It was easy to mistake someone else for Kim Dokja though. He easily blended into the crowd.
Yoo Joonghyuk turned to look in the direction Seolhwa had nodded anyway.
To his surprise, it was indeed Kim Dokja, on the other side of the road, walking out of a store, eyes on his phone as always.
What was he doing out here? He'd told him that he was going to be busy that day and here he was, roaming around outside at ten in the morning. If he had nothing better to do, he could have joined the kids who were all asking about him.
"We should go say hi," said Seolhwa, her smile widening when she confirmed that it was indeed Kim Dokja.
Yoo Joonghyuk was feeling a little petty. That jerk hadn't given him any reasons for not coming that day and he still hadn't read any of the texts he had sent him that morning. He was going nowhere. Kim Dokja could come to greet him if he wanted.
"Idiot," Yoo Joonghyuk scoffed as they watched Kim Dokja, still standing in front of the store, eyes on his phone.
"He should watch where he is going. Is he a child?"
Lee Seolhwa chuckled. "Let's go surprise him," she tugged at his hand and Yoo Joonghyuk gave up his pettiness. Might as well go tell that idiot friend of his to keep his eyes on the road when he was walking. Who knew if he would walk into a telephone pole and hurt himself?
Even as they made their way towards the marked crosswalk to cross the road, Kim Dokja brought his phone to his ear. They spotted his other hand holding a bouquet of what looked like bright yellow flowers.
Flowers? What was that guy even doing?
Lee Seolhwa clutched his hand tighter and quicker at her pace, eager to catch up to Kim Dokja.
Yoo Joonghyuk supposed he might as well get his hands on that rat, and let him know that he'd upset Mia.
And he would probably say something along the lines of Mia not liking him all that much. Yoo Joonghyuk would call him a fool and Kim Dokja would say that he was imparting his tsundere traits to Mia and Lee Seolhwa would find all this very entertaining as she always did.
"Is he going on a date?" Seolhwa gasped.
Han Sooyoung had said nothing about that, that traitorous witch! They'd reached a consensus that Kim Dokja wasn't going to go out with anyone until the person got a green light from everyone in their group. They'd seen him get hurt one too many times by unfaithful, shitty partners and refused to let it happen ever again.
"Is that why he bought flowers? Has he ever brought anyone flowers?"
"No," Yoo Joonghyuk answered. At least, not in his memory.
"Is he serious about this person then? Why didn't he tell us?"
"That's what we're about to find out," Yoo Joonghyuk said. Something was up. Kim Dokja only dressed like that on first dates. And flowers? Kim Dokja never really cared about flowers.
The pedestrian lights turned green and they hurried down the road, Seolhwa's eyes glittering with anticipation of cracking the mystery of Kim Dokja and his flowers.
Seolhwa opened her mouth to call out to Kim Dokja, but closed it when she realised that they were too far away and Kim Dokja was on his phone, talking to someone.
If that was Han Sooyoung and those two had left Yoo Joonghyuk out of this whole thing, they were both in for a beating when he saw the two gremlins in the evening.
Those two always did this, they snuck off on their own and went around getting in trouble, doing all kinds of bullshit. Yoo Joonghyuk was still haunted by the memory of Han Sooyoung throwing up on his old favourite shirt after he'd gone to pick up those two drunk dumbasses from a nightclub they'd gone to without telling him anything.
And it wasn't a one-time thing either. Kim Dokja hated drinking, but Han Sooyoung would drag him off and all throughout college and for a few years after that, Yoo Joonghyuk got calls at ungodly hours from them and had to find their drunk asses lying outside in some street and drag them home.
Yoo Joonghyuk and Lee Seolhwa finally crossed the road and reached the other side. Kim Dokja seemed to have noticed them too because his face broke out into a grin and he waved the hand holding his phone.
Then he broke into a little jog. The guy who would crawl and roll around like a sloth just to save himself from even the slightest possibility of accidentally exercising was almost running through the crowd towards them.
Seolhwa raised her hand back to wave at him, but she only got halfway when he realised that Kim Dokja hadn't seen them at all.
He stopped quite some distance away from him in front of a tall man who had his back turned towards them.
"Oh, my," Seolhwa breathed.
Appropriate reaction.
Yoo Joonghyuk was surprised too. He mentally punched Han Sooyoung and Kim Dokja. They'd kept something from him again!
Kim Dokja's smile was blinding when he stopped in front of the stranger, holding out the flowers. From this distance, he could tell they were sunflowers, but they quickly vanished from view when the stranger took them.
Kim Dokja said something to the man and the man reached out a hand and touched his face with his finger, then probably did or said something that made Kim Dokja flustered and rub the back of his neck sheepishly. They looked quite chummy.
The stranger opened the door of a fancy car that had been parked right next to them and Kim Dokja got in promptly.
Yoo Joonghyuk thought the stranger was vaguely familiar, but he wasn't able to get a good look at his face as the man got into the car after Kim Dokja and closed the door.
Even as the car drove off, Seolhwa asked him if he knew anything about it.
Han Sooyoung was in for it now. Both her and Kim Dokja. They were so dead when the rest of them got their hands on them that evening. Keeping secrets again, they'd better brace themselves.
Lee Seolhwa was already on her phone, texting the group chat and asking if someone knew about Kim Dokja's new date. Yoo Joonghyuk felt his own phone vibrate in his pocket when the group chat collectively exploded at the news.
It was the morning of the third of August and Kim Dokja still had no idea what to get Yoo Joonghyuk, the older one. He finally decided to do what Han Sooyoung had suggested and get some flowers.
He'd texted Yoo Joonghyuk in the morning and Yoo Joonghyuk said he would come and pick him up, because he felt bad that Kim Dokja had to get into the public transit multiple times in one day.
After some back-and-forth exchange, with Yoo Joonghyuk offering and Kim Dokja refusing, the plan ended up getting altered.
Uriel said she had something else to do so she wouldn't be able to make it and their original schedule of going to Yoo Joonghyuk's penthouse turned into meeting outside, heading to a movie theatre and then a restaurant.
And because of all the shit Han Sooyoung had told him, Kim Dokja ended up spending quite a while looking for something decent to wear. He would have gone with his usual white button-up, but Han Sooyoung said he was being boring, wearing the same thing every single time.
He would have asked Han Sooyoung for advice but that would just end up with him getting teased, so he decided to put his own effort into it. Maybe look through the internet to see if there was something he could do.
Han Sooyoung's comment about getting him new clothes came to mind as he dug through his organiser.
Hey, this was bullshit! He had more than enough clothes. This made no sense, what the hell?
A sweatshirt? No, too casual.
How about a jacket? In this weather? He was going to melt.
Should he just go with his usual white shirt? It was the choice he was most confident with. Even if Han Sooyoung said it made him look like he was going to work, he could just switch the pants out for jeans and make it casual like he always did, couldn't he?
What about a plaid shirt? Nah, he didn't look very good in those. Why did he even own a plaid shirt?
Oh, he'd forgotten that this thing existed. He hadn't seen it in so long. But would it be too hot for a turtleneck?
"This is so fucking stupid," Kim Dokja muttered to himself, folding all the clothes he had taken out and putting them back in their places, feeling a little ashamed at his silly panicking.
He found a white tee and an oversized shirt. He battled it out in his mind until he realised that they were actually part of the set that Lee Seolhwa had given him on his birthday back when he was in his early twenties. Hah, he hadn't seen this one in ages. Would it even fit him?
Kim Dokja was less than pleased when he found it actually did fit him. He hadn't changed much since he was twenty-three, had he? Should he be glad about that?
It was a little too casual, Kim Dokja felt, but he was running out of time and had to stick to this or go back to his white button-up.
Stepping out of his house, after a cold shower, Kim Dokja felt annoyed by the blaring summer heat. He was wearing two shirts, it was ridiculous and impractical, but at least it wasn't full-sleeved. And he wasn't wearing a coat, he'd die of heatstroke if he had a coat or a jacket on in this weather.
He set off to catch a bus to the city and buy flowers as Han Sooyoung had said.
"It's for my friend, it's his birthday," Kim Dokja told the florist behind the counter at the flower shop. "Can you suggest something for me?"
"Ah, for a friend? Yellow roses are pretty popular," the lady told him.
Roses were pretty common, it must be for a reason.
"Or this one? It's the flower for August month."
Kim Dokja didn't know jack shit about flowers. They were pretty though.
"How about sunflowers? They'll make a good bouquet."
"I guess sunflowers will do," Kim Dokja said. Sunflowers did seem a little unconventional for a bouquet, but it was better than the same old roses and stuff. Yoo Joonghyuk probably had a lot of people giving him roses and other popular flowers.
"Are sunflowers popular?"
"Yes, they are."
There goes his plan.
Oh, well, whatever. A bouquet was a bouquet.
Kim Dokja vaguely listened to the florist explaining the meanings of the flowers and actually making a bouquet right in front of him instead of just picking a ready-made one out.
Sunflowers for adoration, longevity and something. Then the florist added some white to all the yellow, little daisies for loveliness, new beginnings and stuff. Some green leaves finished the bouquet.
It was by no means a gigantic bouquet, but wrapped in brown paper once it was stuck into a block of floral foam, covered up with plastic, it looked rather large. He could still hold it in one hand though.
When it was time to pay, Kim Dokja remembered why flowers weren't his thing. They were too expensive for things that would wilt in a few days. It just wasn't worth it.
Oh, whatever. It was a gift, who cared if it died tomorrow?
Kim Dokja had just reached the door of the flower shop when he received a text from Yoo Joonghyuk asking if he had already set out. Looked like Kim Dokja wasn't the only one who was early.
Kim Dokja was used to using both his hands while texting and found it a little tough to use just one hand to have a full-blown conversation with Yoo Joonghyuk and share his location with the man who said he was a couple of blocks away and was heading there now.
When typing, walking, and holding up the flowers got tough, Kim Dokja decided to call the man instead.
"Hello," Kim Dokja said into his phone. "It was getting hard to type, so I called. Is that alright, Joonghyuk-ssi?"
"Yes, that's perfectly alright," Yoo Joonghyuk replied.
Kim Dokja would have wished him a happy birthday but he would be seeing the man in a few minutes, he would just wish him in person.
"Where are you, Dokja-ssi?"
Kim Dokja looked around.
"It's near the signal," Kim Dokja said, looking at the names of the shops in his vicinity. "Um...you know that little supermarket with that big green board? FreshMart? I'm right in front of it."
"I think I see you," Yoo Joonghyuk said through the phone. "Are you wearing a white shirt, Dokja-ssi?"
"Yes. . .Don't I always?" he added softly.
"You do, but it suits you," Yoo Joonghyuk chuckled softly. "This is a different white shirt, isn't it? Do you mind raising your hand for me?"
Kim Dokja did as asked, a little self-conscious; he probably looked stupid doing that, raising his hand holding the flowers, out of the blue in the middle of the street.
"Yes, it is you. Do you see me? I'm on your side of the road."
Kim Dokja looked up and down the road until he spotted Yoo Joonghyuk's car.
"Yeah, I see your car."
"Don't stop in the bus lane," Kim Dokja warned when the familiar car driving towards him slowed down.
"Ah, I'll come over. You don't have to get out," he said quickly when the car stopped in the bus lane despite what he had said and the backdoor opened.
Yoo Joonghyuk got out regardless and held up his hand, giving him a small wave. Kim Dokja waved back, making his way towards him quickly before they got caught for stopping in the bus lane.
Yoo Joonghyuk seemed to have gone through a similar dilemma as Kim Dokja about his outfit for the day because he was wearing something Kim Dokja had never seen on the man.
Kim Dokja was so used to seeing Yoo Joonghyuk in either sleek suits or the stuff he usually wore at home. Seeing him in casual wear like this was a change his brain seemed to take some time to get used to.
Kim Dokja suspected Uriel's hand in this. Just as Han Sooyoung had annoyed him about it, Yoo Joonghyuk's secretary must have said something.
Both the Yoo Joonghyuks he knew were rather fond of black, but this older Yoo Joonghyuk was a bit easier to let up other colours into his wardrobe than his younger super emo cousin.
However, a navy blue t-shirt and light jeans weren't anything that Kim Dokja had imagined. Hell, he'd never seen this Yoo Joonghyuk wear denim before.
. . .And, impressive pectorals. Very impressive, seriously.
It wasn't his fault. They just stood out. He'd always known that Yoo Joonghyuk was incredibly fit and had a chiselled body, but the usual stuff he wore didn't make it this obvious. Was he even able to breathe in that?
Kim Dokja's eye caught the yellow in his own hands and he put aside all other thoughts.
"Joonghyuk-ssi, you didn't have to get out," he said as he neared the man.
"It's no bother, Dokja-ssi," Yoo Joonghyuk smiled.
Kim Dokja returned the smile and raised the flowers he was holding.
"Happy birthday, Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi," he said as cheerfully as he could.
Yoo Joonghyuk blinked. His eyes slowly travelled to the flowers Kim Dokja was holding out for him to take and then up to Kim Dokja again.
"For me?"
"Yes, obviously," Kim Dokja nodded.
Yoo Joonghyuk looked way more surprised than Kim Dokja had thought he would.
"Thank you," he softly, taking the bouquet with both hands, his calloused fingers brushing against Kim Dokja's for a brief second.
"You look good today," Kim Dokja found his voice, rattled by the unfamiliar look in Yoo Joonghyuk's eyes. His expression was way too sincere for a few flowers, it was slightly unsettling.
"Ah, not that you don't look good normally. You look good in anything, really," Kim Dokja rambled. "But this is new. It makes you look younger."
A slight annoyance flitted through Yoo Joonghyuk's face and Kim Dokja who was more familiar with that expression relaxed.
"Making fun of my age again?" Yoo Joonghyuk said, lightly poking his cheek with his index finger.
Kim Dokja couldn't help but snicker. "I'm not," he said.
"Oh, yeah?"
"Mmhmm, I'm not making fun of you. I'm just teasing, making little jokes," he said. "Do you dislike them? I can stop if it's bothering you."
"It doesn't bother me," Yoo Joonghyuk sighed, giving another poke to Kim Dokja's cheek. "I don't mind it when you do it. . .Maybe you were right, it is a change of pace."
"You said it's annoying before."
"It is," Yoo Joonghyuk nodded. "But that's the thing. I don't mind it even though it's annoying."
"Does that make any sense?" Kim Dokja said, confused.
"I'm not sure," Yoo Joonghyuk shrugged.
What was that supposed to mean? He mulled over Yoo Joonghyuk's words in his head, but they still sounded like random stuff said without any particular thought. Maybe that's all it was.
"You look good too, Dokja-ssi," Yoo Joonghyuk said, bringing him out of his reverie. "Like I said, it suits you. You always look great in white."
"Ah...Thank you," Kim Dokja didn't know what to do with his hands, so he caught his nape. Kim Dokja wasn't really sure what to do about that compliment. It wasn't like he had never been complimented in his life before, but Yoo Joonghyuk just had a way of making it sound strange for some reason.
"I think you'll look great in white too, Joonghyuk-ssi," he managed to say.
It was neither here nor there. Why did he have to say that?
"Or any other colour, really," Kim Dokja added, then regretted it immediately. How was any of this related to Yoo Joonghyuk's birthday, the topic at hand? He should have just kept his mouth shut after that thank you.
"Is that so?"
Kim Dokja nodded.
He cast around his mind for something that he could use to diffuse the awkwardness that was starting to settle in. He found one soon enough.
"We should get going," he said. "Parking in the bus lane's not a good idea."
"It's not parked," said Yoo Joonghyuk.
"But it's stopped."
"Still, not parked," Yoo Joonghyuk said and Kim Dokja resisted rolling his eyes.
"Still, occupying space in the bus lane," he said. "Let's not start breaking too many traffic rules."
Yoo Joonghyuk gave him a mildly amused look before shifting the bouquet of flowers to his other hand and reaching to open the door to the backseat of the car.
"After you, Dokja-ssi," he said and Kim Dokja couldn't refuse. He got inside and scooted over so that Yoo Joonghyuk didn't have to walk around the car to sit comfortably.
"Good morning," Kim Dokja greeted Yoo Joonghyuk's driver as Yoo Joonghyuk got in and sat down beside him, closing the car door with a snap.
"Let's leave," he said and they drove off down the road.
They had a little conversation in the car, on their drive to the movie theatre, and Yoo Joonghyuk's eyes fell on the flowers in his hands.
The bouquet looked a lot smaller in Yoo Joonghyuk's large, faintly scarred hands than it did when Kim Dokja had been holding it.
Yoo Joonghyuk usually kept eye contact most of the time while they were speaking, but now the flowers kept snatching his attention away from Kim Dokja. It was a little irksome. Kim Dokja was used to seeing Yoo Joonghyuk's face when he spoke to the man; it was a bit strange looking at him only to find that his attention was somewhere else.
And that look on his face was so, so troubling. It wasn't anything displeasing or creepy, but it was something Kim Dokja was unfamiliar with and it was doing strange things to his stomach.
Kim Dokja tried telling himself that it was just the consequence of substituting breakfast with a cup of coffee and nothing else, but he failed because he knew it wasn't the reason, he'd been doing that for years and he had been just fine.
This was something different and Kim Dokja just couldn't put his finger on it.
His usual frown was almost gone from his face and his eyelids dropped ever so slightly, pleased. Kim Dokja couldn't tell if he was smiling or not, he couldn't find any visible evidence of the man smiling, but everything else said he might as well be.
"Are you not used to receiving flowers, Joonghyuk-ssi?" Kim Dokja couldn't help but ask when Yoo Joonghyuk tenderly stroked the edge of a yellow petal with his finger.
It was just flowers. Kim Dokja was a hundred per cent sure that Yoo Joonghyuk had received grander bouquets before. Or maybe he just really liked sunflowers.
"I'm not used to receiving them with sincerity," Yoo Joonghyuk's answer threw Kim Dokja off guard.
Huh?