A/N: Have I told you guys that I love each one of you? Because I do. Thank you all, for commenting, subscribing, and upvoting! You know who you are... you don't know how happy you guys made me. I'm smiling widely with every comment. I feel even more pumped up to write (even if I should be doing something else, hehe). So here, I give you the 2nd chapter. Hope you guys like it. And again, sorry for the typos if any. Lazy is lazy. Read on..

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After enduring a couple of days of the tortures of Tiffany always clinging onto him, Jesse felt relieved when Friday finally came. He had never been so happy for the existence of weekends. Plus, it was some holiday on Monday (thank God!), so they had no classes.

But of course, the universe hated him, or so it seemed.

Before he could even step out of the classroom, he received a call from his mother. Apparently, a family reunion had been planned by the elder Jungs and they’ll all be spending the 3 days at their private beach resort, Villa Royal.

The reunion part was fine. The one that sent his heart sinking like the Titanic was what his mother said next.

“Are you bringing Tiffany, dear? The family would love to get know the future Mrs. Jung,” she had said.

The tone in his mother’s voice was like ice, implying that it definitely wasn’t a question or a request to bring Tiffany. He must bring Tiffany with him, or all hell will break loose—starting with his mother yelling at him for being a negligent ‘boyfriend’ and then his father scolding him just because his mother would be ranting and throwing a fit.

So now, Jesse was at the Hwang’s driveway, leaning on his car and waiting for Tiffany to walk out of their house with her luggage.

A few minutes later, Tiffany appeared carrying a pink suitcase. Her mother was walking behind her, probably giving her a few reminders or whatever (Jesse would rather not know).

“Hey there, auntie,” Jesse hugged the older Hwang in greeting.

“I’m entrusting Stephanie to you, Jesse,” Mrs. Hwang gave Jesse a pointed look.

Jesse smiled, acting like the perfect boyfriend and taking the suitcase from Tiffany. “No worries, auntie. I’ll take care of her.”

“Good. Send my regards to your parents and family.”

“Will do.”

The young ‘couple’ waved goodbye, got into the car, and drove off.

Neither talked during the first few minutes, but it was a comfortable silence.

“Can we pull it off?” Tiffany asked as she stared out the window.

She didn’t want to voice it out, but she couldn’t help it. She was just a tad bit anxious that they’ll be pretending not just in front of his parents, but a handful of his relatives, too.

“Are you ready?”

Jesse breathed out and briefly glanced at his ‘girlfriend’. “As ready as I’ll ever be, Bestie. This should be easy, considering that we’ve been doing this for about a year now.”

The redhead nodded, albeit reluctantly.

Silence.

…

…

“Why don’t you just tell them?”

Jesse was a bit taken aback, but he somehow expected that question, sooner or later. He sighed again and shook his head. “That’s not an option, Tiff. You know that. Mom would probably cry at the prospect that she’ll never have you as a daughter-in-law, and Dad would probably kill me for tarnishing our family name. The Jung Heir? Gay? What would the board of directors and major investors say?”

Tiffany sighed. “Right.”

Jesse slowly stopped the car at the side of the road. “Look, Tiff. I’m sorry for dragging you in this mess. You know they love you and I just—”

“—It’s fine, Jess. I understand,” Tiffany cut him off.

“Are you sure? I could tell them that we broke up and that we’re just back to being best fri—”

A finger pressed to his lips and Jesse shut up instantly.

“I said it’s okay, Jess. Really. I got your back. Best friend, remember?”

Jesse’s expression softened. “Are you really sure?”

The redhead forced a smile. “Yeah. It’ll be fun seeing their reaction. And besides, it’s always worth it to see Krys annoyed to bits.”

Jesse chuckled at that and pulled her closer, his arms intuitively wrapping around her shoulders. “You are seriously the best. Thank you.”

“It’s no biggie,” Tiffany leaned her head on his shoulder, taking in his scent and savoring the warmth of his embrace.

For you, I’d do anything.

She swallowed the bittersweet taste on her tongue.

Tiffany wasn’t upset about them having to act like a couple in front of the Jungs. In fact, she loved being close to Jesse—kissing him, hugging him, just being with him.

She wasn’t upset about expressing her love to him. She loves him. She does with vehement passion. For as long as she could remember, she does.

So, no, she wasn’t upset about that.

Rather, she was upset that nothing is real to him—the sweet gestures, the hugs and the kisses—to him, all of it was just a game of pretense and nothing more.

And after all the facades, what hurts her the most is grasping the fact that Jesse Jung would never truly be hers.

Tiffany Hwang would never be what Jesse Jung wanted.

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“Oppa!! She’s so pretty