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𝘐𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐-
"..."
.
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"I'm sorry, Junky", Ak says with a frown on his face, as he takes out a small key from his pocket. It was the spare key of Junky's room which the latter himself had given to Ak. Ak, of course had never used the key before and wouldn't even dream of it had it not been needed for the occasion that day. Even so, to him, the fact that he was entering Junky's room when the boy wasn't there, seemed like a violation of the loyalty he swore to his leader.
"Hurry up, dude! You're making it look like we're some criminals breaking into someone's house". Neru's words interrupt Ak's thoughts, rushing him to open the door.
"It's alright. We can afford to wait a little," YP ensures with a gentle smile. Neru continues with an annoyed look, "Ugh shut it. You guys are thinking way too much about this." "Come in," Ak says after finally entering the room.
The three of them enter their young leader's room and set aside the boxes they were carrying which contained a number of party poppers and balloons of various colors including some spelling out "Happy Birthday". Neru begins, "Let's start decorating already. We don't have the whole day." To his words, Ak nods and suggests, "I'll clean up the room first. You two can start with blowing the balloons." Then he notices the person standing in front of the door.
"And what am I supposed to do here again?" Cherry asks. As much as he disliked to admit it, he felt excluded from their plans from the start of the day, or to be exact, after the day they decided to secretly organise a birthday party for Junky.
It all started about two weeks ago when Ak gathered everyone except Junky and let them know that this time, he wanted to throw a birthday party for their leader in their apartment. Normally on such occasions, they'd book a reservation in a restaurant and have dinner together but this sudden change of plans was well received by the fellow members as they too felt it was getting repetitive. They offered to help Ak and so it was decided that they would lie about the reservation for Junky's birthday suddenly getting canceled and surprise him with a party in their home. After that day, the preparations proceeded at their own pace and though Cherry wasn't too exited about the party, to his surprise, nobody urged him to help either. He knew of their plans and they would discuss things with him such as what food or decoration items to buy or what presents Junky would like but none went out of their way to ask for his help and it would be out of the character Cherry put on for himself to volunteer to go with them. Even so, watching all the other members work hard while he didn't do much to help did make him guilty. Right, he felt guilty and that was the only reason why he was quite glad when Ak called him and asked for his help. Yes, it's because he didn't want to feel guilty. After all there's no other reason why he should care about the birthday party of THAT guy of all people.
"Great, you're here," Ak continues,"This might sound sudden but we need you to distract Junky and make sure he doesn't enter the live house until we're done here." "...But why do I have to be the one to distract him? Couldn't I help to decorate this room while one of you goes with Junky instead?" Cherry asks. "It's because you're the last one who'd want to spend time with Junky so he won't suspect anything and will start following you around like a puppy," Neru answers. Ak adds, "We didn't bother you with any of the preparations because you were already busy with work but we really need you to keep him distracted, so could you please help us out with this?" "I think Junky will like it too," adds YP.
Once again, Cherry disliked the thought of not making any contributions while all his teammates were working hard. Neru, who wouldn't bother cleaning his room was eager to decorate the whole apartment building if he was allowed to do so with the help of the ever-unmotivated YP. Spring had taken the task of making the birthday cake along with maybe the dinner and was already working in the kitchen. Lastly, it's best not to mention AK. The fact that they didn't want to bother him with more work is also pressured him to accept the task. Cherry looks at his teammates once more and sighs before he finally gives in and says, "Fine, I'll do it, you don't have to look so down. Do you know where he went?"
"There's no need to worry. I've already thought about that," Ak assures Cherry. Then he brings out his phone and opens a map so fast that one might think he was planning to do so from the start. Then he begins, "Currently, Junky is out to buy some snacks and drinks. There are a few stores he usually buys from. This one is the closest and has the highest chance of him going there. Regardless, If you wait in this place, you can pretend to run into-" Ak stops after noticing the lack of response. "Did I not explain it well?" "Never mind, I won't ask how you came up with all this," says Cherry. Neru mocks, "Takes someone insane to look after another insane person~"
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"Thank you for coming. Have a great day," the cashier tells Junky with a smile on her face as he takes the bag filled with snacks from her. "You too~" Junky says, before leaving the convenience store and going back to the cold streets. It's afternoon and you could finally see the sun lurking behind the clouds after a morning filled with snowfall. It's a normal occurrence in the coldest month of the year.
"..𝘜𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘈𝘬-𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰.. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.. 𝘏𝘺𝘢𝘩𝘢, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦~ 𝘈𝘬-𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴♡" Junky smiles, "𝘐 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦♡ 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘶-𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢-"suddenly, he notices a familiar figure standing in a little distance.The person is on his phone as if he's waiting for someone. "Haaah? Hah is that Cherry-chan?" Junky stops walking, "CHERRY-CHAN!" He calls out again before running towards the man in question.
"𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤??" Cherry asks himself out of embarrassment."What do you want?", finally addressing Junky, who had ran towards him just now. "Why are you standing here? Are you waiting for someone?" The boy asks curiously. "Were you mayybe waiting for m-" "I finished my work so I thought I'd take a walk outside," Cherry interrupts the younger, hoping that he didn't sound suspicious. "Yayy, so you're free right now?? Let's go together! Where do we go first?" "Who said you could come with me?" protests Cherry. "Cmon~ I was gonna go to GOAT's dorm to check up on my sweetie Snow but it's so rare for you to be free so I gotta hang out with you now ♡ There's this awesome cafe-" as he grabs Cherry's arm, Junky goes on to explain his plans, not caring if the other was listening. Cherry let's out a sigh,"𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘒'𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯...𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵."
Back at their apartment, everyone is busy with their own task. "Raise it a little higher," Neru says. "Like this?" YP asks. "Yeah, and a little more to the left. The letters need to be in a straight line," the younger points. With a little noise, the door opens, revealing Spring. "Wow, you guys have already finished most of the work!" "Yeah, we just need to put up the other balloons on the corners. Did you need something?" Neru asks the older. "Well, I was thinking of keeping the decoration on the cake simple but what do you think about adding some flowers and sprinkles?" Spring asks. "Just do whatever you think is best. It's not like any of us cook good enough to criticise you~" replies the other. "It's not that, I meant, do you think Junky would like it more?" Spring clarifies. "Wouldn't Ak be the one to know that best? Wait, where is he again?" asks Neru, after observing the whole room. YP replies, "He was talking to someone on the phone just now, before going somewhere in a hurry. I wonder if something came up." "Even if something did, he won't let anything get in the way of Junky's birthday party," Neru states with confidence. "Right, he's the one who did most of the work and organised everything from the start. I just hope everything will go smoothly," Spring mentions as he slowly paces around the room. Then he let's his mind wander for a moment as he looks outside through the open window on the corner of the room. The sky is painted in shades of orange with a tint of light pink. The soft, cold breeze outside causing the leaves of the trees to rustle is enough for one to lose themself. "𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘸..."
"Ya know~ I kinda feel bad... We went to my favourite cafes and I ate a lot of stuff but you only drank tea. And even paid for everything when I was the one who wanted to hang out in the first place.." says Junky. "Kind of late to think about all that, don't you think?" the other replies. "Aahha, I remember, try this, Cherry-chan!"Junky exclaims, as he brings out a box of wasabi flavoured pocky from his huge bag of snacks. "No thanks. You can have that," Cherry takes one look at the box and denies almost immediately. Junky frowns, "Ehhh, but I bought them because they reminded me of you.." "In what world do they-"
Cherry stops on his words as the latter abruptly stops walking in front of him."What is it now?" he asks Junky who was staring somewhere in a little distance."Look, look, it's a playground!! Let's go to the playground, Cherry-chan!!" says Junky excitedly."It's a place for children, why would we-" "Let's race!" Cherry is cut off by the younger before he starts speeding up towards the playground and leaves the older behind. If it was any other day, he would've taken this as a sign to leave their leader and return to the live house by himself but he had already agreed to distract him so there was nothing he could do but follow the boy as he sighs.
Junky slows down as he enters the playground and begins to examine his surroundings. The playground was filled with children playing amidst the snow, not caring about the cold which is increasing as the sun gets close to setting. There also were some older people sitting on the benches. Then he notices a little boy making a snowman with the help of a man who he assumes is the boy's father. He figures that the snowman will fall apart soon as its edges are hardly round. It makes him think, "𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯? 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?"He would ask Cherry to make a snowman with him only if he wasn't sure that he would be turned down no matter how many times he asks.
Then his gaze falls on the two empty swings adorned with a little bit of snow.The pure white snow reminds of him of the innocence of someone who he misses dearly every day."Maan, I miss Snow~ I gotta meet him tomorrow," Junky blurts out without a thought. Cherry, who was scrolling on his phone while sitting on one of the benches, without lifting eyes from the screen in front of him warns in a calm tone, "If you get detained again, I won't go to the police station for you this time." Junky giggles, "Hyaha, it's not like they'll be able to catch me anyway. And if I do get detained, it's okay, you don't have to go again. Even if I get arrested, Ak-chan can just bail me out instead~" Junky stops."That reminds me.." he begins again, "Do you know if Ak-chan is avoiding me on purpose?" The question seemed to annoy Cherry but knowing that the latter won't care about his annoyance anyway, he asks, "Huh? Are you talking about the same Ak I know?" "Crazy, right?? It's just that, lately we don't hang out at all! Earlier he seemed pretty down about the dinner reservation tonight suddenly getting cancelled even though I told him I wasn't sad about that. So I asked him to come with me to buy snacks but ya know what he does next? He refuses saying that he's busy!" Junky pouts while wrapping a strand of his hair around his finger and playing with it as if he were a high school girl in a shoujo manga who was annoyed after not being able to gain the attention of her senior. Cherry, ignoring the other's overly dramatic tone, thinks to himself, "𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺.. 𝘈𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥 𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴." Then he begins, "He's probably just busy as he said, unlike a certain someone." "I hope that's the only reason," Junky says with a sullen face before he starts walking towards the swing set.
Most of the children in the playground are beginning to leave as it's getting colder outside. Some of them can be seen returning to their home with their parents. The warmth he feels just by looking at them reminds Junky of his now long gone childhood. When Ak, Snow and he used to play without a care in the world. Sometimes the boy's mind wonders if the other two still think about those bitter-sweet days or if he's the only one still reminiscent about them. Oh well, what's the point of thinking about them anyway? That one day, cold and hot at the same time, changed their lives, for better or for worse. But then again, it doesn't mean those days the three of them spent laughing together didn't exist, right? The fact that his heart still warms up when he thinks of those minutes, hours he didn't care to count is the proof of that. So what do his dear Ak-chan and Snow think? As time continues to go by, the number of questions keeps increasing and none of his answers make sense to neither to himself nor to others.
"Why are you just standing there?" Cherry's question finally brings Junky back to the present. "I was just thinking," Junky replies. "Eh, that's quite rare." "Anywayy-" Junky ignores Cherry's remark and continues. "Do you love anyone, Cherry-chan? I mean it doesn't have to be romantic. It can be like love between friends or family." The question came as unexpected to Cherry, "Where did that come from?" he asks. The other replies, "Just because. I was thinking about Ak-chan and Snow-chan and I really love them ya know. Oh and Basku too! I love all of you♡" "Yeah? And why do you love us?" Cherry asks again, this time with his usual calm voice. "Hahh, why would I need a reason to love someone?" "Wouldn't that mean you love everyone? Even strangers?" Before he has a chance of becoming confused again, Junky responds, "Uhm, why does that make sense. Forget that, I don't know~ Now back to the question. "Cherry takes his gaze away from his phone and this time looks at the person asking the question, the leader of his team who was then sitting on the stairs of a slide made for children. Then he takes away his gaze and replies, "Does it matter if you have someone like that or not? They say love is all about giving and not receiving but even if you give them your entire soul who's to say they will be kind enough to not leave after receiving all that?" "Yikes, do you get paid to be this negative?"Junky wonders. "It's called being realistic," states the latter. Junky continues, "If what you're saying is true, what about you then? Will you leave us? Leave Basku?" Junky stares at Cherry who had then stopped staring at the screen in front of him. He was now looking at something different, something far, perhaps something only he could see because when the other boy looked, there was nothing that seemed note-worthy or perhaps there was nothing he was looking at in the first place and he was lost in his own thoughts. Junky liked examining expressions of people but It has always been somewhat difficult to understand what goes through the older's mind or eyes that seem to notice most if not everything about their team. After a brief pause that felt like a lifetime to Junky who was eagerly anticipating an answer to his question, Cherry replied, "Well what do you think? Where else would I go?" Finally, Junky lets out a laugh, he didn't know what he was expecting. What even was the right answer to his question? Is there even a right answer to something that can only be revealed by time? After all, even if you are sure that you'll make a certain choice, when the time arrives, what guarantees that you won't be tempted or forced to choose differently? Once again he blurts out before he can think about the words, "I'd like to think that none of you would ever leave."
Only silence follows after that. The colors dancing across the sky get ready to put on their final performance and leave as the heavens bid the sun goodbye. Just then a ring can be heard on the younger boy's phone. "Oh, it's Supu-chan," Junky says before picking up the call. "Hiii Supu-chan! I'm at a park with Cherry-chan...Yeah alright we'll be on our way. See ya~....Supu-chan says it'll be time for dinner soon so we should head back," Junky says to the older. For a second, Junky notices a sudden look of relief on Cherry's face."What are you waiting for then..." Cherry continues before he gets up from the bench, "Let's go back."
The walk to their apartment building felt longer than usual to Cherry. Probably because all the while, Junky kept blabbering about his plans for the next time they hang out, the list of things he wished to do with everyone in Basku and his undying love for GOAT's newest member and 143 reasons why he and Junky are bound by fate. When they reached the live house, they saw Spring standing at the entrance."Why are you standing here, Supu-chan?" Junky is the first one to ask. "I was waiting for the two of you. Ak says to bring you to the rooftop, Junky," Spring replies. "Rooftop?" Junky asks, confused. Even Cherry is confused owing to the sudden change of plans. "Sounds fun! Let's go," Junky says before entering the house and hurriedly making his way to the designated place. "And there he goes. Weren't we supposed to celebrate at his room though?" Cherry asks, wondering what exactly happened at the time he was away. "You know Ak. He'd do everything to make Junky's day even more memorable." Spring smiles, "Well then. We should get going as well."
On the rooftop, the other three boys are anticipating the moment the rooftop door opens. "They should be here any moment now," Neru warns. This was finally a chance to surprise his annoying leader and he wouldn't accept a single mistake from anyone. "I think I hear someone," says YP, standing up with a party popper in his hands. "Everyone get ready!" one final warning from Ak and just then, the door to the rooftop opens and reveals Junky, the person all the hardships of the day were endured for and all smiles of the day were meant for. All at once the sound of party poppers can be heard. The sudden loud noise makes Junky flinch but only for a second as a wish for a "Happy Birthday" follows it, shouted in unison by a few of the voices he cherished the most in this world. Behind the leader are his two other beloved people who don't take long to wish the boy a happy birthday as well. Surprisingly, the next moment after the sudden celebration is filled with silence.
For a moment, Junky is overwhelmed with surprise and the next moment, with unspeakable joy. Is there a word for a feeling as beautiful as this? Has anyone even felt this happy in their life? He doesn't remember when was the last time he didn't know how to express himself and just stands motionlessly without a word.
"Huh, say something," it's Neru who finally breaks the silence. Junky tries to begin,"..Ah..I..no...YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!" he announces as he pulls the three boys in front of him in a hug. "WAHHH I'M SO HAPPY I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCHH" "ARGH, GET OFF," Neru shouts while struggling to get out off the embrace of the stupidly strong boy. "Haha we love you too, Junky," YP says after a laugh that, for once, doesn't seem so insincere. Junky lets go of the boys, turns around and goes for the ones behind him. With his superior strength, before they could escape, he pulls both Spring and Cherry in a hug. "THANK YOU SOO MUCH! I'M GONNA CRY, WUAHH.." "Aww, don't cry! All of this.. is so that you'll be happy!" Spring manages to say. "Are you trying to kill us?" Cherry asks after giving up on trying to get out of the hug, making Spring chuckle though he was also gasping for air by then.
"How did you guys even do all this?" Junky asks after releasing the other two. "Don't ask me, the others did everything." "I-I only followed Ak's plan though," Spring clarifies Cherry's words. "Speaking of Ak, I think we lost him." YP's words draw the attention of everyone. "Yeah you can blame Junky for that," Neru believes.
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Junky walks around and looks around the rooftop. Under the clear night sky, there is a wooden table with a cake on it for the boy. It's a strawberry cake big enough for all of them. The off-white and red colors of the cake almost match the colors of Junky's hair and there's some edible pearls carefully put on the top of it. Besides the bright city lights, the place is lightened by a number of candles placed on the table.
"Do you like it?" Ak asks, still feeling little overwhelmed. "I LOVE it! Thank ya'll soo much♡" unfortunately, Junky didn't know a word stronger than love to describe his feelings. Ak slowly makes his way to the latter and hands him a bouquet of vivid yellow roses. "I heard they symbolise gratitude..." Junky receives the bouquet and his lips curl up in a warm smile. "This is seriously too much! I'm the one who should be expressin' my gratitude after all this." Ak begins, "When Basku was made.. No, even before that.. Since the day we met, I'm grateful to you for everything..."
Just in a little distance, where the others are sitting, Neru whispers, "When did he get flowers and what is he being so dramatic for?" "Quiet down, will you? It's all well as long as I won't have to deal with him again," Cherry adds. "It was so peaceful when you and Junky were away," Neru continues, "You should babysit him everyday." "How about I send 𝘠𝘰𝘶 to a daycare while I'm at it so it'll be peaceful the whole day?" Cherry suggests. "Come on, let's not fight tonight, okay?" Says Spring, interrupting the two. "Neru was the one who started it," Cherry defends himself. "And also, why are you already drinking?" YP, who was quietly drinking alcohol while his teammates were bickering, flashes Cherry a smile after being noticed. "Neru, get him," the latter responds. "Yeah, that's not gonna work on us," Neru says before he snatches YP's glass away from his hand. Even YP knew he couldn't win against their youngest so he gave up without a fight and laughed in defeat.
While all that was happening, Ak and Junky finished reminiscing about their past and now were talking about the present. "..and I'm sorry for lying to yo-" Ak is cut off by Junky, "About what? The reservation being cancelled? Hehe, It's okay could tell you were lying~" Ak stares, surprised. Junky continues "Also, I could tell that you were hiding something from me! You need to act a biiiit better when you're trying to fool me, okay?♡" Junky teases and there's slight hint of embarrassment on Ak's face. "Wait, did you know we were planning a surprise party?" Neru asks, finally joining the conversation. "And after everything we did to keep it a secret.." sighs Spring. Junky begins to clarify, "No, no, you guys are misunderstanding! I did suspect Ak-chan was doing something behind my back but not that you guys were planning something so sweet!" Neru notices Cherry sighing in relief and snickers, "Good for you, or should I say us, because we won't have to deal with you passing out for real." "What do you take me for? I'm not as weak as you all." Cherry replies. "WAIT, WAIT, WAIT I GET IT NOW," Junky shouts, "Cherry-chan, did you hang out with me so that I won't barge in while you guys were preparing the party??" he asks, lowering his voice. "Oh, he figured it out," says Cherry with a genuine surprise. The boy who was smiling like a fool until a moment ago is hit with a sudden sense of disappointment. "And here I thought we were getting closer.." "Where did you get that idea from??" Cherry notices the sudden downfall of the mood. "...Ugh, fine. I guess it won't hurt to humour you once in a while." Hearing those words, Junky immediately beams up, "Then next time we'll go to-" "And I take it back-" "Nooo I can't hear ya-"
"A-Achoo," Neru sneezes. "We should hurry up and cut the cake before it gets too cold. And we need to eat dinner too," Spring says in a concerned voice. "I still don't get why we're on the rooftop. Weren't you guys going to decorate Junky's room for the celebration?" Cherry asks.Neru answers, "It was Ak's idea. He suddenly said we should surprise him on the rooftop." "I thought it would be more fun here," Ak adds. "In the cold?" Cherry asks again. "...I also wanted to get fireworks but I didn't manage to get permission from the owner," Ak continues. "..It is a residential area," YP says. "Yeah". "Well, I guess it isn't too bad," Cherry says after a brief silence. "Yup, the cold wind is so refreshing it's making me more hungry! Let's cut the cake already!"
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"Did Supu-chan make it? It's so good!!♡" Junky says as takes another bite from his slice. "I'm glad that you like it but don't eat too much at once,okay? You still need to eat dinner," Spring reminds. Junky nods and then looks around, "Eh Neru-chan why do you look so down? Want me to feed you?" "No need. I just realised that we didn't take any pictures with the cake. We could have posted it online," Neru says with an annoyed look. "Ohh, then let's take pictures now!" Junky says as he takes out his phone. "Everyone, smile~"
"WHAT THE- I wasn't ready!" Neru exclaims. "Huuuh, it looks fine to me!" Junky says while looking at the picture. "Ah, wait Ak-chan your eyes are closed." "..It's fine as long as you look okay," Ak assures. "No it's not! Take it again!" Neru orders.
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"I'll take that," Cherry says as he takes the plates from Spring. "Oh no, you don't have to," Spring opposes. "You can go ahead and prepare the dinner instead," Cherry replies. "Right, I'll have to heat up everything," the former remembers. "Why don't we take everything to Junky's room? It'll be a waste if we don't since we spent a lot of time decorating it," Neru suggests. Ak agrees, "I'm sure Junky will have no problem with that. We can also give him the presents there." "Wow, it's rare for you to agree to something without getting Junky's direct approval. You in a good mood or something?" Neru asks curiously. Ak tries to defend himself, "It's nothing like that, it's just that-" Ak is cut of by Neru, "Yeah whatever I don't wanna know.. I'm getting colder." The blonde takes the flowers and utensils from the table, "Let's go inside. YP will bring the table." "Sure, go ahead," the so called guardian of Basku agrees without a thought. "Junky, let's go," Ak calls out to the star of the party who was looking at the photos they took. Maybe small things like these are the proofs of being alive after all. "Right behind ya, Ak-chan~"
As he looks back on his whole day, Junky can't help but be filled with a sense of indescribable happiness. The cold wind brushing against his skin makes him feel more alive than ever. He takes a deep breath and says, "Maaan I had so much fun today! I wish Snow was with us too~ I hope I'll be able to celebrate my next birthday with him♡ And all of you guys too." YP smiles, "Then I'll hope that you'll be happy no matter who you spend your day with."
"ARE YOU GUYS COMING OR WHAT?" Neru shouts from behind the door. "N-Neru, don't shout like that! You might disturb others," Spring says warily. In response, an apology is heard from Neru.
"Heh, Neru-chan got scolded!" Junky teases. "I think you're ignoring that so did we," YP says as he picks up the table and gets ready to leave, but stops as he notices the boy behind him intensely looking at something as he stands.
"Hmm...what are you looking at?" asks YP. "Come here, Yoppie! Look at the sky. You can see so many stars tonight," Junky points at the stars as he says. "Yeah, thanks to there being no clouds." "They are so pretty!! Just standing here under the big sky makes you feel so small... And all those stars watching from light years away makes it seem like you're not so alone after all." "Is there something on your mind?" the older asks. "Not fair! How do you notice everything, Yoppie??" Junky smiles, "It's nothing much for real~ It's just that, when I saw GOAT the other day, it got me thinking that we aren't really good people. Not that it bothers me and it probably never will. I'm proud of the fact that we made it so far by not relying on anyone but ourselves. But...that also means that we're capable of hurting each other the most." "..Is this about becoming the music festival's MVP?" YP can't think of an appropriate response for a moment. This type of talk usually requires him to get drunk first but thanks to two certain people, he missed the chance to do so tonight.
Junky looks up at the sky again. Though the moon can't be seen tonight, he considers himself lucky to see so many stars despite living among these dazzling city lights. "Do you like the stars, Yoppie?" Junky asks, ignoring the previous question. "I don't see any reason why anyone would hate them," replies YP. "Then if things ever get too tough, if nothing else, I hope these stars will shine upon everyone I love and remind them that everything will be okay☆" YP pats Junky on the shoulder. "If that's the case, I'm sure they will shine for you too.. Now let's get going before Neru comes back." Junky offers, "Let me help you carry the table!" "No~ It's your night. Go ahead and enjoy it however you like. That's more than enough." Junky lights up with excitement, "Kyaa! Then let's have a sleepover and eat snacks together after dinner! You'll help me convince everyone right??" "Okay, okay I'll try." "YAYY I bought so many snacks today~ Wait, where did I put them aga-"
"...."
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𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰, 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘜𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘬𝘺. 𝘌𝘩𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴𝘬? 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 ♡
Happy Birthday, Junky.