Chapter LXXXVI - Max’s Birthday

“Pepsi or Coke?” Arthur asked, glancing over at Amelia as the two stood in the middle of a store.

“Definitely Coke,” she said, pushing the cart closer.

“Alright,” he placed it inside and looked over at the shelved sweets.

Amelia and Arthur headed to town to buy groceries the girls forgot while they shopped for Max’s gift; meanwhile, everyone else was back home enjoying the party they threw him.

“I believe we have enough now,” Amelia chuckled, looking at the nearly full cart.

“Want me to push it to the counter?”

“No, I like it.” She giggled, leaning into it.

When they were about to pay, Arthur took out his debit card, but upon swiping it, it got denied.

“Try putting it in and use the PIN,” said the grocer.

“Okay. . .” Arthur pushed his card in and typed out the numbers before pressing the confirm button.

Amelia wasn’t sure why he insisted on paying in the first place, but he beat her to it so she didn’t argue.

“Sorry. Declined again,” the grocer said, returning Arthur his card. “Will you be paying in cash?”

“Here,” Amelia took out her credit card before glancing at Arthur, noticing he was confused.

“Thanks,” the grocer said after the card got approved, returning it to Amelia.

The two walked back to the car with the cart still loaded.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Yeah. . . Just confused I guess. There should be more than enough on here.”

“Maybe it expired?”

Arthur looked at the date while Amelia slowly loaded the trunk.

“Nah. It expires in a year,” Arthur said, letting out a sigh and taking his phone out. “Sorry for not helping. I just need to send my grandpa a message.”

“No worries. Just take your time.”

“Thanks. . .” he said, taking a step away.

Arthur - Hey just wanted to ask if everything’s okay back home and to tell you that I had a strange thing happen to me at the store just now. The card you gave me got declined for some reason. I’m confident I didn’t spend the money on it. It worked before. Sorry for potentially worrying you over nothing.

“Ready to go?” Amelia asked after seeing Arthur put away his phone.

“Yeah. Let me just put the cart back.”

The two eventually drove back home, and Amelia could feel Arthur’s uneasiness. She tried to help, but there wasn’t much to say since he hadn’t gotten a reply. However, as the two left the car and were ready to rejoin the others, his phone pinged.

It was a message from Ryung.

Everything’s fine. I called the bank and there has been a problem that they’ll try and resolve quickly. I’ll try and get you some money as soon as I can. Do you have enough right now? - Ryung

Arthur - Don’t hurt yourself over it. We’ll be fine.

Love you. I’ll get it fixed soon. - Ryung

Turning off his phone, Arthur looked visibly confused, but since he didn’t know how everything worked exactly, he stopped questioning it and placed his trust in Ryung.

The music was so loud that they heard it before even reaching the house, and stepping inside was no different. Everyone hung around the living room, talking about what they’d do until the end of the summer, and the first years danced around as if they were at a concert. Arthur found the liveliness comforting.

Irene eagerly awaited their arrival, rushing over to Arthur as he carried the bags. Taking some of them away from him, she planted a kiss on his lips but quickly noticed that despite coyly smiling, there was something wrong.

“Everything alright?” Irene asked, following him to the kitchen so they could put the bags down.

“I’m not sure,” he said, handing her the phone with messages between him and Ryung already open. “My card got declined and I’m not sure what’s wrong.”

“Well, the money isn’t a problem and there’s nothing we can do from here, so you shouldn’t worry about that right now,” she said, returning the phone before wrapping her arms around him. “Besides, it’s Max’s birthday, so let's just enjoy it and talk after the party, okay?”

“You’re right,” he said, hugging her. “Did you girls give him the gift yet?”

“No way. We had to wait for you two. Thanks for going instead of me.”

“There’s no need-”

“Stop, stop! You’ll burn the meat. . .” Tjay’s yelling interrupted Arthur as he and Max were in the middle of grilling meat on the deck.

“Just cuz you’re a caveman that doesn’t like properly cooked meat doesn’t mean that the rest of us have to suffer, now does it?” Max fired back. “Besides, I didn’t see you rushing to the grill before I took charge. Do you even know how to cook?”

“What? I know how to cook!” Tjay yelled.

“Sure you do Tae-Hyun,” Max grinned.

“You still keeping that up Moon-Hee?”

“Like I’d ever allow you to win at something.”

“Wanna bet?!”

“You’re on!”

Everyone laughed as they went back and forth.

“It’s amazing that they’ve been at it for almost two days now,” Arthur told Irene as he sat down on a barstool while she poured them drinks.

“I give them a week at most,” Irene said with a bet in mind.

“No way,” Arthur commented, glancing over at her. “I say they keep at it until we go back home.”

“Want to bet on who cracks first as well?”

“It’s gonna be Max,” Arthur said confidently. “Tjay is too invested.”

“I disagree,” Irene leaned closer. “I’ll say Max outlasts him, and whoever loses the bet has to plan our next date. Agreed?”

“You’re on,” Arthur smirked as the two shook on it.

Irene immediately started plotting as she walked out on the deck and pulled Max closer, whispering in his ear. Arthur hadn’t expected her to make a move like that but patiently waited for her to return, probably with a smug grin.

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“Huh? Why would I-” Max said out loud, but Irene pulled him in again to confirm what she said. She eagerly waited for his response as he pondered her offer. “Sure. You got a deal.”

They shook on it.

When she returned and Arthur asked what was that about, but she kept quiet saying it was a secret between the two. All he could do afterward was let out a sigh and hope he wins. Regardless of what she told Max, Tjay wasn’t going to get influenced, and as long as he kept being stubborn, there was no way he could lose to Max.

Time flew quickly with everyone having fun, and after their big meal, it was finally time for the present.

It was agreed upon that Iseul would be the one to present him with the red-colored box, and as they sat him down on the couch, she handed it over.

“Hope you like it,” Iseul said, sitting down next to him.

“Can’t believe you guys bought me something,” he looked genuinely surprised.

“Did you really think we wouldn’t?” Nabi spoke up, sitting next to Hyun who kept staring at the fruity cake Iseul made.

“But we’re on vacation and I. . .” Max wanted to say something but stopped himself short. With a smile he switched his focus on the gift, unwrapping a vintage-style instant camera that left him gazing awed. He took it out of the box before quickly turning to Iseul. “No way. . . You remembered me looking at them almost a year ago when we went out with our parents?”

She simply nodded with a smile, allowing Max to give her a tight hug that almost left her breathless.

“So, what’s the difference between that camera and the ones on our phone?” Arthur whispered to Irene.

“Cameras typically have better quality and instant cameras like these print out the photo as soon as you take them.”

“Oh, that’s cool.”

Max took the camera and the first picture he took was of Iseul sitting by his side. When it came out, he held it in hand, waiting for it to appear.

“Doesn’t shaking it make it so it appears faster?” Ari asked.

“You should never shake it because it could ruin the picture,” Max explained. “It’ll take about ten to fifteen minutes for it to appear. Anyone else wants to have a picture taken? Art, Irene?”

“Sure,” Irene pulled Art in, wrapping her arms around him.

Arthur just went along with it, placing his hand around her waist, allowing her head to rest on his chest. With a quick snap, another blank photo appeared. Afterward, everyone took turns taking pictures and the most notable being Tjay’s solo pose as a warrior with a broom in hand and a bucket for a helmet.

“Hey,” Sophie asked Max, leaning over his shoulder as he was still sitting on the couch. “Want to take a selfie with me?”

“Sure,” Max said, trying not to sound too eager.

“They would look cute together,” Irene whispered, but realized Arthur wasn’t listening as he was intently focused on the slowly appearing pictures they took prior. She let out a sigh and mumbled, “How can he be so oblivious sometimes?” letting out a chuckle.

In the end, they all had fun taking pictures that once they finally appeared looked dazzling enough to spark a conversation about how Max should try being a photographer. Max explained that it was one of his hobbies but he never thought about making a career out of it. When asked why not, he said that he wanted to help run the family business and that photography was just something on the side he enjoyed. The girls were stunned by the photos and kept asking him to take more once they went back to school.

“I wouldn’t mind taking a few photos of you,” Arthur teased Irene, leaning on her shoulder.

“Maybe we could have a private shoot then?” She offered, pinching his cheek. “But you’ll have to get my good angles.”

“That’s easy enough,” he whispered into her ear. “They all look stunning.”

Irene didn’t know what got into him, but it was enough to get her blushing.

The party continued with loads of drinks, karaoke, board games, and other goofy ideas that in the end resulted in everyone going for a swim late at night. Arthur felt uneasy knowing that some of them were drunk and trying to go into deeper water. Even Irene who typically avoided getting drunk, got a bit tipsy, clinging to Arthur once they were in the water, constantly jumping on his back and forcing him to carry her around.

Things got especially crazy when Tjay came up with the idea of the girls climbing on top of their shoulders to wrestle. Arthur was initially against it, but with everyone else up for it, it was hard to refuse. However, to make it fair, they put names in a bowl to determine the teams for the tournament.

With only five boys and seven girls, Yeona and Amelia used it as an excuse not to participate. Each team was going to go against one another until a team got two losses after which they were eliminated. It wasn’t the best plan, but being drunk meant it was as good as it would get. To make it as fair as possible, to determine who competes was completely left to chance.

“Max,” Amelia called out to him. “Since it’s your birthday, draw the name of the girl you’re paired up with.”

He approached, taking out a folded piece of paper. “Nabi. You’re on my team.”

The crowd cheered, as Nabi stood by his side.

“Up next, Arthur.”

He too approached, shuffling the papers around before pulling out a name.

“Me and. . . Irene!” he cheered excitedly, a bit in disbelief over the one in four chances.

“Okay, you fated lovebirds, step to the side and let Don pick next.”

“Do I have to?” Don asked, a bit tipsy.

“Come on, Don. You can do it!” Ari cheered.

“Fine,” he mumbled, grabbing a piece of paper. “Sophie.”

She rushed over to his side, but Don instantly felt pressured to perform well even though his physical ability wasn’t nearly as good as the others.

“Let’s do this!” Sophie gave him a high five, taking another sip of her beer, a bit tipsy already.

Sophie out of everyone was enjoying the freedom of letting lose during the summer break, something that made Arthur feel overjoyed, but he hoped she’d tone down on the extravagant drinking once they returned despite her never getting wasted.

“Alright, with our next two teams we shall be doing a simultaneous draw.” Amelia announced. “Tjay, Hyun, stand beside me and pick your names.”

With only Iseul’s and Ari’s names in the bowl, the two faced off agreeing on their picks.

“You read it,” Tjay said, allowing Hyun to call out the final team.

He opened it up and read, “Ari.”

“So that means Iseul’s with me,” Tjay said, grinning at Max.

Max wasn’t too thrilled about him carrying his sister on his shoulders, but he couldn’t complain since the girl Tjay liked and her boyfriend were right next to him.

“Let’s crush them,” Iseul said, tapping Tjay on the shoulder.

“Now let’s draw our first match!” Yeona said, pulling out two papers with the guys’ names. “Arthur versus Hyun!”

They went into the water and mounted up, ready for the contest to start.

“Alright, listen up. Rules are simple,” Amelia said, getting in where the water reached just above the waist. “If either of the girls falls or one of the boys gets submerged completely, that team loses. Understood?”

Nodding in agreement, their match was ready to start.

It wasn’t as spectacular as everyone expected it to be since Ari panicked the moment Irene grabbed her wrist, managing to pull her to the side, making both Hyun and her go under; however, it had everyone laughing in tears as Ari let out a squeaky scream.

Next up were Don and Sophie against Hyun and Ari. It seemed unfair that Hyun and Ari had to go twice in a row, but that was the downside of a luck-based tournament. Everyone expected Don and Sophie to lose as Hyun prepared to knock Don over, but to everyone’s surprise, their lack of teamwork backfired, resulting in Hyun diving under as Ari pushed him forward to catch Sophie while he was off balance. In the end, the two teams never reached each other, and Hyun was eliminated.

With four teams remaining and the only rule being that a team was eliminated upon accumulating two losses, it remained a complete mystery as to who would win in the end. Nabi tried to reassure Hyun that it was okay, but he wasn’t happy losing to Don and Sophie.

For the third match, it was Don and Sophie against Arthur and Irene, but the match ended the moment they reached each other as Irene took a dive, allowing Sophie to knock her over. Everyone was shocked, especially Don, but Arthur knew the truth since she told him she wanted them to win as she mounted up. However, now they had a loss under their belt, putting them at risk of being eliminated.

The fourth match was Max and Nabi against Tjay and Iseul, teams that nobody expected.

“You’re going down Tae-Hyun!” Max yelled while Nabi looked wobbly.

“Big talk for a small man Moon-Hee,” Tjay returned fire but stopped as soon as he felt a chilling gaze.

He looked up and instantly regretted saying that with Iseul on his shoulders. Her cold stare made him want to dive under before they even began, but her focus on winning was greater than getting in between their weak banter.

“Ready?” Amelia asked. “Go!”

The battle between Tjay and Max was intense, but it was ultimately decided by Iseul who skillfully managed to shove Nabi back, resulting in Max’s first loss. Even on his birthday, no mercy was shown.

The relentless competition continued throughout the night with only a few breaks in between resulting in the final showdown being Max and Nabi against Don and Sophie. Tjay’s team unluckily fought against Arthur twice and lost while Arthur’s and Irene’s second loss was against Max and Sophie after Irene accidentally fell over. She was a bit too tipsy to be moving around like that.

“Enjoying your birthday?” Sophie asked, standing side by side.

“Probably the most fun I’ve ever had,” he said, smiling as he gazed in the distance before glancing back at her.

“Too bad it’ll be ruined once we beat you.”

“No shot.” he chuckled.

“We’ll see. . .”

“Alright, enough talking and more wrestling!” Yeona yelled, getting them ready to compete for the crown they made from the box the camera came in.

With Nabi on Max’s back and Sophie on Don’s, they stared at each other, ready to attack.

“Begin!”

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.