One thing Jongin had done almost appreciative in his whole life, as his colleague elites had later gathered to contemplate in final judgment to his action, was remembering her sister's birthday and having his gift nicely stored in one of his drawers under his bed a week before the day. As reckless as Jongin was of a human being he always forgot his dearest friends' birthdays, let along with those tacky gifts. But this surprising turn of his nature successfully fixed especially Chanyeol's opinion about Jongin, that at least once in his life Jongin was being a normal humane human.

            It was no secret to the people in the Mansion, Taeyeon's birthday, even without herself speaking about it Mrs. Kim, as Taeyeon has suspected, had informed all of them about the date. Since the day she was locked up in the clinic by Baekhyun, and since she had convinced Baekhyun about fresh air made her sickness go away faster, there was always someone missing in the house. And by the night when she finished her dinner in the hall the door would be opened with one of them came back with handful of bags which really just pointed out their excursion in shopping center, perhaps miles from this desolated place. And one time when Hyoyeon accidentally slipped a tongue about her difficult time on finding a "gift", the bell immediately rang. Her birthday.

            If it wasn't the weird but unusually similar behaviors from those people Taeyeon wouldn't even notice she was becoming nineteen just in the next month, August, the epilogue of her summer holiday.

            And something even harder for her to accept, the reality that she was going back.

            Taeyeon opened her phone, eyebrows furrowed, as her fingers swept across the screen in extreme difficulty and fear, she clicked the icon of the calendar, and her heart sank.

            Eleven days.

            Excluding today, the day which all belonged to her happiness and celebration, it was precisely ten days left. The emptiness washed over her again, it felt as if a portion of her body was vacuous, like something was missing. It happened more frequently than before every time she thought about the departure. Her day was coming closer and yet she was feeling more passive about the idea of leaving. 

            This was her birthday today.

            And it wasn't an opportune time to let the negative thoughts ruining the whole evening. 

            As Taeyeon entering the huge parlor room she was welcomed by series of up-spirit chanting and cheering which definitely came from the loud and booming voices of Jongin and Chanyeol, and Hyoyeon and Yuri were throwing confetti all over the floor. Wow! That was all in Taeyeon's head when such a scenic sight ran into her eyes. Birthday decorations, party balloons and those colorfulness that blended into harmony. But Taeyeon wasn't searching for any of these, her eyes, under the instinct that had developed to one of her habits was scanning through the parlor hall in search of something, or rather, someone.

Taeyeon ferreted out, she was searching for Baekhyun, the only absent member in presence. Now she began to realize how she rarely saw him the days before, and now like those magic shows in theater he disappeared in a moment of distraction, right on her birthday. Where was he? Then the possibility suddenly busted in her head, wouldn't it be possible that Baekhyun was too busy with his work, the "hunt" of opportunity in the market he once explained to her was much more important than her birthday. Of course, she thought, withdrawing her searching eyes without leaving a trace of disappointment.

And Taeyeon heard Hyoyeon shrieked.

          "Why are you not in your birthday dress?"

Taeyeon just shrugged. "It's just a birthday, Hyo, the dress is too formal, I don't think it's really necessary as I have to-"

"It is necessary." Hyoyeon dropped the confetti cone on the table before rushing towards Taeyeon, urging the confused girl to the door.

            "In fact, it's a must." Jongin added, the smile on his face looked so exaggerated making Taeyeon felt like he couldn't wait to shove her into the dress left in her room. "Oh my dear sister Taetae if you don't wear that we are all going to be dead——"

            "You say another word then we're all going to be dead for real." Sehun snapped back, and Taeyeon still couldn't figure out why they said that at any circumstances.

            "Just wear it, okay?" Hyoyeon looked pleadingly at Taeyeon, the latter just raised her hands in compromise. "Alright then."

            "You can take as long to change it just make sure..." Luhan checked his phone in his hand and raised a brow as he slowly uttered out. "7:05?"

            "Isn't it already 7:05?"

            "...Nevermind, you can take however long you want."Taeyeon just shrugged. Once she exited the parlor hall the crowd instantly began to boil, but obviously she would never know what they'd said in those minutes she went to change.

"Baekhyun is late."


 

Where has she put it? Taeyeon rummaged through all the drawers in seeking of the dress she remembered putting in the wardrobe yesterday when she received it from Hyoyeon, but nothing was in sight. Frustrated, Taeyeon went to the bathroom thinking that a splash of cold water might be a good option to help her arrange the memory from yesterday.

           Strange. Because when she was finished with washing her face Taeyeon spotted the delicate purple box right in the center of the bed from the reflection in the mirror. Someone tell her it didn't really just somehow appear in the midst of space and time.

Taeyeon fixed her eyes still on the box, turning back to fetch the dress she cautiously looked around the room to double check no one was deliberately playing trick or stunt on her. She slowly unlaced the ribbon tied around the purple box and lifted the lid up, the white dress was folded inside. That was weird.

She quickly undressed herself, taking off the casual clothes as she slipped into the white dress. The knee-length dress with white-laced texture cut a straight line at her shoulders, leaving her collarbone and shoulders bare. If only there was an appropriate necklace to complement her outfit. The dress was quite of a simple one, there wasn't chiffon or pleated silk but the simplicity in its style didn't look a bit of feeble and lack in brilliancy.

Just in a matter of time the night had fallen down to the Mansion on the hills of faraway, the sky outside of the window was already colored in profound blackness, natural lights source in the firmament emerged from the draping shades of clouds, night was silent. The electric lamps and chandelier in her room shone extra bright now. It was about time. 7:30, she had spent enough time on roaming about those thoughts randomly.

Turning, Taeyeon expected to see the door waited for her to open but suddenly the lights went out.

And right now she was in darkness. Taeyeon flinched for a second, not believing in ghost didn't make her fearless towards whatever it was going on in this moment. Why did the lights go off? A black out? Power cut?

She couldn't see anything, her vision had just jumped from lights to dark and an adjustment towards the obscurity surrounded her was necessary for her to regain any visual recognition. Slowly, but dreadfully the outlines of the furniture started to get visible, Taeyeon froze there, as much of a shock she received just now she daren’t to move a muscle. Even it was purely a black out her mind was sending her the wrong signal of hauntedness.

And almost concurrently as her brain convinced her to move, a pair of arms found their way to her slender waist, pulling Taeyeon a few centimeters backwards while the sudden warmth enveloping around her from behind. Her back, due to the unexpected force by the tug on her waist slapped against the person’s chest in a slight impulse, and feeling those arms firming around her torso the distance between two bodies compressed to none. The motion stopped, Taeyeon found herself clutched at those assuring hands on her abdomen.

Taeyeon wanted to spin her head around to see, but before she could her head knocked on the person’s chin in the middle of her action to the left. The person must have sensed her intention as he leaned down his head, his lips vaguely touching her forehead.

Her head was stuck between the turn of her neck and the face so close to her, Taeyeon’s eyes unblinking, borrowing the gleaming moonlight outside she could see their reflection imprinted on the glass door of the balcony.

She stared, and from the reflection against the radiance of pale moonlight from the window, as clear and as obscure, she saw the silhouette of two people, the taller male cuddled the smaller girl into his embrace, his arms circled the girl tight as if never letting go, and the girl leaned her head onto the male in trust.

A back hug.  

“Miss me?”

It was too familiar that it all became some sort of dreams, some illusions to her. Taeyeon couldn’t believe.

The first time, she was in his arms as the apology to making her jumping off the building during the Escape.

The second time, she was in his arms when they reunited after death and life in the raining forest.

The third time, she was in his arms in balance while wearing the first pair of party high heels ever.

… ...

Too many times, too many memories, and every time the slightest contact of body could bring flames to her heart, they weren’t all for the same causes and there always seemed to be an excuse, a reason for, things just went away smoothly and unnoticed as if all of them were just an extend of helping hand. This one, Taeyeon closed her eyes, this one was far more special among any other slipped away touches.

Inhaling, she opened to see again, the reflection on the glass door emerged in her vision, and themselves in the glass in the eyes of night were two lovers under romantic moonlights.

Does it belong to them?

They stayed in silence for some minutes listening to each other's heartbeat, feeling the electricity circuited through their body in a curious way. He said did she miss him. Of course, what else could it be if she felt so much vacancy just by seeing him not there. Taeyeon bit her lips, felt dry.

"Did you forget?" And between them no explanation was needed to understand what she referred to, Baekhyun knew what she was worrying about.

He put a hand over hers, breath faintly tingled her skin.

"How can I forget?"

The tone in his voice was soothing to her ears, Taeyeon looked up to Baekhyun and even in this darkness she could portrayed him with the corner of his mouth curved up, those smiles dancing on the tips of his lips

"You shouldn’t have scared me."

"Which one you mean?"

Scaring her by suddenly shutting the lights or scaring her by making her think he forgot? Taeyeon didn't reply, but her mind wasn't on the matter of question, her instinct was pushing her to do what she wanted to do the most at this moment. Letting Baekhyun kept her hands locked around her waist Taeyeon slowly turned her back around, when she was facing