“Kim Gae!” Jisoo held her shot glass up with a smile.

Jackson inwardly cringed. It was an involuntary reaction. He’d never heard the phrase paired up with “Kim” before, and it just caught him slightly off-guard. It sounded… odd. He tried to exchange looks with Jinyoung, but his friend was too busy smiling at his girlfriend. So Jackson shoved the feeling off. He tipped the shot into his mouth, letting the alcohol burn in his throat before laughing. 

It was his birthday, or at least it was going to be in about ten days. But Jackson was scheduled to film in China on the 28th so Jinyoung insisted on a private, early celebration before he took off for work. Jackson thought he meant just the two of them, but he was surprised when Jinyoung brought Jisoo along.

The pair had been officially dating for about a month and a half now. Jackson had been there to see the whole thing unfold, from the beginnings of Jinyoung’s shy crush on his co-MC to the day he finally worked up the courage to ask her out. It took about fifteen casual dates, though, for them to become official, and Jisoo was the one to push it through since clueless Jinyoung kept dragging his feet.

Tonight was her first time hanging out with Wang Gae and Park Gae.

For the most part, the evening had gone really well. The trio met at a trendy gastropub and ordered food and alcohol, Jinyoung had brought a cake and Jackson insisted that they sing “happy birthday” for him. Jisoo matched the rhythm of their conversations very naturally. She told them a lot of stories throughout the evening, and Jackson thought that all of them were hilarious and interesting, and she told them in such a charming, engaging way. 

But as soon as she chimed in, unprompted, during their Wang Gae-Park Gae toast with “Kim Gae!” his feelings muddled. It’s Wang Gae and Park Gae, he thought. It has always been.

It wasn’t that he disliked her. Actually, Jackson quite liked Jisoo a lot. He thought she was funny and bright and enthusiastic and warm-hearted and clever. And even if he didn’t know her, Jackson trusted that any girl Jinyoung found worth dating must be someone wonderful. Jackson liked Jisoo as Jinyoung’s girlfriend.

He supposed he just wasn’t sure if he liked her as “Kim Gae.”

In the seat next to him, Jinyoung smirked at his phone screen.

“What’s so funny, huh?” Jackson asked. The two of them were in the van with their manager at the wheel, en route to a studio for an editorial photo shoot.

“I wouldn’t say it’s funny, really,” Jinyoung said, shrugging as he typed a reply. “More… amusing, I guess.”

“What is?” Jackson asked. 

“Jisoo,” Jinyoung replied.

“Ah,” Jackson said, grinning as he sat back in his. “Damn, I should have guessed. Why, what did she say? Was it that funny?”

Jinyoung shrugged. “Okay, I guess it’s actually not that funny—,”

“You just think everything she says is funny, right?” Jackson shook his head and smirked. “Whipped.”

“I just told her you and I were on our way to a photoshoot,” Jinyoung said. “And the editor wanted just the two of us. And she texted this back.”

He turned his phone screen over to Jackson, who leaned forward to read the Kakao messages. 

Just you and Jackson? the message read. Ah! Wang Gae and Park Gae photo special! It’s too bad I couldn’t join, you guys are missing Kim Gae~

Jackson furrowed his brows at the message. “Kim Gae” again. 

“She calls herself Kim Gae now?” Jackson asked.

“Sometimes. Only when Wang and Park pop up, too.”

“Do you call her Kim Gae?”

“I mean, not on a regular basis. It’s a nickname, it comes up sometimes.”

Jackson swallowed. “Isn’t it weird to give yourself a nickname?” 

“I mean, didn’t you come up with Wang Gae for yourself?” Jinyoung said. Jackson opened his mouth to reply but ended up stuttering.

“Yea, but—well, that was—anyway—that’s not the point,” he laughed, but Jinyoung didn’t see what was funny.

“What is the point?” he asked. Jackson in a breath. He may as well speak, he was never the type who could ruminate silently on his thoughts.

“Before we proceed, let me just make one thing clear,” Jackson said. “I support your relationship with Jisoo one hundred percent. You know I love you both. I would take a bullet for either one of you.”

“I appreciate that, though I hope you never have to,” Jinyoung said. “Okay. You support me dating Jisoo. But?”

Jackson hated himself for feeling like this. “I just… it feels weird to me that Jisoo is just… butting in.”

Jinyoung looked confused. “Butting in, how?”

“I mean, there’s a difference, right?” Jackson said. “Like, you and me, we’re Wang Gae and Park Gae, but you wouldn’t necessarily call yourself and Jisoo Park Gae and Kim Gae, because it’s different, right?”

Jinyoung considered this. “No, I guess not,” he said. “But that’s because those are names that you and I use, Jisoo and I—,”

“Exactly. It’s a thing, right? Wang Gae and Park Gae, it’s a thing.”

Jinyoung was starting to understand.

“Ah,” Jinyoung said, crossing his arms. “You mean it’s our thing, and you’re upset because Jisoo is imposing.”

Jackson panicked. “No! What the hell, that’s not what I mean.”

“You sure?” Jinyoung smirked. “Look, I know you support me dating Jisoo, but you also… your self esteem fluctuates. You like to feel secure in friendships.”

Jackson swallowed. “Well, doesn’t everyone want to feel secure in any relationship?” he asked. 

“Yeah,” Jinyoung said. “But you’re also the type that likes to hear positive affirmation. So here it is: just because I’m dating Jisoo doesn’t mean I’m going to magically forget about you and the guys. We’re still Wang Gae and Park Gae, and that’s not going to change.”

Jackson wasn’t so sure, though. He’d seen it happen to plenty of his friends who found girlfriends and boyfriends. Hell, even he had been guilty of it in the past. 

“Are you so sure about that?” Jackson said. “I mean, it’s changed a little. Jisoo is calling herself Kim Gae now.”

Jinyoung narrowed his eyes. “This is really bothering you, isn’t it?”

“You know I think she’s great, don’t get me wrong,” Jackson said. “I just feel like the ‘gae’ title should be earned on its own merit, not just through association.”

“So what you’re saying is,” Jinyoung said carefully. “That you don’t consider Jisoo your friend just because I’m dating her.”

Jackson felt offended. “What?” he said. “Come on, of course, I consider her a friend.”

Jinyoung pursed his lips. “You just don’t consider her Kim Gae.”

The thing about Jackson was that he was a person who, once his attention has been caught, really fixates on the thing that has caught him. Perhaps that was why he excelled in fencing and it was probably what got him through the rigorous JYP training to eventually debut. But occasionally, he also fixated on things he’d probably be better off not fixating on.

Such as hate comments on SNS. And Instagram provided him