BGM: f(x) - Surprise Party

"SUUUUUUUURPRIIIIIIIIISE!!!!!!"

After pulling the strings of your respective party poppers to release the confetti, you all started singing a Mandarin version of the 'Happy Birthday' song. Minseok figured Yixing would be extra-touched if you greeted him in his native language, so he asked Zitao to teach you how to sing it in Mandarin.

As soon as the last 'zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè' line was sung, Kevin, who was designated to hold the cake, urged Yixing to make a wish and blow out the candles.

Pressing his palms together, the forgetful Chinese boy closed his eyes and silently made a wish. He stayed like that for almost a minute, as if carefully concentrating on what he would like to ask for his birthday, and you couldn't help but smile at how cute and innocent he looked while doing so. When it seemed like he finally settled on a specific wish, Yixing opened his eyes again and blew out the twenty candles on his birthday cake.

As soon as Yixing finished blowing out the candles, Luhan quickly dug his fingers into the cake to spread icing on the birthday boy's face, therefore commencing the inevitable cake frosting fight.

Naturally, the boys all targeted Yixing first, but since he proved to be quite an easy victim - he didn't really fight back because he was too touched by the surprise party - they all started looking for another prey by going after you, Jihye, and each other.

Determined to go through the day with an icing-less face, you tried hiding under one of the tables before one of the boys could even think of targeting you with cake frosting. While there, you were able to witness a series of note-worthy events:

Kevin and Chanyeol throwing icing at each other; Youngho locking an arm around Joonmyun's neck to make sure he manages to make his hyung's already fair-looking facial skin even whiter; Baozi successfully avoiding Kyungsoo's advances but unfortunately falling victim to Jihye's surprise attack; and Jongin and Moonkyu tag-teaming to pin Luhan against the wall to allow Yixing to get revenge for the first cake icing attack of the day - all without experiencing the inconvenience of having an unwarranted icing facial treatment.

But that didn't last long.

Just when you thought you were safe, you heard someone shout, "OH! YUNHO HYUNG! YOU CAME!", so you quickly got up, unintentionally exposing your location to a very sneaky icing attacker. The next thing you know, your face came in contact with a handful of cake frosting, and after wiping some of the icing from your eyes, you found Oh Sehun laughing hysterically at how you fell for his little trick.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!"

As the evil maknae was busy making fun of you, you took advantage of the situation by gathering some cake frosting with both of your hands. Then, as if getting revenge for what he just did to you, you suddenly surprised the chocolate bubble tea-obsessed boy by mercilessly spreading two handfuls of icing into his face, not leaving any spot untouched.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!! Who's covered with cake frosting now?" you taunted, slowly clapping your icing-covered hands as you watched Sehun scowl behind the white frosting spread all over his face.

While you, Jihye, and the rest of the boys were busy either attacking or avoiding each other with icing, Zitao was standing quite sullenly in one corner, refusing to partake in the cake frosting fight. Letting out a deep sigh, the panda-eyed Chinese boy pouted, bowed, and spoke in the most disappointed voice ever:

"Me cannot eat cake now,"

"Where were you earlier?"

The two of you were in the cramped Happy Bubble restroom, trying to wash the cake frosting off your faces, when Jihye finally asked you where you've been all afternoon. "I've called you a hundred times and even left you a string of messages, but it seemed like your phone was turned off," she reported, carefully scrubbing the icing off her forehead.

"I went to see a movie. I told you that last night, didn't I?" you replied.

"Alone? You still went ahead even if I said I didn't want to come?" she asked.

Briefly pausing from cleansing your face, you stared straight into the mirror and spoke. "I wasn't exactly alone..."

Although half of her face was still covered in cake frosting, Jihye took a break just to hear the inevitable explanation accompanying your previous statement. "What do you mean you weren't exactly alone? Who did you go with? Jaemi, were you on a date?!?"

"Geez. Can you relax a bit? It wasn't planned beforehand, okay? And it surely wasn't a date..." you clarified, taking a deep breath before finally revealing who your accidental movie companion was. "I was with Yixing, okay?" you whispered, as softly as you could.

Jihye's eyes widened, her jaw dropping. When she heard you mention your secret crush's name, she was so surprised that she didn't know whether to be happy for you or not. She was glad you were able to spend some time alone with him, of course, but based on your emotional state for the past few weeks, Jihye also couldn't help but wonder if it was actually something to celebrate about. "Are you okay, though? I mean-"

"Not really," you admitted before Jihye could even finish her question. "I was - how do I say this - conflicted? I mean, I was happy at first, because I get to spend some time with him, then I suddenly felt sad and worried when thoughts of his ex-girlfriend popped into my head, and then when he saw me tearing up during the movie, he became all sweet and cute, lending me his handkerchief while showing off his dimples, so I felt my heart fluttering again, but then I realized I have to stop making things difficult for myself by hoping and assuming, so I became sad again, but I told myself that I should just push aside whatever's bothering me and just enjoy the moment and it was going really well, but then his ex-girlfriend showed up and-"

"HIS EX-GIRLF-"

You let out a sigh of relief when you managed to cover Jihye's big mouth before she could even exclaim out loud for all the boys to hear. "Geez. Lower it down a bit, will you?"

KNOCK. KNOCK.

"Hey, girls! What's taking you so long?!?" Joonmyun called out from outside, repeatedly rapping on the door as if he was making sure that you and Jihye haven't been flushed away by the toilet yet.

"I will never understand why girls always go the restroom together," Jongin commented, patting his face dry with a paper napkin. "Yeah, can't they go in alone?" Moonkyu chimed in.

Youngho borrowed Kevin's comb and proceeded to fix his hair. "I bet they're still gossiping," he reckoned, checking himself out in a tiny mirror. "Talking about boys while fixing their makeup,"

"Jaemi and Jihye don't wear makeup, though," Kyungsoo pointed out.

"Jung Jihye has makeup on today," Chanyeol mentioned. Like Youngho, he was also checking himself out in front of a mirror, but instead of styling his hair, Chanyeol seemed to be admiring his pretty face. "Did you guys notice? Her cheeks are more pink than usual,"

"Yeah, Jung Jihye pink cheeks," Zitao seconded.

"Perhaps she was just blushing," Yixing assumed.

When you and your best friend finally emerged from the restroom, all fresh and clean without any trace of cake frosting on your faces, you were able to catch Yixing's previous comment. "Who's blushing?" you asked, settling on a chair beside Sehun.

"You-" Luhan answered, leaning against the counter. "-whenever you see me," he continued, flashing you a flirtatious smile and a cute wink that prompted the boy beside you to cover his face out of secondhand embarrassment.

"Urgh. Ith there anything cheethier than that?!?" 

Soon after you've washed off the cake frosting from your faces - or in the case of Baozi, his hair - the other guests for the party started coming in. Teenage boys and girls, most of which, Kyungsoo told you later, were their fellow trainees from SM Entertainment came swarming Ahjummeonie's bubble tea shop to wish Yixing a happy birthday.

Even the usually-elusive Han Kyuwan made an appearance.

"You do know that a party isn't complete without this, right?" Kyuwan then handed a box to Joonmyun, and before any of you managed to ask what it was, the pseudo-twins already chorused to reveal what the mystery item was:

"NORAEBANG!!!"

The portable karaoke machine brought by Kyuwan was an instant hit. As soon as Moonkyu and Jongin revealed what it was, a majority of the people in the bubble tea shop huddled around Joonmyun and Kyuwan to fight over the microphones, the remote controls, and the accompanying songbook - all for the love of singing.

While the others were going gaga over a karaoke machine, you silently headed towards the counter and sat on your stool as if it today was just an ordinary day at work. 

Feeling a bit out of place in a sea of SM artists and trainees, you tried hiding your social awkwardness by volunteering to man the Happy Bubble counter, which was temporarily transformed into- well, the bubble tea booth for the party. Unlike your usual job at the Happy Bubble, however, your only task for today is to hand out cups of pre-made bubble tea to the guests, and since the boys have already labeled each cup with their specific flavors, you didn't have a hard time distinguishing wintermelon milk teas from hazelnut tea lattes.

After giving out a couple of strawberry-flavored bubble tea to a pair of female SM trainees who bear some resemblance to most SNSD members, you finally got yourself some company when Luhan approached the counter.

"Why are you hiding in here?" he asked.

"I'm not- I'm not hiding," you replied, squirming in your seat. When Luhan only raised his left eyebrow in response, you let out a submissive sigh and surprised yourself by admitting the real reason why you chose to stay behind the counter instead. "Fine. I'm not really - how do I say this? - uhm, I'm not really sociable, I guess," you confessed. "Besides, I'm not really prepared for this party. I didn't get to buy a gift, I'm not appropriately dressed-"

With his left eyebrow still arched up, Luhan quickly interrupted what you were saying."Why? What's wrong with your clothes? You look okay to me," he commented, reaching for a cup of bubble tea labeled 'taro'.

"This is exactly what I was wearing on my first day here in Happy Bubble," you said. Suddenly, you found yourself recalling that day when you, with a package of bubble tea in hand, stood in front of the SM Entertainment building, mentally kicking yourself for not choosing something more presentable to wear on a day when you could possibly meet some idols. "It's not exactly what someone will wear during a party,"

"Since when did you start caring about how you look?" he questioned.

Since that moment when I saw how pretty Yixing's ex-girlfriend was...

In an attempt to steer the topic away from your non-existing fashion sense, you tried commenting on the female trainees singing S.E.S' I'm Your Girl instead. "Whoa. They even got the choreography spot on," you noticed, and for a minute there, you thought you were watching Inkigayo live.

"Of course, they do. They practice it everyday," Luhan revealed, taking another sip of his taro bubble tea.

"What about you, then? H.O.T's Candy?" you guessed, since it was unofficially the song that every Korean boyband must perform at least once in their careers. When Luhan bashfully chuckled upon hearing your answer, you knew that your guess what correct. 

As if reading what was going on in your mind at that moment, Luhan pleaded, "Ya! Stop imagining us in those costumes!"

But it was already too late. Now that he has confirmed it, albeit indirectly, you couldn't help but laugh as an image of the boys, dressed in those colorful, baggy, polka dot, clown-like overalls popped into your head.

"Oh my God! Can you just imagine Totoro wearing those?!?" you exclaimed, holding your tummy as you laughed. "Kevin Li in a baggy, polka dot overalls and a silly, oversized court jester hat - Hahahahahaha!!!"

After instilling that image in Luhan's head, the baby-faced Chinese boy burst into laughter, and not long after that, the two of you started feeling an accumulation of tears in the corner of your eyes from laughing too much. And just when you thought the laughter was about to subside, Kevin himself suddenly approached the counter to get a cup of black dragon milk tea, inadvertently causing you and Luhan to laugh even harder.

"What's so funny???" Kevin asked.

"Kyungsoo-ah, who's that girl clinging to Park Chanyeol?"

Over at the corner of the bubble tea shop, where the boys usually hang out, Jihye consulted Kyungsoo about the long-haired girl who was locking her arm around Chanyeol's. Your best friend thought she looked familiar and being the lover of gossip that she is, Jihye decided to satisfy her curiosity by asking your sunbae about her.

"The one in the white dress?" Kyungsoo asked.

"Yeah, that one," Jihye affirmed.

Kyungsoo popped some chips into his mouth and cleared his throat with a sip of Korean-style milk tea before spilling the beans on the girl who is currently whispering in Chanyeol's ear. "That's Yejin," he said, taking another handful of chips. "She's the girl from SHINee's A.Mi.Go music video,"

"Are they dating? 'Cause they do look pretty cozy in there," Jihye noticed.

"If you ask him- no, they're definitely not dating, but if you ask her..." Kyungsoo's voice trailed off. Realizing how happy Yejin looked whenever she's with Chanyeol, your sunbae suddenly felt bad for the girl for blindly believing that she was dating his friend.

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