Final EP. Flower



It rained last night. It poured so much that the cliché of a hole in the sky seemed fitting.

I slept soundly, as I preferred the roaring sound to a drizzle.

The shower felt more refreshing than usual, and my roughly dried hair with the dryer held its shape quite well.

I slipped my feet into my shoes in the small entryway and looked at the small mirror on the door.

Hmm, I look decent enough today.

The gaunt eyes, usually sunken with fatigue, seemed to have regained some life.

-Creak

As I opened the door, the door next to mine opened, and a gray woman emerged.

She walked down the hallway with the steady pace of a soldier and turned towards me.

“Oh, Ms. Isis.”

Having met her on and off, I could offer a slightly friendlier greeting than before.

“Kang In-ho. Good morning. The weather isn’t very nice today.”

“Yes, it’s cloudy. But I like rain….”

“You like rainy days, don’t you? I happen to like rainy days too. I know a good song to listen to on rainy days. Would you like me to recommend it?”

Isis came closer to me and gave a quiet smile.

Seeing Isis’s subtle smile always made me feel a little relieved.

It was strange to have such thoughts about someone I wasn’t even close to, but feelings were beyond my control.

Isis stepped half a step ahead of me and pressed the elevator button.

“I recommend a song called ‘Umbrella’.”

“Ah, that’s a classic. You know it too, Ms. Isis.”

“Yes, I know it as a masterpiece selected by big data.”

She sometimes said things I didn’t understand, but I just accepted it as her personality.

“We have similar tastes.”

“We.”

Isis nodded as she got into the elevator.

“That’s right. We.”

Isis smiled and reached out her hand from the other side of the door.

Seeing her strangely reassuring smile, I stepped lightly.

“Oh, Ms. Isis. About the American president I mentioned last time….”

“…The actions of the American president cannot be predicted even with big data.”

“Ah….”

It was a refreshing morning.

“Good morning.”

A strange fragrance filled the office as I entered.

“Oh, Inho, are you allergic to pollen?”

Ms. Sujin next to me asked.

I guess it was because I was sniffing.

“No, but what’s that smell? Flowers?”

I looked around, wondering if someone had brought flowers for decoration, and there were more than just one or two.

There was a small flowerpot on each desk.

“What’s with the flowers?”

“Didn’t you see? A flower shop opened in the basement of the building.”

“A flower shop? The location isn’t very good here. It won’t last long.”

People might buy flowers near Gangnam Station as gifts for their lovers, but this place was quite far from the bustling areas.

“Well, they seem to have pretty good business skills.”

“Are they good at talking?”

“Um… they make you want to buy something.”

“Make you want to?”

Are they good at talking?

“It’s hard to explain. If you’re really curious, go and see for yourself. You’ll know what I mean.”

“You’ve made me a little curious.”

I’ll go and check it out when I go to buy coffee.

It was like a concert hall had opened in the basement.

Everyone was coming out with a small flowerpot in their hands, and I knew all their faces.

“Are you starting a greenhouse, Senior?”

I couldn’t help but ask when I ran into a senior who was buying four flowerpots.

The senior just shrugged with an awkward smile, and I stepped into the rather cramped flower shop.

“Welcome.”

An old-fashioned greeting came to me with the sound of a bell.

From inside the shop, a woman in flowing clothes peeked out.

“Oh? You were on the street back then….”

“Hehe, we meet again, don’t we?”

The woman, wearing a modernized hanbok and with her hair braided, smiled.

She bowed slightly instead of shaking hands.

It was an artificial gesture, but somehow it didn’t feel strange.

“I think you were selling them on a cart back then.”

“Yes, that’s right. I was able to save up enough money to open this shop.”

“I am Chunhyang.”

She said, extending her hand.

“That’s a very memorable name.”

“Hehe, is it?”

The way she lowered her eyes made her look like a fox.

But it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling.

Ah, is this the ‘business skill’ that Ms. Sujin was talking about?

“Did you come to look at the flowers? Or to buy them?”

“Actually, my colleagues at work bought them, so I was curious. But well… I might buy one if there’s something nice.”

I felt a little awkward just looking around.

The owner of the flower shop, Chunhyang, certainly seemed to have business skills.

Anyone else would have immediately pushed flowers at me and recommended them one by one, but Chunhyang didn’t open her mouth rashly.

She just made a humming sound and stared at me intently.

It was a bit much to use this expression for someone I’d only met twice, but her eyes were very bewitching.

Yes, bewitching eyes.

That expression suited her very well.

“More than that, do you like flowers?”

“Actually, I’ve never grown them before.”

“In that case, it would be best to get something that doesn’t require much care. Do you prefer a strong fragrance or a subtle one?”

Chunhyang touched the flowers on the display one by one as she asked.

Each time her long, white fingers touched the petals, the flowers seemed to come alive and show off their colors more vividly.

When her hand reached a bright yellow flower, I realized she had asked a question and answered.

“Not too strong, I guess.”

As soon as I finished speaking, her hand stopped.

“Hmm, then this flower might not be very good.”

She regretfully took her hand away from the basket of bright yellow flowers.

When I returned to the office, Lee Mina and Kim Sung-ah had already arrived and were sitting across from me.

“Hello.”

I greeted them, but I didn’t get the usual bright greeting in return.

“…….”

“…….”

“Um? What’s wrong?”

“Inho, what did you buy?”

Kim Sung-ah said, looking at the flowerpot in my arms.

“Ah, I bought this at the flower shop in the basement.”

“But I don’t see any flowers.”

Lee Mina pointed out sharply.

“Ah, that’s right.”

I nodded and recalled the conversation from earlier.

[Since this is your first time growing them, how about growing them from seeds?]

Chunhyang gave me a pot with seeds in it.

Adding that it was ‘free’ for now.

[Are you talking about the price? Hehe, it’s alright. However, will you come to me every time the seeds sprout, the stems grow, the buds form, and the flowers bloom? I will teach you how to take care of them.]

“Hmm….”

When I told them what happened in the basement, Lee Mina and Kim Sung-ah’s faces became quite serious.

“What’s wrong?”

I wondered if I had said something offensive, but they didn’t answer.

“Truly enchanting….”

“We can’t let our guard down.”

I didn’t know what they were talking about, but I didn’t think there was any reason to join the conversation.

Anyway, I wonder if the flowers will bloom soon.