1
A/N: 'Lennox' is pronounced as 'Le niks'
~Third Person's POV
* message notification
Lennox woke up to two message notifications.
"Happy Birthday, Lennox! I wish that you'll be able to talk to Jaehyun hopefully within this year. I love you to the moon and back." — Kate
"Happiest Birthday, dearest Lennox Jung — oops, I mean Lennox Choi. Love you soul sister." — Trixie
—
She still smiled and shook her head at her friends' silly messages.
She opened their group chat so she can thank them both once.
—
Lennox: Thank you guys. I appreciate your bday greetings. I love you both!
Trixie: No prob Lenny!!
Kate: Any plans on your bday?
Lennox: Yah, lay in bed all day and finish the book I've been reading.
Trixie: Ugh, boring. Can't we do something fun for your bday?
Lennox: This is fun!
Kate: No, its not. How 'bout we go out and have milkshakes?
Trixie: Oh my gosh, let's go!
Lennox: I don't think I can come.
Kate: C'mon Lenox! It's your bday anyway. Don't you wanna celebrate.
Trixie: Lennox, if you won't hang out with us. We're going to message Jaehyun!
Lenoxx: Hey! Don't.
Kate: Then come with us.
Lenoxx: ...
Trixie: It's so easy to type "Hey Jung Jaehyun, my friend Lennox Choi has a crush on you.".
Lenox: Fine, I'm joining you. Just please...
Kate: Yey! See you Lennox.
———
She got all dressed up because her friends told her to do so even though they were just going to a milkshake bar.
She stood in-front of the mirror and looked blankly at herself.
"For how long, Lennox?" she asked herself.
Birthdays become sadder and sadder for Lennox each year, that's why she wasn't interested in celebrating or anything.
She finally went to the milkshake bar and met Trixie and Kate there.
"Hey there, birthday girl. You look fabulous!" Kate greeted.
"Thanks." she smiled.
"Can we get inside now?" she asked.
"Oh wait, wear this blindfold first." Trixie said and took out a handkerchief.
"Blindfold?" she asked.
"We have a surprise for you." Kate said.
They put the blindfold on Lennox and assisted her as she entered the milkshake bar.
"W-what i-is this, Kate?" she asked as she felt a table beside them.
"Take a seat on your right." Trixie said and Lennox followed.
She finally took a seat on a leathered couch and fixed her skirt afterwards.
"Now, count 1-5 then take your blindfolds off. Okay?" Kate whispered.
"This is not a prank, right?" Lennox asked.
"Of course not. Okay, now count to five." Trixie said and so Lennox followed.
"One... Two... Three... Four... Five" she was about to untie the handkerchief from behind but a certain someone sitting in-front of her untied it for her.
The handkerchief was removed and she was expecting a birthday cake or something but boy she was wrong.
"Happy Birthday!" a beautiful smile greeted her.
Her eyes widened and she became stiff like a corpse, as if her body was frozen. She didn't know how to react and she started to panic internally.
Jung Jaehyun was sitting right in front of her.
She immediately stood and turned her back around and started walking towards the exit when Trixie and Kate stopped her.
"Hey where are you going, Lennox?"
"Are you guys crazy?! Is this a joke?! Why did you do this?" she half whispered/half screamed at them trying not to look back.
"Lennox, listen. Okay? It's just a date, this is your chance so seize the opportunity." Kate said.
"Don't you appreciate our effort to help you?" Trixie said.
"No, this is not what I want. I knew it, I knew you would do something like this." she tried to leave.
"No! No!" Kate pushed her back.
"Go back there right now and talk to him, you can't just leave him. He literally made time for this, don't waste that." Kate said.
"We're not gonna let you leave 'til you talk to him so get your ass back there." Trixie said.
Lennox furrowed her eyebrows at them but they just widened their eyes at her until she decided to turn around and go back
Lennox had no choice but to shamelessly return from her seat after walking away. She sat slowly but never made eye contact with him.
"Are you okay?" Jaehyun said in a calm voice leaning down to see her face.
She closed her eyes and bit her lips in embarrassment. "I'm sorry."
Jaehyun was confused. "For what?"
"Because I run away and because my friends dragged you into this." she said.
"It's okay, I was willing to do it anyway." he said.
"I am Jaehyun, by the way." he reached his arm for a handshake.
As if Lennox didn't knew who he was.
"I'm Lennox." she said and her hands were trembling as she shook hands with Jaehyun.
Lennox finally took courage to look him in the eye and she almost choked at how perfect Jaehyun was up close.
"This is so embarrassing." she half whispered and looked away.
Jaehyun laughed at her reaction. "Just relax and don't feel embarrassed." he said.
She nodded and silence filled the air afterwards.
"Should we order something to drink?" Jaehyun broke the silence.
She nodded while looking down and Jaehyun called the waiter to take their order.
———
Lennox felt like dying, her introvert self wasn't liking this one bit.
She just looked at her drink without even speaking fiddling with her fingers under the table.
"So... you're a Junior huh?" Jaehyun spoke.
"Yes."
"Oh cool, you play any sports?" he asked.
"I used to be part of the archery but... I withdrew from the team."
"Oh really? Why?"
"U-uh... Personal matters." she said and decided to take a sip of her strawberry milkshake.
Jaehyun nodded.
"So, your friends told me that you had a crush on me since freshmen?"
Lennox choked on her drink when Jaehyun said that and she coughed.
"A-are you okay?" he immediately patted her back and offered her tissue. "Here."
Lennox's eye popping out of their eye-socket. "They said that?!" not caring about almost choking to death.
Jaehyun nodded and she sank down her seat and covered her face with your hands. "Hey, don't be shy." Jaehyun said.
"It's okay." he held her wrist and tried to sit her back properly.
"Ugh... why did I even trust them in the first place?" she said.
"They told me you were to scared to approach me." he said.
"Is that true? Do I look scary to you?" he laughed.
She quickly shook her head. "I-I'm just... extremely shy."
"I see." Jaehyun said.
"I do appreciate it, by the way." he said.
"Appreciate what?"
"The poems you wrote about me." he said and Lennox wanted to curse right then and there because her friends told him about those poems.
"Oh my gosh." she covered her face again. "What else did they say?"
Jaehyun found her so cute as she acted like she was about to cry. "They told me that you reject suitors because you were so loyal to me as your crush."
True story though.
"And they told me you rejected my friend, Johnny." he said.
"What?!" she removed her hands away from her face. "They said that?! I told them to— ugh, gosh!"
"Don't worry I won't tell Johnny that I know about it." he laughed.
"Please, don't. I don't want to make it a big deal." she said.
"I am just amazed..." he said. "You kept it a secret for three years." he said.
"You prolly never even knew my existence until today." Lennox said to him and the tone of her voice sounded sad.
Jaehyun would nod if he wanted to be honest, but he didn't wanted to be rude or something.
"Well maybe I've seen you in the hallway, cafeteria or library. I just can't remember." he said.
She smiled 'cause he was a horrible liar. "Well, I am a nobody in school and you're like... the most popular guy in school so what do I expect."
"No, I am not. Taeyong is the popular one, everybody knows that." he tried to be humble.
"Still... I never thought someone as popular like you would even hang out with a ordinary person like me." she said.
"Don't say that, I'm also a human like everyone else and you shouldn't feel inferior or anything." he explained.
She nodded at him and continued drinking her milkshake.
She never expect Jaehyun to be this down-to-earth, she admires him more.
Never did he touched his phone the moment they started talking, he was such a gentleman, he was nice and he was all around perfect.
"Thank you..."
Jaehyun shifted his gaze.
"Huh?" he asked.
"For agreeing with this whole set up my friends did for my birthday, even though you might have had better plans for today."
Jaehyun shook his head. "It's my pleasure, Lennox. I don't have any plans for today, don't worry."
"I don't know how on Earth my friends convinced you do this, I am still puzzled." she explained.
"I got really curious when they told me you were someone who admired me from afar for four years and never had the guts to speak to me." he explained.
"So I said 'yes' to their plan and I wasn't sure what to expect from you. I mean they told me you were very shy and very quiet but they never told me you were so well-spoken as well."
"Thank you." she said.
"You're also quite nice for a popular guy like you." she said.
Jaehyun laughed. "Thank you but I am not popular, okay?"
Lennox laughed and shook her head. "Okay okay, I get it."
———
After their 'date', Jaehyun offered to send her home. They rode his car and bid farewell to each other.
She immediately rushed to her room and closed the door and leaned on it until she slid her back against the door and sat lifelessly on the floor.
"This isn't right!" she said as she placed her hand on her chest feeling her heartbeat.
She stood up after almost 2 minutes of staring into nowhere.
———
"So... how was your date?" Trixie said as soon as she entered the room.
Lennox looked left and right and immediately hushed her. "Shh! Be quiet, someone might hear you."
"Oh c'mon!" Trixie muttered.
"I don't want anyone else to know about what happened yesterday, I'm sure Jaehyun also wouldn't want anyone else to know that he went out with a looser like me." she explained.
"Jaehyun is not that kind of guy." Kate said.
"I know... but still, I wouldn't want to embarrass him, he already did me a favor." she said.
"Still... thank you." she said and smiled at them.
"Awww!" they gave her a hug.
"You needed that, sweetie." Kate said.
"We're so happy for you, you finally got to talk to your long time crush." Trixie said.
———
After class Lennox immediately made her way home, she was shock to see a car parked right in front of her house.
She tried to remember whose car it was and when she finally remembered she quickly ran inside their house.
When she entered their home she saw him in the dining area with her mom and dad. "Oh sweetie, you're home."
Her mom said but her eyes were only glued to him the whole time and her jaw was about to drop.
"Hi Lennox." he greeted.
———
Jaehyun dropped by at Lennox's house to return something but Lennox wasn't home yet so her parent's invited Jaehyun to come over.
He eventually stayed for dinner with Lennox and her parents. It was so uncomdortable for Lennox especially 'cause her parents kept embarrassing her but Jaehyun was so calm, so polite and good at keeping up with other people.
"Lenox." Jaehyun called once they were left alone.
"I'm sorry for coming over, I-I just... needed to return something."
"What is it?" Lennox said and Jaehyun pulled something from his bag.
Lennox already knew what that was. "H-How did you?"
It was her diary, she named it Jeffrey.
"You left it in my car yesterday." he said.
He immediately returned it to her and she immediately grabbed it from his hand and placed it behind her back.
"You didn't r-read it, d-did you?" she asked nervously.
"No. Not at all." Jaehyun answered calmly.
"T-thanks." she felt really embarrassed if Jaehyun really did.
"No problem..." he said.
"I did saw a list attached to the back of that." he said "I assume it's your... bucket list?"
Lennox looked at her diary and turned it over and saw the paper attached at the back.
"W-well uhm... these are just... five things I've never done b-before." she said. "I wanted to try them for my sixteenth birthday."
"That's great." he said. "Roadtrip, watching sunset, bungee jumping, hiking and camping, sounds really fun."
"Yeah, would've been fun if my parents allowed me to." she scoffed as she read the list she created.
"Why wouldn't they allow you to do those things? I mean, your sixteen already." he said.
"They don't want me to do these things by myself." she explained.
"How about your friends?" he asked.
"They hate hiking, they don't like camping, and you can't force them to bungee jump." she said.
Jaehyun felt a little sad for Lennox, he was thinking of an idea but he was hesitant for a while but he evetually made up his mind.
"I can come with you if you want."
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