It was somewhat ironic, as her friends would say, that Jisoo disliked the rain so much.
As a florist, one would imagine that she would have developed a certain appreciation for the rainy season by now. Yet, Jisoo had a tendency to prove people wrong.
She didn't disagree with the general sentiment. Furthermore, she would also admit that having rain was better than being in constant drought. However, the rain also made deliveries inconvenient, customers sparse, and it became so cold that the staff barely had enough energy to run the store.
There was only one thing in the world that Jisoo detested more than rain, and that was Valentine's Day.
It was just a string of bad luck for her to find that this year, the two things she disliked the most in the world, decided to join forces to ruin her mood in a single weekend.
Valentine's was one of their busiest periods, along with Mother's Day and Graduation, so they couldn't really afford a shortage of staff. Yet, her best friend was off spending the day with her girlfriend and Lisa was currently stuck in the middle of a delivery because she had chosen to walk to the venue instead of take the car.
It was physically impossible for her to get upset with Rosé. Her best friend was one of the kindest people she had ever met and she could hardly stay upset with her for more than a few minutes. Lalisa, however, was another case altogether.
"Lisa, I told you to take the car, didn't I?" She said, keeping her tone even.
"Yes, it was my fault for not thinking ahead... I'm really sorry, Unnie... I'll rush back the moment the rain lightens up so please cover for me for a little while!" Lisa's tone was apologetic, and Jisoo could hear the aegyo seeping into her voice. She could almost imagine the pout the other girl would be sporting if she could see her face. "Don't be mad...I'll even treat you to fried chicken later!"
Fried chicken was tempting. However, she had been craving something else recently.
Jisoo hummed, pretending to consider the offer. "Get me ramen instead and I'll consider the apology."
"Eh? Ah, don't be like that... People are stingy with tips nowadays, you know? Just now, I used my body to shield the flowers from the rain and the teacher didn't even give me a tip after that! Could you believe it? She started taking pictures of the bouquet instead, and I had to hold them for her!" There was an audible huff on the other end of the line. "She told me to leave after I put the flowers down, even though it's pouring here. What kind of person does that?"
Jisoo wanted to laugh. Whenever the other girl whined, she would always wonder whether Lisa was really an adult.
"It's okay Lisa, just come back safe and don't catch a cold." She reassured her. The likelihood of customers coming into the store were significantly lower, due to the rain, so she didn't feel like it would be too overwhelming. "I'll take care of things on this end."
There were a few more "sorry"s before the call ended and the store was plunged into silence. The gloomy atmosphere seeped into Jisoo's consciousness as she listened to the rain beating against the pavement. It was a steady pattering that drowned out her thoughts until her mind started to blank out.
A sudden gust of wind caused a heavy splatter of raindrops against the window. It sounded like a flurry of rocks had been thrown against the glass.
Startled, Jisoo instinct at the sound, and felt a sense of melancholy wash over her. Everything was blanketed in shades of white and grey. It looked like someone spilled a glass of water on a painting, and the colours had bled through, leaving only the bleak outlines behind.
It was a blurry mess of nothingness and it certainly felt the same.
During moments like these, she had to remind herself that there were shops on the other side of the road. The world didn't stop existing at the door of the flower shop. She wasn't alone. Lisa was a twenty minute walk away, and she would have been back but for the sudden downpour. If anything, Rosé was a phone call away.
After a few seconds, she retreated towards the staff room behind the counter. It was against their employee code of conduct to leave the store unmanned, even for a second, but it wasn't as though there would be many customers walking through the doors at this time. Jisoo assumed she was safe to take a short break since she was alone.
She had just taken a sip of water when the familiar jingle of the front door startled her. She glanced towards the entryway, wondering who in their right mind would be out shopping on the street in such bad weather.
Perhaps Lisa had kept her promise and hurried back. Logically, it didn't seem that way since the rain seemed to have gotten heavier instead, but Jisoo wanted to preserve that possibility.
However, the person at the entrance of the store, shaking off the residual rain drops like a puppy who had just gotten a bath, was definitely not Lalisa.
For one, there was definitely a height difference between the stranger and her round-shaped eyes colleague. A direct contrast to Lisa's startlingly long pink hair, the girl in front of her had black hair that ended just below her shoulders. On hindsight, the two bore no similarities at all.
The girl's back was facing her as she checked whether her belongings were wet from the rain. Water was still dripping from the ends of her hair. Some of the water droplets had dripped onto her already damp hoodie, darkening what had originally been a light shade of pink. The rest made their way to the floor, creating a small puddle around her.
Not being one to forget her manners, she found herself extending a tissue box towards the stranger.
"Do you need a tissue, miss?" It only registered a few seconds later that tissue was probably less than helpful considering the situation. It wasn't as though she kept an array of towels in the staffroom. However, the girl accepted her offering gratefully.
"Oh gosh, the rain is so heavy right now, isn't it?" The girl's exclamation took her by surprise, considering that most people wouldn't be so informal to someone they've just met. Her voice was loud and it echoed against the glass panels of the otherwise quiet shop.
Jisoo cleared before she formally replied in the affirmative. She couldn't shake off the awkwardness of the situation but there wasn't anyone else that the stranger could possibly be addressing. There was a beat that passed as the girl looked around her.
"Oh, this is a flower shop." The comment seemed to be observatory and aimed more towards herself than to Jisoo, but the florist felt compelled to respond all the same.
"Yes... Are you looking for anything in particular?"
The girl seemed to hesitate at her question. "Well, I'm honestly not really a flower person. I don't really know much about flowers."
"Oh, that's fine." She was probably getting something as a present, Jisoo figured.
Switching back to business mode, she turned to the bouquets of roses on display. She mentally thanked Rosé for asking her to memorise the Valentine's catalogue the day before. She had complained in the beginning but it had actually come in handy. "We have special bouquets for Valentine's that you can customise for your-"
"Ah, wait, that's not necessary!"
As though the girl became aware of the volume of her own exclamation, her eyes went wide for a second.
Jisoo could almost pinpoint the exact moment the realisation hit her, because there was a surge of pink that blossomed in her cheeks. It reminded her of the batch of azaleas they had just delivered recently. However, despite her embarrassment, her eyes turned into crescents as she burst into laughter. "You're very kind, but I was actually on my way home when I got caught in the downpour. I'm uh... I'm not seeing anyone...at the moment."
The girl cleared . "So, uh, no special person that I need to customise anything for."
In the awkward pause that followed, Jisoo felt the urge to laugh. She hadn't asked for an explanation, but she appreciated the girl's candour and direct answer. If anything, the girl's motive for coming into the store was obvious now. She supposed Lisa had attempted something similar during her delivery. At least this girl had the decency to look guilty, unlike her friend.
However, it wasn't as though she was inherently doing anything wrong. Furthermore, Jisoo wasn't someone who would throw a person out of her shop during a storm.
"Feel free to stay as long as you'd like." Jisoo stated lightly. "The weather is terrible right now."
Customer service wasn't exactly her forte. On normal days, Lisa was the one who handled the counter and Rosé handled designs and orders.
The three of them had been a team for as long as she could remember; the division of labour had always worked. The original idea for starting a business together had been hers. Despite warnings from their peers, Rosé had supported her and backed her up all the way. The only area they were less confident about was customer service, which was where Lisa came in.
She definitely wasn't used to taking up the role but she'd seen Rosé bring out the tea set for important clients and customers who were making bulk orders or customising their flower arrangements. She didn't know where the tea was kept but the staff room wasn't that big. It probably wouldn't take too much effort to locate them.
A quick glance towards the glass windows confirmed that the storm would probably last for quite a while longer. Hence, she turned to the customer whose gaze was already drawn towards the flower displays. "I can make you some tea and you can have a look around the store in the meantime."
It took more time than she would like to admit, and a few messages to Rosé, for her to find out where the tea pot and tea leaves were kept. In short, it wasn't that much of a shock for Jisoo to find that the customer wasn't where she had left her. She placed the tea gently on the garden table and peered around the flower displays. She hadn't heard the sound of the door so she was relatively certain the girl was still somewhere in the shop.
After a beat of silence, she heard a yelp. There was a clatter of what sounded like empty flowerpots; or rather, ones that she hoped were empty. Instantly, she followed the sound to the clusters of flowers that were hidden behind the main display.
To her amusement, the girl was clutching onto a bunch of dried lotus flowers while trying to prevent another pot from tipping over.
As a shopkeeper, she was well aware that she should be the last person laughing. After all, this was a mishap in progress. Moreover, it was taking place in her own store. However, she couldn't prevent the snicker from escaping once the short haired girl realised she wasn't alone.
To give herself credit, her instincts as a florist won out the moment she caught sight of the flowers in the girl's hand. Crossing the room, she carefully rescued the stalks from the girl's grip. She could feel the other girl's gaze on her as she scurried to find another pot. Once she had placed them safely in another pot and checked for any other damages, she felt like her lungs could accept oxygen again. It only occurred to her then that she had forgotten to ask whether the girl was hurt.
She had a reason for being so protective though. Those sunflowers were secretly one of Jisoo's favourites. She had personally sourced for the seeds required to cultivate species of sunflowers that bloomed into various colours. Most of them had to be ordered from overseas. Due to their rarity, they had been placed in a separate location from the regular flowers. She had no idea how this particular customer managed to end up in this situation.
She barely noticed the shuffle behind her until the girl spoke.
"Uh, excuse me, I'm really sorry about just now... It was an accident and I didn't mean to inconvenience you."
Jisoo turned towards the girl who had her head tilted down in apology. As far as she was concerned, there hadn't been much harm done. She was about to say something to that effect when the customer stood upright abruptly.
"Oh right! The tea!"