Last Saturday

Ch.18

And in the park they are, on the good-old bench, both of them sharing a tub of ice cream. It’s an unwritten rule for them to arrive at three in the afternoon, the sun just beginning to set. It’s the perfect weather for them, not too hot nor freezing cold.

“Do you ever wonder what happened to the black cat?”

Hanni asks as she approaches from throwing the empty tub in the trash bin, sitting down and resting her head on Minji's shoulder.

“He still visits sometimes, just later. He only arrives at the park minutes after the time we usually leave. He seems to have a schedule. I honestly forgot about it until you’ve
mentioned.”

Hanni chuckles, “The tree is growing lilacs.” She rises, pointing at the tree next to them.

It takes Minji a few seconds until she sees a shade of lavender that stands out between the leaves. Minji is right, and they’ve just started to grow pretty recently. She remembers the tree barely even having leaves yet when she’d visit here alone.

Hanni hums, saying, “Speaking of flowers, let’s visit the shop you went to!”

“When do you want to go?”

“Well we’re both busy during weekdays, so maybe tomorrow Sunday?”

Minji thinks. She’s right.

Hanni got back to art weeks after she’d been discharged, and Minji also finally managed to show up in her office. It’s all back to normal. Their only options were only the weekends, so it leaves them no choice.

“Why don’t we go today? Let’s walk home and take the car.” Minji suggests, it leaves Hanni surprised.

“Is that fine with you?”

“If I wasn’t then I wouldn’t be suggesting it in the first place…” She giggles, taking Hanni's hand and she drags them out of the park, walking back home.

___________

It takes them about 20 minutes to arrive, the flower shop looking much more vibrant compared to last time Minji visited. The current weather must’ve been a huge factor.

She opens the car door for Hanni, fixing her slightly messy bangs when she stands up from her seat, and holds her hand.

“Isn’t this also the place where someone tried hitting on you?”

“Yes. I bet she’ll look even more dejected when she sees you.” Minji answers, making
Hanni chuckle.

Hanni jokingly pouts, “Hey! I’m not here to show off or make her feel bad…” She tugs Minji away from the car door and closes it, leading her to the steps on the way to the
shop’s entrance. “The tulips you gave me were beautiful and it made me curious about the place.”

They enter, the glass door’s bells ringing. Minji looks around and notices a few changes, changes that were apparently huge.

The overwhelming strong scent she suffered from last
time did not exist anymore, thanks to the windows that were wide open now. The entire shop also reorganized its entire presentation, with a few more decorations and props placed in some areas to make it look better. She looks to the right and realizes the odd amount of huge space.

The owner must have renovated the entire place and bought the next slot of the shop that had closed down before, a huge extension that makes the place at least two times bigger than it was.

“This was definitely not how it looked like last time I went here.” She whispers at Hanni, their hands still tightly clasped together, standing in awe.