Archive of Our Own

Jimin didn’t even let Jeongguk sit down at the restaurant table before he reminded him of the problem looming over his head. “Did you figure out yet how you’re going to pay for food and stuff starting next week?”

“Geez, let me at least take my jacket off first,” Jeongguk mumbled, holding off from answering for a couple more seconds. Of course, the answer was no. He had not found a job that let him work within the few hours that he could spare in his schedule and his parents had not been amused when he had tried to beg for them to help him pay for his second year at uni as well - even though they had told him for years they’d only give him an allowance for the first year.

Jeongguk knew that he was lucky to have a scholarship that paid for most of his expenses but if he wanted to keep the scholarship he needed to stay on top at swim meets and have good grades in all of his classes. That was the deal; he had seen what had happened to a fellow swimmer who failed a class last semester. Jeongguk couldn’t afford that. Between swim practices, classes, and studying in the library… there was just not enough time for a job. Or maybe Jeongguk was just not willing to trade his sanity and sleep for money and shitty work hours. Which was definitely not helpful in his situation. “I didn’t find a job if that’s what you’re asking. And I’m really hoping you’re gonna keep your promise of paying for my dinner tonight.”

“Of course,” Jimin replied and wrapped his arms around Jeongguk’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, Hobi hyung will pay.”

Hoseok across from them laughed and reached over the table to pour Jeongguk a cup of water. “Sure, hyung will pay. Jiminie will make it up to me later.” He grinned at Jimin, who only made kissy noises back at his boyfriend.

Snorting at how ridiculous his friends were, Jeongguk exchanged amused looks with Namjoon, who was sitting next to Hoseok. Jeongguk had been friends with Namjoon first. During his first semester, they had been in the same maths class, though Jeongguk couldn’t remember for the life of him anymore what exact class it had been. Becoming friends with Namjoon was easy, just as being friends with him was. Jeongguk was usually no master at making friends. He liked talking to people but often he struggled to put in the effort to really befriend someone - or maybe he had simply always tried to befriend the wrong kinds of people.

Jimin joined their little duo quite effortlessly as well. He and Jeongguk lived in the same dormitory, so after passing each other in the hall a few times and having a couple of meaningless conversations… something shifted. They started to linger longer and actually exchanged numbers. Jimin was the kind of friend that everyone needed and deserved. He gave Jeongguk space when he needed it but he never left without a hug and a soft kiss on Jeongguk’s head; he paid for Jeongguk’s coffee every once in a while because he was the hyung, but didn’t get offended when Jeongguk wanted to pay him back; he made Jeongguk attend parties but showed up at his swim competitions and cheered louder than anyone.

He and Hoseok started dating only a couple of months ago. They met at a dance class that Hosoek was teaching - either that or at a party, Jeongguk wasn’t all too sure which one had come first. Hoseok was a lot like Jimin at least when it came to being friends with him, but he was like a breath of fresh air in their dynamic as well.

“Jimin, do you think you can ask around in your faculty if there are any studies that Jeongguk could participate in? I know it doesn’t pay much, but it could help,” Namjoon suggested as they started to put some meat on the grill in front of them. Surprised, Jeongguk lifted an eyebrow. He hadn’t even thought of that. Jimin always sent around questionnaires from his psychology major friends who were in charge of certain studies for their theses.

Humming, Jimin cocked his head. “I can’t think of any… but I mean, I could ask.” He shrugged and snatched a piece of kimchi from the bowl between him and Jeongguk. Then he suddenly sat up straight. “Wait, I have a way better idea. I heard that Seokjin hyung is looking to pay someone for playing his boyfriend at some parties from his parents or something. You should text him.”

Hoseok furrowed his eyebrows. “Wasn’t he just joking arou- ow.” Wincing, Hoseok leaned back from the table, putting some distance between him and his boyfriend.

“No, he was serious, he told me,” Jimin interrupted him quickly. He smiled at Jeongguk. “You know how rich people are, always throwing around their money.”

Jeongguk considered it. “I don’t know, it does sound sketchy.”

“Yeah, but in your situation? Wouldn’t you rather do something sketchy with a person you know instead of a stranger?” Jimin placed a piece of seasoned spinach in Jeongguk’s rice bowl and looked at him until he picked it up and ate it. “You can trust Seokjin hyung, believe me. Hobi hyung agrees.”

Hoseok let out a noncommittal hum, making Jeongguk sigh. He did know Seokjin, but only on the surface level and most of it was just from stories that Hoseok had told him. Kim Seokjin was a theatre major, not at Jeongguk’s university, but at the university of arts that Hoseok attended as well. He was also the son of the famous movie director Kim Youngho and the actress Choi Mikyung, which meant not only were his parents loaded, he was as well. Jeongguk had met him a handful of times since he was close friends with Hoseok but… they had never talked all that much. He knew that Seokjin was handsome and kind and that he laughed a lot - then again everyone did that when they were around Hoseok.

Namjoon seemed to notice his hesitation and gently nudged his leg with his foot. “It wouldn’t hurt to at least ask, right? Definitely would be an easy way to get money.”

“Yeah,” Jeongguk mumbled in thought. “I just don’t get why he would pick me instead of one of his actor friends. But I guess I could shoot him a message.”

“Please do. I think you guys would make a great fake couple,” Jimin replied, grinning brightly, and reached out to pinch Jeongguk’s cheek. “I can already see the fake wedding invitation in front of me.”

Huffing, Jeongguk shook his head. “I really don’t think that’s gonna work out. So can you still ask around for any studies I can join or whatever? And please someone put some samgyeopsal on the grill, I can’t reach it.”

Later that night, Jeongguk procrastinated on messaging Seokjin until it was so late that he should technically go to bed since he had an early morning class. But he didn’t actually want to sleep until he had at least sent Seokjin a message, so he finally got the courage to pull up Seokjin on KakaoTalk and type out a text.

well if it isn’t my favourite swim prodigy.
idk what jimin told you exactly but.
i mean yes. i may have told someone that I have a lover at one of my parents’ parties and they told me I should bring them along so,,, oops.

no audition lol.
if you want the job then it’s yours.

i’m not gonna ask any of my actor ‘friends’ because they’d actually enjoy being at my parents’ parties. i need my partner to suffer with me.

basically my parents throw big parties, events, galas, whatever, almost weekly. it gets really exhausting. so yeah at this point i’m happy to pay someone to go there with me. You’ll get free food and drinks. you might have to talk to some celebrities but you’ll survive, i usually find hiding places pretty quickly.

you need the money and i need the company. it’s a win-win.
*throws pokéball* i choose you, jeongguk.

let’s just meet up to talk about the rest of this. do you have time tomorrow around 6?

ok i’ll come find you then
goodnight

Jeongguk put his phone away and grabbed his face in his hands. This was so strange. What the hell was he getting into? Getting paid for attending parties that other people would probably sell their livers to go to? Either this was the start of something really good… or really disastrous.

With a loud thump, Seokjin dropped a pile of papers on Jeongguk’s library table. “What’s up, Aquaman?”

Jeongguk slowly looked up from his calculator, ready to come up with something witty, when he remembered that he was wearing the Aquaman shirt that one of his high school friends had gotten him. He had a whole collection of water-themed shirts, most of them he had acquired as a joke or gotten as a gift. This particular one sometimes got him into awkward conversations since he wasn’t actually a fan of Aquaman - he had read a few comics but he was generally more of a Marvel fan.

He pointed to the stack of papers. “What’s that? The NDA I have to sign?”

Seokjin snorted. “No, silly, that’s our script.”

Realizing he wasn’t getting any more studying done, Jeongguk started packing up his things. “I thought I didn’t have to be an actor. This sounds very actor-y.”

For a second, it seemed like Seokjin was actually embarrassed. “Well, we’re still gonna have to tell people how we met and I needed to practice my playwriting skills. So I whipped up a few scenes, don’t worry you don’t need to learn any lines. I just thought we could go through them and then… maybe it’ll be easier to pretend.”

Jeongguk had to admit that actually made sense… a little. “Alright, give me my script then.”

“I already highlighted your lines.” Seokjin grinned as he handed Jeongguk one of the scripts. “Let’s just talk through the scenes first, okay? So we met at one of your swimming competitions that Jimin forced me to attend. Of course, you immediately fell for my dashing looks and I thought, you look quite handsome too, so-”

“Why can’t we go with something more realistic? Like… let’s say we met at a laundromat or something! I hang out there pretty often,” Jeongguk suggested. Meeting at a laundromat was romantic, right? Making conversations as you wait for your laundry to finish, folding your clothes next to each other…

Seokjin blinked. “No offense, but my parents own multiple dry cleaners in this city. I wouldn’t be caught dead in a laundromat.” Without breaking eye contact, Jeongguk mimicked pulling a dagger out of his chest, making Seokjin giggle. “Sorry.”

“But why can’t we just tell the truth? Or is meeting at a party not realistic and romantic enough?”

“Well.” Seokjin furrowed his eyebrows. He had nice eyebrows, Jeongguk realized. Was that a weird thing to notice? Surely not. Lots of people had nice eyebrows. “We did meet at one of your competitions, so I don’t know what to tell you.”

Whoops. Jeongguk wracked his brain. Jimin had brought a couple of people to his competitions because he liked to take Jeongguk out afterward and it was always more fun with multiple people. Had Seokjin been one of them? Possibly. God, this was embarrassing. “And this was… a few months ago?”

“Maybe even a year,” Seokjin agreed, trying to suppress his smile. “You really don’t remember? You won first place I think and then Jimin took us to this bar but you didn’t drink anything ‘cause-”

“-Because I don’t drink, yeah.” He laughed, shaking his head. He started vaguely remembering the night Seokjin was talking about. If he wasn’t wrong, he even ended up falling asleep at the bar because he was so exhausted from the competition. He wouldn’t have thought that it was the first time they met though. “Alright, so we met at a swim meet, it was love at first sight. Have we been together for a year then?”

“No, no, just two months, three months tops. Long enough to be comfortable with each other but not so long that we know all about the other.” Seokjin started flipping through the script, pointing at different lines. “Okay, see, this one is our first date. We went to sing karaoke because you refused to let me take you out to a fancy dinner. The fancy dinner was our second date.”

Jeongguk hummed. “What song did I sing? I must’ve sung one song that made you fall even more in love with me.”

For a moment, Seokjin only stared down at his script, before shrugging. “Wind Memory?”

“Oh, yeah, I like that one.” It was actually one of Jeongguk’s favorite songs to sing at karaoke, but Seokjin couldn’t know that. They had never been to a karaoke room before, of this he was sure this time. But maybe Seokjin liked the song as well. “So we haven’t been together long yet… Did we say ‘I love you’ yet?”

“Huh, I don’t know.” Seokjin shrugged and leaned back in his chair. His foot accidentally brushed against Jeongguk’s under the table. “Are you someone who says it quickly?”

Jeongguk paused, pursing his lips in thought. He was one to feel it quickly. His last relationships had started with him falling completely head over heels within weeks. But usually he didn’t say anything until he knew the feelings would be reciprocated. And maybe that was a little selfish because he knew people loved at different paces. “I don’t think so. So we didn’t say it. Okay. Umm… Listen, I wanna treat this like I’m just doing you a favor but-”

“You need the money, I know, don’t worry.” Seokjin smiled at him so softly, he could feel some of the tension leave his shoulders. “My parents usually host some kind of party every week but I don’t need you to attend every party, so let’s say two a month. You can just tell me how much money you need and I’ll pay it. No hard feelings.”

Hesitating, Jeongguk nodded slowly. It’s what they had agreed on previously after all. But still… it felt too good to be true. “But if you need me to do more-”

“Jeongguk-ah,” Seokjin interrupted him gently and reached out to grab Jeongguk’s hands on the table. “I know this is gonna make me sound super pretentious, but I don’t care about my money all that much. I’d give it to you for free, but I fear that you wouldn’t like that.” Jeongguk quickly shook his head. “See. Let’s just have fun and forget about the money. We don’t need to treat this like a business relationship.”

Alright. Yeah. Jeongguk could do that. Probably.

Two minutes into the first party by Seokjin’s parents, Jeongguk was already feeling very out of place. The suit he borrowed from Seokjin was a little too tight around his shoulders, which didn’t help him feel more comfortable. Seokjin offered to buy him a new suit, but hJeongguk insisted that borrowing a suit would be fine. Where would he even wear a suit like this? He had no use for a fancy suit like the one he was wearing now. And still, everyone else at the party seemed to just… fit. They looked good in their fitted suits and frilly dresses. No suit in the world could make Jeongguk feel like he belonged in a place like this.

“Alright, then.” Seokjin gently clinked his glass of champagne against Jeongguk’s. The second they stepped into the foyer, a waiter had raced toward them since his pay got probably reduced if he didn’t hand out champagne flutes to arriving guests in record time. Seokjin downed his glass in one go. Jeongguk almost expected him to grimace at the taste of alcohol but he only smacked his lips together in contentment. “Go on. Drinks are on me. There’s a buffet somewhere as well.”

Jeongguk hummed. “Except I don’t drink.”

Seokjin stared back at him for a second before he shrugged and switched flutes with Jeongguk. “Easy solution.” He downed Jeongguk’s champagne as well. “Man, I wouldn’t survive these things without drinks.”

“That’s concerning.”

Snorting, Seokjin lead him out of the foyer and into one of the other rooms. The party was being held at a hotel - or, at least it looked like a hotel to Jeongguk; he hadn’t been able to catch the sign outside. “Come on, let’s get you a drink. Alcohol-Free.” With a grin, he started humming the Twice song as they walked up to the bar.

After they had each gotten a drink, they walked into the next room, where people were just standing around and talking - it seemed more like a socializing event than a party to Jeongguk, but then again, lots of people attended formal events like these to socialize. God, how was Jeongguk gonna convince all these people that he and Seokjin were dating?

“Uh, hyung? Can I kiss you?” Seokjin froze with his glass touching his lips. “I mean, in general, because I feel like the best way to show people we’re dating is PDA. Otherwise, we might just be two dudes hanging out.”

Raising his eyebrows, Seokjin licked the alcohol off his lips. “Well, we don’t have to actually kiss. There’s always stage kisses.”

Jeongguk laughed. “We’re in a room full of people working in the movie and theater industry and you think they won’t be able to recognize stage kisses?” He looked curiously around the room. So far, people hadn’t really paid attention to them. Well, a couple of people had nodded and smiled at Seokjin and some had been watching from afar. “I don’t mind kissing you, it’s- oh, god, someone is coming.”

“What?” Seokjin whipped his head around.

“Quick, can I kiss you?”

Finally, Seokjin noticed the two young men who were walking up to them. “I mean, yeah, but-”

“Good.” Hurried, Jeongguk grabbed Seokjin’s tie and pulled him in for a kiss. Seokjin sputtered against his lips, his free hand reaching out to rest on Jeongguk’s arm. They only pulled apart when one of the guys that had approached them cleared his throat.

Slowly, Seokjin smacked his lips together. “Jeongguk, these are Yoongi and Taehyung, my best friends. They, uh, know of our arrangement.”

Taehyung, who was the taller of the two, grinned and winked at Jeongguk. “Thank you for giving us a show, though.”

“Oh.” Whoops. Well, at least Jeongguk now knew that Seokjin’s lips were really soft. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Yoongi replied with a small smile on his lips as well. Jeongguk really couldn’t blame Seokjin’s friends for laughing at them. Jeongguk had been so panicked about playing the fake boyfriend role that he had forgotten that there might be people here who he didn’t have to pretend in front of.

Jeongguk took a sip from his drink to hide his embarrassment. “So are you… like Seokjin?”

Yoongi cocked his head. “Desperate enough to hire a fake boyfriend or a nepotism baby?”

“Very funny,” Seokjin interrupted them as Jeongguk and Taehyung started laughing. “Yoongi is studying composition and Taehyung stage design. Yoongi is technically a nepotism baby, but-”

“I’m just very talented at what I do,” Taehyung added, flicking his hair. “I’ve also been an actor since I came out of the womb but just like Seokjin hyung I decided to have a different focus at uni.”

Jeongguk pulled his eyebrows together in confusion and glanced at Seokjin. “Wait, I thought-”

“I’m so glad to see you guys, but I fear I promised Jeongguk that we’d stop by the buffet.” Seokjin’s arm wrapped around Jeongguk’s waist and pulled him along. “Talk to you later maybe.”

“You get a boyfriend and suddenly you can’t hang out with us,” Taehyung called after them, a grin still prominent on his face. “So typical, hyung.”

Jeongguk looked over his shoulder to make sure that Seokjin’s friends really were fine with them leaving them - just in time to see Taehyung reaching out and gently brushing his fingers against Yoongi’s face. Quickly, Jeongguk turned away again, not wanting to intrude in what seemed like an intimate moment. Seokjin, who had apparently checked on his friends as well, only chuckled and kept pulling Jeongguk along. “Umm, are your friends dating?”

It turned out that the buffet was elaborate enough to fill an entire room; tables upon tables of food though most of them just looked to be appetizers. At least it made the food easier to eat while standing. Seokjin made the executive decision that they’d just share a plate. “Worse than that, actually,” he said as he tried to pile up a couple of mini spring rolls on his half of the plate. “Tae has been in love with Yoongi for years but Yoongi keeps rejecting him because… well, Tae dates a lot. He’s not an asshole, but he falls in love very quickly and he falls out of love just as quickly, so his relationships usually don’t last longer than a month. I’ve talked to Yoongi about it and he really likes Tae as well-”

“But he’s worried that it won’t work out long term with Taehyung hyung’s track record,” Jeongguk finished the sentence, nodding slowly. “I get that. It must suck though. Are they okay?”

Seokjin paused, staring down at the fried zucchini, before looking at Jeongguk. “Yeah, they’re fine. I think Yoongi currently has a crush on one of Hoseok’s friends and Tae… he never really gets lonely.”

“That’s good, I guess… Ah, come on, hyung, I’ll just get my own plate.” Laughing, Jeongguk grabbed a plate for himself, when Seokjin clearly seemed to struggle deciding on how to get as much food as possible on his half of the shared plate. “We’ll find a little table or something.”

Thankfully, they did end up finding an empty bar table in another room - how many more rooms were part of this party? Jeongguk didn’t feel much more comfortable than when he arrived but having Seokjin next to him helped. As they were eating, more and more people walked up to them to talk to Seokjin. Jeongguk recognised most of them, though he wouldn’t have been able to name any of them. It seemed like everyone who was part of the Korean film industry in some way knew and loved Kim Seokjin. Jeongguk almost felt like a Christmas elf at a shopping mall, watching as everyone came up and took pictures with Santa next to him. To be fair, Seokjin always made sure to introduce Jeongguk as his boyfriend and a couple of actors even exchanged a few words with him out of sheer courtesy. He didn’t mind not getting much attention, though. He liked to watch dramas from time to time, but he couldn’t really join these conversations even if they seemed superficial.

“Hey.” Jeongguk nudged Seokjin discreetly after a particularly annoying actor had finally left him alone. “What did Taehyung mean earlier when he said something about you not focusing on acting?”

At first, Seokjin looked like he was going to change the topic, his eyes wandering across for a distraction. Then his shoulders sagged a little and he leaned closer. “Taehyung has a few acting classes with me, but, like I said, he’s majoring in stage design. I’m majoring in acting because that’s what everyone’s expecting from me, but since last year I’ve been taking a few classes in playwriting. It’s not enough to graduate with a double major, but I’m thinking about maybe doing my master’s in playwriting? I don’t know, though.”

“You definitely should,” Jeongguk replied with a smile, reaching out to squeeze Seokjin’s arm. “Fuck what everyone else expects. I wasn’t even sure why you’re even taking acting classes, because I’m sure your parents could get you any role you want.”

Seokjin furrowed his eyebrows and pulled out of Jeongguk’s grasp. “I don’t want to get roles just because someone recognized my name on the audition tape. I want to be good.”

“No, yeah, I-” Jeongguk nodded, mentally kicking himself for his comment. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply- You’re absolutely right.”

There was silence for a moment before Seokjin smiled at him. “I think it’s time to find a hiding spot.”

Relieved that Seokjin didn’t seem to be upset with him, Jeongguk raised an eyebrow and let out a quiet laugh. “Already?”

“Would you rather have a few more uncomfortable conversations with strangers?”

He did not. He really didn’t. But he would’ve been willing to stay a little longer, since he was getting paid for this after all. And it was quite funny when Seokjin tried to make faces at him mid-conversation. “But we haven’t even said hi to your parents yet.” Seokjin let out a groan. “Come on, it’d be really disrespectful if I didn’t at least wave at them. They didn’t even invite me.”

Jeongguk was right and Seokjin knew that. He was a little nervous to meet Seokjin’s parents, nevertheless. But it was better to just rip the bandaid off quickly, right? And his parents were just people, very rich and influential people, but people nevertheless.

They found Seokjin’s mother at one of the bars, nursing a glass of white wine. “Eomma.” Seokjin pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. “This is Jeon Jeongguk, my boyfriend.”

Hurriedly, Jeongguk bowed, probably lower than he needed to. “Nice to meet you, Choi Mikyung-ssi.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” she replied with a smile, scrunching up her nose the same way as Seokjin. “I have to admit my son is awfully private about you, so I haven’t heard a lot. Are you an acting major as well?”

Before Jeongguk could reply, Seokjin was already hugging him from behind and answering for him. “He’s majoring in mechanical engineering and he’s a swimmer.”

Mikyung hummed in appreciation. “Oh, that’s such an underrated sport, impressive. You know, I used to date an athlete before your Appa and-”

“Ah, Eomma, that story is gonna have to wait for another time,” Seokjin said so quickly that Jeongguk was suddenly very curious about whether it was a story he had heard before. Hopefully, he’d have the time to ask Mikyung about it. “Speaking of Appa, we wanted to say hi to him as well. Do you know where he is?”

“He’s out in the gardens with his friends,” Mikyung replied, rolling her eyes in amusement. “You won’t see him any time soon. But I’ll tell him you said hi. I have a feeling I won’t see you much tonight?”

Seokjin laughed and pressed a kiss to Jeongguk’s cheek. Immediately, he could feel the blood rushing to his head. “I’m taking Jeongguk up to the roof.”

Smiling, Mikyung patted Seokjin’s face. “I’ve raised a good son. Off you go, then.”

“You’re mother is so nice,” Jeongguk said as they were taking the elevator to the highest floor. From there they’d have to take the stairs up to the roof. “I was kind of expecting her to be snooty, no offense.”

“Oh, she can be.” Seokjin fiddled with his tie, before looking up at Jeongguk. “Thank you for coming with me tonight.”

“No, thank you.” He didn’t want to bring up again that Seokjin was paying him, so he kept it unsaid. Seokjin knew how thankful he was though, he had to. And even if this wasn’t about the money, Jeongguk had enjoyed spending time with Seokjin more than he had expected to. He hadn’t thought that he would have an awful time but… they hadn’t spent much time together before this. He had feared that they would seem like an unrealistic couple.

But they didn’t. It didn’t feel unrealistic at all.

“I’m here! I’m here!” Jeongguk panted as he jogged up to the array of picnic blankets that Jimin, Hoseok, and Namjoon were already sitting on top of. “Sorry, I’m late.”

“You always are, somehow,” Jimin said with a blank expression before shaking his head in amusement. “You’d think that you would know by now to just leave practice in time.”

Jeongguk pulled his lips into a pout. “I did. But then Coach reminded me that I was actually on cleaning duty and…” He only sighed and sat down on one of the blankets, slipping his feet out of his sneakers. He wasn’t quite sure why the four of them needed this many blankets; and if all those containers next to Hoseok were full of food as well- “Wait, I didn’t have to bring any food, right? Shit.”

With a laugh, Hoseok waved him off quickly. “No, don’t worry, we knew you’d just forget.” He frowned and looked away for a moment, hoping it came off as if he was just checking out the big movie screen that was constructed in front of the science building. He wished he could protest and say he wasn’t all that forgetful, except with how stressed he had been since the beginning of the semester… all these little things seemed to just fly out of his brain. “You’re not the last to arrive either.”

After a quick head count, Jeongguk raised his eyebrows. “Who’s still missing?”

“The love of your life, baby.”

Jeongguk jumped in surprise at the sound of Seokjin’s voice, which of course delighted him to no end. With a bright grin, he sat down next to Jeongguk, while Taehyung joined Jimin and Hoseok, and Yoongi decided to share a blanket with Namjoon.

“Are you even allowed to be here?” Jeongguk asked skeptically. “I thought movie nights were just for students that actually go to this university.”

Seokjin cocked his head at him. “Do you think they’re gonna start checking student IDs? Loosen up a little.” He reached out to massage one of Jeongguk’s biceps - and no, Jeongguk did not flex on purpose, that was just an instinct. Holding back a scoff, Jeongguk just nodded. He was loose. He didn’t mind Seokjin and his friends joining their movie night. But he had thought that this would be a relaxing evening with his friends and not… another outing with his fake boyfriend. “No, seriously, why are you so stiff? Do you want me to sit somewhere else?”

Great. Now Seokjin was uncomfortable as well. He sighed. “No, please. I’m- I’m sorry, I just wasn’t mentally prepared to be your boyfriend tonight.”

Seokjin looked around them, before locking eyes with Jeongguk again. “It’s fine. I don’t see any of my parents’ friends around.”

“Hyung, I know how this works. Someone will see and someone will snitch and then- what if it comes out that we’re not actually dating?”

For a moment, Seokjin seemed to just process Jeongguk’s words, his eyes wandering up and down his face. “We- It’s really not that deep, Jeongguk-ah. I don’t care about that.” His hand that had still been resting on Jeongguk’s arm slipped down until their fingers were simply lying on top of each other, not quite intertwined. “I don’t want you to put on an act if you’re not comfortable or prepared. Your comfort is more important. But I also hope you don’t have to pretend to look like you’re enjoying my company.” He let out a dry laugh.

Oh. Jeongguk stared back with an open mouth, trying to figure out what to say. He hadn’t wanted Seokjin to think that he was uncomfortable with their agreement; or even with him as a person. “I’m sorry, hyung, just forget what I said. I think I just got too much pool water in my brain or something.” He tangled their fingers together and smiled at Seokjin.

Looking down at their fingers, Seokjin cleared his throat quietly. “So, uh, what movie are they playing again tonight?”

“Iron Man,” Jeongguk replied with a proud grin. “I got half of the engineering faculty to mass vote online, just out of principle.”

“You like Iron Man, huh?” Seokjin raised an eyebrow. “I should’ve guessed that.”

Sheepishly, Jeongguk lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug. “He inspired me to study mechanical engineering. I know I’ll never be exactly like him but… a man can dream, I guess.”

Seokjin gently bumped their shoulders together. “I’m sure you’ll be even better than Iron Man. And when you are, I’ll write a movie about you, too.”

That sounded absolutely amazing. Even if Seokjin probably just meant it as a joke. “Deal.”

“Lovebirds, if you don’t grab some food soon, there won’t be any left,” Taehyung said loudly before he shoved a sandwich into his mouth. Not having noticed that their friends had already started dividing the food, they quickly rushed to grab their share.

Half an hour later, the movie had started and Jeongguk and Seokjin were sharing the last few pieces of gimbap between them. Seokjin kept giggling to himself quietly, and when Jeongguk checked to see what he was looking at - since it definitely wasn’t the movie - he noticed that Namjoon and Yoongi were now sitting much closer than they had earlier. Their hands were resting between them, their pinkies almost touching, but Yoongi’s fingers kept inching closer every few seconds until their pinkies finally interlocked. All this, of course, while the two of them stared at the movie screen in front of them.

Suddenly, something that Seokjin had said to him clicked inside Jeongguk’s brain. “Wait,” he whispered, leaning into Seokjin. “Yoongi hyung has a crush on Namjoon hyung? Is he Hoseok’s friend you mentioned?” Seokjin nodded with a gleeful expression on his face. “Namjoon isn’t his friend, though, he’s mine. Or well, he was mine first.”

“Sometimes you act a little like a toddler.” Seokjin dodged Jeongguk’s elbow that tried to ram into his ribs. “They’re cute, right?”

Jeongguk hummed. “They are, I hope they work out. Taehyung hyung won’t come between them, right?” He glanced over to Seokjin’s other friend that was completely enraptured by the movie.

“Never,” Seokjin replied quickly. Jeongguk trusted his judgment. Taehyung seemed like a really nice person and if he truly loved Yoongi as Seokjin had mentioned then he would probably not let his feelings get in the way of Yoongi’s happiness. That’s what Jeongguk would do at least.

“By the way,” he mumbled and pressed their shoulders together. “I don’t have to pretend to enjoy your company.”

Seokjin smiled, not looking away from the movie. “Of course, you don’t. I’m hilarious.”

“Eh.” Jeongguk couldn’t help but giggle when Seokjin turned to look at him. For a second, Jeongguk thought Seokjin would only glare at him but then he full-on tackled him, pressing Jeongguk onto the blanket.

Now, Jeongguk was strong and he was probably stronger than Seokjin, so he could’ve pushed him off easily. Instead he pressed his lips together to hold back his laughter and looked up at Seokjin, who seemed to have expected more of a struggle as well. “Umm.” The campus ground was barely lit at this point but Jeongguk could’ve sworn that Seokjin’s face was turning red.

Since Jeongguk didn’t say anything Seokjin sat up again, turning to the movie again, his body stiff. Belatedly, Jeongguk realised that he had just missed the perfect opportunity to kiss Seokjin. Except. Seokjin had told him that they didn’t need to pretend here.

There was no need for them to kiss. So why did Jeongguk wish they did?

Jeongguk let out a low whistle as he stepped into Seokjin’s bedroom. A couple of weeks had passed and it was the fourth - or was it the fifth? - party that Jeongguk was attending. This time Seokjin’s parents were hosting in the comfort of their own house; or mansion as Jeongguk would call it. “This is… triple the size of my whole apartment.”

“Technically, half of the rooms on this floor are mine, but I mainly stay in here,” Seokjin replied. When Jeongguk raised his eyebrows at him, he only shrugged. “I don’t know what you expected, you know how much money my parents have.”

For a moment, Jeongguk considered commenting on his nonchalance before he noticed the collection of swords that was displayed in one corner of the room. “Holy-” He hurried over to the swords, inspecting them closer. There were long swords and shorter ones; double-edged and curved ones. They had simple hilts and they had embellished hilts. No sword looked completely alike. He reached out to touch one but Seokjin slapped his hand away before he could. “Ouch. So you’re that type of collector, huh?”

“What?” Seokjin scrunched his face up in confusion before he realized what Jeongguk had meant. “No, you can touch my swords as much as you like. Just try not to actually cut your fingers, most of the blades are very sharp.”

Jeongguk clenched his jaw to stop himself from making a stupid joke. It didn’t work. “Oh, I’ll touch your sword, alright.”

Seokjin didn’t even try to hold back his laughter, covering his face when his blood rushed to his head. “You- Yeah, I’ll give you that one.”

Carefully, Jeongguk brushed his fingers over the hilt of the sword that was closest to him. “How did you start collecting them?”

“My father got me my first one.” Seokjin pointed to a longsword. “It was a prop for one of his dramas. From then on I started talking with the weapon experts on set and I just… I don’t know. Swords are just cool.”

“What an eloquent way to put it,” Jeongguk said teasingly before he turned to smile at Seokjin. “They are cool, though. Can you fight with them?”

“Yeah, I- Look.” Grabbing Jeongguk’s wrist, Seokjin pulled him to a wall that was plastered with pictures. He pointed to one photo that showed a teen Seokjin and a couple of other teens with all sorts of weapons. “I went to this theater camp and they taught us how to fight with weapons. Only so we can portray it well on stage, of course.”

Jeongguk snorted. “Of course.” He curiously looked at the other photos on the wall. Some were framed, but many were just stuck to the wallpaper. Seokjin was alone in none of them; he was either posing with a friend or it was a big group shot. It took Jeongguk a few seconds to realize that the photos were taken on film sets or on stages. They were proof of Seokjin’s accomplishments as an actor, but instead of showcasing the results, like movie posters or tickets, he was keeping memories of the people he spent time with. Was Jeongguk reading too much into a wall of photos? Probably. “I didn’t know you were in this many dramas.”

Seokjin hummed. “Yeah, even when I was a baby.”

That truly was remarkable. Seokjin probably even had fans; he hadn’t even thought about that before. “I’m sure your parents had to do with the start of that but when did it become your passion? When did you decide that you wanted to act for yourself and not just because of your parents?” There was a beat of silence and Jeongguk realized that the question hadn’t been as innocent as he had intended it to be. He watched as Seokjin averted his eyes and pressed his lips together. His answer was quite clear. It hadn’t become his passion, it was still his parents’. Alright, how was he gonna get out of this now? “So you like playwriting, huh?”

With a snort, Seokjin turned and sat down at the edge of his bed. When Jeongguk continued to awkwardly stand around, he patted the space next to him. “I don’t hate acting, you know? I like it. Sometimes I just don’t know if I’d like it as much if I hadn’t already been doing it since I was born.”

“I get that.” Jeongguk knocked their knees together in a comforting gesture after taking a seat on the bed as well. “You’ll figure it out, though.”

Seokjin let out a long sigh and let himself fall back onto the mattress. Jeongguk copied him. “Why did you start swimming?”

The easy answer was that he simply wanted to, and that was the truth. It just wasn’t the full truth. Considering the fact that Seokjin had just shared a truth about himself that he probably didn’t like to admit a lot, Jeongguk decided to be sincere as well. “It’s gonna sound absolutely insane,” he warned him first, enjoying the way Seokjin giggled in response. “When I was young I was convinced that I couldn’t drown.”

“Taking the mermaid roleplaying a little too far, were you?”

“No, I just-” Jeongguk laughed, knowing how ridiculous it sounded every time he tried to put it into words. “I felt so comfortable in the water that I… I thought the water could never hurt me. It made me a little reckless, but I never actually tested that theory. Sorry, I don’t know how to explain it well, but when I swim… I’m not in the water, I’m part of the water.”

Seokjin turned his head to look at him and Jeongguk suddenly became very aware of how close they were, their noses almost touching. He could feel Seokjin’s breath on his face as he cleared his throat. “That sounds…”

“Irrational?”

“Yes,” Seokjin pulled his lips into a faint smile. “And absolutely marvelous. I hope one day I will love something as much as you love swimming.”

Humming, Jeongguk pursed his lips, trying not to think about the fact that he was so very close to kissing Seokjin. “Don’t pressure yourself about that, though. Some people have this one big passion and others have many small ones. I have so many interests and hobbies, but I’m not really good at any of them. Except swimming, of course.” For what seemed like forever but was probably only a minute, they just looked at each other. Jeongguk realized he truly could do this forever; just lie here and bask in comfortable silence with Seokjin. Was that weird? “Didn’t you say you needed to rehearse some lines for that play of yours?”

“Right,” Seokjin replied but didn’t move a muscle.

“Up, up.” With a laugh, Jeongguk hit Seokjin until he got off the bed and grabbed a stack of papers that were barely held together by a staple. He handed the script to Jeongguk, who curiously thumbed through it. “The Cherry Orchard by Check- Chekhov? Sounds Russian.”

Seokjin stretched his legs and arms as if he was about to start an impromptu dance performance. “It is. I play Gayev, but I’ve highlighted that anyway. It’s such an interesting play because Chekhov intended to be a comedy, but it’s often turned into a tragedy. Do you need me to sum it up before we run through it?”

Scanning over the first few lines, Jeongguk slowly shook his head. “No, it’s fine, I’ll learn it as we go.”

“I’m not in every scene, though.”

“It’s fine.” Jeongguk waved him off, looking for the first highlighted part. “Come on, let’s go. Lubov says, ‘Let me remember now. Red into the corner! Twice into the centre!’”

Within milliseconds, Jeongguk watched as Seokjin transformed into an older man, moving his arms around as if he was playing billiards. “Right into the pocket! Once upon a time you and I used both to sleep in this room, and now I'm fifty−one; it does seem strange.“

“The Cherry Orchard,” Namjoon read on the cover of the flyer that had been handed to him. “I don’t think I know that one.”

Jeongguk folded his flyer and slid it into the pockets of his black pants. “It’s a Russian play about a family who has to decide whether they want to sell their cherry orchard or wanna allow their house to get auctioned to pay the mortgage,” he explained absentmindedly, trying to find their friends in the auditorium. He knew that Seokjin had reserved some seats for them, but he didn’t know where they were. “It’s both a comedy and a tragedy, you’ll love it.”

Namjoon raised an eyebrow at him. “Since when are you into Russian plays?”

“I’m not.” He caught a glimpse of Jimin and Hoseok’s bright red hair and walked down the steps to get to their row. “I just helped Seokjin hyung with his lines a couple of times.”

His friend let out a laugh. “I see.”

There were two empty seats left next to Yoongi. After Jeongguk sat down next to him, he paused. Maybe sitting between Yoongi and Namjoon wasn’t the best thing to do. He hadn’t heard much about Namjoon’s crush on Yoongi from the guy himself, but he wasn’t blind. With an apologetic smile, he turned to Yoongi. “Why don’t we switch seats, hyung? I need to ask Jimin something, but I don’t wanna be rude and talk over you.”

Yoongi only shrugged. “Yeah, sure.” When Jeongguk settled into his new seat, he could see Namjoon and Yoongi fidget next to each other. Cute.

“What did you wanna ask me?” Jimin asked and leaned in close so that they could talk quietly. There was a cheeky smile on his face. “Need relationship advice?”

Snorting, Jeongguk stretched his legs out. “You know, I was just getting the lovebirds together.” His feet accidentally nudged against a small bouquet of flowers. Jimin had built a makeshift vase out of a water bottle for it. Actually, he had two bouquets. “Oops, sorry.”

“These are yours anyway,” Jimin replied and pointed to the bouquet with blue flowers. When Jeongguk looked at him in confusion, he rolled his eyes. “We were getting flowers for Taehyung and you asked us to get you a bouquet for Seokjin hyung, remember?”

“Oh, right.”

“You play your fake boyfriend role very well.” Jimin patted his shoulder, making Jeongguk freeze a little. He didn’t want to bring Seokjin flowers because it was the boyfriend thing to do; he didn’t want to arrive empty-handed. And Jimin and Hoseok were bringing Taehyung flowers as well. “Have you guys talked about how long you’re gonna keep fake dating like this?”

Jeongguk clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Well, I still need the money, don’t I?

“Ya, Jeonggukkie,” Hoseok interrupted them, before Jimin could respond. He was leaning back in his seat to try and get a glimpse of Jeongguk behind Jimin. “You know this play, right? Please tell me it’s not scary, Taehyung wouldn’t tell me anything.”

Furrowing his eyebrows, Jeongguk cocked his head. “It’s only scary if socioeconomics terrifies you. Don’t worry, it’s a comedy.” When Hoseok nodded in relief and went back to scrolling on his phone, Jeongguk leaned back into Jimin. “If he gets attached to the orchard, he still might cry. It’s quite tragic.”

Surprisingly enough, Hoseok didn’t end up crying. But Namjoon did.

“Do you really love trees that much?” Jeongguk asked as he wrapped an arm around Namjoon in an effort to comfort his best friend.

“Shut up,” Namjoon replied and wiped the last remaining tears off his cheeks. “It’s a moving play even if you’re not a Russian family in the 20th century.”

Seokjin, of course, was amazing. On stage and with an audience his character was even funnier than in Seokjin’s bedroom. Even if acting might never become Seokjin’s true passion, there was no denying that he had an incredible talent for it. Taehyung was just as good, though his role was significantly smaller, since he had been busy with helping with the stage design.

They waited for the two of them in front of the stage while most of the audience left, Jeongguk clutching the flowers tightly in his hands. It took a while for the actors to trickle out from the backstage area but when they did Taehyung came running.

“These are for you,” Jeongguk said as he held out the flowers to Seokjin who had trotted up after Taehyung. “I, uh- Yeah, we got them for you.”

Smiling, Seokjin lifted the bouquet to his face so he could smell the flowers. “Thank you so much, I love them.” He pulled Jeongguk into a tight hug, tugging his face into his neck. “Thank you.”

Jeongguk felt a little helpless as he rubbed Seokjin’s back. “You’re welcome, of course.”

“Did you like the show?” Seokjin pulled back and looked at him with a bright smile.

“I loved it,” Jeongguk replied quickly, mirroring Seokjin’s smile. “You were amazing.”

Seokjin winked at him. “Well, that’s what I like to hear.”

The blurry figure of Jeongguk’s coach loomed over him as he dove towards the edge of the pool. Clenching his jaw, Jeongguk came up for air and pulled himself out of the water.

“Jeongguk-ah, what am I gonna do with you?“ Coach Yang asked and folded his arms as the swimmer slipped off his goggles and swimming cap.

He froze, his lungs immediately clenching together. “Umm, why?“

The coach sighed. “I can tell you‘re distracted these days. Your times aren‘t bad, but you used to top your times every few practices. I thought you might just be getting used to your second-year classes and everything, but…“

“I‘m- I‘m not distracted,“ Jeongguk replied quickly. He was telling the truth. He hadn‘t noticed being distracted at all - then again, he also hadn‘t noticed that he had been slacking off, either. „I‘ll do better, though! I can stay a little longer and-”

“Nah, you're fine.“ The coach waved him off with a lazy smile. “But make sure to pick up the pace at the meet this weekend. I need you in the top three if not the first place. Otherwise, I‘m gonna have to be a lot stricter and you don‘t want that.“

Jeongguk nodded obediently. “I do not, sir.”

There was a pause before Coach Yang nodded as well and walked away. Jeongguk took this as his cue to dismiss himself. When he picked up his phone in his locker, his whole body froze when he saw the time. Oh no. Oh no no. He was late. He was so very very late and Seokjin was probably gonna beat him up.

Of course, he had to be late today of all days. Of course, today he would forget to cut practice short; of course, today his coach had to talk to him. Jeongguk had repeatedly reassured Seokjin that he didn’t need to pick him up this time around; that he could make it to the party by himself. Clearly, he was wrong.

On his way to his apartment, he shot Seokjin a quick message, letting him know he was going to be late. Seokjin’s reply was understanding, but he had a feeling that his fake boyfriend was going to hide from most of the guests as best as he could. There were some guests that Seokjin always tried to avoid more than others, though Jeongguk hadn’t found out yet if there was a specific reason or if Seokjin just disliked them.

In the end, Jeongguk arrived at the zoo forty minutes later than he was supposed to. Why Seokjin’s parents’ were hosting an event at the zoo was a mystery to him. Were they donors? Did they adopt an animal? Were they just rich and bored of organizing normal parties in normal places?

“Hi.” Jeongguk came to a halt in front of Seokjin and pressed a short kiss to his lips. “I’m so sorry I’m late.”

Only when he noticed Seokjin’s frozen face did Jeongguk realize that he had just kissed Seokjin. Out of reflex. Even though there was no one around. Oh shit. Before he could apologize or say anything at all, Seokjin’s soul reentered his body and he let out a quiet laugh. “You’re fine.” He wrapped an arm around Jeongguk’s shoulder. “The main event is at the greenhouse. I could take you there if you’d like or we could just walk around.”

Jeongguk looked over Seokjin’s shoulder at the well-lit paths that lead through the entire zoo. “Well, I’m hoping that most animals will be sleeping inside, so it’s not like there would be much to see.” One glance at Seokjin’s poker face and Jeongguk failed to hold back his giggle. “But you don’t want to go back to the other guests, so a walk sounds nice.”

“Ah, you’re the best.” Seokjin started pulling him along, his arm around his shoulders sliding down to wrap around his waist instead. “So how was practice? I’m guessing that’s what made you late?”

With a hum, Jeongguk leaned his head against Seokjin’s shoulder. He didn’t really want to admit to him that his coach had scolded him. “Yeah, I just… lost track of time. We have a swim meet on the weekend, so I was trying to get in some extra training…”

Seokjin squeezed Jeongguk’s waist. “You could’ve just said so. I wouldn’t have made you come tonight if-”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Jeongguk quickly interrupted, but didn’t elaborate further. What was he supposed to give as an excuse? I prefer spending time with you anyway? He wasn’t sure if that was the truth. Or rather he was afraid it could be the truth. Swimming had always been his top priority and Seokjin wasn’t changing that but he was… Honestly, Jeongguk wasn’t really sure what Seokjin’s presence in his life was really doing to him.

All he knew was that recently he had been a little uncomfortable whenever he showed up at an event with Seokjin - but he couldn’t pinpoint why. He really liked Seokjin and he was comfortable around him. So was he getting uncomfortable about the events? Was he getting uncomfortable about this ‘job’? Maybe. And he hated it.

“So… how long am I gonna keep going to parties with you?” Jeongguk asked when they walked past the flamingo enclosure. On one hand, he wished Seokjin had an end in sight, but on the other hand, he really wished he didn’t.

Seokjin was so surprised by the question that he let go of Jeongguk and put some space between them. “Do you- Did you find another job?”

“I-” Hesitating, Jeongguk rubbed the back of his neck. “No, I didn’t. I was just wondering- Ah, never mind. I like spending time with you.”

“And you still need the money, right?”

Quietly, Jeongguk swallowed the lump in his throat. Right. That was the problem, wasn’t it? Even if Jeongguk wanted to stop being Seokjin’s fake boyfriend, he couldn’t afford it. His situation hadn’t changed. He wished he knew why he had felt off recently, maybe if he did there was something he could change to make him comfortable again. Because there was nothing else he wanted more than be comfortable with being out and about with Seokjin.

On the day of the swim meet, Jeongguk found himself stuck in a strange sense of tunnel vision. Well, maybe he wouldn’t say ‘strange’ since it was the way he was every time he had to swim in some sort of competition, even if it was just a simple swim meet.

Today was important. He needed to prove to his coach that he was not distracted at all. Because truly he wasn’t. Sure, his life had changed recently, but-

Yeonjun popped up next to him out of nowhere and knocked their hips together as he reached into his locker that was next to Jeongguk’s. “Is your boyfriend coming to watch you?”

Jeongguk almost rammed his head into the locker door in surprise. “Uh.” So even his swimmer friends had heard of his fake boyfriend now, even though they ran in completely different circles. Something about that made his stomach twist. “He won’t. He’s busy.” He hadn’t really asked Seokjin to come and watch, he had just mentioned the meet in general and Seokjin had told him that his parents were hosting a ‘small but lavish’ dinner party.

“Aw, that’s too bad.” Yeonjun pursed his lips before shrugging and turning away - leaving Jeongguk to stare into his locker absentmindedly.

Did he wish that Seokjin could watch him swim? Maybe, a little. But since things have felt a little off- No. There was a reason why Jeongguk hadn’t allowed himself to really think about Seokjin until after the swim meet was over. And it should stay that way. It was time to turn his tunnel vision back on.

Surprisingly, it actually worked well.

The next time Jeongguk snapped back into reality, Coach Yang lifted his arm and declared him the swimmer with the fastest time - making Jeongguk feel a little as if they were in a boxing ring.

Wait, he won!

Jeongguk felt laughter bubble out of his lungs, pure euphoria rushing through his body. He did it. He had won and the spectators were cheering and- Well, they weren’t a sports university, so there weren’t all that many students interested in watching the swim meets. Most of the people were friends of the swimmers. Right now, cheering the loudest was a group of- Jeongguk’s friends.

Jimin and Hoseok were holding up a sign with Jeongguk’s name written in glitter, hollering along with Seokjin and Taehyung. Namjoon and Yoongi stood next to them, cheering as well and breaking off into laughter every time they looked at Jimin and Hoseok jumping up and down.

There wasn’t any ceremonial aspect to the swim meet so once everyone was dismissed by the coach, Jeongguk quickly grabbed his small towel and hurried over to where his friends were waiting for him on the bleachers.

“JEONGGUK-AH!” Jimin yelled and ran down the stairs to meet him halfway.

“Hold on, I’m still-” his breath was knocked right out of his chest when Jimin crashed into him, almost sending Jeongguk falling backward "-wet.” He laughed when Jimin only squeezed him tighter. “Ah, hyung!”

“My prodigal son returns!” Jimin attempted to pick him up before settling with just pulling him along to his friends. “Let me present to you-”

Seokjin interrupted him with a hand wave, his hand wrapping around Jeongguk’s arm. “Yeah, yeah, we get it, Jeongguk’s the best.” With a laugh, he pulled Jeongguk into a tight hug. “You were great, you- argh, you’re wet.”

“Sorry, they haven’t invented swimming in dry water yet,” Jeongguk replied, giggling. He pulled back slightly to look at Seokjin and realized he was wearing a shirt with a horribly photoshopped image on it. The print was a picture of Dory from Finding Nemo with Jeongguk’s head edited onto it with the words ‘Just Keep Swimming’ under it in a bold font. It was both horrifying and hilarious. “That is the worst shirt I’ve ever seen. You better take it off before I burn it with you in it.”

Grinning, Seokjin cocked his head. “Try me, I have a bunch of them at home.” He glanced around for a second, before looking at Jeongguk questioningly. “Should we kiss?”

There was a pang in Jeongguk’s heart but he nodded, pulling Seokjin closer. “Sure,” he breathed, and pressed their lips together.

It was a good kiss. All kisses with Seokjin were good, great even. And as Jeongguk closed his eyes to forget about all of the people watching, the last puzzle piece slid into place, and he realized why he had felt off.

He wasn’t uncomfortable with being with Seokjin or holding his hand or kissing him; he was uncomfortable with it all being fake. He wanted to do all of these things because they were real. He wanted the lies to stop but not the kisses. God, he wanted-

He wanted all of it.

So he was going to have to find a way to tell Seokjin.

You’d think that confessing your feelings to a (somewhat) close friend was a quick and easy affair. Jeongguk thought so at least until he realized… it really wasn’t. First, he thought could just send Seokjin a quick message, but then that felt not personal enough, and once he started thinking about actually talking to Seokjin about all of that, his anxiety kicked in.

When should he tell Seokjin? Would it be inappropriate to do so at one of his parents’ events? Maybe not, since they usually spent them alone for the most part anyway. But what if things went wrong? What could go wrong? Jeongguk’s gut told him that Seokjin liked him as well, but what if he didn’t? What if Seokjin really was just acting the entire time and secretly hated him? Well, alright, that was an exaggeration. Still, it would be humiliating if Seokjin didn’t feel the same.

But if he did, which was very likely, then… that would be worth the possible humiliation, right?

“You look like you’re about to shit yourself,” Yoongi said as he and Taehyung walked up to him, Taehyung immediately wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

They were once again in Seokjin’s parents’ mansion, which at least helped Jeongguk feel a little more comfortable. It might even be the perfect place for a confession. Maybe not while Seokjin was getting them drinks and his friends were sandwiching him between them. “Maybe I am.”

Taehyung pressed his nose to Jeongguk’s cheek, staring at him. “Why? Are you gonna confess your undying love today?” When Jeongguk didn’t reply and only turned around to check whether Seokjin was coming back with their drinks, Taehyung let out a loud gasp. “Are you really?”

“I need you to be quiet please,” Jeongguk replied in a hushed voice, panic rising up like bile in his throat. “I haven’t really decided yet what’s gonna happen tonight.” That was technically a lie. He had decided to just rip the bandaid off and tell Seokjin, but he didn’t want Yoongi and Taehyung to know that. He knew Taehyung would badger him afterward and ask what happened, and if Jeongguk ended up feeling miserable at the end of the night… No, he didn’t want to think about that.

“What are you whispering about?” Jeongguk jumped when Seokjin suddenly popped up behind them, two drinks in his hands. “Is there some gossip?”

Before Jeongguk could come up with something that wasn’t the truth, Yoongi was already snorting into his glass of champagne. “Apparently, Kim Sunoo already managed to snatch himself a lead role, even though it’s just his second drama role.”

Seokjin handed Jeongguk a glass of soda and groaned. “Yoongi-ah, that’s no gossip, everyone knows that.” Smiling, he linked his own glass against Jeongguk’s. “You know I gave him acting tips, so it’s partly my success as well.”

“Sure, it is,” Jeongguk replied in amusement and tried to hide his smile when Seokjin gently pushed Taehyung aside so that he could stand next to Jeongguk instead. They were still standing off to the side in one of the lounges since they had just arrived fifteen minutes ago. There was an ice sculpture of a swan in the middle of the room and Jeongvguk wondered whether they could just stand here and watch it melt.

“Well, actually, you- uh, oh.” Taehyung grimaced and moved to wrap an arm around Yoongi. “Time to go, hyung, the Lee sisters are walking over.”

“What?” Jeongguk watched in confusion as Yoongi and Taehyung hurried into the next room. “What’s going on?”

Seokjin rested his hand on the small of Jeongguk’s back. “Lee Chaeyeon and Lee Chaeryoung. They’re sisters, very talented and very rich. They’re very nice but sometimes they come across a little pushy.” He nodded toward two young women who were making their way toward them.

“Jin oppa!” Both of them quickly pulled Seokjin into a hug, grinning brightly. One of them was wearing a blue dress and the other a green one. The dresses were different styles, but you could still tell they were sisters, mainly because their faces looked so similar.

“Look at you, we haven’t seen you in so long,” the woman in the blue dress said, pursing her lips and pinching Seokjin’s cheek. “How long has it been, unnie?”

“Not that long, Chaeryeong-ah,” the woman in green giggled, meaning she was Chaeyeon. “We saw him during the break before classes started, right?” She then paused to look at Jeongguk with a smile on her lips. “I’m so sorry, I don’t think we’ve met before.”

Jeongguk smiled back at her. “Jeon Jeongguk, I’m-”

“You’re the boyfriend!” Chaeryoung exclaimed, her voice getting all squeaky. “You are, you are! Oppa told us about you! You’re-”

Letting out a high-pitched sound himself, Seokjin pulled on one of Jeongguk’s belt loops. “I’m so sorry, you two. I promised, Jeongguk, we’d, uh, we’d grab some food.”

Chaeryoung pouted. “Oppa, you always run and hide so quick. Let’s catch up instead.”

There was a short pause in which Seokjin was clearly weighing his options. “Don’t worry,” he replied with a tight smile. “We’ll be back and then we can catch up.”

When Seokjin pulled him away in the direction of the buffet, Jeongguk turned his head to glance at the sisters. “We’re not gonna come back, are we?”

“Not if I can help it.”

“So, about what they said-”

“Do you want some lobster? My parents know this excellent lobster caterer so I can assure you, they taste amazing.” Seokjin picked up a plate for Jeongguk and pointed to the sign on the buffet letting guests know that you could order lobsters from the kitchen.

Jeongguk raised an eyebrow at his friend. “Hyung. You told Chaeyeon and Chaeryeong about me.”

Seokjin nodded. “Yes. I told a lot of people about you over the last few months. Let’s not get lobster, let’s get the bulgogi. Gimme that plate.” He exchanged the plate for a bowl, but Jeongguk simply put the bowl back on the table, squeezing himself between Seokjin and the buffet.

“You told them about me before our little arrangement even started,” Jeongguk said quietly, waiting for Seokjin to immediately deny it and give another explanation. Maybe Jeongguk had just misunderstood and Seokjin texted the sisters all the time.

Instead, Seokjin clenched his jaw- “Gotta pee.” -And hurried away from Jeongguk.

For a moment, Jeongguk stood there, completely stunned. What the hell was going on? He rushed after Seokjin, making sure not to bump into any people which slowed him down significantly. Thankfully, Seokjin wasn’t actually heading to the bathrooms, so Jeongguk caught up with him on the staircase in the back of the house.

“Hyung.” He wrapped his hand around Seokjin’s wrist and tugged gently. “Come on, talk to me.”

Seokjin sighed. Then he sat down on the stairs and patted the space next to him. “I, uh, might have told Chaeyeon and Chaeryoung that I was dating a Jeongguk before I started fake dating a Jeongguk.”

Taking a deep breath, Jeongguk plopped down next to Seokjin, stretching out his legs. “Why? Why me?”

“Well, all these events started bothering me, so I tried to get out of them by saying I had a boyfriend, and one day the girls heard and they cornered me about it and… well, I told them about you, said you were my boyfriend.” He let out a quiet laugh. “Of course, it backfired because now they wanted to meet this boyfriend. Jimin heard about it, told you, yada yada, fast forward to me realizing that attending all these events that I hate would be a great way to spend time with you.”

Jeongguk blinked. “Because…”

“Because I like you.” Seokjin turned to look at him but Jeongguk could only stare back in disbelief. “Jeongguk-ah?”

“Wh- You could’ve just asked me out, you know.”

Seokjin laughed again and only now did Jeongguk realize there was a blush spreading to his ears. “I think you overestimate my confidence.”

With a frown, Jeongguk looked down at his hands. His brain was going at a hundred miles a minute. He had been prepared to confess to Seokjin, but somehow he hadn’t been prepared for this. “But you’re you. You’re handsome and popular and- you’re Kim Seokjin.”

“Even a Kim Seokjin can get shy around his crush, you know?” Seokjin cocked his head and smiled so softly that it made Jeongguk’s heart stop completely for a moment - or at least it felt like it. “I’m sorry to have sprung this at you and-”

“No, I-” Jeongguk pressed his lips together to hide his smile before giving up. “I was going to talk to you tonight. I like you a lot and I want to date you properly, not just pretend to.”

Seokjin reached out to tug a few strands of Jeongguk’s hair behind his ear. “I see.” His fingers lingered under Jeongguk’s chin as he leaned in. “May I?”

He didn’t take the time to answer and instead pressed his lips to Seokjin’s. Even if they had kissed a couple of times before, he could feel it in his entire body that this was the one kiss he’d count as their first one. This was the one that made him lose his breath and tilt his world upside down. When he pulled away, he giggled. “I’ve been waiting to kiss you like that. You know, with intention.”

Humming, Seokjin nodded, his hand still cupping Jeongguk’s face. “I’ve always kissed you with that intention,” he mumbled and when Jeongguk started frowning, he gently pinched his cheek. “But you know the time doesn’t matter, it matters more that we arrive at the same goal.”

“As a competitive swimmer, I strongly disagree.” Jeongguk wrapped his arms around Seokjin’s neck and grinned. “But I can look past that.”

Seokjin pulled him in for a short kiss, before getting up. “There’s a place I wanna show you. Come on.”

Of course, he refused to tell Jeongguk where they were going and insisted on just leading him downstairs. As they walked down to the basement level, Jeongguk grabbed Seokjin’s hand and squeezed it. “You know, I’ll have to ask you to stop paying me from now on.”

“What? No.” Seokjin halted on the staircase, his eyes widening. “I don’t- I know you’re not- Jeongguk.”

He smiled apologetically. “Please. I don’t wanna feel all weird about you paying me.”

“And I don’t want you to starve,” Seokjin replied, his voice sounding a little whiny. “Can’t we find a middle ground?”

Jeongguk snorted and nodded slowly. “I mean, I’ve thought things through. We’re almost done with this semester and when the next starts I can hopefully arrange my classes in a way that allows me to get a mini job. I’m just gonna have to spend less time studying.”

“Alright.” Seokjin nodded as well and squeezed Jeongguk’s hand. “And maybe you’ll have a boyfriend who buys you a lot of food because he wants to make sure you eat well.”

Laughing, Jeongguk started walking again, tugging Seokjin along until he took the lead again. “Yeah, maybe.”

To be honest, he wasn’t sure what he expected Seokjin to show him but when they stepped into a well-lit room with a big swimming pool, he fell in love all over again. Only to immediately feel betrayed. “Why did you not take me here before?”

Seokjin shrugged. “I forgot. Here let me-” He walked over to a closet and pulled out two towels along with swimming trunks. “These should fit you, I hope. I don’t think we should jump in with our suits on.”

Surprisingly, the swimming trunks did fit pretty well. As Jeongguk was folding up his shirt and pants, Seokjin kept pinching Jeongguk’s waist and laughing when Jeongguk slapped his hands away. “You know, I like seeing you in my clothes. We should do this more often,” he said, before turning around and climbing into the pool. “Now come on and get in.”

Jeongguk placed his folded clothes on a small bench with a smile. He walked up to the pool and studied its depth before diving into the water, knowing full well that Seokjin was directly in the splash zone. When he came back up to the surface, Seokjin was still standing on the ladder, though he had turned around to lean his back on the medal. He was also completely soaked. “You’re a menace, Aquaman.”

“Thank you very much,” Jeongguk replied and swam up to Seokjin so that he could cage him in against the ladder.

With a laugh, Seokjin wrapped his arms and legs around Jeongguk’s body. “I have a very hot boyfriend.”

“I could say the same.” Jeongguk pressed their foreheads together. His heart was still thumping in his chest. This was surreal. He was here in a pool, holding Seokjin and he was… he was happy. No matter if he kind of managed to fuck up a great job opportunity by catching feelings. “I’ve never had an underwater kiss, you know?”

Seokjin grinned. “Me neither.”

Without another word, Jeongguk pressed their lips together and pulled them under - and it was the best first underwater kiss you could possibly have.