It had been three day’s since Kyungsoo had been on the news. Thankfully, Suho understood the situation and allowed Kyungsoo to have a few days off of work, besides, with Kyungsoo being in the press and all, Suho’s coffee shop had become really packed all of a sudden. At least something good came out of Kyungsoo’s predicament.

 

Kyungsoo sighed as he stayed in doors. Baekhyun wanted to stay with him, but Suho needed him back at the coffee house, so Kyungsoo was left alone in his apartment. He thought that the press would have left by now, since they seemed to leave yesterday, but unfortunately they came back the next day, waiting until Kyungsoo came out so they could question him about his new  ‘relationship’ with Chanyeol. Kyungsoo gagged at the thought of him dating Chanyeol. He didn’t much care about the whole dating guys aspect, he had dated guys before, but he couldn’t stand having to pretend to date Chanyeol. He knew all about that guy’s image. He remembered he read an article about how he slept with a different girl every night, which began his sudden disinterest in him.

 

He sat in his kitchen as he looked out the window, there weren’t as many photographers as before, but there was enough that could blocked the sidewalk. He sat on his couch and was about to read his book, when he suddenly felt his phone vibrate.  

 

It was an unknown number. “Hello,”

 

“Kyungsoo?” he recognized the voice.

 

“What do you want?” he replied in an annoyed tone.

 

“Gee it’s nice to hear from you too and yes I’m doing fine thanks for asking,” said Chanyeol in a sarcastic voice.

 

“I will hang up right now if you don—”

 

“Okay, okay, look my manager has the strategy already, so we should be at your apartment in a few minutes.”
 

“What? you can’t just invite yourself over!” said Kyungsoo in a angry voice.

 

“Relax a bit, would you. We’re not even going inside. We’re going to pick you up and we’re heading over to the label company. We’re almost there,”he said over the phone.

 

“And how do you suppose I’ll be able to get in with all those people outside,” he said.

 

“Don’t worry I got you covered,” said Chanyeol. Kyungsoo was about to protest, but the call had already ended. 

 

Kyungsoo hit his pillow. “Stupid. -whack- rich- whack- arrogant jackass,” was all Kyungsoo managed to say as he let out his frustration on his poor pillow. There was no time to fret now.

 

He looked outside the window, waiting until he saw the car to bolt outside. It wasn’t long before he spotted Chanyeol’s car and he was about to make a run for it, when he saw that Chanyeol was getting out of the car and after much struggle, he had managed to enter the apartment. Kyungsoo exited his apartment and met him in the hallway.

 

“This is your grand plan, to enter my apartment,” he said as he rolled his eyes.

 

“No,” said Chanyeol.

 

“There’s a car waiting for us behind the back entrance of the apartment. The car I just came out of is going to serve as a decoy.Now come on,” said Chanyeol as he mentioned for Kyungsoo to follow him.

 

They made their way to the back entrance and entered the car. Kyungsoo politely greeted the driver.

 

“How come I only get the cold shoulder?” whined Chanyeol, but Kyungsoo ignored him for the rest of the ride. Thankfully, the building they were headed to wasn’t packed with photographers, so they were able to walk peacefully into the building. Almost everyone was staring at Kyungsoo, which made him feel uncomfortable.

 

Chanyeol could tell by his expression that he was feeling uncomfortable, so he tried to put his arm around his shoulder. “What are you doing?” asked Kyungsoo as he moved out of his reach.

 

“Just trying to help you be more comfortable is all,” he said as he shrugged. Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. They entered through a pair of huge grey doors, as Kyungsoo walked into a massive office. There were already a team of people waiting in chairs as he and Chanyeol sat next to each other.

 

“Let’s begin,” said the man Kyungsoo recognized as Chanyeol’s manager, Mark.

 

“Okay, Kyungsoo this is the labels P.R team and they're here to help with your guy’s current situation.”  Just then a tall man stood up and walked to the drawing board.

 

“This is the head of the P.R team, Mr. Kim,” said Mark.

 

“Alright, so as Mark might have mentioned before, this situation might help to clean up Chanyeol’s image. Closeted artists seem to be what is ‘in’ at the moment. Chanyeol has already explained how you guys happened to meet and we can use this as—”

 

“Wait a minute, you guys are going to market on homouality. That’s bull.”

 

“Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol tried to say but Kyungsoo wouldn't let him.

 

“Being closeted is not something to make money out of, it’s a real issue and the fact that you’re willing to make an image out of it sickens me.”

 

“Kyungsoo—”

 

“No Chanyeol, their usung your image to get money. Now I don’t even like you, but even for someone like you that’s cruel.” Chanyeol gave him an amusing look. He had never seen someone talk to him that way and even less his management team.

 

“Mr. Kyungsoo, we assure you, this wasn’t intentional. We wouldn’t have this problem if you hadn't bumped into him.”

 

Ouch, that hurt. Kyungsoo stayed silent, he couldn’t argue against that. Chanyeol took one glance at Kyungsoo before he spoke.

 

“Hey, that was a bit too harsh. I wouldn’t—”

 

“Chanyeol this is on you too. The security guard told us you went out without him,” said Mr. Kim as Chanyeol stopped talking.

 

“Anyway, this is how it’s going to work. You’ll go on a few dates, act like a couple, do couple things, and after, say, a few days or so, you’ll publicly call it quits and you’ll move on with your lives. Chanyeol will go back to being his usual self, you’ll probably gain a tons of new fans, and have more gigs, and Kyungsoo, you’ll go back to whatever it is a barista does.”

 

“Are we clear?” Both Kyungsoo and Chanyeol agreed to it as the P.R team talked about how they could make their relationship look believable, but Kyungsoo wasn’t listening. Mr. Kim wasn’t wrong, in a way, he had a fault to this as well. He snapped out of his thoughts just as the first date was announced.

 

“Your first date will be later on tonight. We’ve already made reservations at a nearby restaurant. Chanyeol will tell you what time he’s going to pick you up. Now lets see how this goes, you two are dismissed.”

 

Both Kyungsoo and Chanyeol walked out of the building with, thankfully, no photographers in sight.

 

“Is he always a ?” asked Kyungsoo. Chanyeol laughed.

 

“Most of the time yeah,” they stayed silent the rest of the time until Kyungsoo was back at his apartment.

 

“I’ll pick you up around eight yeah?” said Chanyeol and Kyungsoo nodded as he stepped out. He entered through the back entrance and made his way up to his apartment.

---

 

“I can’t believe he said that to you,” said Baekhyun as he threw himself on Kyungsoo’s bed.

 

“If I was there, I would have kicked his sorry ,” Baekhyun said as he tried to lighten up the atmosphere, but it wasn’t working.
 

“I’m sorry it went that way, but it will be over soon. It’ll be over before you know it,” he said as he sat next to Kyungsoo and patted him on the knee.

 

“Let’s look for something for you to wear,” he said as he opened Kyungsoo closet.

 

“Why? it’s not a real date, so I thought I could just wear what I have on now.”

 

“Uh no, no. You know how many people would kill to go out with him? Kai’s practically raging in jealousy right now. Let me tell you something, I would also be jealous too, if it weren’t for my utmost devotion in my baby Chen.” Kyungsoo rolled his eyes.

 

“Your ‘utmost devotion’ is not healthy Baekhyun. And before you ask, no, I did not ask if he knows Chen, so do not ask,” said Kyungsoo as he walked over to his closet.

 

“Plus, I don’t have anything fancy to wear and nor do I want to wear anything of such sort. I can barely afford to pay for this apartment, so how the hell can I afford fancy attire.”

 

Baekhyun tapped his chin in thought. “How about that red sweater huh, it looks nice on you,” he suggested.

 

Kyungsoo looked through his closet as he found what he was looking for. “This one?”

 

“Yeah that one, put it on.” Baekhyun said as he looked at the time.

 

“It’s already seven forty five. We don’t have enough time, quick,” he said as he his thumb and tried to make Kyungsoo presentable.

 

“Eww stop that gross, I can manage my hair,” he said as he pushed Baekhyun off. He went into his bathroom and fixed his hair.

 

Baekhyun pretended to cry. “My baby’s going on his first date.”

 

“I’ve been on dates before.”

 

“I know, but this is your first celebrity date, so let me have my moment.” There was a knock on the door, before Baekhyun practically sprang to answer it.

 

“Well, hello Chanyeol. You got here just in time, now since Kyungsoo’s parents aren’t here, so I have to be the protective friend. So, you have him here by—”

 

“Baekhyun, stop it,” said Kyungsoo as he ripped him from the door. He looked at Chanyeol’s attire and immediately felt self conscious. He was wearing all black, it wasn’t really fancy, but it certainly looked better than what he was wearing. He noticed that Chanyeol had something behind his back.

 

“These are for you,” he said as he took out a bouquet of red roses. Kyungsoo looked at him suspiciously.

 

“What for?”

 

“Can’t I do something nice for my fake boyfriend?” he said as he handed them to Kyungsoo.

 

“tsk whatever,” he said as visibly blushed.

 

“Lets just go,” Kyungsoo said as he handed the roses to Baekhyun to put away and shut the door behind him. As he predicted, the photographers had already packed up and left, which made the journey to the car easier.

 

“Where are we going?” he asked Chanyeol as he hoped in the car.

 

“It’s a surprise,” was all Chanyeol said.

 

“So how exactly are going to make this look real?” he said during the car ride.

 

“You’ve been on dates before right? so just do what you normally do.” he said as they reached their destination. There might not have been photographers at his apartment, but there were a ton of them here.  Chanyeol briskly stepped out of the car and walked over to open Kyungsoo’s door. He reached out to hold Kyungsoo’s hand as he helped him out of the car.

 

“I can get off by myself, you know,” he said, but took his hand none the less.

 

“I know, but we have to act the part, now come on,” he said as he put his arm around Kyungsoo’s waist. Kyungsoo could hear people shouting Chanyeol’s name in every direction. Flashes obscured his vision as he squinted to look clearly.

 

He could feel Chanyeol’s hold tighten around him as people began to push.

 

Chanyeol, how long has this been going on for?

 

Is this only a fling?

 

How long have you known Kyungsoo for?

 

All these questions were being hurled at them. He wasn’t even sure if Chanyeol knew how to answer them.

 

“Just ignore them,” he heard Chanyeol say.

 

They finally entered the restaurant and Kyungsoo was very impressed. He had never even been in a place this sophisticated before. The chandelier probably costed more than his entire apartment.

 

“Name please,” said a waitress at the counter.

 

“Park Chanyeol.”

 

“Right this way,” she said as they were seated near the entrance of the restaurant.

 

Kyungsoo stayed silent for a while, he wasn't really a talker. “I know you don't really like me, but we should at least get to know each other,” said Chanyeol.

 

The food arrived after a while and Kyungsoo didn’t know if he could eat it or not. He had seen various amounts of food, but he had never seen something this weird. This must have been what Chanyeol was into.

 

“What is this?” he asked as he poked the food around.

 

“I don’t know. I’ve never been to these types of restaurants,” he said as he shrugged.

 

Wait, what?

 

“Then what the hell are we doing here?!” he asked Chanyeol.

 

“What do you mean what the hell am I doing here? I thought you liked these kinds of things?”

 

“What the hell are you talking about?”

 

“Well, the P.R team said that most people like going out to things like this?”

 

Kyungsoo laughed. Who did he think he was? “Chanyeol, even if I did like going to things like these, which I don’t, not everyone has as much  one as you to come here.”

 

“Well, then what do we do now?”

 

“There’s a stand by the street over there, but I don’t—”

 

“Let's go then,” said Chanyeol as he jumped up and grabbed Kyungsoo's  hand. They were out of that restaurant in seconds. They walked down the street and neared the food stand. This time Kyungsoo didn't hesitate to order. Once the had what they recognized as actual food, they sat down by the curb and enjoyed their food.

 

“Excuse me sir,” they turned to see an elderly woman walking. She looked homeless and she had two children besides her. Kyungsoo’s heart sunk. He hated being in these situations because he wasn’t rich and he could only give them so much. He was about to offer her his food when Chanyeol took the woman by the hand and walked over to the stand. Kyungsoo could see that Chanyeol had been ordering something and within minutes the woman and children were all eating the food that Chanyeol paid for. This wasn’t the rude and arrogant Chanyeol that Kyungsoo read on the papers.

 

Chanyeol walked back to Kyungsoo and sat next to him. “That was very nice of you” was all Kyungsoo could say.

 

Chanyeol shrugged. “I know you think bad of me because of what you see on the news, but honestly that’s not me.”

 

“Oh,” was all Kyungsoo could say. He tried to ease the tension by asking a few questions.

 

“So um have you done this before? You know, going out with a guy” he asked. He suddenly felt embarrassed.

 

“No, well i’ve never been out with a guy, but i’ll do it just for you,” teased Chanyeol as he bumped into Kyungsoo’s shoulder. Kyungsoo felt a blush rise to his cheeks.

 

“Tsk yeah right. I’ve read how you go out with a different girl almost every night.”

 

“For someone who supposedly hates me, you sure read alot  about me.”

 

“No, I do not. My friends happen to like you, so I’m forced to hear about it,” he said defensively.

 

They both threw away their trash and began to walk. “Aren’t you going to call your driver or something?”

 

“Do you want me to? I just thought we could walk to your apartment.”

 

“I’d rather walk,” said Kyungsoo. He was getting sick of the car rides.

 

“So, I’m curious. Why else don't you like me? did I do you wrong or something. I would have remembered someone like you,” said Chanyeol

 

“That’s exactly why. You flirt with everyone and not to mention your flings every night.”

 

“Okay, I’ll have you know, those girls I supposedly slept with were hired,” he said before he could correct his wording.

 

“So you sleep with es, that’s even worse!”

 

“No, I mean they’re hired by my P.R team for publicity. I’m supposed to be this hardcore rapper with a bad boy image. I don’t even do anything with them. Yeah, they come to my placr, but we only sit there until the time they’re paid for is up.”

 

“Some P.R team you have,” he muttered.

 

A few minutes passed before Chanyeol slowly reached for Kyungsoo’s hand.

 

“What are you doing?” he asked Chanyeol.

 

“I was just trying to uh hold your hand. You know, like a couple.”

 

“There isn’t even cameras around.”

 

Chanyeol looked around. “Oh yeah huh, heh my bad,” he said as he rubbed the back of his neck. They arrived at Kyungsoo’s apartment after a while and descended the stairs. Kyungsoo unlocked the door and they both entered. Baekhyun was probably gone by now.

 

Kyungsoo set his keys by the counter and walked into the kitchen with Chanyeol in tow. “It’s not much, but—”

 

“I like it, it’s not too fancy, it’s comfortable,” said Chanyeol as he took a seat on the couch.

 

“So uh you go to work tomorrow or?”

 

“No, I have to go to some classes, but I’m pretty much free after why? do they have something for us tomorrow?”

 

“Uh no, I just thought we could do something tomorrow.”

 

Kyungsoo did a double take. “You want to willingly hang out with me?”

 

Chanyeol shrugged. “Well, yeah, I don’t see why not. I know it’s only been a day, but you don’t treat me like a famous person or anything and I like that. Plus, the only other person I can hang out with is Jongdae, but he’s currently too busy doing concerts so?”

 

“Wait you mean Jongdae, as in Chen?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“So you do know him?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Huh, I don’t know whether I should tell Baekhyun that?”

 

“Will he go crazy?”

 

Kyungsoo laughed. “Yeah, he’ll go nuts,” he said as Chanyeol smiled at him.

 

“What?” he asked.

 

“Nothing, I just like your laugh. It’s cute.” he said as Kyungsoo blushed.

 

The atmosphere suddebly felt too hot. “I-I think it’s time for you to go,” he said as he rushed him out.

 

“Wait why? did I say something wrong?” said Chanyeol as the door was shut on his face.

 

“You know Kyungsoo, I think I’m growing on you,” he said as he leaned on the door.

 

“It’s only been a day,” he could heard Kyungsoo say from the inside.

 

“You can’t deny our growing chemistry,” he teased as he walked away.

 

He took out his phone and dialed Kyungsoo’s phone number.

 

“Hello.”
 

“You forgot to say goodnight,” said Chanyeol.

 

“tsk Goodnight,” was all he said as the call ended. Kyungsoo should really add Chanyeol’s number on the contact list so he could ignore it when he called.