*plink* 

   *plink* 

   A small rock kept hitting my window. I knew it was Gikwang because he's the only person who would bother me this late. I listened to the small plinks until I couldn't take it anymore. They just kept coming.

   Where is he getting all of these rocks? 

   I groaned and opened my window. "What is it Gikwang?" I say. 

   "Took you long enough," he mutters. I lay my head on my window seal and waited for him to continue. When he doesn't, I make a move to close my window and go back to sleep.

   "Ae Rin," Gikwang says solemnly.

   "Yes?" I say and move closer to my window. 

   "What happened?" 

   I sighed. "You saw?" 

   "I always see." 

   After Doojun dropped me off, I came straight to my bedroom and cried. I don't know why I cried. Maybe it was because I miss him. Or because I'm still angry at him. Either way, Gikwang saw me cry. I rested my head against the window sill and before I know it, I was sobbing. A presence hovered over me. Gikwang must've crossed over from his house to mine. The distance between our windows weren't that far apart. He wrapped his arms around me and carried me to bed. There, he let me lie on his chest and cry my heart out. 

   "You know," Gikwang says, or was I dreaming? "You're gonna get through this. It's going to be hard, but you're gonna make it." I sniffed and hugged my best friend closer to me. 

   The next morning when I woke up, Gikwang was gone. I thought all of it was a dream, but then I found two sticky notes on my mirror. One was from my parents and the other was from Gikwang.

 

   'Morning, sunshine~ We're out for the whole day. Business trip :) We'll see you tomorrow morning. If you have any troubles, go to Gikwang's. Have a good day, honey~ <3 Mom & Dad' 

 

   The second note:

 

   'Yah! When you wake up, go downstairs ^^ Gikwang~' 

 

   I smiled at the notes and left them on my mirror as I washed up.

 

...

 

   "Whoa." I took in a deep breath as I looked around the living room. The coffee table was decorated into a cake. The candles of the 'cake' were really cups and the icing of the words were actually spoons and forks. 

   "Happy birthday," a voice said softly. Gikwang wrapped his arms around me, giving me a back hug. "Do you like it?" 

   I smiled and leaned into his arms. If someone saw us, they'd think we were a couple. "Where's my cake?" I teased. 

   "I didn't have time to go buy you one so..." he says, "I made you this." 

   "You didn't have time to buy me a real cake, but you had time to decorate a coffee table to make it look like cake?" I say, giggling. 

   "Yes." I turned around and gave him a proper hug, putting my arms around his neck. 

   "Thank you," I mumbled. Gikwang pulls away from me and smiles.

   "Come on, let's eat." Gikwang tells me to sit on the couch while he gets our food ready. Meanwhile, I checked my phone for any messages and found one from Kyung Mi. 

   'Happy birthday!!! ^_^ Don't come to work today! I got Boss to give u a free nite~ Enjoy it while it lasts and dont do anything I wouldn't do~!!! XD' 

   I laughed and put my phone away just as Gikwang enters the room. He's holding a bright blue cake with 19 candles on it. "Happy birthday to you~" he starts singing. "Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday dear Ae Rin~~~~~ Happy birthday to YOU!!!!" I grinned and watched him put the cake on the cake decorated coffee table. "Make a wish." I closed my eyes and pretend I'm wishing for something. A moment later, I'm blowing out the candles.

   "Thank you, bestie," I say after I'm done. He just smiles at me and we eat our cake together.  

 

...

 

   At school, I receive a bunch of presents from my soccer team and my other friends. 

   "Whoa, what's the big celebration?" Doojun asks as he approaches his locker. I hold up the balloons someone left at my locker and show it to him. He reads the 'Happy Birthday' on it and his eyes widen. "Today's your birthday?"

   "Obviously," I say sarcastically, but a smile escapes my lips. 

   "Happy birthday." Doojun crosses the space between us and gives me an awkward side hug. 

   "Whoa, there. Hands off my girl," Gikwang says, breaking us apart. 

   Doojun's eyes widen and looks from me to Gikwang and back again. "I'm sorry. I thought- Ae Rin said... Gikwang, it's not-" 

   Gikwang laughs and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Dude, I'm just kidding." Doojun relaxes but I still see tension in his eyes. 

   For the rest of the day, I'm greeted with more 'happy birthdays' and Gikwang teases me on how popular I am. I just ignore him, but can't keep the goofy smile off my face. After school, I change into my soccer warm-ups but once I got outside, Coach tells me to go home and have a happy birthday. I frown and walk back in. I was actually looking forward to practice today. 

 

...

 

   "Yah, wait up!" a voice yells from behind me. I turned around and saw Doojun running towards me and my car. His hair was wet from the shower and his sister, Baek Hee, was following in behind him. 

   "What?" I say as he comes closer. 

   "Can you do me a favor?" he says. "Sorry to ask you on your birthday..." He lowered his head and waited for my answer. I glanced at Baek Hee, who was inspecting her nails, and considered. 

   "What is it?" I said. 

   Doojun purses his lips and says, "We need a ride home." 

   "Is that it?" I say, surprised. "I thought you were gonna ask for something big, but if it's driving you home, then yeah, I'll do it."

   "Really?" Doojun says. 

   "No," Baek Hee says sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Come on, oppa." She sighs dramatically and gets in the back of my car. 

   "I'm sorry about her," Doojun says and glares at Baek Hee. "And thanks for driving us home." 

   "Uh-huh." I nod and get behind the wheel. "No problem."

 

...

 

   Baek Hee slams the door shut and leaves my car. No 'thank you' or anything. "You have an amazing sister," I muttered sarcastically. 

   Doojun sighs. "You'll get used to it," he says. "Now, get out of the car." 

   I raised my eyebrows. "You have some nerve," I say. Doojun laughs and gets out of the car. "Bye!" I yell and was about to leave the driveway when Doojun suddenly opens my door.

   "What are you-" but before I could finish, he pulls me out of the car and throws me over his shoulder. "Yah! What the-!" Doojun opened the passenger door and threw me inside. My head banged against the seat and I cried out in pain. 

   "Ooh, sorry about that," he said, turning to his sister who gaped at us from the front door. "Bye, dongsaeng!" Doojun entered the car and sped away from the driveway. 

 

...

 

   "Where are we?" Doojun finally stopped the car an hour later, and I found myself staring at a field of grass. He gets out of the car and motions for me to follow. I sigh and get out of the car. There was no point in arguing with him. It's either he gets his way, or there's no way at all.  "What are we doing here?" I ask again.

   "Look." He leads me to the end of the clearing and points to a far away place. I craned my neck to see and squinted my eyes. About a million miles away, I saw teeny tiny lights shimmering in the distance. "That's your birthday present," Doojun whispers in my ear. 

   I shivered and he puts an arm around me. "Are you cold?" he asks. I shake my head and take a step away from him. 

   "N-No," I manage to say. 

   "Liar," he mutters as he touches my skin, which sends multiple ripples down my back. "Here." Doojun takes off his jacket and puts it around me. 

   I closed my eyes and tried not to remember the distant memories coming back to me. But I couldn't. The memories at the back of my mind made me remember what I've been trying to bury. 

   It was almost a year ago when I'd been to an amusement park. JB took me there for my birthday. Usually, I'd have a dinner with my family and Gikwang would spend the night, but not that year. JB 'kidnapped' me in the morning and we skipped school for the rest of the day. He took me to Everland and we'd spend the whole day there. I still had the two boxes of prizes he'd won for me buried deep in my closet. When night came, he took me to his house. No, we didn't have or anything, if that's what you're thinking. JB and I sat on his rooftop and watched fireworks for the whole night until we both fell asleep. 

   "-Rin." Doojun waved his hand in front of my face and brought me back from the past. I blinked rapidly. "Ae Rin, are you okay? You look a little sad." 

   I swallowed the bump in my throat and smiled at him. "I'm fine," I said. "So, are we still up for the carnival?" 

   His eyes brightened. "You really want to go?" he asks with raised eyebrows. 

   "Heck yes I want to go!" I said and jumped in the car, leaving my memories in the cold night behind me. Doojun smiled, got in the car, and drove away.

 

...

 

   "Ahhhhhhhh!!!!" Our screams grew louder and louder as we dropped to the bottom. Then, the ride was over. Doojun and I left the station in a fit of giggles. "Yah, that was too short," he complains. 

   "Yeah, but it was amazing," I say and punch him lightly. We've been at the park for about two hours now and it was about time for closing. Ahead of us, I saw a ferris wheel in motion. "I think i just found our last ride," I say and make a run for it with Doojun right on my heels. 

   "Yah, are you sure this is sturdy?" Doojun gripped the bars on his sides and looked down from the window.

   "What? Is Yoon Doojun afraid of ferris wheels?" I teased. 

   Doojun looks up and his already-green face flushes red. "Stop it," he says. 

   I lean forward and an eyebrow. "Stop what?" I say and move next to him. 

   I watch Doojun swallow and turn his head. "Stop with all the teasing," he says quietly. 

   "Or what Yoon Doojun?" I say, crossing my arms. 

   This time, it's Doojun who leans forward. "Or I'll kiss you." 

 

 

---

 

 

Whoo.. I had fun writing this chapter ^-^
Hope you guys enjoyed it too :)
I'll try to update as much as I can.. :3
Thanks for reading!