35

“How are you feeling?” 

Hara smiles. “Good. How are your nerves?”

Sora sighs heavily and shrugs, but there’s a smile playing on her lips. Hara is happy that despite all the stress from the business meetings and the wedding preparations, her mother seems genuinely excited for this. 

“They’re fine, just finished ordering the flowers,” Sora says, and then reaches over to tuck Hara’s hair behind her ear. “I’m glad you’re coming, honey. I don’t know why, but it felt like maybe you would just… I don’t know, sorry, this isn’t nice of me.”

“No, mom.” Hara bites her lip and then sighs. “I didn’t want to come. You’re right," she says, and then quickly reaches over to gently squeeze her mother's hand. "But I’ve seen a lot, mom. I’ve seen how Yunho treats you, how you look at him and it just- it feels real, it feels true.” 

Sora smiles through tears and Hara laughs and pulls her in for a hug. She’s grateful for how easy it has been to connect with her again, as if all the bad memories they’ve shared just vanished once they both decided that the present and future is what matters. 

“I know I’ve already chosen you a dress,” Sora says when they pull away, wiping her tears with the napkin next to her plate of untouched breakfast, “but you’re free to change it. Any design and colour you want, honey.”

“Even black?” Hara jokes, and Sora blinks.

“Uh, I-I mean if that’s what you-”

“I’m kidding, mom.” Hara laughs and Sora releases a sigh of relief.

“Thank god, the theme is pastel blue, black would not fit at all,” Sora says, grabbing the glass of orange juice in front of her. “Jungkook is going to wear a light blue suit. Yunho wanted him to do so.”

“Light blue?” Hara arches an eyebrow. “That boy never wears anything if it’s not black or grey.” 

“Yeah, I don’t know why but he instantly agreed.” Sora shrugs and then gets to her feet. “I have to get going now, got a meeting in twenty. Yunho and I are gonna be back in time for the cake cutting, I promise.”

“It’s okay if you don’t make it, though,” Hara says. “Really, mom. Don’t worry about it.”

Sora smiles and kisses her forehead. “We will make it. Happy birthday, honey.”

Hara waves her goodbye and then sighs and returns to her breakfast. 

Taehyung has banned her from entering the living room where the boys are currently putting up birthday decoration. Hara has never liked birthday celebrations, to her they’re a waste of money. But at the same time, it’s a little nice because people close to you want you to know that they’re happy you exist. Twisted and a little creepy when you really think about it, but nevertheless nice.

“Hey.” 

Hara startles when Jungkook suddenly pokes his head in, grinning at her. He’s got a red birthday hat on, a small fluffy ball at the top.

“Scared you?”

“A little, what is that on your head?” Hara says, snorting. Jungkook struts inside and poses like some hardcore motorbike model, leaning against the chair across from Hara. 

“Fashion.” 

Hara can’t help but laugh, shaking her head. “Sure, Kook.”

Jungkook grabs the chair and turns it around before sitting down and resting his arms on the backrest. He rests his chin on his arms and watches Hara intently. 

“So, how’re you feeling? Excited?” 

Hara shrugs and sips some of her orange juice. “I don’t know, a little nervous?” 

“You don’t like birthday celebrations, do you?” 

“Kinda grew out of that when we stopped celebrating it at home,” Hara says. Jungkook’s smile falls and Hara bites her lip. “Pretend I didn’t say that, I’m not gonna be all depressing today.”

“No, hey, don’t say that.” Jungkook reaches over and grabs Hara’s hand, gently squeezing it. “You can tell me anything. Anything at all, I don’t mind.”

Hara stares at Jungkook for a moment, lips slowly pulling into a smile. “You’re cute.”

Jungkook’s eyes widen a little before his cheeks go red, the warmth spreading all the way up to his ears, and he ducks his head a little and lets go of Hara’s hand. 

“Shut up, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are,” Hara grins playfully, and moves a little closer to him. She pinches his cheek and giggles when Jungkook stares at her with an unimpressed look on his face. 

“I’m in charge of fetching your cake from the bakery, don’t make me put olives in it.” 

Hara’s hand falls and her eyes widen. “Why-why would you even say something like that?” 

Jungkook is biting back a smile and shrugs, slowly getting to his feet while keeping his intense stare on Hara. 

“Don’t mess with me, is all I’m saying.”

Hara tries very hard to keep her laughter back but Jungkook pointedly huffs, the hat on his head jumping a little, and Hara snaps.

“You-you literally look like a child right now, I’m sorry but I can’t-” Hara giggles and presses a hand to , and Jungkook playfully glares at her but his lips stretch into a small smile and he shakes his head. 

He crosses the space between them and pecks her on the forehead, and Hara’s giggles die down, her cheeks warming up. 

“We’re calling you out in about fifteen minutes,” Jungkook says as he leans back, “enjoy peace and quiet while you can.”

“Will do.” Hara salutes the boy and earns a small huff in return before Jungkook leans down and pulls her in for a quick kiss, and then quickly skips out of the dining hall.

“Prick,” Hara mutters, feeling her cheeks blaze up again. She ignores the smile threatening to break free and reaches for her forgotten glass of orange juice. Just like Jungkook says, a quarter passes before there’s a ruckus and the doors to the dining hall are thrown open. 

“Miss Kim! Get your pretty little out here and let’s get this party started!” Taehyung all but roars, a wide grin on his face as he jogs over to Hara and grabs her hand, pulling her along with him. 

The day after her almost running away, Hara had gone through a bunch of physical tests with Jungkook and the boys by her side, all of them closely paying attention to the physiotherapist’s comments. Hara had healed faster than expected, which is why her wound survived the sudden activities. 

Yunho and Sora had both been kept in the dark, for the sake of their own sanity - they had enough to worry about already, and it’s not like Hara has any plans of ever leaving again. 

After the physiotherapist had left, Hara and Jungkook had sat down and explained everything to the boys. Reactions varied from shocked to tearful smiles. Yoongi had just scoffed and kept drinking his coffee. 

It went better than expected. Hara is glad Hoseok and Taehyung are as open minded as they are, because they didn’t care about the whole step-siblings part, at all. The only thing that had been an issue for them was how long it took them both to figure out their feelings for one another.

“We’re going to have a movie marathon later today,” Taehyung says, snapping Hara out of her thoughts. They enter the living room and Hara’s eyes widen a little in surprise. 

There are balloons and confetti swirls hanging about, a bunch of presents are placed on the coffee table along with bowls of snacks and sweets, and Hara giggles when Hoseok pulls an annoyed Yoongi along, both wearing ridiculous birthday hats and flower decorations around their necks. 

“Happy birthday, Hara!” Hoseok yells, throwing a bunch of confetti at her.

Yoongi’s sour mood evaporates the second Hara laughs and reaches over to hug the two of them. “Happy birthday, kid.” He ruffles her hair when she pulls back and huffs out a laugh when she whines and pushes his hand away. 

Hara’s smile doesn’t disappear, though, and she turns towards Taehyung and slips her arms around his neck, grinning. 

“You guys didn’t need to do this much, honestly,” she says, but Taehyung shakes his head when they pull away before shushing her.

“We did this willingly, has nothing to do with you.”

“That makes zero sense, idiot,” Jungkook groans, but Taehyung jumps to do some damage control.

“I obviously didn’t mean it like that, okay, I meant that the whole being dramatic and going all out was our own choice, you shouldn’t think we did it because we felt pressured to do it for you.” 

Hara slowly nods, biting back a smile, and Taehyung arches both eyebrows hopefully. 

“Sounds good, as long as I won’t have to dance,” Hara says, and the boy breaks out into a relieved smile before pulling Hara against his side. 

“Well, guys, let’s get the party started!”

Hoseok plays some loud party song on the speakers resting on each side of the huge TV, and the lights go dim. Hara groans but allows them to pull her along, her embarrassment very soon turning into laughter and happiness. It’s just the five of them, dancing and singing along to random songs in a dimly lit, overly decorated living room, but Hara thinks this might just be the best birthday she has ever experienced. 

The music dies down soon and they all snuggle up on the couches, turning on the TV to watch the Lord of The Rings trilogy, which to Hara’s surprise none of the boys complain about. 

Jungkook and Taehyung are sitting on each side of Hara, while Hoseok and Yoongi share a couch, both of them looking flustered. Hara gives Jungkook a small, knowing smile, but none of them comment on it. 

“Aragorn could, like, get it,” Taehyung randomly murmurs against Hara’s shoulder, and the girl snorts. 

“Have you seen Legolas?”

“You are absolutely right, I’m so sorry, Legolas, sweetie, you’ve always been number one.”

Hoseok throws a popcorn kernel at Taehyung. “Stop quoting outdated memes.”

“They’re not outdated if they’re still relatable,” Taehyung hisses back, but Hoseok just throws another kernel at him and then cackles and ducks behind Yoongi when Taehyung grabs the whole bowl resting in Hara’s lap. 

Yoongi simply stares up at the boy and Taehyung has returned to his earlier position against Hara’s side before he even has the chance to get cursed at. 

Since the movies are almost three hours long each, they decide to cut it halfway through the marathon to eat dinner. Pizza and fries and all kinds of greasy food is passed around while music plays in the background, and Hara couldn’t have stopped smiling even if she tried. Around six o’clock, Jungkook lightly pecks Hara’s temple and then leaves to fetch her cake, and the boys, with the exception of a very tired Yoongi, decide to throw another dance party. 

A few minutes into the dancing, Yunho and Sora show up, both wearing bright grins on their faces, and it takes Hara couple of seconds to comprehend the situation because two very familiar girls are standing behind them.

“Hey, birthday girl,” Mina greets, and Sana laughs from next to her, eyes teary. Hara has never ran that fast in her life before, and the three girls erupt into a mix of giggles and sobs when they finally hug. 

Disbelief keeps fogging up Hara’s mind. 

Is this really happening? Hara pinches herself but she’s still wide awake, surrounded by genuine happiness and love. 

The boys all introduce themselves to the girls, Yunho and Sora ditch changing out of their work attires in favour of spending some time with the birthday girl. Mina and Sana are both aware of Hara’s situation with Jungkook, so their smiles turn smug when the boy returns with the birthday cake, but Hara’s emotions reach the point of overwhelming her so she barely notices the looks she receives when she stares up at Jungkook.  

It is cliche and cheesy and all kinds of embarrassing, but Hara starts crying when he holds the cake up in front of her, the light from the eighteen candles shining brightly against his toothy grin. 

“Carrot cake,” he murmurs gently, cheeks dusted with pink, “your favourite.”

“No olives?” Hara asks, smiling through tears. 

Jungkook’s grin widens and he laughs. “None.” 

And in that moment, after blowing the candles and starting a new chapter in her life, Hara wonders if it's possible for someone to die from happiness.