"Happy birthday Oh maknae!" Everyone cheered as Sehun blew out the '22' candles on his chocolate cake. Chocolate was his favourite flavour since he was a small boy and his love for it had never changed even after he debuted and grew a few inches taller.

"Time to act like a mature young man, Sehun-ah." Baekhyun said as he patted his dongsaeng's back.

"But that doesn't mean that you can come home later than you normally do." Junmyeon said strictly.

"Yes hyung, I will whine less too. Maybe just once every day." Sehun joked as Chanyeol placed a triangular birthday hat on his head.

"Ya, hyung. Time to stop being so childish!" Sehun told Chanyeol as he pretended to ripped the hat off his head.

Chanyeol eyes widened in pretended shock. "Ya ya ya! Growing older doesn't mean that you can be rude to your hyung! Aish!" He attempted to fake punch Sehun on the shoulder but he was blocked by Kyungsoo's almighty strength.

"Stop bullying our maknae. It's his birthday!" Kyungsoo said sternly as he twisted Chanyeol's arm in an awkward angle. "Yes, yes. I was wrong! Sorry sorry! Please let me go!" Chanyeol pleaded as his face was twisted in pain. Kyungsoo threw his hand back at him.

"Ya ya ya, stop playing. The pork bellies are almost done." Jongdae said as he cut the pork slices into smaller bite-sized pieces. Jongdae loved cooking for his fellow members and it made him happy when they complimented him. He and Kyungsoo were the chef of the house while Chanyeol occasionally joined them.

"Thank you for the food! Let's dig in!" Sehun said happily as he picked up the largest piece of pork belly and stuffed it into his mouth. The rest of the members were smiling as they watched their maknae enjoying his birthday dinner. Every single one of them loved Sehun because he was a cute and kind-hearted maknae who never failed to take care of his hyungs when they needed him.

Hyesung grabbed a piece of lettuce off the basket and placed a small spoonful of rice, garlic, spicy chilli sauce and a slice of pork belly on top of it before wrapping and stuffing it into .

"Mmmmmmm!" Hyesung devoured her food happily.

"It's nice, right?" Junmyeon, who was sitted opposite her, asked. "This is one of the best restaurant in this area. We rented the second level about a month in advance!"

"Wow, really?" Hyesung did not realise that they had rented the entire second level for private dining. She merely thought that the business was not doing too well to explain the lack of crowd. Now that she thought about it, it made sense to her. If they had not rented it for private dining, this restaurant would have been flooded with their fans. Hyesung never understood how all these fans seemed to know every whereabout of their idols. Did they hire private investigator or were they merely very good stalkers? She would not know.

"Ajumma! Can we have more soju over here?" Sehun shouted across the room before announcing to his group of colleagues. "This meal is my treat."

"Really? Wahhhhh. Our maknae has really grown up." Junmyeon said proudly as he patted Sehun on the back.

"Hyung, stop being jealous about my growth spurt and my height." Sehun joked as he drank his shot of soju. "Mmmmm... so this is feeling of being a legit adult."

"Ya, who want to bet with me? I am dead sure that he is drunk." Baekhyun asked the rest of the members who were on the other table.

"I am not drunk! At least not yet." Sehun smiled cheekily. "Ya, noona. Stop eating your pork belly and drink some soju with me."

"I-I can't drink..." Hyesung replied, flustered.

"Don't lie. I remembered how well you drank at Junmyeon's party a few years back." Sehun argued as he shoved a glass of soju into her hand.

"Tha-that..." Hyesung struggled to form a counter argument.

"Ya ya ya, Oh Sehun. A grown up man doesn't treat a woman like that." Junmyeon scolded him as he snatched the glass of soju out of his hand. "I am thirsty, I will drink it."

"Oowaaaaaa!" The members echoed and teased their leader for his gentlemanly actions.

"Sehun-ah, you better learn how to be a gentleman from Suho!" Baekhyun, who was the loudest in pack, teased the two of them.

"Ya ya ya. There's still a few more days left before my birthday! I can act however I want to be right now and act like a gentleman once my birthday has passed!" Sehun argued like a child. Baekhyun and Sehun then broke into an argument on how acting and being a gentleman was different while the rest returned their attention to their delicious meal.

"Feel so good to eat a feast after a busy day!" Jongin said as he gobbled his food.

EXO had just completed their pre-recording for Mcountdown, Seoul fansigns and photoshoot for Lotte Pepero. The EXO members all nodded in agreement. Hyesung stared in awe at how different each and everyone of them behaved on and off the stage. On stage, they looked charismatic and good. But off stage, they were completely different from their professional sides. It was as if they had multiple personalities but in a good way.

"Noona, what are you doing after dinner?" Sehun asked in a more polite tone.

"Go back home, I guess?" Hyesung replied.

"Do you want to go Hangang with Chanyeol and I? We are thinking of having a picnic ourselves. Join us?" Sehun asked.

"You can do that?" Hyesung eyes widened. "I mean, won't your fans find you if you do that?"

"Don't worry, it will be a part of Hangang that is pretty isolated from the rest of the city. We go there all the time just to get away from the crowd." He winked. "It's our secret hideout."

"And you are inviting me to your secret hideout. Why?" Hyesung asked as she stuffed another piece of pork belly into .

"Because you are my favourite noona and you are-" Sehun began but was cut short by Kyungsoo, who force-fed him with a lettuce wrap.

"Ya ya ya, stop flirting with my cousin and eat! Hurry!" Kyungsoo said angstily.

"Hy-ommmm om ommm ommmm onnmmmmm!" Sehun argued as he chewed the wrap that Kyungsoo had made for him.

"Don't talk while you are eating, it's gross" Kyungsoo scolded his dongsaeng with a look of disgust.

"Hyung. That was really delicious! I am serious!" Sehun said happily despite being reprimanded by his hyung just a few seconds before. He reached forward with both hands wide apart to give his tiny hyung a big bear hug but was immediately pushed away by Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo punched Sehun jokingly in the chest, causing him to recoil in fake pain. Everyone else laughed heartily at the two little brothers adorable argument.

Despite going through so many downs in recent years, Junmyeon was glad that their brotherhood and friendships remained tighter than before. Although he had went through many hardships as the leader of the group, he was glad that he had his little brothers to lean on and to go on. Naturally, Junmyeon could not hide his smile and happiness any longer as he watched the rest of s enjoyed their dinner. It was rare for the entire group to gather like this, even for a short meal, together with their respective managers. They usually had to eat separately in small groups or individually with their managers to avoid attracting too much attention from the public. The only other time when they could hang out like normal people was when they were in their dormitory or in the company's practice room.

By the time they were done with their dinner, a big crowd of female fans had gathered in front of the restaurant. The two bodyguards, along with their managers, had to form a human barricade to protect the EXO members. Some of them waved at the fans while some of them exchanged friendly greetings with their fans. Sehun and Chanyeol got into Hyesung's car with Chanyeol driving and leading the way to their secret hangout place along the Han River.

"Please take care of yourself and go home early!" Chanyeol shouted before slamming the car door shut. Hyesung took the passenger seat next to Chanyeol while Sehun got into the backseat after thanking his fans for the birthday wishes.

"Noona, when did you get your driving license?" Sehun asked from the back when they finally hit the road, away from the fans who were chasing the car.

"I got it when I was studying in the States." Hyesung said. "I did it in one take with flying colours." She added.

"Wow! Not bad! That is better than I had expected. I thought it would take you at least 3 tests before you get your driver license, seeing how bad your body coordination is during dance." Sehun said teasingly.

"Ya! How dare you! Driving and dancing are completely different. Besides, I don't have any coordination problems! I can dance perfectly well." Hyesung retorted as she shot death glares at Sehun through the car mirror. She picked up the small bear on her dashboard and threw it backwards, hitting him right in the face.

"Noona! I was kidding!" Sehun cried as he shielded his face with both his hands from her attack. "Hyung! You know I was kidding right? Hyung! You have to save me! She would kill me once she reached our destination."

Chanyeol laughed. "Well, that's your problem! Not mine!"

"Hyunggggggg!" Sehun whined as he continued to dodge Hyesung's assault. Hyesung had been picking up random stuff lying around in her car and throwing at him continuously. "Hyungggggg!"

Hyesung remembered the old days when the three of them would hang out together like this, and sometimes with Jongin and Junmyeon as well. Hyesung missed the old days when she spent all of her free time practising at the company with like-minded people who are chasing the same dream as her. They were the only ones who understood what she had been going through back then, not her family or her closest friends in school. They were the only ones who were there to support her when she needed them. They were like her family, her best friends and her pillars.

However, Hyesung knew that things had changed since she decided to stop pursuing her dreams and to leave the company. She knew that her once training mates were disappointed that she had gave up on something she held dear to her. She knew that she would have a different life from the rest of them once she stepped out of the celebrity circle.