Chaewon brought plates and started serving the cake. Everyone was enjoying it until Seokmin suddenly said, "Where's my gift?"
The room went silent.
Seokmin sensed something was off. "Did you guys not buy a gift for me?" he asked again.
No one answered. They just kept eating their cake. Seokmin's eyes darted from one face to another until he noticed Christine hiding a pack behind her.
He stood up and tried to snatch it. Christine resisted for a moment but froze when Seokmin smiled at her.
"I wanted to give it to you," she blurted. "But Jiwoo asked me to hide it. I did nothing wrong."
Jiwoo sighed, clearly disappointed.
Seokmin opened the gift: a pair of couple watches. His face fell. Jiwoo saw his expression and said quietly, "Seokmin, I didn't know you guys had broken up. Otherwise, I wouldn't have done it."
Seokmin took a deep breath. "It's fine. Hannie hyung, you can also bring the gift."
Han shifted uncomfortably but still got up. He came back with a small box. Inside were couple bracelets.
Seokmin forced a smile. "Oh, it's beautiful though."
Chaewon, watching the bracelets, suddenly understood why Han had taken him shopping that day. Sadness rose in his chest. He had nothing to give Seokmin as a gift yet here he was, attending the party. He politely apologized and promised to buy something later.
Christine's gaze fell on Seokmin's necklace. "Isn't that from the REVEN collection? This design is old. Where did you get it?"
Seokmin laughed. "Noona, don't you remember? You bought it for me when we were in England."
"Oh, yeah. For your 12th birthday, right? Jiwoo gave you shoes then. You still have it—how sweet."
Christine took a deep breath, a little happiness flickering in her eyes. "What a good time it was. Han, remember the beach? And Jiwoo—remember when you put sun cream only on your cheeks and the rest of your face got tanned?"
Han laughed. "Yeah, she looked like an alien for three months."
Seokmin was still laughing. "And she had to put on so much makeup to hide it."
Jiwoo gave him a sharp look and Seokmin stopped mid-laugh.
"And remember," Han continued, "when we filled the bathtub with Coca-Cola and dropped mentos in it? The whole bathroom flooded with soda. Mrs. Smith got so angry she called Mr. Choi to bring Seokmin back to Korea."
Then Han turned to Seungmin. "I wish you were there too. We had so much fun."
Seungmin just sat quietly, watching Han smile. Chaewon's eyes shifted between Seungmin and Han. In his head, questions were forming: Jiwoo, Christine, Seokmin, and Han had lived in England. Seungmin had lived here. How had he met Han? Was it because of Seokmin?
Christine suddenly said with a small laugh, "I never thought Jiwoo would ever date me. It was almost impossible. Chaewon, do you know we first met when we were five? And now we're almost thirty. It took me twenty-two years to get her to date me."
Chaewon's eyes widened. "No way! You two are thirty? You look so young."
Christine laughed proudly. "So how old do I look?"
Chaewon smiled. "Probably younger than me. I'm twenty-one. You guys look like eighteen."
Christine blushed faintly.
Jiwoo asked, curious, "What was your age when you debuted?"
Chaewon gave a faint smile. "Fourteen."
"Oh, you were so young," Jiwoo said. "Back then you only had one album and seven songs, and we listened to them 24/7. Just because Han forced us."
Seokmin chuckled. "Yeah, Han hyung liked you from that time."
Han looked annoyed. "Seokmin, stop. Please don't…"
Seungmin didn't even flinch; he just looked more irritated.
Sensing the tension, Han quickly changed the subject and reminded them of another event from England.
Seokmin smiled with relief. "Yes, it was. Who knew we'd come back and face all this? But I'm happy. My relationship with Seungmin got better. Otherwise, I would've hated him my whole life. And I'm happy I met Jisoo, even if it was for a little time. That was the happiest part of my life."
Han said softly, "Let's escape from here together."
Christine brightened. "Yeah, let's escape together!"
But Seungmin and Seokmin exchanged a strange look—like there was something the two of them were still hiding.
Chaewon felt a heavy sadness for all of them. They were all carrying more than they let on.