█ chapter O9 – minky's birthday adventure!
█ chapter track – Super Junior - Happy Together
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMXPvd6gZUA

 

████████████████████████████

 

=== Henry's P.O.V ===

“Henry, wake up!” A deep male voice called out to me. Ugh, no... too tired. I don't wanna get up... “Henry, we don't have all day.” The same voice impatiently said. Forget it, I am not leaving this comfortable seat, wherever I am. “Yo Bieber! Get up, now!” I jumped up, eyes wide open at the shout right in my ear.

 

Then BAM! I suddenly remembered where I was – sitting in a coach bus that seated the whole Hello Baby staff and equipment. Everyone was waiting for me to get up from my seat so the line could progress to go outside. I looked at my seat partner, who just happened to be Teukie. I looked at him dryly as he smiled mockingly.

“So it was you...” I muttered under my breath before exiting the coach bus. Just then, the sun attacked my eyes as my feet touched a sandy ground. OH MY WORD, WE'RE AT THE BEACH~! I can't even remember the last time I've been to one, but gosh. This beach was just wow. White sand, coves in the distance, clean air, aquamarine waters; it was just too perfect and before I knew it, I was smiling idiotically at the scenery.

 

“WATERRRRR!!” Somebody exclaimed. I snapped out of my mini trance and looked to see Minkyung running towards the ocean, with his mom chasing after the little guy. She's kinda failing though... Our ducky's legs can move quite fast. I decided to help her out and help catch the little dude. I scooped him in my arms and placed him back down in front of his mom. She smiled and mouthed a 'thank you', before taking Minkyung's hands and walking back to where the staff has set up tents and such.

 

“Minky, I know you're really excited to swim... but you need to put on some sunscreen. This stuff will protect your skin while you play in the sun. It smells like coconuts, too!” Soomi-sshi (I think that was her name) paused as Minkyung smelled his arm that was lathered in the sunscreen. He giggled at 'coconuts' and repeated after her, causing the two to smile at each other. She continued in a concerned tone, “You also don't know how to swim. So make sure you wear your life vest and stay with your Super Junior appas when you go in the water, okay? Just to be safe.”

He nodded and smiled sweetly, giving the female a tight hug. Gosh, they're like people in the movies in a sense that everything about their relationship seems so pleasant. Though the two have only each other, from my knowledge, they seem pretty well off. Soomi-sshi's only what? A year younger than me? But it makes other people happy and refreshed to see such a happy and tightly knit family like the two.

 

“We've planned a special surprise for Minkyung's birthday. The staff was so kind to help us decorate the area where he'll be blowing his candles, but our Shindong here volunteered to help out as well.” Leader hyung whispered to the camera. A special surprise? Say what? How come I don't know anything about this?

 

“Ducky's going to miss me throughout the day so, so much. When we reunite later today, I can already see us have this super epic father-son reunion hug. He'll be like, SHINDONG SQUAREPANTS, SARANGHAEYO~” Shindong rambled to the camera as Teukie just shook his head from side to side. I took this chance to ask him about the surprise.

 

“So what's the plan? About his surprise?”

 

He looked at the ocean as the other members put on their own sunscreen. “Okay, so, Shindong's taking all the presents to this cave just a little East from here. Him and the staff will be adding lights and setting up the food. As the day passes, some of the members are planned to disappear one by one so that Minkyung will worry about them. Then we'll be taking him on this adventure all around the beach. Eventually the guys with Minkyungie will lead him to the cave, where the lights will turn on suddenly and we'll sing happy birthday. What do you think?” Teukie turned towards me and smiled excitedly.

 

“Sounds good!” I nodded in approval, then noticed the camera around his neck and looked at him in confusion. “You're taking pictures?” He could just get the footage when it's filmed...

 

“Oh, this? Yeah. The memories will be more special if I specially take the pictures. That child's just way too precious.” He chuckled as leader hyung looked at Ducky, who was having a funny face contest with Eunhyuk and Shindong. Ah yes. That little guy's just a little ray of sunshine, I want a son like him one day.

 

I felt a tap on my shoulder. “Uhm, Henry-sshi... this is yours?” I turned around to see JooHee-sshi smiling meekly at me as she held my big red, plastic bucket of beach balls, sandcastle making kits, and water guns. I laughed and smiled happily; how nice of her!

 

“Yeah, thanks! Feel free to just call me Henry. A friend of Siwon is a friend of mine!” I replied enthusiastically. The sun's really giving me lots of energy. And to think I was like a zombie earlier, too. As she handed me the bucket, her fingers lightly touched mine. Oh man, that was so intentional.

 

“Ah, sorry.” She looked down shyly and paused. “Anyways, the staff needs me right now. I'll see you around!” JooHee flashed her eye smile then flew off. She was so flirting. I SAW THAT WINK, no doubt about it.

 

As time passed, everyone was set and filming had begun. All eleven of us (Shindong already announced to the camera he'd be away to prepare for the surprise) sat in the shade by the beach chairs and large umbrellas, Minkyung sitting in the centre, of course.

 

“So Minkyung, do you know what day it is today?” Sungmin hyung asked, smiling along with Minkyung's bright and broad grin.

 

“Mm, it's my burfday!” The boy answered excitedly, his eyes just wondering what kind of things will be in store for him today.

 

“Well guess what! Today is your day! So you can tell us to do WHATEVER you want!” Wookie exclaimed as he slid his feet off his sandals.

Oh yes. Speaking of clothing, we're require to wear shirts throughout the whole day. I was pretty darn disappointed; I've been working out so I could show off my guns to ladies. But there wasn't even anyone on the beach either because it was private and the director rented it just for today. At least the shirts are white... so when it gets wet and transparent, our fans could eat some eye-candy. Yay for fanservice!

 

“Omo, o-okay! I... I wanna g-go swimming, pl-play in the sand, and... b-be piggybacked by my appas! S-sand first!” Ducky listed as he jumped up and down in excitement. I swear, he's melting everyone. Not only the girls, but even the members too.

 

“You guys can go, I'll stay and watch from here. No tan for me, thanks.” Heechul hyung made himself comfortable in the beach chair as we all stood up and walked out into the hot sun.

 

As we followed Ducky's leading waddles out of the shade, he suddenly stopped walking. And as if on cue, he turned his head around wearing the most innocent and heartfelt puppy dog eyes. A strong wave hit the rocks nearby and a swoosh of wind blew some of his hair. “Heechul appa...” He started in a quiet voice. “Why?” He pouted and a tear actually, legitimately formed in his eye! Can you believe this?!?! It's so movie-like... so epic, in all honesty.

 

I turned my face away from Minkyung and covered my mouth with my hands. Oh goodness. I WANT TO SQUISH HIS CHEEKS. LIKE NOW. But I might scare him if I do. Such a huge dilemma that is, eh?

 

Anyways, Heechul groaned and got out of his seat. “Minkyung-ah, you need to stop doing that.”

 

“Doing what?” The little guy challenged, giving intense eye contact alongside a soft, confident smile.

 

“Aish, nevermind. Ryeowook-ah!” He called to the man happily holding Minkyung's hand. Something's gonna happen... I can sense it! The eternal maknae looked at the older one confusingly, before being tossed swiftly on the sand ground by Kyuhyun. I sighed in relief. Thank goodness it wasn't me!

 

“It's your lucky day~” The evil HeeKyu pair smirked at the physically smaller band mate then began burying him in sand. I laughed along with Donghae hyung and we helped the evil ones in their little plan. The other members followed suit and buried Siwon.

 

Minkyung laughed hysterically at the end results. Ryeowook hyung was given large muscles and the sand art basically formed him as a strong, buff man. His expression though looked pretty stiff and he appeared to be greatly bothered by the pieces sand resting on his face. Siwon looked just plain funny. The other guys gave the gentleman a flowing sand dress, long hair, and noticeable sand bumps on his chest to represent... you-know-what.

 

Teukie snapped a shot of Wookie and Siwon hyungs, chuckling at the photo. He then made eye contact with Ryeowook and Siwon. That must be the signal for them to 'disappear' from the group for our surprise to be effective later on today.

 

“Come, let's go swimming~” Hyuk hyung (or should I say, Luffy appa?) cooed softly to the Ducky's ear. His head shot up and he nodded eagerly. Hae ran to be the first one to get the life jacket for the little guy. From how I see things, we're supposed to distract Minkyung so the other two can disappear without him knowing.

 

Once Donghae hyung got back, he stood next to Eunhyuk and painted on their faces were confident smiles. The remaining guys, which included Teukie, Heechul, Yesung, Zhou Mi, Kyuhyun and I followed the pair closer to the water with curious expressions.

 

“Luffy app--” Hae started, but got cut off by no other than Eunhyuk.

 

Hyuk faked a loud cough. “Eunhyuk appa.”

 

Donghae sighed and rolled his eyes. Ohoho, couple quarrelling already? “Eunhyuk appa and I have nicknames for being fish. So! We're going to teach you how to swim.” He announced, lifting Minkyung in his arms. He started walking towards the water with the boy in his arms. Oh no he did not.

 

Someone just forgot to put the life jacket (that he personally got for Minkyung) on the little guy. “WAIT!” I yelled out. Man, this reminds me of when the members almost left me before we got on the bus during the first episode's filming. “Safety first, Ducky.” I handed him his life jacket and helped him put it on. He nodded and started to run to the water.

 

I looked over to Kyu and Heechul, who seemed to be quietly talking about the surprise party plan as they waded on the water. Zhou Mi, Hyukkie and Donghae were already in the sparkling waters with Minkyung, who happened to be nervously excited. Meanwhile, Siwon and Ryeowook hyungs sneakily made their way to the party place. It was wayyyyyy too hot to just stand on the sand, so I went over to Minkyung and attempted to avoid Teukie and Yesung. Those two were in an intense, manly, and epic water gun battle, despite being in their late 20's.

 

“Appa... n-never mind. I-I'm scared... I... I wanna g-go back.” Minkyung frowned as he went further in the water with Hyukkie and Hae. Ducky bit his lip nervously and tightly held onto Donghae's arms, causing Hae to smile.

 

“Shh, don't worry. We'll never let you drown. You can trust us.” Zhou Mi reassuringly smiled as he looked at Minkyung in the eye. The boy nodded and loosened his grip a little.

 

“Alright, Donghae appa here will hold your hands and move around the water. What you need to do is kick with your feet, like this!” Eunhyuk explained, gently grabbing Ducky's feet and moving them in a kicking motion.

 

“Make sure you close your mouth so you don't swallow the water!” I told the little dude. He obediently listened to all our directions and as a result, he was moving quite speedily in the water. As he grew faster in speed, his closed smile grew wider as well. At that very moment, I felt that special fatherly feeling. I felt so... proud! We need a picture of this!

 

“Hey, Teukie hyun--!” SPLASH! I was caught in their water fight and got hit... directly in the face by a water gun. Yesung suddenly joined Teukie, ganging up on me. Oh my god, this is so unfair! I can't even see them because they keep squirting water at me! At the corner of my eye, I saw a sudden flash coming from Kyuhyun hyung. NO WAY, HE HAD THE CAMERA! But when?!?! Okay, that's it... I ain't holding back!

 

Using my hands, arms, feet, and legs, I uncontrollably splashed water all over the place in hope that my splashes would hit Teukie and Yesung. Oh man, I was on fire! Like, I felt as if I was Hulk Henry! I seemed to get the attention of Minkyung and he laughed while joining the splash party. I felt pretty bad for Hae, though. Because he had to hold on to Ducky, about 90% of his splashes hit him! Thinking about it, our fans that watch this episode must be pretty darn happy now. Slightly transparent t-shirts, anyone? The battle raged on for minutes that seemed like hours. Eventually, we all grew tired and stopped but I couldn't help but genuinely grin. That was pretty fun!

 

Donghae hyung suddenly passed Minkyung on to me, mouthing, “The plan!” I immediately knew what he meant and used sea shells I picked up from the sand to distract the little dude. Hyukkie and Hae quietly ran out of the water and to the staff that directed him to the party place. I made sure Minkyung faced the ever-extending water so the secret plan wouldn't get ruined. Judging by his focused expression, he seemed very interested in the shells. First timer at the beach, eh?

 

Ducky then threw the shell back in the water, obviously bored with the object. His head turned from side to side until he asked, “Renry appa, w-where's Luffy a-and Donghae appa? And Siwon and Ryeowook a-appa?” ... Uhhm, what do I say?!

 

“Those four went to the bathroom, I think. I mean, where else could they be? They should be back soon. Don't worry about it.” Zhou Mi, also known as my life saver, explained. He scrunched the little dude's hair, but Minkyung still looked really worried.

 

“I th-thought only girls t-take long in th-the b-ba-bathroom...” He stated, scrunching his eyebrows. I chuckled at that, then waved for all the other members to gather.

 

“You told us earlier you wanted piggy bag rides...” I began as I flashed a closed smile. Just then, Minkyung's goofy grin grew larger. Aha, that's the kind of reaction I like! “So, who's going to be first?”

 

“Me!” A voice shouted from the beach. It was Sungmin hyung who happened to be walking towards the water. Now that I realize it, he wasn't with us the whole time. I was having too much fun that I completely forgot. After removing his life jacket, Minkyung climbed on Ming's back.

 

“Where did you go?” Heechul hyung asked curiously. I was just about to ask the same thing!

“Somewhere~” Minnie replied with a grin. He then jolted off, running to wherever Minkyung pointed. Well, that was quite helpful. Why is he in such a good mood? Ah, whatever. Break time!

 

For about five minutes per person, Minkyung was being piggy backed wherever he wanted. Whenever it wasn't our own turn, we took some time in the shade and chugged some refreshing, cool water. First it was Ming, then Mimi, followed by Kyu, Teukie, Heechul, Yesung, and now, myself. The sun was as hot as ever, especially since it was already mid-afternoon. But if it makes Minkyung happy, then I don't mind piggy backing him for however long he wants. That's how much I adore that child.

 

I stretched a little before crouching down. “Alright, Ducky! Where to?” I asked, pumped and ready to give Minkyung one heck of a time. He held onto my neck tightly with one of his little arms and pointed with the other. The sun was literally killing me... but I had to stay strong, just for him. Spinning in circles, dashing quickly through the nice breeze from one end of the beach to the other, I felt re-energized from the cute little laugh Minkyung continuously let out. He looks so happy!

 

Finally, my time was over and I went back to the others resting on beach chairs. Leader hyung, Yesung hyung and Sungmin hyung, however, were no where to be found. The plan's going smoother than I thought. Now it was only Mimi, Kyu, Heechul and I remaining. Minkyung seemed to notice the disappearance of those three and he looked as worried (but completely clueless!) than ever.

 

“A-appa. T-they're n-not here...” The little guy furrowed his brows and his frown formed a little pout. He looked at the sand below him as if he was about to cry. Oh, no... please don't cry! “D-did I do ss-something wrong?” His voice shook as he spoke and he quietly whimpered.

 

OKAY HENRY, DON'T PANIC NOW. He hasn't started crying... yet... Ugh, this isn't supposed to happen, right? What do I say? Gosh, why can't I remember any Korean words? ARGH, this is useless! I don't even know how to speak now! Zhou Mi, on the other hand, seemed to be functioning well. He bent those long legs of his to Minkyung's height and gently massaged his shoulders. Gah, why didn't I think of that?

 

“No, I don't think it's you, Minkyung-ah.” Kyu's deep voice assured, causing the child to look up in hope. “There's actually a legend I read about this place. Something about a ghost...?” Kyu looked over to Chullie, who nodded in response. I glanced at our Ducky who seemed to be listening closely and seriously to every word they said. He stood his ground strongly, despite his slightly scared expression.

 

“Yeah, Kyu and I were talking about this earlier.” Heechul hyung stated, putting his acting skills to use. He cleared his throat, “The legend's basically about a poor boy who wasn't invited to a food party because only the rich and most attractive people in the town were allowed. He was starving for a very long time, so he begged the most handsome man to give him so food. The man laughed and gave the boy a wonderful meal to which he happily ate, however the food was poisoned by the man. The boy passed away minutes later... on this very beach.” Heechul explained in a serious tone as he tried his best to make the story sound believable.

 

Minkyung shivered and tightly held Zhou Mi's hand. Erm, I don't think this is a good idea. What if he has nightmares tonight? That whole dead ghost concept might freak him out for a long time... I mean, the kid's only four years old in international years! I repeat, four years old!

 

Nevertheless, Kyu decided to take over from there. “Today, the boy supposedly resides in a cave nearby. In revenge for his death, he makes food with a smell that only attracts handsome men. So when they find the cave, they'll fall for the trap and eat the food which is poisoned... And well, you know what happens after that.” After explaining, Kyuhyun hyung wore a troubled and worried expression.

 

As if assuming responsibility, Minkyung released his grip from Mimi. Standing tall and lifting his chin up, the brave little guy announced in a firm voice, “I... I'll find them! I'm not afraid of a ghost.” Good boy, you deserve a cookie for that! The four of us smiled at his bravery. Heechul looked especially pleased and Kyuhyun patted the kid's head.

 

“That's our Ducky.” I said aloud before I did what I always wanted to do – pinch his cheeks! Oh my, they're so chubby and squishy and cute and awesome and oh my word, I better let go now... I coughed and awkwardly distanced myself from the little dude. YES~ I can happily cross something off my bucket list now!

 

Anyways, we looked everywhere. Well, actually, I didn't know where the place was so I just followed from behind. The first place we went to was the male bathroom because, y'know, they could have been doing their business but there was no more toilet paper. Possible, right? But no, they weren't there. To be honest, I was feeling really worn out and tired. I didn't have as much energy as the other three so I was really lagging a little behind from the rest. The next place we went to was this little rocky cove. Zhou Mi carried Minkyung when exploring this area since the ground is damp and a little slippery. Things wouldn't go so well if the little dude slipped and hit his head on a rock, huh. Better safe than sorry.

 

We went pretty much everywhere except for the party cave. I could see that whenever Minkyung was about to lead the way to the party cave, Heechul hyung would hold his hand and guide him the opposite way. The party was supposed to start in 30 minutes and now we were just killing time.

 

Truthfully, I felt kind about bad fooling Minkyunggie for this. I mean, he looked so desperate to find them and terribly worried! He was never walking; his feet were always dashing from place to place. That mouth of his asked every person he saw if they knew where he could find the missing people. And he didn't just ask people! Minkyung even asked a seagull! That's right, a seagull! Another crazy (but hilarious!) thing he did was grab my sandcastle making shovel and then dug into the sand as if his life depended on it. I swear, it was sooo difficult to keep a serious, determined look all the time! If one of us laughed, Minkyung would probably glare at us and lose respect for us. We don't want that.

 

15 minutes left before the big surprise! We were now exploring a tide pool... because y'know, eight full grown men would be hiding there. Nah, we were actually just following where Minkyung wanted to go. I was beginning to lose sight of Mimi, Kyu, Heechul and Minkyung. The sun slowed me down, for one, but this tide pool we were at made me lose sight of the others completely. There was this pretty coloured, non-flawed seashell I saw that caught my attention. After taking some time to admire it, I placed it in my pocket then my current situation suddenly hit me.

 

I'm lost. I don't know where I am. I can't find the others. And worst of all, I don't even know how to get to the party place. Lovely. Looking at my surroundings, there were two walkways up ahead; one going left and another, right. Whew! Thank goodness there's only two options! The guys walked on one of these stone walkways... the question is, which one?

 

Ah whatever! I'll go left! After a short walk, the walkway ended to an empty beach. Well, no. There's actually a girl, a very attractive girl, sitting on the sand, all alone. She was wearing a long white sundress as a coverup for her black bathing suit underneath and her brown hair was neatly tied in a bun. She's so... so pretty. Who is she?

 

“Um, excuse me... but are you alright?” I asked, slightly concerned. She looked at me past those white framed sunglasses, causing my heart beat to quicken. But her lips, on the other hand, were pursed in an obvious, sad, frown.

 

“I'm alright, thank you.” Escaping her lips was this soft, delicate, but rich and soothing voice. She smiled softly during her pause, then continued, “But, shouldn't you be at the surprise party now? It's starting in five more minutes...”

 

Five minutes... ? Oh my god, how am I supposed to get to wherever the party is in five minutes? Kay, calm down, man. Gotta act cool in front of the lady. Gotta act cool...

 

“Well, actually. I got a little lost and... I don't really know how to get there.” I bit my lip ('cause I know the girls like it when I do this!) and scratched my head. Just then, she suddenly smiled and laughed. Well, it was actually more of a chuckle. But still... I made her laugh! Score!

 

She stood up from the sand and pointed back to the direction I came from. “The place isn't really far from here. You just need to go back to the tide pool you came from and take the right walkway. If you keep walking from there, then you'll be where the other members are hiding.”

 

“Oh, okay. Yeah, I understand. Thanks for all the help.” I grinned brightly, but noticed something. “Hey, um, you have a lot sand on your hair.” I told her as I pointed. She attempted to swish it off with her slim fingers, but she didn't manage to get the spot.

 

“Did I get it now?” She asked, struggling a little.

 

“Just a little to the left...” I replied, taking this moment to stare at the beauty. How did I not notice her before?

 

“How about now?”

“You went a little too far to the left...” I said, putting my hands on my waist. This isn't going anywhere... “Here, let me get it for you.” I offered.

 

The girl, who appeared to be close to my age, nodded hesitantly. Stepping behind her, I smiled brightly at this opportunity and swiped off almost every grain of sand on her soft hair. At the same time, I could feel my heart racing. There's no doubt about it, I'm attracted to this girl. And considering she's on this beach right now, I'm happier beyond words. Now I can see her every week, for every filming... because only Hello Baby staff and guests could be on this beach today.

 

I stepped back to give her space as she thanked me using that lovely voice of hers. Okay, Henry. Breathe. I can't show that I'm already all over her at the first meeting. Reminder: act cool.

 

“No problem at all. Anyways, I need to get going! See you around!” I said in a cool fashion, waving briefly as I walked. Alright, nice exit! And although I was walking cool, casual manner, I was wearing this huge ecstatic grin on my face. I pulled out the shell I picked out earlier from my pocket.

 

Thank you pretty shell for distracting me. And thank you, left walkway... for letting me meet her.

 

At long last, I reached the place just in time and stood behind Mimi, Kyu, Heechul, and Ducky as if I hadn't disappeared at all. They didn't notice me, though, because a couple of seconds after I had arrived, the surprise party officially begun.

 

The dark cave suddenly lit into a colourful sea of lights and confetti from the party poppers invaded Minkyung's sky. I followed my three hyungs and joined the other members. Standing in a line, we sang the infamous 'Happy Birthday' tune, just for the little guy's fifth (or fourth, internationally) Korean birthday.

 

He was simply astounded and in complete surprise. In fact, he looked so touched that he seemed like he was about to cry. Minkyung grinned from ear to ear, even though tears of happiness rolled down those cute little cheeks of his. Sungmin hyung crouched down to wipe the child's tears with his handkerchief and Shindong brought out the strawberry shortcake. Meanwhile, Yesung grabbed the gift the twelve of us had prepared.

 

“My f-favourite cake!” Minkyung exclaimed, hugging Shindong hyung's leg. After blowing his candles, he was greeted by Yesung holding our present.

 

“For you, Minkyunggie. Happy 5^th birthday little guy. We all love you so much, never forget that smile of yours. Alright?” Yesung smiled happily, getting a warm hug from Minkyung as he laid the present on the ground. Minkyung excitedly ripped off the wrapper as several cameras snapped photos of every moment going on in the celebration. He pulled out one of the Cds and looked at it curiously, unaware of what it was.

 

“Minkyung-ah, you know that your appas are singers, right?” Siwon hyung said, grabbing one of the Cds in the box. “Our gift for you has every Super Junior CD and DVD there is out there. All our photobooks are there, so if you miss us, you can look at the photos. We also have some DVDs in there that have the recordings of every TV show we've been on.”

 

Ducky nodded slowly in understanding then hugged the box. “T-thank you... s-so much! R-really...” He said, starting to tear up again.

 

“Hold up! Eunhyuk appa also has something special for you, Ducky. Open it!” Hyuk revealed another present and handed it to Minkyunggie. After unwrapping it, he found a DVD box set of the anime, One Piece. Man, what a lucky kid.

 

“Eunhyuk appa, y-you're the b-best!” Minkyung hugged Hyukkie ever so tightly.

 

“Kekeke, that's right! And with that, we can watch One Piece together!” Hyuk picked the birthday boy up and tossed him in the air, causing Minkyung to roar with laughter.

 

Once Minkyung was put down, Zhou Mi tapped his shoulder. “That's not all... in a couple of days, I'll be taking you out shopping for kindergarten clothes. I already talked with your umma and the date is set.” He smiled and scrunched Ducky's hair.

 

“Uwah... r-really?! Is Soo-umma c-coming too?” He asked hopefully, eyes sparkling brightly. Zhou Mi hesitated for a second and then nodded, meaning yes. I guess that wasn't part of his original plan, but hey, it won't hurt if she comes along. Fans shouldn't mind, since she IS his umma and will come along only because she cares for her child. Nothing more.

 

Now that all the exciting stuff passed, the atmosphere was more calm and everyone was eating the tasty cake. Yum, strawberries.

 

“Appa, y-you know w-what?” Minkyung suddenly spoke up, catching the attention of all the members. He smiled warmly, “t-this w-was the best burfday, ever.” I smiled warmly in response. I'm glad, little guy. I'm glad.

 

The camera guy put down his gear and chowed down, meaning that filming was finished. Just then, I remembered that wistful beauty I met earlier. I smiled to myself.

 

“Hey... you alright?” Donghae walked up to me and asked. Ah, that reminded me of what I asked her.

 

“Do you believe in love at first sight?” I asked, replaying my meeting with her for the nth time.

 

Hae laughed and looked at me weirdly. “What's with you all of a sudden? But um, yeah. Kind of, I guess. Why?” He looked me with eyes full of curiosity.

 

“Well, when I got lost from Zhou Mi, Kyu, and Heechul hyung, I met this girl. She was an absolute goddess. Her laugh was so cute and her figure looked plain gorgeous. Her voice was just so pleasant to listen to, I swear, I melted. And I--” I was cut off by Hae, who smirked at me.

 

“Looks like this girl has you wrapped around her finger.” he said, laughing. I looked away in embarrassment. “Did you get her name?”

 

“Er... no, actually. But I know she's part of the staff or something. Could you help me look for her? She's gotta be here somewhere...” I asked, looking around. The staff was already starting to clean up the area before we leave for the long drive back to Seoul. Now's my chance to find her.

 

“Well, sure, if you tell me what she's wearing.” Hae said bluntly before smirking, yet again.

“Long, white sundress and white framed sunglasses.” I said, looking around.

 

Suddenly, Donghae hyung frantically nudged my arm. His expression looked deeply surprised and maybe even a little shocked. “Hey, I think I found her... White shades, right?”

 

“What? Yeah. Where? Where is she?” I asked, trying to follow where hyung's eyes aimed. I finally found her wearing the same sunglasses I remember from earlier, except in a different outfit. Her hair wasn't in a bun either, but was damp and instead let loose into soft curls. It was her, that's for sure.

 

Donghae hyung then turned towards me and looked at me directly in the eye.

 

Using a serious tone with a hint of unwillingness, he said to me,

 

“Henry, that girl that you've fallen for...“

 

He paused.

 

“It's Minkyung's umma, Han Soomi.”

 

████████████████████████████

 

█ author notes.

 

Omg, I finally finished. Thanks to all my readers for staying with me and hello to my new readers! Though this chapter is quite lengthy, I still hope you all enjoyed reading^^ Let me know what you thought of this chapter!

 

☆ listening to: Super Junior - Happy Together
☆ feeling: Tired

 

█ july 15, 2O11 ★ o r a n g e z z a n g __ !