Once the birthday boy was ready, he stepped out of his room only to be greeted by all his friends, giving him loving smiles and wishing him again.
Taehyung looked extra handsome today. He wore gray trousers and a loose baby-blue shirt. The top few buttons were open, giving a glimpse of his tanned skin and defined collarbone. He had recently dyed his hair to a dark shade of brown, which accentuated his facial features in the most striking manner.
"Taeee! Let's go! We're getting late!" Hoseok didn't give Taehyung a second to process his words before grabbing his wrist and dragging him towards the door, the rest following them.
"But where are we going?!" Taehyung asked, voice filled with anticipation.
"It's a surprise" Jimin replied, helping Taehyung put on a coat and a muffler. It was freezing cold outside.
"Hey! Hold on! This isn't my coat!" the boy tried pointing out, "It is yours from today!" Jin laughed.
"That's Namjoon hyung and Jin hyung's gift" Jimin explained, "Thank you so much!" Taehyung smiled as he was pushed out of the door by Jimin.
The coat was beautiful, dark blue with black buttons, and it fit the boy perfectly. It surprisingly worked out well with his birthday outfit.
All of them shuddered once they stepped out, the air was icy cold and their warm breath turned into mist after escaping their nostrils. They briskly walked up to the bus stand and thankfully the bus arrived soon.
It was an hour long journey, the roads were mostly empty and the weather was gloomy.
Taehyung was getting restless, and Junkook's constant smirking wasn't helping him at all.
As soon as they arrived, Taehyung ran out to see where they were, nearly slipping on the icy ground. But to his disappointment, he was straightaway engulfed in a dense fog. Nothing beyond a few feet was visible. On the way, he had noticed the bus was going somewhere uphill but Jungkook wouldn't let him look for any signboards, he soon complied to the younger's request and decided not to spoil the surprise.
Jimin let out a soft whine, feeling the heavy fog close in on him.
Only Hoseok and Jungkook knew where they were, the rest were as clueless as Taehyung.
"Yah Jungkook! What is this place?" Jin asked, not able to find any signboards around him.
"Okay all of you need to follow me, stay close or you'll get lost" Jungkook announced, walking ahead and flashing an excited grin. The group stepped closer and started to follow the youngest. All of them were tightly wrapped up in special winter gear. Thankfully, Hoseok had informed them all to come extra prepared.
The ground was covered by a thin sheet of ice. Just a few other people could be spotted here and there.
Jimin kept losing his balance and almost fell twice. He was not wearing the shoes with the special grip that the rest were wearing. Eventually, Hoseok and Yoongi held him by his hands and helped him walk steadily.
The fog had dampened their topmost layer of clothing and they could feel a moist layer on any exposed skin.
Jungkook came to a halt. He had stopped in front of what looked like a metal railing. He checked the time, it was almost noon. In just a few minutes the sunlight would become stronger according to weather reports, cutting off the fog, revealing whatever Jungkook wanted them all, especially Taehyung to see.
He looked at the rest of them and grinned. All they had to do was wait for a few more minutes.
They could now feel the warmth of the sunlight as they stood still. The dark clouds that were blocking the sun eventually started shift and the sunlight streamed through. And just as Jungkook had been expecting, the fog started to clear.
Taehyung's breath hitched. This was followed by shocked gasps from the rest.
The sight in front of them was beyond mesmerizing.
They were stood on a cliff which was facing another cliff. A narrow canyon separating the two cliffs.
On the opposite cliff, a waterfall, not a very large one, had frozen while descending because of the extreme winter. The trees in the area where the water hit the bottom of the cliff, had also frozen and they appeared to be made out of crystals. Their leaves were covered with tiny, crisp snowflakes which shimmered like glitter under the sunlight.
The sunlight reflected off the frost and formed enthralling rainbows on both side of the ice structure.
The whole scene looked like something out of a fairytale.
The sight was almost hypnotic. The boys gazed in awe at the magnificent view.
"This happens only for a few days in a year" Hoseok said breaking the silence, "Kookie wanted you to see this" he added glancing towards Taehyung, who seemed to have forgotten how to breathe.
The birthday boy felt speechless. He had never felt so stress-free before. The tranquility of the environment was something he wanted to take back home and preserve forever.
"This... this is... wow..." he couldn't think of words to describe what he saw and felt. He leaned his head onto Jungkook's shoulder and inhaled the fresh air.
"It's beautiful" Yoongi spoke, his voice was soft as his mind took in the view.
Jimin edged closer to the railing, holding onto it with his gloved hands. He wished he could touch the ice and know how the cold, smooth surface felt. Yoongi smiled when he noticed Jimin in front of him, almost blocking his view. But he didn't mind it much, this new view was no less breathtaking.
All of them felt they had escaped into a pocket of serenity.
Taehyung took out his new camera and took a few quick shots of his friends, the location and then asked a passerby to take a group photo.
He was planning to keep all these photographs in a new album. He mentally made a note to buy an album that would keep his pictures safe.
The cold was now starting to hurt. The boys made their way back to the station and luckily their bus was on time.
"Taetae... this is for you" Jimin handed him a rectangular box once they were in the bus. It was his and Hoseok's gift.
Taehyung removed the cover, it was an album with a large 'V' designed on it and had specially designed slots for polaroid photos, exactly what he was planning to buy.
"Ahh Jiminie, Hobi hyung! This is wonderful" Taehyung grinned, starting to insert the photos he had taken a while back, in the empty slot, "But what does the 'V' stand for?" he asked.
"Haha... uh... actually we were looking for an album with 'T' on it, as in T for Taehyung, but only the one with 'V' was available... so we decided that the V stands for victory" Hoseok replied, a bit embarrassed at how stupid his excuse was, "And may you always be victorious in life!" Jimin added with a giggle.
Today, he felt blessed. Glad to have such loving friends.
"Um, Tae, I'm sorry I couldn't come up with something more special" Yoongi said as he pushed a bag towards him. He opened it and pulled out a frame. Yoongi had framed the first group photo they had all taken together, outside a restaurant. All of them were smiling like teenagers, carefree and happy. This was one of his favorite photographs.
"Thank you hyung! I love it!" He said embracing Yoongi, who just blushed lightly hearing the other's response.
This time, they faced some traffic on their way.
It took them almost three hours until they reached their next destination. This one, planned by Jungkook and Jin.
They were all starving by now and luckily, they seemed to have come to a restaurant.
"This is one of the best burger joints in the city" Jin said, eagerly hopping out of the bus, "Jungkook discovered this place before he started despising burgers" he added with a laugh.
Taehyung was overwhelmed with delight.
His day had so far, been the best day of his life, add a burger to it and could things get any better?!
They walked in and placed their orders which arrived soon. They wolfed down their food and Taehyung took a few more snaps, some funny ones just to annoy them later.
Taehyung couldn't have asked for anything more. At this very moment, he felt content with everything around him. He wanted to thank his friends and shower them with the same amount of love and support they always gave him. His attention then went to Jungkook. The youngest had chosen to eat a steak instead and there was some sauce smeared on his cheeks. Taehyung leaned forward and wiped his face. In return, he got an adorable smile from him as he mouthed a thank you. Jungkook had done so much for him, and he wasn't even sure why. He had made him feel so special, like never before.
He was surely, never going to forget the best birthday he had ever had.
The one where he realized what falling in love really meant.