Kris

It's been two days since Aemi and Elle got admitted to the hospital, and all of us have been visiting them every day. They seem to be recovering quite fast.

Aemi was really obedient and listened to the doctor about staying in the hospital until all of her wounds are fully healed, however, Elle is a complete different case. Since the morning she woke up after being rescued, she kept trying to leave the hospital. Tao told me he offered to pay for her medical bills, but yet, she's still trying to leave. Right now, it's my turn to keep an eye on her before she goes prison breaking again.

I was about to knock on her room's door when suddenly it opens and I come face to face with Elle.

"Prison break?" I raised a brow.

"Damn… And I was so close this time." she muttered. "If you'll excuse me… I have to go…"

I block her path and cross my arms.

"You. Back to bed." I ordered her and pointed to her bed.

"If you weren't so freakishly tall, I would have tried to escape anyways." she crossed her arms and sat on the bedside.

"Anyways…" she started to say. "I have a good reason to leave this time."

"This should be good." I said. Let's see what type of excuse she has this time. According to my friends, I heard she comes up with the most ridiculous excuses ever.

"I need to go buy a present for Aemi, since it's her birthday tomorrow." she said truthfully. Oh crap… I totally forgot. Their admittance to the hospital totally distracted me from the gift hunting. "And… by the look you have on your face, I bet you want to buy her a gift too, since you like her and all."

I bit my lip. Damn… This girl… It's like she completely read my mind.

"So… What do you say Kris?" she asked me. "Get me out of here and we'll go buy her gifts together. I mean… You'll have her BEST FRIEND with you," she emphasized. "Who knows everything about her… Don't you think this will help you out a lot?"

Damn… She's so right… How can I say no to this tempting offer?

"I'll go ask the doctor if you're in any condition to leave. If he says yes, then I'll consider your offer." I said seriously. I didn't want to put her health on the line, even if I really do want to find the perfect gift.

"Cool. I'm pretty sure he'll say yes. I feel as though I've completely recovered already." she said.

I went to talk to the doctor, and as Elle predicted, he said yes, though it would have been better if she stayed one more day.

"You can leave, but remember not to do any exercise for the next three days. Afterwards, you can, but not too intense sports." the doctor told her in English.

"Alright then. Thanks." she said respectively to the doctor.

Elle

"Hey Aemi!" I walked over to her room. "I'm getting out of here now."

"What? Already? That was fast." said Aemi. "Did you bribe the doctor to let you leave haha?"

"Of course not! Anyways, I'm going back to the apartment. You should be able to get out of the hospital by tomorrow, so see you tomorrow!"

"Alright then, see you!" she laughed at my cheerfulness of leaving this place.

Kris was waiting for me outside the hospital in his car wearing a cap and sunglasses as a disguise.

"You know, are you really that famous that you need to disguise yourself?" I asked him. "No offense." I added.

"You may not be a fan of mine, but you'll be surprised at how many people recognizes me without all this. Sometimes, fans even recognize me with it!" he said.

"Where do you want to go first?" he asked me.

"Just drive me to any store that sells Herschel bags." I replied simply. Before the whole incident with the crazy fans and all, I once passed by a store and I saw a gift suitable for Aemi, but I never got the chance to look at it up close. I just briefly saw it when I passed by the store's window.

Kris

"You really shop quickly." I commented. I expected her to take a long time, since most girls do.

"Well, I already had in mind what to buy for her, so it's normal that I'm done quickly. What do you think of this bag?" she took out a backpack from her shopping bag.

"It's very nice. Now, it's my turn to look for her gift." I told her.

"What are you planning to buy?" she asked curiously.

"Simple, a dress." I answered casually.

"Dress? Do you even know her size? I think you should pick something else as a gift. You never know, the dress you pick might not fit her." she said.

"That's why you're here. You and Aemi roughly have the same body figure." I said.

"Are you trying to say…" her eyes started to widen.

"Yes." I smirked and looked at her while I stopped at the red light. "You're gonna be trying on a lot of dresses today."

Elle

"Could you try these on please?" said Kris politely, handing me a few dresses that caught his eye as we pass by the rack.

"A dress? Do I really have to?" I looked at him with pleading eyes. I'm a bit self-conscious trying on dresses, plus I have to show a guy if it's pretty or not, and I don't really wear dresses… I'll feel so awkward doing all this.

"Please? I am the one who got you out of the hospital." he shot me a look.

"Arg. Fine, but after all this dress trying, we're even; I don't owe you anything at all afterwards." I said to him.

"Cool, here are the choices. And try on these too." he handed me few boxes of shoes. "Wear the pair that matches with the dress you try. They should be in the same order as the dresses."

"So damn annoying …" I muttered. I don't even know how to walk in heels.

"I heard that." he hollered as I walk to the changing room.

"Good. It was meant for you to hear!" I said back to him.

I slip on the first dress with much difficulties and I feel very awkward in it. Let's just get this over with… I didn't bother trying on the shoes he picked out; I just walked out barefooted to show Kris the dress.

"Where are your heels?" he asked me.  

"Yeah… The one you picked out for this dress doesn’t really match with this." I lied. It took a look at the shoes, and they were really nice. They were in fact perfect for this dress, however, they were at the same time very pro-ankle-twisting. I couldn't take my chances.

"Oh alright then, it doesn't matter anyways, this dress doesn't look as good as it was on the rack. Next dress!" he gestured me to go back to the changing rooms.

I came back out after a few minutes and he immediately gestures me to go back again.

"ARGGGG… He's so damn picky!!!" I yelled out in the cabin kicking the door in frustration, though I forgot I wasn't wearing shoes. I started cursing at the pain.

"You alright in there?" Kris asked worriedly.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." I said irritably.

I don't know how many dresses I tried on, but it's been three hours since I've been in this freaking dress shop! If Kris wasn't this polite to me, I would have started cursing at him by now.

I am finally trying on the last dress, and I pray he doesn't give me another bunch to try on.

"For the last dress, wear the heels too. I'm just curious if my shoe taste are really that bad." he said. Damn… I knew the ugly shoe lie wouldn't work forever.

The thing is… I don't know how to walk in heels. In fact… I don't even own a pair. I actually tried to when I had to go to my high school senior prom, but I ended up wearing flats. I just couldn't walk in those damn shoes! Even today, if I try to wear heels, I just end up falling or tripping down. It's actually very pathetic of me to not be able to wear them, since most girls can. I can easily learn self-defense, and biochemistry, yet I can't walk in this type of shoes… *Sigh*

I try on the last dress and put the heels on. Let's hope I don't fall when walking…

My hands were on the wall for support, since I had zero confidence in walking correctly without falling.  

When I came to Kris' view, his eyes went wide.

"Woah… Why didn't you wear heels for the other dresses too? You look very beautiful in this complete outfit set." he complimented me. "My shoe taste isn't half bad either." Other than Exo-K, he's the first guy who actually called me pretty. My heart suddenly races and I feel my cheeks go red.

"Eh thanks…" I said shyly and let out a cough. "So is this dress okay? Can I change out of it now?"

"Yeah sure, just bring the other dresses and shoes out and I'll pay for this outfit." said Kris. I spun around a bit too quickly and landed flat on the floor. Damn heels.

"Ouch…" I said to myself while rubbing my arm. A hand shot out in front of me.

"So that's why you refused to wear heels  for the other dresses. I bet they weren't even ugly." Kris chuckled. "I thought all girls knew how to walk in heels. Well, all the ones that are close to me know how to."

"Well, I guess I'm an exception." I said bitterly, still very embarrassed, and took the hand he offered.

When I locked the door at the cabin, I sink to the floor and attempt to calm my heart rate down. What the hell is wrong with me? Why is my heart racing all so suddenly?!

Kris

I smile to myself as I proudly hold the dress and shoes I bought for Aemi. I even told the shopkeeper to wrap up the gift in a fancy packaging. I'm so glad Elle was here to try these on for me, or else I might have bought the wrong size. That reminds me, Kai texted me and told me to bring Elle over to our place for the party's final planning.

"Hey Elle," I turned to the side to talk to her but she wasn't there. I stopped and I looked back. She was about two blocks away from me.

"Why are you so far away?" I called out.

"You walk too fast with your freakishly long legs. I can't keep up!" she complained when she walked up to me.

"You could have just say so; I would have slowed down a bit." I said laughing. "Anyways, Kai told me to take you to Exo-K's place again. Tomorrow's the day where Aemi's discharged from the hospital right? And it's her birthday so… We're planning a surprise party." I explained to her.

"Alright."

"Oh and, do you think Aemi will like this dress?" I asked again. I just wanted to make sure…

"Yes she will. I'm positive since this dress was like her ideal prom dress. She'll definitely love it." she answered.

Elle

Suho and Kai threw me a lot of information about the party and it took me some time to remember everything.

"You remember what to do right?" asked Kai again.

"Yes, yes. I'm not that stupid; you don't have to ask me this for the 5th time." I gave him a look.

"He just wants this surprise party to be perfect." Baekhyun said to me. "Just bring Aemi around 7:00 pm.  Here's the card you'll need to show the guy tomorrow. Send me a text message when you're almost at the meeting point."

Me

-THE NEXT DAY-

Finally, I can get out of here. It would to spend a birthday at a hospital.

"Where's Exo?" I asked Elle curiously. They visited me every day when I was in the hospital, so I was a bit surprised they aren't here right now.

"Exo? Oh don't get me started on them." said Elle angrily. "They said their week off was cut short, so they had to go back to work early. Exo-K didn't even mention once about your birthday! Can you believe it?! When I see them again, I will make sure they'll learn their lesson for forgetting your birthday. I understand Exo-M doesn't know, since you never mentioned it to them, but Exo-K? Arg."

"Even Kai forgot?" I asked her. I secretly hope at least Kai remembered.

"Yes. Even him…" she frowned. "He will earn a good beating from me!!" said Elle cracking her knuckles.

"Woah, calm down Elle! Let's not be too violent here! It's just a birthday." I assured her. I'm not the type of person that obligates her friends to celebrate her birthday with her, but this year… I have to admit; I'm a bit disappointed. It's been a long time since Exo-K celebrated my birthday with me; I kinda miss those times…

"I'm so sorry…" Elle gave me a sympathetic smile. I shook my head telling her it's alright. "Don't worry, we'll have fun today anyways! I'll make sure your birthday in Seoul will be memorable!"

Elle was dragging me from one place to another super quickly. We first went to a Korean restaurant, then to a street with a lot of K-fashion clothing, then we even went to an arcade and played a lot of games. Elle even managed to win me nine plushies from the UFO catcher game.

"Wow, your UFO catcher skills have improved yet again!" I complimented her. People were surrounding us because Elle did not miss a single try.

"Haha, thanks. It's a must-need skill for a plushie lover!" she smiled and caught another plushie, making her streak  of nine to ten.

"How many do you have now?" asked Elle.

"Ten!!" I told her. Wow, she really didn't notice how many she got haha.

"Ten? Woah that went by fast. I think we have enough plushies now haha." she put back the coins in her bag. She turned around and saw the big crowd that was surrounding us. They were all cheering for her, and despite not understanding what they were saying, I knew they were complimenting her.

"DAEBAK!" said a little girl holding her mom's hand. Awww so cute.

Elle was really red and was bowing a little to thank the crowd for the cheers. It's so funny! Her cheeks are as red as a fire truck. I guess she still hasn't gotten over her shyness when facing a big crowd.

"How about we give a plushie to that little girl?" suggested Elle.

"Haha, sure!" I took the bunny out of our bag of plushies.

We gave it to the little girl and she was so happy! She was so happy that she gave both me and Elle a kiss on the cheek before we left the arcade. Awww! She's so adorable! She reminds me a lot of my two little sisters.

"Well that was fun." I smiled.

"I told you today could be fun even without Exo!" said Elle proudly.

After this, Elle took me to a café that was actually pretty hard to get to if you aren't local. I was a bit surprised we got there without getting lost because wasn't she unfamiliar with Seoul? Also, doesn't she have zero sense of direction? How did she get a good sense of direction all of a sudden? It's as if she memorized the map of this complete area.

At the café, she ordered a piece of cake for me to eat and a nice iced coffee to go with it.

"Since we're only two, I decided to not buy a full cake. Enjoy!" she smiled and pushed the plate of cake towards me.

"You know, you spent a large amount of money on me today … I kinda feel bad for making you spend so much, how about I treat you to dinner later?" I told her.   

"Don't worry about it! It's your birthday, so just enjoy it to the fullest! No need to worry about money!" she assured me.

Elle

If it weren't for the money Exo and I pitched in together, I wouldn't have been able to distract Aemi for the entire day. Also, I am so lucky Baekhyun took the time to explain to me where to go and all, or else I would have gotten lost a long time ago. He even made me memorize the streets yesterday!!

I check the time on my watch and it's around 6: 30 pm. Baekhyun told me that it takes about half an hour to walk to that place. I better text him now and tell him and the guys to be ready soon.

"Come on Aemi! One last surprise for your birthday today!" I came back after paying and dragged her out excitedly. I can't wait to see her surprised face!

Me

"I think we did enough things for my birthday today Elle! You're going to be broke at this rate!" I struggle to keep up with her pace.

"Last place okay? I promise this time!" she held out her pinky. Since she looked so excited for whatever she planned out, I hooked my pinky with hers.

"Okay fine, but after this we're going home!" I said to her. When it's her birthday, I'm going to need to do a lot of planning to make a day like today's.

After about half an hour of walking, we arrived at a place which I'm not quite sure what it is. The neon sign was in Korean.

"Are you sure it's here Elle? I mean it doesn't look like a type of place you can easily go into…" I told her. It looked a lot like those clubs where only famous celebrities are let in.

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing!" she cheered. We pushed the door and went inside and we were immediately met with two tall bouncers.

They started speaking to us in Korean, and I was slightly intimidating by them. They were around Kris' height, but their crossed arms were muscular. Just by looking at them gives me the chills.

"Maybe we should go…" I whispered to Elle. She ignored my words completely though.

She took a card from her bag and showed it to the two bouncers. After looking at it for a bit, they nodded at each other and gestured us to go in. Inside, there was a waiter who directed us towards a room.

"Do the honours and open the door." said Elle.

"Okay…" I looked at her weirdly. "I hope nothing pops in face when I open it though."

As I turned the doorknob and open the door, confetti was scattered all over me. 

"SURPRISE!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!" yelled Exo and Elle loudly.

"W-what?" my eyes widen when I looked around. There was a table full of food and a large screen for karaoke. The room was completely decorated with birthday decorations. There were green and blue balloons and all… A huge banner wrote 'Happy birthday Aemi!".

My mouth was practically hanging open. I can't believe they did all this for me.

"Surprised?" asked Kai. I was still shocked and words wouldn't come out of me, so I just nod.

"Look at her guys! She's so shocked she can't even close , hahaha!!" Tao laughed.

I shook my head a bit and came back to reality.

"Oh my god… This is so awesome!!! You guys are the best!!!" I smiled widely.

"You did a great job keeping her busy Elle." Baekhyun ruffled Elle's hair.

"Hey don't mess up my hair!" she said playfully. "I could totally pass for an actress for the acting I did today haha."

"Shall we go eat the food first?" suggested Sehun, obviously hungry. Everyone looked at my direction and waited for my approval.

"Dig in!" I yelled and we all ran to the large table of food.

The food was so delicious! Everyone was stuffing their faces at the large plate of food they took haha. This is like a buffet!

"Aemi. D.O. and I bought the food and the cake. I hope you'll this cake; I chose it!" Sehun smiled sweetly and D.O. smiled with puffed up cheeks since he was busy eating.

"Thank you guys! I'm going to remember this meal for the rest of my life!" I said and went back to my plate of food.

After eating, it was present time. Chanyeol and Xiumin were the ones who paid for the karaoke party room's expenses. Suho bought me a white converse watch and Baekhyun got me a pair of shoes. Another pair to my large collection, hehe!

"Remember the time I spilled coffee on your pair of limited edition Snoopy Converse? Well, I managed to find a new pair, so… I guess this pays back the ones I ruined back then!" Baekhyun laughed. I thanked him and gave him a hug. I was so touched he remembered that incident.

"Since we didn't really know what you like, we just bought these together for you. I hope you like it!" said Lay handing me a medium sized box. It's from Luhan, Chen, and him.

I open it and my jaw was hanging yet again. No way... They actually got me a… a … an Ipad Mini!!! They even got me a few Ipad cases. I think I actually have enough for each day of the week.

"You guys shouldn't have! It's so expensive though! I'll get you guys something awesome for your birthdays too in the future!" I promised them.

"Nah, it's nothing. Did you forget? We're internationally known K-pop idols! For us, this isn't really pricey. We just hope you like it!" said Lay.

"My turn!" said Tao cheerfully and handed me a big present bag. I opened it and I see a bunch of merchandises with Exo-M's face on it. There was even Exo-M's albums in it.

"Eh, thanks Tao!" I said while looking at the stuff he got me.

"Just in case you don't remember Exo-M again, all you need to do is look at all these stuff and listen to our albums!" he explained.

"Hahaha, thanks." I smiled and gave him a hug too.

"Dude, you're so cheap man. I bet you got these at your company for free." teased Elle and caused everyone to laugh.  

"YAH! I bought this with my own money for something I worked for!" said Tao.

"Sure, sure…" said Elle sarcastically.

"Let's see your gift then!" challenged Tao. Elle took a very birthday-themed present bag from the gift table.

I opened the gift and it's an olive green Herschel polka-dotted backpack!!

"This is so cool! I can replace my old school bag with this!!" I hugged the bag. "Thank you so much!!!" I hugged my best friend.

"Haha, you're welcome. See Ugly Panda, my gift is so much better than yours." she said and she stuck out her tongue.

"It's Duizhang's turn now!" said Lay.

Kris handed me a wrapped box. I open it and I see a pair of cream color high heels. They're really elegant and pretty, but I feel bad about receiving this. It's a bit too fancy to pass for casual, so I might not be able to wear it very often. It's a bit of a waste, but I still like them.

"They're really nice. It must have taken you a long time to choose." I try them on and they fit perfectly. "And they fit perfectly! Wow, you're so good at buying shoes haha. Thanks Kris." I smiled.

"Best for last." said Kai handing a chic small blue bag from Swarovski.

"Oh my… Kai…" my eyes widened. I am going to die of a heart attack from all the expensive gifts I received today.

"Don’t bother trying to give this gift back to me. I don't wear girl necklaces, so just open it and keep it." he said.

It was a silver necklace with two hearts on it. One of the hearts had crystals all over and both hearts were intertwined together.  This style looks awfully familiar.

"OOOOOH Kai likes Aemi!!!!" Sehun and Chanyeol cheered.

"Dude, you're so bold. You're confessing to her in front of so many people? So courageous." said Baekhyun patting Kai's shoulder.  

"I thought you said she's just your best friend." said Tao.

"Aish!!!! Why do you guys have to make fun of everything I give to Aemi? For your information, this necklace looked a lot like the one she once wanted to buy in the past, but couldn't. I couldn't find the exact necklace, so I found something similar instead. The pendant may be a heart, but you guys jump to conclusions way too fast!" said Kai ruffling his own hair in frustration.  

"Relax, they're just teasing you." said Elle. "You look as though you want to hit them all."

"This is such a sweet gift. I didn't know you had such good memory! Thank you Kai." I gave him a tight hug.  

"Now that the gifts are all opened… Karaoke time!" said Chanyeol.

Elle and I usually wouldn't do this kind of thing, but since it's Exo, I guess we'll sing in front of people for once. They set the Korean lyrics in romanized mode so that Elle and I could sing their songs haha.

We started off with 'Mama'. While they sang, Elle and I attempted to redo the dance moves that appeared on the screen. The guys were laughing their heads off. Since we both didn't have much dance talents, we kind of messed up the whole choreography. After this song, we did the same with wolf, and they laughed even harder.

"Your turn to sing Aemi!" D.O. passed me the mic.

"I don't really–" I tried to reject his offer, but he cut me off.

"Just try! You're with your friends. No one will make fun of you." he gave me friendly smile.

The song 'Two Moons' started playing. I was singing with Sehun and Kai, so I had Chanyeol's part. When it came to the rapping, I just did what came naturally. After I was done with the fast rapping part, I turn to see the guys reactions and they looked stunned.

"Was it really that bad?" I bit my lip.

"That. Was. So. AWESOME!" said Xiumin standing up and clapping.

"I didn’t know you had rapping skills in you." Suho complimented.

"Aww, you guys are so nice. Thanks!" I said and handed Elle the mic. Her eyes widened and I know she's going to refuse.

"No refusing! I sang, so this time it's your turn." I said to her.

"Fine…" she bit her lip.

Exo-K chose 'Don't go' and they made Elle sing Baekhyun's part. After the song was done, we were all trying really hard to hold our laugh, since we didn't want to make Elle feel too bad. Even though we didn't laugh at her yet, she already buried her face in her hands.

"I know, I know. It was really bad. Just laugh away! I know I'm tone-deaf anyway!" she said. On cue, we all burst in laughter.

"You're not tone-deaf; you actually have a nice singing voice. It's just that… Your Korean pronunciation was really off. Even for someone who doesn't know to speak this language, you were really off." said Baekhyun wiping off his tears of laughter.

"HAHAHA YOU AT THIS LANGUAGE!!! I know for sure you won't be marrying a native Korean in the future. Once he hears you speaking this language, he'll run away." said Tao.

"Oh shut up you ugly panda!" said Elle, but she couldn't help but laugh too.

"Let's try another song then. Maybe in Chinese this time." said Suho picking 'Peter Pan'.

"Chinese? I think you'll mess it up as badly as the Korean version." said Tao to Elle.

"Oh we'll see about that." she took his words as a challenge.

At the end of the song, she smirked at Tao.

"Told you I wasn't bad at Mandarin." she said.

"I thought you only spoke Cantonese." he said with a surprised expression on his face. He probably did not want to admit it, but he seemed impressed.

"I know how to read in Mandarin, but if you ask me to have a conversation with you without a written text, I wouldn’t be able to." shrugged Elle.

"You have a really nice voice!" said Xiumin.

"Actually, both you and Aemi have a great voice. Ever considered joining SM?" Chanyeol winked.

"Eh, no thanks." we both answered at the same time.

After singing many songs, it was getting late already.

"One last song and we'll cut the cake!" said Sehun.

All 14 of us sang 365 together in Korean and tried our best not to laugh at Elle during the song haha.

Sehun took the cake out of the fridge and let me open the box.

"Awwwww! It's the cutest cake I've ever seen! Nice choice Sehun! Though I'll feel bad for cutting this dinosaur cake apart though. It's too cute!" I exclaimed. They started singing the birthday song in Korean and he added a candle on the cake.

"Make a wish, and then we'll eat it." he said to me.

I thought for a second, and decided on what I wanted.

I hope I won't get separated from these wonderful friends like the other time with Exo-K.

I blew the candle out and they all clapped.

"Thank you guys so much for this birthday!" I thanked them with total sincerity.

----------------------------------

Kris drove us back to our apartment and wished us a good night. Elle got out of the car first, and I was about to leave too, but Kris told me to stay a bit.

"What's up?" I asked him.

"I have something else for you." he said as his long arms reached for a bag in the front passenger seat.

"It's for you, but open it only when you get inside. Happy birthday again, and good night!" he smiled.

"Thanks, but you really shouldn't have. Good night Kris." I smiled warmly back to him.

As I walk up to meet up with Elle, I still couldn't get over the fact that Exo and Elle did all this for me! This was the best birthday ever!

I feel a bit bad for all the gifts I receive because they are all very expensive. I will for sure remember to buy each Exo member something for their birthdays, even if I'm not in Korea.

I put all of my gifts on the desk nearby my bed and suddenly remembered to open Kris' gift.

The gift is wrapped up so fancily that I don't feel like opening it! It's too nice.

I carefully rip off the wrapping paper without making a big mess and I open the box.

I gasped when I saw its content. A dress. A beautiful strapless cream color dress with a nice finishing at the bottom and it looks a lot like the one I laid eyes on when I had to buy a dress for prom. Sadly, back then, someone bought the last one before I could.

It's a perfect color for summer, but I wonder why Kris bought me such a fancy dress. I take a look inside the box to see if there's anything else, and I spot a note.

Happy birthday Aemi! Do you like the dress? You're probably wondering why I got you this as a gift. You'll know very soon!

-Kris

The matching high heels, the dress. I wonder what he planned out… 

Thank you for subscribing to this story :D It really means a lot! And for those who commented, you guys are so nice! For my silent readers, feel free to comment once in a while; I'm curious what you guys think too! I hope you all liked this week's update! 

SOME OF AEMI'S BIRTHDAY GIFTS 

Cake: 

Suho's gift: 

Baekhyun's gift: 

Elle's gift: 

Kai's gift: