Daehyun could remember every detail of the day that their fake little relationship started.

                He had just left a party with a can of beer in one hand and his phone in the other, casually strolling down the street as the sun slowly began to set behind him. Daehyun was just about to make a phone call when he felt a new presence behind him, and with a curious look, he turned around, only to come face to face with the eccentric Yoo Youngjae.

                The younger male was wearing a black turtleneck with cuffed slacks and shiny, chestnut brogues. His hair was just about as orange as the baby carrots Daehyun had for breakfast that morning. Youngjae had his hand out and to Daehyun’s surprise, a diamond-encrusted gold watch sat comfortably around his wrist.

                …It was a pretty well-known fact around campus that Yoo Youngjae was just about the richest guy in town.

                Also Daehyun had never spoken a word to him, ever. “Uh,” Daehyun hesitated, rather dumbly, because he couldn’t really fathom the fact that Yoo Youngjae was actually looking at him, actually standing right in front of him, actually acknowledging his existence.

                “Hi there,” Youngjae said, seemingly unfazed by Daehyun’s lack of greeting as he took it upon himself to grab Daehyun’s hand and shake it for him. The diamonds on his gold watch glittered with the rays of the setting sun. Daehyun couldn’t seem to take his eyes off it. “I’m Yoo Youngjae.”

                “Yeah,” was all Daehyun could say, still not quite sure that this was real. He glanced down at his can of beer and wondered if he had too much to drink. “Uh. Daehyun. Me. Jung.”

                Youngjae nodded, a slightly amused look on his face. “I know,” he said, allowing their hands to drop as he stepped back and gave Daehyun a blatant, albeit appreciative, once-over. Daehyun could feel his ears heating up under the younger student’s scrutiny, his head screaming, what is going on? What is going on!! “I need to ask you something,” Youngjae continued, adjusting his glasses ever so slightly as he offered Daehyun a pleasant smile.

                “Me?” Daehyun blurted in disbelief, to which Youngjae only nodded. “Oh god, was it your car I backed into, because if it was, I’m—”

                Youngjae held a hand up, his gold watch flashing a ray of light directly into Daehyun’s eyes and successfully shutting him up. “No, I’m not here about a car. Though you should probably figure out whose car you backed into before a lawsuit ends up in your hands.” He cleared his throat, placing his hands in his pockets as he continued, “I actually want you to do something for me.”

                Daehyun frowned in confusion. “What is it?” Daehyun asked carefully, a little afraid to hear the answer. The two of them had literally never been within each other’s vicinity until then, what could Youngjae possibly want from him? Daehyun didn’t have money, if that’s what it was. Daehyun was about as broke as your average college student. Plus Youngjae had all the money in the world! What would he need Daehyun’s money for?

                 “I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend.”

                That was not what Daehyun expected to hear. He blinked. “What?”

                Youngjae cleared his throat, cheeks glowing a light pink as his eyes avoided Daehyun’s. “I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend,” he repeated again, clearer this time, and Daehyun could feel his own face turning pink to match the former’s. “I know what you’re thinking!” Youngjae quickly continued just as Daehyun opened his mouth to speak. “We don’t even know each other! And that…I should probably get a real boyfriend or something, but I’m just…I’m not really ready for any relationships right now and I need a boyfriend by this weekend or I’m actually dead.”

                Daehyun raised an eyebrow in suspicion. “Yeah, uh, why would you ask me to be your boyfriend?” he asked, unconvinced. “I didn’t even know you knew I existed.”

                Youngjae seemed confused by that. “Of course I knew you existed. You’re at every huge party. I’m actually surprised you left this one early.”

                Daehyun looked over his shoulder and glanced at the house he had just left, loud music still pouring through the walls as dropouts loitered out on the lawn. “I have to refill my parking meter,” he stated before turning back to look at Youngjae. “But again, why me? Of all people? Don’t you have your own friends to ask?”

                Youngjae huffed, obviously getting frustrated with this conversation. “Don’t you think I already asked them all? And uh…” He crossed his arms, staring directly into Daehyun’s eyes. “You’re pretty attractive. If I’m going to have a fake boyfriend, he has to at least look as good as me.”

                Daehyun was definitely red by now. “Oh,” he said, dumbly. “Oh. Uh…but why?”

                Youngjae sighed as if he had expected their talk to be over by now. Or maybe he was sick of Daehyun’s questionings. “There’s this guy that keeps asking me out and refuses to believe that I have a boyfriend until he seems one himself. Which is annoying, by the way.” Youngjae rolled his eyes. “So I told him to meet me this weekend, and if I don’t show up with a boyfriend as promised, the bastard will never leave me alone.”

                Daehyun merely blinked again.

                Youngjae stared at him for a moment before slowly unclasping his watch. “If you need some more convincing, you can have this.” Then as easily as he had said it, Youngjae dropped his Rolex onto Daehyun’s can of beer.

                Daehyun’s eyes widened as he fumbled to catch the watch before it slipped and fell onto the pavement below them. His jaw dropped as he held the watch that most likely cost more than what was currently in his bank account. In all honesty, Daehyun didn’t actually need “more” convincing. He was getting ready to agree to the plan and was just a little dumbfounded at the fact that Youngjae found him of all people attractive enough to be his fake boyfriend. It felt like he was dreaming.

                The watch was just the icing on the cake. “Deal,” Daehyun quickly agreed, eagerly wrapping the watch around his own wrist. “What do you want me to do?”

                Youngjae smirked, clearly pleased with Daehyun’s new enthusiasm. “All you have to do is hold my hand and look good while you do it this weekend at the spring festival.” His eyes sparkled mischievously. “As soon as that idiot sees us together, he’ll leave me alone for sure.” Then, after a moment of consideration, Youngjae tilted his head and asked, “Does that sound alright? I don’t actually want to force you to do anything you don’t want to.” He bit his lip, suddenly insecure.

                Daehyun merely grinned, admiring the small diamonds that encircled the clock on his watch. “Anything for you, baby.”

                Youngjae’s eyebrows rose in surprise before he let out a laugh of relief. “Thanks, uh. Daehyun. Me. Jung,” he mocked lightly as he turned to walk away. “I’ll see you this weekend, then. Make sure to dress up.” His eyes were bright and friendly, and Daehyun found the image quite comforting despite the strange request and situation. “Oh, and don’t worry,” Youngjae said over his shoulder. “After this weekend, we can ‘break up.’” He then let out another laugh, one which Daehyun returned before the two parted ways until the weekend.

                …Except they hadn’t “broken up” after that fake date.

                In fact, Daehyun had found himself in a similar situation as the younger student. He had stupidly told his parents that he was already in a relationship when he found out that they had set him up with one of their coworker’s children. Daehyun, as he did whenever he was horrified, said the first thing that came to his mind, and of course when his parents had asked who the lucky gal or guy was, Daehyun had slipped Youngjae’s name.

                So he hunted down the most expensive looking car in the parking lot of the most expensive dorms on campus and found Youngjae leaning against the hood, sunglasses on as he texted away on his phone.

                “Youngjae!” Daehyun had called out, relieved to have found the younger student when he did. “Youngjae, I need a favor!”

                And of course Youngjae agreed, because he was actually a nice guy, and Daehyun’s parents up Youngjae’s model-boyfriend act the entire night.

                Then it kind of became a thing. Their fake boyfriend thing became a to-go type of thing. Every time they needed a fake boyfriend, all they needed to do was call.

                Every time Daehyun found a new couple’s deal at one of his favorite restaurants, he’d call Youngjae.

                Every time Youngjae didn’t know how to reject a guy or girl who had been crushing on him for months, he’d call Daehyun.

                Every time Daehyun’s parents asked for an update on his relationship, he’d send them a picture of Youngjae.

                Every time someone asked Youngjae where he’d been all weekend, he’d say he was with Daehyun.

                Every time Daehyun, every time Youngjae, Daehyun, Youngjae…Soon enough, nearly everyone on campus knew that the two were happily in love.

                …Except they weren’t.

-

                A year after they graduated, Daehyun began to realize something. He had been in a “relationship” with Youngjae for nearly five years now. He only knew this because he received a plethora of messages congratulating him and Youngjae on their latest anniversary, and when Youngjae had noticed, the latter merely shrugged and continued to drink his tea, posting a cheesy picture of the two of them together as celebration and counting the likes and comments as they rolled in.

                It was in that moment that Daehyun realized how unnecessary this really was now. Now that they were out of college, there was no one left to impress, no one left to avoid. Most people had already moved on to their own lives, their own careers, their own relationships. Neither of their parents particularly cared about the status of their relationship anymore, so used to the concept that nothing they did seemed to interest them like it did before. Their friends, too, seemed rather apathetic. They had been “together” for so long…so long…Perhaps it was time to end it.

                What was there to lose anyways? Daehyun did not love Youngjae, nor did Youngjae love Daehyun. They were friends now (you can’t not be friends after that long), but nothing more (except fake lovers, of course).

                When he thought about it, Daehyun had spent five years of his life – his love life – single. He wasn’t actually dating Youngjae. In fact, he wasn’t actually dating anyone! The thought alone blew his mind. All those years of automatically rejecting potential lovers under the notion that he had a loving “boyfriend”…all those years wasted.

                He was sure of it now. Daehyun wanted to one day get married to someone he loved, someone he would raise children with, someone he would grow old with. Such things just wouldn’t be possible if he continued this game with Youngjae. He was sure Youngjae would be fine with it, too. Surely the younger had thought of such wasted opportunities as well. It only seemed logical that they end things as soon as possible.

                It was time to stop pretending. Daehyun wanted to know what it was like to truly be committed to someone.

                He wanted to fall in love.

-

                Youngjae looked exactly the same as he did the day they first started fake dating. Same sense of fashion, another fancy, expensive watch. The only real change to Youngjae’s style was his hair, which instead of orange, had a slightly brown hue.

                “So,” Daehyun began, a nervous smile on his face. “What do you think?”

                Youngjae shifted in his seat, confusion crossing his features as he contemplated Daehyun’s words. “Why so suddenly?” he asked instead of answering, clearly in need of a better explanation.

                “I just think it’s time for us to go our separate ways,” Daehyun explained with a casual shrug of his shoulders. He swirled the coffee in his cup and took a small sip. “I want to see new people. It’s a bit hard to do that when everyone thinks I’ve been committed to a man for five years now.”

                Youngjae pursed his lips at that, but he seemed to somewhat understand. “So you want me to break up with you?” Youngjae asked in confirmation, an eyebrow raised in suspicion. He doesn’t sound opposed to the idea, but he doesn’t sound 100% convinced of Daehyun’s motives, either.

                “Yeah,” Daehyun answered without hesitation, and Youngjae blinked in surprise. “And make it dramatic.”

                Youngjae stared at him for a moment, as if inspecting him for any signs of doubt. “I mean…I’m not against it.”

                “So it’s cool?” Daehyun reaffirmed, heart picking up ever so slightly.

                “Do I have to break up with you, though?” Youngjae asked, his expression uncomfortable. “Couldn’t you just…go out with someone else…for real?”

                Daehyun shook his head. “Not without looking like a heartless cheater. Everyone thinks we’ve been together for five years, Youngjae. There’s no other way to end a relationship except with a break up,” he explained as if their situation was as simple as that. “We have to stage our break up. Yongguk’s throwing a party this weekend, and nearly everyone who cares will be there. It’ll be the perfect time to do it. Once it’s through, we’ll both be free to date whoever we please.”

                Youngjae’s eyes narrowed. “But does it really have to be me who has to break up with you?”

                “Why not?” Daehyun replied, confused as to why that was what Youngjae was most concerned about.

                “That’s so much pressure!” Youngjae whined. “I wouldn’t even know what to say!”

                “Call me a gold digger or something,” Daehyun answered, exasperated. “It’s not that hard! Just make sure you break up with me! Dramatically!”

                “Fine!” Youngjae finally agreed, and Daehyun felt his shoulders relax. “I’ll break up with you!”

                “Perfect!” Daehyun cheers with the same inflection Youngjae had, crushing his now empty coffee cup. “Looking forward to breaking up with you, sweetie.” He winked playfully before getting up, tossing his cup into the nearest disposal bin and taking his leave, not even sparing Youngjae a single glance. His heart seemed to rush with anticipation.

                Soon, he wouldn’t have to pretend anymore.

-

                Youngjae was eyeing him quite carefully from across the room, a glass of champagne sparkling between his fingers. Daehyun nodded discreetly back, letting the younger know to start their little scene whenever he pleased. They were at Yongguk’s party as planned, and the two had been avoiding each other like the plague. Everyone seemed to notice. Many of his friends approached him and asked if something had happened, if he and Youngjae had a fight, and Daehyun made sure to keep his answers as ambiguous as possible. He saw that Youngjae was experiencing the same attention. Everything was going exactly as planned. People could already see the “tension” between them, now they just had to seal the deal.

                “Daehyun!” Daehyun heard Youngjae’s voice, high-pitched and semi-devastated, loud enough that everyone in the room stopped what they were doing to look over in curiosity.

                Daehyun swallowed down his nerves and turned around, maintaining a neutral look. “…Youngjae,” he greeted back, making sure to sound strained. He could hear small, worried whispers from the crowd that was slowly beginning to form.

                “Why have you been avoiding me all night?” Youngjae accused directly, and if they didn’t have the attention of the crowd before, they definitely did now. Everyone wanted to see what was wrong with their favorite couple.

                “Was I avoiding you?” Daehyun feigned innocence. “I was just trying to catch up with my old friends.”

                “They’re my friends, too. We could be meeting them together, you know,” Youngjae retorted, eyes narrowed in an accusatory manner. “Did you just forget that you had a boyfriend or something? You haven’t said a single word to me this entire night!”

                “We’re talking now, aren’t we?” Daehyun barked back, and their audience’s heads flick back and forth between them as if watching a tennis match rather than an argument. “Sorry, Youngjae, but we don’t need to be around each other every single second of the day.”

                “Except I haven’t seen you in two weeks,” Youngjae countered. “You’ve ignored all my calls and barely answer any of my texts! What the hell have you been doing?”

                “What the hell have I been doing? What the hell have you been doing?” Daehyun snapped, only because he didn’t really know how to answer that question. “Don’t act like you haven’t been acting weird lately, either. The last time I called you, it wasn’t even you who picked up the phone!” Youngjae seemed just as startled as everyone else in the room. “Care to explain who the hell Minhyuk is?” the words come out of his , and for a moment, Youngjae looks confused. They weren’t supposed to look like cheaters. Daehyun has half the mind to take that accusation back.

                The younger quickly regained himself, pulling his gaze to the side. “I…I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he stuttered, as if nervous. It appeared as though Youngjae won’t mind taking on the image of a cheater. Daehyun silently thanked all the gods in the universe for Youngjae’s easygoing nature.

                “Minhyuk,” Daehyun repeated, enunciating each syllable as clearly as possible. “I’ve seen the texts, too.”

                Youngjae bit his lips, glancing around the crowd, at anywhere but Daehyun.

                After a few more moments of silence, Daehyun opened his mouth to speak, to try to egg the conversation on, only to be interrupted when Youngjae suddenly cried out, “I can’t do this anymore!” Daehyun jumped a little, and he couldn’t help but feel impressed with the younger’s acting when he saw Youngjae’s eyes slowly start to water. “I can’t hide it from you anymore!”

                Daehyun glanced around the room, taking in everyone’s reactions. They all looked as if they were holding their breaths. He stared at Youngjae with a hardened look. “Hide what from me?” He already knew where this was going to go, and he was sure everyone else did, too. Only, unlike Daehyun, they didn’t know it was all bull.

                Youngjae seemed to hesitate for a moment, just then noticing how many people were actually watching them. He straightened up a little bit, eyes down on the floor as his fists clenched by his sides. Silence overtook the room as everyone waited for Youngjae’s next move. He mumbled something beneath his breath that no one caught, and Daehyun frowned.

                “What did you say?” Daehyun prodded, attempting to make eye contact with the younger male.

                Youngjae finally looked up again, and when his eyes meet Daehyun’s, there are tears falling down his cheeks. “I cheated on you.”

                Daehyun’s eyes widen as a collective gasp resonates throughout the room. People began to furiously whisper amongst themselves, and Daehyun again felt impressed. “I knew it,” he said, sounding neither unsurprised nor heartbroken. “I ing knew it.”

                Youngjae sobbed openly now, the sounds of his sniffles bouncing across the room as their audience glared at him with disgust. “I couldn’t help myself! You…you w-were never there anym-more, and it felt like you didn’t l-love me! So I got…lonely and…” he trailed off, biting his lips to stifle his tears.

                Daehyun looked up at the crowd, randomly meeting eyes with Yongguk, the party’s host, whose jaw reached the floor. He would have found the sight comical if he wasn’t supposed to be acting angry right now.

                His gaze fell back onto Youngjae. “I should have expected this,” he uttered a bit absentmindedly. Deciding that this needed to end soon and realizing that Youngjae, in this light, had no right to break up with him, Daehyun decided to follow through, “It’s over between us.”

                Another round of gasps reverberate across the room. Daehyun even thought he heard a cry somewhere in the background. Youngjae simply stared at him, eyes wide with feigned shock. Daehyun resistsed the urge to laugh, because for some reason, he found this entire situation funny. “N-no,” Youngjae stammered, trying to sound horrified as he dropped his drink, the glass shattering on the ground quite dramatically. “No!” he cried out, reaching for Daehyun’s arm as he fell to his knees. “Don’t leave me!”

                Daehyun bit back that stupid urge to laugh, forcing his eyes away from Youngjae’s. “We can’t do this anymore,” he breathed, shaking his head. “I never loved you.”

                Youngjae paused for a moment, and Daehyun glanced back at him in momentary confusion. Youngjae’s eyes seemed to waver before he burst into another round of melodramatic tears. “I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry—” he choked out, collapsing onto the floor with cries that actually sounded painful. Daehyun was too stunned to say anymore. Yongguk finally took this moment to interfere, quickly helping the younger male up from his spot on the ground.

                Yongguk glanced at Daehyun with a look of sorrow before growling at the crowd. “What are you all looking at?” he barked, and his guests flinch. “Show’s over! Leave them alone!” With a collective murmur surely filled with gossip, the crowd began to disperse, leaving the fractured “couple” alone with Yongguk.

                Daehyun glanced down at Youngjae, vaguely concerned, only to let out a soft sigh of relief when he saw that Youngjae, too, was holding back the urge to laugh. Thank you, he thought to himself as he looks down at the younger male. He’s brought out of his thoughts when Yongguk puts a hand on his shoulder. Daehyun looked up in question.

                “Go,” Yongguk gently urged. “I’ll take care of him. You should probably find somewhere to cool off.”

                Daehyun stared back, dumbly. “What?”

                “I mean, after news like that, I’d be pretty pissed. Devastated.”

                “Oh,” Daehyun mumbled. “Yes. Right. Uh…” He panicked a bit when he sees a look of suspicion come over Yongguk’s face, the older clearly not convinced of his suddenly mellow reaction. “ you, Youngjae,” he blurted, because what else was he supposed to say, sticking a middle finger up before running for the door. He hears Youngjae let out what almost sounded like a laugh, only to mask it up with more choked sobs.

                Daehyun felt a smile spread over his face as soon as he stepped out of the room. He couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for the younger male, since he knew it’d be a while before everyone forgave him for “cheating” on Daehyun. But they’d all get over it eventually. Daehyun was already “over it.” His heart raced with excitement.

                He was single. He was free.

-

                He was single. He was free. And he was clueless.

                Daehyun had no idea where to start. It had already been 5 years, maybe more, since he had last been on a real date. In his fake relationship with Youngjae, there had never been any reason for them to go on real dates. Daehyun wasn’t really sure what qualified for a date, or where to even start to look for one. He felt really out of it.

                He admits that it feels a little weird to not have Youngjae as his “boyfriend” anymore. Sometimes the younger male would cross his mind, and he would vaguely wonder what Youngjae might be doing nowadays. It has been exactly a week since their “break up,” and as Daehyun predicted, everyone already forgave Youngjae. Youngjae was just a likeable person in general, so it was hard to stay mad at him.

                Daehyun remembered how stupid he felt when he logged onto Facebook. He saw that his relationship status still said “In a relationship,” and for some reason he hesitated to change it. Did people really look at that stuff anymore? Who even cared? He hadn’t even touched his bio or his relationship status in what felt like centuries. It felt weird to go back and edit it after so long. Out of curiosity, Daehyun clicked on Youngjae’s profile to see if the younger had changed it.

                And he did. Under Youngjae’s little relationship status read the word “Single.”

                Daehyun scrolled through the younger’s wall, finding the post notifying all his friends of his new status. There were multiple comments expressing sorrow for Youngjae, none of which were replied to by the male himself.

                Daehyun pursed his lips, clicking back onto his own profile and editing his status. There was no reason to hesitate if Youngjae already did it.

                With a resounding click, Jung Daehyun was officially Single.

-

                Daehyun figured that the best way to slide into the dating game would be to jump right in. Head first. No helmet.

                So he chose his coworker, the dude who sat in the cubicle opposite of him.

                Daehyun only knew a couple things about him:

                Jongup is comparatively less flashy than Youngjae. Youngjae wore bright colors, his wardrobe filled with crazy styles that only mo