Ara stretched her arms as she scanned her surroundings. She recalled chatting with Kris on the couch before blanking out. " I must have fallen asleep. " She muttered to herself.

" You sure did. "

Ara whipped her head around to find Kris adjusting his dark blue sweater in front of the huge mirror. His side profile looked absolutely stunning and she couldn't help admiring his perfectly straight nose and sharp jaw. His towering height added to the charm and Ara could see his eyebrows knitting together as he focused on his reflection.

" If you're done staring, you should get ready. It's a special day today. " Kris turned to face Ara with an arrogant smirk on his face.

" I- w-what- wasn't- " Ara choked and stuttered while the man just stared at her smugly. Just then, something that Kris said rang in her mind.

" Wait, a special day? Does that mean that there's no training for today? " She asked hopefully while crossing her fingers. 

Kris nodded before hesitating. " It's.... It's Naeyong's birthday today. We're celebrating. " Kris looked at Ara carefully as he finished his sentence. He knew very well that there was some tension between the two girls.

" Oh. " Ara's face fell as she fidgeted with her fingers. Naeyong had been unfriendly to her ever since her first day here and Ara didn't know why. As much as she wanted to avoid the girl completely, she knew that it was impossible. That wasn't the reason, however. Today wasn't only Naeyong's birthday. It was the 28th of July, Ara's birthday as well. Since she was young, her parents had always celebrated her birthdays with her. Today was the first exception.

" Birthdays are meant to be happy occasions, be fair to Naeyong alright? " Kris exhaled, misreading Ara's upset expression.

Ara glanced at Kris in complete disbelief. She couldn't believe that he actually thought she was such a person. " You think that I'm upset because I don't want Naeyong to be happy? "

He kept silent while gazing at the girl.

Ara gritted her teeth. She felt insulted and anger was rising in her. " Do you honestly think that I'm such a person? " She glared at Kris with disappointed eyes and stalked out of the room without waiting for a response.

Kris stood still in shock. He hadn't meant for his words to come across to Ara in this way but truth be told, he did think that Ara wouldn't like Naeyong to be the center of attention. Come to think of it, Naeyong was the one who targeted Ara right from the very start. Ara had not done a single thing to Naeyong so far. Kris punched the wall in fustration. I should not have thought that way, damn it Kris. You're being an

Ara felt her eyes filling with tears as she descended down the stairs. Who knew that what Kris thought of her could actually affect her so much? " What a good start to my birthday. " Ara thought to herself. Someone grabbed her arm before she could take the next step.

Kris had ran out of the room, determined to apologise to Ara. He spotted her climbing the stairs and reached out for her hand, turning the girl around to face him.

" I'm sorry. I didn't mean those words. "

Ara tilted her neck to look into his eyes. " Yes you did. " Ara was a stubborn person and she didn't normally forgive and forget as readily as others. Besides, what Kris said before had definately hurt her pride.

Kris wanted to hit himself when Ara gazed up at him with reproachful eyes. There was anger in them but he could clearly see the hurt and disappointment reflected in her brown eyes. He hated himself for making her feel this way. " I swear I- "

" Forget it. It's Naeyong's birthday, no unhappy things are allowed. Did you forget? " Ara interrupted Kris and turned away from him with a cold expression. He sighed and let her go. Kris knew that she was being sarcastic though he couldn't blame her.

-

Naeyong beamed as everyone finished the birthday song. The boys were all gathered around her in the kitchen with the exception of Kai and Tao. Both of them had not forgiven Naeyong for lying about Ara before. Ara was standing awkwardly beside Kai. She knew that Naeyong didn't like her so she tried not to get in her way. Kris was beside Naeyong who was clutching his arm. His eyes were fixed on Ara who was avoiding his gaze. Kris felt extremely bad for the things he said earlier and it pained him to know that she was ignoring him now. 

" Did you hear what I just said? Yifan! "

Naeyong's voice broke his thoughts and he hurridly shifted his attention back to her.

" I want all of us to go out and have fun today! It's my birthday so I get to decide. Let's all go to Lotte World! " 

Kris smiled at her indulgently and nodded. 

" Not every single one though... " Naeyong trailed off and looked towards Ara. All the guys shifted uncomfortably as they figured out the hidden meaning behind Naeyong's words.

" Nae... " Kris whispered disapprovingly.

" I just remembered, I have some stuff I need to do today. You guys just go ahead. " Ara said quietly with dignity. It was obvious what Naeyong meant and Ara didn't want to spend her birthday being uncomfortable as well.

Kris looked at her with an unreadable expression while the rest of the guys looked down at their feet. It was Naeyong's birthday after all and no one wanted to object. Kai snorted while Tao rolled his eyes. " I'm not going too. " Both of them retorted in unison.

Naeyong pouted and looked at the rest of the guys for help.

" Ahem, we should really agree to anything Naeyong wants today. It is her birthday guys. " Chanyeol broke the awkward silence.

Tao remained silent while Kai kept on a pokerface. He wasn't going to leave Ara all alone at home. 

" Kai. " Kris finally spoke up. As much as he didn't agree with Naeyong, he wanted to give her everything she wanted today. " As your leader, I am ordering you to accompany Naeyong to the theme park today with the rest of the guys. The same goes for you, Tao. "

Kai stared at Kris is disbelief. Kris hardly played the " Leader " card at all but he was actually doing it now. Tao grumbled but there was nothing he could do. When Kris put it this way, the rest of the boys had to follow his instructions no matter what. Kai snarled under his breath and clenched his fists. Great, now I'm going to be stuck with Nae-miss-whiny-yong for the whole of today. 

" Ara... - "

" I'm fine being alone, I like being alone in fact. " Ara stated before Kris could continue. She felt hurt that he was taking her side but they were a couple after all. At least with the guys gone, she wouldn't have to put on a fake happy smile in front of them.

" You going to be alright? " Kai took Ara aside and stared at her worridly.

Ara softened and smiled gently at the guy. " I'll be fine, I really have some things I want to do. " She patted his arm reassuringly.

Kris frowned as he watched the exchange between the two. Jealousy crept in his heart but he couldn't say anything.

" Let's go. " He muttered gruffly and took Naeyong's hand. The rest of the guys shuffled behind enthusiastically after waving a sheepish goodbye at Ara. Tao gave Ara a smile while Kai squeezed her shoulders before they turned to leave as well.

Ara watched as their cars sped out of the driveway. He shoulders sank as she realised that this would be the first birthday where she had no one by her side.

-

Kris frowned in concentration as he tried to organize his thoughts. Naeyong was snuggling up to him in the car while Baekhyun was at the wheel. Kai was beside Baekhyun and his face told Kris that he wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the order. There was something that was bugging the leader though. Suho was born on the 28th of June and if he didn't remember wrongly, his sister was born on the same exact date two years and one month later. 

Kris jolted upright in shock when he realised what was wrong. Park Ara, today's your birthday as well.

That's right, Ara is actually Suho's younger sister. Heh. Hopefully this chapter is good enough to make up for not updating frequently! ):