...
Appearing in his dorm room's living area, Theo looked around, blinking. Darkness enveloped him for an instant, that suspicious silence that anyone with the slightest instinct would know meant "something is about to happen..."
And it did, right at the moment he was about to open his mouth and ask what everyone was doing.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
The collective shout exploded with the force of a sonic grenade, making Theo take a step back as if he'd been hit by an invisible punch. The lights flickered on all at once, revealing the scene before him with the subtlety of a light show.
Yeonha, at his side, widened her eyes in an Oscar-worthy performance, grabbing Theo's arm as if she too had been caught by surprise. For someone who commanded board meetings with the coldness of an iceberg, her "I'm shocked" act was almost convincing. Almost.
What was once just the common dorm room now looked like it had been swallowed by an exploding party store. Blue and white balloons floated everywhere, some clearly with some sort of device to change color every few seconds, others blinking like tiny colored stars.
A giant holographic banner with the words "Happy Birthday Theo" spun slowly above the table, occasionally letting out small magical fireworks that dissolved before hitting the ceiling.
And at the center of it all, a three-tiered cake that looked like it had come straight from a cooking competition show. The light blue frosting gleamed under the lights, decorated with little stars.
"You guys..."
The word escaped Theo's mouth as if it were the only one his brain could process at the moment. His eyes scanned the assembled group, each one more ridiculous than the last.
Nayun wore a conical party hat so pointy it could be classified as a weapon, tilted at a precarious angle on her head.
Cappie had not one, but three hats stacked like an unstable tower, apparently determined to make up for years of missed parties in a single night.
Hazuki, with flushed cheeks, held a party whistle that she clearly hadn't yet worked up the courage to use.
Rachel, in stark contrast to her usual elegance, wore a birthday tiara with small twinkling stars, though her face maintained that "I'm participating, but don't talk to me" expression. Of course, this was superficial, as inwardly she was a little scared, afraid of ruining the moment...
Suho smiled with that protagonist aura, while Hajin looked slightly uncomfortable, as if unsure if he should be there, but determined to be a part of it anyway.
Both held what looked like miniature fireworks.
Theo turned to Yeonha, who was still clinging to his arm with an innocent expression so fake it was almost comical.
"You... This is why you called me to wait for you at the coffee shop, huh?!"
Yeonha raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, the picture of innocence betrayed only by the mischievous glint in her eyes.
"What?"
She replied, opening her arms in a theatrical gesture.
"Do you really think I could organize something like this with a wrinkled uniform and dark circles?"
She pointed to herself dramatically, like a soap opera actress.
"Look at me! I'm as surprised as you are!"
The smile that escaped the corner of her mouth, however, completely betrayed her.
"Sure."
Theo replied, a reluctant smile forming on his lips.
"And I'm the next president."
He let out a short laugh, still trying to process the scene before him. Theo Sagan, who hadn't celebrated a birthday since the family tragedy, was completely caught off guard by a bunch of people in pointy hats.
"So you guys were planning this the whole time...?"
"For over two weeks!"
Nayun answered, puffing out her chest with so much pride she looked ready to explode. She placed her hands on her hips in a superhero pose.
"Hehe! We surprised you, didn't we?"
She puffed out her chest as if she had won an invisible trophy.
"We almost gave it all away when Mita dropped a bag of balloons in the middle of the hallway yesterday."
She pointed accusingly at Cappie.
"Hey!"
Cappie protested from the back of the room, with a bag of chips in one hand and a bottle of soda in the other, looking deeply offended.
"I tripped on the rug!"
"The flat rug with no folds?"
Nayun asked with an ironic smile.
"Exactly! The most dangerous ones are those that don't show their intentions!"
Cappie replied, pointing the bag of chips as if it were a weapon.
"But it worked out in the end."
Suho interrupted, always the peacemaker, crossing his arms with that calm smile that seemed to resolve any tension.
"It's amazing you didn't suspect anything."
Added Yeonha, looking genuinely impressed.
"Nayun can't usually keep a secret for even five minutes..."
"Hey!"
It was Nayun's turn to protest, shooting a death glare at her friend.
Theo ran a hand through his hair, still smiling, a gesture that betrayed his genuine surprise. It had never crossed his mind that the mysterious "girls' meetings" that Nayun, Hazuki, Cappie, and Yeonha had been mentioning so much in recent weeks were, in fact, planning sessions for his birthday.
"I... don't even know what to say."
And it was true. Since he had lost his parents and sister in that terrible accident years ago, birthdays had become just another day on the calendar, a painful reminder that he was getting older in a world where his family no longer existed. The date had become irrelevant, a milestone he preferred to ignore.
Rachel, surprisingly, was the one who broke the silence. She pointed to the head of the table, where a chair awaited him.
"Sit down."
She said simply, but there was a hint of softness in her usually cold voice.
"We have a tradition to follow, don't we?"
Yeonha nudged his arm, leaning in to whisper, "Go on, king. Today is your day."
Theo hesitated, but then moved towards the chair. As he sat, he looked around, at the soft lights, the familiar faces, the sincere smiles.
It was... strange.
Since his family died, the date had become irrelevant, an annual reminder of the emptiness he carried. Living each year without them was just accumulating time in a heart that no longer knew how to celebrate.
But now, everything seemed different.
Something warm and uncomfortable formed in his throat, and for a moment, just a brief moment, Theo Sagan, the boy who had sworn never to celebrate birthdays again, felt his eyes sting.
"Thank you..."
He said, his voice low but strong enough to reach everyone in the room.
"Seriously. This means more than I can explain."
The moment of vulnerability hung in the air for a few seconds. Hazuki looked away, as if the words had struck a weak spot in her own heart.
Rachel just crossed her legs silently, but her cheeks with reddish touches betrayed her meaningless silence.
It was Nayun who broke the spell, as always, unable to handle emotional moments for more than five seconds.
"Let's go, we have a cake to cut!"
She exclaimed, already pulling Yeonha by the arm with the subtlety of a tractor.
"And if anyone cries, I'm taking pictures for future blackmail!"
"But first."
Suho intervened, raising his hands like a conductor, "the tradition!"
A momentary silence fell over the room, everyone looking at each other with expressions ranging from determination to panic.
"One, two, three..."
Suho counted, trying to set a rhythm.
"RAPPY BIRSDAY TO YOU!"
The cacophony that followed was something Theo would never forget. Everyone seemed to be in a different key, some clearly struggling with the pronunciation, others compensating for their lack of vocal skill with pure enthusiasm.
"RAPPY BIRSDAY TO YOU!"
Nayun sang with such vigor she seemed to be in a competition for who could be the loudest, while Hazuki barely moved her lips, her face now the color of a ripe tomato.
"RAPPY BIRSDAY, DEAR THEO!"
Rachel, surprisingly, had perfect pronunciation, which was to be expected, as English was her native language, just like Theo's.
Cappie, on the other hand, seemed to be inventing her own melody, completely different from the traditional one.
"RAPPY BIRSDAY TO YOUUUUUU!"
The final "you" stretched on for far too long, with each person finishing at a different time, creating a disastrous echo effect that culminated in Hajin holding the final note for a good five seconds after everyone else had stopped.
An awkward silence followed, broken only when Cappie shouted,
"AND MANY MOOOOORE!"
In surprisingly good English, but completely out of time.
Theo couldn't hold it in anymore. The laughter started as a tremor in his chest and exploded into a genuine belly laugh, the first in a very, very long time. It wasn't a laugh of scorn, it was pure joy, the kind of laughter that cleanses the soul and heals old wounds.
"That,"
He managed to say between laughs,
"Was the worst rendition of 'Happy Birthday' I have ever heard in my life..."
"Hey!"
Nayun protested, crossing her arms.
"We practiced for hours!"
"That explains why the neighbor in the room next to our Karaoke room banged on the wall three times yesterday,"
Hazuki muttered, earning a glare from Nayun.
"And presents to open,"
Added Cappie, emerging from the hallway with a box, wrapped in what looked like hastily torn-off wallpaper.
"I did the wrapping myself!"
"We can tell."
Hajin muttered, earning an elbow from Suho in response.
The emotional tension dissipated like fog in the morning sun, replaced by the chaotic energy that always arose when that specific group of people got together.
Yeonha took advantage of the confusion to approach Theo again, leaning in to murmur close to his ear.
"...My gift will be a little special."
There was a predatory gleam in her eyes, that mix of challenge and affection that was so characteristically hers.
Theo looked at her, eager to receive this "gift."
...