“YesCupid?  Is Choi Youngjae on a dating site?”

Youngjae slammed his laptop shut, not realizing Jinyoung was right behind him. “Dating site?  No.”

“So you weren’t just browsing for local gay singles in your area?”  Jinyoung raised an eyebrow and Youngjae cursed himself for not realizing he was standing there earlier.

“It’s not what you think.”  Youngjae sighed, realizing he couldn’t get out of this one without an explanation.

Jinyoung walked around the sofa and plopped himself down next to him.  “Oh really?  I was actually excited, my little Youngjae finally getting a boyfriend!”  Jinyoung ripped open the wrapper of a granola bar in his hand and started munching away.

“What are you even doing here?  You don’t actually live here, in case you forgot,” Jinyoung had been a constant presence in his life for almost a year now.  He was his roommate’s boyfriend but recently he had spent so much time in their apartment he practically lived there.  “Wait, is that my granola bar?”

“I’m waiting for Mark to get home, and I just found it this on the top shelf, I didn’t think anyone would mind…”

“So, you act like you live here and you steal our food?”

“Stop trying to change the subject,” Jinyoung shoved the rest of the granola bar in his mouth and tossed the wrapper over his shoulder.  “Why were you on a dating site?”

“Basically, I told my parents that I’d found a boyfriend and we’ve been dating for two months and they were so happy they told me to bring him over next weekend to meet the family…” Youngjae tipped his laptop back open, now that Jinyoung was in on his secret.

“So, you’re trying to find a boyfriend in less than a week?” 

“No, that seems impossible; I was just… looking for someone who’d agree to be my pretend boyfriend for a day?  Maybe?”

“So you’re on a dating site… looking for a fake boyfriend.”  Jinyoung deadpanned.

“Yes… I mean… no?  Wait.”  Youngjae hated the way Jinyoung talked to him that made him question his own intentions.  “When you say it like that it sounds like a ridiculous plan.”

“Youngjae, if you really just need a fake boyfriend you could just ask me, I’d be happy to lend you a hand.  I’m pretty sure Mark would help you out too.” 

Now Youngjae felt stupid.  Why was his first instinct to go to a dating site anyways?

“Unless… this was your first plan of action because you really do want to find a boyfriend.”  Jinyoung was giving him that knowing smile he gave him when he knew he was right.

Youngjae’s motives had been completely innocent, but now that he was thinking about it Jinyoung may have been right.  He didn’t want to admit it himself, but maybe he was really hoping to find an actual boyfriend. 

“I’m right, aren’t I?” Jinyoung nudged him with his elbow repeatedly, smiling ear the ear.

“I don’t know… I mean… maybe?”

“Oh my gosh!  Say no more!”  Jinyoung pulled the laptop out of his hands.  “I’ll help you find a cute guy worthy of my cutest son!”

Youngjae groaned, this is exactly what he hoped wouldn’t happen.  “I really don’t need your help—“

“So, what’s your type?” Jinyoung asked with pure excitement on his face.

“I don’t really have a type.”  Youngjae answered honestly.

“Okay, what about… this guy!”  Jinyoung pulled up a profile and shoved the laptop in his face.

“No.”

“This guy?”

“No.”

“This guy?”

“No.”

“This guy?”

“…. No.”

“Hey!  You hesitated!”  Jinyoung set the laptop back on his lap clicked open the guy’s full profile. “Ohh, so this is your type Youngjae.  I wouldn’t have expected you to be drawn to muscular guys.”

Youngjae never thought of himself really having a type, but staring at the picture of a guy in a tank top he realized he was a complete er for guys like this. 

“He’s really trying hard in this photograph, look at how obviously he’s flexing!”  Jinyoung laughed as he scrolled through his profile.  “His name is Jackson?  Is he a foreigner…?”

“I said no, not him.”  Youngjae persisted.

“No?  You find him attractive, though, right?”

“He’s my type but you know; he’s not my type.”

“What, you think he’s too hot for you?”

It would be a stretch for Youngjae to even describe his looks as average in his own opinion. Not only was the guy attractive, but he looked like he walked straight out of a men’s health magazine.  “Pretty much.”

“Choi Youngjae! I didn’t raise you to have such low confidence.”

“For the fiftieth time, you’re not my mom.”

Jinyoung picked up the laptop and started walking away. 

“Hey, what are you doing?”  Youngjae eyed him with distrust.

“Oh, nothing.”  Jinyoung set the laptop down on the kitchen counter and started typing away.

“Nothing?  You’re typing something.”  Youngjae got up and walked towards him.

“I’m just… sending this guy a message.” 

“WHAT?”  Youngjae went to fight but Jinyoung held him back with one hand.

“Go big or go home!”  Jinyoung said as Youngjae glanced at the computer screen.

Ars333: hey there. ;)

“Why on Earth would you send a winky face?  What if he thinks I have the wrong intentions?!”  Youngjae whined.  “This is so embarrassing, now I have to create a new profile and everything…”

“Calm down, look, it says he’s typing back.”  Jinyoung stared in excitement and Youngjae stared in horror.

Wang852:  haha, hey to you too.

“Look, he’s a nice guy.  Perfectly approachable,” Jinyoung said but Youngjae still felt his stomach doing somersaults.   “What should I say…?  Wait, he’s typing again.”

Wang852: I like your profile picture

“Your profile picture?”  Jinyoung clicked on Youngjae’s profile and opened it in a new tab and was immediately disappointed. “Really Youngjae, you’re using a picture of your dog as your profile picture?”

“I didn’t think anyone would reply to me if I used an actual picture of myself.”  Youngjae answered honestly.

“Youngjae… no.”  Jinyoung sighed.  “Where are all those selfies you take daily?”

“I usually stare at them until I decide their all ugly then delete them all.”

“How are you going to find a guy with a dog as your profile picture?”

“Well, this guy seems to like the dog…” 

Wang852: you there?

Jinyoung handed Youngjae the laptop.  “You better think of something to say while you’ve got the hot guy who likes dogs online.”

Youngjae thought for a moment.  He didn’t even know why he was doing this.

Ars333: yes, thanks.  that’s my dog. :)

Wang852:  I thought so!  What’s their name?

Ars333: Her name is Coco, she’s a maltese.

“I can’t believe you’re having a conversation about dogs right now.”  Jinyoung said as he stared at the chat window is disbelief.

Wang852: she’s sooo cute!  I wonder if the owner is just as cute? ;)

“Wait, was that a winky face?  What are his intentions?”  Youngjae turned to Jinyoung for advice.

“Wow!  He’s actually trying to flirt with you, this is unexpected.  I wonder if he’s desperate or he’s just really into dogs.”

“What do I say?!”

“Well, now you have to send him a picture of yourself,” Jinyoung said as he picked up Youngjae’s phone.  “Let me take a picture.”

“What?  No. That’s going to end any chance I have with him.”

“What are you talking about?  You’re cute, once he sees a picture I’m sure he’ll be all over you.”  Jinyoung held up his phone but Youngjae snatched it out of his hands.

“Ugh,” Youngjae flipped his phone and the front camera.  “If I’m going to send a picture it’s going to be a selfie, I look best from those angles.”

“Suit yourself.”  Jinyoung watched Youngjae slide into his usual selfie pose.  “Why are you shaking your hand like that?”

“The picture is better if it’s a little blurry, right?” 

Jinyoung decided not to question it.

“Okay, I took like 20, now to see if they’re- oh how unfortunate.  All ugly!  Well, I guess I can’t-“Jinyoung pulled the phone out of his hands.

“These are literally all adorable, I’m sending one.”  Jinyoung announced uploading the picture to the website before Youngjae could even complain.

Ars333: [image]

Ars333: this is me! ;)

“No! No… this is it.  The conversation is over.”  Youngjae sank down onto the couch.  “You had to send the winky face again.”

A few moments passed by before the little typing symbol popped up again.  Youngjae was scared to even check the new message, probably some sort of rejection.  At least he was kind enough to turn him down instead of just leaving him hanging.

Wang852:  wow, you think I would’ve noticed someone this cute in the area before. ;)  are you free tomorrow?

Youngjae was stunned silent, staring at his computer screen incredulously.

“Well would you look at that,” Jinyoung came and wrapped his arm around him while giving him a huge smile.

“You just scored yourself a date.”