3^rd Person POV

(Flashback, 1997)

            A young girl at the age of 5 sat on the floor playing with her dolls with her mother sitting on the couch watching TV and knitting. The girl would play with her dolls and make them speak to her and each other by using her voice. It was the sound of cheering and music starting that got her attention away from her toys.

            “Ladies and gentleman, I present to you, SM Entertainment’s new group, S.E.S!” The MC of Music Bank announces. The beginning of “I’m Your Girl” starts as three girls stand in the middle of the stage. The girl was completely entranced with the voices and dance moves. The look that they had. Everything. Her mother watched her daughter dance to the song very cutely and smiled throughout her little performance. “Baby, do you like this song?”

            “Yes mommy! It’s so cool!” When S.E.S finished, the girl was sad and whined at the TV to play it again. At that moment, her father returned home from work. The girl got excited and ran to her father, gesturing for him to pick her up. “Hi baby girl. Did you miss me?”

            “Daddy, I want to do what those people are doing,” she pointed at the TV which now showed a different singer. He looked over to his wife asking her what happened with his eyes. “She saw a group and I guess she really likes them. You just missed it, her dancing was so cute.”

            He looks at his daughter in his arms and asked her, “You want to be a singer?” The girl nods her head ‘yes’ rapidly. Her dad laughs and says that anything for her. “If you want to be a singer, then go ahead sweetie.” His wife then heads to the kitchen to start preparing dinner. “What about after dinner, we go to the record store and buy the CD of the song she likes?” The girl liked really the idea her mother had and threw puppy eyes and pleads to her father. Of course he couldn’t say no to her. It was also his luck too; he had gotten a raise so he thought that a simple CD for his little girl wouldn’t hurt them.

           The front door opens and a teen boy in his uniform walks in. He heads to his mothers’ side to give her a kiss on the cheek, “Hey mom, hey dad.” The kids’ father clears his throat which stops the teen in his tracks, “What about your sister?” The siblings look at each other for a while when he finally says, “What’s up, thing?” The girl sticks her tongue out at her oppa to which he repeats. Their father had enough of them mimicking each other and sent his son off to get ready for dinner.

           The family goes to the local mall and buy groceries and more that they wanted. After that, there’s a music store towards the back of the mall. The girl was skipping in excitement and would slow down every time her parents called out for her. The only thing that distracted her from getting a CD was a little girl that was probably her age or just a year or two younger. She stood by who seemed to be her mother. They didn’t look Korean and the girl stared at them. But they were cute.

           “Let’s go sweetie,” Her mother brought her mind back. The girl resumed her skipping into the music store. She looked all around the store in realization that she didn’t even know the groups’ name or the name of the song. Luckily, there was a TV by the sale’s clerk’s register playing the music video. “That’s the group, daddy! I want to be them!” The middle-aged sale’s clerk chuckled and looked at her parents. “She has good taste for someone so young.” Her parents walked up to him and asked him about the group. While he was informing them about S.E.S, the kids wandered around the different parts of the store. The little girl found the other foreign girl she saw earlier now by herself in the store. She decided to go up to her and greet her.

           “Hello, what’s your name?” No response. She says hello again. The foreign girl is looking at her but seems to be confused. She continued to repeat herself to the girl and started to get slightly annoyed at her. The other woman from earlier walked up to them and spoke in a foreign language to which the young foreigner responded to. She waves to the 5 year old and grabs her mother’s hand. The girl waves back and finds her brother. “Hey dad, can I get this CD?” “Um, sure. Why not.” The teen says ‘sweet’ to himself.

           Back at home, the teen boy listens to his CD in his room while the little girl is with her parents in the living room listening to hers. She replays “I’m Your Girl” especially to learn the lyrics and a couple dance moves she remembers the members doing. Her parents applauded her every time and would chant ‘encore, encore.’ Even her mother would stand up to dance with her while her father video recorded the event. All the girl thought about was being a singer and be able to perform when she grows up.

(Present Day [2014])

           Eunsol’s phone rings and the screen reads ‘Mama’ (grandmother from her mother’s side). She picks up the phone without hesitating. “Mama?”

           “Happy birthday sweetheart!” Her grandmother surprises her. It’s been months since she’s heard her grandmothers’ voice and Eunsol getting her call was probably the only present she wanted. “Thank you, Mama. I miss you so much. Papa, too.” Thanks to the call card her grandmother purchased, she was able to speak to her grandparents for two hours without being charged for international costs. Jimin came in their room after a shower and asked who Eunsol was talking to.

           “Ji-Ji, is that you?” Eunsol’s grandmother called out after being put on speaker. Jimin recognized the nickname that was given to her when she and Eunsol were kids. Her face lights up and walks closer to her best friend. “Mama, is that you?” They exchanged words for a while and Eunsol ends it with ‘Take care and be healthy. I want to see you soon!’ After hanging up, Manager Hoon walks in the dorm with a couple of wrapped boxes. “Happy Birthday Eunsol. These are some presents from some fans.” Much like Jimin’s birthday, security checks each present sent in to make sure nothing dangerous is in them.

           In each box were products from Nature Republic and stuffed animals. The gift she liked most was a royal blue winter jacket that fit perfectly. She packed it in a trunk with the rest of her winter clothes in a storage closet for later.

           The maknaes along with Byul finally wake up that morning. They did a full body stretch before running to Eunsol and hugging her with whole strengths. “Unni, happy birthday! I love you so so much~” Nana cooed. She gave her older friend a peck on her cheek. Minah tried pushing Nana out of the way to hold onto Eunsol better. “Don’t take her all to yourself, I want to hug unni too.” Nana stuck her tongue at Minah to which was reciprocated. Eunsol giggled at them, thinking about how cute they can be. Although there wasn’t that much as of a difference this day of September 9^th, because it was Eunsol’s birthday she felt happier than usual. She was turning 20, not as if that was a big deal to her but just her members being there to congratulate her like they did for Jimin a couple weeks back just made her excited.

           Around noon, Nana and Minah left with Manager Hoon for the recording of Hello Counselor. Hoon said that when he drops them back at the dorm, he’s going to take the rest of the day off. Eunsol calls her parents first thing when they leave and before she can even get a word in, screams from the other line blare in her ears. “🎶 Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, our dearest Sollie, happy birthday to you!” Eunsol’s parents sang in unison. They planned on calling first but apparently their daughter beat them to it. Unminding the now hurting cheeks from smiling, Eunsol cutely says ‘thank you’ to her parents.

           “Omma, appa, come to the dorm today. You’ll come right?”

           “Of course, we haven’t seen you in ages. It’s very rare for you to have a day off, especially at the same time as us,” Her mother replies. She says that she’ll start making some special foods for her and the members, excitement ringing in her voice. “Honey, I’ll see you later then. The food can’t really cook itself. Love you!”

            Back at the EXO dorm, Kyungsoo paces back and forth in his room. There’s two things, no, three things going about on his already full mind. One: what should I get Eunsol for her birthday? Two: will her parents like me? But most importantly, three: ….will her dad like me…? As far as he knew, Eunsol was the only one her parents had. That means that her father must be twice as over-protective of her. There is no lie about girls growing up by themselves are specially daddy’s little girl. Nor does the fact that Kyungsoo is, in fact, Eunsol’s first boyfriend.

            Yeah, she’s a grown woman. An adult for that matter. But did that make Kyungsoo any less worried? No. And now to only make matters worse, a slam of a door shook him up. “Kyungsoo-yah! We’re back,” a voice that was clearly Junmyeon’s was heard loud and clear. “Hyung, are you sleeping right now? It’s almost noon,” Jongin said right after. He walks out into the living room to greet the members that came back from Shanghai. Chanyeol, Sehun and Tao collapse on the couch, obviously sore from the flight. They’ve done it so many times but it’s still an unpleasant habit.

            Everyone goes into their rooms or bathroom to get better rested. Tomorrow is a busy day for everyone; going to perform at a music show then back to China for another concert performance afterwards. Kyungsoo pulls Luhan aside, “Hyung, can I ask you something?”

            “Um, sure. What is it?”

            “Today is Eunsol’s birthday and–”

            “Today is Eunsol’s birthday!?” Luhan blurts out loud and a few members into the conversation. “Is it really her birthday today, Kyungsoo-yah?” Jongdae asks. Luhan regrets saying it too loudly, but also on the inside laughed at the look on Kyungsoo’s face. Did he really try to hide it from the members? EXO’s beagles crowded him with repeating questions of what he got for her, if he even got her anything.

            “YAH!” Kyungsoo shouts, stopping the crowd. “I didn’t get her anything yet, that’s what I was going to ask.”

            “Buy her a cute cake! Girls like sweet stuff, right?” Tao suggested. Kyungsoo tried to pretend about thinking about the idea until Tao snatched him up and asked their manager to take them to a fancy bakery to get it. Chanyeol, Luhan and Jongdae followed behind. Junmyeon, however, had no idea what was going on. “One minute, they’re tired and ready to hibernate for days. Now I see them with as much energy to compete in Idol Olympics.”

            At a bakery EXO’s manager picked out, members looked through the glass display windows with different kinds of cakes. Tao spotted a round cake in the shape of a panda, “Oh~ I think she’ll really like this one!”

            “No Tao, you like it,” Jongdae sassed.

            “What about this one, Kyungsoo-yah? It’s chocolate,” Chanyeol pointed to a dark chocolate cake with white cream whips and strawberries on top. “Eunsol doesn’t like chocolate,” Kyungsoo stated back. He remembers the time he was in the studio late at night with Eunsol – when she was still in her trainee days – and he offered to give her some chocolate candies he bought. She said no and told him bluntly that she doesn’t like chocolate besides pastries, and even then she’s very picky about pastries.

           “You could’ve just said no, you didn’t have to explain it to me.”

           “It’s better this way. I don’t want to become a burden later on if someone ever does think about getting me chocolate for any occasion.”

           Finally someone one of use, Luhan picked a cake with Japanese cherry blossoms decorated around it. It was the only cake that was simple and cheap. The employee said that inside was marble cake with a buttercream layer in both towers. Kyungsoo thought it was the best option so he decided on buying it. As the employee was ringing him up, she asked who the cake was for because it was a bit too girly for any of the members.

           “Oh, it’s for our, uhhh….” she stared at him intently, waiting for his answer, “m-manager noona. Yeah, for her.” Kyungsoo was nervous about the lie and hoped it was enough to convince her. He gave her the company card, waited for her to wrap it up, and left.

           “Hey Kyungsoo-yah, can I go with you to Europa’s dorm? I want to give her a present too!” the members asked.

           You can bring the members over too if you want.

           “No.” he declared.

           “Why not~? Just because she’s your girlfriend doesn’t mean she can only talk to you,” Tao pouted.

           “And what are you going to do? She’s my girlfriend, she’s not dating all of us as I’m not dating all of her other members.”

           “Okey, okey. We get it, we won’t go,” Jongdae snaps. Kyungsoo didn’t mean to get touchy about it but ever since they started going out, the members liked to tease Kyungsoo about it. It always ended in Kyungsoo scolding them either physically or with a simple glare, but – especially with the beagles – it was still funny to do it. They would look over his shoulder whenever they thought he was texting her, listen in on any phone calls (which wasn’t all that many), look at his reactions when he was watching any show Eunsol featured in.

           Kyungsoo deeply sighs and says ‘okey you can go but no funny business. I mean it.’ Once returned to the dorm, they rush to the bathrooms to get ready for a now unplanned birthday party. Luhan looked at a tired Kyungsoo and laughed at him. “What?” Kyungsoo asked.

          “You look like you regret your decision. Will she be okey with us coming? I don’t want to barge in uninvited.”

          “She said that if anyone wanted to come, they can. Now will Miyoung-ssi be okey with it? Who knows,” Kyungsoo combs his hair back with his fingers. He goes in his room to change in better clothes and looks for his contacts. Chanyeol is running around making a huge mess in the room trying to find something to give to Eunsol for her birthday. He finally sets eyes on a little teddy bear he doesn’t remember where he got.

          “Say ‘happy birthday’ for me hyung,” Jongin requests while lying face down on his bed. Kyungsoo pulls his phone out to check the time. 1:28 pm. Two more hours and we’ll leave then. Before putting on his contacts, he lays on his bed for a short nap before leaving.

          “So honey, when will I meet Kyungsoo-ssi?” Eunsol’s mother asked. Her parents arrived quicker than she thought. Within two hours, her mother and some neighborhood ahjummas came up with so many dishes that’s sure to have leftovers for many nights. Eunsol hadn’t gotten to talk with Kyungsoo today. Just an early text saying ‘happy birthday, jagiya.’ She smiled as she looked at her mother, “He’s coming over later,” Eunsol glances at her watch, “or actually any minute now.”

          Her father overheard and felt both happy that his little girl has someone she likes but also a little sad that she’s growing up more and more. Of course he looked up who Kyungsoo was to see what he looked like, but nothing more. Technology was moving too fast for him and even if he could, even he would admit to being too excessive as to look up fan-gathered facts about him.

          Miyoung walks in the kitchen after a long nap and sees a literal feast spread out on the floor – since the girls don’t have a proper dining table – and the leader starts drooling. “Eommoni, did you make all of this?”

          “Not by myself. Are you hungry? Go ahead and eat,” Mrs. Lee said. Miyoung tried a rice cake and made a satisfied noise in the bite. Eunsol excused herself to get her hands washed when the bell rang. Chung Ae yelled that she got it.

          From down the hall, Chanyeol, Jongdae and Tao’s voice rang loudly. They came with a big wrapped box and a couple gift bags. Jongdae then yelled loudly, “Happy birthday my dongsaeng-i!” The boys all bowed to their hoobaes parents in the living room. Eunsol quickly dried her hands and checked her make-up before rushing back to the others.When she got at the end of the hall, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She checked to see a message from an unknown number. Curiosity got the best of her as she opened the text. Eunsol’s eyes widen in shock of it.

Unknown: you don’t belong in Europa

          Across the room, Jimin also got the same message which shocked her as well. She looked up to see Eunsol’s eyes at her phone. The boy’s spot Eunsol and Kyungsoo takes her out of her thoughts asking if she’s alright. “Huh? Oh oppa, yeah I’m fine.”

          Eunsol steps in between Kyungsoo and Luhan getting ready to introduce him to her parents. “Omma, Appa, this is Kyungsoo-oppa.” Kyungsoo fully bows to them and asks if they would allow the relationship. Mrs. Lee giggles and comments on how polite he is. She gives her ‘okey’ then looks at her husband. Mr. Lee looks at both of them then says, “Take care of my daughter, alright?”

          “O-of course sir.” Kyungsoo stutters. “You don’t have to call us that. Just call us ‘Eommoni’ and ‘Abeoji’.” Mrs. Lee reassures. Everyone sits down on the floor, serving themselves to the many choices of foods. But there’s one thing that Eunsol can’t stop thinking about:

          Who sent me this? Could it be… that person?

A/N: hey guys! I'm finally back with a new and long (longer than usual at least) chapter! I'm so so SO sorry about the long wait! I have been in such a rut that i couldn't think of what to write next. But here it is! Part one of Eunsol's birthday. I'm writing part two soon so stay tuned! Who could this mystery person be?

For future references, whenever i use black bold letters, it means that the character's are speaking in English. Since Eunsol is very multi-cultral, she knows a lot of languages that she took the time learning in her life.

So here is the long awaited chapter after a long hiatus. Thank you for reading and please leave comments! I always feel better with feedback^^