding back his own tears.

“Do you have an idea on who it could be?” Mingyu asks, snapping out of the flashback he just had. He watches as Minghao shrugs his shoulders, opening the manila folder and plopping it onto the desk, making dozens of papers scatter across the surface.

“This is a list of all the people that came from that training facility my father runs.” Mingyu’s gaze slowly trails up towards Minghao, and he sees nothing but anger brewing beneath his eyes. He bites the inside of his cheek, “You don’t think that…”

“My father was killed by one of them. Narrow the list down to ten suspects and get back to me.” Minghao states, before looking away and going onto his computer.

And Mingyu just bows his head, “Alright, Hao.” 

“I told you not to help! It makes me feel bad.” You look up from busting the table to see Seungkwan’s sister scolding you as she hands the customers at the next table some water cups. Chuckling, you shrug your shoulders at her, “And I told you and Seungkwan that I’m going to help anyways!”

She lets out a groan and walks past you towards the front counter, but you see the hint of a grateful smile on her face as she helps someone checkout. You grin and put the last plate into the bucket, before hurrying towards the kitchen. 

“Excuse me.” You immediately whip around at the voice, wondering which table asked for your attention, only to freeze when you catch the gaze of those familiar sharp eyes you haven’t stopped thinking about. 

You blink, “Minghao?”

“Yn.” Minghao whispers when he sees your eyes brighten in recognition, and the smallest of smiles forms on his lips when you walk over. You give him a grin, adjusting your grip on the bucket so that it’s resting on your hip and being held by your right arm, leaving your left arm free. “I didn’t expect to see you again.” 

And Minghao chuckles, nodding his head in agreement as he looks up at you from his seat. “Do you work here too?” 

You shake your head and point at Seungkwan’s sister, “I just help out here sometimes, my close friend is the owner.” 

Minghao’s mouth opens as he lets out an, ah. He nods his head and gives you a close-lipped smile, one that you return as you adjust your hold on the bucket. His gaze falls on the action, and he blinks when he realizes that you must be struggling to keep your grip on the container full of dirty dishes.

“I’m sorry, I’ve been keeping you from helping out.” Minghao apologizes, and your eyes widen as you shake your free hand at him. “It’s okay! I’m stronger than I look, so there’s no problem in me holding this.” 

And Minghao just stares at you for a moment after the sentence leaves your lips, and you bite the inside of your cheek at the fact that you told him something that sounds so wimpy. Right when you decide to tell him that it was stupid, a beautiful smile takes over his features as he lets out the most melodic giggle you’ve ever heard in your life. 

Warmth immediately floods your face at his beauty, and you clear your throat, squinting at him to try and act like you’re not affected. “Are you denying my strength?” 

And Minghao waves his hands at you, his eyes sparkling as he smiles, “I would never do such a thing.”

You let out a laugh, shaking your head as you turn away from him and point towards the kitchen. “I’m going to go do these dishes. I’ll tell my friend to go take your order.” 

Minghao nods, and with that, you walk over towards the front counter. He watches as you converse with your friend, pointing over in his direction with a grin. He raises an eyebrow when your eyes widen at something she said in response, and he bites back a laugh when you slap her shoulder and rush off into the kitchen. 

Glancing back down at the menu, he skims through the selection of food until he feels a presence beside him. He looks up to find your friend clicking open her pen, and she gives the black haired beauty a smile. “Hi! What can I get started for you today?” 

Minghao stares at her for a moment, before pointing over in the direction you disappeared in, 

“What’s yn’s favorite dish on the menu?” 

It’s half an hour later when you finally come back out from the kitchen, and you look over at the table Minghao was sitting at in hopes that he’s still here, only to feel disappointed when you see him no longer seated there. 

Seungkwan’s sister walks out from the kitchen and stands beside you, watching as you continue to look around the restaurant in hopes that Minghao could be here. She lets out a giggle, snapping you out of your search as you turn to look at her. 

She grins and holds up a to-go container, “Here. It’s your favorite.” 

“Ah! I told you that you don’t need to give me food whenever I help out—”

“It’s not from me, even though I still would’ve given you food.” She interrupts, and you blink in surprise. “Then who is it from?” 

You watch as a mischievous grin takes over her features, and you wonder what she could possibly know that could make her smile like this. She reaches out and grabs your hand, placing the to-go container onto your palm as she replies, 

“Minghao ordered it for you.” 

And with that, Seungkwan’s sister walks away and heads over towards a busy table. Leaving you standing at the front counter, frozen in your spot as you stare down at the container full of food. Warmth floods your face, and you bite back a smile from forming on your lips when you hug the to-go container.

Seungkwan’s sister glances in your direction, and lets out a quiet giggle when she sees the silly smile on your face. Shaking her head, she turns back towards the table as she mutters, 

“Someone has a crush.”

“Do you know what it means to kill someone? To take another person’s life with your own hands?” He asks, slowly looking up at you from his desk. You don’t respond, hands shaking at your sides as you clench onto the flier you had printed. He stands up from his chair and begins to walk over to you, holding his hand out towards his assistant, who places a gun onto the palm of his hand.

He stops when he’s a foot away from you, and he rips the paper out of your grasp, replacing it with the gun as he stares at you. Your hands begin to shake more as you hold the weapon, and he steps closer to you.

“Shoot me.” He commands, and your eyes slowly trail up from the floor and up to his face. He stares at you with an indecipherable expression on his face, before forcefully grabbing your hand and making you hold the gun to his chest, “Shoot me if you really meant what you said you could do.” 

You bite your bottom lip, and he scoffs. He reaches out and takes the gun from your hands, before pushing past you and handing the weapon back to his assistant. He walks over to his desk and sits down in his seat, not looking at you anymore as he states, 

“Get them out of here.” 

Your eyes open at the sound of your alarm, and you roll over in bed, turning it off before pulling the covers over your head with a groan. You blink down at your hands, the memory of your dream remaining vivid in your mind even if you’ve tried to push back all of your past. 

You let out a gasp when you blink and see your hands covered in blood, and you quickly yank the covers off in a panic. You shut your eyes tightly for a few seconds, trying to tell yourself that it’s just your imagination, before opening them to see your clean hands. 

Biting your bottom lip, you watch as your hands begin to shake uncontrollably as you fold them together on your lap. You suck in a deep breath in an attempt to calm down, rocking yourself back and forth while quietly reminding yourself that you live a different life now. 

The sound of a knock on your door startles you, and you turn your head to see Seungkwan looking at you with a concerned expression on his face. “Are you okay? I heard you gasp when I walked by your door.” 

Your eyes dart down to your shaking hands, and you move them under your butt so that Seungkwan won’t see. However, your best friend is able to read you like the back of his hand, and he walks up to you and grabs your wrists before you can properly hide them.

“Your hands are shaking. Did you have a nightmare?” Seungkwan asks you as kneels down in front of you. He begins to rub soothing circles onto your hands so that they’ll stop shaking, feeling worried about what’s going on in your head. And you find yourself unable to respond, instead choosing to look down at your lap as the memory replays in your head. 

Seungkwan never learned of your past, because you never had the guts to tell him the kind of person you truly are. He has an idea of what life you lived before you met him due to how he stumbled upon your half dead body in an alleyway, but he doesn’t have the actual story. 

And you don’t ever want him to know.

“You don’t have to tell me, yn, but I don’t want you to hide your feelings either.” Seungkwan begins as he massages your hand, and your eyes slowly trail up towards his face. “If you’re sad, then just say you’re sad. If you’re mad, then tell me you’re mad. I won’t ask you why, I’ll let you tell me if you want to—but don’t pretend that you’re fine.” 

Your bottom lip begins to quiver, and you lean your head forward until it’s resting on Seungkwan’s shoulder. He just lets out a sad smile, gently placing your hand back onto your lap once it’s stopped shaking. He reaches up and pats your nape, “You’ll be okay.”

You walk around the shop with a spray bottle full of water, looking for any flowers that could need some hydration. You’re about to spray one of the leaves of a plant when you hear the bells chime at the front, and you turn to greet the customer.

“Hi! Welcome to Bloom Bloom—” 

“Hi, yn.” 

You almost drop the spray bottle you were holding, an excited smile taking over your features as you stare at Minghao by the entrance. He raises his hand up and waves at you, a grin on his face when you walk over. 

“Minghao! What are you doing here?” You ask, and the pretty man finds himself endeared by how giddy you are to see him. “I came to get some flowers and visit you as well.”

You feel warmth rush up to your face at the mention of you, and you bite back a big smile from forming on your face. In an attempt to act cool, you just nod your head with a grin, “Oh really? What kind of flowers were you wanting to buy?” 

Minghao tilts his head as he thinks, and you watch as his eyes trail around the flower shop, before they land back on you. You blink when the corner of his lips quirk upwards as he asks, “What’s your favorite flower?” 

“Hydrangeas.” You immediately reply, and he lets out a quiet chuckle. “You answered that really fast.” 

You nod your head as a bittersweet smile forms on your lips, and you point over towards the different colored hydrangeas in the pot near the window. Minghao’s gaze follows your hand, and a small smile escapes him when he sees the beautiful flower. 

“I can see why they’re your favorite. They’re pretty.” Minghao says as he turns back to you, expecting you to giggle and nod, but you’re doing the opposite. There’s a faraway look in your eyes, one that he can recognize all too well. 

It’s how he looked for months after his father was murdered.

Minghao bites his bottom lip, knowing that he shouldn’t ask you about your connection to the flower. He clears his throat, and you blink when he’s suddenly in your line of sight, watching as he walks over and picks up the pot of purple hydrangeas. 

He turns around and gives you a smile, “I’ll buy this then.” 

You continue to watch in silence as he walks past you and towards the register, only for your eyes to widen when you realize that you have to ring him up. You quickly walk over to the counter, getting behind it and gently picking up the potted flower. 

“Do you know how to take care of hydrangeas?” You ask as you ring up the plant, and Minghao shakes his head, no. Your eyebrows furrow when you take his card and swipe it, “Then why did you choose them?” 

Minghao doesn’t respond right away when you hand him back his card, as well as the receipt he has to sign. It’s as he’s writing his signature that he answers, “Because it’s your favorite.” 

Your hands freeze over the screen of the tablet, heart rate increasing within your chest at his honesty. Minghao places the pen down onto the table, looking up to find you staring at the register. He bites back a laugh at your reaction, and you shut your eyes tightly for a second, before opening them and turning to him. 

“If you’re unsure how to care for them, there’s many tutorials on the internet.” You say, choosing to not acknowledge what he said because you’re not even sure how to respond to that. Minghao nods his head and picks up the pot of hydrangeas, but he continues to stand in front of the counter. 

You bite the inside of your cheek when a thought comes to mind, but you don’t know if you’ll be able to say something so bold. Clenching your fist at your side, you stare down at the delicate purple petals of the hydrangeas, the knowledge of how to properly care for them coming into your mind. 

“Thank you for the flowers, yn—”

“If you want,” You begin, your eyes slowly trailing back towards him as you try to muster up the courage to say the rest of the sentence. He waits patiently for you to say the rest, even looking interested in what you have to say. Your eyes lock onto his, and warmth floods your face at his beauty as you practically say in one breath, “I can give you my number and offer advice on how to make sure your hydrangeas will thrive!” 

Silence fills the small flower shop as the two of you stare at each other, your offer to give the pretty man your number floating up in the air. Minghao wonders how a person can be so endearing, even when he knows so little about them. Whereas you’re wondering if you made a mistake—what if he’d rather just Google how to take care of hydrangeas? 

It’s when you’re about to rescind your offer that Minghao looks away from you, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. He places it onto the counter and gives you a small smile, “Here. I’ll text you when I need you.” 

Your eyes dart between his phone, and back up to his face, making him let out a giggle. He nudges his phone closer to you, and you snap out of your trance, immediately picking up his phone and putting in your number. When you hand it back to him, he lifts it up and waves it towards you with a grin. 

“I’ll see you around, yn.” You smile and nod your head, waving back at him as you tell him to drive safe. It’s only when he’s finally out of the shop that you practically collapse onto the counter, wondering how you were able to muster up the courage to make a move like that.

“I must be crazy.” 

“Are you crazy? Why did you get flowers?! You said you were going to buy us coffee!” Mingyu exclaims when Minghao walks back into the office holding not two cups of coffee in his hand, but a pot of flowers. 

“They’re hydrangeas, and it’s fine. I ordered it here, it’ll arrive in a bit.” Minghao explains as he walks over and gently places the pot onto his desk. He wipes his hands on his jeans, letting out a breath while he looks at the flower. Mingyu stares at his friend with a raised eyebrow, before he lets out a sigh and places the pen down.

“Where’d you get them? They’re pretty.” Mingyu asks as he gently prods the petals of the flower. Minghao reaches out and slaps the latter’s hand, making him instantly retract it as he answers, “Don’t touch them, you’re clumsy.” 

Mingyu’s lips form into a pout as he rubs the stinging area on his hand, “So rude, and you didn’t answer my question!” 

Minghao rolls his eyes at his reaction, reaching out and patting the back of Mingyu’s hand as an apology. “I got them from a flower shop on the way to get coffee.” 

“You didn’t even buy coffee.”

“I know.” Minghao says as he steps away from his desk. Mingyu chuckles at the sheepish look on Minghao’s face, watching as he walks over to the whiteboard and flips it around so that it’s showing the corkboard side again. “I got distracted.” 

“By that person who works at the flower shop?” 

“Their name is yn.” Minghao immediately replies while fixing one of the pins, only to pause at how quickly he corrected Mingyu. The tall man bites back a smirk, and Minghao shakes his head as he turns to glance at his friend. “Whatever. Have you been working on the list of people?” 

The brunette nods his head, “I’ve narrowed it down a good amount, but there’s still a lot more people to go through. Probably about ten pages left?” 

Minghao bites the inside of his cheek, “How long do you think that will take?” 

“Maybe two weeks to go through the last few pages? But I still have to do intense background checks on the ten people that could’ve possibly murdered him, so it could take up to one or two months.” Mingyu explains and the black haired beauty lets out a sigh. He looks at the photo of his father and nods his head, “That’s fine, just make sure to get me that list of ten people and we’ll figure it out fast.”

And Mingyu bows his head, “Of course, Hao.” 

A comfortable silence settles over the two as Mingyu arranges the papers on Minghao’s desk, while the latter stares at the corkboard, trying to see if he could come up with any new leads. It’s when Mingyu gets to the hydrangeas, that he chuckles, making Minghao turn to glance at him, “Hm?” 

“I just think it’s funny how you never get distracted, but easily got off track when you saw yn again.” Mingyu says, looking at his friend to see his reaction. He’s only left surprised when he catches sight of a shy smile on Minghao’s face, one that he’s only ever seen when Minghao’s father would praise him. 

Minghao shrugs his shoulders, turning back towards the corkboard and looking at the CCTV photo of the assailant as he mutters, 

“They help me forget, even if it’s only for a brief moment.” 

Seungkwan places the last washed dish in the drying rack with a huff, turning and wiping his hands on the kitchen towel. Cracking his knuckles, he turns his head and looks over at the living room, squinting his eyes when he can only see the top of your head. 

“Yn? What are you doing?” Seungkwan asks, only to receive no response. Now frowning, he walks over and peers over the sofa, just to see you kneeling on the floor, staring intensely at your turned off phone that’s laying on the table. 

He blinks, “Yn.” 

You snap out of your daze, turning your head to find Seungkwan looking at you with a bit of a concerned expression on his face. You give him a nod to acknowledge his presence, before turning back to your phone and glaring at the black screen. 

“Yn.” 

“Why hasn’t he texted me?” You murmur, not hearing the call of your name. 

“Yn.”

You pause and fix your posture when a thought comes to mind, “Did he end up looking up advice for hydrangeas online?”

“Yn.” 

“Nah, there’s no way.” You say with a smile, before leaning forward and staring at your phone again. 

“YN!” You jump at Seungkwan’s shout, seeing him now looking at you as if you’re crazy. “What are you doing?!” 

You give him a sheepish grin, raising your hand up and rubbing the back of your neck. You gesture towards your phone, “I’m waiting for someone to text me…” 

Seungkwan just stares at you, a flabbergasted expression on his face. Shaking his head, he runs a hand down his face and points at your phone, “Are you waiting for a man to text you?” 

“... No…” You lie, and your best friend squints at you. 

“I thought I taught you not to ever trust a man!” 

“And I’m not!!” 

“But you’re waiting for a man to text you!” 

“I am not—” You’re cut off by the sound of your phone dinging, and you immediately pounce on your phone, a hopeful smile on your face when you look at your screen. Seungkwan watches as the smile slowly falls from your face, and turns into a pout as you slam your phone back onto the table. 

He looks at you, “Wasn’t him?” 

“No!” You cry out, raising your hands up and covering your face. You bring your knees up to your chest, feeling dumb for even anticipating a simple text. Seungkwan holds himself back from audibly aweing because of how endearing you are, and instead walks over and pats your head. “Yn, he might just be busy. You shouldn’t wait and stare at your phone—”

“It’s been a week since he got my number.” You interrupt in a small voice, face still hidden in your hands as the embarrassment begins to hit you. Seungkwan blinks at your confession, the open hand that’s resting over your head slowly closing into a fist as anger washes over him.

“He’s making you wait?”

You pause at the bite to Seungkwan’s question, remembering how angry he’s gotten at all the people who have ghosted his sister. He’s never shown this towards you since you haven’t been interested in anyone since the two of you have met.

Until today.

“It’s okay, Seungkwan! You’re right, he must be busy!” You say in a last ditch attempt to calm him down, turning around to face him with a smile. However, the smile quickly drops from your face when you see him heading towards the front door. “Seungkwan, where are you going?”

He grabs his jacket and turns to look at you with fire behind his eyes, “To commit homicide.” 

“SEUNGKWAN NO—”

You play solitaire on the tablet at the front counter, waiting for your shift to end so that you can go home and mope over the fact that Minghao hasn’t texted you in two weeks. You wonder if you made up everything in your head, that the small acts of kindness he’s shown you is really just him being, you know, kind. Maybe you read it all wrong. 

Maybe he really did just choose to do a quick google search on how to properly care for hydrangeas. 

You’re about to place two of clubs on the ace, but quickly pause the game when the sound of bells chime throughout the store. Swiping out of the game, you greet, “Hi! Welcome to Bloom Bloom.”

“Yn.” You freeze at the voice, slowly looking up to see Minghao standing at the entrance, a small smile on his face. His smile falls slightly when you just give him a tight-lipped grin and a bow of your head, a stark contrast to the way you usually greet him. 

Tilting his head, he walks up to the counter and places his elbows on top of it. He watches as you avoid his stare, instead choosing to continue your work on the tablet without acknowledging his presence. He purses his lips, “Are you okay?” 

“I’m just fine, some might even say that I’m peachy. In fact, I’ve never been better, actually.” You quip, making Minghao raise an eyebrow. He leans forward over the counter, getting a look at what’s taking up most of your attention, only to bite back a snort when he sees solitaire on full screen. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Minghao presses, but you don’t respond, continuing to play the card game as you ignore the pretty man standing in front of you. He lets out a smile, finding you cute rather than annoying like he usually would. 

“You know, this is the first time someone’s ever dared to ignore me.” 

“Oh yeah? Should I assume that this isn’t the first time you made someone wait for your text?” You snap, swiping out of the card game and standing up from the chair. Minghao blinks at the quick change in your attitude, following after you as you walk out from behind the counter. 

“Is that why you didn’t look happy to see me?” Minghao asks as he walks behind you past the rows of flowers. You grab the spray bottle full of water off the rack and squat, beginning to spray the leaves of a plant, and the black haired beauty leans against the shelf. 

“Well, saying that you want someone’s number and then not actually texting them for two weeks isn’t exactly the way to get on someone’s good side.” You mutter, and Minghao bites his bottom lip. “Yn.” 

You ignore him and stand up to your full height to start walking to the next aisle, but a hand softly grasping onto yours makes you stop. You turn your head and finally look at Minghao, seeing him looking at you with a guilty look on his face, and a pout forms on your lips. 

“What?” 

“I’m sorry I haven’t texted you, I’ve been really busy with work recently.” Minghao tells you, but the pout doesn’t disappear from your lips as you turn away. “You still could’ve texted to let me know that rather than making me wait like a fool…” 

“I’m sorry, I’ll make sure to do better in the future.” Minghao promises, and you bite the inside of your cheek at the mention of a future between you two. However, you’re still upset.

About the fact that you waited so long like a fool? Or the fact that you’re about to fold so easily? 

The World may never know. 

Minghao purses his lips when your pout still doesn’t disappear, and he gently squeezes your hand, causing you to look at him. He gives you a tentative smile and swings your connected hands, “How about I take you out to dinner to make up for it?” 

The pout on your lips quickly turns into your jaw dropping slightly at the question, and Minghao holds back a giggle. You blink, feeling warmth flood your face as you wonder whether he meant as a date or as two friends hanging out. 

Minghao sucks in a deep breath, before answering the question you failed to ask, “Like a date.” 

The two of you stare at each other in silence for a moment, letting the question sink in. Minghao begins to wonder if this will be the first time he ever gets rejected as well, until the shyest of smiles forms on your lips, and he feels his breath get taken away at the sight. 

You squeeze his hand back, and Minghao’s ears go red when you nod your head, “Yes, Minghao. I’ll go on a date with you.”

“You’re good at drinking.” Minghao tells you after you down your fifth shot, making you laugh as you shrug your shoulders. You take a piece of fried laver and take a bite, “I have a high tolerance.” 

“I heard that’s both a blessing and a curse.” Minghao says as he places some rice into his mouth, and you nod in agreement. “It’s a blessing because it takes a lot for me to black out, and it’s a curse because I have to consume a lot of alcohol, which means spending more money.” 

Minghao chuckles, and you smile at the sight of his red ears. He picks up a piece of grilled meat and puts it on top of your rice, and he watches as your eyes brighten at the kind act. You pick it up with your chopsticks and place it into your mouth, “Thank you, Minghao.” 

And he nods, “You’re welcome, yn.”

As he watches you look around the crowded restaurant with sparkles in your eyes, warmth floods his heart from how beautiful you are even under this terrible lighting. All his life, Minghao hasn’t felt himself care for someone so quickly like the way he does for you. At first it was just curiosity for the person who he saw spraying flowers in the display window, and now?

He’d do anything for you. 

“I haven’t seen the friend you entered with the first time you came to the shop.” You say as you flip the meat on the grill. Minghao raises an eyebrow at the mention of Mingyu, “Curious about my friend, I see.” 

You look up at him with a deadpan expression, making him smile in amusement. He waves his hands at you to signal that he’s just joking, “Mingyu’s been busy doing a project I assigned him, so he doesn’t really have the time to come with me when I go out.” 

You nod, having known Minghao must have a good job considering the fact that he handed you a black card for his transactions. Back then, you wouldn’t have dared to tease him, but now? 

You point the tongs in his direction, making him raise an eyebrow. You send him a mischievous smile, “So you get to have more free time while making Mingyu do all the work, huh? I see the type of man you are.” 

Minghao rolls his eyes at your teasing. If it were any other person who said that, maybe even Mingyu, they would’ve gotten a punch to the gut. However, since it’s you, Minghao just holds up the lettuce wrap that he made. “Since you decided to say that—you’re not getting this wrap anymore!” 

You let out a sound of protest, and Minghao doesn’t listen, instead putting it in his mouth and making sure to chew it deliciously. You gawk at the pretty man, watching as he swallows it and gives you a grin. 

“It was delicious.” 

“I was joking! I’m sorry, Hao.” You whine, making Minghao chuckle as he holds up the other lettuce wrap he made specifically for you. Your face brightens at the sight of the wrap, and he leans across the table, holding it close to your mouth, “Ah~”

Heat immediately rushes up to your face at the fact that he wants to feed it to you, and you clench your fists at your sides as you open your mouth, “Ah.”

Minghao smiles and feeds you the wrap, making sure to wipe off the dribble of water from the lettuce that goes down your chin before sitting down. He lets out a chuckle when you attempt to give him a smile of gratitude with a mouthful of lettuce wrap, “You’re welcome.” 

Minghao waits until you’ve swallowed the food to ask why you decided to work at a flower shop, and his eyebrow raises slightly when he sees you visibly pause at the question. 

You slowly place the kimchi into your bowl, trying to formulate the answer in your head so that it doesn’t ruin the happy mood the two of you have set on this date.

“My uh, my dad really loved flowers.” You begin, and Minghao doesn’t fail to notice the use of past tense. “He grew this garden in our backyard, and it was really beautiful, which made sense because he cared for it like it was his own child.”

Minghao chuckles softly, and you let out a bittersweet smile. You squeeze your knees underneath the table, and suck in a deep breath before continuing.

“When he died a few years back, I lost myself. I was so focused on getting revenge, that I didn’t really give myself time to grieve. So it was only last year that I came back to my childhood home and saw that all of the flowers in the garden had wilted, except one.” 

Minghao bites the inside of his cheek, “Was it…?”

And you nod your head, a faraway look in your eyes as you say, “The pink hydrangeas he planted for me were still alive, almost as if he was taking care of them in the afterlife so that I would at least have them to come back to.” 

“Through taking care of the pink hydrangeas, I found that they were the only thing that kept me sane? If that makes sense?” Minghao nods, and you let out a shaky breath. “That was when I decided to apply to work at the flower shop my dad always went to, and I’ve been working there since then.” 

Silence settles over you and Minghao after you finish your story, and you find yourself slowly beginning to regret telling him the story. Numerous questions fill your head as you wait for him to respond. 

Was it too soon? 

Will he see me differently now?

Right as you’re about to burst out and apologize for ruining the mood, Minghao stops you by saying, “I understand.” 

You look up at him, “Really?” 

Minghao nods his head, letting out a breath as he thinks about his own experience. “My father passed away last year, and I’m honestly still grieving now, but your story gave me strength.” 

Your mouth drops open at the news, “I’m so sorry for your loss.” 

Minghao waves his hand at you to try and tell you it’s okay, but you shake your head. You reach out and rest your hand over his on the table, making him blink in surprise. “Really, I know how hard it is to lose a parent, especially because you lost your dad so recently. I want you to know that it’s okay to still be grieving, there’s no time limit on that. Allow yourself to be sad, okay?” 

Your words hang in the air, and Minghao finds himself wondering how someone can be so… good. Just… so inherently good for the world that all he wants to do is pull you into his arms and protect you from anything bad that comes your way. 

He adjusts his hand so that it’s no longer under your own, and you’re about to retract your arm, but stop when he instead intertwines his fingers with yours. He gives you a grateful smile, “Thank you, yn.”

And you give him a shy smile, “Anything for you, Minghao.” 

“Minghao!” You cheer, causing the pretty man to look up from his phone, a smile blossoming across his lips when he sees you waving at him from a few feet away. He waves you over, and you hurry to him, letting out a breath once you’re standing in front of him. 

“I was wondering if you were going to stand me up since you’re ten minutes late.” Minghao teases, and you let out a whine as you point in the direction you came from. “I had to fight off Seungkwan since he kept pestering me about my outfit, so he made me late.” 

This is you and Minghao’s third date, and you haven’t felt this much happiness in years. After your first date, the two of you quickly became part of each other’s daily routine, from sending good morning and goodnight texts, to facetiming, and to Minghao coming to visit you at work often. 

On your guys’ first date, Minghao already knew he couldn’t just let you be a brief moment in his life.

He chuckles, “You know, you’re also the first person to dare keep me waiting.”

You scoff, nudging him with your shoulder before gesturing to the inside of the movie theater. “Consider it payback for making me wait two weeks for your text.”

With that, you turn and head through the theater doors, biting back a laugh when you hear Minghao whine this time, 

“I told you I was sorry!” 

You continue to walk without looking back, and quickly step up to the counter to purchase your tickets. You ask the employee for two tickets to the movie you both planned to watch, and move to take out your credit card.

“That’ll be $28, please.” You’re about to hand them your card when an arm stretches out from behind you, and you squint when you see the all too familiar black card. You turn your head to find Minghao giving the employee a grin, before glancing at you, and his breath hitches when he realizes the close proximity between your faces.

“I-I was going to pay.” You mutter, now hyper aware of how easily you can just lean in and press a kiss to his pretty lips. Minghao seems to think this as well, as his tongue darts out and licks his lips unconsciously. 

“Here you are, sir.” The two of you jump apart at the voice of the employee, and you glance up to see them holding back a laugh at how flustered you both are. Minghao reaches out and takes his card and the tickets from their hand, bowing his head, “Thank you.” 

You quickly turn away and walk off with Minghao, warmth flooding your face as your mind keeps wandering back to how pink his lips are. While Minghao refuses to look at you, for he’s sure that the tips of his ears are bright red right now.

“Tickets please.” Minghao hands the employee your tickets, and then heads towards the direction they told you to go in. There’s an awkward silence between the two of you, lasting until you enter the theater and sit down in your seats. 

“Oh, we didn’t get snacks.” Minghao mutters when the previews begin, and your eyes widen in realization. He blinks, watching as you rummage through the pocket of your jacket, before an excited smile takes over when you grab onto it. You hold up a ziploc bag of popcorn you had popped before running over for your movie date, and Minghao bites back a snort at the sight. 

“Movie theater snacks are too expensive, so I always bring my own.” You say with a giggle, and Minghao smiles softly as you place the bag of popcorn into the cupholder. “That is somehow so on brand for you.” 

You nudge him with your shoulder, “I know, right?” 

And the awkward tension that was hanging over the two of you disappears over the fact that you managed to sneak in a whole ziploc bag full of popcorn you had popped yourself. 

You reach out to take a piece of popcorn, only to freeze when you grasp onto a hand instead. You turn your head to find Minghao staring at you with surprise etched over his features, and you quickly retract your arm. 

You giggle quietly in order to not disturb the others who are watching the movie, “Sorry. You go ahead.” 

And Minghao nods his head, taking a few pieces and tossing them into his mouth. As he chews, he tries to keep his attention on the movie playing out in front of him, but he finds that his eyes are back on you again. 

He admires the way your eyes sparkle in fascination at the movie, a small smile forming on his face at how ethereal you look from the big screen flashing different colors over your features. He bites the inside of his cheek, his eyes trailing down to find your hand just resting on your lap. 

Sucking in a quiet breath, he reaches out and takes hold of your hand, intertwining your fingers with his as he turns back towards the screen. Your eyes widen, and you glance at Minghao, just to find him watching the movie like he didn’t just hold your hand. 

Biting back a smile from forming on your lips, you also turn back towards the movie. Warmth floods your face when his thumb begins to rub circles on the back of your hand, and without a second thought, you scoot over and rest your head onto his shoulder. 

Minghao can’t help the fond smile that takes over his features, and he slowly lets his cheek rest on your head.

Even though this is only your third date, Minghao’s already sure of one thing: 

He’s fallen head over heels for you. 

Minghao watches over the shoulder of one of the lab assistants as they test the methamphetamine that was created in one of the new laboratories he’s recently obtained. Mingyu stands beside him, monitoring the process as well.

Once the assistant stands to the side, Minghao reaches out and touches the sample. Mingyu watches as Minghao places his finger on the tip of his tongue, a method of testing the quality of the drug that he learned from his father. 

Minghao doesn’t like drugs—it was never really his thing. However, since he was thrown into his business when his father deemed him old enough, he had to learn the ways of making sure he’s only creating and selling the best of the best. 

“It’s perfect. Make sure these are distributed properly, and let me know if there are any problems.” Minghao orders as he already heads for the door. He hears numerous, yes sirs!, go around before he steps out of the laboratory. 

“Leaving already?” Mingyu asks, walking up beside Minghao after saying bye to the other employees. The black haired beauty nods as he pulls out his phone to check his hair in the camera, but frowns when he sees his reflection, and turns to Mingyu. “Does my hair look okay? I think it looks kinda messy.” 

Mingyu bites back a chuckle at how worried Minghao is over his appearance, having not seen him care so much about how he looked in their many years of being best friends. The brunette nods his head, reaching out and ruffling Minghao’s hair a bit so that it looks more natural, “You look fine, Hao. Where are you off to? That makes you question me on how your hair looks?” 

“I’m going on a date with yn, and I have to pick them up at their apartment.” Minghao tells him with a shy smile, and Mingyu whistles at that. 

Mingyu hasn’t seen Minghao become close to another person aside from him, let alone see his best friend fall in love. However, with the way Minghao’s eyes are sparkling at the thought of going to see you, he can see that his friend has fallen in love.

He nudges his friend teasingly, making Minghao shove him away with a laugh as he moves to open the door. “I’m going to escape from you now since you’re being weird. What are you going to do the rest of the night?” 

“I’m almost done going through all the files, so tonight I’m looking at the last few people and then I’ll update you on that when you get back.” Mingyu says, and Minghao’s mouth drops open slightly. 

He almost forgot the whole reason he came back to Korea.

“Wow, it’s been that long already?” Minghao asks himself, and Mingyu bites the inside of his cheek. He reaches out and pats Minghao’s shoulder, causing the latter to look back at him. “I know we came back to Korea for you to get revenge, but don’t you think you can see yn as your new purpose—”

“We came here for one reason and one reason only. I can’t let myself forget that. Try and keep me in check from now on, okay?” Minghao requests, but to Mingyu, he knows that it’s more of an order. He nods his head, before gesturing towards the door, “Don’t want you to be late for your date. Tell yn I said hi.”

Minghao bites his bottom lip, before patting his friend on the shoulder as he passes him to leave the building. “Thanks, Gyu. I’ll let them know.”

Minghao waits outside of your apartment building, scrolling through his emails as he waits for you to come out and let him in. His thoughts remain on the fact that Mingyu is close to solving the murder of his father, and how he almost forgot that this was his ultimate goal. It was never about becoming the CEO of his father’s business, or becoming the leader of Dongcheon, no.

It was about finding who murdered his father, and making sure they never live another day. 

“Minghao!” You call when you poke your head past the doors, but the black haired beauty continues to stare down at his phone with a furrow to his brow. Pursing your lips, you call his name again, and this time he looks up at you. 

You smile warmly at his wide eyes, making warmth flood his face at your sheer beauty as you wave your hand towards him. “What were you looking at on your phone that made you look so angry?” 

So how come he feels like he can let it all go in order to see you smile at him like this?

You push open the door for him so he can step inside, and he just shrugs his shoulders while giving you a reassuring grin. “Just some business emails, don’t worry.”

The two of you walk over to the elevators and step inside, quietly conversing about how your roommate is currently hanging out with his sister at her restaurant on the way up. The elevator bell dings, and you both step out, with Minghao following after you towards your apartment. 

“So that means I won’t meet the infamous Seungkwan again?” He jokes, and you nod with a smirk on your face while you unlock the door. Minghao catches sight of the evil smile, and he bites back a loud laugh as he nudges you with his shoulder, making you turn to him. “What?” 

“You seem too happy for me not meeting your best friend.” 

“Seungkwan can be a bit… overwhelming.” You grimace as you open the door, slipping off your shoes and heading towards your room.

Minghao grins and follows you inside, taking a brief look around your shared apartment with a curious gaze. You push open your bedroom door and turn to glance at your date, giggling when you see him leaning down to look at one of your many plants scattered across the small space. 

“You can wait on the couch here or in my room. I just have to finish writing a couple of emails about a large order on flowers for a wedding and then we can go ice skating.” You say, and Minghao blinks at the mention of your bedroom. You seem to take notice of this, as you push open your door further so that he can see it’s a bit of a large space. 

“I have a beanbag chair if you wanna sit on that.” You offer with a smile, and Minghao’s initial surprised expression melts into a chuckle as he nods and gestures towards your room. “I do enjoy beanbag chairs.” 

Grinning, you enter your room with Minghao stepping in after you. Walking over to your desk, you sit down in your chair while Minghao plops down onto your large bean bag chair. You spin around, just to laugh at how content he looks while laying on the chair. 

“You like it?” You ask, and he nods his head. 

“I’m a beanbag chair connoisseur, if I do say so myself.” 

“That’s somehow very on par for you.” You respond with a grin, and spin back around to face your laptop. Minghao lays on the chair with his eyes closed, feeling himself relax as he listens to the sound of you typing. 

“Ah, I need my planner.” You mutter, making Minghao open an eye and look over at you. He watches as you stand up from your chair and head out of your room. 

Letting out a yawn, he sits up on the chair and looks around your room. Standing up, he stretches his arms over his head as a means to wake himself up. A board full of photos catches his eye, and he walks over to it, a small smile forming on his face when he sees a number of photos of you with Seungkwan and his sister. 

“They’re so cute.” Minghao murmurs to himself as he leans back. He’s about to turn and walk back over to the beanbag chair when his gaze lands on a framed photo by your desk light, making him stop dead in his tracks.

He blinks, reaching up with his hands and rubbing at his eyes, before picking up the frame and staring at the photo with wide eyes. 

It’s a selfie of you and an older man, bright smiles on both of your faces. The sun shines brightly in the background, highlighting the thousands of flowers that surround you in the field the two of you are standing in. 

As Minghao stares at the photo, his phone buzzes with a call in his pocket. With his free hand, he takes his phone out and holds it up to his ear, not looking away from the photo he says, “Hello?”

“Minghao, I just got to the last name on the file. I looked them up in the system and their photo appeared along with their name, and I think it’s them. They left and were never heard from again after your father passed away, it all matches.” Mingyu breathes as he stares down at the file, and Minghao clenches the frame. 

“Who is it, Mingyu?” 

“Minghao, I think you need to come here for me to show you—”

“Give me the name, Kim Mingyu.” Minghao orders, knuckles turning white with how tightly he’s clutching onto the framed photo. A moment of silence passes between the line, the sound of breathing the only thing that can be heard before Mingyu says, 

“It’s yn. Yn Yln, the only child of your father’s right hand man, Peter Yln.” 

His arm holding the phone slowly falls down until it hangs limply by his side, the sound of Mingyu calling his name ringing quietly throughout the room. 

Minghao feels like he’s falling. His heartbeat is the only thing he can hear as he stares down at the framed photo of you and your father, eyes wide as his grip on the frame gets tighter. 

“Minghao? What’s wrong—” Minghao’s head snaps towards you, an emotion in his eyes that you know all too well, for you have worn it yourself a year ago.

Betrayal. 

Your eyes slowly trail down towards what he’s holding in his hand, only to suck in a breath when you see your father smiling brightly beside you in the framed photo you have on your desk. 

“Who…” Minghao trails off, trying to think of what he really wants to ask you. You watch as his hand begins to shake at his side as he stares at the photo, “Who is this?” 

You stare at him, swallowing the growing lump in your throat as you answer, “My dad.” 

Minghao wonders how he never connected the dots when it was all right in front of him. From your last name, to your mention of revenge for your father’s death on your first date, to the sheer resemblance between the two of you. 

How could he not see it this whole time? 

“Do you know Xu Haoyu?” The name that leaves Minghao’s lips makes your blood run cold, and you watch as he turns his attention away from the photo, and back to you. He takes a step towards you, “The late CEO of Westin Josun?” 

You blink, trying to fight back the memories from coming to mind as Minghao slowly walks up to you. 

“Xu Haoyu, the late leader of South Korea’s largest underground gang, Dongcheon?” Minghao asks with a shaky voice. He takes a step closer, and you attempt to step back, only for your back to collide with your door. 

“Xu Haoyu, the man that took you under his wing and taught you everything you needed to know after your father was murdered?” You clench your fists at your sides, and Minghao feels his bottom lip quiver with anger as you avoid eye contact with him. 

He chucks the framed photo of you and your father across the room, the loud shatter of glass making you jump in fear. He reaches out and grabs your wrists, pinning them above your head as he stares at you with crazed eyes. 

“Xu Haoyu, my father, the one you brutally murdered a year ago.” Minghao exclaims, voice shaking with anger. Your heart hammers against your chest, and you’re rendered speechless as you look at him. 

How did you not know?  

“You knew that I was his son, didn’t you?” Minghao asks, and you try to utter that you didn’t know, but the lump in your throat prevents you from even being able to make a noise as you just stare at him with tears flooding your eyes. The grip around your wrists becomes tighter, and you bite back a cry of pain. 

“Were you going to kill me too? Was that your whole plan from the start?” You shake your head, and Minghao clenches his jaw. “You’re a liar.” 

You try to muster up the courage to defend yourself, but the memories from that night keep coming to mind as you stare into Minghao’s eyes. He bites the inside of his cheek, remembering what you told him the night of your first date.

“Really, I know how hard it is to lose a parent, especially because you lost your dad so recently. I want you to know that it’s okay to still be grieving, there’s no time limit on that. Allow yourself to be sad, okay?” 

Minghao lets out a dry chuckle at the memory, and he lowers his gaze down to the floor. 

“You must’ve thought this was hilarious.” He mutters, feeling like an idiot for not connecting the dots from the very beginning. 

“W-What?” 

“You must’ve got a lot of joy out of making me look like an idiot.” Minghao begins, looking back up at you with betrayal burning in his gaze. “Comforting me when I told you my father passed, giving me flowers for his grave…” 

You watch as he trails off, waiting with bated breath for him to continue. His grip on your wrists tighten again, and you wince. 

“Making me fall in love with you.” Minghao murmurs as he stares into your eyes, and you feel your heart stop at his confession. 

You and Minghao stare at each other in silence for a moment, the weight of the truth hanging in the air as the two of you wonder how this could’ve happened. 

He abruptly lets go of your wrists, making you collapse onto the door as you rub your arms to try and soothe the soreness. You keep your eyes on him, knowing exactly what he must be thinking as he stares at the person who killed his father. 

“I didn’t…” You begin, and Minghao turns his head to look at you. You clench your fist, “I didn’t kill him for no reason.” 

The corner of Minghao’s lips quirks upwards, “Is that supposed to make it seem any better?” 

“Aren’t you going to kill me?” You ask with a raised brow, making the latter pause at your blunt question. “I’m the one who killed your father, and you hate to see me living a normal life after taking away someone who meant so much to you. Right?” 

Minghao’s eyes turn into slits, and he walks up to you again, caging you against the door as he reaches into the pocket of his jacket. Your hand reaches out and grasps his wrist, stopping him from grabbing what is surely the weapon that would take your life. 

“What are you doing? Mocking me?” Minghao asks, fury behind his gaze as he stares at you. 

“I know exactly what you’re thinking because I was in that position for years. I vowed to kill whoever was the one that took my father away from me, and I did.” You hiss, and Minghao blinks at you. He glances down at where you’re holding him, and notices the way your hands are shaking uncontrollably as you grasp onto his wrist. His eyes slowly trail back up to your face, and he sucks in a breath when the pieces slowly come together.

He shakes his head, “No.” 

“Xu Haoyu told me he’d help me get revenge on whoever killed my father, and as an orphan at the age of 18, he took me in.” You explain, tightening your grip on Minghao’s wrist when he tries to pull away. “He trained me to become someone capable of taking another human life even though he felt that I would never be able to do so, and he gave me the position my father had in Dongcheon when I proved to be more useful after a couple of years.”

“You’re LYING!” Minghao shouts.

“Why would I lie about this?!” You yell back, tears falling past your eyes as you stare at him. Biting your bottom lip, you continue, “He told me the person who killed my father was in the police force, and I believed him. I looked through all the leads, searching for who it could be—just to find out my father was going undercover in Dongcheon to obtain enough evidence to indict South Korea’s most powerful drug lord, Xu Haoyu.”

Minghao stares at you with wide eyes, not wanting to believe a word that you’re saying. And why should he? You’re the one who murdered his father.

“Your father found out about my dad’s double life, and he killed him. He killed him in front of our own house, where I was waiting for him to come home to celebrate my 18th birthday. He killed him all because he didn’t want to go to jail.” You say with a shaky voice, and Minghao doesn’t say a word. You look up towards the ceiling to try to blink away the tears, but when you look back into Minghao’s eyes that are so full of pain, more tears fall as you’re only reminded of what you’ve done.

“Do you have to get revenge?” You turn your head away from the flowers, seeing Haoyu looking at you with an indecipherable expression on his face. He lowers the cigarette from his lips, “Regardless of the price?” 

You stare into his eyes for a moment, seeing your anger reflected in his gaze as the two of you stand across from each other. Blinking, you turn back towards the wilted flowers, and you bite the inside of your cheek.

“Yes, yes I do.” 

You tighten your grip around Minghao’s wrists at the memories, “I came to the bitter realization that he just turned me into who he thought my father was to him, a loyal right hand. He kept me close to him, telling me that we’ll find the murderer and get revenge, when it was him who took my dad away from me the whole time.” 

You pause, and let out a shaky breath as you try to muster up the courage to admit your sins. 

“So then… I came in and killed Xu Haoyu, and dozens of others who tried to get in my way.” Your voice has dropped to below a whisper, the memory of that cursed night replaying in your head as you stare at your enemy’s son.

The man who you fell in love with.

Your hand falls from Minghao’s wrist, hanging limply by your side as a heavy silence falls over the two of you. Minghao takes a step back from you, his thoughts becoming jumbled with this newfound information that has been bestowed upon him. 

“If you want to kill me, then I won’t stop you.” You mutter, but Minghao doesn’t move from where he stands. Your gaze falls to the floor, “I understand what you must be thinking, so I can’t blame you if you do.” 

Minghao clenches his fist at his side, knowing that he could just reach into his pocket and finish what he came back to Korea to do. He knows better than anyone not to let your personal feelings get in the way of accomplishing your goal. It would be so easy, you even gave him permission to take your life. 

So how come he can’t bring himself to get his revenge? 

Biting the inside of his cheek, Minghao just looks away and walks past you, leaving your room without another word. Once the sound of your front door slamming shut rings throughout the apartment, you fall onto the floor. 

Sobs wrack through your body as you lower your head, hands going up and clutching your hair when you begin to have a hard time breathing. You shut your eyes tightly when you hear Haoyu’s last words ring in your ears, unable to hear anything else around you as you scream loudly to try and shut him out.

You don’t stop crying even when Seungkwan comes back to the apartment and finds you laying on the floor.

You only stop when you pass out.

Minghao sits on the floor of his destroyed office, breathing heavily as he stares at the police file laying before him. The photo of the murder weapon is laying on top of the page describing the case, and he bites his bottom lip, turning away. 

As soon as Minghao returned to the building, he ordered Mingyu to obtain the case file on your father’s death. Once it was handed to him a few hours later, and he saw the photo of the knife sitting on top, he knew you weren’t lying.

Because it was his father’s beloved knife, the weapon that no one else was allowed to touch except his only son. 

He had Minghao use it to practice fighting.

After putting two and two together, he destroyed the cork board. Red string was thrown everywhere, papers and photos ripped up and scattered, the cork board itself broken in two and laying on the floor. 

And now Minghao sits by the bookshelf, hand shaking as he holds an empty bottle of vodka. His eyes slowly trail up towards the photo of his father on his desk, and he feels his bottom lip quiver when he remembers your words.

“Your father found out about my dad’s double life, and he killed him. He killed him in front of our own house, where I was waiting for him to come home to celebrate my 18th birthday.”

Minghao drunkenly stands up from the floor, and staggers over to his desk. He picks up the framed photo of his father, smiling happily in the picture since Minghao was the one behind the camera. He clenches the vodka bottle in his hand as he asks the photo, “Why did you do it? Why would you do that?” 

When he receives no answer, his grip on the frame tightens, “Why… Why would you do that? Why did you have to do this? Why did we have to live like this? Why…” Minghao trails off, tears flooding his eyes as he stares at the photo. “Why couldn’t I have met yn under normal circumstances?” 

Minghao shuts his eyes tightly, fighting back the sobs that threaten to break out as he continues.

“Why couldn’t it have just been us meeting at a flower shop and falling in love? If I hadn’t walked in… if you didn’t kill their father… if you had just lived a normal life… none of this would have happened. I could still be with yn and we could be happy…” A sob escapes Minghao, and he sucks in a shaky breath. He stares down at the photo with blurry vision, before chucking it towards the wall with a scream. He throws the empty bottle of vodka onto the floor next, laughing maniacally as his heart shatters into millions of pieces. 

“You ruined their life… and you ruined MINE!” Minghao shouts, staggering backwards until he collapses onto the floor. His laughter eventually turns into sobs that leave him dry heaving over the broken glass filled surface, his hands and arms covered in tiny cuts from the shards of glass. 

Mingyu steps into Minghao’s office with a bag of take out, only for the bag to fall from his hands when he sees the mess that’s been made. His eyes search for Minghao, and his mouth drops open in shock when he sees the amount of glass he’s laying on.

“XU MINGHAO!” Mingyu exclaims, hurrying over and helping him get off the floor. Minghao continues to sob, muttering incoherent things until his back hits the cushions from the couch. Mingyu clenches his fists at his sides, knowing how conflicted Minghao must feel. 

“I’m gonna start cleaning—”

“I’m so… pathetic.” Minghao mutters, causing Mingyu to look back at him. The black haired beauty, usually so composed and threatening, laying on the couch with multiple cuts on his arms and legs, hair disheveled as tears fall from his eyes. He stares up at the ceiling with a blank look on his face, remembering how badly your hands were shaking as you held onto him. 

“Instead of killing the one who murdered my father, I fell in love with them.” Minghao murmurs, shutting his eyes as more sobs begin to escape him. “I can’t get revenge for my father, no matter how badly I may want to. And I can’t be with the person that I love, because I’m only reminded of what they took from me.” 

Minghao raises his hands up until they cover his face, and begins to sob into them. While Mingyu just stands beside him, tears falling from his own eyes at how tragic of a life he’s watched Minghao live. 

Seungkwan cleans up the last table of the night, having come in to close his sister’s restaurant since she needed to head home early. He lets out a nod of satisfaction when he leans back to take a look at the spotless table. 

Turning around, he heads towards the kitchen to grab the food his sister made for you before leaving, only to stop and glance back when he hears the bells on the door ring.

“Sorry, we’re closed…” Seungkwan trails off when he finds himself staring at a man who looks way too rich to be eating at an establishment that caters towards unemployed college students. He frowns slightly when he takes notice of the man’s dark undereyes, and the bandages wrapped around his hands. 

“You’re Seungkwan, right?” The stranger asks, and the blonde nods slowly. 

“And who are you?” Seungkwan asks, feeling as if he might know who the pretty guy is. 

He watches as the black haired beauty clenches his fist at his side, before saying, “I’m Minghao.” 

If it were possible for Minghao to die from someone’s gaze alone, he’s sure he would be six feet under the ground with how threatening Seungkwan’s death glare is. 

“You here to trigger yn’s trauma again or to die by my hand?” Seungkwan asks almost casually, but the weight of his words show that he’s serious. Minghao bites the inside of his cheek, “Trauma?” 

Seungkwan scoffs and turns around, “Don’t act like you don’t know what you did.” 

Minghao’s eyes grow in panic at the sight of Seungkwan walking away, and he quickly steps forward and shouts out, “Can I please talk to you?!” 

And Seungkwan pauses from reaching out to grab the keys, and lets out a sigh as his head hangs low for a moment. Typically, since you’re not here, he has free reign to commit homicide on the man. However, the memory of how happy you’d get just by the thought of Minghao comes to mind, and he clenches his jaw. 

Turning around, he walks over to a booth and sits down. Minghao just blinks at the blonde, unsure of what he wants him to do. Seungkwan lets out a sigh, before slamming his hand down on the table and glancing at the man, “Sit here.” 

Minghao walks over and scoots into the seat across from Seungkwan, and a tense silence fills the room. 

“Has yn told you anything?” Minghao asks, and Seungkwan shakes his head. “They’ve never told me anything about their past, so I’m assuming what happened between you two involves that since they haven’t said a word about why I found them hyperventilating on the floor a week ago.” 

Minghao bites the inside of his cheek, “If you don’t know their past, then when did you meet?” 

“I met yn a year ago.” Seungkwan answers, wondering where Minghao’s going with this. When the latter just continues to stare at him, he lets out a breath and leans back into the booth. 

“It was December when I met yn, and I was leaving my sister’s restaurant when I found them dying in the back alley.” Seungkwan says, and Minghao digs his nails into the palm of his hands when he connects the time. “I brought them back to my apartment and helped dress their wounds, and we ended up sticking together.” 

“And yn never talked to you about what happened?” Minghao asks, and Seungkwan shakes his head.

“They never talked to me about it, but yn has severe PTSD from what happened in their past. Sometimes they have nightmares that keep them locked up in their room all day, other times they see things that aren’t actually there.” Seungkwan explains, and Minghao feels his heart sink with this information. 

“When I first met yn, I knew that whatever life they were living was far more dangerous than I could imagine. I thought they were the type to kill someone with no remorse with how much blood was on them, both their own and someone else's.” Seungkwan says, making the black haired beauty flinch at the mention of blood. 

“But when I got to know yn, I realized they couldn’t even hurt a fly. It just showed me that whatever happened before I found them, must’ve been the most traumatic experience someone could go through to make them lose sight of who they are.”

Silence settles over the two, and Seungkwan glances over at the flowers you gave as a gift for the restaurant, seeing the way they’re blooming beautifully thanks to your help. He looks back down at the table, “The only times I’ve seen yn truly at peace, is when they work with flowers.”

The memory of when you told Minghao the story of why you love flowers comes to mind, and he feels more guilt weighing itself over his shoulders. 

Seungkwan purses his lips, before looking at Minghao to add, “And when they’re with you.” 

Minghao visibly freezes at his words, turning to the blonde to see a bittersweet smile on his face as he stares at him. Seungkwan stands up from the table with a huff, reaching out and getting Minghao to stand up as well. 

He guides him to the door, “I don’t know what happened between the two of you, and I don’t think I ever will, but I can see all the guilt that’s resting over your guys’ shoulders.” 

Pulling open the door for him, Minghao takes a step out and looks at your best friend. Seungkwan gives him a close-lipped smile, “I think you both need to learn that whatever happened was out of your control, and that you can’t change the past, but you can change your future if you try.” 

Minghao bites the inside of his cheek when Seungkwan reaches out and pats his shoulder as he says, “Goodnight, Minghao.” before shutting the door. 

And Minghao just stands outside the restaurant, looking up at the sky as tears fall past his eyes while Seungkwan’s words replay in his head.

“I think you both need to learn that whatever happened was out of your control, and that you can’t change the past, but you can change your future if you try.” 

one year later

“Thank you! Have a great rest of your day!” You cheer as the customer walks out. Once the door closes, you let out a breath and lean your back against the counter. Looking up at the clock, you silently rejoice when you see that you only have five minutes left on your shift. 

It’s been a year since you’ve seen Minghao and found out everything.

It was terrible at first. You wouldn’t stop crying at the slightest mention of what happened, and you wouldn’t leave your room for a week because of the reminder of what you did. It reminded Seungkwan of how you were the first couple of months you had lived in his apartment. 

It was the second week of you not leaving your room that Seungkwan decided to take matters into his own hands, and contacted his friend, Wonwoo. He set up an appointment for you to meet with Wonwoo since he’s a psychiatrist, and you threw a fit when you found out. 

However, you couldn’t do anything because the meeting was to occur at Seungkwan’s apartment, and Wonwoo was already waiting for you in the living room. 

It started off quiet, with you refusing to leave your bedroom until he left, which he did. You thought you won, until Wonwoo came back the next day, then the next, until you finally decided to come out and talk to him.

Therapy ended up being healing for you, even though you can’t tell Wonwoo the whole story, you’ve come a long way from the mindset you had two years ago. 

But Minghao still remains on the back of your mind to this day. 

He never contacted you afterwards, and you knew better than to reach out to him after what you’ve done. 

“Yn!” You turn your head, a small smile gracing your features when your boss walks out from the back. He gestures towards the time, “You can get off early, I can handle this.” 

Your mouth drops open slightly, and you bow your head in gratitude. “Thank you so much!” 

He waves his hand at you to show that it’s no biggie, and you hurry off to the back to hang up your apron and grab the bouquet you made.

You walk down the dozens of graves, heart feeling heavy in your chest when you finally make it to the one you came for. Bending down, you brush away some leaves and pick out some long pieces of grass, before standing back up and giving a small smile.

“Hi dad.” You say in greeting, placing the bouquet of pink hydrangeas beside the photo of you both. You let out a breath, “It’s been five years without you, and I miss you everyday.”  

You stare at his grave for a moment longer, before squatting down and sitting in front of it. Giving him a small smile, you start to update him on your life. From work, to Seungkwan, to finally getting therapy. You talk to him about anything and everything until you’re left with only one thing left to tell him about. 

“I met someone a year ago.” You smile softly, looking down at your lap as the memory of your guys’ first meeting comes to mind. 

“He seems cold and threatening, but he’s actually really sweet. He would text me good morning and goodnight, come visit me at work to bring me food during my breaks, and he’d always fight me in trying to pay for our dates.” You explain, letting out a quiet chuckle at the memory of you shoving him to the side just to pay for ice cream. Biting the inside of your cheek, you fold your hands together. 

“It wasn’t meant to be, though.” You say with a bittersweet smile. Letting out a sigh, you look back up at your father’s grave, reaching out and gently resting your hand over his engraved name. 

“I miss you. I’ll come to visit you soon, okay?” You stand up from the grass and wipe at your jeans. You stare down at his grave, admiring the pink hydrangeas that sit right beside the photo of the two of you. Raising your hand up, you wave at your father, before turning around and beginning to walk away. 

You look up from the grass when you put your hands in your pockets, briefly looking up to see someone walking past you, a bouquet of purple and blue hydrangeas in their hands. 

Your mouth drops open in awe at the vibrant flowers, feeling happy that the person took such good care of them as you turn away. Your eyes go up towards the sky, looking at gray clouds hanging above you, hiding the sun from sight. 

You look back down, about to leave the cemetery when you pause. Your eyebrows furrow when you remember the purple hydrangeas, and you turn around to find the person standing before your father’s grave, placing the bouquet down beside yours. 

You slowly start walking in their direction again, heart beating loudly against your ears when they take off their hood. You pick up the pace until you’re standing a few graves away from them, staring at them with disbelief in your gaze as you breathe heavily. 

“Minghao?” 

The black haired beauty finally turns his head and locks eyes with you, and your breath gets caught in your throat. Tears prick at the back of his eyes as he stares at you, feeling relief flood him just from seeing you in front of him after a year of staying away.

A bittersweet smile smile forms on his face as he lets out a shaky breath,

“Hi, yn.” 

Purple hydrangeas symbolize a desire to deeply understand someone.

Blue hydrangeas symbolize frigidity and apology.