"Time to wake up, birthday girl." Renjun's voice sounds distant to Dahee who is in between sleeping and waking up. She flutters one eye open, but the sunlight shining through her curtainless windows makes it close again. He sighs and she feels the mattress dip. "Are you planning to sleep in today? It's already two in the afternoon."
As soon as his words register in her mind, she immediately sits up with wide eyes, but the cheeky grin on his face exposes his lie. She glares at him when she sees that it is only nine in the morning, and he apologzies for waking her up, the grin on his face not fading, and tells her to get ready for the brunch with Jisung, Chenle, Jeno, and Jaemin.
"Wait," she holds Renjun back by his wrist right as he stands up. "Will... will Hyuck be there?"
It has been a month since his confession, that is the last they talked, and she misses him. Even after knowing of his romantic feelings, she still wants to remain friends; she doubts he still wants that, too. It will probably be awkward─more so for him than for her─and she doesn't want to pretend nothing happened. Losing him is the last thing she wants, but that seems to be the end result of their situation.
"I invited him, but I don't know if he'll show up," Renjun says and purses his lips when he sees the disappointment in her eyes. "Don't be sad, Dai, it's your birthday! I know Donghyuck wouldn't want that, too, and he just needs some more time. He'll talk to you eventually, didn't Mingxia?"
She nods wordlessly and lets him go, pushing the topic in the back of her mind to worry about later. By the time she is finished getting ready, everyone but Jisung are in the living room waiting for her. Without even having to ask, Jeno tells her that he had to deal with a family matter first but is already at the diner. They soon arrive there, too, after Renjun and Chenle's childish fight over the passenger seat (the latter won).
"Happy birthday, Bǎobèi." Jisung whispers to her as soon as she takes the seat beside him, the way his lips graze her ear making her feel light-headed. She thanks him with red ears, and he has a proud smile on his face for making her flustered like he always succeeds in doing.
"Jeno told me you had to attend a family matter before this," she suddenly brings up. "How did it go?"
"I got disowned." He says and if she didn't hear him clearly, the smile on his face would have made her think it was good news. Her confused frown makes a chuckle escape his lips. "Let's talk about it some other day, hm? It's your day and today should be all about you."
"Fine," she reluctantly drops the topic. "I'll ask you about it next time."
They turn their attention to the others and join their ongoing conversation about the last soccer game of Jaemin, Jeno, and Donghyuck who are graduating this year. When the food arrives, the topic is long over and they are all in separate conversations. Dahee talks to Chenle about becoming a director once she graduates, and he tells her how he is in his third year of performing arts. When he brings up the idea of working together one day, she excitedly agrees.
She listens to him ramble on about his dream roles in the future and suddenly feels Jisung's hand slip in hers, which makes her smile. Holding his hand feels nice, but it distracts her from her chat with Chenle, even more when he begins to caress the back of her hand with the pad of his thumb (that gesture makes her feel all sorts of things).
Her conversation with Chenle drifts off eventually and he begins talking to Jeno who is sitting beside him instead. She leans against Jisung's shoulder and sighs contentedly. Today feels like any other day, but she is happy to be surrounded by the people she treasures.
He suddenly asks her, "You okay?"
"Mhm." She hums, looking up at him with a lazy smile. Her eyes rake over every inch of his face and she makes a discovery. "You have heart-shaped lips."
"Really? I never noticed that." He says distractedly, too busy staring at her with that adoring look in his eyes. She notices how he subtly leans closer and hears him murmur, "I love you."
"I love you, too." She whispers back and his eyes go wide. Her response is a total surprise. It is all going so fast, but she doesn't care anymore; now felt like the right time to say it back. She doesn't pay any more heed to the doubts her fears caused.
"You do?"
"I do."
"Dai," Renjun suddenly interrupts their sweet moment. "Can you grab some syrup in the condiment section for me?"
"But it's my birthday." She reasons.
"Okay, birthday girl," he deadpans. "Grab some syrup in the condiment section for me."
She rolls her eyes and reluctantly gets up to do what her brother asked her to. Her fingers turn sticky the moment her hand wraps around the bottle, but she ignores the uncomfortable feeling and heads back to the booth. She sees a familiar figure standing near the table and recognizes his back in an instant. And even if she didn't, the "Lee" on the varsity jacket he is wearing will give it away.
"Hyuck?" She utters his name and he turns around to finally face her after all these weeks he couldn't.
"Hey loser," Donghyuck grins at her like nothing ever happened. "Happy birthday."
She smiles back, "You came."
"Of course, I did," he rolls his eyes playfully. "Have I ever missed your birthdays?"
"Hi, I'm here, too."
"Hey Mingxia." She says to the girl behind him, smile widening.
"Happy birthday, Dahee." Mingxia says, taking a step forward, and Dahee thanks her. There is an awfully silent pause for a short while. "So... do we, uh, hug now?"
"If you want." Dahee lets out a short laugh and takes the initiative, engulfing Mingxia in an embrace. It is an odd, familiar feeling, but it's nice... and a bit awkward.
"Alright, my turn." Donghyuck says as they pull away and takes Mingxia's spot. Dahee tightens her arms around his torso and smiles. His hugs feel like summer.
"Hyuck─"
"Let's stay like this for a while." He interrupts and rests his chin on the top of her head. She tries to speak again to apologize, but he stops her once more before she can. "Shh, don't say anything."
So, she doesn't. They remain in that position for a little longer than hugs should last before he pulls away and smiles as he ruffles her hair, no trace of forced happiness on his face whatsoever. She has so much to say to him, but she doesn't know where to start. He must have read her mind somehow and tells her they will talk later, then takes a seat beside Mingxia as Dahee goes back to her own.
She looks at every single person around her and changes her mind about birthdays; hers is special again now that she has special people to celebrate it with.
ઇઉ
two more chapters left... i can't
believe how close we are to the end :,)
