
Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/12490772.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      F/F, F/M, M/M
  Fandom:
      SEVENTEEN_(Band)
  Relationship:
      Choi_Seungcheol_|_S.Coups/Lee_Jihoon_|_Woozi, Kim_Mingyu/Xu_Ming_Hao_|
      The8, Choi_Seungcheol_|_S.Coups/Yoon_Jeonghan, Boo_Seungkwan/Choi_Hansol
      |_Vernon
  Character:
      Boo_Seungkwan, Choi_Hansol_|_Vernon, Lee_Chan_|_Dino, Lee_Jihoon_|_Woozi,
      Lee_Seokmin_|_DK, Yoon_Jeonghan, Choi_Seungcheol_|_S.Coups, Kim_Mingyu,
      Xu_Ming_Hao_|_The8, Wen_Jun_Hui_|_Jun, Jeon_Wonwoo, Hong_Jisoo_|_Joshua,
      Kwon_Soonyoung_|_Hoshi
  Additional Tags:
      buckle_your_seatbelts_kids, this_is_a_fucking_hard_ride, Background
      stories, the_garden_prequel, Underage_Drinking, Underage_Sex, Underage
      Smoking, underage_everything_tbh, Alcohol_Abuse, Drug_Abuse, Minor
      Character_Death, I_am_so_sorry, im_trash, Flower_Language, Smut, Angst,
      Fluff, Cheating, Drama, other_idols_might_be_used_to_fill_spaces
  Series:
      Part 4 of seventeen_as_non-cis_characters
  Stats:
      Published: 2017-10-25 Updated: 2018-02-05 Chapters: 5/? Words: 8267
****** Flowerpots and Seeds ******
by diavolo
Summary
     "Planting seeds in pots can be a great way to start a houseplant or
     indoor garden, or otherwise start seeds that you may later transplant
     into your garden. Starting seeds in pots does not need to be
     difficult, but it does require some planning and attention to ensure
     successful propagation of your new plant."
      
     And without noticing, Seungcheol started bringing all sorts of seed
     to his garden, hoping only for them to bloom beautifully.
      
     THE GARDEN SERIES: PART II
***** Daisy, April birthdays. *****
Daisies mean innocence, especially white daisies; they also are a sign of
purity.  
 
 
 
Mingyu walked through the door to find the living room turned into an actual
mess. He sighed deeply and shook his head slightly, he was going to spend the
next hour cleaning that, that was for sure. He made his way into the room he
and his little sister, Hyeran, shared after being sure his parents were not
home.  
 
 
"Hey, beautiful" Mingyu smiled as soon as he saw his sister laying down on the
only bed they had inside that tiny room, she was on her stomach, eagerly
coloring a drawing of a flower. 
 
"Aw, you arrived before I finished it" Hyeran pouted, getting up from bed and
running to his older brother's arms. She hugged him tight and kissed his
cheeks, happy.  
 
"That's for me?" Mingyu walked towards the bed, holding little Hyeran with both
arms "Looks amazing, you are getting better and better" He complimented her
"You ate anything?"  
 
Hyeran shook her head softly. "Mommy and daddy smoked that thing that makes
them act funny and then they started yelling at each other. I hid under the bed
as you taught me... I fell asleep, when I woke up they were gone... Gyu, do you
think they are coming back soon?" She tilted her head to one side. 
 
 "I don't know, sweetheart. Do you want me to cook something for dinner?" The
older asked, already walking out of the room carrying his little sister along
with him. 
 
"I don't think there's food" Hyeran hugged his neck with both arms.  
 
Mingyu left his four-year-old sister sitting on the counter, walking away from
her to open the fridge. It was empty. He later looked around, but it seemed
like she was right, there was nothing. He sighed deeply, his parents were
supposed to buy food with the money he gave them the day before, but of course,
they spent it on something else.  
 
Their fucking drugs. 
 
He was only sixteen, but he was way more responsible than his parents. He was
the one who brought money home, money he didn't mind giving them, because that
was why he worked in the first place, to help, to be sure there was a source of
income and they wouldn't be kicked out of their home for not paying the rent.
He wanted to be sure Hyeran had a place to live and food to eat, but it was too
difficult to take control over everything, and of course, it was difficult to
have control over his parents... they lived in a pigsty, in a terrible place of
the city, barely making it to his payday, with no tv, sometimes no water due to
their unpaid bills, almost no furniture...  
 
"I promise you tomorrow we will have something delicious for dinner" Mingyu
smiled at her and leaned to kiss her forehead "Let's go to sleep early, I have
to work tomorrow and you have to go to school" 
 
He was going to make sure his little sister attended school, unlike him, who
had to drop everything in order to be responsible for them. He didn't mind, but
he was going to work harder to reach his goals: a good life for Hyeran. 
 
"Can I pick my hairstyle for tomorrow? I want pigtails..." Hyeran pouted.  
 
"Anything you want" Mingyu smiled, nodding while he took her into his arms
again. 
 
 
 
 
 
Working at a fast food restaurant wasn't something fancy, but Mingyu couldn't
complain. The payment was shitty, but at least he had a job... and a free meal
a day, which was something he was really thankful for now that he was carrying
the paper bag filled with a hamburger and the french fries he avoided eating,
even when he was starving, so Hyeran could eat that day. Just like the previous
four days, since of course, all the money he provided was used for
drugs instead if being used for useful things like paying the bills or buying
food.  
 
He arrived to the apartment where he and his family lived in and opened the
door to loud screams coming from the kitchen. Mingyu sighed, closing the door
behind him, walking all the way to the kitchen, ready to solve whatever the
problem was.  
 
 
"What's going on? I can hear you guys screaming from the doorstep, do you want
the neighbors to call the police again?" Mingyu asked, standing by the
kitchen's door. 
 
"The monsters are coming to catch us!" Mingyu's mother screamed at the top of
her lungs, looking terrified of whatever monsters she was talking about. Of
course, imaginary monsters, monsters that only came to her when she was getting
deprived from their beloved crack.  
 
"They took Hyeran!" His father screamed too, hugging tightly the woman, trying
to protect her. 
 
"They took Hyeran?" Mingyu tilted his head to one side, confused. His sister
was probably only hiding, just like he told her to do when their parents got
like this. It was way safer for her than to try dealing with their delusional
perception of the reality and all the scary things they saw while
hallucinating.  
 
Mingyu felt bad for that. He looked intently at his parents, shaking, heavy
breathing, hugging each other as if their lives depended on that. He sighed
again, biting his lower lip. If only he could help them, if only he could get
them out of that vicious circle... but he had to deal with that, and he had to
teach Hyeran to deal with it peacefully, keeping her away from drugs or bad
things, without blaming their parents for the terrible conditions they lived
in, for all the wrong things they made and all the shit they had to go through
being so young. Because they were their parents, and even if they made
mistakes, if it wasn't for them, they wouldn't be there. 
 
 
"I'll go look for her" Mingyu crouched down to look at them intently and smiled
the best he could "Stay here, I'll go make sure the monsters aren't here
anymore, alright?"  
 
"Be careful" His dad screamed, looking even more scared "The took Hyeran!" He
repeated. 
 
"Yeah" His mother quickly nodded, her eyes couldn't focus on one thing, she was
sweating "We saw what they did to her! She is all white, not moving" 
 
Mingyu felt his stomach sinking. "What?" 
 
"Hyeran is not moving since the monsters touched her!" His mother repeated,
starting to scream again. 
 
 
 
Mingyu immediately stood up and ran to the room he and his sister shared. He
opened the door and looked at Hyeran, she was laying down on the floor, her
crayons dispersed on the floor, her drawing of a big sun was not finished.  
 
 
"Hyeran?" Mingyu ran and grabbed her "Hyeran?!" He started shaking
her. Hyeran's eyes were opened and unfocused, there was foam coming out from
her mouth. "What happened to her?! What happened?!" He screamed, looking at the
door, where his parents were standing, still scared, looking at the scene. 
 
"We saw the monsters coming!" His mother screamed "We saw them!" 
 
Mingyu held Hyeran close to his body, tears rolling down his cheeks as he
unsuccessfully tried to wake up his little sister. She was not even breathing,
she was cold and stiff.  
 
"We gave her medicine so she couldn't saw them!" His father started saying,
crouching down next to them "But it was too late" He started crying too,
looking horrified at the little Hyeran "They came for her! They took them!" 
 
Mingyu lifted his head, crying loudly as he shook that little body once again
"You did what?!" He looked around the floor, there was a syringe next to one of
the crayons and a spoon on the other side of the room "You did what?!" He
screamed, looking at his mother. 
 
"It was too late, Mingyu!" His mother cried loudly too "We gave her the
medicine but it was too late!" 
 
"They took her! They took her!" His father cried, trying to shake Hyeran by
himself, to see if that could wake her up. 
 
 
 
 
Mingyu couldn't forget at how bad it hurt inside.  
 
 
And he certainly couldn't forget the sound of the sirens in the distance.  
 
The police asking him questions, the paramedics taking Hyeran out covered with
a blanket on a stretcher. 4-year-old overdosed to death with crack. 
 
 The police taking his parents to jail.  
 
The police telling him social services was going to take him since he was a
minor.  
 
How his life changed.  
 
How much he hated drugs.  
 
How much he loved and missed Hyeran.  
 
How much he wanted to die.  
 
How he bought a ticket to Seoul knowing absolutely nothing about the city, with
nothing more than a backpack filled with some clothes and pictures of his
family when it was not all broken. 
 
He was scared, but he made a promise that day. 
 
If he ever loved someone as much as he loved little Hyeran, he was going to
protect that person with his life. 
***** Primrose, February Birthdays. *****
Chapter Summary
     Hansol Vernon Chwe, the primrose.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
The   sentiment   of   not   being   able   to   live   without  a  partner  
usually  comes  with   young   love .  This   is   why   the   primrose   also
  symbolizes   youth .  
 
Hansol was always a polite, smart, cheerful, kid. He grew up with a loving
family who cared about each other and loved each other deeply, so for
him, family was always first. He also was someone who stood out everywhere he
went, with his particularly bright smile, his handsomeness, his good and kind
heart, his naive side, and also being first place always with his grades, being
part of the basketball team and knowing two languages... Hansol was popular. 
 
And obviously, being in his teenager years, popularity was something every kid
wanted. Even being in a rich kid's school, popular people surrounded themselves
with other popular people. 
 
 
 
"So, I know it's still early to ask, but... have you thought about college?"
Mr. Chwe asked, they were all sitting at the dining table, peacefully eating
after they all got back from either work, or school.
 
Hansol nodded softly. "I've been thinking... I want to go to the arts high
school when I finish secondary school, and for college I think I want to go
back to America... Visual Arts is what I want to focus in"  
 
Hansol's mom smiled "That's amazing, sweetheart, maybe Sofia will be grown
enough to go there with you and enter high school, what about that?" 
 
"That would be amazing, we can take care of each other" Hansol nodded, turning
his head to look at Sofia, who was smiling back at him, eager about those
plans. 
 
"Then, please keep your grades up and everything will be easy for you" Hansol's
dad spoke this time "Your mom and I already have a ton of contacts that can
help you in your pursuing of arts, just as we did... I'm eager to take you on a
trip to Europe, so we can go to museums... maybe this vacational period we can
do that"  
 
"That sounds excellent!" Hansol was now more than happy, he didn't consider
himself exceptionally good at art, but of course, he was dedicated because he
wanted to be as good as his parents, and he had already made up his mind about
that. 
 
 
 
 
 
Hansol never really felt the urge of dating any girl, especially because the
girls who seemed to have interest in him, seemed to be way more interested in
his famous parents, his wealthy status, his mixed race and how exotic he
looked... and he didn't really like being called that, since it made him feel
like some kind of animal that was being watched. 
 
But of course, peer pressure made him took some bad decisions.  
 
Like dating girls he didn't like.  
 
Or hanging out with people that were no good for him. 
 
Or even, getting dragged into doing some stupid shit just for the lols. 
 
 
But really no one could blame him. He was naive, fifteen years old, a kid who
was told to be respectful with his elders, women, other people in general. Who
was told he needed to help the ones who needed it.  
 
Hansol was the owner of a big heart. 
 
 
 
 
"Come one, just try it, nothing is going to happen just for a sip" One of
his so-called friends urged, while offering him a red cup filled with a weird
mix of alcohol and some cheap juice, at a party of some older student of their
school whose parents were too busy counting their money to pay enough attention
at the disaster that was occurring at the backyard. 
 
Hansol hesitated, but he ended up drinking it. 
 
And he also ended up throwing up after drinking the entire content of the cup. 
 
He also had his first encounter with sexual stuff, when a drunk girl pulled him
inside one of the bathrooms of the second floor and kissed him in ways he never
kissed someone before. And put her hands inside his pants.  
 
It was weird, but everyone in his group of friends had already loss their
virginity. So he guessed it was alright, and he guessed he best thing to do
after that was to date that girl, because he wasn't some idiot who was just
going to fuck a girl and not invite her on a date or to be his girlfriend
later. 
 
Even if he didn't like her that much. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
"Is Dahyun going to come home to have dinner with us tonight?" Sofia asked,
looking intently at her brother, who was extremely focused playing his
videogames. 
 
"I don't know" Hansol shrugged, without looking back at her. 
 
"But she is your girlfriend, right? Aren't you supposed to be like... obsessed
with her?" Sofia tilted her head to one side "At least that's what my teacher
says, that when you like someone so much, you can't stop thinking about that
person. That's how I know I love you, and mom, and dad, because I am always
thinking about you, guys"  
 
Hansol paused his game and turned his head to look at hear. He smiled and
leaned to kiss her on her forehead. "And that's the best you can do, you are
too young to think about boys, alright?" He lifted both eyebrows, but deep
inside his little sister's words made him think about the situation. "Come one,
let's go downstairs to see if mom needs any help setting the table or
something" 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dahyun was not happy or pleased when Hansol broke up with her. She insisted
into keep going to his house to see Sofia, or to randomly pop up at his house
to have dinner with them... and he just rolled with it, because he felt bad
about pointing out how she should be staying at her own house with her own
family. Especially when he saw how bright Dahyun's smile turned when his
parents invited her to have dinner with them soon... because their parents were
honestly the best parents ever. 
 
But she wasn't actually interested in that, she just wanted to keep her status
at school by being associated with Hansol and his family. 
 
So, like a leech, for about three entire months after breaking up, Dahyun kept
going to the Chwe's family house. Their family reunions, their small trips,
everything... because Hansol felt bad about telling something to her, or
telling everyone else that they were not a couple anymore. He didn't want to
make her look bad... until Sofia pointed out how sad he looked when she was
around.  
 
And when he grabbed the courage to talk to her again, it was messy for
everyone. 
 
 
 
 
 
"Don't be sad because you broke up with your girlfriend, there are plenty more
girls out there that you will date... and you will love them, you are too young
to be sad about relationship issues" Hansol's mom patted him gently on his back
and rubbed it. "Besides, you guys dated for like a year... at this age,
relationships don't last longer, you need to know it now, Vernonie, love at his
age is not something real" 
 
Hansol nodded. Even if he wasn't sad about the whole break up issue, instead he
was worried, because his friends were planning stuff that didn't quite sound
like a good idea.  
 
"Always remember that at this age, romance is like spring" 
 
 
 
 
 
"Come on dude, don't even hesitate about this, it's no big deal" Jae, one of
his friends, gave him a cigarette "Light it, you need to stop being a kid and
become a grown-up man" He insisted, and Hansol ended up taking the cigarette. 
 
He coughed for a good five minutes after the first drag, and
his friends laughed at him for having such weak lungs.  
 
"They will become rougher soon, don't worry" Jimin said, already finishing his
own cigarette, and eager to light himself another one. 
 
"So, what are the plans for tomorrow?" Wonho asked, throwing his cigarette's
butt to the ground and stepping on it to extinguish it. 
 
"Plans remain as the same we made yesterday" Jae said, shrugging "We are going
to rob that convenience store after school"  
 
Hansol accidentally dropped his cigarette to the ground after hearing that. "We
are going to do what?" 
 
"Rob a convenience store tomorrow after school" Jae said again "Do you think
cigarettes are cheap? We need to get them somehow"  
 
"But what if they catch us?" Hansol asked, worried.  
 
"Are you a fucking pussy, Chwe?" Wonho laughed, looking intently at him. 
 
"Yeah, are you a fucking pussy?" Jimin looked at him too, and Jae didn't say
anything, he just waited for his answer. 
 
Hansol shook his head softly. 
 
"Then, tomorrow after school we are going to this convenience store to rob some
stuff, right?" Jae asked, still looking at him, trying to see if he could
notice any slight hint of doubt in the younger's eyes. 
 
Hansol only nodded. 
 
"Excellent" Jae smiled, taking another cigarette out of the package, ready to
smoke it. 
 
"You don't even have to worry, Chwe, our way of doing things has no weak
points, we have been doing this for months and they don't notice" Wonho patted
Hansol's back and smiled "And you just have to wait to see that idiot clerk
that works there" 
 
Hansol nodded again and tried not to think too much about it. 
 
He lived in Seoul after all, a busy city, what could possibly go wrong? No one
was going to notice.  
 
He made up his mind, since he was a bad guy hanging around other guys of his
kind... Seoul was going to become his city. 
 
Even if deep inside he kind of feared the city. And he kind of hoped that by
tomorrow, the city of Seoul, could swallow him so he didn't have to go to that
place with those people.
Chapter End Notes
     SO, I didn't say it in the last chapter but I wanted to explain a
     little bit of the dynamics of this part of the saga. First of all, I
     will be getting a throwback of every single one of them until the
     point where they arrive to Seoul, the place they met. Then, the story
     will be developing until they all meet and start the garden.
     Also, if you notice, I picked their birthday flowers to describe
     them, so there's a lot of flower language here! <3
     Second of all WHAT'S UP DID Y'ALL MISS ME? I SURE MISSED YOU GUYS. AS
     ALWAYS I BEG U TO LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BECAUSE IT'S SUPER IMPORTANT TO
     ME TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THIS ;; I KNOW I'M TRASH BECAUSE I
     ALREADY KILLED HYERAN IN THE LAST CHAPTER, FORGIVE ME AND GIVE ME UR
     LOVE.
     i wanted to say also, did y'all saw those super soft pics of
     seventeen members with flowers? i have been crying since then like
     holy shit i keep thinking how they fit the story thank u pledis for
     the promotion lmao
***** Peony, November Birthdays. *****
Chapter Summary
     Xu Minghao, the Peony.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Peony is China ’s most significant flower and is considered by many as the
country’s national flower .  Peony symbolizes riches, prosperity and honor,
along with some other virtues.   
 
 
 
 
Minghao was six years old when she realized she was living in the incorrect
body. She didn't make any drama about it, because even when she was so small,
she knew her parents were conservative people, and all the rest of her family
were just plain idiots who had narrow minds.  
So, she basically learned to live with what she had. She learned to act like
someone who was not her own person, like some kind of character she needed to
play in order to have an easy life. She didn't make any drama, she didn't cry,
she just rolled with, sometimes wondering how life would be if she was what she
wanted to be, if she didn't need to pretend or to please anyone else that was
not her own self. 
 
 
"Mom wants you to start taking martial arts with me" Mark was Minghao's older
brother.  
But he was not really his brother in the first place. 
Mark's parents died when he was still a little kid, and Minghao's parents,
being his godparents, didn't hesitate into taking Mark under their care. And
they loved him.  
He was their perfect child. The best grades in the entire school, he played
sports, he knew martial arts, he was popular, he was handsome, he was a good
kid who never ever gave them any kind of trouble... and even if Minghao didn't
hate him, nor she was jealous about him, she sometimes wondered if she was in
the correct body... would she be that successful?  
 
"Okay, when am I going to start taking martial arts with you?" Minghao simply
looked away from the book she was reading to give her older brother a look.  
"Today, grab your things" Mark gave her a smile and then hurried to get out of
her room "I'll see you downstairs" He yelled from outside. 
Minghao closed the book and took a deep breath. She grabbed some gym clothes
and walked out of her room, ready to do whatever her parents wanted her to do. 
 
 
 
 
 
Always silent, trying not give problems to others, doing whatever she was asked
to, tall and slender Minghao entered high school.  
And it was when things started changing in her.  
 
"Are you coming to practice today?" Mark asked, looking at his brother.  
"I have something to do" Minghao answered, not looking at him. This was the
third time on the week she was absent from her martial arts classes.  
Because after longing for many years to stop walking to the place where they
took those classes and stay at the classroom where ballet was taught instead,
she started doing it.  
And she fucking loved it. 
 
Minghao also started letting her hair grow. And even when it was not extra-
long, she started feeling confident with it, better about herself... and the
feeling of it, the feeling of starting to like herself turned into something
that make her a confident person. 
So, she was not as silent anymore. 
 
 
 
 
 
"You know that girl that sits in the last desk at the last
row?" MeiQi, Minghao's friend asked, looking at she while the two of them ate
their lunch. 
Minghao shook her head softly. "What about her?" 
"She likes you" MeiQi answered, shrugging softly. "I saw her notebook and she
has drawings, hearts with your name inside them and shit"  
The taller of the two just tilted her head to one side, curious about
that. Minghao didn't like anyone, nor she had liked anyone before, so the fact
that someone was interested about her, let alone that it was another girl. It
was weird. 
Looking back to it, Minghao could've certainly laugh at herself for believing
maybe she was not the type who fell in love with others, and that it was okay. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
She was in secondary school when she fell for the first time. And she fell
hard. 
For her teacher. 
Minghao couldn´t help but to smile widely when he praised her about being so
smart, about being so interested in his class, about how good her grades were,
about how her homework was done correctly, without mistakes, she was the best
in that class. 
 
Not long time passed until the teacher started giving Minghao signs that he
liked her back. And even if it was wrong, Minghao being way younger, him being
married and also, Minghao being his student, they didn't hesitate into starting
to date.  
Things were fine for a while.  
Minghao knew her place, she knew her teacher was married and they could only
spend so little time after school; the man somehow tried to fix that by giving
the girl money for her to buy nice things, somehow it was the beginning of the
end.  
At home, Hao was still a person who tried not to give her parents problems, but
it was more difficult than before to just accept things than in the past. Her
teacher taught her things not only sexually, but also, he gave her a very
important talk about how everyone should be their own selves instead of
pretending to be someone else just to avoid society losing their minds. 
Funny, since he was a gay man married to a woman just to avoid that exact same
thing. 
But it really helped her. At least, to understand that she deserved better than
just living in a way that didn't made her happy, or that didn't fit what she
truly wanted, a way that made her sad.  
 
 
 
 
 
"Xu Minghao, sit down" The principal called her to his office almost at the end
of the classes.  
Minghao sat down, just as the principal told her, complety quiet. "Is there
something wrong?" She asked, not really understanding why she was called there
in the first place. 
The principal took a deep breath. "You are a very good student. I've never
heard any teacher complaining about you, you do well in classes, your grades
are great, Minghao"  
"But that's not why I'm here, I'm a regular student after all" Minghao crossed
her arms at her chest and looked intently at the man. 
The man fidgeted in his chair and shook his head. He put his elbows on the desk
that was separating them and looked intently at Minghao. "Someone informed us
about the situation going between you and teacher Wang"  
The girl immediately knew what was going to happen. Her mouth felt dry and a
terrible feeling installed in her stomach, but she tried to act calm. "He is
just my teacher and I am just his student" 
"No, Minghao, we have proof. We have photos and Mr. Wang already confessed..."
The man looked away and only shrugged "We protect each other as an institution,
but sadly this cannot be taken lightly. I already called your parents and they
are on their way here, I will inform them about your affair and you will be
expelled from this school" 
"Can I go back to class then?" Minghao asked, trying to look calmed, not scared
or sad, how she really was. 
"Go, enjoy your last day in this school" The man nodded "I will ask you not to
tell anyone about this, but I bet the shame will be for you if you comment this
to others"  
 
 
Minghao got up from the chair and left the office, walking slowly through the
hallway and she stopped next to the fire alarm. She took a deep breath.  
Just when she was just starting to feel comfortable in her skin. Just when she
thought she found someone who understand her, just when she decided to open up
to someone enough to talk about being trapped in the wrong body. 
She looked at the fire alarm and pulled it, making it blast in the entire
school.  
Everybody went out of the classrooms and she took advantage of that to leave
the school just as her parents were arriving to. 
 
 
 
 
When Minghao was at her house, she didn't waste time to pack some clothes in a
suitcase, not much of it since she didn't like them anyways. She grabbed the
money she saved during all the time she dated that man who didn't hesitate into
throwing her under the bus to save his ass, and walked out of her room. 
 
"Where are you going? Why aren't you at school?" Mark asked her, looking
intently at his brother. 
"I have something to do" Minghao only answered, not stopping to talk properly
with him. 
"Hey" Mark grabbed her by her wrist "I know it's hard for you sometimes but we
have each other, right?" He smiled. "Whatever you have inside your mind that
doesn't allow you to live fully happily... you can tell me, we will
get through it together"  
Minghao tilted her head to one side and nodded softly. "Thank you"  
"Good luck" Mark smiled at her. 
She nodded again and left the house with only one place in her head.  
 
 
 
It was not easy to buy a plane ticket being underage and completely unsure
about where she wanted to go. She never traveled outside China, so reading all
those fancy destinations... she took a deep breath and asked an old couple
kindly to buy her a plane ticket to whatever place they were going. 
They accepted. 
 
 
 
 
" Good afternoon passengers. This is your captain speaking.  First,  I'd like
to welcome everyone on  Flight 86A.  The time is 1:25 pm. The weather looks
good and with the tailwind on our side we are expecting to land in Seoul, South
Korea   approximately fifteen minutes ahead of schedule. The weather in Seoul
is clear and sunny, with a high of 25 degrees for this afternoon. If the
weather cooperates we should get a great view of the city as we descend.   I'll
talk to you again before we reach our destination. Until then, sit back, relax
and enjoy the rest of the flight."  
 
 
Minghao walked outside the airport once the flight landed in Seoul, a place she
didn't even knew existed and was so near her own country. She bit her lower lip
and looked at her shoes, she knew no one, she had nothing there, she didn't
even speak the language.  
She lifted her head and furrowed her eyebrows, she was not someone who gave up
so easily, not now that she had the opportunity to start all over. 
 
Chapter End Notes
     this chapter was supposed to be uploaded on Minghao's birthday but
     i'm trash
     pls give seventeen all your love, my baby is injured so let's support
     he and svt by voting in all places they are nominated pls pls pls pls
     i'm begging u
     also pls comment
     love y'all
***** Chrysanthemum, November Birthdays. *****
Chapter Summary
     Lee Jihoon, the chrysanthemum.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
As a  bloom   of   great   importance ,  the   Chrysanthemum   symbolizes  l
asting   friendship  and non- romantic   affection, r est  and  recovery  after
a  long  trial  or   challenge plus   l oyalty  and  devotion ,  both  
romantic  and  platonic.  
 
 
Jihoon learned a lot of things in the hard way. He was the third child of a
marriage that didn't even understood why they were still together... if being
together meant they mostly screamed at each other every time they shared the
same space in the house.  
Both of his parents worked all day, so he and his siblings stayed all day
alone.  
Jihoon should have known then, that he was vulnerable. Or at least his parents
should have known it. What else can happen when you are a kid whose parents
barely care about? When you are alone all day, when you are shy and reserved,
when you try to pass without being noticed by the others.  
 
It started in fourth grade. Jihoon's music teacher was fascinated with him,
with his small body and his baby face, with how cute he looked wearing the
school's uniform. But he knew Jihoon was not dumb, so he first tested the
waters, giving the kid a small kiss on his lips.  
He later started kissing other parts of his body, and Jihoon, being small,
didn't quite understood what was going on... the only thing he knew, was that
he didn't like it, but he kept quiet about it after the first time he tried to
tell his parents, in between tears and whimpers, and they scolded him for being
too loud after their hard day at work. 
So, kept quiet. Until he finished elementary school and was able to move into
another school, away from that teacher.  But not away from the bad habits and
bad thoughts that person left him. 
 
When he entered high school, things changed. But not for good. 
Jihoon kept learning the hard way. His parents got divorced and life just
sucked overall, he started dating some guys at his school, guys who wanted to
keep everything as secret, of course, for the sake of their manhood in front of
others, and that became a vicious circle for him.  
Dating guys who just wanted to fuck him. Dating guys who were abusive with him
in a lot of different ways, but he didn't care, he didn't complain, he just
kept quiet, that was the only thing he knew well. 
 
Jihoon then entered high school. And things changed. 
 
 
 
"Hey, I'm Seungcheol, Choi Seungcheol" 
 
Jihoon  will never, ever in his life, forget about the moment when they met.  
 
"Lee Jihoon" The younger said, not interested into talking with that guy, he
was too busy trying to make an excuse for the bruises in his wrists if the
nurse dared to ask where they came from, even when it was pretty obvious he was
messing around with some guy who made him feel like he worth the hour they
spend together having sex, and then regretting it the next thirty minutes,
when Jihoon's boyfriend screamed at him and proceeded to beat him. 
He always ended up with guys like those. Guys who cheated on him. Guys who
yelled at him, guys who beat him, guys who treated him like shit. 
Jihoon didn't know another way of living. 
Until he met Seungcheol. 
 
"That looks like it hurts" Seungcheol murmured, looking at his wrists. 
Jihoon made a face. "There are things out there that hurt more than physical
stuff" 
"That's too deep for someone your age" Seungcheol furrowed eyebrows and then he
just looked back at the latter's wrists. "I came to skip my boring science
class with the lame excuse that my head hurts... You wanna skip classes
together?" 
 
 
 
 
 
Yes, things were shitty, and he had bad coping mechanisms, but Seungcheol made
everything a bit better. Skipping classes together became a habit, and then it
escalated into walking home together after school, going to the park to smoke,
texting each other. 
Jihoon never really had friends, he never really had someone to be close to, so
being around Seungcheol became his everything. 
 
And that was how he desperately fell in love with Seungcheol. Even when he knew
he had zero chances with him, of course he knew his place. 
But he couldn't help it.  
 
 
 
"You are too silent these days" Seungcheol looked intently at his friend,
curious about his weird way of acting. 
 
"I'm just thinking, that's it " Jihoon shrugged, not looking at him. He was
sad, there were a lot of things happening and his heart was weak. 
 
"Thinking about what?" Seungcheol's curiosity grew bigger, but he was also
worried. He didn't like getting into someone else's
life, especially knowing that Jihoon preferred to be discreet about his
thoughts and his personal life overall. But he noticed new scars on his
wrists.  
 
"How you are going to finish school this year and I'll still be stuck in here,
but alone" Jihoon shrugged" I bet you have tons of plans, tons of things you
want to do... It makes me think" 
"Think about what?"  
"Think about how I have nothing" 
"You have me" 
 
Jihoon looked at Seungcheol as if he was talking to him in another language.  
And he was never going to forget. Because that was the first time he felt
someone actually cared about him.  
 
"I will wait for you to finish too and then we will leave" 
"We will leave?" 
"Yeah" 
"And where are we going?" 
"Seoul, that's the only certain plan I have. I want to live in Seoul, I bet we
will do amazing things there" 
"Things like what?" 
"Whatever we want" 
 
 
Even when it wasn't even a plan, it was Jihoon's favorite plan. The only plan
in his mind, the only plan he ever had. 
 
 
 
The first time they kissed was weird. It was sloppy and clumsy, basically
because Jihoon had no idea on how to act when someone showed kindness towards
him, when someone was not in a hurry to fuck him, or use his body. He had no
practice in being soft and slow. 
The second time was better. 
Both of them thought it was natural, they felt like it was the most normal step
to take.  
They started dating a couple of months after Seungcheol graduated from high
school. He started working as a barista in a café, trying to make some money
for them to go to Seoul together as soon as Jihoon graduated from high school
too. 
Jihoon started being more open about a lot of things. About a lot
of thoughts he had, about his dreams for the future, and also, about his past,
the experiences that made him be the person he was. Seungcheol didn't waste any
time into taking care of Jihoon as if his life depended on that; he wanted to
make up for everything bad Jihoon had to live through his life before they met.
He wanted to change that, he wanted to save him from his demons. 
They should have known by then, that everything was going to fall eventually,
because wanting to save someone is not a synonym of loving that person. 
Of course, they loved each other. Or at least they thought that at the
beginning. That they loved each other as something more than two people who
want to protect the other because they genuinely care, because they want the
best for the other, because they were the only family each other ever had. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
When Jihoon finished high school, they were more than ready. They were equally
excited and scared, something new was waiting for them in a totally new city,
away from all the things they knew, away from all the things that once hurt
them, and that haunted them.  
Jihoon didn't even went to the graduation ceremony, he had a better place to
be, holding a suitcase, his palms sweating, his heart pounding fast and hard
inside his chest. He did say goodbye to his siblings, and to all the bad
memories he hoped to forget once the bus he and Seungcheol were going to take,
arrived to Seoul. 
They were ready. 
 
Jihoon sat down on his place and took a deep breath. Not knowing what to
expect, not wanting to expect anything else than good things, than living a
life full of choices that were not going to make him regret living until that
point. 
He tilted his head and then turned to see his boyfriend, sitting at his left. 
 
"Are you ready?" Jihoon asked, smiling, he was so ready to start living a life
at the side of someone he loved and that loved him back. 
"I am, are you?" Seungcheol smiled, his hand sliding to take Jihoon's hand. 
"I am" The younger nodded eagerly "You know what? When I was younger I
discovered that all adults lie, they lie in order to get things, in order to
hide things, in order to hurt... I know we can't prevent becoming adults,
parting from home now... we are basically adults, right? Even if we are
underage" 
Seungcheol nodded softly, holding that smaller hand, looking intently at his
boyfriend. 
"I don't want us to become like my parents, Cheol. They lied to each other all
the time. I don't want us to become like my music teacher, who lied to me, who
lied to others in order to make them think he was nice... I want us to be
honest with each other. It took me a lot of time to be honest with myself, to
tell myself I was not okay, to stop lying to me even when I knew the truth
about all the things... let's not lie, Cheol. Never. Let's not lie, please,
that's all I ask, because you are all I have" 
"I would never—" 
"Just promise me we will always be honest with each other, is that okay? Even
if it hurts, It's the best thing to do, tell the truth. Let's promise we will
always be honest in everything we do" 
"Always, Jihoonie" 
"Thank you" 
 
 
The bus suddenly started moving. They were parting 
Jihoon looked through the window and smiled, relieved. Something else,
something better was waiting for them just a couple of hours from there. 
Chapter End Notes
     im so sorry it took me so long to update this ;; i am being consumed
     by work slowly, and i've been dodging sickness here and there... so
     sorry to you all, my beautiful small flowers, i promise i will be
     updating the next chapter on saturday, and from there i will be
     updating as soon as i can, i already want to enter the whole story as
     how they got to know each other and how the became the people they
     are.
     Are you excited??? pls tell me you are
     as always, you know i eat comments, so if you don't leave your
     comments here i will starve and die, pls don't let me die (?)
     you can follow me on my social media! insta @paradoxx420 and twitter
     @pinkbambidesu
     i absolutely LOVE talking with you all; due to the recent events that
     are going through the environment where we all are involved, i want
     you all to know, if you are ever feeling down, if you are ever
     feeling pressured or that it's too much, pls dont hesitate into
     sending me a message, do it without double thinking, i will be there
     for you even if we are not close. It's always nice to have someone to
     talk to when we are feeling down.
     i love you all, every single one of you. YOU ARE SPECIAL, LOVED AND
     NEEDED.
***** Carnation, January Birthdays. *****
Chapter Summary
     Boo Seungkwan, the carnation.
Chapter Notes
     i don't think i can express with words how grateful i am to have such
     cute readers, i know it's been a while since i update this yet all of
     you support me and message me cute things that make my heart go
     SKKKRRR DU PA-PA!
     ONE OF MY BABIES EVEN PRINTED THE CHAPTERS AVAILABLE AND SEND ME A
     PICTURE AND I AM STILL CRYING OVER IT, I CANNOT BELIEVE I HAVE SUCH
     WONDERFUL BABIES AROUND ME, THANK YOU LOTS FOR READING MY STORIES, IT
     MEANS THE WORLD TO ME IF YOU LIKE IT, IF YOU ARE GOING THROUGH SOME
     OF THIS, REMEMBER YOU ARE NOT ALONE, I LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART, IF
     SOME OF YOU EVER NEED TO TALK TO SOMEONE, EVEN IF WE ARE NOT CLOSE,
     PLEASE COME WITH ME, I WILL LISTEN TO YOU. YOU ARE NOT ALONE, YOU ARE
     IMPORTANT.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
The Koreans use the carnation to foretell the fortune of young girls.  
Upon placing three freshly cut carnations in her hair, the young girl is charged with observing which of the three will die first. If the top flower dies off first, it indicates that the latter years of the girl’s life will be filled with strife. If the middle flower fades first, it indicates she will experience turmoil during her youth. If the lower flower dies and fades first, it indicates that the young woman will face great challenges throughout her lifetime. 
 
Seungkwan should have known better since that day when out of curiosity, she
dared to enter to that really weird store that all the people in her small town
said was owned by a witch. Being all honest, Seungkwan was just desperate, like
any other girl her age that was entering puberty. 
Getting her hand or some cards read didn't seem like a huge deal, what was the
deal was what the witch told her after a couple of moments looking at her hand
without saying anything. She also put some flowers on her head, and when she
was throwing the tarot cards on the table right in front of Seungkwan's curious
eyes and stopped, there Seungkwan should have known. 
 
 
"You will fall in love with a very handsome man" The witch smiled, looking at
the cards "And he is going to fall in love for you too" 
"And we will be happy?" Seungkwan asked, interested. She never dated someone
before, so it kind of excited her, the possibility of knowing how was like to
kiss someone.  
The witch kept quiet and took a deep breath. "You need to watch the flowers
carefully, pay attention on which one of those dies first" She said, not really
wanting to tell more details to the small boy that was in front of her. "I know
how you feel inside" 
"You do?" Seungkwan tilted her head.  
"I do. I know you are not like the others, I know that you feel weird, and odd
and off all the time because you are not just what you seem to be" She smiled
softly and patted one of those round cheeks carefully "Life is hard, remember
that always, okay? But no matter how hard it can get, stay focused on the
future, always keep in mind that the future has precious things to offer to
us... when you are down, when you think you can't do it anymore, think that if
you leave just like that, you won't be able to see what's waiting for you" 
Seungkwan lowered her head and nodded, she knew exactly what the witch was
talking about. She took the flowers and bowed respectfully, leaving the
store.  
 
 
 
 
Life was indeed hard.  
 
As soon as Seungkwan finished elementary school and entered middle school she
realized what the witch meant with those words years ago. Life was shitty, and
sucked, and nothing seemed to go well. 
Her sisters were total bitches with her, and she discovered she couldn't trust
them with anything the day she decided to be sincere about who she was.  
Yeah, Seungkwan was born with a dick and a flat chest. She was born in the
wrong body. 
During her entire childhood she tried to push away the idea that deep inside
she knew there was something wrong, she tried to go along what she was supposed
to be, but after some time she just couldn't handle it anymore.  
Growing up, seen changes in her body that made her cringe, that made her aware
that she was turning into something even more opposite to what she wanted to be
made it impossible for her. All her friends were getting their periods, were
dating boys, were turning into young ladies... and she was there, stuck. That's
how she got the amazing idea of telling her sisters what was happening... and
it was the worst idea she ever had.  
Her sisters didn't hesitate into telling their parents and hell was released.
Every time she looked back she felt guilty... because she felt like part of
what happened was because of it.  
 
 
"I don't ever want to hear this nonsense again!" His father yelled at her,
angry, his face was even red. What was society going to say about his son? 
"But—" Seungkwan tried to talk, in between her crying.  
"Shut up I said!" His father raised his voice again "My son is not going to be
a fucking faggot that dresses up like a girl, you hear me?"  
"This is your fault because you don't spend enough time around him!" His mother
hurried to add, she never missed the chance to blame her husband. 
 
 
Her sisters got jobs while studying, so, real quick they left their house hold,
and then it was only him and her parents, always yelling at each other, always
blaming each other. 
 
It was just a matter of time. They ended up getting divorced, they cheated on
each other anyways, her father had another family, her mother didn't waste time
into getting a boyfriend younger than her so she could punch her husband's
ego.  
There was no space for Seungkwan in their lives, not when they wanted to start
again, not when she made them feel ashamed, not when she represented a problem
for them. That's how she ended up being sent to Seoul, to live with her
grandparents.  
And life was not better there. 
 
Seungkwan's grandparents knew about her condition and they were not happy with
it. The truth was they were strict people, and they refused to pay for any of
her things, if she wanted something she needed to work to buy it. She ended up
quitting high school before her last year to be able to get a fulltime job. 
A shitty one, because she was young and didn't know how to do shit in order to
survive. 
 
One thing leads to another, and Seungkwan was the kind of girl that ate her
feelings. To be more specific, she ate her depression, and that only made
things even more hard for her, because there was nothing worse than hating your
body, and gaining weight, and feeling disgusting because no matter how hard you
tried, you were not what you wanted to be. 
She felt ugly, fat, out of place, unloved, desperate, alone... and she was
already used to the idea that she was never going to be what she wanted to
be.  
 
 
"Sometimes I really want to die" Seungkwan murmured, looking at the cigarette
she was holding between her index and her middle finger.  
"Tell me something I don't know" Nayun, her best friend, gave her a look. She
was the only friend she had, the only one who didn't run away when she told her
sincerely what was happening. 
"But for real" Seungkwan made a pause "Isn't this world evil? It puts I want to
die in our mouths... at this age, so fucked up..." She sighed "I look at myself
and think how fragile I am, how it would be so easy for me to disappear... If I
cut deep enough I could die. If I jump I could fall and die, if I don't move
the car is going to hit me and I might die" 
"Yet here you are, loser" 
"I made a promise" 
Nayun raised one eyebrow and looked intently at her best friend.  
"I will stay until the end to see what's there for me" 
"Poetic... eww, that's so you" 
Seungkwan shrugged. "I'm going to a job interview tomorrow, you think I should
stop thinking about wanting to die or should I continue?" 
"Continue" Nayun smiled, throwing the butt of her cigarette to the ground and
stepping on it to extinguish it "You just quit that shitty job on the really
nice cafeteria... where are you going to work now?" 
"Remember that really shitty small supermarket that's on that really quiet
street where nothing interesting happens?"  
"Near the fancy part of the city?" 
"That one" 
"Shitty, that's very you" 
"You know me" 
"You want me to go with you?" 
"Please" 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And Seungkwan took that shitty job. And her life was shitty, but at least she
managed to have it together... most of the time, when her grandparents didn't
yell at her for everything and for nothing, she was so used now to being
called little shit that she joked around telling others it was her actual
name. 
Sometimes she even changed her name tag on her uniform "This is little shit,
how can I help you today?" Nothing really special happened there, never, it was
a boring part of the city filled with fancy ass people who only went there when
they didn't have any other option. 
 
Until those stupid boys started to visit. 
 
They liked to mess around, throwing things, stealing things, calling her names
under their breaths, making jokes... but a good thing was that Seungkwan was
really harsh to herself, so no one else could make her feel bad about herself,
no one else than her. 
 
 
 
That morning she took the bus to the northern part of Seoul, tired, wanting the
day to finish already. It was only eight o'clock, but it was already the
hardest morning ever.  
 
When she heard laughs entering the store, she sighed... there they came, those
idiots. She rolled her eyes, one of these days she was going to lose them at
the back of her brain, but right now, she only managed to turn around and warn
one of her coworkers.   
She walked to the aisle where they kept juices of different brands, only
because it was close to the automatic doors, wanting to see them as soon as
they crossed the door, ready to fight if they started to act like dicks, she
was not in the mood to deal with them. 
 
 
Seungkwan started making sure that the juices were correctly positioned, and
then she turned her gaze to them.  
 
And she saw him. 
 
The most handsome guy she had ever seen in her entire life. 
Chapter End Notes
     instant crush:-)
     i miss you all so much, my cute little things, you don't have any
     idea, it sucks to grow up and have to be a functioning adult that has
     shit to do and getting home tired and only wanting to sleep; anyways,
     i love you all so much, please tell me u missed me too and that u are
     gonna leave the cutest comments here, giving me all your love:-)! <3
     pls go look for author shuuei, is my boi right there giving us some
     cute, quality oneshots, the ones that you all deserve to read! give
     him lots of love because he is amazing and i love him and he deserves
     appreciation.
     one last thing, remember you can add me at insta @paradoxx420 and
     twitter @pinkbambidesu ; SVT IS COMING BACK FOR US IN A COUPLE OF
     HOURS, LET'S SCREAM TOGETHER, MESSAGE ME AND LET'S TALK ABOUT IT.
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