"thanks, these were delicious," said jieun as she glanced at the boy next to her. they were sitting outside the shop, because irene was late and the keys to the door were with her. it was very cold outside, jieun's hands trembled as she rubbed them together, the warmth of the red bean pastries fading with each passing second.

the boy next to her beamed, his heart-shaped lips spread to reveal his front teeth. jieun pursed her lips together and gazed at her yellow converse, fumbling with her fingers.

"why are you here?" she asked, tossing the plastic into a bin nearby.

"to get flowers, of course."

"ah, i see. irene sure is taking a long time!" she mumbled, glancing at her watch. she realised she wasn't wearing a wrist watch and wanted to throw herself into a ditch and bury herself and her awkwardness.

the boy chuckled. "i also came to bring you some pastries, because i felt like seeing you," he said calmly, getting up. "irene is here!"

red seeped into jieun's cheeks, as she watched the boy wave his arms widely at irene who was running towards them from a far distance. the boy must have felt her stare linger on him, because he turned his cheek to look at jieun.

watching a flustered jieun made him grin. "i was kidding," he said, a cheeky smile surfacing on his face.

"i hate you."
.
.
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jieun found people strange. she found that boy the strangest of them all.

they had met twice, and he felt that he was close enough to buy desserts for her. not that she was complaining, though. it just felt strange that this random person had suddenly appeared in her life and had tried to swoop her off her feet with plastic bags of red bean buns.

again, not that she minded free food.

jieun glanced at the boy with narrow eyes; he had been at the flower shop for an hour now, roaming around the store making friends with customers. irene didn't seem to mind too, she had taken advantage of his beauty to lure unsuspecting, giggling teenage girls to her store. how cheeky of her, jieun thought as she glanced at her boss who sat in the workroom managing the store's finances.

she chewed on her lips, a nervous habit, while she arranged a bouquet on the counter. the boy strolled over towards her, hands in his black hoodie's pockets. the midday sun streamed in through the large glass windows, shining on his dark wavy locks and glossy skin.

he sat on a stool, next to the counter. there were no customers in the shop, the only sounds that could be heard were the occasional snip of her scissors as she cut the stems of blue periwinkles.

"aren't you going to leave?" she asked abruptly, hints of frustration peeking through her question. jieun knew it was rude of her, but she concluded that he would discover her crappy personality sooner or later.

the boy looked amused, shedding his formal speech as he answered, "it's always raining outside, it's saturday, i have no one else to bug, and it smells nice in here."

the boy smirked, "besides, i'm sure you don't mind someone as charming," he paused and placed his fingertips of his forehead to pose, "and good-looking as i am hanging around you."

jieun started laughing. "wow, you suck," she joked, glancing at the boy who smiled back.

"so do you. i guess that means we can be friends," said the boy who picked up a flower from the counter. he twirled it over and over, as jieun glanced at him.

"friends huh," she said, her mind flashing back to spring flowers and laughter. she chewed on her lips again.

"i'll bring food for you whenever i come."

"i want takoyaki next time, friend."