Delivered Sincerity || JJK✔️

|15|

"The man wanted to help the girl, teach her every method of growing flowers—to grow beautiful flowers, but he couldn't face her. He was afraid that the girl would get scared of him because of his hideous face. The only thing he could do was keep growing flowers so she could keep coming back,"

Flashbacks of the times I left him flowers and notes flooded my mind and I bit my lips to try and contain myself. My knuckles turned white because of how hard my grip is to the table. At the same time, my eyes are shut tight whilst my head is facing the window, away from everyone's sight.

"He decided to create a flower that was out of this world so when it blooms, the girl could sell it at an expensive price. He shut himself inside the castle and after countless attempts, he finally succeeded and filled his garden with the flowers; however, it had been days but the girl was nowhere to be seen. He grew worried and went to the village with a mask on to hide himself. His efforts were wasted and he was filled with regret when he came to know that the girl whom he fell for, had already died,"

I already know this story so why am I this affected? Is it because of the realization that I have the same fate as his? Or the realization of how similar my life is to his? Fuck, this is really my destiny isn't it? I'll be left alone in the castle, no one will call my name, no one will care because I am just a hideous, pathetic person.

"Everyone... I want you all to know that you should never judge someone by their appearance and try to approach them with an open mind and heart. See the beauty in them, not base it on their outside because you never know, that person might already be suffering years of loneliness and later on, you'll regret not giving them a chance, for judging them based on their appearance. I once did that and I regret it so much—so so much because now I know how deep the wound is on their hearts."

I knew it was directed to me. Everything she said was directed to me—from the story to what she said just now. My heart ached, as if someone's tearing them apart—slowly and painfully and the comments of my classmates didn't help ease it one bit.

"Holy shit isn't there a person in our class who always wears a mask? and didn't the teacher mention that she loves flowers? Reincarnation?!"

Please.

"Oh fuck, I just got goosebumps!"

Stop..

"Then I pity the guy she loves because if she's the reincarnation of the guy in the story then the one she loves will die too."

No, please no..

"What was her name again? Haeyeon? Hwayeon? Oh! It's Hwayoung!"

Funny how I flinch at my own name.

"How ironic. The meaning behind the name is 'Pretty Flower' yet she's like that..." Mrs. Park slammed her palm on the table, silencing everyone.

I can't take it anymore.

"Didn't I just tell you to not judge someone based on their appearance? How insensitive of you all to trash talk someone because of th—" I stood up hastily with my head lowered and ran out of the door.

I need to get back to my house. I need to be inside the garden to stop these thoughts. I just need to get out of this harsh world please—

A hand grabbed mine and pulled me into an embrace. I immediately knew who it was and pushed him away with the remaining strength I have.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm a monster, you don't de—s-serve to die," I said in between sobs and hiccups whilst giving a small and quick bow before turning around to leave but he caught my hand once again and pulled me into his embrace—this time, he hugged me tight to make sure I couldn't escape.

"Shh, you're not a monster and I won't die. I still have to be with you and shield you from this harsh world right? So don't push me away because I'm doing my job right now. Think of me as your garden," I didn't care anymore so I cried with my face on his chest as my hands gripped his uniform tightly.

"You don't understand! I have the same fate as the guy in the story. This is my destiny—this is how it's always been," I hiccuped and tried to push him away when I came to my senses.

"Youngie, don't you realize? You already broke the meaning of the Smeraldo flower. Your sincerity was delivered. You don't have to worry anymore, I won't leave you. I mean, how can I? Thinking about all those times we interacted, may it be directly like our chats or gameplays or indirectly like the notes, I never felt such happiness," He gently removed me from his embrace and wiped my tears away with a soft smile on his face.

"Our interactions in person might be short but I know what I'm feeling. It's the same feeling when I first sent you a message, It's the same feeling when I got to hear your voice, It's the same feeling whenever we're texting, It's the same feeling I got whenever I received your flowers. It always has been the same feeling—the feeling of a person who has fallen in love," He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear and cupped my cheeks, his lips gently touching my forehead and it stayed there for a few seconds before he pulled back and looked at me with eyes full of love and adoration, his smile never leaving his face.

"Lee Hwayoung, whether you're my Overwatch Youngie or my flower girl or the mask girl or the you crying in front of me now, I don't care because all of them are you and I have fallen in love with one person only—and that's you."