OPEN YOUR EYES (BLIND I) - MUSIQ SERIES PART 2

5. AXEL'S BIRTHDAY

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Axel! Happy birthday to you!" Everyone sang as they gathered around the table celebrating Axel's birthday.

"I don't like celebrating my birthday, guys! This is so embarrassing!" Axel told them after blowing the candles on the cake.

"Well, today you need to do a birthday livestream, so you should push all that embarrassment aside!" Duyi reminded him. "What will you do?"

"I was thinking of doing the baking thing today," he said. "We have been putting it off and I don't really like chocolate cake all that much."

"Can we watch?" Heejin asked him. "If you don't mind, of course."

"Watch? Oh, no! You will all be there baking with me. Did you actually think you would not be there?" he told them. "Oh, hell, no! I am not making a livestream by myself and much less one about baking. I'm not your personal cook."

"But I can't cook to save my life!" Juiyu protested.

"Then just help us out."

"I bet it's going to be really fun," Eunwon said and laughed at them. "I totally support the idea."

"After that, what will we do?" Eunae asked. "I know it's your birthday and all, but I was hoping to have some fun in the evening."

"Your father and I will leave all of you alone tonight, so you can have a party or something," Eunwon told them. "We will be staying at aunt Keira's house for the night."

"For real? We'll have the house to ourselves?!" Eunae exclaimed excitedly.

"You can only throw a party among us. Don't invite anyone else over," Kihwan warned them.

"As if we had anyone else to invite."

While they talked about the conditions, Heejin noticed that Juiyu and Duyi were whispering to each other and sent them a confused look, to which they responded with a wink, shocking her.

"What are you two planning now?" she asked them warily.

"Us? Nothing!" they answered at the same time and laughed.

"Whatever you were planning, forget about it," she insisted. "I don't care what it is."

"Yes, sure. Okay." Juiyu smiled. "Shouldn't we prepare for the livestream, then?"

"I'll help you with it," Eunwon told them. "Let's prepare everything and wash the dishes at the same time so we have time for everything to cool down before tea-time."

They all quickly got to work, and some got the ingredients ready, others washed the dishes and Axel and his father set up a camera they had along with a laptop so they could film everything with a better quality. At some point, however, Heejin had to excuse herself because she was not feeling too well, and she picked up a water bottle and headed to her room for a minute.

Not long after, Axel knocked on the door to check on her and sat with her on the bed.

"Are you okay?" he asked her. "What happened?"

"I don't know. I'm just not feeling too well right now," she answered honestly. "I think I ate too much chocolate. If I eat too much, it can trigger migraines for me."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know. I just told my parents to pick up that one because it's Eunae's favourite," he apologised.

"It's fine, don't worry," she assured him. "But why didn't you pick the one you like if it's your birthday?"

"Because she usually doesn't get to celebrate hers with my parents. It's just a thing I've been doing. It's dumb, I know, but that's just what I do." He shrugged. "Anyway, back to you and your migraine. Lie down for a while and see if it gets any better. I'll bring an ice pack."