The Longing Sea

Chapter II

The man appeared unsure of what to say. He pursed his lips, not knowing whether he should look at Gong Jun or elsewhere. Being inside a room full of flowers seemed to be something extremely novel to him. He couldn't stop turning his head left and right, curious but at the same time a little afraid.

"You've never been to a flower shop before?" Gong Jun raised his brow, stupefied when the man earnestly shook his head, "How could that be? Where did you come from?"

To his question, the mysterious person pointed at the window. Gong Jun's shop was facing the sea; if he gazed out of the window, he could easily find the view of that vast body of water spreading far to the horizon from the shore. It was a pleasant view to see at any point of the day, but right now this answer only served to make him feel downright puzzled.

"You mean you lived near the seaside?" he asked, and the person shook his head, "Or... What do you mean? Did you come from the other side of the sea? From a different island?"

The man thought for a moment before he finally gave a nod, though even that nod was riddled with some doubts. If it was any other day, Gong Jun might have called the police to file a lost person report and be done with it. He had no idea why he hadn't done so now when he was almost certain this person was a foreigner somehow getting stranded in this small town. The thought simply didn't come across his mind.

"Alright..." he let out a sigh and smiled, "First thing first, it won't do that we've been speaking without knowing each other's name. I'm Gong Jun. I run this shop after my grandmother retired, so now it's technically mine. Nice to meet you."

He held out his hand for a handshake. The other person stared at his extended hand for a long while as though he was looking at something bizarre before returning the gesture. Unlike Gong Jun's warm, big hand, this person's was smooth and cold to the touch.

"J... Jun... Jun..."

"That's right. I guess you can call me JunJun. My parents often call me that," Gong Jun laughed, "What's your name?"

The man parted his lips and attempted to speak with much difficulty. Gong Jun waited patiently until he heard two syllables being dropped to his ears.

"...Zh...e...Han..."

"Zhehan?" Gong Jun reiterated, and the other person nodded, "Alright. It's nice to meet you, Zhehan."

For the first time since they met, the stranger's lips curled up into a smile. His eyes became a pair of crescents, and when he saw this, there was a few seconds where Gong Jun felt his heart skipping a bit.

Zhehan really did have a lovely visage. It didn't matter if one was a man or a woman; if they were to see this smile of his, it was impossible not to stop whatever they were doing and take a look. Gong Jun, too, was but an ordinary person. He wouldn't be able to take his eyes off a beauty when he saw one. But as he felt butterflies fluttering in his stomach, he had an unexplainable hunch that this wasn't merely caused by Zhehan's good-looking appearance.

There was something nostalgic blooming in the depth of his heart. Where had he seen this person before?

Unfortunately, Gong Jun hadn't the time to bask in this newfound feeling and wonder of his because the alarm he set on his phone made a shrill reminder that it was time for him to deliver the flower bouquet order from yesterday. The young florist stood up reluctantly, knowing that he had to go but not wanting to leave his lost guest alone in the shop.

"Is... Is s-something...wrong?"

Zhehan seemed to notice his dilemma, although he hadn't the slightest idea what issue was troubling the other person. There was nothing but innocent curiosity in his eyes. Seeing this, Gong Jun couldn't bring himself to chase him away.

"I...have to go out for a bit," in the end, Gong Jun told him the truth, "There's a customer's order that I need to deliver now. I won't be long, though. I'll be back in about half an hour. Will you be okay on your own?"

"I...I can leave...if you're b...busy..."

"It's alright," Gong Jun patted his shoulders, "The shop doesn't have too many customers at this time of the day. You can take some rest here until you feel better. No one will come to disturb you."

With that said, Gong Jun picked up the bouquet he'd prepared last night and headed out of the shop. He mounted his bicycle, cast one last look into the shop through the window and saw Zhehan staring at him, visibly worried. For some reason, Gong Jun found him adorable. He couldn't help but smile, waving his hand at Zhehan before taking off to the streets.

Doing bouquet deliveries was one of his routines as a florist. There was nothing special about this; every week, Gong Jun was used to riding his bicycle every now and then while carrying flower bouquets for his customers. He could also use this time to take a little look around the city after being cooped up in the shop for too long.

Today, however, there was a strange feeling churning in the pit of his stomach. He couldn't get into the mood of wanting to "take a look around the city." He only wished to finish this delivery as soon as possible, then return to the shop.

Nevertheless, by the time he came back, Zhehan was already nowhere to be seen.

Instead, on the couch where the person had been sitting before, there was a small note written in shaky handwriting, as if the one who left it had been holding the pen with trembling hands.

"Thank you" —it reads, as the note was placed under a beautiful round white pearl serving as a paper holder.