Work Text:
“sunwoo-yah, are you going to come home this weekend? it’s your father and i’s 30th anniversary.”
“of course, ma. i’ll be there.”
“are you going to bring someone? both your sister and brother will bring their partners.”
“or you don’t have one yet? when will you find one? you’re already 22, you’re not getting any younger.”
“i would want to see my darling be happy with someone.”
“… i’ll bring someone home.”
“really?! you have a partner?”
“yes, ma. i’ll introduce him to you this weekend.”
“i can’t wait! i’m so happy that all of my children are finally with someone!”
after the call ends, sunwoo is definitely frustrated. he, in fact, does not have anyone to bring home. he’s just tired of all the nagging that his parents do. he gets it. he’s already 22 and still single, quite alarming, (at least to his parents). his siblings are probably planning marriage by now.
sunwoo covers his face with his hands and groans. how is he supposed to find a fake boyfriend in a span of three days? he hates how much he’s so easily affected by his parents.
“what’s up with you?” juyeon, his roommate, asks.
“i need a fake boyfriend.”
“what? why?”
“i lied to my mom that i’m going to bring someone home. i don’t have anyone.”
“juyeon hyung…”
“no. don’t you dare think about it. i am not doing that. have you forgotten i’m also friends with your older brother?”
crap. he’s got a point. he needs someone that will be able to convince his parents and his siblings. but then suddenly, the answer to his problem came in the form of a text notification.
from: changmin hyungie
i saw a raccoon plushie today
it reminded me of you
are you home?
yeah
why?
i’ll be there in ten minutes
huh
why
you’ll see
“where are you going?”
“to the solution.”
“no.”
“why?!” sunwoo practically ran to changmin’s apartment and explained everything.
“dude, we’re going to lie in front of your family!”
“only for a day! please, hyungie? you’re my best friend. you know how much they pressure me to get a boyfriend.”
“i don’t know, sun. what if they don’t buy it?”
“why wouldn’t they? they know you. we’ve been best friends for years. it won’t come as a surprise to them.”
“sun…”
“please hyungie? i love youuuu.” sunwoo says with puppy eyes, knowing damn well changmin is weak to that.
“i hate you.” changmin says and rolls his eyes. sunwoo already knows that he won.
“oh my god! i love you so much!” sunwoo goes to hug changmin. he’s saved! he will not have to deal with all the pressure!
“you owe me. i am not paying a single penny the whole trip.”
“of course of course! i’ll get train tickets. we leave in three days. i love you so much, hyung!”
after three days, changmin finds himself traveling on a train with sunwoo. he packed a lot of extra clothes, he doesn’t even know what to wear. he has to at least be convincing.
“okay, let’s set our story straight.” sunwoo starts, he’s resting his head on changmin’s shoulder.
“mmm. let’s say we are newly dating?”
“yeah yeah, i like that. let’s say… three months?”
“yep yep. how did we became a couple?”
“i confessed after my birthday.”
“okay okay. anything else i need to know?”
“you already know everything about my family.” sunwoo is right, they were best friends even before this.
“but they’re bringing home their significant others, i don’t really know much about that. i just know they have one. we’re all quite busy with studies and work.”
“okay, noted. are you sleepy?”
“a bit.”
“you can sleep on my shoulder if you want. i’ll just wake you up.”
“thanks, hyungie.”
the next thing changmin knows is that he’s in front of sunwoo’s house. he has been here multiple times, but it’s his first time going here as his supposed boyfriend.
“sunwoo, my darling!” his mom calls out.
“ooh, and changmin! i always knew you two would get together!” she greets changmin.
“good day, auntie.”
“you guys should enter already. we are setting up the table.”
sunwoo reaches out to hold changmin’s hand while walking. it reminded changmin that he needs to also put up an act.
“sunwoo!” his older sister, dahyun, greets.
“noona! nice to see you!” he says and goes to hug her.
“hey, changmin! how are you doing? you two look great!”
“hi! we’re doing good.” changmin smiles.
sunwoo made the right choice by asking changmin to be his fake boyfriend, he already knows everyone and everyone knows him. he felt relaxed knowing that they don’t need to fake it to an extreme.
“babe, i’ll just put our luggage in my room, okay? you can sit down there.” sunwoo says.
changmin almost screamed with the endearment. they didn’t talk about sunwoo calling him that! changmin had always had feelings for sunwoo, ever since they became friends, sunwoo always had a special spot for him. he was just so jolly, passionate, handsome, everything changmin wants in a man. but he knows his feelings will just stay this way until someone comes in. he doesn’t want to waste their friendship and possibly lose sunwoo. he’s contented with being best friends with him, but this opportunity is like a blessing in disguise, it’s like a glimpse of being boyfriends with sunwoo.
“yo, changmin!” his older brother, younghoon greets.
“hey hyung!”
“so mom was right all along! you guys were gonna get together someday!” yeah, changmin wishes that were true.
“hyung, be nice.” sunwoo chimes in.
“i’m always nice, i’m not like you!” younghoon teases.
“noona! hyung is teasing me again!” sunwoo sulks. changmin giggles at the sight, sunwoo always looked cute when he’s pouting.
“i feel so happy. my darlings are complete again, and they’ve all grown up!” his mom suddenly says.
changmin lowkey feels bad for fooling them but if he was in sunwoo’s situation, he would do the same.
“let’s eat?” his dad asks.
“let’s go. changmin dear, you can sit beside sunwoo.”
“oh dear, where are my manners? hi, hyunjae and minho!” his mom greets. changmin assumes the people besides sunwoo’s siblings are their significant others.
“sunny.” changmin whispers.
“hmm?”
“i’m allergic to this.” changmin says and points to the shrimp.
“oh shit. i forgot to tell mom. did you eat it already?”
“no, not yet.”
“try to pretend to eat, we will just order later.”
“thanks, sun.”
“anything for you.”
“so changmin… how long have you been together?” younghoon asks.
“three months.”
“we always knew you guys were going to get together someday.” dahyun chimes in.
“i’m so happy for you, my darling! you two are made for each other.” sunwoo’s mother says.
changmin smiles at them. if only that was true, if only they were dating for real. but either way, he’s happy to help sunwoo. he knew how much his family meant to him and how he gives in to pressure immediately when it comes to them.
“you’re the first person he brought home.” sunwoo’s dad says.
“i’m honored.”
“with that being said, is it okay for you to stay a few more days? assuming that you guys aren’t busy.”
sunwoo and changmin both look at each other. they were only prepared for at least three days.
“dahyun and younghoon are staying for a week, what about you, sunwoo?” his mother further asks.
“sure. changmin and i don’t have classes yet anyway.”
“great! i assume you guys are okay with sharing sunwoo’s old room?”
“of course, ma.”
the thing is, even though they were best friends for three years already, they never slept in one bed. sometimes sunwoo would sleep over at changmin’s apartment, but they would always be sleeping in separate beds.
“what about you, dahyun? how’s med school?” even though sunwoo’s parents were nice, they can be a bit overbearing.
“i’m doing well, minho is there with me every step of the day.”
“that’s great. what about you, younghoon?”
“i got promoted to being a manager last week.”
“i’m so proud of you, my darlings! a mother couldn’t ask for more. my children are taking medicine, law, and finance. you are truly my pride and joy!”
“awe, ma. i’m truly your favorite.” sunwoo teases.
“i’m the favorite!” dahyun argues.
“i’m the first born!” younghoon adds to the argument.
changmin chuckles at the sight. he’s an only child, he never really experienced arguing over who’s the favorite.
“mom, i’m your favorite, right? your only daughter?”
“ma, i’m the youngest, i’m obviously your favorite!”
“first borns are always the favorite! right, mother?”
“it’s like you guys are children again. you should definitely visit more.”
“i’m sorry changmin, minho, hyunjae. our family dinners are not always this chaotic.” his dad apologizes.
“no worries, uncle. i’m used to it.” hyunjae says.
after a few moments, the dinner ended and it was time to clean up. good thing nobody noticed that changmin didn’t eat anything, he didn’t want to make it seem like he didn’t like food. he was just allergic to it.
“babe, i’m going to order. what do you want?” sunwoo asks. changmin still wants to scream about the endearment.
“noodles.”
“i’ll wash the dishes, you and sunwoo can order.” younghoon says.
oh crap, “you noticed i didn’t eat…?”
“yep, your plate is clean. are you allergic?” dahyun asks.
“yes, sunwoo and i forgot to inform auntie.”
“we see. you and sunwoo can go up already. leave the dish washing to us.” younghoon says.
“are you sure?”
“yes, no worries. sunwoo’s room is upstairs left side, last door.” dahyun says.
changmin goes up to the room, their house is quite extravagant, and you can tell they are living comfortably. but despite all this, sunwoo never bragged about anything.
“i already ordered.” sunwoo says the moment changmin enters his room.
“woah… your bed is huge!”
“yeah, i was a very rowdy kid. i would fall to the floor if i had a small bed.”
changmin immediately lays down, his bed is so soft!
“i could sleep on the floor.”
“nonsense. this is your room.”
“i might kick you in my sleep.”
“then let’s just cuddle so you won’t do that.” changmin jokes.
“let’s do it.”
crap. changmin was just joking.
“sure. you’ll be the small spoon.”
“i’m literally taller than you.”
“yeah, by two inches.”
“still taller!”
“fine. only because you ordered me noodles.”
“i’m such a good boyfriend.”
“no comment.”
“hey!” sunwoo starts to sulk.
changmin laughs, sunwoo always looked cute whenever he pouts.
“you’ll be a good boyfriend once my food arrives.”
“so you’re just using me for food, huh? i’m so hurt.”
“you’re so dramatic.”
“and you love this dramatic guy.”
to be completely honest, changmin doesn’t know if they are still pretending or what. but what sunwoo said was true. he does love this dramatic guy.
“nah. give me seven business days to answer to that.”
suddenly, a pillow is thrown at changmin’s face.
“meanie! i’ll go get your food.”
changmin doesn’t even know what’s happening right now. sunwoo was always sweet to him, he’s just a bit sweeter now. what even is real anymore? are they going to keep up the couple charade even when they’re alone and in his room? he’s so confused, but he’s just going to enjoy the moment. after all, he’s getting glimpses of what sunwoo would be like as a boyfriend.
“the best boyfriend in the world gives you ramen and omusubi.”
“thank you.”
“eat up, i’ll just take a shower.”
changmin starts to eat, sunwoo really does know him. he didn’t even tell him his order, but everything is complete. down to the type of ramen, side dish, and drinks. he finds himself falling for sunwoo even more.
“babe! can you ask for a towel? i forgot.” sunwoo shouts.
changmin nearly chokes on his food. there’s no one around and he still calls him babe.
“sure, hold on!”
changmin goes down to dahyun and younghoon who just finished the dishes.
“hey guys, where do i get a towel for sunny?”
“i’ll get you one.” dahyun says.
“thank you for putting up with our brother.” younghoon says.
“i’ve been best friends with him for three years, i’m still alive.” changmin jokes around.
“we hope you guys stay strong.”
dahyun comes back with two towels, “here’s the towel. i also gave you a towel for yourself.”
“thank you so much.”
changmin goes back to their room and places the towel in the sink, not wanting to invade sunwoo’s shower time.
“thank you. sorry that i disturbed your eating time.”
“it’s okay.”
“thank you for coming with me.”
“can you not get emotional while you’re still finding your pajamas?”
“i’m not even naked in front of you!”
“still! get emotional once you have clothes on!”
“why? are you scared of my handsome physique?” sunwoo says with a smirk.
yes. changmin is definitely scared. he’s trying his very best to hide the blush on his face.
“you wish! i’ve seen better abs!”
“oh, really? you’re not even looking.”
“i know you’re smirking!”
“my my. i didn’t know the great ji changmin was scared to see me shirtless.”
yeah, it’s because i have feelings for you, dumbass, changmin thinks.
“you can look now, i have a shirt on.” sunwoo says.
changmin finally looks at him and he’s wearing a plain black shirt and pajamas. sunwoo looked absolutely attractive.
“take a picture, it will last longer.”
“don’t be too full of yourself.” changmin says, lying to himself.
“oh come on. you can’t deny i’m attractive.”
“whatever makes you happy, sun. i’ll clean up.”
“nope. you’re not leaving until you admit it.” sunwoo smirks.
normally changmin would play along, but considering the circumstances, them in a room alone, pretending to be boyfriends… changmin doesn’t know what to do.
“admit what?”
“i’m attractive.”
“why are you asking me if you’re already sure of the answer?”
“i want to hear it from you.”
“you’re not hearing it from me.” changmin says and rushes to go down. he definitely knows he’s blushing right now.
“you guys have an interesting relationship.” hyunjae says.
“jesus christ! you scared me!” changmin exclaims.
“sorry, i was just getting water. there’s the trash can by the way.”
“thank you. sorry for that, i was just shocked.”
“it’s okay. but you guys have an interesting relationship, is it your first time sharing a room?”
“you can hear us?”
“a bit. the walls are kind of thin.”
“i’ll take note of that. but to answer your question, yes. it’s our first time sharing a room together.” changmin says, he doesn’t really know how to make excuses.
“i see. you guys are cute.”
“thanks. you and younghoon hyung are cute too.”
“i like your dynamic. i can see that you guys will last long.”
yeah, only if we were dating for real.
“babe! what’s taking you so long?” sunwoo calls out.
“gotta go, sunny needs me.”
“coming! you’re so dramatic!”
“and you love this dramatic guy.”
hyunjae chuckles, they will definitely last long.
changmin enters the room and immediately runs to the washroom, “i’ll just brush my teeth.”
“i’ll go fix our bed.”
changmin finishes brushing his teeth but stays in the washroom a little longer. he’s going to share a bed with his best friend and the love of his life. he’s going to explode.
“are you okay in there?”
“yeah! just a bit cold!”
“we can turn off the air conditioning if you like.”
“no no. let’s sleep.”
changmin carefully lays down beside sunwoo, his heart is beating unusually fast. and then suddenly, sunwoo wraps his arm around him, cuddling him.
“mm. you’re definitely better than most of my pillows,” sunwoo whispers.
changmin feels like he’s going to combust, he just hopes sunwoo doesn’t hear his fast heartbeat.
“you okay?”
“sunwoo.”
“yeah?”
changmin gulps, should he say it? should he finally confess? so many thoughts running around his head, he can’t do this anymore.
“are you okay? your heartbeat is a bit… fast.”
“can you…”
“can i what?”
suddenly, their moment was interrupted with a knock on the door. saved by the bell!
“who is it?”
“i forgot to give changmin another blanket.” younghoon says.
sunwoo stands up to get it, changmin is so thankful that he’s able to breathe now. sunwoo literally took his breath away. being that close to sunwoo makes him feel a lot of things.
“what were you saying?” sunwoo says and lays down beside him.
“nothing, i was going to ask for a blanket but i have it now. goodnight, sun.” changmin says and faces the opposite side from sunwoo.
“hey. are we okay?”
“yeah? why wouldn’t we?” changmin answers, still facing the opposite side from sunwoo.
“can you face me? it feels like you’re mad at me.”
crap. changmin needs to contain himself. he faces sunwoo, their faces are dangerously close to each other.
“thank you so much for being here. you know it means the world to me.”
“of course. anything for you.” changmin says and he means that.
“goodnight, sunny.” changmin says and closes his eyes, only to find himself being cuddled by sunwoo. he badly wants so cuddle back, but that would be playing a dangerous game.
the next day, changmin wakes up being completely entangled with sunwoo. he must’ve thought that he was a pillow or something.
“sun…” he tries to wake him up.
“five more minutes.” sunwoo says and hugs changmin tighter. this is very dangerous for changmin’s heart.
changmin just hopes for the best. until this point, he thought he was contented with only being best friends. but now? he wants more. but the problem is, he doesn’t know if it’s reciprocated.
he tries to get away from sunwoo’s cuddle, “no! stay here!”
“sunny, i need to get up.”
“kiss.”
“what?”
“kiss me first.”
changmin playfully smacks sunwoo’s hand, “i’m going to get breakfast.”
“no kiss for me?”
“no.”
“we just woke up and you’re already mean to me.”
changmin is going to regret this but he decides to plant a quick peck on sunwoo’s cheek, “are you satisfied now?”
“no, i want more.”
“now that’s just being greedy.” and changmin’s heart possibly can’t handle that.
suddenly, they heard a knock on the door, “breakfast is ready.” they hear younghoon say.
“let’s go.” changmin attempts to get out of the bed, but sunwoo pulls him by the arm.
changmin falls on top of sunwoo, their faces dangerously close to each other, them looking into each other’s eyes. changmin’s heart is racing, he is about to explode, and they are playing a dangerous game.
all of a sudden, their door opens. “holy shit, i’m so sorry! the door was unlocked… but yeah… uhm… mom is calling you guys for breakfast! yeah uhm, bye!” dahyun says and runs away.
it dawns on changmin that dahyun, sunwoo’s older sister, just caught them in a weird position.
“oh my god!” changmin panics and stands up.
“i didn’t lock the door, my bad.” sunwoo says and also stands up.
“how… are… we… going to face them?”
“well, if anything, that adds on to the story that we are together.”
right. changmin forgot for a second that they were still pretending.
“did you do that on purpose?”
“no, i just wanted another cheek kiss.” sunwoo says and goes to wrap his arm around changmin’s waist, guiding him to go downstairs.
“well, you guys took an awfully long time to go down.” younghoon teases.
“let them be, they’re very young and in love.” sunwoo’s mother says.
changmin couldn’t look at dahyun in the eyes. he’s so embarrassed.
“don’t be embarrassed, i didn’t see anything.. graphic.” dahyun says. changmin just nods. this is so awkward.
“you still don’t lock your door, sunwoo?” younghoon asks.
“yeah, i live in a condo, still.” sunwoo answers while getting food.
“you and changmin don’t live together?” his father asks.
“not yet, pa. we’re waiting for juyeon to find a place.” sunwoo quickly saves.
“we could help juyeon find a place, just ask.” younghoon offers.
“i’ll tell him.” sunwoo says.
changmin instinctively places the pancakes on sunwoo’s plate, knowing he loves them.
“we’re going to the mall today, do you want to go changmin and sunwoo?” his mother offers.
“we will go to the next one, changmin and i are quite tired from the trip yesterday.” sunwoo says politely.
changmin is thankful that sunwoo feels the same way. he’s not really that energized to go out yet. he just wants to lay down. he can’t wait to have some thinking for himself, he definitely needs alone time.
“okay, i’ll leave some money for you guys to order.”
“thanks, ma. i’m really your favorite.” sunwoo teases his older siblings.
an hour later, all of them left besides sunwoo and changmin. sunwoo decides to take a shower, changmin decides to take a shower too. he needs to have some alone time.
while in the shower, changmin realizes that sunwoo is a hella good actor. he’s making changmin fall even more. everything he’s doing is just so natural. it just feels so unfair how sunwoo is playing with his heart, without even knowing.
changmin steps out of the shower go and wear his comfort sweater and sweatpants. he definitely feels like crying. he feels like it’s his fault for even agreeing to this. this is definitely a bad idea.
without even noticing, changmin’s tears fall. he’s not even sad or anything, he’s just so hopelessly in love with sunwoo, but there’s absolutely no chance.
distracted by his emotions, changmin doesn’t know that sunwoo was walking toward him. sunwoo suddenly lifts changmin’s chin softly, “who did this to you?” he says while wiping changmin’s tears with his thumb.
“no one.”
“don’t lie to me, changmin. who hurt you?”
“it… doesn’t matter.” changmin says, calming himself.
“is it a dude? i don’t like to see you crying. i’ll punch them if needed.”
“sunwoo..”
“yes? tell me who hurt you.”
“sunwoo, what part of this whole thing… is real?”
“what do you mean?”
“are you still acting?”
“what do you mean? what’s happening?”
“this… whole… being sweet to me.”
“changmin, you’re my best friend.”
“that’s the problem! i’m just your best friend!” something in changmin just snaps. suddenly, he’s so tired of just being best friends. he wants more.
“what? did i do something wrong?”
“nothing, you didn’t do anything.”
“were you crying because of me? tell me. one word and i’ll book the closest train home.”
“sunwoo…”
“what? i’ll never forgive myself if i made you cry.”
“i like you.”
“huh?”
“i like you… for a very long time now.”
“i didn’t want to confess, i’m too scared to lose you. i don’t want to lose you. please. don’t ever.”
“shhh..” sunwoo says and hugs him tight, “i’m not going anywhere. you’re not going to lose me.”
“i’m sorry. i’m sorry for falling in love with you. i’m sorry…”
“changmin.” sunwoo says, again lifting changmin’s chin gently.
“can i kiss you?”
changmin was stunned, is he hearing things? is this real…? he gives sunwoo a shy nod.
“babe, you need to tell me. can i kiss you?”
“yes.” the moment sunwoo gets the confirmation, he closes the gap between their lips. everything came crashing down, years of yearning for each other… they definitely kissed like two couples reuniting.
they both pull away to catch their breaths, “so… you… like me too?”
“i just realized it this morning actually,” sunwoo answers, lips still bright from the intensity of their kiss.
“i’ve always felt this… certain… attraction to you. i always wanted to be with you. it just all made sense earlier this morning when you… were… on top of me.” sunwoo says and clears his throat, a sign that he’s embarrassed.
changmin chuckles, “your own actions backfired. you were the one who pulled me to the bed.”
“yeah, but because of that i realized that i’ve always liked you.”
“so… what are we?”
“hmmm… best friends?” sunwoo teases.
“aaah, okay, sure. i’ll go on a date with-”
“don’t you dare!” sunwoo says and hugs him suddenly.
“getting a bit possessive, huh? we don’t have a label yet.”
“i feel like the appropriate label would be boyfriends.”
“boyfriends.” changmin repeats with a smile. everything just happened so fast, but he’s so happy. finally, after years of yearning, the feelings are finally reciprocated!