**So I know I took forever with this and I'm really super sorry for that. Also, this is crappy to me but I hope the rest of you will enjoy ^^ I've always had a thing for predebut Jimin, after all, and for food :3**

 

Jimin P.O.V

      This was now the upteenth time I was asking her. "Are you sure you don't want to do anything to celebrate? You only turn 19 once, you know!" I wish she would say yes. Partly because I truly wanted to shower her in affection and partly because I wanted any excuse to not practice for the day. Just one day. 

      "I don't want to do anything, Jimin. I promise." 

      Pouting, I crossed my arms and leaned on the table that stood between us. She took another bite of her bread and broke the eye contact between us two. I mean, I could understand someone who doesn't like attention but even on your birthday?. It was in that moment that I decided I would surprise her. "You're no fun..!" I yelled, making her jump as I stood up and left the table. 

      At the sound of her soft voice calling my name, the slightest hint of desperation in it, I turned and stopped walking. Her hair fell to her shoulders gracefully as she tilted her head to the side. Even in the dimly-lit eating area of the company, her face caught the light in just the right way. Letting out a small sigh, I walked back to the table and took the seat I had just left. "I'll stay until you finish you bread. It's too bad I scarf my own food down."

      "Thank you," she whispered. I knew she didn't like being "exposed" to all the other trainees in the school anyways. She was shy. Like me. But she made me less shy, I suppose. After all, she was worse than me and it made me want to be more outgoing. For her. The entire time we had been friends, I caught myself slowly falling for her. 

      As she ate, I thought about that once more. This unrequited love. I don't know if it was love...but I had no problem admitting it to myself. All I knew was the sparkle in her eyes when she watched people dance and the odd habits she had of tilting her head to the side or touching the tip of her nose was so attractive. That every time I saw her smile, another flower of affection for her bloomed in my heart. That every insecurity she had just made me want to show her how pretty she was. And not to mention that she was unlike anybody else I had ever seen. And that wasn't just because she wasn't from here. I wanted to show her everything about "here" just because she was always so interested. She was so open-minded and willing to learn more for a culture she wasn't even born into. I wanted to turn back time and let her experience a childhood here. I wanted to give her the world. 

      And yet, this strange girl didn't even want to celebrate her birthday. I brainstormed, trying to get ideas of how I could actually manage to surprise her on her birthday. I could probably convince her room-mates to leave for the day because she wasn't really fond of them anyways. She mentioned that they always left their makeup and dirty clothes out in the most random of places. Then, I could decorate the place all cute and buy her a really nice gift and bring cake. She loved cake. 

      "Jimin? I'm done now but there's still some time to kill before class."

      I shook my thoughts away, immediately getting up. With a small smile, I began walking away. She caught up a few seconds later, looking up at me with those questioning eyes, tilting her head. "Where are we going?" When she blinked, her hair fell into her face and she immediately moved it behind her ear. 

      I forced away the temptation to brush my fingers through her hair. "Let's walk outside," I suggested. 

      She looped her fingers through the straps of her backpack. "They'll think we're cutting again...," she trailed off. 

      "We'll survive." 

      There was a chill in the air and neither of us had jackets. But the flowers were still alive and the clouds looked like cotton and that was enough reason for us to stay outside. We'd be in school for the rest of the day so this time outside was highly appreciated on both of our sides. That much I could tell despite her constant looks back at the door. 

      "Isn't this where we met?" I mentioned, already smiling at the memory. "When you were being a bad student?" She immediately looked up at me, her expression defensive. 

      "That was the only time I was late and you know that!" 

      I laughed at her, covering my mouth and trying to think of another time she had been late to class. "Besides, you were the one cutting!" That much was true- I had been cutting. And then along came her, running with her backpack slipping off her shoulders, all out of breathe. She had accidentally run into me and barely apologized before bounding off. Then, when I finally decided to show up to class, she had been assigned to the seat right next to mine. We sat in silence the entire day, stealing glances at each other. I found her name to be JinRi from her notes and her hand-writing to be...not the best. She was diligent and tried to take down every word the professors said. I smiled at the thought- this school was full of trainees and our top priority tended to be practice. Not academics. 

      "We should probably be getting back. Wouldn't wanna ruin that 'perfect' attendance of yours," I teased, pivoting on my right foot towards the door. 

      She sighed, blowing her fringe out of place but followed next to me nonetheless.

 

**one day later**

Your P.O.V

      It was around two in the morning when I got back to the dorm. Sure, that was way early but practice had been slow and I figured since it was past twelve, it was already my birthday and this would be the one gift I'd give myself. Besides a cake later today. I loved cake. Fumbling in my bag for the room key, the pang of guilt I'd been feeling since leaving practice arose once more. I'd left Jimin behind. 

      We usually walked home together but he wasn't in his practice room when I checked. I waited a few minutes to see if maybe he had gone to the bathroom but when his friends came to use the practice room, they told me he was skipping practice. Taehyung assured he was fine, though, with that heart-shaped smile of his. Then, I just left. But what if I had missed something and Jimin actually wanted me to wait somewhere. Plus, that was so unlike Jimin. The boy practiced more than anyone which made me practice more. I wanted to walk home with him so much every day that I would just keep practicing to kill time! I just liked seeing the passion in his eyes when he would tell me about how practice went. Every day, it was like dancing was all new to him and he was discovering something amazing. The sweat in his fringe and the pink that dusted his cheeks after each practice was beautiful. He was beautiful. 

      Anyways, it was too late now, I suppose. Finally retrieving my dorm key and opening the door, I heard music floating in from the living room. Then, I looked up after taking my shoes off to see a "Happy Birthday!" sign hung over the small couch in the living room. "What the hell..." I never told my room-mates my birthday. My stuffed animals were lined up on the couch and two bowls of ramen steaming on the table. Streamers hung from the ceiling in my favorite colors. Smiling slightly, I stepped into the house to look for the culprit. This hadn't been my room-mates at all. 

      "Park Jimin! Where are you hiding?" 

      "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JINRI!" he screamed, jumping out from the kitchen entrance. I screamed and resisted the urge to drop to the floor. This kid! Why...why did he seriously do all of this just for me? 

      He had the biggest, most beautiful smile on. His eyes sparkled in that way they do when he's excited as he bent down to turn the volume up on the stereo. "Let's dance the night away!", he exclaimed! I laughed at his stupidity, but immediately caught the beat of Taeyang sunbaenim's WHERE U AT. Despite having literally just come from practice, I followed Jimin's lead in the "dance party" as he took my hands and danced around to the music. I danced my way away from him and wiggled my hands out of his. The rush I felt was almost too much. 

      Park Jimin was so adorable. He was the nicest person I had ever met and had been extremely welcoming since I came to Korea. And this just made me adore him even more. I mean, who honestly goes out of their way just to throw a birthday party for some girl he's known for less than a year? I felt tears sting my eyes as I smiled so wide, my cheeks hurt. Park Jimin really never did fail but to make me feel special. Suddenly out of breath, I dropped to the floor and watched Jimin dance to the rest of the song before he sat across from me. 

      "That wasn't dancing the night away," he said, barely out of breath. Meanwhile I was still catching mine. Just another reason why Park Jimin was so amazing. Why he would debut before me and be the best idol anybody's ever seen. 

      "I'm sorry," I laughed, covering my face. I separated my fingers just in time to see Jimin getting up and turning the stereo off. That was part of his "jams" playlist. We had listened to it too many times for me not to know that. 

      "That's alright...Happy Birthday, JinRi. I hope you like everything- I know it's not much but I'm not very creative and I tried to-" 

      "Jimin. It's more than I could ever ask for," I said quietly, moving to the couch a respectable distance away from him. He smiled sheepishly, ruffling the hair at the back of his head and leaning back into the couch. I looked to the screen of his computer, only now realizing that he had something set up there. "But what is this?" 

      "Um, your favorite movie."

      I grinned. 

 

Jimin P.O.V

      JinRi looked happy and that was all that mattered. We sat on the couch with the lights low and our ramen, watching the movie mostly in silence. Every time I looked over, she seemed completely engrossed in the movie. I had finished my ramen long ago and silently wished I had made some popcorn. How could she still not be finished with her food? Laughing at her slurping up some more noodles, I turned back to the movie before she could question my behavior. The poor girl always suspected me of laughing at her. I mean, I guess it was true most of the time. But it was only because she was adorable. By three thirty, with only about half an hour of the movie left, I noticed her starting to doze off. Part of me felt bad but the other part of me really wanted to keep her up! There was more I had planned! But nonetheless, I let her fall asleep after ten more minutes and covered her with the blanket near me. 

      I let the rest of the movie play as I retrieved her cake from the fridge. It was an ice cream cake- her favorite- with lots of extra crunchies I poured on top. I put some whipped cream on top and inserted three candles. After turning off all but one light, because I knew JinRi was afraid of he dark, I bent down in front of her after placing the cake on the table. When I lit the candles, JinRi stirred. She inhaled deeply before opening her eyes. My heart sank at how tired she looked but she immediately sat up. Before I could chicken out, I hesitantly began.

      "Happy Birthday to you~ I'll sing only for you~ But please smile, my girl~ Because you're beautiful, JinRi~"

      I grabbed the cake and held it right in front of her before she could say anything. My face was on fire with embarrassment. "Um, make a wish," I whispered.  

      "Wait, what-" 

      "Before all the wax melts! Make a wish!" I said a bit louder, holding the cake out with a grin. I honestly just wanted to distract her in any way from what I'd just sung. 

      JinRi's eyes slowly closed and she took a minute to make her wish. With one blow of air that tickled the tips of my ears, she blew out the candles. I was suddenly tempted to ask her what she has wished for but I had a feeling there was no way she was going to tell me. Instead, I put down the cake and began to clap. "Congratulations! You're 19, now! Catching up to me!" I stood up and ruffled her hair, reminded once again of how soft her hair felt. I wanted to keep my hair there forever but quickly took it away. I reached for the knife I had brought out with the cake and carefully handed it over to her. She hadn't said a word yet. Every time I looked at her, she was staring right back at me. The only time she looked away was to cut two slices out of the cake. I held out the plates to her as she put the generous slices of cake onto them. Finally, I took the rest of the cake into the kitchen, back into its box, and then put it in the fridge once more. When I came back, JinRi was in the same exact place. 

      Finally, I decided to speak up. I mean, she wasn't even smiling. Just staring into my soul again. "U-um, JinRi, you okay? Aren't you gonna eat your cake?" 

      "You called me beautiful," she said, barely above a whisper. "Nobody has ever...called me beautiful." 

      I froze. Nobody? Really? Ever? To someone like her? I struggled with what to say next. Avoiding her gaze and picking up her plate for her, I put it into her hands. Then, reaching for mine, I dipped my pointer finger into the whipped cream for no reason. "Well...you are. You're...," I paused, looking into her eyes. "Beautiful!" Jumping forward on the couch, I attacked her cheek with the whipped cream on my finger. She let out a yelp, immediately jumping back. A smile had reto her face and I laughed at her reaction. "There' that smile!" 

      "Park Jimin! I'll get you for that!" She pushed my shoulders, tackling me down and making my legs give out. I collapsed onto the couch as JinRi put a generous portion of whipped cream on my nose and cheeks. I laughed the whole time, simply letting her. JinRi pushed on the couch on either side of my head and lifted herself up, a small smile on her face. "There," she said. 

      I came up on my elbows and reached for the napkins on the table. I cleaned off my hands and when she reached for a napkin as well, I stuck my hand out in front of hers. "Take a picture with me first!" Her eyes grew wide with alarm. 

      "No way! We have cake on our faces!"

      "Oh, come on, JinRi! I have way more cake on my face than you do. Besides, how else will people know the wonderful celebration I threw for you?" 

 

JinRi P.O.V

      I sighed, preparing myself for another selca with Jimin. It wasn't that he took that many, but that he loved putting his arm around me and pulling me in close for pictures. If I didn't smile or if I pouted in the picture, Jimin would hold me in place until I did smile. It was so close that I could smell his scent. That musky scent that consisted of bar soap and sweat at the same time. It doesn't sound pleasant but it was extremely intoxicating. 

      Jimin shifted over on the couch and s his arm around my shoulder. His phone came up in front of us and seeing our faces alone made me laugh. It was worse than I thought and as I laughed, Jimin pushed our heads together and smiled cheekily, capturing the picture. I couldn't help but to continue laughing even after he phone was back on the table. Jimin finally cleaned off his face but yet again stopped me from getting a napkin. I pouted up at him but he grabbed the napkin instead and began to wipe at my cheek. I was frozen in fear. I mean, I could feel the warmth of his fingers through the napkin and his smile was so captivating. The ends of my mouth perked up, I couldn't help but to smile at his kindness. I never expected so much from Jimin. 

      "Hey, let's eat this cake before it melts!" he said, handing me my slice and a fork as well. "Why did you cut such big slices? If the company knew we were eating all this junk, they'd be upset~"

      "It's my birthday!" I yelled, nudging him with my shoulder and beginning to eat. Jimin grinned at me. 

      "Yeah, it is." 

      That cake was the only time I ate faster than Jimin. I knew he'd never stop teasing me for that but that's okay. It was worth it. When I glanced at the time, it was already almost five in the morning and we had to be up in two hours. "Oh my gosh, Jimin, we need to sleep! Look, it's almost five!" When I looked over at Jimin, he was flipping through channels, trying to find something decent to watch. 

      "Aw, but I'm not even tired! And we haven't completed your birthday celebration!"

      "My birthday was already over when we started, though! We need rest, you know that," I said. Jimin whined and slowly got up from the couch to his bag. He murmured in agreement and said that he would call for my room-mates to come back in half an hour. I wondered where they had been this whole time but I knew Jimin wouldn't tell me. He took so much pride in how he had planned this "party" without me knowing of it. I put down the pillow I had been holding to my chest on the couch and got up to start cleaning the mess we had made.

      "JinRi, sit on the floor and close your eyes," Jimin said quietly. 

      "What? Don't tell me you have more planned, Park Jimin. I swear-" 

      "JinRi~," he whined. Sighing, I placed the plates back on the living room table and sat cross-legged on the floor, hesitantly closing my eyes. I hated surprises. 

 

Jimin P.O.V

      Trying to calm my breathing, I slipped the small, black box out of my pocket and pulled the chain from its restraints. I had bought the necklace just that day, at the mall, in one of those fancy places where they sell engagement rings. I can't say it was that expensive, I wasn't an idol yet. But it was beautiful and reminded me perfectly of JinRi. The tiniest black diamond lay in the center of a dandelion wrapped in silver. 

      I knelt behind JinRi, exhaling slowly and bringing the diamond in front of her face. Leaning my head slightly over her shoulder, I brought it to her neck. She tensed immediately and brought her fingers to the necklace. I knew she had opened her eyes. 

      "Jimin, what is this?"

      I offered a small smile, somehow frightened that she wouldn't like it. That she would reject me and not even realize that I was trying to confess right now. My head retreated from her shoulder and JinRi let me secure the necklace. Then she shifted her body around and faced me. I avoided her eyes. 

      "Jimin? Hey, look at me," she whispered. My eyes traveled up, gazing over every part of her. I stopped at the necklace. It fit her- it really did. Then I continued and slowed at her lips, full and enticing. When I met JinRi's eyes, they were teary. "Why would you do this? Just for me," she said, barely above a whisper. 

      Slowly and with uncertainty did I raise my hand. It rested on JinRi's cheek and surprisingly, she didn't move away. A single tear fell from her right eye and I caught it with my finger. That's when she moved her head, away from my touch and wiped at her eyes. "I can't accept this, Jimin, it's too much. You're too much." She was up and walking away before I could stop her. I popped up, speeding up and wrapping my arms around her waist. My head went into her shoulder and I closed my eyes. This was the closest I had ever held JinRi. Her scent was overwhelming and I inhaled deeply. Everything in that moment felt perfect and right. She fit into me perfectly. I never wanted to let go. It was the most beautiful moment of my life so far. And the words that left my mouth next were ones I did not doubt or question. They were words I knew I would never regret saying. They were words that weren't even strong enough to express what I felt for Choi JinRi but I knew that if I said something more, I'd scare her away. But this was enough. It was enough for now for me to be able to capture her heart and call her mine. 

      "I like you, JinRi. I like you so much."