A bashful shade of red appeared on Jiho's cheek as he fixed his uniform in front of the bathroom mirror. He smiled softly, then placed some gel on his hair. As he was putting the gel, the door opened behind him. He quickly removed his hands from his hair and turned around to see his mother stepping into the bathroom.

"Mom!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, sorry dear. I was just getting the laundry," she said in a half-hearted tone. As she leaned to get the laundry basket, she looked up at Jiho. "You're all dressed up."

His ears turned red. "Mom, can you just leave?"

"Does this mean that you're going to spend the day with your friends?" she asked. "After all, it is your birthday today."

"Not really," he said. He looked back at the mirror, then blushed even harder. "I just wanted to spend my birthday with someone in particular…"

"Oh, does my little boy have a girlfriend?" his mother asked teasingly.

"Mom, stop it!" he shouted.

"You're not denying it," she sang. She laughed when she saw her son try to glare at her. "Can I take a guess?"

"It's someone you don't kn—"

"Is it Minah?"

Jiho blinked his eyes. "No. Why would you think that it's Minah?"

"Well, you two always spent your birthdays together. I just thought that it was finally time you two got together." She gasped and covered her lips with her hand. "Oh, I left the stove on! You go onto school, alright?"

She left him alone in the bathroom. Jiho stared at the door, making sure that she didn't barge in again. Then, he went back to the mirror and fixed himself up.

I never really talked to Minah in a long time, he thought. He paled. Wait. Does Jieun think that I have some sort of relationship with Minah? He quickly left the bathroom and grabbed his bag. Oh damn. I got to find out right now before I ask her to give me my birthday present…!

* * *

"What? It's Jiho's birthday today?" Jiyong asked.

Minah groaned. "Yes, it is! Now, will you tell me which gift you think is better?"

Jiyong looked down two presents she displayed in front of him. One was a silver watch, while the other gift was a set of branded headphones. Then, his index finger landed on the watch.

"I think the watch is a better choice," he said. "It'll help Jiho keep track of time. Besides, watches are pretty handy, don't you think?"

"Okay, thanks. I'll give him the headphones," Minah said, completely ignoring Jiyong's advice. He scowled as she pulled out a gift box and gently placed the headphones in the box. She closed it, then smiled when she looked at the gift. "This is going to be perfect! I can't wait to see the look on his face!"

"This is the first time you're celebrating his birthday in a long time, right?" he asked.

Minah nodded her head. Her eyes glowed with anticipation as she stared at the gift. Her fingers curled at the edge of the box.

"I'm so nervous," she breathed quickly. "I mean, it's just a birthday present, right? But I have no idea what he wants, so I'm really scared that this is something he doesn't want." She frowned. "What if he doesn't like the headphones? Should I pull out a smooth recovery and give him the watch instead? What if he doesn't like the watch, then? Does that mean that I failed his birthday—"

"Minah, you'll be fine," Jiyong told her. "Have some confidence. This is Jiho we're talking about. He's not going to be disappointed or anything."

She bit her bottom lip. "Well, that's because if you gave him whatever, it'll have no meaning. This gift has a huge meaning right now. It's the first time since years that I gave him a birthday present. I should know him best."

Jiyong sighed as Minah kept staring at the gift. "Whatever. As long as you know that you have to come to work today, I don't care about what happens between you and Jiho."

At that very moment, the small bell chimed. The two looked up at the door, seeing who had just came in. Jiyong raised his eyebrows while Minah gasped and hid the present behind her. 

Jiho stepped inside the store, but he didn't bother to greet them first. His eyes wandered off, searching for a particular person. He did make his way towards the two, prepared to ask them a question or two.

"Happy birthday, Jiho," Jiyong congratulated.

"Yeah, thanks," Jiho replied.

"You did your hair," the older man commented, noticing that his hair was a lot neater than before.

"Mhm." Jiho slid the palm of his head against the side of his hair. His other hand slipped into his pockets, while his eyes continued to search the store. "Um, did you guys happen to see Jieun?"

"Nope," Jiyong said, shaking his head. He looked at Minah. "Have you seen Jieun?"

"N-No," Minah stuttered. "Actually, she left the house first. I'm sure she's at school right now."

"Oh. Okay, thanks," Jiho said. He turned around to leave until Minah stopped him.

"W-Wait!" she called him. Jiho stopped briefly to turn around. When she noticed his annoyed gaze, she slowly walked over to him. "Happy birthday, Jiho…"

She gave him the gift. He stared at it for a long time. For a few seconds, he wondered what was inside. In the end, he accepted the gift, tucking it between his arm and rib.

"Thanks," Jiho said. He was about to leave until Minah stopped his tracks again.

"You can open it right now," she said quickly. "Oh, and if you don't like it, then I can get you something else—"

"I'm sure whatever you gave me is fine. Sorry, Minah, but I have to go. Later!" he exclaimed. He ran off, making his way back to school.

Jiyong pressed his lips together. He knew—judging by Minah's shocked expression—that this was not how Minah imagined the day to be. He was sure that she expected a bigger reaction from the little boy.

She slowly turned her head to face Jiyong. The worker glanced at the time, then back at Minah's burning expression. He let out a small sigh and patted the counter.

"Do you want to talk about what just happened? You got a few minutes before school starts," Jiyong told her.

"Yes, please," she said, nodding her head. She curled her fingers into a fist and stormed her way to Jiyong's side. "Can you believe how he treated my present? He didn't even check! How am I supposed to know if he likes it? Ugh, and did you hear his attitude? I mean, sure, it's his birthday, but…"

Sooner or later, Jiyong found himself drowning Minah's complaints out of his ears and listened to the clock ticking to its limited beat.

* * *

Jieun stared at the large basket of goodies on her table. She looked at it for a long time, thinking why such a thing was here. It wasn't her birthday, and it wasn't a special holiday…

At the corner of her eyes, she saw a familiar figure standing at the door. Without thinking twice, she grabbed the basket and placed it on the teacher's desk. Then, she walked back to her seat and sat down, ignoring all the stares she got from her actions.

"Maybe Chanyeol and Jieun really broke up?"

"Impossible. Chanyeol said that they got in an argument."

"Wow, Jieun's a jerk. Who'd give away such an expensive gift to someone else?"

"She's disgusting. Why does Chanyeol still want her?"

I knew it, she thought, her eyes still at the door. The familiar figure finally moved away from her sight. It was Chanyeol, after all.

She closed her eyes and rested her cheek against the palm of her head. Letting out a sigh, she continued to listen to what the rest had to say about her. She didn't care what anyone had to say about what she did. Chanyeol deserved it, whether they knew what was really going on between them or not.

The mutters stopped. Jieun felt a presence in front of her. She opened one eye, then opened the other when she saw that it was only Jiho.

"Oh, good morning, Jiho," Jieun greeted him.

"Good morning," Jiho greeted her. He let out a small smile. "Anything new?"

"Nothing new this morning. How about you?" she asked. She took notice of the present in his hands. "Is it someone's birthday?"

A small look of disappointment shadowed his face. "It's my birthday, remember…?"

Jieun bit her bottom lip and mentally cursed herself. She had completely forgotten about Jiho's birthday, and from the look on his face, she knew that she had made one of the biggest mistakes in her life. The clear look of dejection covered every inch of his skin.

I don't even have a birthday present for him, she thought regrettably. "I'm so sorry, Jiho! It slipped from my mind. I've been…busy…"

What a lame excuse, she thought. It was definitely a poor one, too.

Jiho looked at her, and noticed the look of guilt on her face. Somehow, he did expect that she would forget about his birthday. For him, that was a good thing. That meant that he could ask her to grant his birthday wish.

He gave her an innocent smile. "It's fine, it's fine! You still owe me a present. You know that, right?"

"Uh, right," she replied awkwardly. 

"Good, good," he murmured to himself. "By the way, are you busy after school?"

She shook her head. If anything, she should at least clear her schedule for the birthday boy.

"Good!" he repeated, grinning. "Then let's celebrate my birthday with cake."

"Just the two of us?" Jieun asked him.

I wish, he thought. He let out a small sigh. "Well, the other three guys wanted to join. They're setting up a 'surprise,' but it's not really a surprise. They said that they'd call me and text me the address. I'm sure we're just meeting at the convenience store, though."

Jiyong's name was the first thing that popped into her head. Jieun looked at him with pure excitement.

"Jiyong's going to be there, right?" she asked him enthusiastically.

Jiho frowned. Again, she was talking about Jiyong. He was so tired of hearing the man's name come out of . 

"I suppose," Jiho murmured. "After all, he works there…"

She smiled. She started humming a small tune, taking out her books for the lecture. Jiho watched her, noticing how happy she was just by the thought of being near Jiyong. It had been a couple of weeks since the two had seen each other, and that had to do with Jieun being busy with high school. However, during the time when she wasn't with Jiyong, Jiho thought that she would slowly forget about the older adult. Her feelings must be some kind of fling. It just had to be a fling.

Unfortunately for him, he was starting to realize that it wasn't.

I have to step up my game, he realized. His fingers curled into a fist. I need to do something that makes her look at me… I probably have to take drastic measures, now.

"Hey," she started. Jiho looked at her with his full attention. "Do you know when Jiyong's birthday is?"

He blinked his eyes. "His birthday? I have no clue…"

* * *

"My birthday? It was a month ago," Jiyong belatedly revealed to the kids. "August 18th."

His fanboys dropped their jaws while Jieun stared at him with horror. Jiho frowned, irritated that everyone was paying attention to Jiyong instead of him. Just who was the birthday boy in the store?

"Why didn't you tell us?" Changshik cried out. "We could've given you presents!"

"I would've given you something really nice!" Wonshik exclaimed. "I was saving up for your birthday!"

"Oh my gosh. We failed you, King Kwon. We deserve punishment!" Kyungsoo declared.

Jiyong let out a small chuckle. "That's okay. I'm an adult now. I haven't celebrated my birthday in years."

"So? What does being an adult have to do with celebration?" Changshik asked.

"I'm surprised that you guys just figured out Jiyong's birthday. I thought you were knew everything about him," Minah commented.

"Wasn't Kyungsoo supposed to figure that out?" Wonshik asked, glaring at the boy.

"Hey, it wasn't my fault. You guys never reminded me," Kyungsoo protested.

"Guys, we aren't here to celebrate me, are we? We're celebrating Jiho's birthday," Jiyong said. He glanced at Minah. "Well, the rest of you are. Minah, you have work. I can't let you off the hook."

Minah gave him a bitter expression. "Fine by me. It's not like I mean anything to Jiho's life."

Jiyong let out a fake laugh while Jiho stared at her in a confused manner. Didn't she just give him a present earlier in the day? And what did she mean by not meaning anything to his life? She did have some kind of impact in his life. He wasn't sure what kind of impact it was, but it was an impact.

"Right, right! Hey, give me the lighter!" Kyungsoo said, turning to Changshik. Once the lighter was in his hand, he began to light the candle. "We're going to eat cake and then open presents."

"Whatever," Jiho said. He wasn't trying to sound mean. He was trying to suppress his happiness. This was great: Jieun was sitting next to him, singing to him; his friends were sitting across, enthusiastically shouting the song; and Jiyong was sitting back at the counter, watching them.

At the corner of his eyes, he saw Minah looking at him. It wasn't the normal eye-exchange that the two had. In fact, the way she was looking at him was…different. It was weird, and when she looked away, she started to blush a bit.

Was she looking at me because—

"Jiho!" Jieun called him. Her sweet voice interrupted his thoughts, but he didn't blame her. "Make a wish and blow the candles!"

He stared down at the candles. There was a lot he wanted to wish for, but what did he really want?

His brown orbs met Jieun's excited eyes. She smiled, and his heart skipped a beat. A rosy blush appeared on his cheeks as he cleared his throat and made his wish.

He knew exactly what he wanted.

The young boy blew out the candles, earning childish claps from his friends. He his dry lips, rubbing his hands together as he waited for Jieun to say something he was expecting her to say.

"So, what did you wish for?" she asked him.

Bingo.

"Do you really want to know?" he asked her slowly.

"Hey! Jiho! You can't do that!" Wonshik said, shaking his index finger. "If you say your wish out loud, it doesn't come true!"

He glared at him. "This one will definitely come true if I say it out loud."

"Oh yeah? Prove it," Changshik challenged him. "I'll buy you that album you wanted if it really does come true."

Even better, Jiho thought, amused. He shifted his body to face Jieun. With sweaty palms, a shy look, and his heart beating against his chest, he gathered up all his courage to ask her a bold question. 

"You owe me a present, right Jieun?" Jiho reminded her. Jieun nodded. He took a deep breath. Then, in one quick breath, he breathed, "Will you go on a date with me this Saturday?"

Clang! Crash!

Everyone looked up, noticing that Minah, who was staring at them, had dropped a few of the merchandise while Jiyong fell backwards on his stool.