one 

2003 - seventeen

eighteen only in korean years 

* * * * *

“How’s it feel to finally be eighteen?” 

“So glad to have you back! And just in time for your birthday too!”

“How’s Japan?” 

Boa flashed the smile she’d plastered onto her face since she’d stepped through the doors of the practice room, the corners of her lips seemingly stuck in a permanent grin. 

Sure, she appreciated the small surprise birthday party that everyone in the company had thrown for her. She was happy, even, but the truth was, after having just flown back from Tokyo less than five hours ago, what she really wanted more than anything was to just go back to her dorm to shower and sleep. 

After she successfully smiled her way out of all of the small talk with managers and producers and such, she finally escaped to the table where all of the refreshments were set up. The petite girl stood there, her eyes concentrated on all of the choices. 

There was soda (more than half the people in this room – other celebrities and trainees and dancers – weren’t even allowed to drink it, so why management even bought it completely stumped her, but then again, she wasn’t the one calling the shots here). There was juice (but that’s all she’d been drinking on the plane ride back, so maybe something else). Her eyes finally zoned in on the banana milk (her childhood favorite). 

It’d been awhile since she’d had banana milk since it was really hard to come by in Japan. Besides, it looked so inviting. But then again, it was after eight in the evening. And every female artist and trainee in the company knew it was recommended (more like forbidden) that they not intake any unnecessary calories after such late hours. 

Sighing, she was about to reach for the bottle of water when a pale hand reached forwards and grabbed two containers of banana milk, handing one over to her. Looking up to the owner of the hand, Boa was met with her best friend, Kim Jaejoong’s smiling face. 

“Come on, one won’t hurt,” Jaejoong teasingly said, grabbing her hand and putting the small bottle into her opened palms. 

Boa raised her perfectly plucked eyebrow at the taller man, but her first genuine smile of the night spread across her small face. “Going to have to run an extra fifteen minutes tomorrow for this,” she retorted, but she opened it anyways. 

Chuckling, Jaejoong brought his plastic container against Boa’s. “Totally worth it, though, right?” 

Grinning, she tapped her plastic bottle of banana milk against his. “Guess so,” she laughed, tilting her head back to take a sip of her drink.  

The next two hours of the party passed in a blur, a complete whirlwind of countless hellos, feigned interest in production matters (because really, management made all of those decisions without the artists’ approval anyways), forced laughter (at the producers and big names that she doesn’t remember but should know). 

Boa does briefly remember exchanging greetings with all of her sunbaes, most of her hoobaes, and even some of the new trainees who were brave enough to come up to actually congratulate her. But it all just seemed to pass by like a fast-forwarded dream, where she only seemed to faintly recall the sweet taste of banana milk on her lips. 

She’s finally allowed to go back to her dorm after everything, and by the time she’s all showered and ready for bed, it’s already one in the morning. Not that she wasn’t used to her ‘bedtime’ anyways. Today was already one of the good days. 

Boa’s climbing under the covers when her phone vibrated, and she quickly grabbed it (just in case her manager wasn’t asleep yet and was still within ear shot because they’re not allowed to be on the phone this late at night). “Hello?” she whispered. 

“I’m outside.” Jaejoong’s voice came through the speaker in little spurts of static. But she could practically hear the smile on his face. “Got a surprise for you.” 

Before she even has a chance to ask him what he was talking about, he’d hung up. She stared at her phone for just a second before her eyebrows furrowed a little, and she huffed a breath of annoyance. “That Kim Jaejoong… bothering my sleeping time…” she grumbled, but she swung her legs off the bed anyways, her small feet slipping into the slippers that were at the foot of the mattress, a small smile already on her face. 

Th