5 times she celebrates her birthday and the one time he does

counting all the ways (you make me feel like falling in love)
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1

 

Jihyo doesn’t really like to celebrate birthdays.

 

She’s not one for the attention; a pretty peculiar thing to say when she’s in the industry that calls for it. In a strike of coincidence, Ha Ha and Jaesuk’s birthdays fall in August too, which is why the crew even celebrated their birthdays together. She has the fortune (she tells herself it’s a good thing) of blowing out the candles with a cast and team that she’s been meeting weekly. 

 

Ha Ha soaks all the birthday congratulations like a sponge (even though it’s not even his actual birthday today), and it helps move the attention away from her. He’s a natural born entertainer, always one for the spotlight. Jaesuk’s too busy being the kind and generous leader he is, leading his grand speech of thanks and encouragement for this relatively new show, and it’s actually his birthday so they let him speak for all of them.

 

After the cake is distributed and the filming crew have gotten their fair share of excitement, Jihyo sets off on her own, letting her mind wander. She’s not usually so reflective, but she’s had a lot to be thankful for in the past year alone. Filming a variety show is hard. There are times when she feels like quitting, and times when she reaches home at five in the morning after overnight shooting and wonders what has her life become, eye-bags and all. 

 

She’s not even an entertainer. Somewhere outside, Donghoon is. They all are; even Kwangsoo, despite his insistence that he’s an actor. In this mismatched cast, she’s the only female, and often that’s lonely.

 

“Didn’t expect to see you out here.” 

 

Someone shakes her out of her thoughts, and she looks up, her expression the same blank face she’s had on since day one. Mong. It’s Jongkook — he has an empty paper plate in his hand, meaning he ate the cake even though it has tons of cream and sugar. 

 

“Just getting some air.” She explains, inhaling deeply. “What are you doing here?”

 

“There’s too many people obsessing over Donghoon there.” He scowls, sighing. “You shouldn’t be here. There’s cake inside, and I’d prefer to eat when they provide us with food instead of having to win missions.”

 

“Is that why you’ve eaten a slice?” By now everyone knows that Kim Jongkook doesn’t really indulge in cake or sweet treats. 

 

“I can’t skip on the birthday girl’s cake, can I?”

 

Jihyo laughs freely, not bothering to correct him about sharing a cake with two other members, and he can’t help but return a soft grin. She nods, turning to follow him back to set. “It’s nice to celebrate my birthday here.”

 

“It’s tomorrow, isn’t it? What are you planning on doing?” Jongkook asks out of politeness, trying to fill the silence. He doesn’t know her very well yet, they’ve only been working on this show for a little over a year. 

 

“I don’t know. Probably the usual.” She shrugs. “Sleep in.”

 

“More sleeping?”

 

“Ah, oppa.” She flushes with embarrassment, lowering her eyes. Just like Jongkook being a health nut, she’s gotten quite the reputation as the resident nap queen on the show. “It doesn’t matter, I like staying home.”

 

“I see.” He nods awkwardly, looking ahead. 

 

“Kind of like you at the gym, you know?” 

 

Jongkook lets out a hard chuckle — he wasn’t expecting that. “You’re right, I shouldn’t judge you.”

 

They’ve finally reached the set again, and it’s easier when there’s more people around. Kwangsoo spots them, the tall, lanky man walking over, and he watches as Jihyo latches onto her dongsaeng, forgetting all about their small talk.

 

She’s an interesting one, Song Jihyo. As Kwangsoo drags her away, Jongkook wonders if the show will last. It’s not something he can predict, with Korean variety — shows were cancelled left and right whenever things don’t do well.

 

If it lasts, he hopes they have many more birthdays to celebrate with the cast.

 

 

2

 

Years later, Jihyo’s come to love this bunch of misfits as a second family.

 

They’ve celebrated countless of birthdays by now, even holidays and anniversaries. She knows all their favourites and dislikes by heart, and can even read their expressions without having to say a word. 

 

It’s quite funny, if she thinks about it. She never expected getting lifelong friends out of this, and now she doesn’t know where she’d be on Mondays if not filming alongside the noisy bunch. 

 

As always, they bring in a cake for the August babies before filming. Jihyo stands in between Jaesuk and Ha Ha, beaming as they blow out the candles together. They know she’s not one for the limelight, but they are still her oppas and they try their best to let her have her share of the celebration. 

 

“What are you going to do on your actual birthday?” Jongkook asks, sliding beside her once they’ve finished eating the cake and are waiting for filming to start. 

 

She hadn’t paid much attention to him all day, but it brings some form of deja vu back to her busy mind. It feels like forever ago when he once asked the same question. 

 

“I don’t know.” Jihyo admits, feeling sleepy with the cake nicely settled in her stomach. “I haven’t planned anything.” 

 

“You’re not meeting your boyfriend?”

 

This shocks her slightly. She hasn’t mentioned much about her relationship, not even when they found out through the news and started grilling her on camera. It’s not a very casual comment either, and she turns just in time to see the glint in his eyes, a strange look she can’t quite comprehend in his face.

 

It’s not that she’s uncomfortable with Jongkook. She can name other members that she might pretend to be busy just to avoid (cough, Sukjin, especially when he calls for a favour). He’s just been a little distant lately, nothing they show on screen. 

 

Still. She misses his wit, and his company. He’s a great partner to have (beyond his muscles he had brains), but lately he doesn’t really engage with her as much as he used to.

 

“I think he’s busy.” She shrugs, trying to stay casual even when her heart’s fluttering fast in her chest. There’s not much to say after that, so they sit there in silence.

 

“He should do something for you.” Jongkook comments after a beat. Any longer and the silence would have turned awkward. “I mean, I’m no expert or anything but...”

 

“It’s fine. I don’t really care for birthdays anyway.” Jihyo replies, a little defensive. What’s this Kim Jongkook doing, managing her relationship? He doesn’t know her that well. They are friends; he knows a lot about her and so does she, but not everything. 

 

Certainly not her love life.

 

“You’d probably sleep the whole day.” He jokes, ending the conversation as he watches the PDs finally take their places. 

 

For some reason, she doesn’t find the need to agree, leaving his joke out cold. 

 

 

3

 

This year, Byul throws Ha Ha a birthday party.

 

It’s very unnecessary, especially when Donghoon’s a hog for the attention. Goeun wants her husband to have a night off from daddy duties, and frankly, she wants one for herself too. 

 

Jihyo attends anyway; any party with drinking and food involved is bound to be good. It’s kind of like a party for herself too, if she thinks about it. The dates aren’t too far apart and she doesn’t care for the celebrations so she won’t have one.

 

Almost everyone and anyone is here, but she sticks to her castmates. Kwangsoo is very sociable — she lost him a couple of hours ago, and Sukjin and Jaesuk have gone home. Gary’s probably not even in the right state of mind (that man can really drink), and she’s not going to pester Donghoon on his birthday. 

 

Kim Jongkook, however, doesn’t drink or party. He’s probably drunk maybe one can of beer only, which he holds in his hand for the rest of the night as a pretense for drinking. 

 

“Didn’t think I’d see you still here.” He says, sliding to sit beside her. “Isn’t your birthday in a few days?”

 

“So?” She snorts, shaking her head. “Doesn’t mean I can’t stay to drink.”

 

“Don’t you want to go home to... You know, to sleep?”

 

“Yah, that’s not all I do.” Jihyo scowls, taking a sip of her drink for good measure. “I have a schedule on my birthday so I might as well celebrate today.”

 

“Really?” Jongkook frowns, pushing her drink away. He doesn’t want her getting too drunk, not yet. “Why on earth would you schedule something on your birthday? Don’t you usually sleep in?”

 

She shrugs, unbothered. “It’s important.”

 

“Work’s not as important as your birthday. You should take care of yourself more.”

 

“What is this, are you lecturing me? Really, oppa?”

 

“Can’t I give you some good advice?” Now it’s his turn to frown. They always do that, the both of them. Bicker over the most trivial things. “You’re not growing any younger.”

 

“Neither are you.” As childish as it is, she sticks her tongue out at him, crossing her arms. 

 

“Whatever.” Jongkook responds as immaturely as she does, turning his head away. 

 

Jihyo thinks maybe he’s angry with her now, so she reaches over to grab his arm in apology, but he’s only bending down to get something. She stares, confused as he hands her a small box, wrapped and tied with a purple bow. 

 

He meets her confused expression with a tiny smile. “I wanted to give you this before I left.”

 

“It’s not my birthday.” She looks up at him, eyes widened. Did he somehow forget that it’s Ha Ha’s party? “You’re giving this to the wrong person.”

 

“I’m aware of that.” He snorts, pushing the gift to her. “It’s for you, not Donghoon. He already has his.”

 

She’s confused, but also very intrigued by the box. He presses for her to open it, and she does, a million thoughts running through her mind. Maybe it’s a prank. Kwangsoo has a camera filming somewhere, or Ha Ha has secretly masterminded this. 

 

Jihyo unwraps the gift and opens the box to find a small gold charm, barely visible in the dark room. She squints, shifting the box, and eyes it up close: a tiny, golden tiger. 

 

“You like gold.” Jongkook explains, slightly embarrassed. “I got one for Donghoon too — he has a golden penguin figurine. They don’t make golden grasshoppers, so I hope Jaesuk hyung likes the speech bubble I got him.”

 

That, she understands. They are symbols of their personas, and men don’t really wear jewelry to get charms like she did. 

 

But why a tiger? She’s a cat, or a rabbit (she can’t quite remember; it changes a lot) on the show. Sometimes an ace. If he’s going with a theme, he’s gotten it entirely wrong. He’s the tiger, and she should be something else. Maybe even some golden sleep masks or a bed or something.

 

“Did they run out of gold cats too?” Jihyo jokes.

 

“I thought this suited you instead. A scary cat.” Jongkook laughs, beaming. “It’s just gold plated, by the way. I’m not so rich.”

 

“Then I don’t want it anymore.” She grins cheekily, closing the lid. He pretends to be offended and she softens, practically beaming up at him. “I love it, oppa. You shouldn’t have.”

 

“I wanted to.” He nods. “And you should celebrate your birthday more. Stop working, I’m serious. Can you push your schedule to another date?”

 

“If I insist, probably.”

 

“Do it then.” He orders, ever the commander. “If you do, I’ll treat you to a birthday lunch. It’s better than staying at home anyway.”

 

It’s a weird thing to say. She doesn’t get a lot of offers for meals, and no one’s gone as far as to ask her to shift a schedule for one, even if it’s to celebrate her birthday. There’s something just so earnest about Kim Jongkook doing that, and coupled with the gift he just gave? She’s not going to say no. 

 

“You’ll treat me?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Anything I want?”

 

“... Anything reasonable.” 

 

“I’d like that.” Jihyo smiles, her face growing unusually warm. 

 

Must be the alcohol, she thinks. Time to cut down. 

 

To her surprise, Jongkook returns the smile, beaming as his eyes disappear into a thin line. “Me too.” 

 

It doesn’t even feel strange when they make this a habit every year for her birthday, no questions asked. Never his — just hers. He calls her out for lunch and she agrees, neither talking about work for that short few hours. 

 

It expands from there: lunches turning into dinners, meals to tanning sessions, concerts and other schedules. 

 

And if Jihyo’s being totally honest with herself, she really enjoys his company. 

 

 

4

 

There’s a period of time when she didn’t think she’d be back here with these men. 

 

There are new additions too: Somin and Sechan don’t just bring new blood to the team, they become close friends and Jihyo starts to feel that same warmth and spark she felt all those years ago when they first started the show. 

 

Still, she stays back and lets them shine. She’s done her share of the spotlight for too long and the kids can have it. Plus, Somin’s a great companion to have around in a show where she’s been the sole female for way too long.

 

Jihyo’s very happy to be back in the shadows, away from the constant attention of the Monday Couple. She’s been thinking a lot these days; she doesn’t need a loveline to get her screentime, never mind what the PDs think. There’s a new shift in the dynamics of the show anyway, and no one needed to see more forced couples.

 

Besides that, something’s changed between her and Jongkook. Maybe it’s because they were almost kicked out of the show (all’s forgotten now, but she still thinks about the possibility). That, or the fact that they’ve started to hang out a lot more outside of filming. Whatever it is, Jihyo doesn’t know what to think of it. It’s nice to be close, particularly since Kwangsoo’s the only other members she used to stick to. 

 

But as a result of meeting up regularly, the cast teases them a lot, regardless of her stance on the whole loveline issue. Especially Ha Ha, because he thinks it’s funny when Jongkook squirms and threatens him to stop. Jihyo knows he’s just playful (Goeun really does have three boys to look after), but it’s getting real hard to call them off when even Jaesuk and Sechan start to chime in. 

 

She plays along, because she knows they are friends and it’s all just harmless. They’ve been on the show for years and years now, whatever possibility of a romance is long extinguished. Besides, she’s very professional — she would never date a colleague (Never again. She learnt her lesson the last time she dated her CEO).

 

Somewhere along the line, the teasing stops. 

 

Every time there’s a chance for them to start their nonsense up again, there’s silence. Donghoon is just itching to make a comment or two, she can tell. But whatever it is, Jongkook must have said something to stop him. Maybe he’s secretly dating, and his girlfriend doesn’t like it. Something stirs up inside her — he couldn’t be dating without telling her, right? They are close enough friends, he wouldn’t leave her out in the cold just like that? 

 

Jihyo doesn’t have time to think too deeply into it. They continue on their lives as if nothing happened, and she tells herself it was just for the cameras — as most things are. She trusts that Jongkook will let her know whenever he wants to. 

 

August comes again, and they celebrate their birthdays as usual. She’s reaching forty, and despite her mother’s nagging, she’s still very much single. Work piles up and she hasn’t had the chance to meet many eligible men — it’s just not her priority.

 

“I’m getting old.” Jihyo sighs, sliding into her seat beside Somin after the cake is cut. It’s almost like deja vu, seeing Donghoon lap up the attention. They even had a birthday special episode this time!

 

“Unnie, you don’t have to worry about a thing.” Somin declares, loyal as ever. “You’re still pretty!”

 

“I think it’s because of all the money spent at the dermatologist’s.” Kwangsoo taunts, unconvinced.

 

“Don’t listen to him, noona. He’s just mad that he looks ten years older than you.” Sechan grins, even as Jihyo reaches up to smack Kwangsoo in the head. Some things never change, no matter the year.

 

“What will you do on your birthday, unnie?” Somin asks, ignoring the cries coming from Kwangsoo. 

 

“She’ll sleep in.” Jongkook interrupts, cutting in between Somin and Jihyo. “Happy birthday, Jihyo ah. You’re definitely getting old.” 

 

“You’re one to say, oppa.” Jihyo scowls, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, it’s not my birthday yet.”

 

“But it is in a week.” He teases, smiling brightly. 

 

“... I won’t meet up for lunch if you’re going to tease me about my age.”

 

“Who’s going to make sure you don’t just go back to sleep?” Jongkook retorts back, and suddenly it feels like it’s just the two of them bickering over trivial things. “We made a deal, Song Jih

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amillionreasons
New 5+1 things trope one shot collection up, feel free to comment some suggestions and I might be inspired to write about it too!

Comments

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August_Ambrose #1
Chapter 4: I love the fluff in this one as well. Great stories! :)
sa_1109 #2
Chapter 4: Omg ....... I love this so damn much ♡♡♡ This is so so sweettttt 😳 surely they'll have so much story and inside joke to shared with their child later 🤭
liulishi #3
Chapter 4: pepero day..yeah...sale day..hahahahahha
fighting...
windflower01
#4
Chapter 4: Thank God there’s pepero! Pepero saved the day! What a full-course one shot you got here!!! I really enjoyed reading this. Thank you.
Berlianvelia #5
Chapter 4: This make me gigling and smile so wide.... love this
ace_jihyooo #6
Chapter 4: Thank you for this, it’s so cute! It is in fact the most disappointing in the spartace history for me, but this oneshot may have make up for it🤣 Hoping for another pepero game and this time just the regular pepero!❤️
Hawaali #7
Chapter 4: I enjoy it thank you authornim. Good luck with your studies fighting
spartacesparkle
#8
Chapter 4: Ahhh they havent done pepero games in a long time too.

Thanks so much for this!! It’s so cute!!

Good luck on your finals! Fighting ✨
pururrple #9
Chapter 4: Yes i agree with you ugh the disappointment. But this story does make up for it! Haha it’s so cute. Good luck on all of your finals!
ainali #10
Chapter 4: Awww sweet storyyy