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โ๐๐จ๐๐๐'๐จ ๐๐๐:
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โMy birthdays were always fun as a child, my parents always made sure that I would have a birthday that was better than the last. But despite having a lot of good birthdaysโ๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐จ๐ค๐ข๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐๐ก๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐จ ๐ข๐๐จ๐จ๐๐ฃ๐.
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โMaybe it's because I'm an only child and I don't have any siblings that I could celebrate my birthday with.
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โOr maybe it's because never once in my life did I celebrate my birthday with a friend, a real friend that didn't judge me.
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โ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐
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โIt was a not so normal night at Isagi's dorm, he moved out due to the fact that the school he's currently attending is very far from his hometown. So now in a few minutes this will be his first birthday that he'll celebrate alone.
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โThere's no mom cooking him katsudon with his favourite sauce, there's no dad setting up the table with soccer themed plates. There's no one at all, it's just him and the overwhelming silence in his dorm.
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โ"It's okay, I should get used to it since there's gonna be more birthdays of mine to come that I'll be alone. " Isagi whispered, trying to reassure himself while he hugged his knees to his chest.
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โThe silence that engulfed his dorm was overwhelming, it was suffocating him tremendously. And for some reason, it felt worse than hearing fireworks blow up in the sky, at least those were somehow bearable.
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โTears started welling up in Isagi's eyes. And suddenly it wasn't just about spending his birthday alone.
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โIt's realizing that he has always been alone.
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โNo friends, no best friends.
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โAlone.
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โThat's all he ever felt.
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โYeah sure, people talked to him a lot. They'd even sometimes comment on how kind or hardworking he is but that's all. They only stay at the surface, they never dig down because they only want to see the things they wanna see.
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โNo one ever knew about the struggles he had, they assumed that he was doing fine. He had good parents and an average childhood, what more could he want? Other people have it worse.
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โTears started streaming down Isagi's face yet Isagi did nothing to stop them. He sat still on his couch, staring at the blank tv with a blank expression.
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โHe then looked up to read the clock.
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โ11:58 PM
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โTwo minutes before it's officially his birthday. Another birthday where he felt alone and empty.
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โIsagi sighed, is this gonna be his life until he dies? Feeling like no one understands him, feeling like shit, how pathetic.
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โ11:59 PM
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โOne minute until his birthday.
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โMaybe if he disappeared tonight no one will noโ
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โKnock. Knock. Knock.
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โIsagi suddenly heard three soft knocks, who could it be? It's literally midnight. Wouldn't everyone be sleeping right now?
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โIsagi got up begrudgingly to open the door, maybe it's just a prank? Or maybe it's someone who got the wrong dorm or something.
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โ12:00 AM, April 1
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โ"Happy birthday. " The person who said it had a soft yet flat voice. He had white fluffy hair with grey eyes that complemented his hair perfectly.And who was he? ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐๐๐ง๐ค๐ช.
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โIsagi couldn't speak.
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โAn overwhelming gush of emotions washed over him all at once and he started crying all over again.
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โNagi titled his head, concerned on why Isagi is crying.
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โIsagi sniffled, "I-I'm sorry, it's just that... It's my first time being greeted by someone for my birthday that aren't my parents. "
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โ"Ah, it's okay. " Nagi held the tiny cake for Isagi on one hand and the other hand was now on Isagi's shoulder, patting it gently as a way to try and comfort him.
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โIsagi wiped his tears using his sleeves but they just couldn't stop coming.
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โ"T-Thank you. " Isagi stuttered through his tears.
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โThen, he finally met Nagi's gaze for the first time since Nagi greeted him. "๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐๐๐ง๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐๐ง๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ฎ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง. "
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โAfter Isagi finally calmed down, he invited Nagi to come into his dorm. The two settled down on Isagi's couch while the cake was on the coffee table.
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โ"Can I ask you something? " Isagi asked, fiddling with his fingers.
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โ"Yeah." Nagi answered, gazing at Isagi.
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โ"Why? Why did you go out of your way just to greet me on my birthday? I don't wanna sound mean but, we're not even that close. " Isagi asked, trying to figure out what's going on in Nagi's head by reading into his expression.
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โ"๐ฝ๐๐๐๐ช๐จ๐ ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ ๐ก๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ก๐ฎ. " Nagi casually answered, like that sentence didn't mean everything to Isagiโbut it did.
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โ"I was like you too but then I meet Reo, so I became less lonely. But when I saw you that day, eating lunch at the library with the saddest look on your face, I felt like you could understand me. " Nagi explained.
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โIsagi felt something he has never felt before.
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โ๐๐ง๐ช๐ ๐๐ช๐ข๐๐ฃ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ.
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โ"You're just like me? " Isagi couldn't believe it, but he did. He saw it in the slight change in Nagi's expression.
Nagi nodded.
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โ"I saw how much you made people happy when they're feeling down, ๐๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐ค ๐ข๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช'๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ฌ๐ฃ? " Nagi's words hit Isagi hard, because he knew that it was true.
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โ"Thanks, Nagi. " Isagi could feel tears welling up in his eyes again yet he fought them back.
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โ"Seriously, thank you. " Isagi repeated.
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โ"It's no big deal but can I ask you something? " Nagi suddenly asked.
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โIsagi tilted his head.
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โ"๐พ๐๐ฃ ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฃ๐๐จ? " Nagi asked, scratching his cheek with pointer finger while looking away.
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โFor a moment, time froze for Isagi.
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โWhat did he just say? He wanted to be what?!
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โIsagi started becoming a blushing mess, stuttering out words that Nagi couldn't understand. His heart was racing so fast that he felt like he might explode any minute now.
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โThis Nagi guy is truly full of surprises, the best surprises.
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โ"๐๐๐จ! ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ช๐ง๐จ๐ ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ก! " Isagi exclaimed, leaning forward and grabbing Nagi's right hand using both of his hands while looking at him with sparkling eyes.
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โ"Great." Nagi replied, a small smile appearing on his lips as Isagi smiled back at him, a genuine smile that came from true happiness after finally realizing that he's not alone anymore.
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โ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐ช๐จ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐ ๐๐๐จ ๐๐๐๐.
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โIsagi came home after a long tiring day at college, for some reason the lights in his shared apartment were off but Isagi didn't think much of it.
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โ11:59 PMย March 31
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โIsagi took off his shoes and suddenly, the lights turned on and there was confetti in the air before hitting the ground. He looked around and saw birthday decorations and realized something.
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โ๐๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐๐๐จ ๐๐๐ง๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ฎ.
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โ12:00 AMย April 1
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โ"Happy birthday, Yoichi. " Nagi greeted with his voice filled with warmth and love as he held up a losbter themed cake in front of Isagi. The cake wasn't perfect but Isagi couldn't care less because from Nagi's expression, he could tell that his lovely ๐๐ค๐ฎ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฃ๐ made it.
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โ"Thank you, Sei. " Isagi replied, wiping away a fear tears that escapee his eye before flashing a bright smile at Nagi.
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