The other U-KISS members all have their own suggestions for your birthday gift, but Hoon, in an uncharacteristic phase of suaveness, has his own plans.

    When practice was finally called to an end, Hoon collapsed next to Soohyun on the floor. The weather was getting increasingly hotter, and there was no respite in sight. It was only noon, but the U-KISS members- especially Hoon and Eli- were sweating profusely from constant dancing.

    Hoon flung a hand dramatically over his forehead and groaned. “I don’t know what to do.”

    “About what?” Soohyun asked.

    “It’s _____’s birthday on Tuesday, and I don’t have anything planned yet. I’ve been so busy, and I haven’t had a single good idea.”

    “Well, you came to the right person,” Soohyun declared. “I’m the most romantic member.”

    “No, you’re not.” Eli trudged over to join them, unscrewing his water bottle and taking a long drink. “Kiseop is.”

    “Where is Kiseop?” Hoon sat up and looked around.

    “You don’t want my help?” Soohyun sulked.

    “That’s not it, hyung; I just need as much help as I can get. Where is he?”

    AJ, who had just walked back into the room, spoke up. “He’s showing some dance move to Jun in the hallway. Do you want me to go get him?”

    However, the matter was resolved when Kiseop re-entered the practice room, followed by Jun.

    “I should have taken a selca before practice,” Kiseop muttered, pocketing his phone.

    “Kiseop, I need your help!” Hoon stretched and shifted into a more comfortable position next to Soohyun, who looked as though he were strongly considering getting up yet deciding against it.

    “Oh?” Kiseop raised one perfect eyebrow. “What is it, Hoonie?”

    “_____’s birthday is on Tuesday, and I want to do something romantic for her, but I’m out of ideas. Can you help?”

    “Hmmm. Something romantic? Why don’t you try that chocolate melting thing you wanted to do?”

    “Kiseop!” Kevin, who had turned as red as Hoon’s ears, protested. “Isn’t that a bit…”

    Hoon coughed. “I’m, um, saving that for our anniversary.”

    “Wait, what chocolate melting thing?” Jun asked, curious. He looked around at the other members. “You mean like when couples make their own chocolates on Valentine’s Day?”

    “Something like that,” Eli said, clearly still put off by Hoon’s idea. “Believe me, you’re better off not knowing.”

    “It’s romantic,” AJ said. “Hoon should do that if he really wants to.”

    “Just do something that comes from the heart,” Kevin suggested. “You can get her a small, meaningful gift and maybe some flowers.”

    “Write her a love letter,” AJ said, winding his earbud cord. “That way, you can best convey what you feel for her.”

    Hoon took a moment to imagine what his love letter might look like. “I’m not sure I can put it all into words.”

    “That’s right!” Soohyun declared, finally sitting up. “You have to act. Take action.”

    “Take action?” Kevin repeated nervously. “What exactly do you mean by taking action?”

    “Yah!” Hoon swatted lightly at Soohyun. “I don’t want to know what you’re thinking of.”

    “What? I’m just trying to help!” Soohyun rubbed his arm.

    Kiseop, transitioning back to reality from his own world of thoughts, nodded slowly. “It’s about what you do, but it’s also about how you do it. So just think of things you can do for her, then think of the romantic way to do those things.”

    “Oh!” Soohyun clapped. “That makes sense.”

    “What do you think, Hoon?” Kiseop asked.

    But Hoon had zoned out and was staring at a speck of dust on the floor. He was deep in thought as he tried to think of a good plan for your birthday.

    “Okay,” he said, looking up abruptly. “I think I have an idea. But I might need some help. I’m not sure I can pull it off all by myself.”

    As the other members voiced their willingness to assist Hoon with his preparations for your birthday, Hoon was filled with a warm feeling of contentment. Happy that he had an idea, he took a long drink of water and got to his feet.

    “Okay,” Hoon said, making a strange motion with his hands that the other members assumed meant texting, “I’ll text you guys. Thank you for the ideas, really. I truly appreciate it.”

 

An unusually large strawberry fell from the sky and hit you on the top of the head. Puzzled, you raised your head upward. As it happened, the strawberry had not fallen from the sky. Kiseop was sitting in a tree, long legs dangling, pelting you with strawberries. You tried covering your head, but to no avail. Kiseop kicked his legs from the tree branch, laughing mirthfully and throwing another strawberry.

    You felt like you were about to cry, but suddenly, a magnificent ostrich appeared next to you.

    “Kiseop!” It yelled. “Stop that right now!”

    Kiseop vanished in a puff of smoke, and the ostrich stretched its neck toward you and tilted its head to look you in the eyes.

    “Are you asleep?” It asked.

    You frowned. What kind of a question was that?

    “_____-ah,” it persisted, nudging you with its muscular leg.

    Assuming it wanted you to climb on, you hoisted yourself onto its back and put your arms around its neck to keep from sliding off.

    “_____-ah?” It asked.

    “Yes, that’s me.”

    “I know that’s you, silly.” The ostrich reached its head around to face you and began to peck your nose gently with its beak. “_____.”

    You awoke to find yourself snuggled up against someone, hugging a sturdy, familiar arm. You opened your eyes and saw your boyfriend sitting next to you, tapping your nose lightly and looking down at you with slight concern.

    “Hoon?” You gasped, sitting straight up in bed. You felt yourself smile when you saw his face. He appeared to be just as surprised as you were. “What time is it? I thought you were coming at 11.”

    “I decided to come over earlier,” he said. “I let myself in; I hope that’s alright.”

    “Of course.” You beamed, still holding onto his arm. “I’m glad you’re here.”

    “Me, too.” He returned your smile and leaned down to kiss your cheek. “Happy birthday!” He proceeded to disentangle your arms and stand up. After stretching a bit, he knelt by the bed and gestured to his back. “Climb on!”

    “Oh!” You were slightly worried. “Will your back be okay?”

    Hoon nodded. “You don’t weigh much, and I’m very strong!”

    “I know,” you giggled, and tentatively climbed onto his back, wrapping your arms around his neck as he rose and carried you down the hall. “This is just like my dream,” you mused, resting your chin on his shoulder and looking up at his face.

    “Oh, did you dream about me?” He asked excitedly.

    You hesitated. “Yes, in a way. Kiseop was throwing strawberries at me, but you told him to stop and gave me a ride on your back.”

    Hoon nodded in agreement. “Good. No one gets to throw things at my sesame seed. Not even Kiseop.”

    You blushed at his nickname for you. While anyone else might have laughed at the terms of endearment that Hoon had for you, you found them cute.

    “Where are you taking me?” You wiggled your feet.

    “To the kitchen!” Hoon replied. “Go go!”

    When the two of you arrived in the kitchen, you saw that there was a plate of waffles on the table, accompanied by a small vase of flowers.

    “Hoonie!” You exclaimed. “You fixed me breakfast?”

    “Mhmm.” He crouched next to the table so that you could climb off. “It’s your birthday, and you need to eat well in the morning to have enough energy for later.”

    “I love waffles, but as energy-producing foods go...” you laughed.

    Hoon nodded seriously. “If it were up to me, I would have only cooked meat for you, but Soohyun said that waffles were more romantic.”

    It seemed that Soohyun was right, for Hoon had carefully cut each waffle into the shape of a heart.

    “Smell!” Hoon exclaimed in English as he removed another waffle from the waffle iron. “Mmm.”

    “Where did you get the waffle iron?” You asked, taking a bite of your waffles.

    “I borrowed it from my mom,” Hoon said, bringing his plate to the table and joining you. “How are they?” He asked eagerly.

    “They’re really good! Really, really good!”

    Hoon glowed at your praise and began to eat his own waffles. After several minutes, as you chewed your waffles, you noticed that Hoon was staring at you.

    You swallowed. “What? Is there something on my face?”

    “No.” He shook his head.

“What is it, then?”

“Can’t I just watch you eat your waffles?” Hoon asked, breaking into a goofy smile.

You laughed. “Why?”

          Hoon got up from the table to take his plate to the sink, bending over next to you on his way to whisper in your ear. “Because you’re pretty.”

         You flushed and finished your waffles, then walked over next to Hoon and leaned into him.

    “Thank you for breakfast. It was really sweet.”

    “Like you,” Hoon said, poking your arm. It seemed that the grease that might have come from the meat he had wanted to cook had gone to his head instead.

    “Hoonmin, you're being really sweet today.” Hoon was being even sweeter than usual, which you had previously thought to be impossible.

    “Because it’s your birthday!” He answered, spontaneously wrapping his arms around you. “We have somewhere to be, so I’ll clean up here while you get ready, okay?”

    This came as a complete surprise to you. “There’s more?” You asked, looking at him with wide eyes.

    Hoon nodded. “And it’s a surprise, so no more questions!”

    Once you had gone to your bedroom to find something more appropriate to wear out of your apartment, Hoon washed the dishes while he awaited your return. Unfortunately, his nose began to itch, so he scratched beneath it with a bubble-covered hand. When you walked back into the kitchen, dressed in shorts and a fitted t-shirt, Hoon turned around to greet you with a sudsy mustache.

    You smiled and wiped the bubbles from his face while he washed his hands.

    “You look lovely,” Hoon murmured after he had dried his hands. “Hold on, I have something for you. Close your eyes.”

    You closed your eyes and waited patiently. You could hear the refrigerator opening and the sound of Hoon reaching for something in his pocket as he stood behind you.

    “Are you ready?” He asked, and you nodded. “You can open your eyes now!”

    You opened your eyes to see him standing in front of you, offering you a bouquet of delicate roses.

    “For you, my sesame seed,” he said with a smile.

    You accepted the bouquet and inhaled their sweet scent. “Thank you. They’re beautiful. I should put these in water right away.” You stood on your tiptoes to kiss his cheek, and his smile widened.

    As you were busying yourself with putting the roses in a vase, Hoon snuck up behind you and fiddled with something at the back of your neck. You jumped slightly at the sudden cold feeling of metal.

    “What are you doing, Hoonie?” You inquired, arranging the flowers in their vase.

    “This is my gift to you,” he replied, fastening something and kissing the back of your neck before turning you around to face him.

    You looked down to see that he had clasped a thin silver chain around your neck, on the end of which was a small diamond pendant.

    “Hoon!” You cried, marveling at its beauty. “You didn’t have to! It’s...it’s beautiful.” You flung yourself at him, and he caught you in his arms, holding you close to his chest.

    “Think of me when you wear it, okay? Wear it when I’m away so that you don’t forget about me.”

    “You know I could never forget you,” you mumbled into him, closing your eyes and enjoying the hug.

    Hoon heaved a great sigh.

    “What’s wrong?” You asked, pulling away to look into his eyes.

    “Nothing’s wrong,” he said, “I’m just relieved.”

    “Relieved?”

    “I almost dropped it down the drain,” he confessed. “And I lost it three times.”

    You laughed quietly. “Why did you have it out while you were washing the dishes?”

    “I have my reasons,” Hoon said, then promptly checked the clock and changed the subject. “We need to go! Are you ready?”

    You nodded. “Remind me again where we’re going?”

    “Nice try.” Hoon took you by the hand and led you to the couch, gently tugging your hand so that you would sit next to him.

    “I thought we had to be somewhere,” you said, confused.

    “This is it,” Hoon said with certainty, and pulled you closer to him.

    “The couch?” You laughed. “You were checking the time because we couldn’t be late to the couch?”

    “Yes.” Hoon nodded seriously. “I have to make sure that we can cuddle for a good hour before I take you to lunch.” He squeezed you tightly. “Happy birthday, _____-ah.”

    You smiled happily, snuggling against him. “You’re incredible,” you said. “You’ve done so much for me already, and it’s not even lunchtime yet. Is there anything you can’t do?”

    “Not when it comes to you,” Hoon replied, leaning over to kiss you. “For you, I would fight off all of the woodland creatures. Just to keep you safe.”

    “Are you keeping me safe right now?”

    Hoon nodded.

    “Then please keep me safe forever.” You closed your eyes, listening to the two of you breathing. You could feel Hoon’s heartbeat below your ear. Its steady pace reminded you that although your boyfriend couldn’t always be next to you, he would always be with you in your heart.