Here For You | JunHao

四十四

The party was around eight years before this wedding.

And it was the same day that Junhui had met the love of his future bride.

It was exactly midnight, which legitemately marks Junhui's birthday. Junhui had been excitedly waiting right in front of the clock for it to strike twelve.

He had immediately called his bestfriend, Minghao, on his phone. It was ringing and he couldn't wait to hear from his best friend and to tell him that it was finally his birthday.

Back then, Junhui felt indifferent towards his birthday since there would be no one to celebrate it with him. It used to feel just like any other day. However, that all changed as soon as he met Minghao. His bestfriend would always make sure to celebrate his birthday and be there for him, preparing all kinds of things.

Today was the first birthday he'd have since entering college and he had been looking forward to it a whole lot.

"Hello, Jun?"

"Hao, It's midnight! It's my birthday!"

"Oh, right. Happy birthday, Jun."

"Hao, what time are you coming back? What time is your flight back from Jeju? Should I pick you up?"

"Uh... actually, Jun, about that..."

"Yeah?"

"I might not get back to Seoul tomorrow."

"...W-What?"

"Sorry, Jun. Turns out that there weren't any seats left available for tomorrow."

"B-But..."

"Sorry, Jun. I'll make it up to you. I promise."

"..."

"I'll arrive the day after tomorrow, okay? Don't get too sulky, Jun."

"..."

"Jun?"

"O-Okay..."

"Sorry, Jun. I swear, I'll make it up to you somehow. Happy birthday, Jun."

"Mm. Okay."

"Seungkwan told me to tell you that he said 'happy birthday'."

"Okay, tell him I said 'thanks'."

"Will do."

"..."

"Sorry, Jun, but I'm a little tired today, so..."

"O-Oh, okay. Go to sleep. Good night, Hao."

"Night, Jun. Happy birthday."

And the call was dropped.

He put his phone down. Whatever brightness that had beamed from his face earlier was no longer present.

It's not like we're kids. Why was I so excited anyways?

He lied down and stared at his ceiling.

I guess, I'll be alone this birthday again.

After some time of just staring at the ceiling, he dozed off.

He woke up and let out a yawn, stretching his arms. He immediately got out of bed and exited his room. He rushed quickly to the other boy's room and opened it.

"Hao, I-"

Oh, right.

He was met with an empty room.

Right. Hao won't be coming home today.

He nodded.

No, I can still enjoy this day!