Jiho had made a mistake.
A huge mistake.
Agreeing to fake date Kang Minjae was already a disaster, but he thought—stupidly—that maybe, just maybe, they could keep things low-key until the rumor died down.
But Minjae? Low-key?
Hah. Hilarious.
Because the very next morning, Jiho barely stepped into school before he was ambushed.
"JIHO-YA! "(Jiho-ah!)
A loud smack landed on his back as his best friend, Choi Seungwoo, grabbed him.
Jiho nearly face-planted into the ground. "WHAT THE HELL, SEUNGWOO?!"
Seungwoo grinned, eyes twinkling with mischief. "Why didn't you tell me?! You're dating Kang freaking Minjae?!"
Jiho choked. "I—That's—It's not—?!"
Before he could deny everything, another voice interrupted.
"Oh? Didn't we agree to act natural?"
Jiho froze.
That voice. That stupid, infuriatingly smooth voice.
Kang Minjae.
Jiho slowly turned, dreading what he'd see.
And there he was—Minjae, looking effortlessly gorgeous, leaning lazily against a locker. One hand in his pocket. A tiny smirk on his lips. Eyes locked right on Jiho.
Jiho's brain short-circuited.
I hate him. I hate him so much.
Minjae casually slung an arm around Jiho's shoulder, ignoring the way Jiho immediately stiffened.
"You're not embarrassed of me, are you?" Minjae asked, voice teasing but eyes challenging.
Jiho wanted to scream.
Seungwoo, meanwhile, looked like he was watching a drama unfold in real-time. "Daebak" (Amazing). You guys really are dating?"
Jiho felt cornered. Minjae was watching him. Seungwoo was watching him.
The whole hallway was watching him.
Oh my god, I'm going to die.
Jiho forced a smile. "O-Of course! Why wouldn't we be?"
Minjae laughed quietly, his fingers lightly squeezing Jiho's shoulder.
Jiho felt his stomach flip.
Seungwoo whistled. "Hul (Wow). I thought you'd be the shy type, but you seem pretty natural at this."
Jiho almost choked on air.
Minjae chuckled, his hand moving from Jiho's shoulder to the back of his neck—soft, warm, familiar.
"You have no idea," Minjae murmured.
Jiho turned bright red.
Seungwoo lost his mind. "OH MY GOD! NO WAY!!!"
Minjae just smiled. Jiho, on the other hand, prayed for a sudden apocalypse.
---
Lunch Break – School Cafeteria
Jiho was sitting at a table, stabbing his rice with his chopsticks, still reeling from the morning disaster.
Two weeks. Just two weeks. I can survive this.
Or so he thought—until trouble arrived.
A group of girls walked over, their presence alone making Jiho's appetite disappear.
"Aigoo (Oh dear), look at this." One of them, Hyejin, smirked as she crossed her arms. "Han Jiho, do you even know your place?"
Jiho tensed. Here we go.
The second girl, Jieun, leaned in, lowering her voice. "How did you even seduce Kang Minjae?"
The third girl scoffed. "You do know guys like you are disgusting, right?"
Jiho gripped his chopsticks tighter, but before he could say anything, a familiar voice interrupted—
"You? Didn't seduce me."
Silence.
Jiho blinked. Wait…
The mean girls turned, their faces instantly twisting into fake smiles.
Kang Minjae stood behind them, his arms crossed, an unimpressed expression on his face.
Jiho's stomach flipped.
Hyejin's smile turned sweet. "Minjae-ya, (Minjae-ah) we were just—"
Minjae didn't even look at her. Instead, he casually stepped closer to Jiho and—
Grabbed his hand.
Jiho nearly dropped his chopsticks.
"M-MINJAE?!"
Minjae smirked. "Jiho seduced me?" He scoffed. "Anieo (No), I'm seducing him right now."
Jiho's soul left his body.
The mean girls' faces darkened. "M-Mwo?!" (W-What?!)
Minjae turned to Jiho, tilting his head like he was studying something fascinating. "Aigoo (Oh dear), you're really adorable."
Jiho wanted to die.
Jieun's eye twitched. "Minjae-ya, you seriously…?"
Minjae's smirk widened. "What can I do? He's my type."
Jiho was not his type. Jiho knew this. Jiho was very aware of this.
But Kang Minjae?
Kang Minjae was a menace.
The girls fumed, their fake smiles twitching. "Tch. He's lost his mind."
They stomped away.
Jiho, on the other hand, just sat there, frozen, staring at their interlocked hands.
Minjae casually picked up a piece of radish from Jiho's plate, popping it into his mouth.
"By the way," Minjae said, chewing, "you owe me one for that."
Jiho snapped out of his daze. "HEY! What are you?!"
Minjae just grinned, tightening his grip on Jiho's hand for a second before finally letting go.
Jiho swore he heard Seungwoo's scream of "Aissi Ssibal!!! "(Ah f*ck!!!) echo from across the cafeteria.
Kill me now.
---