Birthday

Yoon Jay offered no opinion of his own, and once Lee Seo-won stepped in to handle things, the reporters quieted down. A few hot-headed ones kept prodding despite that, but it didn't last long.

Meanwhile, across the ocean in the United States, documents related to LIS were being declassified one by one.

Agitation for the upcoming election, the opposition party's fierce pushback in defense, a sluggish economy, and souring public sentiment — it all compounded at once.

He used to dabble in political thrillers. Guess it rubbed off on him.

Yoon Jay thought of his old superior. The fondness he'd once felt for the man was slowly curdling into something else entirely.

Some people carried on in a frenzy, and naturally, keyboard battles erupted with those who resented all the sudden attention.

My point exactly.

Yoon Jay irritably killed his phone screen and let out a sigh.

Just when I'd almost forgotten about it, it crawls back up.

Still, it was a minor topic confined to the internet — nothing had surfaced in the news or official articles.

With his past suddenly in the spotlight, everything he'd shown on broadcasts over the years got dredged back up, and new fans started trickling in because of it.

The Soldiers K broadcast and the behind-the-scenes videos that had surfaced on MyTube drew the strongest reactions, and the reruns swept the ratings in their wake.

"Jay-ssi. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

The producer of Soldiers K placed the call in a voice straining to contain his excitement.

Hanging up, Yoon Jay turned the offer over in his mind.

Yoon Jay's eyes snapped open out of pure habit. When he checked the clock, he found he'd managed barely two hours of sleep.

In the old days he'd endured training that forbade sleep for days on end, so this much was bearable.

It keeps happening lately... maybe I should finally get something prescribed.

But he was human too, and if this kept up, it would start interfering with daily life.

He'd grown sensitive enough that Han Jin-woo had recently complained his boss's mood was downright frightening. Yoon Jay had always been weak when it came to his manager — ever since the day he'd mistaken Han Jin-woo for an enemy and attacked him.

He washed his face with cold water to shake himself awake, then picked up his phone. A video call.

"Mom, Dad. Have you two been well?"

"Son! We're the same as ever, you know us. How about you? You look like you've lost a bit of weight?"

"I lost it on purpose. That's how you look good on camera, apparently."

Henry Jenkins chuckled warmly at that, suddenly remembering the boy who had once trembled in front of every camera. He was proud of his son — a child who had grown up stepping over his own fear.

"See? That means you haven't been skipping meals, have you?"

Maria Jenkins, however, was not so easily soothed.

It's not as if he's lost that much.

To anyone else, he looked like a perfectly healthy adult man. But then again, parents' eyes always saw differently.

"I'm eating well and sleeping well. Spicy food still hasn't grown on me, though."

Yoon Jay lied through his teeth without so much as blinking. Even so, the worry never quite left his parents' faces.

"We saw the news."

"Ah."

Over there, the LIS story was still burning hot. There was a great deal that needed to stay classified, and word was that friction had broken out between the military and the political establishment — complaints that the military's honor was being dragged through the mud, that too much was being aired publicly.

But these were not people who would stop over that. They simply shifted their aim toward those already discharged. Yoon Jay had been among them.

"Some of it is deliberate exaggeration, drumming up my record on purpose. My old superior is a Republican congressman, you see."

"That's what happens once the politicians get involved, I suppose."

"Exactly. This probably won't last long either."

Only his name hadn't surfaced — but his family and those closest to him had already started wondering, could it be him? His parents had worried over him too as they watched the coverage.

"A lot of it is people embellishing things for their own gain. Don't let it worry you."

"If you say so, dear."

Of course, neither of them believed it. They couldn't forget how poorly Yoon Jay had seemed after his discharge — which was precisely why the weight loss bothered them so much.

"I wish we could talk face-to-face. It's a shame."

"I miss you too. If none of this had blown up, I'd be visiting you right now."

"So what are you up to today?"

"My fans apparently put together an event for my birthday. I'm going to go take a look around."

"Really? People do that sort of thing?"

"They do. I'll take pictures and send them to you."

Just then, the doorbell rang. After saying his goodbyes, he checked the intercom — Yoon Do-jun was waving at the camera with a beaming face.

"You're here?"

"Hyung! You're not even ready yet?"

"Sorry, I was on the phone with Mom and Dad. Have a seat and give me a few minutes?"

While waiting for his brother to get ready, Yoon Do-jun sank into the sofa and jolted upright in alarm. Whoa — what is this thing?

Isn't this sofa worth tens of millions of won?

No wonder it felt absurdly plush. Yoon Do-jun belatedly let his eyes wander over the interior. Between his packed schedule, this was actually his first time visiting Yoon Jay's place.

Since when does our hyung have taste like this?

Thinking back to the ridiculous cargo pants and plaid shirts their brother had once discarded wholesale, he'd assumed interior design would be the last thing on his mind — but the place was genuinely well done. No, it was excellent.

"Hyung. What's the deal with this house?"

"It belongs to the CEO, apparently. He said I can keep living here as long as I want."

"Seriously? That's amazing."

"Oh — and the CEO knows I'm Yoon Jae-hee. He's been treating me even better since he found out."

"What?!"

Yoon Do-jun shot to his feet.

"It just felt wrong to keep hiding it from him."

"Things must be getting messy out there, huh?"

"Well... yeah, somewhat."

With Kwon Min-jae, Baek Da-eun, Moon Chang-min, and more and more people slipping inside the walls he'd built around himself, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was still deceiving everyone else. Reading the strange expression on his brother's face, Yoon Do-jun offered some encouragement.

"Don't sweat it too much. It's not like you committed some crime."

"Yeah."

When it came to mental fortitude, Yoon Do-jun really was in a league of his own. Yoon Jay found it so endearing that he reached out and ruffled his hair, and Do-jun broke into a sly grin — clearly already cataloging fresh material to brag about to Do-hwa.

Why do those two insist on competing over the most pointless things...

Was this normal between siblings? Chris and Serena had never been like this. Maybe it was the age gap? Or perhaps the fact that they only shared half their blood...

"Ready to go? Let's start with the subway."

"I actually scouted some places out in advance—"

"Hyung, stay out of this. I'm the expert here."

Having finally found something he could teach his effortlessly perfect older brother, Do-jun was clearly thrilled about it. He looked so proud marching out front that Yoon Jay decided to play along and play dumb.

First stop: the subway ads. There were four in total, and as two tall men in masks and caps walked past, heads turned of their own accord. A few passersby seemed to recognize them, too.

"This is wild, though. A regular actor gets fan events this big?"

"Don't most actor fandoms not go this hard?"

"It's rare, that's for sure. Must be because it's our hyung."

Well, when your fandom could mobilize over five hundred people for a regional screening, it spoke for itself. Yoon Do-jun all but lay flat on the station floor to get the perfect verification shot of Yoon Jay in front of the glowing LED billboard.

"Whoa, our hyung's legs are like two meters long."

Yoon Jay hadn't thought he needed to be this enthusiastic about it, but the finished photo was honestly impressive.

"Oppa!"

"Do-hwa. Did the recording go well?"

"Flawlessly!"

Yoon Do-hwa, who hadn't been able to make it that morning because of her schedule, joined them in the afternoon. Once they'd made the rounds of all the subway ads, they headed for a birthday cafe Do-jun had scouted in advance.

"Welcome— oh my god."

"Hello."

"W-wait... it's really him!"

"Thank you."

He greeted the fans inside and took a slow look around. The entire space existed for one purpose: celebrating Yoon Jay's birthday. Even the desserts carried messages wishing him a happy birthday.

The photos hanging on the walls had all been taken by his fansite master. When did she even capture these? While waiting for his drink to arrive, he left behind a small note, wanting to express his thanks.

"Hkk—!"

After spending a little time at the cafe, Yoon Jay was about to move on to the next stop. He paused at the door, studying the person who had looked up at him and swallowed her own breath. The face was familiar. Where had he seen her before?

"Ah! We've met before, haven't we?"

"Hck!"

Delving into his memory, he placed her — the subway. She was the one who had been utterly indifferent even while her friend enthusiastically sold her on him. Hadn't he told her that her favorite actor's next project would be out by next year at the earliest?

Choi Mina hung there, mouth agape, unable to form a single word, before finally forcing something out.

"H-how do you know that?"

"I saw you briefly on the subway. Did you become a fan of mine after your friend dragged you along? Is she not here with you today?"

"S-she is! Um, over there— Yeji!"

No way. How on earth does he remember that?! Flustered, she hurriedly called her friend over. Han Ye-ji — the one who had liked Yoon Jay first — froze solid on the spot.

Ever since that chance encounter on the subway, her best friend Choi Mina had fallen into the fandom too, and the two of them had been fangirling together with reckless abandon ever since. And now this. This kind of luck.

"Hrrgh—!"

What is this, déjà vu? Yoon Jay laughed lightly. Struck speechless all over again by that smile, Han Ye-ji found herself instinctively backing away from the sheer, overwhelming force of his good looks as he drew closer.

"Careful."

She nearly went down — but she did not fall flat on her face in front of her ultimate bias. Yoon Jay had closed the distance in a flash and caught her by the shoulders.

H-holy—!

Thanks to that, Han Ye-ji — jackpotted yet again entirely against her will — flushed red all the way to her ears.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-yes! I'm a real fan! We planned this whole birthday cafe ourselves!"

"Really? No wonder it's so tastefully done."

There were plenty of rumors swirling around him, and surely the two of them were burning with questions — but they asked none of them. All that showed on their faces was pure, unguarded affection.

"Thank you for being born, oppa!"

"Haha! Right. And thank you for liking me."

Genuinely grateful, Yoon Jay took selfies with the two of them before excusing himself from the spot.

Only after he was gone did the pair belatedly realize who his companions had been — Yoon Do-jun and Yoon Do-hwa. Idols of the very top tier, no less.

"Wow. How does he even remember us?"

"Seriously... unreal."

"Han Ye-ji, I'm so jealous I could scream. Don't tell me you fell on purpose."

"I did not!"

The two who remained burned with fresh resolve. From this day forward, they would devote their entire lives to Yoon Jay.

And so, having made the rounds of every event his fans had prepared, Yoon Jay was thinking it was about time to grab a meal with his younger siblings and call it a day.

Then, without warning, Yoon Do-jun and Yoon Do-hwa each seized one of his arms.

"Hyung. We've got one more place to go."

"What? I thought we'd hit everything that put up announcements..."

"Just come with us."

The twins led him along with strangely grave expressions. Playing along as usual, Yoon Jay nevertheless grew suspicious at the way his siblings' hands and feet were moving in such eager, synchronized purpose.

Their destination turned out to be a restaurant nearby.

...Why would they bring me here?

Don't tell me—

"Happy birthday!"

"Happy birthday!"

The moment he pushed open the door, the gathered crowd burst into applause and cheered at the top of their lungs. They had, in fact, planned to set off party poppers — but Jeong Seung-woo had firmly talked them out of it, insisting that loud bangs were absolutely off the table.

"Aw, come on..."

Talk of the past had come up against his will, and his nerves had been on edge ever since.

But the sight of all these people who had come just to celebrate him dissolved that tension in an instant. A smile of pure relief broke across his face — and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at the sight of that expression, several in the room suddenly turned bashful.

He looked at the younger siblings who had led him all the way here.

"No wonder you two were being so weird all day. This ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was why?"

"Were we that obvious?"