flowery road || verkwan

vi || azaleas

'seungkwan, help out, would you?'

a bundle of azaleas were stuffed into my hands, followed by another. and another. its bright pink petals rose to my chin, leaves pricking my skin.

'these go in the nursery at the back,' the man said, brushing his fringe behind his ear. 'joshua will help you out. hansol, could you help me move these boxes?'

hansol immediately obliged, stepping past me with his red cane in hand to help jeonghan with the small crates near the counter. i made my way to the floristry's nursery, a cold room at the far end of the shop sealed by a glass door. it wasn't freezing cold; just pleasant.

a grapefruit haired boy was tending a pot of flower buds with a spray bottle. as i pushed the door open, the boy stopped and turned.

upon seeing me with the stack of flowers on my arms, he dropped the bottle in his hand and skipped over. without hesitation, the boy relieved me of some of the azaleas.

he shot a bright smile at me. 'come on, this way.'

i followed behind him, taking a glance at the pots of plants. there were flowers in bloom and some in hiding. their leaves shone a bright green, healthy and thriving.

jeonghan and joshua were a dynamic duo. the floristry thrived with the two of them together. joshua, who had just moved from america two years ago, became a close friend fairly quickly. jeonghan enjoyed his company.

he placed the flowers in my arms into separate vases, by color.

'how are you holding up?' he asked, glancing up. i simply shrugged. 'must be difficult for you.'

'really, it isn't,' i answered, squatting down next to him to help out a little. 'it just takes some getting used to.'

'you're very sweet, seungkwan. i can see he enjoys being around you.' joshua smiled with sad eyes. 'he'll remember soon.'

all i could do was smile back.

after we finished cleaning up the shop, jeonghan locked up the doors and the four of us went on our way. we walked along the sidewalk, the cold evening enveloping us.

there was small talk. the topics shifted around wildly, with jeonghan cracking his occasional sarcasm and joshua shaking his head in disapproval. hansol smiled all the way. he seemed comfortable, which was heart warming.

suddenly, the sound of tinkling bells filled the otherwise empty street. jeonghan perked up immediately, a grin taking place on his lips. a brightly colored truck turned into our street.

'ice cream?' jeonghan asked. his arm proceeded to shoot up into the air, starting a domino effect. soon, all of us had our arms in the air in agreement. 'hansol's treat!'

'he doesn't have any money on him,' i voiced out. 'shouldn't you be treating us, jeonghan?-'

'hey, boo,' hansol interrupted. he pat my shoulder gently. 'my treat.'

i glared at jeonghan, earning a bright smile from the boy. joshua quickly stepped in to kill the rough mood.

'seungkwan, you should follow hansol. we'll be right there.' he pointed at a bench near a tree. 'can the two of you hold four cones?'

hansol nodded. joshua then wrapped his hand around jeonghan's arm. before the long haired boy could protest, he was being dragged away by joshua.

'cute,' hansol exclaimed. he chuckled before grabbing my hand and pulling me to the truck, which had stopped by the road.

the old man pushed the retractable counter of the truck down, revealing an equally colorful interior and the smell of waffle cones. when hansol pulled his hand out of mine, i gripped onto the seam of his coat instead.

'3 vanillas and 1 chocolate, please,' hansol said. 'single scoop, on cones.'

when the man disappeared to the back of the truck, i took the opportunity to voice out my concern.

'how are you gonna pay for them?' i asked, eyebrows furrowing.

'who said i was paying for them?' he answered, a mischievous glint in his eyes. he grinned, nose scrunching up, before sticking a hand out in front of him.

i cursed under my breath before pulling out some money from the pocket of my jeans, placing it onto his open palm.

'you sneak.'

'thank you, boo.'

my breath caught in my throat when i heard his nickname for me. it wasnt the first time i had heard it, but it was definitely the first time i had since the coma. he didn't even hesitate.

it gave me a little hope.

the man handed us our ice creams, taking our money in return. i took 3 in my hands while hansol took one, his other hand holding his cane. we rushed towards the bench where joshua and jeonghan were sitting.

the two ran over to me for their ice cream, jeonghan grabbing one of the three vanilla ice cream cones. joshua was a little more gentle, taking his cone and saying a quiet thank you.

we were back to walking, the four of us, towards me and hansol's place for dinner with seokmin. it was just a few minutes away from the floristry.

joshua and jeonghan walked ahead. i stayed with hansol behind them. as we turned into our street, i decided it would be a good time to start on my ice cream. i was just about to dig in when hansol swiped at my hand.

'that isn't yours,' he said, taking my ice cream and slipping his chocolate ice cream cone into my hand.

'huh?' i asked. 'why chocolate?'

'you don't like it?'

'no, that's not what i meant. i could've just gone with the vanilla.'

'yeah, you could've,' he explained. 'but i think you like chocolate better.'

he was right.

'favorite ice cream flavor?' i asked, laying on our bed.

the game of 21 questions wasn't well thought out. simple questions were tossed back and forth with answers we already knew.

'caramel,' hansol responded, resting his arm under his head. 'yours?'

'chocolate.' it was a simple answer. 'i like all ice cream, but chocolate is my favorite.'

he hummed, shuffling against the sheets. 'i'll remember that.'

'hows the ice cream, boo?'

'great.'

it was a tiny thought, but the fact that he sort of remembered - or seemed to - made the ice cream taste even better.