Day Ten. 7:45 AM.
Soo-Min woke up to balloons taped to her ceiling.
Pink. Purple. Yellow. One floating ominously close to her ear with a note that said:
> "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRUMPY! š„³ From your #1 enemy"
She groaned.
"Ugh... no."
Min-Jae barged in wearing a party hat and holding a kazoo.
"TAA-DAAA! Happy birthday to the loudest, most sarcastic person I have the misfortune of coexisting with!"
She threw a pillow at him.
"What part of 'I hate birthday surprises' did you misunderstand?!"
"The part where you think you can avoid me on your birthday."
---
Scene 1: The Birthday Trap Begins
Min-Jae handed her a suspiciously wrapped box.
"Don't open it until noon. Trust me."
"Why? Is it alive? Will it explode? Is it revenge for the time I replaced your shampoo with glue?"
"No comment."
He winked and ran off.
Soo-Min glared at the box.
Bokki pawed at it cautiously.
---
Scene 2: The Surprise Party Fiasco
Noon.
She entered the living room.
Nothing suspicious. Too quiet.
ThenāPOP!
Confetti cannons. Party hats. A banner that read:
> "HAPPY SURVIVAL DAY, SOO-MIN!"
Her jaw dropped.
Neighbors flooded the apartment. Mr. Han brought fried chicken. Mrs. Park arrived with rice cakes. Even the mailman showed up.
"What is happening?!"
Min-Jae grinned. "It's your surprise party."
"I told you I hate parties."
"Yeah, but you didn't say free food parties."
She looked around. Tteokbokki. Fried squid. Cake shaped like Bokki's face.
Her heart cracked a little. But just a little.
"Okayā¦ maybe this is mildly tolerable."
"That's the highest compliment I've ever gotten from you."
---
Scene 3: Party Games and Questionable Choices
Someone pulled out karaoke.
Min-Jae: "If you sing 'Into the Unknown,' I'll forgive every sock you've ever stolen."
Soo-Min: "You first. Sing 'Let It Go' while spinning like Elsa."
He did.
It was horrifying.
Children cried. Neighbors applauded. Bokki fled into the kitchen.
Then came the game of charades. Min-Jae flailed around pretending to be a love-struck octopus. Soo-Min guessed it in 0.4 seconds.
"Because that's what you look like around girls."
"Says the person who blushed during every round of Pictionary."
"I had allergies!"
---
Scene 4: The One Text
That night, after the crowd left and the apartment was full of party mess, Soo-Min sat on the floor surrounded by balloons.
Min-Jae handed her a slice of cake. They sat quietly.
Then her phone buzzed.
A message from Ji-Yoon.
> "I saw you two at the party. You lookedā¦ different. Happier. Do you love him?"
Soo-Min froze.
Min-Jae noticed her expression.
"Bad news?"
She hid her phone.
"No. Justā¦ weird message."
She stared at the cake, then at him.
Min-Jae smiled. "Hey. Thanks for surviving another year."
She whispered, "Thanks forā¦ today. Even though you're annoying."
"Annoyingly thoughtful?"
"Annoyingly everything."
She stood.
Then suddenly hugged him.
Quick. Warm. Real.
"Happy birthday to me," she murmured.
He blinked, stunned.
Before he could reply, she was gone.
Bokki jumped onto his lap, meowed, and promptly sneezed in his face.
---
End of Chapter 11