Your birthday was supposed to be normal this year. Cake, music, friends laughing too loudly in your apartment — the kind of celebration that didn’t leave you thinking about him.

Him.

Yoichi Nagumo. Your ex. The one you hadn’t moved on from, no matter how many months had passed.

Your friends knew it. They’d heard enough drunken rants and late-night calls to put the pieces together. But tonight, they didn’t bring him up once. They just ate, drank, and left you with a pile of wrapped gifts in the living room.

All except one.

A massive white box sat in the corner, almost chest-high, with a giant red ribbon tied around it. No note, no explanation. Just a casual reminder from one of your friends as they left: “Open that one last, okay?”

You didn’t think much of it — until the door shut behind the last guest and the apartment fell quiet.

You crossed the room, pulling at the ribbon. The lid lifted—

—and a pair of sharp black eyes stared back at you.

“Surprise,” Yoichi drawled, voice muffled around the gag tied over his mouth.

You froze, heart slamming in your chest. He was inside the box. Hands tied behind his back, legs bound, a neat bow sitting crookedly on his shoulder like he was some kind of… present.