blue birthday - yang jungwon.

VII. THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT, 2021.

You find yourself in the cafeteria.

Intak's sitting to your right, Youngeun's sitting to your left, and Hikaru's nowhere to be found. If your past actions didn't change what happened in this moment, she should be in the library. You tap Youngeun on the shoulder, flashing her a grin. "Where's Jungwon?"

She takes a nervous glance at Intak. "Uh..."

"He's... somewhere!" Intak chimes in, and you give him a frown. "Did he leave the school?" you ask, and Intak diverts his attention back to his food, and you sigh. "He told you to not tell me where he was going, didn't he?" you ask, and your friends' silence are all the confirmation that you need (plus, future Youngeun told you as well.)

"Right. Gotta go!" you say, slinging your backpack over your shoulder, pushing your lunch tray forward as you hop out of your seat. "We gotta stop her!" Intak's eyes widen, getting out of his seat to try to stop you, but Youngeun reaches out to place a hand on his shoulder.

"Just... let her go." she says, and Intak sighs.

You race out of the cafeteria, the keychain on your backpack jingling as you quicken your pace. You check your watch - 12:03. Lunch ends at 1, and it takes around fifteen minutes to walk to Jungwon's place. Running should let you get there faster - you assume that maybe it'll take ten minutes.

You still remember the route to Jungwon's place. You're sweaty, tired and heaving for breath when you get to the lobby of his apartment complex, giving the nice lady sitting at the reception a quick wave as you rush into the elevator. You press the button for floor 9, and you check your watch for the time - 12:11. You tap your foot nervously on the floor as you watch the numbers go up on the elevator screen.

The elevator's doors open, and you practically sprint out of the elevator.

You can hear music playing from Jungwon's apartment when you arrive at his door, and you smile to yourself. The key to his apartment should be in your jacket pocket, and you find it quickly. When you twist the key and unlock the door, you see Jungwon putting something in the fridge.

"Jungwon?"

His eyes widen when he realises it's you. "Uh... hey!"

"This totally isn't a surprise party," he stammers, and your eyes glance at the balloon arch and the 'HBD' balloons hung up on the wall. "Yeah," you say, giving him a small, awkward smile. "I thought you said no party, Wonie."

"Yeah, but I wanted to surprise you." he says, picking up a balloon rose from the floor. "I even learnt how to make balloon roses." he says, holding it out to you.

You struggle to stop the smile that threatens to spread across your lips as you accept the flower, but then you remember why you're here. "I know - and I really appreciate it, okay?" you say with a small sigh. "But then why don't you want a party?" he asks.

You don't want to tell him. You don't want to tell him that you're from the future, and he's going to die in approximately 7 hours, and it's all because you two are heading back here for this surprise party.

"I..."

"Do you... not like the surprise?" he asks, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He's biting the inner part of his cheek - something he does when he's upset, and you feel absolutely horrible. "No, no - I love it. It's just... not this year. We can't have this party this year. Next year is fine, but not this year."

"Why not? Why not this year?" he asks.

"I just..."

"(Name), why can't you just tell me? You can trust me, I promise." he pleads, and you shake your head frantically. "I can't, Jungwon."