“Happy birthday.”

My forehead where his lips had touched me seemed to burn. Wonwoo looked deeply into my eyes and held me with his intense gaze. There was something almost magical about him and my body froze under his spell.

What started out as a soothing warmth quickly overwhelmed me in flames. I had known the boy in front of me for so many years, but this feeling was completely unfamiliar. He was one of my closest friends, but right now, in this very moment, he was an unknown stranger. A dangerous stranger who made my heart thump violently against my chest.

He held my face in his long fingers so that we were locked together and there was no escaping. Slowly but surely, he inched closer, his lips no longer aiming for my forehead.

“W-Wha—” I managed to squeak, my throat dry.

The genuine sincerity in his eyes made it impossible to look away. “Do you still not know?”

When I could not find words to respond, he closed the distance between us, our lips nearly touching. I held my breath and closed my eyes hard as if on instinct.

“Kwon Soonyoung!”

Many voices bellowed my name with the sudden crash of the practice room doors opening. Wonwoo dropped his hands from the sides of my face immediately and I jumped back in a flash. I caught a glimpse of disappointment from his expression before I turned to the intruding noise.

“Happy birthday to you!” Eleven members of Seventeen paraded in, singing. A few close staff members and our managers trailed along. Coups hyung was holding up a small-sized cake with brightly lit candles.

Still shaken up from what had happened moments prior, I tried my best to smile. With a deep breath, I blew out the candles rather quickly, too distracted to make a wish. Everyone proceeded to congratulate me and pat me on the back until Dino caught me off guard by smearing cake on my cheek.

“Get over here, punk!” I shouted playfully as I ran to chase him. My whole body was on autopilot now, laughing and doing everything Kwon Soonyoung would normally do.

No one seemed to notice that my mind was on a completely different plane altogether.

***

“Hoshi hyung, have you every fallen in love?”

I gasped, startled by the sudden question. “Huh?”

Minghao swirled his wine glass around before inhaling the scent. “The mood is so romantic, it reminds me of when I liked this girl back in China…” Geez, this kid was such a hopeless romantic. We had our usual practice session after my brief birthday celebration and Minghao had invited me back to his room for a glass of wine. I was actually tired as hell, but I had gratefully accepted because God knew I needed both the distraction from my thoughts and some alcohol to numb the chaos in my mind. Although I hardly partook in the conversation due to exhaustion, Minghao went on to tell his story of a girl he met while breakdancing in China who had come into his life only to steal his heart and disappear soon after.

“… She was like an angel, hyung,” he continued, his eyes gleaming. “I looked for her, but I never found her again. Although we will probably never cross paths in the future, she inspires me to paint. She is my muse.”

“Sounds nice,” I commented, hoping I didn’t sound too soulless or uninterested in his love story.

The8 was unfazed as he took another sip of his glass with a smile. “So hyung, did you ever fall in love?”

“I-I…” I was instantly disturbed by how I was reminded of the previous incident with Wonwoo and the mysterious words he had spoken.

“Do you still not know?”

… Not know what?!

“Hyung, you’re blushing!” my dongseng teased.

“It’s hot and I’m drinking!” I protested, throwing my hands in the air. “And I need to pee!”

I quickly stood up to leave. “Aw, you’re so shy!” Minghao innocently shouted after me as I darted out of his room.

Without thinking, I walked towards the bathroom only to realize I really didn’t need to use it. My face felt so hot, perhaps the wine was hitting me earlier than usual today. Deciding that water might help, I headed towards the kitchen.

Which was the wrong move.

“Hoshi?”

I turned instantly to leave when I found him searching the fridge in nothing but his boxers.

“Hey!” he cried and grabbed my wrist to forcefully turn me around.

I dropped my gaze to the ground so that we didn’t meet eyes. “Sorry, didn’t see you there,” I claimed blatantly as I examined his toes.

Even without looking at his face, I was almost positive that he just rolled his eyes at me for the pathetic lie. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I-I…” There was too much confusion in my head to answer him. “I just don’t know…” I managed to get out. At least it was the truth.

He gently caressed my head, tilting my chin up so that he could properly scrutinize me. “What don’t you know?”

“Apparently, everything!” I exclaimed in defeat. Tears were welling up now. I was in a flood of embarrassment, distraught, and uncertainty.

Wonwoo sighed and held my face close. I didn’t know how he was doing it, but he seemed to be conjuring magic in the air again. My lungs pressed, unable to fill with air, and it became difficult to hear because the walls of my ears were muted by the obnoxiously loud beating of my erratic heart.

It happened so fast, but it also seemed to last an eternity. His lips – my best friend’s lips – softly met mine. I trembled under his touch, not able to comprehend what was going on. Nothing made sense, but if I knew one thing, it was that this might change my relationship with Wonwoo forever. And I wasn’t sure if that was what I wanted. Maybe it wasn’t what I wanted at all.

But the fervent fire from earlier returned to engulf me whole. Before I knew it, my being had already complied to melt into our gentle kiss.