“It’s okay,” Dahyun insisted, “I understand that you might have been busy so you couldn’t come.”

Taehyung bit his lip before confessing, “There was this concert… and I watched Joohyun perform.”

Dahyun’s mouth gaped as she merely mumbled, “Oh. How is she?”

“She’s doing well,” Taehyung answered, “We talked a bit too.”

I shouldn’t have brought up the topic.

Now, I’m reminded that he would always choose Joohyun.

She was curious on what they talked about but she knew that asking further questions would just hurt her more. Thus, she just muttered, “That’s great.”

Taehyung nodded with a small smile on his lips before they fell into silence. He sighed before finally remembering his purpose of knocking at her door.

“Come on and celebrate with me, Dahyun,” Taehyung invited once again, “I already prepared everything.”

He could have just bought her a gift and apologize, but he felt like he had committed a grave mistake that would only be rectified if they could properly celebrate together, even though a week had already passed since her birthday.

“Just how much did you prepare?” Dahyun creased her brows.

“It’s all waiting in my apartment,” Taehyung grinned, “Come on.”

His preparations for her make-up birthday celebration had exceeded her expectations. There was a birthday banner together with balloon letters of her name. Then the ceiling was filled with different colored balloons, making his apartment look so festive. On his table was a sumptuous feast, with a chocolate cake at the middle.

“Isn’t this too much?” she commented, even if gaped with awe.

“I wanted to make sure you’ll like it,” Taehyung answered, “It was wrong for me to miss your birthday.”

“It’s just a birthday, Taehyung,” Dahyun tried to downplay, “It happens every year.”

“It’s the day you were born,” Taehyung corrected, “And I’m thankful for that day too. So let’s celebrate it properly together.”

She stared at him for a while, trying to decipher if there was a hidden intent behind his words.

Dahyun was still learning how to get used to Taehyung’s action – of always reminding her that she could be nothing more than his neighbor then showering her with all affection at the same time.

“Thank you,” she beamed at him before redirecting the conversation, “But I think the food is really too much for the two of us.”

“I was not sure what you would like so I bought a lot of varieties,” Taehyung explained while scratching the back of his neck before his countenance brightened, “But I made sure that the cake was chocolate!”

“Shall we start, then?” Dahyun cued.

Taehyung nodded with a smile, but his face fell immediately after.

He muttered, “Shoot. I forgot to buy a candle.”

He groaned before adding, “How are you supposed to make a wish now?”

“That’s okay! I already made a wish a week ago,” Dahyun said.

“I said I wanted this to be a proper birthday celebration.”

“I can wish without a candle. Let’s just pretend.”

But Taehyung wasn’t taking any of her suggestions – he had put so much effort in the preparations, he doesn’t want the lack of candle to make it feel incomplete.

“I’ll buy from the convenience store,” he volunteered as he began to search for his wallet.

“There’s really no need – “

“I’ll be back in five minutes! I’ll just borrow Hyunjin’s bicycle!” Taehyung started rushing even before Dahyun could stop him.

Dahyun ended up laughing to herself when she was left alone. She somehow liked seeing the panicky side of him – where his eyes just looked like he was a lost kid.

Cute.

She shook her head, trying to rid her thoughts. Then, her eyes roamed around his apartment. With more time and with more light to illuminate the place, she appreciated his place better. She couldn’t help but run down some designs in her head, thinking of the ways she could still improve his unit.

But then her eyes settled on a picture frame that contained Joohyun and Taehyung’s photo. She raised it, admiring the beauty of the girl who was embracing Taehyung.  

Dahyun finally had an image of the girl that Taehyung had always loved.

Her gaze then roamed the apartment again as she finally realized the reason behind Taehyung’s reluctance to have her redesign his unit.

His place still had traces of Joohyun.

He didn’t want anything to be touched as he was trying to preserve their memories.

He wanted things to be the same so that Joohyun would feel at home when she returns.

Dahyun’s trance was only halted when the doorbell rang. She creased her brows, “Why is he even ringing the bell? Did he forget his password suddenly?”

She proceeded to the door and opened it fully as she said, “It’s not been five minutes yet. You are so fast – “

However, her words were cut off as she realized that it was not Taehyung who was waiting at the other side of the door.

“Who are you?”

Taehyung had already cursed himself when he realized that he had already taken more than five minutes just by choosing the right candle that would go with the chocolate cake he had bought.

“Kid, sorry I took longer but I finally got the candle – “

He stopped midway his sentence when he found Dahyun having a big smile on her lips as she listened to Jimin. It even took a while before the other male noticed his presence.

“Oh. You’re here!” Jimin greeted him.

“Of course, I am here. This is my apartment,” Taehyung retorted, “What are you doing here?”

“I was bored so I decided to pay you a visit,” Jimin answered, “I think I just came in the right time because Dahyun said that you were about to post-celebrate her birthday.”

“Who