Chapter 158
Not long ago.
All the ORCA members, except On Raon, were gathered in one place.
“The reason we’re gathered here today is nothing other than…”
Kang Ji-woo spoke with the utmost seriousness he had shown all year.
“This month’s 30th is our youngest member’s birthday.”
That’s right.
The approaching January 30th was On Raon’s birthday.
It was the first birthday of a member since their debut, and especially, it was the first birthday they were celebrating since they had known On Raon.
Naturally, they paid special attention to it.
“First, let’s throw a birthday party.”
“That’s a given.”
“Let’s prepare it secretly and surprise him.”
“That’s a great idea.”
“Let’s make him cry with emotion.”
“Whoever makes our youngest cry won’t be left alone.”
“What’s wrong with you?”
“What should we give him as a present?”
“We haven’t received our settlement yet, so I think we should pool our money and get him something big.”
With the cooperation of manager Kwak Sang-hyun and the staff, the preparations for the surprise birthday party proceeded smoothly.
The ORCA members were determined to be the first to congratulate On Raon on his birthday, so for days they were on high alert, cutting off any information that might reach him.
On Raon hadn’t even seen his phone much in the past few days.
Finally, on the night before On Raon’s birthday, January 29th, a somewhat chaotic and desultory meeting was held.
The next album was clearly an important matter that needed to be approached seriously, but with On Raon’s birthday party right around the corner, the members were too distracted to focus on the meeting, implicitly agreeing to revisit it properly later.
January 29th, 11:55 PM.
Seo Moon-gyeol, who received a signal from Ban Yo-han, naturally stood up from his seat, pretending to go to the bathroom, to fetch the cake.
His normally expressionless face, which was nearly zero in facial muscle usage, was more helpful than Gyun Seong-ha, who had learned acting.
“You’ll live a long life. You have a lot of wealth luck, and your fate line is clear, so you’ll live well…”
As Gyun Seong-ha casually read the palm lines, there was a noise outside the door.
Kang Ji-woo, who was near the door, quickly turned off the lights.
With the only source of light gone, the conference room was plunged into pitch darkness.
“What? What’s going on?”
At the sound of On Raon’s confused voice.
The conference room door cautiously opened, and Seo Moon-gyeol entered with a lit cake.
On Raon, who was completely taken aback, looked at him with wide eyes like a startled rabbit.
“Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you.”
The beautifully harmonized acapella version of the birthday song, which the members had practiced diligently whenever they had the chance, resonated in the room.
They had taken an interest in acapella, and now their quality was good enough to be called a professional acapella team.
On Raon, who had been staring motionlessly at the cake throughout the heartfelt song, showed no reaction even after the short song ended.
Rather than no reaction, there was no movement at all.
It was even doubtful whether he was breathing.
“You need to blow out the candles.”
“…”
“Raon?”
“Are you crying?”
On Raon had not even dreamed that today was his birthday.
Due to the irregular lifestyle of an idol, On Raon’s daily life didn’t distinguish between weekdays and weekends, let alone days or dates.
If there was a schedule, he followed it; if not, he practiced or exercised. It was a simple distinction.
Moreover, he had recently been so immersed in restoration and composition work, holed up in the studio after intensive lessons from Ban Ga-eul at his nephew’s request, that he had completely lost track of the days.
And it had been ages since On Raon had celebrated his birthday.
He could count on one hand the number of times he had heard birthday wishes from people.
The only reminders of his birthday growing up were the seaweed soup and cake prepared by the housekeeper who had been with him since he was young.
Therefore, just receiving birthday wishes was a tremendous expression of intimacy for On Raon, something he couldn’t even dream of in the past.
Suddenly skipping several stages of human relationships and receiving an unexpected surprise birthday party naturally caused his mind to go blank.
On Raon, not being a fool, had thought several times that he might be quite close to the members personally.
However, it wasn’t just casual conversations and smiles; they had planned an event in advance to sing the birthday song right at midnight. Who would have thought they were close enough for that?
For On Raon, this kind of birthday party was so significant and monumental that if someone asked him how close he was with the members, he would respond, “We’re close enough to throw surprise birthday parties for each other!”
“Gyeol, your hands must be hot.”
Startled by Kang Ji-woo’s exaggerated remark, On Raon came to his senses and blew out the candles.
Being unaccustomed and impatient, he couldn’t blow out one long candle and nine small candles all at once, so he had to do it in several attempts.
“Wow!”
“Happy birthday.”
Kang Ji-woo turned the lights back on and checked On Raon’s expression.
He thought On Raon might cry. Although his eyes were a little red, there were no signs of tears beyond that.
In fact, On Raon still seemed a bit more confused than anything else.
“……”
Wanting to express his feelings somehow, On Raon, with a mixed expression of various emotions, approached Kang Ji-woo and hugged him, substituting actions for words that didn’t come to mind.
Next, Ban Yo-han became the target of the hug. Normally, On Raon would never have done such a thing, but Ban Yo-han laughed happily.
For some reason, Gyun Seong-ha was the one to approach first, hugging On Raon and even lifting him up.
On Raon hugged Seo Moon-gyeol tightly, who had placed the cake with dripping wax on the table. Seo Moon-gyeol gently embraced him in return.
“Really… thank you so much.”
“Why make a big deal out of this?”
Checking his phone late, On Raon saw that he had received a flood of birthday messages from numerous acquaintances, including Muk Hye-sung, Jena, and trainees he had met at Pick Heart.
In the group chat created in December for the Seed artists, messages from senior artists congratulating On Raon on his birthday filled the chat.
Even Larry raised his precious power stat slightly in celebration of his birthday.
[ORCA OFFICIAL]
20180130 Happy RAON’s Day!
#오르카 #ORCA
#라온 #RAON
#HappyRAONDay
(photo)
A post congratulating On Raon on his birthday was uploaded at midnight on the official ORCA account.
– Raon! Happy birthday to our On Raon~~ Eat a lot of good things, stay healthy, and know that we love you! Always stay healthy and happy <33
(photo)
#HappyBirthdayToOurPreciousStarRaon
#HappyRAONDay
– Happy birthday, Raon. No matter what happens, we always believe in all the things you will achieve.
#HappyBirthdayToOurPreciousStarRaon
@ORCA_Official @ORCA_members
– Happy birthday, our youngest Raon
#HappyBirthdayToOurPreciousStarRaon
Thanks for coming to Korea. Now you can’t leave.
#HappyRAONDay
Let’s just be idols forever, I love you.
1. #HappyBirthdayToOurPreciousStarRaon
2. #HappyRAONDay
The birthday congratulatory hashtag that won out over other candidates like ‘#YoungestOnTop_HappyBirthdayRaon’ or ‘#BelovedRaon_HappyBirthday’ or ‘#WorldTreasure_OnRaon_EarthDescended’ was propelled to the top of the real-time trends thanks to the fans’ collective efforts starting at 10 o’clock.
Additionally, on the members’ private accounts, the affectionate birthday greetings from his older brothers, along with selfies they had taken together, were posted one after another.
– (Photo) Happy birthday to our youngest Raon~!~~!!!
There’s no other sibling as kind, handsome, and cute as you.
Tomorrow morning, I’ll make seaweed soup with lots of beef for you, and you have to keep enjoying my food not just next year but for the next ten years and forever! I love you as much as the sky and the earth!!
#Orca #ORCA
#Jiwoo #JIWOO
#HappyRAONDay
– (Video) Happy birthday, On Raon
When I first met you, I thought you were a really funny guy, and I still think so. You are indeed a funny guy.
And I know how you saved my name on your phone and why you did it that way. I’ll forgive you for that as your birthday present. But I still love you^^
#Orca #ORCA
#Yohan #YOHAN
#HappyRAONDay
– (Photo) Raon, happy birthday from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for always being considerate and taking care of us. Many more people will get to know your kind, beautiful, and cool self. I really love you.
#Orca #ORCA
#Gyeol #GYEOL
#HappyRAONDay
– (Photo) Onlang-gu, you’re neither a friend nor an older brother but a younger brother. Happy birthday. Let’s keep pushing forward. I love you today more than ever.
#Onlangu_Is_OnRaon’s_Nickname
#Orca #ORCA
#Seongha #SUNGHA #DAENG
#HappyRAONDay
Like it was agreed upon, every birthday greeting ended with “I love you,” warming the hearts of fans.
Not long after, On Raon’s post was also uploaded.
– Hello, it’s RaonRaonRaon!
It seems like everyone knew… everyone except me… but today is my birthday!
My older brothers just threw me a birthday party, and it’s the first time I’ve received so many congratulations from so many people, so I’m really, really happy right nowㅎㅎ
As much as you all have made me happy, I want to make you all happy too. I will become On Raon of ORCA who works even harder!
And to everyone whose birthday is today~!! Happy birthday~~!!!
Onlanghae~~~ (Photo)
After confirming that his post was uploaded without any errors, On Raon clicked on his birthday hashtag and read the posts written in various languages, his eyes sparkling.
He didn’t know when he had gained so many international fans, and there were many posts written in languages he couldn’t understand. But he used the somewhat lacking translation function of the app to read every single one until his eyes felt like they would fall out.
“Wow… they even did all this.”
Various events, both online and offline, were held to celebrate On Raon’s birthday.