A Special Birthday
“Hehehe!”
Min-hyeok’s laughter rang out, and Seong-min turned his head to look.
“Hyung, you were surprised by Noona, right?”
“Huh?”
“She got all dressed up today because it’s your birthday~”
Seong-min looked at A-reum again.
Pretty.
She was definitely pretty.
Pretty enough that the moment he turned his head, the words caught in his throat and he could only stare in surprise.
Perhaps it was the weight of his gaze that made her shy. A-reum looked away, bashful.
“Hehe…”
Min-hyeok laughed as if he found his sister’s reaction endlessly amusing.
“A-reum Noona… you look really beautiful today.”
Seong-min offered the greeting again.
“Noona~ Hyung’s saying hello to you~”
Min-hyeok prodded his sister, who still had her head slightly bowed and couldn’t manage a reply.
“Th-thank you…”
A-reum finally expressed her gratitude in a tiny voice.
“She really put a lot of thought into getting ready because she was meeting you today, Hyung~ She never dresses like this normally~”
Seong-min knew that well enough.
He knew exactly how A-reum usually dressed.
Just cotton pants and a plain solid-colored T-shirt.
That had been her everyday look.
But today she was so pretty that anyone who saw her would turn their head.
“Hyung~ aren’t you staring at Noona a little too hard?”
“Hm? Ah… was I? Sorry, Noona. You looked so pretty I couldn’t help staring.”
At Seong-min’s words, A-reum shook her head.
“I-it’s fine…”
Her voice was still small and trembling, but the sincerity that it was okay came through clearly.
“Alright~ it’s Hyung’s birthday today, isn’t it~! We shouldn’t just stand around—let’s go~! We have to hurry if we want to make the reservation~~”
“Where’s the restaurant you booked?”
“You’ll find out when we get there. It’s my first time going somewhere like this too. But I looked it up and apparently it’s a famous place in Gangnam~”
“A famous place?”
“Yep~ It’s expensive, but it’s Hyung’s birthday—we have to go somewhere nice~~!”
Min-hyeok took the lead, and Seong-min fell into step beside him without knowing where they were headed.
“You’re going to be surprised when we get there. I’ve never been to a place like this before…!”
“Now you’ve got me looking forward to it.”
“You can look forward to it as much as you want~!!”
While the two of them talked, A-reum walked alongside Min-hyeok, occasionally stealing glances at Seong-min’s profile.
Perhaps he felt that gaze.
Mid-conversation, Seong-min turned his head and looked at A-reum.
Their eyes met for an instant, and A-reum flustered and snapped her gaze forward again.
Cute.
Seong-min smiled faintly at her reaction and looked ahead once more.
The way A-reum Noona had dressed up like this for his birthday was more than enough to surprise him.
Setting the clothes aside, A-reum was clearly a beauty—slender face, straight nose, clear eyes with a slight droop at the corners that gave her a cute charm.
That was why Seong-min had been surprised the first time he saw her, too.
But today he found himself genuinely admiring that beauty.
When she put her mind to dressing up, she was fresh and pretty enough to captivate anyone’s eyes.
Seong-min looked at A-reum again.
Their gazes met once more, and he saw her fluster all over again.
She startled like a puppy caught doing something naughty—undeniably cute.
“Hyung~ we’re almost there.”
At Min-hyeok’s words, Seong-min looked around.
Huh?
And right then he realized the place Min-hyeok was heading toward felt somehow familiar.
After a few more minutes of walking, Min-hyeok pointed to their destination.
“Hyung~ that’s it!”
Seong-min looked where Min-hyeok was pointing.
The moment he saw it, he couldn’t help smiling.
“Min-hyeok, is that the restaurant you were talking about?”
“Yep~ Surprising, right? That place is really famous! And expensive too~~!”
He knew.
Seong-min knew it well.
He had already been there, after all.
With Hye-suk.
At this ridiculous coincidence, Seong-min let out a dry laugh.
“Come on, let’s go in~ The reservation time’s almost here!”
Together with Min-hyeok and A-reum, Seong-min headed into the restaurant.
As they stepped inside, the manager who came to guide them showed a flicker of recognition when he saw Seong-min.
Seong-min gave him a small nod of greeting.
It was the same manager he had met last time.
After confirming the reservation, they followed the manager’s guidance to their seats.
Once they were settled and the water had been poured, Min-hyeok opened the menu.
Whoa…
The moment he saw the menu, an exclamation rose inside him.
This is insane. It’s ridiculously expensive.
Just looking at the prices was enough to make anyone gasp.
But Min-hyeok boldly ordered the 970,000-won C course.
“This place is really expensive—are you sure it’s okay?”
“It’s fine~! Today’s a special day. Hyung~ happy birthday!”
“Happy birthday…”
Following Min-hyeok’s lead, A-reum offered her congratulations as well.
“Thanks. Thank you, Noona.”
Seong-min expressed his gratitude to the two of them, who were smiling so warmly as they celebrated him.
“Alright, before we dig into the full course, we have a gift presentation ceremony~~”
Then Min-hyeok held something out.
“Here, Hyung. Birthday present!”
“You were carrying a shopping bag—so it was a gift after all?”
“I couldn’t just show up empty-handed on your birthday~~”
“Can I open it?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
Seong-min took it out of the small shopping bag and saw something wrapped with a ribbon.
He pulled the string free and found a small case box inside.
“This is Bean Pole.”
“Yep, that one’s expensive.”
When he opened the case, a wallet sat neatly inside.
“Oh~ a wallet? Nice design. How much was it?”
“Two hundred ten thousand won.”
“That’s pricey. Didn’t you go a little overboard?”
“Come on~ you have to do at least this much~!!”
The wallet Seong-min was currently using was one he had bought for thirty thousand won on a busy street.
He had been using it for years already; it was worn and stained. Thanks to Min-hyeok, he was about to go from a thirty-thousand-won wallet to a two-hundred-ten-thousand-won Bean Pole one.
“I was actually thinking about replacing my wallet anyway, so this works out perfectly~ Thanks! I’ll use it well…”
With his earnings having grown enough to give him some breathing room, Seong-min had reached the point of seriously thinking about investing in himself.
He had already been considering ditching the old thirty-thousand-won wallet and buying a new one, and now he had received this gift.
“Do you like it?”
“What’s there to like or not like? It’s a gift. And I was going to replace the wallet no matter what.”
“Hyung, there’s one more thing you need to replace besides the wallet.”
“What’s that?”
“Your sneakers.”
“Ah, the ones I wear every day?”
“They looked really rough and worn out. So…”
Min-hyeok turned his head toward his sister.
“Noona.”
When Min-hyeok called her, A-reum carefully lifted a shopping bag and held it out.
“Birthday… present…”
A-reum spoke in a small voice.
“That’s Noona’s gift for you, Hyung~~”
“You prepared this as a birthday present for me?”
Seong-min asked with a bright smile.
“…Yes…”
A-reum answered shyly.
“Thank you, Noona…”
Seong-min accepted the shopping bag and took out the box inside.
“Nike.”
“Take them out. I picked those carefully.”
When he carefully opened the Nike shoe box, a pair of cleanly designed functional sneakers sat inside.
“Nice design, right?”
“Fresh and nice.”
“Those cost a hundred forty-nine thousand won…!”
“That’s not cheap either.”
“Of course not~ They’re Nike. I bought them at a department store…!”
After examining the shoes and closing the box again, Seong-min looked at A-reum.
“Thank you, Noona. I’ll wear these and think of you every time.”
“…Okay…”
A-reum’s cheeks turned red.
“But is it really okay for me to accept a meal like this and gifts on top of it?”
“Hyung, of course we should do at least this much. When you think about all the help Noona and I have gotten from you… It’s your birthday today, right? Besides the food and gifts, we’re going to a movie too. There’s a fun action movie that just came out—I even reserved a ticket for you~! You’re not planning to just eat and leave right away, are you?”
“You told me to clear my schedule. Don’t worry.”
“Don’t even think about spending money today, Hyung~! I’m going to put my waiter experience to full use and treat you properly!”
At the mention of waiter experience, Seong-min let out a short laugh.
Once the gift presentation was over, the C-course dishes finally began arriving one after another. Seong-min managed a little better thanks to having practiced with a knife once before when he came with Hye-suk.
In contrast, Min-hyeok and A-reum cut their steaks with awkward knife work.
The courses that came out one after another were, just as he had felt last time, top-tier.
Even the dessert that arrived as a finisher tasted excellent.
Seong-min wiped his mouth with a napkin and lifted his glass to rinse with a drink.
“Hyung, was it okay?”
“I ate really well. You?”
“Me too. It’s my first time with a course meal so it felt pretty awkward… but eating in an atmosphere like this is definitely nice.”
“That’s why people come.”
Seong-min looked at A-reum.
“Did you enjoy it too, Noona?”
“…Yes…”
She nodded shyly as she answered.
“Shall we get up then?”
They rose from the table and walked out toward the hallway.
Naturally, Min-hyeok handled the bill.
It was 970,000 won, but he paid it in one bold lump sum.
It was money he had earned through hard work unloading delivery trucks and doing gombang work, but because he was treating Seong-min hyung, he didn’t feel it was a waste at all.
After leaving the restaurant, their next destination was the movie theater.
That was how the day went—meeting at Gangnam Station, enjoying a fine meal and a movie, even hitting a karaoke room, and spending a pleasant time in the busy district.
The entire day they hung out together, Min-hyeok didn’t let Seong-min spend a single won.
It was a birthday and a special day; he simply couldn’t let hyung pay for anything.
So Seong-min spent the whole day hanging out and playing with them and received a proper treat.
“Today was fun.”
“For me too, Hyung.”
Seong-min turned his head and looked at A-reum.
“Today was fun, A-reum Noona.”
“…Yes…”
A-reum nodded, looking bashful.
At that reaction Seong-min gave a wry smile.
Just then Min-hyeok flagged down a passing taxi.
Then he opened the rear door for him.
When Seong-min looked over, Min-hyeok grinned.
“Gotta provide service all the way home… hehe…”
“Yeah, thanks, you punk.”
Seong-min chuckled and climbed into the taxi.
After telling the driver the destination, Min-hyeok closed the rear door for him.
“Take care, Hyung~!”
Watching the taxi pull away, Min-hyeok waved, then turned his head to look at A-reum.
A-reum still couldn’t tear her eyes away from the taxi.
“Feeling sad, Noona…?”
Min-hyeok smiled at the corner of his mouth.
“You’ll be able to see Seong-min hyung again…”
Watching the taxi disappear from view, A-reum nodded.
I thought it would just be treating me to a meal.
Riding the taxi home, Seong-min found himself smiling on his own.
He had received a far more splendid treat than he had expected.
Min-hyeok must have spent quite a bit of money today.
The course meal alone was 970,000 won.
He knew how to repay what he had received.
He was a decent kid.
And A-reum Noona.
She really was pretty.
When she dressed up properly, she was fresh and beautiful.
Even her neatly cut bob suited her outfit perfectly.
If she could just be like an ordinary person, that would be enough…
That was why he felt even more sorry for A-reum Noona.
A noona who was that pretty and kind-hearted.
In the taxi heading home, Seong-min’s thoughts wandered, and a warm feeling settled in one corner of his chest.
It really was a special birthday.
Paaang~!!!
After stopping by the Rooftop Room to set down the gifts he had received and changing into comfortable clothes, Seong-min came downstairs, opened the front door, and stepped inside—only for a burst of sound to go off and the contents of a party popper to scatter all over his head.
“Wh-what is this?”
Startled by the sudden explosion, Seong-min flinched.
“Seong-min~ happy birthday!”
Standing in front of him was Hye-suk, holding the spent party popper with a bright expression.
“I set off a surprise popper because it’s your birthday. Did I startle you a lot?”
“I was… a little startled.”
“Hohoho~!”
Hearing that he had been surprised, Hye-suk looked thoroughly satisfied.
“Did you have fun today?”
“Yes, I even got presents. It was nice.”
“My, so you got presents for your birthday?”
“Not just presents—I got treated properly today, you know.”
“Looking at that smile, you must have been satisfied?”
“How could I not be? I really felt like it was my birthday.”
“Well then~ you should keep feeling it right now too~~!”
“Pardon?”
“Come on~ hurry inside.”
After taking off his shoes, Seong-min was led by Hye-suk’s hand toward the living room.
“What is all this?”
Looking at what had been set out on the coffee table in front of the living room sofa, Seong-min was surprised.
On the table was a splendid drinking spread complete with fruit snacks, mood lighting on both sides, two crystal glasses, an ice bucket filled with ice, and a bottle of liquor all arranged neatly.
“Today’s your birthday, Seong-min, right? So~~ I put some thought into setting up a drinking table.”
“This is a little overwhelming.”
Seong-min scratched the back of his head.
“Come over here~~”
Hye-suk took Seong-min’s hand and led him to the sofa.
Then she sat him down.
“Wait just a moment.”
Leaving Seong-min on the sofa, Hye-suk went into the bedroom.
In the meantime Seong-min looked over the snacks set out on the table.
There weren’t only fruit snacks—various stir-fried dishes and fried foods had been prepared as well.
And when his eyes went to the liquor, it was unmistakably Johnnie Walker Blue Label.
A short while later Hye-suk came back out of the bedroom.
Something was in her hand as she walked out.
She came close and sat down beside Seong-min.
“Here, I prepared a gift too.”
“What’s this?”
“Take it out.”
When he took it from the small shopping bag, there was a little case box.
“Is this a watch, by any chance?”
“Open it.”
When Seong-min opened the case, he was startled.
Inside was a Hamilton X-Wind quartz chrono metal watch.
In terms of price, it was a watch that ran about 1.4 million won.
“Is it really okay for me to accept this?”
At the surprised Seong-min’s question, Hye-suk winked.
“Of course it’s okay—that’s why I got it for you, right?”
“I feel really bad about this…”
“What’s there to feel bad about? I received a splendid treat from you too. Just wear it well from now on…”
“I’ll wear it and think of you every time, Auntie.”
Receiving such a big gift, Seong-min found himself smiling on his own.
“Alright, that concludes the gift presentation. Now for the real—”
She took out the Johnnie Walker Blue Label and carefully opened the bottle’s stopper.
“Young master, may this humble girl pour you a cup…?”
At Hye-suk’s historical-drama concept, Seong-min let out a short laugh and put on a solemn expression.
“You may pour me a cup.”
Then he held out his glass, and she lightly placed one hand against her chest as she poured the liquor.
Seong-min brought the half-filled glass to his lips and took a light sip.
“How does the liquor this humble girl poured for you taste…?”
“Hmm… not bad.”
“Then… may this humble girl attend to the young master tonight…?”
At the word “attend,” Seong-min looked her up and down with a solemn air.
“Your looks aren’t bad either… then tonight it shall be you.”
The moment he finished saying that, Hye-suk burst out laughing.
“Hohoho! Stop right there~ I can’t take it~~ You’re playing along way too well, aren’t you?”
“Why? I was enjoying it.”
Seong-min smirked slyly.
“I’ll pour you a glass too.”
Then he poured liquor into Hye-suk’s glass as well.
“But Auntie.”
“Hm?”
“You’re really going to attend to me tonight, right?”
“What~~?”
“Hahaha.”
At Hye-suk’s startled expression, Seong-min burst into loud laughter.