"𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐭. 𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞."
Seven boys running, trying to discover what the fever gave them while balancing everything it took a...
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I breathe the cold air easily. It feels liberating to have something good happen after everything that has been going on. We have all been acting weird and uneasy. But today it feels like a victory getting to celebrate one more birthday.
I slip out of my bunk bed to check on Niki. I'd told the others to wait until today to celebrate both of us together. Even back at the castle we've always had one party for us both, sometimes in my day and sometimes in his. I decided to give it to him this time.
Niki is still asleep, but I see Jake and Heeseung-hyung rising across the room. Jay-hyung struggles against slumber in his bed, mumbling nonsense.
"Do I wake him?" Jake whispers, pointing at our maknae.
"Wait, I need to get something," I tell him before reaching under my pillow. A little something I got for him.
"Jay-ah, come here!" Heeseung-hyung calls him quietly, trying not to wake the others.
"Aish, I'm going..." he mumbles with his hair still sticking at weird angles. He grabs a book from under his mattress.
I move to stand next to them and we huddle near Niki's bed. Jake mouths the countdown to us.
3... 2... 1... SPLAT!
Jay-hyung throws the book against the floor loudly and breaks into song with the rest of us.
"Happy birthday to you~! Happy birthday to youuuu~! Happy birthday, dear Niki~ Happy birthday to you~! "
Niki's eyes go round and he nearly falls off the bed at the initial scandal.
"Happy 15~" I sing song at him and hug him.
"Happy 18 to you too," he answers happily.
"I got you something." I reveal the worn teddy I'd been hiding under my pillow. It's an old plushie he used to sleep with when he was younger. The night we left the castle I took it with me, hoping to give him something from home he could take with himself.
He gasps. "How did you-?"
"It's nothing," I brush it off. "Happy birthday."
He takes it slowly and smiles at me. "Thank you!"
"Our little maknae is not so little anymore!" Jake coos behind me, leaning in to embrace Niki too.
"Congratulations, our little dancer~!" Heeseung-hyung adds.
"Aren't you too old for that plushie, Niki-yah?" Jay-hyung jokes.
