1704 words, Ghost!au : Seunghyun had been living downstairs in this home, ever since he was in primary school, but then on his 20th birthday,  it was still afternoon he was home alone and then he heard Happy Birthday being played on a speaker from their family's warehouse upstairs. He tried to ignored it, and when it kept blasting, he climbed upstairs and found a boy sitting on top of Seunghyun's boxes of old books, holding a book that have birthday cake - strawberry shortcake drawing on it's cover.

Have no stay-at-home parents used to make Seunghyun mad. But now that he's quite older, he's okay with that. His mom would come home at 3pm and his dad at 6pm, and they all will have dinner every night together and they are okay. Since Seunghyun always finished school around 2 so he made sure to do groceries and cook for the three of them. He had been such an understanding son, his parents were proud of them. Supporting a grown up kid in school nowadays is not easy, his mom and his dad joint income finally can support them by the time he reached 15. It was hard, especially during his childhood, he'd been struggling at school due to difficulties in putting his concentration to the lecture. His parents even made them see psychiatrist twice during his early school days, right after his homeroom kindergarten teacher said to both of his parents that they once found Seunghyun talking animately alone. 

"He is okay, your kid is a good kid, sir and mam, he's just like the kid like usual, he has imaginary friends that's why he kept talking alone."

"But I thought imaginary friends only stay with kids under 3? He's 8 now? Is he really okay?" his dad asked in concern.

"He is okay, believe me. Seunghyun is a soft person, and you would know that he would never do anything to make his parents worry. His gesture during us watching him playing alone earlier show that all. I need you both to be considerate and supportive towards him. School must be so overwhelming to him."

"Thanks doctor, we will."

They walked 8 years old Seunghyun home and gave him oreo ice cream.

"Do you want this?"

"Hm? No, mom and dad are okay. It's for you, sweetheart. Thank you for being good during the test earlier."

"No, dad. I was asking my friend."

"Your friend?"

"Yes, mom, he was here walking next to me. Ah he's gone now. Maybe I shouldn't tell you about him."

"Okay. Let's walk home, shall we?"

"Okay."

It was hard for Seunghyun's parents. The way people would watch his kid weirdly while they do grocery shopping together, the fact that Seunghyun apparently had no friends at school cos the kids think that Seunghyun was weird and crazy cos he talked by himself. Seunghyun was sad, he also wanted to be friends with his classmate, he built walls around him and started to bury himself in studying and doing chores after school, he got so tired, so that he rarely see him anymore. On his early years, he would still asked his parents about him. But it all stopped by the time he reached 11th. Apparently, Seunghyun started to push himself to be funny and his middle school classmates likes him, he even performed as a rapper once at school's party. His parents were happy that Seunghyun got himself a lot of friends now. 

It's November 4th, his college is on early winter break so he had been home since the end of october. He feels new today, not only it's his 20th birthday and his parents were kissing both of his cheek when he woke up earlier and asked him not to cook cos they'd agreed to meet at a steak restaurant downtown at 6pm this evening. But there is something strange, his dream. This exact same dream had been visiting him for awhile now, it was the same scene. He was his childhood self, wearing his socks and school uniform, he was reading a book with birthday cake - strawberry shortcake, on it's cover and he laughed, but there was also someone's else laugh - a kid. This kid was looking at him fondly, read to him and they'd laughed together. By the time he tried to raise his view from the book towards the kid's face, he woke up. It was always this dream, always start and end the same. Seunghyun started to wonder whether his unconscious tried to send him signal or something. He tried to forget it, he woke up, went to the kitchen to drink from his glass, and he saw that there was a piece of birthday cake on the dinning table. 

"Probably from my parents. But why the hell they only bought me a piece? I'd whatsapp them now then!"

Seunghyun : Are you guys buying me a strawberry shortcake? Only a piece of it??? Really?

Dad : My son is amazing, he can read our minds now, honey?

Mom : We were planning to bought you a pan of strawberry shortcake, sweetheart. But one pan, not a piece. Don't worry, we know you love cake."

He was starting to freak out cos it was definitely not his parent's cake and suddenly he heard "Happy Birthday" playing from upstairs, their family's warehouse.

"Dear God......the speaker uptairs supossed to be off! Dad had been trying to fix it but it won't be !"

Seunghyun tried to reasoned himself, maybe he's hearing something, maybe it's from his neighbor's speakers but the happy birthday song kept getting loud and then he spotted Mrs. Han, the granny who lived next to them knocking their door.

"Yes, Mrs. Han, How are you?"

"Seunghyun, is it your birthday today?"

"Yeah. How can you know?"

"Well here I have corn soup leftover for you, go eat for breakfast, and can you please turn off your speaker? Or were you trying to tell all our neighbor that it's your birthday, perhaps not, I supossed?"

"Ah okay, I'm sorry Mrs. Han, I'll turn it off, and thank you for the soup. I'll eat it well."

"Yes. Happy Birthday, Seunghyun."

*

Seunghyun close his front door, put the corn soup on the dinning table next to the strawberry shortcake, and ready to face his nightmare.

He grabbed his baseball stick, walked lightly towards the back and start climbing upstairs. It was a bit dark despite the fact that it's already 12pm.

He was met by hall full of their family's things. Boxes, chairs covered with blinds, paintings also covered, and as he kept walking, he feel there was soft wind from the opened window. So he raised his head and look towards the window, walk towards the window to close it.

Strangely he heard no music and then suddenly he heard someone, a boy or a guy was singing Happy Birthday.

He is really scared now, he can't even bring himself to open his eyes, he just clutched to his baseball stick and curled while sitting near boxes.

"Please, what do you want from me? I'm scared."

"Open your eyes for me, please? I'm not scary."

"You can hear me? You can talk back?? You are scary! I am scared!"

"Seunghyun.."

So Seunghyun open his eyes, and there he was. It was him all over again. And then he remembers. 

It was the boy he used to talked with near a window in his early school days, the only boy that would talk to him during his class, the only boy that talk to him and play with him when he was all alone and lonely at home, waiting for his parents to come home.

It was the boy of his dreams, of those birthday cake book dream.

He tried to be brave and start to look closely. The boy was exactly the same, almost as if the boy had materialized him self from Seunghyun's dream and exist now in his very warehouse. 

The boy was sitting on top of Seunghyun's boxes titled books - Seunghyun's handwriting named on it. While holding a book with strawberry shortcake on left hand and then suddenly, the strawbery shortcake that was on his dinner table had appear on the boy's right hand.

"It was you all along, it was you! I remember now."

"Thank you for remembering me."

"But how come? Did you turn on that speaker? It was dead for so long! Dad tried to fix it but it won't be on."

"Yeah. Happy Birthday, Seunghyun. Here have your cake."

Seunghyun blushed.

The boy smiled.

"You are so cute, you are 20 years old now, Congrats for coming on age, you were so cute when you were a kid, oh but now that I see you close, you are still cute."

"Thank you. Were you watching me? Strange, I only saw you in my dream, I didn't even catch your name."

"Well you only saw what I wanted you to see, Seunghyun. I'm Jiyong."

"Are you a house elf? Or a ghost? How long have you lived in here? In our warehouse? Is it boring here? Are you alone?"

"Wow easy boy. I am what you wanted to be, Seunghyun. I've been here ever since you were a kid. Nah, I'm not bored. I always watch you and follow you, I never been bored. Never."

"Well If you do, then why I only see you now?"

"I have waited for you to see me, only now is the right time."

"If you always watch me, then Why didn't you stay in my room instead of here in this warehouse?

"I apparently can't cross to downstairs. Believe me I've tried, but I would go back on this same spot, on top of this boxes. Go eat your cake will you? I'm afraid it'll melt?"

"Is this even a real cake, I never know a ghost could bake? Where's the candle? I supossed to blow 20 of it! Please."

"Thanks for the compliment, it is a real cake, I would be scolded for doing this later but since it's your birthday so. My goodness, I forgot how a whiney you are eversince you are a kid. I had no candle!"

"But Jiyong, where's my candle? Where is it?"

They laughed and Jiyong read Seunghyun the book that had birthday cake on it's cover while Seunghyun ate the cake.

By the time Seunghyun finished eating the cake, Jiyong had already look towards his direction.

Seunghyun might have a lot of things to question about Jiyong but he thinks it all can wait.

So he grabbed Jiyong's hands and caressed his cheek.

Jiyong's skin strangely feel a bit cold.

"Happy Birthday, Seunghyun."

"Thank you, Jiyong."