Sana sighed as she woke up. Today is her birthday. Why is she sighing, you ask? Because all of her loved ones aren’t going to be celebrating it with her. All of her friends were busy today, her family wasn’t able come visit from Osaka because of the harsh snowfall, and worst of all: her girlfriend, Tzuyu, was away on a business trip. To top it all off, she had to go to work today.

Why am I alone for my birthday?

Sana sat up in her bed and noticed something on her night stand. There was a note with an envelope underneath it.

Tzuyu told me to give this to you on your birthday! ^_^

Sana smiled. Nayeon was her roommate and very close friend. She cherished their friendship.

She picked up the envelope and carefully opened it. She took out the letter and read it.

Hey Little Squirrel~ If you are reading this, then that means I couldn’t make it back in time for your birthday :(

I hope I’ll come back soon to celebrate your birthday with you! I’ll work super hard on my business trip and try to come back as quickly as I can!

I love you~

• Your Precious Yoda

P.S. Go to our local bakery at the end of the day~ ^_^

Sana had a huge smile on her face as she read the letter.

Such a bae~

Sana picked up her cellphone from her nightstand and called Tzuyu.

“Hello?”

“Bae~”

“Hey you,” Tzuyu chuckled.

“I read your letter,” Sana smiled.

“Ahh, I see. I’m sorry baby, but I don’t know if I’ll make it back in time,” Tzuyu apologized.

Sana pouted, “Oh… It’s okay.”

“I’ll try my best to come back soon!” Tzuyu tried to reassure her.

“Okay, don’t overwork yourself!”

“I love you, my little squirrel~” Tzuyu said in a cute voice.

“I love you too, Yoda,” Sana giggled. They bid each other farewell and hung up.

Sana carefully put the letter away before standing up. She walked to her bathroom; as she walked through the door, she tripped.

Not again.

Sana closed her eyes and prepared for her impending doom.

It didn’t come. She felt something soft instead. Sana opened her eyes and saw that she fell on a sofa cushion. There was a note on attached to it.

I know how clumsy you can be, so I prepared this for you! Happy birthday!

• Nayeon

Sana giggled as she stood up and moved the sofa cushion away.

She knows me so well.

______________________________________________________________________

 

Sana got ready for the day and left her apartment complex. She stood on the sidewalk, trying to catch a taxi. One taxi stopped for her. She opened the door, but a rude woman shoved her away and sat inside the taxi. She slammed the door shut.

“Hey!” Sana glared at the rude woman.

“Just go, I’ll pay you double for the ride,” the woman ignored Sana as she talked to the taxi driver. The driver waved Sana goodbye and drove off.

es.

Sana decided to text Tzuyu.

__________

To: Bae

This just stole my ride -_-

__________

From: Bae

Awwwww :( Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll find a ride soon!

__________

To: Bae

I’m going to cut a .

__________

From: Bae

LOL

Anyways, wipe that frown off your face, I don’t like the thought of my precious birthday girl being upset TT

__________

Sana started smiling.

__________

To Bae:

You know exactly what to say to me~ -kissies-

__________

From Bae:

Hehe ^_^ I know~

Now try to get a ride, I have to keep working! ♥

__________

Sana giggled as she read Tzuyu’s texts.

She always makes me feel better.

Sana continued standing in front of her apartment complex. She waved at every taxi that came by, but they were either taken or stolen from her.

Sana almost wanted to cry. Catching a taxi has always been difficult, but it was never this bad.

Worst birthday ever.

Sana sat on the curb and put her head in her lap. She heard the noise of a car slowing down near her. She thought it was another taxi that was about to be stolen from her.

“Hello, are you Sana?” She heard a voice.

Sana looked up and saw a man smiling at her.

“I’ve been told to drive you to work today.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know if I should trust you…” Sana said cautiously.

I’m not a dumb girl in a horror movie. This whole situation just screams ‘kidnap’.

The man smiled, “Your friend knew you would say that.”

He took out his phone and played a video that was on it. Sana saw Jeongyeon’s face.

“Hi Sana! If you are watching this, then that means you are a very smart girl for not immediately entering a random person’s car! I would like to assure you that this man is very safe to be around! He is my cousin~ I remember you told me that you often had trouble finding a ride in the morning, so here you go! Happy birthday!” Jeongyeon peaced out.

Sana smiled before entering the car.

“That was nice of Jeongyeon,” Sana said to the man.

“Yeah, she’s nice,” he replied, “although she did threaten me to give you a ride; she said she would shave my eyebrows off in my sleep if I didn’t.”

Sana giggled. That sounded like something Jeongyeon would do. The man dropped her off at work. She thanked him gratefully as he left.

Sana entered the building. She worked as a journalist. She walked into her office and began looking through articles. Her stomach grumbled.

I didn’t eat breakfast.

Sana facepalmed as she took her wallet and walked to her building’s vending machine. She looked at the choices. She decided on some rye bread. Sana opened her wallet and pouted. It was empty.

Sana sighed deeply.

The closest ATM is a few blocks away…

Sana knew she was going to starve. She walked back into her office, accepting her unfortunate fate.

Sana heard a knock on her door.

“Come in!”

A teenage girl entered the room, “Miss Minatozaki?”

“Yes?”

“Delivery for you,” the girl placed a box onto Sana’s desk and left. Sana raised an eyebrow.

What the is this?

Sana opened the box and a nice aroma traveled throughout the room. She looked into it and saw a nicely prepared jokbal in a container. There was a note in the box.

I had a strange feeling that you would forget to eat this morning! So I took time out of my day to prepare this for you! My assistant should have delivered this to your office! Happy birthday~

• Momo

Sana laughed as she took out the container of jokbal. A fork was taped to the container.

She thought of everything.

Sana happily ate her jokbal. She could taste its five-spice flavor.

Of course.

Sana finished eating quickly - she was really hungry. She placed the empty container and the fork back into the box and placed it on the floor. She cracked her knuckles and went back to work. She sorted through papers and looked through her coworkers’ articles.

Her cell phone rang. She smiled when she saw the caller ID.

“Hello Chewy~”

“Hey~” Tzuyu laughed, “I’m on break right now, I decided to call you. How has your birthday been so far?”

Sana sighed, “It that I’m alone... but interesting things have happened so far.”

“Like what?”

“Nayeon indirectly saved me this morning, Jeongyeon got me a ride, and Momo sent me breakfast,” Sana explained.

“You forgot to put money into your wallet again, didn’t you?” Tzuyu chuckled and shook her head.

“Maybe.”

“Oh Sana,” Tzuyu teased, “You’re clumsy physically and mentally.”

“Shut up.”

“Haha, alright. I have to go now, my break is almost over. I’ll talk to you later~” Tzuyu bid farewell.

“Okay, bye~” Sana hung up. She was in a better mood now.

Sana continued to look through some articles on her computer and began outlining how she would organize them for their company’s newsletter. She did this for a few hours.

Her cell phone rang again. It was from a random number. Sana didn’t usually get calls from random people. She hesitantly answered her cell phone.

“Hello?

“Sana!” Sana smiled at the familiar voice.

“Jihyo!”

“I’m sorry I had to be away from work today, but I had a family reunion to attend,” Jihyo pouted.

“It’s okay, I’m glad you called!”

“What are you doing right now?” Jihyo asked.

“I’m working,” Sana replied.

“Isn’t it lunch time?” Jihyo laughed, Sana always forgets to check her clock.

Sana looked at her clock. Jihyo was right. It’s lunch time. Sana started thinking about what to eat for lunch, but she remembered something. She pouted.

“I don’t have money.”

“I had a feeling you would say that,” Jihyo said smugly, “Before I left, I placed some money in your top right drawer.”

Sana widened her eyes and immediately opened her desk’s top right drawer. There were some bills and a few coins.

“Sorry it isn’t much, that’s all I had on me that day,” Jihyo apologized.

“No, it’s perfect! Thank you so much!” Sana wanted to hug Jihyo right now.

“You’re welcome~ Anyways, I think my grandmother called me, so I’ll see you soon! Happy birthday!”

“Alright~ Thanks again! Bye!” Sana smiled as they both hung up.

God Jihyo.

Sana took the money and left her office. She walked to her usual lunch spot, which was a sandwich spot. Jihyo barely gave her enough for her favorite sandwich. Sana bought her sandwich and started walking to a nearby park. She liked eating lunch there because the scenery was nice.

She passed by her favorite bubble tea shop and stopped. She pouted. She didn’t have anymore money. Sana sighed as she started walking away.

“Wait, Sana!” Sana heard an employee from the bubble tea shop shout. Sana was a frequent customer, so many of them knew her name.

“Yes?” Sana walked into the shop.

“Here you go!” the employee said before handing Sana a large cup of bubble tea.

“W-Why?” Sana was very confused.

“This is why,” the employee handed her a note.

Sana~ For some reason I had a feeling that you would be walking by this shop today! So I paid for your bubble tea! I’m sorry I couldn’t be here for your birthday, but I hope the bubble tea made you feel better! Happy birthday my dear Japanese friend!

• Mina

Sana almost cried.

Minari~

She accepted the bubble tea. She thanked the employee before leaving. She continued her way to the park. She sat on her usual bench and began to eat her sandwich. She also drank her bubble tea in between bites. She was having a very fabulous lunch.

Sana smiled as she watched little kids run around, trying to steal a ball from each other. One of the kids kicked the ball extra hard and it landed near Sana. All the kids ran towards her. They started fighting for the ball right in front of her. Sana felt awkward. One of the kids looked up and gasp.

“Guys, I think this is her!” a little boy exclaimed. The rest of the kids stopped and looked at Sana. They also gasped.

“I think you’re right!” other kids replied. Sana felt very awkward.

What the f-

“Wait here, miss!”

All the kids ran off. Sana just stared at them strangely.

What the f-

“Here!”

Balloons appeared in front of Sana’s face.

“Uh-”

“Some girl named Dahyun told us to give these balloons to a girl that resembles a shiba inu!” a girl explained. Sana shook her head in amusement.

Oh, Dahyun.

Sana smiled at the children and each of their balloons. The kids bowed and ran off, fighting for the ball again. Sana held on to the balloons tightly as she finished her meal. She threw away her trash into a nearby trashcan. She walked back to her office.

After she arrived at her office, she tied the balloons to her coat rack.

Brightens up the room~

Sana sat back down on her office chair. She diligently worked until the evening. When she finally looked at the clock, she realized that it’s almost time to leave. She looked forward to walking home. Sure, she always took some sort of vehicle to work, but she enjoyed her long, night strolls. The deep sky and the illuminated lights calmed her.

Sana left her office and closed the door behind her. She locked her office door and paused. She noticed something above her door.

Oh my god.

Sana looked up. Her door had a huge, beautiful painting of herself attached to it. She saw that was signed by Chaeyoung.

How did I not notice this before?

Sana realized that in the both times she entered her office, she only looked straight ahead, not up.

Of course, a little note was taped to the painting.

Sanananananana! I painted this with my love for you~ Haha, just kidding, don’t show Tzuyu this letter, she’ll kill me. Anyways~ I hope you enjoyed this; I think I captured your beauty very well! Happy birthday~

• Chaeyoung

P. S. Your coworkers looked at me VERY weirdly when I stuck this above your door. Can you ask them to not judge me?

Sana laughed as she read the letter. She looked up at the painting again. It was gorgeous.

Chaeyoung is a REALLY talented artist!

Sana decided to leave her painting above her office door. Now people can stop accidentally going into her office expecting to see someone else. She’s had countless people forget that this office was her’s.

I don’t care if they judge me.

Sana skipped out of the building. She was about to head home when she received a phone call. She picked it up without looking at the caller ID.

“Hello?”

“Sana, are you going home right now?”

“Tzuyu! Yes, I am,” Sana chirped.

“You forgot about what I wrote in my letter, didn’t you?” Tzuyu giggled, “I knew you would, so I decided to call you.”

“What?” Sana was confused.

Then she remembered.

“P. S. Go to our local bakery at the end of the day~ ^_^”

“Oh!” Sana shouted as she started walking to their local bakery.

“Ahh, there you go,” Tzuyu smiled sadly, “I’m sorry again for not being there for your birthday.”

“It’s fine, really,” Sana smiled. She had a pretty good day.

“I’m a horrible girlfriend,” Tzuyu frowned.

“No you aren’t, you’re sweet. You contacted me throughout the day and made me feel a million times better!”

“Really?”

“Yup.” Sana nodded to herself.

“Okay,” Tzuyu laughed, “I’ll see you soon... hopefully.”

“Okay~ Bye~” Sana smooched loudly before ending the call. She just arrived at their local bakery.

“Sana! Tzuyu told me you might be here!” the bakery store’s manager smiled, “Wait here.”

He left and went into the back of the store. He came back with a small box. He handed it to Sana. Sana opened it and felt tears in her eyes.

She saw a little cupcake with an unlit candle on top, underside of the top of the box had a sticky note attached to it.

My beloved Sana, I wish you the happiest birthday! If you received this, that means I really didn’t make it in time for your birthday. I could not apologize more.

I hope you’ll forgive me when you eat this delicious cupcake. I told the bakers to make it just the way you like it.

Happy birthday, baby~

Love you lots!

• From the person who loves you the most: Tzuyu

The store manager handed Sana a handkerchief. Sana dabbed at her eyes a bit before disgustingly blowing her nose into the handkerchief. She handed the handkerchief back. He took it back slowly, with a grimace.

“Tzuyu really loves you,” he smiled.

“I know,” she held the box to her chest. She bid farewell to the manager before leaving the store. She skipped all the way back to her apartment. When she arrived at her apartment, she was stopped by her landlord.

“You received this package,” he handed her a box. Sana took the box with her hand that wasn’t holding the cupcake box. She entered the elevator and placed the box with the cupcake down gently. She opened the box she just received. She saw a bunch of her favorite snacks from Osaka. The inside of the box read ‘JUST IN CASE WE COULDN’T VISIT YOU’. Sana saw that her entire family signed their name on the box. She felt tears in her eyes again. The elevator dinged and Sana took a step out. She froze.

She stepped on her cupcake.

Sana looked down in horror. She destroyed her cupcake. She destroyed Tzuyu’s cupcake for her. She destroyed the best gift she’s received today.

me.

Sana cleaned up the cupcake as best as she could. She held the ruined remnants of it as she opened her door. She cried a little as she stepped inside her apartment.

“Happy birthday- What’s wrong?”

Sana looked up in shock at hearing a voice. She saw Tzuyu rushing towards her. She was wearing a goofy birthday hat. She also saw all of her friends wearing birthday hats as they awkwardly got out of their hiding spots.

“Uh… Surprise?” Dahyun said awkwardly. Jeongyeon smacked her.

“Why are you crying?” Tzuyu wiped away Sana’s tears. Sana shook her head and cried more as she placed her family’s box on the floor.

“And why are you holding that disgusting looking thing?” Momo pointed at the destroyed cupcake.

“I-I ruined my cupcake!” Sana wept. Mina smiled and pointed at the dinner table. She saw another cupcake that looked exactly like the one she just destroyed. She also saw a regular birthday cake beside it.

“H-How-”

“I had a feeling you would ruin your cupcake, so I prepared a back-up cupcake,” Tzuyu explained. Sana cried more as she wrapped her arms around Tzuyu’s neck; she kissed her hard. Tzuyu automatically kissed back, wrapping her own arms around Sana’s back.

“Gross,” Chaeyoung rolled her eyes as she poked at the cake; her finger afterwards.

“This sight is not worth the $5.24 I left in your drawer.” Jihyo shook her head.

“How are you all here?” Sana looked at them all.

“I worked quickly today and came home as fast as I could,” Tzuyu smiled, “I called the rest of them. After I confirmed that they were all free around this time, I planned this little surprise party.”

The others nodded.

“Oh, Tzuyu~” Sana snuggled into Tzuyu’s arms.

“Can we eat the cake now?” Nayeon asked.

“No, we didn’t sing happy birthday to her yet,” Tzuyu glared at Nayeon.

Tzuyu pulled Sana to the table and everyone circled her. Tzuyu lit the candles on the cupcake and cake. She also turned off the lights.

“Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday dear Sana, happy birthday to you!” Everyone sang. Sana wiped a tear before blowing out the candles. Everyone cheered. Tzuyu turned the light back on.

“We’re sorry for not being here throughout the day,” Jeongyeon said sadly.

“Yeah, we really wanted to be with you today…” Mina added.

“But you guys were with me today,” Sana smiled at her friends.

“What?” Dahyun was confused.

“You guys showered me with little gifts today… I felt you guys everywhere,” Sana explained. Everyone smiled.

“I guess we did,” Nayeon nodded.

“I love you Sana, happy birthday,” Tzuyu picked Sana up and spun her around. Sana squealed with joy. Everyone rolled their eyes, but they all had a smile on their faces.

“Can we eat the cake now?” Chaeyoung butted in.

“I’m starving,” Momo whined.

“Sure,” Sana laughed.

“How was your day today?” Tzuyu whispered.

“Perfect, you are so sweet,” Sana replied, gently kissing Tzuyu on the lips.

“I’m glad you think so,” Tzuyu pressed her forehead against Sana’s.

“I also expect you to give me another special gift later… in bed,” Sana winked.

Tzuyu blushed.

“Oh.”

“We heard that!” Jihyo pointed at the couple. Everyone laughed as they stared at the sweet lovebirds. Tzuyu and Sana laughed along with them as they hugged each other.

Sana couldn’t have been more happy.

Best. Birthday. Ever.