The birthday brunch

Happy birthday, Myeonie!

Junmyeon’s eyes flew open while he let out a shrill cry. He held his chest and felt how his heart hammered against his palm. This heartbeat, he knew very well, it was fear. He was drenched in sweat. His clothes stuck to his body. He panted and blinked repetitively, trying to rub off the tears that threatened to fall. Ever since that day, each year had always been the same. No matter that Junmyeon had accomplished to conceal how the memories disturbed him, there were predominantly some days in the year in which he woke up like this. He had those vivid dreams, dreams composed of fragments from those old memories. And each time, the dreams brought down the fort he had built. In the aftermath, he lay in bed, in the pool of old memories, and his Emotion Watch cast a yellow light for the longest time he’ll ever allow it.

“I’m sorry,” Junmyeon pleaded, like he always did, dumbly thinking that his words would reach. “I’m so sorry, Jaemin.” It never worked.

But like each time it happened, Junmyeon eventually got off the bed. He walked to the bathroom, took off his uncomfortable clothes and got in the shower. The feeling of the ice-cold water running down his skin always worked to rebuild the fort, to make sure he went back to being Kim Junmyeon, the perfect son, the intellectual and successful worker, the respectable candidate for the leadership of the nation. When he put on his Emotion Watch again, it glowed white. And life went back to normal, at least until the next time.

Junmyeon walked down to the kitchen. There wasn’t any use in eating since the brunch began in two hours, but he still felt like drinking whatever beverage Yixing had bought. That was the only thing Junmyeon had let Yixing buy, the groceries. Mostly because Yixing had complained and said he could do it himself and he knew best what to buy for cooking. Sometimes Yixing had come home, saying he had bought three things for the price of one. The items had been on sale, and Junmyeon couldn’t understand why saving a few bills mattered.

Junmyeon opened the fridge and decided to serve himself a glass of apple juice. As Junmyeon was gulping down the final parts of the liquid, Yixing walked in. “Morning,” Yixing said. He was already clad in the outfit the stylist had chosen. Yixing looked… Acceptable, although recently Junmyeon had begun thinking Yixing looked acceptable in everything, high fashioned clothes, tailored suits, or the sloppy ones he used for work. How strange.

“Good morning.”

Yixing looked around and blushed, probably remembering what had happened last night. He shook his head, and somehow Junmyeon found himself almost smiling at Yixing’s nervousness. Until Yixing cleared his throat. “Happy birthday, Junmyeon!” he said, smiling and showing those deep indentations in his cheeks, making him look somewhat charming.

“Thank you, Yixing.” There was another weird thump in his chest.

Yixing continued smiling.

Two hours later, Junmyeon and Yixing stood side by side, holding hands and watching the guests arrive. Unlike the last time they had hosted a party, this one had fewer people, mostly composed of Junmyeon’s family and friends. The brunch took place in an outside venue of a country club. It was a warm and sunny day at the beginning of summer, green fields and trees surrounded them. This was the perfect occasion for an outside brunch.

Junmyeon and Yixing were in the middle of a conversation with Tao and Yifan, when someone shouted, “Big Suho! Uncle Xing!” He turned around and saw Sohee, holding a small, perfectly wrapped package in her hands. Kyungsoo holding a baby stroller stood there too. Junmyeon let go of Yixing’s hand and squatted down. “Sohee!” he said.

She jumped forward and hugged Junmyeon, almost making him lose his balance. “Happy birthday Big Suho!” she said.

In any other instance, Junmyeon wouldn’t have allowed this. But now, he raised his arms to hug the child back. “Thank you, Sohee.”

When Sohee let go of him, she went to greet Yixing. Kyungsoo went ahead to congratulate Junmyeon too, apologizing that due to a sudden matter at work Chanyeol would arrive later. After a few minutes of introductions and small talk, Sohee held out her gift for Junmyeon. “Here! This is my and Suho’s present. We picked it ourselves. Open it, Big Suho!”

“We left our present to that woman in charge standing in the entry, but Sohee wanted to give you hers in person,” Kyungsoo explained.

Junmyeon nodded. Usually, he didn’t bother opening any presents, besides his parents and grandparents’ gifts. His assistants would always take care of the rest and make a list of everything he had gotten. But this time, he grabbed the gift and thanked Sohee. Once he tossed away the wrapping paper, he was holding a black box. Junmyeon raised the lid and saw a purple tie, definitely not a high fashion brand like the ones he used. To top it all, the tie had patterns of bunny faces and carrots all over it. In the past, Junmyeon would probably have thrown that gift in the trash, saying that he was Kim Junmyeon and could never wear something so hideous, not caring to have hurt the feelings of an eight-year-old girl. This time, however, he just chuckled tenderly at it, finding it one of the most unusual yet endearing gifts someone had given him.

“Do you like it, Big Suho?” Sohee asked expectantly.

Junmyeon smiled. “I love it Sohee. Thank you,” he said, pinching her cheek.

“And do you like my new haircut too?”

When he had seen her, Junmyeon had instantly realized Sohee’s long hair had been cut off, and now it reached just below her chin. “I do, and you look so cute.”

“What about my dress?” Sohee said, spinning around in her turquoise dress, holding the gown.

Junmyeon chuckled. “It’s beautiful.” This what the longest he had given compliments to anyone.

Sohee grinned. Then she walked to the stroller and brought out something. It was the bunny stuffed toy. She raised it to show Junmyeon. “Look! Even Suho has dressed up for your birthday party, Big Suho.” Junmyeon grabbed the bunny. He carefully observed the black tuxedo jacket, the bow tie around its neck and the miniature top hat. Junmyeon held in his laugh and instead looked amused at the stuffed toy. He didn’t want Sohee to misunderstand his laugh, it wasn’t malice, he just thought it was strange and hilarious. He wondered, who had the time to do such thing? The tuxedo fitted the bunny perfectly, and it was so detailed and well done.

“Chanyeol likes sewing,” Kyungsoo said, giving an answer to Junmyeon’s unspoken question.

Junmyeon nodded, “Suho looks great too, Sohee.”

That answer made Sohee pleased. She went on to ask Yixing almost the same questions. Meanwhile, Junmyeon told Kyungsoo to feel free to eat anything they wanted from the table of foods and to sit in anywhere, there wasn’t a fixed sitting this time. Kyungsoo nodded, thanking Junmyeon again, and proceeding to grab Sohee’s hand and with the other moving the stroller toward a table.

When Junmyeon looked at Yifan and Tao, they stared at him questioningly and wide-eyed. Junmyeon rolled his eyes and said, “Don’t say anything.”

Yifan and Tao laughed. They excused themselves and said they’ll go eat now.

“Do you think we can eat too? Everyone has arrived, right?” Yixing asked just when his stomach growled.

Junmyeon chuckled, enjoying the way Yixing’s cheeks turned a little red. “Sure, I think so. Let’s go,” he said. He called one of his assistants and told her to put the gift away in safe place, it was a valuable present. Junmyeon held out his hand for Yixing, who took it. But of course, someone had to interrupt them. Junmyeon was not surprised to see Taehyuk standing there, but he was when he saw Jongin. Who the hell invited that guy?

“Happy birthday, Junmyeon,” Taehyuk said, stretching out his hand to shake it with Junmyeon.

“Taehyuk, welcome, and thank you,” Junmyeon said with that formal tone, he always used when dealing with the other elected. He stared at Jongin, frowning. “What are you doing here?”

“Junmyeon, heartwarming as always,” Jongin said before laughing, “Anyway, happy birthday,” he added, ignoring Junmyeon’s previous question. When Jongin stared at Yixing, he smirked, that awful side-smile. “Xing, you look good. Well, you always do.”

‘Xing?’ Since when did that brat and Yixing get so familiarized with each other? He knew they lived in the same building, but that didn’t mean they had to have nicknames for each other. And most importantly, why was Jongin complimenting his fiancé in front of him? The audacity! It bothered him, so much his Emotion Watch shone yellow for a moment. Well, Kim Jongin always bothered him. Junmyeon thought of calling Jongin out but got a better idea instead. He grabbed Yixing’s cheeks. Yixing stared him back with a questing look, but Junmyeon just blinked twice in a row. Earlier in the morning, after Yixing had wished him a happy birthday, they discussed the kissing topic again. And Junmyeon had said that he’ll blink twice whenever he was going to kiss Yixing, so Yixing could at least see it coming.

“Of course, he does, Jongin. My Yixing is the most handsome person after all,” Junmyeon said. He leaned in to kiss Yixing. This time was much better than Junmyeon’s attempt last night. Yixing managed to kiss him back too. And when it ended, and Junmyeon backed away, Yixing was flustered. Junmyeon had started to like seeing him like that, for reasons he couldn’t quite understand. He turned to see Jongin, who was no longer smiling. Junmyeon smirked, gloating over having erased that annoying smirk from Jongin’s lips.

To break the silence, Taehyuk talked. “Junmyeon, I hope it’s okay Jongin tagged along. Joohyun wasn’t feeling all right, pregnancy and morning sickness, you know. But she sends you her kindest regards and wishes you a happy birthday.”

It wasn’t okay, and Junmyeon didn’t understand why Taehyuk had to bring Jongin. What were they even doing together? Had they always been friends or what? He didn’t want Jongin there. However, it wouldn’t look right to throw out someone from his birthday brunch, so Junmyeon nodded. “Oh, I understand. Please, give Joohyun my thanks, and I hope she feels better soon. We do have more than enough food for everyone, so feel free to grab whatever you want.”

Taehyuk smiled, while Jongin remained quiet and only stared at Junmyeon with mistrust. Yixing proceeded to greet them, and when those two finally left him and Yixing alone, Junmyeon breathed out. He wanted to ask Yixing since when he and Jongin had gotten so close, but there were a few problems. First, it would be as if he was jealous, which he wasn’t! He was only being careful. It wouldn’t be good if someone started malicious gossips about them. Secondly, Junmyeon didn’t have a say in Yixing’s relationships. They weren’t a couple or anything like that, so he should just keep quiet. Yixing could do whatever he wanted, Junmyeon had said that. He put on a smile and said, “Now let’s go eat something. I’m starving too.”

Yixing nodded, no longer looking flustered but relieved to hear Junmyeon’s words.

They took some time choosing food from the tables. After all, there was so much food and options to get. But once Junmyeon and Yixing were pleased with their brunch, they walked over to sit with Kyungsoo and his family. Yifan and Tao had also sat at that table. Everyone seemed to get along, and different conversations took place. Junmyeon sat in between Yixing and Sohee, so he got to hear Sohee talk in awe about the venue, the food, the decorations and the flowers which apparently Yixing had arranged? Sometimes his assistants missed to give him relevant information. The centerpieces looked pretty, he’ll have to thank Yixing for that later.

Even Junmyeon’s parents joined their table after a while. Junmyeon’s mom had been thrilled with baby Dongwon (who had woken up by then) and held him in her arms. Seeing that image was threatening old memories to reappear. That had rarely happened before. Junmyeon could always put it aside and focus on the present. What had changed now? So, to calm down, Junmyeon excused himself to use the restroom.

He washed his face a couple times. He looked himself in the mirror. He told himself to focus. This wasn’t the time nor place to deal with that.

Finally, after some minutes Junmyeon was ready to go back. But then the door flew open, almost scaring and making him jump. Yixing stomped inside, and he had yogurt, berries, and granola running down all over his hair.

“Yixing, what happened to you?”

Yixing looked slightly angry, but he managed to smile anyway. “Oh, you know me, always getting myself into these kinds of accidents.” He laughed but it sounded so false, Junmyeon wondered why he didn’t just tell him the truth. Whoever had made fun of Yixing was not going to get away. No, he wasn’t defending Yixing, but insulting Yixing was basically insulting him. “I just have to wash my hair and maybe get a new shirt. Do you happen to have any extra?” Yixing said.

Junmyeon nodded. He took out his phone and made a call. “Taeyong, come to the bathroom and help my fiancé. Yes, take him to the showers and get him a change of clothes.”

Yixing half-smiled at him. “Thank you, and I’m sorry. I always seem to be embarrassing you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Junmyeon said. Just as he left the bathroom, he encountered Taeyong arriving there. When Junmyeon returned to their table, only Sohee was sitting there, sulking and whispering a bunch of things to the bunny. She didn’t even realize Junmyeon stood there.

“Where is everyone, Sohee?”

Sohee jumped in her seat, but then she looked at him. “Papa Soo and Dongwon went to encounter Daddy Chan. Someone came to talk to the other two misters, they went with that person. Your mommy and daddy are sitting over there. And Uncle Xing got yogurt on his head.”

“Oh, thank you, Sohee.” He sat down again and took a sip of his lemonade.

“Psst, Big Suho,” Sohee said quietly, which was strange because it was only the two of them. Junmyeon raised an eyebrow but followed her game too.

“What Sohee?” he whispered.

“It wasn’t an accident,” Sohee said, frowning.

“What?”

“That Uncle Xing got yogurt on his head.”

“Tell me more.”

“Uncle Xing went to grab more food. I followed him, so he could get me a cupcake. And when I got there, Uncle Xing was cleaning and picking up bread that had fallen on the floor. That woman stood with him. She looked around and thought no one was seeing her, but I was! Then she flipped her plate from the table, and it fell on top of Uncle Xing’s head!” Sohee sighed in exasperation. “Everyone was staring at Uncle Xing, and I asked her why she had done that, but she said sorry and that it was an accident. I was gonna tell her to tell the truth, but Uncle Xing nodded and told me to go sit back. But it was on purpose, Big Suho! I swear.”

Now Junmyeon sighed. He could already think of who had done this to Yixing. “Can you point out who it was, Sohee?”

Sohee nodded. She raised her little index finger and pointed at the culprit. “It was her!” she whispered loudly.

And sure enough, it was Haewon. Junmyeon rolled his eyes. He had never liked Haewon, but her brother Minho was his good old friend from college. And thanks to that she always made sure and found ways to be present at Junmyeon’s life events. She had insinuated herself to Junmyeon a few times in the past, but he couldn’t care less about it. No matter how many times he had explained he was gay, Haewon had chosen to ignore it and thought the System would pick them as a match either way. Clearly, she was hurt by the result, and now she was tormenting Yixing. But, again, calling someone off here wouldn’t be wise, mainly because she would ugly cry at Junmyeon’s accusations (he knew her tricks very well).

“She has to tell the truth! Papa Soo and Daddy Chan always say we must tell the truth.”

Junmyeon nodded. “You’re right, Sohee, but I’m afraid Haewon is a different case. But I do know how we could get at her.” If Haewon had thrown food at Yixing, it was only fair she got the same treatment.

Sohee looked confused, but when Junmyeon leaned in to whisper his idea, she grinned. “Yes, let’s do that Big Suho!” Junmyeon smiled and nodded in compliance with Sohee.

Once everything was settled, Junmyeon walked over to Haewon’s and Minho’s table, sitting where he had a clear view of the tables of food. Junmyeon talked with them for a while. He took notice of Haewon’s usual overly and clingy attention toward him. She seemed to ignore the fact Junmyeon had an engagement ring on his finger. Until Junmyeon finally began part of his plan.

“Haewon, could you please bring me a piece of the chocolate cake?”

She instantly nodded and smiled. “But of course, Joonie!” Ugh, how Junmyeon hated when she called him that. When Haewon walked away, Junmyeon subtly raised a thumbs-up in Sohee’s direction, who nodded in return.

Amused, Junmyeon watched the whole thing take place. Just when Haewon raised the spatula to pick up a piece of the cake, Sohee subtly pushed her. Haewon’s face went straight to the chocolate cake, and Junmyeon did his utter best to not burst out laughing in Minho’s face. When Haewon stood up, her whole face was covered in chocolate icing. She removed the chocolate from her eyes. Then she looked down and saw Sohee. Junmyeon didn’t count she was going to lash out at the poor child and start a commotion. Minho turned around, and Junmyeon stood up to go defend the little Sohee. But just as he reached there, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo beat him to it. Chanyeol held Sohee by her shoulders and brought her closer to him.

“Who are you? And why are you screaming at my daughter?”

“Can’t you see?! Your stupid kid pushed me against the cake!”

“I-I didn’t me-mean to Daddy Chan,” Sohee said, crying and trying to brush away the tears with her arm, “It was an acc-accident. I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry, Miss.”

“Liar! You little rat pushed me. I felt your disgusting tiny hands on my back.”

“Hey, hey Haewon, stop it,” Junmyeon intervened. Chanyeol’s Emotion Watch turned yellow, and he didn’t want to create trouble for Yixing’s friend. “It was an accident, Sohee didn’t mean to, and she apologized to you.”

Instantly, Haewon dropped her anger. She tried to look pitiful for Junmyeon. “Joonie, it’s true. This rude kid pushed me.”

But before Junmyeon could answer, Minho spoke, “Haewon, I can’t believe you yelled at this little girl over nothing. Didn’t you also said you dropped your plate on Yixing by mistake?” He shook his head, “I’m so sorry, Junmyeon, and you too,” Minho said to Chanyeol and Kyungsoo. He also told Haewon to apologize to Sohee and her parents. Reluctantly, Haewon did. And once everything was cleared out, Haewon left the venue, still angry at the outcome, Junmyeon noticed. He did his best to not smile at that.

After Chanyeol had congratulated and greeted Junmyeon, he and Kyungsoo stayed behind to grab some food for him to eat. Meanwhile, Junmyeon took a cupcake with him and went with Sohee to sit down again. Subtly they high-fived and laughed at their victory.

Yixing returned shortly after, clad in a fresh set of clothes and with cleaned hair. “What happened? I met your friend on the way. She was covered in chocolate. And she cursed at Sohee for pushing her on the cake?”

“She’s not my friend. And that was an accident, right Sohee?” Junmyeon winked at Sohee.

Sohee nodded, beaming with her nose covered in cupcake frosting. “Yes, Uncle Xing! It was an accident.”

Yixing stared inquisitively at them. But then he shook his head and let out a laugh.

After hours, the birthday brunch finally ended. As the closing act, Junmyeon gave his usual thank you speech to his family and friends. Although the main difference was that in the end, he said his fiancé was the most significant gift he’d ever gotten, cheesy but hopefully convincing. Junmyeon also held Yixing by his waist, blinked twice, and then leaned in to give him a long kiss. Even if he didn’t want to admit it, he was starting to enjoy kissing Yixing’s lips. They had a unique taste, they felt the softest he had ever kissed. Junmyeon heard a couple of cheers and whistles, others laughed and cooed. Photographs were definitely taken.

Overall, it was a good party. And one of the most entertaining birthdays Junmyeon had had in a long time. But the day didn’t end there because in the night there was also a birthday dinner exclusively for the members of his family. The whole meal Yixing had been nervous, but Junmyeon, oddly, grabbed his hand and tried to reassure him. Why? Junmyeon couldn’t understand it, but he still kept doing it.

Much later, he and Yixing arrived home tired from this long day. Junmyeon just wanted a relaxing bath and then go to sleep. Yixing interfered with his idea, though.

“Junmyeon, wait.”

“Yes?”

“Could you sit on the dining table? I have something for you.”

Now that was unexpected. Junmyeon had everything, he didn’t need anything. Either way, he got a little curious. What could Yixing possibly have gotten for him? So, he nodded and went to sit down, while Yixing bolted to the kitchen. Yixing returned with a large box in hand and placed it in front of Junmyeon. He went back to the kitchen and returned with a cake spatula, plates, spoons, and a can of whipped cream.

“I had to ask Chanyeol to drop this here earlier, I didn’t want you to suspect anything,” Yixing said. “Hopefully, that’s okay?” he wondered nervously.

“There’s no problem. I said you could always bring your friends.”

Yixing smiled in relief. “Okay, well, happy birthday, Junmyeon,” he said again that day.

Junmyeon opened the lid of the box and gasped. He blinked in astonishment. In front of him was a chocolate cake, sprinkled with powdered sugar. The smell brought along those precious childhood memories, the few memories that most often didn’t make him despise himself more.

“It’s ‘Kladdkaka!’ Or technically, chocolate mud cake. It’s Swedish. And Kyungsoo said this was the closest thing to what you described to me the other day.”

Junmyeon gulped, forcing himself to shut down his emotions, deciding to focus on the fact Yixing had remembered. That meaningless talk they had shared, Yixing had remembered. And he had done this for him. Why?

Why did his heart skip another beat again?

“I trust Kyungsoo’s judgment, he’s the patisserie. But only you know if this is the correct one.” Yixing went ahead to cut two pieces and put them on each plate. He sprayed whipped cream on top and so, gave Junmyeon his portion.

Junmyeon looked at the cake. He grabbed a spoon and took a bite. One bite and he knew. Sweet, soft and gooey, just like he remembered it to be. Just like he was starting to recall lots of things. “Yeah, it is. This-this incredible. Thank you, Yixing… You didn’t have to, it was very… Thoughtful of you.” A fond yet nostalgic smiled formed on his lips.

Meanwhile, Yixing smiled widely in return. “It’s really nothing. And with all the amazing gift you probably got, I’m glad you liked my humble gift.” Yixing scratched his head. He was going to take a seat in front of him, but remembered something, “Oh, should I make us some tea?”

“That’d be nice.” Junmyeon nodded, and Yixing once again returned to the kitchen.