Blog

He returned home and pushed open the door.  He didn’t even bother to call out to anyone.  He just assumed they were all still gone.

“Happy Birthday, Jin,” Yoongi’s mellow voice greeted him.

“Is it?” Jin asked as a mighty shiver ripped through him.

One dark eyebrow ascended as Yoongi’s face went blank with surprise.  “Isn’t it?”

“Well, all I’ve got to show for it is a bunch of empty boxes.  I haven’t even had breakfast yet.”  He set his twin boxes down on the coffee table.

“Empty boxes?” Hobi echoed.

Jin walked across the room and into the kitchen.  When he stepped into the room, he found all six of his boxes still lined up on the island.  Tae, Jungkook, Jimin, and Namjoon were sitting at the table.  Yoongi and Hobi had followed Jin and now moved farther into the kitchen to congregate around the island.

“You guys gave me a bunch of empty boxes for my birthday!” Jin scolded them all.

“What?” Yoongi looked completely confused.  “We did not.  They’re all filled with something.”

“They are not!” Jin ejaculated.  “Look!”  He walked across the kitchen and grabbed the first box.  He didn’t even bother to remove the lid before he tipped it upside down.  The lid fell off as another box tumbled out onto the countertop.  Jin stared at the pumpkin package in alarm.

“That was not there before!” he exclaimed.

“Yeah.  Right,” Yoongi muttered.  “I hope you didn’t break it.  That one was from me.”

Jin’s eyes grew wide.  “How would you know?”  

He stared at the six identical boxes and wondered if his friend had taken leave of his senses.  Had his surgery addled his wits?  Perhaps the anesthesia had messed with his brain.  Just a smidge.

Jin reached for the second box and removed the lid to pull out another smaller box that was wrapped in the same orange paper.  He repeated the process four more times until he had set all the inner boxes on the top of the island.  They looked like so many cubic pumpkins all lined up in a row.  Half a dozen orange boxes mocked him.

He glanced up at the guys.  “These boxes were empty an hour ago!”

“Sure, they were,” Tae intoned as he bobbed his head in disbelief.

“Yeah.  We believe you,” Jimin responded, sounding like he didn’t believe a single word Jin had said.

Jin pressed his lips together.  “You ALL know they were empty.  I bet each of you planted one around the house before you left me alone here.  To freeze in my frustration.”

Namjoon’s eyes went wide.  “You think I broke the heater?”

“I wouldn’t put it past you,” Jin grumbled.

Jungkook snorted.  Then he spun away and coughed to cover his laughter.

Jin narrowed his eyes.  “Jungkookie, I think you just gave the game away.”

Jungkook coughed again.  “What game?”  More coughing.  “I think I need a drink.”  He walked to the fridge and opened it.  Scanning it for banana milk.

Hobi suddenly danced right up to the island.  “Jin!  What are you waiting for?  Aren’t you going to open your presents?”

“Why?  So I can find more empty boxes?  No thanks,” he mumbled as he walked out into the living room.

Half a dozen surprised faces all exchanged looks.  Of alarm.

“Is he mad at us?” Jungkook asked.

“I think he’s playing the game now.  It’s called revenge,” Yoongi opined.

“Yeah.  He wants us to think he’s mad.  And that he thinks those boxes are empty.  We pranked him.  So now he’s pranking us,” Jimin explained.

Namjoon looked after Jin.  “Perhaps.”

“What do we do now?” Hobi asked.

“Let’s just wait a bit,” Tae offered.  “After all, we are giving him what he asked for…”