Krystal was planning to run when she heard the sound without even checking where it came from. She paused for bit before switching the lamp off and got ready to leave until she saw where the sound came from. Minho stepped out of his room and his door and his footsteps made a tiny sound, which she thought was from an unknown source downstairs.

She breathed out quietly in relief when she saw that it was just him. She placed her book on the armrest and formed a small smile. The light from the outside passed through the huge window behind them, which was jus t enough to illuminate their faces.

“Mind if I join you?”

“Not at all.”

He sat down a few meters away from her and made himself comfortable

“Couldn’t sleep too?”

He nodded in reply. “What about you, still on a birthday high?”

She sighed after hearing his remark. “That’s the reason why I couldn’t sleep. I wanted to say sorry.” She turned to face him, but he just looked down, not wanting him to see the tears that were forming in her eyes.

He already knew what she was sorry about. “It’s okay, don’t feel bad about it.”

“No, it’s not okay.” Her voice already sounded a bit shaky. “I mistakenly gave the credit to mom when she didn’t even touch any minor detail for the surprise.” She subtly wiped away the tears that already formed on the corner of her eyes. “I should’ve asked earlier who was behind all of that and I should’ve known that it was you.”

“It’s fine. I keep thinking about it too, but I realized that you’re so used to your mom throwing surprises and you saw that your friends were there, which she knew well, so maybe she organized the while thing to make it possible.” He turned to look at her with his lips pursed together, then curved them up. “I understand why you thought that way.” He patted her head as a reassurance and to comfort the girl who was on the verge of tears.

“But- but how did you know?”

“About your birthday without you telling me when? I checked our marriage registration and I also saw your passport. Since then, I took note of it.”

She shook her head in disbelief. “You’re truly amazing, Choi Minho.”

“I know we were strangers before we got married, and we still are within that zone, but I at least wanted to know when your birthday is. Like that’s the first step for me in getting to know you. Those are my baby steps.”

“Like the slam book questions?” She chuckled when she remembered how silly those questions were.

“Yeah, like those questions.” He furrowed his eyebrows as he remembered the incident. “I never had those, but my cousins asked me to write on theirs.” He started shaking his head while laughing. “The questions there were silly.”

“They truly were. My classmates and I even asked some of our teachers to write on ours. It’s hard being in an all-girls school.” She laughed at the memory.

“I’m really happy that you were happy earlier. You got to eat your favorite food and your family and friends were there.” He smiled as he remembered how wide her smile was and how her eyes sparkled. He couldn’t even stop himself from taking pictures of her at the event.

“And it’s all because of you, you know. Thank you for making that possible, Minho.” She moved closer to him and gave him a hug. “I never celebrate my birthday and don’t get surprises, except for the surprise quizzes in school before. You turned an ordinary day upside down.”

He was surprised that she hugged him, but didn’t fight it. He swore at that moment, he could feel his heart pounding. “Why is it ordinary? It’s your birthday.”

“It’s no big deal. It’s just my birthday. It’s not important for some of those people in the room.”

He chuckled before hugging her back. “It’s because they didn’t know. It may not be important for you, but it’s important for us, the people who love you.”

She could feel her cheeks turn red even without a bright light to illuminate the room. “Also, I haven’t thanked you for your gift.”

“It’s alright, you were so speechless about it.”

“Yeah, the inside even made me more speechless. Thank you for the necklace, as well. I really loved your gift.”

“I’m glad you do.” He smiled before giving her a kiss on the forehead.

She released him from the hug, then he soon released her from his hold. They say closer together as she didn’t move back to her spot earlier, then they both watched their shadow on the wall. “Minho, do you have anywhere to be on Sunday?”

He shook his head, then turned to look at her. “Why?”

“Can- can I invite you for lunch?”

“So you’re asking me out on a date?” He threw his head back in laughter as he found her cute. “Okay, it’s a date, then!”

“Really, you think I have to ask my husband out on a date?”

It was his first time hearing her address him as her husband specifically towards him, which widened his eyes.

She hit his arm while laughing. “Even if I ask you or not, I know you’d still eat Sunday lunch with me.”

“Yep, you’re right. You’re so smart.” He pinched her cheek, then she felt her hand slap his arm. He apologized to her and she did the same to him. “So where will we have our date?

“It’s just lunch.”

“Okay, lunch date.” He was teasing her and as she gets shy, she will hit his arm

“You pick. It’s my treat.” She yawned, then stood up. “I think I’m gonna sleep now. Nighty night.”

He stood up as well, then stretched. “At least I still have until Sunday to choose.” He smiled before blinking as he also felt sleep starting to kick in. “I think I’m gonna go to bed too. Good night.”

They looked at each other before she smiled and stepped closer to him to give him another hug. “Thank you.”

He returned the hug and gave her a kiss on her temple. “You’re welcome and happy birthday again.”

“It’s done now.”

“In America, not yet.”

“We’re in Korea.”

“Yes, but it’s still your birthday in another part of the world, which you also consider home.”

She could only sigh. “It’s my birthday and you couldn’t even let me win, can you?”

“This is probably the only time that I’ll be winning against you. Just let me have my moment.”

She took a deep breath. “Fine, fine. I gotta make it up to you anyway.” Her voice was almost a murmur.

He smiled under the dim light from the outside before kissing her crown. “You’re too sleepy already. Go to bed.”

She nodded while still in his arms. “Nighty.”

“Good night.”

Before pulling away, Krystal lifted her hand from his back then returned it to give him a unique pat.

He felt her pat her back thrice, but the next two taps didn’t seem like normal ones. He wasn’t sure if what he thought what it was is actually what it was.

She broke the hug, then he followed her gesture. She waved at him before heading back to her room. The pats he gave her were so unique, it was her reply on his message that was engraved on her necklace.

5

2

0

“Was it really 520?” Minho still stood outside while smiling as he tried to recall the sensations from her hands. For the first one, all her fingers were were spread out and her whole palm touched his back. For the second one, he felt only two fingers pressed on his back. For the last one, her hand was in a fist. He kept replaying what he felt and he was sure that he was correct. “It’s really 520. 520.” He smiled widely to himself before he headed back to his room.

Author's note: dun dun dun duuuun~ lots of exciting twists will come your way to stay tuned! Don't forget to leave comments as well (there's a bonus when you do, nice right?) to let me know what you think about this chapter :) don't forget to hit subscribe as well to be updated with the upcoming chapters- especially when they'll be posted soon *wink wink* also, I'd like to thank my upvoters and to my new subscribers, thank you for wanting to be on this journey :) ❤️