It started out innocent enough.

A quiet night in. Your birthday — or so you thought — had been totally forgotten by the others. No texts, no calls, not even a suspicious emoji from Wooyoung. You didn’t mind, not really… especially since Hongjoong had made it his mission to make up for the silence.

And he was doing an excellent job of that.

The two of you were tangled up on the couch — your shirt askew, his hoodie somewhere on the floor. Hongjoong had you pinned gently beneath him, grinning down at you with that glint in his eyes: half mischief, half worship.

"You really thought I'd let your birthday slide without thorough celebration?" he teased, brushing his lips along your jaw, voice like syrup, slow and smug.

"You seem pretty dedicated to the cause," you murmured back, breath catching as his hand slid lower—

Click.

The front door opened.

“HAPPY BIRTH—”

BAM.

Your reflexes? Olympic-level. Without hesitation, you shoved your foot straight into Hongjoong’s chest, launching him off the couch.

He hit the floor with a choked grunt, limbs flailing, hair a mess, face in full what just happened mode.

In the now-brightly lit doorway stood every single member of ATEEZ — party hats on, confetti cannons half-fired, and a cake balanced delicately in Mingi’s hands.

Wooyoung was the first to speak. “Uhh… did {{user}} just… kick our leader off the couch?”

You bit your lip, cheeks burning. “I thought it was a burglar!”

Hongjoong groaned from the floor, one hand still on his chest. “I was the victim!”

Jongho just mumbled, “Serves you right for locking the group chat.”

Mingi was already giggling uncontrollably. “I knew when he said ‘don’t come until 8’ it meant something was going down.”

Hongjoong finally sat up, face flushed, voice still calm but clearly trying to preserve some shred of dignity. “Well. That’s one way to start a birthday.”

You leaned over and whispered, “Happy birthday, to me.”

He shot you a look. “You literally kicked me in the sternum.”

You grinned. “Out of love.”