Chapter twenty-five:

~Yoomi’s POV.~

“Yah! Stop taking from my plate!”

“Kim Jongin! Who taught you to speak like that?”

Yoomi silently giggled to herself as she witnessed what was a totally normal occurrence with the S-class boys during a meal. Her two friends, who weren’t as close to the boys as she was, could only stifle their laughs in fear of accidentally offending any of the S-ranks. It was actually something Yoomi found just as funny as the boys, especially when Jinwoo would be laughing at something the younger boys did, only to instantly try covering it up when they got scolded by Junmyeon, as if trying not to gain the same scolding from his idol. She just knew that she and Sumin were going to have to about that again later.

“I’m going home to rest after lunch. You guys do whatever you want,” Minseok piped up as he wiped his mouth clean and drank the last of his glass’ content.

“Actually, I am quite spent as well. I can imagine that the rest of us fourth years are as well,” Junmyeon agreed readily, having already planned this whole thing out. “How about you kids stay and watch the rest of the battles? Us hyungs will go rest at home for a little.”

“What? Junmyeon hyung, are you actually saying you’re gonna skip class?” As expected, Jongdae fell into the trap right away, excitedly. He was more into teasing his hyung for supposedly breaking his good boy image than reading too much into the reason they were all leaving.

“It’s technically not skipping class because we don’t have attendance check for these battles and the hyungs have all already had their turns.” Just like they practiced, Kyungsoo would point this out— like the smarty pants he was— and Yoomi would add in, pretending to worry for their health.

“I think you should go back and rest a little, oppas. The four of you did go all out in the arena today. After all, we will need energy for later today.” Being the little minx she was, she couldn’t help adding the last part, just to keep the birthday boy on his toes and guessing. Baekhyun let out a laugh at Yoomi’s cheekiness, while Chanyeol and Jongin grinned widely at her playfulness.

Jongdae glanced her way suspiciously, especially after seeing the reactions of the others, because he knew Baekhyun was one of the worst people at keeping secrets he had ever met, but she ignored him, continuing with her innocent act. Junmyeon, on the other hand, despite knowing this was all part of their plan, couldn’t help but swoon from the girl’s caring display.

“Alright then, we’ll be going now.” As he announced, Yifan, Luhan, and Minseok all stood up as well. “I’ll see you later, sweetheart. Don’t get into any trouble so oppa can sleep well, alright?” Junmyeon placed a sweet peck on the girl’s forehead as he said so.

A few of the boys pretend-gagged while the rest of them pretended not to hear the incredibly cheesy words coming out of their once reserved leader’s mouth. Sumin and Jinwoo, on the other hand, were giggling excitedly by themselves— one for the cute, drama-like scene that just played before her eyes and the other for how handsome and gentlemanly his idol was.

“Roger that!” She saluted playfully, receiving a soft pat on the head. “See you later, oppas!” Junmyeon made sure to assign Yixing as temporary hyung in charge while he and Yifan were gone. The rest of the boys and her two friends said their goodbyes as well before going back to lounging relaxedly at their lunch table to wait for lunch to be over.

Taking this as a chance to practice her telepathy, Yoomi sat down and set all her focus into excitedly sending a telepathic message to a certain tutor of hers.

I did well, didn't I?

I’ve gotta say, for being useless at so many things, you sure are pretty good at acting.

Yah! At least it’s something!

Show me that you can send more than five words at a time and then you’ll get the compliment you want.

Yoomi didn’t send anymore after that. Because yes, she couldn’t send more than five or six words at a time and there was no way she was going to give Minseok the satisfaction of seeing her try and fail again. The only way to get by with that egotistical tutor of hers was to show him only the perfected final product; anything else would result in snappy comebacks and added practice onto their lessons.

After lunch was over, they all piled back into the spectator seats in the highest floor of The Spire. Yoomi found herself squished between Jongdae and Chanyeol this time, the taller being overly loud and hyper while the smaller distracted her from watching the battles with unnecessary comments. She really had to make a mental note to sit next to some of the older ones during weekly battles next time so that she could at least gain something from watching all these battles.

They lasted peacefully through two or three more matches, chatting with each other pleasantly and commenting on the battles, before Jongdae abruptly let out a loud groan and jumped to his feet, startling the others and everyone else around them. Overdramatic like always, of course he had to make a scene.

“I can’t stand it anymore!” he complained. “No matter what you all say, it’s super weird for Junmyeon hyung, or even Yifan hyung for that matter, to skip like this! Even more important than that, if they get to skip, then what am I still doing sitting here? I bet they’re doing something way better,” he whined. Yixing tried to protest, being the next in-charge, but once Jongdae got going on a tirade, it was difficult to stop him and he plowed right on over whatever Yixing might have been trying to say. “I mean, Junmyeon hyung’s on the student union, for crying out loud! So am I, but I mean, if he can skip, then it’s not a problem. I shouldn’t have to sit here and waste today, not when it’s-” he suddenly cut himself off, faltering as he remembered none of them had wished him a happy birthday this morning. Less confident, he finished weakly, “I’m going back to the house.”

The younger boys looked between themselves nervously. Any other time and they would’ve totally agreed with the jokester Jongdae in order to skip school and anything boring but being in this situation, they couldn’t really encourage his want to go home. Plus, they haven’t gotten the signal from the hyungs yet. The house wasn’t ready for Jongdae yet.

Now both annoyed and upset, Jongdae pushed his way through the stands to the exit without another word, not caring if they followed after him or not. Of course, they did, all of the S-ranks eagerly standing to chase him and try to buy the fourth years some more time to finish setting up the last minute details of their surprise. Yixing had already sent a telepathic warning to the fourth years setting up at home, hoping they would finish up soon.

“W-wait, oppa, the others are resting! You’ll wake them up,” Yoomi tried to call out and slow him down, but the quickly thought excuse sounded lame even to her and she wasn’t even sure Jongdae heard her over the noise of all the other students packed into the arena. He had already managed to get so far ahead of them somehow.

“Yah, Kim Jongdae!”

“What are we supposed to do?” Baekhyun muttered anxiously, bouncing in place while trying to work his way through the crowd just like them.

“I’ll get him,” Jongin said grimly, getting ready to teleport. Before he can though, Yixing quickly calls his attention by grabbing his arm and holding the boy in place.

“You can’t,” he tells him. “We’re still in the stands; there are too many people around. Your path isn’t clear, so you could end up hurting yourself or others.”

“But hyung—”

“What about flying?” Chanyeol asked hesitantly, although he looked just as anxious as Baekhyun did, wringing his hands and shifting in place.

“That’s also too dangerous. Plus, we don’t want to be caught outright skipping— we’re S-ranks after all, we have a reputation to keep,” Yixing immediately cut in with a frown. He had no idea how Junmyeon handled them all sometimes. He felt like a babysitter struggling with too many mischievous children on his hands. How did Junmyeon and Yifan make them listen so well? It was taking all he had now to wrangle them in and prevent one of them from seriously injuring themselves or getting into trouble from doing something reckless.

“Well, if everything’s ‘too dangerous’, then what are we supposed to do?!”

Like the others, Yoomi was beginning to feel the anxiety bubbling in her chest grow into full-on panic. The loud squabbling and some minor shoving going on between the boys wasn’t helping the situation at all, but just making her more anxious. “Yah! Guys, come on, please stop this and—” Yoomi let the rest of her plea hang in the air, stunned into silence as they had done exactly as she asked: stopped.

Except, everything had stopped and was completely still. Kyungsoo was frozen mid hitting Baekhyun’s arm and Sehun’s mouth was hanging open, mid complaint. The crowd of students around them wasn’t moving or cheering any longer. Even down in the arena, the match that was currently going on had seemed to be placed on pause.

“Aish, they were all driving me crazy,” a familiar voice broke Yoomi out of her stupor. Turning towards it, she found that the only person unfrozen besides her was, of course, Tao, who had a rather annoyed expression on his face.

“Why did you do that?” she asked curiously.

“I just needed a moment of quiet to think. It’s hard to do that when they’re all panicking,” Tao huffed. Yoomi could admit that she had almost instantly calmed down herself now that the rest of the boys’ nervous energy wasn’t surrounding her. She wondered how Yifan and Junmyeon came up with logical solutions to things when the rest of the guys seemed to only know how to panic and yell at each other. She appreciated the moment of peace and needed it just as much as he had seemed to.

“That’s not entirely what I meant,” she sighed, crossing her arms. “I meant, why didn’t you stop time for me too?” Even if it wasn’t the most pressing issue, she couldn’t help but ask. The question itself had come out without any thought, curiosity getting the best of her like always.

“Because, you—” he started before catching himself, “aish, that’s not important! Just help me think about what to do now. If you really want a reason, then I thought you might not be as dumb as some of the others; are you going to prove me wrong?” He couldn’t help but snap a little, feeling slightly defensive at her questioning. Besides, even if he had stopped time and the others’ panicking, they still had a rather pressing situation to deal with.

A little offended, but also knowing that Tao could be a bit rude sometimes, Yoomi huffed but didn’t comment back. At the reminder of their problem, she turned her whole focus to Jongdae and trying to find a solution to slow him down and give the older boys more time to prepare.

“I’ve got it. Just hold the time still a little longer until I catch up to Jongdae oppa, okay?” She told Tao, before taking in his questioning look and adding over her shoulder as she went to leave “Just trust me on this.”

~Jongdae’s POV.~

Jongdae didn’t know why exactly he had stormed away so suddenly. Usually, despite his high level of energy and penchant for drama, he knew when to draw the line and act the way he was supposed to; he was, after all, a member of the student union. Usually, he liked the weekly battles because they were an excuse to not have regular class and because he liked watching the various matches and cheering for his friends. However, something had been bugging him all day, slowly building up, and he couldn’t hold it in anymore after lunch.

To him, it seemed as though all his friends, his family, had forgotten his birthday.

Sure, he knew some of the kids like Sehun needed a bit of reminding most of the time, but Junmyeon, at the very least, had never failed to wish him a happy birthday very first thing in the morning. The fact that their leader in particular had failed to do so, as well as ditched them all to go back to his room and rest, was bothering him. On top of that, hanging around with the others while they were so energetic watching the matches, something he usually loved and joined in, was only irritating him further. Despite his outgoing personality, he didn’t want to be that guy who complained or ruined their fun just because he wasn’t feeling all that happy today; he didn’t want to have to be that person that bitterly snapped at people for forgetting such a thing.

Yet, here he was, storming off dramatically simply because he felt insecure about reminding them of his special day.

By now, he had already made his way out of the bleachers and down the stairs of the Spire to the main campus grounds outside. The second he had reached open air, he took to the skies with his wings, just wanting to get home so he could mope in bed as quickly as possible.

“Jongdae oppa!” he heard a voice call out from behind him. It was Yoomi, her wings coming out mid-jump in her haste to catch up to him. Tao’s hold on time had somehow been released too early and she had only gotten to the entrance of the building while Jongdae was already up in the sky.

He was still a little put off from everything that had happened and he didn’t want to hear any of their excuses, but since it was Yoomi running after him, he decided to wait for her. His wings slowed down to a leisurely flap as he hovered in place until a body slammed full force into him without warning and they both spiraled down onto the ground in a mess of limbs.

Next thing he knew, he was sprawled on the grassy field with Yoomi on top of him, her arms flung tightly around his shoulders and her face buried in the crook of his neck.

“Yoomi? Are you okay?” he asked, a little dazed himself, when she made no move to get off him.

“I’m okay, I just need… a minute to… catch my breath,” the girl on top of him huffed out in shallow pants, her chest heaving slightly. Jongdae let out a little sigh in relief. Sure, he liked doing reckless things sometimes for the thrill of it, but for some reason with Yoomi, he didn’t want to risk the girl getting hurt in any way. Plus, Junmyeon and Yixing hyung would kill him if their precious mate got hurt while she was with him.

When they had both calmed down a little and the brief shot of adrenaline wore off, he helped her roll off his body, both of them choosing to stay lying on the ground to watch the clear blue sky above them.

“That was the fastest I’ve ever flown in my life!” the girl burst out excitedly, followed by delighted laughter. She was proud of herself and couldn’t help basking in the moment.

To this, Jongdae let out his own set of chortles at how carefree she sounded. Here he was, the ever fun, action-loving Jongdae actually worrying for this girl’s safety like one of his overprotective hyungs while all she thought about was how fast she was flying. What was happening to him?

“Yah kitten, don’t you care about smacking full force into me and even knocking us both to the ground?” he teased, although it was half joking and half serious.

“Oops, sorry!” She laughed, “but you just wouldn’t stop and listen to us first!” She immediately turned it back on him, accusing him playfully.

“Fine, I’ll forgive you,” Jongdae started with another small chuckle, “but only because you’re cute, and you better make it up to me-”

“Happy birthday, Jongdae oppa,” Yoomi abruptly cut him off. She wore a sincere, gentle smile on her face when she turned her head to look at him. In that instant, it was like his breath caught in his throat and time stood still for a split second even though he knew that was impossible— that was Tao’s power, not his. But her normal light brown eyes looked even lighter in the midday sun, and for a quick heartbeat, he could have sworn they flashed a sparkling pastel pink/purple. That wasn’t what caught his attention though; what did, however, was that her eyes were staring at him with such happiness and kindness that they softened his sour mood faster than even her beautiful smile or her voice saying the words he had longed to hear all day.

Jongdae’s heart skipped a beat and then picked up at a much quicker pace all at once.

“T-thanks.” Oh god, was he actually stuttering? Him? The great Kim Jongdae that certainly no one could say lacked confidence and was never afraid of making a fool of himself?

With a peaceful and content grin that didn’t give away his sudden inner turmoil, Jongdae stared straight back at Yoomi. “I mean it, kitten, I really needed to hear that and it means a lot to me that you remembered,” he confessed sincerely.

“Of course, oppa,” she said back, just as quietly as he had murmured his words. She said it like it was no big deal, but to Jongdae at the moment, it meant the world.

Cloud watching had never exactly been one of his favorite past times, considering that he always had too much energy to lay still and be silent for long. But he laid there for a couple of minutes with Yoomi, staring back up at the sky again and sneaking a few stealthy glances at her calm expression out of the corner of his eyes every now and then, and for once, he enjoyed the activity. His brooding mood from mere minutes earlier had almost completely vanished in the serenity that now surrounded them.

Naturally, though, it didn’t last for long.

“Yah! Jongdae-ah, Yoomi-ah!!” An ear-splitting scream that the pair identified as none other than Baekhyun’s voice reached their ears and in no time the rest of the guys had caught up to them. After Tao had unfroze time and explained to the others what happened, they all decided that it was best to trust Yoomi and let her deal with the upset birthday boy as they leisurely walked out of the building. Even if they agreed though, that didn’t stop certain people, like Baekhyun and surprisingly Sehun, from whining about how unfair it was Tao only sent Yoomi; for Baekhyun, it was more that he thought it would have been cool to move around while everyone else was frozen and he was upset he had missed out on the opportunity, but for Sehun, it was more about using this as an example to prove to his hyungs that favoritism for the only girl in their group was real and, although he and Yoomi had been doing better when hanging out together lately, he still didn’t like it very much.

“Yah, you idiot! Why didn’t you wait for us?!” 

“Tch, you just can’t be a little patient to save your life,” Kyungsoo grumbled, though of course, he was secretly glad Yoomi had managed to stop Jongdae and their surprise wasn’t ruined.

As the rest of the boys approached, Yixing already looking a little tired from having to deal with them all without the older boys around, Yoomi quickly scrambled to her feet, causing Jongdae to heave one last moody sigh and then copy her actions with one of his usual smiles plastered on his face. He was in a much better mood to deal with his friends now, although a small part of him also missed the short alone time he had with Yoomi. At the very least, he was calm and more of his normal self now, no longer feeling like he would snap at any of them or having the desire to hide in his dark bedroom while doing his best impression of a sulking Sehun.

Receiving a subtle nod from Yixing, Yoomi understood that the older boys have let them know that the house was ready.

“Well, you wanted to go home, didn’t you? Let’s go, now that everyone is here,” she told Jongdae, trying to be as natural as possible.

He nodded, giving the girl a little smirk before flying off, wordlessly challenging the other boys to a race back to their house.

***

~Yoomi’s POV.~

Despite her calm front, Yoomi felt the way Baekhyun was currently acting as they approached the house and landed outside the front door: a pure ball of giddy energy bouncing on his feet, a huge grin spread across his face. She had never been to a surprise party before, much less organized one, and was anxious to see Jongdae’s reaction. She was sure, just like the rest of the boys had been in all their planning, that he was going to love it. The anticipation as they hung back and let Jongdae approach the door first was practically buzzing in the air and caused her lips to tilt up into a smile against her will.

“Surprise!!” They all screamed out the moment Jongdae flung the door open, with Baekhyun’s and Chanyeol’s voices significantly louder than everyone else’s. Party poppers accompanied their voices, ironically carried out by Luhan and Minseok, whose characters weren’t particularly party-loving.

The birthday boy looked to be in a temporary state of shock before it turned into a look of astonishment and finally, the signature goofy grin of his finally reappearing on his face after being absent for the whole day.

“Yahhhh!” he whined long and high with a breathy laugh thrown in there as well, “I can’t believe you all ignored my birthday on purpose— or that some of you were even able to keep this a secret,” he teased, calling out certain boys without naming them, although everyone knew who he meant. He sounded both happy and relieved, and he felt both immensely, his previous bad mood now vanished completely and replaced with pure happiness as his friends all smiled and laughed with him.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol themselves had no shame at his callout and threw their arms around him, the three third-year best friends giddily jumping up and down in circles.

“But you like it don’t you, Jongdae-yah?” Chanyeol teased, wiggling his eyebrows playfully at him.

“Psh, I bet you were waiting the whole day for something like this to happen!” Baekhyun jested while nudging him in the side lightly.

At that point everyone gave Jongdae his well-deserved birthday wishes, the birthday boy looking especially proud as he accepted them all and gave his thanks in return.

“I’m sorry if our surprise caused you to feel upset, Jongdae-yah,” Junmyeon apologized, the forever good leader. “But-”

“Aish! Stop talking so much already! Let’s go inside, hyungs!” Sehun complained loudly, pushing past everyone so he could get past the front door.

“Yah, that brat! He hasn’t even told me happy birthday,” Jongdae grumbled, although there was still a smile on his face, so it was more a fond complaint than anything else, especially when he tried to tackle Sehun as he pushed past and mess up his hair, despite the obvious height difference between them.

“Woah,” Jongdae let out an amazed sound when he finally made his way into the living room. Everywhere he looked, there was his favorite character made into all kinds of party decorations. There were balloons, posters, banners, party streamers, and all kinds of other things in the shape or color of this character.

Jongdae couldn’t believe it. His friends had organized him a pikachu-themed birthday party! It may seem childish to some people but he couldn’t care less; nobody is too old for Pokemon. It was entertaining and taught him valuable life lessons as a kid, like never giving up. Plus, he had always been drawn to Pikachu because he was electric based and shared the same power as him. Secretly, Jongdae had been