Chapter 44
Eric POV
The long awaited day finally came.
And since I got back with Laurel… this was the first birthday since she found me where I woke up without her beside me, staring at me and saying:
"Live long and prosper, Eric."
For some reason, the realization stayed with me longer than it should have.
There wasn't much to do, so I remained in my room for almost an hour after waking up before finally heading to the bathroom to get ready.
The air felt different today.
Like the world itself was trying to tell me something came with this new age.
Maybe it was because this was the beginning of adulthood.
Or maybe because deep down, I knew things were already changing.
When I stepped out of my room, I immediately froze.
Laurel was standing close to my door.
"What are you doing here?" I asked quickly, walking toward her almost immediately. "You should be resting."
She nodded slowly before glancing downstairs.
I followed her gaze
And stopped.
The entire place was decorated.
Everyone was there.
"Happy birthday!"
Their voices echoed together, and before I realized it, I was already smiling.
"You planned this?" I asked, looking at Laurel.
She nodded.
Then she spoke quietly.
"This is the beginning of real life, Eric. The beginning of change. The stage where you start learning how to fight battles early."
Her eyes stayed on me calmly.
"In this life, I wish you nothing but happiness and greatness. My wish for you is to live a sweet, long life filled with prosperity while achieving everything you want."
My chest tightened.
"Aria would be so proud of who you've become," she continued softly. "I'm sure she has the biggest smile right now."
My vision blurred slightly.
"Silly boy," Laurel said with a faint smile. "You're an adult now. Why are you still crying?"
I didn't even realize tears were already falling.
Who would've believed that even while she was sick… she would still be planning my birthday like this?
"Thank you, Laurel," I said quietly before hugging her tightly.
"I can't breathe properly," she complained immediately.
I pulled back fast. "Oh sorry."
That made her laugh softly.
"Let's go downstairs."
She nodded.
The moment we got downstairs, Seo Hee was the first to walk toward me.
"Happy birthday," she said brightly.
"Thank you," I replied.
"I got you something."
"Oh? What is it?" I asked immediately.
"Open it."
The moment I did, my eyes widened.
"No way…"
Inside was the Prada crossbag I had wanted for years.
They only made ten every year.
"What?" I said in disbelief, staring at her. "You didn't forget? It's been so long since I mentioned it."
Seo Hee grinned proudly.
"I know. I knew you'd like it."
Then Kang Dae walked forward.
"Happy birthday," he said. "And congratulations on your first day officially being an adult."
He handed me his gift next, though I hadn't opened it yet.
Before I could say anything else, the doorbell rang.
Eun Woo stepped in first, followed by Taemin and Nari.
"Good morning, sir," Eun Woo greeted politely before handing me his gift. "And happy birthday."
"Thank you. Come in."
"Wow," Nari said excitedly while placing her gift into my hands. "Happy birthday. We honestly didn't know what to get you, so we just picked this."
"Thank you," I said sincerely.
One after another, everyone handed me gifts.
Everyone except Nicholas.
I didn't know why… but for some reason, I had expected something from him specifically.
At the very least
A happy birthday.
But he simply sat there, focused on his client call like everything else around him didn't exist.
And somehow…
That irritated me more than it should have.
Laurel, who had been quietly observing everything, finally walked toward us.
"Laurel finally has an excuse to do something while she's still sick," Kang Dae joked.
But the sharpness of Laurel's smile immediately shut him up.
"Let's eat," she said calmly.
Then I stopped her.
"Laurel… these are my friends. Nari and Taemin."
"Nari, Taemin… this is my sister, Laurel."
"It's nice meeting both of you," Laurel said smoothly. "I hope I can rely on you two to take care of him."
Both of them nodded immediately.
"And," she added, "treat me like an older sister too, okay?"
That made Nari smile instantly.
After a while, everyone moved toward the dining room, but Nari stayed behind beside me.
Her eyes drifted toward Nicholas briefly before returning to me.
"Is that the person you're moving in with today?"
I blinked. "How do you know?"
"You keep zoning in and out of his direction," she said casually. "Besides, nothing escapes these eyes of mine."
I frowned slightly.
"So what happened?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "He's usually noisy. Even without events like this. But today he's just… quiet."
Nari looked at me carefully.
"Why do you care?"
I immediately looked at her.
"Don't get me wrong," she continued calmly, "but you said he's noisy, and now you're bothered because he's quiet. Plus, he's not even calling you a kid today. Isn't that supposed to be a good thing?"
I stayed silent.
Because somehow… I hated that she made sense.
"If you really want to know what's wrong," she added, "then ask him. Or ask your sister."
"I don't care," I answered almost immediately. "And I don't want to know what he's thinking either."
Nari only smiled slightly.
"Okay then. Let's go eat."
We walked into the dining room together.
After lunch, everyone slowly started leaving one by one.
Lee Joon left first.
Then Kang Dae.
Not long after, Nari and Taemin stood near the entrance.
"See you on Monday," Taemin said before walking out.
Soon, only a few people remained.
Nicholas.
Eun Woo.
Seo Hee.
Laurel.
And me.
I went upstairs to pack my things since I would be leaving with Nicholas soon.
After packing, I walked toward Laurel's room.
But stopped outside the door.
"…a company wants to partner with me," Nicholas was saying inside, "but I feel something is wrong, am so sure of it."
I knocked lightly.
"Come in," Laurel answered.
The moment I entered, Nicholas stood up immediately.
"I'll wait downstairs," he said quietly.
I nodded before sitting beside Laurel.
"Missing me already?" she teased.
I laughed softly.
"Thank you," I said quietly. "For today… and for everything you've been doing."
Her expression softened.
"Silly boy," she murmured. "If I can't do things like this for you, then what's the point of having all of this?"
I lowered my gaze briefly.
"I want you to take care of yourself too."
She paused.
Then slowly held my hand.
"And," she said carefully, "don't fight with Nicholas."
I nodded.
"You should rest well too."
Then I stopped for a second before smiling slightly.
"This new version of you is surprisingly scary. In a good way."
That made her laugh quietly.
When I walked downstairs, Nicholas was already standing beside his car.
"Eun Woo will drop your car off later when he leaves," he said.
I nodded.
Then he reached for my luggage.
"I've got it," I said immediately. "Thank you."
I placed the luggage into the trunk before getting into the car.
Nicholas remained standing outside for a few seconds before finally entering from the other side.
The silence inside the car felt strangely heavy.
Even if he didn't prepare a present…
Would it really have killed him to at least say happy birthday?
And the fact that he was still acting like everything was normal somehow annoyed me even more.
But I couldn't back out now.
I already promised Laurel.