iris . vkook

sixteen

열 여섯

Taehyung's PoV;

"Where do you want to eat, petal?" Jeongguk asked as we walked down the busy streets of Seoul.

People bustled past us, various colours of coats and umbrellas to shield themselves from the snow.

Luckily, I had Jeongguk's fluffy jacket to keep me warm.

I blushed at the nickname, blaming the cold wind for my reddening cheeks.

"I don't know, where do you want to go?" I replied, looking at him.

He laughed, "it's your birthday, we can go wherever you want. Money isn't an issue, I got paid today. And if you're still worrying about money, my dad transferred loads over to my bank account yesterday."

I nodded in understanding.

"Plus, I'll go wherever you want. I'm not fussy with food, so it's entirely up to you. We can go for proper food or we can go eat cakes and icecream until you're stuffed. Whatever you want petal." He said, his hand on my lower back as he guided me out of the way from a cyclist on the pathway.

"We can go for ice cream?" I gasped.

"Do you want ice cream?"I nodded eagerly, clapping my hands.

He laughed, "okay, okay. Ice cream it is."

---------------------------------------------------

Jeongguk's PoV;

Why Taehyung had chosen to eat ice cream in the midst of winter, was far beyond me.

I smiled discreetly to myself as I saw him shivering violently while eating his ice cream happily, his cheeks puffed as he smiled, dancing in his seat.

God, he was adorable.

He was wearing one coat, and had one draped over him and yet he was still cold - but continued to eat his freezing dessert.

"Be right back, petal." I said, standing up from the table.

He nodded, smiling cutely at me before I walked away.

I turned so it looked like I was off to the bathrooms, but as soon as I reached the area out of Taehyung's eyesight, I quickly made my way to the kitchen.

Jinyoung greeted me with open arms and a happy smile, "Jeon!"

"Hello!" I smiled, hugging him tight.

"Is it time?" He asked.

I nodded, "yeah. Make it casual though. Not too extra."

"Can't promise anything. It is Jaebum and Jackson, after all."

 "We can hear you!" Jaebum and Jackson shouted from where they were working.

I'd got a few friends from my old school to pick up a shift at the ice cream parlour and make a cake for Taehyung.

I knew that he'd be alone on his birthday, as I had received the letter which invited me to the dance trip. I had no interest in going anyway, so I turned down the offer of extra dance practice.

I'll just get Hoseok to teach me.

"Guys, you done?" I asked as I walked towards them.

They nodded, flour in their hair and food colouring on their hands.

They span the pedestal, showing me the cake they had prepared under my request.Nothing too fancy, just a normal cake with a few decorations. 

"That's amazing. Thank you so much!" I smiled.

"It's chill. We owed you anyway. I hope it's alright." Jackson said, "we used my grandmother's recipe for the sponge and Jaebum said that his sister made the decorations."

"I'm sure it'll be fine, thank you again. Bring it out a minute after I sit down."

They nodded, picking out the candles as I left.

I walked back to our table, smiling at Taehyung as I sat down.

"Hey petal, how's your ice cream going?" I asked.

"It's so good, do you want some?" He offered me a spoon of the sickly sweet bubblegum icecream, that had so much artificial sweetener in that it made my eye spasm.

"Sure."

He held the spoon out and I leaned over the table, seeing Jackson and Jaebum about to walk over, subtly nodding as I hummed whilst eating the ice cream.

"You're right, it is good."

"I know right? I love bubbl-"

He was interrupted by Jackson's loud shouting of counting down and then Jaebum's singing.

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Taehyung, happy birthday to you!" He sang.

Taehyung's head snapped towards me swiftly, his eyes wide and jaw dropped as he struggled to formulate words.

Jaebum laid down the cake, Taehyung looking between me and Jaebum in shock, head moving continuously.

"We hope you like it." Jinyoung said, the trio bowing before making their way back to the kitchen.

"Oh my god." Taehyung whispered, "this is- is this for me?"

"Do you know anyone else called Taehyung?" I laughed, gesturing towards the cake.

It was covered in a lilac and white marbled icing, various shades and colours of iced flowers decorating the top. His name was written in fancy italic, courtesy of Jaebum's many calligraphy lessons back when he was a teenager.

"You - you did this for me? Me?" He pointed at himself, still in shock.

"Mhm." I nodded, "blow out your candles, petal."

He smiled widely, stars in his eyes as he blew out the lilac flames. 

Thankfully, Yugyeom was amazing at chemistry and he told us that if we added potassium into the flame, it would turn purple. And so, Jaebum had coated the wick in the element, allowing Taehyung to have his favourite colour for his candles.

"What did you wish for, petal?" I asked, cutting him a slice of his cake.

"If I tell you, it won't come true." He giggled, practically radiating happiness as he glowed like the sun.

"Of course, my bad." I passed him his slice.

"This is amazing, thank you so much. I would've never have expected this. This is-" He babbled, stopped by my laugh.

"You don't need to thank me, enjoy your cake." I said, tucking into the food.

I noticed how Taehyung ate his cake with a spoon, another cute thing to add to his list of quirks.

"You eat cake with a fork?!"

"You eat cake with a spoon?!"

We both laughed at the things we said at the same time, Taehyung giggling shyly as he covered his face.

"Your eyes look really pretty." He said, "you suit blue eyes. Though, I do prefer your natural, brown eyes."

"Thank you." I smiled, "I like wearing these contacts."

If only he knew.