It’s my birthday!

But why do I feel so sad? Well, when I woke up this morning, I looked out the window and expected rain. Last night the sky was cloudy so I had my hopes up that it would rain during my birthday. I went out and saw that the sky was clear. It was a nice day, but I preferred it if there were raindrops against my face right now.

After a while, I prepared for work. It’s been eight months since I’ve been enlisted and it’s been a monotonous task for me every day. While I was driving, I couldn’t help but to remember my previous birthday celebrations. For the last decade, I’ve been celebrating with my band mates… my so-called “children”… and every year was better than the one before. I chuckled to myself when the images of those crazy boys flashed before my eyes. And then I felt sad again, because this would be the first birthday I would celebrate without them. They’re all out of the country… and I’m stuck here… in the middle of a traffic jam… in a gloomy not-rainy Monday morning.

It took me about an hour to get there. As soon as I reached my post, I felt nostalgic. I missed Super Junior. Sure we often see each other when they’re not abroad… but it’s quite different when they’re always there… pestering me like little children. I missed the stage. The incredible ambiance in the middle of the spot lights. I missed the deafening screams of our beloved ELFs. Without them, I would’ve spent my life in a completely different way. I missed seeing the sapphire blue lights that sparkled so magically… I could never get tired of seeing that sapphire blue ocean.

“There’s our birthday boy!” my co-enlistees greeted me.

“Happy birthday Jungsoo! How does it feel to be old already?” some teased

It felt good when they greeted me and some of them even gave me gifts. I really appreciated the way they treated me… but still, it felt incomplete.

I missed a lot of things already. And my nostalgia elevated when I browsed some pictures in my phone. When I saw the smiles on their crazy faces, I felt a light feeling in my heart.

“I miss you all… but I miss Kangin the most…” I muttered.

That raccoon. Those times when he would just appear out of nowhere and give me a tight backhug. Those random times when he would just hug me like there’s no tomorrow. I missed that fluffy raccoon.

“Alright I’ll kiss Leeteuk hyung” I remembered his statement when we were shooting the mini drama about ‘Dangerous Friendship’. The crazy takes we had! The staff were surprised when there were many takes of the scene where Kangin pushed me against the wall… and I didn’t even complain. Seriously, what’s there to complain about? I’m so used to his strength… and besides, I was in the middle of concentrating on my character in the scene!

As soon as I remembered that mini drama, the next memory that flashed before my eyes was that time when we had a performance… and I walked over to Kangin… and kissed him.

I had no idea what came into me that time, but didn’t dare do it again because I got a bit scared of his temper and strength. I really couldn’t understand that guy. There were times he would just pull me around everywhere, hug me tight, hold my hand and flirt with me. And at times, he would just sulk there and not talk to me about anything. He would just be a plain bully.

It would clear up my mind if he could just tell me the truth. I’ve always wanted to just go to him and ask him about his actions.

“Those random kisses… your tight hugs… and the way you hold my hand… are they all just for show? Are they all just for the cameras?”

My boring work continued that day. There was no special treatment even if you’re the leader of the most famous boy band and it’s your birthday. In fact, it seemed like they gave me an overload of work on purpose because they knew I wouldn’t complain! After a few minutes, I received calls from the other members. I felt extremely hyper when I heard their voices again. They sang me a greeting and they all sounded like drunken people. They apologized because they couldn’t be here until tomorrow. Unexpected changes of schedule was the reason and that’s completely understandable. What I couldn’t understand was why Kangin didn’t even join them in greeting me.

I finished up my tasks after almost two hours. When I came back to my post, there was a little card there on my desk. At first I thought it was just another greeting card from one of my co-enlistees, but then I noticed that I was the only one left there. I picked up the card and read the message.

“Go to the conference room.”

“Another work I suppose,” I muttered as I reluctantly walked.

When I reached the room, I noticed that the door was slightly ajar. I gently pushed it then let myself in. it was dark inside the room… and in the middle of the huge table stood a cake. Only the dim light from the single candle on top was the source of light. I walked closer to the cake and read a “Happy Birthday Teukie” message written with icing.

As I was staring at the cute white cake, I felt arms wrapping around my waist. It was a familiar backhug… that came with a familiar scent. I turned around and saw the smiling face of Kangin. He leaned forward and planted a soft gentle kiss on my lips.

“Happy birthday hyung… sorry for the extra chores I made them give you. I wanted to have you all alone here…,” he said “I missed you…”

With my heart beating like crazy, he picked up the cake from the table “Make a wish, old man.” He chuckled.

“I already got it.” I said then blew the faint source of light on top of that cute birthday cake held by the best gift I could ever have!