Who knew that with some flowers, tape and a load ton of parchment paper could make something so elegant and beautiful?
Lim (YN) knew that all too much.
He looked at his creation that was laid on the counter. With a loose piece of tape stuck on his hand, he picked it off to wrap around the base of the parchment paper wrapped flowers.
He made sure it was wrapped and secured tightly together. Part of putting together a bouquet was making sure that each of the individual flower in it stood out in its own way.
For his case, he moved the fully bloomed pink rose at the bottom and adjusting it’s petals slightly. The cornelia at the upper half of the bouquet was already placed in a perfect place to show some volume to the flowers.
With a sigh, he was satisfied with his work. The man placed it softly down in a basket below him that was already filled with other sets of bouquets he had made throughout the day.
With a pen, he grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down the location where the bouquets he made were going to go.
‘To Seoul From Gyeokpo-ri.’
(YN) sticked the paper on the side of a basket with another piece of tape. He was now fortunate enough that he had finished the order of a basket of bouquets.
He had received a call in the morning from a woman about quickly making them from someone saying that they needed it for a show. Unlike the other flowers he had packed up before, this order specifically asked him to design each one with different colors of flowers.
A bouquet had the cool blue tones of hydrangeas, another had the mixed colors of green and ones of chrysanthemums. One with strikingly red roses around while the others had cyan colored roses. The prior batch he made had yellow daisies and tulips and the last was asked to be colored pink throughout.
Whatever these were for, it must have been really really strict for it to be almost color coded.
*KRING!~*
The bell up top of the shop’s door suddenly rang out as the man decided to lean back on his chair slightly.
Looking at the person coming through the door, (YN) saw that they had the get-up of a delivery man completed with the cap on the top of their head. Despite their attire, something felt like they weren’t a delivery man at all.
“I’m here to pick up flowers for a Ms.Youkyung to be delivered to Seoul.” The man raised a hand to show a slip of paper.
“Right, please give me a moment!” (YN) smiled softly before he leaned down to grab onto the basket of bouquets. He placed the basket down on the counter.
“Wow these are…a lot of flowers.” The man mumbled out, surprised at the basket and the colors that was embedded throughout. (YN) took a quick glance at their shirt as there was a logo stitched into it.
'Starship Ent.’
“It kinda surprised me that someone called in for a bunch of bouquets with specific colors needed on each of them. Would you know what these are for by any chance? If I had to guess, are these for some sort of birthday?” (YN) gave the basket a pat as he explained to the other man.
“Not quite, sir. We need them to congratulate a girl group for their success!” The man replied, looking throughout the basket and the flowers.
“A-a girl group? That’s new. I usually get orders for any other occasion but that.” (YN) replied, slightly surprised. Not only was this a first but another part of him suddenly felt a weird feeling
“Oh right speaking of, would you mind if I ask one more favor? Ms.Youkyung specifically told me to ask you.” The man placed his hands together.
“Sure thing. What can I help you and Ms.Youkyung with?” (YN) asked with a smile.
“We are supposed to give these to the members of the group, do you mind if you wrote down their names on these?”
“Sure…that wouldn’t be a problem. You can tell me their names and I’ll write it down.” (YN) replied, looking around the counter for something to write on.
“Could you also write down a message for them? A simple congratulations would be just fine.” The man added.
“That wouldn’t be a problem either. I would’ve done that regardless if I knew who these were for. Please give me a second.” (YN) opened up a drawer just below him before placing several gift gards on the counter.
“I must say these are really well made.” The man picked up the pink bouquet from the bunch.
“Well, people say that if something was well made then it was made with love, right?” (YN) replied as he picked up a black pen to write with.
“I’m sure the girls will love how these were made.” The man said, softly touching the petals of the rose near the center of the bouquet.
“Speaking of, who should I address the flowers to? I’ll be needing all of their names.” (YN) pulled the cap off the pen before placing it over one of the cards.
“Ms.Youkyung gave me a list of their names and I believe these are for their leader. You know, I only met her twice but she was so nice both times and really pretty as well.” The man smiled as he described the recipient of the pink bouquet.
“Is that so? Tell me her name and I’ll give her an even nicer message.” The florist replied with a soft chuckle.
“IVE’s leader? Oh it’s none other than Yujin, An Yujin!”
(YN)’s suddenly felt like he was caught in a deafening silence that took his breath away. He wasn’t sure with what he heard and he didn’t even want to assume if what he thought was correct.
“Sir?..” He felt the man tap on his shoulder. After blinking once and then twice, he shook his head slightly.
He glanced at the man and then down at the card where he had smuged the pen’s ink over it from how hard he was pressing it down.
“S-sorry, what was that?” (YN) stuttered out.
“An Yujin is her name, she’s IVE’s leader and one of the recipients of the flowers. I also heard that she was from a rural town and she made her way to the big city herself. Isn’t that so inspiring?”
The florist nodded along as he picked out a clean new card. At the back of his mind, he shrugged it off. Who knew if someone had the same name as her and was from a rural town before moving someplace else.
'That couldn’t be her, right? That’s impossible..’
(YN) carefully wrote down the name on the card. Each letter was written with precision and carefulness to keep it prim and clean. As he set down the card for the ink to dry, he couldn’t help but think that he was sending flowers to someone he despised.
It might not be the right word but after what she has done, even the thought of her would be enough to put him out of a happy mood.
“She always say that she was born and raised in Seoul but some people say that she was from this very town, do you know anything about that by any chance?” The man suddenly asked the florist.
“I-i’m sorry, I haven’t heard of anyone by the name and I’ve lived here all my life. Maybe she’s from the next town over?” (YN) shrugged as he slipped out a lie.
If the Yujin was the same one he was thinking of, then why would she hide that she was from this town? The very town that she spent half her life in, the very town the both of them shared all of their memories with.
No one would hide where they came from…unless they were ashamed.
How could she be ashamed of Gyeokpo-ri? It might not be the best town in the world nor was it anywhere near close to life in the capital but it still had its amazing qualities, ones that could never be found anywhere else.
Maybe her new lavish life made her forget of her old one. If she did then that would mean everything about her past meant nothing. Not only was that an offense to the town but it would be an offense to all the days they had spent together.
But it was clear enough that she had already forgotten about him.
“Sir, are you okay?”
(YN)’s mind flew back into reality. He shook his head once more before looking at his hand where he was crumpling one of the cards in his hand. He let go of the crumpled up card before looking at his customer.
“Sorry, I kinda spaced out suddenly. Were you saying anything?” (YN) asked, still confused with what was happening in reality.
“It’s nothing, I was only asking if we could move onto the other flowers.” The man explained.
“I see, let’s get on it then.”
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*KRING!*~*
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“Thank you for the flowers!”
(YN) waved as he watched the man exit the flower shop, basket of bouquets in hand. Once the door closed, the florist took the chance to sit back down on the seat below him and heave out a heavy sigh.
It was almost magic how she managed to pop up in his mind from time to time. Even if he wasn’t doing anything in particular, she managed to appear within his thoughts.
He was reminded of her twice today, a little more then he would’ve started believing that she’ll appear right in front of his doorstep just like she had promised.
But just like each one of her other promises, it was sure enough that it’ll be nothing but empty.
He glanced around the now empty flower shop. Looking at the colors of the flowers and the ones that need restocking, his eyes slowly dashed around the walls.
He eventually landed on the wall clock that softly ticked in the store. For the second time in the day, his heart dropped down to his stomach. He jumped up from his seat and made sure that he was seeing the time right.
(YN) scrambled for the keys of the store before dashing to grab his umbrella and then his coat. Making the bouquets and writing down cards per the man’s request made him lose track of time.
He ran out the front door and locked it shut before turning to the sidewalk as he slung his coat over his shoulders. As he lost the perception of time, he forgot one of the more important things he should’ve been doing.
Picking up his sister from school.
“take the 6x then divide it by…”
It was the time that students dreaded the most, math class. Some of the students would either doze off or do something to keep their minds awake, they’d do anything but listen to the boring lecture.
One of the students doing anything to keep themselves awake was a boy who sat at the back of the class. Like most students he had his textbook open upright with a notebook laid out in front of its pages.
He glanced the the window to his left before his hand started scribbling over the notebook with his pen. Soon, his scribbles turned into a sketch of the school courtyard outside the window.
It wasn’t a perfect depiction nor was it even a good sketch but it was enough for him to let the time pass by. He turned to the page next over with a sigh, looking for something new to draw.
*TAP!*
As the boy glanced away from his notebook, something small was thrown at it. He looked back down to see a small crumbled ball at its center. He gave it a good stare before wondering where it came from.
“Psst! (YN)!~ Psst!” The boy heard someone whisper next to him. Taking a look over to the table next to his, he saw a girl staring back at him. Her head was down on the table before her, supported by both of her arms.
“What?” (YN) silently mouthed out. The girl adjusted her glasses back up her nose as she raised her head back up.
“Open the paper!” The girl replied silently, propping her head up on her balled up fist. She had a small smile on her lips yet there was a distinguishable dimple on her cheek.
She discreetly pointed over to the crumpled up paper on his desk. The boy looked down at the paper then back at the crumpled up paper on his desk.
The boy picked up the small paper before slowly unwrapping it to reveal something written inside of it.
'Are you gonna do anything after class?’
The boy suddenly felt off the. Even if he did say what he was going to do, he knew he’ll get dragged to wherever she wanted to go but it didn’t hurt to try.
He held his pencil steadily over a blank space on the paper and wrote something down. He then crumpled the paper back up and dropped the paper down on the floor before giving it a kick closer to the girl’s seat.
(YN) watched as the girl slowly leaned down to pick it up just as their teacher his back towards them. He turned his head back to the window, looking at anything else he could stare at for the half of an hour that was left in the period.
*TAP!*
Another crumpled up paper was thrown to his desk. He picked it up and unfolded the small paper and saw a new message from the same sender.
'Are you really going to study for the rest of the day? C'mon let’s go to the beach after this!’
“We have a test tomorrow. It’s better to get to studying earlier.” The boy whispered just enough for her to hear. The girl furrowed her brows as she shook her head at him.
“We can study afterwards. Why don’t we unwind in the cold water first? We’ll only take an hour, trust me.” The girl whispered back, cupping the side of her mouth.
(YN) didn’t buy into any of her words, remembering the last time she promised that they’ll only take an hour at the beach.
“Can’t you go on your own?” The boy whispered.
“Just go with me. Even if you don’t say anything, it will be fine as long as you won’t ditch on me.” The girl replied with a nod of her head.
“I’ll think about it, Yujin.” The boy looked away from the girl. Once she was sure he couldn’t see her, she pushed out her tongue out to poke fun at him but she hasn’t lost all hope, she has her ways.
“You’re no fun, (YN).” The girl said rather loudly, still poking out her tongue at him.
“Ms.An, would you like to share your story with the whole class?” The teacher suddenly called, startling her completely. Her face didn’t show any of it as she stood up with a smile on her face.
“I was simply telling (YN) what page we are on, sir.” Yujin politely replied. The boy snapped his head at her before looking back at their teacher who then pointed at him.
“Is this true Mr.Lim?”
(YN) gulped down a breath as the eyes of his classmates turned on him. Yujin sat back down next to him, looking upon him with a smug look plastered all over her face.
The boy hesitantly nodded his head, despite wanting to answer truthfully.
“If that is the case then so be it. If you were to care more for this class Mr.Lim, we are on page 127.” The teacher told the boy before turning back to the chalkboard.
(YN) sighed on his seat. From the side of his eye, he could slightly see the sight of Yujin’s teasing look. Yujin loved to tease everyone yet she always seemed to be a little bit too extra when it comes to the boy and it confused him.
She talked to everyone but she seemed to be more talkative with him, she was loud and rambunctious but even more so when she was with him. It didn’t help that they lived across from each other and had been living with each other’s company for all of their lives.
It being her company, he didn’t mind it. She grew to be loud and bubbly and he was the opposite but it was fine. She provided the proper balance to his calmness and he provided the proper balance to her spontaneity.
Shortly after, the bell had rung throughout the school signalling the end of the day of the students. As the students left the classroom in their separate pacts and groups all but two remained in the room.
“C'mon, pack your things up! Let’s head to the beach already!” Yujin pleaded the boy as he slowly slid his textbook down his backpack.
“I already told you that I’ll head home to study for the test tomorrow.” (YN) replied, earning a groan from the girl. She had a small smirk though, as if she had a trick up her sleeve.
“You’re really going to study when you were just doodling earlier?”
“Well-wait how did you know I was doodling?” The young boy quickly turned his head to the girl that now held a blue notebook in her hands, it was the same one that he always used to draw whatever he saw.
“You doodle a lot, y'know? I wonder what else is here~” Yujin flipped through the pages but she quickly held the notebook high abover her head as (YN) tried to snatch it from her hands.
“Hey, give that back!” The boy took a step closer as Yujin took one step behind her.
Another confident smirk appeared on Yujin’s lips. She looked at the boy that had quite the troubled look on his face and soon found out that she had him where she wanted him to be.
“If you want it back then you’ll get it back at the beach!” Yujin spun on the heels of her shoes and dashed out the doors leavimg a confused (YN) in their classroom.
“Yah, An Yujin!” He shouted down the halls.
*STEP!*
*STEP!*
*STEP*
Lim (YN) was in a bit of a rush.
He took each step with care as he dashed down the sidewalk with a green lunchbox in his hand. He would’ve loved to just walk down if it weren’t for the fact that he was almost an hour late to the dismissal of the town’s local school.
(YN) could see the very familiar sign of the school’s gates in the distance and he made his way there. Even though he was in a rush, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of nostalgia running down the sidewalk that was filled with memories of his youth.
The school gates we’re still open as he passed through them, still in a rush. The sense of nostalgia grew as he continued down the cemented road that led to the steps before the school’s front doors.
“Seowon-ah!” The man yelled out as he got closer.
A small girl was sitting down on the steps and next to her was the recognizable sight of a woman that had visited him in the morning. (YN) finally stopped before the first step, taking a breather before looking at the two girls sat atop of the stairs.
“Her dismissal was an hour ago, y'know?” The woman sarcastically said before she stood up next to the young girl.
“Yeah, I…know. Let’s head home, Seowon.” (YN) took in a breath before gesturing the girl to walk down the stairs.
“You’re very late, oppa!” The small Seowon replied with an obviously dissatisfied look on her face.
“I know that too, I’m sorry.” The man put his hands together and gave her an apologetic nod of his head.
“Gosh, what took you so long? You’re lucky that I spotted her before I went home or else she would’ve been left all alone.” Hanni asked the man as she pointed a hand to the clearly empty schoolyard.
“I just got a little busy with a delivery and lost track of time, sorry about that.” (YN) apologized once more as he watched Hanni walk down the stairs while she held his younger sister’s hand.
“Delivery for what? I thought you just restocked today.” Hanni asked.
“They weren’t for me but someone had ordered them for…someone in the capital. Must be a special since they ordered loads of bouquets.” The man replied before looking down at his sister and offering his hand.
Little Seowon knew how this usually went, looking up at the two adults before her. She knew that her brother and her teacher were quite close and at this rate, they might even talk for another hour so she put matters into her own hands.
“Oppa, let’s go home now! You and Teacher Pham can flirt later!” Seowon shouted, handing over her own lunchbox to her brother before walking past the two adults while they were busy talking.
“F-flirt? Where did you learn that? Seowon-ah, wait up!” (YN) quickly followed her as she walked to the gate. Hanni could only chuckle as she watched the two before following them to the school’s gate.
“I know you’re angry but you don’t have to shout, hm?” (YN) told the young girl but she didn’t even bother to bat an eye towards her brother.
“Right, it isn’t nice to shout at your elders.” Hanni chimed in, walking on the girl’s other side.
“I know but I wanna go home before it rains!” The little girl pointed to the sky above. Glancing above, the pair of adults saw the gray sky above them. It also didn’t quite help that there were dark clouds floating around.
“Should I carry you home to make our walk home quicker?” (YN) asked making his younger sister shake her head at him.
“I’m too old for that, oppa!” She shouted right back.
“Fine, fine, let’s just head home quickly then but tell me if you’re tired, I won’t mind having to carry you the rest of the way.” (YN) gave his younger sister a pat on the head before continuing their walk home.
“Did you already forget that I’m here too?” Hanni crossed her arms, walking beside the younger girl.
“Of course not, I already know you’re coming with unless you have plans on going somewhere else.” (YN) reached over and gave her shoulder a pat.
“Well I don’t, I still need to ready everything for tomorrow.” Hanni replied.
“Teacher Pham, we’re going to oppa’s flower shop tomorrow, right?” Seowon looked up at her teacher walking next to her.
“That’s right. Could you also bring paper with you? I need everyone to write about what they have learned during our trip right after.” The teacher carefully explained.
“You’re really going to make them write after a relaxing visit? Can’t you give them until next week?”
“It’s one of their requirements so the sooner I get it, the better. I’m sure all of them will be able to finish right, Seowonnie?” Hanni smiled down at the girl.
“And when did you start giving nicknames to your students?” (YN) jokingly asked the teacher.
“That’s what her classmates call her and what’s wrong with calling someone with a nickname, (YN)nie?” Hanni pouted her lips out slightly and tilted her head towards the man.
He could only roll his eyes discreetly to her tease.
Unbeknownst to the group, the gray clouds above them grew darker and the wind seemingly got colder as they walked over a bridge that led to the town.
Their walk was interrupted by what was first started out as soft drizzles until it began raining down hard. Fortunately for them, (YN) had brought his umbrella with him when Hanni didn’t have any.
He quickly opened the umbrella and covered both Seowon and her teacher. They slowly continued to walk down the stretch of road as the rain poured down on them.
As they did, Seowon would reach her hand out into the rain, feeling the cold water hit the palm of her hand.
Hanni on the other hand was giving hidden glances to the man and noticed that he was holding the umbrella closer to them, leaving his shoulder out in the rain.
“What are you doing?” Hanni asked as she grabbed his arm with her hand and pulled him closer to the protection of the umbrella.
“I’m covering you two, why?” (YN) blankly answered back. Hanni gave him an uninterested look before pulling him closer to the umbrella.
“You can do that without letting yourself get wet.” The woman sternly said before holding the umbrella by its stem firmly. As they continued to walk, (YN) was now walking much closer to Hanni.
She didn’t notice at first but her hand had slipped down right above the man’s that was holding the umbrella by its handle. She tightened her grip around his hand and provided warmth through the rain.
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*Meanwhile in Seoul*
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An Yujin carefully touched the pink petals of a pink rose. Her touch was soft and delicate that made sure to not accidentally destroy the beautiful flower. Her hand then grazed over the cornelia in the upper half of the flower, inhaling the fresh fragrance of the bouquet as she did.
Her eyes looked at the flowers with awe. From how well the bouquet looked to how the flowers were placed and arranged, she could tell that whoever made it had a lot of passion for the craft.
“Pretty, isn’t it?~”
Yujin turned to her head to the side where Gaeul took the seat in front of a mirror that was identical to hers. In her hands was her own bouquet, complete with blue flowers.
“Aren’t all flowers pretty?” Yujin replied with a small smile. She looked back at her flowers and noticed something tucked in behind the leaves. Pulling it out, she found that it was a card with writing.
'May you continue to bloom prettier than the Acacias.
To Seoul from Gyeokpo-ri.’
Yujin didn’t know what to feel. She wondered if she should feel astonished that it came from her hometown or maybe feel a bit of sadness that she was reminded again of the town where she could say most of her faults lie.
“That’s funny, these are from back home.” Yujin mumbled out loud.
“Really? Then you probably know where the flower shop the flowers came from.” Gaeul said, leaning in close to look at the card.
“It might not be the same one but there was a flower shop that was near the school. I used to go visit often, I wonder if Mr.Kim is still running it.” Yujin calmly said, flipping the card over to see if there was any other writing behind it.
“It doesn’t look like it here.” Gaeul pointed at small writing at the bottom of the card. The girl flipped it over and squinted her eyes to read what it was.
'Prepared by: Lim (YN).’
Yujin widened her eyes at the sight of a name she hasn’t heard nor seen for so long. Her heart grew heavy and slowly dropped to her stomach with a stinging feeling. Her lips pursed, gliding her hand over the card.
“Are they one of your friends? Or did you have any?~” Gaeul asked once more, though this time it was with a slight jab at her.
“Of course I have friends back home! And yes, he’s one of my um…old friends.” Yujin answered back at the older girl before her tone got softer.
“Well have you ever thought of going back home?”
It was a question that Yujin herself was very familiar with. She has gone over and over the question and each time, she found a different answer within herself.
One part of her wanted to go back, to get a glimpse of a life she once lived but another didn’t, she wanted to disassociate herself from the town after what happened, happened.
“I don’t…no, not really.” Yujin muttered out.
“Is that really what you feel? I mean, when was the last time you’ve gone back?” The other girl asked, giving her leader a soft pat on her shoulder.
“I don’t really mind not going back if my parents could always make the trip here. I already have Azzo and you guys to keep me company so it isn’t all bad.” Yujin said as she placed the card back in the bouquet in front of her.
“I understand but if you want to grant Leeseo that trip of hers, I won’t mind helping you ask manager unnie.” Gaeul softly told her leader who let out a sight shortly after.
“Did she send you here to ask me about the trip?”
“Maybe.” Gaeul answered shortly, her cheeks lifting up as she let out a chuckle. Yujin chuckled along with her, sharing the moment with one of her members.
“Speaking of Leeseo, she and the others might be looking for us and it’s almost time to get back on the stage for our encore. Let’s go?” Gaeul stood up from her seat, leaving her own bouquet on the table.
She reached out a hand to Yujin, who held her hand without a second thought as she stood up from her own seat.
Yujin then approached the door before leaving the room and her flowers behind.
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An Yujin walked out the door.
Her hands held both the straps of her backpack that was hanging behind her. The fresh scent of grass entered her lungs as she felt the cold morning air on her hands. She looked off into the front yard of her home before walking down the steps.
“I’m going to school now!” She yelled into the home behind her. She opened the wooden fence that blocked the front of their home before walking down the concrete sidewalk.
She could only drag her feet on and on as she felt aches all over her body. As she continued her walk, she saw a boy with the same uniform she had on leave his home just ahead of her.
He turned to face her direction and soon, their eyes met. The boy raised his arm to give her a wave as she approached him.
“Good morning, (YN).” Yujin said, returning the wave albeit finding it difficult to raise her hand.
“Morning, Yujin.” The boy softly replied through the cold air. They smiled at one another before they continued their walk over to their school.
It was a routine between the two of them. Whoever had gotten out of their home first had to wait for the other before they could attend school. It was helpful enough that they both got to school on time or both arrive late.
“You feeling okay, Yujin?” (YN) asked the girl who was slowly walking beside him.
“Y-yeah, I’m fine. Why do you ask?”
“I can tell when you’re lying, y'know? Don’t tell me you were practicing another dance all night.” The boy took a turn on his heel and stopped in front to face her.
“What are you talking about? I’m fine.” Yujin answered, looking away from the boy.
“You’re not helping yourself by looking away.” The boy stifled a laugh.
“And so what if I did? There’s nothing wrong with that.” Yujin pouted her lips at the boy in front of her.
“You’re going to complain about how you’re so tired and how much your body hurts the whole day.” (YN) shot back.
“It doesn’t. Aish, I told you I’m fine.” Yujin replied, brushing off the boy’s concern.
“Fine, suit yourself.” (YN) quickly turned around and started walking down the road just as quick.
“Y-yah, wait up!” Yujin shouted as she walked to catch up with him.
The boy once again stopped in front of her and gave her a look of disinterest and one that urged her to tell the truth.
“Fine, it does hurt…a little bit.” Yujin said, raising her tone as if to not exaggerate the pain she was feeling.
“Give me your bag.” (YN) sighed out, giving out his hand in front of her.
Yujin looked at his hand and back at his eyes before releasing a sigh of her own. She really couldn’t argue more with the boy, they might get to school after the bell rang if she did.
She slowly removed the straps of her bag from her shoulders and handed it over to the boy who held them with his hands before placing them over his shoulders from the front.
“Now, let’s go. We need to get to school before first period and before you start telling me we should’ve stayed at home instead.” (YN) turned around started walking towards the bridge that led to their school.
Yujin smiled at him with a shake of her head before moving to walk alongside him on the peaceful and quiet street.
An Yujin was once happy in Gyeokpo-ri.
༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝