On Thursday morning I was woken up to the sound of five confetti poppers exploding over me at the same time. My eyes fluttered open just in time to see the small streamers and pieces of paper floating down and my parents, my brother, my best friend, and my ex-nemesis surrounding my bed, smiles on their faces.

“Five more minutes,” I grumbled. “I don’t wanna grow up yet.”

“Oh honey, that’ll happen no matter what,” Mom said with a chuckle.

“Here, blow out the candle!” Hana exclaimed.

From behind her, she protruded a cupcake with an unlit candle. Thalia pulled out a lighter and seconds later, the wick was burning.

“Don’t forget to make a wish!” Jaeson called out.

First I made sure that I was alone in my head, and found that Jongin had just gone to sleep. I smiled. I wish that Jongin and I can be a normal couple. I blew out the flame and everyone cheered.

“Happy birthday, sweetheart,” Mom said, giving me a black and electric blue backpack. It was official CoreA merchandise, and I might have screamed a little.

“Oh my God, thanks!”

“Go on, open it!”

I did, and I found a whole stack of shirts, one hat, and one pair of sunglasses. Both the single items were CoreA merch, again. I pulled out the first shirt. It wrote, in alternating lines of pink and lavender, “6th runner-up on The Search For Love”. As I shook it out, though, I found a CD falling out. Clearly staring back up at me was EXO’s logo on their first mini album. “Oh my God, Mom, why?”

“Because you’re totally in love and you can’t deny it,” she replied.

She didn’t even know the start of it.

Every other shirt was the same; it was something by INK Media, wrapped around an EXO CD until, finally, I had their entire collection.

My dad had gotten me something else I’d wanted. “Here you go,” he said, handing me a beautifully wrapped box. “Your 1000 dollar word processor.”

I laughed as I unwrapped my new laptop and gave him a great big hug.

“Happy birthday!” Hana and Thalia said in unison, presenting me a small, wrapped box each.

Hana’s turned out to not be a box at all, instead, it was a stack of gift cards. Thalia’s was a beautiful necklace and earring set. I hugged them both.

Last up was Jaeson. His was in an envelope, so I assumed it was just some cash. I was about to thank him when he said, “You haven’t even opened it yet. Go on, open it.”

Surprised, I opened it to find a colourful brochure of San Francisco. “Wait, what?” I asked.

“You, me, one week, San Fran, and peace. What do you say?” he replied with a wink.

My parents exchanged a worried glance and sighed. “I’ll have you know,” Mom said, “it took forever for your brother to convince us to let you go.”

“Thank you!” I cried, wrapping my arms around my family.

“His best argument was that with this, you’d be away for Christmas so we wouldn't have to buy you anything,” Dad said. I laughed.

“Alright,” Hana said, breaking us up. “Get out of bed, missy. Enough celebrating, we still have to go to school.”

Hana and Thalia waited in the living room as I got dressed, wearing one of my new shirts, my new hat, and the new jewelry. “Let’s go.”

At school, I found my locker to be covered in decorations, and balloons, with streamers hanging down from every which way. “Happy Birthday!” it wrote in stencilled letters. It seemed Thalia, after her shift in her own class, had gone to the trouble to decorate my locker last night.

“You guys are too much,” I said and opened it. Thankfully, the inside had remained untouched.

Hana also took it upon herself to let all of my teachers know that it was my birthday when we walked to class together, so they all started singing to me. Every single class did the “How old are you?” bit, too. Even Señora Rodriguez thought it would be the perfect occasion to learn “Happy Birthday” in Spanish.

‘Happy birthday!’ Jongin said, as soon as he woke up.

Thanks, I replied.

‘Any birthday plans?’

Well you missed the cupcake and the gift giving. My mom got me all of EXO’s discography.

‘Nice going, Mama Park.’

Yeah, I thought you’d like that. She also got me a whole bunch of INK Media merchandise. Mainly CoreA. Specifically J-Key.

I smiled as jealousy sparked in Jongin’s core. ‘That’s… nice. I’m sure you enjoyed those.’

Not as much as the one EXO shirt she got me. It has your name on the back. You know, she’s still under the impression that you’re my bias.

‘Of course I’m your bias, who else would it be?’

Booty boy.

‘He has a name, stop objectifying him. Down with the patriarchy!’

As far as I’m concerned, Booty Boy is his name.

Jongin sighed. ‘Please tell me you haven’t made your wish yet.’

Sorry, Jongin, you missed that, too.

‘Damn it. For once I would be able to know what someone wishes for!’

There are plenty more birthdays to come, Jongin-ah.

‘J-Jongin-ah? I’m older than you! If anything, you should be calling me oppa! Hey… Why don’t you call me oppa?’

Jongin-oppa? That sounds weird, I joked.

‘You sound weird.’

Great comeback, Jongin-ah.

‘Gah!’

I snickered.

“Is something funny, birthday girl?” Mr. Harrison asked.

“Err…” I vaguely remembered him making a joke a few minutes ago. “I only just got what you meant earlier with the--”

“The clickbait joke?” he asked, excited that someone was appreciating his humour.

I smiled. “Yeah. Brilliant,” I commended.

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