It seems both of us had become different people in such a short amount of time.

Iris is silent most days, only talking when necessary. When he finishes his tasks in the flower shop, he disappears without a word. I, on the other hand, do most of the talking for him, greeting customers (though it’s rare, these days) and helping them find what they need. It’s as if the two of us have switched places.

The sun had started to set as I bid my goodbyes to the last customer, a relieved sigh escaping from my mouth. I wipe my hands that were covered in soil on the apron I wore around my neck, making sure to lock the door of the flower shop before I did anything else. On a normal day, I would immediately leave, leaving a small note on the counter for Iris once he had returned from… wherever he was. Today didn’t seem to be one of those days.

I found it funny, how the only reason I had stepped foot inside the flower shop was to be surrounded by something—someone—and now, here I stood alone, wondering where the boy who dragged me here had gone. Of course, there was only one place that came to mind, and that place happened to be the rooftop.

I climbed the stairs that lead to the roof and opened the trapdoor, shutting my eyes almost instantly when I felt the cold air hit my face. It was freezing and I wanted nothing more than to go back inside, but I couldn’t leave Iris alone. I’d already spent most of the day apart from him—I wanted to know what was wrong. Even if he wouldn’t tell me what was going on, I wanted to at least be there for him, give him a shoulder to cry on. He had always done the same for me anyway.

Iris sat in the same spot as the day he had first brought me to the rooftop. Before him was the place the sunflowers used to be planted, right before they had died. His back was turned to me but I didn’t need to see his face to know what he was thinking. I’d been watching him for so long that I had unknowingly become accustomed to his expressions and the emotions behind them. I sighed, wrapping a my arms around my self as if to shelter me from the cold and walked toward him. Once I was standing beside him, I sat down, remaining silent.

“Daisy,” he spoke first. “You should go back inside, it’s too cold for you here.” I should’ve been relieved that he had even decided to speak to me today, but his words made me angry. Even though he was nowhere near fine, he was still looking out for others, denying his own health.

“I can look after myself,” I said. “What you should have asked is why I even chose to come up here despite you ignoring me.”

Iris is silent, thinking about what I had said. I refuse to look at him, fully aware that if I saw his expression, I would just give in to his words. I didn’t want to do that—I wanted to tell him exactly what I was thinking.

He chuckles, and I can see him nod from the corner of my eye. “You’re right,” he says. “I should be asking that. I’m just afraid of your answer.”

“Why won’t you talk to me?” I finally ask. “It’s obvious that you’re hurting but you never say anything.” I scoffed, “Even now, you’re looking after me instead of yourself.”

“Do you really believe in that?” he asks.

“Believe in what?”

“The thing about soulmates,” he says, “and about having a past life. That these dreams that came from nowhere are what I experienced before this life.”

He’s ignoring me. No, this is what he’s always wanted to say—I can here it in his voice. It’s all I’m allowed to believe, I want to say. “I do,” I say instead. “Why?”

“I died in my past life.” He pauses, then laughs. “Of course I did, that’s why I’m here anyway.” Iris stops again, pulling his knees closer to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. “Say, Daisy,” he speaks again. “Do you really want to know about me?”

That doesn’t matter to me. I just want to be here for you.

“Yes.”

I finally bring myself to look at him because I know that I wouldn’t be able to get my thoughts across anyway. Just as long as he’s here beside me, whether he be smiling or not—that was all I needed.

He nods. “Lee Daejung,” he says, looking away from the sunflowers’ deathbed. I stare at him. It takes me a moment to realize what he was saying but once his words fully process, my eyes widen. He smiles.

“That’s my real name.”