Chapter Text
The door swings open as Iroha and Wonhee step into the house, their laughter echoing through the living room. They toe their shoes off as they continue walking towards the kitchen.
“Good afternoon, girls. How was school?” Iroha's mom greets them both in the kitchen with a warm smile.
“Good.” Iroha reaches her hand up into the cabinet to grab a bag of chips.
“Do either of you girls have anyone you're going to bring home for the holidays?” Iroha's mom questions, still wearing that warm smile on her face.
Iroha rolls her eyes at the question. “She asks that all the time.” She thinks. Iroha knows her mom means well, but the constant questions about whether she's dating someone or not can get kind of annoying.
As if she can hear what Iroha is thinking, Wonhee answers for her. “Nope! Sorry to disappoint.” She plasters on the most polite smile.
“Oh, it's not disappointing. I'm just curious, that's all.”
Iroha finishes grabbing drinks out of the fridge. “Seems like you're curious all the time, mom.” After that, Iroha practically drags Wonhee by the arm upstairs.
Upstairs, Wonhee and Iroha laugh and talk about plans for winter break.
After a while, they fall into a comfortable silence. Then, Wonhee decides to break that silence by suggesting the craziest thing Iroha thinks has ever come out of her mouth.
“Wait, I have an idea.” Wonhee suddenly sits up on Iroha's bed.
“Hm?” Iroha doesn't even look up from her phone.
“What if we just like, pretend to date each other? Ya know, so our parents leave us alone about relationships and shit?” Wonhee has a sort of crazy smirk on her lips.
Now it's Iroha's turn to sit up.
“Huh?” Iroha sits there, mouth hanging open from the shock of the suggestion.
“Pretend to date? Seriously? What, are we in some sort of fanfiction?” Iroha asks.
“Well, do you have a better idea, genius?” Wonhee questions, one brow raised high up.
Iroha sits there for a second.
She can't think of a better idea.
“I know you hate it every single time your mom brings it up. Us ‘dating’” she mimes air quotes when she says dating, “will definitely get her off your back about it.”
“Okay, but what would our story be if we said we're dating?” Iroha asks.
Wonhee jumps up off Iroha's bed. “We can figure that out right now!” She walks over to Iroha's desk and pulls out a notebook and a pen.
“Okay” Wonhee lets out a sigh, staring down at the paper. “We could say that we've been dating for a while, but are just now telling them.” Wonhee scribbles the idea down as she talks.
“What if they ask how long we've been dating?”
“We could probably just say like” Wonhee looks up to the ceiling in thought. “Since a month ago?”
“Okay. Do you know when we're going to tell them this?” Iroha squints at Wonhee.
“Easy, Christmas dinner.”
“Christmas dinner? You really want to drop that kind of big news at Christmas dinner?”
“Yeah!” Wonhee says. “They'll be thrilled.”
“Or they'll all have heart attacks.”
Wonhee claps her hands together. “Okay, now that we have that sorted out, we need rules.” She quickly starts scribbling something down on the paper again, tongue slightly sticking out in concentration.
“Rules? Why would we need rules? All we need to tell them is we're dating?” Iroha raises a brow in slight confusion.
“Rules between us. They'll get suspicious if we don't act more like a couple.” Wonhee says, never taking her eyes off the paper. “But we don't need to go overboard, so I'm making rules so we know what to do if we have to act affectionately on a whim.”
“Okay! I think I'm done.” Wonhee holds up the notebook in the air.
She walks up to Iroha and hands her the notebook.
Iroha glances over the paper
Rules for plan
-DON'T TELL ANYONE (except Yunah, Minju, and Moka) THAT THE RELATIONSHIP IS FAKE
-If we EVER have to kiss, it has to be a light peck, NOTHING MORE
-NO PET NAMES (Like baby, babe, honey, etc.)
-Light physical affection ONLY on some occasions
“Aren't the second and fourth one kind of the same thing?” Iroha asks, still slightly stunned they're even going through with this.
Wonhee groans. “Gimme that.”
Iroha hands over the notebook. Wonhee sits back at Iroha's desk, crossing out the last rule.
“Oh, and one more thing,” Wonhee looks up from the paper, “You can't fall for me, got it?”
Iroha looks Wonhee up and down, a playful smirk on her face, “No promises.”
Wonhee rips out a piece of paper, balls it up, and throws it at Iroha. Iroha catches it and laughs.
“I hate you.” Wonhee says, arms crossed and brow furrowed.
“Aw no, you love me.” Iroha blows Wonhee a kiss. Wonhee pretends to throw it in the trash.
“No, I really hate you.”
They both know she doesn't mean it.
Eventually, Wonhee leaves to go home. Fortunately, she lives very close by, so she only has to walk a few blocks to get home.
Iroha plops back onto her bed with an exhausted sigh. “Well, that definitely wasn't what I was planning to do over my break.” She thinks to herself, gazing up at the ceiling.
Iroha pulls out her phone and opens her messages.
Iroha
Me and Wonhee are dating
Moka☕️
WHAT
Iroha
Lol jk jk… kinda
Moka☕️
WTF DO U MEAN KINDA?!?!?!
Iroha
We're not actually. We're pretending to date
Moka☕️
Why????
Iroha
So my parents leave me alone abt dating shit
Moka☕️
Oh, right cuz ppl actually do that shit
U know what happens when ppl do that shit in fanfiction??
They end up falling in love w each other
Iroha
Bro I'm not gonna fall in love
Moka☕️
I hope not for ur sake
Wonhee is deff straight n you've been friends for what? 7 years?
It would be shit if u fucked that up
Iroha
Yeah
Also I'm straight too
Moka☕️
Yeah and I'm Korean
Iroha
But ur Japanese??
Moka☕️
🤦♀️
Just then, Iroha gets a message from Wonhee
Wonheehee🐹
Hiii
Or should I say hiiii bby 😘
Iroha
I thought u said no pet names?
Wonheehee🐹
Oops!
I guess u should punish me 4 disobeying the rules huh? 🥺😘
Iroha
I'm gonna block you
“Okay, I was thinking last night and I think we should practice acting more like a couple.” Wonhee says, sitting on the floor of Iroha's room.
“How the hell do you practice being a couple?” Iroha asks from her bed, one leg draped off the edge.
“You know, like, making sure our affection looks natural and not forced.”
“Okay, but what does that entail? Like, kissing?”
“Oh god no. I mean like, maybe we could practice what we should say when someone asks about us.”
“Hey, that wasn't very nice.” Iroha puts on an over exaggerated pout.
Wonhee just ignores her. “We already know what we'll say if someone asks how long we've been together, but what if they ask us who confessed first or something?” Wonhee crawls over to the side of Iroha's bed, resting her head on her arms.
“Who do you think would confess first? Me or you?”
“You.” Iroha says, not even glancing at the girl next to her.
“Okay, but how?”
“Shouldn't you know how you would confess to someone?”
“Well, I've never confessed to someone before. People have confessed to me, though.”
Iroha rolls her eyes at Wonhee's unintentional bragging.
“You could just say you told me at a sleepover, or something.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Wonhee sighs in defeat.
Then, chatter can be heard from downstairs, then footsteps up the stairs.
“Iroha, Wonhee! We're here!” Calls Yunah.
Both girls turn their attention to the door when it swings open and a very loud Yunah walks in.
“You know we can hear you as soon as you walk in, right?” Wonhee asks, not making an effort to get up from her spot on the floor next to Iroha's bed to greet them.
“And you know it's rude not to greet guests, right?” Yunah raises a brow.
Wonhee glances down to the plastic bag Yunah has with her. “Snacks?” She asks as she looks back up at Yunah, eyes sparkling.
“No, these snacks are only for people who greet their guests.” Yunah hides the bag behind her back.
Minju just steps past Yunah into Iroha's room. “Hey, I'm also here.”
Iroha moves down to the floor from her bed, sitting across from Wonhee. Minju takes a seat next to her.
Yunah, of course, sits down next to Minju. Despite what she said just a minute prior, she sets down the bag of snacks in the middle of the floor for everyone to share.
Chatter and laughter fill the room as the four girls sit around and talk about random things.
At some point, somehow, the topic of relationships comes up.
“The last guy that had feelings for me was sort of cute, I think. But I didn't really like him, or know him.” Wonhee says, recalling the guy that randomly asked to talk to her after school just to confess his feelings for her.
“Damn, poor guy.” Yunah says, laughing even as she shakes her head.
“Are you ever going to date someone, like, ever?” Minju questions, snacking on some pocky.
“Well, none of the guys at school have ever really caught my attention.” Wonhee fidgets with the hem of her skirt. Then, she looks over at Iroha, smiling suddenly. “Not that I really can date now, huh?” She says, nudging Iroha in the arm with her elbow.
“Wait what? What's that mean?” Minju asks, looking between the two of them.
Wonhee leans a little closer to Minju and Yunah, lowering her voice. “Me and Iroha are pretending to date so our parents will leave us alone about dating.” Wonhee has a proud smile on her face, as if she actually achieved something.
“What?!” Minju's eyes go wide in shock.
“That sounds like some bullshit you'd pull.” Yunah says, taking a bite out of a pocky stick, unfazed.
“But don't say anything to them. They don't know yet. We're planning to tell them at Christmas dinner.”
Iroha just sits there, taking a sip of her drink, letting Wonhee do all the explaining.
“Wow, I didn't know people actually did that kind of stuff. I just thought that was only really a thing in fanfiction.” Minju still has a slightly wide eyed expression, clearly still taking in the information.
“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Wonhee squints, confused.
“Because nobody thinks to do that kind of stupid shit in real life. At least you would think.” Yunah raises a brow, staring solely at Wonhee.
“Lemme guess, it was your idea?” Yunah guesses, pointing her finger at Wonhee.
“Of course!” Wonhee wears another proud smile.
Yunah lets out an exhausted sigh.
“And how long are you guys going to be doing this?” Minju looks between both of them for an answer.
Wonhee glances over to Iroha, “Well, probably until one of us finds someone we actually like.”
“And what will be your reasoning for the break up?” Yunah rests her chin on her hand.
Wonhee looks up to the ceiling briefly in thought, “We can just say our relationship felt boring, or something, but that we've decided to still remain friends.” Wonhee looks over to Iroha, as if silently asking if she agrees with this plan.
Yunah and Minju continue to look back and forth between Wonhee and Iroha, like they can't believe what's in front of them.
“I can't believe this.” Minju says, still apparently in shock.
“This is definitely the stupidest idea I've ever heard.” Yunah laughs a little.
Wonhee just smiles back at the both of them. Meanwhile, Iroha is staring down at her drink, mindlessly watching the fizz from the carbonation.
She still can't even believe it herself.
Orange starts to paint Iroha's room through the gap in her curtains. Wonhee is sprawled out on the floor, while Iroha is back laying on her bed, one leg draped over the edge. Yunah and Minju left a while ago, but Wonhee decided to stick around, like she usually does after they all hang out together.
“Iroha?” Wonhee calls out from the floor.
“Hm?”
“Have you ever been interested in anyone at school?”
Iroha stops scrolling on her phone, “Oh uh, no, not really. Why?”
“No reason, really. I was just curious. I don't actually think we've ever really talked about dating and stuff.”
“Hm. I guess we haven't, huh?”
“Yeah.”
If she was being honest, Iroha hadn't even really ever thought about boys or relationships before. She figured it was because none of the guys at school ever caught her interest, and none of them caught Wonhee's either, so the subject never came up in conversation.
Wonhee smiles a little, “Guess we'll have to start talking about dating soon, huh?”
Iroha smiles too “Ugh, don't remind me.”
Wonhee giggles at that.
Iroha takes one last look at herself in her full length mirror, picking a fuzz off her green sweater, combing her fingers through her hair, before walking downstairs.
“Today's the day. Oh god, just kill me, or something. I really don't want to have to deal with this.”
She hears Wonhee's and her own parents chatting and working away in the kitchen.
She sees Wonhee sitting on the couch, scrolling mindlessly while waiting for her arrival. She glances at her outfit. She's wearing a fuzzy red sweater, to match with Iroha's green one (Wonhee insisted that they match), a cute denim skirt that could be too short for December weather, except they live in California, and black tights.
“Hey, Merry Christmas.” Iroha makes her way over to Wonhee.
Wonhee looks up from her phone. “Hey! Merry Christmas!”
Iroha takes a seat next to Wonhee. She notices Wonhee smiling weirdly.
“What's with that face? Why are you smiling like that?” Iroha questions, worried Wonhee might come up with another bizarre plan.
“No reason, just excited for our plan for today.”
Before Iroha can question her again, the door opens, and Moka and Iroha's aunt walk through.
“Merry Christmas! We're here!” Her aunt shouts out cheerfully, arms full of presents to put under the tree.
Moka and Iroha immediately make eye contact. Moka squints at Iroha, like she's trying to see into her mind and what she's planning.
Wonhee leans into Iroha slightly, lowering her voice, “Does Moka know about our plan?”
“No, but she does know about our relationship.”
“Hm.”
“Should we tell her?” Wonhee asks.
Iroha thinks about it for a second before replying, “No.”
“No?” Wonhee's brow furrows in slight confusion. “Why not?”
“She doesn't really need to know, does she? I mean she'll find out when everyone else does anyway.”
“What're you two talking about?” Moka suddenly appears in front of them, one brow raised high in suspicion.
Wonhee looks up at her, a big, bright smile playing on her face. “Oh, hey Moka! Merry Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas, Wonhee,” Moka scans the room to see if anyone is within hearing range, “What were you guys talking about?” She narrows her eyes in suspicion.
“Oh nothing! Just what gifts we think we'll get." Wonhee glances over at Iroha. Iroha nods along.
Suddenly, a voice calls from the kitchen, “Moka, honey! Could you help us in here for a bit?”
“Coming!” Moka shouts back. As she walks over to the kitchen, she glares at Wonhee and Iroha, pointing two fingers at her eyes, then pointing to them.
Iroha sets her plate down at the dinner table. She barely has an appetite because all she can think about is the stupid plans for the reveal. Wonhee sets her plate down next to Iroha's.
“Okay, so here's the plan. I'm going to just say you and I have something we wanna say, then I'll say it. And then I'll answer any questions they have.”
“Wow, great plan.”
Wonhee lightly slaps Iroha's arm, “Shut up. Do you have a better way to say it, genius?”
Iroha rubs her arm, even though she barely felt the slap, “No, I don't.”
“That's what I thought.”
Moka then sets her plate down, right across from Iroha. She rests her head on top of both her hands, giving them an artificially sweet smile. Wonhee and Iroha give small smiles back.
“You were saying?” Moka says, batting her eyelashes.
Finally, everyone has taken their seats at the dinner table, ending the odd staring contest between the three girls.
They say grace, and begin to eat, the sounds of utensils being used and light chatter filling the air. Iroha starts to calm down a little, enjoying the delicious food her parents spent the past few hours preparing. Then, someone pats her thigh. She looks to her left where Wonhee is sitting. Wonhee stares at her for a second, before winking poorly. Iroha almost laughs at the sight of Wonhee's poor attempt at winking, before she realizes what she's signaling.
Before Iroha can say anything, Wonhee speaks, “Um, me and Iroha have something we wanna share with everyone.” Wonhee glances around the table.
Moka looks over at Wonhee, her eyes go wide a little, like she's surprised by Wonhee speaking.
Wonhee looks over to Iroha, “Uh me and Iroha… we're dating.”
Everyone and everything at the table stops. Someone's fork makes a cringe worthy screech against their plate. Someone coughs, almost choking on their dinner.
Everyone is staring. Some people's forks are halfway to their mouths.
And Moka? Moka has the biggest grin of all time on her face.
“Is that so?” Wonhee's mom asks.
“Yes. We've been dating for a while now, and we finally decided to tell you guys.” Wonhee says, constantly looking between her mom and Iroha.
“How long have you guys been dating?” Iroha's mom asks, pointing at the two of them.
“About a month or so.” Wonhee has a faint smile on her lips.
There's a pause in the conversation. Iroha's scared for what could possibly come next.
“God seriously, just kill me now. Death feels like a better fate than this.”
“Well, shit.” Even though it shouldn't be possible, everyone's eyes widen even more at the sound of Iroha's mother cursing. Iroha's mother never curses. “I mean, I certainly didn't expect this. It's a Christmas miracle.”
Wonhee and Iroha share a confused glance with each other.
“Christmas miracle?” Iroha's can say she's never felt this many emotions at once in her whole life.
“I've been waiting for the day you guys got into relationships. Although I didn't expect it to be with each other. I'm glad either way.” A genuine smile plays on her lips.
Iroha is shocked. Of course, she knew how much her mother wanted her to one day come home with the news she was seeing someone, but seeing her so quickly excited about her being in a relationship with Wonhee of all people. Wonhee, who has been her best friend for the past 7 years. Hell, Iroha had never said anything about being into girls in the first place. Not that she actually is into girls.
“Really?” Wonhee and Iroha say at the same time.
“Of course! Who better to fall in love with than your best friend?”
Wonhee and Iroha nod in agreement, they probably couldn't really form words right now if they tried.
“This might just be my favorite Christmas present!” Iroha's mother claps lightly in glee.
“Wow, I wish I could've caught that on camera.” Moka mutters into her hands, still wearing that big ass smile on her face.
Moka starts giggling to herself. Then, Wonhee's mom joins in on the laughter. Eventually, everyone is laughing at the unexpected revelation.
“This is probably the weirdest Christmas ever.” Iroha thinks as she laughs along with everyone else. She looks over to Wonhee, who's covering her giggles with her hand, smiling back at Iroha.
“Yep, definitely the weirdest.”