Season 3_Jang Ma-eum, an orphan with a family of 13

#47_Birthday 3

"Composition machine!"

Sunyoung's eyes widened at her brother's words.


I felt self-conscious about using Jihoon's stuff every time, but I couldn't help but use it, so I looked into buying it separately, and the price was higher than I thought.


At this point, when the payment hadn't been received, it was a very expensive machine for an 18-year-old girl to buy.

“Wow, Jihoon oppa…”

When I called his name, which made me feel touched, Ji-Hoon felt awkward and quickly continued speaking.

"It's nothing. I just use mine all the time, so it's annoying."

“You’re really tsundere… Oppa, I’m a little excited.”

I smiled and giggled. Jihoon looked at me and smiled and nodded.


But that was only for a moment, as Jihoon hit Soonyoung hard and screamed.

“I told you not to say anything!”

"ah!"

Jihoon stopped him because he thought that if he left it alone, Soonyoung would get beaten to death by Jihoon.

“Know that you are alive because of your heart.”

"lol"

Jihoon shook his head as if he was pathetic, and Myeongho handed me a wrapped box.


I opened it wondering what it was and it was a peach colored frock coat with a belt around the waist and a few black buttons.


A frock coat is a coat that flares out from the waist and looks like a dress.

“I think it would look good on you if you wore it with your style of clothing.

I bought it because I thought it was just right for you.”

As expected, the clothes recommended by someone with a keen interest in fashion were different. Thinking of myself as a happy person, I put on my coat.


It was a coat that would look great worn over a white and pink striped knit.

“Okay, I was a scarf… You don’t remember, do you?”

Min-gyu asked, just in case. I smiled and shook my head. It meant I remembered, and it meant I was incredibly grateful.



Seokmin placed a small box in my hand. With a look of "Huh?" in his eyes, I opened it and found a pair of unbalanced earrings. The cube crystals made them look incredibly luxurious.

“Wow… It’s really pretty.”

The cube crystals, sparkling in the light, made the earrings shine even brighter. She smiled and said thank you.

“Thank goodness… This is my first time buying women’s earrings.

“I was so scared you might hate it.”

Even if I don't like it, I won't say it outright because I know how my brothers feel, so why were you worried? Seriously. As expected, Seventeen is a group that can't sell out.

“Have you ever given Minyoung a gift?”

“Well, you can just call me Minyoung.”

And my older sister…

“I prefer to send it with money.”

“I guess there’s no one who doesn’t like receiving gifts, right?”

“Then I should give you a present too.”

Minyoung, I did something good. I think I'll be getting a gift from my younger sister soon.

“Hey, Seokmin. This is my first time buying a gift for a girl.

“Do you think I’m the only one?”

Jeonghan placed his hand on Seokmin's shoulder and said, "Hey, Jeongyeon. You've never received a gift from your brother before, have you?"

“Honestly, I was scared too…

I also went with my mother to buy a gift.

“Because I bought what you chose.”

Still, he's a better son, Shua oppa. Since this is his first time giving a gift to a girl, everyone thinks of his sisters, but aren't mothers women?

“But you have a younger sister, Jeongyeon.”

“I gave it to you in money?”

“Try to do exactly half of what you do to your heart.

Jeongyeon also likes the clothes you gave her.

“Please treat me well.”

Seungcheol thought, "Oh?" for a moment at his brother's words. Well, it's probably just his feelings for her as a younger sibling, and his wish that his colleague would take good care of his family. But even such small feelings can become love... Anyway, this is good news for Jeongyeon.

“Oh, Min-gyu oppa has a younger sister too, Min-seo.”

“Just call me Minseo.

He's your younger brother anyway.

Anyway, do you think I can do a good job?”

When Min-gyu looked at me incredulously, I shook my head in understanding. It was 100% obvious that they were real siblings.


No, but doesn't it make you miss someone even a little when you haven't seen their face for a while?

“Your guess is correct.”

I couldn't help but chuckle at Min-gyu's playful reply. That's what a real sibling relationship is like.

“It was easy because I had an older sister.”

Seungkwan, who was next in line, took out the gift box with a happy smile.


Seungkwan had two older sisters, Bujinseol and Busojeong, and it seemed like he sought advice from them.

“Open it. It’s best to open a gift as soon as you receive it.

“Be polite to the person who gave it to you.”

It's funny to be talking about manners up to this point, but I think Seung-kwan wanted to open it quickly, so I opened the box as he told me to.

"omg…"

There was a rose gold ring inside. The ring had a shape that resembled two twisted strings, making it look pretty even though it could have been plain.


A transparent gem shone in that twisted area. I felt a little uneasy, thinking that receiving a ring from a man wouldn't be easy, but knowing it wouldn't mean anything to him, I put the ring on my finger without a second thought.

“How did you know my ring size?”

“I can tell when I compare it to my hand.

Because I know my size,

I thought I should buy a few sizes smaller.”

“Oh, so that’s why I tried it then…”

They say that's the kind of flirting that women hate. They say your hands are really small and then touch them.


I didn't think much of it, but I thought that Jeongyeon might have been shocked and disliked it, but it turned out that she was trying to buy me a ring.

“Did you choose it?”

“So-jeong, my older sister. She happened to be in Seoul on business.”

As expected. My brother's taste can't possibly be that good. Of course, if he had really set his mind to it, he could have chosen it.

“I’ll buy something for Sojung too.”

“I did buy you a pair of earrings. You asked me to.”

"You did very well. Get good grades from your sisters."

He chuckled. No matter how blunt you are, I believe you should be kind to your family, but I wonder what they think.

“I should have asked Han-gyeol too…”

If it's Han-gyeol, she's Han-sol's younger sister. Born in 2004, she'd be 13 this year, in sixth grade. If I had asked, she might have recommended some slightly childish accessories.

“What did Hansol buy?”

Hansol gently grabbed Jisoo's left hand, which had the watch she had been wearing, and affectionately put a bracelet on it.



Curious about what kind of bracelet it was, I pulled away from his hand, which was still firmly gripping my wrist. It was a gold chain bracelet, with a heart-shaped pendant hanging from its center.

“I know, it’s weird…”

“Huh? I didn’t say anything, Oppa.”

“Anyone who sees it would find it strange…”

“I like it?

“Isn’t it enough if it pleases me anyway?”

Hansol looked dumbfounded for a moment at my words, then sighed in relief and said,

"thank god."

I could clearly see how much they had thought to choose a gift I liked, just to see my smile. All I could think of was gratitude.

“Chan-i gave you a coat. Right?”

I mentally cataloged who had given what gift, and asked Chan-i to confirm. I assumed he'd already received it, but Chan-i smiled awkwardly and handed me a fancy-looking shopping bag.

“…Chan-ah?”

“That wasn’t a birthday present.

I said that because I thought you wouldn't accept it if I didn't say it like that.

“I originally bought this.”

“Wow, Lee Chan, you’re secretly romantic?”

I was worried that he might feel a little uncomfortable since he was the same age as me, but he didn't seem to care and was just waiting for me to quickly open it.



With a good heart, I opened my shopping bag and took out one of the bags inside. A milky white leather saddle bag.


It was a similar design to the crossbody bag he was wearing on the day he confessed to me, on a date that wasn't a date.


Chan-i really likes me. It's amazing how much interest he has in me.

“Thank you… I never thought I’d get two from you.”

“I told you, that’s not a birthday present…”

Chan-i, his face flushed red, looked incredibly cute. If it were any of my older brothers, he would have been confident, but he couldn't seem to do so, as if he were looking at me.

“Oh, I have a present for Jisoo oppa too.”

Are the members the only ones who feel awkward about buying gifts for the opposite sex? I felt awkward too. Even though I have a lot of male friends, we never exchanged gifts.

"this…"

Shua oppa accepted the shopping bag I offered him with a look of surprise. I couldn't understand why he was surprised, but I felt good knowing that he seemed to be secretly pleased.

“Wow! You have great taste, don’t you?

“It’s exactly the style I wear.”

“If it’s Shua oppa’s style, it’s too easy.

“You wear it just like a typical boyfriend meme.”

It was a cardigan with three chocolate-colored buttons, probably of a similar color to the fabric.

“Actually, there was something else I liked besides this,

“That was too expensive.”

Shua Oppa patted my head and chuckled.

“You gave me this as a gift, and I like it.”

It was a short speech, but it was enough to make my heart melt.

“But Jang Ma-eum, I only had 50,000 won in allowance every month.

“We celebrated each and every one of our birthdays.”

Myungho said with a smirk.

“It was truly moving.”

In fact, it wasn't even half of what they'd done for me. I used the method Chanyeol oppa recommended, but I had no idea they'd be so impressed.

“Think of me as a magpie repaying a favor.

He was already very kind to me

They even celebrate my birthday so well.

“This was the only way I could repay you.”

“No, you don’t have to pay it back…”

Seungcheol spoke quietly to himself. I could hear it naturally because I had ears, but Seungcheol spoke as if I didn't need to hear it.


It's true that I don't have to pay it back, but I guess it was out of respect that I should have done so if I wanted to.

“I found out today that you take good care of my birthday.”

No, it was sweet and nice until I gave him the gift, but why is Chan-i making a fuss now?

“Do you really have to bring that up, Chan-ah?”

"huh!"

Where did the eighteen-year-old Chan-i, who used to blush with embarrassment, go? He had become my friend Chan-i again.

“Oh really…”

I let out a small exclamation of annoyance, but Chan-i just smiled brightly. I thought his smile was silly, but it seemed so pure that I found myself laughing along with him.

“Hansol, oppa, what you said was right…

“I think I’ll just wait for my birthday now.”

“You succeeded. You lost your time.

“I’m glad I got some of it back.”

Hansol's words didn't waver in the slightest. Furthermore, perhaps because Jihoon was the one who wrote the lyrics alongside him, his words themselves were incredibly emotional.