Dame (PRINCE SERIES OC ONESHOTS)

Birthday

"Phew, I'm stuffed!" Ray exclaimed, lightly slapping her belly as she walked in between two of her best friends. "Best dinner ever!"

"Same." Toshiro said, his face content.

The three of them had just left an all-you-can-eat korean buffet to celebrate a certain someone's birthday and were generally in a happy mood. Toshiro even got a balloon from the restaurant, despite not being the birthday boy.

The mall would be closed in around one hour, yet the teenagers were taking their sweet time walking around.

"I'm definitely coming again." Toshiro said with a serious yet determined look, feeling a bit happy about the balloon.

"Yeah, definitely."

A sweet smell invaded their noses as they went near the exit. It was intense for a split second and became distant after a while. Toshiro looked around, trying to locate the source. His eyes landed on the automatic glass door.

"You good?" Ray asked but was shushed by him, trying to focus.

Someone exited the mall and the door opened, causing the smell became stronger for a moment.

"Bingo." A small smile formed on Toshiro's lips as he finally found his target. He immediately walked briskly towards the exit.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"I'm going out. Waffle alert!" He yelled, notifying them.

"Damn, that guy surely eats a lot. Did you see how much he ate just now?" Ray commented.

"..."

"To think that he could fit more in that small belly of his." Ray shuddered as she remembered the mountains of dish that Toshiro managed to obliterate all by himself. "With that talent, he should've open a mukbang account, right?"

"..."

"I kept telling him but he still refused. Imagine the money, the fame! If only he had listened! You should definitely try talking to him too. He always listens to you."

"..."

Joo-hyuk didn't hear her as he kept swiping on his phone, something that he rarely does during hangouts because he believed it would ruin the atmosphere.

"Hello, earth to Joo-hyuk? Are you still there?" Ray waved her hand in front of him, slightly surprised to see him in a daze. "You look distracted, is everything all right?"

"Huh? Oh, nah, everything's great!"

"You sure?" She raised her eyebrows, "You don't look fine to me. Did you eat anything bad?"

"Nah, everything's fine." Joo-hyuk glanced at his phone. "My sister just sent some funny memes. Andddd she promised to send some birthday money but she still hasn't sent it yet."

"Honestly, I don't buy it but if you say so." She wasn't convinced but didn't persist. Ray was more focused on the sweet smell that kept coming and leaving.

"Great, now I want some too." She pondered before looking at him, "Wanna share? I could make room for only half. I'll pay you later though."

"Ohh, sure! I want chocolate. With peanut butter!" Joo-hyuk handed her some dollar notes and basically pushed her towards the exit. "Quick, before it's sold out!"

'Geez, what's up with him today?' She thought, rubbing her shoulder.

Joo-hyuk watched as the door opened and closed again. Leaning on the marble wall, he focused once again on his phone, restlessly waiting for a notification.

Joo-hyuk swiped up and down all of his SNS, ignoring the small bubble of notifications wishing for his birthday. He figured he would reply to it later when he's in the mood.

'Still nothing.' He thought dejectedly, letting out a loud sigh. All those notifications yet none of them was from her.

11:20 PM

Joo-hyuk laid on his bed, his phone rested on his pillow. A small buzz came out and he rolled towards it, feeling a bit excited. He frowned when he realised that it was a deleted hate message from Ciel that was meant for Gion, and an apology text for accidentally sending it to him.

Yawning, he rubbed his eyes and stood up, moving around a bit. Joo-hyuk rarely slept this late, being a morning person, so this was taking a toll on him.

Suddenly his phone rang and he frowned when he realised who was the caller.

"Orion?"

"Wait at the park. Right now." Orion said curtly.

"Huh, but the curfew.... andddd he's gone." Joo-hyuk sighed, putting his phone on the study table. His heart started beating wildly as he thought of a possibility. "It couldn't be... Right?"

Grabbing his red hoodie, he quickly put it on and left his room, bringing his keys with him. He walked through the long corridor and pushed the elevator button.

'Come onnn!"

11.45 PM

After successfully dodging the guards, and sneaking out from the secret spot he and Ray had always used, he finally arrived at the public park.

The street lights illuminated the park, providing visibility and security for night joggers. Though, Joo-hyuk wasn't sure if people jogged at midnight but it wasn't one of his concerns now.

His eyes darted around wildly and finally landed on a lone girl, her blonde hair basked under the bright light of the street lamp making her look dazzling and literally shining.

Joo-hyuk could recognise the hairband from afar. He pinched himself, making sure he was not hallucinating from the lack of sleep.

"Otylia? Is that really you?" He called out.

The girl whirled around, her restless face turned red after seeing him,"Joo-hyuk."

He rushed towards her, a bit out of breath, "What are you doing here alone late at night? It's dangerous!"

"Don't worry, I'm not alone." Otylia gestured towards the bench, where her twin brother was pretending to read something on his phone while crossing his leg. Joo-hyuk waved at him but received no response.

"I see. But still, aren't you tired and all? It's Friday and you should be resting."

"I'm fine, really. Nevermind that. I just..." Otylia gulped and held the small box close to her, "I have something for you."

He peeked at the box and recognized it was from a bakery. A strawberry was visible from the transparent top of the box.

Taking a deep breath, Otylia looked at him directly in the eyes and finally said, "Happy birthday."

"..."

Joo-hyuk's lack of response caused her voice waver a bit, "I, well, it's night already but it's not midnight yet... And I'm sorry it's not too much but I hope-"

Out of a sudden, Joo-hyuk pulled her into a tight embrace, her face buried on his broad shoulders.

"Thank you, Otylia." He said softly, finally receiving his birthday wish from the very person he was waiting for the whole day. "I'm really, really, happy!"

Otylia's face turned redder, and she was about to say something when suddenly he turned limp; his face burrowed on her shoulder. "Uhh, Joo-hyuk?"

No response and she felt a crushing weight over her shoulder and an audible snore.

She panicked when she realised that this 72 kg teenager had just fallen asleep while standing. Barely supporting him with both of her arms, she yelled, "Orion!"