“Did you get me the koi fish?” Hanbyul stuck her head out the window; it was early in the morning and Sehun was out in her yard, standing by the trees.

“Do you like it?”

“How did you get it?!”

“I took it from the fisherman! He didn’t see me and he had no idea either. He had a lot of them, I doubt he noticed.”

Hanbyul chuckled and shook her head. “Wow, perks of being a spirit, huh?”

“How’s your knee?”

She looked down at her bruised leg. “I’m fine.” She said. “I probably won’t be going to school for a few days, good thing it’s the weekend though.”

“Do you want to come out for some fresh air?”

Hanbyul shook her head. “I can’t, it’s Chanyeol’s birthday, and I’m going to make him a cake.”

“Birthday?”

“Yep!”

“What’s a birthday?”

Hanbyul raised an eyebrow. “You know your age but not your birthday?”

The spirit pointed to the forest behind him. “Ah…Well… I’m 18 years old because 18 years ago this forest was officially established as a forest, the last tree was planted then.” He pointed to a growing oak tree that was a few feet away. “It was this one!”

Hanbyul’s eyes widened. “Really?!”

“Yes.” He smiled. “You look excited.”

She nodded her chin towards that tree. “My grandmother planted it when I was born, it was for good luck.”

Sehun walked over to it and rested a hand against it. “It’s like I’ve known you for longer than I think I did…”

Hanbyul laughed. “But anyway, a birthday is- for us humans, it’s the day that we were born. We celebrate it every year.”

“Ah…I wonder when my birthday is…”

“We have the same birthday! April 12^th!”

“You’re older than Chanyeol?”

Hanbyul raised an eyebrow. “Mm, kind of, yeah, sure! I’m older!”

Sehun wrinkled his nose in confusion. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

She put a finger to her lips. “It’s a secret.”

Come over in three hours

Hanbyul hobbled around the kitchen for hours in an attempt to make Chanyeol a birthday cake. She was successful every year but the success of this year's cake was questionable - her knee was a huge distraction. She found herself stopping every thirty minutes to take a break. "I can't believe I love you enough to do this even with a busted leg," She stirred some butter and powdered sugar together in a bowl and smiled at the outcome. Chanyeol loved buttercream frosting the most out of all the flavors. 

When the cake was finally ready, Hanbyul slowly bent down to open the oven but was cruelly surprised by the heat that came out of it. She took a few steps back and balled her hands into a fist tightly when she banged her knee against a table. "Ow..."

"Byul!" Chanyeol came bursting into the kitchen. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

She turned around and gasped. "What are you doing here? I said three hours!" She furrowed her brows. Has it been three hours?

"I..." 

(Two hours ago)

Grandma was walking down the road when she saw Chanyeol. "Aigoo! Chanyeol!"

"Hi, grandma!" The lad bowed his head. "Is Hanbyul home alone? I should go-"

She handed him an envelope and smacked his arm playfully. "Happy birthday, child!" Then she leaned over. "Hanbyul is at home making you a cake, if you're going to watch over her, stay in the living room." Grandma grinned. "I left the door open for you, hurry!" 

Chanyeol took his hoodie off as the heat in the kitchen built up quick with the oven opened. He picked Hanbyul up and set her on the counter. "A-Are you alright?" 

She smiled and smeared some frosting on his cheek. "I thought you were mad at me," 

"I am," He put some mitts on and took the cake out of the oven. "What do I do now?"

Hanbyul laughed. "You're going to make your own cake?" She shook her head. "Let it cool down for a bit. We can frost it together." 

He turned around and reached into a medicine cabinet. "Looks like you didn't change your dressing yet," 

She frowned. "I can't do it myself," She admitted. "It hurts and it only makes me want to stop," 

Chanyeol pulled up a chair and gently removed the bandage. The wound wasn't looking any better and he could see the pain on her face. He took a break every few minutes before sighing. "This won't do, we should get you to a hospital." He eyed her knee. "It's been getting worst!"

"Not today," Hanbyul looked at him. "It's your birthday, Chan. We should do something you like,"

"I'd like to bring you to a hospital to get this checked out,"

"Chanyeol, tomorrow. I promise I'll go tomorrow."

Chanyeol nodded. "Fine." 

The two sat across from each other as they decorated Chanyeol's cake. Hanbyul arranged a bunch of berries in the shape of a "C" before picking candles from a bag. 

He was too busy icing the sides to notice how many she put. 

"Ready?" 

Chanyeol nodded and watched as she lit all the candles with a lighter. 

"One two three four..." Chanyeol gave her side eye as he counted. 

"Happy 19th birthday Chan!"

"Sh!" 

Hanbyul laughed. "Fine, happy 18th birthday!" Chanyeol was born later in the year and as a result, he started school a year late. He was too embarrassed to admit that he was actually older than most of his classmates and so to the entire school and almost everyone he knew, he was 18 this year instead of 19. 

"You're the only one who knows about this besides my family! Remember to keep this a secret-" It was too late, Chanyeol could read her face like an open book. "You told someone else, didn't you?"

She shrugged. "Not really, Sehun doesn't know about your age."

"Not this again!"

"I'll make you believe me one day!"

Chanyeol rolled his eyes. "Which is never,"

"Make a wish already!" 

He clapped his hands together and closed his eyes for a wish. 

Hanbyul crossed her arms. "And it can't be about my knee, I'll live."

Chanyeol opened his eyes and blew the candles out. "Too late," 

"Chan! Why would you waste your yearly birthday wish on me?"

"Because you're worth it."

I wish that one day, Hanbyul will love me as much as I love her. 

[a/n]: I'm so sorry that this chapter came so late! It's super overdue as it was supposed to be for Chanyeol's birthday last year lol again, my apologies!

Are you guys even following this story anymore? lol 

comments are much appreciated!