***

What should I do to make the best birthday celebration?

Yeon Woojeong’s birthday was just around the corner. The problem was that I still couldn’t decide what to give him. Despite my discreet inquiries to discover any specific needs he might have, it seemed he required nothing. To make matters worse, he appeared oblivious to the fact that his birthday was approaching this weekend.

Although I could understand it since he was a busy person, I was also worried that he would go to work on weekends. For now, however, the priority was to get the gift.

For my birthday, Yeon Woojeong had gifted me a wallet. This was my first wallet after the blue one I had bought for the first time at a stationary store when I was little. It seemed that Yeon Woojeong noticed that I had gone around with cards and a little bit of cash deep in my pocket after putting in the money I used to save in envelopes to my account.

Receiving something I had always intended to buy but kept postponing brought immense joy. It was a neat, black wallet, but when opened, it was decorated with red and blue lines inside, so it wasn’t an old plain wallet. Anyway, I liked it.

I also wanted to get him something he needed and would love. I was also motivated to make that kind of day for him.

That day, Yeon Woojeong woke up earlier than me and cooked a seaweed soup. The soup I ate for the first time in a long time was tasty, and I liked it because it had a lot of meat in it. Although it was Sunday, Yeon Woojeong had to go to work, and he apologized to me, but I was okay with it since it couldn’t be helped and I felt spending the morning together was more than enough.

Nevertheless, he gave me his card and told me to eat something good with friends, so I called Ham Yoonah and Yoon Suyoung. Ham Yoonah said a birthday should be celebrated in a family restaurant, so she led us there, and there we ate steak and pasta.

After walking around, I returned home and was unwrapping their gifts when I got a call from Yeon Woojeong. I went out and had Korean beef for dinner with him. Then we went for a drive and looked at the night view before returning home. 

To be honest, I had grown to dislike birthdays at some point. I tried to force myself to forget about it, and I really forgot about it for some years.

“Congratulations on the day you were born.” 

I would never forget the words he whispered to me that night in front of the cake. It was as if he expressed his joy at my existence. That day, everything felt perfect. I remembered the candles in the cake were like they were illuminating me up until the moment I fell asleep. 

Therefore, I aimed to make Yeon Woojeong feel the same way. Deciding to postpone the gift selection, I prioritized choosing the cake.

I took out my phone and opened up the messenger. After tapping on Seo Jihee’s name, my fingers moved meaninglessly in the air before I typed in the message.

[Nuna] 

The reply came in no time. Seo Jihee was the type that checked on messages quickly.

[Hey hey Jiho~!!] 

[Doyouknowplacesellinggoodcake?] 

[Cake? Is it someone’s birthday?] 

[Yes] 

[Oho I know a lot of good cake shops! Some even come with additional lettering and pictures. Or do you prefer a plain cream cake?]

Seo Jihee sent me tons of pictures. Some of the cakes had pictures or words written on them, but they didn’t look very tasty. Also, Yeon Woojeog wasn’t a big fan of sweets, so I knew that if I bought something like this, I would be the one to eat it all.

[Anythingelsethatslesssweet?] 

[Less sweet? Good cakes should be sweet though.] 

[Thatstrue] 

[Oh wait, this place] 

Another picture arrived. This time, it was a green cake.

[Green tea chiffon cake! This one is so deliciousლ(´ڡ`ლ)] 

Green tea? I don’t really like green tea though. I looked down at the picture, frowning. However, since it was Yeon Woojeong’s birthday, not mine, I had to cater to his taste. Besides, Seo Jihee said it was delicious, so it would surely suit my taste as well.

[Ithinkthiswilldo]

[Lol ikr 

Woah~ as expected of jihojiho

You know your stuff ^^]

After getting the address from Seo Jihee, I thanked her. The cake shop wasn’t far from here, but apparently, I needed to make a reservation to order, so I immediately called and booked the cake.

With the cake decision made, I felt like I had accomplished a task. I put my phone down and went into Yeon Woojeong’s room. I opened the closet to see if he needed anything, but found nothing. My attention was drawn to his watches, but he wore the same one as me, so there was no point in getting him another one. 

I rummaged around, but nothing really caught my eye. Yeon Woojeong typically didn’t express any desires for food, activities, or possessions. I found that a little disappointing.

Just as I was closing the drawer, I heard the sound of the front door code being punched in. Already? I checked my watch and it was earlier than usual. Of course, Yeon Woojeong’s routine was different from others. When people sought a good work-life balance in their jobs, the work-life balance of prosecutors was the worst.

“You’re early.”

As I hurried to the front door, Yeon Woojeong, who had just taken off his shoes, smiled and held up a bag in his hand. What’s that? I took it from him and looked inside. It was fried chicken. Must be delicious. I swallowed hard, set the bag on the table, and followed Yeon Woojeong into his room.

“Was there no work?”

“There was, but I just went home.”

“Are you busy this week?”

“I guess just as usual.”

“How about on the weekend?”

“I’m not sure. Why? Is there something you want to do?”

He asked back as he hung his coat on the hanger. Now I was completely convinced he really didn’t know. However, I hesitated to tell him since it would make it obvious I was preparing for it if I told him it was his birthday. As I only wandered around him, Yeon Woojeong looked back at me and scanned me from head to toe.

“What is it that you want to do?”

A smile crossed his face. It seemed like he thought I wanted to do something. He couldn’t be more wrong with his guess.

“It’s the 12th.”

“Yeah.”

“…”

Yeon Woojeong only took his clothes off casually, making me leave his room and head to the kitchen. What should I tell him? My head turned complicated for no reason, so I picked up a spoon and got ready to eat. Even though the delicious smell teased my nose, I couldn’t fully enjoy it with the thought of his birthday. When I had washed my hands, Yeon Woojeong went out of his room, and I asked him.

“Did you fancy some chicken?”

“No. But you like it, right?”

He took a seat across from me. I took a piece of chicken leg and placed it on Yeon Woojeong’s plate, then I took the other one and immediately took a bite of it.

Whatever it is, it would be fine as long as Yeon Woojeong doesn’t work on the weekends. I watched Yeon Woojeong, who took a long time to eat a leg. After finishing it, he took the breast. He sliced it in half with his chopsticks, then picked up the lean meat without the fried skin and put it in his mouth. I took two wings. Yeon Woojeong couldn’t be bothered to debone them, so the wings were always mine.

“Mr. Yeon.”

“Yeah.”

“Then, will you work on weekends?”

“I’ll do my best not to.”

“On Saturday.”

“So, what is it that you want to do?”

Now I got completely uneasy. I needed a strong reason to make Yeon Woojeong choose his time with me over his work. I really wanted to be with Yeon Woojeong on his birthday this time, and I wanted to be the first to congratulate him. For that, I had no reason but to tell him the truth.

“It’s your birthday.”

My voice came out a little disgruntled. I drank my coke for no reason, and Yeon Woojeong blinked slowly before speaking.

“Oh.”

He really looked like he only realized it just now. I still hadn’t prepared his gift, and I didn’t have anything spectacular in mind, so I hoped he wouldn’t expect anything. But it wouldn’t be bad for him to wait for his birthday to come, so I also hoped he would expect a little.

“It’s already time, huh?”

“You didn’t know?”

“I didn’t know.”

“What did you do on your birthday last year?”