flowery road || verkwan

iv || chrysanthemums

'alright, just to be sure.' hansol scratched his head. 'our housemate is lee seokmin, and the florist who comes by pretty often is yoon jeonghan.'

'yes,' i replied as we approached the doorstep of our shared apartment. 'and do you remember who jeonghan is friends with?'

'seungcheol hyung,' he answered. 'i remember.'

hansol had to stay in the hospital for a couple more days before he was discharged. by a couple more days, i meant almost two weeks. he had physiotherapy sessions to help him regain feeling in his legs.

according to the doctor, being comatose for a year meant the muscles in his legs were significantly weaker. he was allowed out either on a wheelchair or with an assisting cane. of course, hansol picked the latter.

'do i look like an old man, seungkwan?' he asked as we walked out the front door of the hospital.

in his hand was a bright red cane. on his face was a forced look, eyes squinted up and nose wrinkled.

'for the 56th time, hansol,' i huffed. 'you don't look like an old man.

'not even with this face?' he scrunched up his nose even more. although i found him somewhat adorable with that look on his face, it was slowly wearing off of me. i mean, it was the 56th god damn time he had asked me the same question. it hadn't even been 3 hours since he offcially got his cane.

'nope, not even with that face. now, get it off your face before i whack you with that cane.'

'gosh,' he groaned. 'just when i thought i liked being around you.'

'thought?' i chuckled. 'don't lie to yourself, chwe hansol. you love being around me.'

'fair enough.'

'alright.' i began unlocking the front door with my keys. 'seokmin has the tendency to get a little overexcited sometimes.' the door opened with the simple turn of the knob. 'so just a fair warni-'

'hansol!' a voice yelled. a figure jumped out the door, passing me and latching it's arms onto the pale ex-patient.

'i told you so,' i said, chuckling. 'i mean, i tried.'

hansol looked absolutely petrified, arms kept limp by his sides. on the other hand, seokmin had a bright smile on his face with his arms tight around the younger boy. his eyes were pressed shut and his feet moved slightly, moving hansol back and forth.

'i missed you! how are you feeling?' seokmin asked, finally pulling away from hansol.

'uncomfortable? i'm sorry,' the boy said quietly, lips pressed together awkwardly. 'you're seokmin, right?'

'oh, i forgot.' seokmin sounded slightly disappointed. 'im sorry for that. im just really happy you're back and up and awake.'

hansol smiled back apologetically before glancing back at me, almost seeking for assistance.

'come on, we should all go inside,' i said, breaking the silence.

i took the initiative to take hansol's bags for him, at the same time initiating an end to the awkward vibes in the hallway. the two boys tagged along behind me into the apartment space.

as the co-owner of the apartment, i was proud of how it looked and how it felt. it had a homey feeling, despite its simple interior.

seokmin closed the door behind him before heading towards the kitchen. 'kwannie, you can go help hansol unpack.' he nudged his head towards the end of the hallway, an insistent look on his face. it was second hand embarrassment on my end, really.

it was just a few weeks ago that we had that weird conversation about hearts never forgetting feelings. i had to admit that i missed the old hansol; the hansol that remembered me.

of course, that meant i was more determined on helping him remember than anything else.

'also, jeonghan brought up some chrysanthemums this afternoon,' seokmin continued. 'i put them in your room.'

'okay,' i said before walking off, dragging hansol's bag with me.

hansol tip toed along behind me with his cane, glancing around with curious eyes. no doubt he was looking at the pictures on the walls. prettily framed, the photos contrasted against the white paint.

there were pictures of the three inhabitants of the house, each varying in time and place. some were taken with seokmin's old camera while others were taken simply by my phone.

'the pictures are cute,' he said quietly, almost mumbling his words.

'that's because i'm in them.' hansol scoffs at my comment, shaking his head with a small laugh. 'so, this is my room.'

i pushed a white door open, standing aside to let hansol walk in first. as told by seokmin, a vase of golden chrysanthemums was sitting on my study table, illuminated by a little sunlight.

hansol took a seat on the edge of the bed in the room, dropping his cane onto the ground and glancing around before laying his eyes on the small trinkets on my table.

'cute,' he said, reaching over to grab one of the trinkets into his hands. his twinkling eyes could've made me melt right there and then. 'your room, i mean.'

'technically, its your room. you'll be sleeping here. seokmin's room is just across the hallway.' i dropped his bag full of clothes onto the foot of the bed before straightening out my back. a look of disapproval took its place on his face.

'what about you? where are you gonna sleep?' he asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

'outside, the couch,' i answered.

'no, i should sleep out on the couch.'

i pulled on a stern look onto my face. i wasnt the most intimidating, but it somewhat worked. the brown haired boy blinked twice at me before eventually nodding.

'i don't want you to be uncomfortable. so, you're getting the room, okay?'

'thank you, seungkwan.' he smiled the way he used to: bright eyed and toothy.

i didn't think it was necessary to tell him we used to share the room.