_
"it doesn't really bother me so much..."
yunho was currently enjoying his daily coffee with san a few days later, the other boy still dressed in his apron which was always spotted with coffee stains.
yunho had known san for three years now, since he opened the store. right from the first time he visited aurora to get his morning coffee, he and san hit it off. san was the sweetest boy he had ever met. he was a little immature and super naive but he was innocent and always saw the very best in everyone, which was a characteristic yunho admired.
he didn't really know what he would do without san. he was there for him the whole time after the accident and at that point he hadn't even known yunho for long. but that was just the kind of person san was, he wanted nothing more than to see people smile.
about half way through their coffee - which san always made perfectly - san mentioned the new visitor outside eden. he wasn't malicious; san didn't have that capability. he simply asked if many customers had commented on the guy and told him he didn't want it to impact on yunho's business.
"...yeah, I mean, a few people have mentioned him, but you know how people are"
"I feel sorry for him" san whispered sadly, "he can't be much older than us..." he trailed off.
"I was thinking the same thing"
"do you think he's dangerous?"
at this point, both men turned to look in the guy's direction, and there he was, still clutching his cup desperately.
"he doesn't look dangerous" yunho spoke, "and what kind of dangerous man chooses to live outside a flower shop?"
"that's true" and then san changed the subject and began to speak excitedly about his new boyfriend, wooyoung - a frequent topic these days.
yunho had never seen san so happy: it was still early days for the new couple but yunho had met wooyoung a few times in aurora and he seemed lovely. they were enamored by each other already, and admittedly part of him envied them. he got so lonely at times and he craved what they had already.
"...and we're going to for a walk in the park this evening. he said he has something to tell me.. what do you think it could be? argh I'm so excited but sooo nervous. what am I gonna do?"
san kept talking about wooyoung, who undoubtedly by tonight would officially be san's boyfriend, but yunho just couldn't seem to concentrate. he just couldn't stop thinking about the boy outside his shop.
honestly, every time yunho saw him his heart broke a little inside. he hadn't had chance to get a proper look at the boy yet but something he had noticed about him was his smile. he was always smiling. always. and it pained yunho in a way he couldn't understand.
"yunho?" came san's voice, releasing him from his train of thought, "I said what am I gonna do? come ooon, what am I supposed to say if it's something serious?"
yunho swallowed the last of his coffee before he spoke, "I'm sure everything will be fine, sannie"
"you can't leave now!" san whined, "you need to help me!"
"sorry san, the flowers need me" he chuckled as he pushed his chair back under and headed towards the door, leaving san pouting at the table.
as he walked the very short distance between aurora and eden, yunho tried not to look in the guy's direction - but to no avail, and the two made eye contact for the first time.
the boy had amazing deep brown eyes and wonderfully chiselled features; sharp, but he had a softness about him all the same. and he did what he seemed to always do: smile. and what a great smile he had. he smiled like his situation was irrelevant to him, like he still found something to be genuinely happy about.
yunho gave a short smile back. it wasn't very endearing, and he mentally cursed himself for probably giving off the complete wrong impression. but something about the boy's demeanour stunned him and made him forget himself, just for a second.
and then he pushed open the shop door and promised himself he'd focus on nothing but flowers for the rest of the afternoon.
_
apparently this wasn't going to be possible.
a few hours later, just before closing time, yunho was headed around the side of the shop to the dumpster where he threw away the flowers that were past their display date. this always made him sad; he hated throwing any flowers away. he found it such a waste - most still looked decent.
he was about to throw away a handful of dahlias when a voice stopped him in his tracks.
"can I have those?" it said.
yunho didn't recognise the voice, but knew straight away it was the boy who had been sat in front of his shop for the last three days.
"y-you want the flowers?" yunho stuttered as he turned to face him.
"please" came the reply.
"what f-for?" yunho found himself asking. what exactly would a homeless guy do with a bunch of dahlias?
"I want to try and sell them... if you'll let me" he croaked. "I'll go into the centre of the city, I won't take any business away from you"
"oh, urm.. yeah, sure, I guess"
a huge beam was painted over the boy's face as yunho agreed. he had never seen someone so happy about dahlias. but of course it wasn't the dahlias, it was the prospect of getting a few dollars to buy some food for the night, or a place to stay. and there was no way yunho was going to refuse that.
"thank you, thank you so much" he spoke as he moved towards yunho.
"I have a few other bunches in this box you can have. here, just take the whole thing" yunho said as he handed it over.
the boy truly looked like he was about to cry. "thank you, sir. you're very kind"
"my name is yunho" he told him.
"my name is mingi, it's great to meet you"
_
mingi.
the name replayed in yunho's head all night. he couldn't say why, he just knew that something about the boy made his image swim around in yunho's thoughts all evening.
he thought about how happy he had made the boy by giving him the old flowers and suddenly he was coming up with ideas of other things he could do for the boy. what he could do to see him smile again...
"why do I care so much?" he asked aloud to no one. he deduced that it must be because the boy was young and vulnerable, because they were so alike in age but their lives were so different. yes, that was it.
mingi. he whispered the name into the dark.
_
"YUNHO!" came san's excitable voice as soon as yunho neared the shop door the next morning. "YUNHO GUESS WHAT?"
"shhh! what sannie?" yunho chuckled.
"wooyoungie asked me to be his boyfriend last night, just like I thought!"
"and what did you say?" yunho asked, as if the huge beam on san's face hadn't already given it away.
"what do you think?! oh yun, it was sooo romantic, he..." as san spoke he noticed that mingi had been sleeping in his usual spot, but san's excitement had awoken him. now yunho could barely focus on what the other boy was saying.
"...he's just so perfect" san finished.
"I'm so happy for you, sannie. you really deserve this"
san became embarrassed at this, "aw, yun!"
"but he better not break your heart or he'll have me to deal with, okay? I'll catch up with you at lunch" yunho finished as he went to turn the key in the lock.
"sure thing!" san called as he skipped off inside.
as soon as san disappeared from sight, yunho addressed the male on the floor below him. "good morning, mingi" he said brightly.
"good morning, sir" mingi croaked out.
and then yunho spotted the box next to him which was still full of the flowers he gave to him yesterday.
"what happened with the flowers?" yunho asked tentatively.
mingi looked down to his feet as he answered and his expression shifted from the usual bright smile. "oh, urm... no one wanted them"
yunho could feel his heart break into a million little pieces at the boy's words. he immediately crouched down to him as he asked, "you didn't sell any of them?"
"I sold a few... not enough for somewhere to stay... bought some bread with it" he mumbled. and then he forced a smile as he looked into yunho's eyes "don't worry, yunho"
"you didn't have to bring them back, you could have tossed them in the trash" yunho pointed out.
and then he saw a tear twinkle in the boy's eye. only slightly, as his eyes were largely hidden by his mop of faded red hair. but it was definitely there. and mingi let it fall onto his cheek as he spoke his next words.
"I want to keep them until they die, they make me happy"
yunho sighed, "what can I do for you, mingi?" he asked.
but mingi simply repeated his words from before as another tear escaped from his eyes,
"don't worry, yunho"
_