Chance and Step Up had different TV guestings here and there, and they were really busy. In the Chance dormitory, Chan Doo would practice dancing when he took breaks, then continued to study. His groupmates never saw a celebrity as hardworking as him. He had to practice and study double time, and to take care of himself, as he is no longer in his parents' house.

Bong Goo was also very busy being a veterinarian, and sometimes he would go to the mountain side to visit farm animals and do some research. He had grown a bit slimmer because he was forced to walk. And everytime he came home, his parents would make him eat all the choicest meat in the house.

Pulip had to promote her boutique products in the net, and she also had to mind her restaurant. One boutique customer even suggested to her to open a branch in a certain three-star hotel so that hotel guests can have options of buying clothes before they hit the streets. She found it a good idea, but she had to do some feasibility study.

Baek Hyun was busy with his residency, as usual, and he did his best to attend seminars and even assist in the operating room as needed. His peers found him to be diligent, that sometimes, they had to remind him that he needed to eat or rest.

Hyun Jung was talking with the gallery curator to have the Autumn Room transferred to a larger room, as many people were already interested in her paintings. She was up to painting another batch of the summer collection when modeling stints came here and there. Some tycoons from the show business industry wanted her to stay here in Korea for good.

*****************

"Guys, we have to do this. We can do this," Chan Doo said to his gang.

The guys nodded. They had been training for hours that they felt that their bones were gonna break and that their vocal cords were gonna wear out.

"Hyung, we have faith in ourselves," one member said.

Chan Doo was very excited to appear once again on TV, knowing that this day is Pulip's special day. Then, the group performed, and the crowd howled in delight. Chan Doo made sure that he did his best, knowing that Pulip promised to watch the show even on TV.

After the show, he sent a message to Pulip, greeting her a happy birthday, even if he had greeted her that morning. He apologized that he could not attend her birthday party, as he and his groupmates will be flying to Yeosu later that night for a concert series.

*****

In Pulip's restaurant, she received a text and heaved a sigh. She was sad that her friend could not join them, but she was happy that she saw their performance on TV. That was one gift that Chan Doo could offer her. She went back to the table where her friends were waiting. She reserved a suite in the restaurant for them to be cozy and intimate.

"Chan Doo could not make it," she said, adding the fact that Chance will have a concert in Yeosu.

"My friend really is becoming a star," Bong Goo remarked happily. "Hyun Jung-ah, you should stay here for good."

Hyun Jung smiled at them. "Mianhae, I still have a contract in Italy. I have three years left."

Baek Hyun did not answer. Maybe Hyun Jung would rather be in Milan, drinking whisky or hooking up with some Italian guys (even if she said she preferred Asians), rather than be with him. He wanted to tell her that she really needed to stay.

Pulip told her friends to cheer up, as today is her birthday. Then, Baek Hyun stopped her in midsentence.

"Today's Hyun Jung's birthday too," he said.

Pulip and Bong Goo looked at her, and she cringed. Baek Hyun had totally betrayed her secret.

"Ya, Na Hyun Jung, just stop hiding your birthday and just celebrate it as happily as you should," Baek Hyun chided her.

"Wow... I never realized my girl bestfriend is actually my birthmate too!" Pulip said happily.

She went to Hyun Jung's seat, and grabbed her arm. Then they stood up and posed for a cellphone camera picture taking.

"Ya, you never told us it is also your birthday," Pulip said, disappointed.

"Mianhae..." Hyun Jung said weakly. "I never celebrated it eversince my parents' divorce."

"Oh, don't worry, Hyun Jung-ah, I'll have Eomma and Appa prepare miyeokguk for you, even if it is a bit late..."

"Aaaannnyyyeeeeeoooong!" a female voice greeted them, and they turned.

"Ssaem!" they cried out happily.

Han Soo Jung was walking gingerly while supporting her back. Her belly looked like she was already seven months pregnant.

"Ssaem, eonje gyeolhon hasyeosseoyo (Ssaem, when did you get married)?" Bong Goo asked.

Soo Jung placed a big container on the table, then she smiled at her former students.

"Last year. O, my nampyeon (husband) will follow, he just parked the car," she said.

"What's this?" Baek Hyun asked her about the container.

"Oh, some goodies, and miyeokguk for Hyun Jung-ah," she mused.

"Annyeong," a male voice boomed, making them look at him.

"Kang Seok Ho?" Baek Hyun asked in astonishment.

Hyun Jung cringed. She never imagined that Mr. Will-of-Steel would marry their beloved Han-seonsaengnim. Bong Goo thought that he would want to laugh, and Pulip forgot that she was in her own restaurant.

"Hwang Baek Hyun, did you really think that I would never get married?" the lawyer-turned-senator mocked at him.

But Baek Hyun was wiser now. They had become friends eversince, but they sometimes engage in their bickerings.

"Ani. Only you thought of that," the doctor retorted in a joke.

Kang-byeonhosanim (Atty. Kang) smirked at him then extended his hands to Pulip. "Saengil chukhahae."

Pulip took the lawyer's hand for a handshake. "Gamsahamnida."

Seok Ho went to Hyun Jung and extended his hands. "Saengil chukhahae."

Hyun Jung took his hand and shook it. "Gamsahaeyo."

"You should realize now what I told you in the past."

"Mwo?"

"You can only celebrate your birthday when you are happy with your family and friends."

Hyun Jung remembered that very well. "Ah... geureoseumnida."

"Jigeum haengbokhae (Are you happy now)?" he asked.

"Ne," was her laconic reply.

Pulip did her hosting skills and made sure that Soo Jung and Seok Ho were also made comfortable. They celebrated the two ladies' birthday, and Hyun Jung even took the miyeokguk that Soo Jung had prepared for her. She was really happy to celebrate her birthday with her friends.

Bong Goo snapped pictures of them, and he sent them to Chan Doo.

******

Chan Doo was in the airport with his gang when he received a message from Bong Goo. It had the attachments, and he read the message: Happy birthday to Pulip-ah and Hyun Jung-ah.

"O? Today is also Hyun Jung-ah's birthday?" he asked happily.

He saw the pics that were attached, and he was greatly surprised to see that Han-ssaem was pregnant, and she's Kang Seok Ho's anae (wife).

"Whoah... That's odd," he mused.

Then, he punched some numbers on his phone and called Hyun Jung.

*****

"Oh? Ah, please excuse me," Hyun Jung said to them as she went out of the room. She went near the restroom to answer the phone.

"O, Chan Doo-ya, wae?" she asked.

"Hyun Jung-ah, I never knew it is your birthday today," he said.

She apologized to him and explained.

"Ya, it is already night, and everybody knew it just today," she heard him say. "Have you taken miyeokguk already."

"Ne, Han-ssaem made me some. Pulip-ah invited her, but I did not know that she remembered my birthday," she explained.

As she was talking over the phone, Baek Hyun came out from the male's restroom. When he heard that she was talking to Chan Doo, he got jealous again. But then, he realized that Bong Goo had actually sent the pictures to Chan Doo, who only knew about the birthday celebration recently. There was no reason for him to be jealous.

"Ah, take care, Chan Doo-ya, I wish I could fly to Yeosu too, to watch your concert," she said. "Byeeeee...."

As she hung up, she turned around to see Baek Hyun.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I just came from the restroom, wae?" he asked.

Hyun Jung felt a bit embarrassed. "Ah...nothing..." was her silly reply.

Baek Hyun smirked then strutted ahead of her back to the resto suite.

***************

Later that night, Bong Goo went back to his parents' restaurant, and Pulip stayed behind. Kang Seok Ho and Soo Jung went straight home.

"I need to go home now, Baek Hyun-ah," she told him. "Please don't accompany me anymore."

"Ya, Na Hyun Jung," he called out.

She turned to him and looked at him curiously.

"I needed to give you a birthday gift, so come with me," he said.

He grabbed her by the hand and led her away.