It wasn’t the first time they celebrated her birthday like this, but it was the first time Gahyeon had regrets. This was the time to be with all her loved ones, all those who helped her and supported her into being the young woman she was now. Twenty-one years old. Sixteen spent in oblivion, five spent with her true family, almost two spent with the one she loved. But on that day…

“Gahyeonie, are you alright?”

Siyeon was asking in a small voice, hand placed on her shoulder. The young woman woke up from her thoughts and let her eyes wander around. Bora was ordering their drinks at the counter, Yubin was telling Yoohyeon to stop ordering food and start actually eating. Even Minji was there, making sure everyone could have a bite before Siyeon or Bora could eat everything. A piece of grilled meat landed on Gahyeon’s plate.

“You haven’t eaten much, is everything fine?”

“Yeah, I was just thinking about stuff.”

It was always so weird to see Minji outside the Han mansion. Sometimes, Gahyeon was tempted to think that the bodyguard only cared for her out of duty. But she wasn’t Jiu at the moment, and yet she had decided to spend that evening with everyone, to celebrate the kid’s birthday –Bora’s words.

“Wow, very specific!” Yoohyeon joined in.

“Are you picking on the kid?” Bora called out while bringing the drinks on the table.

“I am not! Miss Kim Bora, why always assume the worst?” the silver-haired replied, mockingly outraged.

Ignoring their shenanigans, Yubin focused on Gahyeon: “Are some things not going as you want?”

She couldn’t be more on point. To be fair, it was a constant with Yubin: she was always on point. She was never saying too much, but she always saw things, often before anyone else, except probably for Yoohyeon. They had that in common that they were both great observers and judges of characters.

The young hacker sighed, thinking back to the previous day. “I’m sorry I can’t go. The place is too crowded, it would be difficult to assure my security there. But we can meet afterwards? I’ll be waiting for you.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s not that bad.”

She wasn’t entirely wrong. If she really wanted Han Dong to come she could have changed the restaurant to somewhere that was easier to secure. It wasn’t her girlfriend’s fault that she couldn’t go outside as she wanted, especially with the way her parents died, murdered while they were having dinner.

But Gahyeon liked that place. It was crowded and loud, you had to shout to get heard and sometimes the waiters didn’t bring the right order because of all the noise so when that happened, they could get free drinks or side dishes. It was where Siyeon and Bora had taken her to celebrate her birthday for the first time since she had been with them.

 

***

 

It had taken so long for the girl to share anything that was linked to the first sixteen years of her life. There were merry memories in there, spent with her parents before they sold her. But how good could they be once she knew the truth behind it. She was cattle to them. Something to keep until she was old enough to make money out of her. She had come to think that celebrating her birthday was like a countdown and she hated the thought of celebrating it again.

Until Siyeon randomly said one morning:

“Gahyeonah, it’s already been a year since we’ve been living here together, can you believe that?”

“Do you think we should celebrate?” Bora had asked.

And suddenly, the girl realized it wasn’t a countdown anymore. They were happy to be with her through another year, to watch her grow. They weren’t going to get rid of her. She could share something with them.

“Actually, hum… there’s also my birthday soon. Can we celebrate that too? I think I’m turning eighteen this year.”

“Oh my God, Gahyeon, of course! It’ll be your first birthday with us!”

“I can’t believe our baby is turning eighteen.”

“She’s not a baby anymore, Bora.”

“Whatever. Where do you want to go for your birthday?”

“There’s a place I wanna try. It seems cheerful…”

 

***

 

“I’m sure it will turn out fine.”

Siyeon brought back Gahyeon to the present with a kiss on her temple. The young hacker thought she saw Minji smile from the corner of her eyes, but it was too faint to know for sure. And anyway, she was in the moment again, shouting loudly to make Bora stop sharing her embarrassing moments, drinking, laughing, stealing food from Siyeon’s plate, watching Yubin beat Yoohyeon at “who can drink faster?”.

It couldn’t have been more than an hour when a voice rose behind her:

“Am I too late?”

Gahyeon could have recognised that deep, rich tone anywhere. She snapped her head to look at the person it belonged to. Han Dong was grinning, watching Gahyeon’s lips parting in an “o” shape and immediately curling up. The red-head was immediately trapped in a tight embrace, her lips taken hostage without too much resistance.

“You said you couldn’t make it,” Gahyeon squeaked. 

“I lied.” 

The Chinese woman couldn’t get rid of her smile watching Gahyeon’s confused state. Her girlfriend couldn’t believe what was happening. However, a hint of concern still clouded the hacker's eyes.

“Is it ok?” she whispered.

Han Dong couldn’t deny that she was worried. She hadn’t hung out unescorted like that since she had become the new head of the Han family. Her eyes caught those of Minji sitting at the end of their table. Bora was sitting near her as well. With those two around, everyone was safe. That was what she had told herself everyday since she knew she was coming. They were safe.

“I’m fine,” the red-head whispered back. “I want to be with you.”

Gahyeon kissed her again more softly.

“I love you.”

Han Dong kissed her back, smiling against her lips.

“I love you too.”