ℕ𝕖𝕩𝕥 𝕋𝕠 𝕐𝕠𝕦 || 9ᴛʜ ᴍᴇᴍʙᴇʀ

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚗'𝚜 𝙱𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚍𝚊𝚢 ⁰¹

"...have a great day my beautiful boy. We all wish we could accompany you on your birthday. We love you, bye." Chan's mom said into the phone in the early morning. She had been his wake-up call. He answered and his family was screaming the happy birthday song loudly, alarming his ears and making him wince at the loud noise.

He was scared he would wake up Kai, but when he looked around, she wasn't in her bed. Matter of fact, her bed seemed to have stayed the same since the night before. Weird. Chan thought as he got dressed for the day, doing his morning routine, before heading out of his shared bedroom.

Chan walked out and immediately noticed something off. It was quiet. A weird occurrence that rarely happened in the stray kids' dorm, especially since he was always last to wake up on such days, the kitchen would usually be bustling with Felix and Kai making breakfast, and I.N complaining about how long it would take to make, but he was met with silence.

It stung him a bit. Every other day, it was so alive in the dorms, but on his special day, no one seemed to even stick around.

Chan sighed, walked up to the fridge, and poured himself a glass of orange juice, as he scrolled through social media, hoping to be met with happy birthdays from his fans, which of course he was. He spent a while reading as many comments as he could, that he didn't notice the short female speed across the living room. She was lucky she wasn't seen, as she ran right back out the front door.

As she silently closed the door she was met with Lino staring at her warningly, pleading that Chan didn't notice her presence.

"Did he see you?" Lino asked his older member, as he helped her grab the boxes she held in her hand as they walked to her car.

"No, he didn't. Luckily, he had been on a call with his parents when he woke up, so he didn't pay much attention." Kai said as she hopped in the driver seat, driving them to the Han River.

Kai had the idea to throw Chan a small surprise birthday party. It is an intimate picnic at the Han River while they just spend their time with one another. When Kai proposed the idea, everyone seemed on board.

"Kai, are you sure about this?" Lino inquired. Truthfully, he was worried that this was going to end wrong, as they all know how much Chan hates surprises. He didn't doubt Kai, but he was worried Chan would feel alone on his very special day.

"Don't worry Lino, as soon as I drop you off at the Han River to decorate with the rest of the boys, I'm going back to Chan and take him for breakfast or brunch. That way you guys can decorate while I preoccupy his mind by taking him out. The only problem is that his gift is arriving later on schedule." Kai said as checked the watch on her left wrist.

"Why? What's his present?" Lino asked, amused at the lengths Kai was taking just for Chan's happiness. She knew him better than anyone, and he found that cute because no one was more excited to see Chan happy than Kai.

"It's something he's wanted for a little while now. He hasn't been able to get it so I decided to invest. It drained my bank account, but money is replaceable and memories are forever." Kai said as she turned to Lino, who was already looking at her with a smile.

"I didn't know you could be such a romantic, Kai." Lino teased as he laughed as he watched his only female member's face darken with color.

"I'm not a romantic! I practically invented anti-romantic, even the song, check the credits! My name is in there!" Kai yelled playfully as Lino continued to laugh.

"Yeah sure thing, Mrs. Romantic," Lino said, still laughing, not being able to contain it.

"Yeah! Shut it! Now get it out of my car or I'll throw you out of it myself!" Kai yelled as she unlocked her doors, as she parked the car.

Lino was still laughing, making it a little more time-consuming to get out of the car.

"I mean it Lino, grab the things and go help the kids!!" She yelled, laughing to herself and Lino just shook his head and stalked off into the distance where Kai could see the boys setting up the table and some chairs.

"Romantic my ass." She said to herself as he drove back to the dorms.

***

Kai walked through the front door to see Chan sitting in the same position, back faced to her while looking through his phone. She slowly approached him with a small cupcake in her hand, as she lit the candle.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, you smell like a monkey and you look like one too!" Kai sang as he turned around, watching her record him, his face lit up at the sight of her. He chuckled as she walked up to him with the candle lighting her eyes.

"This one is for the best leader, the person who changed my life for the better. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here at this moment with you. I am thankful to you for changing my life, and introducing it to the people I love and can't go a day without. It is because of you I stand here today and I will forever love you. Happy Birthday, Channie!" She said as she extended her hand with the cupcake in hand. "Now make a wish!" She said frantically as the wax from the candle started to melt the more he stared at her.

He closed his eyes for a moment. There wasn't anything more he could have wished for. Kai was there, by his side. He had a lovely team, friends, and family he loved to near death, and he had his beautiful STAY which other than his parents, he had dedicated his whole world to.

He pondered. Trying to swiftly come up with a wish that he truly wanted, yet nothing came to mind.

"Channie, today boy! The candle is melting! Come on!" Kai shook him, jolting his eyes at the sudden movement, his eyes met hers and he froze.

Her eyes glistened in the fire's light. He could have sworn he was looking at the night sky, as her eyes resemble stars. They shun with wonder and joy, and all he could wish for at that moment is that her eyes would always look at him the same way.

He closed his eyes once more and blew out his candle making the wish, praying to whatever deity that his wish would always stay true.

"Yay! Now, what did you wish for?" Kai asked as she placed the cupcake down, looking at him waiting for an answer.

"Yah! You know that if I tell you, the wish would never come true, and I want my wish to stay true!" Chan said as he pulled her in for a hug.

"Yeah, yeah I know, just curious. Anyways, I need you to get ready." Kai said as she pulled away from the hug, leading him to their shared room. She skimmed through their closet, in hopes of finding something nice, other than the color black, for him to wear on his special day.

"What for?" Chan asked as he leaned against the door frame of the room, looking at the black-haired girl with interest. He had no idea what was on her mind.

"I am taking you out to brunch because it's too late for breakfast and too early for lunch. Then we'll meet up with the boys and hang out for the rest of the day, just like you wanted." Kai said as she walked back from the closet with a pair of khaki-colored pants and a gray crew neck. He hesitantly took the clothes from her hand.

"Sounds like a plan. By the way, where are the boys?" Chan was suspicious that the boys weren't home, they hadn't had anything on their schedule, yet he concluded that JYP was a weird man, and must have asked them in or something. Yet they all sent him birthday texts and posted stupid photos on Instagram, so he wasn't holding anything against them.

Kai walked out of the room, and closed the door as the boy changed in their room she continued talking on the other side of the bedroom door, wanting to give him his privacy to change.

"JYP called in for something, I don't remember what. Said something about showing some things for the new group of trainees this coming winter auditions, I don't know. But, I had to plead to him for at least one of us to stay with you, you know since you're his favorite, so I got to! It's going to be so much fun!" Kai said as she waited for him to change.

The door opened and she was met with Chan looking his best. He wore the clothes well and added a silver chain and the watch she gifted him for his birthday last year.

Kai smiled proudly, "See, I don't know why you like wearing black all the time. I mean you look good in black, but the change of color just makes you look like a 'chef's kiss'." She said as she even did the kiss her fingers moved as she turned to head for the front door, making sure to grab all her things