Despite the initial awkwardness of the situation, Jiyong found it surprisingly easy to fake a relationship. They really only had to act close around Hyosonn to begin with, and even then they didn’t overdo anything. She seemed content with everything, so they were safe. After all of it, they ended up becoming study partners, the three of them working on projects together and trying to figure out just how to get through their classes.

Staring at his homework, Jiyong huffed in irritation, head resting in the bow of Hyosonn’s back as he lay down on the floor, Hyosonn next to him on her stomach.

“I don’t get it,” he groaned loudly as he tossed his paper, and Seunghyun rolled his eyes at him, forehead falling to rest on the floor.

“I… I don’t understand it either,” Seunghyun admitted softly, reaching up to mess with his hair. Hyosonn rubbed her temples, sighing as she stood up. Jiyong’s head hit the floor and he just whimpered pathetically, eyes closed.

“I’ll be right back,” she muttered, walking off toward the bathroom. Jiyong and Seunghyun heard her close the door and Jiyong rolled over onto his stomach, looking to the other man with a sigh.

“This ,” he mumbled, and Seunghyun nodded in easy agreement, barely even lifting his head from the floor.

“It’s sad when faking a full relationship is easier than your math homework,” he replied, laughing as Jiyong reached over and punched him in the shoulder.

“She’s in the bathroom, Seunghyun. Shut up, she could hear you,” he hissed, and Seunghyun just kept on laughing, finally looking up as he rested his head in his hand. He nodded.

“Jiyong, relax. It’s not like this is going to last for very much longer. You really want to cement her belief in this whole thing?” he asked. Jiyong nodded in response, brow arched in a questioning way. Seunghyun turned, waiting until he heard the door to the bathroom open before he rested his hand on Jiyong’s cheek. Before Jiyong knew what was going on, Seunghyun leaned in close, lips nearly touching as Hyosonn walked in. When she squeaked he pulled back suddenly, leaving Jiyong to remain motionless as he sat there trying to figure out what was going on.

“I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed, hand over in shock. Her face had gone slightly red and she blinked a few times, swallowing deeply as she looked away. Seunghyun pushed himself up from the floor, moving quickly over to her as he rested his hand on her shoulder softly.

“No, don’t worry about it,” he said softly, looking back to Jiyong, who was still just lying on the ground. He managed to turn and look up at Seunghyun, though, and he furrowed his brows as he nodded. Hyosonn looked down, pouting slightly.

“Maybe we should just take a break from studying for the night,” she replied, looking up at Seunghyun. He nodded. “I feel like I’m interrupting.”

“You never interrupt, Hyosonn,” Jiyong said suddenly, rolling onto his side so he was facing the other two. She smiled but shook her head anyway, slipping her bag over her shoulder as Seunghyun opened the door for her.

“I should get back anyway. It’s getting late, so I’ll just see you tomorrow, okay?” she replied with a happy grin, waving as she walked out into the hallway and closed the door behind her.

There was silence for a moment as Seunghyun listened for Hyosonn’s footsteps to fade, then Jiyong pushed himself up off the floor, brows knit together in irritation.

“What the hell was that all about?” he hissed angrily, walking up so he was closer to the other man. He crossed his arms over his chest, eyes narrowed. Seunghyun just quirked his brow, smirking easily as he walked passed Jiyong into their small kitchen.

“Jiyong, how often do you see a couple that never kisses?” he asked, and Jiyong his heel, lips turned down into a frown.

“Never,” he replied, and Seunghyun nodded, grabbing a glass from the cabinet and filling it in the sink.

“Never. Exactly. So, we just gave her the impression we were kissing without actually doing so. Did our lips touch?” he asked, looking to Jiyong.

“No,” he replied in a sigh, and Seunghyun just raised his brows, taking a pointed sip of his water as he looked at the other man. Jiyong grumbled under his breath, sitting down on the couch as he rubbed his temples. Seunghyun soon joined him, settling in a spot next to the other man. “Well then, thanks for that,” he added, nodding to himself. Seunghyun laughed.

“No problem,” he started, setting his now empty glass on the coffee table before leaning his head against the back of the couch. “You do realize that we might have to kiss at some point,” he added, and Jiyong grimaced obviously, nose scrunched up in distaste.

“No offense, but I really don’t want to kiss you,” he replied, and Seunghyun scoffed at him.

“I don’t want to kiss you, either. But for now we have the failsafe of Hyosonn ‘walking in on’ stuff happening.” Jiyong huffed, shooting him a flat expression. “I don’t know how long she’s going to fall for it, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, I suppose.”

“Let’s make sure it takes a long time to get to it. And by a long time, I really mean forever,” Jiyong retorted immediately, flopping down sideways on the couch and groaning.

One thing he wasn’t keen on was going farther than he had to with this whole lie. All he wanted was for that fake fight to happen so they could break up this fake relationship and be comforted over their fake sadness by Hyosonn.

Luckily, they only had to deal with it when Hyosonn was there, though Jiyong did notice an odd strain on the closeness that he and Seunghyun had had before. They didn’t stay up watching television until four in the morning anymore. Yes, they still did their homework together, and still ran around together out of class, but there was less joking around. Jiyong never said anything though, as he was certain the change was only apparent to him.

The slight tension that had formed remained unspoken for a week, until Jiyong and Seunghyun decided to go for coffee with Hyosonn. When their orders were called up Seunghyun stood, smiling to himself as he walked to get them. Hyosonn immediately leaned forward.

“Are you two okay?” she asked, a worried expression on her face. Jiyong cocked his head, frowning.

“What? Yeah, everything’s fine,” he replied, shrugging. “Why?” Jiyong watched as Hyosonn fidgeted in her seat, glancing back at Seunghyun who seemed to be having trouble at the counter. She let out a quick breath.

“I don’t know. You two just don’t seem as close as you were when I met you,” she replied, and Jiyong pursed his lips as he watched her. She really did seem genuinely sad about this, and Jiyong almost let everything slip right there. He stopped himself, though. Telling her about this would just make her mad – solving the problem would make her smile.

That smile was something he wanted to see.

“No, we’re fine. School has just been stressing us out, so we’ve fought a little bit. And we’re overtired,” Jiyong lied, looking to Seunghyun. It seemed he’d finally figured out the problem and was walking back over with the three coffees. Hyosonn nodded, taking hers with a smile. Seunghyun handed Jiyong his and sat down, sipping his own drink as he looked between the two of them.

“I feel like I always miss important things,” he said, eyes narrowed at Jiyong. “You look worried, what’s wrong?” he asked, and Jiyong shook his head.

“Nothing,” Hyosonn interrupted, offering Seunghyun a soft shrug. Seunghyun raised a brow but didn’t press the matter any further, instead moving his hand to rest on the back of Jiyong’s neck as he massaged it lightly. With every fiber of his being Jiyong tried not to mind it too much but eventually he closed his eyes, letting his head fall forward as he bit his lip.

Massages were his weakness.

Seunghyun never stopped his movements, either, and had anyone asked him what the conversation between Seunghyun and Hyosonn had been, Jiyong wouldn’t have been able to answer. It was only when the little hint of a groan slipped from his lips that Seunghyun stopped and Jiyong finally lifted his head, eyes almost shut and dazed look painting his features.

“Enjoying yourself?” Seunghyun asked, the smile he was sporting tinged with a slight awkward undertone. Jiyong smirked, nodding almost dreamily. Hyosonn just giggled. “Well I’m glad. But we’re probably going to head back soon and you haven’t even touched your coffee. It’s probably cold,” he added, and Jiyong frowned but shrugged in response.

“I like massages from you more than coffee any day. Why don’t you do that more?” Jiyong asked, brow raised. Seunghyun blinked a few times then laughed softly, shooting a glance downward for a second as he shook his head.

“I don’t know,” he answered easily, looking at Jiyong with narrowed eyes. “I… Guess I’ll do it more, then,” he added, a hint of confusion in his tone. Hyosonn looked between them, then to her cup, picking it up as she stood.

“I’ll be back in a second,” she said suddenly, looking at her cup and very obviously coming up with an excuse to step away for a moment. “I… I’m gonna see if they can make me something to go.” With a hopeful smile she walked off, though her steps were slow. Seunghyun waited until she was a bit farther away to look at Jiyong, leaning close to talk directly into his ear.

“Was that a serious question, or a ‘playing along’ question?” he asked, and Jiyong smiled, laughing softly.

“A serious one. I love massages,” he responded quickly, causing a chuckle to slip from Seunghyun’s lips. Pulling away enough to glance at where Hyosonn was, Seunghyun looked back at Jiyong, smirking slightly. Jiyong just furrowed his brows, even leaning back slightly as he looked at the other man’s devious grin.

“I’m not going to like what you’re about to do, am I?” he asked, and Seunghyun shrugged. Instead of an answer he felt Seunghyun’s hand on the back of his head and their lips connected in a quick peck of a kiss, one that Jiyong wasn’t prepared for and, had it not been for Seunghyun’s hand holding him there, one that he would have pulled away from. It wasn’t much of a connection at all, but for the physical appearances of their ‘relationship’, or whatever it was, Jiyong couldn’t say anything about it. Instead he just gaped at Seunghyun even when he pulled away, cheeks having gone red before he buried his head against his knees.

Why had it been in a public place? Of all of the places he could have picked, Seunghyun had chosen the one spot that he couldn’t just run away.

They would be having a conversation when they got back.

After what seemed like ages Hyosonn returned, a cup of what looked like iced coffee in her hands as she grinned down at them.

“Ready to head back?” she asked, an obviously confused expression painting her features as she looked at Jiyong, who was still hiding his face. Seunghyun, however, nodded and stood, taking Jiyong’s hand and pulling him along as they walked.

Jiyong was nearly silent the whole walk, but when Hyosonn waved goodbye and Seunghyun shut the door to their room he dropped his bag, looking at Seunghyun with an irritated expression.

“What the hell, Seunghyun? Why there? Why didn’t you warn me? Do you want me to ruin this whole thing? I could punch you right now,” he exclaimed, and Seunghyun just chuckled under his breath, shaking his head.

“After that great massage? You wouldn’t,” he teased, walking right passed the other man. “Oh, and that whole kissing thing… You need to work on that, because, well, that wasn’t great,” he added, sitting down on the couch as he raised his brows. Jiyong’s jaw dropped and he let out a surprised huff.

“What? Excuse you, I am a great kisser. As told to me by my exes,” he retorted angrily, lips pursed. Seunghyun shook his head.

“Who are now, in fact, your exes. Interesting,” Seunghyun replied in a laugh. There was a silence as Jiyong continued staring at the other man with a look of pure disapproval on his face. Then Seunghyun patted the couch, gesturing Jiyong over. Hesitantly he did so, eyes still narrowed at Seunghyun.

“You’re an ,” he mumbled. Reaching out, Seunghyun turned his head so that they were facing, though he didn’t say anything for a moment. Jiyong puffed out his cheeks, arms crossed.

“I need for you to not be uncomfortable with me kissing you,” he said, tone having turned serious. “So…” Seunghyun’s voice trailed off as he looked at Jiyong expectantly, and when Jiyong grasped what he was implying his expression dropped and he frowned.

“I don’t want to kiss you, though,” he whined, and Seunghyun rolled his eyes.

“Do it anyway,” Seunghyun replied, tone tinted with irritation. Jiyong grumbled for a few more moments until Seunghyun’s stern glare made him stop and he let out an irritated huff. Swallowing deeply, Jiyong leaned forward and quite unceremoniously pressed their lips together, nose scrunching up in distaste. They only stayed connected for a few moments before Jiyong pulled away, still looking quite displeased.

“Okay. Let’s try this again, this time with a little less disgust,” he said, Jiyong just frowning even more. Seunghyun sighed. “Just pretend I’m Hyosonn,” he added, shoulders drooping as he looked at the other man. “That’s what I’m trying to do.”

This was starting to get ridiculous. The two of them were falling deeper into this lie and, if they didn’t get out of it soon and start this fake breakup, there was a chance they could end up losing the opportunity to date Hyosonn anyway. Then again, that massage had kind of reset their tensions, as had the kiss, so Jiyong supposed there was no way out of this.

They had to get better before they got worse.

“Fine,” Jiyong finally replied in a sharp sigh, and Seunghyun nodded in response.

It seemed to take them forever to situate themselves, both finding unspoken excuses to push this off just that much longer. Finally Jiyong pushed his hair out of his face, taking in a quick breath.

Just pretend it’s Hyosonn, he thought, nodding to himself.

It was awkward – every movement felt jerky, every inch he moved forward made him feel just that much more out of place, and he paused when he could feel Seunghyun’s breath on his lips. This was weird. This was really weird. Regardless, he closed his eyes, finally letting their lips connect again. This time, though, he wasn’t as cut and dry about it – Jiyong caught Seunghyun’s lips between his, and as quick as it was, when he pulled back he almost felt out of breath. He heard Seunghyun exhale sharply when they disconnected but Jiyong didn’t open his eyes, instead just staying where he was as he dropped his hands to the couch to prop himself up.

His mind got the best of him. Had this been Hyosonn he wouldn’t have stopped, and he assumed that Seunghyun felt the same because a moment later they were kissing again, lips working almost lazily against each other. Jiyong felt Seunghyun’s hand move to his neck but he didn’t do anything about it.

Without realizing what was happening, Jiyong tilted his head and deepened the kiss, tongue swiping Seunghyun’s lower lip. But when the other man’s hand started massaging his neck like he had been doing in the coffee shop Jiyong practically moaned into the kiss and immediately pushed Seunghyun away, shaking his head.

“Whoa. No, not even cool,” he said, voice low and surprisingly calm for the situation. Seunghyun smiled awkwardly, looking down.

“Sorry, my mind kind of drifted off,” he mumbled, and Jiyong nodded.

“It better have,” he said under his breath, glancing off for a moment before sighing and looking at Seunghyun with a slight frown. “Was that better?” he asked.

“Much,” he replied immediately, still not making eye contact as they shifted uncomfortably on the couch. There was a long silence, neither knowing what to say until Jiyong spoke again.

“We’re not going to mention that last part to anyone,” he said, and Seunghyun shook his head quite vigorously.

“No. No, that can just stay between us,” he replied, absently toying with the cushion on the couch. Jiyong watched him for a moment before he ran his hand through his hair, fixing it as he hesitantly stood.

“I’m just… I’m gonna go to my room. If you need me for anything,” he said, offering Seunghyun an awkward smile. He watched the other man nod before he walked away, locking his door behind him. Then, he flopped onto his bed, groaning into the pillow.

What was he even doing? There had to be a better way to get a girl than this. Then again, he’d gotten them into this. Jiyong would just have to keep reminding himself of this. The entire situation was starting to stress him out, though, and now it had gotten physical and he had no idea what to make of it.

This ‘break up’ was going to be soon.