Sunday arrived bright and warm, and Irina dressed like she was heading straight into a magazine photoshoot.
Jinkyung burst out laughing. "Rina, your outfit today is way too cute HAHA!"
Seolhyo glanced her over and chuckled. "You seriously dressed all cutesy just for his birthday? Lol."
Irina twirled a strand of hair and struck a pose. "Of course. I have to look super cute, right?"
"HAHA, stop that!" Jinkyung laughed harder, clutching her stomach. "We're literally in the middle of the street."
Still laughing, Seolhyo stumbled and grabbed Jinkyung's arm to balance herself. "Seriously, you're embarrassing me stop!"
Irina only smiled wider and changed poses again. "I even wore circle lenses today."
"But why'd you call us here too?" Seolhyo asked.
"I need your help later," Irina replied casually. "It's not like you had plans anyway, right?"
Seolhyo stiffened. "What do you mean? I did. Seojin invited me to hang out at his place."
Irina scoffed. "Then why are you here instead?"
Seolhyo turned her head away, hiding her face behind her hair. "I-Im still not ready to be with him alone in his house…"
Irina and Jinkyung immediately latched onto that.
"Hehe, what? Afraid Seojin might do something to you?"
"Hahaha or maybe you might do something to him?"
Seolhyo flushed bright red and glared at them. "Shut up!!"
Before they could tease her more, a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around Irina from behind.
She startled, then relaxed instantly when she recognized him. "Oh honeeey."
Jinkyung waved at him. "Happy birthday, oppa I didn't bring a gift though!"
Kwangwoon smiled and waved back. "Haha, thanks, Jinkyung."
Seolhyo's gaze lingered on him, Park Dong's words echoing faintly in her mind.
"Hey, Hyorim," Kwangwoon wave at her too.
"Hello," she wave calmly.
He nodded politely, but something about his smile felt a little too stiff.
-
Meanwhile, at Ian's house.
Hai-an lay on her bed, her cat curled snugly against her arm.
"Meooww."
"Hehe, nooo, stay here," she murmured softly. "Noona's bored, you know."
She stared at the cat, her smile fading.
"…They're probably having fun right now," she whispered. "It is his birthday, after all…"
Her voice carried a strange edge caught somewhere between resignation and bitterness.
And Irina could never have imagined what was about to happen this day.
Back on the street, Seolhyo lifted the camera. "Okay, I'm taking it! One- two- three!"
"Oh, this came out nice," she said.
"Take one more!" Irina chirped.
"Alright, alright. One, two-three!"
Irina smiled brightly and took the camera from Seolhyo. "Thanks, thanks! How does it look?"
"Looks good."
"I'll take one of you guys too go stand by the wall!"
Jinkyung and Seolhyo posed side by side.
"One, two, three!" Irina said. "Aww, cute."
She handed the camera back to Seolhyo with sparkling eyes. "Let's keep going!"
Seolhyo and Jinkyung stared at her, speechless.
Jinkyung glanced between Irina and Kwangwoon, clicking her tongue.
"We're basically just the photographers at this point. I figured at least the meal earlier wouldn't come for free."
Seolhyo sighed dramatically. "I should've just asked Seojin out too…"
She leaned closer to Jinkyung.
"Taking pictures won't be the end of it. If it's Irina, she definitely has something else planned. We'll probably end up at karaoke, and halfway through she'll suddenly tell us to go get the cake."
Jinkyung nodded without hesitation. "Yeah. In the meantime she'll queue the birthday song first. Then, right before it ends, we light the candles and walk in."
Right on cue, Irina, walking a few steps ahead, visibly flinched.
She slowed, then slowly turned around, a guilty grin spreading across her face.
Seolhyo and Jinkyung burst out laughing.
"Look at that 'got caught' look, lol," Jinkyung said.
"HAHAH, I told you," Seolhyo added smugly.
Jinkyung glanced at Seolhyo.
"She must really like him. Most girls wouldn't put in this much effort."
Seolhyo hummed thoughtfully. "Yeah, I wish she treated us that well too."
They continued following behind, Seolhyo's gaze drifting back to Kwangwoon more than once, Park Dong's words keep coming back in her mind.
Later, at Canmore, a fresh fruit dessert shop glowing with soft lights, Irina finally handed Kwangwoon his birthday gift.
Her eyes sparkled as she watched him open the bag.
He lifted the perfume bottle, gave it a light spray, and inhaled.
A small, genuine smile curved his lips.
"Mm… it smells really good, honey." Kwangwoon lifted the bottle again, smiling softly. "I'm gonna use this every single day from now on."
Irina lit up immediately. "You like it? I knew I'd nail it, right?"
"Of course you did," he said with a small laugh. "You always do."
As he set the perfume back into the box, his eyes drifted to the gift bag it's stuffed thick with letters.
He tilted his head. "Whoa… look at all these letters. How many did you even write?" He reached toward it, curious. "Can I read just one?"
Irina stiffened, then waved her hands frantically. "Now?! No way absolutely not! That's way too embarrassing!"
"But you wrote them for me to read anyway," he teased, already sliding his hand inside the bag. "I'll just read one, I swear."
"You really shouldn't!"
Too late.
He already pulled one letter up.
"I'll read the rest at home," he said lightly. "Just one for now."
Irina hesitated, then sighed in defeat. "Fine. Just one letter. One."
Kwangwoon opened it, unfolding the paper carefully."Just just read it quickly," she muttered.
"Okay, okay," he chuckled.
The moment his eyes began scanning the page, Irina buried her face into the crook of her arm, shoulders hunching. "Ughhh, this is so embarrassing… are you done yet?"
"I literally just started," he said.
His lips moved as he read silently, only fragments slipping out in a murmur meant for himself. "…Why is there so much written here…" He paused. "…She really put a lot into this."
The smile on his face faded, replaced by something heavier.
He put the letter down at the table and stood up.
"I-uh," he said suddenly, avoiding her eyes. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom real quick."
Irina looked up at him, confused but still smiling faintly. "Oh… okay."
In the bathroom, the fluorescent lights buzzed faintly above, casting a sterile glow across the tiles.
Kwangwoon leaned against the sink.
His reflection in the mirror looked back at him sweat slicking his brow, eyes heavy with guilt.
"…I shouldn't have read it now," he muttered under his breath.
"What the hell am I doing to a girl that only sees me? Irina… she trusts me completely."
"I should call Ian. And end it. It started in secret… so it should end in secret too."
With a shaky inhale, he pulled out his phone, thumb hovering over Ian's name.
One call. Just one call to cut it clean.
But before he could press dial, the phone vibrated.
Ian's name lit up the screen first.
He swallowed and answered.
"Oppa," Ian's voice chimed softly through the speaker, sweet and cutting all at once. "Happy birthday."
He froze, breath hitching. "…Ah. Thank you."
A brief silence. Then, her tone lowered. "Are you with her now?"
"…Yeah," he admitted, voice barely above a whisper. "Last week I couldn't go on a date with her, so… I'm with her now."
On the other end, Ian's breath wavered.
Then came words wrapped in both surrender and defiance.
"I wanna be with you…"
Kwangwoon' throat tightened. "...huh? when..? now?."
"Yeah right now."
Kwangwoon frowned at his phone, pulling it slightly away from his ear."…Hello? Did the call cut off…?"
There was a pause then a quiet inhale on the other end.
"I'm sorry…" Hai-an's voice came through, soft and unsteady. "For stressing you out like this. I… I won't call anymore."
Kwangwoon stiffened. "…Huh?"
"I know," she continued, words tumbling out as if she was afraid to stop. "You're getting more anxious because of me. And I-I'm losing more and more control."
She wiped at her eyes with her finger, forcing her voice to stay steady even as it trembled.
"So I'll stop contacting you. If I'm the only one who gets hurt, then… that's fine."
A small sniffle slipped through despite her effort.
"Take care, oppa."