"close your eyes." his voice whispers in my ear, making me feel all tingly inside.
my eyes flutter closed and i hear him open his door.
"if there's a snake in here or something i will not hesitate to kill you." i say.
he chuckles, directing me inside. he sits me on the edge of his bed, facing the headboard and i feel the mattress sink to one side as he sits in front of me.
"okay." e says quietly. "if you don't like it, i won't be offended, you don't have to keep it, it's not that great but-"
"yeonjun, shut up." i say softly with a smile, and he stops rambling.
"okay sorry, just...don't have high expectations." he says. "okay. open."
my eyes are instantly drawn to a canvas he has placed on the duvet between us, ever so slightly wider than a sheet of a4 paper. it's a photo of two figures sat on a bench from the back, looking out across the city of new york. one figure is a boy with broad shoulder and black messy hair, with his arm around a girl. the girl has straight dark brown hair cascading around her shoulders, and the sun is streaming down to create this warm sort of butterfly feel, reflecting off the skyscrapers in the distance. i immediately recognise it to be of yeonjun and i, sat on the bench on top of the rock. wait. it's not a photo. it takes me a second to realise - it's been painted. yeonjun painted this. i blink down at it.
"oh my-" i look up to his face, and he's looking at me, almost cringing as if he thinks hate it. "yeonjun, this-" i look back down to it, lifting it up to get a closer look. "this is amazing." i say as my eyes flick across the canvas.
the detail is unbelievable - it's so incredibly accurate, i genuinely though it was a photo. he must have copied this from a photo that juwon or siwoo took without us noticing. i can't even put into words how insane it is. it's breathtaking. i physically can't even articulate how beyond amazing it is. the colour matching is completely flawless, i can't see one mistake or make out any imperfections. it's so realistic - the definition of our hair, the way the blue fades into the few fluffy clouds, the micro details of individual windows on individual floors of individual skyscrapers, the way the light reflects off of the water in the distance, the texture of the bench, literally every aspect is so incredible beyond belief.
i look back up to him. "yeonjun this is incredible." i tell him.
his face softens. "really?" he asks.
"what do you mean 'really'?" i scoff down at it. "yeonjun it's honestly flawless."
"so you like it?" he asks, somewhat relieved.
"i love it." i smile down at it, my eyes travelling the canvas once again. "this must have taken you ages." i say. "when did you do it?" i ask him.
he shrugs slightly. "i had the base done last week, was adding to it most nights after you went to bed." he says. "needed to do the final touches last night."
that makes sense. he made me stay out of the kitchen last night so i wouldn't see him going in and out of his art studio. he suggested the girls as a distraction and his evening with "the boys on the roof" was just a made up story so he could disappear for hours.
"this took you less than a week?" i ask him. "i didn't even notice you." i say with disbelief.
"because you were in bed most of the time." he laughs slightly. "took me hours every night." he says. "i didn't really have time to do the finer details on our clothes, and the buildings aren't completely accurate-" he starts to say, as though this painting is flawed in many ways.
"yeonjun, stop, it's amazing." i say.
"thanks but-"
"you're picking it to pieces." i laugh. "trust me, yeonjun, it's amazing."
he smiles slightly. "it looks better from far away-"
"yeonjun."
"okay, okay, sorry, i'll shut up." he says in surrender.
i smile down at it, amazed beyond belief. this must have taken him hours and hours. i can't believe he put so much time and an unbelievable amount of effort into this birthday gift for me. i move the canvas to the side a bit, shuffling closer to him. his eyes travel my face, sparkling with excitement as i lightly place my hand on the side of his neck and kiss him. his hand lifts to the back of my head with his fingers softly running through my hair, creating the most amazing sensations running through my body.
then i remember the guitar in the bush. that was a lot of money. if that gets stolen i will loose it.
i pull back suddenly, and he smiles at me slightly while tilting his head like a curious puppy.
"i have something for you." i say to him.
he frowns slightly. "you know, that's not how birthdays work." he tells me, making me roll my eyes with a laugh.
"wait here." i say before clambering off the bed and running down the stairs. i open the front door, lift the guitar case carefully from the bush, close the door again and run up to the landing. "lalalalalalala." i start singing loudly so he can't hear me unzipping the case.
"what are you doing?" he laughs from inside his room.
i carefully place my hand over the strings so that if i accidentally pick any of them as i carry it over, then any noise to spoil the surprise is muted.
"chaewon-" he says.
"close your eyes." i say from outside the door.
"are you serious?" he asks.
"yup." i say, and he laughs slightly from inside. i smile to myself, excited to see his reaction. "are they closed?" i ask him.
"yes." he says.
"promise?"
"promise."
i peak inside to see his eyes are indeed closed. he's smiling slightly, and his messy black hair falls all cute around his eyes. i carefully bring the guitar inside and climb onto his bed, sitting cross legged. i lay it down carefully in front if him, looking at his face for a second nervously before saying. "open."
his eyes rest on the guitar in between us with a blank expression for a second, then his eyes flick up to my face. "you-" he starts saying, but cuts himself off as he lifts his hands to cover his face, before i can see the emotion fill in his eyes.
instantly i know i've done a good thing, and smile slightly, going "yeonjun." to pull his hands away from his face.
his sparkly eyes travel back across the guitar. "how much did this cost?" he says, instantly feeling guilty.
i just shake my head. "don't worry about it."
"i can't take this-"
"it's yours yeonjun. you're meant to take it."
"but-"
"yeonjun, i mean it." i say quietly.
his right hand delicately strums the strings in front of him, so the gentle sound fills the room. the quality of the sound is really good as it's brand new and a decent make.
"i can't believe-" he's saying quietly, his eyes locking onto mine. he runs his hand through his hair as he looks back down to it. "why?" he asks simply.
i shrug slightly. "when your dad smashed your guitar he smashed a part of you." i say. "i wouldn't be able to stand having a piece missing from you."
his eyes lower back to the guitar, and he hesitantly picks it up, resting the curve over one of his knees. it fits in his frame as if it was made just for him. he seems like he doesn't completely believe this all yet. then he really gently plays a simple c chord, then an am into em. in tune, perfect pitch, not too loud, not too quiet. perfect.
"what make is it?" he asks.
"it's a taylor." i say. "i think it was taylor bt2e." i say. "electro-acoustic."
he blinks at me. "you got me a taylor?" he asks, knowing that that's a really good make. it's often known as a travelling guitar, as it can withstand wind and rain more than most others. they don't get weathered as quickly as other guitars, so it will last him a long long time. it's the same make of guitar that my dad bought me all those years ago.
he lays the guitar down gently again before his head sinks into his hands. it's a bit much for him to comprehend i think. he's covering his face so i don't see him cry, but it doesn't sound like he's crying. maybe his eyes are just tightly closed, because he's trying so hard not to let them fill with tears. i shuffle closer to him, resting my head on his shoulder and holding onto his strong arm. a few seconds go by, and he lets his hands slip away from his face. then he turns to me, and lifts my chin up from against his shoulder with his finger, and kisses me. not a huge passionate kiss, just a sweet one that lasts a few seconds. "thank you." he says quietly.
i smile at him. ten times. i mean what? who's counting how many times we kiss? not me.
"jesus." he says, wiping his eyes. "this is not how birthdays are supposed to work." he laughs slightly.
"how are birthdays supposed to work then?" i ask him. then he starts responding, but not with words.
suddenly he stands, yanking me off of the bed by that hand so i go flying while i laugh. he drags me down the stairs, ignoring my questions. he leads me past the living room, through the kitchen and covers my eyes from behind me. he walks me through the conservatory, and then says, "like this."
he uncovers my eyes so that i'm greeted by a mob of familiar faces in the garden, yelling "surprise!"