Epilogue Two: Happy Birthday

The Red Knot.


Lovey-dovey, sometimes we argue

I think all night about what

I should do to the sulking you

Do you know how my heart tightens

because you might hate me?

To me, there’s no one else but you.

You’re the only one that makes me smile

 

I thank God for bringing

the beautiful you down here

Please stay like this forever, inside me

I will kiss you baby

Happy birthday

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It was spring and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. A fourteen-year-old DaeYi ran down the hallway to her unni’s room and rapped her hand on the door. “Unni, Unni!!! Are you awake?! If not you need to wake up! Get up! UP!”

Just then the door cracked open and DanHae blinked through the crack she had made. “You’re so noisey. Who taught you to be so loud?”

“Curly Oppa.” She smiled widely letting her cheeks press her eyelids together.

“Aish...You spend too much time with JunHong,” DanHae muttered behind a sigh.

“You know, he hates people calling him that. Call him Zelo.” The younger sister was too proud of herself to see the annoyance plastered all over DanHae’s face.

For the past few years, every time DanHae saw Zelo he wouldn’t say much to her. It really annoyed her seeing as he was so close to her older cousins and dongsaeng. “Fine. You should totally marry the kid if you like him so much.” She smirked at her sister whose face was quickly turning pink. “I know you’ve got a huge crush on him.”

DanYi let out a low mutter. “Oppa is too old.”

To this, DanHae laughed so hard that she had to hold her stomach. Although there was a ten year difference, DanYi and Zelo remained close and he would even pick her up from school to get ice-cream. “I know,” DanHae sighed. “You just like picking on him.”

DanYi smiled with her tongue between her teeth making a ‘V’ under her right eye. “You got it! Now let’s get you ready for your birthday. I’m sure you’re excited~ Unni and Oppa have been working on your gift since their wedding, right?”

DanHae nodded. “Will you help me with my hair while I fix my makeup?”

The two of them worked on the older’s appearance while listening to the radio. A familiar voice leaked through the speakers and the two of them grinned uncontrollably. It had been a few years since their Oppa’s friend had become a big hit. DaeHyun’s success made all of them proud and really aware of how great their friendship was. They were all somehow intertwined to each other and seemed to talk often. YuMi and HimChan’s kids were starting school and that brought everyone to tears.

“DanYi-yah?”

The younger sister looked at her through the mirror. “Bwoh? I didn’t burn you, did I?”

“Ani...I just wanted to say thank you.”

--

“Do I really have to bleach my hair again?!” JunHong whined into his cell phone. “But Hyung~!”

“Choi JunHong, do you love me?”

The boy stopped breathing once he heard the older woman’s voice. “Nuna, you know I’ve only loved you.”

She chuckled on the other end of the line. “Then yes. Bleach your hair now and get it styled like it used to be. I know you still curl it every now and then, but I mean like it used to be. Full curl.” She pressed a hand to her husband’s cheek assuring him that this boy was still only just a boy to her. “Don’t complain about people staring at you. I know you have a hat or something. You always do nowadays.”

“How did you-”

“Yah, Zelo-yah, we’ve got to take HiYong to his grandmother’s house. If you need support, call YoungJae...We’ll see you later. Good luck!”

There was a click and Zelo was left helpless and standing in the walkway of the bus. “Are you getting off or what?” an ahjussi asked nudging him.

Zelo turned to the man and bowed. “Yeh, excuse me....”  He hopped off at the stop and looked around for the hair salon. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he sighed as he pushed open the door. When he asked for the color the hair dresser looked at him and shrugged her shoulders.

“Do you want the eyebrows too?” the woman asked applying bleach to his scalp.

“Why not?”

The twenty-four-year-old had given up. He wasn’t allowed to know why his hair needed to be this color, but if it was for his Hyung and Nuna (he reasoned) he would go all out. After the color was stripped and blond pigment was added, the hairdresser styled it with curls and tried desperately to bite back her smile.

“Bet not many people come in asking for this do they?” He laughed trying to ease the atmosphere. He could never take this kind of awkwardness.

“Not really, but...you look so cute.” She gave him a light spritz of hairspray and finished by fixing each curl.

“You don’t have to do that, I’m going to put a hat over it anyways.”

She looked at his reflection. “Of all the hairstyles I’ve ever done, I think this might be the most adorable ever.”

Zelo chuckled tucking each strand underneath his beany. “Sorry, I don’t even know why I’m being styled like this. I think I lost a bet a while ago.” He paid her and was on his way. The next instructions in the letter was to go to a park and sit on a bench. He pulled a box from his backpack tied with string and turned it in his hands. “Hyung, what am I doing?”

It wasn’t long before he got a call.

“Hey Zelo, what’s up?” JongUp asked sounding a bit too excited.

“Hyung, I’m good how are you?”

“Fine.”

There was a long pause.

“Hyung, you called me,” Zelo reminded the older boy. Sometime after YongGuk and Nami’s wedding, DanHae and JongUp broke up. When this happened Zelo grew closer to him and soon they were friends.

“Oh! I did, haha, sorry about that.” There was another short pause. “Hey, I wanted to give you a heads up that it’s DanHae’s birthday. I know you two aren’t exactly close anymore, but she and I are still friends. If you run into her, tell her happy birthday...Arraso?”

The younger boy’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?! I just saw DanYi a day or two ago and she said nothing. Some friend she is! At least you won’t leave me looking like a fool.”

JongUp stayed silent. “Yeah...about that, don’t you think being friends with her younger sister is weird?”

“Hyung it’s more like a brother-sister relationship. She’s my Hyung’s baby cousin. I’m returning the favor of him always looking out for me.”

“Oh...haha. I guess if you put it like that-”

“It is like that,” Zelo said shortly. “Hyung, I gotta go. I’ve got to take care of something.”

He hung up the call and looked at the letter again. The last thing written at the bottom was “뽀 二.” One phrase and he had no idea what it meant. He assumed it as a hint, but hell if he knew what it actually was.

He began to spin the box in his hand. It didn’t have anything to do with DanHae, did it? He shook his head. Of course not. The last time they talked was months ago and they ended up yelling at each other. At what, he couldn’t remember. He just knew that he was picking up DanYi and ran into the older sister in the process. No matter hard he tried, it was just too difficult to keep away from her sometimes. She would just be there.

As he wallowed in his thoughts, another person joined him on the bench.

“Do you by chance know a Bang YongGuk or Bang NaMi?”

Still lost in his head he grunted a yes.

“Oh thank God. This is my third attempt to find you. I got lost and...hey are you even listening?” She looked at the boy that was staring off into space. Space that was in the opposite direction of her.

“Bwoh? Sorry, I was in a daze,” he apologized looking down at the box in his hands.

She couldn’t help but wonder if that box was for her, but she took his moment of dullness to size him up. He was tall and seemed to be slightly muscular. She didn’t see his face, but he sounded handsome. Maybe, she thought, maybe she should give this boy a chance.

“That's okay,” she smiled. She remembered the last thing written on her letter. Ask many questions. “So, how do you know the Bangs?”

He looked up at her with a huge grin and slitty eyes. “My hyung and...DanHae?”

“JunHong?!” Right then she took back everything she had thought about him being handsome. Although there was no denying it, she tried to erase every thought she had made from her mind. “What are you...Why are you...Bwoh?!”

“You should finish one of those questions,” he sighed rubbing the side of his face. “But I don’t know anything either. Hyung told me to come here.”

“He had me do the same,” she grunted pursing her lips. She folded her arms over her chest and crossed her legs. The motion caught Zelo’s eyes and he snuck a peek at her. She had grown well over the last few years and was looking rather beautiful. There was a familiar essence that she shared with her past self, but she looked so different. “Bowh?”

“Nothing, just thinking.” She was always so defensive. He began to wonder what happened to the cute DanHae that would secretly help him out of awkward situations.

“About what?” she snapped. “There can’t be much in that head of yours. You’re still in college.”

“So are you,” he growled.

“Yeah, I’ve only been in college for two years though. You’re working on your sixth.”

He rolled his eyes. She was going to start that ‘I’m-better-than-you’ thing again. He could feel it.

“What on Earth is taking you so long? You’ve already declared a major, right?!” She continued pressing the matter with nag after nag. It was like being stuck in a room with a disappointed parent, except this parent was younger than the child being scolded.  “Obviously you are taking your time.”

“I’m going to open my own dance studio in the fall. I just graduated.”

She looked at him and blushed in embarrassment but didn’t forget to mutter “Took you long enough.”

“I’ve been working to save money for a studio. Good studios in GangNam are expensive.”

“Woah, GangNam?! Are you serious? That’s crazy!” she awed.

“I want to be right by the major music companies. That way I can move around. JongUp and I are doing this together. Did he not tell you?” Zelo glanced up at the girl that played with her fingers.

“He doesn’t exactly talk about you."

“Yeah, he doesn’t talk about you either.” Zelo’s words came much harsher than he intended and he looked at the girl to make she he didn’t upset her. She merely ran her fingers through her bangs and looked across the park. “I expected as much.”

Zelo sighed. “So what’s been up with you? Anything new?”

A small smile crept across her face. “You say that like we never see each other.”

“Well, we don’t, and when we do we argue.” Zelo laid everything out bluntly. “I see DanYi all the time, but I don’t come into contact with you. It’s just how we are.”

She bit at her lip. “Why is that?”

“I dunno.”

“We do always argue, but what are they about?”

“Not sure. You start it.”

“I know I do, but why?”

He sat there and looked at his knees. “You know, it used to be the other way around. I would make fun of you, but I don’t think I ever started arguments.”

“So you’re saying this is all my fault?” she grunted.

“No, not at all. I’m just saying I think it’s funny that things are a bit reversed.”

“Why did you stop making fun of me? I kinda miss that.” Before he could speak she asked another question. “When was that anyways?” Question after question, he watched as she let down that wall she had help build between them. “I don’t think I quite understand. Why would we stop talking?”

He began to realize the message from the hint and leaned forward pecking her on the lips. He silenced her mid sentence and smiled. “Does that answer anything?”

Her eyes were wide, but she still didn’t understand.

“I acted that way because I was crushing on you, hard.”

“You,” she mumbled. “You liked me?”

“I guess I did,” he laughed looking away. “All I ever heard was ‘Oppa this’ and ‘Oppa that.’ It was so irritating but I didn’t understand why I thought so. Maybe I was jealous.”

She sealed her lips carefully and raised her eyelids to him. “So all this time, you didn’t hate me?”

Hate you? I could never hate you. If anything I cared too much.” He smirked at her. He took the box in his hand and placed it in hers. “Happy birthday.”

Somehow in ten minutes, the tension they had created over the past nine years slipped away. She pulled off the string and opened the lid.

“And, there’s one more thing,” he mentioned sliding his beanie off his head. A puff of blonde hair erupted from the tight fabric.

“Zelo,”  she awed letting the bouquet of origami flowers fall into her lap. She leaned into him and touched a lock of curls. “You’re hair...it’s...it’s back!” she giggled softly playing with his hair. “You don’t know how much I’ve missed it.”

Before she realized it, she was inches from his face and slowly gained eye contact. “DanHae, if you want...there’s more you can touch.”

Her fingers fell down to his jaw line and traced the bone structure. “You look so much older,” she breathed.

The right side of his mouth lifted into a smile and he closed the space between them. “So do you DanHae, so do you.”

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A/N: This is really it. No more ᅲ ᅲ
I thought that since they JUST won their award, I should give this up. TRK is officialy Done. Over. 끝.

I had to add Zelo's rap at the beginning because it just fit too perfectly. I mean, I was going to add his rap lines anyways (not into the story...) but the meaning fits just waaaaaaaay too well. It's as if I planned it >:D but in reality I didn't hehe

Winter break just started and I'm so excited to read all these fanfics that have pilled up! With all my exams and homework...I was lucky to find time to write ᅲ ᅲ My new phone was very helpful for proof reading thought ^^

This is the last time I will have it here, and I'm already at chapter 2 or 3 (I honestly can't remember)

 

SoRae, aka "Lucky," is an average girl with an unusual gift. She has the ability to give luck to anyone whom kisses her cheek.
With the prospects of making a new friend (DaeHyun), SoRae scrambles to hide this gift. She fears that he would call her crazy and leave. New feeling start to turn and she's unsure of what to do. It also doesn't help that her best friend YoungJae and her brother JongUp are teasing her, daring her to reveal her secret. What's a girl to do?

Somehow she must hide this gift and continue forward, but what if DaeHyun has thoughts of his own?

 

And this is a oneshot collect of one of my dear subbies~
I'll be honest, I'm B.A.P and Oneshot biased. So....I'll be fangirling if I write more. And toowhiteforkpop is a fantastic writer.

Casualty of Love (Oneshot Collection) - bap banghim daejae himjae himup jonglo banglo - main story image

@writingcrazed: totally missing you ;_; 3
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but I'm about to start re-reading WAJNC again! I'm so excited~ My parents are going to think I've going craji because I've locked myself in my room XD

@icecubeeater: thank you! honestly, I wrote that part on my phone while waiting for my history professor. I was laughing so hard that my friend asked if I was okay. Poor kid, if you only knew what I was writing....fanfiction

@toowhiteforkpop: *steals yogguk's scarf so you can wipe your eyes* ...this scarf for whatever reason it seems like him and Zelo are adding these into their outfits

@godspeedy: asdfghjkl;
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I grew up on shoujo manga. Thank you so much! I'm often told that I look/act like a manga character...being told that I write like that is asdfghjkl; okay. I'll stop typing...before I forget how. That's just a HUGE compliment to this has-been otaku. /I'mcryingokay?

@ieatriceHERE IT IS! ..or was. I couldn't leave them hanging >-< it would have killed me. Especially because I've got this motherly complex over Zelo. I need the boy to be happy in any situation.
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Thank you!
alovelyfall
I'll be uploading something like an epilogue again to The Red Knot. Hope you enjoy it ^^v

Comments

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shapphire
#1
Chapter 1: Heheh, she is half Japanese. Today I've met two stories, including yours, who involved Japanese (^-^)
Is this CRASH era? I didn't see the date of this story created. It's fun to have this kind of gift X]
pyjamagirl
#2
Chapter 33: Again, I like the dialogue alot. It rings true to me how you can bicker with someone you've known a long time without even knowing the reason.
pyjamagirl
#3
Chapter 32: It's a big, complicated family now! And trust Daehyun and Youngjae to be troublemakers. My favourite part of this is that you've kept Nami's character the same. She still wants to help people and spread love, even when she's in her own happy ending.
pyjamagirl
#4
Chapter 31: *sobs* I'm glad they've found their way back in this ending chapter. Himchan and Yumi have both pulled other people into their mess but what shows you are a great author is that you've managed to weave clues on the reasons for their behaviour through the story that helps keep the reader rooting for them. They could've come across as unsympathetic characters given their actions so its really nice work that as a reader I'm happy for them at this point despite the collateral damage.
pyjamagirl
#5
Chapter 29: It's nice to see a mix of playful, lightheartedness together with more sweet romance because I think otherwise it can seem to ring a bit untrue. To me I can picture the moments so well and it feels like I am watching a super cute made-for-each-other couple in real life and thinking "awww, I want that!"
pyjamagirl
#6
Chapter 28: I like how here you convey little things about the characters' personalities by how they interact with different people even in small moments.

Side note: You can draw too?! *shields eyes for fear of being blinded by the shining light of your talents*
pyjamagirl
#7
Chapter 27: Heh heh heh, I'm glad for a little light relief in this chapter. Zelo is always good for that!
pyjamagirl
#8
Chapter 26: So, I saved reading the rest of this story until I knew I'd have time to re-read all the preceding chapters and savour the new ones (eh-em, a year later...). Coming back to this I loved it even more. I realised/remembered that you are so good at writing dialogue and there are so few stories I've read that keep such a great balance of character and plot development with good pacing that keeps the writer well-engaged. Also, re-reading from the beginning I picked up some nice foreshadowing as well. In this chapter I really felt along with Nami about Yukiko's actions. Selfless, yes, but with that "what were you thinking?!" moment too. I can only think despite her best efforts its not going to end well.
KathyKaulitz2PM #9
Can I just say that I lost a few hours of sleep reading this fanfic because it was FREAKING GOSH DARNIT AMAZING??!! SO MANY FEELS! <3 You did such an absolute wonderful job :) now I'm going to have to tell my friends to read this story!
toowhiteforkpop #10
Chapter 34: :OOOOOOOOOOOO THAT WAS SO AWESOME OMG MY YONGGUK FEELS I COULD CRY RIGHT NOW OTL i'm sorry but i think i love this story more than you enjoy writing it :3