Present Time

(Narrator's POV)

September 1st.

Her eyes were glued to the calendar for about half an hour. But what was more worse was the fact that her eyes were also glued to the entrance door for almost two hours. She would glance at the door every now and then whenever a new customer would enter the shop, hoping that it would be Jungkook.

But none of them were him.

She was slowly beginning to worry why he hasn't showed up. Jungkook always visited the shop and bought a cupcake on a daily basis, and he was also the advertisement photographer, it would be shocking to not see him in the store today.

Her mind began to wander of all the possibilities as to why Jungkook would never show up at the shop today.

Was he sick?

Was he busy?

What happened to him?

And whenever she would think too much about him, the frustration would start to spark throughout her thoughts. She still cared about him, and there was no explanation needed.

She turned around towards the huge red velvet cake sitting on the counter. It was sitting untouched with the two numbers '2' and '2' sitting at the very middle of it. Frowning, she turned back around towards the door praying to the Gods that he would miraculously show up.

Of course she knew it was Jungkook's birthday today. And of course she couldn't forget about his birthday. Her eyes widened slightly. Did he think that I forgot his birthday was today? Did anyone remember that today was his birthday? Or did he just forget about me-

"Excuse me," she looked up to see a boy whose eyes looked like crescents. He tapped on the bell for the last time and tapped his fingers onto the cashier desk.

"I'm so sorry," she mumbled, rushing over to him as she put on her gloves, still deep in her own thoughts. "What would you like for today?"

He pointed towards the red velvet cupcakes and she felt her heart skip a beat. Jungkook loves the red velvet cupcakes.. She took two of them and placed it into it's package, handing it over to him.

And that's when she realized. She stopped in her tracks, looking at the boy who was staring right at her. He looked rather familiar to her, as if she had seen him before.

"You look really familiar, do we know each other?" She asked the boy who chuckled softly at her innocent face.

"I'm Jimin, Jungkook's best friend." He replied, and her eyes lit up at the mention of his name escaping his lips. He noticed how she transformed to a glum girl to someone who was growing out of curiosity.

"Is he alright? He hasn't come to the shop yet-today is his birthday and I wanted to give him something but-where is he?!" She was like a bubble of curiosity and Jimin realized that Jungkook was never wrong about her in the first place. He was a bit taken aback at how her personality was definitely different from her own innocent look.

"Jungkook was right," he smiled.

She tilted her head in confusion, "right about what?"

"Right about how cute you look when you talk a lot." Jimin giggled, shaking his head. He then frowned a bit, his smile faltering each second. "Jungkook is at his office, he's a little bit peachy and moody today."

"Oh?" She frowned, her shoulders slumping at Jimin's tone when he started to talk about Jungkook. She punched in his totals and took his cash, giving him his change. "What happened to him?"

He grabbed his change and shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea, he was quiet all morning. He never said a single word when I visited him with my gift, he gave such dry replies."

The scenario was oddly familiar to her. She pursed her lips into a line and turned around to give her cake one last glance before making a decision. "I wonder what happened to him.."

"You'll probably be the first one he'll open up to," he insisted, pointing towards her cake. "Give him a visit, try cheering him up, you're the one he needs to talk to."

"What if he doesn't want me there?" She asked, in a panicky tone. "What if he doesn't like the cake? What if he doesn't answer the door? What if-"

"Stop with the what ifs," he chuckled, "do it. Jungkook would never be that way about you, especially when he loves you that much."

She held in her breath, her heart stopping at Jimin's words. She smiled, going back to her cake and packing it into a box. As she placed the cake into her right hand, she placed a 'closed' sign on the cashier desk. Jimin felt the ends of his lips tug into a smile as she walked out with him. She turned off the lights, switching the 'open' sign to 'closed' on the door, and locked it with her keys.

She turned around and stopped as Jimin nodded his head in approvement. "What?"

"Now I see why Jungkook's running after you," he grinned. "You're a keeper."

~~~~

The elevator doors opened with a ding and out she went onto the floor where Jungkook's office was located. Down a few doors, she finally made it right in front of his office. She breathed in, sucking in a large pocket of air so that she wouldn't grow so nervous.

Knocking on his door, she heard some shuffling and the door suddenly opened to reveal Jungkook, shirtless.

"What do you want now, Jimin-Seoyeon?" His tone changed from harsh to soft, only to let their eyes widen. He shut the door on her, and she felt the breath being knocked right out of her.

He was shirtless.

She gripped tightly onto the box that held the cake, hearing the shuffling once again behind the closed door. The door opened and Jungkook was wearing a shirt, leaning against the doorframe.

"What are you doing here?" He asked softly, and she smiled, lifting up the cover of the box to reveal his birthday cake. "Seoyeon, you didn't really need to-"

"I wanted to." She cut him off. "Can I come in?"

He made some way for her to enter into his office. Her eyes scanned throughout the whole messy office, a few photographs ripped apart and thrown all over the floor. Picture frames were shattered, leaving glass scattered across the floor as well.

"What happened?" She whispered, turning towards him as he handed her a lighter.

"It's no big deal, I'll clean it up later." He shrugged his shoulders and she gave him a confused look, lighting the candles.

"Happy Birthday Jungkook," she whispered, looking into his eyes that sparkled when he looked at the cake. He looked the slightest bit happy, his eyes a bit hooded and red.

"Thanks," he smiled sadly and she furrowed her eyebrows.

"Let's clean up your office and bring it back to how it's supposed to be." She insisted and poked his nose, "and later, I'll take you out for ice cream, my treat."

He looked at her and shrugged his shoulders, "I guess."

She frowned, poking at his cheek, tugging at the ends of his cheeks to force a smile from him. "You know, I love it when you smile."

His eyes were sad, but he mustered up a small smile. She poked at his cheeks again, forcing another smile. "Are you ticklish?"

His eyes slightly widened and she grinned, poking at his sides, making him flinch. He chuckled and started to move away from her. She advanced towards him and poked his sides again and he tried to stop her from tickling him any longer.

"You are ticklish!" She exclaimed, tickling him as he burst out into laughter.

He grabbed her hands as she reached out to tickle him, and he pulled her closer to him. She bumped into his chest, the top of her head resting underneath his cheek. She wrapped her arms around him second-mindedly, and quickly pulled away.

She took a few steps away from him and looked down, stopping herself from blushing ten shades of red just like a tomato. Without looking at him, she mumbled, "shall we start cleaning?"

He smiled at the innocent one, also blushing as well, "we shall."

~~~~

They were just about almost done with the cleaning, just a few more ripped pictures were still scattered across the floor. Jungkook was slightly feeling a bit better, a small smile spread across his lips whenever the two of them would brush hands or bumped into each other from behind.

"You know," she began, brushing some dust into a dustpan, "I never forgot about your birthday."

He pursed his lips into a line, their eyes looking at each other. He turned around so that his back was facing her, and he shrugged his shoulders. They slumped when he replied with, "at least you didn't forget."

"Hm?" She asked and he glanced over his shoulder to look at her, shaking his head.

"Nothing." She frowned, picking up the dustpan and walking over towards the trash can to throw the content out.

She looked up and stopped to see a set of phone numbers written on a white piece of paper. It was the only paper that was pinned up on his bulletin board. Her eyes scanned through the page, scrunching her nose in confusion. Did he not keep record of his parents' numbers?

On top of the white piece of paper, there was a pinned picture of his parents smiling beautifully at each other. In his mother's arms, there was Jungkook as a toddler, sitting with an eye smile.

Seoyeon found herself smiling as well.

Then that's when it hit her.

His parents forgot his birthday. Or at least they didn't greet him.. yet.

She turned around and looked towards Jungkook who was completely oblivient of what she was about to do. Swinging out her phone, she added a number into her contacts and checked to make sure he wasn't looking.

"Jungkook-ah, I'm just going to take out the garbage, alright?" She looked down at the garbage, perfect timing to make a perfect call. He nodded his head in reply and she hurriedly got the garbage bag, out the door she went.

She shut the door behind her and took the elevator down to the lobby of the building. Whipping out her phone once again, she scrolled through her contacts and stopped on one particular name.

After a few rings, she started to grow impatient. She tapped her foot against the floor, and after a few more rings, the other line picked up.

"Hello? Who is this?" A soft voice answered her phone call and she pursed her lips into a line.

"Jimin-ah, it's Seoyeon.. the cupcake girl." She began, scratching the nape of her neck. He chuckled on the other line.

"Do you miss me that much?" He grinned, and she rolled her eyes playfully. "Nah, I'm just playing with you. What's up?"

"I think I know why Jungkook's so upset today," she replied and Jimin snorted. "What?"

"The boy finally spoke up after giving me the silent treatment." Jimin chuckled and she shook her head as if he would see her.

"No!" She exclaimed. "I was piecing things together all morning, and I'm pretty sure I know why he's upset."

"Well then, why is he so moody on his own birthday?" Jimin asked. "He's worse than my own girlfriend when she's on her period."

"Do you manage to have a hold of his parents' phone numbers?" She questioned him and Jimin let out a soft 'ah', as if he understood exactly where she was getting at.

"His parents never really greeted him, did they?" She sighed and he bit his lip. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Do you have them?" She crossed her fingers as Jimin smiled.

"I do, you want them?" Jimin asked and Seoyeon replied with a 'yes'. "Alright, you better get them digits down with a paper and pen."

As she wrote the numbers down onto a piece of paper, she showered Jimin with all her gratitude. Jimin couldn't help but smile and feel happy about what she was doing for Jungkook.

"What's your plan?" Jimin asked, only to shake his head, "do you even have a plan at all?"

Seoyeon pursed her lips into a line, "well, I do have a plan in mind.. but I don't know if it's going to turn out well."

"I'm pretty sure it will, Seoyeon-ah." Jimin trailed off. "I just want you to take care of Jungkook today.. cheer him up, because I know you will."

"Yah! Stop jinxing it, what if it doesn't work?!" She exclaimed and Jimin burst out into laughter.

"It's the truth, Seoyeon-ah." He teased. "Now, you should go and fulfill your own plan. And I think we've become best friends after today. What should we call ourselves? The dream team?"

"Wish me luck," she ignored his question and his face went blank.

"You don't need luck at all," he bit his lip. "This is all the works of fate and love."

~~~~

"Jungkook-ah, how's the ice cream?"

After a hard work's day of cleaning his office, the two of them found themselves walking down the pier with ice cream cones in hand. Every now and then, Jungkook's hand would brush against hers, and she would quickly pull away.

"It's great, I guess." He shrugged his shoulders for the billionth time today.

She glanced up at him and watched him stare off into the distance with troubled thoughts in his mind. She knew Jungkook too well, he was definitely not having the best day ever. The grand clock sitting a few metres away from the deck read 5:36 pm. Her eyes widened, and out of instinct she grabbed his hand.

"What-Where are we going?" Jungkook was following her behind, a blush creeping on his cheeks at the touch of her hand with his.

She looked over her shoulder and smiled, "you'll see."

He frowned, following the girl as she led him to the stores of Seoul. The sun was almost setting, and the streets were getting crowded with people who were sight-seeing and/or shopping. The streetlights were beginning to light up the streets and traffic was soon coming to an end.

Jungkook cursed to himself for not bringing his camera with him on such a beautiful night.

He scoffed, it would've been a better day if they remembered.

Seoyeon took out her phone and read the screen to see two new messages. She unlocked her phone and lowered the brightness just so that Jungkook wouldn't be able to see from behind.

5:37 - they're arriving a bit late, take your time

5:38 - I wish I was there.. I wanted to see jungkookie's face when he sees them

She chuckled softly, letting go of Jungkook's hand to reply to the text message. Jungkook peeked over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "Who are you talking to?"

"Jimin," she mumbled, locking her phone just in time after she had replied to his message. She glanced up at him as his eyes grew wide with fury. "I met him today, actually. He's a sweet guy."

"How did you get his number?" He asked her as she pursed her lips into a line.

"I got my own ways," she grinned as he frowned.

"He's taken," Jungkook added, and Seoyeon tilted her head with surprise on her face.

"Really?" She asked, "well then he's girlfriend is really lucky to have him."

Just like how your future boyfriend will be really lucky to have you.. He thought to himself, shrugging off his thoughts of being so jealous.

5:39 - we're going to walk around the grand clock for a while, where are they?

"I shouldn't be so angry over this," he whispered, and Seoyeon pouted.

"You never really told me why you're so upset on your own birthday." She chuckled and he looked at her with a serious face, making her quiet down on her giggles.

"They forgot," he muttered. "I shouldn't even be surprised, they forgot my birthday last year.. and yet they forget this year too."

"Who forgot?" She asked, finally hammering down the hints to reassure that she was going in the right direction of her plan.

"My parents." He sighed angrily, "they forgot about my birthday, just like how they did last year and I just don't understand how you could forget your own son's birthday!"

She shook her head, chuckling to herself. "Jungkook-ah, this is beginning to feel like deja vu."

"Hm?" He looked at her until he felt himself being hit with a flashback.

"Did they even greet you a happy birthday?" He asked and she smiled bitterly.

She couldn't help but suddenly frown, her head looking down at her fingers that she started with fiddle with. Jungkook looked at her, feeling bad for the girl who looked really upset. She played with her food, biting her lip. He noticed a tear slip from her eye and onto the wooden table.

"Sometimes, I wonder if they even remember me." She chuckled. "They probably do, they just don't have the time.. for me."

"I'm pretty sure they remember you, how could they not?" He smiled. "You're pretty cool and chill, a very respectful daughter.. I don't see why they would neglect you like that. And this is all nothing, I just thought that I would take you out for once without complaining-"

She smiled, only to pull him into a hug without hesitation. He stiffened, only to relax and wrap his arms around her. She cried a little, wiping her tears.

"Thank you, Jungkook." She whispered, "this means so much to me."

"Happy birthday, Seoyeon." He smiled, and she felt herself calm down just by the tone of his voice. "And thank you, for everything. I'm going to miss this when this ends."

He let his head hang low, and he nodded his head. "Wow, is this how you felt when your parents forgot about your birthday?"

She smiled, "yeah, but I remember them skyping me late at night to greet me."

"Well won't you look at the time." He rolled his eyes, "it's getting late, they're never going to greet me."

"Jungkook-ah, I'm pretty sure they remember that it's your birthday." She explained. "They probably just have so much work to do abroad that they can't find the time. But I'm sure they will find the time, you have seven hours left until your birthday is over. I'm sure they'll greet you, how can they not?"

Her phone buzzed just in time and she looked down, reading Jimin's message.

5:41 - they're here

5:41 - can you also record the whole thing for me? I'm not there and I wanna see his priceless face when he sees them there

"Oh! Just in time," she smiled, grabbing his hand once again. "Come on, let's go sight-seeing over there!"

(Jungkook's POV)

She brought me all the way to grand clock, and I was slowly getting tired of walking. It was getting a bit chilly near the ocean, but it was bearable. I followed her behind as she let me all the way in front of the clock that struck 5:50 pm.

"You know, Seoyeon-ah, my feet are starting to hurt-" I began until two people popped out from behind the grand clock.

"Happy birthday, Jungkook-ah!" My eyes widened to see my Mom and Dad coming around from the corner with a huge cake in their hands.

I looked towards Seoyeon who gave me a two thumbs up. She pulled me into a hug and wrapped her arms around my neck, "happy birthday, Jungkook."

I was at a loss for words at the sight of my own parents standing right in front of me. Then it hit me. It hit me really hard.

This explains the text my parents sent me this morning that never had a birthday messag with it.

3:13 - jungkook-ah, work hard today

This explains how Seoyeon got Jimin's number, who was the only one who had my parents' number in his contacts.

"How did you get his number?" I asked Seoyeon as she pursed her lips into a line.

"I got my own ways," she grinned.

Seoyeon planned all of this, for my birthday. She brought my parents from America, all the way to Korea just in time for my birthday. With the help of Jimin, of course.

"What-how did you-wow." I let out as