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“Onii-chan! How old are you?” A pair of curious and wide eyes stared up at him in anticipation.
Hangyon stopped to ruffle the boy’s black hair as he grinned and teased him, “Oh my! I didn’t expect Badobarm to be sooooo curious about MY age~ Why? Do you want to know more about me?”
Badobarm started patting his hair back in place as he murmured, “I’m not curious…I was just wondering…”
‘How cute.’ These words came to mind as Hangyon fondly looked down at Badobarm. It had only been a few weeks since he took him under his training and yet, this kid had already shown good potential. He was looking forward to seeing how far he would go with his skills.
Snapping back to the present, he turned towards Badobarm and continued, “Well…that’s a secret so I’m afraid I can’t answer that question~”
He continued walking ahead towards the castle before being met with another question, “Then! When’s your birthday?”
‘Heh isn’t he a curious one?’ Hangon mused to himself as he slowed his pace. Footsteps pattered to catch up with him as Badobarm caught up and started walking beside him. Before he could even answer, Badobarm- having mistaken his silence for no answer, piped up, “Everyone has a birthday! Even I do!”
Birthdays…it was a concept Hangyon was well-aware of. Naturally, he would be- he considered himself an expert on any and all types of celebrations, he had celebrated his lord Hanyodon's birthday countless times and always made sure everyone had even more fun than the last time.
You would celebrate on the date you were born and typically be the center of attention for the day. But it wasn’t always that way… at least not for him. He couldn’t remember the last time he celebrated his own birthday, or whether he had even celebrated one in the first place. It was enough for him to be able to make his lord smile on his special day. He didn’t need his own birthday when it was enough to celebrate with Hangyodon and make him happy.
Looking towards the market, Hangyon could see teal streamers hanging from roof to roof, with balloons hovering near the shop entrances. A few townspeople were working together to put up a handmade banner with “HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANGYODON!” written across it in big, bold letters on one of the rooftops. The preparations for Hangyodon’s birthday were already underway, his birthday was in a week after all.
Badobarm did not ask any further and instead stared in awe towards the marketplace. It was his first time witnessing how grandly the kingdom would celebrate Hangyodon’s birthday, all organised by Hangyon as expected. He continued to stroll together with Hangyon while taking in the scale of preparations happening, there was even a huge inflatable balloon of Hangyodon in the market centre! Hangyon had turned unusually quiet, Badobarm wasn’t sure if he had offended his senior somehow, so he made a mental note to apologise properly once they reached the castle.
Meanwhile, Hangyon was lost in thought. Badobarm’s question had truly surprised him, he never really thought too deeply about his OWN birthday before. If he did have to have a birthday, he would want it to be in the same month as his lord’s birthday- maybe a day after? That way his lord wouldn’t feel alone being the only one with a birthday in March! It would make Hangyodon feel less alone, not that Hangyon would actually celebrate his own birthday, the sentiment was enough. He would do anything to cherish his lord, after all, he was his fragaria.
Looking up, he noticed the familiar palace gates…although, at times it seemed less of a grand palace, and more of a comforting home.
“If I had to, I’d want to have a birthday on 15th March!” Hangyon’s sudden statement must have startled Badobarm, who almost jumped in surprise; he was not expecting a response. His choice of words seemed odd, Badobarm wore a puzzled expression on his face as he pondered over them.
Hangyon seemed amused. Watching this kid was definitely entertaining, seeing how he wore his heart on his sleeve.
Suddenly Badobarm’s face lit up as he turned to hurry towards the training hall. Just as he was leaving he said to Hangyon, “March 15th! I’ll remember that!” while waving goodbye.
Hangyon chuckled to himself, Badobarm was definitely interesting. He finally started to make his way through the palace halls to find Hangyodon.
₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱March 15th⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚
Hangyon yawned as he stretched his arms high above his head. It was the day after Hangyodon’s birthday, and yesterday's party had been splendid- Hangyon really outdid himself. He was glad to know how much fun Hangyodon had and was already making plans to ensure next year’s celebrations would be even bigger!
He began to make his way to the training grounds to assess how well his junior was doing. He noticed Badobarm hard at work, trying to improve his skill with the sword- his determination was definitely a trait to be admired. Badobarm’s eyes spotted Hangyon as he rushed over.
“Please wait a moment here! I’ll be right back!” And with those brief words, Badobarm hurried back inside the palace. Meanwhile, Hangyon stood there confused. Just what was Badobarm upto now? Swiftly turning towards the benches, Hangyon strode over and sat down.
Just then, Badobarm came running towards the benches, clearly out of breath, while holding something behind his back.
“Oh~ What’s this? What are you hiding? I’m curious now, so tell me too~” Hangyon tried catching a glance by turning his head, but Badobarm stepped to the side.
“Happy Birthday Onii-chan!” Badobarm’s small hands held forward a bowl of steaming, hot ramen. “I made this myself…so I hope you like it. I’ve been practicing and I think I’ve gotten better…” Badobarm’s voice trailed off as he felt uncertain at what kind of reaction he would get.
Hangyon went speechless. He hadn’t expected Badobarm to truly do something for his birthday. He had simply given an answer to appease a child’s curiosity. Still…it felt nice. He wiped his eyes- why did they feel wet?
“Onii-chan?” Badobarm tilted his head, trying to decipher Hangyon’s sudden silence. Really…he was so unpredictable.
Hangyon turned to Badobarm and smiled. He murmured, “Thank you Badobarm.” It was low but Badobarm heard it.
Then suddenly he exclaimed, “Now that looks delicious! Why don’t we eat it together? They say two is better than one!” He was back to his cheerful self- the silence he displayed before had simply vanished without a trace. Badobarm took a seat next to Hangyon as the two shared the ramen together. Hangyon chatted away about anything and everything to Badobarm who simply nodded along.
₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱Many years later⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚
Opening the door to his office, Hangyon stepped in. His eyes quickly landed on a bowl of steaming, hot ramen on his desk with a note attached: ‘Happy birthday Hangyon.’
‘Brief and quick, just like him’, Hangyon smiled as he thought to himself. Every year, on March 15th he would happen to find a bowl of ramen on his desk with the same note attached. On some occasions, the gifter would be there with the gift, and they would enjoy the ramen together. But even so, Hangyon made it a point to go out and have ramen with Badobarm whenever possible- which was almost every week.
It reminded him of how they shared ramen together for the first time…on that day, many years ago. That was a memory he would surely cherish for as long as he lived, even if he never admitted it out loud.