The Competition (6)
Today was my birthday.
But I didn't treat it like anything special.
I was busy with the competition anyway, and this hardly felt like the time to celebrate something as trivial as a birthday. It would simply pass like any other ordinary day.
That was fine. This way I could bury a miserable birthday no one would ever bless under perfectly good excuses. It was better this way, really.
That was how I intended to let this birthday slip by. With that resolve, I would focus solely on the competition the way I always did and spend the day exactly like that.
Yeah. Now wasn't the time to fuss over my unimportant birthday. No one had ever fussed over it before, either. It was just one more ordinary day among all the others that flowed past like water.
The competition was right around the corner. If anything deserved to be called special, it was the competition itself.
But… life never flows the way I expect.
Declaring that it will is the real arrogance.
"W-wait a second…!"
I had just finished class and was heading for the club room the same as always when a thin voice called out and a hand caught my sleeve.
I had no choice but to stop mid-step.
Other students streamed past us as if we were in the way, while the two of us stood frozen in place.
Han Seoa… She's been scarce lately. What's this all of a sudden?
With that thought I looked down at her.
"Today's your birthday…"
Birthday… birthday…
So Seoa had actually remembered. Maybe all those years I'd spent at her side hadn't been completely meaningless after all. But we weren't the kind of people who celebrated each other's birthdays anymore.
"Sorry… I'll just give you the present and go. Don't look so angry, okay?"
I must have been wearing a wary expression without realizing it. Seoa glanced at me and spoke in a voice as quiet as a dead mouse.
A present, though…?
Was she seriously planning to give me a gift the way she used to? No… even back then I'd never really received anything special. Just a verbal "happy birthday."
And now she wanted to hand me something she'd never bothered with before? Not just a simple congratulations, but an actual gift?
"These are… supplements. Really good for your eyes, apparently. You stare at a computer a lot, Minjae… and with the competition prep lately, you'll be in front of one even more. So I hoped these might help a little… and it just happens to be your birthday, too."
While I stood there stunned by the unexpected gesture, Seoa held out a box of eye supplements.
The atmosphere practically demanded I accept them normally. I couldn't.
Seoa was still the kind of person who wanted me under her thumb. The moment I showed even the slightest opening she would force her way in. She was waiting for me to waver.
So I couldn't take the gift. I had already decided I was done being led around like that. At least… I would stop letting Seoa do it. I wasn't the kind of person who folded to her wishes so easily anymore.
"Sorry… receiving something like this from you feels weird now. I don't even get why you're celebrating my birthday in the first place. Give these to your mother instead."
"Ah… b-but… I've never really given you a proper present before… I just really wanted to this time. There's no weird intention or anything…"
"You never gave me one before, so you can't start now. Anyway… I'm going. Nari's probably waiting."
Seoa didn't say another word. She simply hung her head and stood there staring blankly at the supplements that no longer had an owner.
I left her behind, opened the classroom door, and stepped out—only to find Nari standing right in front of it.
She looked as if I'd startled her by suddenly appearing.
"Were you waiting?"
"Huh? Oh, no… I wasn't waiting that long."
"Sorry I was late. Let's go."
Apparently she'd come all the way here because I hadn't left the classroom sooner. Feeling bad for making her wait, I apologized, then we simply walked toward the club room together the way we always did.
Back to ordinary life. For a moment I'd almost veered onto a different path, but I'd managed to keep my head on straight and protect the peaceful routine.
Nari walking beside me clearly had no idea it was my birthday.
Well, that was fine. I'd wanted the day to pass ordinarily from the start.
The moment we stepped into the club room, that ordinary day shattered.
Not in a bad way—in a good way. The ordinary day I'd forced myself to want was broken for the better.
"Happy birthday—! Minjae!"
"Congratulations—!!"
A pure white cake sitting on the desk, and the words "happy birthday."
It was… clearly for me.
I'd been ambushed by a surprise. I hadn't imagined it for a second, so the first emotion that greeted me was pure shock.
"How did you know it was my birthday?"
"Of course we knew. You thought we wouldn't?"
"SNS popped up saying a friend had a birthday today…"
Ah. So that feature existed. I'd never even known SNS had something like that. It had never applied to me—I wasn't the type to congratulate anyone, and no one congratulated me either. No reason to care.
"But… why didn't you tell us it was your birthday, Minjae?"
"Ah… well, aside from family, I've never really been celebrated like this, so it just felt normal. I wasn't trying to hide it or anything."
"If we'd known earlier… we could've prepared presents at least."
"Leave him. He brought it on himself. And for the record, I already gave Minjae a present. Same as giving one, anyway."
Yu Nari… even in a warm atmosphere like this you somehow manage to protect your image to the bitter end!
She wasn't wrong that I'd brought it on myself, but…
When exactly did you give me a present that you can say something so shameless right now?
I stayed quiet and listened for whatever she was about to claim.
"I'm the present, aren't I?"
"……."
I couldn't immediately argue back… maybe because it actually sounded true. Just having her join this competition with me had already been an enormous gift.
"Geez… I got all worked up thinking you'd actually handed him a real present all by yourself. Sit down already. Let's eat together."
"Haaah—? Unnie! You don't think I'm a present?"
"You are a present~ More importantly, Minjae, sit and eat. I bought the cake."
"Ah… yes. Thank you for the food."
"Wait! We have to take a picture first!"
Nari hurriedly held her phone high and framed all of us on the screen. Just like that, another memory was made.
"I'll tag everyone and post it to my story. Share it!"
She clearly intended to upload the photo to her SNS right away. But… come to think of it, Nari and I still hadn't followed each other.
"Minjae, what's your ID? We haven't even mutual-followed yet."
She must have just realized it too, because she shoved her phone at me. I searched for my own ID and handed it back.
A notification popped up announcing we were now friends. Right after that came another one saying I'd been tagged in a story.
Sharing that story made me feel, for a moment, like a real social butterfly. Like I'd gotten a tiny glimpse into that world.
Afterward we all sat around the club room chatting and eating cake. It was a scene from my life I could barely believe even while looking at it.
I never thought a day like this would exist for me. That I'd have friends who secretly prepared a cake. That I could be celebrated while everyone laughed so happily…
I was moved. I was happy. Truthfully, I'd wanted a special day like this all along. I'd only acted indifferent because I knew I couldn't have one… I had wanted someone to celebrate me too.
"Really… thank you so much! For celebrating like this."
I stood up mid-cake and bowed my head. I knew the gesture was abrupt, but I had to express it that way. I had to lower my head and show gratitude to the people who had given me such a precious experience.
And… the people celebrating my birthday weren't limited to Nari and Sebin noona sitting here.
My phone vibrated. When I checked, Seoa had seen the story I'd shared and sent a message.
Just that short message. I didn't reply. It was a one-sided congratulations.
While I was glancing at my phone, Nari and noona were already deep in conversation.
"Should we… finish work early today and all go drinking?"
"What's gotten into you, Unnie? You're the one suggesting drinks first…"
"Well, today's special. It's Minjae's birthday—we should all enjoy it."
"True. I'm down. Can't we just go right now?"
The birthday boy himself was sitting quietly, yet the two of them already seemed to have reached an agreement.
I was about to join the conversation late, but it turned out I didn't need to.
I still hadn't voiced my opinion, but of course I was in favor. I wasn't so socially maladjusted that I'd kill the mood in a situation like this by insisting we still had work to do.
"Then where should we drink? I honestly don't know any bars or anything…"
"Hmm… Minjae's place?"
Huh?
Why my place all of a sudden… My house isn't a bar.
Sebin noona's sudden suggestion made me doubt my own ears.
"I-I mean… I still haven't been to Minjae's place, and we did promise to all hang out there sometime, right? So I thought now might be the perfect timing…"
Noona hurriedly added an explanation. Hearing it… I found myself nodding. It was a perfectly reasonable reason.
I really should have invited noona over at least once. Going all together now would be ideal.
And so, somehow, I ended up walking home with two girls in tow.
This… might just be the unprecedented peak of my entire life. Getting celebrated for my birthday for the first time had already put me in an incredible mood, but looking at it now, even people who got celebrated every year would probably call this moment special.
In other words, I'd lucked into drawing an SSS-rank on my very first try.
"Unnie, what are we eating though? I'm hungry right now…"
"Dunno? Whatever Minjae wants, maybe?"
"Minjae probably wants tteokbokki. Right, Minjae?"
I never said I wanted tteokbokki… What are you deciding on your own, Nari!
I was about to push back against her shameless guesswork when my gaze locked onto the front door of my place and my whole body froze for a second.
In an instant, all that excitement drained away into cold stillness.
Because sitting right in front of my door… were the supplements I had refused earlier. The birthday present Seoa had prepared to give me.