❣ 7 ❣

May 22^nd, 2022

            Her locker was painted with black, contrasting to the pale blue of all the others. Red spray paint was used to write on the words, “A Day You Should Cry About” in bold, crude letters.

            She swallowed before prying open the door, still sticky and wet with paint. Pulling her hand away, she cringed at the tar color on her fingers.

            “Thought you wouldn’t be coming today.”

            Mikyung turned around, her hand still in mid-air. “If I didn’t come, I wouldn’t have been able to see this gift you left for me.”

            The tall girl laughed. “Me? Please, I would never dirty my hands with that.”

            She ignored the girl and turned back to her locker, using her clean hand to pull out books for her morning classes.

            The hall was buzzing with people, all who would simply glance at her vandalized locker before ignoring her, continuing on with whatever they were doing. She had hoped to see Joonmyun earlier this morning, but he said he would meet her at school a bit later. Too bad terror had struck so early.

            The tall girl was glaring at the back of Mikyung’s head before pulling out a disposable glove she had prepared, wiped it across the locker, and proceeded to slap the hand on Mikyung’s back, painting the gray sweater black.

            Mikyung tensed from the initial shock of the slap before relaxing and continuing to ignore her.

            “Maybe you should go,” said a familiar voice, cold and unmerciful.

            The girl scoffed. “Of course. The other half of the freak show’s here.” She pulled off her glove, pulled up Joonmyun’s hand, and threw the glove into it. “Enjoy.” She stalked away, the heels of her skyscraper high heels clicking away slowly.

            Joonmyun disgustedly threw the glove into a nearby trashcan, cringing at his stained hand, and even more so at Mikyung’s sweater. “You can borrow my jacket today.”

            Mikyung shook her head, shrugging off her own sweater. “It’s fine.” She then reached into her bag and pulled out a small box before smiling at Joonmyun. “Happy birthday, Suho.”

            He pulled on a strained smile before accepting it gratefully. “Thanks.” He then turned to her locker door, which she had managed to close without getting too much more paint on her hand. “They should’ve done that to my locker,” he muttered.

            “Then you’d have to clean it all off on your birthday,” Mikyung replied. “At least they had some sort of mercy on you.”

            “But you have to stay after school to clean it.”

            “I’ll just meet you at the coffee shop after I’m done. Don’t worry.”

            “It’s hard not to.”

            “It’s your birthday. Try to enjoy it at least. And the paint’s probably easy to wash off. It’s nothing to worry over.”

            Joonmyun sighed before nodding. “Go wash your hand. Class is gonna start in a few minutes.”

❣ ❣ ❣

     “That’s… not fair, Suho.”

            Mikyung frowned at the perfectly clean door of her locker, even sparkling from the reflected light, with ribbons carefully curled and attached.

            “What’s not fair?”

            “You could’ve been doing something else during your free class, and you chose to do this? Now your uniforms all dirty, too.”

            “For one thing, you’re not in my free class, so what better could I have done other than homework, which for once, I barely have any of. And second, my uniform isn’t that bad.”

            “I swear your mom’s gonna kill you.”

            “Not if you’re there.” He smiled cheekily before putting his arm gently around her shoulders. “Come on, don’t be so upset. At least your hand won’t get smudged now.”

            “That should be the least of my worries.”

            Joonmyun rolled his eyes. “Come on, let’s go to lunch.”

            Mikyung reached up and wiped some paint off of his forehead. “After you wash your hands.”

            He laughed and watched as Mikyung smiled back. On his seventeenth birthday, even though his best friend had given him an expensive watch that he’d treasure, the best gift he had gotten that day, like every day since about a year ago, was her smile that now more easily slipped into her expressions. It was a gift that couldn’t be replaced by anything else in this world.

July 23^rd, 2022

            “Are you up yet?”

            Mikyung looked up groggily at the clock by her bed and frowned. “It’s six in the morning, Suho. I was gonna sleep for a few more hours.”

            “But you’re up now, so look out your window!”

            She nodded, even though she knew Joonmyun couldn’t see, and got up before walking slowly to her window, rubbing her tired eyes. Drawing her curtains, she opened up the window, prepared to yell at Joonmyun for waking her up before she gaped at the scene before her.

            It was still dark outside due to the late summer sun, and in the darkness, she could see small, colorful lanterns lit up in her front yard, spelling out the words, “Happy B-day, Mikyung”.

            “Still there, Mikyung?”

            “Y-Yeah.”

            “Take a picture. It’ll last longer.”

            Mikyung smiled at his reply, muttering, “Stupid.” She searched her room for a camera before quickly snapping a shot of the scene and hanging up on the phone, tossing both phone and camera on her bed, and running outside.

            Joonmyun stood there, looking up at the dark sky, with a lantern held in his own hands. He tilted his head back down and smiled as he saw Mikyung running out of the house, still clad in pajamas, with flip-flops just casually slipped on.

            “Happy sixteenth,” he said, handing her the lantern before hugging her.

            “I feel like an awful friend,” she muttered. “I didn’t do anything like this for your birthday.”

            “You didn’t have to. Do you like it?” he asked, pulling away. From on the ground, the lanterns seemed less organized, but gave off the feeling of a bright sort of freedom.

            Mikyung nodded. “How long did this take you?”

            “A few hours… I was here earlier this morning.”

            Now that she looked carefully, she could see the dark circles under his eyes, casting a shadow under bright orbs.

            “You always seem to suffer because of me,” she muttered, reaching up to rub under his eyes.

            Joonmyun rolled his eyes. “Hurry up and go back inside to get ready. I’ll take you out for breakfast.”

            “Hanging out all day?”

            “That shouldn’t even be a question.”

            Mikyung laughed quietly before nodding and going inside, leading Joonmyun to the living room. “Be back in… half an hour?”

            Joonmyun nodded and watched as she hurried up the stairs to her room.

            He sighed and leaned back on the couch, closing his eyes. He was kidding when he said it only took a few hours. As the utterly awful friend he was, he forgot it was her birthday until around seven the night before and had to quickly plan with whatever he had. He remembered his mom had a ton of mini lanterns from a fundraising event before, and decided to use those. Then came the planning for how big her front lawn was, how much space each lantern would take up, and then tons of trial and error before he could hope for the best.

            Judging by Mikyung’s expression, he was relieved it didn’t turn out to be a disaster. But the lack of sleep finally started catching up to him, adrenaline running out, and just as he was about to fall asleep, Mikyung bounded down the stairs.

            Her straight hair was combed smooth, still wet from a quick shower, with a blue headband keeping it back. Make-up could be faintly seen in the eyeliner and lipstick, but brightened up her face easily. She had on a blue and white, polka-dot, chiffon dress, a gray belt to cinch in her waist, and white wedges pulled on hastily.

            Mikyung was just about to call his name when she saw his eyes just opening, sleepiness evident. “Maybe you should sleep,” she said quietly, walking slowly towards him.

            “No, I’m fine. Let’s go eat breakfast.” Joonmyun got up and yawned, stretching out his arms. “My cars right outside.”

            She was about to nod when she darted up the stairs, only to come back down with her guitar strapped around her back and a small, white purse hanging off her left shoulder.

            Joonmyun laughed. “Why are you taking that with you?”

            “Well, you’re a singer, so you can take your instrument with you wherever you go easily. I’m just not so fortunate.”

            He smiled before taking the guitar from her. “Planning a performance?”

            “Why not?”

            That only caused his smile to widen. It was as if she was learning to live again, but… happier than before.

❣ ❣ ❣

            “So, what did you wanna play?” asked Joonmyun, wiping his hands on a napkin.

            The two of them sat outside of a café, the sun peeking out to greet them. At almost seven in the morning, the café owners didn’t expect a pair of teenagers to come so early. But, who said they were a normal pair?

            “What about that song you wrote? Lucky, right? You never showed it to me again,” Mikyung said, pulling her guitar onto her lap.

            He sheepishly smiled, rubbing the back of his head. “It’s… not finished yet.” Truth be told, he couldn’t bear to look back at the lyrics again. He had finished the lyrics. They were completed, but only while he was half conscious. And even though the words flowed together nicely, perfectly, a phrase had made its way onto the paper, surprising him completely. So lucky, my love. So lucky to have you. So lucky to be your love, I am.

            Joonmyun wasn’t sure whether he meant them, whether they just seemed to be a slip of hand into cliché song lyrics. But what disturbed him more was how it seemed so right, and fit in flawlessly.

            “Suho?”

            He quickly snapped out of his thoughts. “W-What?”

            Mikyung smiled. “So, Lucky’s off the counter?”

            “F-For now.” He sighed at his stuttering. “But, I have another song for you.”

            “Really? What’s it called?”

            “It’s just the first draft… I was thinking of changing a few lines and things.”

            “Why not try it out now then? There’s nobody else out right now, well, except for the café owners, but they’re inside.” She grabbed her pick from the case quickly. “Did you bring it with you?”

            He nodded, pulling a few papers from his pockets. “It’s kind of long, so… let’s just try out half of it.”

            “What’s it called?”

            “365.”

            Mikyung nodded and looked at the papers Joonmyun unfolded. She then turned to her own purse and pulled out a pencil before jotting down a few guitar chords. “You should be a singer song-writer, Suho. And when you become famous, I better be your guitarist for everything.”

            He laughed. “Sure, if that’s even possible for me.”

            “Of course it is,” she muttered, looking over the chords before nodding. “Alright.”

            “You don’t wanna read the lyrics?”

            “I’ll hear them when you sing.”

            Joonmyun nodded before standing up and walking over to stand by her side.

            Just like when they played “Lucky” about a year ago, Mikyung started off uneasily, fingers stumbling over a few chords, causing her to blush in embarrassment.

            She muttered a quick sorry before Joonmyun started singing.

            “Get crushed three times, even if you cry around the fifth one.

            If you overcome it five times, you begin to see the end of it.

            If you run impatiently, you will only miss important things.

            Give yourself some time so you can catch your breath.

            Always in the same place, like a rising sun.

            3-6-5 I start my day by waking you up every morning.

            3-6-5 every minute, every second, without any break,

            I’ll spend all of these with you.

            Oh oh oh oh 3-6-5 I’ll grab your hand.

            Oh oh oh oh 3-6-5 I won’t let it go.”

            The middle of the song quickly came, and even though the moment was sweet, it came to an end just as the last chord was being strum.

            “You would become so popular if anybody but me heard your songs,” Mikyung muttered.

            Joonmyun shook his head. “Nobody would want to hear them.”

            “I do.”

            “You’re my best friend.”

            “I’m also blunt.”

            “Sure.”

            Mikyung laughed.

            “This song’s your birthday present,” Joonmyun said, sitting back down.

            “Really?”

            He nodded, and as soon as he did, he was tackled into a tight hug by the petite girl, almost sending his chair falling backwards.

            “Thanks, Suho,” she muttered. “I don’t know why I deserve this, but thanks.”

            “You deserve this because you’re who you are,” he replied, prying his clingy best friend off. “And I…” Joonmyun hesitated before quickly saying, “wanted your sixteenth birthday to be really special.” What was he going to say before?

            “It was already great since this morning. I feel like I never do enough for you.”

            “You always do,” he said, trying to shake off his confusion before smiling.

            “That’s an overstatement.”

            He kept his thoughts to himself, denying the accusation of an overstatement, and shook his head instead before standing up. “I’ll be right back.”

            Mikyung remained in her chair, confused as he walked into the café. Barely five minutes later, Joonmyun walked back out, carrying a small cake with a lit candle.

            “Yah, Suho… isn’t it too early for cake?” she said, almost whispering.

            “Never,” he replied, smiling. Joonmyun set it down carefully on the table. “Do you want me to sing a birthday song?”

            “No. It’s too cheesy.” Mikyung smiled, touched by everything he had done for her in the two hours since she’d woken up.

            On the cake was an angel, much like the cake she had when she was younger. But this time, there were two words, one on each wing. Let’s promise?

            “What does that mean?” she asked, looking at the elegantly decorated cake.

            Joonmyun sat down opposite to her and brushed her hair away from her eyes. “You’ll never be alone as long as I’m here.”

            Mikyung tilted her head in confusion before saying, “Then… you’ll never be alone as long as I’m here.”

            “Is that a promise?” he asked, his voice soft.

            She nodded and held out her hand, pinky out. Joonmyun smiled at the childish act before linking his finger with hers and pushing their thumbs together. “Definitely.” 

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