XXI.

Kibum’s birthday falls on a drizzly Thursday night. 

The kitchen was covered in pink decorations that he had chosen himself, seeing that pink was his favorite color. They all read things like “Happy Birthday!” and there were a couple of balloons floating around in the corners with the number eighteen on them.

Jinki, Nicole, Dongwoon, and Jennie (Jinki felt the need to invite her) had all arrived to celebrate his eighteenth year on Earth. Minho said he would arrive much later, after his friends left because he wanted Kibum to cherish the time with his friends first.

They all clap and sing “Happy Birthday” to him in a harmonious melody and once they were done Kibum made a wish and blew out the candles.

Dongwoon and Jinki smother him in icing once he was finished making his wish and Jennie plants a chaste kiss on his cheek, whispering another “happy birthday” into his ear.

Like Minho had instructed him too, he had been on plenty dates with Jennie, with Jinki and sometimes (dreadfully) without him. It was painfully awkward without his best friend being there but he gradually got used to her. She wasn’t that bad to be around, to be very honest. It just got weird whenever one of their dates would end and she’d expect a kiss goodbye, but not receive one. She just took it as Kibum’s lack of experience with girls.

Nicole and Dongwoon were his back up friends he spoke to when Jinki wasn’t around. He never opened up to them about personal matters like he did to Jinki. They were fun and nice though, and that was one of the many reasons why Kibum took a liking towards them in the first place.

His father was not in attendance because of an important meeting that was taking place in Indonesia. Fortunately he didn’t forget to leave Kibum a nice gift; a brand new shiny, black Bugatti with a red bow planted on top sat in the garage waiting for him to take it for a spin. Kibum’s had a license since he was sixteen but he never felt the need to use it since his family had its own personal chauffeur.

However, things had been changing around the house, all the housekeepers eventually got fired and the household was quieter than usual, especially after the workers were done with renovating the living room. It got really lonely so it made Kibum spend majority of his time after school at the hospital with his mother or with Jinki and his family.

The now eighteen year old boy glances at the clock and it reads ten-forty-five. They ate cake, played multiple rounds of truth or dare, and after that spent the rest of the time till now watching movies off of Netflix for hours. Everyone else appears tired, shown by their constant yawns and stretches.

“I hope you had a fun birthday party,” Dongwoon says, squeezing Kibum’s shoulder, as they walk out of the front door.

“I did,” he nods. He walks Jinki, Dongwoon and Nicole to their car –they carpooled together– and Jennie saunters to her own. “Thank you so much for coming.”

“Thanks for inviting us,” Jinki says.

“Drive safely, okay?” Kibum warns Dongwoon, who was going to be behind the wheel.

He notices Jennie still lingering outside of her car. Jinki hisses something at him but he can’t understand the first couple times so Jinki gives up trying to be quiet about it.

“Go talk to Jennie and make sure you do something spontaneous,” Jinki instructs. “She’s getting tired of waiting on you to make a move.”

Kibum mentally rolls his eyes but he tells Jinki that he understands and saunters towards Jennie’s blue Toyota Camry. She’s leaning against her car, twiddling her thumbs.

“Hey,” Kibum says and she looks up, smiling at him.

“Hi, Kibum,” she replies, a bit bashful. “I hope you like the gift I wrapped for you.”

“I’m grateful,” he replies, nodding. The breeze is soft, causing the trees to rustle restlessly in the background, and the atmosphere is awkward. “Well, um, I…” Kibum stares at his feet, searching for the right words.

“Look, Kibum, it’s been a nice couple of weeks with you,” Jennie decides to speak up first. “But I don’t think we’re meant for each other…”

“Oh, I totally agree!” Kibum replies almost instantly. He forces a laugh and scratches at the back of his neck. “Jinki completely misunderstood what I had said...”

Jennie nods slowly, taking in his words. “I see, well, happy birthday again.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Kibum replies as Jennie climbs into her car. “Goodnight, drive safely.”

“You too,” Jennie says, immediately she starts up the engine she sped off into the night. Kibum watches her car until it disappeared down the street.

Now it was just him and his big lonely house. He rubs his arm to warm up as he waits in hope to see another car – Minho’s car – pull up, but he doesn’t see it.

He returns to his warm home and flicks the lights back on. He sees Minho sitting on the couch, which had been covered in red and pink petals, with a bouquet in his hands.

“Y-You scared me!” Kibum shouts, holding his chest.

Minho just smiles. “Happy birthday, Bum.”

“How did you get in here?”

“I have my ways…” He gets ready to stand but Kibum hugs him back down onto the couch, straddling him down with both legs. The younger boy entangles his hands in his hair as he begins to kiss him deeply. The elder’s hands rest on his , giving it an occasional squeeze every now and again.

Kibum pulls away with a content sigh. The younger slides off Minho’s lap, only to be pulled right back on it. “How was your party?” Minho questions and rests his head in the crook of Kibum’s neck.

“It was alright,” Kibum explains the many events to him, even what happened with Jennie. “To tell you the truth, Minho, I don’t think I need a cover up. It just makes things awkward for me.”

Minho groans tiredly in response and Kibum finally notices his droopy eyelids.

“You must have had a long day, huh?” Kibum murmurs, gently caressing his cheek.

Minho’s response is inaudible again. The younger unlatches himself from Minho to go retrieve a duvet from the living room’s closet. When he returns, Minho was already fast asleep on the couch, snoring softly. Kibum covers him and plants a kiss on his temple. “Sleep well,” he whispers.

Minho rolls over and a red box falls from beneath the duvet. It catches Kibum’s attention as he adjusts the covers on Minho again.

He slowly opens it and it reveals a silver necklace with a large magically looking key on it. Kibum looks at it adoringly. Was this his birthday gift from Minho? How pretty. He gushes to himself. I wonder what the key is supposed to represent…

“Thank you, Minho,” he grins, happily.

/////

Light seeps through the windows and the sun was in the midst of coming up. Minho feels weightless, as if he were on a cloud, when he finally awakes from his slumber. He lets his heavy eyelids fall shut again – he was so comfortable and warm so all he wanted to do was to go back to sleep.

Wait a minute. He springs up and takes a look at his surroundings. Kibum was in the kitchen preparing the table. Once he realizes that Minho was awake and staring at him he stares back in adoration.

“Good morning, handsome,” Kibum says. He was already dressed in his uniform, hair neat and shiny in the light.  

The smell of bacon and eggs fills Minho’s nose and it was great. He covers his face, a bit embarrassed. “Why did you let me fall asleep?”

“You were really exhausted, babe, so I figured I should just let you sleep.”

“What time is it?”

“Still early,” he answers. “Come eat, I’m sure you’re hungry.”

Minho wipes the sleep from his eyes before he realizes something is missing from his pocket. He lifts up the duvet to look under it but it wasn’t there. Where could it be?

“Looking for this?” Kibum asks. He gestures towards the necklace that was secured around his neck.

“It’s your birthday gift… but I was supposed to be the one to put it on you,” Minho frowns; he was also supposed to ask Kibum a special question. Why did sleep have to interfere?

 “I love it, it’s gorgeous.” Kibum saunters over towards him and kisses him on the forehead. “What does the key represent?”

“You,” Minho says, causing the younger to raise a questioning eyebrow.  “It represents how you are the key to me and my problems…” You’re bringing out new things in me, that I never thought I had. He thought to himself since he felt it was too embarrassing to say aloud.

Kibum snorts. “Cheesy, but I like it.” He smiles. “You should come eat and then get ready. I have a lot of different body washes in the shower, plus you could borrow some of my dad’s suits.”

“Alright, but I think I’ll pass on your dad’s suits.” Minho lazily lifts himself up from the couch. “No offense but he’s a little… big.”

Kibum chuckles loudly. “None taken. Now hurry up, you only have about…” he glances at the nearby clock. “Thirty minutes – no, less than that!”

/////

Minho and Kibum arrive at the school about ten minutes late. Which didn’t seem to bother Kibum much, but Minho sighs as he would probably get scolded by his superior again. He knew his superior wouldn’t fire him –he was just too good of a teacher to let go– he just hated to hear her irritating monotone voice.

“Ugh, I smell so… fruity…” Minho groans as he took his key out of the ignition. A lot of Kibum’s body washes were very feminine and he wasn’t used to such a scent emitting from his body. It was so strong.

“It’s not that bad. I think you smell delicious,” Kibum replies, he leans over and plants a gentle kiss on Minho’s lips. The elder soon gets distracted by his minty, fresh breath and subconsciously deepens the kiss.

Kibum pulls away first. “Don’t get carried away,” he mimics Minho’s words. “Look at where we are.”

Minho laughs; he was right. “Let this woman pass, and then we can go,” he instructs, his eyes on the rearview mirror. A colleague of his was attempting to run towards the school’s front doors in her ridiculously high heels. Once she was gone, they both remove their seatbelts and climb out of his vehicles. The elder adjusts his satchel on his shoulder as he locks his car.

“Come on,” he pats Kibum on the (the younger shoots him a glare) gently. “Pick up the pace,”

The two were oblivious to the person that had been watching them since Minho pulled into his parking spot. They had seen everything; the passionate kiss they had shared and the subtle slap on the .

“Interesting,” the person’s straight, fiery red hair blew in the cool, morning wind as they smirk. “Choi Minho, what a scandalous life you live.”

That person was no other than Park Bom.

What was she doing in Genie High’s parking lot?

She had done a little homework on Minho, looking up his name on the internet and much to her surprise, a whole lot of information popped up. Very useful information. One of the things she learned was how intelligent he was; according to the many awards he was given. After finding out where he worked, out of the kindness of her heart she decided to bring him some breakfast donuts. She had been approaching the school building and recognized Minho’s vehicle in the middle of parking which made her stop in her tracks. She noticed two people inside and decided to hide herself behind a nearby car. With her head poked out a bit, she witnessed Minho and Kim Daeho’s son share a passionate kiss.

She laughs to herself evilly as she pulls out her cellphone; Yuhan definitely has to hear about this.

/////

At the end of his first period, Minho tells his class to enjoy the rest of their day plus their weekend as he did not assign any homework today. He lets out a tired sigh as he collapses down into his chair as his students pile out.

Like usual, Kibum stays behind to have a short chat with him. Minho can’t help but smile when he sees the necklace shine brightly around his neck.

“How’d I do on my test yesterday?” Kibum asks, biting his lip.

“I don’t know,” Minho shrugs. “I haven’t graded them yet because of a birthday party I had to attend last night. But I’m sure you did well – if I remember correctly your average is going up a bit.”

“Great, see you after school.” The younger winks before leaving and Minho can’t but stare at his as he walks out. He doesn’t remember the uniform pants being so tight like that. He begins to fan himself with a beige folder, feeling hot all of a sudden.

It’s been a while since I had … he thinks to himself, continuing to fan. … with Kibum? I can’t…but I want to… ugh… he’s only seventeen! He fans faster. He turned eighteen yesterday, idiot, have you forgotten already?

His mental argument was soon interrupted by a feminine voice.

“What’s wrong? High school boys got you all riled up?”

Minho eyes widen at the sight of Bom. He clears his throat and collects himself, sitting up straight and putting the folder back on the desk.

“What on Earth are you doing at my work place?” he demands, in a calm manner.

Bom ignores his questions and reveals the box of breakfast donuts she had been hiding behind her back. She places it on his desk, angrily.

She was angry.

Angry at herself for thinking she may have had feelings for this… this bastard.

“Look,” she says. “I don’t have a lot of time since your next class will arrive soon, but I’ll be back when the school day is over. Just know that your secret, Minho, isn’t so secret anymore.” And with that she flicks her long hair over her shoulders and makes her way out.

. Minho thinks to himself as he picks up the box of donuts and hurls them across the room in irritation. She knows, she knows… how can she know? Minho demands himself. He grips his hair and begins to pace back and forth. I was too careless… This is my entire fault. His heart pounds against his chest erratically as he kicks his desk, leaving behind a huge dent.

Students began to enter the room as the ringing of the bell sounded but Minho didn’t care. He was feeling too many things; rage, anxiety, uneasiness…

What, just what, did that woman have up her sleeves?