19

A gasp escaped my lips, “Sehunnie!” I threw my arms around him and he did the same to me, chuckling as he picked me up and twirled me around. He then moved us to the living room and everyone followed. “Sehunnie, happy birthday!”

“Komawo~” he said with a smile. He then leaned in close and my eyes widened. For a second, I thought he might kiss me and my heart skipped a beat. “Where’s my present?”

“Aish…” I crinkled my nose at him and pushed his face away. I then went to pick up a wrapped box on the coffee table and returned with it in my hands. I passed it to him. “Don’t open it yet. Open it when you’re back…there.” He nodded and smiled, putting an arm around my waist and pulling me against him.

“Komawo,” he murmured in my ear, “for the present. And, just...yeah.” I grinned and hugged him back. “You look very pretty, by the way.” He pulled back and stared down at me. “Did you dress up just for me?”

I blushed and looked away, “Aniya~ I just threw this on.” Taeyeon snorted and I shot her a silencing look. She raised her hands up in surrender while Tiffany sniggered. I flicked my eyes back to Sehun and took in his appearance. The sides of his head were shaved and dark whilst the centre part of his hair was silver, with a slight tinge of pink to it. He was dressed in a lovely grey suit with a white shirt and a navy tie. He seemed to have grown a little taller, now surpassing Kai, and was bulkier, too.

“You look manlier, maknae,” Kris commented as he walked over and clapped him on the shoulder. Still, the Chinese male was taller than Sehun by another two inches or so. He was truly a giant — and handsome, too. Though my eyes slid back to Sehun and I felt my cheeks heat up a bit.

“Sehunnie, are you hungry? I made lots of food for you!” I told him as I pointed and looked at the kitchen, if only to distract myself from his unfairly handsome face.

“Wait, where are your guests?” Kai asked as he looked around. Just then, the bell rang and we exchanged glances. I took the initiative since no one else was and went to the door, swinging it back. Luhan and Minseok smiled nervously and, in their hands, were gifts.

“Annyeong, Nara-ya,” Luhan said with a smile. I grinned and we shared a brief hug. I then waved and bowed my head at Minseok.

“Annyeong, Luhan oppa and Minnie sunbae,” I said before stepping back. “Please, come in. Everyone’s arrived, we’re just about to eat. I hope you’re hungry.”

“Starving,” Minseok replied. “It smells amazing. Your cooking?”

“Eung,” I nodded and lead them to the living room. “Everyone, meet Kim Minseok sunbae. He’s the same age as Luhan oppa, a ’90 liner. Minnie sunbae and Luhan oppa, meet…” I introduced them to everyone and vice versa. Once that was over, they gifted Sehun with unexpected birthday presents.

“Mianhe, I don’t know you at all so all I could get you was a gift card,” Minseok said as he handed an envelope to Sehun. 

“All I know about you is that you love bubble tea, so I got you a loyalty card for the shop down the street,” Luhan added as he also handed him an envelope. Sehun offered them a small smile.

“Komapsumnida,” he said with a bow, “I appreciate it. You didn’t have to get me anything. I’ll be sure to use these whenever I can.” He shrugged. “Or I’ll probably just give them to our Nara and she can get stuff for me. She’s good at that.”

“Eung, Hunnie,” I giggled, clinging onto his arm. Luhan eyed me and I quickly looked away, staring up at Sehun. “Are you hungry? Meok-ja.”

“Arasso.”

We went to the dining area of Kris’ apartment and everyone sat down, save for myself and Kyungsoo who agreed on setting all the dishes out on the table. Once we were done, we took our respective seats. Kyungsoo sat between Kai and Baekhyun whilst I sat next to Sehun, who was sitting next to Kai.

“Did you make fried—” I picked the plate of fried chicken up and passed it to Kai with a smug smile. A grin decorated his face and I flashed him a wink, which he returned with his own as he took the plate from my hands. “Komawo.”

“Ne,” I hummed as I filled my own plate with various foods. I looked at Sehun, “Hunnie. Do you want some boba? I made it myself.” His eyes lit up and he nodded excitedly. I obliged and served him the first glass of boba, then proceeded to make up his platter.

“Komawo, Nara-ya,” he murmured as he snatched the drink up first. My eyes went to his Adam’s apple as he gulped the contents down. He seemed to feel my eyes on him and looked at me. I choked on air and quickly looked away, filling my mouth with food. 

What. The. Heck. Kim Nara?

“Aigoo, our Nara is truly a goddess,” Jongdae sighed in contentment as he also stuffed his face with food. Taeyeon and Tiffany laughed, while Yoona and Yuri pulled faces of disgust at him. I looked down at myself. I really did eat like a chipmunk sometimes. Blushing slightly, I wiped my mouth and chewed more slowly.

“Are you okay?” Kai asked and I looked up at him.

“Mwo?” I asked. “Ah, ne.” I put another forkful of rice in my mouth, carefully this time. I felt like he was still staring so I lifted my eyes back up to his. “Wae?”

“You’re acting weird,” he said with a frown. He looked me up and down. “I don’t know what it is— wait, why are you eating like that?”

“Like what?”

He made a face of disgust as he motioned to my body, “Like— a lady or something.” He shuddered. “It’s weird and uncomfortable.”

“Well, in case you haven’t noticed, Kai,” I motioned at my own body, “I am a lady. I’m simply acting like one.”

“Hajima,” he ordered, looking away. “It’s unsettling. Just be yourself.” I smacked his arm. “Ah!”

“Yah, what are you trying to say?” I demanded, smacking him again. “That I’m not myself when I act like a lady?” I proceeded to smack him again and he covered his head, shooting my daggers. 

“Yah, yah, yah!” Kris shouted and we stopped, turning to him. “Shut up and eat. Peacefully.” I stuck my tongue out at him and resumed my meal. Kris returned the childish gesture. “Aish. Little brat.”

“Byuntae,” I muttered and Kai sniggered, Sehun snorting his bubble tea before coughing out a laugh. Fifteen minutes later, everyone had settled down comfortably and we were casually chatting. 

“So, Nara-ya,” Taeyeon perked up and I suppressed a flinch. I knew she was about to say something that would get me in a lot of trouble with either one of the boys or all of them. “How’s psychology doing?” Or not.

“Um…fine,” I answered with a confused frown. “Great, actually. It’s fun.”

“What will you do once you’ve finished the course?” Tiffany asked as she sipped on some water. I didn’t like it when those two paired up — it always meant trouble. Kind of like whenever Baekhyun and Jongdae were in cahoots — you could be certain that chaos would ensue.

“I’m going to pursue a doctorate in psychiatry,” I answered proudly. “I want to be a psychiatrist for young children and possibly teenagers. Since I understand a variety of troubles people our age go through, like heartbreak, depression and such, I think I could be of help to those in need.” Everyone was listening intently now and I blushed. “Ah…mian. I get really into it.”

“Don’t apologise,” Sehun said plainly. “It’s good that you’re passionate.”

“Sehun-ssi’s right,” Taeyeon agreed. “Kunde, Nara-ya—” — here it comes — “—what about during or after that? You’ve never had a boyfriend, right?” I blushed, feeling even the tips of my ears heat up. “I’ll take that as a no, you haven’t. Are you interested in pursuing a relationship? It seems like an awfully lonely life.”

“Our Nara doesn’t need a boyfriend,” Jongdae beamed, almost naïvely. “She has us.” He popped a piece of chicken and grinned. “Besides, even if she tried getting one, we’d probably scare him away. Or hurt him.”

“Eung, he’s right,” I confirmed with a roll of my eyes. “They’d scare him or scar him. Or both. So a boyfriend doesn’t seem probable in the near future.”

“But what about the late future?” Tiffany pressed. “Are you against marriage?”

“Andwae,” I replied instantly. “I want to get married one day and have kids. Of course I do.” And that was the truth. I wanted to build a family of my own, since I’d lost mine when I was so young. And I couldn’t wait to introduce my little boy or girl to my friends, I knew they’d protect him/her with their lives. That possible future excited me more than anything.

“Aigoo…paboya, you can’t do either of those things without a boyfriend,” Taeyeon snorted. “Yah. If you want, me and Fany will set you up. We don’t have as many disposable hot guys at our feet as you do but we know people.”

“I know people, is what she means,” Hyoyeon scoffed and I flicked my eyes to her. She winked. “I’m kind of popular with guys. I’ll set you up if you want.”

“Andwae!” Jongdae exclaimed. He pointed at me and scowled. “Don’t even think about it. No one is soiling our little Nara.”

“Oppa~” I whined, “I’m nineteen years old. I’m a legal adult now, you can’t stop me from meeting people.”

“I can and I will.”

“So will we,” Baekhyun added, pointing at himself then at Kai, Sehun and Kris. He glanced at Luhan. “Probably him, too.” Luhan blushed and looked down at his plate. “While we’re on the topic of boyfriends…”

“Oh, no,” I groaned, leaning back in my chair. 

“Sunbaenim,” he started, looking at Luhan. The doe-eyed blond stared back at him, the tips of his ears already red. “Do you like our Nara? You can tell us, we won’t beat you up or anything.”

Right.

“Speak for yourself,” Kai muttered gruffly and I elbowed him in the ribs.

“I…ne,” Luhan replied shyly. “I like her. A lot.” Jongdae sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “But I haven’t tried anything in months!”

“You tried something!?” he exclaimed and Kai slammed his fork down. I winced and slid my hand under the table, onto his knee. I squeezed it and he looked at me with penetrative eyes. 

“Please don’t,” I mouthed and he gulped, nodding after a while. I cleared my throat. “Chen oppa, you already knew that we kissed.” Jongdae pulled a face. “It’s no surprise. And so what if he likes me? It’s natural for two young, healthy adults to express feelings of mutual…um, attraction.” An awkward silence stretched out for a few seconds. “Eo