“Under the sea, Under the sea,”

            Donghae sang happily as he twirled around the house. You shook your head and sighed. Who said Donghae was going to be twenty-six. He was forever stuck at six in your eyes. . He skidded through the kitchen and planted a kiss on top of your head. “Where’s Yun Duo?”

            You smacked your head. “I knew I was forgetting something!”

            His face morphed into one of horror. “You forgot about our baby?”

            “No! My mother said she was going to come over and bring Yunnie too. He went over there after school.”

            “Okay. I suppose that wouldn’t be a problem. I want to teach him how to play the Nemo game anyway. I’ve been meaning to for a while and today is a great time to try.”

            You gave him a weird look. “Just make sure you keep yourself occupied and out of the way.” He waggled his fingers and nodded.

            Donghae was silly. He had a kid’s heart, except when it came to his birthday. For the entire day, he acted as if nothing was happening, as if today was any old day. It’s a habit that you’ve been aware of for years. Every year, you did something for him. But this year, you decided to keep it small.

            It was just going to be you, your son and Donghae. He had fun with other people, but he always asked for it to be the three of you. This time, you would comply and let him have his wish. Your mother rang the bell and she wished Donghae a happy birthday. Your son ran in.

            “Appa!” He hugged his father from behind and Donghae took him upstairs to play.

            This gave you time. You ran into the kitchen and took out the recipe book you had bought. It showed different flavors for cake and you knew Donghae liked mango. So you decided to make him a mango mousse chocolate cake.

            You even bought a special platter that was in the shape of the Nemo clownfish your husband so loved. You giggled to yourself as you poured the batter and prepared to make the cake. From upstairs, you could hear a lot of screaming and giggling.

            “Come over here, you rascal! Appa won’t let you go anywhere!” Donghae came running into the kitchen, swinging Yun Duo around. You jumped in front of the oven.

            “Get out!”

            Donghae pouted and saw the spoon in the sink. “Ohh. Are you making mango pudding?” His eyes lit up.

            You nodded. Anything besides him finding out. “How about we go outside here first?”

            Donghae picked up his son and sat him on his shoulders. “Daddy will be your horse. Go! Tell him where you want to go, Yunnie.”

            Your son laughed. “Daddy, I want you to take me around the living room and go fast.”

            Donghae swung him down on the floor and started tickling him. “Ya, you think you can make your appa do a workout? I’ll tackle you!” Yunnie laughed and giggled, trying to squirm away. You slipped in to see how your cake was doing.

            From outside, you heard Donghae say, “Umma is making me a cake isn’t she?”

            You tensed. How did he know? Yunnie giggled. “Sh, she’s going to be mad that you found out. She made me promise not to tell. Daddy, just act really surprised okay?”

            Donghae laughed. “I have the best family in the world really.”

            You scowled but your heart was warming nonetheless. Donghae really was the most considerate person you knew. You brought out the cake and the smile on his face was almost as good as if he weren’t prepared for this.

            “Now, we can truly go under the sea!” Donghae yelled and took out his stuffed Nemo. 

I started this one year ago, for your birthday, Fishy.

And now, it's another birthday.

HAPYP BIRTHDAY