Hairpin Turn
Unforgotten: Tale of Memory and Decision
July 18: the only day of the year where I actually want to wake up early. Screw however many hours of sleep I might have had… I will wake up early just for my birthday.
It’s 8:15 right now and I keep hearing noises coming from downstairs. Without really thinking, I headed downstairs to check it out.
To my surprise: bear costumes. That’s right. Costumes as in plural. How many you may ask? Theres… one, two, three, four…seven of them.
Seven people in bear costumes... Gee, I wonder who they could be.
Suddenly, Sammy popped out of nowhere and beamed a smile. “I see you found one of your many presents you’ll be getting today”
I chuckled at his cheerfulness as we headed downstairs. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!” The guys in the bear costumes chorused as Sammy and I stepped into the living room.
I chuckled a little, “Thank you guys… but can you tell me why Infinite is dressed up in bear costumes?”
“Today is your birthday, is it not?” I assume Dongwoo was the one to ask. I recognized his voice.
I nodded as I studied each of their body languages. I think I can pinpoint who is who. “It is my birthday… but do I get a special prize if I can tell who you are?”
“How about this,” Woohyun spoke up, “If you guess which one of us is Sungjongie, then you will get a special present from the rest of us”
I glanced at Sammy and we were probably thinking the same thing. “Alright then…” I sighed as I scanned them once more.
I walked up to one of them. His body language looked like he didn’t really want to do this. I looked up and met with the eyes of the bear. This is Sunggyu.
Poked him in the chest before walking to the bear next to him. As I stood in front of him, a familiar feeling came back to me. I looked at the eyes of the bear and smiled. “Hey Sungjong”
I then grabbed the head of the bear and took it off. What do you know—I am psychic after all because when I took off the head, I was greeted by Sungjong’s smiling face.
“Looks like you’ll get our special present” Sungjong said.
I chuckled, “You mean this wasn’t my special present?” I said pointing to the others.
“This was only part one!” Sungyeol called out.
“Can’t wait to see the other parts” I laughed. I then turned to Sammy, “Doesn’t this look familiar?”
“Yeah, you did this for me on my birthday” Sammy chuckled at the memory.
“You’re telling me you dressed up in a bear costume before?” Sunggyu asked, as he was suddenly interested in our activities.
I nodded, “But his birthday was in the winter and the costume was nice and warm”
“Yes… and we’re sweating our asses off in here” Myungsoo added.
I laughed at his comment, “Tell you what, I’ll cook you guys breakfast as soon as you get out of the costumes…”
“BUT!! We need a picture first!” Sammy smiled as he pulled out camera.
I put the bear head back on Sungjong as we posed for a picture. We did a standard picture, a funny picture, and one where we did gangster poses.
“Okay, you guys get out of the costumes while we make breakfast” Sammy told them as they left to get out of the costumes.
What a great start to my birthday.
~*~*~ ~*~*~ ~*~*~ ~*~*~ ~*~*~
Lunchtime on my birthday… this time with Teen Top. Breakfast with Infinite, lunch with Teen Top… makes perfect sense.
As the waiters brought our food out, I noticed one of them tried to flirt with me. It was… Hyungsik? Yeah, the name tag says so. “How about after my shift, I could maybe take you out on a real date?” he winked at me.
I am not amused. “I appreciate the offer, but there are several reasons why I will decline” I said as I smiled.
“What are they?” Hyungsik asked.
“You’re obviously not my type” I scoffed as I started eating.
He just glared at me and walked off to do his job. “What was that about?” Ricky asked as he sounded a little… jealous.
“It’s nothing to worry about” I assured him. “Just some jerk hitting on me… which is a once in a life time occurrence”
Ricky laughed as he stole some of the food that was on my plate. I just shot him a strange look as I also stole his food.
“You two look extremely close” Changjo commented.
“Is there a problem?” I asked, with my mouth full. Yeah, I sort of forgot my manners.
Changjo shrugged, “I don’t understand what he sees in you” he pointed towards Ricky when he said that.
“You are 17 years old… do you not know any manners?” L.Joe chuckled as he asked.
“I do… I just choose not to use them” I wittily replied.
Everyone laughed at his dumbstruck face. “Oh hey, I checked your Twitter and saw a picture of you and seven large teddy bears. What’s with that?” Niel asked.
“You follow me on Twitter?” I asked as I took a drink of my soda.
“All of us do… I’m pretty sure” Niel replied.
I nodded in reply, “Why do you want to know about my birthday presents?”
Niel raised his hands up in defense, “Not my fault for being curious”
I shrugged as I checked my phone for the time, “It’s already 1:30… Sammy wanted me home by 2:15”
“Don’t worry, we’re professional eaters” Chunji smiled as five of them gobbled up food.
C.A.P. facepalmed, “Sometimes I don’t know if I want to know them or just disown them”
I laughed at his comment, “I know the feeling”
“Oh, that guy is back” L.Joe pointed to Hyungsik who was walking toward us.
I swallowed what I was chewing before I started my banter… but before I even said a word, Ricky beat me to it. “I thought she told you, you weren’t her type?”
Woah… if looks could kill, Hyungsik would have died five times. It kind of worried me. I glanced up at Hyungsik and he was even fearful of Ricky’s stare. “If I would’ve known she had a jealous boyfriend…”
Boyfriend? “Hate to break it to you, he’s not my boyfriend.” I told him, “But the best part is my opinion of you would remain unchanged. So if you would be so kind as to leave us alone? That would be fantastic” I flashed an innocent smile at him.
“You heard her. Leave” Ricky told him. Hyungsik got the picture and left as quickly as he could.
I released a sigh, “Thanks” I said to Ricky.
For some reason… I know something bad is going to happen. Question is what exactly is it?
~*~*~ ~*~*~ ~*~*~ ~*~*~ ~*~*~
This cake is delicious… it is also not a lie.
There are quite a few people here at the house. Let’s see… Infinite, Teen Top, Dasom, Soyu, and a crap-ton of Sammy’s friends.
All of us were sitting outside, eating cake, and laughing at someone’s strange antics. Suddenly, it was time to open presents.
I just opened the presents one by one, reading the cards that go along with them. Most of my presents consisted of video games I didn’t have, clothes, and sketchbooks. All of which I am perfectly fine with.
Suddenly, a small purple box was in my line of sight. “This one’s from Sungjong” Sammy told me.
I nodded as I took the box. Purple, my favorite color. How did he—wait, Dongwoo and Hoya. How could I forget?
I unwrapped the box to reveal a silver bracelet with an infinity symbol on it. “Do you like it?” Sungjong asked as he sat down next to me.
“I do” I replied as I kept looking at the bracelet.
Sungjong grabbed the bracelet and put it on my left wrist. “Even if we’re not here, we’re still with you”
I’m guessing ‘we’ stands for Infinite. I smiled looking at the bracelet, “I guess you’re with me whether I like it or not”
He laughed at my joke just as Sammy brought me another present. “This one’s from Ricky” he said as he walked off.
It was a slightly bigger box than what Sungjong gave me. I unwrapped and opened it and was a little surprised to find a white bracelet. “Did you guys agree to get me bracelets?” I chuckled as I admired the bracelet Ricky gave me.
Speaking of, Ricky walked towards us. “Do you like it?” he beamed a smile.
I nodded and smiled back, “I do”
Ricky then grabbed the bracelet and put it on my right wrist. “There, now it looks good”
I looked at both of them and smiled. “Thank you guys for the bracelets”
“It’s no problem” they simultaneously replied.
They really are getting good at that.
“Okay, it’s already 10pm… time to go home!” Sammy called out after checking the time.
“Thank you for coming!” I got up and smiled at everyone.
I received a lot of hugs while people were leaving. It was a good feeling to have so many people around on my birthday… but why is that horrible feeling still there.
Right when I said goodbye to Ricky and Sungjong, I caught a glance at Sammy on the phone.
Is it just me, or does he not look so good? I thought as we were the only ones left in our back yard.
“Sammy-oppa, what’s wrong?” I asked as I walked up to him.
He didn’t say anything, instead he just hugged me. Something’s not right. “Tessa-yah…” he sounded like he was about to cry.
Sammy never cries unless… “Oppa, what’s wrong?” I asked hoping to get an answer.
“It’s our parents…”
Oh no… don’t tell me…?
“They’re dead”
So Tessa's strange feelings weren't a fluke. Something bad did happen.
It was a great day for her and right at the end of her birthday, the news hits her like a sack of bricks. What could've happened to her parents? What's going to happen now?
Question of the day: have you had any events that have happend on your birthday? It wasn't me, but on my friends 3rd birthday (I think, I'm not sure) was when 9/11 happened. It was tough explaining to a three-year-old what was going on.
Back to the story. Sungjong and Ricky each gave her a bracelet, but that only softened the blow for the big news. How is Tessa going to tell them about it?
Find out next time.
Currently listening to: Light it Up - U-Kiss
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