CHAPTER ONE

Every day, the sun rises, sets and then repeats. Without fail, it continues. No matter what happens to us down here, no matter how hard we work, how much we attain, and no matter how much we lose, the sun will always rise, set, and repeat.

And me, like always, I will go to work, carry out my missions and then return to my empty apartment. Today I am delivering a bouquet for a customer.

"Smile, Masuk." I hear a voice say in my head as I approach the young lady sitting with her friends. My face forms a smile that I knew was dazzling as I said, "good afternoon, I have this for you. " I hold out the flowers to her. It is a bouquet that Jia carefully designed with a small note tucked between the vibrant green stems.

"Do I know you," she asks, sharing a laugh with her friends. She is obviously flattered but I say,

"No, we have never met before, not even once."

"Oh, then why are you giving me flowers?"

"They are not from me but from the person over there." I nod my head to the guy sitting two seats away from them. He nods and waves while trying to look unthreatening with a smile.

The girls eye him, shake their heads, laugh, and began to leave. The girl the customer wanted to reach did not look my way again.

"The flowers?" I ask following them. One of her friends returns and takes the flowers away from me.

Watching them leave in a hurry, I can't help being in shock at their behavior. When I first approached them, she had smiled at me so sweetly but after seeing the customer she didn't even want to spend two seconds in my presence. My eye went over the customer. He was a bit chubby, had mushroom hair cut, and wore glasses. Well... I thought. She was way out of his league.

Although, personally I have never been one to take note of a person's looks first before accepting their feelings. Not that I have many experiences. The only person to ever confess to me had ended up becoming my boyfriend.

"Thanks, "the customer says after reaching me, his shoulders drooping. I nod in response then he walks away. At least he tried.

I take out my phone and make a call. "Jia," I say when he picks, "mission accomplished."

I feel the smile in his voice as he replies, "good work. Come back soon "

"yep." I disconnect the call and go back to my bicycle. Today it doesn't seem we have a lot of orders, I think as I drove back to the store. The store is actually built like an airplane and before getting to the door you will see a colorful signboard that says Welcome to Jashvee happy gift shop

I work here part-time to pay for little expenses but I still rely heavily on my parents while I finish my education at the university. I have one more year to go and I will be done.

The inside of the store is large with towers of shelves that had things like stuffed toys, flowers, gift baskets, and so on. The place usually looks like a fairy town with pretty banners and sparkles but the owner...

Jia comes into my view as I walk further into the store. He is sitting in his small office raised high with carpeted stairs for a person to climb up and down. His eyes rise slowly to meet mine and a kind smile appears on his face.

"Welcome back," he says.

The owner looked nothing like the store. Jia is my senior by at least ten years and he had dyed his hair a frosty gray color, his face didn't look like he was older than me. He is the last person I would think of when I thought of a place like Jasvee gift store, but his personality is warm and full of kindness. Knowing him, it makes me think that there was no other work that suits him better.

"Thanks. No new order?"

"What? You just got back and you want to go again, will taking a break kill you?" the person talking is someone who works full time in the store and my senior, a close friend of Jia, P'Tee
"I can take a break, P'Tee I just thought that maybe you needed me."

"Oh, don't worry, valentine is almost here, you will get a lot of work soon."

"Don't say that, "Jia admonishes P'Tee "you don't know that Masuk doesn't have plans on valentine's day."

"I have plans on valentine, P', you told me I can get off work early to go play,"P'Tee whines childishly.

Jia shakes his head while smiling. "Ever since you got a boyfriend you've been running off to go play. Are you going to abandon me by myself on that day?"

"oh come on P', I always stay with you, just let me go this time. Masuk can stay instead."

"That day happens to be Masuk's day off, though."

"I don't mind," I interrupt. "I don't have any plans so I will be here to help you out. "

Jia tilted his head and looked at me, studying me. I avoid his eyes and look for something to do instead.

"Great, see I told you Masuk wouldn't have plans—"Jia interrupts P'Tee with his hand. I notice him come down from his office to me that was standing at the foot of the stairs.

He was already taller than me but with him standing on the last step, he towers over me and his warm brown eyes took me all in. his scent of flowers envelope my nose and I can't help holding his eyes, despite myself.

"Are you sure, Masuk. You have been working on all your days off, you should take this one."

"I really don't mind, though," I smile at him.

"See, I told you he will be fine. " P'T came to join us and says to me, "just this once, let me enjoy valentine day now that I have a boyfriend."

I smile and nod. "Go ahead, P'"

"Thanks!"

"Hey, you still haven't finished what you were doing," Jia calls as P'T excitedly runs off.

"It's lunch break boss," his voice carries over even as he zooms off.

Jia and I shared a small exasperated smile. "I can help you." I offer.

Suddenly Jia pats my head. "Don't worry about it. How was your mission?"

My head felt warm where his hand touched even though it had only been briefly, too brief for me to feel the weight.
"It was alright. The customer was rejected though."

"Not surprisingly. "

Like that we talked as Jia worked. Whether he wanted it or not, I helped him finish his work.

Jia

I finish the work I had left and begin packing up so that I could go home. That was when I heard something fall. I should be alone in the store right now. Could it be...?

I walk over and saw that my suspicion was right. On aile ten, Masuk was kneeling while cleaning up some fallen flowers.

"are you alright?" I ask as I come over to help him.

"oh Jia," he says my name with the empty voice I have tried to get myself used to. Where has the boy who came to look for work almost two years ago gone? That boy used to have more than two expressions, which was all that the present Masuk has now. A Smiling expression and a blank one.

"Why are you still here," I said as I start to pick up the fallen plastic flower vase. He also reached for it and our hands touched. Electric current raced through every pores of mine that touched his. Our eyes met and held. I sometimes delude myself into thinking that maybe there was something more in them other than emptiness.

"I just," he looks away and slowly collected his hand. "I thought I should sort this out before tomorrow."

I straighten as I say, "ah. Don't you have classes tomorrow?"

"hm," comes his noncommittal response.

"Are you attending classes properly, Masuk."

"Of course." I believe him.

"What about food? Are you eating well?"

"Better than you, Jia," he smiles when I made a discomfited sound.
"I eat well," I said.

"Tiny meals."

I fall silent. I didn't know that he had noticed that. I thought only I was noticing him. I shouldn't even be noticing him but has it been a year already, since I fell in love with this boy. I never thought that I would fall for a boy let alone one so much younger than me.

"I eat enough, "I corrected myself. "Don't stay behind too late anymore. Come on, let me drive you home.'
"There's no need, Jia."

"Don't argue," I said leaning over. My intention was to give him a firm-stare down but why did my face get too close to his. My heart skipped at the look in his eyes. I love Masuk, his eyes, his face, his ears, his smile, I love everything. My eyes are probably shouting this, but Masuk doesn't notice it. he didn't look away either and I can't tell whether he felt anything from being this close.

"let me just... do this for you," I say.

"...umm." I told myself to ignore the hesitation. I know that he diesnt think of me as anything other than his boss, that's fine. I didn't plan on being anything different anyway.

We lock up the store and take my car to Masuk's apartment. I have never been so this would be my first time. I can't help but wonder what kind of place Masuk lives in.

When we arrive at the place, it was darker than I was expecting. The apartment building is an old one, two storey high and without proper street lights.

"thanks, Jia," Masuk says and begins to reach for the door.

"so this is where you live. Funny, I know someone who lives here," I say to stall him. Masuk makes no sign that he was listening or for me to continue but he stopped trying to leave. Am I making him uncomfortable? I guess it wouldn't be wise to ask him if I could come in to see his apartment, after all we don't have that kind of relationship.

"okay, you can get some sleep. Go to school tomorrow, okay."

"okay. Thanks, Jia?" his smile is as usual and then he left.

I watch him walk up the stares and disappear through the doors. Masuk was never going to open up to me. I am not good at getting people to open up to me anyway so I wonder why I thought I would.

I sigh and begin to pull out of parking. Masuk hasn't moved on and probably never will. I learned some time ago that Masuk lost someone, his boyfriend and came to understand why the cheerful boy I once knew lost all his color. It's already been a year since his boyfriend passed away and yet Masuk hasn't shown any signs of getting better. I am worried that he may never get better. What should I do to help him? He can't continue like this.