Junhong stopped short when he saw a rare person standing at the entrance of the door. A huge smile spread across his face and he slowly walked over to her. “What are you doing here?”

            The girl rolled her eyes. “What? You’re not happy to see me?”

            “Of course I am! I just didn’t expect to see you.”

            “Obviously I have to see my little baby brother turn into a legal adult. It’s not every day your baby bro goes from to semi-okay .”

            Junhong blushed and hugged his sister around the waist, bending down to accommodate her lack of height. “Noona, stop, you’re going to make me feel embarrassed.”

            She kissed his cheek and patted the top of his head. “Hey, you’ll still be my little baby, the little baby I used to sit on when you slept on the couch, remember?”

            He groaned a little. “Maybe all that sitting flattened me out and that’s why I’m so tall now.”

            She giggled and swung his hand in hers. “So, now that you’re eighteen, are you no longer embarrassed to be seen in public with your noona?”

            “Please, when was I ever embarrassed to be with you?” But at the sight of her eyebrows raising, he pouted. “That was only because all my friends thought you were cool because you were older.”

            “And?”

            “And they should be friends with me, not you!”

            “Yeah, yeah,” she pushed him playfully on the shoulder. “Are you doing anything with the members? Or do you have time to have a one-on-one date with me?”

            Junhong glanced at the other members who were taking a break. Yongguk raised a hand. “Go ahead, just be sure to come back for our celebration.”

            “Perfect! I’ll return Junhong to you guys later. See you!” As she steered her brother out the door, she whispered, “So when are you going to formally introduce me to your cute leader?”

            “Noona!” Junhong groaned.

            “Joking, not really, but it’s okay. Noona can get her own man.”

            The two of them walked into a pretty fancy restaurant and he looked around. “Wow, is this what happens when you go on a date with your sister?”

            “This is what happens when you go on a date with this sister,” she corrected him, smiling as the host led them to their assigned table.

            Junhong sat down across from her and grinned impishly. “You’re not going to suddenly make me pay, right?”

            His sister looked at him with a straight face. “Of course. You’re the one earning real pocket money, why wouldn’t you pay?”

            He smiled and played with a tuft of hair behind his ear nervously. “Right, of course.”

            She giggled and patted his hand. “Silly baby. Today is all on me. It’s not every day you turn eighteen.”

            Junhong glanced at the menu and blushed. Even though he rarely showed it outright, he really did love his sister. When the waitress came over, she smiled. “You both look really happy. Are you enjoying the date?”

            They looked at one another a little awkwardly. Junhong stammered a response but his sister spoke up. “Yep. It’s not every day I get to see my little brother turn into a legal adult.”

            The waitress blushed at her mistake but the apology was waved away. “No it’s fine. I’m proud because he is quite a good looking kid. I just don’t think he’s quite pleased to have people think we’re dating though.”

            Junhong protested but his sister only grinned. “Can I have the rib eye steak with the kimchi fried rice please?”

            “Okay, and for you?” the waitress turned to Junhong.

            “Actually, that was for my brother. I’ll have the seafood noodles.”

            When the waitress was gone, Junhong leaned forward. “How did you know what I was going to get?”

            His sister smiled serenely. “I’ve been ordering for you ever since we were young, don’t you remember? Just because you’re all grown up now doesn’t mean Noona doesn’t know how to take good care of you. You better remember this into our old age.”

            He saluted her. “Yes, Noona.”

            It was the best birthday dinner Junhong had had in a long time. Ever since he was sent off to training, he rarely saw his family and because his sister studied abroad, it was even harder to see her. When they were walking back to the dorms, Junhong leaned into her.

            “Noona, thank you for today.”

            She shook her head. “Anything for my baby bro.”

            He glanced at his dorm. “Come and eat cake with us?”

            She snorted. “Of course. Did you think this would be the last you saw of me?”

            When everyone crowded around him, singing the birthday song, Junhong took the cake and smiled. “Thank you to all the hyungs for taking care of me for so long and of course, thank you Noona for coming all this way to see me. My first moment as an eighteen year old, I can spend with all the people who matter most.”

            He closed his eyes and blew out the candle, confident that all of his wishes this year would come true.

Happy birthday baby Zelo~

Noona is proud of you and all you have done. I've watched you go from the adorable 14 year old LTE rapper to the mature young man that you are today. Thank you for working so hard and being one of the cutest and best maknaes in KPop.

Keep a smile on your face as you go through harder trials, and remember that there will always be a happier day.

Happy birthday Junhong ♥