as if everything was against her that day , the stewardess spilled apple juice all over the pretty dress she bought for herself . still fighting back the tears , eunrae grudgingly pulled out a set of worn - out clothes to get changed in the restroom .
when she arrived back at the seat , planning to take a quick nap to clear her mind , the man beside her had already beat her to it . he was snoring as if he wanted to inhale every single soul on board , and her feeble earplugs just wouldn't block any noise out .
the frustration building up inside her finally let loose of itself in the form of tears slipping down her cheeks . seeing her burst into tears , the elderly woman from before slowly hobbled over , seating herself in an empty seat across the aisle .
" miss , is everything okay ? "
" i - i - i don't know ! " she sniffled , " it's supposed to be ! everything was supposed to be p - perfect ! "
" not everything can and will always be perfect , you know ? it's okay to slip up and have mishaps once in a while . "
" but it has to be ! today has to be perfect ! otherwise ... otherwise it'll all be for nothing . "
" if you don't think i'm snooping , may i ask what occasion it is ? "
" i - it's my ... it's my boyfriend's birthday , and i was ... i was planning to surprise him , b - but ... "
" i see . well , it's my son's birthday too , which was why we were planning to visit him for a short while . he said he was on leave , which is pretty rare , considering the fact that his job is very , very busy . looks like fate planned this ! "
" fate also planned for me to fuck everything up ! " she wailed a little too loudly , earning a few side - eyes from the people around her .
" do you believe that , though ? that everything is just screwed up for you ? "
" ... wh - why ? "
" because ... well , it's been fifty years , but i still remember the advice my dear old mother gave me — fate doesn't screw you up . no one up there , no upper diety or god hates you . things are simply what they are , and they happen to teach you something . perhaps it may feel like the end of the world for a while , perhaps it'll hurt badly for a longer while , but ultimately , one day , you will wake up and you will look back and you will realise that it's really just a simple day . " she smiled .
for some reason , that gave eunrae a lot of comfort . she nodded meekly , thanking the woman before asking a curious question .
" what does your son do ? "
" oh , he's a firefighter , just like i was ! " the woman's husband grinned brightly , showing off a shining metal badge pinned on his shirt pocket , " his name is huang guanheng and he's from station 118 in los angeles and we're all so proud of him ! "
——————
hendery loved birthday shifts . just like halloween and full moon shifts , birthday shifts were another special day where luck and reality were simply altered , but in a good way . everyone was surprisingly nice to him and the emergencies they responded to were quick and chill . they even had time to sit down and have a hearty lunch ren spent hours cooking up for him , which was a first .
" oh , really ? that's great ! " eunrae spoke over the phone , thrilled at her boyfriend's good mood .
" yeah ! do you want to switch over to video ? voice call is a little boring . i was hoping we could ... you know , sit with each other for a while , maybe eat some cake . i bought cake . "
" oh ... about that ... " her voice trailed off .
and she hung up .
hendery frowned . eunrae was never the kind of person to hang up , she would always look at him fondly , sometimes wave at the screen or caress it like she was trying to hold him . she always waited for him to hang up before she turned her phone off .
weird .
no , not weird .
seeing the weak light shining out from the crack under his apartment door gave him a rough idea . a rush of excitement quickened his actions as he rushed in , opening his arms just in time for his girlfriend to crush him in a hug .
the entire hours lit up around him , showing balloons that said HAPPY BIRTHDAY HENDERY taped to his tv ( he didn't know what to feel about that ) . sparkles and glitter decorated his lights and walls , as did the aroma of fresh roses on his dining table .
what surprised him more were his parents , watching quietly and contentedly as he kissed the love of his life , then reached out to include them in the hug .
" you have no idea how fucked up my day was ! " eunrae complained , wailing into his shoulders , " if you came back like a minute later , i think i would've died from stress ! "
" but you're here , right ? " he held her closer . tighter .
" you're all here . "
[ hendery day #yass ]
12 ; hendery day !
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