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Dongho's never cared too much for his birthday. His parents never saw any point in celebrating, anyway.
He still remembers his first birthday in Korea, though. Minsoo brought him a cake and a gift and they hid in one of the vocal practice rooms for an hour, just eating cake and quietly laughing.
He still has the gift Minsoo gave him: a cat phone charm. Sure, it's scuffed and a bit beaten up, but it's still sitting in a box in Dongho's dresser along with the other little trinkets he's collected since he was 17.
Once Daehyun joined, their celebrations got a bit larger. They'd just sit in the break room, and the managers would pretend not to notice how much cake they were eating.
Dongho kept all the little cat plushies Daehyun got for him. They're in another box in his dresser.
It wasn't hard to expand their celebrations to include Jaewon. By then, they had enough leniency with the managers to sit in the practice room, to blare music over the speaker system and make as much noise as they want.
Jaewon made him cards every year. Cards, usually taped to some little practical gift, like the earbud case or the wallet clip or the numerous other little things Dongho uses almost daily.
Dongho's first birthday after they'd debuted was quite memorable. Someone (named Lee Minsoo) had gotten ahold of a photo of him sleeping, and a few printouts of the photo made up the background of the birthday vlive.
Jaewon hadn't made it to the livestream. He had mentioned something about a meeting with the CEO, but Dongho didn't care too much.
He never saw too much point in celebrating, anyway.
But this year's his first birthday in the dorm, and he can tell the others are planning something.
Dongho's not sure whether or not to be scared.
———
"...the forecast says it's going to rain for the next week," Minsoo says despondently, faceplanting into the table. "We're gonna be stuck inside for at least 4 days..."
Daehyun glances at him from across the table. "Even Friday?"
"Yes, Dae-yah, that's two days from now."
Dongho frowns. "Do we have enough groceries? We should probably stock up..."
Minsoo pops his head up. "Dae and I can go!"
Jaewon laughs nervously, and Dongho frowns again. "You're going to come back with cereal, Minsoo-yah. I don't trust you."
Minsoo gasps in mock offense.
"...Jaewon-hyung and I could go?"
"I'll make you a list then, Dae-yah. Jaewon-ah, are you able to go?"
"Yep!" Jaewon looks oddly energetic, almost a little shakey.
Dongho frowns again. "How much coffee have you had?"
———
While the youngest two go shopping, Minsoo drags Dongho to the practice room with some excuse about hos they're not going to want to go anywhere once it's raining.
Dongho just smiles a bit, and god he's weak for the others. Minsoo, especially. Something about being friends for as long as they have, he thinks.
And then Minsoo's turning on the playlist they used to dance to as trainees and Dongho smiles wider, laughing as Minsoo skips through the songs to that one girl group song that they learned the dance to.
It's nice to just goof around with Minsoo, to lose some of the responsibilities that come with being the two oldest members.
It reminds him of when they were trainees, just the two of them.
Things are better now, though.
Dongho's happier now.
———
There's something off in the dorm when Dongho and Minsoo get back. Or, rather, the maknaes are acting off. Strange. Sus, as Dongho's heard Minsoo call people.
They got the groceries— everything on the list and even a few things they needed that weren't there— and put them away where they belonged, but Dongho still feels like he's going to find something in a wrong spot.
"Do you not trust us, hyung?"
"No. Daehyun-ah, I found your chicken plush in the refrigerator a month ago. And you, apparently, put him there."
"Dde was hot. So I put him in the fridge," Daehyun says nonchalantly, ignoring the way Minsoo's wheeze-laughing in the background.
Dongho just stares blankly at Daehyun for a moment, and then sighs. "..I give up. Minsoo, they're your kids now."
Minsoo smushes his face into the counter and mutters something about shared custody. Dongho shakes his head, heading back to his room.
He really has the strangest friends.
———
It starts to rain that night.
Dongho wakes up to wind blowing at the wall of his room, rain pounding against the window. Minsoo's passed out on the top bunk, oblivious to the storm passing overhead.
For a moment, Dongho envies him. But then he slips on his slippers and drapes his blanket around his shoulders like a cape and walks out to their living room.
Lightning strikes as he enters the kitchen, and he can see the sheets of water pouring down. It sounds like gunshots, almost, against the glass.
Dongho's used to it raining on his birthday. Mid-February in California is rain season, after all. And this rain is supposed to last over the weekend, past Friday— his birthday.
Quietly, Dongho curls up on the couch with his blanket. The rain's pounding against the wall behind his head and the window to his right and there's thunder and lightning and he loves it.
He barely notices his eyes closing.
———
Dongho's rudely awoken in the morning by Minsoo jumping on him. He just blinks a bit, offended, and then he notices that it's still raining just as hard as the night before.
"Aish, what's so exciting about rain? Your eyes got all... glowy 'n shit when you looked out there," Minsoo says jokingly.
"I just like the rain. It always rains on my birthday, so... I guess it's just kinda tradition, at this point."
"Of course you have a weather tradition," Minsoo groans, flopping back on top of Dongho. "I know you've got a tradition of always having chocolate-caramel cake— that's a bitch to find, you know? Chocolate-caramel cake?— and you like smaller gifts, but then you've got a weather tradition."
Dongho laughs a bit. "Blame California, then."
"Might as well blame America," Minsoo grumbles. "Chocolate-caramel cake— is there cake mix for it in America? I can never find mix for it. You get homemade fancy cake every year."
"I dunno. Didn't really celebrate my birthday until I moved to Korea, so-"
"-you what?!" Daehyun's staring at him, still a bit sleepy looking, and somewhat horrified.
"...my parents didn't see much point in celebrating? They'd get me gifts and all that, but nothing too special. Why?"
Minsoo and Daehyun exchange a look.
"What, did I say something wrong?"
"...I guess we need to make up for the birthdays you missed, huh."
Dongho laughs a bit, and Minsoo crashes into his chest again. "You don't need to worry about that, Minsoo. It's fine. It's just a birthday-"
"And that's why it's special!" Minsoo narrows his eyes, glaring at Dongho. "This will be the best birthday you've ever had. That is a threat."
Minsoo promptly tumbles off the sofa.
Dongho laughs.
———
They're all stuck inside because of the rain.
Jaewon's watching some movie in the living room, and Daehyun is trying to teach Minsoo how to cook... something.
Dongho chooses to just relax in his room, sprawled out over the soft black sheets on his bunk. With the lights off, the room's soothingly dim, the sun blocked out by the heavy grey clouds overhead
He's just scrolling through Twitter, mostly seeing a number of cute cats, but also stumbling across fans' birthday events that they're planning for him.
It's touching. Not that Dongho really cares too much about his birthday, but still.
The unmistakable smell of chocolate wafts into the room, and Dongho sits up a bit. Are they baking something?
He gets out of bed, trailing a blanket behind him like a cape, and pokes his head down the hallway into the kitchen.
Daehyun and Minsoo are making pancakes. Chocolate pancakes.
"Oh- hi hyung! Did you take a nap or something? Come have some pancakes!" Daehyun practically shoves Dongho over to the couch with Jaewon and places a plate full of pancakes in front of him a couple minutes later.
"You taught Minsoo how to make pancakes?"
"Yeah?"
Minsoo yells something, but it's muffled by the pancakes in his mouth. "I like pancakes, and Dae knows how to make them! So he taught me!"
Dongho glances between the two of them, confused at why they look so panicked.
It's probably just the sugar...
———
As always, Minsoo cheers when the doorbell rings, signaling their food delivery. It's not that they can't cook or something, Daehyun and Jaewon went shopping the day before, but it's raining outside still and Minsoo wanted ramen and no one felt like cooking. So they ordered takeout. Dongho tosses his wallet to Daehyun, and he and Minsoo are more than happy to answer the door.
It's a bit funny to watch them dash down the short hallway, and Dongho grabs the plates and silverware from the cabinets. Jaewon left a bottle of iced coffee on the dining table. Dongho frowns at it.
Where is Jaewon, anyway?
The living room's empty, and as far as Dongho can tell, no one's on the balcony. Jaewon didn't leave the dorm, so-
he must be in his room. I'll get him for dinner.
The front door closes and Minsoo cheers again, running back to the kitchen with two bottles of soda in hand. Daehyun follows, carrying the bags of takeout- black bean noodles and ramen, if Dongho remembers the order correctly- and places them on the counter.
While Daehyun works out which order is whose and Minsoo pours everyone drinks, Dongho goes to get Jaewon.
The door's closed. Dongho frowns a bit, and knocks. Jaewon doesn't answer. So he pushes the door open.
"Jaewon-ah, food's- why are you in Daehyun's bed?"
Jaewon looks up, eyes wide, and the only parts of him that isn't buried under the covers is his head of flaming red hair.
"...it's comfy?"
Daehyun peeks over Dongho's shoulder. "Ah... uh... Jaewon-hyung and I have been sharing my bed because..."
"I get cold at night," Jaewon says sheepishly.
"Smart! We can save on heating that way," Minsoo crows from the kitchen.
Dongho rolls his eyes a bit. "Alright. Food's here, Jaewon-ah. I can turn the heat up if you'd like?"
"It's fine," Jaewon hurries to say. "Just.. give me a second. I'll be there soon!"
Daehyun smiles, slinging an arm over Dongho's shoulder. "Come on, hyung, I'm hungry."
There's something going on with Jaewon. And Daehyun. Dongho can't help but feel like they're acting suspicious. But he lets Daehyun pull him to the dining table, and Jaewon joins them a few minutes later.
He just knows that something's going on.
———
It's close to midnight. Dongho can't sleep. Mostly because Minsoo's still playing Valorant at such a late hour, but also because something is wrong.
Everyone's been acting off, with whatever the maknaes have going on, and then with Daehyun and Minsoo making chocolate pancakes that honestly tasted like chocolate cake mix, and even the day before, when the maknaes went shopping.
He shouldn't be so stressed. His birthday's tomorrow, after all. It could just be a surprise for him!
Come on, would they really try to surprise me with something? we don't ever do surprises for each other...
Dongho shakes his head a bit and sighs, standing up from his bunk. Minsoo pays no notice, eyes trained on his computer screen.
The hallway in the dorm is dark and quiet, as usual. Dongho walks down to Jaewon and Daehyun's door and quietly nudges it open. Sure enough, the two of them are curled up in Daehyun's bunk, and Dongho's pretty sure that Jaewon's cuddling a plush chicken. He's also pretty sure the chicken plush is Daehyun's.
Dongho closes their door, shaking his head. It's nothing. They're fine. He's just being paranoid.
He walks out to the living room and carefully sits on the couch, eyes trained on the rain pounding against the windows. It's the only reminder that it's actually close to his birthday at all. It always rains on his birthday.
"...hyung?"
Dongho turns to the hallway, a bit startled. It's just Minsoo. He looks panicked.
"What's up? You can go to bed without me, I just wanted to watch the rain for a bit."
"I though you'd run away again..." Minsoo says softly. "You just... weren't there..."
oh.
"...come here. I've never watched the rain with anyone." Dongho holds his arms open, and Minsoo falls into them gratefully.
"'m special, huh?"
"You're the one who started celebrating my birthday, so..."
Minsoo perks up a bit. "Really?"
"Yes, really," Dongho laughs quietly. "Now shh. It's better to watch the rain when you're quiet."
As expected, Minsoo pouts, but he relaxes into Dongho's arms nonetheless. It's comfortable like this, Dongho realizes. Not so lonely. Warm.
They sit watching the rain for a while, Minsoo fidgeting as usual and Dongho playing with his hair. Then Minsoo points at the clock.
"Happy birthday, hyung."
12:00 am. midnight. february 19.
"You're proud to be the first one to say that, huh."
"Mostly sleepy." Minsoo yawns, further proving his point. "C'mon. Bed time. I'm giving you birthday cuddles."
Dongho's eyes linger on the window for a second, on the rain pelting against it, but he lets Minsoo drag him to their room anyway. As promised, Minsoo does climb into his bunk after him, curling up in his arms.
He's subjected to Minsoo's sleepy comments for a while but eventually the younger falls asleep, shortly after commenting on how Dongho smells like pine.
The window in their rooms isn't as big as the one in the living room. Dongho can still watch the rain through it, though.
———
Dongho's slightly groggy when he wakes up the next morning. It's just drizzling outside, and it's a strange greyish-blue tint that makes it hard to tell what time it is.
Minsoo's gone. Admittedly, it's much colder without him.
Dongho fumbles for his phone. The screen says it's 8 am.
it's quiet for 8... where's everyone else?
Sleepily, he gets up and wraps his blanket around his shoulders as usual.
The hallway's dimmer than usual— probably because of the grey clouds outside— and he still can't hear the others.
"...Minsoo? Are you guys still here?"
Dongho rubs sleep from his eye as he walks out to the kitchen and just out of the corner of his eye, he sees something glowing.
It's candle flames. Twelve of them on top of a cake.
"Happy birthday, hyung!" Minsoo crows, still holding the lighter.
Jaewon smiles, holding onto the cake very carefully, and Daehyun cheers a bit, Dde nestled in the hood of his hoodie.
Dongho stands, staring at it for a moment. He can feel his eyes crinkling up as they always do when he smiles, his vision blurry from the way his eyes are watering.
"...wait! No, why are you crying!! Don't cry!!" Minsoo sets the lighter down and runs to Dongho, slightly panicked.
Dongho laughs a bit, and it's a watery laugh, but he hugs Minsoo anyway. "'m happy. That's all. Didn't think you'd do something like this for me..."
"What, no breakfast cake? How cruel do you think we are? Breakfast cake is the best part of any birthday!"
"No, a surprise like this," Dongho says quietly.
Minsoo pulls back, frowning. "Why wouldn't we? You're our Dongho, and we have a whole lot of birthdays to make up for you. Oh, and we all love you very much. Is that enough reasons?"
"...more than enough. Thank you."
"You don't need to thank us," Minsoo smiles. "It's your birthday! Now come on, cake time!!"
Daehyun cheers again— now holding a knife— and Jaewon smiles at Dongho, eyes flickering to the knife every once in a while.
Dongho glares at the cake for a second. "Is there a reason there's only 12 candles?"
Jaewon laughs nervously. "Daehyun and I could only find sets of 12, so-"
"It's because you're a hag now," Minsoo says seriously. "You're 28. Wow, you're like a grandfather."
Dongho just laughs, not bothering to point out that Minsoo's going to be turning 27 on his birthday, and instead leaning over to blow out the candles.
Flames are turned to smoke with just one breath.
MAYHEM cheer again, and Daehyun starts slicing the cake.
As Dongho glances around, from the cake to the others to the presents stacked on the coffee table, he can't help but think to himself.
Maybe there is a point to celebrating.