You are standing next to Luhan’s manager while watching Luhan rehearse for his final movie scene. His manager tells you to sit instead of standing since the scene will probably last a few hours. You comply and sit next to the manager, your eyes fixed onto Luhan. Several fans are standing behind the barricades, waving their banners out to Luhan when he walks past them. You see them handing out small bags to him and he accepts them as he gives a slight bow to thank them. You smile when he walk towards you and his manager.

“Looks like someone is receiving their birthday presents early.” His manager comments, putting all the presents into one large bag to put into the van. You and Luhan exchange glances and smile, his eyes twinkling at you when you hand him a water bottle. The director calls for all the actors to be on standby and he jogs leisurely towards the director, waving to the fans who are still there to be movie extras. The final movie scene is a soccer scene, his character is playing in the playoffs while hiding his injuries from his coach and girlfriend. In this scene specifically, he makes the winning goal but collapses on the field, stunning the crowd.

“Scene 5, take 1, and action!” The cameramen are sliding across the field with a cart when they are filming the soccer scene. You can spot Luhan among the other soccer players and your eyes are fixated to him as he plays. You groan in agony when you see Luhan being tripped over and injuring himself as if you’re the one that’s being injured.

“Cut!” You sigh in relief when the director decides to halt the filming. Luhan is walking towards the bench slowly as he breathes heavily, his hand clutching to his side as the staff hands him a water bottle and a towel. He smiles brightly when his co-actors walk over to chat with him and quickly shifts his attention to you. You catch his gaze and wave a Luhan banner at him, causing him to crack up.

“Okay, let’s continue filming!” They film for three hours straight and the director stops the filming for the day when he thinks the scene is good. Luhan bows and waves his arms around to thank the staff members and fans before walking slowly towards you and the manager.

“Hey, they are having a work dinner tonight and are planning a short soccer game afterwards…” Luhan looks at you expectantly. You and the manager look at each other and he shrugs his shoulders at you before putting the bags into the back of the van.

“Just make sure you’ll be back by-”

“Midnight, I will.” He taps his lips lightly onto yours before walking you to the van where the manager will drive you home. You wave goodbye to him and watches him jogging to his co-actors, chatting happily with them as he holds onto a soccer ball with his hands. You laugh at his love for soccer and the manager glance over to you for a second.

“Planning something for him?” You turn your head around and shake your head.

“Takes too much money and time.” He shakes his head and sigh, focusing his attention back on his driving.

“Kids these days…”

The dim kitchen lights make you sleepy as you rest your head onto the dining table, staring at the last text message Luhan sent to you two hours ago saying he’s on his way home. Psh, he’s probably still dribbling the soccer ball when he sent me this. You put your phone down and turn your head to the other side, looking at the white pastry box that contains his birthday cake. Slowly, your eyelids start to feel heavy and before you know it, you close your eyes and breathe soundly in your sleep.  

In your deep sleep, you hear a muffled voice and you stir in your slumber, your eyelids slowly lifting up to uncover your eyes. The kitchen lights are still dim and you don’t see anyone within the view, until you hear a crash behind you which cause you to whip your head around. You see Luhan frantically dropping his duffel bag onto the floor before crouching down to put his soccer ball inside. Then, Luhan meets eyes with you and stands up, strolling towards you and bending his waist slightly.

“Did I wake you up?” He murmurs softly, combing your hair behind your ear. You look over your shoulder to see what he hit, it’s the coat rack. You shrug your shoulders to his question and walks over to the coat rack to place it back in upright when your eyes stray to the wall clock.

“Oh god!” You scramble to the kitchen and place the box on top of the dining table before ripping off the tape when you notice Luhan is still standing in the kitchen.

“Turn away from me.” You order, your fingers gripping onto the cake board tightly as you pull the cake out of the box. You hear him sniffle out a laugh, but he really turn away from you when you turn your head back to check . As soon as the cake is out of the box, you grab the match box and candle lying nearby and stick the candle onto the center. You pull out a matchstick and strike it against the box to ignite a flame. You look at your phone and smile when you see you still have three minutes left before midnight.

“Alright, turn around.” He turns around and you smile shyly as he walks over. You quickly sing the happy birthday song since it’s embarrassing for both of you. You two clap briefly before you nudge your elbow at him.

“Make a wish.” He nods and is about to close his eyes when he suddenly holds onto your hand.

“Let’s make it together.” You nod and close your eyes as you two make your wishes. He snakes an arm around your waist as he blows out the flame, pulling you in his embrace and resting his chin on top of your head.

“Hey.” You lift your head to look at him. He tilts his face and brushes his nose lightly onto yours.

“Thank you.” He presses his lips onto yours, and you shift your body to return the kiss. The kiss deepens and you slowly part your lips from him when you want to speak. He narrows his eyebrows in confusion and you giggle softly as you smooth them with your thumb. Then, you twist your body and extend your arm out to reach for the cake. You manage to grab a dollop of cream onto your finger and you quickly tap your finger onto his nose.

“Happy birthday, Luhan.” He laughs and reaches over for the cake and strikes a dollop of cream onto your cheek.

It seems like you two will be playing with the cake rather than eating it.