Jung Daehyun was in a great pinch. His 3-days vacation with his family was going to happen in a week, and he was close to going from mildly freaking out to a full-blown hysteria. Why? Because of course his mom just had to call him in the middle of the night to ask him if he'd found himself a boyfriend to introduce to the family like she always does whenever she gave him a call. And of course Daehyun, in his lethargic state after a long day at work, tiredly said 'yes, mom I have a boyfriend now, he's kinda amazing', when in reality he did not have a boyfriend who was amazing. And of-frickin-course his mom insisted he took that non-existent boyfriend to the annual family vacation, before she enthusiastically bid him goodnight and cut the call. The poor guy didn't even realize what he said until he woke up 10 hours later on the couch in his apartment, screaming in abject horror.

The last time Daehyun went on their annual family day, his parents tried to hook him up with any 20 year-old-ish person they came across in an attempt to get him married, which completely ruined his mood. He loved his parents, and he loved going on a family day with them and his other relatives. But he really, really hated it when they try to force him into a relationship out of his will, especially on days where he just wanted to relax and not think of anything. 

He barely had time for romance anymore as the sole owner of his own patisserie in the middle of Seoul that was rapidly growing in popularity. His last attempt at romance burned to the ground because apparently, he spent most of his time in his bakery instead of in the arms of his beloved. That was three years ago. Now, he was getting by as a single 27-year-old man just fine, and he was already giving up on looking for romance. Not when he had his patisserie to fret over. 

--

During times of crisis like this, Daehyun liked to turn to his best-friend, Himchan, for advice (although Himchan had the tendency to pair his consultations with a hefty serving of sarcasm). Daehyun gave the other man a quick rundown of what happened via a phone call while he fixed himself a serving of eggs benedict for brunch.

"You really dug yourself a nice, cosy grave over there," was the reply Daehyun received after a long pause.

Daehyun sighed. He turned off the stove and glared at his phone on the countertop, as if somehow Himchan could see him doing that. He wiped his hands on a small towel and picked up his phone, switching it from loudspeakers to the earpiece, and took a seat on one of the bar stools in his kitchen. "I just don't understand why they're so adamant on finding me a partner like I can’t do it myself. And how many times did I have to tell them I don't have the time for this kind of thing anyway?”

"That’s basically what parents are for, and I wouldn’t blame them because your love life is kind of in a pathetic state. But hey, at least you're swimming in a load of money, right?"

"Wow," Daehyun muttered, completely devoid of emotion, "thanks for the vote of confidence, hyung. One hundred percent comforting."

He heard Himchan snicker on the other side of the phone. "Alright, alright you little brat. Since you're making that stupid whiny voice and your kicked puppy face -- don't try to cut me off I know you're doing it right now --"

"Ugh, you're the worst,"

"Hey, do you want my help or not? Cos if not I'm gonna hang up and you're going to be miserable for the rest of your vacation when your mom hooks you up with some middle-aged lady at a convenience store,"

Daehyun threw a hand up in frustration. "Jesus, okay yes please help me dearly beloved Kim Himchan-hyung, light of my life, fire of my loins-"

"I'm going to stop you right there, Jung Daehyun. Of all the literary quotes out there you decide to use the one said by a disgusting e. I am disappointed in you."

"Okay, I admit that quoting Lolita was a poor decision on my part but we are going horribly off the tangent right now, hyung." the patissier massaged his forehead, sensing a migraine forming soon. He'd probably need a drink after this. Maybe two. Or a whole bottle.

"It's your fault! Anyway, back to the main topic. Yes. Solving your problem. The only solution I can think of right now is for you to get yourself a fake boyfriend, take him with you to your family vacation. Introduce him to your family as your bae whom you're hopelessly in love with. Then, once the vacation is over you say bye-bye and go back to being a single man with a blooming business and no one to spend the rest of your life with. Easy-peasy."

Daehyun ignored the jab and considered the suggestion, which was honestly ridiculous but yet reasonable and doable, and was probably the only thing that could save him from his family's matchmaking game. The only problem was, where the hell does he find someone who was willing to go along with this slightly outrageous-but-necessary plan in a short amount of time?

--

A couple of days passed and Daehyun still hadn't found the answer to that question, mainly because he was busy helping out in the patisserie kitchen since one of his chefs took a few days off.

While he was squeezing the choux pastry out of the pastry bag, Daehyun thought hard about the vacation and where to look for this fake boyfriend. His eyebrows furrowed when he realized he only had two days to find that person, a very short time for such a delicate mission. It got him so anxious that he unconsciously squeezed the bag too hard until it popped, spilling the dough onto his hand and the counter and startling his three other pastry chefs in the kitchen. 

"You okay, boss?" Suwoong asked in concern. 

"Yeah, sorry." Daehyun apologized as he tried to salvage what was left of the dough into another bowl before throwing the bag into the trash. He started to gather the ingredients to make another batch but Suwoong put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"It's alright, we got this. Go ahead and take a break. You look like you need it."

Daehyun looked at Suwoong, then to Ilhoon and Seungkwan, who nodded encouragingly. Daehyun sent them a grateful smile and made his way to the break room next door.

The room was furnished with hanging lamps and sleek wooden cabinets that were propped against one side of the wall where the coffee machine, microwave, toaster, and minibar were placed. In the middle of the room was a dining table fitted with six chairs, one of which was occupied by the part-time cashier, Jongup, who was snacking on a pain au chocolat. 

Daehyun took a seat next to the waiter and rested his forehead on the cool surface of the table, heaving a deep sigh.

"Something's on your mind, boss?" asked Jongup. Daehyun sighed again, before sitting up straight to look into the boy's dark brown eyes.

"Do you want to be my fake boyfriend?" 

Jongup merely raised an eyebrow at him. "No offence, but you're old."

Daehyun scowled and pointed a finger at the boy, "I am offended and because of that, you won't get a full pay this month."

"And I'll report to the Ministry of Employment and Labor for that unwarranted pay cut," Jongup shrugged and continued eating his dessert, completely unbothered by the threat.

Daehyun let out an anguished cry as he ran his hands through his hair repeatedly. He merely asked on a whim and had fully expected Jongup to reject his halfhearted invitation anyway, considering the kid was younger than him by almost a decade. But Daehyun was a desperate man who was running out of time, and his options were highly limited.

“If you know someone who's willing to be my fake partner in Jeju for three days, please introduce me to that person. I'm even willing to pay.” 

The boy tapped a finger on his chin as if considering the offer. "You're willing to pay huh?"

Daehyun nodded vigorously.

"I think I have the perfect person for you."

--

Jongup instructed Daehyun to sit at one of the tables by the windows while he phoned the person he wanted to introduce to the latter. Daehyun didn't know what to expect from Jongup. When he asked the boy who he had in mind, he simply said "he's a good friend of mine who's kinda in need of quick money right now. He's around your age though, so you don't have to worry about looking like a creep going around frolicking with a teenager."

Daehyun half expected him to be bluffing and just grab a homeless man off the streets. Still, Daehyun would accept said homeless man because he was that desperate. Money wouldn't be a problem if Daehyun had to pull an Extreme Makeover to whoever Jongup brought. Himchan could even help with the styling as well, considering that was what he did for a living.

Daehyun was starting to get restless from waiting there, so he decided to make himself busy with scrutinizing the showcase by the counter. The patisserie had just launched a new line of green tea-based desserts, which seemed to be the craze nowadays and was proved to be popular among their patrons. The glass showcase had a small section just for that line, which offered matcha flavoured macaron with chocolate ganache, tiramisu, and chocolate truffles. They kept getting feedback from the patrons to add more matcha-based desserts, so Daehyun thought maybe a green-tea pannacotta would do the trick. Or maybe a green-tea cheese--

A man smoothly slid into the chair opposite of Daehyun, obstructing his view of the showcase and snapped him back to reality.   

"Hello." the man greeted, his pink lips (that strangely reminded Daehyun of... sausage?) stretched into a friendly smile.

"Uh... hi?" Daehyun tilted his head.

"I'm Youngjae." He held out a hand, which Daehyun took warily.

"And I'm confused."

The man's eyes crinkled as he laughed. "Jonguppie said you need a favour?"

"Oh!" Daehyun exclaimed in renewed interest, finally giving the other man an appreciative once-over. His outfit was casual and neat, a complete upgrade from the dirty hobo-look that Daehyun had in mind, and boy, wasn't that a relief? He didn't have to ask for Himchan's help after all. And now that Daehyun knew who Youngjae was, he remembered seeing the other man dropping by the bakery several times to see Jongup, but Daehyun never paid him any mind.

"Yes, he's right."

"Okay, what is this favour you speak of and why is it so important that you're willing to give your money to a stranger?" The man, Youngjae, questioned as he propped his chin with his palm.  

Daehyun cleared his throat. "This... might seem like an odd request and it's totally fine if you refuse to do it but I'm kind of in a pinch right now-"

"Try me." Youngjae cut him off with a smirk. Daehyun took a few moment to collect his thoughts and took a deep breath.

"I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend in front of my family for three days in Jeju. All of your expenses will be covered by me, including flight tickets and lodging. I'll pay you six hundred dollars. All you have to bring is just yourself and some clothes. That's it." Daehyun unconsciously balled his fists as he waited for Youngjae's response. The latter hummed and pursed his lips as he mulled the request.

"That's quite a lot of money for a three-day thing."

"I'm a desperate man, Youngjae-sshi."

"Sorry, it just seems too good to be true," Youngjae said as he leaned back in his chair and exhaled. "Six hundred..." he repeated in disbelief. 

"If you don't believe me, I can give you three hundred in advance. Jongup mentioned you need some cash?"  

"No, no. I believe you. But I think six hundred is far too much for something so trivial like a pretend relationship. You're already covering for two people, I'd imagine giving away that much would put a strain in your pockets." 

Daehyun shrugged. "Like I said, I'm a desperate man."

"I can tell." Youngjae grinned in amusement. He then drummed his fingers on the table, seemingly lost in thought. "Okay."

"Okay...?" Daehyun repeated, his voice hopeful.

"Yep. I'll take the offer. The pay is lucrative for a simple task and besides," Youngjae leaned forward, his eyes glinting playfully, "who wouldn't want to go on a free trip to Jeju with a handsome man like you?"

Daehyun's brain short-circuited and he sputtered, face heating up in embarrassment while Youngjae threw his head back as he laughed, obviously finding Daehyun's reaction hilarious. It wasn't as if Daehyun had never been complimented before. People often said he was handsome (to which Himchan countered with "ehhh you have a face, I'll give you that,") but Daehyun had always been terrible at taking compliments. He'd much prefer people say good things about his bakery rather than his face.

He managed to stammer a 'thanks', and he was so sure his face was as red as a ripe tomato.

"So when is this trip anyway?" Youngjae managed to calm himself down enough to ask, although his voice still had a hint of laughter in it.

Daehyun, who still had yet to fully recover, pressed his cold palms on his cheeks in an attempt to cool it down. "It's in two days."

"Hmm... there really not much time left. How about we meet up tomorrow?"

"What for?"

"Well, I have to get to know you better so I'll know what to say and how to act around you in front of your family. Gotta be a convincing fake boyfriend, after all."

Youngjae had a point, so Daehyun agreed to meet him the next day to hang out. Once they have set up the time and place to rendezvous, Youngjae got up and went to the counter to give a quick noogie to Jongup, who had just returned from his break, and then left as soon as he came. The cashier rubbed his head in annoyance and walked to where Daehyun was sitting. 

"Judging from how flustered you look, I take it Youngjae-hyung agreed to be your fake boyfriend?"

Daehyun slumped in his seat and nodded. "Is he always like..." he made vague gestures with his hand, "that?" 

Jongup seemed to understand what he was trying to say and patted his shoulders. "You'll be spending at least a week with him so you should get used to it soon, or else I think you're going to die of a heart attack every time he drops you a compliment. Good luck."

Daehyun slumped further into the wooden chair as he whined. At least he had already found the answer to his problem. Now all that was left for him to do was to get to know Youngjae better and act as a loving couple in the presence of Daehyun's nosy family.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Author's note: I'm sorry this took forever but this opening chapter is really really fighting against me. I've already planned out the ending but goodness gracious the earlier chapters are a b i t c h to write. I hope the plot isn't too stupid lol and I'm sorry if the first chapter is boring. Do tell me what you guys think so far <3