Kyuhyun calls her in the early morning, just as the sun began to rise in the east, and laughs when Yoona answers with a sweet but garbled ‘Hello, Kyuhyun-ah’ and a yawn. He doesn’t mind that she sounds a little weird because she’s always been a little bit special in the head and besides, everyone knows that Jungsoo-hyung probably got her to stay up all night just to talk and smother her with his 15-part monologue of Happy Birthday wishes. He doesn’t mind at all because he knows that even though she’s tired and probably wants to sleep in a little more, she’ll still answer.

“Has anyone ever told you that your yawn sounds like a moose dying?” He says, his voice light and amiable as he held onto his phone with one hand. He lounged on the couch and watched the sun rise across the horizon and slowly light up the city of Seoul. He figures that Tokyo is getting brighter too with the sun’s rays and wonders briefly if So Nyeo Shi Dae slept sprawled all over their living room floor again after their tour practice. “Because it sounds really weird. Loud and breathy, like you’re wheezing for air that’s not there anymore.”

“Gee… thanks a lot for that insightful observation, Kyuhyun. I am overwhelmed with your love on my birthday today.”

Kyuhyun can almost see her roll her sleepy eyes at him and laughs easily at the thought. Blurry-eyed or not, Im Yoona had a sharp tongue and quick wit that could almost match his own… that is, if only she’d let it out once in awhile. Still, that didn’t bother him  much – he rather liked having to witness that feisty personality of hers firsthand as one of her friends (and many admirers) rather than have her going around showing it to nobody special in the world.

If anyone was to see her crazy-eyed and snarky, it would be in front of him – Cho Kyuhyun, snark star extraordinaire and their band of SMTOWN friends.

With a grin etched across his face, he moos loudly into the phone and waits patiently for a reaction. When nothing comes but a stunned silence, Kyuhyun does the sound one more time (louder this time and no, he doesn’t care if his hyungs wake up suddenly to pelt him with shoes and whatnot) before speaking, “Hey. I sound just like you, don’t I?”

It’s soft at first and then an explosion erupts as Yoona burst out laughing – her lilting laughter passing through his earpiece and straight down to warming his heart. He wishes her a lot of things for her birthday, but most especially this: a happiness that’s never-ending. She deserves that much, he thinks, because she’s almost as awesome as he is and he wants that kind of happiness too.

Kyuhyun hears her laughter die down and her voice hitch in a merry breath, “You’re insane, Kyuhyun. Did you win StarCraft against Kangin-oppa again?”

He shrugs, and when she laughs again a moment later, he knows that she understood him without even seeing him.

“Of course, you beat him. You’re the amazing Cho Kyuhyun after all.”

“Exactly. You’re learning fast, Yoong-padawan.”