Seungho’s POV

“Why are you so stupid?” I smacked my forehead as I headed upstairs.

I found a nice spot and sat down to wait for her. I have never been up here before. We never had the time to. Every night when we return to the dorm, we are all drained. We would shower and just sleep.

While waiting for her, I stared out at the lighted buildings in front of me. All the lights together, it was so beautiful. I did not have to go up some mountain or some ferris wheel to see the whole of Seoul. All I had to do was to come up to the rooftop of our dorm, but I never realized it.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” A voice said.

I turned back and saw Minji standing a distance away from me.

“Yea.” I said, smiling.

“Sometimes, all we have to do is to look, and we’ll find beauty. But most of the time, people are always rushing here and there, therefore a lot of beauty is being overlooked.” She said.

I nodded.

“Seungho ah~” She called out.

“Yes, darling?” I asked.

“Happy birthday.” She said, squatting down.

I looked at her, unsure as to what she was trying to do.

She picked up a lighter and lit up the candles, revealing a panda cake.

“PANDA AGAIN!!!” I laughed.

“It’s going to be panda sshi haunting you for the whole of your birthday.” She giggled.

I wanted to go over, but she stopped me.

“Just stay there. Come later.” She said.

“Why?” I asked.

She sat down in front of the cake and pulled out a guitar from behind her.

“Remember what I said before about playing the guitar for you?” She asked.

“Are you going to do it now?” I asked, feeling excited.

“Yes, and if you laugh, I’m pushing you off the roof.” She said.

“Ahhh~ So this is why we’re here today.” I .

“Exactly.” She stuck out her tongue at me.

“Go on, I’m all ears.” I clapped, encouraging her.

I did not need the light to tell me how red Minji’s cheeks were now. She was obviously embarrassed. She cleared and strummed the guitar randomly.

She let out a loud sigh, and then crack her knuckles.

“Oh my~” I muttered.

“What!? I’m a gangster!” She showed me her fist.

“I’m scared~” I .

“When I am exhausted, Lucky in my life You come to me, as if in a dream When I sadly fall asleep, Lucky in my dream You warmly hold me tight~” She started singing as she played the guitar.

My jaw dropped. Minji is singing? For me?

“I always smile like this Even though the world is difficult I will never show my tears Even if you don’t know my feelings Even if it is from far away, I am grateful That I can cherish your smile~” She continued singing.

“Oh my god.” I muttered, not able to believe my ears.

She sounded a little shaky, perhaps due to fear, but other than that, Minji sings as well as she paints. I am amazed.

“When I want to cry, Lucky in my love You look so cool in my imagination When I feel depressed, Lucky in my world You always hold me tight, as if in a dream~” She finally looked up at me.

“Darling…” I could not hide my smile at all.

“I always smile like this Even though the world is difficult I will never show my tears Even if you don’t know my feelings Even if it is from far away, I am grateful That I can cherish your smile~” She stood up and started walking towards me.

“Everything is beautiful, I am so happy I fill this lonely world with my wishes~” I stood up and pushed her fringe out of her face. She giggled a little, but did not stop singing.

“I always smile like this Even though the world is difficult I will never show my tears Even if you don’t know my feelings Even if it is from far away, I am grateful That I can cherish your smile~” She ended the song and smiled at me.

“Happy birthday, Lucky.” She said.

“Thank you so much~” I said, hugging her tight.

“I’m not the best singer, but I hope… you get my message. I really, really feel lucky having you in my life. Thank you so much.” She said.

“I’m the lucky one, silly. And come on, you sing as well as you paint.” I caressed her back.

“No, I paint better.” She laughed.

“I think my panda cake is on fire.” I said.

“OH DAMN!!” She pushed me away and ran towards the cake.

“You’re supposed to blow your own candles!” She ran back to me and dragged me over.

I blew off the candles and she cheered loudly like a mad woman.

“Are you okay?” I laughed.

“Make your wishes!” She said excitedly.

“But I already blew off the candles.” I said.

“Ayeee it was an emergency! They will understand!” She said.

“Who are they?” I asked.

“The ones that grant your wishes. Don’t ask so much! Make your wishes! Be quick!” She smacked my arm.

“First wish, I wish for our everlasting happiness.” I said.

“Ayeeeeee~ So cheesy!” She giggled, smacking my arm countless times.

“Second wish, I wish that MBLAQ would remain together for as long as time permits.” I said.

She nodded.

“Last wish,” She stopped me before I could continue.

“You’re not supposed to say this out!” She said.

“Oh, okay.” I said, closing my eyes.

“Done.” I smiled, opening my eyes.

“What did you wish for?” She asked curiously.

“If I tell you, wouldn’t it defeat the purpose of not saying it out?” I asked.

“Oh yea hee~ Let’s eat the cake!” She said excitedly.

Last wish, I wish for Minji to be healthy.

***
After eating the cake, we continued to sit at the rooftop, admiring the sky. She lied on my lap while I played with her hair.

“Enjoying your birthday so far?” She asked.

“Of course.” I said, poking her nose lightly.

She sat up and looked at me in my eyes.

“Yea?” I asked.

“I really have no idea what to get you.” She said.

“Isn’t this enough? You’ve been running around all day long just for my birthday. Isn’t it enough?” I asked.

“A present is still a must.” She said, taking out a small box.

“I wanted to get you a laptop, but you seem to have a whole range of laptops already, I wanted to get you other gadget stuff, but you really… seem to have everything. What I got you is something you have too, but… I hope you like it.” She said, handing the box to me.

“You really didn’t have to do this.” I said, staring at the box in my hands.

“Come on, just say thank you.” She said.

“Thank you.” I smiled.

“Open it.” She said.

I tore off the wrapper carefully. I opened the box, revealing a watch. I did not recognize the brand, but from the looks of it, it is not cheap.

“Oh gosh~ How much did you spend on this thing?” I asked.

“Who asks the price of the birthday present!” She slapped my thigh.

“And besides, it’s not the price that matters! You don’t like it?” She asked, sounding sad.

“No! I love it! But.. it looks so expensive, and I really don’t like the idea of you spending so much money on me.” I said.

“The moment I saw it, I thought of you. That’s what matters, darling.” She kissed my cheek.

I took the watch out from the box to try it on, but my eyes saw something else. On the back of the watch, there were engravings; ‘Don’t count the moments. Make the moments count.’

I smiled at the wordings.

“You’re always busy, always worrying about everything that’s happening around the world, always on the go. You’re always counting the moments, looking at the time, but you don’t make any sense out of it. You’re not appreciating the moment. When was the last time you actually sit down and did something for yourself, or thoughts about something affecting you and you only? I want you to remember that while we have responsibilities, we are responsible for ourselves too. Spend some time for yourself too, darling. Please.” She said.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” I smiled, pulling her to lean against my chest.

“My baby girl must be so tired today~” I said, smoothing her hair.

“Yea~ So damn tired. But all worth while.” She chuckled.

“So, did you actually forget my birthday?” I asked.

“Of course not! Did you think all these was planned in a day?” She asked.

“No. How did you do it then?” I asked, feeling curious.

How did she manage to appear as a panda and deliver the food to me at the same time?

“I’m a ninja.” She laughed.

“Come on~ Tell me~” I pleaded.

“I was running all over the place. When I called you in the morning, I was on the way to your dorm. I handed the food to the reception, and then I went off to be the panda. After you got on the van, I rushed to the airport.” I stopped her before she could continue.

“To the airport? For what?” I asked.

“I wasn’t lying when I said I went to Taiwan. But I lied about the three days. It was actually just three hours.” She said.

“You really went to Taiwan!? For what?” I was shocked.

“For your watch.” She said.

“You went all the way to Taiwan to get this watch!?” I exclaimed.

“Well, they only have it there, so… yea.” She smiled.

“Oh my goodness.” I hugged her tight.

“Do you want to continue listening?” She asked.

“Yes, please.” I said.

“After I collected your watch, I came back just in time for your lunch. I already had most of the stuff made before I left, so I decorated it, delivered, and went to become the panda again. After scaring you, I headed to the supermarket to buy ingredients for dinner. I came back to your dorm, baked the cake, and went out to scare you again.” She seemed really proud about scaring me.

“Did you… by any chance… planned this with the boys?” I asked.

“Smart panpy!” She poked my cheek.

“I had to make sure they left us alone, right? But before you start yelling at them, I did not tell them the full story, all I told them was that I was going to give you a surprise dinner, so I pleaded them to go somewhere else.” She said.

“So they went to the noaraebang.” I said.

“No, actually… They’re at Junhyung’s place.” She said.

“HAHAHA! I see~” I laughed.

“But wait, so why did you chase me?!” I asked.

“That…. was just for fun.” She chuckled.

“Really funny huh?” I tickled her.

“Owww owww owww don’t do that please please please my stomach really hurts.” She said.

I stopped and looked at her worriedly.

“Why? Are you alright?” I rubbed her stomach.

“It’s a monthly thing. No worries.” She winked.

“So that’s true too?” I asked.

“Yea, but of course I wasn’t changing my… you know.. pad. I was getting ready for that embarrassing performance.” She said.

“It’s not embarrassing. It’s amazing.” I said.

She shook her head.

“Want me to get you some painkillers?” I asked.

“No need.” I said.

“Did you eat your medication for your anemia?” I asked.

“I did, or else how did you think I could run about all day like this?” She laughed.

“Aww~” I patted her cheek.

We shared a comfortable silence, partly because she was tired and in pain. She was starting to yawn and also look really uncomfortable.

“Does it hurt a lot? What can I do?” I asked.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” She smiled.

“What’s the time now?” She asked, pulling my wrist down to her eyelevel.

“OH! IT’S 12.40AM! HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!!” She yelled excitedly.

“You’re the only one who would wish like this.” I laughed.

She shrugged her shoulders and grinned.

“Let’s get you back down. You need to sleep.” I said.

“But I’m in a really comfortable position. I don’t feel like moving.” She said.

She was lying on my lap, hugging my arm.

“Then don’t move.” I said, gently lifting her head before standing up.

“Are you going to leave me here?” She pouted.

“Of course not.” I said.

I carried her up, holding her close to me.

“I’ll walk really slowly, so you can sleep.” I said.

“Let me down! I’m heavy!” She struggled.

“What’s heavy? Sleep tight, love.” I kissed her forehead.

“It’s such a short walk down, who falls asleep so quickly.” She said, arms circled around my neck.

Even before I reached our dorm, she was already in dreamland.

“You. You fall asleep so quickly.” I whispered.

I did not want to turn on the lights of in our dorm despite knowing she is dead asleep. I did not want to risk waking her up in any way. I found my way to my room and the side light with my feet. I kicked it to face the wall and at the same time shield her face with my body so that the light would not be shining at her.

“Don’t wake up. Don’t wake up.” I muttered as I kicked my blanket aside to lay her on the bed.

Underneath my blanket, I saw a mint colour envelope. I took the envelope with my toes before putting her down on the bed.

I grabbed one of my shirt, wanting to change her into more comfortable clothes. I pulled down the zipper of her panda suit but suddenly remembered that she said she did not have anything underneath.

“Don’t be a ert.” I muttered to myself as I pulled the suit down.

She had a tank top inside. Why did she say she wasn’t clothed? Then I remembered, Minji’s insecure about her arms, that is why sleeveless to her is considered ‘underwear’.

I slipped the shirt over her head. She was so asleep I felt like I was changing the clothes of a doll. I pulled the rest of the suit off her after being positive that she would be wearing shorts.

I wiped her clean before leaving her to sleep.

“Sleep tight, my darling. Thank you for everything.” I kissed her on her forehead.

I went to get change before going back to my room. I sat on the floor beside her, looking at the mint colour envelope. I opened it and pulled out the content. It was a letter.

Were you disappointed when I did not seem to remember your birthday, Lucky? Ayeee~ You know it’s not possible! How could I ever forget?! Tsk tsk~ Happy birthday, Lucky. Time flies, right? How long as it been since we met? I don’t know. I lost count of the months. But does it matter? No. We’ve been through a lot and because of my condition, a few occasions, it was really painful for you. I’m sorry.

Don’t mind me saying this, Lucky, but my life is short. You know it, don’t you? After I left my father, I never expected to show any emotion to anyone else. Not because I am angry at the world, but because I did not want another person to be hurt because of me. But unfortunately for you, I fell for you.

I never really told you this, Lucky, but…. You made me human again. I was cold and just shut out from the world. All I wanted to do was to paint. I wanted to paint as much as I could because I could die any time.

But you, you made me put my paintbrush down and just listen to you. You made me put my paintbrush down and pick up the phone to text you, to call you. You are the only other thing on my mind, apart from art. I should hate you for spoiling my plan, but Lucky, thank you, thank you for letting me realize how good it is to actually be able to care for someone again.

I call you Lucky, not because I want to tease you or make you sound like a dog. Nothing of that sort, really. I call you Lucky because I want to remind myself how lucky am I to have you. I don’t deserve you at all, but I have you. Each time I call out for you, it is a reminder to myself; I’m lucky, I’m lucky, Minji, you’re so ing lucky to have Yang Seungho. 

Thank you for always being there, thank you for enduring my ridiculous attitude, and also, my father (I don’t know exactly what he told you, but I know he said nasty stuff to you. Nothing pleasant comes out from that man’s mouth), thank you giving me so much and asking for practically nothing in return. Thank you for staying in my life despite having all the reason in the world to leave me. Thank you, my darling.

I love you, I love you, I love you, don’t ever forget that. I love you.

P.S. And, stop giving me your organs, thank you very much XD

I folded the letter and slipped it back into the envelope. I turned to look at Minji who was snoring softly by now.

“Don’t give me all the credit, silly. I’m one ing lucky man to have you too.” I said softly.

I spend the whole night watching her sleep, hushing her back to sleep at her slightest movement. Minji said to make the moments count, didn’t she? Every moment I spend watching her is a precious moment. Does that count?

***
When Minji sang and played the guitar for him

Panda cake

Minji's present for Seungho

When Seungho heard how Minji ran around all day just for the surprise