Birthdays

f i v e;

I was forcing myself to read The Phantom of the Opera when I heard the doorbell rang. Seeing it as an excuse to escape from hell which was the novel, I instantly threw the book on my bed and ran downstairs towards the front door. By the time I reached the gate, I was almost breathless.

Myungsoo frowned at the dripping sweats on my neck and forehead curiously. “It’s February,” he remarked.

“Just… get in,”

Without saying another word, he stepped inside, followed me to my room and greeted my mother along the way. I stole a glance at him while he awkwardly took a seat on the rug by the bed even though he has been here for numerous times.

To be quite honest, the number of times just the two of us boys being alone together despite having known each other for six years now were not that much. To be completely honest, they can be counted by one hand. It was always Chorong who blended us together. Without her presence, we would run of things to say to each other after just two minutes. Chorong was always the naturalizer.

The only reason why Myungsoo came was to discuss our plans for her birthday which was coming a week later. While we celebrated our birthdays together every year without fail, Myungsoo and I decided to come up with a surprise event since her father wouldn’t be able to join the party for the first time. Plus Chorong was still pretty upset about Doojoon, so we thought we’d do something to cheer her up.

I carried in a small table from the closet and positioned it in front of him. Placing a notebook, my pencil case, and sheets of paper on the table, I settled down and started, “Did you, uh, think of anything yet?”

Scratching the back of his neck, he shrugged weakly. “Not really.” He lifted his eyes to meet mine. “What does noona like?”

“Chicken feet.” The answer escaped my lips as if it was on auto-pilot. I heard him chuckled, and I joined in.

Fifteen minutes later, the blank page in the notebook was already filled with various suggestions. A couple of female fashion magazines that Myungsoo had bought earlier were sprawling on the table. Not that Chorong likes fashion, but we supposed perhaps they could at least give us ideas.

Just as we were arguing over something a model in one of the magazine’s featured pages was wearing and whether Chorong would like it, the doorbell rang again ―three times. Only Chorong would press the buzzer that way. We looked at each other, perplexed.

Myungsoo’s forehead creased. “Hyung, you said noona went out with her dad.”

“She did! I saw them left,” I frowned. “Hide everything quick!”

At the speed of lightning, the two of us gathered the magazines and papers, put them all in a shoe box that happened to be lying somewhere in my room, and shoved it under my bed. After making sure that we’ve hidden every single evidence, we then hurried to the outside gate.

Seeing us sweating profusely just as I was earlier when Myungsoo arrived, Chorong raised an eyebrow. “What were you doing?” she probed.

“Nothing!” Myungsoo and I yelled out at the same time. I kicked his leg and he paid back with an elbow .

She narrowed her eyes and attempted to read through our expressions while we did our best to maintain a straight face. “Suspicious,” she stated.

I gulped.

“You two were watching , weren’t you?”

Not sure how to react, Myungsoo and I turned to look at each other and continued staring for five seconds. As if on cue, we both burst out laughing hysterically in unison.

Chorong rolled her eyes. “Boys,”

“Where are you taking me?”

I glanced at Chorong who was grasping my arm tight with both her hands. Her eyes were covered with a blindfold, so she had no choice but to depend on me. I was pleased with that thought. “You’ll know the place once we’re there,” I replied with a smirk.

She was still dozing off happily in my bed, enjoying a cold Saturday morning under the cosy, warm blanket, until I shook her to wake. After much grunting and grandmother-like babbling she did under her breaths plus several deathly glares, she finally surrendered and forced herself to the bathroom. I dragged her out of the house as soon as she got dressed.

“We’re here,” I announced, removing her hands from my arm and quickly jogged away before she could grab me again.

“Yah, Nam Woohyun!”

“Take off your blindfold,” I instructed, in which she followed right away.

About 10 metres from where she stood, Myungsoo and I held up a cake and a Happy Birthday banner that he had prepared before Chorong and I arrived. As planned, he came early to the hill to bring the cake and some other stuff. Plus, because of his heart, climbing the hill requires much more time and effort for him, so I took the task of bringing Chorong over so that he could walk slowly and not tire himself out. “SURPRISE!” we yelled.

A sheer stunned look appeared on her face as she took off the blindfold and saw us. It was immediately substituted by a grin as wide as the school’s soccer field when she saw the candles lit strawberry shortcake that she has always loved. “You guys are amazing, really,” she reacted.

“Hurry, blow the candles. My arms are already sore,” Myungsoo chided which drew a giggle from her. She quickly ran over to join us.

“Make a wish,” I told her. Smiling, she clasped her hands together and closed her eyes for about three seconds, and then she blew the candles off. Myungsoo set the cake aside and took out his guitar which was an early birthday gift from his mother while I laid out a picnic cloth on the grass for us to sit on. I took a seat next to him and stated, “Park Chorong, this is our special present for you.”

“Hyung and I composed this especially for you,” he grinned.

I cleared my throat, and after we gave each other a cue, he began to strum his guitar while I sang.

You've got a crush on someone

You didn't tell us about him

Your best friends were sad

How could you not tell us about it?

We still can't forget it

We still can't get over it

He took your chocolate and said goodbye

Your first crush told you goodbye

You have been dumped

You've been turned down

It’s the funniest thing ever

You can't see another guy

You can't like another guy

Park Chorong, you can't be greedy

Cause you've already got us

Myungsoo ended his strums and glanced at me while struggling to stifle his giggles, before we both turned to Chorong. Her face was unreadable. It was quiet for a while, until she got up on her feet.

“YAAAH!”

For my ninth birthday ―the first birthday we celebrated with two additional chairs at the dining table ―Chorong gave me a pair of running shoes with lime coloured soles and a tiny star on each side. Of course, I was happy to receive such a thoughtful gift from my best friend because I remembered telling her three weeks previously that my shoes were already worn out. It was not my intention to ask for a new pair from her, though. However, it was the brief conversation that we had at that moment bothered me even today.

“Chorong ah, did you know? They say if you give someone a pair of shoes, that person will walk away from you,”

“Are you going to walk away from me?” she asked back.

“Do you want me to?”

She didn’t answer that. Instead, she just took my hand and dragged me towards the living where Myungsoo and the rest of our families were waiting with the cake.

“Speaking of which, what do you want for your birthday?” I asked after shooing Chorong to the kitchen to help my mother preparing dinner that day when we were planning for her birthday.

Myungsoo gawked at me as if I was some sort of an alien. Like I uttered a language he didn’t understand.

“What?”

He shook his head lightly. “It’s just… you’ve never really asked,” he said, looking away at the dawning sky forlornly. “I don’t know if you can grant my wish.” When he saw that I was still waiting for his reply, he gave me a sad smile, and finally answered, “I wish to live.”

I was on a crack mood so I thought a funny scene won't hurt. Hope you enjoyed Nam Myung Troll's version of Nothing's Over :>