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The next morning, Nurlena lay in bed watching as the morning light began to peek through her shades.  It crept slowly into her room, eventually illuminating more than just one small corner.  That glowing light reminded her of BTS.  In the beginning, their lives had lit up a tiny corner of the world.  But now they had become a bright and burning flame that had spread across the whole earth.

She smiled as she finally crawled out of bed.  Today was her birthday.  A few minutes later, she stood before her mirror and contemplated her reflection.  She had always considered herself to be just an ordinary girl.  Her eyes judged her face as less than pretty.  

But in truth, she was quite a beautiful girl.  She had a round face; her complexion was a glowing light brown.  Her straight, midnight hair fell a few inches past her shoulders.  Her sculpted eyebrows barely arched over her great, dark eyes.  Her nose was flat and slightly broadened at its base, but it matched her face to perfection.  Her smile was wide and full, her lips stretching into a lovely curve often.  Her grin revealed a gorgeous set of straight, white teeth.  She was, all in all, a captivating beauty.  And her personality matched her countenance.  She was sweet and easy to please.  Full of laughter and light.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t judging herself that kindly this morning.  She frowned at the little zit in the corner of her chin.  She missed the amazing youthfulness of her complexion.  She had just turned twenty-five, but she appeared to be a girl of sixteen.  She frowned at her reflection.

Most likely no one would remember that she was celebrating a birthday today.  She hadn’t reminded anyone this week.  She was far from home today.  She thought of her old school friends and wished she could celebrate with them.  But then she shook herself, reminding herself that she was now living her dream.  To work at Big Hit.  To be Taehyung’s friend.

She was living many a girl’s dream.  Spending her birthday helping Tae compose a song for BTS’s new album.  Of course, they both knew that she was little more than a scribe.  Tae was creating the song; she was simply writing it down.  But it was still amazing to be the first person to hear it!  And to be included in his process.

She skipped joyfully out of her apartment as she headed for work.  She hadn’t eaten breakfast this morning.  She was too excited.  She was eager to see what Tae came up with for a chorus.  Perhaps they’d eat lunch in the garden today.  That would be nice.

As she stepped out onto the roof a half hour later after a staffer had informed her that Tae was waiting for her in the garden, her eyes were wowed by the brilliance of that little paradise today.  So many flowers were in bloom this bright May morning.  As she squatted down to smell some, a little dog barked and came running towards her.  The most adorable brown and black Pomeranian pup came bounding up to her.

Her face lit up into a huge grin.  “Well, aren’t you just the cutest thing ever?” she cooed as she reached out to pet it.

The tiny pup yapped again and danced in front of her.  She giggled.  “What on earth are you doing up here?” she murmured as her eyes scanned the garden.  “And where is Tae?”

“I’m over here.  Guarding your banana cake from two hungry pups.”

Her banana cake?  Two hungry pups?

Nurlena wandered across the roof towards the apple tree.  Tae was sitting on the wooden swing, gliding back and forth, another little Pomeranian in his lap.  Lena glanced down at the banana cake in the seat next to him.  

He beamed up at her.  “Happy Birthday, Lena!”

She grinned down at him.  “Tae!  You remembered!”

“Of course, I remembered!  I wouldn’t forget my friend’s twenty-fifth birthday.”  His eyes moved to the tiny dog in her arms.  “Do you like the pup?”

She nodded.  “She’s adorable.”

“What are you going to name her?”

She squinted down at him for a moment.  At a loss.  “Name her?”

He nodded.  “She’s your birthday present.”

Nurlena gasped.  “You bought me this cute, little dog for my birthday?”

His smile grew wider.  “Of course.  I know how much you love Yeontan.  So I decided to get you a pup just like her.”  Then he bent his head to bury his face in Yeontan’s fur.  “See, sweet girl, I told you that you had nothing to be jealous of.  That cute pup is going home with Lena.  Your place as my queen is secure.”

Until he takes a wife, that is.

But Nurlena didn’t say anything.  She just continued to shine down on Tae.  Her lips quirked in humor.

“So…what’s her name?”

“Tatayeon” came her quick reply.

His eyebrows flew north.  “That was awfully fast.  I think you must have pondered naming a dog before.”

She bobbed her head.  “Yes!  And you probably figured out where I got the inspiration for her name too.”

Tae snickered.  He began to speak in dulcet tones to his little dog.  “See that, Yeontan, you and Tata have already inspired the creation of a brand new name.”

Tae’s laughing eyes met hers a moment later.  “Want some banana cake for breakfast?”  He glanced around.  “I won’t tell anyone.  It is your birthday, after all.  I think everyone should eat cake for breakfast on their birthday.”

“What a delightful idea!”

She bent to retrieve her cake before taking its place on the glider.  Next to her friend, Tae.  She turned towards him.  

“Thanks, Tae, for remembering my birthday.”

“What are friends for?”  He grinned at her.  “Now.  Are we going to sample that cake?  Or are we going to let the dogs beat us to it?”

“No way!” Nurlena held the little pup up under her chin before burying her face in its warm fur.  “This little dog is so adorable.  I love her!”

The feeling seemed to be mutual.  The tiny pup snuggled up against her chest a moment later as she used her free hand to cut a slice of the cake that had come to rest on her lap.  Conveniently, Tae had supplied her with a knife and two plates.  She served him a slice before cutting herself one.

“Shouldn’t you get the first slice since it’s your birthday?” he queried.

The corners of her mouth twitched.  “I was taught to serve others first.”  She popped a bite of banana cake into her mouth a moment later and closed her eyes in bliss.  “It’s so good, Tae!  Try some!”

So he did.  And if he happened to pull a chunk off to feed to a certain little “queen” a moment later, no one but Lena noticed.  Well, that wasn’t quite true.  A certain tiny pup also took notice and yapped at her new owner.

“Oh-ho, Tatayeon!  You think you should get a bite too, hmm?  All right.  But just one.  It is my birthday cake after all!”  

She held a morsel of cake out to the little dog, and her bright pink tongue retrieved it a moment later.  Lena laughed as she watched the tiny pup enjoying her treat.

“You should have a birthday every day,” Tae commented.  “It’s such a blissful reason to take a break.”

“You don’t even take a break for your own birthday!  We need to get back to work.  I want to hear the chorus of your new song.”

Tae sighed.  “All right.  A poet’s work is never done!”