Tulips and Roses

Chapter 6, the party

The party was worse than last time, Jisoo could hear the music from the elevator. Nothing unsurprising, but a bit rude for Lisa. The smell is what caught her off.

Roses. The air was filled with the sweet scent of roses. As Jisoo entered, multiple people greeted her, each with a rose pin on their chest. As polite as she tried to be, the business woman found herself staring and the silver and pink accessory. But it was not just the pins, their drinks were pink as well.

"You should see the servers," One laughed, "They're all wearing pink as well."

Jisoo nodded, excusing herself to find her friend. Eventually, Lisa spotted her, waving her over. With an air of relief, Jisoo complied and made her way over to the tipsy dancer. Clumsily, Lisa attached one of the pins to Jisoo's cotton jacket, "Now you fit in!"

Already fed up, Jisoo excused herself to the balcony and proceeded to enter a business call. She had tried hard to catch up on the meetings she missed, and for the most part she did, she was still trying to clear up the last of the loose ends.

By the time the call was over, what was left of the warm air had gone, leaving Jisoo to stand in the cold. Begrudgingly, she made her way back inside, joining the guests. By this point, there were some people dancing, mostly work friends of Lisa's, the sofas were full and the spots by the fire taken. Jisoo watched as servers handed out drinks to people, choosing not to indulge herself. Through all this, there was still no Rosie.

Disappointed engulfed the business woman, wondering why she was even here at all. Again, Lisa found her, pink cheek and all, "Where did you gooooo? You missed her."

Jisoo raised an eyebrow, "Who?"

Lisa clutched Jisoo's shoulders, bursting out laughing, "Rosie," She nods her head to a group of men at the other side of the apartment, "She's with them." She leaves, still giggling to herself.

Sighing, Jisoo begins to walk over, noticing that there were in fact women amongst the men. Confused, Jisoo peaks between two to see a blushing Rosie completely surrounded. She watched her for a minute, noticing her become more and more uncomfortable. Sighing, she breaks between the crowd and shields Rosie, "How's the party?"

One of the more confident men puts a hand on Jisoo's shoulder, "Excuse me lady we were talking to her first."

Jisoo takes one look at him, the man recognises her instantly. Sensing his dread, Jisoo responds, "The lady doesn't care, this one works with me."

With that, they dissipated, muttering as they go. Rosie looked around, making sure they were out of ear shot. When she was sure she quietly said, "Thanks."

Realising how close she was, Jisoo took a step back. Drinking her in, Rosie wore a floral patterned dress with combat boots and a black denim jacket, her hair flowing straight with no fastenings, something not commonly associated with these parties. She looked good. Not to mention, no pin. That made Jisoo happy.

Rosie reached up a hand to touch the pin, causing Jisoo to hold her breath. Her fingers brushed against the cloudy glass, "Lisa didn't give me one."

Jisoo raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

Rosie moved her hand back to her side, "Lisa said I was already one," She chuckled.

Jisoo nodded, trying to conceal her awkwardness by crossing her arms, "You can have mine if you like."

"No thank you," Rosie took in a breath, "The designs are-"

"There will be no work talk this evening," Jisoo frowned.

"Then why did you mention work to them?" The florist complained.

"What? Those guys from before? They're just rich heirs, nobody was looking to hire you."

"Why did you interrupt then?"

Jisoo closed her eyes, "You looked... uncomfortable. I wanted them to leave you alone."

Rosie giggled, "You're blushing."

"I most certainly am not," Jisoo felt heat rush to her cheeks.

Rosie's smile grew, "Let's go."

Jisoo watched as the florist walked off, soon following after.

—
Bit short, sorry. Mostly been writing short stories lol.