PRETTY U - SEVENTEEN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXSC5PtvhnY

“Wait… hold up bro. You’re telling me… that tomorrow is your birthday?” asked Vernon with his eyebrows raised up high, as if the idea of Mingyu having a birthday was the strangest thing he has ever heard.

The three of them were in the library trying to study for the upcoming tests they had before their final exam. Between all the study breaks and gossips, Mingyu informed his fellow buddies that he wanted to have a celebration with them and Hari for his birthday.

To Vernon’s question, Mingyu simply gave a quick nod in response without looking away from his laptop.

“…And you want to be the one planning your birthday?” wondered S.Coupe, his whisper coming out louder than he intended it to be.

“Mhmm, you are correct,” replied Mingyu.

“And… we are your guests of honour?” said Vernon, confused as ever.

Mingyu tore his eyes away from the screen, nodding happily. “And Hari noona, too.”

“I don’t get it…” whispered Vernon, confusion clearly etched on every part of his face.

S.Coupe scooted closer to Mingyu, while Vernon leaned forward.

“Since it’s your birthday, shouldn’t we, being the great friends we are, plan it for you? Why are you planning your own birthday?” asked S.Coupe.

Mingyu waved his hands dismally in the air, snorting. “Nah, it’s my first time—” He was just about to blurt out his own secret when he stopped himself. He cleared his throat and straightened up, eyes darting back to the notepad he was writing down on. “I’ve never planned my birthday before so I figured it’d be fun to do it this year. Plus, if I let noona in on my birthday, she would just want to do everything herself.”

“What’s wrong with that? Every King loves it when their Queen does everything for them. Especially on their birthdays when they get special treatment in the bedroom, if you know what I mean,” winked S.Coupe as he slapped his palm against a cackling Vernon.

Mingyu rolled his eyes, “You guys are the worst. How did I end up with two erts as my friends?”

“erts? This is what teenage boys should be talking about!” Vernon said boastfully, as if proud by his own ersion.

Done with hearing all of this, Mingyu closed his books and began to pack up. He’s had enough with trying to pretend to study, and wanted to call it a day. It was already 7pm and he had whole lot of things to do before his birthday. “Alright, I’m going to jet off. See you guys tomorrow!”

“If there’s any change of plans, give us a call!” reminded S.Coupe.

Mingyu nodded as he zipped up his backpack. He left the library urgently, with a list full of things to get for tomorrow. Since his birthday fell on a weekday, Hari would be at school studying for her exam while his friends would be in school. If it was any other day, Mingyu would not be playing hooky, but since birthdays are important, especially his, missing school was absolutely mandatory. He was positive that even his parents would not go against his wishes on this day, because it was them who taught him that birthdays are special and that no one should ever have a bad day on their day of birth.

I wonder if they are going to give me a call and wish me a happy birthday, wondered Mingyu. Knowing just how much his Mom made a fuss about his birthday every year, he was certain that she would give him a call the moment the clock struck 12.

As he ventured from one part of town to another to gather his groceries and party decorations, Mingyu smiled from ear to ear as he imagined the reactions of his dear friends. Even though at times he could be a spoiled brat, at the end of the day, the best feeling in the world was to make those around him smile in happiness.

The day was not over yey but the excitement was already bubbling at the bottom of his stomach.

By the time Mingyu had returned home, Hari was already in bed, passed out with her head band covering her eyes and a book lying flat down on a chest. Trying hard not to snort in laughter, Mingyu quickly hid all of the things in the cabinet above the stove and the bags of food in the fridge.

‘Do not open fridge, leave this for Mingyu’s eyes only.’

Chuckling at his note, he stuck it on the fridge door.

Taking a step back, Mingyu’s imagination ran wild at how the events tomorrow would go. He imagined his friends to be taken by surprised by his cooking skills, he imagined Hari to have the biggest laugh of her life, and he imagined that he was going to have the best birthday of his entire existence because everyone he really liked was going to be in one room together. The only people that were missing were his parents and Joshua, but with them watching over him, it already felt like they were there with him too.

Before Mingyu could realize it, the time was already 12AM, and he was washing up for bed. His parents had not given him a birthday call, but that was okay, because he was so busy thinking about tomorrows plans that the memory of them wishing him happy birthday every year at this time slipped his mind.

Try as he might to hold his excitement down, Mingyu had gone to bed with a big smile on his face, hoping that all the plans he had for tomorrow would work out as planned. Can it be tomorrow already?

---

“Make sure to be home by 4 today, noona! I’ve got something cool to show you when you get home,” reminded Mingyu for the umpteenth time.

You cocked one eyebrow up, with a suspicious smile on your face. “Why what’s going? What’re you going to show me?”

“Secret,” replied Mingyu, a wide grin was already spreading across his face.

You didn’t bother to think twice about the mischievous glint that was in his eyes and took one last sip of your coffee before placing the empty cup in the sink. You were running a little late on time, since it was the day of your first big exam. You glanced at your watch before grinning back at Mingyu. “Okay. Got it. Be home by 4pm. See you!”

You turned to go but Mingyu quickly caught you by the wrist.

“What?”

Mingyu tapped his cheek. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Seeing that sly look in his eyes made your cheeks flame red in understanding. You rolled your eyes, but leaned over. Gently, you laid a lingering kiss on his cheeks. Before he could fully appreciate what was being given to him, you pulled away and left the house in a hurry. There was no time to being playing jokes today, you had to hand in your final portfolio assignment and complete the exam. Being tardy to class is one thing but being tardy for an exam was another thing.

You suddenly halted in your steps, wondering why Mingyu was looking so giddy all morning. He must have done something bad or maybe he really does have a surprise… but what could it be? You warily turned back to your house, to where the Blue haired Prince was and wondered what he had to show you. You tapped your chin curiously for a moment, but the sound of your phone vibrating steered you away from your thoughts.

Instead of checking your phone to see what the text was, you kept on walking towards the bus stop without any other thoughts of anything else but your exam.

---

4 hours and 20 minutes later, you exited the exam room with a dissatisfied look on your face.

The exam was a lot easier than you had anticipated, yet you felt an odd sense of emptiness once you completed it.

Reaching into your pocket with a frown, you decided to finally check your messages.

With a shock, you saw that there