Baekhyun has never really had a girlfriend. Yes, he messes around with a lot of girls but he’s never come close to having genuine feelings for any of them. Why does he suddenly have a girlfriend? Hae Ryung kept asking herself this question. She tried to be happy for him but she just couldn’t and she felt so, so selfish for it. 

She didn’t even want him to like anyone, how much more have a girlfriend? But what could she do? The only thing to do is at least pretend, pretend to be happy for them, pretend like she’s not hurting, pretend to actually like the girl. She barely even knew her except for her name, Yeon Hwa. 

How did they meet? She didn’t know. When did they start dating? She didn’t know. Why didn’t Baekhyun ever mention her to Hae Ryung before? She didn’t know either. Actually, she didn’t think she’d wanted to know anyway but lately, there’s a lot she didn’t know about Baekhyun these days. 

Like right now, she had no idea where Baekhyun was for their class together. He’s skipping class like usual but for what reason this time? Is he with Yeon Hwa? Probably, but Hae Ryung didn’t want to think that. She’d prefer leaning onto other possibilities like Baekhyun getting tangled in some fight with Kai or just anything else but that.   

At that moment, the school bell sounded out, signaling the end of class and cutting her thoughts short. She snapped back to reality, blinking as the teacher dismissed everyone with a mere tilt of his head towards the door. Hae Ryung quickly packed up like everyone else and exited.   

She seemed pretty out of it today, gaze distant and mind just buzzing with so many thoughts. A couple far ahead of her caught her attention, making her momentarily freeze but when they turned around, it wasn’t the couple she expected. She sighed inwardly, hugging her books to her chest as she quickened her pace. 

Her eyebrows furrowed with a new string of thought in her head. She honestly doesn’t see them together as often as she thought she would which is quite odd. But then again, school isn’t exactly a place for dates and it’s not like she wanted to see them together anyway... 

But for the rare times that she did see them together though, it didn’t even seem like this Yeon Hwa girl had genuine feelings for her best friend. The look in her eyes wasn’t adoration or love, it was lust and it didn’t seem like anything more. ‘That should be me,’ Hae Ryung would always think as she watched them hold hands, kiss and hug. 

Baekhyun holds her hand too but just if he needed to, not because he wanted to. He’s kissed her too but not on the lips, not with a special meaning behind it. He hugs her a lot but not in public, not for people to see that she was his and no one else’s. 

Hae Ryung saw So Eun coming her way, a smile on her face as she jogged over. She tried to smile back but her thoughts were too distracting and sad to even fake it. The girl was telling her something but it didn’t seem to register in Hae Ryung’s mind at all.  

She still nodded though, even if she didn’t exactly know what So Eun was saying. But as she continued to speak, So Eun noticed the blank expression on Hae Ryung’s face, making her eyebrows pinch together. “Hey, are you even listening to me?” So Eun said, shaking Hae Ryung’s shoulder.  

The girl snapped out of her thoughts almost immediately and quickly hummed in response. “Wear something nice, okay? Make Sehun’s eyes pop!” So Eun made a popping motion with her hands for emphasis and giggled. Hae Ryung couldn’t help but break into a smile, shaking her head fondly. 

“I will wear something nice but only because it’s a party and his parents would be there,” she replied as she stopped at her locker. “You’ve met his folks before, right? Sehun said that his parents like you. They said you’re wife material.” So Eun wiggled her eyebrows, teasingly poking Hae Ryung’s stomach.  

The girl tried her best to glare at her so she’d stop but her cheeks were too red with embarrassment to be convincing. So instead, she just stuffed her books back into her locker and shut it quietly. So Eun was right.  

His parents did say that. It was over dinner. It was the first time she ever met his parents and they suddenly wanted her as their daughter-in-law. It was beyond embarrassing and awkward but she took it as a joke, something they just said and not anything serious… hopefully.   

“Hey,” Sehun greeted breathlessly as he halted in front of her. The girl smiled at him, albeit startled at his sudden appearance and waved at him as a response. “I’ll be picking you up by seven, okay?” he reminded her for the nth time that day, making Hae Ryung chuckle.  

Sehun said that she has to be there. He said that he would stop the whole celebration if she wouldn’t come and honestly, Hae Ryung found it adorable. Sehun frowned at her lack of response so Hae Ryung decided to a little and started coughing.  

“Sehun, I’m suddenly not feeling well. I think I’ll pass for tonight,” she said, leaning her head on So Eun for dramatic effect and she immediately played along. “Her head has been aching all day, Sehun. I really think she can’t go,” she added, faking a worried look on her face. 

A mixture of sadness, worry and panic was etched on Sehun’s face. He deflated, a pout on his face as he looked at Hae Ryung’s tired looking face. Her acting must’ve been very convincing because then, sighed deeply and said, “Alright, I’ll just leave the party early I guess and bring you some food and medicine. Wait for me, okay?” 

Hae Ryung’s heart swelled. The boy was too sweet for her to keep teasing him so she stood up straight and pinched his cheek. “I’m only kidding, Sehun. Of course, I’ll be at your party! I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” 

Sehun looked extremely relieved to hear that. He ruffled her hair and scooped her up in a tight hug. Hae Ryung squealed, kicking her legs and telling Sehun to put her back down. So Eun just giggled, looking so, so happy for her best friend.  

“Sehun,” Hae Ryung warned and immediately, Sehun put her down,  arms loosely wrapped around her. “You scared me! I thought I wouldn’t be able to–” So Eun quickly shook her head and put a finger to her lips. Realizing his mistake, shut his eyes in distress and mentally face palmed.  

“Wouldn’t be able to?” Hae Ryung asked, pulling away and raising an eyebrow at him. Sehun glanced at So Eun for help and in turn, the girl tapped her watch. ‘Class,’ she mouthed at him. Sehun quickly pulled Hae Ryung in his arms again and kissed the top of her head. “It’s nothing. I have to get to class now, bye!”  

Baekhyun rolled to his side, sighing to himself as he grabbed his boxers. He’s felt absolutely horrible, something he’s been feeling a lot lately. His body feels weak, his heart is in a continuous ache and his mind just feels like exploding every single time.  

For how long is he really going to keep this fake relationship up? Obviously Hae Ryung didn’t care. She’s actually even happy for him, constantly reminding him to take care of his ‘girl’ and behave now that he has a girlfriend. What is he really going to get out of this? 

Sighing once more, Baekhyun quickly got dressed and sat back down on his bed. His eyes dropped to the very attractive young lady looking up at him from under the covers. Yeon Hwa isn’t as bad as people say she is. She’s fun to be with, she can be sweet if she wants to and she listens to Baekhyun well.  

If he wasn’t in love with his best friend, Yeon Hwa would probably be a candidate for girls he’d consider liking. She can be a little bossy, a little mean and a little spoiled too but aside from that, she’s fine. She just isn’t Hae Ryung. 

“Let’s stop this,” Baekhyun suddenly muttered after just quietly staring at his fake girlfriend. The girl blinked at him, processing the words he just said. Nodding lightly, she sat up and Baekhyun quickly looked away when the blanket started to slide down her body.  

Yeon Hwa chuckled at that, quickly gathering her clothes and putting them on as she replied an almost exasperated sounding, “Finally.” Baekhyun’s head snapped to her direction, an eyebrow cocked up. As she did the last button of her blouse, she gave him an awkward grin. 

“I know I kind of helped you lie to your best friend to make her jealous–” the girl paused because Baekhyun scowled at her but she just raised an intimidating eyebrow, effectively wiping the scowl off Baekhyun’s face.  

“–but I pity the poor girl. I see the way she looks at you. Even if I don’t see her often, I can tell that the girl has a thing for you,” she casually continued as she tied her hair up into a bun. She got her bag and looked at herself in the mirror before turning to Baekhyun again, waiting if he had anything else to say. 

Since she willingly agreed to this in the first place, she didn’t care one bit if he wanted to put a stop to it or not. She’s not very keen on serious relationships anyway but this whole thing she had with Baekhyun was amusing and completely different. 

Baekhyun’s eyebrows furrowed in perplexity, her words not really registering in his mind. Yeon Hwa found it really cute. She’d never admit it but Baekhyun actually made her heart flutter once or twice. He too, wasn’t as bad as others made him out to be. But she knows her place and she’s not about to get herself tangled in whatever Baekhyun and his best friend were going through.  

With a tight smile, Yeon Hwa bowed her head as a sign of goodbye and turned around. But before she could walk to the door and leave, Baekhyun got up and said, “What are you saying?” She paused mid-way, spinning around on her heels with a look of disbelief on her face. “Are you playing dumb or are you just way too dense?” she said, almost sounding pissed.  

Baekhyun just stared at her, eyebrows heavily furrowed. Yeon Hwa stared back for as long as time could permit, mentally memorizing his beautiful features. Her jaw clenched, not wanting to let the words come o