“Oppa, the cake is here. Can you go up and collect it?”

“Why me?”

You turned to glare at Himchan, who was lounging against a beanbag chair and playing with his iPod. “Okay, okay, I’m going.” He stood up, motioning for Hyosung to follow him before the couple disappeared out of the door.

You sat down on the floor with a huff, wrestling your messy hair into a high bun before returning to your task at hand—wrapping Yongguk’s birthday present. You were in the recording studio with your brother and Secret, trying to get an event together for Yongguk’s birthday while the boys were at their last Inkigayo recording. Beside you, Sunhwa fanned you with her lyrics sheet, laughing. “You need to relax, Hana. You still have time!”

“Suk Goo oppa sent me a text to say they’re on the way back from SBS!” you insisted, checking your phone again. The last text had been sent five minutes ago, and it wasn’t going to take too long for them to get back. You attacked a roll of tape, snipping at it mercilessly with your pair of scissors. You were never one who worked well under pressure.

“I’ll call oppa and tell him to drive slower,” the other Hana offered, looking up from her lyrics. It was weird working together at first because the two of you kept getting confused whenever someone called for ‘Hana’, but it had been decided that she’d be Big Hana and you’d be Little Hana whenever the two of you were together, since she was a year older than you.

“Let me help,” Ji Eun said, kneeling beside you and holding your wrapping paper in place so you could tape it down. It was a little awkward being around her, after that conversation you’d overheard in the bathroom, but Ji Eun either didn’t notice your awkwardness, or kindly chose to ignore it. It was hard for you not to like her because she was so nice, even though she was technically your rival. You had to admit, if you were Yongguk, you would have chosen her. However, luckily for you, feelings worked in strange ways, and somehow he’d chosen you, as messed up as you were. Still, you couldn’t help feeling slightly threatened by her, knowing how she could easily replace you. Following Ji Eun’s lead, Sunhwa, too, sat down beside you and unraveled a roll of ribbon. With the girls’ help, you were able to finish up much quicker.

Himchan and Hyosung returned with the cake, and all five of you gathered around it, opening up the box to check its contents. You had been worrying all morning about all the little things, but your spirits lifted when you saw the cake. You hadn’t been sure if it’d turn out well since you’d only given your instructions to the bakery staff over the phone, but the cake was beautiful. It was shaped like Tigger, his favorite cartoon character, hugging a smaller human figurine, which was meant to be Yongguk; a Shishi Mato figurine sat on one of Tigger’s legs, with the words “Daddy Happy Birthday” emblazoned across the front. It was Himchan’s idea to replace Yongguk’s name with the word “Daddy”, since your kids were so important to him, and it matched your present, which was essentially a compilation of cards from all the children he was fostering. The words were written in English instead of Hangul, representing how your makeshift family consisted of children from all over the world.

“Omo, it’s so cute!”

The girls went crazy over the cake, squealing and gushing, while Himchan merely rolled his eyes, giving you a pointed glare. “It should be, considering its price tag.”

“Ya, you were the one who insisted on splitting it with me!” you reminded him, returning his glare with one of your own.

“You didn’t need to buy an especially expensive one just because I’m paying for half of it!” he complained. “Why do you have to waste all this money when you know he’d be happy even with a slice of bread, as long as you’re the one giving it to him?”

“I didn’t know you were so unromantic,” Sunhwa said, shaking her head at him. “Poor Hyosung unnie.”

“It’s incredibly romantic,” Himchan corrected her. “Last year on his birthday, he had a bit too much to drink and he told me that his birthday wish was for someone to be here.” He glared at you again. “And this someone didn’t even wish him a happy birthday. So, this year, if this someone is just present, I’m sure he’d be so happy that he wouldn’t be able to stop smiling because last year’s birthday wish came true.”

Hyosung nudged him. “Ya, why are you bringing up all these unhappy things again?”

Big Hana held up the roll of ribbon that you had been using in an attempt to lighten the mood. “Come over here; I’ll wrap you up for Yonggukkie.”

You laughed as you dodged the loop of ribbon that she tossed at you. You and Yongguk were over the whole issue about you running away, but pangs of guilt still hit you whenever anyone mentioned how badly affected Yongguk had been during that time. As much as you hadn’t intended to, you had really destroyed him when you’d left.

Junhong burst into the room at this point, breathless as he announced in a loud stage whisper, “Yongguk hyung is coming!”

That sent all of you into a frenzy as everyone scurried to stash the cake and the presents anywhere they could reach, while you hastily shoved all your craft materials under the messy pile of sheet music and lyrics on the work station. As everyone scrambled for their seats, you settled yourself in front of the computer monitor and pretended to work. Ji Eun made a run for the recording room and had just managed to pull on her headphones when the door of the studio opened and the rest of the boys filed in.

With loud groans and complaints of exhaustion, the boys settled around Himchan, who was now casually lounging on the couch. You concentrated hard on your screen, although you had no idea what you were recording. Yongguk came up behind you, resting his arm on the back of your chair to look at what you were doing. You turned to look up at him, pretending to be surprised as you pulled one side of your headphones off. “Oh, hey, you’re back.”

He smiled down at you, nodding. “What are you doing?”

“We’re re-recording some parts that didn’t turn out so well,” you fibbed, laughing nervously. “How was your recording? Did lots of fans turn up?”

He nodded again, looking almost embarrassed. “Yeah. They sang me the birthday song and cheered really loudly during my parts. It was nice.”

“Oh, happy birthday, by the way,” you said, pretending to have forgotten. You stood up and gave him a quick hug. “I’m sorry, I’ve been so swamped with work lately that I haven’t had time to do anything. When we’re done with this album, I’ll make it up to you, I promise. I’ll take you out to a nice dinner, okay?”

Yongguk continued smiling and tried to hide his disappointment, but you noticed that little twitch of his brows that usually indicated some kind of distress. It was so quick that most people wouldn’t have noticed it, but you were so attuned to his moods that it failed to escape you. “That’s fine. Work’s more important. We don’t have to do anything. I’m just glad you’re here.” He paused as his eyes caught sight of something, and he reached into your messy hair, coming away with a piece of sticky tape. “Why is there tape in your hair?”

“Oh. How did that get there? Ha ha…” You were a horrible liar. You laughed a little too loudly, and Himchan stood up, hearing the keening SOS signals in your voice. He came over to the two of you and grabbed Yongguk’s arm.

“Bbang, our fans sent so many presents,” he said, tugging Yongguk away from you. “We piled everything in the conference room. You should come take a look and open them up.”

“I wanna see!” Sunhwa piped up, following them. Her excitement was infectious and got everyone else excited about shifting over to the conference room. After a whirlwind of laughter, chatter and a significant amount of fussing, you were left in the studio with Hyosung and Jongup.

Hyosung laughed as she carefully pulled the cake out of its hiding place under the table. “Hana, you’re such a lousy liar. I’m sure he’s already figured out that you’re only pretending to forget his birthday.”

“I tried!” you protested, uncovering your present. You turned to Jongup, who was standing aside looking willing to help. “Jonguppie, can you open up that box over there?”

Jongup obeyed and opened up the box in the corner of the room, pulling out a remote-controlled toy truck. You tossed him some batteries and he got to work on setting the gadget up. The moment he managed to get the toy running, you put your present on top, sticking a note on it that read, “You thought I’d really forgotten, didn’t you?”

While Jongup controlled the truck, you helped Hyosung stick candles on the cake, and the three of you moved out towards the conference room. You held the door open while Jongup manoeuvred the truck into the room, catching everyone’s attention. You couldn’t really see Yongguk’s reaction since you were trying to hide behind the door, but you heard the thud of the box falling to the ground before it reached him. Despite all your measurements and estimation, the truck was still slightly too small to hold your present. You heard some laughter, then a shuffle of movement, and then the ripping of wrapping paper.

You poked your head around the corner just in time to see Yongguk lift a bright orange card from the box. His face lit up and the corners of his mouth turned upwards as he read the card. Then he returned it to the box and picked up another card, the same rapt expression on his face. It warmed your heart to see him so happy. It was worth all the trouble you’d gone to, making dozens of phone calls to arrange for his foster children to send cards in time for his birthday. During the time you were in Cambodia, he’d started sponsoring more children from other countries on his own, and it was a real chore coordinating with different volunteers in different countries, most of whom didn’t even speak the same language. Not to mention, it was tough trying to snoop through his messy piles of documents in the dorm and at work for the papers to find out exactly which kids were his without getting caught. All that effort, you knew was worth it when you saw his smile.

You watched him sift through the box for a couple of minutes before Himchan caught your eye and tilted his head towards Yongguk. You nodded and gestured to Hyosung and Jongup to light the candles. Himchan tapped Daehyun on the shoulder, and Daehyun moved towards the light switch. The moment Hyosung gave you the signal, you flashed an “okay” sign to Daehyun, and he flicked off the lights.

“Happy birthday to you…”

The three of you entered the dark room, illuminated only by the light from the candles. Hyosung had started singing first, but taking her cue, everyone started singing and clapping loudly too. Yongguk remained sitting on the floor, smiling amidst the mess of boxes and torn wrapping paper. When Hyosung waded through the carnage and reached him, he stood up, clapping along with everyone else. You stayed behind instead of following Hyosung, stopping beside their manager, who was taking photos with his cell phone.

“Hyung, make a wish!”

“You can make a different one this year!” Himchan joked, causing Yongguk to laugh an awkward laugh as he clasped his hands together, his eyes flicking to you for a second.

“Make one that involves BAP, please!” their manager called out loudly, prompting laughter from everyone else.

“What about us?” Hyosung protested.

“Ya, guys, I only have one wish,” Yongguk cut in. “I need it for myself.”

He closed his eyes for a few seconds, then opened them again and blew out the candles. Everyone applauded, and Daehyun turned the lights back on. Yongguk’s eyes sought you out quickly, and he flashed you a grateful smile.

“Photo time!” their manager announced, nudging you forward. Simultaneously, Youngjae called out, “Hana noona first!” This prompted Big Hana to jokingly step forward and link arms with Yongguk, which drew jeers from everyone.

“I’m kidding, he’s all yours,” she said, holding up her hands in surrender and moving away. Yongguk stretched out an arm to pull you to his side, putting an arm around your shoulder to pose for a photograph. Both of you smiled brightly for the camera.

“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

Daehyun started the chant, and everyone chimed in, even the innocent makdoongies. Only Himchan refused to participate. “Ya, don’t ask them to kiss!” he whined, but nobody paid any attention to him.

Yongguk flushed bright red, but you merely laughed and turned to their manager. “I’m only going to do this for a second, so make sure you catch it, oppa!” You stood on tiptoes and placed your hands on Yongguk’s shoulder for support, before planting a kiss on his cheek. You could feel the blush that warmed his face. The room burst into cheers and laughter.

“Come on, is that all?” Daehyun teased, and Himchan shoved him rather violently. “Ya, stop it! You’re too noisy!”

Amidst all the commotion, Yongguk slid an arm around your waist and kissed the top of your head. You couldn’t help smiling at each other like two dorky, love-struck teenagers. At least, that’s what he looked like, and you assumed you must have looked similarly silly. “Thank you,” he said softly. “The present is really special.”

You smiled coyly at him, deliberately tracing your finger down the front of his chest. “If you think that’s special, wait till you see what I have in store for you tonight.”

Author's note: Just really wanted to write a little bit about BangDay and the interaction between the two groups. This took a while, but I will try to put up the next part soon!

Also, I really wanted to share something exciting with you guys... I'M GOING TO SEE BAP LIVE IN AUGUST!!!!! :D \o/ *does crazy dance* As expected, trying to get my hands on a ticket was a harrowing experience. Most other concerts I've attended held ticket sales online, but this time round, they held a physical pre-sale (and everyone knows that pre-sale means the actual sale because nobody who knows their math would wait till the "official" sale date) and a friend and I queued 11 FREAKING HOURS before we got the tickets. There were already people queuing from two nights in advance, so unfortunately, I was unable to get my hands on Category 1 tickets T.T but I managed to get the next best category, so I suppose I can probably still see the boys without using binoculars. Very few of my Kpop obsessed friends even knew who BAP were, so I assumed that there wouldn't be too many people queuing for tickets, but I was so wrong. Clearly, they're mad popular in Singapore! I'll probably feel really proud of them once I stop being sore about having to queue for 11 hours. Can't wait for August!!!!!

Thank you guys so much for your continuous support even when I go through patches of writers' block. Sometimes I read older chapters and I think "Wtf am I writing?" but through it all, good or bad, you guys have given me nothing but positive comments and lots of encouragement. On Microsoft Word, this story is already about 150 pages long and 60k words, which could have made up a whole novel. I've come a long way, and it wouldn't have been possible without all the encouraging comments I've received. I love all my readers and subscribers, even the silent ones, but I especially love those of you who take the time to write a little comment of encouragement. You guys make my day without fail, and that keeps me motivated to keep writing and post up another part after the dust from the latest one settles. I know my author's notes are getting really long these days, but I just thought I'd communicate with my readers this way rather than to reply every comment individually since there are some of you who don't leave a footprint.

On a sidenote, I think I really enjoy writing these author's notes because you guys understand me when I spaz about BAP/Yongguk (even GD, heh). My friends and boyfriend have only so much patience for my nonstop obsessing about all these unreal Kpop people. I'm glad I have you people to feel crazy with! Honestly, I'm really thankful to have found this website where I can write about what I like and share it with like-minded people. I used to write a lot (poetry, stories, lyrics...) but slowly, perhaps because I never had an audience, my creativity kind of dried up. You guys have allowed me to rediscover a passion and hone my craft. From the bottom of my heart, I love you guys as much as I could possibly love people I don't really know and have never met! Saranghaeyo~ <3

xx.