Chapter 31

I was humming and holding a cake. It was Ha-yeon’s birthday, so shouldn’t we throw a surprise party? I also bought a book that Ha-yeon likes.

At first, I thought it was a children’s book or something with sparkly, cute characters, but no.

[The Serial Killer’s Graveyard]

Judging by the title, it seemed like some kind of thriller. I don’t really read books much anyway, so it didn’t matter. It was a book Ha-yeon wanted to read, not me. And honestly, I found web novels where you just smash everything without thinking more entertaining than these philosophical and profound books.

When it comes to movies, I prefer blockbusters or hero films over romance or mystery. I didn’t want to use my brain while watching something fun. Movies where things just get smashed and destroyed without any deep thinking were more my style. Luckily, Ha-yeon also liked those kinds of movies, so our tastes didn’t clash much.

Since the government gives us cultural vouchers every month, watching movies was a must. Why wouldn’t I use free movie tickets? I heard there’s a way to cash them out, but if caught, you’d get fined, and I didn’t think it was worth the risk for just 10,000 or 20,000 won.

As I walked down the street, I spotted a familiar back of the head. Wasn’t that Yoo-in-a, the friend Ha-yeon brought over last time? As soon as I saw her, I ran over. Since I was behind her, she didn’t notice me.

“In-a!”

“Oh, Ha-yeon’s aunt!”

In-a was eating a fish-shaped pastry. Seeing the one filled with red bean paste made my stomach growl, but I decided to hold out since we’d be cutting the cake at home soon. I asked her,

“Where are you headed?”

“I’m going home. I just came back from the academy.”

“Really…?”

In-a, as if proving she was the protagonist’s rival, was no ordinary kid. While other kids mumbled, In-a spoke clearly, just like Ha-yeon. In fact, she seemed to speak more coherently than me. Since I found out she was heading home, I had no choice but to make an offer.

Wouldn’t a birthday party with a friend be more fun than just me and Ha-yeon? I chuckled inwardly and said to her,

“In-a, today’s Ha-yeon’s birthday. Wanna join the party? I’ll handle everything! You just need to show up!”

In-a hesitated a bit at my sudden invitation. I guess being asked to a birthday party out of the blue was a bit much. Even I would’ve been startled. Being asked to join a party with no prior notice, not even a day before, but just an hour before, was like a bolt from the blue.

“Umm… Can I really come?”

“Of course. Ha-yeon will be thrilled.”

“Then I’ll come!”

I successfully recruited In-a. I grabbed her hand and said,

“Then let’s go home with me!”

“Okaaay…”

In-a smiled and tightly held my hand. I gripped hers even tighter. I’ll hold on tighter! And so, we made it home.

—

“Mom, thank youuuu!”

Ha-yeon clung tightly to her mom’s leg. But something felt off. Wasn’t there a human figure behind her mom’s leg? Ha-yeon lifted her face from her mom’s leg and stared at the mysterious figure.

“Ha… Ha-yeon, happy birthday!”

It was Yoo-in-a. Ha-yeon squinted her eyes and looked at In-a. She got along with her because her mom said to, but coming to her birthday party too…? Of course, In-a wouldn’t steal her mom away, but the fact that In-a was at a birthday party meant for just her and her mom didn’t sit well with her. But her mom said,

“I brought In-a! She’s your friend, right? It’ll be more fun with her!”

“Ugh…”

Well, Ha-yeon hadn’t told In-a about her birthday, so how would she know? And since it was the weekend, there weren’t many friends around to celebrate with. She hadn’t exchanged phone numbers with her friends yet, so they weren’t on her chat list. Plus, Ha-yeon had only recently started kindergarten. And she got her phone even more recently. So, she didn’t have her friends’ numbers.

How could she use phone numbers if she didn’t have a phone? Of course, now that her mom got her a phone, she’d need to get her friends’ numbers. If Ha-yeon asked, her friends would gladly give them to her. Her popularity in kindergarten was beyond imagination.

If there were a class president election in kindergarten, Ha-yeon would win by a landslide. On her first day, she didn’t pay much attention to her friends, but after her mom Ha-yul told her to get along with them, she worked hard to chat and interact with them.

And sitting alone in kindergarten was boring. Humans are social animals; we need to talk and live together. Even in the Stone Age, people huddled around fires in caves and talked.

“In-a, come on in!”

If Ha-yeon asked In-a why she came in front of her mom, she could imagine how her mom would look at her, so Ha-yeon greeted In-a with the sweetest smile she could muster. Plus, her mom had specifically told her to be extra friendly with In-a.

And what completely eased Ha-yeon’s tension was what her mom Ha-yul said after In-a left. She told Ha-yeon she loved her more than anything in the world and gave her tons of kisses. Her mom couldn’t lie, so it had to be true.

After hearing her mom’s words, Ha-yeon completely relaxed. Of course, others might have their eyes on her mom, but she realized that her mom treasured her above all else.

“Alright, let’s set up the birthday party table!”

Ha-yul said with a bright smile and brought over the table. She then took the cake out of the box.

“Mom, I’ll help too!”

“No~ Today, Ha-yeon, you’re the birthday girl, so just sit still!”

With that, Ha-yeon couldn’t approach her mom anymore. Ha-yul placed the cake on the table and started putting in the candles. In-a also started helping from the side. Seeing In-a like that made Ha-yeon a bit jealous. She knew how to put in candles too…! But since her mom told her to stay put, Ha-yeon waited quietly for the cake to be ready.

“Ta-da!”

Ha-yul showed the completed cake to Ha-yeon. Now, all that was left was to light the candles. In-a clapped her hands happily beside her.

“Auntie, you’re the best!”

“Hehe!”

Then, Ha-yul took out a match. It came with the cake box. She tried to light the match, but it wouldn’t catch.

“It’s not lighting…”

With a sulky expression, Ha-yul stared at the match. Seeing her like that, In-a spoke up.

“Can… Can I try, Auntie?”

“Sure! Give it a shot, In-a!”

Ha-yul handed the match to In-a. After a couple of tries, In-a lit it perfectly. Seeing that, Ha-yul’s eyes widened in surprise. In-a had done it so well. There weren’t many candles, so it didn’t take long to light them.

“Alright! Let’s sing the birthday song!”

Ha-yul clapped her hands and started singing the birthday song. In-a joined in too. Ha-yeon smiled happily as she listened to the song. Birthday parties always felt good. Hearing her mom’s singing voice was the best. Her mom’s singing skills were top-notch, almost like a professional singer’s.

“Happy birthday to Ha-yeon~”

As the harmony of Ha-yul and In-a’s birthday song ended, Ha-yeon blew as hard as she could at the candles on the cake.

“Whoooosh!”

As Ha-yeon’s breath hit the candles, they all went out. No candle could withstand a human’s breath. Successfully blowing out the candles, Ha-yeon clapped her hands in joy.

“Mom, thank you! And In-a, thank you too!”

Ha-yeon dove into her mom’s arms. Ha-yul naturally hugged her back. Her gaze was on the cake. Since Ha-yeon’s birthday song was over, dessert was next. Nothing was better than a sweet cake.

And so, it remained a secret that Ha-yul ate most of Ha-yeon’s birthday cake.