Work Text:
"Happy Birthday, Yeongeun-ssi!"
Go Yeongeun almost dropped her groceries.
She had just opened the door to her apartment and flipped on the lights when suddenly, two large men jumped out from behind her couch and shouted at her at the top of their lungs,
Okay— maybe that’s a slight exaggeration. Kim Soleum, though tall, had the look of a perpetually sickly Victorian child, and Baek Saheon was.... Baek Saheon.
They weren't loud either, with Baek Saheon just oddly grumbling his way through the birthday wish. The volume only increased when Kim Soleum eyed him with the promise of death in his eyes.
It didn't change the fact that Go Yeongeun almost pulled out her taser on her two best friends.
Her very recently acquired two best friends, who should theoretically not know anything about her birthday, seeins as she herself hasn't had the chance (or the will) to celebrate it in years.
Go Yeongeun narrowed her eyes at the two.
Baek Saheon, predictably, looked away. Kim Soleum, though his eyes shifted guiltily, still had a bright smile on his face.
"How did you find out." Go Yeongeun deadpanned.
"You set up your birthday in your mail. It auto informed the group chat. You know, the one I was never invited to?"
Go Yeongeun shifted her stare over to Baek Saheon, who still wasn't meeting her gaze.
“I told you to invite him.” She intoned.
“He keeps sending me spam,” Baek Saheon pleaded.
“Do you want me to track down all your alt accounts?” Kim Soleum smiled.
“Please don’t.”
Go Yeongeun sighed for what she thought was the hundredth time that day. Shuffling forward and closing the door of her apartment behind her with just a foot, she ignored her two bickering idiots and moved through the living room into the tiny adjoined kitchenette. She was almost done putting away her groceries when the idiots finally remembered her existence and bounded up behind her.
Baek Saheon sniffed coolly, “We brought you gifts.”
“We?” Kim Soleum arrogantly cocked an eyebrow.
Baek Saheon squawked in offense. “Excuse you? This was a significant portion of my paycheck,” He turned to Go Yeongeun. “Don’t listen to him and his lies.”
“All he did was stand next to me as I picked everything out and paid for it.”
“You paid with my card!”
“Okay—” Go Yeongeun interrupted them before they could devolve into yet another petty argument. If she let them, she was sure they would keep going in circles for another hour or so. “Let’s talk about why you came here first.”
Kim Soleum thankfully sobered up, “I didn’t have a wish-list or anything to work off of, so I just made assumptions on what I thought you would enjoy best, I hope you don’t mind.” With a flourish, he started leading her around her own apartment, coming to a stop in front of a small two person dining table.
It wasn’t hard for Go Yeongeun to spot the heap of paper shopping bags piled up on top of the faux wood surface, but it did take her a little while longer to register the small white cardboard box in the very center of the pile.
Go Yeongeun frowned, estimating the potential cost of all her ‘gifts’, “What… why did you buy so much stuff?”
“… I didn’t want to accidentally get you something you hate…” Kim Soleum admitted.
“So you guys just bought the whole shop.”
“Hey, don’t lump me in with that freak—”
“We didn’t buy the whole shop—” Kim Soleum cleared his throat, recognizing the potential argument once more. Reaching through the clutter, he carefully extracted the large white cardboard box that she previously noticed. Go Yeongeun eyed it suspiciously as he carefully moved it over to the much less cluttered, more spacious coffee table.
Taking his usual seat on the right side of the couch, he shot a hopeful gaze over at Go Yeongeun. And Go Yeongeun… hesitated.
It’s been years since she last celebrated.
Whenever the thought of her birthday — or her family, or her home — came up, her heart weighed heavy with quiet grief. It wasn’t a memory she liked to visit, nor was it a time of her life she wanted to think about. The shape of it curled in her mind, dragging her down—
A heavy shoulder knocked into hers, making her stumble a bit. Baek Saheon snorted at her before taking a seat of the couch as well, leaving a large berth between him and Kim Soleum.
Conveniently, this freed a seat in the middle, directly in front of the white cardboard box that she was rapidly realizing the identity of.
She sat herself between them on the couch, slotting next to them like a puzzle piece.
Grinning widely at his perceived victory, Kim Soleum opened the cake-box to reveal—
“Oh,” Go Yeongeun gasped in pleasant surprise.
An absolutely beautiful cake, decorated in soft pinks, mints, and browns spirals atop, dotted with pearls and bows and shards of chocolate.
From beside her, Baek Saheon handed her a knife — one that was supposed to be in hidden in her kitchen cabinets, but Go Yeongeun had long since stopped questioning Baek Saheon — before leaning back, doing his best to look nonchalant and uncaring.
Kim Soleum was quick to reach over and push in three candles onto the cake, lighting them all in one dexterous move. “Yeongeun-ssi, Cut it,” He urged her.
When she lifted the knife onto the cake, two warm, large hands settled on top of hers. A low humming filled her ears, started by Kim Soleum and hastily followed by Baek Saheon.
“Happy Birthday~ Happy Birthday~” The soft vocals of the english song filled her ears as she sliced down the cake, revealing the chocolate interior,
The cut wasn’t even, and when she tilted her hand to make the portion into a slice, the extra weight made it much larger and more lopsided that she had intended it to be. The warmth burned a brand into her skin and with the way Baek Saheon retreated as fast as he could, she had a feeling that he felt the burn too.
Carefully pulling out the serving of cake with her knife, she awkwardly took it with her hands — for lack of any other utensil — and shoved a piece into her mouth.
Kim Soleum tilted his head, “Do you like it?”
For a moment, Go Yeongeun savored the cake. The flavors of the mild buttercream, the small chunks of chocolate, mixed with the larger chocolate base all exploded in her mouth. If she leaned back in either direction, she would be met with scalding warmth. Her entryway, visible from her position from the couch, had three pairs of shoes carelessly strewn about it.
“Mm. Yeah, it’s good.”
Stopping, she turned to Kim Soleum. The sudden action seemed to startle him.
“Y—Yeongeun-ssi—?” His eyed widened comically as Go Yeongeun held the piece of cake up to his face.
“Eat it,” She ordered.
Kim Soleum flushed rapidly, eyes darting around as if searching for a non-existent exit to this situation. When Go Yeongeun did not move, he hesitantly leaned forward and took a bite. His breath brushed across her fingers.
After making sure Kim Soleum got enough, she immediately whirled around to face Baek Saheon.
“No,” He narrowed his eye.
“Yes,” Go Yeongeun shoved the piece of cake into his face.
Baek Saheon dodged, scowling meanly. “And why should I—”
“It’s my birthday.”
Baek Saheon staggered, and Go Yeongeun used her chance to shove the cake into his face violently.
The edge of the cake mushed against his mouth, smearing cream all over his face. Go Yeongeun snorted at his look of offense. The heat of his glare was heavily undercut by the mint buttercream.
Baek Saheon moved before she could register it. Her own hand holding the piece of cake was suddenly shoved across her face.
Go Yeongeun stared, shellshocked. Behind her, she heard Kim Soleum gasp in admonishment. Baek Saheon opened his mouth to defend himself—
“Haha—” Go Yeongeun let out a burst of laughter, freezing the two that were gearing up for yet another argument.
She pointed at Baek Saheon beard of cream and spoke through her laughter, “Look, we match!”
Baek Saheon rolled his eyes, wiping the cream from his face, mock dissatisfaction not doing a thing to dim the mirth in his eyes. From behind her, she felt the weight of Kim Soleum sag into the couch.
Go Yeongeun smiled at the ruined piece of cake in her hands. The weight of her heart eased a bit, the lump in her throat reducing.
She thinks she would be okay with celebrating more birthdays in the future.