“You’re so stupid!” you said to yourself. You recalled how embarrassing you were a few hours ago as you try to sleep. “And you were the one mad?!” you scolded yourself.

After Seunghyun said it’s his birthday yesterday, you just pathetically sat there, dumbfounded. And to top it all, you did not even greet him. You facepalmed yourself. “What kind of friend are you?”you scolded yourself. “For the love of God, you’ve known each other for 6 years, how can you forget?” you thought to yourself. You were about to cry because Seunghyun could be thinking the exact same thing; the least you want to do is hurt his feelings.

“He’s mad at me, I know he is. I don’t deserve him,” you thought, “as a friend I mean,” you reminded yourself outloud.  

It was February 07 from three years before, you turned 11. You know your mother is cooking something good for you, and your brother will give you a wonderful gift. You giggled to yourself as you walk your way home from school.

But before anything else, you wanted a gift for yourself first. No matter how boring your idea is, you quickly treaded the path towards your favorite place. You put Ri down to his spot on the tree, and climbed up. There’s nothing extraordinary about what you want for yourself, but it made you happy: you picked a flower and placed it on your ear. You always do this, because it means a lot to you. You feel pretty.

You climbed down, picked up Ri, and started going home. Unconsciously, you were humming a Happy Birthday tune loudly.

“Whose birthday is it? Ri?” a voice in front of you asked. You did not notice him because you’re busy minding the view. He was on his way to your favourite place. He was in still in his school uniform. 

“Huh? No,” you answered him.

“You then?”

You nodded, blushing from embarrassment. You really don’t like the idea of boasting your birthday to everybody.

Then suddenly, he started singing, “Saeng il chuk ha ham ni da,
saeng il chuk ha ham ni da....” He was clapping his hands to the song, grinning from ear to ear.

“Please stop,” you pleaded, looking over your shoulders if somebody can hear him. Good thing nobody’s around.

He finished his song. You thought that would stop there, but he suddenly grabbed your wrist and started running. “Where are you taking me?!” you said, trying your best to keep up. But he did not answer.

He led the way, turning left, turning right, and he skidded into a halt without any warning. You bumped into him, almost tripping. You looked up and saw you’re in front of a bakery. He dragged you inside. You saw him scanning the aisles of breads.

“Here it is,” he said, grabbed something from one of the aisles, and went to the cashier. He pulled out his wallet. “Oh, a panda,” you realized. You smiled from the sight of his panda inspired wallet. But you also noticed that it was dirty.

He opened the wallet and searched for whatever contents it may have. He picked up a bill, he looked inside his wallet, he sighed, a deep sigh you noticed, and then smiled. He gave the bill to the cashier, and the cashier gave what he purchased.

Both of you went out of the store, and started going back to your favourite place.

“Here,” he said, handing you what he bought. You were confused of what was happening, giving him a questioning look. “It’s my gift for your birthday,” he said, giving you a flashy smile. “Please accept it,” he said.

You smiled. You grabbed the thing inside the plastic. You pulled it out until it was in both in your view. It was a fluffy bread, baked into the shape of a panda’s head.  The sight of it made you very happy indeed. You looked at the bread. You looked at him. And without any warning, you gave him a hug.

It was a quick hug; you were just caught in the moment. You didn’t notice how surprised he was, or how a smile formed on his lips. “I’m glad you like it,” he said, a tone of satisfaction in his voice.

“I love it!” you exclaimed. “Thank you very much!” you told him, earning yourself one of his crooked-toothy smiles.

“Well we should be going home now,” he said.

“Wait,” you said, and stopped at your tracks. You picked up the bread again and started breaking it in half, carefully tearing it evenly. You put the half back into its plastic, and gave the half to him, “Here.”

“But...No! That’s my gift to you,” he said, not expecting your action.

“I know, and I appreciate that. I just want to share my happiness with you,” you said.

He grabbed the bread from your hand. “I made you happy?” he asked, grinning.

You blushed and whispered a soft “Yes.”

“Goodbye now. And thanks again, Seunghyun,” you said, and waved him goodbye.

“Take care! Happy birthday again,” he said, waving at you.

“I better eat this bread while it’s still fresh,” you said to yourself. You took a bite, and smiled all the more. “Delicious!” you exclaimed, for the bread was really delicious. It is filled with a soft chocolate substance. The bread was crusty on the outside, but soft on the inside, just the way you want it.

“Thank you, Lee Seunghyun,” you said, looking up at the sky. You started skipping your way  home, knowing more awaits you on that special day of yours.

“Good job!” you congratulated yourself. As you were just about to sleep, still feeling guilty for what you’ve done, an idea hit you.

“Yes, that’s the perfect plan,” you thought, proud of yourself for thinking of that. “I hope Seunghyun will love it,” you said, as you tried making preparations in your head.

“But first things first, I need some sleep,” and with that, you drifted off to sleep, a smile playing on your lips.