『JenSoo Short Stories』

To Laugh in Flowers (is to bloom in the rain) (1/3)

It was somewhat ironic, as her friends would say, that Jisoo disliked the rain so much.

As a florist, one would imagine that she would have developed a certain appreciation for the rainy season by now. Yet, Jisoo had a tendency to prove people wrong.

She didn't disagree with the general sentiment. Furthermore, she would also admit that having rain was better than being in constant drought. However, the rain also made deliveries inconvenient, customers sparse, and it became so cold that the staff barely had enough energy to run the store.

There was only one thing in the world that Jisoo detested more than rain, and that was Valentine's Day.

It was just a string of bad luck for her to find that this year, the two things she disliked the most in the world, decided to join forces to ruin her mood in a single weekend.

Valentine's was one of their busiest periods, along with Mother's Day and Graduation, so they couldn't really afford a shortage of staff. Yet, her best friend was off spending the day with her girlfriend and Lisa was currently stuck in the middle of a delivery because she had chosen to walk to the venue instead of take the car.

It was physically impossible for her to get upset with Rosé. Her best friend was one of the kindest people she had ever met and she could hardly stay upset with her for more than a few minutes. Lalisa, however, was another case altogether.

"Lisa, I told you to take the car, didn't I?" She said, keeping her tone even.

"Yes, it was my fault for not thinking ahead... I'm really sorry, Unnie... I'll rush back the moment the rain lightens up so please cover for me for a little while!" Lisa's tone was apologetic, and Jisoo could hear the aegyo seeping into her voice. She could almost imagine the pout the other girl would be sporting if she could see her face. "Don't be mad...I'll even treat you to fried chicken later!"

Fried chicken was tempting. However, she had been craving something else recently.

Jisoo hummed, pretending to consider the offer. "Get me ramen instead and I'll consider the apology."

"Eh? Ah, don't be like that... People are stingy with tips nowadays, you know? Just now, I used my body to shield the flowers from the rain and the teacher didn't even give me a tip after that! Could you believe it? She started taking pictures of the bouquet instead, and I had to hold them for her!" There was an audible huff on the other end of the line. "She told me to leave after I put the flowers down, even though it's pouring here. What kind of person does that?"

Jisoo wanted to laugh. Whenever the other girl whined, she would always wonder whether Lisa was really an adult.

"It's okay Lisa, just come back safe and don't catch a cold." She reassured her. The likelihood of customers coming into the store were significantly lower, due to the rain, so she didn't feel like it would be too overwhelming. "I'll take care of things on this end."

There were a few more "sorry"s before the call ended and the store was plunged into silence. The gloomy atmosphere seeped into Jisoo's consciousness as she listened to the rain beating against the pavement. It was a steady pattering that drowned out her thoughts until her mind started to blank out.

A sudden gust of wind caused a heavy splatter of raindrops against the window. It sounded like a flurry of rocks had been thrown against the glass.

Startled, Jisoo instinct at the sound, and felt a sense of melancholy wash over her. Everything was blanketed in shades of white and grey. It looked like someone spilled a glass of water on a painting, and the colours had bled through, leaving only the bleak outlines behind.