The Flower of the Dark | k.th

.Four.

"No!" I gasp.

I look around me and see that I'm in my own house with my own bed.

"It must've been a bad dream," I mumble to myself, relieved.

All the relief disappears when I glance at my shabby, wooden desk to my right. On my desk, a red ribbon and a jagged strip of paper lay there. I grab the note and ribbon, but before I can read what's written, my phone rings.

My boss is calling me. What time is it?

I look at the time on my phone.

9:26? OH CRUD! I'M LATE!

I flip out of bed still holding both the paper and ribbon.

"She's gonna kill me!" I dress into my work uniform, grab my purse, where I now put the two items away, and hurry out the door.

About 30 feet away from the flower shop's entrance, I remember something, "Gahh! I forget my jacket AGAIN!"

I decide to let it go and focus on getting to work in just enough time to not be killed. When I open the door my boss stands right in front of me.

"Ehem, look who's late."

"..Only just a bit!" I plead.

She sighs, "Good thing I know your mother. Get to work."

"Oh thank you thank you thank you!" I squeal.

Rushing to the counter, I set my purse down and ruffle my hair. Ruffling my hair is some kind of weird habit I do to calm myself down.

I look down into the cash register to count the money made without my help so far. Unexpectedly, someone in front of the counter lightly ruffles my hair, making me jerk my attention to the customer.

A flower pops up in front of my face, covering my view of the person.

"Good morning, Ji eun!"

I take the flower, which unsurprisingly, is a sweet pea. With the sweet pea out of the way, I can get a clear image of who had ruffled my hair.

"Oh! Good morning, Jimin! Thank you!"

Jimin, my regular customer, comes by here everyday to purchase a flower, more specifically a sweet pea, and give it to me.

"You were late today, did anything happen?" Jimin asks in a comforting, concerned voice.

Yes! So many things I wish to tell you!

I force out a happy tone as he fixes my hair,
"- No. I'm just fine!"

"Maybe you're sick?"

"I'm perfectly fine, Jimin, no need for-"

Jimin lifts his vibrant, orange hair up, revealing his forehead.

"Hmm..does your head hurt?" Jimin asks, still holding up his bangs.

"Nope."

"Come closer," he gestures his small index finger, pointing at me then at himself.

"Ok..?" I move forward, closing the space between us, and our heads are nearly 2 inches apart.

Jimin moves my bangs, exposing my forehead to look just as ridiculous as he does.

He smirks, "If a tomato is a fruit, and jams are made of fruits, then...does that mean ketchup is a jam?"

This caught me off guard. "Hmm, I-"

BAM!

The pesky orange headed boy bashes his forehead against mine.

"Ouch! What the heck was that for?!"

Jimin laughs, "Sorry, sorry..but are you sure your head doesn't hurt?"

"It hurts now, dummy," I rub my head, trying to ease the pain.

"Oh I see, you ARE sick."

"What? No-"

"I'll go tell your boss. I'll be right back! Excuse me, miss?" Jimin runs off.

Since I have nothing to do, I pull out the note, from inside my purse and begin to read it.

Ji eun, I am sorry for not explaining things earlier. Come to my apartment after lunch. Hopefully this will clear things up.

There is NO WAY I'm going back after what happened yesterday.

I bite my lip.

But I need to understand what's going on in order to see my dad...

" Hey Jieun! Guess what?"

"Huh?" I look up at the orange haired Jimin towering above me.

"I told your boss that you're really sick and that's why you were late! And get this!" Jimin's eyes sparkled. "She let you have the rest of today off!"

"Wow! Really?" I say in a sarcastic voice.

"Really!"

I glance at my surroundings, "Do you think she'll be okay if I leave right now?"

Jimin stares at me straight in the eyes, "Of course! Your lunch break just started, so I'm sure she'll be fine!"

He looks down at his feet, "So...do you want to...eat lunch together?"

I shrug, "Are you paying?"

"Yea.."

"Ok. Sure, why no-"

Then, I remember Taehyung's note.

"J-Jimin?" I feel sick when I see his grinning eyes.

"Jieun, thank you so much! I've been waiting for so long to get the courage to ask you! So I was thinking about this really great noodle shop!"

I feel even worse.

"Well..um, I just remembered that I have something to do..I'll be really busy. So..maybe some other day?"

Jimin's once happy face falls into a broken expression, "oh..what are you busy with?"

"Umm..Umm.." I try to think of something that would seem reasonable. "You know..just a friend."

Jimin's face contorts into a confused look, "I see. Is this friend a guy?" his voice growls with jealousy, something I never thought he could do because of his usual sweet personality.

"Yeah.. I need to go now. See you tomorrow, right?"

"Yep!" he responds in a bubbly manner, back to his old companionable self.

"Later!"

"Later.."

Daily Socks Note :
IT'S HOBI'S BIRTHDAY!!!!! WOOO!!!! Please wish our sunshine a happy birthday!!!! 🎉
~TaehyungsSocks