Never before had Kihyun had anything to look forward to. He saw pretty much the same thing every day. The sun would rise and then fall, then the moon occasionally follows suit. The pattern repeats. Forever. Always.

But this is different. This is something Kihyun can’t wait for. Last night, Changkyun had told him more stories about birthdays and celebrations and other related things. He told him that birthday cakes can vary in size, ranging from the size of a hand to the size of an entire adult human.

He asked the boy what size his cake would be and he only got an unsure shrug in response. He hopes his cake will be small. Just enough for him and Changkyun to share. But he also wants a lot so he can eat so much of it and remember it forever.

Changkyun treats him well and he knows it. He wants to do something in return, but he doesn’t know what.

He then recalls the initial purpose for the boy’s daily beach visits. He recalls the boy’s fear of the ocean. Kihyun lives in the ocean and Changkyun isn’t afraid of him, so shouldn’t Kihyun be able to help him get over his fear?

The merman ponders on that for a while as he searches the ocean floor for something beautiful to give to the human boy. Maybe if he sees the beauty in it, he won’t be afraid anymore, he theorizes.

But then he realizes something. He realizes that he doesn’t know why Changkyun is scared of the water. That’s something the human boy has never once spoken of. And Kihyun’s afraid to ask. The last thing he wants is to hurt Changkyun or make him feel uncomfortable.

While Changkyun can come and go, Kihyun is always here.

And he fears that one day, the human boy will not return. He just wishes he won’t be the reason behind it if that ever happens. He shudders at the thought, immediately blocking it out.

He spots a broken piece of glass near his cave and studies his appearance. As expected, his hair is slightly darker than normal. It must be because of his thoughts of fears. He shakes off the thoughts and continues to swim.

◇ \ ◇ \ ◇

Of all the things Changkyun can do, why can’t one of those be baking a cake?

The boy stands in his burnt-smelling kitchen and examines the recipe with a look of distaste. He never realized how much talent and skill is required to make such a simple confectionary. Rolling his eyes, he goes to try again.

He only has a limited amount of time before he needs to drive to the beach. He doesn’t want to make Kihyun wait on this very special day.

Wiping the sweat off his brow, he dumps some flour, water, salt, sugar, and other various ingredients in appropriate amounts into a large mixing bowl. He cracks an egg, adds some butter, and does whatever the recipe tells him to do.

As he mixes, he hears a familiar click of the front door lock. “You’re back early,” he says, nodding in the intruder’s direction.

He hears a chuckle followed by a groan. “What the—Are you trying to bake something again? Kyunnie, you know full well that we banned you from the oven.”

Changkyun rolls his eyes for what feels like the thirteenth time today. “Okay, just because you and Hyunwoo-hyung have some sort of alliance against me doesn’t mean you two can control what I decide to do in the kitchen.”

“We don’t have an alliance against you,” Hyungwon scoffs. “It’s just that he and I are older and know better than you. Especially in areas of making food.”

“So what? Now that you two were roommates for one term of grad school, you’re both teaming up to parent me?” Changkyun whines.

The older shakes his head and chuckles in disbelief. “What are you so dramatic for? And why the heck are you trying to bake a cake in the summer?”

“Hyunwoo-hyung’s birthday is in a few days, so I thought I would start practicing to make him a cake,” the boy lies easily.

Hyungwon stares at him accusingly and says, “Since when did you care about Hyunwoo’s birthday?”

“Since you told me to be more caring for others,” he replies, raising his arms defensively.

The older dismisses it and shrugs as he walks into his room.

After four attempts and almost dying from inhaling smoke, Changkyun feels proud of his final product. He cuts the freshly baked cake in half, separating the chocolate side from the vanilla. He slides them back together and takes out the frosting. It was originally white, but the boy wanted to make it more special.