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“you guys seriously can’t get along for two minutes?” jangjun sighed as he entered the living room.
sungyoon was certain the two of you were a sight to see. popcorn spilled onto the floor around you as the two of you played tug-of-war for the now almost empty bowl.
sungyoon looked at his friend sheepishly. “it’s not my fault that they tried to steal the rest of the popcorn!”
“you had most of it!” you rebutted, tugging on the bowl once again, spilling even more kernels onto the floor.
jangjun rolled his eyes, plopping back onto the couch. “i bet you two couldn’t even pretend to like each other for two days.”
sungyoon let go of the popcorn bowl to look jangjun in the eyes. “how much?”
the younger boy raised an eyebrow. “like fifty bucks. max.”
“make it 100, and we’ll even pretend to date. for a week,” sungyoon challenged, laughing when the popcorn spilled from your mouth back into the bowl.
“we’ll do what now?” you stuttered. “i think i have to agree to this too.”
“oh, come on, you hate letting jangjun be right about anything.”
you frowned. “give me half.”
sungyoon looked at jangjun, who nodded, sealing the deal. he stuck his hands out for both parties.
“it’s a bet,” he confirmed as they shook on it. he dropped jangjun’s hand, slyly interlacing his fingers with yours.
this will be easy.
it would not, in fact, be easy.
turns out you had a family barbecue to attend the next evening. before the two of you had any practice.
“and you neglected to tell me this, why?” sungyoon groaned, fidgeting with the collar of his shirt. he wasn’t a fan of it, but you had insisted that your mother would love it.
“because i want that money. and i was afraid that you would chicken out,” you smirked, tossing him your keys. “i don’t wanna drive.”
sungyoon rolled his eyes, sliding into the driver’s seat of the car. “as if. you should know how stubborn i am by now.”
“actually, i make a point to not know anything about you.” you pulled out your phone, leaning back in your seat.
“at least buckle up,” sungyoon sighed, doing up his own seatbelt.
you complied without much complaint, much to sungyoon’s surprise. he backed out of the driveway, asking, “where am i going?”
you leaned forward and input your parents’ address into the gps. “there.”
sungyoon sighed. “you know, if anyone we know drives by, we definitely aren’t fulfilling our end of the deal.”
“what do you want me to do? hold your hand while you drive? steal kisses from you at every red light?” you rolled your eyes.
sungyoon scoffed. “no. i don’t want that. but i would like us to at least pretend to get along so this week is a little less miserable.”
you raised an eyebrow. “whatever.”
he didn’t argue with you. if you weren’t going to make this easy, he’d just keep the money for himself at the end of the week. and you could fight with him then — you wouldn’t have to act anymore.
sungyoon pulled up to your parents’ house, hands clammy on the steering wheel. he was nervous. you weren’t even his actual partner, but he still felt the need to make a good impression on your family.
so he stepped out of the car and held the door open for you. “your mom’s watching us through the window,” he whispered, holding out his hand for you to take.
you smiled at him, eyes twinkling. taking his hand, you led him to the front door, knocking twice before walking in.
sungyoon was greeted by your parents first, followed by several pets, and then extended family. his mouth grew dry as he introduced himself repeatedly; you’d disappeared from his side quickly, mingling with your cousins.
over and over, your family asked him how you two had met, and he could only hope you relayed the same story. he told the truth — the two of you met through a mutual friend. sungyoon worried that you would make up something extravagant.
after finding you engaged in a heated connect-4 tournament with your youngest family, sungyoon decided he shouldn’t be worried. he probably wasn’t even on your mind right now.
sungyoon didn’t know whether to be thankful or afraid when your father pulled him into the next room. on one hand, he didn’t have to decide how to approach you. on the other, your father was intimidating and would be even if the two of you weren’t “dating.”
“yes, sir?” sungyoon stuttered. maybe because he was actually nervous, it would help with the act.
“don’t be so anxious,” he laughed. “i just pulled you out here so i could talk to you without making my kid nervous.”
“oh. uhm, what about?” sungyoon didn’t think he could ever bring someone home that made him uncomfortable around his own family.
“them. look, i’ve never seen them so relaxed next to someone they’ve brought home. and i’ve never seen them look at someone with so much care before. so just don’t hurt them, okay? i’m not gonna threaten you, ‘cause you seem like a nice kid. just take care of my little one.”
sungyoon stared at your father, blinking slowly. they look like they care about me? he nodded. “of course! i would never dream of hurting them; they mean everything to me.” the lie felt bitter as it rolled off his tongue. your father loved you, was looking out for you, and here sungyoon was, lying to his face.
“i’m glad to hear it,” your father said, nudging his shoulder. “now go keep them company. they’re terrible at connect-4.”
sungyoon gave him a half-hearted laugh before scurrying back to the living room. you were deep in concentration and startled when sungyoon sat next to you.
he laughed as you suppressed a wave of profanities and slid his hand into yours. “try the fourth column,” he said. it would leave you with two openings to win.
“i-” you furrowed your brows as you looked at the layout in from of you. “you suck.”
“i know,” sungyoon laughed, squeezing your hand gently.
your head snapped towards him, meeting his eyes. your gaze travelled from his face to a spot behind his left shoulder. sungyoon turned around to be greeted by a young child, maybe six years old.
“are you their boyfriend? mom told me you were their boyfriend,” she asked, looking at sungyoon.
he laughed. “that’s me.”
“what’s a boyfriend?”
you had turned your attention back to the connect-4 tournament, leaving sungyoon to answer the girl’s questions.
“a boyfriend is….” sungyoon hesitated on how to answer. “someone who cares about their partner unconditionally — that means no matter what.”
“do you care about them?”
sungyoon nodded.
“do you love them?” they whispered, stepping closer to him.
your nails dug into the back of his palm, daring him to say something stupid.
“i don’t know yet. do you think i should?”
the girl nodded, giggling. “do you think they love you?”
sungyoon glanced over at you. your nose scrunched, wrinkles creasing into your forehead. cute. wait. “i think you should ask them.”
she giggled, running from his side to yours. “do you love sungyoon?” she asked, stretching out the words.
your grip on sungyoon’s hand tightened. he knew his choice of answer didn’t amuse you. “should i?”
“yes! i think he loves you, and he just doesn’t wanna tell you.”
“is that so?” you smiled. “in that case, then maybe i do. but not as much as i love you.” you dropped sungyoon’s hand to pull the girl into a hug.
sungyoon let his hand fall into his lap. he wished you were vile to everyone else, too, not just him.
then maybe this would be easier.
by day three, the two of you had learnt to be amicable. you didn’t get along, but you had grown better at ignoring one another.
that was enough for sungyoon.
you didn’t make a snarky comment every time he entered the same room as you, and he didn’t have to come up with a witty comeback. however, today, you would have to spend more time in each other’s presence than you had since the barbecue.
“do i seriously have to go with you?” you groaned. you had dressed up in business-appropriate attire.
“i have to be there, and frankly, i’m getting real tired of being made fun of for being the single employee.”
“well, maybe try not being single,” you rolled your eyes.
“i think i’ve successfully completed that. at least for this event.” sungyoon swiped your hand, pulling you towards him. “let’s go then?”
you grimaced and pushed him off you. “don’t get so confident.”
the drive there was filled with silence, but it didn’t bother sungyoon anymore. he preferred it to your bickering.
your arrival went unnoticed, sungyoon hanging away from his co-workers. they were engaged in a heated political discussion.
“this is not my area of expertise,” sungyoon chuckled awkwardly, leaning against a wall and adjusting his tie.
you swatted his hands away to fix it for him, straightening out his collar as well. “can’t believe you made me dress up all nice, and here you are, looking like a mess.” your fingertips travelled to his hair, brushing it off his forehead.
he caught your eye, raising an eyebrow. why do you care so much? he wondered if your father had been right.
“sungyoon!” a voice called from across the room. “finally brought a date, i see.”
sungyoon instinctively grabbed your arm, pulling you right to his side. “and who did you bring this time, steve?” he hissed through his teeth.
steve brought a different date to every work event, made them uncomfortable by bragging about it, and then spent the rest of the evening degrading sungyoon for being single. to say they disliked each other would be an understatement.
“no one yet,” he grinned. his gaze left sungyoon’s to look at you. “and do you really want to spend this evening with this loser?”
sungyoon’s grip tightened on your arm. steve looked at you as if you were an object, a toy to enjoy for a few days and discard when he was done. and while sungyoon wasn’t interested in keeping you as a partner, he certainly didn’t want to treat you like that.
“this loser is my boyfriend, thank you very much. so yes. i do,” you defended.
“a shame. i thought you would have better taste.”
sungyoon’s hold on your arm loosened as steve walked away, scanning the area for someone to bring home. he wouldn’t have much luck — most of the staff were married.
“you didn’t have to defend me,” sungyoon mumbled. he didn’t expect you to. in fact, he was surprised that you did at all.
“and let him degrade me in the process? besides, i’m the only one who can make fun of you like that. loser,” you teased.
“you suck,” sungyoon rolled his eyes, taking your hand to walk over to the refreshments table.
“i know,” you laughed. “still can’t believe you made me come to a fancy business meeting.”
“you made me go to your parents’ barbecue!”
“don’t remind me. my mom told me that dad got all mushy with you,” you sighed, grabbing a water bottle off the table.
“yeah. he doesn’t want me to hurt you.”
“as if you could.”
“as if you’d let me,” sungyoon laughed, eyeing the snacks dotted across the table. “did you wanna share a plate-full?”
you nodded and amassed a collection of snacks to bring to a table. shortly after the two of you were seated, sungyoon’s boss started the informal meeting, commenting on the company's great strides and how customers had recently left glowing reviews.
sungyoon tuned out after that, as the boss’ praise shifted towards specific members of the team. what distracted him more was how your head had drooped onto his shoulder, how your fingers played with the rings on his hand, and how your foot would brush against his every so often. he didn’t like how every time your skin touched his, his heart would beat a little faster, a little louder. sungyoon hoped you wouldn’t notice.
and he hoped he would forget about it.
sungyoon blocked out his tactile senses, focusing on his boss’ words as he heard his own name, followed by “promotion”.
your head shot up from his shoulder, and before he could react, your hands were on his cheeks, your lips on his.
so much for forgetting.
“we gotta get ready to go to jangjun’s,” he called into the living room.
you gave a half-hearted response, telling him you’d be ready in ten. sungyoon hoped that the two of you could get along at jangjun’s — you’d barely spoken since the office party. and that was two days ago.
sungyoon got ready, donning a simple black t-shirt and black jeans. you matched his attire. “we really do look like a couple,” he laughed.
you glared at him.
“look, you want that money just as much as i do. so act,” sungyoon said, teeth clenched.
he was lying.
he spent the last two days hoping you would talk to him. hoping you would tell him that your kiss had meant something and wasn’t just for the show. hoping that maybe, just maybe, you were interested in him.
now? he began to hope you’d give him a reason to hate you.
“yeah. fifty bucks. let’s go,” you grinned, holding out your hand for his.
sungyoon took it, ignoring the electricity that shocked his very soul. you were dangerous.
he interlaced your fingers as the two of you left his house, walking the two blocks to jangjun’s. silent, except for the hum of the city, sungyoon was left alone with his thoughts.
what did you do to make me like you? he didn’t know when it happened — not exactly. he tried to play it off, to pretend that he just missed being in a relationship. but he knew he was lying to himself.
you arrived at jangjun’s, and sungyoon knocked on the door before walking in. “we’re here!” he announced, kicking off his shoes.
“we?” a voice called back.
you giggled, your shoes joining the pile on the floor. sungyoon pulled you with him into the living room. donghyun and jibeom, your other closest friends, gawked at the two of you while jangjun suppressed a grin.
“yeah. we,” you answered. “betcha didn’t see that one coming.”
you plopped onto the empty couch, sungyoon having no choice but to fall beside you. he casually wrapped an arm around your shoulder.
donghyun started laughing. “you’re pulling my leg, right? there’s no way! you two?”
sungyoon frowned. is it really that hard to picture us together?
“how much are you being paid?” jibeom jumped in.
“nothing!” sungyoon defended.
jangjun eyes were filled with amusement as he watched you and sungyoon try to convince them of your relationship. he stayed silent, which sungyoon was thankful for.
“oh, as if,” donghyun rolled his eyes. “they almost gave you a black eye last week.”
“it was an accident!” you whined, hiding your face in sungyoon’s shoulder. “and i apologized already.”
“you apologized to sungyoon?” jibeom scoffed. “i don’t believe it.”
sungyoon shrugged. he didn’t really care if they believed him. it just mattered if jangjun did.
(and in the back of his mind, he hoped you did, too.)
“prove it,” donghyun blurted.
“what?” sungyoon stuttered.
“yeah! prove it,” jibeom corroborated.
you sat up, glaring daggers at the boys. “fine.”
and then your hands were on sungyoon’s cheeks again, your lips on his. the contact didn’t last long. you pulled away, holding eye contact and then pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose, which scrunched up in protest.
you pressed yourself back against sungyoon’s side, whose face was burning hot. he looked down at his hands, embarrassed.
“enough proof for you?” you said.
sungyoon peeked up to see the boys’ reactions.
jangjun was staring at him, eyebrow raised. they may all be mutual friends, but sungyoon had known jangjun the longest. jangjun probably saw through the whole ruse.
“yeah, i believe you,” donghyun finally said. “there’s no way you’d kiss him if you weren’t dating.”
“are you saying i’m not kissable?” sungyoon whined. his acting wouldn’t be good if he couldn’t contribute like he normally would.
“i think you’re very kissable,” you mumbled, poking his side.
“gross,” jibeom rolled his eyes. “can we do something now? i don’t wanna sit here watching the lovebirds be gushy.”
sungyoon nodded. am i kissable? do they mean that?
jangjun proposed a few games, and the group collectively decided on one. sungyoon quickly excused himself to the kitchen to get a glass of water. he just needed to think straight.
he poured himself a glass, leaning against the counter. he definitely liked you. and he definitely needed to stop liking you. because there wasn’t even a chance that you felt the same.
sungyoon hiccupped, and he realized he was fighting the urge to cry. he slid down the counter to the floor, pulling his knees to his chest. what did i do to deserve this?
he sat there for minutes, calming his breathing, checking his camera several times to see if the redness had left his eyes. the bet would be off if he went back into the living room like this. and then you would be bitter with him again. sungyoon couldn’t handle that.
he heard footsteps coming towards the room and quickly wiped his eyes, jumping to his feet. jangjun was standing in the doorway.
“you’ve been in here a while,” he started.
sungyoon nodded, not trusting his voice. he could hear you and the others arguing over the logistics of whatever move donghyun had just made.
jangjun stepped towards him. “that bad, eh?”
sungyoon let out a breathy laugh. “am i that easy to read?”
“i’ve known you for years, sungyoon. of course.”
“do you think they’ve noticed?”
jangjun shook his head. “not a chance. they’re focused on the money. are you sure you wanna go through with this?” he came to stand next to sungyoon, placing his hand on sungyoon’s shoulder.
sungyoon nodded. “yeah. i don’t want to upset them,” he sighed.
“if that’s what you want. just don’t hurt yourself, okay?”
it’s too late for that. “yeah, yeah. i can take care of myself.”
jibeom’s voice cut through the house, calling for sungyoon to play his turn.
if only real life were as easy as rolling dice.
“day seven. you ready to cash in?”
sungyoon looked up from his phone to you. “yeah,” he laughed.
in reality, sungyoon didn’t know how he felt about it. he knew how to pretend to dislike you; that was easy. but to pretend he never liked you? to pretend that this week never happened?
“gonna spend all of it on food, probably.”
sungyoon laughed. he hadn’t even thought about what he would do with the money. he’d probably let jangjun keep it.
“ready to go?” he asked, holding out his hand to you for probably the last time.
“you know it,” you took his hand, lacing your fingers with his.
you arrived at jangjun’s house with ten minutes to spare. ten minutes until you were no longer his. ten minutes until he could no longer hold your hand.
jangjun smiled sadly at sungyoon as the two of you entered. several of your other friends were already there — jangjun was hosting a party that evening.
you took your usual seat on the couch, and sungyoon sat beside you, absentmindedly playing with your fingers. you jumped into the conversation quickly, adding in your two cents about the newest generation of pokémon.
sungyoon stared at the clock on the wall opposite you, counting down the minutes until he had to start acting again.
you pushed him away from you as the clock hit 6:47. “finally. pay up, jangjun.”
sungyoon stiffened, all eyes now on the two of you.
jangjun sighed, standing to hand each of you fifty dollars. “congrats, you didn’t kill each other over the course of a week.”
“and i made money. for once, you’ve had a brilliant idea, sungyoon.”
his name sounded acidic as it rolled off your tongue, no longer dripping with fake infatuation.
“oh, a compliment from you? fascinating.” he rolled his eyes, hoping the bitterness in his voice would hide the sadness in his heart.
“don’t expect more.”
“wouldn’t dream of it,” sungyoon laughed.
“it was all a bet?” donghyun asked, still staring at you incredulously.
“of course it was. why would i date this loser?” you retorted.
sungyoon didn’t need the reminder.
“you said he was kissable!”
“i was acting.”
“i will have you know, i am still very kissable,” sungyoon defended. “but i would not kiss you.”
“ugh. you suck,” you groaned, pushing him off the couch.
sungyoon smiled sadly. “i know.”
he pushed himself off the floor and disappeared into the kitchen, jangjun joining him shortly after.
“are you staying for the party?”
sungyoon shook his head. “not a chance. just tell them i have to work tomorrow or something,” he sighed.
“look, i can cancel it. we can-”
“no!” sungyoon interrupted. “i mean, i don’t want them to think-”
“okay. i won’t drink tonight. call me if you need anything?”
“i will,” sungyoon promised. he handed jangjun the fifty dollars. “it wouldn’t feel right if i spent it.”
jangjun nodded, allowing sungyoon to slip out of the house unnoticed. sungyoon arrived home and collapsed onto his couch, tears threatening to pour from his eyes.
this was supposed to be easy.