Chapter 2 : Deux Coeurs

“Happy birthday to you ... happy birthday to you ... happy birthday, Lee YeonAe ... Happy birthday to you ....”

Right after they sung the classic birthday melody, which the whole world knew, the girl named Lee YeonAe blew 15 candles on the cake and the small, dancing fire on each candles disappeared. She heard chuckles coming from her left and right as she blew out the candles in just one breath, despite having such a cute figure.

It was her 15th date of birth, considering the 15 candles, and like her previous ones, she enjoyed every second of her birthdate. And what made it special every year was that she had the chance to celebrate it with her two most favorite people in the world.

The person on her left handed her a knife, as a cue for her to cut the cake. YeonAe took the sharp utensil from that person, and with a smile, grabbed his right hand and the left hand belonged to the person standing on her right.

“I want us to cut the cake together.” She said with a bright smile that could light up the whole town if there was no light. Unquestionably, she felt as if she was the cheeriest and luckiest girl in the world. Having her two most much-loved persons to celebrate her special day with her every year, what more could she have asked?

“Oh, don’t you always, darling? Every year, you will want us to cut the cake with you, despite it being your birthday.” The one on her right said, who was also a woman much older than YeonAe was.

With that said, the three of them cut the first slice of the cake together, and two of them took turns in feeding YeonAe who couldn’t stop beaming. There were only the three of them each year and there were no grand parties, as most well off people would have done to their loved ones. They simply bought her a cake, sang her a birthday song, and had her unwrapped her presents.

And yet, to YeonAe that was the best thing she could’ve hoped for. What mattered to her was for the two of them to rejoice it with her. She couldn’t care less about the posh birthday bashes, for it was of no importance for her.

After they were done feeding her with small portions of the cake, -as they didn’t want to ruin her appetite for dinner-, each of them gave her a long, meaningful hug, before whispering their gratefulness of having her around.

“No words can express just how grateful I am to have you in our lives, dear. To date, I am glad that we encountered each other that day. It will constantly stay etched on my mind. You are important to me, you always have and you always will be. You’ve brought joy to us, especially him. I couldn’t imagine how our lives would be if you were never there.” The woman said, her arms still embracing the younger girl who’d now almost reaching her shoulders. Gratitude and at the same time, warmness coated her words.

YeonAe quickly extricated herself from the hug and faced the woman, who she knew was about to cry any minute. Enough said since she’d been crying every year on her birthday. But that day, she didn’t want her to shed a tear.

“You’re not going to cry today, mom.” YeonAe playfully warned, pretending to put on a serious mien on her face. She could see tears were already forming in the elder’s eyes as she tried so badly not to cry, and YeonAe unintentionally laughed.

“Why are you laughing?” The elder whined and pouted, and in YeonAe’s eyes regardless of her age was somewhere nearing 40, she still looked cute when she did that. Even her son agreed, but each time the both of them told her that, the woman would just wave them of, saying that they just liked to say that because they probably wanted something.

“I’m laughing because, my dear Ms.Zhang, you’re trying so hard not to cry and it turns out funny. I still don’t get until now, why do you have to cry every time on my birthday? I can understand if you cry on Yixing’s, but even on mine?” YeonAe asked, and Yixing, the one who was standing on her left before, only shook his head with an entertained smile.

Ms. Zhang, as what the older woman was named, scoffed lightly at YeonAe’s words and turned her look towards her son, who tried to avoid the conversation as best he could by pretending to be busy doing something else.

“Yixing, dear, would you mind to tell this silly girl here on why shouldn’t I be crying on her birthday, as well as yours but especially on her birthday?” Ms. Zhang asked her son with arms akimbo, and Yixing sighed while shaking his head.

“We’ve had this conversation for years, you two. But of course, mother, I wouldn’t mind telling her again, if that makes you happy. Maybe this girl here needs to be reminded of the fact every time.” Yixing said and turned to look at YeonAe, who tried her best not to look at his face without a hint of red hue getting all over her face. But it was impossible not to see it with her fair complexion. She was lucky that Yixing chose not to say anything.

“YeonAe dearest, ever since you came into our lives, you’ve brought us nothing but bliss and happiness. I’m sure this you know. And I guarantee you also recall that during those days when you first came, my mother and I were having the toughest times in our lives. We were having a difficult time and it was just too much for us to deal with. But you came along and everything seemed to be bearable with you about. It wasn’t even that hard for us to smile anymore. It was as if you infused us with your high spirits. You too know that it wasn’t easy when you first came, but we managed it. And I have to say that we went through it because of you. On the bottom line, you made my mother happy, and you made me happy too.” Yixing said, eyes looking into YeonAe’s and YeonAe looked into his.

When their eyes locked on each other, it was as if their minds were in harmony. The world seemed to stop for a moment and the only thing that they could hear was the sound of their beating hearts, as corny as it may sound.

They lived with each other long enough to know that there was something going on, but none dared to speak up as to not ruin the bond that they already had beforehand, if ever only one of them felt differently. They tried to hide it, and tried not to make it obvious whatsoever. Yet, unbeknownst to them, the other person living in the house already saw it just by looking at them.

Of course, she could sense it, since she was much older than they were and had experienced the same thing herself. She knew that there was something pure and sweet happening between them but she’d rather keep shut. Besides admitting the fact that it wasn’t her position to simply tell them what they felt for each other, she was more excited to see who was going to admit it first.

Would it be her son? Or the girl?

However, being the naughty Ms. Zhang, she said, “Why are you two looking at each other like that?”

Her question took the young teenagers by surprise as they tore their eyes from one another and looked everywhere but Ms. Zhang and each other’s faces. Ms. Zhang giggled on the side and shook her head at their embarrassment. She liked to do that sometimes, teasing them and watched as their faces turned as red as an apple.

One of the two quickly recovered and tried to cover it up, “Oh, mother you are so funny.” Yixing said, adding a humorless laugh at the end before pulling YeonAe’s hand and started leading her out of the kitchen, and then hurriedly out of the house, before leaving his poor mother in the kitchen all by herself.

YeonAe, oblivious of what was going on, started asking on why they left Ms. Zhang on her own. She felt bad for suddenly going out of the house like that, without even saying a word to Ms. Zhang. She didn’t even know where Yixing was taking her, and began pulling his hand while saying that they shouldn’t do that and must get back inside the house now.

“She’ll be fine on her own. Besides, we’re not going anywhere far. We’re just going to the rooftop. If she needs anything she can just yell from down there.” Yixing explained, hoping that it was enough to stop YeonAe from keep trying to get him back inside the house.

They, or rather, he, had no time to waste. He had the timing all planned and it would be such a shame if they missed it. He had never done this before or actually, he didn’t do anything at all except for making sure that they missed nothing. This was the first time he did something like this and he had to make sure it was perfect.

They arrived at the rooftop in just a matter of seconds and Yixing quickly pulled the panting YeonAe to their favorite bench. The girl was still trying to catch her breath that she didn’t have a chance to ask Yixing why he was dragging her to the rooftop as if their lives depending on it. They could’ve slowed down a bit, but Yixing was in a hurry.

Yixing grabbed a blanket not far from where they were and engulfed YeonAe with it, since he knew she had zero tolerance for the cold breeze at night. She always said that the cold was piercing, and since then Yixing often made sure that a blanket was there at least. Though YeonAe couldn’t stand the cold, she liked it there. YeonAe smiled at him gratefully and made herself comfortable with the thick covering mass.

They sat side by side, surrounded by silence in the dark while accompanied by a sea of twinkling stars and the moonbeam above them. In front of them, they witnessed the city lights; looking just as bright as the stars overhead. It was their favorite view, considering that they lived somewhere a little outside the city. And what made it more special was that they were watching it from their favorite hideout. No one else liked to be up there except for the two of them.

The muteness wasn’t uncomfortable; in fact, it felt almost right. Just by having each other beside them, no words were necessary. But then, Yixing broke the silence. “It’s about time.”

YeonAe looked at him with a slight frown, “Time for what?” Yixing only smiled at her and pointed ahead. “Just watch.” YeonAe looked at where he was pointing and she almost jumped out of her skin with what she witnessed.

A string of colorful lights shot straight up from the ground and began exploding; its colors were sparkling against the dark sky as they shattered into thousands of sparks before disappearing. The noise formed shocked her, but not as much as the vibrant illuminations of the fireworks. That astounded her.

The fireworks continued bursting and tumbled like a scarlet waterfall, some floated in a glittering silver shower as they spiraled all across the sky. They were richly colored, and YeonAe was literally dazed. “They’re so beautiful.”

Yixing looked at her, whose eyes were still glued on the fireworks as if they were the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. The lights from the fireworks reflected in her big eyes, but still to him, he thought they were much more beautiful than the sparklers. A soft beam played on his lips, and he whispered, “Yes, they are.”

YeonAe turned to him, a pleasurable smile on her face, and said, “I’ve never seen anything like it. Thank you, Yixing. This is ... the best present ever.” Yixing reached out to tousle her hair. “You’re most welcome. But that’s not it, though.”

 Before YeonAe could ask, he reached for a small box under the bench and put it on her lap. YeonAe looked at the box with a perplexed expression, and turned to Yixing for an explanation but the boy only nodded at the box, signaling her to open it.

YeonAe carefully lifted the lid of the small box, and against the darkness, she guessed that the box was green in color, her favorite. What she saw next in the box caught her breath away. There was a bracelet, nestled on top of a bunch of envelopes. As curious as she was, YeonAe decided to ask about the envelopes later.

She slowly lifted the bracelet up, and though it was simple, to her it looked at most beautiful. The pendant was what caught her eye