Markjae Wonderland

Happy Birthday, Lorenzo Choi!

I know it's late, but Happy (belated) Birthday to our precious sunshine!!

To say Youngjae was upset would be an understatement. He was already beyond the point of sadness, and now only emptiness was left.

Why is this cute little ball of sunshine so sad, you may ask. Simple: the members had forgotten his birthday.

It wasn't even like one of those cliche scenarios where the person's friends all pretend to forget about his or her birthday and then end up surprising them with a cake and presents and maybe even a little party. No. The members had truly forgotten that today was the day an actual angel was born.

In the morning, he received a call from his family wishing him a happy birthday, which he was grateful for. He even saw how Ahgases were all greeting him online, making his day even brighter. That positive energy that he had collected all dispersed throughout the day when he realized that none of his dear group mates would be wishing him a happy birthday. Hell, even his boyfriend forgot.

I mean, it's not like a birthday was that special, but it would've been nice to at least have it be acknowledged by his best friends. It didn't help either when they all had the day off, and everyone had all gone out to do their own things, excluding Youngjae, who stayed home with Coco and watched a movie and played video games by himself.

"You didn't forget, too, did you?" Youngjae asked the little Maltese at one point. He knew that she couldn't possibly know when his birthday was, but the dog had cutely rubbed against the palm of his hand, almost as if she were comforting him.

Night had fallen and the other six still weren't home, so Youngjae decided on ordering take out. It was delicious, but he still couldn't get the empty feeling out of his chest when he thought of his friends. 

'Did they really forget?' He asked himself glumly. 'I guess they just don't care.'

An hour passed when Youngjae finally heard the front door open. He rushed out of his room, only to slump his shoulders in disappointment when he realized it was only their manager. Nevertheless, he still greeted him with a strained smile. That smile turned a little more true when he was presented with his favorite cake, embellished with cute decorations and fancy writing in icing.

"Where's everyone else?" The manager asked, lighting a few candles and sticking them in the cake.

The mention of them made Youngjae's heart sink some more. It reminded him of how none of them had remembered his special day and that no one had even bothered to mark their calendars for it.

Sensing the drop in mood, the older man placed a hand on his shoulder and began singing "Happy Birthday" to him. Youngjae was touched and blew the candles out in one blow. He took one forkful of cake into his mouth, and that was it for him. He didn't have an appetite anyway.

After thanking his hyung and helping him clean up, Youngjae left and decided to turn in for the night. He had already come to the conclusion that nothing else was going to happen that day, so why even bother. He did his nightly routine and made sure Coco was comfortable right next him. Before closing his eyes, he glanced over at Mark's bed, which remained empty. And with a final sigh, he closed his eyes and let the darkness of the room lull him to sleep.

With the others

Each member enjoyed the day out doing whatever it was they wanted to do, and they all coincidentally met up at the same restaurant for dinner. So naturally, they all sat together and were now engaged in a lively conversation about their day.

"Hey," Jackson said, gaining everyone's attention. "Does anyone else feel like they're forgetting something?"

The others didn't say anything at first, for they admitted that they, too, had been having that nagging feeling at the back of their heads. They all looked at each other, everyone trying to figure out what it was that they forgot.