6. Happy Ken Day

Jaehwan was feeling… bittersweet. Yes, that’s the word.

It was the 6^th of April, and since he could remember, it had always been a special day where he would be bursting with energy, be in the best-est of moods and bouncing off the walls.

Of course… it’s his birthday!

But when he woke up this morning, well, everything seemed… different. Somber, almost. Sure, Jaehwan was happy and excited to start the day, but something seemed to be putting a slight dampener on his spirits.

Maybe it’s because he is turning a quarter of a century old, and his body is realizing that he is no longer the child he once was. Maybe it’s because he has to go to work today (he is performing in tonight’s musical) and it’s the first time since being in VIXX that he is not spending the day with the rest of s.

Or… maybe it’s because Eunji was away and has made no mention of his special day or any plans that she might have to celebrate it with him.

Yes, that’s probably it.

However Jaehwan knew logically that he couldn’t be expecting much anyway; both of them have equally packed schedules, and she was currently away in Japan with Apink and would only be due back today. Him with his musical and comeback and 5^th year anniversary looming ahead, her with her endless variety show appearances and even earlier solo comeback, it was likely that they would miss each other for the next couple of months.

Jaehwan sighed as he picked up his backpack and headed out of his room.

Happy birthday to me.

-----

Jaehwan received many birthday wishes and greetings throughout the day – he was really grateful.

The first was from none other than Hakyeon, who left a sweet message to him on his Instagram post. The other members’ wishes trickled in not long later, as well as those from his managers and company-mates. And of course, the numerous wishes from his Starlight babies were heart-warming as well, and Jaehwan could not be more grateful for all the love received.

But still no word from Eunji.

Jaehwan was pleasantly surprised when his Boys Over Flowers musical cast mates came out with a lighted birthday cake during their pre-musical prep and rehearsal. He had an inkling that they would do something like this – they all knew that he was scheduled to perform on his birthday – but was still surprised and touched that they remembered and took the time and effort to get him a cake and celebrate. They sang him a birthday song; he made a wish and blew out the candle. Everyone had a bit of cake, and then rushed off to take their places before the musical started.

And through all that, still no word from Eunji.

The ‘surprise’ celebration by s at the end of the day after his musical was hardly a surprise – of course, Wonshik had already revealed it in a comment on his Instagram post. Jaehwan knew without a doubt that they would celebrate his birthday with them one way or another; if he really had to be surprised, it would be that s sneaked into his dressing room backstage to do the surprise instead of waiting for him to return to the dorm. Either way, he was still grateful that despite having already spent 3 birthdays with VIXX, it still felt like home when they sang the birthday song and hugged him after, just the 6 of them.

Jaehwan was half expecting that Eunji might be the ‘surprise’ that Wonshik was referring to… and felt a pang of disappointment when she was really not there. Well, she is really busy, Jaehwan thought. Can’t be expecting her to pop up here of all places, he reasoned, where there were plenty of other celebrities, fans and reporters.

“Annyeong, Jaehwan-oppa! Happy birthday!”

Jaehwan waved gratefully at all his fans that were waiting patiently for him as he left the theatre with the rest of VIXX. He gave them his signature heart sign, and piled into the van with a grin. It had been a long day, and he was finally heading back to the dorm to rest. It was noisy and chaotic ride home – as expected when the 6 of them are gathered in one vehicle together; Jaehwan sometimes believed that it was the reason why their manager often preferred to split them into 2 vans instead – but it was a familiar and somewhat comforting sound.

They made their way up to their dorm apartment, but Jaehwan was so busy on his phone reading and replying to his SNS that he almost missed it. It wasn’t until he realized there was a pause of silence before he looked up…

… and saw her.

Eunji was standing in the middle of his dorm with a cupcake in her hands, the single candle flame lighting up her beautiful face and features as she looked up shyly at him.

“Happy birthday, oppa.”

-----

Speechless, Jaehwan could only think to drop his jacket and bag on the floor before taking two huge strides to pull Eunji into his embrace. He felt her giggle nervously as she sank into his hug, oblivious to the cringing and “awws” of s. He missed her badly and didn’t care who was there to see it.

“Ya, make a wish and blow the candle out before you burn the dorm down,” Hakyeon cut in.

Jaehwan released Eunji, giving her a big grin. He took the cupcake, closed his eyes and wished, before opening his eyes to blow out the candle. Seeing Eunji smiling brightly in front of him, and hearing s cheering him from behind, Jaehwan didn’t need anymore wishes – he had everything needed.

I love you, he mouthed to Eunji. She blushed.

“Thanks guys,” he said to s sincerely, turning around and slinging one of his arms around Eunji. “I really appreciate all that you have done for me today.”

“You are our Jaehwannie,” Hakyeon said, ruffling Jaehwan’s hair affectionately. “And we all love you.”

“Enjoy your day while it lasts,” Hongbin quipped, looking at the clock. “You have another 45 minutes.”

“Ya, no matter what I will always be older than you,” Jaehwan retorted back. Everyone laughed, and Jaehwan squeezed Eunji closer to his side.

“Just eat your cupcake, hyung,” Hongbin sassed, pretending to be put out.

“Oh yes, everybody please have one too; it’s in the kitchen,” Eunji spoke up. “I bought enough for everyone.”

Eyes brightened up as the members headed noisily to the kitchen, shouting out their thanks and gratitude to Eunji.

“Thank you,” Jaehwan whispered to Eunji as he planted a quick kiss to her temple and led to the kitchen after the rest of s. “I didn’t expect you to be back so early,” Jaehwan continued. “What time did your flight land?”

“We landed at about 8… thank goodness with no delays. We headed back to the dorm and after I put my stuff down I got permission from Chorong-unnie to take the car out,” Eunji explained, settling a seat next to Jaehwan.

He squeezed her hand. “I’m very glad,” he said, grinning widely at her, before giving her a quick kiss on the lips. Eunji blushed. They usually didn’t PDA in front of their members.

“Okay, lovebirds, either join us and eat or go elsewhere,” Wonshik quipped.

“Ya, and let you all eat all the cupcakes that my girlfriend bought? Never!”

-----

“So, did you enjoy your day today?” Eunji asked.

They were cuddled on Jaehwan’s bed in his room after the mini birthday celebration that they had with the rest of the VIXX members in the kitchen. They could still hear Wonshik, Hongbin and Hyuk talking and laughing, no doubt somewhat tipsy from the alcohol that they had earlier. Everyone had some, even Jaehwan and Eunji, but Hakyeon had controlled the flow of it as everyone had schedules the next day and he certainly didn’t want to deal with any hangovers the next morning.

Jaehwan nodded, pulling Eunji even tighter towards his body. “Yes, I did,” he answered. “I would say that it’s the best birthday I’ve had so far.”

Eunji shifted to look up at him, resting her chin on his chest. “Really?”

“Yup.”

“Why?”

“You,” he replied simply.

Eunji blushed. “It can’t just all be me,” she protested. “What else did you enjoy from today that made it memorable?”

Jaehwan thought for a while. “I guess it was a nice surprise that the BoF cast bought me a cake,” he admitted. “I mean, we were all so busy with preparation and stuff, so to think about celebrating my birthday and getting a cake… I was very grateful.”

Eunji smiled. “Then were you surprised that VIXX appeared in your dressing room when you were done with your performance?” Her fingers played with his as his other hand was wrapped around her waist, keeping her snug against him.

Jaehwan chuckled. “Well, I knew that they would surprise me with a cake. I just didn’t think that it would be in my dressing room. I was expecting it to be in the dorm.”

Eunji laughed. “They were planning on it actually. But then I called Hakyeon the moment I landed and so then we planned for this instead.”

Jaehwan sat up slightly, reaching down to cup Eunji’s cheek and bent to kiss her on the lips. “I’m glad that it all worked out the way it did,” he whispered.

They resumed to their comfortable position wrapped up in each other – Jaehwan’s arm around Eunji as her head rested on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. They stared in silence out of Jaehwan’s bedroom window to the sky littered with stars and a shining bright moon.

“Oppa, do you think we will be able to spend all our special occasions like this?”

Jaehwan chose his words carefully. “I don’t know…” he answered honestly. “But I know that I will definitely try my best.”

He felt her head nod against his chest. “Me too,” she said.

There was another moment of comfortable silence before Eunji spoke up again.

“Do you think we are foolish to believe that we can do this forever?”

Jaehwan closed his eyes as he felt his heart squeeze with the reality of her words. It was something that he thought about often – the secrecy of their relationship and how it may eventually turn around and bite them back. He had read enough and known enough celebrities and friends first-hand to know the stressors and pressures of being an idol and having a relationship at the same time. The statistics were against them.

“I don’t think this is being foolish…” Jaehwan started carefully. “I choose to believe that we are both people who believe in love and have the faith and courage to try, and face the challenges together.”

Eunji lifted her head to look at him. “Is that just being naïve then?”

Jaehwan cocked his head. “I believe another word for naïve is hopeful,” he declared. “I’m hopeful.”

Eunji gave a weak smile. “I hope that you have hope enough for the both of us,” she joked, as she laid her head back on his chest.

Jaehwan squeezed Eunji tightly against him. “I will not let us go without a fight,” he vowed, and planted a kiss on the top of her head. “I will not,” he repeated.

Eunji bit her lip to stop herself from trembling as she nodded.

She believed him.

-----

Jaehwan groaned as sunlight blinded his eyes the moment he awoke. He felt surprisingly rested and refreshed, something that he had not felt in a while due to his never-ending schedules and busyness. He mentally scolded himself for not drawing the curtains the night before, and then tried to think of what he was even doing the night before. He had the sense that something was missing... or rather, someone. The events of the night before suddenly came to him - he had managed to convince Eunji to stay the night, and they stayed up cuddling each other and talking. She had fallen asleep at some point, and he recalled just watching her sleep peacefully with a smile of his face before succumbing to sleep himself. Jaehwan sat up quickly and looked around the room – Eunji was not there.

As he dived for his phone at his bedside table, a vague mental picture of her waking him up and kissing him goodbye in the darkness came to mind; his sleepiness overtaking him as he saw her slip out of his room. He glanced at his phone and there was text from Eunji. 

Annyeong oppa, sorry I had to leave early to get back to my dorm… thank goodness Hayoung and Naeun are still fast asleep. I woke you up, but I think you were too tired out ^^ Thank you for last night. Have a good day today! Congratulations on officially being 25! ^^ 6:13am

It was quiet in the dorm and Jaehwan assumed that all s had already headed out for their schedules. Each of them were busy and packed with their own that Jaehwan gave up trying to keep track. Hakyeon still did though, and Jaehwan was constantly amazed by his memory – he was convinced that he was a robot.

“Oh hyung, good morning. It was so quiet I thought there was no one else around.” Jaehwan was startled to see Taekwoon sitting at the dining table as he stumbled into the kitchen.

Taekwoon nodded in his usual quiet way. “Hakyeon and Hongbin have left for their schedules and Wonshik has gone to the studio,” he said. “Hyuk is still sleeping.”

“Oh.”

Jaehwan turned to the cupboard to pull out his favourite cereal, his mind cracking as to how to make the situation less awkward. He and Taekwoon still had their… silence; this was surprisingly the first time that they were alone together, and Jaehwan was not sure if he was up to starting his day like this.

He finally decided to man up to it and settled down opposite Taekwoon to have his breakfast. He stuffed a spoonful of cereal into his mouth, glad that he had at least something to do. Taekwoon’s bowl was empty.

“So… you have a schedule today hyung?” Jaehwan could not take the silence anymore.

Taekwoon nodded as his mouth twitched.

Jaehwan noticed. “What?”

Taekwoon shook his head, a slight grin forming on his face.

Jaehwan pouted and Taekwoon gave in. “I knew that you would break the silence first,” he told Jaehwan.

Jaehwan huffed. “You know how much I can’t stand silence. Uncomfortable silence,” he clarified before he could stop himself.

Taekwoon looked at him and Jaehwan mentally kicked himself. “Uh, I mean…”

“Has it become uncomfortable between us?”

Jaehwan racked his brains to think of how to get out of the trap he caught himself in, before giving in and shrugging. “Has it not?” He countered, before stuffing another spoonful of cereal into his mouth.

Taekwoon looked away – a dead giveaway to his unspoken yes. Jaehwan crunched on his cereal slowly, unsure of how far he wanted to push it.

“I saw her leave this morning,” Taekwoon said softly.

Jaehwan put down his spoon. Taekwoon met his eyes.

“I’m happy for you,” Taekwoon told Jaehwan sincerely.

“Hyung…”

“Honestly, I was upset at first,” Taekwoon continued. Jaehwan shut up because it was rare that Taekwoon would elaborate. “I felt… betrayed. So for the weeks after that I couldn’t bring myself to go to your room or be near you.

“But after seeing you both together a couple of times, it just felt right. I see how your eyes light up whenever you see her, and how she blushes when she looks at you. And although I think this is a very dangerous position to be in and I think that you are totally crazy – but when are you not –,“ Taekwoon gave Jaehwn a grin. “…I believe that when love chooses, we just have to follow.”

He paused. “If anything, I’m glad that it’s you.”

Jaehwan was speechless. Granted, he knew that Taekwoon was a thinker and often had reflective words of wisdom for his dongsaengs, but he never ever expected him to bare his soul like that. Jaehwan felt almost… honoured.

“I… thank you,” Jaehwan finally stammered. “You don’t know how much this means to me, hyung.”

Taekwoon smiled. “I’m always on your side, Jaehwan. You all – everyone in VIXX – are like family to me; I will always support and believe in each of you no matter what.”

-----

AN: Some Keo love, just because ^^

Also, in case you haven't noticed, I'm just picking out significant events that have happened since the start of the year, and obviously still playing catch-up haha. Bear with me! I should be up to date in a couple of chapters or more.