Blog

Viki stood staring out the window.  She watched as an opaque rivulet of water meandered down the windowpane.  Why was it raining?   Today was her eighth birthday.  It was supposed to be special, right?  After all, eight was the number of new beginnings, so today was to be the start of something fresh and exciting.  But she had awoken to rain tapping on her windowpane.

She sighed.  She liked rain but not on her birthday!  What if she wanted to play soccer today with her friends?  Now they couldn’t unless they wanted to brave the damp grass and dripping heavens.  She shook her head.  Ah, well, it was a school day anyway.  Why couldn’t tomorrow be her birthday instead?  It was a Saturday.  Then she would have been free to play all day long.  She guessed her birthday couldn’t be perfect.

Viki dressed herself hurriedly in her favorite pink dress before heading to the bathroom to fix her hair.  She stood in front of the mirror, staring at her reflection.  Big, brown eyes gazed back at her.  The waterfall of her beautiful, raven hair fell just far enough to brush her shoulders.  She combed it up and back before sliding a pink ponytail holder over and around it.  There.  She had pulled her midnight hair into a perfect ponytail.  She smiled at herself.  She looked really cute today.  Now it was time to eat breakfast.

“Happy Birthday, Viki!” greeted her big sister, Andrea, as she entered the kitchen.  

They definitely looked like sisters, but Andrea’s hair was shorter, falling down to frame her face adorably, and she wore glasses.  Five years also separated them, but they were close, nonetheless.  Viki adored her older sister.  Andrea was very fond of the cute eight-year-old too!  She was hoping to do something special for her sister today.

Viki inhaled and grinned.  Her mom had made her favorite breakfast for her birthday!  The scent of freshly baked cinnamon rolls wished her, “Good day!”

“Happy Birthday, baby!” her mama hailed her.

—

After breakfast, they piled into their little car and headed for school.  Suddenly, her favorite BTS song came on.  She grinned broadly as she sang Dream Glow along with her older sister.  She belted out one of her favorite parts along with Jungkook.

“Always feeling something bigger, something real wild…”

Would today reveal something bigger in her life?  Maybe even something real wild would happen to her.  She didn’t know why, but she felt anticipation building.  She was giddy with an inexplicable excitement.

“Keep on shining.  Make it brighter than a spotlight.”

Viki smiled.  Those were some of her favorite lyrics.  She imagined herself at a concert waving her ARMY bomb around as she watched Namjoon rap on the stage to another of her favorite songs, Seoul.  But then she was distracted from her daydream by the chorus, and her sweet, clear voice filled the car.

“Sometimes I stop and stare-ere-ere-ere.  Follow my dreams right there-ere-ere.  Dream glow-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh.  Glow-oh-oh-oh-oh.  Sometimes my dreams come true-ue-ue-ue.”

That was funny because today was a day for making wishes.  Perhaps some dream of hers would come true.  She couldn’t wait to see which one!  A few minutes later, she waved goodbye to her mom as she entered the doorway to her school.

“Happy Birthday, Viki!” Her best friend ran up to her and handed her a present.

“Ooh!  For me?!”

“Open it!”  Her friend’s eyes were wide with excitement.

Viki tore the wrapping paper off to find a sketch pad and a lovely set of colored pencils hidden inside the package.  Her eyes grew round as she turned toward her bestie.

“Thank you so much!”

“I know you love to draw!”

They grinned at each other as they headed for class.

—

Viki was bored.  The teacher was droning on about multiplication.  Viki wished she could read a book instead of doing math.  Or better yet…hang out with Namjoon.  She pulled the colored pencils and sketchpad out of her backpack and began to sketch his face.  

Suddenly, she heard rain drumming on the roof.  Namjoon wasn’t with her, but the rain was.  Her forever friend.  She sighed.  She wished Namjoon could be her forever friend instead.  She tilted her head to stare out the window.  Rain was streaming towards the ground in a steady downpour.  She watched it for several moments.  Feeling suddenly drowsy, she closed her eyes as she entered another daydream…

She, her sister, and her mom had gotten floor seats to the BTS concert.  They were standing now in anticipation of it beginning.  Any moment Namjoon would appear on the stage with the other six.  She was so excited she could hardly breathe.  

Just then, the sets on the stage began to emerge. The boys’ faces began to appear on the big screens.  Namjoon was the third one.  She was reeling with excitement!  She would see the living, breathing Namjoon very soon!  

Then music started and more pictures flashed across the screens for a few moments.  Suddenly, streams of fire exploded from the front of the stage, and all the screaming girls cried out louder.  More beautiful pictures of the boys were splashed across the screens.  Then more streams of fireworks erupted from the stage again.  

While the smoke was still clearing, the music to Dionysus started up.  It was followed by a volley of fireworks, one amazing explosion after another.  She had to wait patiently for a couple more minutes through the intro, but then the boys instantly appeared when the sea of white-clad dancers parted to reveal them seated on a platform in the middle of the stage.  A few moments later, Namjoon commandeered the vocals, and he was there in front of her, striding across the stage towards her as he rapped some of the lyrics to Dionysus.  She screamed…

“Viki, what is fifty-six divided by eight?”

She was awoken from her daydream by her teacher’s strident tones.  At least the answer was her favorite number, the number of BTS.  She answered confidently, “Seven.”

—

Viki slid her tongue along the freezing, chocolate ice cream to prevent it from dripping onto her pink dress.  She and Andrea had both ordered their favorite ice cream flavor, chocolate.  She smiled at her sister over her ice cream cone.  It had been Andrea’s idea to bring her here for her birthday.  She wanted to hug her thoughtful, older sister.  

The door to the ice cream shop opened, the bell hanging over it tinkling as several voices raised in joyful laughter embraced Viki.  She enjoyed the sweetness of her icy treat on her tongue until those voices broke through her reverie again.  Her eyes grew large.

Wait a minute!  She knew those voices!

She spun around in shock as her eyes took in all seven of the Bangtan Boys!  What was BTS doing in her hometown?!  Immediately, she found their tall leader.  He was, of course, at the front of the pack as they assembled themselves around the glass cases searching for ice cream.

Viki spun back around to stare at Andrea.  

“Andrea!  Our bias is here!  Look!”

Both girls turned to stare at the boys in wonder.  After a moment, Viki decided she better not waste any time.  Andrea decided to follow her, though a bit more sheepishly.  She wanted to meet Namjoon too.

Tae pressed his nose against the glass as he teased, “Namjoon, I’m looking for your favorite.  Don’t worry!  I’ll find mint chocolate chip for you!”

Namjoon grimaced.  Tae knew he hated mint chocolate chip ice cream.  Instead, Namjoon ordered a cone with Neapolitan.  He loved the blend of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice creams.  His mouth was already watering as he looked forward to the sweet treat. 

After the clerk handed him his cone, he turned around to find a pretty, young girl with big, dark eyes and shoulder-length black hair smiling up at him.  

“Hi, Namjoon,” she greeted him in a quiet voice.

He grinned down at the cute girl.

Viki swallowed as she looked up and up and up to find Namjoon’s face.  He was so tall.  But his grin was as wide as he was tall as he smiled down at her.  His dimples were peeking out at her too.  How she loved those dimples!  He was even cuter in person than on TV!  

“Well, hello.  What’s your name?”

“Viki.”

“Hi, Viki.  What brings you to the ice cream parlor today?”

“It’s my eighth birthday,” she responded, brimming with excitement.  Was she really talking to Namjoon?

“Happy Birthday, Viki!  What a special day!  I’m so glad I got to meet you on your birthday!”

Namjoon glanced up at her sister, who was hanging back a couple of feet behind her.  “And who is this pretty girl?” he asked as he smiled at Andrea.

“That’s my sister, Andrea.”

“Hello, Andrea,” Namjoon greeted her as a shock of his golden blond hair fell across his eye.

The six other boys crowded around them, all licking their ice cream cones. 

In Korean, Tae whispered into Namjoon’s ear, “You found a sweet kid!”

 As Jin took a bite out of his vanilla cone, he questioned the girl, “You know BTS?”

She nodded vigorously.  “I know all of you!”  She pointed at Namjoon as she recounted, “Namjoon,” then she went around the circle, one by one, “Jungkook, Jimin, Tae, Jin, Yoongi, and Hobi.”

“Wow!  You do know us all!” Hobi exclaimed.  “I’m impressed!”

“I love you guys!”  She turned towards Jungkook.  “Dream Glow is my favorite song.”

Jungkook smiled at her.  “Always feeling something bigger, something real wild.  Keep on shining.  Make it brighter than a spotlight.  Sometimes I stop and stare-ere-ere-ere.  Follow my dreams right there-ere-ere.  Dream glow-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh…” he sang softly to her, closing his eyes as he was transported someplace else. 

She’d followed her dreams, all right.  Or had they followed her?

“Glow-oh-oh-oh-oh.  Sometimes my dreams come true-ue-ue-ue…” his breathy voice trailed off, and he opened his eyes as he smiled at her before licking his cookies ‘n’ cream.  His disheveled, raven locks were falling into his obsidian eyes.  He reached up to slide his fingers through his hair, pulling it back away from his forehead, but the rebellious strands fell right back into his eyes again.

“Ohhhhh!  Feel special, Viki!  Used to be we could hardly ever get this guy to sing to us!  And his first words to you were a song!  You must be something remarkable!”  Jimin reacted, mostly in Korean, so Namjoon had to translate.

She smiled at Jimin.  Then she turned shining eyes up to Namjoon.  “But you’re my bias.”

Once again, he found himself smiling down at this adorable girl.  He wanted to reach out and make her ponytail dance with his fingers.  Instead, he took a bite out of his cone.  Viki grinned up at him as a rivulet of melted chocolate ice cream slid down his chin.  She ran to get him a napkin.  She carried it back to him.  

As she held it out to him, Namjoon replied, “I’ve got ice cream on my chin, don’t I?”

“Yep.  Right here.” She pointed to the right side of her chin just below her mouth as Namjoon took the proffered napkin and swiped it across his entire chin. 

“Thank you,” he bowed down towards her, his grin making his dimples dance at her.

She laughed.  “Your dimples are cute!”

It was Namjoon’s turn to laugh.  “Thank you, Viki!  You’re pretty cute yourself.”

She beamed up at him.  Was she dreaming?  Should she pinch herself to find out?  No.  That would ruin the moment.  She hated being pinched.

“Are you busy tonight?  Would you like to come to my birthday party?”

Namjoon raised his eyes to meet her mother’s before glancing back down at Viki.  “Where is your party at?”

“At my house.  We’re just going to eat dinner.  But there will be chocolate cake!” she exclaimed, her dark eyes going wide again.  “It’s my favorite!”

“That is very kind of you, but we have dinner plans.” As he watched the girl’s face fall, he added, “But maybe I could stop by for a few moments after dinner?”

Her eyes lit up as she raised the head that had fallen in disappointment a moment before.

She nodded vigorously.  “Let me give you my address.”  Then she very precisely recited it.

“Perfect.  Maybe around 8:30?  Will that work?”  Once again Namjoon’s eyes sought out her mother’s.  She nodded at him as she smiled, then he looked back down at Viki.  “See you then, cutie!”  He glanced at Andrea.  “You too?”

She nodded, and he grinned again, sending Andrea’s heart racing.  He was so gorgeous!  And his dimples had curtseyed to her before he’d pivoted for the doorway.  Yep!  They were definitely illegal.

Viki sighed in bliss as she watched the Bangtan Boys leave the ice cream parlor.  What had just happened?  Oh!  She couldn’t wait for eight-thirty!!!

—

Viki hadn’t been able to sit still all evening.  She was driving her sister bananas.  

Andrea finally exclaimed, “Viki!  Let’s dance to Dream Glow.  You’ll get your fidgets out, and I’ll retain my sanity!”

Perfect.  Viki loved to dance.  Especially to Dream Glow.  They turned the song on in the living room, and Viki counted the minutes passing on the clock as she danced.  It was 8:11.  Namjoon would be here any minute.  She hadn’t even tasted her chocolate cake because she was so excited.  She’d get to see him again!  It was so unbelievable that she’d met him once.  It was absolutely impossible to fathom that she’d get to see him a second time in one day.  She had known today was going to be a special day!

She twirled and whirled, spun and pirouetted before she collapsed in a pile on the living room floor.  Was her heart going to explode?  She couldn’t seem to calm it down.  She just wanted to see Namjoon again.  As she lay on the living room floor, staring up at the ceiling, a knock sounded on the front door.  She flew up and ran to answer it.

Namjoon was standing outside, his face turned away from her as he looked down the street.  At her greeting, his face swiveled back towards her.

“Good evening, Viki!”

“Hi!  Come in!”  She backed away, so he could follow her into the house. 

Once she had shut the door, he turned towards her, “I hope you had a great birthday today, Viki.  I have a little something for you.”

Namjoon handed her a beautifully wrapped box.   It was covered in shiny, pink wrapping paper.  Someone had tied a neat bow onto the top with sparkling, pink curling ribbon.  The bow was formed by joining two loops, appearing like a figure eight resting on the top of the beautiful box.  Two long curls of the iridescent ribbon cascaded down from the center of the figure eight, giving the impression that the gift had grown some shiny hair.  Viki smiled in appreciation and anticipation as she received the gift from Namjoon.

She stared down at the gorgeous gift box for a few moments before she opened it.  It was the loveliest present she had ever received.  She could hardly believe that Namjoon had given her a gift on her eighth birthday!  It had been exciting enough to meet him, but to know that he had taken the time to shop for her too!  What a kind man he was!  No wonder he was her bias!

Slowly, she slid her finger under the tape that held the two sides of the pink wrapping paper together around the box.  How had Namjoon known that pink was her favorite color?  She separated the two sides of the paper, and as they fell away, she discovered a square, white box underneath.  She carefully lifted the small lid to reveal a necklace nestled in a bit of synthetic cotton padding.  Viki then reached inside and drew a silver chain from the box.  Hanging from the middle of the necklace was a delicate, silver figure eight.  She gasped before looking up at Namjoon.

He smiled as he informed her, “Did you know the figure eight is also called an infinity symbol?  I thought it was the perfect gift to give you on your eighth birthday.  This necklace is a sign that you and I will be friends forever.”

Viki grinned up at him.  “Thank you,” she breathed.

“May I help you put it on?”  Namjoon’s dark eyes were staring earnestly down at her.

She nodded and turned her back towards him after handing him the chain.  Namjoon opened the clasp as he strung the necklace around her neck.  He dropped the link into the clasp before releasing it.  Then he let go, and she turned to look at him, the figure eight nestled into the hollow at the base of her throat.

“It’s perfect,” Namjoon commented.  “You look beautiful.”

Viki beamed from cheek to cheek.

“Happy 8th Birthday, Viki!”