Ch.138Chapter 138. Happy Birthday (5)

“Hyuuk?! Hack! Jinsoo…! Save me!”

I deliberately ignored the desperate screams coming from the bedroom.

If you just sacrifice a little, our home will be peaceful.

Endure it, Cuss.

“Let me check the grocery list first.”

While the two of them were showering, I decided to go buy cooking ingredients.

This is supposed to be a party, and I didn’t think the ingredients in the refrigerator would make for a decent menu.

By the way, what was that dish Ms. Juliane said she would make?

She mentioned using ingredients that couldn’t be found in regular supermarkets.

“Hmm…?”

On the bed in the bedroom.

There was a note lying next to Ms. Juliane’s coat.

Who writes notes by hand these days?

I’m someone who uses the memo function on my phone.

Curious, I unfolded the crumpled note.

“Ah…”

This could work.

I glanced toward the bathroom where the sound of running water was going “shhhh.”

Cuss’s screams had stopped, suggesting she’d gotten used to Ms. Juliane’s touch.

Or perhaps her throat was too hoarse to make any more sounds.

“I should get a surprise too.”

I took the note and left the room.

***

“Ah… ahhh… hehe…”

“Juliane… be careful not to drool.”

“Mm! Mmm! Don’t worry!”

I couldn’t close my mouth as I sat behind Cuss, who was wrapped in a towel, drying her hair.

Cuss is depending on me.

Entrusting me with her hair.

She’s even showing her tail.

Could I possibly be any happier…?

Oh? Is her tail swishing a little?

That’s a sign she’s feeling good, right? Right?

“Don’t touch it.”

“…”

Just as I was about to reach for her tail, I froze at her firm voice.

Does she have eyes on her back too…?

But I’ve seen Jinsoo playing with her tail whenever he’s bored.

I want to reach that level soon too.

I want to touch and nuzzle her tail whenever I want.

Ah. I’m drooling.

“Okay, done. Shall we get dressed now?”

“Mm…”

“Ah! Wait! Your feet aren’t completely dry yet!”

Only after drying her small, pretty feet did I let her go.

Then Cuss trudged off to her room, still tightly wrapped in the towel.

By the time I was putting on my underwear in the bedroom, Cuss had already gotten dressed and walked out.

Those Dol-something shorts I bought her…

She must like them.

She’d probably be happy if I bought her a few more.

These thoughts kept making me smile.

“Jinsoo! You can go shower now.”

“…”

“Huh?”

Is Jinsoo not here?

I peeked out after hastily putting on a T-shirt.

He really wasn’t there.

“Juliane. Jinsoo left a note.”

“Where?”

It was true.

There was a folded note on the table…

I quickly ran over and stood next to Cuss to look at it.

It said he’d gone grocery shopping and would be back soon.

But this paper looks familiar.

When I flipped it over…

“Aaaahhhh!”

“Eek?! What’s wrong, Juliane?”

“This…! This is the note where I wrote down the recipe!”

“You scared me… It’s nothing serious.”

“Ah! I was planning to surprise Jinsoo with it!”

Tears welled up in my eyes.

It was frustrating to think that all my shopping at that distant place had been for nothing.

But I guess it doesn’t matter if he knows now.

It’s not like I can prepare that dish anymore anyway.

Thinking about it that way made me feel a little better.

“That’s good. Today we can eat Jinsoo’s cooking instead of Juliane’s.”

“Huuung…”

It was a bit sad that Jinsoo had to cook on his own birthday.

How is this any different from him celebrating alone?

“Mmm. No, that’s not right.”

Even if I couldn’t prepare a surprise, I could still sincerely celebrate with him, and Jinsoo would feel the warmth.

It would be much better than spending his birthday alone.

Even without preparations, I’ll make this an unforgettable birthday party for Jinsoo tonight.

“Cuss. Shall we put in some effort?”

“Mmm…?”

“To create a party atmosphere!”

I rolled up my sleeves enthusiastically, but then

“Ah.”

“…”

I froze after opening the box of miscellaneous items.

There were only two mini firecrackers worth using.

I was sure there had been balloons, strings, and other things in here before.

Perhaps we had used them all up last time, as all that remained were odd scraps.

“What should we do…?”

Oh my.

I had resolved to give Jinsoo an unforgettable birthday.

Should I give up on the party and try to win him over by wearing a maid outfit and removing all my prosthetics?

But the doctor said it would be better to rest for now…

What should I do…?

“Juliane lacks creativity.”

“Huh?”

“I learned about this creativity thing at school! Let me show you my abilities!”

“…!”

Cuss is smiling confidently!

She must have some idea!

I thought that maybe we wouldn’t have to give up on this party after all.

***

It was night, and the sun had already set.

Though it was a bit late for dinner, we were just about to start cooking.

Both of them must be hungry.

I was standing at the front door with the box when I felt it.

“Hmm?”

I had a strange feeling.

They must have prepared something.

Or maybe they’re waiting to surprise me.

It was obvious.

They’re probably crouching by the door, ready to jump out when I open it.

With mini firecrackers.

Go ahead and try.

I flung the door wide open.

“…?”

But the entrance was empty.

Just as I thought my prediction was wrong—

Swoosh!

“Ugh.”

Colorful paper strings fell on my head from above.

Damn. A trap set to fall when the door opened.

“Happy birthday, Jinsoo!”

“Happy birthday! Jinsoo!”

Pop! Bang!

While I was trying to clear the strings blocking my vision, mini firecrackers went off, and more paper strings hit my face.

After clearing my eyes, I saw Cuss and Ms. Juliane standing there with mischievous smiles.

I was surprised.

They got me good.

But I thought we had used up all the paper strings at Cuss’s menopause party.

What’s this?

“Is this… made from A4 paper?”

“Yes!”

“Hehe. It was my idea.”

Looking closely, I could see they had cut A4 paper into long strips.

They had even colored them in various colors.

I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity.

I dropped the paper strings and stepped inside.

“Wow…”

An unbelievable sight unfolded.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY” stuck on the wall.

And a mirror ball on the table, scattering light in all directions.

All of these…

“They’re really shabby…”

They were incredibly crude.

Both had terrible handwriting, so the letters were very crooked.

I could read “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” because I knew what it was supposed to say, but a stranger might not be able to read some of the letters at all.

And as for the mirror ball, they had poked holes in paper and put a flashlight inside…

Did they think the light would take on the color they painted around the holes?

I had momentarily forgotten that Ms. Juliane was a humanities major.

“Ugh… We could have prepared more.”

“We couldn’t do more because Jinsoo came back early.”

But quality wasn’t what mattered.

I could see they had done their best despite their terrible aesthetic sense.

I approached Cuss and Ms. Juliane, who were looking down and a bit dejected, and gave them a tight hug.

“Thank you. You really surprised me. Shall we start the party now?”

“Ah, yes. Um, about the cooking…”

“You had something prepared, right?”

“What? But my preparation was for lobster… You saw the note, right?”

“That’s why you should follow that recipe. Cuss and I will wait.”

“…?”

Ms. Juliane tilted her head in confusion.

Understandably so.

Lobsters aren’t sold at nearby supermarkets; you have to go all the way to Costco.

But lobster dishes are possible even without lobsters.

I opened the box and took out what I had bought.

“Ta-da.”

“That’s… not lobster, is it?”

“That’s right. It’s king crab. They’re similar enough. The same recipe should produce a similar taste.”

“Ah…! I never thought of that!”

Ms. Juliane’s expression brightened.

Until now, whenever she tried to modify recipes on her own, it only resulted in disasters, so she probably never thought of substituting ingredients.

But the difference between lobster and crab was small enough to work with.

“Then I’ll wait with Cuss! I’ll make it quickly!”

Ms. Juliane easily lifted the box and headed to the kitchen, while Cuss and I went to the living room.

The recipe for this dish…

I don’t know it either.

I only glanced at the ingredient list on the note before buying them, not the detailed cooking instructions.

Apart from helping with the heat control since crabs and lobsters are different sizes, and cleaning the shells, I really didn’t do anything.

“It’s ready!”

“Wow…!”

When the finished dish finally came out, Cuss let out an exclamation.

The smell was incredibly good.

Butter, cheese, and the distinctive aroma of crustaceans made my mouth water.

The crab meat covered in melted cheese looked absolutely delicious.

“I made a sauce too. Try dipping it.”

“Mmm…”

I picked the largest leg, dipped it thoroughly in the sauce, and put it in my mouth.

I couldn’t help but widen my eyes as I ate it.

The crab meat that melted in my mouth, the rich cheese, and the slightly sour sauce all went well together.

It was hard to believe this was made by Ms. Juliane.

I would have believed it if someone said it was from a restaurant.

“It’s really delicious… Wow. I didn’t expect it to be this good.”

“Cuss? How is it? Hm? Hm?”

“Delicious! It’s a taste that makes you want to keep eating!”

“Hehehe…”

I used the leftover crab shell to make fried rice with the innards.

At first, Ms. Juliane was reluctant to use the shell as a plate, but when Cuss started eating without hesitation, she followed suit.

Since it’s a dish that can’t help but be delicious, the response was good.

The party itself might have been a mess, but tonight’s dinner was a huge success.

The meal ended quickly, and soon it was time to bring out the wine.

“It’s almost time.”

The three of us sat side by side on the sofa.

Ms. Juliane leaned on my shoulder.

Seeing that, Cuss snorted and tightly hugged my other arm.

We used the cake that had arrived this afternoon, sent by the company.

“Happy birthday, Jinsoo.”

“Congratulations on Earth returning to the orbital position it was in when Jinsoo occurred.”

At exactly midnight.

As the hour and minute hands aligned, sweet voices flowed in from both sides.

Had I ever received such a grand birthday celebration?

I briefly wondered if this was actually a dream.

Am I allowed to be this happy?

I blew out the candles on the cake.

“Thank you, both of you. By the way, when is your birthday, Ms. Juliane?”

“Oh, mine is still far away. It’s March 2nd…”

“I see.”

It had already passed when we weren’t yet in that kind of relationship.

There were already more than six months left until her next birthday.

“When is Cuss’s birthday?”

“My birthday?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Hmm. When I occurred, there was no other intelligent life form around to record the date according to the Gregorian solar calendar.”

“So you don’t know? How about we decide now?”

“…”

Silence followed.

Cuss’s birthday.

I hadn’t thought about it before.

But if the adoption application goes through, we’ll need to register her birth, so we should decide on a birth date in advance.

“How about today, Cuss? If we make it the same day as mine, we only need to have one party, which is convenient.”

“What’s that, Jinsoo? How can you decide so casually?”

“July 7th.”

Cuss blurted out.

July 7th?

“Why that day specifically?”

“Just because. I like that day.”

“That date has already passed. If we want to have a birthday party, it should be after today.”

“I still prefer July 7th.”

“You’re so stubborn…”

“If Cuss likes it, then July 7th it is.”

Deciding your own birthday…

That’s a bit fresh.

And so Cuss’s birthday was suddenly set as July 7th.

Without any meaning.

‘Is there really no meaning?’

I decided to think about it carefully.

Nothing happened on July 7th this year, so that’s not it.

What about last year?

What was I doing on July 7th last year?

Probably drinking at some casino and playing Texas Hold’em.

No, I shouldn’t think from my perspective, but from Cuss’s.

On July 7th last year, Cuss…

‘I don’t know.’

There was no way to know what she was doing.

I reunited with Cuss around February this year.

Wait. Reunited?

Then the day we first met…

‘Ah.’

I remember it clearly.

The day I came down to Earth.

That was definitely July 8th.

So the day I first met Cuss would have been the day before, July 7th.

The day Cuss took over that girl’s body and first met me…

Kid. She remembered that.

“Mmm…”

I grabbed Cuss’s shoulder and pulled her closer.

I wrapped her cool arm to warm it up.

Oh, come to think of it, there was something else on July 7th.

“Ah…”

“What’s wrong, Jinsoo?”

“Nothing. Shall we make a toast?”

“Sure.”

“Me too! I want to clink glasses too!”

“You can only have a little.”

I had forgotten until now.

As we clinked our glasses together, I couldn’t help but laugh.

July 7th. It was none other than Marie’s birthday.

What a coincidence.

“Hmm…”

I took a big swig of wine.

Maybe it’s because I’m drinking with family on the best day.

It was too sweet, way too sweet.

“Jinsoo… this is grape juice.”

“What?”

Ugh.

No wonder it was excessively sweet, damn it.

What kind of crazy person sells grape juice in a wine bottle?