My second chance to love! [YiZhan FanFiction] ✔️

~24~ Failed birthday surprise

~24~ Failed birthday surprise

I smiled, handed everyone a piece of cake and then put a piece on my plate. It was my late husband's favorite. Not mine. Every bite I ate, I had to swallow hard and with every further bite, my throat tightened more and more painfully. I had to fight against my tears. They meant it well.

When there was a knock at the door, I jumped up, my mouth still full of cake and fighting against the nausea that was coming up, I went to the door and swallowed this bit as well. I opened the door and Hae Jin stood there. He smiled and his eyes wandered to the table in my kitchen. He looked at me with big eyes and my tears came.

"I'll bring Zhan back soon." He said as he reached around the corner, grabbed my jacket and put it on me, he put his arm around me and took me with him. As soon as we were in the car, I couldn't hold back my tears and cried. When Hae Jin started the engine and drove off, I saw Yibo standing at the entrance and how he stared at me.

Hae Jin took me to the amusement park, this time it was full and all rides were open.

"We'll spend a few nice hours here and then I'll take you home, okay?" He asked me and I nodded. I was so grateful for him showing up and taking me with him. And before we left his car, he wiped my face clean with a few wet wipes. " They only meant it well." He said, and I nodded.

He told me that he had written a message to Yibo and explained it to him so he wouldn't have to worry. That reminds me, when did they exchange numbers?

We visited some rides, bought a hot dog and had fun. While we were taking a break, Hae Jin asked me, "How have you been lately?" I told him I was better, especially since I'm with Wang Yibo.

"That means you like him?"

"Yes, I do, in a way. But it's still too early to say anything. I met him on Monday and know very little about him."

"I think he could be really good for you and that he likes you very much."

"Mn. He told me that he has feelings for me."

"Really? Well, that's great."

Somehow I didn't feel like talking about Yibo. Still, I said, "Maybe this can work out between me and him. I mean, he's great and he cares a lot. He respects me and doesn't push me into anything."

"He probably knows you're not over the death of Joon."

"Yes, he does. And he seems to understand it, too. He wants to help me deal with death." I replied, tired. Why was I so tired again? I looked up at the cloudy sky and knew that soon the first drops would fall.

And as grey as the sky looked, that's how I felt today. Everything seemed to be so exhausting since we came back home from the cemetery earlier. And even now, when I feel better, I feel exhausted, tired and weak.

I lost the desire to try some more rides, so we went back to Hae Jin's car. As soon as I sat in the car and felt the warmth of the heater that Hae Jin had turned on specially for me, my heavy eyelids closed and I fell asleep. It was a heavy sleep as if I hadn't closed my eyes for days.

When Hae Jin woke me, we were back in front of my house. It was already 6 PM and my parents' car was gone. I guess I will have to call them tomorrow at the latest and apologize. Hae Jin accompanied me upstairs. I was still totally tired and could hardly keep my eyes open.

I unlocked the door and Yibo came towards me, he took me in his arms and apologized to me. I told him that it wasn't his fault, he couldn't have known. But still he looked guilty and held me close. Hae Jin came in, told Yibo where we were and had a cup of tea with us. I went to my bed and lay on it, closed my eyes and tried to sleep. I heard Hae Jin explain the situation to Yibo again.

"This was all just too much for Zhan. At that time Joon proposed to him on his birthday and then the cake that was Joon's favourite cake. Zhan did not celebrate his birthday for the last two years because it is a painful memory for him. His parents actually know this, but they probably thought, now that he has you, it's all forgotten and he'll go on as if nothing happened."

"I see. His mother hit her forehead with her hand and said she'd completely forgotten why Zhan stopped celebrating this day."

"How can his mother forget such a thing? I mean, Zhan had always had a hard time with them. I feel sorry for him. Then and now."

"But they seem very nice."

"And they are. But look at what they did to Zhan. Imagine if they told him all his life that he should be alone and never trust others. He had no friends at school because he was too scared. All he had was his home, his parents and learning. He had always been lonely, frightened and full of distrust. Until he met Joon and he brought Zhan out of his isolation. He changed Zhan and showed him that the world is not only black and white, it's a multicoloured world."

"Mmm, I heard that too."

"Well, anyway. I hope he becomes the Zhan he was when Seo Joon was alive. Keep helping Zhan, because I haven't seen him as happy as when we were all at the beach a few days ago."

"I'll do my best, I promise."

That's all I could hear until I fell asleep. When I woke up, Yibo was next to me, his face on my neck and his arms wrapped around me. His shallow, steady breathing told me he was asleep. Carefully, I tried to loosen his grip and get up. But the more I tried, the tighter his grip became.

"Don't go ZhanZhan, stay here." He muttered.

"I must go to the toilet." I explained and Yibo released me. Slowly I crawled out of my bed and ran to the bathroom. I passed the kitchen. Yibo had tidied up and cleaned up. I stopped briefly at the refrigerator and prepared myself for the sight of the cake, but it was not there, as I realized with relief.

When I came back from the bathroom, I froze violently and immediately slipped back under the blanket. Yibo looked at me and I smiled. "Thank you." I said and he nodded.

"Mm. I guess this was a bad birthday surprise."

"Yes. But it's not your fault."

"I know. I still feel bad. I should have known the minute I saw the look on your face when you saw that cake."

"Don't blame yourself. We've only known each other a week. We're just getting to know each other." Even though I feel like he's known me a long time and maybe even better than I know myself.

Yibo stroked my cheek and kissed the tip of my nose "I'll make it good again ZhanZhan. But now let us sleep. And later we'll figure out what great things we can do."

"Mn. Sleep tight Yibo."

"You too, my ZhanZhan." Yibo whispered in my ear and gave me a long, tender kiss.