The SBC Gayo Daejun ended.

Afterwards, I slept in the car all morning while on the move because of scheduling problems, but my condition was at its best in the past month.

This was because as soon as the broadcast ended, the manager told us all the current public opinion.

It was worth seeing the members' expressions at that time.

Anyway, after that, everyone seemed to have slept soundly even though we were in the car.

Thanks to that, I was able to put up with the fact that I wasn't alone in the dorm when the company called me this morning.

However, there was no reason for me to guess why they called for me.

'Well, I don't think it's a bad thing from the look on their face.'

I wonder if I had a new personal schedule.

And as soon as I entered the front door behind the company building, I could see the reason why they called me over.

There were so many boxes piled up that the small front door for officials burst open.

They were gift boxes with elaborate packaging and ribbons.

It looked similar to what I saw at the entrance of the dorm during the last vacation, but the size was much larger.

'Huh?'

Wait a minute.

One of the staff members with me smiled and talked.

"Moondae-ssi, we brought your birthday presents~"

"...!"

...I see.

Today was December 15th.

It was Park Moondae's birthday.

'...I had no idea.'

I completely forgot about it because I lost my sense of date due to the endless repetition of schedules and practice.

Recently, I didn't even notice it because I didn't check social media on purpose.

'...Since it's not even my actual birthday in the first place.'

No, even before I entered Park Moondae's body... it was rare for me to have a particularly special birthday.

'I just ate something with a bit more expensive ingredients.'

Because of that, seeing the gift boxes filling up the two walls automatically made my feet stiff.

This was all for me?

"I don't think it will be easy to put it in the dorm... and Moondae-ssi's family home... well..."

The staff member must have remembered Park Moondae's family history while talking and quickly stopped his words.

And kindly corrected himself again.

"Shall we put it in the company warehouse? Electronic devices and luxury items will be sent to the dorm. You can go open it."

"...Did the people who brought this say anything?"

Even looking at it, it seemed that the packaging was different in three or four places.

'I think at least one or two teams tried to deliver it directly...'

"Oh, they used a professional delivery company. I got a delivery call the day before yesterday."

The staff member shrugged.

"And I think they said that this didn't have to be certified to Moondae-ssi... That's right. It was that."

"..."

Only then did I realize the situation.

'...It was quietly delivered on purpose.'

The day before yesterday, I was in the midst of tumbling around on the Internet about the issue of TeStar receiving the Rookie of the Year award.

The situation would be the same today if there hadn't been an all-out war at SBC yesterday.

Being in that kind of situation, the ones who sent the gifts must have been worried that if there was a certification that I received such large gift support, there would be a chance for me to be caught in controversy again.

'They were conscious of that and couldn't even come to see me themselves...'

I felt strange.

It was strange that there were people who cared and put in so much effort for someone who could not even interact with them properly.

The fact that the target was me... felt even stranger.

"Will you not open it? Should we just move it to the warehouse?"

"...Wait a minute."

Only then did I move and approach the boxes.

I could see boxes wrapped in the same wrapping paper over the ribbons tied to the framed brand shopping bags made with prints of my photos.

A tag was attached to each packaging ribbon.

"..."

Countless clothes, electronic devices, and accessories were visible on each tag.

'...What do I do?'

I was overwhelmed. I didn't know what to take to the dorm first.

'...First off, something that's easy to identify, and only three pieces for each packaging design...'

While contemplating, a tag caught my eye.

It was a tag attached to a box relatively smaller than the others.

"..."

I hesitated, then lifted the box and unwrapped it.

A golden hardcover book that seemed to have been handcrafted was revealed.

When the hardcover book was opened, edited sentences were revealed in a neat design.

Between the long lines of text, restrained sentences jumped out. It felt like they were trying to hold back to make their message sound more sophisticated.

"Haha."

I couldn't contain my laughter.

These were really... unusual people. It was unbelievable kindness.

Of course, feelings did not last forever. They used words such as 'forever', 'for a long time', and 'no matter what', but as humans, I knew that wouldn't be the case.

But at this moment, just the fact that there were people who thought like that of me, somehow made it feel unbearable.

I wanted to do something.

"..."

"Moondae-ssi?"

"...Ah, I'm sorry."

I barely came back to my senses. And I quickly grabbed a few gift boxes.

As I planned... no, a little more than I had planned.

"...Are you able to take those back to the dorm?"

"There's a car so it's fine."

The manager had accompanied me. By now, he must be buying a drink or smoking in the lobby in front of the building.

"Mm, I understand. Get back safely and happy birthday!"

"Thank you."

I headed to the parking lot with my hands full of gifts.

The manager I met in the middle got startled.

"Did you bring it all by yourself? You should have called me!"

"I'm fine. It's not far."

"Sigh... Anyway, congratulations on the gifts. Happy birthday. Will you treat me to some coffee?"

"Next time."

"Oh my, you're not refusing."

I just laughed. It felt like a whirlwind had entered my head, and everything seemed pleasant.

"Get inside safely~"

"Yes. Thank you."

I separated from the manager in front of the dorm building. Then I picked up the gifts and went up to the dorm.

And it was the moment I got off the elevator.

A strange smell was felt in front of the door of the dorm.

"...?"

Was something burning?

'No way.'

I piled up the presents on one side of the hallway and immediately unlocked the front door.

And I opened the door after leaving the fire hydrant open.

"...?!"

"No!!"

...And I witnessed Cha Yujin and Seon Ahyun sprinting through the living room holding a pot.

There was smoke rising from the pot.

I painstakingly asked.

"...What are you guys doing?"

"Mo-moondae! I-it's nothing..."

"Chicken soup for the soul!"

Cha Yujin shouted and began to run away with the pot into the kitchen.

An awful silence began to flow from Seon Ahyun who was left in the living room in the moment of confusion.

"..."

"..."

"...Hap, happy... bi-birthday."

"Thanks."

I was grateful for the congratulations, but I'd like to hear an explanation of what the hell was going on.

* * *

"...A birthday present?"

"Yes!"

"N-no... Th-there's a separate gift! I-it was just to say thank you..."

"I also have more presents!"

I was listening to Cha Yujin and Seon Ahyun talking but nothing was sorted out.

It didn't look like I could communicate well with them.

The other members, who were awakened by the pot disturbance, tried to clean things up.

"So, since it's Moondae's birthday, and there was time in the morning, you were going to cook something delicious for everyone?"

"Yes!"

"...You two?"

As Bae Sejin muttered to himself, Seon Ahyun gloomily lowered his head.

"W-we were sure of the recipe... s-so I thought we could do it."

"...Was it really a sure recipe?"

Cha Yujin happily answered Bae Sejin's question which was full of doubts.

"It's my mom's recipe! Chicken soup!"

"...!"

Bae Sejin hurriedly added with his pupils shaking.

"That... Even if the recipe is great, beginners may not be able to do it."

"I'll try again!"

"Wait, sit down."

I sat Cha Yujin back down, who was about to jump up. And I remembered the pot I saw in the kitchen.

'...It's burnt black.'

In addition, looking at the state of the chopping board and the sink was in, it didn't seem like the cooking process was very normal.

"Come to think of it, Yujin, didn't you say you were good at cooking?"

"I'm good at baking. It's my first time cooking..."

"Oh no."

He wasn't joking. Keun Sejin clicked his tongue and waved his hand when his eyes met mine.

"Ah, Moondae, happy birthday~ Did you get the gifticon?"

"...The chicken?"

"Yeah, chicken. Two of them."

I got back exactly what I gave him in August.

This was the result this quickly calculative guy came up with.

"Thanks."

"M-me too! Wait a minute...!"

Seon Ahyun, who had been sitting there like a criminal, suddenly stood up and stomped into his room.

Then he brought a small, well-wrapped gift and held it out.

"Ha-happy birthday!"

"Yeah...thanks. Can I open it?"

"Uhhuh!"

When I opened it, there was a department store gift card.

This... kind of felt like I was collecting friend money.

However, Seon Ahyun looked proud.

"Th-there wasn't time for me to go shopping so... i-it's better if you go and choose for yourself!"

"...Um, okay. Thanks. I'll go when I have time."

"Y-yeah!"

Next time I went... I should appropriately buy for Seon Ahyun. This was a bit too much for a friend or co-worker to receive.

'Come to think of it, it seems like he also bought something expensive for Keun Sejin.'

I wonder if I should at least tell them that there was no need for that at some point.

"Ah, I also bought something."

There was no item as unexpected as Seon Ahyun's, but after that, I received gifts from unexpected people.

First was Cha Yujin who gave me a huge jar of jelly sweets.

'I guess he ate half of it.'

It was obvious he had removed it from what he ordered.

And unexpectedly, Bae Sejin gave me a hoodie. He was probably the type to remember others' birthdays.

"I will wear it well. Thank you, hyung."

"...Well, sure."

That's how the gift-giving ceremony ended.

Honestly, it was the first time in my life that I had received so many congratulatory gifts on the same day.

'It feels strange.'

I took the boxes I received from the fans and moved them to my room along with the gifts I received from the members.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get anything. Next time I'll buy you a meal. What do you want to eat?"

"You don't have to be sorry, and well, let's eat what I feel like eating then."

"Okay. Let's do that."

It was normal not to know about it, but while agreeing to have a proper meal with Ryu Chungwoo, who apologized for not knowing, Kim Raebin shouted solemnly from the side.

"I'm sorry I didn't know about your birthday...!"

"...Like I said, it's okay."

"There's a song that I did recently... hyung, if you use that as your solo song...!"

How was he just giving out complete songs like this?

...Let's accept it for now though.

"Okay. It must be a good song, I'll check it out when I have time."

"Yes!"

Only then did Kim Raebin's heart seem unburdened. He let out a big sigh of relief and stumbled away into his room.

"..."

I think he could be in big trouble later on if he kept on like that. I should talk to him about not coming off too abase in the future.

I arranged the boxes next to my bed and lay down on the bed.

And after a while, I turned on the data on my smartphone. Then the first message that came in...

It was Keun Sejin's gift.

"..."

And after a while, Keun Sejin's message plastered with 'ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ' arrived.

'This bastard, seriously.'

I reflexively said what I was thinking.

An answer came immediately.

"..."

I got up and was about to storm into Keun Sejin's room, but held back.

That would be the reaction this bastard wants.

Instead, let's give a calm and ideal blow.

As expected, this was the best way.

I turned off my phone and went to sleep.

I closed my eyes, and the shape of the presents I received today and the sentences from the message book leisurely wandered in my head.

...Somehow, I felt like I could have a good dream.

* * *

However, after a good night's sleep, unwelcome news awaited from the manager I met again.

"Moondae, there's a call for you."

"Yes? From who?"

The manager handed me his smartphone and mouthed the name.

'VTIC Chungryeo!'

That fucker.

//TN: I'm so glad how soft this chapter made me feel ㅠㅠ the past 3-4 chapters literally gave me X1 ptsd that I still haven't recovered from