Daehyun smiled out at the crowd and tried really hard to not blush. It was just a chicken costume. He didn’t look that stupid. All he did was lose a bet. It was one day of shame, no big deal. It just so happened that the day of shame was also on his birthday and that he had been planning on confessing to the girl of his dreams later. But that wasn’t going to happen if the bet required him to wear the suit for twenty-four consecutive hours. Sometimes he really hated his friends.

            The bet was a dumb one. He had bet them all that he could easily ask the girl out before his birthday and invite her as a guest of honor to their performance. Instead, when he saw her, he became utterly tongue-tied and stupidity refused to allow his normally loquacious mouth to do its job. And so he was stuck performing on his birthday in a chicken suit. What a super suave way to welcome in his twenty-second year.     

            She was coming to the performance. That was a given granted to him by his friends. A couple of them knew her better than he did and casually dropped a line that Daehyun would be there. He wanted to think that he was the incentive that enticed her to show up. Maybe. Maybe not.

            When he thought about it though, an on-stage public confession was just too clichéd. He had to go for something a little more different. Maybe he was just going to have to wait until after to catch up with her and let her know. Either way, he was going to make sure he got it done.

            “Psst, Daehyun, she’s here.” Youngjae poked his head through the curtains.

            He jumped up and immediately the hood of the costume fell off. “Already? But we haven’t even done our rehearsals yet.”

            Youngjae shrugged. “Somebody was probably dying to see her chicken man,” he teased.

            The joke was meant for him to feel better but all it did was make him more self-conscious of the stupid suit he was wearing. “Can we not do this? I don’t want to screw things up right now. I sort of want this birthday to go alright. Is that possible?”

            His best friend grinned and pushed Daehyun forward onto the stage. “Arrive and conquer, Sir Ruffled Feathers.”

            Deep breaths. The first song was a classic that he has long mastered. It didn’t matter what he was wearing. What mattered was that he was on stage and performing. His attire did not matter. The audience did not matter. The fact that she was there, also did not matter. But too bad it did.

            “Youngjae, this is my birthday. I feel like I should have a bit more say in what I do on it than I am having now.”

            By then his other fellow pranksters had gathered and Himchan smirked. “No getting cold feet, or should I say cold wings. Let’s get this show on the road. Speaking of which, Daehyun, why did the chicken cross the road?”

            To vent out his frustration, Daehyun aimed a kick Himchan’s way. “If you weren’t my hyung, I’d probably kill you.”

            “No you can’t. You’re too chicken to.” And that was the last thing Daehyun heard before he was into the spotlight.

            The microphone was handed to him and introductions were being made without him ever realizing exactly what was going on. “And now our birthday boy will be seeing his own soulful rendition of “Baby Baby.” Please put your feathers together to welcome Jung Daehyun!”

            Somewhere in the back of his mind, Daehyun vowed to kill Youngjae. But that was split seconds before the familiar piano strains began and then his voice took over. As he sang he tried to convey the sincerity of his words to the girl in the back. He tried to let her know how he felt but even he knew that romance didn’t work this way. He tried.

            When the songs finished and he was sweating buckets underneath the suit, Jongup finally came out, wheeling the cake. The entire audience burst into the birthday song and when he saw her clapping along and singing, he felt like everything was worth it.

            The cake was cut and passed out without any major incidents. All he did was decorate Youngjae’s face with the icing, there were no vengeful feelings at all. Besides it made her laugh and that was okay with his heart too.

            The plan was to find her afterwards and tell her how he felt but he was feeling brave. And so Daehyun once more picked up the microphone and stared into the crowd. “Before I end this amazing birthday party, I just wanted to play a game. There’s someone here who’s very special to me and I hope she felt my feelings throughout the entire performance. I hope that even though I’m ridiculously dressed as a chicken she can see through and find it in herself to date me. I don’t want to say who she is but I hope if you know who you are, you’ll give me a sign.”

            It was lame. He wanted to flat out confess but instead this came out. Daehyun smiled sheepishly at the crowd and for once was glad he had the cozy onesie to protect him. Members of the audience clapped after he was done and he watched her to see if she would say anything.

            When he found the seat she was sitting in, he saw that it was empty. His heart fell as he scanned the room for her. Had she really left? The courage that had built in him was rapidly deflating.

            Suddenly, there was a screech as someone picked up a microphone on the other side of the stage and Daehyun heard, “Bawk, yes, bawk.”

            After the initial shock has worn off, he saw her properly and saw that she was dressed in a chicken suit to match his. On her chest, she had pinned a heart and that was answer enough for him. 

Happy birthday to my ultimate bias.

♥ Thank you for all that you do for us and I love you for your heart, your smile and your kindness. 

Please continue to stay happy, to be strong because one day you will be 6 again and one day Babyz will be united with B.A.P again.