as all friends do, they have a couple of unspoken rules. namely: don't you ever date my sister. turns out, as they're all meeting at this party, this rule is a lot harder to respect than they expected.
a zb1 applyfic | closed
Taerae pushed his round glasses up his nose as he watched the sheer mess his sister had made in their father's company's hangar. As a landscaping establishment, they had a wide variety of flowers ready for the picking and, well, Narae was ready to pick. Still, she'd moved every pot to the center of the room, and he could only imagine how long it’d take to put them back to their place.
"So, why did you call me here?" he finally asked, adverting his eyes from the disaster he knew he'd for sure have to take care of.
Narae responded with an excited smile. Too excited. "You know how the Zhang family invited us to their home to celebrate your friend's trumpet competition win, or whatever, right?"
"Yeah, obviously. His name is Hao and he won a violin competition, by the way."
"Sure, I knew that! Well I asked Dad if I could make a bouquet to give him as a gift, and I need your expertise in picking flowers, since you know him better than I do."
Of course, no surprise there. Anything was a good excuse for Narae to go hang out with plants. To be frank, he'd already been thinking of making a bouquet to gift Zhang Hao, but it looked like she'd been faster than him.
"What flowers does he like?"
Taerae stopped to think for a second, tapping his chin. "Uh, none. I think? He's never expressed interest in flowers."
"Hmm." She bit her lip as her eyes darted between many of the flower pots she'd dragged here. "Well, Yanmei likes red and purple, so—"
"Yanmei, Zhang Hao hyung's sister? The bouquet's not for her though."
Narae mumbled something completely inaudible under her breath, but judging by her slight pout, he could guess it was nothing too nice. Taerae knew Narae and Hao's twin sister had become very close ever since their father had taken her to the Zhang mansion when he was working years ago. They'd become fast friends, sort of sisters, which he'd taken as a hard hit, as he believed he'd been replaced. And now, everytime their father's company was working on the Zhang's beautiful garden, Narae would tag along to see Yanmei.
It was a surprising friendship, he had to admit. All he'd heard from Hao about his sister had been less than favorable, as there was much rivalry between them. Still, if Narae loved her so much, Taerae could only imagine she was a great person. His little sister had an eye for good people.
"What do you think? What flowers do rich people like?"
Taerae almost choked. "You're acting like we’re poor."
"Well, we’re not Zhang rich, are we? Man, I wish I could have a garden as huge as theirs...In the meantime, this hangar will do." She affectionately tapped a pot of orchids, a big smile on her face. "So, roses are a bit cliché. I was thinking peonies, because of their whole good fortune meaning."
She was so quick to come back to the topic of flowers, Taerae noticed, a small smile stretching his lips. She was older now, but she hadn’t changed a bit. Still so enamored with plants and flowers that she could sometimes forget to eat and sleep. What would she do without her big brother?
"I like the idea of peonies," he replied, nodding gently. "I think delphinium and bellflowers would go well with that. What color peonies?"
"Pink!" was her first instinct, as she pointed to the beautiful pink peonies in a pot that had recently bloomed.
"Isn't that a bit too...Romantic? How about white?"
"White seems too formal. Though I guess this is a formal event...But pink peonies have the meaning of good luck, you know? I think they’d be perfect."
Taerae could hardly resist his sister's enthusiasm for flowers. No one on Earth was as passionate about them as she was — yes, even their flower-obsessed father. Funnily enough, his own friends thought he was way too into flowers, but if they met his sister, they’d quickly realize there was far, far worse than him. Or better. A matter of perspective.
"How about a mix?" he proposed, finally kneeling to help her with the pots. "That way it's from both of us."
Narae seemed to consider it for a second, before she nodded. "Yes, a mix sounds good!" She smiled, and Taerae was brought back in an instant to the day she was born, when he'd made the childish, but sincere promise of always protecting her. He'd do anything to make his sister happy. "So now, can you help me clean this whole thing up?"
Sigh. He did say "anything", didn't he?
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