It’s been six hours since you left your apartment to look for “the perfect gift” in Myeongdeong for Lay. Your feet were aching and you were starting to feel cold, but you kept on walking through the line of shops anyway, since in a matter of minutes, it would already be midnight---his birthday, and you still haven’t found anything special to give him.

                After a couple more minutes, your knees finally gave in and you collapsed right there in the sidewalk. I can’t stop now. Any second now, the clock would strike twelve and I still don’t have anything to give him yet. You thought as you tried to get up. As you was doing so, the alarm you set on your watch started beeping, as if taunting you about not being able to get Lay a present on time.

                At that very moment, tears started to form in your eyes. Why in the world couldn’t I just find one stinking gift? You thought as you started kicking aimlessly. Just as the tears were about to fall, you suddenly hear your phone ring. Choking back the tears, you answered the call, not even bothering to look at who it is.

                “Yah! Why are you still awake?” Lay’s voice rang through your ears.

                “I-I’m busy at the moment.” You tried to hide the shaking in your voice.

                “Hmm.. where are you?” Lay asked, to which, you almost coughed.

                “A-ah… just at the nearby convenience store.” You grit your teeth for lying to Lay.

                “Eh? What are you buying?” Lay asked again.

                “I-uhh… just---stuff.” You stammered.

                You could hear Lay’s chuckles at the other end of the line.

                “Waeyo? Where are you?”

                This time it was Lay who coughed.

                “Uhmm… I’m uhh… a-at the dorm. Yep, the dorm.”

                “Oh, jinjja? Can I talk to Tao then? Please?” Maybe I can talk him into helping me shop.

                “Uhh--- Sorry, I actually have to go. Urgent—uhh... thing. Take care of yourself, jagiya. You should sleep soon. Bye!” Lay hastily told you as he hung up, not even bothering to let you say goodbye.

                You blinked at your phone, not knowing how to react. You then started looking around you and saw that there were only a few people left in Myeongdeong. With a heavy heart, you started to stand up and headed to the bus stop.

                A couple of minutes into your trip home, you received a text from Lay.

                From: Laynicorny

Haerin-ah, can you spend the day with me tomorrow/today? Jebaal. :< All I want is you, some coke and junk food and my day will be complete. ^.^

 You smiled as you told him okay. As you were reading Lay’s text again, an idea suddenly popped into your mind. I’ll cook up several burgers and fries and light up some candles over them! That way, he can have all his favorite things to blow on, instead of some substandard cake. With that in mind, you couldn’t help but grin on the whole ride home.

The Next day…

                Before going to Lay’s apartment, you went to the supermarket first to buy the things you needed. You bought all the necessities to make 23 burgers all in all, since he just turned 23. After buying those, you headed towards the junk food section to buy all the junk food Lay was so fond of. You then went to the beverage isle to pick up two big bottles of coke and one big bottle of sprite. You pouted as you looked at your grocery cart. You aren’t that much of a fan of junk food, in fact, you hated it, but as you thought of how Lay looked every single time he opened up a bag of Cheetos, you couldn’t help but smile. Okay, just for today. Since it’s your day.

                After paying for the groceries you headed straight towards Lay’s apartment. You knocked a few times, but since nobody was answering the door, you decided to open it instead with the spare key Lay has given you just about a week ago. Maybe he’s still asleep. You thought as you turned the knob, struggling to keep the heavy groceries in balance.

                Once you were inside, you went straight to the kitchen to drop off your bags. You decided to look for Lay and as you expected, he was still very much asleep in his room. You approached his bed and knelt beside his bed. You couldn’t help but smile at how peaceful he looked. You’re probably gonna wake up at around noon. You pushed back the hair covering his eyes and kissed his forehead unconsciously. Just as soon as you realized what you just did, you turned a bright shade of crimson and scurried back to the kitchen. This was the first kiss you have ever given him, if forehead kisses counted. When it came to kisses, Lay was usually the one who kissed you, either the cheek or the forehead.

                You were still shy about skinship because in your opinion, 5 months wasn’t really that long for a couple to be so intimate. You and Lay haven’t even shared a real kiss yet, since you thought it was still too soon to do so, and the fact that it was going to be your first kiss made you more cautious about when to give it to Lay.

                Trying to shake what just happened earlier, you started the actual cooking. While the patties were still in the pan, you took your time to actually start arranging the actual buns. You tried hard to make them look presentable. Out of the two of you, Lay was the better cook. He could practically turn a simple fried piece of meat into something mouth-watering. You, on the other hand, could only cook instant noodles perfectly.

                With this on your mind, you completely forgot about the patties in the pan. You snapped out of your thoughts when you smelled something burning. “Omona!” You exclaimed as you hurried to flip the patties to the other side. As expected, the patties were a bit burned on one side. From then on, you kept a close watch on the patties. The next batches weren’t half bad, but the first ones kind of ruined your whole arrangement, since they were a bit visible.

                As you were piling up the burgers into a neat, pyramid-like style, you heard the kitchen door open.

                “Haerin-ah? Why didn’t you wake me up?” Lay asked you in a groggy voice as he rubbed his eyes.

                “Yah! Go to the couch, or take a bath or something~” You told him off and pushed him out the door.

                “Aigoo. You’re trying to kick me out of my own kitchen. How mean…” Lay pouted as he turned to face you.

                “Zhang Yixing~ pleaaaase?” You pleaded as you kept on pushing him far away from the kitchen.

                “Arasso, arasso.” Lay nodded as he walked off to the bathroom.

                You walked slowly back to the kitchen and resumed your work. You finished right on time, lighting the last candle, just as you heard Lay walk out of the bathroom. You took a deep breath and coughed. You did a few vocalizations first before you went off, burger “cake” on hand. You then started singing as you walked towards the living room, where Lay was. “Saengil Chukhahamnida~ Saengil Chukhahamnida~ Happy birthday dear Oppaaa… Saengil Chukhahamnida!”

                Lay turned his head to see you carrying your little surprise. He gave you his most precious dimpled smile and came closer to blow the candles. Once he was finished, you laid down the platter on the center table. You were about to go back to the kitchen to get the other junk food you bought from the supermarket when you felt Lay’s arms wrap around you. Surprised by the sudden action, you blushed.

                Lay laid his chin on your shoulder and whispered near your ear. “Gomawo, Haerin-ah~ Saranghae. This is the best gift anyone could ever give me… although… you know what would make it more perfect?”

                You turned your head as he loosened his hold on you. “What?”

                “A kiss.” Lay told you as he puckered his lips cutely. “Haeriiin~ I’m waiting.”

                You blushed. Lay peeked at you from under his lashes and grinned cheekily.

                “Aigooo~ I was just kidding--”

                This time, it was Lay the was taken aback by what you did. You kissed him in the cheek. The first kiss he’s ever gotten from you. Technically, he doesn’t know about the kiss earlier, so to him, this is a first.

                After doing that, you hurried to the kitchen and busied yourself. After a couple of minutes, lay called you from the living room. “Haerin-ah! I’m calling the boys over, okay? So they can eat your burgers, too.”

                “Okay, we have plenty of food to go around. Maybe they can add some other food, too. And tell them to bring movies!” You hollered back.

                Within the hour, 11 other boys came scurrying into your boyfriend’s apartment.

                “Haerin-ah~” They greeted at the same time.

                They all scrambled at the living room, taking up all the space. They were a noisy bunch but you couldn’t help but smile as you saw Lay laugh and joke with his EXO brothers. You attended to their needs all afternoon and before you knew it, you drifted off to sleep.

                You woke up with a paper rose tucked in your hand. As you looked at it closely, you saw that there were scribbles in it. Curious as to what it contained you opened it and smiled as you read:

Haerin-ah,

                I just went out to take the boys to the station. I’ll be back a little later. You looked really tired so I didn’t wake you up. Anyway, you shouldn’t really be going to all that trouble just for me. You know I hate it when you overwork yourself. But anyway, this day just proved that my feelings are returned, even though, you don’t say it much, or show it much

I will never forget this day for the rest of my life. Even if I have more birthdays to come, I know that this will always be the best one, because it was the first birthday I got to spend with you. That alone, has made it forever etched in my heart and mind.

. I love you, haerin-ah~ Gomawooo~ Please don’t try so hard to please me or other people because I love you just the way you are.

PS: I know about your trip to Myeongdeong last night. :P You shouldn’t be out so late. Next time, just ask me to come with you, so I don’t have to hide in the bushes, arasso? (>.<)

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A/N: Just in time before #HappyYixingDay is officially over! :D Did you guys like this fluff? :) Hope you did. :D Happy reading!  Saranghaeyo!