{Joshua felt December was too cold, until Seokmin made it warm}
Despite January being recorded as the coldest month in Seoul, Hong Jisoo felt that December was the coldest, more specifically, the end of it. He used to adore that time of year as a child. There was snow, Christmas, and then his birthday, but as he grew older, that magic faded for him. December no longer felt so special. Now, the snow was an inconvenience to commute to work in, Christmas was expensive, and his birthday passed by like any other day and it was so so cold.
On December 30th, Jisoo woke up and immediately shivered. He distinctly remembered turning the heat on before bed, but Seoul winters were different. He had lived in Seoul for nearly half his life, but he never got over just how cold the winter truly was. It could have been that California didn't have winter, but either way, Jisoo despised it.
He reached over, expecting to find the warmth of his boyfriend, but Seokmin's side of the bed was empty. That was strange. Jisoo was usually the one to pull him out of bed insisting that both of them would be late for work. He sat up and reached for his phone on impulse. He had two messages. A text from his mom and a text from his dad wishing him a happy birthday. He barely smiled at the texts, but answered them with great enthusiasm, glad they at least remembered. It wasn't like they were bad parents, but they were always busy. There were many birthdays Jisoo recalled spending alone because his parents were working. He had to make his own birthday cake because they forgot to buy him one and any kind of celebration was at least a week later. From then on, Jisoo had learned to expect nothing for his birthday and told himself he was okay with that.
He pulled himself out of bed, wrapping their large duvet around them. It was too cold to go without it. He found Seokmin in their small kitchen, wearing an oversized hoodie paired with sweatpants. It seemed he was just as cold as Jisoo. However, he didn't seem to mind as he busied himself making something on the stove. Jisoo inched closer to see what it was and instead, managed to startle Seokmin who had nearly flung a pancake to the ceiling.
"Hong Jisoo! What have I told you about scaring the shit out of me first thing in the morning?"
Jisoo grinned evilly. "I love you?" He tried. He leaned in for a kiss to which, after an eye roll, Seokmin indulged him with a quick peck.
"I'll try to remember that the next time my heart tries leaving its cavity," Seokmin stated sarcastically as he managed to save the pancakes.
Jisoo resigned himself and the oversized duvet to the breakfast bar where he watched Seokmin work. He never tired of watching Seokmin do anything. His boyfriend could have been painting a fence and Jisoo would have watched him like he was Picasso. He was just that mesmerizing. Finally, Seokmin turned off the stove and presented Jisoo with a stack of pancakes with a candle in the center. Jisoo lit up at the sight.
"You did this for me?" He asked in disbelief.
Seokmin frowned. "Of course I did. It's your birthday. Why wouldn't I?"
Jisoo shrugged as he took the stack of pancakes and gave his boyfriend another quick kiss. "Thank you. I love it. They look really good." He praised.
Seokmin sat next to him and ate his own stack. "Don't get too full. There's still more to do and eat today." He told him.
Jisoo tried to not let his surprise show. "There's more?"
Seokmin looked nearly horrified. "Why are you so surprised? It's your birthday. We're celebrating it." He pointed out.
Jisoo looked down at his pancakes. He didn't know how to tell Seokmin that he hadn't been sure of what was going to happen. He half expected the day to go by like any other. It was his first birthday with Seokmin since they started dating. He had no idea what to expect if anything. He was pleasantly surprised to find that wasn't the case, but it would take more than pancakes to change his mindset.
"I don't know. I just stopped celebrating my birthdays after a while." Jisoo admitted quietly. "They started losing their magic when I spent a handful of them alone making my own cake."
Seokmin looked both sad and bothered by Jisoo's confession. "Well, that isn't going to happen anymore. I want to celebrate the day you were born because, without it, I would have never found my soulmate." Seokmin told him, holding his free hand.
"We're going to go all out until my credit card maxes out." He told Jisoo.
Jisoo laughed but winced a bit. "Please don't do that, we still have to pay rent."
Seokmin smiled fondly. "Eat up, we have to pick up your cake in an hour and our friends will be here by noon." He informed.
By the afternoon, Jisoo was surrounded by his friends and the love of his life. For the first time in years, he had a cake made by someone who had talent and didn't have shaky hands and poor portion control. He even received more presents than he knew what to do with. It was the best birthday he had in years and in the evening, when the party died down, Seokmin and Jisoo cuddled on the couch with their large duvet.
"Thank you." Jisoo suddenly said as he stared up at his boyfriend. "Thank you for treating me like I'm special."
Seokmin reached down and tweaked his nose. "You are special." He corrected. "I promise you will never have another lonely birthday again."
Jisoo cuddled in closer at his words. His mind wouldn't fully let him believe Seokmin's promise just yet, but he could admit that despite the snowfall outside, the day was the warmest he had felt in years.
