Jieqiong didn't expect it to be different.

Her birthday, she means.

December 16th, she always reminds herself that on this day 18 years ago, her mom had spent 9 hours of hard pushing in a hospital room.

She reminds herself of the tears that flowed down her father's face when the nurse carried little her into his arms.

They told her her name was Jieqiong, Zhou Jieqiong.

They told her she was their present to the world and that she was going to be great someday.

So to Jieqiong, December 16th means much more than just her birthday.

It was the day her parents had set her fate for her.

She had her birthday like every other kids in the world, with cakes, with presents and with her family.

They would go to her favorite restaurant after both of her parents come home from work.

Her parents would give her their presents the next morning, with a peck on each cheek before rushing to work, leaving her with her many presents and a school bus to catch by herself.

With her 2 siblings in the picture, there wasn't much change to be honest.

Instead of 2, she gets four kisses now and she was happy with just that.

Jieqiong knew she was luckier than other kids, who some Jieqiong knew didn't even have both of their parents with them.

So she cherished her family a lot, and really sincerely appreciated it when they even spare a bit of their time to celebrate her birthday.

Others may think it is too simple, but Jieqiong thinks otherwise.

She loves the simplicity of it, the home feeling of it.

Which is why she never wanted anything different when she's with her 2nd family.

Yes the PLEDIS Girlz, if it's not that obvious.

Yet, she didn't get what she wanted.

Instead of the quietness she expected, she got a wakeup call at exactly 12 o'clock on the 16th, a loud chorus of 'Happy Birthday' song echoing her room as her members flooded inside.

Instead of the many fancy presents, she only got a big strawberry cake with clumsy icing of her Chinese name. She once didn't have the heart to say that they misspelled it, though they did find out the next morning when she received her presents from her parents.

Instead of kisses, she got teased about how she is one age older now, how she is one step closer to death now. Yes Park Siyeon's humor maybe a bit harsh but she knows the younger one is sweet and means well.

Her birthday with them was never like what she had expected, but she loves it.

She loves how Kyla would gift her with something so simple like a hair pin and would later apologize for not buying anything more expensive for her. She proved to the maknae that it was the thoughts that count when she bragged it to the fans at the fan-meeting the next day, and personally, she thought the look of pride glinting in Kyla's eyes could lit up the whole world.

She loves how Siyeon would declare herself Jieqiong's pet for the day and would change from this to that every year. Last year she was a dog, and Jieqiong would always laugh whenever someone would remind her how Siyeon barks loudly whenever she enters a room or would lie in her lap and occasionally her hand. 

She loves how Yewon would rush to her side and sing her a medley of every birthday songs in every language she knows, yes the Brazil version included. How did this girl even know Portuguese is still a mystery to her.

She loves how she would wake up to a breakfast-in-bed prepared by the Bae Sungyeon, who shyly said that her grandma had recommended this cooking for her. She then would burst into tears of joy and the younger would give her a tight hug as they eat the delicious meal together.

She loves how Eunwoo would just casually invite her to her room and serenade her with a song. Blame her for being a hopeless romantic but who wouldn't love their best friend singing a birthday song for them with a guitar, and it's Jung Eunwoo for peace sake.

She loves how just minutes after Eunwoo was done with her guitar, Yebin came in with her speaker and the 3 of them would together jam to one of Yebin's night club playlists. That Kang isn't good at expressing with words, she knows that, so the 2 pecks on the cheeks that she received from both of her friends are enough for her to go against the whole world.

She loves Kyungwon's gift the most, because it's usually clothes and she was kind of interested in fashion as well. And not just any clothes, they were very pretty and very fitting for the weather too. She got a pink hoodie last year and under the sleeves were post-it notes. On them were not words of encouragement but complains instead. She finds it cute that Kyungwon didn't want to tell her those on her birthday so she just lets her find them later by herself. Smart move indeed.

She loves how Minkyung would ask her to have another guitar practice session but then it turned into a snuggling sleepover instead. The warmth that Minkyung provides her when they would exchange whatever stories they have in mind is amazing, and she would still be amazed at how they would still be hyper as usual at practice the next day despite staying up for so long.

And Nayoung ? Nayoung didn't do ordinary, she knows that. Throughout the whole day of her birthday, she would find notes with adorable characters all over their dorm. Whether it is 'Don't touch Kyuljeong's food' or 'Thank you for being born, Jieqiong ah…>,<' and she wrote her name in Chinese characters, not the Korean one like the others. Nayoung would even give Jieqiong her favorite food during dinner and it makes her feel special, not just how she acts but the look on the leader's face as if she's the only girl in this world as well.

Yes her birthdays with the PLEDIS Girlz aren't like what she ever expected.

But to be honest, she knew she was lucky to have them.

And she could and would never ask for anything else.