Gong Jun had a dream.
In that dream, he had returned to the day of his childhood once more, lost within the labyrinth that was pillars and walls of transparent glasses filled with bluish seawater.
Perhaps somewhere, deep within his consciousness, he was aware by now of the recurrence of this dream, for his young self no longer felt too much fear and panic despite having been separated from his parents.
Just like in the nights before, Gong Jun found himself wandering into that strange place full of unknown machinations and empty water tanks. Once again, he came across that massive aquarium, as large as an entire room.
But the scenes following that discovery soon became a blur. Gong Jun could not recall what he saw or heard, what he did or said to whatever entity was trapped behind the glass wall.
In the end, all he remembered was a streak of red gliding in the blue water, two startling dark eyes that reflected his presence like a pair of mirrors...and a smile more beautiful than anything he'd ever seen in his life.
***
The mysterious person from yesterday returned to Gong Jun's place. He stood in the same spot as before, gazing at the multitude of colorful flowers inside the shop through the large window. When he saw Gong Jun emerging from the store, that person flinched and looked as if he wanted to run away again, but this time he didn't do so.
"...G...ood...morning..."
His voice was soft and nearly broken. At that moment, Gong Jun realized this person might be having difficulty speaking. The way he talked was slow and his speech sounded "fractured" in every word and syllable. It looked like he needed to exert a great force simply to form those two simple words of greeting and the person himself seemed to be aware of his abnormality. Right after he finished expressing this short greeting, the pair of dark eyes that was previously looking at Gong Jun was immediately cast down.
Gong Jun did find him strange, especially after the man ran off all of a sudden yesterday. But seeing him like this, he didn't have the heart to scold or interrogate the person.
"Good morning," he smiled kindly, "Can I help you?"
The person looked at him and opened his mouth, but he appeared to have no idea what to say. Gong Jun noticed that for some reason, this person was shaking like a leaf. Today was not particularly cold and this man was sufficiently dressed, as well. Yet both of his legs were trembling so much he might crumble to his knees anytime soon. In fact, when Gong Jun took a closer look at him, the man's warm complexion seemed to have paled somewhat.
Afraid that he would faint at his door, Gong Jun led him inside and had him sit on the small couch near the cashier's counter. The mysterious person was taken aback upon receiving the offer, more so when Gong Jun willingly took his arm and carefully brought him into the shop. Even after he sat down, his entire person was brimming with so much confusion and anxiety that it was pitiful to see.
"Would you like something to drink?" Gong Jun asked him, as gently as he could.
The man's first response was to shake his head, but he stopped midway then started nodding a few times. So Gong Jun went ahead and poured him a cup of tea. Even his hands trembled when receiving the teacup from Gong Jun. Only after he managed to swallow a few gulps of the warm liquid did the man finally calm down somewhat, even though his eyes looked a bit restless still.
Gong Jun squatted in front of him and gazed up at that beautiful, bewildered face.
"So... Is there something I can help you with?" he asked again, "You're not from around here, are you? Did you get lost?"
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.