wild polka dot woman!

You picked up your phone, his name lingered on your contacts a little too long. Should I call him?

You two haven’t talked since ages ago. But now that he’s an idol and you’re a hard-working office woman, you two rarely had time to connect, even when he went back to visit.

Before, he would visit regularly—monthly, or even more than that. But after a few years, things became tough. And K-pop just took sail overseas and brought him along.

Though it was a success… the success, to you, currently lies on that cake you’ve secretly ordered for him. Shipped right to the doorstep.

A Kinder Bueno cake.

His favorite. Well… at least maybe it used to be. You also left a little note hidden beneath the cake. Jammed and glued to its bottom. It read:

20 years of no talking nor contact. But a special thank you to birthdays—you might’ve bought something alive again. Happy birthday, Joonie!

Him, on the other side, never missed a single news about you. Always asking, always checking in—never directly, but always. He missed you.

So when he received a random cake on his doorstep, he never thought it’d be you. Maybe some random thoughtful fans. But never you.

You were in his I-miss-her-but-I-don’t-think-I-can-get-her-back list.

But he also knew another thing: you never left his She-is-always-in-my-heart list.

Namjoon stared at the cake for a long time, like it held the answers to every question he didn’t dare ask. His room was filled with balloons, presents, gifts, letters, luxurious goods… but his eyes were stuck on the small handwriting glued underneath the box.

He read it once.

Twice.

A third time, slower.

And then his throat closed up.

Namjoon wiped his face quickly, shaking his head. “I can’t believe she’s just someone I used to know,” he whispered.

Someone I used to love, he didn’t say.

Namjoon was a person for studies, always responsible. So love didn’t touch him much. Until you came along.

Your eyes sparkled when you realized he was going to the same class as you. Extra free tutoring, you called it.

Then it technically became a thing. After-school library study evenings. Late-night bickering. Early morning school races. All a part of what made his heart swell more when he had to leave.

Years would pass. He would still visit, but the amount of times clearly decreased. Not that he wanted it to—no. He was too busy.

So to have all these memories of you—the person he loved and was apart from for 20 years—rush back just because of a cake…

A cake was all it really took.

On your side, the decision to call him burned a hole in your chest. Should you? Should you not? What if he ignored it? What if he changed his number? What if he forgot you?

But before you could spiral further—

Your phone lit up.

Incoming call: Kim Namjoon.

Your heart actually stopped.

“Hello?” Your voice shook.

“…It’s you.” His tone was low, almost disbelieving, almost… soft. Like saying your name hurt but healed him at the same time.

“Happy birthday, Joonie,” you whispered.

There was a long pause on the other end. He was probably smiling. You could imagine it—the tiny dimple forming on his cheek like it used to when you gave him your last piece of candy during study nights.

“Twenty years,” he finally said. “And you send me a cake before a text?”

You laughed through the tightness in your throat. “It was safer that way.”

“Safer for who? You, or me?”

You didn’t answer. Couldn’t. Because deep down, you knew the answer was both.

“You know… it’ll be cool if you can come by when I visit.”

“Yeah, it’s just… adulthood, I guess.” You sighed.

You could hear him sigh on the other line as well. You both were grown enough to look back and see how much had passed. And you both were also fond enough of that past to tear up.

A reunion, you thought, wouldn’t sound half bad.

A reunion with a past study buddy wouldn’t be half bad.

A reunion with a past love would definitely not be bad at all.

And a cake was all it took.