Work Text:
“I’m going to confess to Yeonjun.” Soobin announces to the table, immediately grabbing the attention of all three of his friends and halting whatever conversation was previously going on.
With everyone gaping and slowly blinking at him in surprise, Soobin blushes furiously and sinks a little in his chair, feeling shy under their prolonged stares. The thought of him confessing and confronting his long-time crush is so out of character for him that all of his friends are speechless and frozen in shock. All of their jaws are dropped, their eyes wide, and Soobin can see in their facial expressions as they slowly register the bold statement he just made.
Hueningkai is the first to break the stunned silence with a loud gasp to his right. “No way! You’re actually confessing to Yeonjun?!” The younger vampire practically screams. Soobin dies a little inside as he makes sideways glances around the cafe, hoping no one hears his loud friend expose his affection for a certain fairy.
“Finally!” Beomgyu cheers once he recovers from the shock and slaps him hard across the back, making Soobin yelp in surprise. He pretends to wipe a tear away like a proud parent. “I never thought I’d see the day. You’ve been pining for months!”
Taehyun snorts, shaking himself out of his daze to add in the extra unnecessary detail, “Literally since the first week.”
Soobin covers his face with both of his hands to hide his obvious blush as his coworkers continue to poke and tease him about his debilitating crush on Yeonjun over their short lunch break.
The vampire met Yeonjun, a fellow coworker, on his first day working at Color Design Lab, a graphic design and brand strategy studio located in the heart of Seoul. When Soobin first started at the company, he was lost and didn’t understand the established culture of the place. He didn’t know where anything was. And was too shy and timid to ask. Yeonjun caught sight of him and graciously showed him around the office. The fairy introduced him to all of the people on their floor and told Soobin to come to him if he needed anything. The shy vampire couldn’t meet Yeonjun’s eyes the entire time, too nervous to make eye contact with those sharp, alluring eyes. But he was glad and thankful that Yeonjun showed him the ropes.
A couple days later, they ran into each other outside of work at the grocery store, Yeonjun waving to him and shouting across the aisle to get his attention. Soobin was mortified at how much attention Yeonjun’s loud voice attracted to them in public. But Yeonjun seemed genuinely excited to see him and made an effort to greet him, which made him happy and his heart beat wildly in his chest.
That’s where Soobin’s crush started. And when the silent pining for months began.
He’s been silently pining after Yeonjun for over half a year now, too shy and hesitant to make a move. How could he? Yeonjun and he are complete opposites. The fairy is talkative, bubbly, and outgoing; people are naturally drawn to his charms and lively energy. He attracts others and is the center of attention, while Soobin is quiet and blends into the crowd. He is popular and bright, while Soobin is reserved and often forgotten.
Yeonjun is the office sweetheart — how could Soobin stand a chance?
“So how are you going to confess?” Hueningkai asks, excited and invested in the recent developments.
Everyone blinks in anticipation and awaits his answer.
“I’m going to give him flowers.” Soobin responds, a little bashful about revealing and making his plan known to the world.
“That’s nice. Classic. Romantic.” Beomgyu hums and nods his head. “And fairies love that.”
Soobin is relieved at Beomgyu’s positive reaction, seeking out his opinion and confirmation on how to confess to Yeonjun. Fairies adore nature, and Beomgyus’ apartment can attest to that, being filled with all types of plants. Flower language is important to fairies, and part of fairy courting is to give flowers as gifts.
For vampires, it is tradition to give jewelry, typically rings, pendants, and bracelets, when courting. The more extravagant, the better. They’re meant to be bright, showy, and overly ornamented. His father’s courting gift to his mom was a golden ring with a huge ruby gem in the middle. The large ruby is teardrop shaped and isn’t the only stone on the ring. The ruby is surrounded by other smaller jewels and pearls. His mom adores it, and the ring is her most prized possession. Soobin can only think about how heavy the accessory must be.
And so, Soobin decided it was more appropriate to try to confess to Yeonjun the fairy way.
Everyone at the table nods and approves of his idea of confessing through flowers.
A seed of guilt plants itself inside his chest. Soobin purposely omitted an important detail and did not tell everyone the full picture. His hands begin to sweat, and he unconsciously starts to bounce his leg under the table. He decides he has to get it over with and clears his throat, “Anonymously.” Soobin clarifies, nervously wringing his hands together in his lap.
“What? Anonymously?” Beomgyu scrunches up his face. “You’re confessing to Yeonjun anonymously?”
“Wait, you’re not going to tell him?” Hueningkai emphasizes, his brows furrowed. "Make it make sense."
Soobin feels the need to defend his decision under their judging and confused looks.
“I’m still too shy to confess to him face-to-face! I need to work up my confidence!” Soobin whines and quickly explains himself. When he receives skeptical looks, he adds, “Don’t worry, I have a plan!”
“Lay it on us.” Taehyun says, leaning back in the chair and sipping on his chrysanthemum tea.
Soobin’s hands shake as he lifts up his teacup of steaming hot hibiscus tea to take a sip. The tiny dose of vitae calms his nerves a bit. In the last century, the discovery that flowers contained vitae, the vital essence previously thought to be found only in blood, was groundbreaking. Although not enough to replace blood entirely, vampires can eat flowers to get life sustenance. Vampires still need at least 12 fl oz of blood weekly to be properly satiated, which is readily available from vitae centers, but the flowers make for a nice snack. Floral tea, tea made from dried flowers, is a popular way for vampires to include flowers in their diet. Many flower blossoms can be turned into delicious teas, such as jasmine, rose, lavender, and chamomile.
Soobin places his teacup down on the table with a soft clink and lays out his plan in full detail. He agonized and had been thinking about this for the past couple of days. Every day next week, he will leave anonymous flowers on Yeonjun’s desk with a note containing a simple message or compliment. On the last day of the week (Friday), he will leave a special flower bouquet with a note asking Yeonjun to meet up in person at the cafe down the street from their workplace, so he can verbally confess.
“For the note, you should write a flower pickup line.” Taehyun teases after he’s finished.
“If you were a flower, you’d be a dammmmmndelion.” Hueningkai wiggles his eyebrows.
“No. Please, stop.” Soobin turns red, getting embarrassed just thinking about using such a line on Yeonjun.
Beomgyu rolls his eyes and shakes his head at the two vampires howling in their seats and giving each other high fives. “A yellow dandelion means ‘rebirth,’ dumbass, so I don't think that fits in this context.”
Hueninkai cackles and shrugs. “Okay, but you gotta admit. That was a good line.” When he receives no response other than an unamused glare from the fairy, the vampire coughs and turns to Soobin. “Well, as long as you reveal that it’s you sending the flowers. That's all that matters. Go for it!”
“Yeah, you should tell Yeonjun.” Taehyun nods. “You better confess to him on Friday.”
“I won’t back out.” Soobin says quietly. Just thinking about confessing to Yeonjun is enough to make him break out in hives and puke, but he’s determined to see it through to the end.
“And you better do your research on flowers. You know how flower meanings are important to fairies.” Beomgyu warns. “The type of flower, color. You can ask me if you’re unsure.”
“I will.” Soobin sighs, feeling like he’s being lectured by his parents. “And thanks, Gyu.” He smiles at his three friends, grateful that they are supportive and always there for him. Hueningkai grins and smacks his back for good luck with too much force. Taehyun gives him a bro type handshake from across the table, and Beomgyu pats his thigh in a gentle, soothing manner.
He takes a couple of deep breaths, fully aware that he’s now committed to confessing to his crush.
His hesitation and nervousness must’ve shown on his face because he feels a comforting squeeze on his thigh.
“Look Soobs, I know you’re nervous, but Yeonjun is clearly interested in you too. He calls you by flower names. That’s the most domestic fairy thing ever.” Beomgyu scrunches up his nose in disgust and says, “What did he call you the other day? Fruit punch sweetie pie?”
“What even is that?” Taehyun squints.
“It’s a type of dianthus.”
The three vampires blink.
“It’s a pink flower.” Beomgyu deadpans and rolls his eyes in disappointment. “Good thing Soobin is confessing soon. I need Yeonjun here, so I’m not the only fairy among you flower eaters.”
It’s nice that Beomgyu is confident that Yeonjun is interested in him back, but Soobin is still unsure about Yeonjun’s feelings. The fairy is nice and friendly to everyone. The vampire did notice that he is the only one that Yeonjun calls these little nicknames, and that gives him a little hope. But it was when he overheard Yeonjun being confessed to the other day that gave him the final push to confess. Jisung, a werewolf, confessed at work and asked Yeonjun out on a coffee date. To Soobin’s relief, he was rejected. But it made Soobin realize that Yeonjun can easily get whisked off his feet while he does nothing. Yeonjun is attractive, and there is no doubt that others would like to court him. Soobin can at least say that he tried.
He can hardly breathe and it almost feels like the world is ending, but he can do this.
***
Soobin can’t do this.
He’s been hesitating and pacing outside the floral shop, Dear Dolores, for nearly five minutes now. It’s Monday morning, the official first day of his plan to confess to Yeonjun, and he’s already rethinking everything. He’s here now to pick up the flowers before going into work, but got cold feet when walking up to the shop. What if someone sees him leaving Yeonjun the flowers? That’s so embarrassing! What if Yeonjun doesn’t even like the flowers? His phone vibrates violently in his pocket and Soobin nearly jumps twenty feet in the air. He fumbles trying to get to his phone, his hands shaking as he takes it out to check his text messages.
Taehyun
You can do it
Stop second guessing yourself
He will love the flowers
Hueningkai
Don’t tell beomgyu but i got some flower pickup lines you can use
It would make yeonjun swoon trust me bro
Are you a eucalyptus? Because you’ve achieved my koalafications
Beomgyu
Don’t back out now big boy
You cannot go wrong w flowers when it comes to fairies
also if kai texts you on any "advice" dont listen to him
Soobin’s heart beats a mile per minute, and he smiles as he rereads all of the encouraging messages from his friends. He wholeheartedly laughs at Hueningkai’s poor taste in pickup lines. It’s amazing how a couple words were able to ease his insecurities and silence the intrusive thoughts overtaking his mind. He feels like crying. And also a whole new wave of courage and confidence.
Soobin chooses a bouquet of gardenias for his first courting gift to Yeonjun, a flower that symbolizes secret love. It’s a perfect flower to send as a secret admirer; the fairy would completely understand his intentions with these white, fragrant flowers. Soobin enters the office an hour early and gently places it on Yeonjun’s desk, taking paranoid glances around him to make sure no one catches him in the act.
Hi Yeonjun, I like and admire you a lot. I want to get to know you better.
When his coworkers start to file into the office around 8:00AM, Soobin’s nerves begin to catch up to him. How will Yeonjun react once he sees the flowers? Would he be happy or creeped out? Soobin is too nervous to see Yeonjun’s reaction, and decides to avoid looking over at the other’s cubicle throughout the entire day.
Hueningkai and Taehyun tackle Soobin from behind in the hallway, nearly knocking him over and face first into the ground. The youngest vampire peeks around to make sure no one is within hearing distance and whispers, “Did you do it? Did you give him flowers today?”
Soobin also glances around for good measure, and slightly angles his neck to whisper back, “Yeah. I did.” He blushes when Hueningkai claps his hand, and starts bouncing up and down in excitement.
Taehyun grins and nudges his side. “We’re so proud of you.”
They all walk to the staff kitchen together to make themselves a cup of jasmine tea. The company has varieties of floral teas stocked for all the vampire staff, which Soobin is incredibly thankful for. He needs his caffeine fix in the morning, and coffee has never really been his thing. But when he notices the empty coffee pot in the kitchen, he brews a new pot for his coworkers who do like coffee.
For Tuesday, Soobin gifts Yeonjun a bouquet of ranunculus. They mean ‘you’re charming’, ‘I find you attractive’, and are the perfect flower to symbolize having a crush on someone, according to the fae florist at Dear Dolores. When Soobin comes in early Tuesday morning, he sees that Yeonjun has put yesterday's flowers in a vase on his desk. His heartbeat races, and he smiles brightly at the sight. Yeonjun likes the flowers! He did not throw them away! This is a good sign so far, and Soobin silently cheers.
You have the most beautiful smile, and your laugh never fails to brighten my day.
On Wednesday, Soobin comes in with a bouquet of pink daisies. They mean gentle admiration, affection, or adoration. Soobin can see that Yeonjun’s reaction so far has been positive. So he decides to be more daring and takes Taehyun’s silly advice to use a pickup line.
You’re as sweet as a flower, and not a daisy goes by when I don't think of you.
He hears Yeonjun laugh from across the office room and cranes his head to look over at the fairy’s cubicle. Soobin almost melts when he sees Yeonjun holding onto his note with the pickup line, his eyes crinkled into moon crescents and a wide smile adorning his face.
The vampire didn’t mean to, but he accidentally overhears a conversation Yeonjun has with Wooyoung, another fairy. “I see you’ve been getting flowers delivered to you! New boyfriend?”
“It’s cute, isn’t it?” Yeonjun beams, taking a whiff of the floral fragrance. “And no, not from a boyfriend.”
Wooyoung’s eyes widen in surprise, then he spots the vase of gardenias on Yeonjun’s desk. “Oh? A secret admirer! How romantic!” He coos and Yeonjun laughs with slightly rose-colored cheeks.
Soobin leaves a bouquet of pink lilies on Yeonjun’s desk on Thursday morning. The pink flowers stand for admiration. The vampire secretly smiles when he returns back to his cubicle, looking back behind his shoulder to gaze at the colorful flowers now decorating the fairy’s work space. He hopes Yeonjun likes the flowers today. He also hopes Yeonjun likes the flower pun, courtesy of Hueningkai:
I like you a lily bit more every day.
“Hey, Soobin!” Yeonjun calls.
The vampire startles and turns around in the hallway, not expecting to see Yeonjun jogging to catch up to him. “Hi.” Soobin greets back, his face and neck starting to warm up from being in the same vicinity as his crush.
“Are you going out to lunch, baby gem?” Yeonjun motions generally towards the outside.
A full blush is now on Soobin’s face at the mention of the flower pet name. “Yeah.” He responds simply, not sure if he can string out coherent sentences with how flustered he is.
“Me too! Let's grab lunch together!” The fairy grins as they walk side by side.
Yeonjun leads them to a cafe near their company, only a five minute walk away. When they enter the small local lunch spot, Soobin’s eyes dart around the space. He has never been here before and is unfamiliar with the menu. It doesn’t help that the menu is written on a chalkboard, the handwriting slightly too small for him to read. His anxiety grows the closer they get to the counter, still struggling with what to order.
“I recommend The Truffle Shuffle!” Yeonjun says and points to a section on the menu. “I’ve had it before. It’s really good!”
He listens to the older describe the roast beef sandwich on rosemary focaccia bread, finding it endearing that Yeonjun is trying so hard to sell it to him. “Oh. Okay, I’ll get that.” Soobin responds and can feel himself physically relaxing. When he gets to the counter, he repeats what Yeonjun had told him and orders a bottle of iced tea, peach hibiscus flavor.
Yeonjun orders himself a buffalo chicken salad wrap and a mini honey cake, and they find a table for two by a large open window. Soobin doesn’t say much over lunch, happily content with Yeonjun’s rambling and talking about whatever topic pops up in his mind. Although he is easily flustered around his crush, he doesn’t feel uncomfortable around Yeonjun. Yeonjun radiates a warm atmosphere and doesn’t press him into conversations that he doesn’t feel ready to join - he doesn’t feel forced to talk. And that’s fine because Soobin could listen to Yeonjun’s soothing voice and twinkling laugh forever.
On Friday, Soobin picks up his last order from the florist. He waves goodbye to the fae florist who has been so kind and helpful this entire week. He drops off the large bouquet on Yeonjun’s desk. He sees all the other flowers from this week arranged in pretty glass vases, all organized in the order Soobin had gifted them. Soobin almost cries at this, his heart swelling in happiness. Yeonjun has been taking care of the flowers.
His confidence soars and his resolve is strengthened. Today is the day Soobin will confess.
Soobin eats with Beomgyu for lunch, while the other two vampires are busy and taking lunch at a later time. “I got him red roses, the classic flower of love and romance.” Soobin explains his choice of flower for today’s bouquet.
Beomgyu nods his head, then furrows his brows. “How many red roses did you give him?”
“Thirty roses.”
Beomgyu spits out his salad and immediately bursts into laughter, slapping his knees and starting to full on wheeze.
Soobin frowns at Beomgyu’s bizarre reaction, “Why? Is it too excessive?” He actually bought three dozen roses, but stopped by his parent’s house on the way to work to give some to his mom. Is something wrong? Did he make the wrong choice? He didn’t want to seem overbearing or come off too strong. But maybe thirty roses is too much after all. Soobin starts to second guess himself after watching his fairy friend double over in laughter. “Gyu, please. You’re scaring me.” He pleads when he sees Beomgyu slip onto the ground and roll on the floor, clutching his stomach.
“The number of roses has a special meaning.” Beomgyu tries to stifle his laughter, barely able to get the sentence out. He wipes away a tear. “Red roses are the only flowers where the number given is significant to the meaning.”
“They do?” Soobin blinks. He didn’t know that.
“A single rose means love at first sight. Three roses mean ‘I love you.’ 24 roses means ‘You’re always on my mind.’” Beomgyu explains. “You know, like 24/7.”
Soobin frowns and a knot forms in his stomach. “What does 30 roses mean?”
“It stands for faithfulness. It means ‘I am committed to you.’” A smirk appears on Beomgyu’s face.
Soobin doesn’t like that glint in Beomgyu’s eyes. “Oh, I guess that’s not too bad.” He gulps, wiping the sweat from his hands on his pants. He can work with that.
“You just proposed to Yeonjun.”
Soobin’s blood runs cold as he stares at Beomgyu in horror. “What??? I proposed??” Soobin panics and gesticulates wildly with his hands. “Gyu, what are you talking about??”
“In fairy eyes, you just proposed to Yeonjun with the thirty red roses.” Beomgyu sings, twirling his hair and clearly entertained. He gets off of the breakroom floor and dusts his pants off. “That’s actually how my dad proposed to my mom. That’s also how my older brother proposed to his girlfriend. That’s actually a really common way for fairies to propose to each other.” Beomgyu casually drops the bomb.
Soobin thinks about what he just did. Yeonjun is a fairy, so of course that’s going to be what he thinks! It’s noon, which means Yeonjun already saw the flowers this morning. “Noooooooooo.” Soobin wails, covering his face. All the confidence he’s built up over the week plummets into the ground. “How can I face him now? This is so embarrassing!”
Beomgyu pats his back. “God, what I would’ve paid to see Yeonjun’s reaction to being proposed to by his secret admirer.”
***
Soobin speed walks to his floor in the office in a panic, trying to figure out how he can save the situation and clear up the misunderstanding. Yeonjun must find this creepy, getting proposed to by a mystery person! Should Soobin take some roses back so that they add up to the right number? He still wants to convey his feelings with the red roses.
When he returns to the room, no one is there. He’s lucky that everyone working on the floor, including Yeonjun, is currently out to lunch. Soobin makes a beeline towards Yeonjun’s cubicle and finds that the other has already put the 30 red roses in a vase. According to Beomgyu’s recommendation, twelve red roses is the best and most classic number to give to someone you are trying to confess to. The twelve roses mean 'be mine' and are an unspoken way of asking someone to be yours. That’s how Beomgyu asked out his crush in high school...it didn't work and the fairy dismisses that that's beside the point.
Soobin starts taking some roses out of the vase, counting in his head as he goes along. But before he can take back the correct number of roses, he hears people in the hallway returning from lunch and books it to his cubicle across the room to avoid getting caught. He tosses the roses in a bag underneath his desk and kicks it further back to hide them.
There are fifteen roses left in the vase on Yeonjun’s desk. Fifteen red roses are often given in apology and mean ‘I'm sorry.’
Soobin is on edge, constantly peering over his cubicle to see if there’s an opportunity to swipe flowers from Yeonjun’s desk. It’s been hours and Yeonjun is extremely focused on his design project, working on snowboard designs for an outerwear company that they’re contracted with. Soobin has not been productive in his graphic design at all and is on the verge of a breakdown. The fairy finally leaves his cubicle, and Soobin jumps at the chance. There are still coworkers around, so he needs to be subtle. It’s easier now that he’s closer to his target number and doesn’t need to take back a large number of roses at a time.
He needs to take only three more roses. Soobin knows that he has to be quick but needs to be careful. If he rushes and takes too many, it would not solve the problem. Nine roses are a symbol of eternal love — they mean 'I want to be with you forever' and are given to someone you want to spend the rest of your life with. Which would set Soobin back to square one because it’s the same as the proposal message he’s not trying to send prematurely.
Soobin attempts to walk by Yeonjun’s cubicle casually, pretending to get to the copier machine on the other side of the room.
He slows down his pace and secretly slips two roses out of the vase...
“What’s up, baby cakes?”
The vampire flinches and snaps the rose flower from the stems. With no time to react and think of where to hide the roses, Soobin pops them in his mouth. He turns around to see Yeonjun giving him a weird look. He is sure he looks like a hamster with his cheeks full. Soobin’s heart is practically beating out of his chest from almost getting caught, and Yeonjun’s confused stare is not helping. He worriedly grips at the two stems he’s hiding behind his back.
“Um… what are you eating?” Yeonjun tilts his head. He’s holding a cup of hot coffee in his hand. Yeonjun must’ve gone to the staff kitchen for a cup of coffee, which explains why he returned so soon.
Soobin tries to chew and swallow the roses quickly and nearly chokes in his attempt. “Just a little snack.” He squeaks when he finally forces down the petals to respond.
“Is there anything you need from me?” Yeonjun asks and raises an eyebrow, “or did you come over here because you missed me?”
Soobin laughs awkwardly, not being able to register what Yeonjun had just said. His mind is going haywire and he is too preoccupied with sticking the two rose stems up the back of his shirt to conceal them. “I wanted to borrow..uh- tape.”
“Oh.” is all Yeonjun says. He reaches over his desk to find Soobin the tape. If he notices he’s missing red roses, he doesn’t say anything. And Soobin doesn’t stay to hear, sprinting away after Yeonjun hands him the tape.
Soobin walks extremely unnaturally back to his desk, trying to make his way over without the stems stabbing into his back. He rips out the stems under his button-up shirt when he reaches his desk and throws them into the pile with the rest of the roses. Soobin falls in his work chair and lets out a sigh, fidgeting with the roll of tape in his hands. He was so close, he only needed to grab one more rose.
Yeonjun has thirteen roses left in his vase. Thirteen roses symbolize friendship.
Soobin pales at the progression of the number of red roses throughout the day and what they mean.
I am committed to you.
I’m sorry.
Let’s be friends.
Soobin buries his face in his hands and silently screams. Doesn’t that look like he’s taking back his confession? Like he’s changed his mind about Yeonjun? Soobin rests his head on his desk in defeat and dejection. His big confession at the end of the week has been ruined because of his ignorance. He’s a vampire - how was he supposed to know all the flower meanings and their nuances?
He needs to take back one more rose to make it twelve quickly before Yeonjun leaves with the wrong idea and Soobin loses all hope.
When Yeonjun leaves to use the restroom, Soobin tiptoes over to his cubicle with the tape dispenser. It’s a perfect disguise and excuse if someone spots him on this side of the room. But when he approaches Yeonjun's desk, he accidentally makes eye contact with Wooyoung, Yeonjun’s cubicle neighbor. Soobin panics and waves the tape, “Hi, Wooyoung. Just returning Yeonjun’s tape.” Before he can stop himself, he continues to ramble on, “Can I...uh..borrow..a stapler?”
Soobin brings the stapler back to his desk, staples a single sheet of paper, and waits for his next opportunity.
He gets it when Yeonjun stands up to stretch and tells Wooyoung that he’s going to take a short fifteen-minute break. Soobin walks over with Wooyoung’s stapler in hand, having his excuse ready just in case someone catches him near Yeonjun’s desk for the nth time today.
Finally, it’s a success, and Soobin takes one more rose to make the final count twelve.
The only thing left is to face Yeonjun in person and confess his feelings. The thought scares him, and he knows he will become a nervous wreck and be all tongue-tied, but Soobin hopes that all the flowers throughout the week were enough to communicate his feelings.
***
At the end of the work day, Soobin cleans up his space, clocks out online, and logs out of his computer. He peeks over and sees that Yeonjun has already left. On the note, he had asked Yeonjun to meet up at Ver’s Garden - a quiet cafe decorated with dried flowers and plants, with a nice and relaxed ambience. Soobin goes there for the floral teas. His favorites are the hibiscus teas and the butterfly blue pea flower herbal tea. In summer, the cafe mixes the teas with lemonade or carbonated water to make for a cool and refreshing drink.
On his walk over to the cafe, Soobin's heart is beating so fast that he’s actually concerned for his health. A vampire’s heart should not be beating this much. Will Yeonjun come? Will Yeonjun be disappointed when he finds out that Soobin is the secret admirer? He’s nervous and worried, his palms sweating and his body all tense. It takes all that he has not to turn around and run away from the confrontation. But he promised Taehyun that he would confess in person today.
Soobin takes a deep breath before opening the door to the cafe and tentatively steps inside.
He looks around and sees Yeonjun sitting at a table by himself. He has two drinks in front of him. Yeonjun looks up and they make eye contact.
“Honeyberry! Over here!” Yeonjun waves over to him.
Soobin blinks and freezes by the entrance. Why did Yeonjun greet him like that? He seemed to be expecting him. He makes his way over, ducking his head to hide his flushed face. Yeonjun has a hot steaming mug of maple milk in front of him and pushes the other glass towards Soobin when he takes a seat. It’s his favorite floral tea, hibiscus.
Yeonjun gives him a soft smile, and Soobin is having trouble maintaining eye contact. “Thank you for the flowers. They were lovely.”
Soobin looks up, frozen like a deer in headlights. He hadn’t even told the older that the flowers were from him yet. Yeonjun figured it out. “You knew they were from me?” he whispers, like it’s a secret. Yeonjun doesn’t look surprised at all.
A sheepish smile blooms on Yeonjun’s face.
It turns out, Yeonjun knew that it was Soobin the entire time. Dear Dolores is owned by his mom and he was actually inside the floral shop that Monday morning and saw Soobin pacing outside like an idiot through the window.
Soobin wants to hide in a hole forever. Give him a shovel and he will dig the deepest hole possible, then throw himself in it. He is seconds away from combusting from sheer mortification — he must've looked like such a fool. But Yeonjun reassures him that he thought Soobin was cute and was still surprised every day at what flowers he chose.
His breath hitches when he realizes that Yeonjun has reached over the table to hold his hands. He probably noticed him digging his nails into his palms from anxiety. When Soobin looks up and into Yeonjun’s eyes, he can see the older waiting for him. His eyes are warm, comforting, and encouraging. It’s enough for the vampire to muster up all of his courage to confess. “Yeonjun, I really like you.” He admits in a quiet, shaky voice. “For a very long time now. I’ve always admired how easily you get along with others, and I can understand why because you’re friendly and kind to others. If possible, I would like to get to know you better, outside of work and not just as coworkers.” Soobin closes his eyes, then reopens them again. “Would you like to go on a date with me some time?”
The reaction he receives is not the one he was expecting. Yeonjun is radiating happiness and is almost bouncing out of his seat. He clasps both of his hands in his, “Soobin, you don’t know how long I've been waiting for you to ask.”
Soobin can’t believe it. “What? Really?”
“Yeah, I like you too. Was it not obvious?” Yeonjun scrunches up his face, completely baffled yet amused. “The flirting? The pet names?”
Yeonjun was flirting with him. That was actual flirting and not just friendliness. Soobin feels like he’s in a dream because he can’t picture this as his reality. How was he able to catch Yeonjun’s, the office sweetheart’s, attention? Soobin still can’t put the pieces together in his mind. “But..but why?” He stammers out.
Yeonjun looks at him like he’s just said something immensely stupid. “Why not? You’re sweet and kind. I know that you’re the one that brings donuts to the office at the beginning of each month. You always add paper into the copier and refill the ink cartridges when it gets low. And you make sure the thermostat is at the right temperature before you leave. Literally nobody does that.” Yeonjun smiles. “You’re not as invisible as you think you are.”
Yeonjun noticed him when Soobin thought no one did. He never did those things for attention, recognition. He’s always been the type to do things silently in the background and accepts that he will forever be someone unknown. But Yeonjun knew that it’s always been him, and Soobin has never felt more seen in his life.
When Soobin doesn’t respond immediately, too busy blinking back tears, Yeonjun reaches down into his bag and presents him with a bouquet of dark pink carnations. “Like a bouquet tied with twine, I can be yours if you will be mine,” Yeonjun says, his eyes shining with anticipation.
Soobin gasps and his eyes widen in recognition. Beomgyu taught him this, it’s a chime fairies traditionally say in fairy courting, typically at the end of the courtship.
He memorized the fairy chime with the intention of asking the fairy, not expecting Yeonjun to ask him first. Soobin nods and accepts the flowers, too choked up and caught off guard to use his voice. His eyes take in the pretty carnations, and thanks to his research, he knows that the solid color symbolizes ‘yes.’ And that dark pink symbolizes a blooming love, often given on first dates.
“But just in case it wasn’t you, I also prepared this.” Yeonjun chuckles and pulls out a bouquet with striped carnations. The striped pattern symbolizes refusal, a very clear ‘no.’
Soobin smiles to himself at the older's preparedness and admires his bouquet of pink carnations. He's been giving flowers all week, it feels nice to receive as well. Yeonjun eyes the solid carnations in his hands and smirks, “That’s the response to the proposal, by the way.”
Soobin chokes. “I-I didn’t know- I didn’t mean-” He stutters, his cheeks reddening.
“Awwww, spice baby, going too fast now are we? Totally fine with me by the way.” Yeonjun stops his teasing to wink. “But we can talk about that after going on a couple of dates?” He jokes and eagerly starts to list ideas for future dates, with Soobin chiming in when the fairy asks for his opinion. The fairy suggests that they visit Dear Dolores tomorrow for a fun floral arrangement class — “My mom thinks you’re very handsome and I want a chance to show you off! Invite your mom too! We’re engaged after all~”
As they leave Ver’s Garden with their fingers intertwined, Soobin thinks back to the traditional fairy courting chime. How it sounds like a promise, a declaration. A vow.
He glances over at Yeonjun, fondness blossoming in his chest when he sees the older already smiling at him. Even if Soobin’s too shy to say it out loud, he’s sure he means it with all of his being. He gives Yeonjun’s hand a gentle squeeze and recites it in his heart.
I can be yours if you will be mine.