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Exaggeration was not quite incongruous with Jongseong's theatrical personality.
"—bring a date to Minjeong's wedding."
So when the ceramic teacup slips from his fingers, shattering on the floor a margin away from his Louboutin shoes, his mother says nothing about it. Only heaves a sigh at his antics and resumes her announcements. Like his opinion had meant nothing to her, at that moment.
Jongseong purses his lips, picking up the shattered teacup to help clean the mess, but a housemaid gently removes it from his grasp. Thank heavens he emptied it out before it took a dive straight for the ground. He mumbles a thank you, wipes his hands on the napkin on his lap.
He clears his throat to grab her attention, but she pays him no mind. "Excuse me."
Jongseong knows that she can see him from the corner of her eye. And if there's anything that anyone should know about him, it's that there is nothing that he hates more than being blatantly ignored when he has something important to say.
He clears his throat again.
And again, he is ignored.
"Mother, I don't have enough phlegm for this," he interrupts her, tapping his index finger against the edge of the polished mahogany table impatiently. "May I please express my sentiments?"
"That is a disgusting thing to say at the dining table, Jongseong," she reprimands ever so stiffly, voice raising an octave higher after appalment. Her son only stares at her with an equally blank stare, so she gives in. "Very well, then. Say it."
"Frankly, mother, that is the most unavailing notion you've ever forwarded to me." And Jongseong says this so civilly that she's finding it hard to take offense from it. "A date?"
"Nonsense," she dismisses. "Publicity is important. Your cousin will have the media there to document everything. And everyone."
Jongseong raises an eyebrow, challenging her still, even when he knew he was fighting a losing battle.
"That includes you," she clarifies sternly. "This decision is final, and nothing you say here will change anything."
"Does father know?"
"Certainly," she replies easily. "And he agrees that it will be good for reputation building."
Jongseong leans back on the cushioned dining chair and lets a million ideas run through his mind. His parents may be thinking they were being sensible, but if he could persuade them into thinking otherwise, maybe—
"There's no way out," his mother says. She raises an eyebrow at him when he starts frowning in his seat—an indication of his brain use. "I know what you're thinking."
"Mother, come on," Jongseong whines. He knew very well he was too old for this tone. "I don't want to."
"Stop whining, Jongseong." His mother only goes on about her day, scrolling through the iPad propped only a few inches away from her coffee. "You're twenty."
"Too young for marriage!"
"Goodness, darling, no one said you were getting married at twenty." She gives him an exasperated look. "You are bringing a date to Minjeong's wedding and that's final."
Minjeong is lucky she's my favorite cousin, Jongseong thinks. I would ditch her wedding if I didn't love her more than every other relative.
"If it’s any consolation—"
"I'm sorry, but there's just no possible way I can feel better after this."
She ignores him. "—your father and I decided to give you the freedom to choose who to invite."
Oh, that isn't actually that bad.
-
This is bad.
This is the worst thing that has ever happened to him. He doesn't think any circumstance in the future will ever make him feel as distressed as he is now. He's officially hit rock bottom.
But hitting rock bottom means there's only one way to go, right? WRONG! He's not going up, at all. He's not feeling a single bit elated. In fact, everything seems to be going left, because absolutely nothing was going right.
Sunoo, the person he has decided to beg to fake date him, is currently not showing any signs of cooperation.
"Just to keep up appearances," Jongseong explains desperately in Sunoo's room. He's holding on to every last bit of his dignity here. "I need a good actor."
"Please," he adds for effect.
Just how much of a loser was he, that he had to beg his best friend to date him, instead of actually getting laid?
Sunoo grimaces, halts his fingers from typing out his bio essay due tomorrow. Apparently, there are more important things at stake. He closes his laptop, only halfway through so he can take a good look at Jongseong's face. "And you came to me?"
"You're kinda decent, okay?" Jongseong begrudgingly admits. If there's anything Sunoo enjoys receiving, it's praise. And it's the only thing he can offer right now to win the younger boy over. "I've seen you during theater rehearsals and plays."
"Do I look like I'd be down to perform On My Own at a fucking wedding?"
"Well, you did belt out that whistle note in the lecture hall..." Jongseong mumbles his useless suggestion.
When Sunoo glares at him, Jongseong considers giving up. There shouldn't be any harm in defying his parent’s orders just this once, right?
But will he be able to stand their disappointment at him, for having failed such a simple request?
Probably not.
Jongseong pauses his rambling and settles on the floor, leaning against the end of Sunoo's bed. He can hear Sunoo shuffling behind him, and then Sunoo's head pops into his periphery. The boy rests his chin on Jongseong's shoulder. "Hey."
"What?" Jongseong is sulking, he's pretty sure Sunoo can tell. Sunoo has always been good at reading him. "I'm not sad."
"Sure, you aren't," Sunoo giggles. The warmth leaves when Sunoo sits up. "Sorry for messing with you."
"It's okay."
"I know how much this means to you—"
"Yeah."
"—and as your sexiest friend in the world, I've decided to help you."
Jongseong whips his head back so hard he feels his joints crack. But his deteriorating, old man state is the least of his worries. His top priority, as of the moment, is parental validation.
Damn, that sounds depressing. He's really not starved for attention. He just can't let his parents down after they let him study in Italy for three months, only for him to come flying back home without finishing the semester. How was I supposed to know I had to learn basic Italian?
A fake significant other was an easy task.
"Really?" Jongseong utters in disbelief. "Like, really, really?"
Sunoo throws him a concerned look, sitting up from on top of the bed. "Dude, you sound constipated."
"You sure?"
"Do you want me to change my mind?"
Jongseong looks up at Sunoo and thinks he's going to burst into tears at any minute. "I owe you."
"You bet you fucking do!"
-
Being wealthy definitely has its perks. Perhaps one could say it's shopping without looking at the price tag, but Jongseong isn't just rich. He's RICH, rich. Bold, italicized, underlined, and in every variation of the word.
He owns the shop.
But wealth isn't all that there is to life when you're having a clothes-tastrophe, because one just cannot simply buy taste.
"I’m just saying," Sunoo begins, walking out of the boutique’s dressing room looking lopsided in a suit too big for him. "that if you had asked Sunghoon to do this with you, you wouldn't have any problems looking for a suit to lend him."
Both him and Jongseong are in distress. Except Sunoo's is acquired distress. He wouldn't be freaking out like this if Jongseong could just give him a breather and not shove outfit after outfit into his arms.
"He's right," Jungwon interjects from beside Jongseong. Contrary to Sunoo, he was looking a lot more comfortable in own clothing, and totally not stressing about being in a pretend relationship soon. "You and Sunghoon are roughly the same size."
"That won't do." Jongseong waves them off, frowning as he scans the racks for more clothes. "I fake dated Sunghoon for his parents' charity event a few years ago. Good for the press, or something..."
Wow, Jongseong thinks. Our parents are clout chasers.
Though to be fair, it did help Sunghoon's career a lot. He got love calls after their articles blew up. Jongseong's fashion line sold almost worldwide. So, really, was it that bad?
"Well, then, fake date him again or something," Sunoo whines, carefully hanging the blazer back on the rack. And then he raises his eyebrow at Jongseong. "Or did you two stage a breakup in front of lots of people?"
"Not exactly in front, but there was definitely an audience," Jongseong corrects. "People knew."
"Twitter, Summer of 2019?"
"Exactly."
"Hold on," Jungwon gasps, making eye contact with Sunoo, who looked unamused. "When Jay and Sunghoon mass retweeted from the sad gay quotes bot account, that was staged?"
"I'm really offended that you thought it was real, Jungwon," Jongseong says, crossing his arms at the younger boy. "I mean, we didn't really have to stage a breakup because we were having fun, but Sunghoon was really interested in this guy from his media arts class."
"I don't know about Sunghoon, but if God gave me the opportunity to bag two boyfriends—" Jungwon notes, curling himself in cutely on the love seat. "—I'd take it. Who would I be to say no?"
Jongseong contemplates before replying, "Sunghoon didn't like me that way."
"Do you wish he did?" Sunoo asks in an unusually pensive way, the sound of the air conditioner filling in the silence.
Jongseong meets Jungwon's eyes, and the younger boy looks away awkwardly, lips pursed in a nervous smile. He can tell Jungwon knows something but he doesn't think he should push it. For a few moments, he doesn't reply to Sunoo, either.
He might not know what to do with the answer.
"I mean, maybe, for a good two weeks I wish he would," Jongseong eventually confesses, cheeks burning red at the embarrassment. "But I'm over it."
"Right! Good for you, good for all of us!" Jungwon says, abruptly clasping his hands together. He then walks over to where Sunoo is and drags the older boy by his arm. "Something just caught my eye and I think it's going to look good on you, Sunoo."
Sunoo sends Jongseong an apologetic, almost pleading look before getting trudged away. Jongseong only smiles to himself.
-
October 25, 2021. Kim Minjeong and Yoo Jimin.
Jongseong's cousin was no doubt beautiful, as well as her wife. The garden in which the wedding was held at was decorated nicely with pink dahlias and white gardenias and hints of lilac here and there.
He doesn't know how to appreciate all of this without wanting to get married himself. He grins when Minjeong meets his eye and she smiles back. It's like it had only been yesterday when Minjeong would cry to Jongseong about how oblivious her Little Meow Meow Yooji was.
Sunoo softly gasps beside him when they gently lift each other's veils, and Jongseong's train of sentimentality falls off a metaphorical cliff. God, was he truly tearing up thinking about himself and his cousin when they were younger?
"Oh, they're so gorgeous," Sunoo says admiringly, training his eyes on the two brides.
"As are you," Jongseong replies before he can stop himself. Dumbass. And then he adds, "And me. I. Both of us look good."
Sunoo giggles and elbows him but completely misses. "Come on, this is your cousin's moment. Let her be the better-looking one today."
Jongseong turns to look at Sunoo, who stares right back at him with the light brown irises he knows the younger loves so much.
Looking into Sunoo's eyes, Jongseong's images of a faultless future, the one he's always wanted to chase after as a young boy, flashes so vividly in his mind.
He's doomed.
Sunoo waves a hand in front of Jongseong's face and he wills himself to forget every single thing he just thought of. "You good, Jay?"
"Kinda."
"What's wrong?" Sunoo asks, bringing his hands up to hold Jongseong's face gently in his palms. Jongseong feels lightheaded now, but he thinks he wouldn't mind passing out in Sunoo's arms.
What's wrong? Everything. Literally everything. Let me go or I will ask to kiss you and you will regret it.
"I'm okay, don't worry about me," Jongseong insists, taking Sunoo's hands off just as tenderly as the younger boy held them. "I'm good."
"Really? Your face is so red." Sunoo raises the back of his hand and presses it softly against Jongseong's neck. "You're hot."
"Thanks."
Sunoo flicks the center of Jongseong's neck. "Jay, seriously. Are you feeling fine?"
Huh... he was feeling dizzy this morning. He woke up and his room was spinning but he had to move quick because he was running late for his hair and makeup appointments so he didn't think much of it.
"I may have actually woken up this morning feeling like God was DJ-ing my room like a turntable."
Oh, well! It is what it is.
-
So, he was coming up with a fever... on the day of his cousin's wedding... no big deal! But how embarrassing was it that he thought those were physical responses to his gigantic crush on Sunoo? Like, eighty percent embarrassing.
"I wanna die so bad," Jongseong chuckles bitterly as he's dancing with Sunoo. Sunoo tightens his hold around Jongseong's waist, sending him a pointed look and he dies a little bit more on the inside. "Like, as a joke."
"I told you I was going to take you home."
Oh, my God, he was going to take me home.
"I have to at least dance once and talk to Minjeong before I leave," Jongseong replies. His grip on Sunoo's shoulder was getting unsteadier as the minutes passed by.
"Obviously, you need to talk to her," Sunoo says, cautiously leading them off the dance floor. "But you can pass off the dancing, yeah? Rest."
"What about my parents' fake dating scheme?" Jongseong whines, but whispering it.
"Fuck that, Jay." Sunoo guides him to a chair and stares down at him. Oh, that's kinda hot. "Stay here. If you wander off and act like you're not about to collapse, I will assassinate you."
"Okay, girlboss." Jongseong hopes he doesn't look too insensible and giddy at the thought of an Angry Sunoo.
"I'm getting you some water and I'll ask if anyone has an emergency kit." And then, Sunoo's gaze softens. "If it makes you feel better, I'll help you with the... thing... later."
"When the press arrives?"
"Yeah."
-
Minjeong and Jimin approach their table after everyone has settled down for supper. Two lovely ladies in such a lovely garden. Camera flashes followed them everywhere they went, and Jongseong knew it would land on his face pretty soon.
He blinks, preparing himself.
"Have an amazing married life with your little meow meow Yooji," Jongseong teases when Minjeong sits next to him. And then he looks at Jimin. "Take care of my cousin. No one knows but this one's my favorite."
Jimin laughs, good-natured. "I think everyone knows that, Mr. Heir to PJS Financial Holdings. And I think you should keep your eyes wide open for the next fifteen seconds. Some journalists can't seem to stop taking our pictures every minute."
"They're here for you, too," Minjeong says, and then raises her eyebrows suggestively. "And your boyfriend."
Sunoo, who had just been eating in peace, now feels seventy pairs of eyes on him. "Hm?"
Jongseong worries that he's going to choke so he lifts Sunoo's glass of water closer to him. "You don't have to worry about looking good."
"Oh, that's sickeningly sweet," Minjeong comments. "Speaking of sick... you're not looking too lively today."
"Oh, yeah, I am kinda feeling out of it," Jongseong confesses.
An understatement.
Worry etches itself onto the brides' features. Jimin looks at him concernedly. "You can go home if you'd like. Is Sunoo taking you home?"
"I am, yeah," Sunoo replies for the both of them. "I promised him."
"He did." Jongseong leans closer to Sunoo and then a camera flashes from the corner of his eye.
He smiles at his cousin and her wife when they bid a momentary farewell to attend to other guests, and then he fully leans his body against Sunoo's side.
Another camera goes off.
Great. Plan is still going well.
"We should get out of here," Sunoo tells him with finality in his voice, leaving Jongseong no room to argue. "You're about to die in here."
"I'm not exactly dying."
"You're about to."
Just then, Jongseong stiffens, once again feeling like soup. No, he will not elaborate. He feels like soup. "Yeah, let's go home."
-
"You trust me on this one?" Sunoo asks again for confirmation. "I'm going to kiss your forehead when we leave this hallway. I see two cameras outside."
Curse Sunoo for growing taller than him. Jongseong argues—whines—because this is injustice. "I should be the one kissing you."
Sunoo looks away, cheeks turning so red that it sparks hope in Jongseong—that maybe there's a chance Sunoo could feel something for him even if the realization of his own feelings literally just occurred to him three hours ago.
"I'm taller than you, now. I'm thinking about convenience."
"You're taller by an inch," Jongseong corrects, and then holds Sunoo's shoulders down so he can make him crouch down. "Let's practice. I'll kiss you."
"Uh..."
Jongseong pales at the implication. Must he always speak like a fool? "Your forehead."
"Hold on," Sunoo stops him, removing himself from Jongseong's grasp. "I have never done this before."
"Kiss someone on the forehead?"
"This relationship thing in general." Sunoo pouts. Oh. Oh, man. This is a side of him that Jongseong likes to see. "I don't even know if we got anyone fooled."
"You're worrying about that, now?" Jongseong laughs, suddenly feeling less sick. "I personally think we did a great job. When Sunghoon and I did this, all we did was make sure to stand two inches within each other's proximity and hoped people got the hint."
"Seriously? I thought you two kissed or something." Sunoo nods his head gratefully at the guards opening the doors. "That breakup was intense."
The sky outside the garden's fancy entrance was a deep shade of indigo and the moonlight reflected onto the glossy tiles. Several cars passed them by, but not as much as the amount of cars in the main part of town.
Sunoo and Jongseong walk to car, hand-in-hand.
A camera goes off. No flash, but both of them could hear the click and shutter.
"Moment of truth?" Jongseong asks quietly.
Sunoo hums beside him and says, "Look at me."
And Jongseong does. And for the fifth time that day, he wants to die. Here. In Sunoo's arms. Maybe he wants this immortalized.
He feels a firm and tender kiss on the crown of his head and he feels like king of the world. Basks in the glorious feeling of having someone like Kim Sunoo treat him like he was his.
Like this was real.
five...
four...
three...
two...
one...
A camera shutters.