Was that a balloon sticking out of Baekhyun’s mouth? Or was that a ? Jongdae didn’t move closer to check.

 Yikes, he thought, as he reached into the fridge to grab a carton of milk. The whole refrigerator was draped in clumps of silver ribbon. He peeled a strand from the bottom of his toast.

 Of course, Baekhyun was passed out cold, sprawled over the couch even in unconscious passing.

 Jongdae spooned the Frosted Flakes into his mouth and examined the rest of the damage that had been done to the kitchen. There was a row of pink balloons hanging pathetically from the curtain rod and a holographic banner that had slid halfway down the wall, taped backwards somehow.

 He shook his head in disapproval and wondered if he should wake his roommate or not. Baekhyun had gone out drinking last night, and reeked of cheap alcohol and sour sweat.

 Typical.

 He finished his breakfast early, and raced downstairs to EXODUS. Today, the cafe’s blackboard sign had been knocked over and dragged across onto the lawn.

 The side face up read the special: Coffee Glacé. Iced coffee with a fancier name, but nobody needed to know that.

 The three employees were already waiting for him by the door. “There’s our Jongdae,” Sunny cried out cheerfully. Irene seized his arm and lead the very confused boy to the display case.

 “You can have anything you want today. It’s on us.”

 “Wait...what? Um...okay. Thanks.”

 Minseok came back from the kitchen, holding a three tiered cake in his arms, and set it down noisily on the counter. He stuck little pink candles into the individual slices, the soft cake dipping under the weight of the wax.

 Sunny struck a match and lit the candles in a single smooth movement. They flickered up and down in blue and orange flame, lapping at the morning air. Jongdae looked around awkwardly, a puzzled expression on his face.

 Why is there a cake? Did Halloween come early or something?

 In perfect unison, the three baristas clapped their hands joyfully. “How old are you again?” Sunny asked Jongdae.

 “Twenty-one.” This was getting weirder by the minute.

 As Irene motioned for him to blow out the candles, he did so uncomfortably, exhaling deep breaths onto the flames like a hesitant gust of wind.

 “Make a wish,” someone whispered in the background.

 I wish I could finish my work for once. It was foolish, but worth a shot.

 Today, Jongdae had to go work the afternoon shift at the flower shop, which meant no progress for another day. He sighed internally and directed his attention back to the cake, which was already being cut into sections.

 “It’s red velvet cake.” Irene slid the paper plate towards him and they all ate in silence, except for the occasional clinks of forks and accidental mouth smacking.

 🍰🍰🍰

  When Jongdae came back from his day of work, dinner was already laid out for him on the kitchen table. He walked quickly towards the plate, pleasantly surprised.

 Baekhyun had definitely ordered Skip the Dishes for this one. The last thing he had cooked was a cheese sandwich. In grade 2.

 He sat himself in front of the bowl of pho and began to slurp noisily. There was bit of time left between 6:00 and 7:00. If he really rushed, he could squeeze nap time along with four more hours to do his research essay. He might have to text Baekhyun to steal Chanyeol’s homework on his way back.

 The door creaked open and Baekhyun made his usual un-grand entrance, holding a purple dotted bag in his hand. “I got a present for you!” he declared. Jongdae turned around in his chair, the same wave of confusion washing over him from this morning.

 Baekhyun swung the bag towards him wildly and it flew through midair, splashing directly into the remaining broth left in the pho bowl. The puddle of soup soaked through Jongdae’s shirt and he wailed loudly.

 “SORRY,” Baekhyun called after him. “I was late, because Chanyeol and I had to work out our rental payments. I found this in the mailbox too.”

 He sat down beside Jongdae and tossed a stack of envelopes towards him. “Turns out you have more friends than just me.”

 Jongdae wanted to smack the condescending grin off his not-roommate's face.

 He reached into the purple bag, wrinkling his nose as his fingers brushed against the damp bottom and pulled out three Rilakkuma plushies.

 “OH MY GOD!” he squealed like a girl as Baekhyun plugged his ears with his fingers. “I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THESE FOREVER!” He turned the blue, pink, and yellow bears, all dressed as little sailors over in his hand. “How did you find these?! They’re limited edition!”

 “Anything for my friend,” Baekhyun joked as Jongdae threw both his arms around his neck. He didn’t even mind that the bears now smelled like a Vietnamese restaurant.

 “Thank you so much!”

 “Now open the rest,” Baekhyun urged. “I want to see what your other friends gave you. Obviously, they’re not as good presents as mine, but still.”

 Jongdae tore the blue wrapping paper off a cardboard box. “From Chanyeol,” he read out. A large tub of gummy worms fell out and Jongdae chuckled.

 Junmyeon’s gift was a rather simple glass rose decorative ornament that shone different colors in the light. He had paired it with a simple fountain pen, embossed with Jongdae’s name. “It’s beautiful.” Jongdae spun the rose around, watching as shades of blue, violet, green and orange reflected from the petals and splattered colors onto the dining table.

 The silver pendant and chain was from Wendy. The boy strapped it to his wrist and admired the jewelry, while tearing open another envelope. Sunny had taped a $100 gift card to EXODUS on the sheet of blank white paper.

 “Anything for my favorite customer!”

 He could imagine her winking right now. Seulgi bought a metal tin filled with bear-shaped cookies for him, and Jongdae stacked it along with the other food; the gummies from earlier, and a bulk-size Frosted Flakes from Joy. There were only two more envelopes left on the table, one pink, one green.

 Baekhyun shoved together the massive pile of wrapping paper to clear a space for his friend as he opened the gifts.

 “From Irene,” Jongdae read out. “You’re twenty-three now. Time you get your driver’s license….” he rolled his eyes, “I brought you three tickets to TAEYEON’S CONCERT?! THESE COST A FORTUNE!”

 Baekhyun snatched the tickets from his fanboying friend. “Take ME!” he pleaded. “I’ve been waiting forever to get a chance to see my noona Taeyeon perform live! I even pre-ordered like five copies of her album! I’d turn straight just for her…”

 “That’s actually gross. You’re basically a saesang!”

 “MARRY ME, TAEYEON! I'll even dump my boyfriend for you!” Baekhyun spontaneously shouted, and Jongdae tore through the pink paper of the last package.

 The card was from Minseok. Jongdae opened it gingerly, making sure not to damage the edges.

 Jongdae, I brought you a gift even though I didn’t really know what to get you. Even though I haven’t known you for a long time, you’re a great friend and you keep me peeling back the layers like an onion(sorry for the bad metaphor). I hope you enjoy being twenty-one while it lasts!

 ~ Minseok

 Jongdae would never know how many pieces of pink paper were in Minseok’s trash bin;how many nights the barista had stayed up to write the same letter over and over again, smacking his head if he thought the card sounded weird, or pushy, or cheesy. He didn’t know about the long hours that Minseok had stood in the supermarket, picking out the perfect card, with the perfect color scheme and trying to find a decent gift.

 He shook five packets from inside the paper package and gasped.

 “They’re just seeds…” Baekhyun said lacklusterly.

 It was sweet that Minseok had remembered. He thought it was just an unimportant detail in his lackluster life; even if it was just blue flowers.

 So sweet, Jongdae thought, as he clutched the seed packets to his chest.

 Turquoise jade vines, sky blue morning glories, azure himalayan poppies, periwinkle hydrangeas, and indigo sweet peas.

 He must have spent hours. I can’t even find half this stuff.

 His trance was interrupted by a frantic Baekhyun, who clapped loudly in front of his face.

 “Snap out of it!” he squawked accusingly.

 “Snap out of what?”

 “That lovey-dovey look on your face! Who is this Minseok, anyways…?”

 “A friend!” Jongdae shouted defensively, still holding the seeds protectively.

 “You expect me to believe that?”

 Jongdae was going to be damned if he let Baekhyun to the point of frustration that easily.

 “I’m going to go take out the trash,” he muttered, looking for a reason to excuse himself. Baekhyun snickered behind him and tossed a roll of wadded-up tissue paper at Jongdae’s head. “You can take out Minseok with the trash.”

 “ARGHHHHHHH!”

 🌱🌱🌱

 “Did you like the pendant?” Wendy asked. She looked up from the dumpster, scraping a pile of fishy smelling compost scraps from a slimy bucket.

 “Yes. It’s so nice!” Wendy smiled in return, satisfied, as Jongdae shrugged.

 “I have no idea what everyone is doing. Why are they randomly giving me gifts? This morning, Irene, Minseok and Sunny brought me a cake, and-”

 “You’re serious?” The girl placed her hands on her hips.

 “Really, I am! Why-”

 “You’re a real .”

 “Huh?”

 “Don’t tell me you forgot your own birthday.”

 There was a long, silent pause.

 “I think I just did….”