Chapter 112
Kang Muyoung, with his disheveled hair, was smiling brightly as if he had been busy preparing in a hurry. He looked much more vibrant than usual—almost like when they first met.
“…”
Despite resolving to properly respond to whatever might happen, Seokjae couldn’t even say a simple thank you. Just staring blankly with a frozen expression probably made him look like an idiot.
But he couldn’t easily open his mouth.
‘Ah, he’s so adorably beautiful.’
Because if he did, his true feelings might just spill out unfiltered.
He had received countless birthday celebrations in his life, and normally his first thought when receiving gifts was how bothersome it would be to even unwrap them. Yet here he was, feeling overjoyed by a mere chocolate bread cake and a bouquet of flowers plucked from who knows where.
‘Another one to add to the list.’
The thought he had in the classroom suddenly came to mind. Seokjae gazed intently at Muyoung, inwardly muttering with both admiration and a sigh.
‘Really, where did someone like this come from?’
How could such a lovable being exist? Seokjae began to study him closely with genuine curiosity, examining him from various angles.
“H-hyung?”
The recipient of that persistent gaze interpreted the burning eyes and continued silence as a negative signal.
‘…Does he not like it?’
With his confidence dropping under that unwavering dark gaze, Muyoung examined the bouquet he had made once more.
The flowers and leaves that had been crushed from being carried in a hurry, and the crude knot that seemed made for function rather than to look like a butterfly. Though it had seemed decent until just now, looking at it carefully, it was too shabby to be a proper gift.
Of course, Seokjae with the flowers in the same frame was incredibly beautiful as he had imagined, but that was thanks to his remarkable face, which made the crushed bouquet almost invisible.
‘Should I have just given the cake? He at least seemed surprised until I lit the candles.’
Although he knew Seokjae was the type of person who would accept any gift with gratitude, his silence made Muyoung worry that he might not like such an unimpressive present.
Then a thought flashed through his mind.
‘Oh no, what if he has some kind of flower pollen allergy?!’
Muyoung, who had been fidgeting with his hands while keeping his eyes fixed on the bouquet, suddenly looked up and was startled.
‘That must be it! What do I do!’
He misunderstood completely, thinking that Seokjae was frowning in pain while actually just observing him. Blaming his own ignorance, Muyoung hurriedly tried to take back the bouquet, but…
Swish.
“Thank you.”
Seokjae, who had been still until now, took the bouquet first. With his hands suddenly empty, a bewildered Muyoung stammered.
“Uh, umm… hyung, are you okay?”
“Hm? Yes. I really like it, why?”
That wasn’t what he meant to ask, but the fact that Seokjae liked it meant he didn’t have an allergy.
‘I guess it wasn’t the worst gift after all…’
Relieved, Muyoung let out a soft sigh. Meanwhile, Seokjae entered the office with unhurried movements. And then.
“I was really surprised, didn’t expect this at all.”
Click.
He closed the door and locked it securely—to ensure no one would interrupt this moment.
Seokjae naturally took Muyoung’s hand, sat him on the desk, and then stood in front of him, blocking his way as he asked.
“Since when have you been preparing this?”
“Ah, well, since I found out it was your birthday, hyung.”
He apparently hadn’t noticed at all that he was in quite a dangerous situation.
“Really? Then…”
The completely defenseless Muyoung simply rubbed the back of his neck shyly as he answered, and Seokjae continued his next question, trying to appear as if he had no particular intentions.
“Why did you prepare it in secret from the others?”
“Huh? Ah…”
Muyoung opened his eyes wide at his question and began to speak, but was at a loss for words. He hadn’t really thought about the reason himself.
‘That’s right! Why did I? If we had prepared together, we could have celebrated more extravagantly than this.’
Even if it was because he feared they might notice if all three moved together, from the moment he first thought about celebrating Seokjae’s birthday, he had never once included the other two in his plans. No, rather…
‘Huh? Hyung, why are you coming out of there?’
‘Uh, umm. Just looking around here and there…’
‘Looking around?’
‘Y-yeah.’
‘Hmm. Well, this place does look interesting. I should look around later too.’
‘R-right. I’ll be going now.’
He had even lied to hide it when Junwoo nearly caught him. Even though Seokjae would probably be happier with a celebration from everyone rather than just from him.
Muyoung thought hard, trying to retrace his memories to figure out why he had acted that way. And at some point, the truth hidden in his heart silently emerged.
‘…I wanted us to have the birthday party alone.’
Feeling like he might scream, Muyoung bit his lip. Even though he had always thought throughout his life that the more people, the better. He wasn’t so stupid as to not understand what it meant that he wanted to be alone with Seokjae, even going so far as to tell lies he wasn’t good at.
‘I’m c-crazy. You’re crazy, Kang Muyoung! S-since when!’
He wanted to pull his hair out over this shocking emotion he hadn’t known himself, but barely restrained himself only because Seokjae was watching. Just then, Seokjae asked with a somewhat urgent voice, as if prompting him.
“Hmm? Why?”
“Well, that is…”
“That is?”
He had found the answer to the question, but he couldn’t bring himself to tell the truth. Muyoung rolled his eyes nervously, breaking out in a cold sweat, when his gaze fell on the cake he had placed earlier. At the same time, an excuse that might help him escape this critical moment came to mind.
“Ch-chocolate bread!”
“What?”
“The chocolate bread is just for you, hyung…!”
“…The bread?”
Perhaps because he felt caught, that short phrase seemed to convey a sense of “Is that all?” with a hint of disappointment. Muyoung added his excuse, stammering.
“Th-there were only three, and if we shared with the other two, you would only get one. The birthday person should be special, right?”
“Well, I guess…”
Raising one eyebrow with a subtle expression, Seokjae leaned his head to the side as he placed both hands on the desk, essentially trapping Muyoung.
“So you wanted to celebrate just with me, right?”
“Y-yes…?”
“I’m happy.”
With the distance so close that he could feel his breath, and the head angle that somehow looked dangerous, Muyoung swallowed and leaned back almost to the point of lying down.
“H-hyung, aren’t you a bit too close right now? Haha…”
“Hmm? Am I?”
Although Muyoung asked him to move away, rambling incoherently with an expression that suggested he was sweating profusely, Seokjae just smiled, pretending not to understand, and had no intention of backing away. Instead, rather than pushing further for the next step, he took one step back.
“It’s a shame I can’t take the gift with me.”
He wasn’t actually granting the request, but rather diverting attention to ease the tension a bit.
Though it would be reasonable to be upset at this obvious change of subject, Muyoung caught onto his words about regret and asked with wide eyes.
“What?”
“The gift. I can’t put it in my bag, and if I carry it around, who knows when it might get crushed.”
Muyoung naturally followed Seokjae’s gaze as he rolled his eyes. He noticed the bouquet caught between Seokjae’s hand and the desk.
“Ah…”
He hadn’t thought about that at all. Indeed, as Seokjae said, running around with a bouquet in one hand while avoiding zombies was absurd. It wouldn’t last a day—not even an hour—before getting tossed around while running. In the end, only bare stems would remain of the bouquet.
‘Can something he can’t even take with him be called a gift? It’s not like I’m teasing him.’
He hadn’t said, “Thanks for the thought, just leave it here,” but it amounted to the same thing. Of course, given the circumstances, Seokjae seemed to be expressing his regret with understanding. But…
‘I can’t just let this pass without giving a proper gift!’
He couldn’t accept it himself.
This was the only birthday of Seokjae—not just anyone, but Seokjae—that he could celebrate, and to end it with a gift that would only be shown and then taken back?
‘At least the cake can be taken with him in his stomach!’
Muyoung racked his brain, unaware that Seokjae was looking at him like prey and practically licking his lips.
‘What could I give him…’
Of course, there was no gift he could get right away, and he couldn’t promise to give one later. The “later” period given to him was very short. He couldn’t carelessly make promises when he wasn’t sure if a situation would arise where he could find a proper gift in that time.
After thinking hard, what Muyoung chose was…
“Then how about… I give you a wish voucher?”
That was his final choice. A wish voucher.
“You’re giving me two gifts?”
“It doesn’t feel right to just accept something as a gift when you have to leave it behind.”
And though Seokjae didn’t know, this was also the wish voucher he was supposed to give when he lost their bet.
‘Even if I end up winning, it doesn’t matter since I can just think of it as a birthday gift.’
It was a rather weak calculation, but Muyoung didn’t miss the opportunity to reduce the stakes whenever bets were mentioned.
“But the usage period is only until today!”
He even preemptively prevented the possibility of Seokjae not using the wish voucher. It was a perfect strategy.
Seokjae, watching Muyoung’s proud face with sparkling eyes, glanced at the clock and said.
“There’s only 30 minutes left?”
Ahhh.
How could he make such a mistake? After rushing to celebrate the birthday before the next day came, he had forgotten the fact that there was little time left today. It was so embarrassing that he felt blood rushing to his face, but he had to save the situation.
Muyoung hurriedly changed his words.
“Then until tomorrow! No longer than—”
“No. Today is fine.”
“What?”
Just as he was about to insist on extending it until tomorrow, saying the period was too short, Seokjae interrupted. Then he gave a bright smile to the puzzled Muyoung.
“I’ve already decided.”
