THE SUN AND ITS FLOWERS,

Juwon was depressed. (No, she wasn't. She was just dramatic.)

Even after Heeseung had reassured her that he would go straight over to her place after he finished catching up on all the missing assignments he had, she still felt lonely. Even Riki's company wasn't enough. Even Jay's thirty second visit to reassure her that Heeseung was keeping his word wasn't enough.

Riki peeked his head in her bedroom, Jay following after him as they watched the girl throw a tantrum in her bed. "Is she okay?" he asked the older boy. Jay shrugged, genuinely concerned. "Doesn't she have any other friends?" Juwon sighed and buried her face in her pillow, groaning. She stayed like that for a while, motionless. "Is she dead?!" Riki started to panic.

"She's not dead," Jay said.

"I wish I were dead," she mumbled, remaining in her position. Jay rolled his eyes and swung the door open, walking over to her bed and pulling on her legs.

"Get out of bed," he said, struggling as the girl refused to cooperate.

"No," Juwon said, her voice muffled. "I refuse."

"You're exaggerating," he said. "It's not even noon yet! Get out of bed and do something with yourself. You look horrible!"

Juwon lifted her head and glared at him, kicking him in the stomach. He groaned and cursed at her. "You have no right to judge me when you spend months in your room doing nothing but playing video games," she said before going back to her original position. "Leave me alone."

He scoffed. "You act like it's the end of the world, Juwon."

"It is the end of the world for me!" she said, rolling onto her back and sitting up (the most productive thing she's done all day). "What am I supposed to do when he isn't here? The only reason why I haven't committed arson yet is because Heeseung's always there to stop me! Now? I can burn down an entire building!" She paused, "I don't want to do that."

Jay stared at her. "You do know he's coming back, right?" he asked as she laid back down. "And that you can literally just call him. He always picks up when it's you anyway."

"But he's busy," she whined. "I'm not going to interrupt him when he's busy. Especially not when this is one of the only times he actually does schoolwork."

"You're impossible." Jay sighed and turned to Riki who was hiding behind the door. "Come on," he said. "Let's let your mother cry over her platonic husband in peace."

Juwon sat up immediately, eyeing Jay. "Where are you taking him?" she asked him as he lead Riki out of her bedroom. "Who gave you permission? Don't touch him, Park Jongseong!"

"Calm down," Jay sighed. He hadn't even been there for a thirty minutes and he'd had enough of Juwon. "I'm getting him breakfast since someone isn't sane enough to give the poor kid food."

"I already ate-"

"Shh, no you didn't," Jay hushed the boy.

"Fine," she said. "But bring him back later, okay?"

"Promise."

Jay never kept any of his promises.

For the rest of that day, Juwon stayed in her bed, her eyes staring out the window as she watched the clouds pass by and the sun reach it's peak in the sky, only for it to descend afterwards. "How nice," she mumbled as the sun's rays rested on her body. She smiled slightly at its warmth. "This is nice."

This was not nice.

Juwon hadn't spoken to Heeseung all day, which resulted in her not having enough energy to leave her bedroom. It reminded her of the sun and its flowers. Flowers needed the sun's light in order to have energy, in order to live. Without the sun, flowers would wither — all life would wither away in the darkness. Heeseung was the sun and Juwon was the flower that needed him in order to live and thrive.

Juwon felt she was withering.

"He's right there," she said to herself. "Just pick up the phone and call him — it's not so hard. He's probably finished by now anyway." The girl reached for her phone and held it tightly in her hand, silently debating whether this was a good idea or not. You're gonna die, her subconscious reminded her (pretty dramatic, if you ask me). Do it.

So she did. Unlocking her phone, she searched for his number, finding it immediately and sighing before pressing the call button. Juwon held the phone next to her ear, staring out the window once again. He picked up on the second ring.

"You didn't die, did you?" was the first thing Heeseung asked once he answered.

"Of course not," Juwon said, pretending she hadn't thrown a tantrum the entire day just because he wasn't there. "Jay took Riki with him, so I was just bored. What are you doing?"

"Nothing," he answered too quickly.

Silence.

"Liar," she smiled.

Heeseung chuckled, "You know me too well," he said. "I'm at the store. In fact, I can actually see the apartment building from right here."

"You said you'd come over immediately after you finished."

"And I'm coming. Jeez, you're so impatient," he joked. "I'll be there in less than five minutes. Do you want anything?"

"No."

"Okay."

He hung up after that, leaving Juwon feeling "lonely" once again. She let the phone fall and sighed, rolling onto her side. "One. Two. Three," she unknowingly started counting. These are the longest five minutes of my life.

Right before the five minutes were over, she heard the door open and immediately sat up at the sound of footsteps. Her head turned towards the door just as it opened, revealing a smiling Heeseung. "See?" he started. "I told you I'd be here in five minutes. I bet you started counting." He walked into the room, holding something behind his back. "Well, I was counting too." Skipping over to her side of the bed, he sat down beside her, where he then pulled out a bouquet of flowers. "Here," he said. "For you."

Juwon stared at him blankly. "I didn't ask for anything," she said.

"I know. But I passed them on my way here and I thought you might like them, so here," he said, still smiling. She nodded and took them, not knowing what to say to him, but he didn't need her to say anything. Once she held them, Heeseung stood up and walked out of the room happily. "I'm making you dinner, by the way!" he yelled from the kitchen.

Then it hit her.

As she held the bouquet in her hand, staring down at the white daisies. As she thought back to how she'd been spending time when he wasn't there, it hit her. Heeseung was the sun, shining in all its glory, the sun that made living possible. Juwon was the flowers, living only because he was there and made it possible, living for herself and for him. He was the sun she so desperately needed.

Juwon wanted to cry.

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seung the rat 🐀

juju tf away from me 👽
how dare you do this to pooh
#poohdeservedbetter 😔

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i cried writing this chapter