At the age of nineteen, there really isn't much that one can ask for on their birthday, so Jungkook hands it to his friends to decide his fate. He's greeted in the locker room by ten overly hyped guys in nothing but boxer briefs and towels, lifting him up and setting him down on one of the benches to begin whatever weird ritual they had planned. Soccer practice starts in twenty minutes - whatever they intended to do, he hopes they get it over with before the coach gets riled up with impatience. 

“Happy birthday, Kookie!” Bambam slaps him hard on the back, taking a seat next to him. He already smells like sweat and gatorade.

The rest follow his action, taking turns sweetly wishing him a happy birthday before contradicting their gestures with a sharp slap on his back, chuckling as he coughs a little. He thanks them anyway, rubbing the stinging skin of his back. 

“We should do something this year,” Jaehyun says, and the other boys nod in agreement. Jungkook thinks they weirdly resemble a cult without any particular leader. Just a group of high school boys in mutual agreement over everything.

“Let's take our boy to the strip club,” Mingyu suggests with a laugh, wrapping an arm around his neck.

“Let's not,” Jungkook interjects, flicking Mingyu's hand away. “You tried taking me last year, remember what happened?”

The boys nearly shudder in unison at the memory of Jungkook's disastrous eighteenth birthday. Seokmin had too many beers, tried to the poor girl just doing her job, and then ran from the police. Except he had run the complete opposite way from the exit, too drunk to see where he was going, and ended up flipping himself over the counter of the bar, shattering several expensive champagne bottles. As tight as the boys were, they weren't about to suffer the brunt of Seokmin's stupidity, so they immediately got up and discreetly snuck out before the cops could identify the drunk teenager and link him to the birthday boy. No matter how many time's he's tried to apologize for the incident, Jungkook still refuses to step foot into a club with them. On top of that, he felt uncomfortable and quite frankly, a little embarrassed about paying strange women (though it wasn't his money, it was Bambam's) to hover around him. He found himself more focused on the catchy tunes coming from the DJ rather than the half girls dancing offbeat to them. 

“Fine, what about skateboarding? We can go to the park after practice,” Bambam proposes, and for the first time Jungkook witnesses one of them groan in disagreement. 

“That's so lame, dude,” Mingyu rolls his eyes.

“You think of a better idea then. What are we gonna do? Take him to a kid's birthday party and hire a clown? We have Seokmin for that.” The other guys laugh hysterically at that last comment, one of them playfully hitting a frowning Seokmin in the arm. 

“I'm down for anything. Except for any place that has alcohol.” Jungkook tries not to make it obvious that he's eyeing Seokmin.

“Great, it's settled then. We go skateboarding and then we can go chill at a steak house or something,” Bambam plans, and the rest nod again. 

Before anyone can protest, the door slams open with a loud bang, revealing a bulky, broad-shouldered and redfaced man. Jungkook looks down at his watch - they're five minutes late. “Well, ,” he mutters under his breath. There's no chance of hoping that coach Lee will go easy on him just because it's his birthday. The last time Bambam tried to use that excuse, his 'present' was six laps around the entire school.

But their punishment today isn't any lighter as they're forced to jog up and down three flights of stairs for seven rounds. The stairwell starts to humidify with the nearly unbearable stench of sweat. At one point, a student from the yearbook committee who stayed back late to finish up work unknowingly tries to take the stairs, only to be suffocated by the smell that hit her senses the moment she opens the door and meets the eyes of about twenty sweating, panting boys hopping up and down the stairs. Jungkook arrives just in time to see the horrified expression on her face as she nearly tears up and makes a bee line back up the stairs and towards the door.

“Sorry I kind of ruined your birthday,” Bambam says, nearly out of breath as he speeds up to catch up with Jungkook. 

Jungkook smiles, “you didn't ruin anything. I wasn't expecting much anyway.”

There's a pause when they reach the top, then turn back around to descend the stairs, and Bambam begins again, “so,” he pants, “how's that girl of yours?”

“What girl?” Jungkook raises an eyebrow at him.

“You know, that girl you're always clinging to. Park Chaeyoung or something. Y'know, really cute? Dyed her hair sophomore year?” Bambam pants out, and before Jungkook can respond, he continues, “I was thinking of asking her out myself but I wasn't sure what kind of terms you were on with her. You are together with her, right?”

“I- no, I'm not.”

“, really? I can ask her out then?” 

Jungkook doesn't understand why every guy felt the need to look for his permission before hitting on his friend, but in this case, he doesn't know why but he hates the way a smirk spreads across Bambam's face when he realizes that Chaeyoung's available. “That's not what I said.”

“What do you mean by that? Are you saying you're planning on asking her out, then?”

“No, she's my friend.”

“Then what's your problem, man? I'd hook you up with my hottest friend if I had one, especially since it's your birthday. Chae's pretty, and smart too. I'm surprised she's still single.” Jungkook almost cringes at Bambam's use of her nickname. “Man, if I had a girlfriend that hot, I'd- hey, Kookie, where are you going?”

By the time Bambam looks up, Jungkook has doubled his speed, running straight past him. He finishes his final round in under a minute, greatly impressing coach Lee, who takes his vexation as increased effort. “Keep it up, Jeon!” he praises as Jungkook reaches the bottom of the last flight of stairs, gripping his knees when the force of how hard he's been running finally hits him.

It's 7PM when Chaeyoung hears a knock on the door. She's not surprised to find that it's Jungkook. She is surprised to find that it's Jungkook, having most of his weight held up by two other guys as his legs dangle slightly. There are rips in his jeans, revealing the open sores and bruises from his knees, trailing up to his thighs. Yet he greets her again with a weak “sup,” and a small smirk on his face.

“Jeon Jungkook, what the actual did you do this time?” she looks at him through annoyed, squinted eyes.

“We went skateboarding for his birthday,” Mingyu begins to explain, “but then Seokmin dared him to do a backflip at this really high ramp and he sort of did it... but he fell backwards the wrong way onto the pavement and scraped up his knees.”

“Oh god,” she pinches the bridge of her nose. “And why did you bring him here instead of a hospital?”

“Birthday boy's orders,” Bambam says with an amused smirk, “should we drop him off on your couch or do you think you can carry him?”

Chaeyoung looks irritated, but finds herself giving Bambam's options a moment of thought. Ten years ago, the idea of carrying Jungkook would have been entirely plausible. In fact, she remembers a time he fell asleep on a car ride back to his apartment after a concert and she singlehanded lifted him over her shoulder and walked up a flight of stairs to his room. But nine year old Jungkook is now nineteen year old, much larger than her Jungkook who's currently bleeding all over the door mat. Somehow he manages to maintain that smirk just to annoy her even as he's hissing in pain. 

She sighs, “drop him on the couch.”

The boys do as they're told, lifting him off his feet and carrying him into her living room before plopping him on the leather couch. The fall causes a slight bend in his left knee, causing him to whimper, and Chaeyoung nearly does as well at the sight of him. “Thanks, guys,” he manages to say through a groan.

Mingyu gives him a thumbs up, but Bambam's attention has already shifted to Chaeyoung, standing at the end of the couch watching them. He eyes her for a second, then approaches her with a boyish smile. “Chae, I heard-”

“Don't,” Jungkook interrupts before he can start.

“What? I'm just-”

“Don't. Even.” His words come out breathy, but they still carry with them a tone of warning. “You guys, just leave.”

Mingyu is immediately cooperative, trying to quickly shoo Bambam, who's still looking defensively at Jungkook, out of the apartment. If it isn't for the fact that it's Jungkook's birthday or that he nearly killed himself at the skate park, Bambam would have continued his advances, but instead, he bows a goodbye to Chaeyoung before getting pushed out the door by Mingyu who shyly bows to her as well before leaving.

She doesn't bother asking what that was about because she knows he'll either lie or not tell her at all, so she focuses on tending to his injuries. Many bandages, medical ointments and bloodied wash cloths later, Chaeyoung finally mutters out, “you're a ing idiot, you know that?” She presses down on one of the bandages to prove her point, making him hiss out, then writhe and laugh under her.

“You love it,” he says, his grin growing wider when she looks down, shaking her head, but he can see a hint of a smile on her lips.

When she's finally done with wrapping up his knees, she sits back on her hind legs, admiring her handy work. He's sweating from both the heat outside and having to endure the burning medical sprays hitting his open wounds. Relief washes over his face when he's finally all bandaged up, and he lets himself slump against her couch, sighing contently. She bites her lip to keep herself from smiling at the way he looks like a little boy again - exhausted from running around too much. 

“You've had a ty birthday, huh?” she finally comments after he's settled down.

He shakes his head. “To be honest, this is probably the most action filled birthday I've had since I turned fifteen and mom finally let me steer a motorcycle.”

“Really? What about last year's birthday with the strip-”

“Let's not talk about that.”

Chaeyoung giggles as his face begins to pale - from the loss of blood or the horrendously embarrassing memory, she can't tell, but the way his face scrunches up at the mention of it is hilarious. “In other words, you've had ty birthdays leading up to this point.” He thinks about it for a moment, then nods with a shrug. “Ah, I bet I can make this one slightly less ty.” He almost laughs at 'slightly less ty' because realistically, that really is the most she can do. 

He doesn't get the chance to ask how she plans to do that before she's getting up and walking into the kitchen. He hears the fridge door open and the slight clanking of some sort of dish being lifted, and then the soft slam of the door closing. And then she's back, a three-layered cake with frosting spelling out 'Happy Birthday Kookie' with oreos crumbled around the edges in her hands. It's cookies and cream because Chaeyoung's mom thought it'd be funny. “Get it? Kookies and cream?” she had said earlier that morning, and Chaeyoung pretended to find it hilarious when in fact, he's made that joke far too many times every time they had oreos. 

“How did your mom know I was coming?” 

“Jungkook, everyone in this goddamn neighbourhood knows that you're coming. When are you not here?”

He snickers to himself, then eyes the cake with awe. It's very pretty for a homemade cake. He's never had much of a sweet tooth but he doesn't want to complain about the only nice gesture he's been given today. Chaeyoung reaches into a grocery bag, pulling out two candles - a 1 and a 9 to make 19. He laughs when he sees them, and she does too, because they both recognize these candles. They were actually a 1 and a 6 that were initially bought for his 16th birthday, and then the 6 was flipped upside down for Jimin's 19th the very next year when they couldn't be bothered to get a new set of candles. At some point, they both went ' it' and used them again for Jungkook's grandmother's 61st birthday and again on his great grandfather's 91st.

She barely has time to properly light the candles when he's blowing them out with a strong huff, the flames flickering back before vanishing into strings of dark smoke. “Nice,” she says sarcastically.

“I don't like candle wax on my cake.” He shrugs, “did you get me a present?”

“I didn't know what you would want so I just figured I'd give you the money so you can decide that for yourself.” She places a wad of cash on the coffee table as she says this, and tilts her head to the side when she sees him pouting. Quite frankly, he's tired of having people let him decide what he wants for his birthday. He likes to be surprised, which hasn't happened in a while. “You know, there's quite a bit in there. Maybe we can hire a stripper.”

“Don't start.” He glowers, making her laugh. Suddenly, an idea pops into his head and his expression changes into a mischievous grin as Chaeyoung looks at him suspiciously. “Sing me a birthday song.”

She eyes him for a moment, eyebrows raised, then smiles, sitting back on the couch. “Happy bir-”

“No, no, no.” He wiggles his finger, “a better one.”

“Like what?” she frowns.

“Something along the lines of Jungkook is the greatest, all hail Jungkook, my life would be miserable without Jung- ow!” He chuckles loudly when Chaeyoung punches him in the arm. He looks up at the ceiling, rubbing his chin in thought. After a few seconds of his soft sighs and hums, he pushes himself off the couch without a word and walks towards her room. He's back a moment later, holding her favourite guitar - a shiny black acoustic Taylor with her signature scribbled in white marker at the bottom - she's named it Rosie. He brings the strap around her neck, resting it in her lap. “Birthday boy,” is all he says, a small smile on his lips. 

It takes her a moment to register what he's implying, then her lips curl upwards when the memory finally hits her. It was two years ago, when Jungkook had ordered what he thought would be the new Birdy album, the one he'd been looking forward to for months, already scheduling days off to listen to it. Some mishap occurred in the mailing process and he ended up with some rock band he'd never heard of in his life: Ween. It was their debut album that had come in long ago. Jungkook can remember the way disappointment and confusion came over him as he glared at the unfamiliar cover, immediately thinking about boxing it back up and filing a complaint. But there was something intriguing about it - the grinning face against a neon pink background. So out of curiosity, he gave it a listen. A few songs in and he was hooked on the rough, electric vibe and the wild, chaotic lyrics. Chaeyoung refers to this year as his 'edgy' point, when he started trying to learn how to play guitar and bought more of the band's albums. 

She finds it a little strange to play such a bittersweet song for his birthday, but he's looking at her with such an innocent, cheesy smile as he waits for her. So she takes a deep breath and begins strumming the chords.

Last time I saw you,
I was holding your hand.
And I couldn't wait for
you to leave.

I knew right then
That it was over and done
And I couldn't believe
That I was free

Jungkook sighs deeply at the sound of her voice, closing his eyes to enhance it. He thinks it's the most unique sound he's ever heard - like melted gold, silky and smooth, breathy and steady. Rosie seems to sing along with every strum of her chords. 

Help me now,
I'm going down.
And I don't know if I'll
be okay. 

I'll be around,
I'll be in town.
If you need a place
to stay.

He can't stop himself from grinning now. There's a warmth that spreads through his chest, flowing to his cheeks. This, he thinks, this feels like home. He shifts closer to her to get a better hearing, and catches the scent of her - fresh, citrusy, and so entirely Chaeyoung.

When the wind blows
and there's a chill in the air.
I hope that someone
is taking care of you.

I'm alright.
Yeah, I'm really okay.
Just so you know,
I'll always be there for you.

She almost stutters on the lyrics when she feels his chin digging into her shoulder, watching her intently as her fingers reach for different notes. She can feel his smile buried in the skin of her shoulder and his light breathing brushing across her neck, giving her goosebumps. A blush is creeping into her face but she shakes it off, finishing the song.

Help me now,
I'm going down.
And I don't know if I'll be
okay.

I'll be around,
I'll be in town. 
If you need a place,
to stay.

She continues to strum the final acoustic break, letting Rosie carry the song to a smooth finish. She lets out a content sigh on the last note, turning her head to find that Jungkook still hasn't moved, still resting his chin on her. He looks like he's in some sort of trance, staring dreamily at her fingers. Only now does she notice how soft his skin is, gently pressed against her. It's a peaceful, comfortable silence between them, with Jungkook nuzzled into her shoulder and her, carefully his hair, moving his bangs to the side.

Chaeyoung thinks that every part of Jungkook seems to have changed since they were little, except for three things. His soft, milky white skin; his dark, warm eyes, and the childish demeanor that could both irritate her and pull at her heart strings. She moves Rosie off of her lap, delicately placing her on the floor, but right when she's about to move Jungkook, he lifts his feet up onto the couch and drops his head onto her thighs, and she squeals in shock. 

“Dude! What are you- why- you brat!” She's burning up again, except this time she can't hide it from him. He can see everything from here, and he laughs hysterically at the look on her face. She contemplates just throwing him off and onto the ground, but then remembers the condition of his knees. All she can do is huff an exasperated sigh, turning to look the other way, but she knows he's still staring at her with an overly amused grin on his lips.

They stay like that for a minute. Chaeyoung, internally trying to calm herself down, and Jungkook, never looking away from the rosiness of her cheeks. He thinks she looks prettiest with that shade. He would never tell her that, though, as it's far too fun to watch her attempts to hide it.

He hasn't felt this relaxed in a while, he thinks as he breathes out a calm, steady breath. “Chaeyoung.”

“What?” she turns to him finally, a mildly annoyed pout on her face.

“Thanks,” he smiles, “for making my birthday less ty.” And before he knows it, she's smiling brightly at him too.

In all honesty, this birthday has been less ty, and a little better. The sun has gone down, leaving the two in the slight darkness of the living room, a stream of blue light seeping in through the curtains. Chaeyoung tries to get up to turn on the lights but Jungkook applies pressure on her lap with his head, refusing to move. 

Chaeyoung chuckles to herself, not even bothering to fight him anymore. Instead, she picks up the box of matches next to her and leans forward as best as she could with Jungkook in her lap to relight the candles. The soft glow of the flickering flame barely, but nicely, illuminates the darkness of the room. Jungkook feels his eyes grow heavy - the atmosphere is perfect. Chaeyoung's melodic voice; her soft, plush thighs; the odd but perfect combination of lemon and lavender in her scent, the warm glow of the candles - Jungkook wants to drown in it all and never wake up.

He decides he doesn't mind a little candle wax in his cake after all.

A/N: Btw if you're curious, this is the song she was playing.