October 7^th (Nicole’s 21^st Birthday) 3:00pm

“Nicole!” Nana whispers.

Nicole turns her head around and whispers back, “What?”

“I need to talk to you after class.”

Nicole nodded her head, “Okay.”

30 minutes later

“Class dismiss,” their professor said.

“What are your plans for tonight?” Nana asked as she walks up to her.  Do remember what day it is today?”

Nicole smiles, “Of course I do!  It’s my 21^st birthday!”

“That means…time to get you drunk tonight!” Nana happily shouted as she started clapping her hands together. 

Nicole made a face at her, “No way!  I’m not going to get drunk tonight Nana…sorry.”

“Yah…are you serious? “

“Yes…I’m serious.”

“You’re no fun…fine.  What are your plans for tonight if you’re not going to get drunk then?”

Nicole’s eyes glowed with excitement and replied, “I reserved a section for us at Asian Garden Buffet.”

Nana smiled, “Cool!  I love Asian Garden Buffet!  Who did you all invite?”

“I invited Kris, Lay, Min Seok, Lu Han, Hack Yeon, Jinwoon, Minho, and Seohyun.”

“Yah!  How come you didn’t invite me?”

Nicole laughs, “I was going to invite you before class started, but you were too busy bickering on the phone with Minho.  So…will you be able to make it tonight?”

“Of course I will!  I wouldn’t miss it for the world.  By the way, who is Hack Yeon?” Nana asked.

“Cha Hack Yeon from high school…you don’t remember him?”

Nana shook her head no.

Nicole sighs, “Everyone in high school used to call him N.”

Nana thought for a moment and clicked her fingers together, “Ah!  I remember now!  He was that cute boy that was a year older than us with those small eyes…right?”

Nicole laughs, “Bingo!”

“I haven’t seen him for ages!  He was always so nice and polite.”

Nicole nodded her head in agreement, “He was definitely a ladies man.  Every girl in school wanted to date him.”

Nana smirks, “You two were pretty close back then…I think N really liked you, but you were too blind to see that.”

Nicole scoffs, “If N was interested in me, why didn’t he ever confess to me?”

Nana gently hit her head and laughs, “You kept telling everyone that LOVE didn’t exist in your world…only friendship…remember?  AND you said love was nothing but heartaches and headaches.  With that kind of attitude, I’m pretty sure N figured that if he confessed his love for you back then, you would have rejected him.”

Nicole shrugs her shoulders and smiled, “That’s the past…let’s not think about it.”

“Ever since you and Kris started dating, you’ve changed a lot.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Nicole asked scratching her head.

Nana smiles, “I think it’s a good thing.”

Nicole laughs, “Really?  I don’t think I’ve changed that much.  I’m still myself.”

Nana smirks, “You’ve become bubblier and happier.”

“Ah…thanks…I guess.”

4:00pm (One hour later)

“Do you think Nicole will like this?” Min Seok asked holding up a big pink Hello Kitty stuff animal.

“I think she’ll like that,” Lu Han said as he smiles.  “I think Nicole is into Hello Kitty.”

Lay made a face at him, “Are you sure?  She might think it’s too girly.”

“Hyung…do you think Nicole will like this?” Min Seok asked poking Kris on his back.

Kris turns his head around and answers, “Yeah…she’ll like it.  Truthfully, I think she’ll like anything you get her.”

“Really?  Alright…I’m gonna buy this for her then,” Min Seok happily said.

“So hyung, what did you get Nicole for her birthday?” Lay asked as he patted him on his back.

Kris smiled, “I’m not telling.  You’re gonna have to find out for yourself.”

“Hyung…why are you being like that?  You can tell us,” Lu Han pouted.

“Yeah…tell us!” Min Seok begged as he hugged the Hello Kitty tightly in his arms.

“You probably got her something really dirty…right?” Lay teased.

Lu Han smirked, “Omo! Did you get her a playgirl magazine?”

Min Seok started laughing as Kris face flushes with embarrassment, “Shut up you guys!  I didn’t get her anything dirty like that!”

“Then why won’t you tell us?” Lay question.

“Whatever!  I’ll see you guys tonight at Asian Garden Buffet,” Kris said as he quickly walked out of the store before his friends could bombard him with more questions.

6:00pm (Asian Garden Buffet)

“Happy 21^st birthday Nicole!” Seohyun happily shouted as she hugged her tightly.

“Thank you Seohyun!” Nicole said as she returns the hug.

“Happy birthday Cole,” Jinwoon said handing her a small gift bag.  “This is from Seohyun and me.”

“Thank you!” Nicole cried as she takes the gift bag from him.  She gave him a hug and smiled, “You guys are the first to arrive.  Have a seat anywhere you like.”

“Wow…I would have of thought that Nana and Minho would be the first ones here,” Jinwoon said pulling out a chair for Seohyun to sit down.

“Yeah…she just text me a minute ago saying that Minho was having a hard time picking out my present,” Nicole explains.

Seohyun laughs, “How much do you want to bet that they will be the last ones to arrive?”

Nicole giggled, “Yeah…I’m thinking they WILL be the last ones to arrive.”

“Happy birthday Nicole!” N happily cries as he hugs her from behind.

Nicole turns around and squeals, “N!  You made it!”  She gave him a hug and smiles at him.

N smiles back at her and handed her a small pink box, “Here’s your birthday gift…I hope you’ll like it.”

“Thank you!” Nicole said as she takes the gift from him.  “You can sit anywhere you like…I’m still waiting for some other people.  Oh…by the way…do you remember Jinwoon and Seohyun from high school?”

N turns to look at them and smiled brightly at them, “Of course I do!  Hi guys!  It’s been a while since we’ve last seen each other.”

Seohyun and Jinwoon both bowed their heads at him and politely greeted, “Hello N.”

N pulled out a chair across from them and started talking away. 

“Nicole!  We’re here!” a manly voice shouted.

Nicole looked up and saw Lay, Lu Han, and Min Seok walking towards her.  She waves her hand at them, “Hi guys!”

“Happy birthday!” Min Seok cried as he gave her a hug.

“Yah…move aside…I want to hug her too,” Lay pouted as he pushed him out of the way.

“Hyung…you’re so mean!” Min Seok cried as he gave him a dirty look.

Lay stuck his tongue out at him and pulled her in for a tight hug, “Happy birthday princess.”

Nicole laughs, “Thank you!”

“Yah…if you hug her any tighter, she won’t be able to breathe,” Lu Han said as he pushed Lay out of the way.  Lay tumbled to the side and made a face at him.

Lu Han smiled and gave her a quick hug, “Happy birthday Nicole.”

“Here’s your gift,” Min Seok said pushing Lu Han out of the way.

“Yah…you could have said “Excuse Me” and I would have gotten out of your way,” Lu Han joked as he punches him on his right shoulder.

“Hyung!  That hurt!” Min Seok cried as he rubbed his right shoulder.

Lu Han ignored him and handed Nicole her gift, “You’re gonna love my gift.”

Nicole smiled, “I’m sure I will.  Thank you.”

“Where’s Kris?” Lay asked as he looked around. 

“Well…hello to you guys too,” Jinwoon teased as he waved his hand at them.

“Hi guys!” Lay cried as he excitedly waved his hand at N, Seohyun, and Jinwoon.

“How rude of us not greeting you guys properly,” Lu Han said bowing his head down.  “Please forgive us.”

“It’s okay,” Seohyun said bowing her head back.  “We completely understand.  You guys are just as excited as we are because it’s Nicole’s birthday today.”

“Thank you for understanding,” Min Seok said smiling.  He looked at N and asked, “Who are you?”

N smiled and replied, “My name is Cha Hack Yeon…but I would be preferred to be call N.”

Min Seok and Lay raised their left eye brow up, “N?”

N nodded his head, “My name is too common, so it’s easier for people to remember me by calling me N.”

“Ah…I see…that’s pretty cool,” Lay said.  “I think I should give myself a nickname as well.”

“How about LAZY?” Min Seok teased.

“Or how about playboy?” Lu Han added.

Lay narrowed his eyes at them, “Yah…do you guys want to die or something?”

Everyone started laughing as the three of them started bickering at each other.  Nicole looked at her watch and realized that Minho, Nana, and Kris were running late.  Where the hell are they? 

“Choi Minho!  We’re late!” Nana shouted as she dragged her boyfriend out of the jewelry store.  “Nicole is going to kill us!”

Minho grabbed her hand as they both started running out of the mall.  As soon as they reached his car out in the parking lot, he saw someone familiar running towards a red Scion FR-S. 

“Oppa…unlock the door!  Why are you standing there?” Nana demanded.

“That’s Kris over there,” Minho replied as he pointed his finger behind her.

Nana turned her head around and saw Kris drive out of the parking lot in his Scion FR-S.  Strange…isn’t he supposed to be at Nicole’s birthday party right now?  What was he doing here at the mall?

6:30pm

“Look who FINALLY decided to show up!” Jinwoon hollered as Minho and Nana came running into the restaurant.  Everyone looked at them and started laughing.  

“Shut up,” Minho growled as he walked towards Nicole.  He gave her an apologetic look and said, “Sorry we’re late.”

“It’s all Minho’s fault,” Nana said as she joined in on the hug. 

Nicole giggled, “It’s alright…I’m just happy that everyone is here.”

“Happy birthday Nicole,” Minho said handing the purple gift bag to her. 

“Happy birthday Cola,” Nana said smiling at her.

“Thank you!” Nicole happily cried as she accepted their gifts.  “Now that everyone is here…let’s eat!”

“Hooray!” everyone shouted as they all ran towards the buffet line. 

Kris held Nicole by her hand and started heading towards the buffet line when Minho stopped him.

“Hey Kris, can I talk to you for a minute,” Minho asked.

“Go ahead Nicole…I’ll catch up to you,” Kris said smiling at her as he let go of her hand.

“Okay.”

Minho waited until Nicole was gone before he spoke, “Why were you running late?”

Kris raised his left eye brow up, “What do you mean?”

“Nana and I saw you at the mall earlier.”

Kris smirks, “I had to pick up Nicole’s birthday gift.”

Minho stared at him with his dark brown eyes and scoffs, “I see…”

“You don’t believe me?”

“As a matter of fact…I don’t.  The reason why I say this is because I find it weird that you would be late for Nicole’s birthday party.  Since you’re her boyfriend, shouldn’t you be the first one here?  Nicole is my best friend and if you ever hurt her, I’m going to break your legs.”

Kris scoffs, “You think I was with another girl?”

“I don’t know…were you?”

Kris shook his head no, “I told you already, I was picking up Nicole’s gift...that’s the reason why I was late.  It’s up to you whether you believe me or not.  And you don’t have to worry about me ever hurting Nicole, because I don’t EVER plan on hurting her.”

Minho smiled, “That’s good to know.  If I see her shed a tear because of you, don’t blame me for breaking your legs.”

“We’ll see about that.”     

30 minutes later

“So…how is school going for you Nicole?” N asked as he took a sip of his water.

Nicole smiled, “Exams are coming up soon and I’m stressing out a little bit.”

“Well…if you need any help studying, you can always come over to my house and we can study together just like old times,” N said winking at her.

Kris coughed out his food from his mouth as he glared at N.  How dare he ask his girlfriend over to his house!  Nicole quickly patted him on his back and asked, “Oppa…are you okay?”

“Hyung!  Cover your mouth next time!” Lay cried as he picked off the food that was spitted into his plate. 

“Yah…are you seriously going to eat that after hyung spit his food into your plate?” Lu Han question as his eyes widen.

“Now that you mention that, I think I’m going to make myself a new plate,” Lay said as he pushed his plate towards the center of the table.  “Anybody wanna go up for seconds?”

“I will!” Nana cried as she jumped out of her chair.

“Yah!  I’m coming too,” Minho said as he quickly stood up from his chair.  He pulled Nana closer to him and whispers, “You’re not going up there by yourself baby.”

Nana gave him a cute smile and kissed him lightly on his lips, “Aw…you’re so protective of me oppa.”

“So…would you like to come over to my house and study?” N asked as he smiles at her.

Kris jaw tightened up as he jabbed his fork into his meatball.  He didn’t want to look like he was jealous so he angrily chewed on his food.  This N guy was seriously getting on his nerves!

Nicole giggled and replied, “I don’t think you would be able to help me N…but thanks for the offer.”

N scoffs, “What makes you think I wouldn’t be able to help you?  Did you forget that I was a straight A student?”

“That was back in high school oppa,” Seohyun said as she rolls her eyes at him.  “We’re talking about college here.”

“I know…but…” N trails off.

“If anyone was to help Nicole with her exams, it would be her BOYFRIEND Kris,” Lu Han said as he took a bite out of his chicken.

N turns to look at him and nodded his head in agreement, “True…but what makes you think Kris will be able to help her study when they’re not in the same class?”

This time Kris set his fork down and gave N a dirty look, “What makes you think YOUR’RE able to help Nicole study?  You don’t even go to our school.”

Nicole quickly jumped in and said, “Yah!  Let’s not fight over me.  Let’s drop the subject…alright?”

N shrugged his shoulders as Kris glared at him with his angry eyes.  Nicole must have sense that he was a little upset, because she held his right hand underneath the table with her left hand and squeezed it tightly.  She gave him a cute smile that melted his heart.  He felt his anger quickly disappearing as he squeezed her hand back.

1 hour later

“Yah!  Open my gift first!” Nana cried.

Seohyun made a face at her, “Hell no!  You came in late, so I think Nicole should open your gift last.”

“It’s not my fault.  It was Minho’s!  If anything, Nicole should open up his gift last!” Nana shouted as she points her finger at him.

“Yah…how many times do I have to say I’m sorry?” Minho cried pinching her by the thigh.

“Oppa!  That hurts!” Nana shouted as she playfully smacks him on his chest.

“I think we should let Nicole decide whose present she wants to open up first,” N said giving her his eye smile.

“That actually sounds like a good idea,” Lu Han said nodding his head.

“That’s not fair,” Nana mutters.

“I think that’s the only fair way to do it,” Jinwoon explains.  “Go ahead Nicole…you may open Seohyun and my gift first.”

“No way!” Minho cried.

While Minho, Jinwoon, Nana, and Seohyun were too busy fighting, Lu Han secretly waved both his hand at Nicole and pointed a finger to himself.  He silently said, “Open my gift first!”

Nicole laughed out loud and nodded her head yes, “Yah!  Quit fighting!  I’ve decided that I want to open up Lu Han’s gift first!”

“WHAT?!” Jinwoon shouted in disbelief.

“No way…you’re opening up my gift first,” Nana ordered as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“What difference does it make?  Nicole is bound to open up everyone’s gift, so why are you guys making a big deal out of it?” Lay questions as he scratches his neck.

Seohyun sighs, “You don’t understand…”

“You’re right…I don’t understand…do you mind explaining it to us?” Lay asked.

Before Seohyun could explain it to him, Nicole quickly jumped in and said, “I told you guys…I’m going to open up Lu Han’s gift first…end of story!”

“Yes!” Lu Han threw a fist into the air and waited patiently for Nicole to open up his gift.

“I can’t believe she choose to open up Lu Han’s gift first…” Nana mumbles.

“I heard that,” Nicole said smiling at her.

“Good…that means you’re not deaf,” Nana mutters.

“Knock it off Nana…” Seohyun said throwing her straw at her.

Nana made a face at her, “Yuck!  Stop it Seohyun!”

Before Seohyun could say something back to her, Nicole squeals with happiness, “Omo!  Thank you Lu Han!  How did you know I like pandas?”

“A little bird told me,” Lu Han replied as he winks at her.

“What did you get?” Nana asked.

Nicole held up a medium sized stuffed panda bear in front of her and hugged it, “It’s so cute!  Thank you Lu Han!”

“You’re welcome.”

30 minutes later

Nicole had gotten a medium sized panda bear from Lu Han, a pink Hello Kitty stuff animal from Min Seok, a box of beef from Lay, a 24K silver friendship necklace from Seohyun and Jinwoon, a pink Hello Kitty watch from Minho, and a 24K silver shaped heart charm bracelet from Nana.  It was now down to N and Kris gifts left to be open.

“I think you should open up Kris gift next,” N said.

Kris raised his right eye brow up, “I think she should open up your gift next.  I want her to open up my gift last.”

“What do you say Nicole?” N asked as he winks at her.

“Honey…I think you should open up my gift last,” Kris said giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Nicole scratches her neck, “Ah…”

“How about Kris and N do rock, paper, and scissor?  Loser will have Nicole open up their gift,” Lu Han said coming to her rescue.

Min Seok nodded his head in agreement, “That sounds fair to me.”

“I like that idea,” Minho said.

Kris brushed his hair back and sighs, “Fine…”

“That’s cool with me,” N said.

Both of the boys put their hands out and did rock, paper, scissor at the count of three.  Kris held his hand out as scissor; meanwhile N held his hand out fist as a rock.

“Kris loses!” Minho cried.

“Yes!” N cried as he threw his right fist into the air.  “I win!”

Kris sulked down in his chair in disappointment as Nicole open up his gift.  Her eyes widen as she pulled out two plane tickets.

“Omo!  It’s two plane tickets!” Lu Han excitedly cries.

“Two plane tickets?  To where?” Nana demanded as she tried to squeeze herself closer to her.

“Yah!  You’re blocking my view!” Seohyun shouted as she pulled Nana back into her seat.

“Yah!  Are you going to tell us or just stand there?” Jinwoon complained. 

“Kris…he…he got me…” Nicole trails off.

Kris cuts her off, “I’m bringing Nicole to Canada during Christmas break.”    

“How romantic!” Seohyun squeals.  She looked at Jinwoon and pouted, “How come you never do anything romantic like that for me?”

Jinwoon scoffs, “Excuse me?  You better take that back.  I do a crap load of romantic stuff for you!  Sorry if I’m not made out of money!”

“Nicole…I’m so jealous right now!” Nana cried as she yanks the tickets out of her hands.  She shoved them into Minho’s face and said, “Baby…how come you don’t ever take me on any trips?  Kris and Nicole just started dating less than two weeks, and he’s taking her out of the country already!”

“Let me remind you that I’m a broke college student who also happens to have a load of student loans out.  Like Jinwoon said, I’m not made out of money,” Minho hotly explains.

“Damn hyung…I didn’t know you were this romantic,” Lay teased.

“Not bad buddy…I thought you would have gotten her a promise ring or something,” Lu Han said smiling at him.

Min Seok smirks, “I really thought you got her something dirty.”

Everyone started laughing as Kris face turn bright red, “Yah!  Min Seok!  You’re really asking for it!”

“Th-thank you oppa,” Nicole said kissing him on the cheek.  “This is the best birthday present I have ever received!  I can’t wait to go with you!”

N clears his throat and said, “I believe it’s time for you to open up my gift.”

Nicole nodded her head yes and quickly unwrapped his gift and gasp, “Omo!”

“What?  What?  What?” Nana cried as she stood up from her chair.

“What did you get?” Seohyun asked as she stood up from her chair as well.

Nicole held up a necklace that had a keyboard with some musical notes hanging dangling from it.

Nana and Seohyun’s eyes widen as they covered both of their mouths.

The rest of the boys (expect for N) looked confused.

“Ah…it’s just a necklace,” Lay said finally breaking the silence.

Seohyun and Nana shook their heads, “It’s just not a necklace!”

“Um…am I missing something?” Kris asked as he scratches his head.

All three girls looked at each other not wanting to answer him. 

“Yah!  Tell us already!” Minho impatiently cried as he pokes Nana by her cheek.

“…uh…”Nana trails off.

Nicole took a deep breath and said, “This necklace…it’s my engagement present from my future husband.”

“WHAT?!” all of the boys (expect for N) shouted in disbelief.

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Hi guys!  Sorry for not updating!  I've been super busy!  Did you guys like this chapter?  Give me your thoughts and comments. :D