Volcano | Bangchan

Happy Birthday

Sooki's POV

"When are we gonna do this ?", "I can't wait !', "Hush guys ! You're being too loud !", "I'll be the first one to hug her !", "Why you ?!", "Because I said so !", "Lix. Han. Stop fighting. It's gonna be me.", "In your dreams, Hyunjin !". I opened an eye, wondering what was going on. My alarm didn't ring yet, so it was definitely too soon for them to be awake. I caught Seungmin quietly reaching the door and opening it : "Okay, come in, but be quiet !". Nice try Seungmin. 

But as soon as the door opened, Han, Felix and Hyunjin rushed to my bed to be the first ones crashing on my bed. A very, VERY loud "HAPPY BIRTHDAYYYYYYY" resonated, probably in the whole hotel. The other guys and Nomi quickly crawled over, forming a giant pile of humans over me. I laughed genuinely, trying to hug them all.

As you figured out, today was my birthday. I was turning 24. And I couldn't be happier. I was surrounded by the best people I knew, the family I'd chosen. It was supposed to be a day off, but since I told the boys I didn't want to celebrate it in NYC, they had prepared a whole planning. They knew that going out all together would drag too much attention, so they divided the day between all of them.

In the morning, I went shopping with Felix, Hyunjin and I.N. They played a game : each one of them should buy me a complete outfit, and the one I preferred won. In order to be fair, we had to choose a theme. After an intense debate, we defined it : an outdoor date. Felix chose an outfit based on a light brown skirt, a white turtle-neck sweater, and a white cardigan. Jeongin opted for a linen short with a brown belt, with a khaki tank top and an open white shirt. Yeah, Jeongin loves shorts. Hyunjin chose a pair of brown high-waisted pants with a white shirt tucked in, and sleeves rolled up. Honestly, it was hard to decide because each style fitted me perfectly. And I was in awe about how each outfit reflected their creator's style. But I wanted to choose an outfit for the rest of the day, and it was pretty sunny in NYC, even though we were in November. And since I had no idea what the guys were planning, I needed an outfit that could be used in everything circumstance. That's why I.N won the contest.

After lunch, the fashion crew took me back to the hotel where Han, Minho and Seungmin were waiting for me. They brought me to a place I had never heard of, and I will always wonder why this place isn't more famous. The lavender field in NYC. I was completely mesmerized. The cool wind was diffusing the scent of fresh lavender, the sun reflecting on the field blessed my eyes with the most colorful landscape I've ever seen. We spent the whole afternoon just chillin' in the field, enjoying the peace in the middle of the city that never sleeps. Han even got inspired by the atmosphere and wrote a whole song in an hour. 

We wanted to spend more time in this unreal place, but I had to go and meet Changbin and Nomi. Since they knew it was one of my dreams, they took me to see an NBA match. I was overly excited during all the game, and Bin, being a huge fan too, was hyping me up. Let's just say that, in the end, the whole stadium knew Binnie's voice. Nomi wanted to hide in a hole and ended up acting like she didn't know us. So, of course, we would yell even louder to embarrass her. She couldn't hold it anymore and took us out of the stadium by dragging us by the ear. Binnie and I couldn't stop laughing after that. I had the time of my life today.

I came back to the hotel and headed straight to my room. Seungmin wasn't here. He must be playing games with I.N and Lix. I fell on my bed and recalled the events of the day. Today, I was turning 24, and I couldn't be happier. I was doing my dream job in a fabulous city. I had the chance to travel thanks to my job, I was immersed in an incredible culture. And on top of that, I was lucky enough to meet extraordinary people, that had quickly became my new family. I loved them so much. Now, I couldn't picture a life without them by my side. Today, they respected my will not to do anything altogether. But instead of simply postponing it, they found a way to celebrate this day by splitting the group and doing different activities according to each personality. And I couldn't be more grateful.