10

make it work

Note: When you're reading this chapter, I suggest playing Jaehyun and d.ear's "Try Again" in the background

Jaehyun: Happy birthday, Seul :)

[Sent 4 days ago]

Jaehyun stared his screen, the blues and yellows melding into fuzzy speckles of light. There was still a forlorn tick next to the message, one that should have been joined by another by then. He sighed softly to himself and flopped back on his bed.

She could’ve at least said ‘thank you’.

“–and the mushroom risotto is in the bottom fridge, you can just reheat it in the microwave on medium heat for a few minutes when Youngran’s ready to eat,” Wendy instructed, pointing Jaehyun in the direction of said risotto.

Jaehyun nodded, making quick mental notes of all the things he had to do to ensure Wendy wouldn’t slaughter him when she returned from her evening out.

“Honey, I’m ready!”

They, including Youngran, wheeled around to see Johnny emerging from his room in his full Valentines gear, equipped with a velvet jacket. He leaned an arm against the wall and struck a flamboyant pose, to which Wendy wrinkled her nose and stared at him as though he was the most unamusing person on the planet.

“What?” Johnny asked, flabbergasted at his wife’s less-than-satisfactory response. He picked up the collars of his jacket to make a point. “I literally dressed up just for you. Don’t you think you should at least give me a better reaction on Valentine’s Day?”

“For Christ’s sake, Johnny.” Wendy rolled her eyes. After close to three years of marriage, Johnny’s antics barely fazed her. “Are you sure about this, Jaehyun? It’s your birthday.”

She turned to Jaehyun, the look in her eyes both grateful and apologetic. For a good reason. If he went back ten years, no one would be able to tell him that he would one day prefer babysitting his best friend’s daughter on his birthday. It was supposed to be a blessing to be born on Valentine’s Day – it meant that he had two ready excuses to pick someone up at the club. That year, for some reason, he’d offered to let Wendy and Johnny take the night off and leave Youngran with him. Wendy asking was more of a courtesy at that point – as if Jaehyun could take it back after her and Johnny were already dressed and ready to go.

“Don’t worry about,” Jaehyun assured. He turned both Wendy and Johnny around and ushered them to the front door. “You two have fun.”

Wendy gave him a smile. She pressed a kiss on Youngran’s cheek. “Mommy and Daddy will be back soon – you listen to Uncle Jaehyun, okay? He will bring you to Uncle Taeyong’s in the later half of the night. And make sure you–“

“Alright, alright, honey, stop nagging, let’s go. Bye, Youngran, love you!” Johnny threw an arm over Wendy’s shoulders and guided her out of the house, throwing a wink at Jaehyun.

Jaehyun chuckled, shaking his head. ing lovebirds.

As the door veered to a close, Youngran looked at Jaehyun with inquisitive eyes. “Uncle Jaehyun, where are Mommy and Daddy going?”

“Probably to make you another sibling,” he joked. She still seemed confused – probably for the better. He scooped her into his arms and smiled. “So, looks like you’re my Valentine for today, Suh Youngran.”

“Buy it.”

Seulgi jumped as the younger woman peered over her shoulder. She quickly shifted away, averting her gaze to what looked like an oversized microphone, something Doyoung would probably find useful for one of his Vroom Vroom Talk Shows.

“What? Buy what?” Seulgi asked, feigning obliviousness.

Joy raised a brow, giving her a coy look. “That,” she said, pointing to one of the devices encased in the glass. “You’ve been coming back to it for half an hour now. If you think Jaehyun would like it, then he probably would. Just buy it.”

Seulgi’s mouth flew open in protest. “Why would I buy my ex a birthday present?”

“Why not?” Joy shot back. “It’s his birthday and Valentines Day. Two good reasons for presents.”

“Two good reasons for me not to get it.”

Joy folded her arms, leaning against the glass case. “You’re too uptight about things, Seul,” she said, shaking her head at the latter. “It’s just a present. I still get my exes presents for their birthdays.”

Seulgi frowned. “And what does Sungjae say about that?”

“Absolutely nothing.” Joy tossed her hair over her shoulder in her usual airy fashion. “He’s got me, and he knows that I’m the best present he can get.”

Seulgi emitted a snort. She wasn’t sure Sungjae necessarily thought the same – she could imagine Sungjae just nodding his head compliantly to everything Joy said and did because the turn of her nose could start a war. Then again, Joy had always been the most assertive of the lot. If Seulgi had made a similar suggestion to Jaehyun, he would’ve flipped his –

Oh god. Not again. “I don’t think I’m even going to go tonight,” Seulgi said, tracing invisible circles on the glass.

“Then why’re you at the mall with me today?” Joy eyed her friend suspiciously. “You’ve never gone shopping with me. Never.”

Joy giggled amusedly at Seulgi’s stiffened expression, prancing away the neighboring section in the department store before Seulgi could swat her. There was a salesgirl standing behind the counter, seemingly starstruck by the fact that she had seen two Red Velvet members in the flesh. Seulgi just hoped that she hadn’t overheard the conversation of said Red Velvet members, or they’d be in even deeper trouble.

She pointed at the device she had been checking out for –according to Joy– more than half an hour. “I’ll take that.”

Jaehyun tapped his foot impatiently. He had been rapping at Taeyong’s door for close to ten minutes and the asshat still had yet to open it.

He knew the guy was in there. He had been hearing muted movements and hushed whispers ever since he arrived. The guy probably had another one of his girls over, and was scrambling to put on some clothes and hide her in a closet. As if that would make Jaehyun suspect nothing. Jaehyun had Youngran in one arm and his phone in the other, trying to thumb out a legible message to Taeyong to get the out and stop screwing whoever you’re screwing.

The door swung open, and Jaehyun readied three lines’ worth of jibes to poke at Taeyong. Only, it wasn’t just Taeyong at the door.

“Surprise – happy birthday!”

A collective scream echoed through the corridor. A large group of familiar faces stood on the other side, beaming brightly at a startled Jaehyun. Among them were the two people who set him on that convoluted path –Wendy and Johnny– who were both conniving traitors and probably the people he would keep close to his heart for the rest of his life. He then caught the sight of a pair of mono-lidded eyes, gazing at him shyly.

A nanosecond later, a cake was chucked right at Jaehyun’s face.

If it wasn’t for Valentine’s Day, Jaehyun would’ve never remembered his birthday. Not that it was intentional. It was somewhere amidst the heavy beats and the popping of more than three of his joints that the four walls of the practice room began to close in, robbing him of the ability to differentiate a minute from an hour and a day from a month. Half an hour in the casting hall turned into four years in the sky-blue training studio, which then turned into nine years on the stage. Before he knew it, he was twenty-nine.

But everyone else remembered. Apparently, it was Taeyong’s idea, because Jaehyun had gotten too good at guessing surprises. Well, he knew he wouldn’t have guessed that the entire company would have decided to forgo their Valentine’s Day for his birthday party.

Doyoung and Taeil had been the ones to cake him in the face. Both were soon followed by Eunhyuk and Donghae, who never missed out on an opportunity to embarrass anyone. Boa quickly ran over, patting hi