“Happy birthday, dear Jeongmin! Happy birthday to you!”

Lee Jeongmin, the birthday boy, had woken up at noon on his birthday. When he stumbled downstairs after washing up, Hyunseong dragged him to his favorite restaurant for lunch. As it turns out, the rest of their group was waiting for them.

Lunch was relatively noisy. Minwoo and Youngmin were arguing over something trivial again, not noticing that Jeongmin and Kwangmin were silently stealing their food. Donghyun was discussing his work schedule with Hyunseong, who absentmindedly stirred his soup, the motion producing a constant clinking sound as the spoon hit the side of the bowl.

After lunch, their waiter brought out a cake that the others had bought for Jeongmin. Hyunseong lit the candles with the lighter the waiter offered, and Minwoo and Youngmin pulled themselves out of their argument long enough to join the others in singing ‘Happy birthday.’

Jeongmin took a deep breath and blew at the candles, extinguishing the tiny flames with ease. Taking the knife from the waiter, he cut the cake into six pieces. Everyone chose their slices and happily dug in.

Jeongmin went to take his first bite of cake, but his spoon slipped slightly out of his grasp. He managed to catch the piece of cake before it dropped onto his lap but ended up with a trail of icing across his chin.

“Hyunseong-hyung, can you pass me some napkins?” Jeongmin leaned forward to make sure the icing didn’t fall onto his pants as he held out an expectant hand in Hyunseong’s direction.

Hyunseong plucked a couple napkins and was about to hand them to Jeongmin when an idea came to mind. He held out the napkins with both hands, bowed his head slightly, and said in a teasing tone, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

There was a stunned silence for a moment before the others chuckled at Hyunseong’s antics. Jeongmin accepted the napkins with a faint blush and an embarrassed smile. They returned to eating their cakes, but Hyunseong didn’t pick up his fork. He had an idea.

Hyunseong pulled out his phone and quickly sent a message to Donghyun, asking him to keep Jeongmin preoccupied for a couple hours after their lunch gathering ended. The eldest shot him a questioning look over the table but agreed. When the group decided to disperse, Donghyun dragged Jeongmin off to mall, claiming that he saw a new scarf that the birthday boy would love.

Hyunseong separated from the twins and Minwoo outside the restaurant and headed home, already planning out what he needed to get done before Jeongmin decided he was bored of being towed around by Donghyun.

Jeongmin reluctantly walked into another store, following Donghyun, who was talking about the latest fashion trend.

“Apparently, sunglasses and hats are really popular with the younger population these days.” Donghyun picked out a hat for himself and pressed a cap down on Jeongmin’s head. “That looks good on you.”

“Does it?” Jeongmin stared at his reflection in the mirror and adjusted the cap. He didn’t look bad, but caps weren’t really his thing. Taking it off and replacing it on the hook, he turned to look at Donghyun. “So why did you bring me here, hyung?”

Donghyun paused for a moment, looking genuinely confused. “Huh?”

“You said there was a new scarf that you wanted to show me, but it’s been hours and you haven’t shown me a scarf yet,” Jeongmin pointed out. He scrutinized Donghyun, who shifted his weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “Are you hiding something from me, Donghyun-hyung?”

“...No…”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

Donghyun glared at the smirking Jeongmin. “Don’t worry about it. You’ll find out from Hyunseong soon enough,” the elder huffed.

“Find out what?” Jeongmin pressed.

“You’ll see.” Donghyun refused to say any more for the rest of the day no matter how much Jeongmin pestered him. The younger was briefly distracted when Donghyun showed him the scarf they talked about earlier. Jeongmin was mildly surprised to see that the scarf wasn’t something Donghyun made up but was relatively pleased with the accessory. In the end, Donghyun bought it for him as a birthday present.

When Hyunseong finally texted Donghyun, saying that it was okay for Jeongmin to come home, the oldest felt so relieved. Some time during their shopping spree, Donghyun and Jeongmin switched roles, leading to Donghyun being dragged around by Jeongmin instead. Donghyun was worn out by the time he bade Jeongmin goodbye and headed home to rest.

When Jeongmin arrived home, Hyunseong greeted him and took him to the living room, where the dining table sported several different dishes that Hyunseong had prepared while Jeongmin was out with Donghyun.

“Your Majesty.” Hyunseong pulled out a chair and gestured for Jeongmin to sit.

“What is this?” Jeongmin sat down, staring at the food in awe.

“Well, it’s your birthday, so I’m going to make sure you feel like a king.” Hyunseong pulled up a chair next to Jeongmin. “I figured you would be hungry after wandering around the mall with Donghyun all afternoon so I made this for you.” He smiled and gestured to the table. “So which would you like to eat first, Your Majesty?”

Jeongmin was unaccustomed to the kingly address but decided not to press the issue. He scanned the dishes before him, trying to decide which one to eat first and finally settling on the dish closest to him.

“I want that one first.” Jeongmin pointed at the tofu stew. Hyunseong immediately took Jeongmin’s bowl and began spooning the stew into it. He dipped a spoon into the broth and held it up to Jeongmin’s mouth.

“Oh, you’re feeding me, too?” Jeongmin looked mildly surprised, one hand halfway through the air to take the spoon from Hyunseong.

The older boy looked scandalized. “Of course!” he said with mock indignation, “It’s your birthday, and I said I would make sure you are treated like a king.”

Jeongmin obediently opened his mouth, letting Hyunseong feed him the tofu stew. After the stew was done, Hyunseong proceeded to feed him the samgyeopsal, donkatsu, and steamed dumplings. At some point, Jeongmin had taken the spoon and fed Hyunseong as well, saying that kings could do whatever they wanted and he wanted to feed Hyunseong.

For the rest of the night, Jeongmin wasn’t shy to use his kingly status, making Hyunseong do things like letting Jeongmin use him as a pillow while they watched a movie or random little acts of aegyo. Hyunseong didn’t complain. In fact, he enjoyed doing these little things to make Jeongmin happy.

Now, Jeongmin was practically asleep, so Hyunseong picked him up and carried him to the bedroom, carefully tucking him into bed after helping him change into pajamas. He had just pulled covers over Jeongmin when the birthday boy mumbled something. Hyunseong leaned closer, trying to make out the quiet words.

“Stay.”

Hyunseong smiled before settling down next to the bed. “Yes, Your Majesty.”