You and Micah are putting balloons up for his birthday.

You slump to the ground, exclaiming, “Arghh!! I’m so sorry, I’m such a klutz, I didn’t think work would keep me this long today! I feel so bad having you help me put these up!”

“What? Seriously, it’s okay. I like doing stuff like this with you. It’s not about being planned, it’s just about hanging out together and I appreciate the thought you put into it—,” he pauses to look around, “Green and pink balloons? Is there any other way to tell me that you’re utterly obsessed with me?  You wanna show me you know my favorite color and how it matches with your favorite color sooooooooooo bad.”

You smile frown. It’s so sweet that he noticed but you feel like an even bigger jerk for not having everything ready for him. You give him a little pouty, “I love you. Thanks for noticing.”

“Ofcourse, angel. You know that I just love mundane domestic things anyways, I really couldn’t ask for a better birthday.” He glances to the side, smiling deviously, “Plus, doesn’t this make me look like the most caring, understanding boyfriend ever? God, I’m just cream of the crop when it comes to being a good boyfriend, aren’t I?”

You scoffed and chuckled at him, amused by his audacity, “You’re so silly.” 

After tying the last balloon, he grabs you by the waist and plops a birthday hat on your head and puts on his “HAPPY BDAY” shades on.  Holding you close in a hug, he plants a kiss on your head. You see him fumbling on his phone behind you and the song “Ordinary People” by John Legend plays.

You can't help but giggle at him as he takes your hand and dances with you. You’re in the kitchen of your apartment, but you can’t help but feel like you’re in a ballroom with how he holds you. He murmurs the lyrics, whispering into your ears between the intermission of the lyrics. 

“See? Told you that I wouldn’t be able to hope for a better birthday. It’s so nice like this. We’ll make mistakes and we’ll have a good time anyway.”

It’s the way that he makes the most of what he has in the moment. It’s the way that he sways you and holds you in his arms. It’s the way that you both learned ballroom dancing on Youtube together months prior to this and he pulls you into a dance whenever he feels like it. It’s the way he looks at you, smiles at you, thinks of you. He makes you feel like nothing you do could ever be a mistake, and reminds you everyday that all he wants is to be with you. 

You look at the kitchen that you’ve put together, the dishes you made in pottery class together,  the silverware you researched together on 2x speed watching a shit load of Youtube videos and making a pros and cons list of every brand before making a commitment to them, the pots and pans that his grandmother gave him, the chairs that you both shopped for. All you want is to be with him.

The song finishes and he takes out the strawberry cake that you got for him, out of the fridge and digs in with a fork–not even slicing up the cake and offers you a strawberry before plopping one in his mouth. You both enjoy each other's company, and end up jumping on the couch like children when a stray balloon flies up too far to reach, and once the day is over you brush your teeth together, and cuddle up with one another. 

“Did you have a good day today?” you ask with your squeamish smile-frown, hoping that he’ll say yes–still a little guilty despite the great day you had together. “I couldn’t ask for a better birthday. Is it bad that I kind of enjoyed you messing up? I think it’s cute when I see you care so much. I don’t even care that much.” He pauses, “Last year, I just got a last minute cake for myself. And I just ate it alone on my computer desk. This year has definitely been an upgrade. I wasn’t living near my friends or family so I just–did nothing.” He pauses again. “I got birthday wishes, of course. But that was all. Kind of forgot it was coming so quickly to be honest.”

He continues, “I just worked all day, glued to my computer screen. And I wasn’t happy at all. I forgot why I was working so hard. I forgot what I really wanted in life, and what was important to me…so I just relearned what was important to me again. Who I was, who I want to be, what I want my life to look like—and honestly? This is all I’ve ever wanted. I want to be someone understanding and nice and stupid and goofy and vulnerable and I wanna be with someone who lets me be that person without feeling stupid. I want to be with you and I love my life like this.”

“I love you.” 

“I love you, too.”

And you fall asleep together, knowing that tomorrow will also be a nice day, full of things to look forward to. Full of new things to learn about him. Full of things to learn about you. Full of mistakes to be made...but you'll take it in stride with him, your partner in life. 

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Micah Yujin ASMR