Yongguk’s POV:

After “grocery” shopping, I unlocked the front door using the key Natalie gave me earlier and found her completely knocked out on the couch.

Guess she’s drained from hanging out with me too much…

Dropping down all the bags, I went to her side and placed a blanket over her. She slightly stirred, but continued snoring consistently. I smiled at her pale angelic face. Although she has grown a lot over the past few years, she still had a young, innocent feature to her. Without consciously knowing it, I felt myself brushing my fingertips across her soft cheeks. When I realized that I had crossed the line, I stood back up and quietly cleared my throat before I began the preparation.

Natalie’s POV:

I woke up in a pitch-dark room.

Where the hell am I?

“H-Hello?” I called out into the darkness. “Is anyone there?”

No one answered.

Assuming that the electricity had gone out, I began blindly making my way over to the light switch. However, when I came in contact with the wall, I realized that it wasn’t made out of the same material as the one in my apartment complex.

Afraid, I began searching for the door. Unfortunately, I had no luck finding it.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps approaching the room I was in. My heart began to accelerate as the sound grew louder.

The door suddenly burst open and a dim light filled the room.

“HAPPY 20^TH BIRTHDAY NATALIE!” Yongguk stood at the doorway and held his arms reached upward towards the ceiling. On top of his head was a silly looking party hat, and of course, he was still wearing his everyday mask.

“What the hell is this?” I snarled.

“A birthday celebration, duh,” he replied sarcastically before swooping me up into his arms and bringing me outside.

He set me down and placed his hands over my eyes.

“Uh, what are you doing? Where are we right now?” I questioned.

“You’ll see. Ready?” he asked excitedly.

“Yeah, I guess?”

“ONE. TWO. THREE!” he removed his hands from my eyes.

A gorgeous beach came into view. The sun was slowly beginning to set, allowing its orange light to be reflected by the clear blue waters. I had never seen something so ridiculously beautiful before. It was almost too good to be true.

“Amazing, right?” Yongguk stood beside me and looked off into the horizon.

I suddenly found myself staring at his profile. Although he was still masked, his eyes were enough for me to gaze at for now. For the past twenty years, this year might just be the first year I actually enjoy my birthday celebration, and it was all thanks to the man standing beside me.

“Thank you so much for this Yongguk. You can’t imagine how happy I am right now,” I smiled genuinely at him.

“No problem. I’m glad you like it,” he responded, his eyes twinkling.

“READY TO GET WASTED?!” he cheered before grabbing a bottle of beer and popping it open. He turned away from me and took off his mask as he quickly chugged the bottle down.

If there was one thing I noticed about Yongguk, it was that his mood was always very contagious. I found his energy slowly taking over my body as I began popping my own bottle of beer and drinking it straight out of it. After a while, we both grew tired and fell down onto the sand, watching the sun completely set.

“You know, you’re actually very handsome even though I can’t see your damn face,” I laughed as I to my side to face him.

What the hell are you saying Natalie?! GET BACK TO YOUR SENSES GIRL!!!

“And you know, you’re very pretty even though you snore like a pig,” he teased.

“I do NOT snore like a pig!” I slapped him sloppily on the arm.

We laid there, facing each other, without saying a word for a while.

“You know, I can see duplicates of you right now, Nat. I must be very drunk,” Yongguk slurred.

“Me too man. Hey, wanna take off that mask for me? It’s really annoying. I wanna see what you’ve been hiding from me all this time. Besides, we’re both drunk, so I probably wouldn’t get a clear view of your face anyways. So, is it a deal?” I negotiated, hoping he’d agree.

“No,” he coldly stated and turned away from me.

“Yaaah, turn around! Fine, I won't ask anymore!” I whined as I began kicking his back and pulling on his shoulder.

Unexpectedly, he turned around and pulled me in close. He quickly leaned in and kissed me. Although a layer of fabric prevented our skin from actually touching, I could feel the curve of his lips on mine.

“Y-Yah, what the hell was—“

“Do you see the importance of this mask? If it wasn’t in between our lips, we would’ve been actually kissing,” he lectured. “Aish, you’re so naïve. I’m going to say this once and forever—I’m never taking this mask off in front of you, understand?!”

I was still in shock from what just happened. I turned away from Yongguk and brushed my fingers across my lips.

Did he really just kiss me…? Well it wasn’t a real kiss but… Still…

I felt my heart hammering along with the burning of my cheeks as I turned away from him.

“I-I’m going to sleep now!” I announced.

Yongguk didn’t reply.

I laid there for a while, with my eyes still wide open and waited for who knows what. After what seemed like an eternity, Yongguk finally said, “Today was my last day. I have to go back tomorrow, and I don’t know when I’ll be able to come and see you again. I’m sorry for making you deal with my annoying for the past consecutive days. I hope you had fun though, and I hope we can spend time like this again sometime in the future. Please remember to always be careful and to eat proper meals and—”

I found myself tearing up as I turned around and pulled him into a hug.

“I’m going to miss you a lot Yongguk. You’re a loser and you but you make life a lot more bearable when you’re here, so please hurry back whenever you can,” I whispered. The scent of faint cologne and clean laundry that emitted from him made me feel ten times sadder that he was leaving already. “Thank you so much for everything. I had a fantastic birthday thanks to you.”

He wrapped his arm around me and began rubbing my back gently.

Before I knew it, I fell asleep in Bang Yongguk’s arms for the first time.

Hello friends! ^_^ I hope you enjoyed this chapter hehe~ I apologize once again for it being a bit shorter than usual chapters. u_u Leave me some feedback if you'd like! ENJOY!!! :D