_

"wow, it's really beautiful in here" mingi mused at the vivid colours and diverse appearances of the flowers and plants all around him.

"thank you" yunho replied shyly, "I'm very proud"

mingi smiled happily to himself as yunho looked on, feeling content with how interested mingi seemed to be in his surroundings.

"my grandfather was a gardener..." mingi began, "he taught me all about plants and flowers from a young age"

"oh no way?!" yunho asked excitedly.

"yeah, he always filled his home with fresh cuts - it made his home a very relaxing place to be. I loved it there" he said with just a tinge of sadness in his words. and yunho couldn't stop himself from wondering aloud;

"where are your family, mingi?"

mingi stopped admiring his surroundings and turned to face yunho. the intensity of his gaze made the other boy regret his question - perhaps it had been a little too personal.

"all my grandparents are dead" he answered bluntly. "and my parents... we don't talk"

yunho nodded, not wanting to press the boy. "let's go into the back" he suggested, "would you like a coffee?"

"yes please" mingi replied as he followed the other boy.

"please, take a seat, I'll start making the drinks" yunho smiled.

he expected there to be silence while he prepped the coffee, and so when mingi spoke, it surprised yunho - but what he said surprised him more.

"I'm gay" he blurted out.

yunho took a moment to decide if he'd heard correctly.

"I-I'm sorry?"

"I'm gay... that's why I don't talk to my parents. or should I say, why they don't talk to me"

if yunho was being honest, he wasn't sure what he himself was. he had had flings, sure - but never anything serious. the girls he had dated had never been able to keep his attention for very long. he had never been able to imagine anything long-term with any of them.

the silence was too long, and mingi noticed it. he wasn't used to welcome receptions to that information so he expected nothing more from yunho.

"do you want me to go?"

yunho whipped around from the counter where he was stirring the coffee, "no, no! of course not" he confirmed. "I was just thinking..."

"well that's why I had to leave home: I wasn't welcome there anymore"

"really?" yunho knew that the attitude towards homosexuality hadn't progressed as much as it needed to, but with his own parents being extremely supportive of him no matter his choices, he found it difficult to understand how anyone could abandon their own son over something that he had no choice in.

mingi nodded as yunho handed him a large mug.

"hmm.. this is the first hot drink I've had in so long" mingi spoke, contented. yunho took a seat on the stool next to mingi's and invited him to do the same.

"h-how long.. have you been..?" he trailed off, wondering if he shouldn't ask these kind of questions.

"I don't know, I lose count of the days. I think it's a little under a year"

"a year?!"

mingi chuckled, "yeah, I think so. I've been lucky though, people have been very kind to me", then his smile disappeared, "it's still awful though. it's so, so horrible, yunho"

yunho reached out to place his hand gently over mingi's arm. he was still dressed in a waterproof jacket despite the heat outside.

mingi flinched at this and moved slightly away, causing yunho to return his hand to his mug. it made him question how long it had actually been since mingi had felt human contact. a hug, a hand being held, any type of human touch was so important - he couldn't imagine what it would feel like for this to be lost.

"I'm s-sorry" yunho stuttered. mingi just continued slurping his drink, savouring every last moment of it. it made yunho feel sad to see how much the boy appreciated a simple cup of coffee.

"were you with your parents before that?"

"no" mingi answered, finally placing the mug down on the table, "I was with my ex-boyfriend then..." and then, abruptly, he changed the subject, "do you own this shop?"

"urm, yeah. yeah, this one and a couple of others out of town"

"wow, that's incredible" he smiled, his eyes becoming smaller as his cheeks puffed up. "you should be very proud"

there was a few moments of silence before he spoke again, "well, I should get going" mingi announced as he began to rise from the stool.

get going. get going to sit a few metres away, outside, on the ground. there's no way yunho could ask him to do that.

"don't go" he quickly said. "I mean.. uh.. please stay for a while"

mingi looked straight into yunho's eyes with a serious gaze. "yunho, I can't do that. we both know I can't"

"why?"

"I'm bad for business"

"then you can help me" yunho tried.

mingi sighed, "yunho. you don't have to feel obliged. I'm used to people not wanting me around"

mingi spoke so matter-of-factly, and yunho could tell that the boy wasn't just vying for attention, he really meant the words he spoke. perhaps he was so used to being alone, shunned by society, that he was actually comfortable in that position.

"help me out in here this afternoon" yunho repeated, "I can pay you for your time"

mingi scoffed at this and yunho knew immediately that he'd said the wrong thing.

"...or... I can not... I mean, I just want your company... more than anything" he tried, wanting to soften the atmosphere.

"I don't want your money, yunho. but if you have any food going out of date.. that you don't want maybe - that's enough"

"help yourself to anything" yunho simply replied.

_

"could you pass me some ribbon please? the yellow one" yunho asked as he was bent down perfecting his latest bouquet. mingi kindly obliged.

it was another bunch featuring sunflowers and yunho had many ideas stored in his head for his favourite flower. he worked quickly, and mingi simply admired his craftsmanship. he really was a fantastic florist.

"done!" yunho soon exclaimed. "what do you think?"

"it's beautiful" mingi replied truthfully, "sunflowers are my favourites"

"mine too" yunho smiled as he set the bouquet into a vase full of water.

"what made you want to be a florist?" mingi asked inquisitively.

"oh, urm... well, I've always been fascinated by nature. and it was my sister's dream"

"I see. how old is your sister?" mingi asked innocently, not knowing the pain this single question caused.

yunho froze. he felt a hollowness in the pit of his stomach at the prospect of answering mingi's question. it was the topic he pushed from his mind every single day when he looked around the little shop and remembered why it stood there.

"yunho?" mingi prompted unsurely.

"sorry... urm... actually..." he continued to try and get the words out, the whole time purposefully looking away from the other boy. "actually, my sister... she died in a car accident"

mingi immediately rose from his seat and moved closer to yunho who was leant over at the other end of the counter. "I'm so sorry, yunho"

"she was so happy the day we opened the first shop, this one. it took a long time to put all the plans into place and I think she didn't believe it would happen for the longest time" yunho recalled, "then a few months later, she was driving to visit my parents, and..." he trailed off, feeling the tears surface in his eyes.

and then, unexpectedly, yunho felt mingi's palm close over his fist. the surprise forced yunho to look at the tall, red-headed male, and in his eyes, he saw the same sympathy yunho had felt for mingi a few hours prior.

"I'm here if you ever want to talk about it. if you ever wanna tell me about her - I'd love to know" mingi spoke softly.

and at that moment, yunho realised; they had both suffered terribly in their lives. but the flower shop had brought them both together, and perhaps they were both exactly what the other needed.

_

#weloveyoumingi ♡