MY BRIGHTEST STAR

chapter 99: cake poppers

It was a busy day for Taehyung.

After he had lost the bet to Joohyun over the viewership ratings of The Brightest Star, it set him thinking - what was the best present he could give her? He knew proposing to her was out of the question for her - she had broken the few times he had mentioned marriage in the past. And he understood - not completely - but he kind of understood after he had met Joohyun's parents. They had stressed her so much to get married that their relationship was strained in the process.

Besides, he had grown over the years to understand Joohyun's concerns too. He respected her decision, so proposing was definitely out of the picture. So he thought of something - just throwing her a surprise party, to celebrate their one and a half year anniversary.

He had been preparing all morning. Contacting Jungkook to make sure that he and Jieun got there before everyone to start setting up, directing all the lost guests to the correct venue, whilst distracting Joohyun from noticing about his big surprise for her - all at the same time.

"Baby! Are you ready?"

Taehyung freaked out the moment he heard Joohyun enter his apartment. He had given her the passcode to his apartment a few months back, and she had never knocked ever since. He quickly shoved the box containing the ring he had gotten for her in his back pocket, adjusted his shirt and headed out of the room.

"Baby!" Taehyung tried his best to act normal as he wrapped Joohyun in a tight hug. "When did you arrive! Are you hungry? Let's go eat!"

"Where are we going?" Joohyun asked excitedly as she wrapped her arms around Taehyung's waist as they headed towards the door. "I wanna eat something yummy today... I had such a tough day helping sajang-nim with all the unboxing and stuff."

"I have somewhere in mind," Taehyung assured her with a smile. "And I just know you're gonna love it."

Joohyun beamed. "I'm excited, Taehyung-ah. I cannot wait."

-•-•-

"We're supposed to pop the party poppers when they walk through those doors..." Jungkook glanced up from his phone at Jieun. "Can you do that? I need to make sure all the food and drinks are ready."

Jieun nodded with a smile. "Sure, let me know when to stand by when they're approaching."

Jungkook nodded as he patted Jieun on the head. "Thank you, Jieun-ah. Today's party is really important to Taehyung-hyung, let's not screw this up."

Jieun raised her eyebrows. "I mean... it's probably equally important for Joohyun-unnie too-"

But Jungkook had already walked away.

Jieun shrugged with a frown on her face as she went to find the party poppers near the door.

The guests were streaming in one by one, including Joohyun's close colleagues, a couple of actors and actresses Taehyung was close to, including Jimin and Chaeyoung, and finally, Taehyung's parents and Joohyun's parents.

After greeting the guests, Jungkook furrowed his eyebrows as he turned to Joohyun. "This party is a little bit too grand, don't you think? The fact that both their parents are here..."

Jieun frowned, looking up at Jungkook with a confused look on her face. "Why wouldn't they be here? I mean, isn't it a very important-"

"Ya-" Jungkook's eyes widened as they landed on the door. "You didn't tell me your parents were coming too!"

"I didn't-" Jieun raised her eyebrows as she turned to look at the door and indeed, she saw her mom and dad walking through the door. "What on earth?"