La Luna - Kwon Hyuk

10

It was the way she ruffled her fingers against her locks.

The way the faded red hues of her hair -- now turned into a brassy brown tan -- danced against the light of the sun peeping through the crack in the curtain.

Or perhaps it was her unapologetic smile and the brave protruding of her face which featured her small double chin.

Whichever it was, it made Hyuk grin warmly at the sight. And his smile was as warm as the September breeze passing by their apartment. He observed her actions as her fingers danced gracefully on the keyboard of her Macbook -- which she had decorated with pastel stickers of macarons.

September 19, would be Hanji's twenty-fourth birthday and Hyuk insisted they throw a party at the penthouse. However, much to his demise she refused and suggested a small dinner with their closest friends.

It was the way he laughed as if he was choking.

The way his breath hitched with every bellow, and his pearly whites which flashed beautifully at her.

Or perhaps it was the small things he did for her -- the english breakfast he made her every weekend morning to thank her for all the meals she made him.

This particular day he baked her banana bread with semi-sweet chocolate chips and french toast.

"Happy twenty-fourth!", he cheered as he settled the plate in front of her.

Hanji laughed gladly as she clapped her hands with excitement. "Aw, Hyuk!"

"I thought you'd be sick of the eggs and english muffins by now. Maybe I've activated your sweet tooth.", he said as he took a seat across her.

"Oh no! I-I love the traditional! You know, i-it's so nice having people cook for you every now and then."

Hanji took a small bite out of the banana bread and Hyuk anticipated her reaction with wide eyes. "H-How is it?"

She reluctantly answered as she still chewed at the piece. "Next time...Add more flour."

The young man jutted his lip in despair and once Hanji noticed she bellowed out with laughter.

"I'm joking! Th-They're great, Hyuk. Here, try one.", she eye-smiled at him before leaning across the small table to feed him a small bite, a habit they had developed after three months.

He nodded at the taste, feeling proud of himself.

"Good. I wouldn't want your birthday to start with such disappointment.", he teased.

"This was sweet. Thank you...For all that you do.", was all Hanji could say before they exchanged another one of their familiar stares.

It was as if he wanted to tell her something with his eyes. Perhaps something he had been contemplating since the day she opened up about how hurt she was that day in the library.

When he opened his mouth to speak again, she quickly interrupted.

"W-Well, we should eat up before we get started. Sooyoung should be here in an hour."

Hyuk followed suit and straightened his posture in his seat. "Oh yea. Jiho's coming by too."

Hanji widened her eyes at his statement. "The Woo Jiho?!"

~

It was a gathering which they hadn't predicted -- two groups united now but never had anything to do with each other just five years prior.

Jiho greeted Hanji excitedly upon their reunion and immediately recognized her. "How can I forget? You always made the fluffiest rice in food's class."

The four sat contently at the high table in the penthouse and their night was filled with reminiscence and fond memories of high school.

"His dad always smelled the paint on him. How could you not?", Jiho teased Hyuk about his days as a painter.

"His dad's missing out entirely! Hyuk decorated the place over the summer, take a look.", Hanji defended her roommate.

Around them, the unit composed of landscapes he had painted and portraits of Hanji's favourite celebrities which she always bugged him to work on.

"It seems like you've painted almost everything!", Sooyoung complimented as she sipped on a glass of white wine -- now being more acquainted with Hyuk after these months.

"Well, there's one thing he's wanted to portray since high school.", Jiho teased with a knowing look.

Hyuk only cleared his throat with a light pinch at Jiho's side, making the elder jolt harshly.

This earned a strange look from Hanji, wondering what the reference was in regards to. She could only chuckle at the sight before turning to Sooyoung to encourage her for dessert.

"Happiest birthday, Hanji! That sirloin was perfect!"

Jiho bid the two farewells just after Sooyoung had departed and he rushed out of the penthouse as soon as he could, as to not earn another odd stare from Hyuk.

The actual owners of the unit sighed heavily before closing the door and exchanged a knowing look. "What a day!"

Hanji began cleaning up the dining table, stacking dirty plates on top of each other and bringing them to the sink. Just as she reached for the first wine glass, Hyuk grabbed a hold of her wrist.

She stopped her actions and turned to face him properly. "W-What is it?"

He only looked into her eyes before dragging her to the living room couch. "Have a seat."

"Hyuk, what--", she questioned with a curious smile but straightened herself on the cushions.

He pulled out a nearby wooden chair, a large notebook and number two pencil from the cabinets, and sat at a fair distance from her. "You wanna know why I've asked you to watch my art shows in high school?"

Hanji almost gasped, unaware that he remembered the same memories. For five straight minutes, Hyuk scribbled rapidly at the paper and only glanced at her perhaps a total of three times.

When he was done he sighed for the nth time that evening before presenting it to her. "What Jiho meant tonight...Was that I've been wanting to draw a portrait of someone I-I admire, I guess you could say."

He took a few more steps to finally reach her and bent his back to face her directly, placing the work on her lap.

And there it was -- his abilities sprawled on the canvas, portraying herself. Every feature he managed to capture; her locks, her owl-like eyes, her clover nose.

And she could only look at him with her mouth agape. "I-I..."

This is what you've been wanting to show me?, she wanted to say.

Hyuk chuckled shyly at her reaction and he knew what he was about to do was against their last rule. However, he leaned in closer to plant a firm kiss on her forehead.

She sighed quietly and felt her eyes close on their own, and a certain tension between them finally dissolved as she brought her arms up to wrap him in a hug.

"Happy birthday, Hanji."