Standing in front of the hotel room door, I didn't even think to look through the peephole before opening it. This allowed the two members behind it to successfully surprise me with their sudden excited shouts of "Happy Birthday!" and their arms shoving large balloons and bags full of gifts in my face.
The sudden show of celebration startled me at first, making my heart jump in my chest, but once they moved the items out of the way, their beautiful smiles eased my heart rate. "Yah, you guys didn't have to do all this." I tried to act humble, but, I had to admit, the sweet smell wafting from one of the bags made it hard to conceal my excitement.
"Of course we did." Handong rolled her eyes before stepping inside the room to throw her arms around my shoulders. The bags held in her grasp hit my back, but I didn't mind, just pulling her in by the waist.
"Thank you, Princess." I whispered her favorite pet name before giving her an innocent kiss on the neck. It made her shiver and she leaned back a second later to respond with her own kiss, her lips capturing mine. I inhaled deeply as my eyes fluttered shut, allowing me to only focus on the feeling of her smooth, warm lips and how they made my heart pound against my ribcage. Handong's kisses were almost as sweet as she was... almost.
When we parted, I noticed Dami had already walked into the room to put the other gifts down on the desk and tv stand across from the bed Yoohyeon and Sua were still occupying. "It actually wasn't our idea." She said as I followed Handong over who placed the gifts in her hands neatly next to the others. The rapper faced me once I made my way to her and I cocked an eyebrow, silently asking who's idea it was. She smiled gently. "It was Gahyeon's." My chest warmed and I grinned at this revelation.
Gahyeon was always so thoughtful like that. I mean, they all were, but the maknae often went out of her way to do little things for me any chance she got. She never had any motive other than simply seeing the smile on my face as a result of her acts of kindness. And that small fact made me love her impossibly more.
"Speaking of," I started, letting Dami pull me into her with her fingers around the loops in my jean shorts. Normally she was the private type of person who only got intimate with me when we were alone, but she seemed too caught up in admiring the happiness evident on my face to care about the other members watching. Her lips cut my sentence in half, but I didn't mind in the slightest, sinking into her kiss. I smiled halfway through, finding her behavior adorable. It was obvious they were all feeling even more romantic than usual today given the occasion and that thought made me feel like a giddy teenager.
After Dami was satisfied, she leaned back, allowing me to continue. "Where is Gahyeon?" I asked, expecting her to be with the two who just showed up. My eyes drifted to the other three members in the room but they all appeared clueless.
I felt Dami lean back against the desk behind her and I looked over right when she responded, "You know how difficult she is to wake up in the mornings. She's probably just now getting ready." She shrugged. Though her words might've seemed like an insult, her voice was serious and I knew she was likely right. Still, the deadpan expression on her face made me let out a light laugh. Dami only smiled amusedly at her own statement when she heard the sound leave my mouth.
"Jagi." The sweet voice drew my eyes over to Handong who was watching me intently from the green, cushioned seat in the corner of the room, just past the edge of the desk. The pet name made my heart flutter. "You should open that one." Her finger directed me to the smallest gift bag placed next to the tv. If I had remembered correctly, it was the one that initially grabbed my attention just by the wonderful scent wafting from it.
"Right now?" I looked around the room, noting the three members missing. "Shouldn't we wait for everyone to get here?"
"No," Dami added, now sitting in the only other chair in the room, on the opposite end of the tv stand to my right, "you can open this one now." I looked down at her skeptically, but her face remained void of any ulterior motives. "It's not anything major." Her lips pursed into a gentle smile, so I chose to trust her.
Somewhere in my effort to grab the bag and open it, Yoohyeon had made her way to my side, peeking over my shoulder to get a glimpse at its contents. Once I threw the colored tissue paper away—that Dami grabbed from the table and quickly stuck in the trash can—I noticed a box sitting at the bottom that looked like it had come from a local bakery. Already having a good idea what it was, my mouth instantly started watering and I beamed over at Dongie.
"Thank you." I told her sincerely. My eyes made their way over to Dami, showing her that she was also included in my statement of gratitude.
"Don't thank us." Dami said. I watched as her eyes gravitated towards Bora. Yoohyeon had taken the box out of the bag and started opening it after asking permission, but I just looked over at the older member.
"You got this for me?" I asked after the realization hit, smiling at the small woman who still looked a little upset from earlier. Although, even just seeing my smile as a result of her gift made her happy and prompted one of her own.
"Ne." She answered as if it were no big deal. But it was to me. She had likely gotten up to sneak out and collect the sweet treat so that it would be fresh for me when I woke up. Not only did she probably wake up early to do so, she also would've had to rouse one of the managers to drive her, find a bakery close by, and purchase the food item with her own money.
Her thoughtfulness brought a warmth to my chest that took no time in spreading to my cheeks. "Thank you, unnie." Stepping over to the edge of the bed, she stood up to let me give her a short hug. I felt guilty knowing that she was most likely not quite over her jealousy, so I made it my goal to try and cheer her up. And hopefully I could even make it up to her sometime soon.
"You're welcome." She mumbled quietly, though it seemed genuine. Before walking back over to the desk, I gave Bora a gentle kiss on the cheek. It made her smile momentarily, but she didn't grab my chin and pull me in for a kiss on the lips like she normally did when I kissed her there. The thought made me sad, but I decided not to dwell on it.
Instead, I turned back to steal my favorite pastry from Yoohyeon who I'm sure was seconds away from eating it herself. She let out a small whine in protest before she processed the fact that it was my birthday, so she shouldn't be greedy. I leaned back against the desk and took a bite, making a noise of pleasure when the delicious taste spread across my tongue. Yoohyeon was watching my every move like a seagull waiting to attack and her eyes widened at the noise I made... though I had a feeling it was for a completely different reason.
"So good." I voiced, loud enough for Sua to hear. She knew exactly what I liked and I wanted her to know I was appreciative. "Here." Raising the pastry in front of me with one hand underneath it to catch any rogue crumbs, I offered some to Yoohyeon. She didn't waste a second before leaning forward and taking a generous bite of her own. Her cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk's as she chewed and I couldn't help but smile at her. "Cute." I muttered. The comment made her blush and smile shyly until she swallowed and thanked me for sharing.
"Dongie." My call brought the older member's attention to me. She looked so innocent and clueless in that moment, her two-toned hair and long bangs emphasizing her doe-like eyes. "Do you want some?" I offered my food up once again, stretching out my hand towards her. Almost instantly her nose scrunched up in displeasure. "What?"
"I hate it." She said in a cute voice, closing her eyes to shake her head in one swift movement.
The new information came as a shock to me. "Really?" I asked genuinely, thinking I would've made a point to note something like that.
"Ne," she responded like it was obvious, "you don't remember?" She eyed me with a permanent teasing smile on her lips.
"No." I frowned. "You really told me that before?"
"Of course~." She dragged out. "Guess it wasn't that important." An over-exaggerated sigh left her mouth and she slowly rolled her eyes to the side for dramatic effect.
"No, I'm sorry." I knew she was joking but I still felt bad. I always made a conscious effort to remember every little thing about them so that they knew I cared for each one of them just as much as the rest. "I promise I'll remember next time." I finished, handing Yoohyeon the rest of the pastry and wiping any stray crumbs from my hands before getting up to extend my pinky towards the Chinese woman.
She just stared at me for a moment—probably not expecting me to be so serious about it since she was only joking—but then she giggled, showing off her beautiful smile and the single out-of-place tooth that I found so adorable. Her pinky wrapped around mine before we both kissed our fists to seal it. "You're such a pabo." She chuckled at my silly behavior, looking up at me with love in her eyes.
"Thanks, so are you." I giggled back and leaned down to give her another kiss. She seemed eager to accept it even after just insulting me, holding me in place by my cheek to ensure the kiss was long enough to meet her satisfaction. All this told me is that she secretly loved how much of a dork I was. And I could say the same for all of them.
The sudden noise of the hotel door opening caused everyone in the room to look over. "You shouldn't be nearly as tired as us." I heard Siyeon's voice first, then Minji's light chuckle right after.
"What's that supposed to mean?" The final voice belonged to the maknae and just the sound of her innocent tone made me smile, choosing to ignore Siyeon's insinuation.
When I made my way to the door, Gahyeon's tiredness was replaced by excitement in a split second, showing off her big, bright smile that I had slowly grown addicted to. "Happy Birthday!" She shouted, running into my arms. I laughed at her childish behavior, finding everything she did cute, even if she didn't intend for it to be.
"Thank you, baby." She snuggled into my chest with her arms encircling my waist, clinging to me like a toddler. It made my heart speed up as I rested mine over her shoulders. "And thank you for the gifts." This made her loosen her grip to look up at my face.
"Oh, how'd you know?" She asked, clearly confused.
"Yubin told me they were your idea." I recited, glancing over at the blonde member for confirmation. She nodded in acknowledgement and once I brought my attention back to the maknae in front of me, I noticed Siyeon and Minji eyeing me from the entryway.
Their stares made me blush, but I ignored them for the time being, focusing on Gahyeon as she replied, "Wah, I figured they'd take all the credit." The way she looked genuinely surprised by the fact that they didn't made me laugh. The other members soon joined in, knowing the suggestion was on brand for them. Gahyeon beamed up at me, captivated by my smile and the sound of my laughter. "But I'm glad you liked them." She said cutely. I wasn't even gonna correct her—telling her that I technically hadn't opened them yet, so how could she know I liked them?—because I knew whatever she got me I'd like anyways.
Instead, I ended our embrace with a soft kiss, enjoying the feeling of her plump lips against mine. Her face was red when I pulled back and she clung to me again, always embarrassed to be caught receiving my affection in front of the other members—probably because she figured they'd make fun of her (and if they did, it was always out of love anyways). When I looked up, holding Gahyeon in my arms, my eyes inevitably met the soft brown ones of our group leader.
Eventually Gahyeon let me go, allowing Siyeon to guide her into the room while the six members started a conversation about plans for the day. Minji, on the other hand, appeared to have some other business to attend to. I quickly found out that that 'business' was me when she carefully grabbed my arm, whispering a soft 'come here', before pulling me into the bathroom with her alone.