#comedy fic

“Ma…” Jiseok groans, chewing on his food, body deflating tiredly. 

“Are you gay? Because that’s totally fine too I wo-” She starts and Jiseok widens his eyes.

“Why does it matter if I have a girlfriend…or boyfriend? We could break up after you die anyways.” He squints, his dad snickering from beside his mom before clearing his throat when she hits his arm. 

“What do you mean why?? Don’t you want to see your mother happy, Kwak Jiseok?? What type of son are you?? I kept waiting, I even tried to set you up on blind dates…really, what is this? Do you hate me? Are you just against seeing me happy?” She pouts, fake tears forming in her eyes. 

Jiseok doesn’t lie. Ever. But he’s been having to deal with his mother’s antics for about three years now and it was starting to get irritating because they couldn’t have a single meal without her mentioning it and trying to guilt trip him. All he wanted to do was focus on his studies, have fun with his friends and eventually get a good job. Why waste his time on a relationship?

It’s not as if he was running away from it, he was simply not searching for one. Relationships are supposed to be an addition to your life, not the sole purpose of your existence. Unless, you were his mom, of course. 

Jiseok doesn’t lie, but for some reason he blurts out “Fine! I do have a girlfriend, okay??” As soon as the words leave his mouth, both of his parents drop their forks on their plates. “I wasn’t gonna say anything until it was more serious but there, I guess…” He mumbles, ducking his face down. 

“Oh my god?? For how long?? Who is she?? What’s her name?? Is she your age?? Is she pretty??” His mother cheers, and he grimaces as his father looks at him amused. 

“I don’t want to give you  more details, you’ll probably stalk her and show up at her front door with chocolate.” Jiseok says quickly, pretending his hands are not getting sweaty because of the nerves.

“Well, how about you bring her as a plus one to your cousin’s wedding?” His father smiles and Jiseok chokes on the water he was chugging down. He might kill himself. 

“Ah I don’t know…isn’t that kind of-” He starts but sighs and nods tiredly when his mother sternly tells him he will because it’s the least he could do for her. 

Jiseok goes back that day and considers hitting his head very hard on a wall as Gunil looks at him amused from the couch while drinking his beer. 

“I can’t believe you never lie and the one time you do you get yourself into this much shit.” The older snickers, shaking his head as the blonde lays on the floor, looking up at the ceiling. 

“My mom’s gonna kill me, you should’ve seen her eyes man, she was close to crying out of happiness. CRYING! They want me to bring her for dinner NEXT WEEK.” He whines, hands covering his face with a loud groan.

“Well…you either find a girlfriend in a week or you break your mom’s heart.” The drummer shrugs. “Or you get a fake girlfriend.” He jokes, widening his eyes when his friend shoots up from the floor, holding on to the other’s shoulders amazed.

“Koo Gunil YOU’RE A FUCKING GENIUS!” Jiseok grins excitedly. 

“It was a joke-I-” The older blinks, dumbfounded. “Wouldn’t it be easier to just find an actual girlfriend? You act as if you’d have a hard time with that face.” Gunil rolls his eyes, but Jiseok shakes his head quickly. 

“I don’t want a girlfriend, they’re a lot of work and the whole thing before dating?? The pining, not knowing if she likes you, and when girls get jealous they start fights and-i don’t have the time for that. I would need to find a super specific girl that’s super fun to be around and confident and extrovert and that- whatever, not the point! It’s easier!” He nods, sitting next to Gunil. 

“One small problem is I don’t know anyone down for it. My friends are either in a relationship or lesbians or my family knows them and knows I don’t like them. I need someone that they don’t know that well but if it’s a complete stranger they’ll get suspicious-” Jiseok sighs, thinking. 

“What about my friend?” Gunil says, sipping on his beer. “Remember the one I convinced to come with me during the band audition so she would suck and I’d look better in comparison? She’s always down for everything.” 

“Shit, really? Wouldn't that be weird though? We talked like four times…” The blonde wonders, looking at the photo on Gunil’s phone. “She’s hot…” He mumbles to himself. 

“Nah, she loves to do weird shit like this, she has this whole idea of having a lot of experiences so she won’t regret it when she dies. Plus, she’s like a pathological liar, one time she convinced Jooyeon France isn’t real.” The older one laughs, making Jiseok let out an impressed breath.

“Oh wow she’s my dream woman.” He grins. “Can you ask her? Pleasepleaseplease-” He starts, but the other shakes his head amused.

“You do it, everytime i ask her for a favor she asks for something in return. I don’t wanna go ghost hunting in the middle of the night again, last time I almost shit myself.” 

Jiseok whines annoyed but nods, spending a lot of time at home thinking about how exactly to ask a girl he’s barely been around to be his fake girlfriend for about a month until the wedding. 

If you two were close, he wouldn’t be this stressed but what if he comes off as weird or desperate-well, he /is/ desperate, but still! The last thing he wants is to be awkward with one of his friend’s closest friends. So, he makes a game plan: he’ll walk around the campus during the time you so conveniently have a free hour, with your favorite type of coffee and casually, very not anxiously ask you to help him.

The next day, you were sitting on the grass under a tree on your phone, back resting against it as one of your legs was propped up. Suddenly, you hear your name being called out by a familiar voice, and when you look up there is Jiseok holding a coffee cup with your name on it, a bag of snacks and a big smile.

“Hi…?” You say confused, grabbing the coffee weirded out by the sudden appearance. 

You and Jiseok knew each other. You met a few times during hang outs at Gunil’s house and you’d always go to their shows since Gunil insisted it’s your job as his good friend. You always thought he was cool and he /was/ one of the most gorgeous people you’ve ever seen but you two never really got close.

“Okay so I don’t know if Gunil talked to you but I need your help and you’re the only person I could go to because my parents know all of my other friends but if it’s a total stranger they’ll be suspicious and know i’m lying and kill me and- I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend until my cousin’s wedding!” He says in one breath, voice pleading. 

You blink at him, holding back a laugh and opening your mouth to say something before he goes on. 

“I’ll buy you coffee every day and- and I'll write your essays for the rest of the school year just please help me out, I swear I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t a life or death situation!” He whines, clasping his hands together. 

You laugh softly, sipping on your coffee, letting out a small pleased noise at the taste. “Alright.” 

“Alright??” Jiseok widens his eyes surprised and you nod.

“I would’ve done it for free but since you offered, I will be sending you my homework.” You grin, pulling out your phone and giving it to him to put his number in it. “Why do you need a fake girlfriend?” You ask opening the bag of snacks, offering Jiseok one which he gladly takes.

“My mom keeps being on my ass about not having a girlfriend so I panicked and told them I was already dating someone.” The blonde sighs, sitting next to you tiredly. 

“What about a…real…girlfriend?” You frown confused. “Wouldn’t that be way easier?” 

“They want to have dinner next week already and I have no one I’m interested in. Plus, I don’t want a girlfriend, too much work, I’m fine with watching romcoms and imagining.” He nods, and you hold in a laugh before bursting out into laughter.

“You’re so odd.” You note, resting your head against the tree. “What exactly am I supposed to do? Just have dinner with them?” 

“And look in love. I might or might have not said we’ve been dating for three months already…” He grims and you look at him baffled.

“Three??? Jiseok I barely know your last name, what the fuck-” You whine covering your face. “Okay, fine. It’s doable, yes. We just need to…study. And take pictures. Lots of them.” You nod to yourself, snapping a picture of him while he wasn’t looking. 

“Oh wow you’re good…” Jiseok says looking at the picture you now set as your lock screen, amazed.

“I used to be a girlfriend for rent in my first year.” You answer casually, making the other widen his eyes even more. “It pays pretty well.” 

“Wait, you can actually do that??? I thought it was like something people lied about.” He whispers. 

“No, it’s easier than you think. Kind of dangerous, but that’s how I paid for my laptop.” You grin, opening a document on it. “Okay so, I need a run down of your family, and yourself and …everything.” 

Jiseok looks at you for a while before gently closing your laptop. “I know we’re supposed to be fake dating but wouldn’t it be better if we /actually/ got to know each other? If you study it, it’ll come off as unnatural.” He debates and you let out a small nod. 

“Uu so you want to take me out on a date?? Never took you as the type to be so direct.” You say playfully and Jiseok squints. 

“Yeah, I should take my girlfriend out on dates before we have dinner with my parents.” He argues and you hum. 

You put your laptop away, turning around and sitting on your knees next to him. You look over his face for a few moments before cupping his face and kiss him once. Jiseok barely gets to kiss back before you pull away, leaving him blinking multiple times.

“Woah- I- okay, yes, we should kiss to make it more believable.” He nods and you giggle. 

“Sorry if it was sudden, I figured it’s better to get it out of the way already.” You whisper, face still close to him. The blonde looks at your features with a small nod, licking his lips. “We’ll have to take pictures to show your parents, you know?” You say but Jiseok doesn’t really seem to be listening. 

Instead, he pulls you closer by your waist and starts kissing you slowly. You let out a small surprised noise but kiss back, letting out a laugh when you hear the bell ring. You pull away, hand on his chest. “I have to go.” You whisper. 

“When are you free to hang out? We don’t have a lot of time.” He asks barely above a whisper and you look at the sky thinking. 

“I have a pretty big exam on Wednesday and a project for friday-” You wince, knowing you have to probably have dinner with his parents on the weekend. 

Jiseok groans, resting his head back on the tree before looking back at you. “I could pick you up when your classes end and grab some food if you want to.” He offers and you smile nodding. 

“Sure, I get out early today. I’ll text you.” You say grabbing your things and turning around to look at him while walking. “Please write down some super important things I’m supposed to know!!” You say before rushing away. 

Jiseok looks at you leaving dumbfounded. This was definitely…way easier than he expected it to be. He knew Gunil said you’ll be down for it but he didn’t really expect things to be /this/ easy. He looks at the bag of chips you forgot to take and grabs it with a chuckle, shaking his head, feeling weirdly giddy. 

He smiles to himself when you send him a selfie looking bored in your class before clearing his throat and saving your number with the “my girl <3” ID. The day went by pretty quickly and before you knew it, you found yourself waiting for Jiseok at the main entrance. 

You soon came to realize that you and Jiseok actually had a lot of things in common. From music taste to shows you like, and you were pretty sure pretending with him will be easier than you imagined. 

“What do you mean you broke your arm falling off the bed??” You laugh, eating some of the meat he grilled for you. 

“I used to sleep really badly!” He defends himself with a whine, laughing too. “I’m not that bad now…I don’t think so.” 

“So if we ever sleep together I’ll have to wear a helmet, that’s what I’m hearing.” You tease, blush spreading across the blonde’s cheeks. 

“Who said anything about that??” 

“Didn’t you say your cousin’s wedding is in another city?? We can’t share bunk beds at the hotel if we’re supposed to be in a serious relationship, idiot.” You squint amused. “Have you never had a girlfriend before??” 

“I have!! I swear!...a few years ago….” He winces, making you laugh hard. 

“High School relationships don’t count, oh my god…we have so much work to do…” You shake your head with a tsk. “Why is your mom so set on you having a girlfriend?” You ask tilting your head with a frown.

“She’s just worried she keeps getting older and she thinks I’ll only ever be a /real man/ if I show I can be in a serious relationship, I don’t know, you know how old people get.” Jiseok purses his lips, eating. 

“You know, I think we should do method acting, it’ll work faster.” You say casually, and the blonde raises an eyebrow.

“You’re not into me, right? Cuz this is really awkward if you are and I'm not-” He starts and you roll your eyes. 

“You’re such a dude, Jesus Christ…remember /you/ came to me to help you out. I’m just saying because there’s still this awkwardness and we need to get rid of it quickly. We can’t afford for your parents to even have time to suspect anything. Do any of your friends know it’s a lie?” 

“Gunil was the one to come up with the idea so for now only him…but I think if they see us together they’ll be quick to figure it out.” Jiseok hums, munching on his food as you scrunch your nose thinking.

“Okay, so keep up the act. All. The. Time.” You point your finger at him squinting. “I remember Gunil telling me you’re really bad at lying so if you treat this as a lie you’ll get caught.” You explain, the blonde groaning.

“But how am I supposed to treat it?? It IS a lie!! Oh god…what if everyone already knows and they’re just messing with me??? OH MY GOD WHAT IF THEY’LL DISOWN ME-” He starts panicking and you stare at him.

“You…you’re so-” You start but then shake your head, getting up and grabbing him by the shoulders. “Kwak Jiseok! Focus!” You complain, slightly shaking him. “You don’t /know/ how to keep up with a lie!” 

“So what am I supposed to do?!” He asks, this time rocking his body on his own as you laugh at his dramatics. 

“Kwak Jiseok. Look at me.” You say in a serious tone, grabbing his face and squishing his cheeks. “Do you want to be my boyfriend?” You ask, trying your best not to pull out your phone and take a photo of his shocked expression. 

“Wha-but we’re not-” He starts and you tilt your head at him with raised eyebrows, hoping he understands where you’re going with this. “W-Oh-OHHH!....Yeah! Sure!” He nods, grinning and you scoff before kissing him shortly. 

“Okay. Done. Not a lie. You’re my boyfriend. We just need to…catch up.” You smile, sitting back down as you munch on your food, the other instantly relaxing at the thought that the relationship isn’t a lie…kinda.

“You know, the way you tiptoe around the truth is kind of concerning.” Jiseok purses his lips, making your lips twitch amusedly. 

“Well for now, it’s what’s saving our ass soooo…” You start and then poke your tongue out at him, the other doing the same, causing you to open your mouth, playfully offended. “Oh yeah?” You ask, before grabbing the last piece of meat off his plate and putting it on yours, giving him the middle finger. 

The older gasps, leaning over to take it back before you put it between your teeth but just as you’re about to bite into it he grabs the back of your neck and bites the other half, leaning back into his seat and chewing satisfied with your surprised expression. You blink a couple times and slowly eat your food, not sure why your heart skipped a beat, not caring about the man laughing as he takes a picture of you. 

“I’ll get back at you…when you least expect it.” You nod determinedly, the older asking for the check, crossing his arms. 

“Get back?! You started!!” He reminds you with a chuckle, paying before getting up with you. You look at him annoyedly and poke your tongue out, only for the other to pull on it with his fingers as you groan, slapping his arm. 

“Jerk!!” You laugh, pushing him away playfully before going back to walking. 

Pretending was definitely easier once Jiseok could lie to himself that this was an actual relationship, but that didn’t mean you two were fully comfortable with each other. Not because of any weird tension but more so because you were both worried about overstepping boundaries or having the other one think you were doing too much. 

That is why that week, your interactions in public resumed to you two kissing each other’s cheek when meeting on the hallways or hanging out when you both had a break at the same time. Like now, when you were sitting on the grass next to Jiseok, Gunil and one of their bandmates, Seungmin. 

You and Seungmin didn’t have a lot of things in common, so you avoided being around him one on one, but you didn’t mind being in a group with him. After all, it was hard not to be around him when he was one of the closest to both Jiseok and Hyeongjun, one of your best friends. 

Seungmin and Jiseok being so close is also why you were so worried about him. If anyone could figure it out first, it would be him. You know he cares about Jiseok and wouldn’t ruin it for him but you also know that the thought of someone catching him red handed would make him absolutely lose it.  

You weren’t going to let Jiseok know about how much Seungmin’s presence stresses you out, so when you heard Gunil say he was on his way with coffee, you rested your head on Jiseok’s shoulder, hugging his arm. The blonde blinks at you a little confused. “Are you okay?” He whispers worriedly, and you simply look up at him and nod shortly with a small smile. 

“You two disgust me. What happened to not searching for a real relationship?? All it took was FOUR DAYS??” Gunil complains, you and Jiseok sharing a small knowing look, letting out a small chuckle. 

You both decided it was a better idea if absolutely everyone believed the charade, since it meant less stress for Jiseok and more likeliness of the plan to actually work. So now, from Gunil’s point of view, you two planned on having a fake relationship but actually started dating. So in his head, the only lie is how much you two have been together for. 

Seungmin was looking at you two quietly while sipping his coffee, analyzing the situation. The body language, the way you looked at Jiseok, the way when the blonde’s screen lit up, the photo he took of you at the restaurant shows up as a lock screen. You were being observed. Heavily so. 

“You know, I’m kinda mad about the fact that you didn’t tell me about this.” The black haired man sighs, looking at his friend. 

“Ah well…it was kinda…unexpected…I didn’t want to bring your hopes up for nothing…” Jiseok grimaces, and you could physically feel him recoil at yet another lie he had to tell. 

Seungmin simply hums, not very convinced, but lets it go for the sake of it. You purse your lips, feeling a little guilty since technically, although not a complete lie, it wasn't a complete truth and you could feel Jiseok tense next to you. So, because you’re a good girlfriend, you squeeze his bicep reassuringly before caressing it, feeling the other relax slightly, his head resting on yours. 

At that, Seungmin’s lips twitch into a small smile, glancing at Gunil shortly. “So how are you two going to deal with his mom?” He frowns after having the situation explained to him, both you and Jiseok groaning in unison. 

“I’ll go pray or something…” You mumble, your so-called boyfriend whining. “Don’t do that! This is on you! You could’ve told your mom we just started dating! Why did you have to go to that extreme?!” You accuse him, pointing a finger at him, earning a laugh from his friends.

“I panicked! It’s whatever! It’s done!!” He moves his hand dismissively, whining again when you pinch his sides, doing the same to you, before you playfully smack his head, earning him pinching your arm in return. This turns into a push and pull and you are now on the grass gasping for air while laughing, begging him to stop as he is pinning you down while tickling your sides. 

Gunil and Seungmin share another look, knowing more than either of you two knew at that moment. And because he is such a good friend, Seungmin takes a video of it, cheering for you. “AREN’T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE ON MY SIDE?” Jiseok groans when you turn the two of you around, trying to get away from you. 

“NOT AFTER YOU DIDN’T TELL ME YOU GOT A GIRLFRIEND! I ACTUALLY LIKE HER MORE THAN I LIKE YOU!” Seungmin grins, and just as you get distracted by posing for the camera, the blonde takes the opportunity to turn you two around one last time and pin your arms down. He looks down at you, the both of you breathing heavily and you look up at him, laugh slowly dying down. 

You don’t know when Gunil and Seungmin left, too busy looking at the way his hair fell on his eyes and the way his expression was playful but determined, and him being too busy noticing the way your chest was raising up and down or the leaf that was stuck in your hair. You stay like that for a bit, before the other clears his throat, sitting up followed by you. 

You scoff, brushing your clothes as you look at him annoyedly, the older smiling softly while taking the leaf out of your hair. “I think that was convincing enough.” 

“Was the violence necessary??” You protest, the blonde nodding quickly with a laugh, stopping your hand as you try to smack his arm and pulling you close to him, in a way that makes your body crash into his, before he kisses you slowly. You stiff for a moment, taken aback before you kiss back, hand fidgeting with his shirt. 

You’re not too sure if it was the lack of physical affection up until now or the fact that Jiseok’s cologne was your favorite type, but you found yourself feeling giddy when his lips touched yours. You figured it was because after all, he was attractive and a good kisser, not because of any other hidden reasons.

Jiseok, too, figured that his heart thumping so hard he could hear it in his head and his breath shortening was because you were admittedly attractive and because he was still stressed out about the lie, not because of any other hidden reasons. 

You were both terribly wrong.

You pull away after a while, looking at the boy as your tongue brushes against your lower lip, letting out a shuddered breath. “What was that for?” You ask in a whisper, not pulling away.

“You wouldn’t stop being annoying.” He breathes out, before laughing softly when you push him away with a groan, biting back a smile. “Are you free today? We should have a pop quiz.” 

“Pop quiz?” You giggle. “Are we going to act like we’re on the wheel of fortune?” 

“Yeah?? Are you kidding me?? How do I know you even read my texts about all the info?? What if you are lazy and you’ll be the reason for our downfall??” 

At that, you can’t help but laugh with skepticism. “You’re the one about to hyperventilate at the smallest lie you tell!” You correct, the other mocking you. “Oh yeah, really mature, Kwak Jiseok. Very manly of you.” You make fun of him while getting up, dodging his attempt to poke your sides. 

“I was going to go home and have a self care day since I had to stay up until five in the morning to finish the project for tomorrow, but SURE. Come over when you want to so I can kick you out when I’m tired of you.” You suggest, walking away.

“YOU SHOULDN’T SPEAK TO YOUR BOYFRIEND LIKE THAT!” He yells after you with a laugh, and you wave him off. 

“MY BOYFRIEND’S A LITTLE BITCH!!” You yell back, giggling at his distant protests. 

Getting along with Jiseok came pretty naturally, you think to yourself as you were both eating some pizza while sitting on your couch, watching tv. You somehow got close enough in a few days to feel comfortable with playful banter and jokingly insulting each other. You look over to him, wondering why it is that you two never really bonded until now. 

And when Jiseok reaches over for the pillow next to you, eyes fixated on the screen as he mutters a small sorry when his elbow brushes your torso, you realize maybe it’s just that now was the right time. 

Strangely, being with him felt very comforting, but the pace to which you felt yourself getting attached to him was terrifying because there’s no reason as to why you should not care about the fact that he was now rummaging through your fridge to find a can of soda before coming back on the couch. 

You guess that’s part of his charm as a person. He’s about the only guy you could think of that would get away with making himself at home in a stranger’s house. Although, if you were to ask Jiseok, he would defend it by saying you’re not a stranger but his girlfriend, before apologizing and offering you some soda, which you gladly take. 

At some point you were no longer paying attention to the tv but asking each other random questions about the other. 

“HOW ARE YOU GOING TO FORGET I'M LACTOSE INTOLERANT?? WHAT TYPE OF GIRLFRIEND ARE YOU??” He gasps with wide eyes when you get a question wrong. 

“WHA- YOU DRINK BANANA MILK LIKE…DAILY!!!” You gasp, mimicking his expression. “DO YOU WANT TO DIE OR SOMETHING? DO YOU LIKE THE IDEA OF SHITTING YOURSELF TO DEATH??”

Jiseok groans, nose scrunching in disgust as he throws his pillow at you. “THAT’S NOT THE POINT!! IT’S LIKE A CRUCIAL PART OF MYSELF!!” “Oh yeah, just like your STUPIDITY!!” You laugh, throwing the pillow back at him, both of you getting into a pillow fight, before his phone rings.

“Shit- shit shit shit MY MOM IS CALLING!” The man lets out a squeal, jumping up from the couch.

“So?” You frown, fixing your hair. 

“VIDEO-CALLING!” He screams, wiggling the phone in your face, pacing around. You look at him for a few moments before grabbing his wrist and dragging him into his bedroom.

“Take off your shirt.” You instruct, the older widening his eyes even more.

“HUH?!” 

“JISEOK FOR FUCK’S SAKE I SAID TAKE OFF YOUR SHIRT!” You yell and the other can simply let out a small whine, doing as told as you push him on the bed to lay down on it. You mess up your hair quickly and lay half on top of him, head on his chest as your eyes stay closed and your mouth is slightly open. 

It takes a while for the other to understand where you’re going with this but when he finally does, he wraps his free arm around your shoulders caressing your hair and answers the phone, with a nervous laugh. 

“A-ah hey ma’...I was just- laying down with my girlfriend…” He starts and you quickly realize you need to make him shut up before he vomits the truth so you let out a small noise, hugging him tighter as you frown your eyebrows, slowly opening your eyes and looking up at him before moving up to peck his lips. 

Jiseok blinks a little, lips forming into a small smile before he looks over your face. “Hey, did I wake you up?” 

“Mm kinda, I felt you moving…” You grumble, wiping your eyes as you squint at the phone. “Oh! Hello, sorry- I didn’t know-” You start apologizing but his mother tells you not to worry happily, saying she only wanted to check up on you two, before informing her son when exactly she will arrive and then hanging up. 

Jiseok finally lets out a breath he’s been holding in, slamming his phone on the mattress as you laugh at him. “Was the shirtless part really necessary?” He asks, curiously.

“Yes and no. If you let me nap with you shirtless it’ll let your mom know we’re really intimate in private so it’s more believable we’ve been dating for a while.” You explain, the other’s lips making a circular sound, impressed at the thoughtfulness. It’s also because he looked really hot without a t-shirt on but he didn’t need to know that.

Jiseok puts on a shirt complaining about how it’s too cold, but you two end up in the same position as before, neither of you moving, as you keep asking each other questions, before going over the story of how you two met and started dating.

A short while after that, you two ended up talking about the time you destroyed a theater set in middle school because of the wires in your angel costume getting stuck. Jiseok laughs with his head thrown back and his eyes closed, looking back at you.

“Are you serious?? This sounds like something out of a movie.” You nod embarrassed, burying your head in his chest as he laughs more.

“It was very traumatizing for me!” You whine, patting his stomach to get him to stop making fun of you. “Plus, it’s not more embarrassing than plugging in your guitar in the bass amp on the first day on the job-” You start, smiling mischievously at his doe eyes. “Mhm, that’s right, Gunil told me. He also told me you tripped on the cable and fell on top of Jungsu and you gave him a little kisss-” You grin, puckering your lips as he groans, covering his face. 

“IT WASN’T A KISS MY LIPS JUST HIT HIS EYE AND IT WAS VERY PAINFUL!” He defends himself, making you laugh even more.

“Mhmmmm whatever you sayyyy boy kissserrrr!” You giggle, letting out a surprised noise when Jiseok starts puckering his lips, moving them in a funny way, trying to get close to you. “NO GET AWAY FROM MY EYE!” You grunt, fighting for your life as he was trying to get closer while laughing. 

The blonde gets on top of you trying to get closer but you manage to get control by swiping his leg with yours and turning the both of you around. “Woah-” He breathes out impressed as you grin down at him. “How did you-” 

“I watch a lot of movies.” You nod proudly, moving your lips in the same way he did, the older snickering as he pretends to try to get away, but wraps his arms around your waist instead, looking up at you and doing the same thing trying to intimidate you. 

You squint, and cup his jaw, pecking him once with a loud sound, before you move to his cheek and blow a raspberry on it, earning an annoyed whine from the boy, who pulls away with squinted eyes before trying to do the same to you. However, before his lips reach your cheek you move away, making your lips touch, which turns into a mix of giggles before you peck him a few times. 

Jiseok mumbles something about you being gross and annoying before kissing you softly, as your arms find their way around his neck. The kiss started innocently, really. The problem was that neither of you knew when it was the right time to stop so you simply…did not stop.

You hug Jiseok closer, one arm around his neck as the other moves in his hair, the man breathing in as his arms wrap tighter around your waist. Kissing Jiseok was intoxicating. He was annoyingly good at it, and it felt addictive so instead of pulling away, you tentatively pull on his bottom lip, earning a small sigh from the blonde. 

Now that you think of it, this was a good idea. After all, you needed to practice intimacy and it would definitely be awkward if you two never even properly made out before meeting his parents. 

Jiseok seems to have the same idea, because his hands grip on your waist just a little tighter and his kisses get slightly needier. You caress his jaw before playing with his lip, breathing heavily as you open your eyes. 

When you do, you think to yourself this is what heaven must look like, because his cheeks were rosy and lips puffy and his hair was messily falling on his face as he was looking at you with a hazed expression. 

The older licks his lips, looking over your face, eyes quickly moving back to your lips, hands wanting to leave your waist so badly but never doing so. And when you sit on his lap more properly as his back rests against the headboard, he finds himself quickly breaking out of his trance in panic. 

You look over Jiseok’s face innocently, before grabbing his hand and moving it on your ass. “If you want your parents to believe we’re dating, you’re gonna have to start touching me like a boyfriend.”

“But my parents aren’t here now-” The blonde breathes out, hand frozen in place. You tilt your head at him unimpressed, moving closer to him.

“Not now, but what are you going to do when they see you flinch every time I touch you?” You ask, hand going into his hair.

“I just don’t wanna make you uncomfortable…” He answers blushing, hand on your thigh again, so you press your chest on his. 

“If I was uncomfortable I wouldn’t be telling you to grab my ass. Stop worrying about making me uncomfortable, just act the way you’d act with your real girlfriend, your parents are gonna know if you’re pretending, they’re not stupid.” You whisper looking down at him and the blonde licks his lips debating internally for a few moments before moving his hand on your ass and pulling you closer, hand gripping on it before kissing you slowly. 

“Mm-that’s more like it.” You whisper smiling, grabbing his hair while kissing him back, pretending your stomach didn’t turn at the action. This kiss wasn’t innocent anymore and you both knew it, because your chest was now pressed on his chest as you hugged his neck, letting out a small noise.

“We should…” The blonde pulls away shortly, breathing heavily, but before he can continue you pull him in another kiss because you really couldn’t not kiss him. 

“Mhm..” You agree, grinding once on him while kissing him more passionately when his hands grab your ass as he leans over you to kiss you back, a small moan leaving both of your lips. 

The room was filled with heavy breaths and pants, and you really didn’t know how much of it you could handle anymore. Thankfully, a loud knock on the door makes the both of you jump away from the kiss, laughing slightly at the jumpscare. 

“I should get that.” You whisper and Jiseok nods, pecking you one last time. You hold back a smile, patting his chest once and getting the door after fixing your hair slightly, frowning. 

“Hey uh-sorry… my shower isn’t working, is it cool if I use yours? Please? I just came back from the gym and I feel like a sewer rat-” Jungsu, your neighbor, asks shily. “You’re the only person in this building I trust not to strangle me with the shower curtain.” 

“They’re messing with the water again?? I swear to fucking god-” You groan but nod understandingly as you let him in. “Did you call maintenance?” You ask, walking him into your living room. 

“Yeah, they’re not picking up, you know how they are. I’ll try again tomorrow, If I knew I would’ve showered at the gym.” He scoffs, grabbing his towel and pajamas. 

You were about to ask more about the issue, when the door of your room opens, a very confused and slightly bothered Jiseok looking between the two of you. “What the fu-” 

“Oh, you’re here?? Shit, hi man, I didn’t know- did I interrupt something or-” He asks, partially worried and partially teasing after greeting the younger.

“No.” You say, at the same time as Jiseok says “Yes.” You give the blonde a death stare but smile and wave at Jungsu, encouraging him to go into the bathroom. 

“Why’s my keyboardist in your apartment at 11PM?” Your fake-boyfriend raises an eyebrow, arms crossed as he comes closer to you. 

“His shower’s not working so I let him use mine like the good neighbor I am, why?” You reply mimicking his actions, getting closer to him as well. “How come you never told me you two are neighbors?” Jiseok asks, irritation clear in his voice as he looks down at you. “And can’t he just wait it out and shower in the morning at the gym or something? Was this really necessary?” He scoffs, eyes rolling. 

“Wha-oh my god…” You grin, covering your mouth amused. “You’re jealous!” You point at him, the blonde’s cheeks instantly getting red as he coughs trying to deny your accusations. 

“No I’m not! I just- think it’s a bad look! If you let people like that in your apartment at night…and they know you have a boyfriend- I mean- what will they /say/ about us?? And you??” He whisper yells, eyes widened as you nod sarcastically.

You look up at him, arms still crossed as you get close enough for your arms to touch his. “Jiseok?” You whisper grinning, earning a hum from the other. “You’re jealous.” You repeat, but peck his lips once before he could protest. “You’re so so jealous.” You tease more, feeling giddy at the idea of the other getting jealous over something so stupid, especially when he doesn’t really have a reason to since you two are not actually…dating. 

“I told you I’m not you’re just not mindfu-” He starts debating, but you smile more, cupping his cheeks and kissing him softly, the blonde playfully pulling away the first few times before you let out a small whine, squishing his cheeks. He lets out a small chuckle, arms looping around your waist, as you caress his jaw, feeling him smile softly in the kiss. 

“Better?” You whisper knowingly, pecking him a couple times as you look up at him, face still close to his. He was about to give a snarky reply before you two heard someone clear their throat behind you, making you pull away and look at Jungsu, the blonde keeping one of his arms around your waist, your back on his chest. 

“Well uh- thanks for letting me use the shower and sorry again- see you tomorrow at practice!!” He chimes, hurriedly getting his things, as you purse your lips, holding back a smile at Jiseok’s death stare. 

“Do you want to stay over for dinner?” You ask, purely out of curiosity as to what your so-called boyfriend’s reaction will be. Jiseok runs his tongue in the inside of his cheek, smiling at you sarcastically as you give him an innocent look. 

“Ah su-” Jungsu starts but then blinks fastly a couple times, coughing. “I mean it’s already late and I have food at home, so-yeah-bye!!” The older man corrects, and when he leaves you turn around to see the blonde’s scary expression, making you laugh as you kiss his cheek. 

“I can’t believe you scared your bandmate off because you’re jealous.” You giggle, closing the door and walking into the kitchen to heat up some food. 

“I didn’t do it because I’m jealous, I did it because he’s annoying and he has a home.” He bites, following you into the kitchen. 

“Don’t /you/ have a home?” You raise an eyebrow, the other blinking.

“Oh I figured I’d crash over since it’s late if that’s okay-” He starts but you interrupt him. 

“You know, considering you’re my FAKE boyfriend, you wanna be around me too much. I’m starting to think you actually like me.” You joke, but you can see Jiseok’s smile drop, expression and demeanor instantly changing. 

You part your lips, feeling a pang in your chest, and you get reminded just how much this isn’t real. He says he remembers he has to study for an exam tomorrow, which you know is a lie but you have no choice other than to give him a small nod and tell him to get a good night’s sleep.

Jiseok barely looks at you as he nods and then grabs his things, leaving you staring at the door, guilt suddenly filling your chest. From the looks of it, lying came easier to Jiseok now, and you’re starting to dislike being the reason for it.

He gets home annoyedly dropping his bag on the floor, Hyeongjun choosing to stay quiet, knowing the blonde will eventually talk about it if he feels like it. But Jiseok doesn’t. He doesn’t have anything to talk about. Hell, he doesn't even have a reason to feel as angry as he does right now. When his screen lights up with a notification and he sees your face on the screen, all he can do is put his phone on the mattress face down as he groans, hands covering his face. 

“Fucking hell, Jiseok. Get it together, dude.” He whispers to himself, rubbing his eyes with a sigh. And because he is a very mature and in tune with his emotions type of man, he puts his phone on battery-saving mode so the lock screen would turn black and he could avoid looking at your picture for as long as possible, walking to the living room with his guitar in his hand.

“Can we play?” He asks the other guitarist, who was quietly watching tv in the living room while eating some snacks. Hyeongjun looks over his face for a few moments but decides to simply give the other a short nod before getting up and grabbing his own guitar, setting everything up. If Jiseok needed to angrily strum at 2AM to feel better then so be it. 

You lay in your bed, trying to ignore the lump in your throat while thinking about the interaction from earlier. You didn’t mean for it to sound as harsh as it did and now that you look back on it, it was a stupid thing to say in the first place. 

You liked Jiseok. It took a date for you to know you did, so why you impulsively said something you knew although real would only make things more uncomfortable, was something you couldn’t explain. 

Well maybe you can. You were sure of /your/ feelings, but you were also painfully aware of /his/ feelings, simply by how many times he has repeatedly said he isn’t looking for an actual relationship. 

You didn’t necessarily have a crush on him from day one, you always found him attractive and thought he was cute but it was left at that. Until you got to know him, and realized he was annoyingly perfect. Perfect and out of reach. 

This whole thing genuinely started as a fun acting gig, but you’re too grown to pretend that the butterflies in your stomach whenever he looks at you or kisses you are from method acting. 

You glance at your phone on the nightstand and consider calling. Instead, you settle for tapping the screen every five minutes to look at his picture, considering whether he’d think you’re a weirdo if you showed up at his place to apologize. 

Jiseok was strumming the guitar as the other was playing the lead concentrated, both of them choosing to simply enjoy each other’s company instead of talking, as you were turning around from one side to the other, trying to fall asleep. 

You scoff, turning on your back, cursing to yourself before you get up, grabbing your phone and keys, not bothering to change as you walk out of the house, praying Hyeongjun is asleep so you wouldn’t have to deal with his judgy look. 

Turns out, he was in fact, not asleep, because a few moments after knocking the door, he swung the door open, blinking a couple times in surprise. 

“Is Jiseok home?” You ask embarrassed, almost mumbling. Your friend seems to put together two pieces of a missing puzzle together mentally as he gives you a short nod, stepping away so you could enter. 

You purse your lips, wincing slightly when Hyeongjun gives you a side eye with a raised eyebrow, walking into his room after picking up his guitar. The blonde was too caught up in the song he was currently playing while sitting on the couch to notice you standing next to him. 

When you call his name barely above a whisper, his head shoots up, looking at you with his blonde hair falling on his face. You part your lips, feeling your heartbeat speed up as you look at his oversized band shirt, his plump lips and tired eyes. 

His eyes flutter for a few moments, mouth slightly opened in surprise. “Wh-” 

“I’m sorry.” You say boldly, guilt obvious in your voice. “About earlier…” You clarify, noticing the way the older’s adam apple moves as he gulps once, taking the guitar off his shoulder, still trying to process everything.

“Shit am I having anger hallucinations right now-” He mumbles to himself, patting his cheek a couple times, making you let out a small laugh, shaking your head. He is so stupid. So very stupid and so very cute. 

“I’m serious…I’m sorry If it’s weird I came over at this hour I just…didn’t know if you’d pick up if I called…” You continue, the taller not moving away from his spot. “I didn’t mean for it to sound like that…I-I didn’t mean it in a-” You ramble but the blonde smiles softly, looking over your face. “What?” 

“Nothing.” He whispers, as he lets you ramble away how sorry you are all over again. Except, he’s not listening. How could he when your hair is a mess, you’re wearing stupid cat pajamas and you look as cute as you do when you’re stressed? 

How could he when you’re the only person to walk all the way to his house to apologize as soon as you fucked up because you’re not immature and annoying? How could he when you looked so pretty right now and he liked you so much? 

He liked you. He likes you. He’s been liking you, and it’s so silly how what made him come to terms with it was you coming to his house, close to crying, at two in the morning, because you said something kinda mean.

So, as you keep rambling anxiously, he gets up and cups your jaw with one hand, leaning down and kissing you softly to shut you up. You let out a small whimper, not expecting this type of reaction, but kiss in no time, hands gently holding his shirt. Jiseok smiles slightly, pulling you closer by your waist as you sigh in the kiss, hugging his waist. 

Jiseok felt things he never even knew he could feel when you pulled him closer by the waist, his arms hugging your neck before pecking you a couple more times, resting his forehead on yours. 

“Are we okay?” You whisper, earning a small nod from the older, because asking why he did it might have given you an answer you didn’t want to hear like oh Hyeongjun is at home, he might overhear if we explain it more or oh i thought we were still supposed to do method acting. 

Your lips form a small pout, feeling a weight be lifted off your shoulders as you bury your head in the crock of his neck, hugging him with your eyes closed. The older one bites back a smile, cheek on your head while hugging you back. “Thanks.” He starts, glancing at you when you shoot him a questioning look. “For apologizing.” He finishes, kissing your cheek before pulling away as he clears his throat. After all, you were right. Even if he knew he liked you, he had no proof you felt the same way. 

You find yourself smiling to yourself as Jiseok unplugs his guitar, forcing a neutral expression when he turns around to look at you.

“Right well…I should uh-leave. It’s really late.” You nod quickly, thinking that was the end of it, since the older was putting away the amp, when you hear his voice interrupt the silence. 

“Stay.” He says simply, walking back to you. “It’s really late.” He repeats after you, and this time you can’t hold back a smile, whispering a small okay before offering to help him put away his guitar.

“Aren’t you scared your neighbors could call the police on you for making noise at 2AM?” You ask curiously as you wrap the guitar cable around your arm. 

“They’ve done worse.” Jiseok answers indifferently. “Why? Would you call the police on me?” He squints, pointing a pick at you. 

“I’d actually probably be the one to be really annoying and play. If I knew how to.” You clarify with a small giggle, Jiseok’s eyes instantly lighting up. 

“Want me to teach you?” The guitarist asks excitedly, and god he looked kisseable.

“Now…?” You frown amused as the other nods fastly, grabbing his guitar in one hand and your wrist in the other, walking to his room. You whisper yell at him to be careful so Hyeongjun won't curse you out. 

The other hits his foot just as you finish the sentence once he puts his guitar down, about to let out a scream. You widen your eyes covering his mouth to muffle the noise, body crashing onto him as he stumbles on the bed with you on top of him, both of you laughing softly. 

“Are you alright?” You ask between snickers, the guitarist shaking his head and playing dead. “You’re so-” You start but yelp when he wraps his arms around you blowing a raspberry on your neck, making you squirm with a whine as you playfully smack his arm. 

The blonde looks at you smiling, kissing you once before grabbing his guitar and putting it on your lap, taking a picture while giggling at your confused face. It doesn’t take long for the pick to fly out of your hand and you two spend a good five minutes looking around the bed for it.

“Here. Be careful, it’s like the last one I have.” He scoffs, handing it to you.

“Aren’t you supposed to have more than one…?” You frown confused.

“I do! Well. I used to! They just…keep fucking disappearing on me…I got a new pack just last week.” He winces, earning a small laugh from you.

He gets behind you, breath hot against your neck as he positions your fingers on the fretboard, explaining terminology you could not be bothered to care about right now. Not when you could smell his cologne, overly aware that all it would take to kiss him is turning your head around. 

“Didn’t you say you have an exam tomorrow?” You ask, strumming slowly as Jiseok moves his fingers on the fretboard after you complained about it being too hard.

“I lied.” He replies casually. “Had a really good teacher.” He teases, talking in your ear, sending shivers down your spine. You know he didn’t mean much with it, but you couldn’t stop thinking about it so after quietly strumming for a while, you speak up.

“Jiseok?” You ask carefully, head turning to look at him, breath hitching when he locks his eyes with yours with a curious hum. “I know it might come off as ironic, but can I ask something of you?” You purse your lips, nervously. 

“Yeah, sure, what is it?” The older frowns, arms wrapping around your waist from behind, and your stomach turns upside down. 

“Can you please not lie to me even though you got better at it?” You plead softly, feeling your heartbeat in your head. You felt nervous he’d think you’re being dramatic or maybe tell you this is your fault, but instead he gives you a sincere nod.

“I won’t.” He reassures you, lightly squeezing you once. You give him a grateful smile, and strum some more, the older resting his chin on your shoulder as he goes on. “That applies to you too, you know? You’re a bigger threat because you’re freakishly good at lying.”

“I never lied to you.” You admit, glancing at his fingers grazing over the strings. “Have no reason to do so.”

At some point, your back ended up pressed on Jiseok’s chest as he leaned against the headboard, arms wrapped around you as he played a slow song on guitar. You smile softly, drifting to sleep, not noticing the way the other’s lips curl into a loving smile as he kisses your temple. 

You get woken up by a knock on the door, Hyeongjun’s voice warning about how late it is. You frown as you stretch, slowly opening your eyes, only to realize you fell asleep against Jiseok’s chest, his guitar still on your lap as his mouth was parted, head resting on the headboard. 

Your eyes light up as you let out a small snicker, taking a couple pictures, before poking his cheeks, eventually making him wake up with a confused expression, eyes widening when he sees you. 

“Holy shit-” He coughs, trying to make sense of the situation before he notices the guitar and your pajamas, letting out an annoyed groan. “So that’s why my neck was hurting.” He complains, hugging your waist as he buries his head in your neck. 

“Don’t you have classes today?” You ask with a whine, when he pulls you down to lay with him fully.

“I’m just gonna skip…” He mumbles, pecking your neck once, your body jerking in surprise. 

“I have to go.” You reply, trying to pull away but not being able to as the blonde squeezes you closer to him. “Jiseok let go, I need to go home, I'm still in my pajamas!” You grunt as your arms push on his biceps. 

“Can’t you skip?” He groans, snuggling more. “‘m in a comfortable position and if you move away i’ll have to figure out another position.” He complains, as if that was a good enough reason for you to miss class. “Why even do you have to go?” 

“Because! I need to be studious. Be responsible.” You reply, knowing you still had around three hours until you had to go, since you only had a class that you could, in fact, skip. You were going to pull away but when Jiseok looked up at you with a sleepy expression, messy hair and wrinkled shirt, you started doubting yourself. “And even if I skip, I have to shower.” You try to convince yourself more than him. 

“You can shower here.” He debates, and you tilt your head unimpressed. 

“What about the clothes?” You squint, and the other shrugs, holding you closer, lips close to yours. 

“You can take mine.” You blink, lips parting at the boldness, not really knowing what to think of it. Sure, you agreed to keep up the act at all times, but Jiseok was getting disturbingly good at acting as if he genuinely had feelings for you. 

“I’m starting to think this was all part of your plan to mess with my routine.” You whisper, eyes traveling down to his lips.

“That’s why we’ll skip at the same time. A break from routine /and/ getting more sleep, I'm only seeing pros.” He whispers back, hand going on your lower waist to pull you close to him, your breath hitching. 

“You might not be a good liar, but you’re a really good bullshitter.” You maintain your voice low, hand traveling from his bicep into his hair, lips almost brushing against his. 

“That’s why we make a good team.” Jiseok’s lips form into a small smirk, leaning closer to your face before he pulls you in a slow kiss, as you hear Hyeongjun close the front door behind him. 

You inhale shortly, one hand playing with his hair as the other was on his chest. You would be lying if you said that wasn’t hot, and Jiseok letting out a satisfied hum as he presses his chest on you when you kiss back really wasn’t helping.

Jiseok wraps his arm around you tighter to hug your lower back, kissing you softly but with intention, and for a moment you believed you were really kissing your lover. It hurt. Knowing you get to experience being his girlfriend but only as a trial, it made you want to cry. 

Instead, you chose to hug his neck more and close your eyes tighter, wanting to be as much in the moment as you could and pretend as much as possible, because that’s the only thing you could do. The older is taken aback for a bit at the sudden affection but returns it in no time by putting you half on top of him, hugging your waist with both arms securely. 

He doesn’t know why the kiss suddenly felt more…real, but he wasn’t going to let the opportunity of pretending he is kissing his actual girlfriend go to waste, so he grazes his tongue over your bottom lip and makes sure to pour out emotions he can’t say out loud in this one kiss. 

You could feel tears build up in your eyes and hear your heart breaking because you started to wonder what it would be like to have this be a constant in your life. Waking up next to Jiseok, your boyfriend, cuddling, kissing as you try to pull away to start your day. 

The older one seems to feel that something was off, because he kisses you gently a few more times before pulling away just enough to look over your face. “Are you okay?” 

You open your eyes, only to be met by a blurry version of him, choosing to simply bury your head in his neck, hugging him tighter as you try to control your breathing. He sighs, pained at the sight of your hurt expression but hugs you back, hand caressing your back. 

“Need to talk about it?” He asks softly, making you shake your head. 

“No, it’s fine…I’m sorry.” You chuckle, quickly wiping your eyes before looking up at him with a small smile. 

“If I knew missing class would cause you a breakdown I would’ve let you leave…” He purses his lips innocently, although you knew he was joking by the look in his eyes.

“You’re so…” You mutter, unable to stay serious as small giggles escape your lips, pushing the man away playfully. 

The guitarist grins, kissing your cheek, before getting up. “Do you want some coffee?” 

“What happened to sleeping more?” You frown, supporting yourself by your elbows.

“You scared my sleep away by collapsing because of a missed class, who knows what’s gonna happen if we stay in bed? What if you DIE?” He gestures dramatically, your mouth opening offendedly as you get up, running after him. 

“WHAT HAPPENED TO BEING NICE TO EACH OTHER BECAUSE WE’RE DATING, KWAK JISEOK??” You laugh, following him in the kitchen as he tries to get away, putting his hands up when he’s met with a dead end. 

“I’M NICE BY NOT LETTING YOU DIE!” He defends himself, breathing heavily with a smile. You flick his forehead, letting him whine as you grab two mugs, pouring the coffee in them. As he keeps talking about how unfair and terrible you are, you smile to yourself, looking at the way he reaches for the top cabinet for the sugar. 

Dating Jiseok was like a dream. Technically, it was a dream, because it wasn’t real. You had to keep telling yourself that as he kissed your cheek once cutely with a loud noise as apology for making you skip class, before walking into the living room. 

You ended up going home and showering at your own place, but it didn’t matter because you couldn't think of anything else for the rest of the day, and neither did he. He was a mess at practice, and things didn’t get better by Saturday. 

Especially not when you two decided to meet up a few hours before meeting with his parents, going over a few details of your “relationship” a few more times, just in case. And when you changed into more elegant clothes and walked out of the bathroom towards your living room where Jiseok was waiting for you, you stopped in your tracks. 

He looked unreal. His hair was slicked back, a few strands of blonde hair falling on his face and he was wearing a gray blazer over his white button up. “You look…” You start, but the other was not listening because his lips were parted, looking at you up and down stunned, breaths slower and heavier.

“Woah…” He breathes out, as you walk closer to the other. You look up at him shily, before fixing his tie carefully. Out of impulse, you tug on it, making him take a step closer to you, chest bumping into yours as his hand goes to your lower back.

“Remember. We’re dating. Keep the pda appropriate but try not to flinch away when I touch you, yeah?” You instruct seriously, the other gulping, because this was truly the hottest thing someone has ever done to him. 

“Y-yeah-” He stutters, unable to form an actual sentence, and you take advantage of the closeness by pulling him in a slow kiss, the blonde groaning. 

“Wait no-” He mumbles, pulling away embarrassed and putting distance between the two of you. You tilt your head confused until your eyes catch a glimpse of the issue, covering your mouth trying your best not to laugh at his flustered face, as he walks to the balcony after pouring himself a glass of water.

“Jiseok we have to go-” You remind him, after taking a few breaths to calm down, the other not even looking at you. You giggle, wrapping your arms around his arms from behind, hugging him while peeking at him. “You’re cute.” You grin, but the older simply scoffs embarrassed, looking away. You really needed to leave so you cup his cheeks and cutely peck him once, before grabbing his hand and leaving the apartment. 

The ride there was…awkward. The air was filled with nerves and anxiety and you could see Jiseok get more and more worried as you got closer to the restaurant. You looked over his face, unsure whether comforting him by putting your hand on his knee would work or worsen the situation. 

“Jiseok.” You whisper, the blonde looking at you, biting on the skin near his fingernail. “It’ll be alright.” You reassure him, although you know the words won’t change anything.

Meeting his parents was nerve wracking. For the both of you. Partially because you didn’t want to experience Jiseok having a breakdown because of getting caught but also because in your delusions they /had/ to like you because even if you can’t actually date their son, they will believe you are. 

His father greeted you politely but then his mother pulled you in a tight hug, excitedly saying something about you being sent from heaven for finally getting her son to change his mind. You laugh slightly uncomfortable, begging Jiseok to help you with your eyes, who was too caught up in his own head to realize. 

Once you sit at the table, his mother instantly starts small talk. Well, more like a police interrogation. By her demeanor, you could tell she’s not suspicious about the relationship being fake but rather extremely interested in how you convinced him to get into a relationship at all. 

However, regardless of the reason, you could feel your so-called boyfriend tense next to you, the grip on his water glass getting slightly tighter. “And how did you two meet?” His mother asks, and you were about to go with the planned story but when Jiseok’s knee started moving up and down anxiously, you decided to change the plan. 

“We met through Gunil.” You reply, putting your hand on the blonde’s knee, earning a surprised look from the other, as this wasn’t what you originally talked about. Originally, you were going to say that you two met at a concert and then kept bumping into each other, but seeing the way the older was close to sweating, you chose to say the truth. Kind of.

“Oh?? You know Gunil?” His mother asks, surprised, and you nod as you caress Jiseok’s knee gently from under the table.

“He’s one of my best friends. Jiseok needed help with girl problems and since he didn’t know how to solve it, Gunil recommended he talks to me and then we just…got along. Kept hanging out.” You smile politely, turning your head and looking into Jiseok’s eyes, who let out a small relieved breath, instantly calming down. 

“And then I kept trying to find reasons to be around her.” The older whispers, and he looked strangely sincere as you smiled, choosing not to think about the pain in your chest.

You look back at his mom, who was very moved by the whole thing, especially as you mentioned how you had to grab his face and confess first because he wouldn’t. Which was also not really a lie, since the day you agreed to keep up the act full-time, you had to be the one to seal the deal. 

“He’s not giving you a hard time, is he?” The woman asks, sipping on her wine as you shake your head with a playful sigh.

“It’s so hard…” You barely get to say that, before Jiseok complains about how you’re mean and they’ll think he sucks as a boyfriend. You grin, turning to him and mocking him, letting a small noise in surprise when the older pecks your lips once, making you blush and shut up, slightly ducking your head. 

Dinner was going well, your hand never leaving Jiseok’s knee unless it was to sip on your drink. “Did he talk to you about the wedding?” His father asks and you nod shortly, glancing at the man next to you when you feel his hand go to yours, fingers interlocking with yours as he caresses your knuckles for some comfort. 

“I already talked to my parents about the trip, so there won’t be any issues, but I wanted to ask when I was supposed to get the trip tickets?” You frown, genuinely curious as you realize you and Jiseok didn’t actually talk about the whens and hows of the wedding.

“Oh, don’t be silly! We’ll drive you there!” His mother smiles, making you blink quickly. 

“Oh that’s fine you don’t have to-” You start, anxious at the thought of having to be stuck with his parents in a car for hours, making sure you don’t say anything that could blow your cover.

“I uh- actually already got the tickets.” Jiseok speaks up, and you widen your eyes at him. He is lying. “I thought it would be better if you guys didn’t have to worry about it, and I want to spend some time with her before the wedding since I’ll be busy with best man things when we get there.” He finishes, and you look over his face, not believing how well he’s handling this. 

“Oh, that’s great too, speak to Jooyeon and make sure he sends you the details since we’ll already be there a few days earlier to help with preparations.” His father nods, and then you all keep eating as if nothing. 

When his parents aren't looking, you look at your fake-boyfriend, who simply gives you a quick wink as he squeezes your hand once. Somehow, /you/ were the nervous one because what do you mean, you need to be stuck all alone on a trip with him, having him look all boyfriend and having no one else around so you could find an excuse to actually act the way you want to? You were so fucked. 

When dinner was done, his parents offered to drive you two home but Jiseok insisted on walking, saying he wants to spend some more time with you since he missed you. Liar. He saw you a day ago, and it’s not like he actually wanted to be more around you, he just didn’t want them to ask more questions. 

Except he did want to be around you some more, because at dinner he understood that he can really rely on you, from the way you tried to comfort him to the way you chose to kind of say the truth just to make sure he doesn’t feel too overwhelmed. He was gone. He was so gone. 

“Your mom doesn’t seem as bad as you made her seem.” You smile softly, walking besides him as you hug your arms. 

“She’s not a bad mom. Just a very…pushy future-grandma.” He smiles back, making you laugh. 

“So you /do/ want to give her grandkids.” You tease, the taller throwing his head back. 

“If I don’t she might die of heartbreak.” The older replies, taking off his jacket. “Plus, I never said I don’t want to get married. Or have kids. I just don't want it…/now/.” He corrects, putting his blazer over your shoulders. “She’s just scared that by the time I do want it, it’ll be too late for her.” He continues, and when he sees your pout, he adds with a smile. “She is also perfectly healthy and simply overreacting.” 

“Why don’t you want to date?” You tilt your head, walking closer to him as you put your hands in the pockets of the blazer. “Are you too cool and smart for us mortals?” You joke. 

Jiseok looks at you weirdly, poking your side. “I’m not that much of an ass!” He defends himself, shaking his head. “I just don’t know…I feel like it’s a lot of work. Seungmin’s in a relationship and I hear about the fights and the jealousy and all that and it just seems like a headache…and the relationships I've had before weren’t that good so…” He shrugs, looking at the street lights.

“Ah…you’re scared about the bad parts.” You hum, glancing at him. “Don’t you think that there will be more good than bad if you’re with the right person, though?” 

Jiseok swallows, looking over your face, before turning his attention to the street again. “I’m not against it. If I were to find someone that wouldn’t make me feel like I’m difficult to love.” He says in a joking manner, but you could hear the hint of hurt and insecurity in his voice. 

Jiseok was always easy-going and fun, and quite frankly the best person to have around because he knew how to make people feel good. He wasn’t scared of vulnerability, but he was careful with whom he shared it with, something you know from Gunil. You couldn’t help but feel pride, knowing he feels comfortable enough to open up even if it’s a little and disguised as a joke. 

Maybe, although you can’t be his lover, you could stay in his life as a friend, because having him as a friend is way better than never talking to him again after this whole charade is over. 

You didn’t know what to say, so you simply chuckle and keep walking, when Jiseok speaks up again. “Thanks for tonight.” 

“That was the deal, wasn’t it?” You beam, looking up at him.

“I meant for telling the truth…sort of.” He clarifies, stopping in front of your apartment. You look over his face, feeling your heart beat faster when the guitarist nods his head towards the entrance. “You should go inside, you’re freezing.” He whispers, and you wish you had an excuse to ask him to stay over or kiss him goodnight, but you don’t so you simply smile softly.

“Goodnight, Jiseok.” You whisper back, your bodies too close to each other. And because Jiseok likes nothing more than to unknowingly make you suffer, he leans down and kisses your cheek once before leaving. You look at his figure getting further and purse your lips, wishing he did more than that. 

Jiseok takes the long way home, trying to figure out how he’s supposed to just…stop being around you after the wedding. He’s already used to the daily texts, the banter and the kissing, and he really wishes there would be a way for this to just keep going. Maybe if he pretends his mother will move into the city so you two have no other choice than to keep this up for a long time. 

He chuckles to himself, shaking his head as he gets into his shared house, and takes a long shower. Having feelings for you was easy. Knowing what to do with those feelings was a whole different conversation. 

He was the one to be annoying about how much this will not develop into something serious and yet here he is, at three in the morning, looking at the pictures in his phone like the stupid boy he is. He tears up that night. For the first time, he understands that he brought this upon himself. 

He is stupid and in love and you probably are thinking of this as a fun acting job while hanging out with a friend. Except, you aren't. You are sad and in love and wondering if he would run away and move cities if you brought up the idea of actually being together. 

You two already did almost everything couples did, what is the difference between the fake and real thing? Is there even a difference at this point? 

The charade kept going like this for two more weeks. You two hanging out, learning more about each other, texting, kissing, and you started to wonder if Jiseok too, wants to learn more about you because he is interested in you the way you are, not because of a deal you two have. 

“Can we talk?” You ask Gunil one evening, on your way to one of their shows. 

“Yeah, what’s up?” The older frowns, getting in the car. You purse your lips, debating whether or not you should come clean with things. You knew that you agreed to make everyone believe it’s real, but you really needed a friend, just one person, that you could be honest with and talk about what’s on your mind.

You didn’t want to go to Hyeongjun, because you knew him well enough to predict his answer: just confess, talk it out. He was simple like that, and most times it’s exactly what you needed but right now, you didn’t think you could handle his boldness although you knew he did it out of love and that it did, in fact, always work as a wake up call.

Gunil, however, was more fit for it this time around. Especially since he came up with the idea and after all, also knows Jiseok way better than Hyeongjun. The only thing making you not worry about the outcome, is the fact that he knew you’d rather deal with your own problems instead of having him go on a spy mission to figure out if Jiseok likes you back. 

“I like Jiseok. A lot.” You breathe out, eyes closed. The drummer smiles to himself, stopping at a red light.

“I know.” The older replies, making you shake your head with a sigh.

“No I mean- we’re not actually dating we just decided to make everyone think we are so it’ll be easier for him to play along with it but we aren’t and we’re supposed to stop this once the wedding is done but I-” You ramble in one breath, Gunil glancing at you knowingly, before looking at the road again.

“I know.” He repeats, amused at your stressed out expression.

“What do you mean you KNOW??? Did he tell you about it already?? THAT LIAR!” You groan, the other letting out a laugh.

“No, I just know you two. You’re both idiots and you might be good liars, but you suck ass at hiding things from me.” He answers, looking behind him as he parks the car next to the building they were supposed to perform at. “I was the one to suggest this to him, so I figured that when you said you’re actually together it was to make it more believable. I’m not that dense, you know?” He smiles, taking the keys out of the car.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” You blink, unbuckling your seatbelt. 

“You’re right about him handling it easier like this. And with you, your feelings are your feelings, that’s none of my business, you know?” He hums, turning to look at you. “But is it that bad that you like him for real?” 

“Yeah, it is.” You sigh, looking up as you swallow down the lump in your throat. “He doesn’t want a relationship, I knew it when we started this whole thing. I was fine with it too, I never really paid attention to him like that, he was just…one of your bandmates.” 

“How do you know he wouldn’t want to make it real?” The older man tilts his head, choosing to stay in the car with you until you finish the conversation. 

“Because he’s said it…so many times too…” You look down with a small voice. “The only reason he’s so comfortable with me is because he knows he won’t have to worry about all the drama that a real relationship brings. He likes me because he knows I don’t like him.” 

Gunil sighs, thinking for a few seconds before continuing the conversation. “Do you want advice or just to vent?” 

“As long as the advice isn't to go talk to him, whatever you want.” You mumble, making the drummer let out a laugh.

“You kids are so difficult…no wonder you look so good together.” He smiles to himself, shaking his head once again. “Well…if you don’t talk to him, you have two choices. You either somehow get him to explicitly confess his true feelings for you once and for all, good or bad, or…you slowly try to detach yourself from him and the situation by the time the wedding is over.” 

“Aren’t you supposed to be the mature one? None of those plans sound mature and responsible.” You squint, the other letting out a laugh. 

“Well, my mature and responsible advice would be the same as Hyeongjun’s and since you don’t want that, that’s the best I can offer.” He answers unimpressed and you groan. Your phone rings with a notification from Jiseok saying he’s on his way, and you close to tear up.

Gunil opens his arms and pulls you into a tight hug as you pout, thanking him. Jiseok stops by the entrance, seeing the drummer's car but just as he was about to walk up to him, he notices the hug, jealousy piling up in his chest. “What’s with them?” Jungsu asks curiously from beside Jiseok, looking at the way Gunil ruffles your hair once before getting out of the car. 

“The fuck do I care?” Jiseok mumbles annoyedly, walking inside the venue and setting everything up, avoiding everyone until it was time to perform. You were in the first few rows and you kept looking at Jiseok and his perfectly styled hair and red guitar, but the other was looking everywhere but your direction.

That’s how the concert went. You look at Jiseok, and Jiseok looks at everyone else. You didn’t know what happened, but you started to get worried that maybe he /knows/ and just doesn’t want anything to do with you. Things get worse when you notice a girl in the front row cheering for him, the guitarist giving her a quick wink.

Asshole, you’re supposed to be taken. You think to yourself, pretending that when at the end of the gig he gave her his pick when she asked for it, you weren’t about to throw up in jealousy. 

When they step off the stage and go to the side, greeting and thanking people for coming, you notice the girl from before going to Jiseok first, excitedly talking to him. He brushes his hair back and laughs at something she said and if looks could kill, they would both be dead by now. 

The other guys glance at each other and that’s when you see Gunil open his mouth as if having a realization, when Jiseok gives him a dirty look while talking to the girl. The drummer can’t help but chuckle because of course he’d be stupid enough to get jealous over a hug. 

You were debating whether to let it slide or not but then you remembered. He was the one who needed to keep up the act at all times so if he wanted you to act like his girlfriend, you will do it even when it doesn’t benefit him. 

You walk up to the guys, crossing your arms as you look at Jiseok. “Could I have your number?” The girl asks, and you clear your throat, making the both of them look at you, the other guys holding back a laugh. 

“Oh- hi uh, sorry were you waiting in line for too long?” She asks apologetically, and you smile politely, shaking your head before glaring at the guitarist. 

“No, don’t worry, I can wait for him. Just wanted to ask if he was gonna be taking long.”

“Oh, you guys know each other?” The girl smiles and Jiseok purses his lips, finally realizing what this is about. 

“Yeah.” Is all Jiseok says, but you raise your eyebrows, arms crossed. That’s all? That’s all he had to say??? What type of fake-boyfriend is he??

“Yeah, I just wanted to let my boyfriend know I have to go.” You say bitterly, admittedly hurt at his behavior. You knew you weren’t actually dating but if everyone else thought you were, how was he flirting with random people a good look? 

Jiseok parts his lips, about to speak but is interrupted by you speaking to the girl, still looking at him. “Don’t worry, It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known, it’s not like he told you.” Is all you say before leaving, trying to get out of the place before someone sees you crying. 

It hurt. It hurt so much. Not only because it was stupid of him but because this was confirmation that he didn’t feel anything about you, because if he truly likes you, he wouldn’t let others flirt with him. 

You tear up, sniffling as you walk to the bus station, hating how involved you got yourself in this mess. 

Jiseok blinks once the words leave your mouth, exhaling before cursing to himself, apologizing before putting the guitar over his shoulder and rushing outside, trying to look for you. He’s stupid, so so stupid. He let himself get jealous over a fucking hug and then acted like an asshole just to prove a point. 

He shouldn’t think much of it. After all, you might have made a scene just to keep up the whole girlfriend persona, but something about the tone of your voice made him uneasy. He walks to the nearest bus station hurriedly, and lets out a relieved breath when he spots you on the bench. 

You quickly wipe your tears, looking at the cars passing by as you wait for the bus, when you feel someone sit besides you, smelling a familiar cologne. You turn your head around, only to be met with an out of breath and very guilty looking Jiseok. You gulp before looking in front of you again, the other sighing with his eyes closed, trying to find the right words. 

He can’t seem to find them though, so he does the next best thing that goes through his head and cups your jaw, making you look at him before he kisses you softly. You don’t kiss back, because the last thing you need right now is to let even more of your emotions for him take control. 

You pull away but keep your eyes on him, the older sighing. “I’m sorry.” You hum with a small nod, before looking back at the street. 

“I know we’re not actually together, but you were the one to be so serious about making sure others believe us. I don’t think flirting with other people while your friends know you have a girlfriend is a good look on us. Or you.” You say coldly, not wanting to look at him because you know you’ll forgive him if you do.

“I-” He starts but then frowns. “I know, but it’s not a good look if you do it either.” He says childishly, copying your stance.

You blink a couple times, looking at him surprised. “What are you talking about?” 

“You and Gunil. In the car. It looked really bad. Not like I care.” He scoffs, making you widen your eyes. He can’t be serious. “If you like him and he’s fine with us keeping up an act until the wedding it’s whatever, but the others-” 

“You can’t possibly mean the hug. Please tell me you don’t mean the hug.” You gape dumbfounded, not believing the words that are coming out of the other’s mouth.

“It looked like a very intimate hug.” He mumbles, kicking a rock with his foot. 

“So you thought the best way to go about it was to flirt with someone too?” You raise your voice in disbelief.

“So you /were/ flirting!” He widens his eyes, pointing at you. You widen your eyes too, covering your face with a groan. 

“No I wasn’t! But you know who was?? You!!” You accuse, pointing your finger at him as well.

“How was I flirting??? We were just talking and suddenly she wanted my number!” He defends himself, putting his hands up. “You!! You were all over Gunil!! Feeling his muscles!! The guys saw it, they probably think i’m such a lame boyfriend you aren’t satisfied enough!! It ruined my rep!!” He whines.

“Your REP??” You scoff, rolling your eyes. “Your rep is that of a stupid idiot, that’s your rep.” You grumble. “You were the one to give her your pick!” 

“What does that have to do with anything?? How is that flirting??? I’m just being a cool artist and interacting with my fans!!” He debates, getting up. 

“Well you could interact less! Took you long enough to say you have a girlfriend!!” You complain, getting up as well. “What?? You think we have to keep this up only when it’s convenient for you?? You were the one that wanted to pretend it’s real! That includes turning down people that flirt with you until the wedding is done!! And not give them your pick!!” You point out annoyedly. 

Jiseok bites back a smile, hands on his hips. “Do we need to have the whole dramatic jealousy relationship fight too?? Can’t we skip it??” He whines, throwing his head back.

“Oh no, no no! Don’t put this on me, Kwak Jiseok! You know I’m right! It’s your fuck up, you fix it.” You nod and Jiseok’s heart hurts. It hurts with love because you’re so cute and your nose is pink and he never thought he would ever experience having a fight with someone while the only thing on his mind was how much he wants to kiss said person. 

“What?!” You ask angrily when you see him break into a huge grin, but instead of answering, the man simply pulls you close to him by your belt loops before cupping your face and kissing you lovingly. You whine, hitting his chest, but instead of pulling away, the blonde pecks you hard multiple times, mumbling “sorry” every peck.

You pout annoyed at how good he is at damage control but kiss back, hands on his shoulders, yelping when he picks you up slightly to kiss you a bit more. “That’s not fixing it.” You mumble, knowing you already forgot why you were mad in the first place. 

Jiseok mocks you cutely, before pulling away and reaching for something in his pocket. You watch him grab a pick you’ve seen him always carry around although he never uses it and then he takes out one of your earrings.

You’re about to complain when he takes his lighter and heats up the hook, but he shushes you concentrated as he makes a hole in his pick quickly, before blowing on the earring and putting it back in your ear. “Give me your necklace.” You blink at him confused but do as he says. 

After a couple seconds, Jiseok walks closer to you and looks down at you as he clips back the necklace around your neck, which now has his pick as a charm. You let out a small breath, touching it as the older smiles. 

“There, now you can’t complain about me being a bad fake boyfriend. You got my lucky pick. Arguably way more important than any other pick. Fake girlfriend privileges.” He nods, and you really might sob in front of him this time.

“Are you sure-” You start but the other wraps his arms around your waist. 

“Yeah. You’re right. And I’m sorry for being stupid. Plus, this way you’re forced to come to all my shows even after the wedding so you can bring me good luck.” He says playfully. “And like this you can brag about how romantic and amazing of a boyfriend I am to everyone so you fix my reputation.” 

You roll your eyes with a small laugh, slapping his arm jokingly. “Oh so this is just about your reputation, huh?” 

“Pft, of course.” He grins, leaning down and pulling you into another kiss. This time, you kiss back and you silently pray that there’s more to his gesture than method acting, even though you know there isn’t. The bus arrives and you kiss him once more, before hurriedly catching it, smiling to yourself as you look at the pick through the window reflection.

You get home and think about the conversation you had with Gunil. He's right. You sit on the couch fidgeting with the pick, smiling to yourself. Maybe trying to make Jiseok fall in love with you won’t be that hard. After all, worst case scenario, he just never confesses and you’ll have to deal with the already expected heartbreak. 

Jiseok walks into the building feeling giddy, unable to stop smiling when thinking about the interaction from before. Maybe it wouldn’t be that bad if he just said fuck it and confessed.

He was considering asking Hyeongjun for his insight since he’s your good friend but as soon as he knocks on the door, having forgotten his keys inside before leaving, he’s met with the guitarist’s messy hair, wrinkled shirt and wide eyes. 

The older raises his eyebrows, head tilting when he hears ruffling from inside the place, the other holding the door open just enough for only his head to peek through. When the blonde takes a step forward to get into the house, Hyeongjun holds the door, blocking him. 

“You need to leave.” He says hurriedly. 

“Lea-Hyeongjun I live here!” Jiseok whines, grabbing the door handle. 

“No. Not tonight. I need you gone. Now.” The other replies in a whisper, glancing back into the house for a split second, before returning his attention to the other.

“Are you seriously sexiling me right now?!” Jiseok widens his eyes, baffled, pinching his nose. “Where am I supposed to go??” 

“Don’t you have a girlfriend? Go spend some time together! Please, I’ll pay for your strings for the next three months.” He begs and the blonde squints, arms crossed. 

“Six.” Hyeongjun gapes, but eventually agrees with a quick nod. “Can you at least give me my keys??” The guitarist scoffs, grabbing them before leaving annoyedly. Great. Now he has to come over to your place and you’ll think he’s weird and clingy. 

You were daydreaming on the couch, still not having changed your clothes or eaten since you got back from the gig, when you heard an aggressive knock on the door. When you open the door, you’re met with a heavy breathing and visibly annoyed fake-boyfriend.

“Hi uh...can I crash over tonight?” Jiseok asks, scrunching his face. You blink at him in confusion, tilting your head. “Hyeongjun has someone over. He kicked me out. Told me to go spend some time with my girlfriend.” He complains, voice desperate. 

You hold back a laugh but nod, moving out of the way so he could get inside the apartment, not realizing the stupid smile on your face. “What?” Jiseok asks in a whine, putting his backpack down as you cross your arms. “Aren’t you supposed to want to help me as my girlfriend?” He asks annoyed, and god he looks kissable. 

“I didn’t say anything.” You whisper, before patting his chest once and walking away. “I’m gonna shower.”

“I saw the judging look in your eyes!! You should feel sorry for me, not laugh at me!!” He yells after you, as you giggle, waving a hand at him dismissively. Jiseok sits in the middle of your living room, hands on his hips as he mentally casts a hex on his flatmate. 

You were planning on changing into some old sweats but since Jiseok was over, you decided to put in motion your new plan to make him fall in love with you. You wrap the towel around your body, and walk out of the bathroom, bumping into the other on the hallway, his eyes close to popping out of his head when he sees you.

“I-woah you-” He starts but covers his eyes with his hand. “I mean, I just- wanted to go use the bathroom I didn’t mean to-” He rambles as you chuckle. 

“You can look, it’s not like I’m naked.” You roll your eyes, walking closer to him and whispering in his ear. “And even if I was, would that be a big deal since I’m your girlfriend?” 

Jiseok’s brain just got fried. Forever. He tries to reply but no words come out as you walk into the bedroom to change. That’s when it hits him. He doesn’t have to worry about rejection if you actually like him, so why not just…make you fall in love with him? Yes, exactly. He’s so smart.

So, he goes and showers as well, and just so casually forgets to ask if you had any clothes you could lend him. He, so sadly, is left with no other choice than to wrap the towel lowly around his waist and go into your room while brushing his damp hair back.

You were now changed into your arguably best looking pajamas, a tightly fitted tank top and some short shorts, scrolling on your phone in bed. When you hear Jiseok’s voice you turn your head, and have to hold back a cough. Oh. Oh. He was evil. Vile. Disgusting. And so…so very hot. 

Jiseok tries to hide the way he had to stop in his tracks and check you out, but it’s not like you noticed, considering you were too focused on not letting your eyes travel to his happy trail. You get up and grab a pair of sweatpants you had and an oversized shirt and give them to him, and you two sit on the couch as you wait for the pizza to get made, talking about the gig.

Somehow, you two ended up talking about how good he used to look with blue hair, when he showed you a photo of his first ever gig. “Why did you drop the color??” You gasp while looking at the phone with wide eyes.

“Ah, I just got tired of it, you know? I wanted to keep the blonde for a while, but I wouldn’t mind getting it done again.” He hums, without giving it much thought. 

“I always wanted blue peekaboo hair! We should totally get matching hairstyles. Couples do that.” You nod as a joke, but Jiseok’s eyes widen, as if he got an idea. “No. No way- are you serious??” You laugh with wide eyes, covering your mouth.

The guitarist looks at his watch, getting up in a hurry and putting his hoodie on you. “C’mon, there’s a 24h convenience store nearby, isn’t it?” He smiles and you giggle, putting on shoes and grabbing your keys with a nod. 

“Are you sure??” You ask as you two rush out of the building. “The wedding’s in like a week anyways, what better time to get a makeover?” The older shrugs, walking into the store. 

“Do you have any preference?” You ask, trying to find the hair products aisle, but get interrupted by Jiseok calling you over to look at something. 

“Oh my god, I always wanted to try these.” He grins with an excited expression, showing you the snacks. “Wasabi kitkats?” You raise your eyebrows. “I thought we were here for hair dye?” You smile at the older’s cute pleading look, rolling your eyes as you grab two and head towards the hair aisle, a happy Jiseok following you behind. 

“Do you know any of the brands?” You frown, trying to find familiar names. “Not really…considering how cheap they are, i’ll be pleased if they don’t burn my hair off.” He jokes, and you gasp, eyes almost popping out of your head. 

“BURN!” You yell, grabbing two random blue colored bottles without looking at the tag, hurrying to the exit, and when Jiseok looks at you confused, you yelp. “THE PIZZA! WE LEFT THE OVEN ON!” You whine worriedly, the older becoming fanatic as well.

“NO, YOU MEAN /YOU/ LEFT THE OVEN ON!” He corrects, running with you. You yell something about him being annoying as he yells something about you not being responsible. 

You rush into your house, breathing heavily as you head straight to the oven, turning it off after getting out the very much burned pizza. You cough, waving the smoke off as you look at the blonde tiredly. “Food’s done…” You mumble, the older getting closer to the pizza with a disgusted look.

“More like poison.” He grimaces after trying to take a bite. You huff, grabbing two cups of instant noodles and turning on the stove, when the older gently pushes you away. “Yeah no, I'll take it from here. You have a bad history with hot stuff…” He holds back a laugh, as you hit his arm annoyedly, taking out more ingredients to add to the plain soup.

Now that you think about it, the whole thing was painfully domestic. Cooking a meal with your boyfriend as you shared small smiles and talked about whatever, Jiseok kissing your cheek as an apology when he almost hit your head with one of the cabinets and you mocking him just to make him kiss you once again. 

It was perfect. It was perfect and it hurt so much. Eventually, you two finally get to eat and decide to get straight to dyeing your hair, doing Jiseok’s first since it was more work. You squeeze the dye in the small container and mix it with the solution, throwing the bottles in the trash can, not thinking much of the odd looking color. 

You spread it across Jiseok’s hair and wrap it in a towel, before putting the color in your hair as well, taking the liberty to give your fake-boyfriend a skincare routine in the meantime as payment for helping him.

“Ow! Be more gentle, will you? My face is the moneymaker.” He mutters as you start plucking on his eyebrows, sitting on his lap as his arms loop around your waist loosely, both of you having your hair put up in showercaps. 

“You’re such a crybaby. At least it’s not your leg hair I'm plucking.” You scoff, grabbing his cheeks and getting closer, concentrating on not messing up his eyebrow shape. 

Jiseok looks over your face with a soft expression, feeling his heart swell at your cute frown and suddenly, being in a relationship didn’t seem so bad. You look over his face when his eyes close for you to put hydrating cream on his face, and you pout to yourself. Kwak Jiseok, why can’t you just confess? 

When you’re done and take the showercap out of Jiseok’s head, you widen your eyes, covering your mouth. Oh no. “Everything okay?” He frowns, not knowing his hair is now hot pink, since you had the amazing idea of dying it in the living room, where he couldn’t see the outcome until you washed it off.

“Y-yeah, you look- you look great!” You laugh nervously, hurriedly covering his eyes when he tries to take a glance at himself through the tv behind him. “Let’s wash it off. Just– keep your eyes closed so dye doesn’t get in your eyes. At all times.” You instruct hurriedly, walking him to the bathroom and washing away the dye as you pray to all the gods out there that when he sees his new hair he at least kills you in a quick and painless manner. 

You stay painfully quiet, mentally cursing yourself for not reading the tag on the bottle, close to crying because Jiseok mentioned how much he /hates/ pink hair on himself. You quickly wash yours before running out of the bathroom, before Jiseok could kill you. 

You barely manage to get into your bedroom, when you suddenly hear a scream accompanied by your name, a very wide eyed Jiseok entering the bedroom with damp pink hair and no shirt on, pointing to his head and you could swear you can see smoke coming out of his ears in anger.

“WHAT IS THIS??” He yells with a whine, and you wince, trying to hide under the blanket. “NO! YOU CAN’T HIDE!! WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED??? I THOUGHT WE AGREED ON BLUE!” The guitarist screams, getting on top of you on the bed, pulling the blanket off you and looking down at you.

“Does it help knowing mine is pink too?” You smile pained, showing your pink peekaboo.

“NO!” He answers fanatically. “DID YOU DO THIS ON PURPOSE??? WAS IT BECAUSE I ASKED FOR KIT KATS?? IF YOU WANTED ME TO PAY YOU I COULD’VE GIVEN YOU MONEY!” 

“I DIDN’T MEAN TO!! THE BOTTLES WERE BLUE!! WHO MAKES BLUE BOTTLES FOR PINK HAIR DYE? BLAME THE HAIR COMPANY!” You complain, trying to get away but Jiseok grabs a pillow and hits you gently with it.

“WHAT TYPE OF PERSON SEES PINK COLORED PAINT AND THINKS TO THEMSELVES OH YEAH, THIS WILL DEFINITELY TURN OUT BLUE??” He scoffs, groaning when you grab the pillow hitting him instead.

“DON’T BLAME ME!! YOU WERE THE ONE TO DISTRACT ME!!” You defend yourself, the both of you now having a pillow fight, before Jiseok huffs and throws your pillow away as he puts his behind his head, sighing tiredly. 

“I can’t believe I became what I hated most…” He reflects dramatically, and you purse your lips feeling guilty. 

“I’m sorry, really…I didn’t mean to, my head was just- in another place.” You whisper looking down, because saying you’ve been too distracted by the idea of being his actual girlfriend wasn’t an option. “If you hate it that much we can dye it black or something tomorrow…” You mumble, the other staring at you, before he smiles with a chuckle, shaking his head.

“You’re so stupid.” He sighs, grinning, ruffling your hair. “Leave it, it’s whatever. At least we still match.” He couldn’t even be mad about you dyeing his hair in the one color he didn’t want because you looked too cute and because admittedly, having pink hair wasn’t that bad if it meant matching with you. 

You look at him with a sad expression, but the older one gets closer to you on the bed, shoulder brushing with yours. “I think you look really good, if it counts for anything.” You admit in a small voice, the guitarist looking at you amused.

“You’re so cute when you feel bad about something.” He chimes and you scoff, pushing him away, failing to hold back a smile. 

He stays next to you, groaning playfully when he catches a glimpse of himself through the tv screen. You glance over his exposed chest, down to his abs and let out a small breath, before reverting your attention back to the tv. He didn’t just look good with the new hair. 

He looked disgustingly attractive, somehow even more than he already was, and you were starting to thank yourself for being in a hurry because this might be the best mistake you’ve ever made. Jiseok turns his head to look at the way your shorts expose your skin and the low cut of the tanktop, eyes not leaving your body when you look at him again. 

Jiseok’s been attracted to you. For a long time. He doesn’t know if it’s the whole spending a whole day together glued to you pretending to be your boyfriend or the chemicals in his hair eating away his brain, but he finds himself making a move he would not be able to do if it wasn’t for the smell of hair dye stuck in his nostrils. 

“You know…if we’re gonna be together at the wedding…” He starts, licking his lips as his eyes travel down your body again. “We should really get comfortable with each other.” 

You feel your breath hitch, excitement building up in your chest. Your eyes fixate on his happy trail before they move up to his stomach, chest, lips and finally his eyes. “Yeah, we should make sure there’s nothing we haven’t done as a couple…” You breathe out, the older nodding once.

You two look at each other still in place for a second, before you lean into a kiss at the same time, hands going into Jiseok’s hair as he puts you on top of his lap with your legs each side. He starts kissing you harder, hands pressing on your waist as you pull him closer, grabbing his hair with a small moan. 

“Are you sure?” The pink haired man pulls away for a split second, but you simply take your top off, making him look up at you.

“Yeah, we need to practice our chemistry and all.” You exhale, letting out a noise when the older grabs your legs, turning you two around to grind on you, kissing you messily. You let out a pleased groan, grinding on his knee.

You pull on his bottom lip, nails dragging over his chest, earning a grunt from the guitarist, whose hand was grabbing your ass, still a bit hesitant as his mouth moved on your neck. If you two were about to take this step, might as well take advantage of it and make sure it’s the best sex he’s ever had, so that even if he tries to forget you he won’t be able to. 

You look up at him, licking his bottom lip before kissing his jaw, moving one of his hands under your shorts. “Jiseok?” You whisper, the other stopping briefly to let you go on. “I want it hard.”

“Fuck…” Is all he says in a shudder, before starting to move his fingers against your clit. You arch your back, pulling on his hair while biting your bottom lip.

If kissing him made you dizzy, this was just…too much to take. The guitarist moves two fingers inside you, thrusting them slowly as you moan out his name when you feel your hands be taken out of his hair and pinned on the mattress, chasing his lips. 

Jiseok lets out a shaky breath at the sight before kissing you hungrily, hand leaving your wrists and going down your body again, massaging your chest as you exhale, tilting your head back when he speeds up his pace.

“Please-” You grunt, grabbing his hair and letting out yet another moan when you see him kiss down your chest, eventually licking your clit slowly while his fingers thrust inside you at a fast pace. Oh he was good. 

You feel yourself close to cumming when Jiseok suddenly stops, looking up at you with a satisfied smirk as he takes his pants off. You’re about to complain but stop, parting your lips when you see him open the condom with his teeth, messy pink hair falling on his face. You feel him slowly enter inside you, earning a whimper from you as you kiss him passionately, hands grabbing his shoulders.

“Jerk.” You whisper with a grin, moaning when he thrusts once hard with a small laugh, before kissing you again, letting out small grunts when your hands go into his hair, his thumbs pressing on your waist. 

You pull him closer, nails dragging against his back when he thrusts harder and faster, hands gripping on the pillow on each side of you for better support, leaving marks on your collar bones. You roll your eyes back with a gasp when one of his hands goes down to your clit and starts moving his fingers over it as his thrusts get slower and deeper, but still as hard. Holy shit. 

Jiseok moans your name as you scratch his back, fastening his pace and he grabs your waist and lifts your lower back from the bed for a better angle, and you might pass out. You gasp, hands gripping on his shoulders, as he chuckles amused. “You sure you can handle it?” He whispers teasingly in your ear, and God, this side of him really is something else. 

You breathe quickly, but grab his neck pulling him in a hard messy kiss, smiling to yourself when you feel him shudder, nails dragging from his neck to his chest. You pull on his hair as you arch your back, moving on him at the same pace as his thrusts. 

“Shit…” Jiseok moans, head burying in your neck as he grabs your ass, nails digging into your skin as one moves up to your ribs then the side of your neck, grabbing your jaw before kissing you with tongue. Yeah, you were definitely going to do this again. You were so so very fucked and so so very gone for each other. 

You cum when Jiseok pulls away from the kiss, holding your waist as he thrusts harder, head thrown back as he moans your name. He didn’t take long to finish either, and you could swear your vision was blurry. 

You pull him in a slow, tired kiss, exchanging small giggles between the kisses, Jiseok whisper-asking if you’re alright. You simply nod with a satisfied hum, still kissing him. Eventually you pull away from each other to catch your breaths, laying next to each other as you process what just happened.

Jiseok was in heaven. He was certain of it. That was the best sex of his life and it made him think that even if you don’t have feelings for him, maybe he wouldn’t mind letting you use him for his body. 

To say you were fucked out of your mind is an understatement. It was the first time when your first time with someone wasn’t weird or awkward or where you had to instruct them with every move. All you had to do was tell Jiseok what you wanted and he /did it/. You were starting to feel angry. What do you mean I’m supposed to just not have him in my life after this?

You two share a look, chuckling at the same time, before the guitarist looks at the ceiling, brushing his hair back as he catches his breath. You can’t help but smile to yourself when he gets up to help clean up and you notice the scratches on his back. 

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” You ask in a shy voice, looking at the older as he wipes you clean. He was about to ask when you mean, when he notices your eyes traveling to his shoulders.

“Why would I? They’re from my girlfriend.” He smiles reassuringly with a quick wink, changing back into his sweatpants and putting some more comfortable clothes on you than the ones before. You two stay glued to each other for the rest of the night, laying in comfortable silence while sharing small kisses until you fall asleep with your head on Jiseok’s chest. 

Luckily, things didn’t really get awkward except the morning after when you two just stared at each other in disbelief from opposite sides of the room after jumping out of bed when you remembered last night’s events. Thankfully, you both kept repeating that it was for the charade and what not so, it quickly got brushed off.

Except you never stopped thinking about it. The way he was looking at you as if you were the only person he wanted to be with, the way he knew exactly what to do and how to do it. Everything about that night was stuck in a constant loop in your head. 

And as if you didn’t already have it bad enough, it happened again. It took five days and a garage birthday party with Jiseok looking stupidly good for it to happen again. Two hours into the party, you see Jiseok take out a blunt, rolling it up as you raise your eyebrow from beside him.

“What?’s my birthday…” He huffs, putting the joint between his lips.

“I didn’t know you smoked.” You reply, looking as the other lights up the joint and puts it between his lips.

“Not usually. It’s for when my anxiety gets really bad.” He admits with a sad smile. “Unfortunately, it’s not because I’m cool.”

You blink a few times, getting closer to him on the couch, music still blasting through the speakers. “What’s wrong?” You try, but the older simply shakes his head with a dismissive chuckle.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. Just a lot of stuff, probably the wedding too.” He says before taking a puff, looking at the ceiling. It wasn’t a lie. He was stressed because of the wedding, but he was even more stressed about everything going on between you two. 

That night was a night he doesn’t think he’ll ever forget. He realized that somehow, you made him feel loved without even trying and even if it was pretend, he didn’t want to let go of that feeling. He wanted you to keep making him feel loved and he wanted to keep making you feel loved.

He was starting to get angry every time the wedding was brought up, knowing that the time he had with you was getting shorter and shorter and that there was no way to change it, because even after all of this, you didn’t confess, and it would be an ass move to ask for a real relationship of you when he’s been the one to keep denying one for as long as he has. 

You look over Jiseok’s face when he puts you on his lap bridal style, one of them caressing your inner thigh. “I’m fine.” You weren’t going to kiss him, really, but it was hard not to when one of his arms was wrapped securely around your waist while smoking. 

You take the joint out of his lips but before he could protest you replace it with your lips, kissing the other slowly, your free hand cupping his jaw. Jiseok says something about how he wants his joint back but you simply kiss him slower and more passionately, tongue running over his bottom lip, the hand that was cupping his cheek now going into his hair. You take a sharp breath when he moves you on top of him with your legs on each side, hands on your thighs. 

“The ash-” The older mumbles in the kiss, making you pull away slightly to tap it to the ashtray before taking a puff and kissing him again. At that, Jiseok lets out a shaky breath. “Holy shit-” Is all he says before he kisses you harder, hands bringing your body closer so your chest is now pressed onto his.

You wouldn’t usually do all this in public but to be fair the garage was pretty dark and everyone was already too drunk to care that the birthday boy is currently making out with his so-called girlfriend. Besides, you’d much rather take his mind off things by kissing him than watching him smoke. 

You let out a small noise when you feel his hands rest on your ass while caressing it gently and pull on his bottom lip lightly, joint still between your fingers. 

Jiseok massages your thighs before moving his hand on your sides and then back on your ass, humming pleased when he feels your breaths getting heavier. You pull away just enough to stop kissing and look at him while licking your lips. Trying to regulate your breathing turns out to be a failure when the man looks at you slightly amused, eyes fixated on you as he leans lower to put the joint between his lips and takes a puff from it. 

You blink a few times, this time being you the one who lets a heavy breath, subconsciously getting closer on his lap. Jiseok smiles lazily before kissing you slowly, putting out the joint on the ashtray without pulling away. His hand goes under your shirt, caressing your ribs first and then massaging your chest. You whine in the kiss, hugging him closer.

Kissing Jiseok felt good, you already knew that, but this was so…woah. It might just be the dizziest you have ever gotten from just making out with someone and it might just be the most attractive and hottest thing you have ever experienced. The older’s back is now resting against the backrest and you really don’t know how you’re supposed to pretend you’re not feeling everything you could feel and more. 

“Jiseok we should stop-” You whisper almost in a whine when he pulls you closer on his lap making you involuntarily grind once and let out a small groan. 

The pink haired boy pulls away slightly to kiss your neck and then jaw, before whispering in your ear. “Why?”

“I- people-” You exhale, breath hitching when his hand slowly moves lower from your chest to your pants, slowly sliding it in. 

“They’re not looking.” He whispers, kissing your jaw. “Are you sure you want to stop, baby?” Oh, he’s mean. First time to use an endearment term and it’s to get in your pants. Worst part? It worked.

You let out an annoyed grunt before getting off him and grabbing his hand, walking out of the garage in a hurry, not waiting to fully get into his room before you pull him closer by his flannel collar and kiss him hard, the other walking inside after locking the door and pushing you on the bed, getting on top of you.

He was about to take his flannel off before you stop him and instead pull him closer, grinding on his thigh as you grip onto his hair with one hand, your nails lightly tracing over his neck. 

“I know I look really good in this outfit and you like the idea of me fucking you with the flannel on but I’m gonna get hyperthermia.” He pulls away for a bit and you giggle, helping him take off his clothes as he takes off yours.

“You’re no fun.” You tease, kissing him more, pulling him closer by his waist, making the other moan, body almost falling on you at the feeling. 

“We can save it for next time, when the AC is on.” He mumbles playfully, and you pretend you don’t get giddy at the idea of this happening again. 

After you catch your breaths and change into comfortable clothes, the party long forgotten, you look at him while caressing his hair. Your thumb then brushes against his cheek, kissing his temple once. Jiseok looks at you with doe eyes, and your heart breaks, wishing you could do something to make whatever is on his mind go away. 

That’s when you notice a tear staining his cheek and you blink quickly, instantly hugging his neck and playing with his hair. When he wraps his arms around your waist, you can only close your eyes tightly and let out a shaky breath. 

Jiseok lets himself cry for the first time in front of you, and you don’t know if you should feel grateful or worried. Instead of asking why, you pull away slightly to wipe his tears with your thumbs, kissing his forehead. “You know I’m here for you, right?” You ask softly. 

The guitarist looks over your face for a split second before gulping, thinking to himself: Yeah, but for how long? He wondered if he could stretch this out for just a bit more, but instead of wasting his time on that, he decided to focus on the present, when your nose was brushing against his. 

Jiseok kisses you. He kisses you more lovingly and needingly than you’ve ever been kissed. You wondered if it was some sick plan to put salt on the wound because he already knew you loved him. He too, wondered if you squishing his face as you kissed back equally, if not more lovingly, was some sick plan to put salt on the wound because you already knew he loved you. 

He texted Seungmin letting him know they could just keep up the party until Hyeongjun got tired of everyone and kicked them out because he was going to stay inside the house since he wasn’t feeling well.

Which again, wasn’t a lie. The last thing Jiseok wanted right now was a party. The only thing he wanted, even needed, was to be with you. You two changed into comfortable clothes, the older calling you cute every five minutes just because you were wearing his sweatpants and one of his big hoodies. 

“I didn’t get to give you my present.” You smile, reaching into your backpack from where you were sitting on the bed talking as he played guitar. You grin, holding a small bag in front of him, the man smiling softly. 

“You didn’t have to get me anything.” He chuckles, but you could see the glint in his eyes.

“Of course I did! What type of girlfriend do you think I am?” You ask cutely, purposefully leaving out the fake part, just to watch Jiseok’s reaction, but when he seems unbothered by it, you figure it was because he was too excited about the present to realize.

Jiseok however, was overly aware of it, but figured it was a simple slip up. A slip up that made his heartbeat go over a hundred, and although he didn’t want to give himself false hope, he still couldn’t hold back a smile. 

“Ah please don’t get your hopes up…it’s really not…” You wince, but he shushes you, breaking into a huge smile as he looks at the pick holder keychain. “It’s not that good because I made it myself, but I know you always lose them and you have them scattered all over the place so I asked Hyeongjun to help me figure out the best shape for it and-” You explain nervously, getting interrupted by the older pulling you in a happy kiss, hands cupping your cheeks. 

You kiss back, blush spreading across your face, looking into his eyes after he pulls away enough to rest his forehead on yours and peck you multiple times. “It’s really the best birthday present ever, thank you.”

“Now you’re just being dramatic…” You roll your eyes still smiling, the older enjoying your annoyed expression as he mocks you, happily putting his picks in his new keychain. 

You look at him lovingly, whining when he bites your cheek and squishes your face as a thanks, before laying his head on your lap with his guitar on his stomach, playing some blues song you definitely don’t know the name of.

Jiseok spends his birthday like that. Doing the two things he loves most: playing guitar and spending time with you. That’s how he spends the days leading up to the wedding as well. You knew he was overly clingy and you figured it was because he must feel guilty for having to reject you when this whole thing is over. 

Preparing for the trip, you couldn’t stop thinking that maybe you should just say fuck it and confess and deal with whatver outcome, but it was really hard to convince yourself that Jiseok rejecting you would be bearable when he made sure to pack everything with you and buy you snacks for the ride and let you sleep on his shoulder while on the bus. 

Midway through the trip, you both take the bathroom break at a gas station and spend the next 30 minutes arguing over who exactly is at fault for almost missing the bus. “Who even shits in a gas station?!” You whisper yell, snuggling closer to him in your seat.

“I’m lactose intolerant! It’s your fault for not getting me the right type of coffee!” He gasps, thumbs caressing your shoulder, and against his complaints he is smiling. 

“You’re grown! Should’ve ordered your own coffee!” You argue with a scoff, burying your head in his neck.

“It’s a favor you should do me as my girlfriend. And you’re grown enough to remember an order!” He defends himself, and you mock him, kissing him once annoyed, the other kissing you once as well, scoffing too. 

You two smile to yourselves, and continue watching the movie on the screen, too caught up in the playful banter and the kisses to worry about the deal being off in a few hours. When you get to the resort, you greet his parents and his bandmates since Jooyeon, Jiseok’s cousin, was the bass player. 

“I can’t believe you’re getting married before any of us.” Seungmin tsks, shaking his head as Jooyeon pokes his tongue out at the man, walking you to your rooms.

You and Jiseok walk into your shared room, dropping down on the bed exhausted. The man’s back barely gets to touch the mattress before a knock on the door makes him jump out of it with a groan, only to be met with his mother, telling him he needs to come with her.

You glance at him with a sad expression, tiredness clear on his face and get up, kissing his cheek when he comes near the bed. “I think I’m gonna kill myself before the wedding.” He complains.

“You’ll be fine, let me know If I can help, yeah?” You say softly, caressing his cheeks as the guitarist loops his arms around your waist tiredly with a nod. 

“We’re gonna have rehearsals today, so don’t get too comfortable in bed.” Your fake-boyfriend hums, pecking you once before leaving with a wave. 

You smile sadly. Tomorrow is going to be the last night you can use the excuse of method acting and Jiseok still hasn’t confessed. Your mind was all over the place, trying to figure out if confessing would really be that bad, because a part of your delusional brain is convinced he likes you but won’t confess. 

That day, you and Jiseok didn’t really get to be together. He was too busy to let himself be nervous about keeping up with the whole charade, especially since you two had to be in different places at different times. You weren’t one of the brides’ maids because you didn’t know her that well, so you spend your day helping in other ways like making sure everyone was where they were supposed to be and whatnot. 

“I didn’t expect you to get so involved in the wedding.” Seungmin speaks from behind you as you are carrying some flowers to the tables. 

“Jiseok’s mom asked me to help. Plus, you guys already have enough work to do.” You reply casually, unable to shake the nervous feeling. 

Seungmin takes some flowers to the table as well, humming. “I meant because you two aren’t dating.” The older clarifies, and you blink, turning to him as a shaky breath escapes your lips. 

“What are you talking about?” You laugh anxiously, turning to look at him. 

“You guys might fool his mom, but I think you forget we see each other every single day.” The keyboardist answers coldly. “Look, I don’t know why you did this, but I do know I don’t want to see him have a breakdown because of you.” 

“I-” You frown, getting closer to him. “This was his idea, but I told him we should keep up the act with everyone because it made him really anxious to lie to you guys. So we’re together. Kinda. Not really but-” 

“And what do you plan on doing after tomorrow? Drop him?” The taller asks, crossing his arms, and you tilt your head hurt.

“I don’t want to hurt Jiseok, Seungmin.” You gulp, looking into his eyes. “I like him.” 

“I know that.” The older admits, making you blink quickly, taken aback. “You’re not that good at hiding it. The only thing I’m asking of you is to not mess with his head. I think we both know him well enough by now to know he’s well in over his head with this.”

You lick your lips letting out a sigh. “He doesn’t like me like that. He’ll be fine.”

“Are you trying to convince me or yourself of that?” The taller wonders, pursing his lips. “Look, I like you, but Jiseok doesn’t deserve to go through this type of thing again. He doesn’t fall often but when he does, he falls hard.” You were about to ask what he meant by that, but the man was already walking away.

“Seungmin, wait.” You call out, grabbing his arm gently, getting in front of him. “Please don’t-” 

“I won’t tell on you two, I’m not an ass, and I know it would make Jiseok hyperventilate if he knew others know.” Seungmin reassures you, earning a small relieved sigh from you before he leaves. 

Great. You were fucked. Now his best friend hates you. 

Jiseok comes into the room after a while, groaning and dropping his head on your shoulder in exhaustion as you caress his hair. “Everything okay?” 

“Lee Jooyeon, you will pay for this!!” He whines, making you let out a small laugh, trying to push down the unsettling feelings you have from the conversation with Seungmin. 

The rest of the day was pretty calm for you, except the reception rehearsal where Jiseok’s mom wouldn’t stop dropping indirects about how beautiful this is and how special two people uniting in marriage is and whatnot, and Jiseok was getting more and more nervous as hours passed.

“Sorry my aunt is making you work so much, I think she’s trying to pretend this is Your wedding instead of mine.” Jooyeon smiles, giving you a glass of water as you two were waiting for the rehearsal to start. 

“You think?” You chuckle tiredly, sipping on your drink. “It’s alright, It’s not her I’m worried about.” You finish, looking towards where Jiseok was sitting, close to dozing off.

“Why didn’t you guys come a day earlier? You could’ve gotten some rest before this-” Jooyeon asks, throwing an almond at the guitarist to make him wake up. 

You smile at the exchange, turning your head to the groom. “It was his call. If I knew he’d be so tired I would’ve forced him to come earlier.” 

The younger man hums, tilting his head with a smile when Jiseok sends you a flying kiss, silently pleading you to save him. “You two are cute together. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him like this.” 

“Like what?” You ask after sending Jiseok a flying kiss back, giggling at the way he grabs his heart excitedly. 

Jooyeon brushes his hair back, thinking. “Relaxed? I think that’s the word. He’s always been fun and all, but he’s normally like a big ball of anxiety when he’s not putting on a show.” The boy smiles. “But I can tell he has less worries now, and I don’t know what you did to him but I hope you keep it up.”

“Jooyeon can I ask you something?” You frown, unsure if it was a good time to search for answers but you couldn’t stop thinking about it. The man nods and you sigh. “What happened in Jiseok’s last relationship?” 

“He never told you?” The bassist tilts his head and you shake your head.

“Vaguely, some details here and there but not the whole thing. I just talked to Seungmin and it got me wondering, it’s okay if you don’t want to tell me-” You widen your eyes, not wanting to overstep. 

“Nah it’s okay, Jiseok would’ve told you if you asked directly, it’s not a secret.” The groom explains, sipping on his glass. “His last relationship ended really abruptly. It was just…out of nowhere. Everything was going fine, and one morning he wakes up with a text from the other saying how things aren’t working and that they’re done because he hasn’t been a good boyfriend or whatever. The text also said: Moved cities, delete my number.” 

You blink, letting out a shaky breath. “What the fuck??That’s /it/?? No explanation whatsoever??” You cover your mouth, feeling anger pile up in your chest.

Jooyeon shakes his head, sighing. “He was devastated. We tried to talk to him, let him know it’s not his fault and that his ex was shitty for that, but you know how heartbreak is.” 

“Did he ever find out what actually happened?” You ask in a small voice, close to tears. If there’s one person that didn’t deserve that, it’s Kwak Jiseok. 

“Yeah, the cheater got a boyfriend in another city for a while then, so the breakup wasn’t all that abrupt. But it didn’t matter, you know? The damage was done.” Jooyeon purses his lips but then takes a breath, letting out a small laugh. “Ah, but that’s in the past. I’m glad he has you.” He chimes, before getting up for the ceremony rehearsal. 

Your heart broke. You figured his last relationship must’ve been bad since he was so avoidant to get into a real relationship, no matter how many times he repeated that he didn’t give it much thought. You glance over at him as the bride and groom go over their vows, and wonder if he truly did fall for you the way Seungmin suggested or if it was just all in your head. 

On the actual wedding night, everything went smoothly but you were suddenly overly aware of just how much of Jiseok’s family was present, so you made sure to not leave his side at any moment. You hug his arm while sitting at the table as he talks to his family, caressing his hand with your thumb reassuringly.

However, for some reason, talking lovingly about you came very easy to Jiseok. That’s one thing you came to find out. You were still nervous about everything, especially when Jiseok pulled you in front of him while playing guitar, letting you strum as he moved his fingers on the fretboard, kissing your cheek happily. 

He wasn’t drunk but he was definitely tipsy after the first two hours. You thought the night would be pretty calm, talking and dancing a bit with everyone, but right after the meal, the lights go off and Jiseok grabs your hand in the dark, rushing with you out of the room with a laugh.

When you get outside, you see that there’s limousines waiting for you, Seungmin hurrying everyone inside. “GO GO GO THE PARTY’S NOT GONNA WAIT FOR YOU! JUNSGU MOVE YOUR ASS BEFORE I SMASH THIS CHAMPAIGN BOTTLE ON YOUR HEAD!” 

You giggle hurriedly getting into the limousine with Jiseok and his bandmates, along with Seungmin’s girlfriend and Hyeongjun’s apparently new boyfriend. “What is going on??” 

“What do you mean??? Did you really think we were going to sit around listening to aunt Lee cry about Jooyeon’s baby pics?? We’re going to the real party!” Jiseok grins, pecking you once cutely. 

Apparently, the bride and groom agreed to have a short reception and then spend most of the night at the after party with their closest friends. A genius idea if someone asks you, because not only you could try to actually have some fun now, but you also knew it would be less nerve wracking for both you and Jiseok.

The guys already started singing since getting into the limousine, and somehow Seungmin was now giving Jooyeon a lap dance as Low was playing, champagne spilling on the floor as Jungsu and Hyeongjun were flashing their phone lights and Jiseok was hyping it up. You and Gunil made sure to film everything from different angles while the other two were singing. 

When the limousine stops, everyone gets out and the guys waste no time in carrying Jooyeon around while the bride’s friends do the same, as you laugh while recording. Suddenly you gasp when Jiseok turns around and picks up bridal style as well, making you slap his chest with a laugh. 

“What are you doing?? I’m not the one getting married!” You giggle, holding onto him before he puts you down after getting inside the rented place. He simply mocks you before pecking you. Jissok walks to the table snickering when he sees Hyeongjun pouring shots while telling Jooyeon to watch and learn before licking some salt off his hand, taking his shot and putting a slice of lime between his lips, eating it.

You shake your head, smiling at your best friend. He truly was the life of the party. Jooyeon challenges Jiseok to a shot competition to see who can drink six shots the fastest but before they get to it, one of the bride’s friends shouts “LOVER’S WAR!!”, and the others push you and the bride next to the guys. You two share an amused look, as Hyeongjun pours your shots. 

Jooyeon and his wife give each other a short kiss and you smile at them, suddenly feeling sad. However, it’s not like you have a lot of time to think about it because Gunil’s voice says “start” and you all start drinking. You and Jiseok were losing. Badly so. Mostly, it was because during the third shot, the liquid went down the wrong pipe and you started coughing, unable to keep up with the pace.

Jiseok sees it and quickly grabs your shit glasses, making you widen your eyes as he chugs them down, flipping Jooyeon off as the others cheer on you for winning. Jooyeon asks for a redo with only him and Jiseok and of course he agrees. You are now drinking a glass of water, widening your eyes when your “boyfriend” wins once again. Damn.

Jooyeon laughs at Jiseok’s absolutely gone face, cheeks already rosy with liquid pouring down his chin as he celebrates, pulling you into a kiss. You let out a small noise but smile, cupping his face as the older walks you further away from the guys, hands on your waist without pulling away from the kiss. 

“That was kinda hot, but you’re insane.” You grin, looking over his face when he pulls away slightly, the others dancing. “I’m gonna focus on the hot part.” The pink haired man mumbles, kissing you hungrier. Somehow, your back ended up pressed against one of the columns with your chest pressed on Jiseok’s. 

You let out a small noise, hands going into his hair as his thumbs press on your waist, quickly pulling away when one of his favorite songs comes on, dragging you to the dance floor. You regulate your breathing and then laugh, going dancing with him. 

Your mouth falls open with wide eyes as Jiseok and Gunil start a routine to Hollaback Girl. You start laughing as the two get down, silently thanking Hyeongjun for filming everything regardless of his very concerned expression. That’s when Seungmin drags Jungsu to the dance floor and joins them. Everyone cheers for them as Jiseok pushes you on the chair and starts dancing on you, making you throw your head back with a laugh. 

“MORE ATTITUDE! I TAUGHT YOU BETTER THAN THAT!” Seungmin yells to the younger, whose hips are currently swaying from side to side. It doesn’t take long for you to get pulled up and the bride to be put on the chair instead, everyone making space for Jooyeon to do his routine when Crazy in Love starts playing. 

One thing you learned about Jiseok today was that he was, in fact, even more entertaining with alcohol in his system. You’ve been to parties with Gunil before, but all the guys together, was just a whole different thing. It was a mess in the best way possible. 

After a while, you found yourself dancing with Jiseok, who wouldn’t stop complaining about how hot it was so you helped him take off his black blazer and loosen up his tie while opening the first two buttons, the older one looking at you amazed. “Oh you’re so smart, I love you so much!” He sighs, cupping your face and kissing you once cutely. 

Your hands freeze on his tie, gulping as the other keeps dancing, and that’s when it sank into you that he’s just drunk and still playing a part. Your stomach dropped. Jiseok seems to see your mood change, because he takes his tie off and puts it on you, pulling you closer with a smile. “What’s wrongggg??? HAVE FUNNN!!! I CAN’T DATE BORING PEOPLEEE!!” He yells over the music, getting interrupted by one of the bride’s friends pouring some alcohol for him before he chugs it down. 

You shake your head, deciding that he's right. If this is the last night you can be around Jiseok this way, then you might as well take advantage of it. So you dance with him, turning around with a grin as he raps whatever stupid song is playing.

His hand rests on your stomach, lips finding their way to your jaw and ear lobe. You turn around and sing with him, giggling at the slurred lyrics escaping his lips as he pecks you all over again. “You stink of alcohol!” 

“And you don’t stink enought!” He pokes his tongue out, as you raise your eyebrow at him. 

“Is that a challenge?” You ask and when the pink haired man nods, you grab his hand and go to the bar, opening a bottle of vodka, tilting your head. “How much?” 

“A quarter. At least.” Jiseok tilts his head up with a smirk, not actually believing you’ll do it. And because you like to prove him wrong, you do just that, the guitarist covering his mouth in shock as the others cheer you on. You wipe your mouth, swallowing down the alcohol that was about to come out and your so-called boyfriend stares at you amazed. “Do you wanna marry me?” 

You give him a chuckle, before he comes closer to you, holding your hands and pulling you to the dance floor again. He wraps your arms around his neck, hands going on your waist as he mumbles the lyrics, the VERY romantic lyrics to you. You look into his eyes and suddenly feel yourself getting emotional, pout forming as tears stain your cheeks. 

Kwak Jiseok how dare you sing about love to me when you don’t feel it? 

Except Jiseok felt it. He meant every word, because he’s sure of his feelings for you no matter what state he’s in. And because he was stupid enough to reject you before you even tried to ask him out by complaining about relationships, he has to settle for singing stupid love songs to you while drunk to have an excuse. 

When he sees your tears he smiles, thinking you’re probably drunk and emotional. His heart, once again aches with love. Jiseok leans down and rests his forehead on yours while dancing, hugging your waist as you sniffle. And because there’s only one way he knows how to make you feel better, he pulls you in a soft kiss. 

A kiss that felt like the last for the both of you, for some reason. Maybe it was you being too emotional and stupid because of the alcohol or maybe it was because you both knew tomorrow you won’t be able to do this anymore. 

You kiss back, cupping his face and pecking him multiple times, burying your head in his neck as you hug him tightly, the taller caressing your lower back gently while kissing your head. The guys complain about you two being too mushy and you and Jiseok share a look as you giggle, pecking each other a couple more times before walking to the others. 

After a while, you all decide to take a break by playing a card game Jungsu bought a few days ago for the party, making everyone take an oath that no one will get pissy or sad and that it will all be light hearted. 

Two rounds in, the bride and the groom switched outfits, Jooyeon looking very much ethereal and very much like he wanted to kill himself as his wife was imitating him while wearing his suit for one round before they changed back.

You take your card and groan when you see the writing. “Touch tongues with the player on your left or take two shots.” You share a look with Gunil, Jiseok’s eyes burning with jealousy. You could do the challenge, you know that. Partially, because you want to already start forgetting him and partially because you’re not even actually together. 

The others ask Jiseok if it’s okay and he shrugs saying it's whatever because it’s a stupid game, but you could tell by his voice that he was bothered by it. So, you let Jungsu hand you the two shots and chug them down as the others complain about you two being boring. It was worth it though, because Jiseok lets out a relieved breath, his already rosy cheeks becoming even rosier when you give him a quick wink with a small smile. 

Everyone was holding onto their stomachs laughing as Hyeongjun and Jiseok got into a freestyle rap competition, the older doing an encore by perfectly rapping the Nicki verse he claimed to be his party trick.

You blink at your card and read it out loud. “Share your most hidden thoughts about the person in front of you.” You look at Jiseok, he was too busy drinking some more alcohol. 

You consider saying something stupid or funny but, instead, you decide to be truthful to the challenge. “He’s really easy to love.” At that, Jiseok stops from dancing in his seat, the others sharing a look with each other. 

Everyone knew what that meant and why you said that, and you see Seungmin give you an approving smile, arms crossed. Jiseok starts crying. You widen your eyes and rush to him when he opens his arms, the others making fun of him for being a crybaby. Seeing the guitarist be emotional with the fun song blasting through the speakers, shirt wrinkled and hair a mess was amusing to say the least. 

You yelp when he pulls you on his lap, hugging you from behind as his chin rests on your shoulder after kissing it once. A few more rounds go like that and although you were pretty drunk too, Jiseok was absolutely /hammered/. 

So, when his card says “Get on your knees, open your mouth and have someone pour you a drink from a 10 inch distance”, you get up to and let out a shaky breath when you see the older looking up at you on his knees, eyes hazy, cheeks rosy and lips parted.

You walk to Seungmin and whisper in his ear to pour water instead of alcohol and although he calls you boring he does as you say, because he knows his friend needs a break. You walk back to Jiseok, whose eyes had a glint in them.

You really had to stop yourself from grabbing his hair and making out with him, so you settle for a quick peck before grabbing his jaw to make him look at you as he opens his mouth looking up at you with a lazy smile. You pour the water, and when he gets a taste of it, he starts complaining but you simply smile back, kissing his cheek. 

Jiseok blinks a couple times after you tell him softly that he needs a break, before tears start to pour down his cheeks. “What type of person are you??” He cries, hands gripping onto your legs. You widen your eyes, looking around nervously.

“What are you talking about-” You exhale, laughing anxiously. 

“What do you mean what I mean?” He slurs with a whine. “Do you think it’s funny? To-to be so perfect and take care of me and kiss me and and- and you don’t even love me!” He cries harder, head resting on your thigh. 

“Jiseok, there’s people-” You whisper yell, trying to stop him but it was too late because everyone was staring at the little scene in front of them. 

“So what?? Huh?? Let them know!! I love you so much! I really love you!” He sobs, looking up at you desperately. Your breaths get shorter and quicker.

“I love you too.” You say, and although you wish it was just to do damage control, it’s because it was true. You loved Jiseok. So much it hurt. 

“I don’t mean as a stupid plan! ‘m not acting! I wanna be with you so fucking bad, since week one and I keep trying to get over it and not care and I CAN’T!” He says desperately, sobbing as he lets tears fall down his cheeks. You start tearing up too, sniffling. 

“I love you too.” You cry, hand going to his cheek. 

“No you don’t! Not in the way I-” The pink haired man starts but you cup his face and kiss him lovingly while sobbing. “Yes I do, stupid!” You whine, sniffling when he puts you on his lap bridal style, hugging you as he kisses back, crying even harder. 

You pull away after a while, making fun of each other for your crying faces. You wipe your noses before you hug Jiseok’s neck as he hugs your waist, and now you are all tiredly talking to each other in a circle as your…fake?boyfriend keeps leaving small kisses on your shoulder and temple and head and hand and really anywhere and everywhere. 

You play with his hands while listening to the others, the guitarist wrapping his arms around you tighter. You felt happy and for a split second, you forgot he only did all this because he was drunk. 

However, happiness didn’t last long because although you two walked inside your room giggling and kissing each other, taking a quick shower before cuddling to sleep, the next morning was worse than you could’ve expected. 

You wake up with a frown, stretching as you snuggle closer to Jiseok, when suddenly you get this unsettling feeling. The older one wakes up with a groan, holding onto his head. He looks down, widening his eyes. 

“Shit…hi-” He grunts, pinching his nose, as you look at him with caution. He blinks down at you, tilting his head. “Why’re you looking weird at me- do I have drool on my face again?” He cringes, wiping his face, and you close to tear up. 

“You don’t remember?” You ask in a small voice, feeling your heart breaking. 

“Reme-Fuck…did I do something weird last night?” He whines, hands running his face as you get up from the bed, feeling your heart beat faster. 

“You don’t remember what you said?” You repeat, voice cracking. Jiseok widens his eyes, thinking about all the possible weird or dumb things he must’ve done amongst them, wondering if he confessed. Oh no. What if he confessed and you think he’s weird? What if he did something really stupid?? 

“I–no, listen, whatever I said, don’t mind it! Scratch it, please, forget about it. I was so drunk and stupid I don’t know what I did but I promise I’ll make it up I-” He starts in a panic, and your heart sinks. 

“So you were just drunk?” You ask once more, the older nodding quickly as you feel your vision get blurry with tears. “Yeah, well maybe next time, don’t drink like a fucking pig, if you know you can’t handle your alcohol. So you don’t say stupid shit again.” You say, tears staining your cheeks as you take the pick necklace off and throw it at him. You put on shoes and grab a hoodie you don’t notice is his before walking out of the room. 

Jiseok looks at the closed door in confusion, holding onto the necklace after he picks it up from the floor, wondering just how badly he fucked up last night and whether killing himself is still an option. 

Of fucking course it was because he was drunk. You were stupid for even lying to yourself. Drunk words are sober thoughts my ass. You decide to leave the resort and take a walk around the city to clear your head, when you get a call from Gunil. 

“Hey, we’re about to go grab food in the city, Hyeongjun’s boyfriend said he knows a really good spot, you coming?” His voice chimes from the phone. 

“You can go without me.” You say, trying to keep your voice stable as you wipe your cheeks with the hoodie’s sleeves. 

“What happened?” Gunil asks worriedly, and you can only sob. 

“He said he was just drunk.” You sniffle, gripping on the phone. “And I was stupid enough to believe he-” You hear Jiseok’s voice asking if he’s talking to you and you simply hang up, hugging yourself as you walk. 

Gunil gives Jiseok a death stare, shaking his head before walking out with the others. Jiseok is confused. Was what he said really that bad?? He kept thinking about it: while he walked to the place, while sitting down and eating, he was /out/ of it. 

Thankfully, only the ones at the after party went, so he didn’t have to worry about his mother or anyone else being on his ass. Well, that’s what he thought, at least. That was until Hyeongjun looked at him judgingly from beside him, eating his ramen. 

“What.” Jiseok says annoyed, turning to your friend. 

“You’re an asshole.” Is all Hyeongjun says, before turning his attention back to his food, leaving a very confused and bothered Jiseok.

“Alright, you know what? I’m fucking tired. Look- I’m sorry for whatever I did or said when I was drunk yesterday. I figured we were all in the same boat, but obviously I fucked up somehow.” He says after wiping his mouth.

“You seriously don’t remember?” Hyeongjun frowns his eyebrows at his flatmate, and the older simply whines desperately.

“No, I don’t and I would really appreciate it if someone could tell me because the last thing I remember was-” He started, eyes widening as the memories of last night came rushing into his head. He confessed. Of course he did. 

Hyeongjun takes a picture of his terrified expression, as a faint memory of you reciprocating his feelings comes back to him, his head quickly turning to your friend. “Did she–” He starts and the other guitarist nods with a serious expression, before Seungmin slaps the back of Jiseok’s head.

“Go.” Is all the older says after Gunil lets them know you’re back at the resort. 

You pout while sniffling, having kind of calmed down after the walk. You pack your clothes slowly, lips pursed as you wonder what made you deserve this type of heartbreak. That’s when you hear the door burst open in a very Jiseok manner. 

The pink haired man looks at you with wide eyes and messy hair, breathing heavily as tears fall down his cheeks. “You love me.” He breathes out. You blink at him a couple times and open your mouth to deny the accusations, but you figure it’s useless and this point and simply go back to pursing your lips, attention adverting to your clothes. 

He knows you weren’t that drunk, because you didn’t drink anywhere near as much as him so it was stupid to even try to deny it. You expected a very angry talk about how you knew what you were getting into. Instead, Jiseok repeats the words as he hurriedly walks close to you, grabbing the shirt you were currently folding and throwing it on the bed, cupping your face. 

You look into his eyes, lips trembling as you start tearing up. Is this some type of torture punishment?? You think to yourself, before Jiseok chuckles, breaking into a huge grin as he pulls you in a loving kiss. 

Your breath hitches, taken aback, and you kiss for a few seconds before pulling away confused. “Are you messing with me?” You sniffle, wiping your nose quickly. 

“Am I messing with-” He breathes out, laughing. “Do I look like I am?” He asks in a whine, pointing to his crying face. 

You look down with a pout, hands fidgeting with his shirt. “You said you were just drunk.” 

“Yeah, because I thought you got weirded out and thought I was some creep or something!” He complains, hands caressing your cheeks. 

“Well, it’s not my fault you never confessed…” You smack your lips. “Wha-ME??? You were the one who said Uhhh I’m such a good actor uhh!” He mocks you, smiling when you smack his arm. 

“Yeah- well-well-YOU were the one to be all like uuhhh I don’t want a relationship uhhhh!” You mock him, crossing your arms after poking your tongue out. Jiseok’s lips form a downsided smile, looking over your face. “What.” You bite, glaring at him.

“I love you so much.” He breathes out, caressing your cheek and kissing you lovingly, and you, being the stupid you, smile and kiss back. You swear your heart is going to beat out of your chest when the taller one brings you closer by the waist, before pulling away with a raised eyebrow. “Your turn.” 

“My turn to what?” You tilt your head innocently, looking at him with doe eyes. 

“I said I love you!” He whines, head tilting back for a bit as you shrug.

“So??” You tilt your head up to him. “What If I don’t wanna say it?” 

“I kill myself. Publicly.” He deadpans, and you can’t help but let out a laugh, before cupping his jaw and kissing him again, pecking him multiple times. 

“I love you too.” You whisper in his ear, and Jiseok is close to losing it. That might just be the best thing he’s ever heard in his life, actually. The older one picks you up excitedly, kissing all over your face, before dragging you on the bed with him. He gets on top of you with his legs on each side and he kisses all over your face and you giggle, complaining about how he left the door open.

He rushes to close it and then sits in the same position as before, hugging your neck like a koala, head buried in it. You laugh but hug back, kissing his cheek a couple times. “I was going through hell…” He mumbles and you want to die because Kwak Jiseok is the cutest person on earth and you love him and he loves you. 

After you two calm down, you ask the older one if he's okay, only to get silence as a reply. You frown, but when you look down at him you let out a laugh while shaking your head. “I can’t believe you fell asleep.” You whisper, hugging his waist and snuggling closer as you close your eyes as well. 

You wake up after two hours now on top of Jiseok, who was hugging you while  caressing your hair, looking over your face. You frown, opening your eyes, only to be greeted with the guitarist attacking you with kisses, barely allowing you to breathe. You groan, pushing him away with a yawn, only to be pulled closer to him.

“Hi girlfriend.” He chimes, kissing your cheek, making you blink quickly with a raised eyebrow.

“Woah woah woah, since when? Did I miss something?” You wipe your eyes, disoriented.

“You’ve always been my girlfriend.” Jiseok shrugs, and you point your finger at him.

“Wrong. I was your ‘girlfriend’, not your /girlfriend/.” You specify, using air quotes as the guitarist scoffs, rolling his eyes. 

“You’re so- You said that day it was official!” He tries, but when you give him an unimpressed stare, he moves to a sitting position on the bed with you, grabbing the necklace from his pocket. “Do you want to be my actual real non-acting girlfriend, please?” He asks, offering you the necklace. 

“Mm…something is missing.” You hum, and the other might just die. Like, actually. He looks at you with a tired questioning look, but smiles when you tap your lips. Jiseok pecks you once cutely, making a kissing sound as you giggle. “Okay, yes.” You nod, letting the other clip the necklace on your neck again. 

It takes two seconds for the pink haired man to pull you close to him again, laying on the bed while kissing you multiple times. You smile, burying your head in his neck and hugging him closer. Turns out, you weren’t insane after all. 

Jiseok’s heart feels like it’s about to burst and things only get worse and you look up at him with sparkly eyes, saying something he is too out of it to hear. You giggle again, kissing him a few times, calling him stupid, to which JIseok simply mocks you playfully, kissing your cheek.

“We still have to pack, we need to catch an early bus.” You groan, about to get up, yelping when your now /actual/ boyfriend pulls you back into bed. 

“No we don’t.” He smiles proudly, and you quirk your eyebrows up. “Cancelled the bus tickets, we’re staying three more days.”

You widen your eyes, pushing him lightly. “What are you talking about?? Here?? Why?? I don’t even have enough clothes-” You whine, but the other simply shrugs, pulling you closer. 

“Because, I want to spend a romantic weekend with my girlfriend.” He explains in a low voice, making you blush. “I changed the hotel though, I don’t wanna be around another wedding. And I’ll buy you some clothes if I have to.” 

You blink a few times, lips parted. He’s so annoyingly perfect. “Was this your plan all along?” You squint. 

“No, my plan was to cry myself to death if you didn’t like me back but since you do…” He hums, tucking your hair behind your ear. “I’m tired of wondering what if and pretending I don’t want to be your real boyfriend and trying to find excuses to kiss you and now I can finally do all that…plus, we deserve a break from the wedding stress and all.” 

You pout, cupping his face and pulling him into a loving kiss, the older complaining about how clingy and annoying you are with a smile, arms wrapping tighter around your lower waist. 

“Ah- I have something to confess…” You wince, index tracing his cheek as the guitarist hums. “I told Gunil…that day in the car…because I really needed to tell someone and I-” You explain nervously, but get cut off by a peck on your lips.

“I know.” He smiles understandingly. “It’s fine…I was planning on telling Hyeongjun the night he sexiled me.” Jiseok scoffs, earning a laugh from you. 

“What?? Don’t laugh at me!! I NEEDED SUPPORT! If he didn’t sexile me I wouldn’t have pink hair right now!! It’s not funny!!” He laughs as he raises his voice, pushing you away when you break into a loud laugh, covering your mouth.

“It’s kinda funny…” You mumble, the other widening his eyes.

“Oh we’re back at it again?? What happened to being nice to your boyfriend?? ESPECIALLY NOW THAT I’M YOUR REAL BOYFRIEND!!” He protests, getting on top of you and tickling you while blowing raspberries on your neck as you try to get away.

“NOT THAT PLEASE!!” You laugh, trying to get away when he gets close to your eye, poking his side hard so he winces and gets off you. You get on top and tickle him instead with a laugh. “You’re still easy to beat.” You poke your tongue out, the other mocking you as he also puts his tongue out.

You mock him back but yelp when he stops your arm from hitting his, yanking you closer to him so you fall on his chest as he kisses you slowly. You kiss back, mumbling something about him being mean as he smiles in the kiss, pulling you closer to him as he lets out a small “mhm”. 

“I love you a lot.” You admit, thumb caressing his cheek, eyes opening to look at him.

Your boyfriend smiles fondly, eyes sparkling as he brushes his nose with yours. “I love you more.” He whispers, mocking you when you complain about how that’s not true, pulling you in yet another kiss.

Jiseok was a better liar now, but he was still a terrible and horrible liar when it came to his feelings, especially his feelings for you.

Green Lantern!Hal (after jumping from the plane): Someone catch meee!

Superman sighed, going over to the spot and holding out his arms. The tall, slender, but surprisingly heavy man landed in Superman's arms like a damsel falling from a building.

Green Lantern!Hal (fake southern accent): Oh my Superman, you done saved my life.

The plane that he was escaping from promptly exploded.

Superman: You could have jumped out at any second. You have a magic ring. Why didn't you use that?

Green Lantern! Hal: Sometimes I like to be the damsel.

Superman calmly dropped Hal and walked off, exhausted. Green Arrow and Batman walked over to Hal while eating burgers.

Batman: I understand wanting to be saved, but save that for the bedroom.

Green Lantern! Hal: Hey, man, dating is hard. I have to make my life exciting.

Green Arrow: What freaky stuff are you both into?

Batman: Nothing you need to know about.

Green Lantern! Hal: I can tell you, but you have to get me drunk first.

It all started because Jey tried to clean.

He woke up early, made coffee, and decided to surprise Rhea by tidying up their shared room. He picked up her clothes, folded them, vacuumed the rug, and even lit one of her candles that smelled like cinnamon and bad decisions. Then he turned toward her vanity, it was covered in palettes, brushes, bottles, and things that looked like science experiments.

“Half this stuff old anyway,” he muttered to himself, shaking his head. “Can’t be sanitary.”

He grabbed a trash bag and by the time he was done, the vanity looked empty, sparkling, and innocent. A crime scene disguised as progress.

When Rhea came back from the gym, she dropped her bag at the door, still sipping her protein shake. At first, she smiled. “Wow, you cleaned!”

“Yup,” Jey said, proud. “Got everything lookin’ brand new.”

Her gaze shifted toward the vanity. She blinked once. Then again. “Where’s my makeup?”

Jey hesitated. “You mean the old stuff?”

“Old stuff?” she repeated slowly. “What… old stuff?”

“The bottles and the little circle plates with colors—”

“Circle plates?”

“Yeah, the—uh—powder things.”

Her voice rose. “You mean my bronzers? My blushes? My limited-edition eyeshadow palettes?!”

He froze. “…maybe.”

She put a hand on her hip and stared at him in disbelief. “You threw out my entire collection!!?”

Jey’s confidence cracked. “I was helpin’!”

“Helpin’?!” She pointed at him, seething. “Do you know how much that costs? You can’t help with things you don’t understand!”

“I thought they was old!”

“Old!?” She laughed bitterly. “You better pray to Saint Sephora because you’re gonna need divine intervention.”

“Babe—”

“No,” she cut him off. “Don’t ‘babe’ me. Until you fix this, I’m a nun.”

“A what?”

“A nun, Jey. Sister Ripley of the Holy No Touching.” She grabbed her water bottle and started toward the door. “You’ve lost all privileges. No hugs, no kisses, No vagina. NADA!”

Jey blinked. “You serious right now?”

“As a sermon,” she said. “And don’t even look at my hair products.”

She slammed the door behind her, leaving the air smelling like perfume and fury.

Jey stood there, staring blankly at the closed door. “What the fuck just happened?” He looked down and his lip quivered and his eyes started to well up with tears.

But he didn't hear the door open slowly and suddenly, a voice came from the hallway. “You tell us.”

He looked up and there they were. Roman, Jimmy, Solo, and Paul Heyman lined up like a row of nosy neighbors who’d just witnessed a crime scene unfold.

“Man, what are y’all doin’?” Jey asked, exasperated rubbing his eyes.

Roman crossed his arms. “We literally live in this compound, don’t act surprised.”

“Were y’all eavesdropping?”

Paul cleared his throat, hands clasped. “Truth be told, I saw you throwing away Ms. Ripley’s makeup earlier. I asked Mr. Reigns, ‘Why would Jey throw away Ms. Ripley’s makeup?’ and truthfully, Mr. Reigns did not have an answer. So, when we decided to come and ask you, we… observed Ms. Ripley leaving.”

Jey frowned. “You just watched her walk off?”

Paul nodded solemnly. “She moved with great purpose. Like a woman ready to commit a holy vow.”

Jimmy snorted. “She turned into a nun, bruh."

“She ain’t leavin’ me,” Jey said quickly. “She’s on her way to becoming Mrs. Fatu, thank you very much.”

Roman raised an eyebrow. “Not if you keep throwing out her stuff and refusing to move out of my compound.”

“I like my room,” Jey muttered.

Jimmy laughed. “Correction—it’s you and Rhea’s room now.”

Solo finally looked up from his phone. “She already redecorating. You guys have two black candles and a crow statue outside your door.”

Roman smirked. “You really messed up, Uce. She’s turning this place into a gothic cathedral.”

Paul interjected politely. “If I may, has Ms. Ripley always been so… seasonally expressive?”

Roman sighed. “Paul, she’s already got the maids dressing like the Victorian era. And she put pumpkins at the front gate.”

Solo added, “She turned the west wing into the Addams Family house.”

Jimmy threw up his hands. “She put Chucky and Tiffany dolls on my bed and said it was for ‘festive spirit.’ Naomi almost left me!”

Paul nodded seriously. “Yes, I did notice the pumpkin outside my corridor. Quite large. Possibly enchanted.”

Jey dragged a hand down his face. “Man, what am I supposed to do? I threw away her makeup, she’s haunting the compound, and now y’all sound like extras from a Halloween special.”

Paul smiled. “Mr. Fatu, perhaps the solution lies in leaning into her passion.”

Jey blinked. “What you mean?”

“I’m suggesting,” Paul said with dramatic flourish, “you give her the Halloween she deserves. Something unforgettable. Something grand.”

Roman tilted his head. “Like renting a whole haunted house.”

Jimmy grinned. “That’s actually not bad.”

Solo shrugged. “Scare her into forgiving you.”

Paul clasped his hands together. “I can arrange the reservation. Private tour. Exclusive access. Ms. Ripley will be thrilled.”

Jey perked up, suddenly hopeful. “That’s perfect! She’ll love that!”

Roman looked at Jimmy and Solo, exchanging that silent, mischievous Bloodline telepathy.

“Paul,” Roman said smoothly, “book it.”

Paul smiled. “Immediately, my Tribal Chief.”

“Wait,” Jey said, looking between them. “What’s the theme this year?”

Roman placed a firm hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it.”

Jimmy bit his lip, already shaking with laughter.

Solo smirked. “You’ll see.”

Paul hesitated, lowering his gaze. “Indeed. You’ll… see.”

Jey frowned, suspicious. “Y’all actin’ weird.”

Roman grinned. “You’ll thank us later.”

As the group walked out, Jimmy whispered to Solo, “He gon’ scream before they even get inside.”

Solo nodded. “Especially when the first clown shows up.”

Roman smirked to himself. “The Halloween Uso begins.”

---

A few days later …

The kitchen was quiet except for the sounds of the fridge and the sound of Rhea crunching through a piece of dark chocolate almond bark. The late afternoon light poured in through the big windows of the compound kitchen, cutting across the marble counters and glinting off her half-empty bottle of water. She stood there in a cropped black tank top and red sweats, hair still messy from a midday nap, her black Nike socks planted on the cold tile floor. Her Vans were next to her but not on, because honestly, she wasn’t going anywhere.

That was, until she heard footsteps.

Rhea looked up, chewing, and saw Paul Heyman appear in the doorway like a butler in a horror movie.

“Oh hey, Paul,” she said, grabbing her bottle and taking another sip. “Jey not pay our share of the rent?”

Paul gave her a weary look. “To be truthful, you two’s share of the rent barely covers the monthly landscape maintenance of the Bloodline compound.”

Rhea blinked. “Well then.”

Paul clasped his hands together. “Mr. Fatu has arranged a surprise for you and the rest of the family—if you’d like to join me.”

Rhea arched a brow, suspicious. “A surprise?”

“Yes,” Paul said. “Transportation is waiting outside.”

Rhea looked down at her half-eaten chocolate, shrugged, and grabbed the last piece. “If this is another family meeting, I’m walking straight into traffic,” she muttered.

She slipped on her hoodie, quickly pulled on her socks and her Vans, and followed Paul through the hallway and out the front door.

The first thing she saw was Roman already in the SUV, engine running, sunglasses on like they were headed to a red carpet. Solo was next to the vehicle doing squats in silence, counting under his breath. Jimmy stood by the gate, holding his phone high, lips puckered, clearly mid-selfie. And then there was Jey.

He was standing in the middle of the driveway wearing a black t-shirt printed with a tuxedo design. In one hand, he held a small pumpkin; in the other, a bouquet of black roses. He looked nervous. Too nervous.

Rhea stopped at the top of the steps and squinted at him. “What’s this?”

Jey smiled. “These are for you.” He held the flowers out.

She took them, looked down at them, then back up at him. “You’re still not getting any pussy tonight.”

Solo gagged mid-squat. “Ewwwwwwww! Why can’t you just say cooter?”

Jimmy lowered his phone, laughing so hard he almost dropped it. “Or say cookie! Cookie sounds nicer!”

Roman groaned from the SUV. “Or how about no sex, period!”

Rhea crossed her arms, smirking. “Then maybe he should’ve thought about that before throwing out two thousand dollars’ worth of powder and lipstick, huh?”

Jey held the pumpkin closer to his chest. “You gon’ keep bringing that up forever, huh?”

Rhea raised an eyebrow. “Till the Lord himself clears my vanity of sin.”

Jimmy wiped a tear from laughing. “Man, she said ‘Lord himself’ like she at Sunday service!”

Solo walked past, still muttering “cooter” like he was testing how it sounded out loud.

“Can we please go before this turns into another therapy session?” Roman barked.

Paul cleared his throat. “Yes, we’re on a schedule. The venue has been expecting us.”

Jey perked up. “Venue?”

Rhea eyed him. “What did you do?”

He grinned nervously. “Something nice, babe. Just trust me this time.”

She narrowed her eyes but slid into the SUV anyway. Jimmy followed, still laughing. Solo climbed in after, whispering “cookie” under his breath like it was now a family curse word.

Roman had already had shotgun. Paul got behind the wheel.

Jey lingered outside for a second, clutching the pumpkin. He looked at it like it was his emotional support gourd. “She gon’ forgive me tonight,” he muttered to himself.

From inside the car, Jimmy yelled, “She said no pussy, bro, give it up!”

“Or cooter!” Solo added.

Roman smacked the back of Solo’s head. “Stop saying that word.”

Paul sighed deeply as Jey climbed into the SUV. “I see we’re all mentally prepared for an evening of family bonding,” he said dryly.

Rhea put her feet up on the seat and leaned back. “If this ends with me in a ditch, Paul, I’m haunting you first.”

Paul just smiled faintly. “Noted.”

He started the car.

As they drove away from the Bloodline compound, Jey reached over and handed Rhea the pumpkin again.

She looked at it, unimpressed. “You know this doesn’t make us even, right?”

Jey grinned. “Wait ‘til you see what I planned.”

In the rearview mirror, Roman met Paul’s eyes and muttered under his breath, “She’s gonna find out about the clowns, and we’re all dead.”

Paul didn’t answer. He only adjusted his tie and whispered, “The things I do for this family.”

---

The SUV turned down a narrow road surrounded by fog and dead trees. Ahead, a massive, crumbling mansion came into view with glowing red letters that spelled out: HOUSE OF TERROR.

Rhea saw the sign before anything else. Her eyes widened, her mouth fell open, and before Paul even touched the brake pedal, she screamed, “OHMYGOD!!!”

Paul flinched so hard his glasses nearly fell off. “Ms. Ripley, please, I haven’t even parked the car yet!”

But Rhea was already unbuckling her seatbelt, half-hanging out the window, hair whipping in the night air. She could hear the faint sound of carnival organs and sinister laughter echoing from the entrance.

“I’m home!” she cried, voice echoing through the mist. Then she let out a deep, villainous cackle that could’ve summoned thunder.

Jey just stared at her, eyes full of admiration and fear all at once. “Damn,” he muttered.

Jimmy, Solo, and Roman all turned their heads at the same time, faces matching. Jimmy whispered, “She possessed.”

Solo crossed himself. “I think she got a demon named October.”

Paul calmly parallel-parked the SUV like this was just another Tuesday. “Alright, everyone out,” he said, unbothered.

The moment the tires stopped moving, Rhea shot out of the car, grabbing Jey by the arm like a woman on a mission.

“Babe, calm down!” Jey yelped, stumbling behind her.

“Shut up and let’s go!” she yelled, dragging him toward the entrance.

The rest of the Bloodline trailed behind, already laughing.

Roman adjusted his jacket. “She’s about to get us banned from this place.”

Jimmy was filming on his phone, wheezing. “We ain’t even inside yet and Jey look scared!”

Paul sighed, straightening his tie. “Gentlemen, may I remind you this is meant to be a bonding activity?”

“Yeah,” Solo said, deadpan. “Bonding with fear.”

They approached the massive double doors, fog curling around their feet. Rhea reached for the handle first, pure excitement in her eyes.

But Jey stepped forward, puffing his chest out. “Allow me, dear.”

Rhea grinned devilishly. “By all means, Big Daddy Uso.”

Jimmy choked back laughter. Roman smirked. Solo started recording.

Jey smiled, lifted his hand to the doorknob and before he could touch it, the door burst open.

A figure in a Pennywise costume lunged forward, red balloon in one hand, makeup horrifyingly realistic. “HIYA, JOSHIE!” the clown shrieked.

Jey’s soul left his body. He screamed loud enough to scare the birds out of the trees then immediately swung.

His fist connected squarely with Pennywise’s face. The clown stumbled backward, balloon flying into the air.

“OH MY GOD!” Rhea yelled, laughing so hard she doubled over.

Jey darted behind Roman like a kid hiding behind his dad at the grocery store. “HELL NO! I TOLD Y’ALL I DON’T DO CLOWNS!”

Roman spun around, staring at him with disbelief. “Boy, you forty years old!”

Jimmy was on the ground crying with laughter. “HE PUNCHED PENNYWISE!”

Solo wheezed. “He said Hiya Joshie and got Hiya Right Hooked!”

Paul stood at the base of the steps, expression unreadable. “I warned them about the clown theme,” he murmured. “They insisted it would be entertaining.”

Rhea was still laughing, wiping tears from her eyes. She leaned against the railing, gasping for air. “Oh my God—baby—you really hit him!”

Jey peeked out from behind Roman. “He said my government name!”

Roman threw his hands up. “He read the reservation list!”

Jimmy could barely breathe, shaking his phone. “This goin’ on TikTok! The Halloween Uso, baby!”

Rhea finally caught her breath and turned toward Jey, grinning wide. “You ready to go inside, tough guy?”

He glared at her. “You go first.”

“Fine by me.” She winked. “Let’s go meet your new friends.”

As Rhea pushed open the doors with glee, the organ music swelled, and the first gust of cold air swept past them carrying the sound of laughter: high-pitched, echoing, and very much clown-coded.

Jey took one step inside and whispered to Roman, “If another clown pop up, I’m swingin’ again."

Roman groaned. “You swing on one more actor and I’m leavin’ you here.”

Paul muttered, “The insurance forms alone…”

And just like that, The Bloodline disappeared into the House of Terror, with Rhea leading the way, her laughter bouncing off the walls, and Jey already regretting every decision that led to this night.

The front doors slammed behind them, sealing them inside. The moment the lock clicked, eerie circus music filled the air. Red lights danced across the walls, fog coiled around their ankles, and somewhere in the distance, the faint squeak of a balloon echoed.

Jey’s jaw clenched. “I don’t like this, babe.”

Rhea was in her element, practically glowing with joy. “Oh, I love this!” she said, turning in a slow circle, eyes wide. “This is the best thing you’ve ever done for me.”

Roman muttered, “You’re welcome.”

“What?” Jey turned, squinting at him.

“Nothing,” Roman said quickly, smirking.

They walked in a line with Rhea leading, Jey close behind, Paul clutching his phone like he was live-tweeting their demise, Jimmy and Solo whispering and giggling in the back, and Roman at the rear like the annoyed chaperone of a field trip gone wrong.

The hallway twisted ahead of them with mirrors on each side reflecting warped, funhouse versions of their faces. Rhea was grinning ear to ear, while Jey kept his eyes darting left and right like something was going to jump out any second.

“Babe,” he muttered, “why they gotta make everything so red in here? Who designed this—Satan?”

Rhea laughed. “It’s ambiance!”

Then came the sound. A slow, echoing squeak.

Jey froze. “What was that?”

Another squeak, closer this time. Then a thump.

A shape emerged from the fog, it was massive, brightly colored, bulbous nose, and polka-dotted suit. It was the clown from Killer Klowns from Outer Space. The thing raised one gloved hand, pointed straight at Jey, and in a shrill voice said:

“JOSH!”

Jey’s soul disintegrated. “OH HELL NO!”

He swung instantly, winding up like it was a main event at WrestleMania but Roman caught his arm mid-swing.

“Boy, stop!” Roman barked, struggling to hold him back.

“LET ME GO, UCE! HE KNOW MY NAME!”

“That’s the point!” Roman grunted. “You can’t keep swingin’ on the cast!”

Behind them, Jimmy and Solo had completely lost it. Jimmy was doubled over yet again, laughing so hard his phone was shaking in his hand. Solo was bent at the knees, tears in his eyes, pointing at Jey.

Jimmy wheezed, “Aight, aight—so, I might’ve told Paul to tell the actors that you scared of clowns!”

Jey’s head whipped toward him, eyes wide with betrayal. “YOU DID WHAT?!”

Jimmy was gasping for air, clutching his chest. “They was runnin’ outta ideas! I just said make it personal!”

“Personal?!” Jey yelled. “They keep saying my GOVERNMENT NAME!”

Jimmy was too far gone to reply, practically crying from laughter. Solo fell to the ground beside him, slapping the floor.

Meanwhile, Rhea had walked right up to the Killer Klown and was hugging it.

“Oh my God, you are doing God’s work!” she gushed, squeezing the actor. “I’ve never been happier in my life!”

The clown waved politely over her shoulder, right at Jey.

“Babe, get away from it!” Jey yelled.

Rhea looked over her shoulder, grinning. “What’s wrong, Big Daddy Uso? Don’t like my new friend?”

Jey pointed accusingly. “He’s not your friend! He’s a spawn of Satan in a balloon factory!”

The clown leaned forward and squeaked its nose.

Jey jumped back so hard he hit the mirror, cracking it. “NOPE! NOPE! NOPE!”

Paul sighed deeply from behind his phone. “And this,” he muttered, “is why the liability waiver was eight pages long.”

Roman finally let go of Jey’s arm. “You swing again, and I’m making you pay their medical bill.”

Jimmy was filming, still laughing. “This better be a highlight on Instagram tomorrow.”

Solo wheezed, “You gotta admit, though—he fast for someone who hate clowns.”

Rhea pulled back from her hug and looked at the clown. “You’ve done enough, soldier. Go scare the others.”

The clown nodded solemnly, gave a salute, and disappeared into the fog.

Jey, still pressed against the cracked mirror, whispered, “I can’t believe y’all did this to me.”

Roman smirked. “It’s poetic justice, Uce. You throw away her makeup, she throws you into your fears.”

Rhea looped her arm through Jey’s. “Now come on, my brave little clown slayer.”

“Brave my ass,” Jimmy snorted. “He hid behind Roman like a toddler.”

Solo grinned. “Big Daddy Uso got humbled by a balloon animal.”

Jey groaned, dragging his feet as Rhea led him deeper inside. “I swear, if another clown pops up—”

Right on cue, the sound of distant laughter echoed down the hallway.

Rhea grinned wider. “Oh, it’s just getting started.”

Paul adjusted his tie and whispered to himself, “Indeed. And so begins the second act of The Halloween Uso.”

They moved deeper into the house, the laughter from before fading into slow, eerie sounds of carnival music. The air smelled like popcorn and fog machine fluid. Rhea was leading the way with a grin that could rival a demon’s; Jey followed behind her like a man on death row. Jimmy and Solo were whispering jokes under their breath, and Roman kept looking back at Paul, who seemed way too calm for what was happening.

The hall opened into a massive carnival setpiece of a cracked carousel, hanging banners, shattered mirrors, and strings of red lights that flickered overhead. Everything was painted in chipped reds and peeling golds. The carousel horses looked like they’d been staring too long into the abyss.

Rhea clasped her hands together. “Oh my God, this is beautiful.”

Jey frowned, gripping her sleeve. “This looks like a lawsuit waiting to happen.”

Roman sighed. “It’s fake, Jey.”

“Yeah? Tell that to the last two clowns that screamed my government name,” Jey muttered.

The carousel suddenly jerked. The horses creaked as it began to spin but backwards. Slowly at first, then faster. The lights danced erratically, casting everyone’s shadows long across the walls.

A distorted version of “Pop Goes the Weasel” began to play, echoing through the room like a broken toybox.

Jimmy’s grin fell. “Okay, I ain’t gonna lie, that’s creepy.”

Solo squinted. “Why it sound like the weasel never poppin’?”

Rhea, delighted, clapped her hands. “This is amazing!”

Jey took a step back. “Nah, nope, this ain’t right.”

Suddenly, the carousel stopped.

The music cut off mid-note. Silence.

Then… scratching.

Something was crawling underneath the carousel. Fast.

“Babe,” Jey whispered, voice trembling. “Tell me that’s not what I think it is.”

The sound got louder, closer. Then a shape shot out from beneath the carousel! It was a clown, pale-faced, eyes blackened, mouth painted in jagged red. It was crawling on all fours, moving impossibly fast.

It stopped right in front of Jey, tilted its head and screamed, “Doesn’t JOSHIE want a hug?!”

Jey screamed like his soul had evaporated. “HELL NO!”

The clown scrambled toward him with jerky, insect-like movements, shouting, “Come here, you little Samoan! Give me a hug! I JUST WANT A HUG!”

Jey ran straight behind Roman and without hesitation climbed him. Literally crawled up his back like a frightened toddler scaling Mount Dad.

“Jey!!! Get off me!” Roman yelled, stumbling under his weight. “You forty years old, get your ass down!”

But Jey was gripping him like a backpack from hell. “HE SAID HE WANTS A HUG!”

The clown tilted its head, laughter twisting into a guttural mockery. Then, in a perfect imitation of Jey’s voice, it started wailing: “Nooo! Get it away! I don’t like it! HELP ME, ROMAN!”

Jimmy fell to the floor wheezing. “Nahhh, he mimicking him!”

Solo was doubled over beside him, choking out words between gasps. “That clown got range!”

The clown scuttled closer, voice shrill. “Why don’t you want to be my friend, JOSHIE? Don’t you like the circus?!”

Jey screamed again, trying to climb higher. “I AIN’T GOT NO PROBLEM WITH THE CIRCUS—JUST YOU!”

At this point, Rhea was laughing so hard she could barely stand. “Oh my God! I love him!” she said, gesturing to the clown. “He’s perfect!”

Roman was trying to pry Jey off him like a spider on his back. “Boy, if you don’t—get your grown ass DOWN!”

Paul, meanwhile, strolled forward calmly, adjusting his tie as if this was all standard procedure. He looked at the clown, who was still cackling, and said in his most formal tone, “Your services have been greatly appreciated. Might I inquire if you’re available for private events?”

The clown froze mid-laugh, tilted its head upright, and then stood like a normal human being. “Oh! Of course, Mr. Heyman,” it said, suddenly cheerful and polite.

Jey blinked. “What the hell—?”

The clown reached into its oversized pocket. “Here’s my business card,” he said, handing it to Paul. “I also do catering on the side. Bar mitzvahs, birthdays, funerals—you name it.”

Paul nodded, slipping the card neatly into his breast pocket. “Excellent versatility.”

Rhea was bent over laughing again. Jimmy was filming. Solo had completely given up and was sitting on the floor. Roman was still trying to shake Jey off like a panicked cat.

Jey’s voice came out muffled against Roman’s shoulder. “You hired Satan with a business card, Paul!”

Paul smiled faintly. “Efficiency is a virtue, Mr. Uso.”

The clown gave a bow, then pointed at Jey. “See you at your next nightmare, Joshie!”

Jey screamed again.

Jimmy gasped, holding up his phone. “Oh my God—this is going on YouTube.”

Roman looked ready to strangle someone. “Paul, if another clown says his name—”

Paul sighed. “I’ll have to pay them double.”

Rhea took Jey’s arm and kissed his cheek. “You’re doing amazing, babe.”

He looked at her with wide, betrayed eyes. “You’re the devil.”

Rhea grinned. “And you’re my favorite victim.”

Roman rubbed his temples, muttering, “We’re never doing family bonding again.”

Paul adjusted his cufflinks, murmuring under his breath, “On the contrary, this might be my favorite Bloodline event to date.”

And from somewhere deeper in the maze, another faint squeak echoed followed by the whisper of balloon rubber and giggling.

Jey froze. “Oh hell no. Not again.”

Rhea smiled sweetly. “Oh yes, baby. Again.”

The deeper they went, the darker it got. The walls were lined with cracked porcelain masks, some smiling, some screaming. The smell of iron lingered and the floorboards creaked under every step. Even Rhea slowed down this time, her excitement giving way to curiosity.

They turned a corner and stepped into a room bathed in harsh white light. Everything looked like an abandoned subway station. Fake blood streaked the walls, fluorescent signs flickered overhead, and a single clown horn echoed faintly from somewhere in the distance.

Rhea’s grin started to stretch wider. “Wait a second…”

Roman looked at her suspiciously. “Why do you sound happy again?”

She glanced around, her eyes lighting up. “Because I’ve seen this before.”

Jimmy frowned. “From where?”

“This looks exactly like Terrifier.”

Solo’s head snapped toward her. “The weird clown movie?”

“Yeah!” Rhea said proudly. “That’s my favorite horror movie.”

Jimmy’s face twisted. “The one with the creepy silent clown who cuts people in half—”

Solo nodded. “She made me watch it last week. I ain’t been the same since.”

Paul, still perfectly composed, adjusted his tie. “Well, if that’s the case…” He looked around the empty hall, eyes glinting behind his glasses. “Then where is Art the Clown?”

The Bloodline and a la Rhea Ripley went still.

The faint squeak of a cartwheel echoed down the hallway. Something metallic clattered to the floor.

Jey froze. “What was that?”

No one answered.

Then something heavy fell over with a loud clang.

Jey didn’t even think. He leapt again into Roman’s arms like a terrified koala. “Oh thank you for catching me, Roman,” he gasped, clutching tightly.

Roman blinked, not moving. “…Uhhh.”

Jey panted, eyes shut. “Don’t let me go, Uce.”

Roman’s voice came out slow. “That’s… not me, Uce.”

Jey’s eyes snapped open.

He looked down. Bloody hands were gripping his waist.

His gaze followed the hands upward.

And there he was.

Art the Clown.

White face, black lips, eyes hollow as voids. A grotesque grin stretched across his painted mouth. He tilted his head, almost lovingly, holding Jey like a bridal carry from hell.

For one horrifying second, nobody moved.

Then Jey’s lungs decided to work again.

He screamed so loud it rattled the fake subway tiles. “AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

The sound bounced down the hallway, mixed with Jimmy’s wheezing laughter and Solo’s panicked, “NOPE, I’M OUT—NOPE—” as he ran straight into a fake wall.

Rhea? She clapped her hands together like she’d just seen her favorite celebrity. “OH MY GOD, IT’S HIM!” she shrieked, bouncing on her toes. “BABE, IT’S ART!”

“HE’S GOT ME! HE’S GOT ME!” Jey wailed, flailing in the clown’s arms.

Roman lunged forward. “Put him down, you freak!”

But Art only tilted his head again, that same silent smile, and raised one finger to his mouth… ‘shhh’.

Then he slowly leaned closer to Jey’s face, nose almost touching his.

Jey screamed again, kicking violently. “GET HIM OFF ME! GET HIM OFF!”

Jimmy was on the ground filming, tears streaming. “He said, ‘thank you for catching me, Roman’—but it was Art! AHAHAHAH!”

Solo was pressed against the far wall, wheezing. “Nahhhh this ain’t even funny no more!”

Paul, somehow unbothered, approached calmly. “Excuse me, Mr. Art,” he said in his most professional tone. “May I commend you on your performance? Truly spectacular fear response.”

Art slowly turned his head, blinked, and then waved politely at Paul.

“Marvelous,” Paul said. “If you’re ever available, I’d like to book you for our next company retreat.”

Jey screamed again, still flailing. “PAUL, STOP NETWORKING AND HELP ME!”

Rhea was howling with laughter now, practically doubled over. “Oh my God, baby, you look so cute like that! He’s just holding you!”

Roman finally yanked Jey free, pulling him to the ground. “You’re embarrassing the family!”

“I ALMOST DIED!” Jey shouted, running behind Paul like a scared child. “He had blood on him!”

Paul tilted his head. “It’s corn syrup.”

“I DON’T CARE WHAT FLAVOR IT IS!”

Art stepped back into the light, twirling his bloody scalpel before giving them a little wave goodbye… all while being silent, smiling and leaving only that squeaky shoe sound echoing as he vanished into the fog.

Rhea sighed dreamily. “He’s perfect.”

Roman glared at her. “You need therapy.”

Jimmy was still recording, wheezing. “Oh nah, this the best family outing ever.”

Solo shook his head, wide-eyed. “I ain’t sleepin’ tonight.”

Jey was trembling, hair sticking to his forehead, voice cracking as he whispered, “If another clown touches me, I’m burnin’ this whole place down.”

Paul smiled faintly, adjusting his tie. “I’ll inform management of your feedback.”

Rhea wrapped her arm around Jey, still giggling. “Come on, my brave little survivor. There’s still half the house left.”

Jey looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “Half the—what? We ain’t even halfway through?!”

Roman groaned. “We’ll never get out alive.”

Jimmy was still laughing, camera shaking. “We’ll die—but it’ll be content.”

From somewhere ahead, a single red balloon floated into view… drifting lazily through the hall.

Jey’s voice broke. “Nah, I’m done.”

Rhea grinned. “No, babe. You’re just getting started.”

—

By the time they stumbled out of the House of Terror, Jey’s voice was gone. Completely. He had screamed through every clown chase, every fake corpse, every broken light. His throat felt like sandpaper, and his legs were trembling from sprinting for his life in a circle that, according to Paul, was “structurally designed for psychological disorientation.”

Roman’s patience had died somewhere around the tenth jump scare. His expression hadn’t changed in two hours. He looked like a man who had stared into the abyss and found it annoying.

Paul was signing paperwork near the exit table, muttering under his breath. “Another waiver, another invoice, another future therapy bill…” His pen scratched aggressively across the page.

Solo and Jimmy, meanwhile, were thriving. They had taken selfies with half the cast, signed autographs for the clowns (“To my favorite psychos — Love, The Bloodline”), and were now chatting with the Pennywise actor about starting a TikTok collab.

“Bro, you think we can get a picture with Art before we leave?” Jimmy asked, wiping tears of laughter from his face.

Solo grinned. “Already got one. He made the blood splatter into a heart.”

Roman pinched the bridge of his nose. “I can’t take y’all anywhere.”

Rhea came out last, dragging Jey by the hand. She looked absolutely radiant with eyes bright, cheeks flushed, hoodie sleeves pushed up. Jey, on the other hand, looked like he’d aged fifteen years and was one balloon away from a breakdown.

Rhea patted his cheek affectionately. “You did so good, babe.”

He croaked, voice hoarse, “Did I… pass?”

She smirked. “Barely. But you faced your fears.”

“I fought for my life,” he rasped.

The haunted house owner, a cheerful man in a fake blood-splattered apron had approached the group with a grin. “You folks survived! That’s one for the record books.”

“Barely,” Paul muttered, still flipping through pages. “I nearly had to call legal counsel.”

The owner chuckled. “For a small fee, I can sell you the DVD recording. You were one of our best groups all year.”

Roman perked up. “There’s a recording?”

“Every room has cameras,” the man said proudly. “You should’ve seen when your brother jumped into that clown’s arms!”

Jimmy immediately raised his hand. “How much?”

The owner gestured to a little rack by the counter. “Fifteen bucks.”

Roman reached for his wallet before anyone else could move. “Sold.”

Jimmy grabbed two copies for himself and Solo, laughing. “These gon’ be Christmas presents.”

Paul sighed. “I’ll take one for archival purposes.”

Jey looked like he might cry. “Y’all really gonna watch that again?”

Jimmy grinned. “We gonna watch it every year. Tradition now, Uce.”

Solo held up his DVD. “The Halloween Uso Collection.”

Roman smirked. “You immortal now, Uce.”

Rhea wrapped her arms around Jey’s waist and rested her head on his shoulder. “So,” she said softly, “am I still a nun?”

Jey looked at her, eyes wide. “You tell me.”

Rhea smiled, kissed his cheek, and whispered, “You’re forgiven.”

Jimmy let out a loud “Awww!” while Solo made fake sniffing noises. Roman rolled his eyes and walked toward the SUV. “Get in the car before I leave y’all here.”

Rhea tugged Jey’s hand and started after him, still laughing under her breath.

Jey glanced back one last time at the neon red sign above the building, HOUSE OF TERROR, and muttered, “Never again.”

From inside the SUV, Jimmy yelled, “Next year we do the zombie one!”

Jey groaned. “Nope. I’m done. Retired. I faced my demons. I’m cleansed.”

Rhea grinned. “Oh, you’ll be back.”

As the SUV pulled away, the haunted house lights flickered behind them. The clowns waved from the entrance, balloons bobbing in the wind, one holding up a sign that read SEE YOU NEXT HALLOWEEN, JOSHIE!

Jey’s muffled scream echoed through the car, sending everyone into hysterics.

It was official.

The Bloodline’s most chaotic family tradition had begun.

There were a lot of things you could say about yourself. Bold. Daring. Maybe even slightly unhinged, depending on who you asked. But above all else, you were consistent—consistently putting yourself in the most absurdly dangerous situations just to see if Leon would actually show up every time like some gun-toting, government-issued Disney prince with an arsenal and perfectly timed slow-motion entrances. Today? Oh, today was no different.

You dangled upside down from a rope trap—again—in the middle of what looked like a half-collapsed, Umbrella-owned abandoned science lab. The place was straight out of a post-apocalyptic fever dream: flickering lights, ominous sirens, and several suspiciously intact glass tubes filled with questionable goo. Because of course it was.

"Note to self," you muttered aloud, blood rushing to your head as a loose wrench clanged to the floor. "Next time, skip Reddit threads titled '10 Toxic Ways to Test His Love.'"

From somewhere deep in the facility, you heard the click of tactical boots, followed by the unmistakable swoosh of a door being kicked open. Leon S. Kennedy stormed in like a leading man who showed up late but insisted it was all part of the act.

Wind—there was always wind when Leon arrived, somehow—blew in dramatically, tousling his hair like he was auditioning for a shampoo commercial.

"Heard you were in a bit of a bind," he announced with a smirk that could probably be weaponized.

You groaned. "That pun hurt more than the rope burn."

With one smooth motion, he unsheathed his knife and cut the rope like it was warm butter. You landed on the ground with an unceremonious grunt, arms flailing.

"You alright?" he asked, arching an eyebrow, clearly used to this by now.

You dusted yourself off and gave a casual thumbs up. "Physically? Mostly. Mentally? I've had healthier coping mechanisms."

This wasn’t even the first incident this week. On Tuesday, you infiltrated a Plaga-infested chicken coop wearing feathers strapped to your back because, quote, “Leon needs to witness me in my avian prime.” On Thursday, you sold your own location to a black-market merchant under the condition that he reenact a hostage scenario—complete with rope, duct tape, and fake demands. Leon showed up with two pistols and one-liner energy to spare.

"You know, there are easier ways to get my attention," he said now, sliding a flash grenade into his jacket pocket purely for dramatic effect.

You gave him a deadpan stare. "Yeah, but where’s the fun in not risking tetanus every time I flirt with you?"

He blinked. Once. Twice. Then gave that tired little smile—the one that screamed, “I should report you to HR but I’d probably follow you into a volcano first.”

You scooped up your slightly-burnt backpack and peeked through a cracked window.

"So… sushi after this?"

Leon tilted his head. "You just got nearly decapitated by a ceiling saw blade."

"Exactly," you said. "Nothing says ‘date night’ like dodging death and then drowning our trauma in soy sauce."

He sighed and checked his ammo. "Fine. But if I have to dive across a sushi conveyor belt to tackle a guy in a hazmat suit again, I swear I’m charging you hazard pay."

You saluted him with two fingers and a wink. "Deal. And I’ll even throw in a free wasabi dare. Bonus points if you don't cry."