the evening is perfumed by the thunderclouds overheard. his back leaning against the driver's seat, looking across the highway. there's a strange kind of grace in the heavy twist of his body. if i had to label the image, it would be yearning.

i have to jiggle the driver's seat forward about a mile, necessitating quite a lot of jerky pelvic thrusts. he slides the passenger seat back without comment and watches me as i struggle. i snap on my seat belt and angle the rearview mirror down a bit.

"want a phone book to sit on? how'd you get so small?" he teased.

"ya, your car's just big," i hissed. he laughs at my reaction before putting his hand on the gear shift, with the veins in his arms showing.

"over halfway there now," he says as his knees started jiggling.

"you seem excited, jeon. what's with you today?"

a smirk appeared on his lips, letting out a small laughter.

"it's your birthday in an hour, baby. the real question here would be how come you're not excited?" he suspiciously asked.

well, it's not that i'm not excited nor am i thrilled. it's just that as we get older, the less exciting birthday gets. not to mention the fact that i won't be celebrating it with my family. blame it all on our hectic schedules.

"hey, everything okay?"

he looks at me with an expression that makes my heart shake. like he's concerned with whatever was running through my mind.

i simply smiled to reassure him that i'm alright. but who am i kidding? i have spent almost an entire year with this man — a simple smile won't fool him.

he hit the brakes in an instant and looked at me intensely. leaning closer, he put his hand on my cheek and started to gently caress it.

"yeobo," he whispers. "i hate seeing you sad."

i sat in silence, not knowing what to say. he looked at me steadily in the face, pain and worry expressed in his doe eyes.

"to be honest, i don't have the words to make you feel better. i know you miss your family, baby . . . and i don't know how to take the pain away."

he looked away for a moment, before cupping my face in both of his hands. with a smile flashed on his lips, he muttered, "but i do have the arms to give you a hug, ears to listen to whatever you want to talk about, and i have a heart . . . a heart that's aching to see you smile again." he pouted upon saying the last phrase.

i immediately chuckled at his words, and seeing as to how i laughed at his remarks made him cackle as well.

"you're cringey when you're sweet," i giggled. "but it's alright, at least i'm not meeting pervkook tonight."

i lean back and look at him. "thank you, baby . . . and sorry if i made you feel bad."

he put his hand on my thigh as he starts the engine again. "never apologize for how you feel, manoban."

"arasso, but i think i deserve an apology for how you kidnapped me," i jokingly said.

"ya! i told you i asked for your boss' approval," he defended. i rolled my eyes, yet a sudden realization hit right through me.

how did he ask yg sajangnim?

but before i could ask the same question, he cut me off.

"i can only apologize in advance for the things i'll do to you," he says while grinning.

"you tryna meet the devil tonight, huh?"

"well, if it's the sexy, long-legged devil . . . then, yes."

•••

"we're here." he pull up in the front of The Shilla Seoul hotel as a parking valet signals to him. i looked around, admiring the place. it glows, opulent and gold, lawns groomed to perfection in the beam of our headlights.

i go to the trunk, but another hotel guy dressed in suit is already taking our bags out. kook looks on with a bored, irritated expression.

"thank you," i muttered.

kook proceeded to go to the reservations desk. the receptionist visibly flinches when blasted by his deep-brown-laser eyes. i turn a full circle in the lobby. its interior mostly combines traditional korean beauty and modern sensibility. everything screams expensive.

"it's something, huh?" a man in suit says to me from the bar nearby.

"it's gorgeous." i have my hands clasped in front of me like a schoolgirl. i look for kook, but i can't see him.

"it looks ever better from here at the bar," the suit guy says, gesturing me over.

"nice try," kook says sharply, joining me. he scoops an arm around me and walks me toward the elevator. at the same time, i hear an apology laugh— sorry, pal! —behind us.

"i need a fake wedding ring on you if we ever came back," he grumbles, pressing the elevator button. he then holds up a single swipe card like he's got the winning poker hand.

"why the hell would you say that?"

"i barely even looked away, then i already see some fucker flirting with my girl," he says under his breath. he's completely irritated and i found it cute.

i slid my hands to his and intertwined our fingers. "i'm completely yours, idiot. no one's taking me away from you."

the elevator doors opened and we started to head towards our room. once we found it, he swiped the card into the door handle. he instantly held the door open for me.

i reached for the lights and as soon as the room lit, a unison shout can be heard that made my heart jump in shock.

"saeng il chuk ha hae, lisa!"

i froze on my spot. i can't believe almost all of my friends are gathered in one room. my sisters — of course, bts, got7, twice, and red velvet. minnie and sorn, too.

jennie unnie hurriedly went towards me, offering seven Chanel paper bags. she hugged me tight and kissed me on my cheeks. i even heard kook grunt beside me, but jennie unnie just glared at him.

"i honestly didn't know what to get you lili, so i just bought every Chanel product you listed on your wishlist," she said, flashing her gummy smile.

"jagiya, stop acting cute. i might just kidnap and bring you into my room this instant," tae oppa butted in, patting jen unnie on the head.

"happy birthday, lisayah!" he handed me over a big gucci paper bag.

chaeng then appeared in front of me, wrapping her arms around my shoulder. "you're old, lali."

"ya! we have the same age," i spat. we chuckled at each others remarks and she gave me saint laurent.

"uri chipmunkie! i told you to not let go of my hand!" jimin oppa squealed, running towards us. "happy birthday, lisa!" he gave me the paper bag he was holding — which was Chanel, as expected.

"what is up with you girls using endearments," jisoo unnie said, appearing beside chaeng. she offered the burberry paper bag to kook, seeing as to how i was already holding several bags with me. perks of being friends with idols? receiving luxurious items, of course.

"wae unnie? don't you and jin oppa use endearments?"

"ani, simply because we're mature," she replied.

the three of us exchanged glances at each other, wondering whether we should believe what jisoo unnie claimed.

"i doubt it," kook argued.

"same," the two other men said.

"that unnie of yours is lying," yoongi oppa declared. jisoo unnie arched an eyebrow at him, causing oppa to smirk. he called out namjoon and hobi oppa, to which they immediately followed.

he leaned closer to the two hyungs of bts, whispering something to their ears. they both nodded at each other, before hobi oppa scooted over to jin oppa's direction.

"jisoo-ssi," namjoon oppa started off, "do you like honey?"

confusion plastered on all of our faces, not knowing the reason behind of namjoon oppa's sudden question. however, jisoo unnie replied.

"uh . . . yes, i like honey a lot."

jin oppa then walked closer to us, giving a peck on jisoo unnie's cheek. "i like you too a lot, honey!"

"okay, caught you kim jisoo!" hobi oppa announced.

her face blushed in an instant. she glanced up at jin oppa and smacked him behind his head, causing him to wince in pain. "pabo!" she then walked out of us the moment we bursted out into laughters. jin oppa, on the other hand, was confused as hell. but, he just followed jisoo unnie and started to act clingy towards her.

we made our way over the living room, where the others were settling. they were already holding wine glasses on their hands. twice members were the next to approach me, giving their gifts.

"told you you're the one he likes," tzuyu said as she went for a hug. i chuckled at her comment. to be fair, a lot of their shippers were presenting believable proofs.

"i second the motion here, saeng il chukahae lisayah," sana uttered — another k-idol heavily shipped with kook. "you really doubted kook's actions, huh? weren't his thai greetings enough?"

we cackled in unison. well, i never did put any malice into his thaikooks.

"and i third the motion," yeri butted in, making our laughters louder. "obviously, liskook's the most popular ship. sucks that your shippers have no idea about your relationship," she continued.

"that's alright, their fans are quite detectives," tzuyu mentioned.

"look at that, girls shipped with kook are all gathered up! rosé's the only one missing!"

we turned our heads to where the voice was coming from. of course, who else would it be other than bambam?

"ya, bambam! don't bring my chipmunk's name in there. rosekook is disgusting shit," jimin shouted across the room.

"fuck off, bam. i'll tell you to mina," sana menacingly said.

bambam simply pouted at how the others reprimanded him. he then directed towards me.

"happiest birthday, pokpak," he greeted as he messed my hair with his knuckles.

if it we're the old times, this surely would make my heart flutter. but i have kook now. he's the only one who can make me feel that certain type of happiness.

"ya! stop that," i demanded. it's been a while since we talked that much. i just didn't know how to approach him, not after how i felt for him. i guess, he never noticed that as he didn't bug me.

"three, two . . ."

kook then appeared right beside us, his aura darkening the longer he stares at bam. he swiftly let go of my hair and patted kook's back.

"what's with the countdown, kook? we're childhood friends, come on!"

"your point?" he coldly replied.

bam nervously let out a chuckle as he continues to pat kook's back. "that it's okay for me to mess her hair? we're longtime friends, kook." he paused for a moment, grinning, as if an idea struck his mind. "or . . . should we kiss to confirm if we're really just friends?" he said, eyeing me straightly.

my eyes widened in shock. i know that he only said that to annoy the hell out of kook, but damn. does he really think it's worth it? furious jungkook is scary as fuck.

"alright, that's it," kook says, removing bam's hand on him. bam then started to run across the room, to which kook chased him. they we're basically like tom and jerry.

"come here, you little twat! what did you fucking say again, huh?!"

"ya! i was kidding! stop running after me!"

i shook my head in disbelief. aigoo, grown men who act like kids.

"happy birthday!" a voice suddenly said behind me. i turned around to see who it was.

"gomawo, mingyu," i replied sweetly as i reached out to his gift.

"uh . . . i know this is a weird timing, since you're in a sorta-relationship with my friend now and it's your birthday. but i really just wanted to get it off my chest once and for all," he said, fixating his gaze to the wall.

"yeah, sure. what's that?"

"here's the thing, i really like you, lisa. or liked? i don't know." he chuckled for a bit before continuing what he was saying. "aish, if only i knew kook purposely proposed that bet to get your attention because he wants to know you more and yadda yadda, i wouldn't have agreed to it!"

i furrowed my eyebrows at him, digesting his remarks. "come again? what bet?" i asked.

"oh you know, the one where he pretends to beat up bam so that you'll barge into the room and stop him and blah blah. he actually did that for you to notice and remember him well."

i scratched my forehead. "so . . . he knew that i'd act like a madwoman?"

he nodded. "yeah. but he didn't think that you'd actually kick him. but i guess it's still fate. i mean, you're together with him after all," he said as he smiled at me.

now it all makes sense.

"oh yeah, don't tell him i told you, arasso? we swore that we'll never snitch on him," he said.

"ugh, will every man flirt with you today?" kook mumbled under his breath. "ya, mingyu, what were you telling her?"

he raised both of his hands in defense. "nothing, man. i swear! i just greeted her!"

kook squinted his eyes at him. "yeah, you're better telling the truth," he said, gritting his teeth.

i laughed at the scene that was taking place in front of me. kook and his possessiveness.

"come on, that's enough jealousy for now," i said, pushing kook forward. "let's eat now, i'm hungry."

"wait," he says, stopping his tracks. "i need to ask you something."

he faced me before turning to them. "yeorobun, may i have your attention?" they all stopped chatting with one another the moment they heard kook's voice.

"first, i'd like to greet my woman here a happy, happy birthday." he then faced his body towards me. "the woman who's overly talented, gorgeous, cute, living barbie doll, kind, funny, and all other nice traits. the woman who makes me happy in a way no one else can. the moment your eyes met mine, I got to know what heaven looks like."

he took a step closer to me and softly stared at my eyes. "i won't make this any longer. but lisa, you give me feelings that i can't put into words. you put your arms around me, and i'm home. you have my whole heart for my whole life. and i wanna live, sleep, and wake up by your side. i want all of my lasts to be with you."

he gulped and let out a long exhale, before he continues his remarks. he then held both of my hand, his eyes never leaving mine.

"so pranpriya manoban, will you officially be my girlfriend?"

the girls automatically squealed. i get them. it's not everyday you get to hear someone asking you to be his girlfriend. plus, kook's has his way with words that makes you feel butterflies in your stomach.

but the thing is, it's not that easy.

i bit my lip, eyeing my unnies in the crowd. they were smiling widely at me, patiently waiting for my response.

"uh, kook . . ." there was a brief pause for a moment. "i'm kinda' on a dating ban still . . ."

"lalisa manoban, do not ruin this sweet moment! yg sajangnim and bang pdnim already discussed about it!" jennie unnie shouted.

"and they both support your relationship!" chaeng announced as well.

"just answer his goddamn question, manoban!" jisoo unnie reprimanded. geez, they all seem boarded on the liskook ship finally.

i turned my eyes to kook, who was now fidgeting. he's nervous — it's obvious.

i chuckled at him. originally, i was simply going to reply to his proposal. however, i found my arms unconsciously being wrapped around his neck. i felt my lips crash to his soft and delicate ones. he seemed shocked for a moment that he didn't respond to my kiss.

i pulled away and glanced up at him. "yes, jeon. i'll be your girlfriend," i whispered.

"we can't hear!"

"what did she say?!"

"respect to the people at the back!"

they all wondered what my response what, but i guess kook's action answered their curiosity. simply because as soon as he heard what i've said, he put his hand behind my waist and pulled me closer to him.

"well, i'm going to keep you forever, shortcake," he tells me before pressing his lips lightly against mine. "oh," he says backing, "i got us tickets to thailand. flight would be tomorrow, let's meet your parents."

he then started to lean in again and begin to move his mouth against mine, softly plying it open. in between kisses, he mutters, "happy birthday again, baby."