A/N: This predebut pic is only losely associated with the story. He's singing. That's about all it has in common with the rest of the story. I just like it!

Today was the worst day in Maeri’s entire life, and it was her 18^th birthday. It wasn’t like anybody remembered, or if they did, it’s not like they recognized it. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t blame her parents, especially her mother. It’s not like her mother planned on going into labor, forcing Maeri to spend one of her big mile-stone birthdays trapped in the hospital waiting room. The baby wasn’t even born yet, and it was already ruining her life. And to make matters worse, there was still a strong possibility that they would share the same birthday. The baby was taking her parents away, her time away (she knew that she would end up babysitting that thing), and now her birthday. Why did her parents decide to have a baby in their forties? Wasn’t she enough? Stupid baby.

“Maeri-ah!” a woman’s voice called to her. Maeri stood up from her seat and saw Woohyun’s mother coming straight towards her, her husband following closely behind. “We came as soon as we heard,” she said, bringing Maeri into a hug.

“Ahjumma! Ahjussi!” Maeri greeted them with a hug. “You didn’t have to come.” Even Woohyun didn’t. That jerk…Currently, her best friend was spending her birthday with his girlfriend, Jiyoung. Maeri swore that Jiyoung planned to celebrate their 1 year anniversary a week early, purposefully ruining her birthday. And Woohyun, being the stereotypical male, thought nothing of it. And he says that he’s a romanticist. But I guess I’m not his girlfriend so…

“Don’t say that. We’re practically family,” his father said as he sat down in one of the chairs.

Woohyun’s mother rubbed the back of Maeri’s neck tenderly, “We couldn’t stand the thought of you being alone here, especially on your birthday.” Well, at least someone remembered.

“Thank you,” Maeri said quietly. “It means a lot to me.” The Nams were always so sweet to her. Mrs. Nam had taken her in as a pseudo-daughter (she had always wanted one, but was only able to give birth to sons) long ago. They would go on shopping trips together along with her own mother, watch chick flicks, and discuss celebrity gossip (also the neighborhood rumors). Mrs. Nam, as far as Maeri was concerned, was her aunt, and Mr. Nam was her uncle. When he said that they were practically family, it was true (they even spent holidays together).

“How long have you waited?” his father asked.

Maeri glanced at the clock and puffed her cheeks in thought. “Um, about 2 hours,” she answered.         

“Did you eat yet?” he asked. Before Maeri could open , her stomach answered for her. He chuckled, “I’ll take that as a no. I’ll see what I can rustle up for you.” Then he stood up, before Maeri could protest, and began his search for food.

His wife turned to Maeri. “Have they thought about what they would name the baby?” she asked.

Maeri winced. Her parents wanted to strengthen their ties with the Nams, including the same character in the baby’s name that was in their children’s, so they would appear to be actual brothers. “Jonghyun,” she muttered.

Mrs. Nam squealed in delight, “That’s perfect! I am so excited!” She took Maeri’s hands. “Aren’t you excited?”

Maeri gritted her teeth and smiled like a wolf bearing his teeth. “Estatic,” she answered sarcastically. The older woman laughed, knowing that Maeri was feeling a little resentful.

Then a little smiled appeared on her face. “Maeri, maybe this will cheer you up,” she said, nodding towards the door. Maeri doubted it, but she indulged her aunt and looked in that direction. She was right, the sight did warm her heart immediately.

“Hyun-ah!” Maeri called out as she saw her best friend running up to her. He was panting and slightly sweaty; he must’ve ran from wherever he was, which by his appearance (dressed in jeans and a nice button-down under his puffy coat) must’ve been his date. Maeri was dumbfounded. “What are you doing here?” she sputtered.

Woohyun hit her on the shoulder. “Yah!” he yelled, still slightly out of breath. “Why didn’t you tell me it was your birthday, idiot?” He ed one of the top buttons of his shirt; he felt like it was suffocating him.

Maeri looked down at her lap. “I didn’t want to ruin your date,” she mumbled, not being able to look him in the eye. “What about Jiyoung?” she asked quietly.

“We broke up,” he plainly stated. Maeri immediately lifted her head and stared at him curiously. “Don’t look at me like that. I know that you aren’t surprised. She was a .” Then he remembered that his mom was sitting next to Maeri, glaring at her son for using foul language. “Sorry, mom,” he apologized.

His mom was thoroughly entertained watching this interaction. An amused smirk appeared on her face. “Woohyun, why don’t you take Maeri out for her birthday?” she suggested as she pulled out money and handed it to her son. “Your father and I will keep you posted about the baby and the Yoos.”

“But…what about ahjussi?” Maeri asked, not forgetting the mission that he had taken up earlier.

Mrs. Nam laughed. “Don’t worry about him. I’ll take care of it,” she answered. “Now shoo! Go have fun!”

Woohyun saw Maeri hesitating and sighed. He pulled her out of her chair by the arm and began to drag her out of the waiting room. “Thanks Mom! We’ll have a blast.” Then he forced Maeri into a bow. “Now say thank you to my mother,” he commanded.

“Thank you,” Maeri said in a daze and was led away by her friend.

After they left the building, Woohyun began to make a plan. “First order of business, have you had any seaweed soup yet?”

Maeri kicked the ground with her feet. “Nope, my mom was asleep when I left this morning, and when I came home from school…Boom! Labor pains,” she answered.

“Alright! Then let’s get you some soup,” he stated, dragging her to the nearest convenience store. They bought a couple packages of soup, drinks, and ice cream. Then they sat down outside of the store at a table, combating the cold January air. “Happy birthday!” he wished as they dug into their impromptu meal.

“Some birthday,” she muttered, stuffing her face, eating her feelings.

Woohyun knew why she was depressed; it didn’t take an expert to figure it out. In a few hours, she was about to have a baby brother, turning the life she knew and was used to upside down. Maeri sometimes didn’t take change too well; she accept it grudgingly. Also he knew that he had contributed to her current, depressed state. He cursed himself for forgetting her birthday, especially for spending it with the girl whom Maeri hates the most on the planet. Woohyun knew that Jiyoung could be conniving, but moving their anniversary a week early just to ruin Maeri’s day was the last straw in their relationship. Maeri meant more to him than that pretty girl. Jiyoung didn’t know her place in Woohyun’s heart. He also hated being manipulated like that. He immediately broke up with Jiyoung after his parents had called him, reminding him of Maeri’s birthday.

Even though the birthday had so far, the day was not yet over. Woohyun was determined to make it a good one. “Maeri-ah,” he called out. She looked up at him with a spoon hanging out of . “Your mom is having a baby. Do you know what that means?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

“My life is over,” she responded, playing with her soup.

“Nope!” Woohyun cutely shook his head. “9 months ago, your parents did it,” he joked.

“Ew!” Maeri gagged, losing her appetite.

“What happened 9 months ago anyway?” Woohyun asked. He began to count back with his fingers. “April?” he concluded.

Maeri wrinkled her face in thought. “Your parents took us on that camping trip. I remember them saying that my parents needed…some time…to themselves,” she said, and reality slowly hit her like a falling meteor. They both immediately stopped eating and looked at each other wordlessly for a few moments. Maeri pointed her spoon at him. “THIS IS ALL YOUR PARENTS FAULT! THEY HELPED MINE TO…AUGH!” she yelled, burying her head in her arms.

“Woah! I can’t believe it,” Woohyun muttered, still dumbfounded. Then his eyes widened, having come upon a new and maybe more terrifying realization. “Wait, do you think that when your dad took us to that soccer tournament last weekend, my parents…” he ended with a gulp.

“Well, if you get a baby brother in 9 months, we’ll know for sure,” Maeri said dryly.

Woohyun shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe that our parents help each other out like that,” he whined.

“They’re a little too involved in each other’s lives. It’s too weird.”

Woohyun began to pick up the food wrappers. “Let’s go! I need to forget about this conversation NOW!” he suggested.

“Yea, but what do you suggest?” she asked. She looked at Woohyun who gave her a shy smile. “Seriously? Noraebang again?!”

Woohyun nudged her. “Come on. It’ll be fun!”

“Yea, but it’s my birthday. Shouldn’t we be doing what I want to do?” she remarked, helping Woohyun to clean up the table.

Woohyun pouted. “Yea, but I just broke up with my first girlfriend,” he argued. Maeri rolled her eyes. They were actually fighting over who was the most pitiable right now. Woohyun knew how to convince her. He gave her really sad eyes and rubbed his chest. “Maeri-ah…my heart…it hurts so much,” he whined.

“Fine! You big baby!” Maeri gave in, fighting a smile. “But you have to sing whatever I want,” she demanded as they walked over to the closest noraebang place.

Woohyun nodded in agreement. “Requests? Call!”

Once they reached their destination and settled in their booth. Woohyun grabbed the microphone and turned towards Maeri who was sitting down on the couch. “Hello everyone! And welcome to Total Request Woohyun! I’m your host, Nam…Woo…Hyun! Make some noise!” he shouted in his best announcer voice.

“WOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Maeri cheered from her seat, pumping her fist in the air.

“Now, what’s the first song of the evening?” he asked curiously. Maeri took up the controller and inputted a mysterious number. Woohyun waited for a few seconds, waiting for the first song to start. He could recognize it within the first few notes. “Aigoo! This one?” he joked.

Maeri shrugged and smiled shyly. “It is my birthday, and no one has sang it to me yet.”

Woohyun put a hand over his heart. “Then let me be the first,” he said before kneeling in front of her and sang: “Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, dear Maeri. Happy Birthday to you!” Maeri happily applauded at the end of his song. A genuine smile finally broke out onto her face. It made Woohyun happy to see it. Then he grabbed the controller from her and begged, “Let me pick the next song.”

Maeri frowned. “What about our deal?”

Woohyun smiled cheekily. “Yea, but this song always reminds me of you. Let’s sing it together,” he said handing the other microphone to his friend.

Maeri raised her eyebrows curiously and pointed to herself. “Me? There’s a song that reminds you of me?” she asked. She reluctantly got up from the couch, clutching the microphone.

“Every time I hear it,” Woohyun replied honestly as he inputted the song into the system.

Maeri perked her ears, waiting patiently for the song to play. Once she recognized it, she began laughing. “Seriously? A Chance Encounter?!” she asked skeptically. Woohyun must be crazy.

Woohyun pretended to be hurt. “You didn’t feel like this when we first met? Was it just me?” he asked, his lip quivering.

Maeri scoffed, “You’re silly.” He could see that she was trying hard not to smile. “I thought you were a chipmunk back then, storing nuts in your chubby cheeks.”

“You love my cheeks!” Woohyun retorted. “They make me look adorable!” Maeri just laughed in response, but he had a point. Then he walked over and stood next to her. “Let’s make this our song,” he said with a smile before singing. “And promise not to sing it with anybody else.”

Maeri giggled. She knew that he was saying this to make her feel better, and it was working. “Okay,” she agreed. “I wouldn’t want to sing it with anyone else anyway,” she said, returning his greasy words with some of her own.

From that noraebang trip onwards, every time they went out, they would sing this song together. Their routine becoming more and more regular and complicated as the years wore on, and it became famous among their group of friends. Both of them also kept their other promise, refusing to sing it with anybody else (and there were some people who tried to force them, but they didn’t budge). And every time they heard the song elsewhere, it would automatically brought a smile to their faces, because it was attached to such fun and sweet memories. It was their favorite song.

Also Maeri fell in love with Jonghyun the moment she laid eyes on her baby brother (who happened to be born a few minutes after midnight, giving both of them their own birthday). She never hated babysitting him or helping out her mother in raising him. Even Woohyun took part, assuming the role of an older brother effortlessly (in fact sometimes Maeri was jealous of how good he was at being an older sibling. Jonghyun gravitated towards him more than her). Despite the significant between the three of them, they grew close, making sure to be there for each other in their moments of need. Maeri and Woohyun both witnessed most of the mile-stones in Jonghyun’s life: birthdays, physical and mechanical developments, first day of school, first crushes, etc. They were family.