Two days passed and everything became official. The non-existent relationship was now one of the hottest topics on the internet and I wanted to hide in a hole, pretending that I didn’t exist. But that wasn’t possible, I still had to live no matter how irritating and miserable my life was. I told my parents about the scam and got yelled at afterwards, this time not by my parents but by the manager. I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone. Even my parents had to believe that we’re dating for real. Well, too late. I wasn’t allowed to tell Dan and Ellie though. As much as I wanted to complain and whine about the absurd situation, I couldn’t.

‘But you told me he’s awful.’ Ellie raised an eyebrow, not believing me regardless I tried to convince her. Best friends are best friends after all.

‘Well, you know… he’s not that bad. I just… needed to… uh…’ I was tired of endless explanations and arguments. ‘It’s called love, I guess.’ I’m a bad liar, I’ve always been and if you know me as well as Ellie, you can tell just by looking at my movements that I’m lying.

‘Okaaay… let’s say I believe you.’ She sighed, knowing that if I’m lying there’s a good reason behind it. ‘By the way, Dan’s coming in like ten minutes, want to talk to him too?’ She readjusted her laptop and then focused on the screen once again.

‘Um… not really. I’m having another round of dance and singing practises in like… NOW.’ I shut the laptop quickly and ran down the stairs, to where the singing room was. Baekhyun, or rather Barkhyun was sitting in his usual spot, reading a magazine, not sparing even a glance when I entered the room.

‘You’re late.’ He said tonelessly, now looking at me as if he just saw the most boring thing ever created.

‘Yeah, but only like half a minute.’ I shrugged and approached the chair I usually sat on. The atmosphere was awkward and if someone came in with an axe, he could cut the air, for it was this thick.

‘You can’t be late for your concerts, interviews and other duties.’ His voice was monotonous, not filled with anger or disappointment as always. It was unusual for him not to throw a greeting insult at me.

‘Noted!’ I smiled a bit. Maybe this one rehearsal won’t be as bad as the others? I wondered but he seemed to be able to read my mind, cause he blinked a couple of times and then let out a quiet whisper.

‘They’re watching. Act. You love me.’ He smiled a bit at me and I would be pleased to see him smile if only it was an honest smile. But I didn’t deserve an honest smile from Baekhyun, he saw me as a burden, another obstacle he has to face and overcome. Is it bitter to me? As hell. But I can’t do anything to avoid him and let him live his scheduled life.

‘Yeah… well… yeah. Kay.’ I managed to say, but then he was mere inches away from me. I stared at him in shock, because we’ve never been this close. I didn’t even want to feel the scent of his skin, but was forced to. I didn’t want to see single strands of hair, but he made me stare at it. I didn’t dare to look up, to look at his face.

‘Look at me.’ He placed his finger under my chin and with a single movement, he made me look at him. His eyes were piercing through my brain, but the look he was giving me was tense. He was somehow annoyed deep down. I stepped back and smiled weakly.

‘Don’t do such things right now. He have to practise.’ I said as sweetly as I could, but it came rather harshly. He raised an eyebrow and stepped closer once again. I shook my head slightly, but he put his hands on my shoulders.

‘Don’t make it any harder than it is now.’ He whispered, menacingly. ‘Don’t make me kiss those little lips, we have to practise, you brat.’ He scolded me playfully, speaking louder. I sighed, already tired of this drama. How could he go on pretending to be a sweet puppy this whole time? I would die out of exhaustion after a day.

‘Funny as always.’ I tried to retort as playfully as Baekhyun, but I wasn’t that good at pretending. I sat on the chair and heaved a sigh yet again.

And the lesson begun. He didn’t go harsh on me this time, in fact, he was nice and corrected me with patience he never had before. I was amazed how good at acting he was. It almost made me believe that Baek was a pleasant person and probably a caring boyfriend. But the singing practise was almost done, his expression turned into an annoyed one, like it always looked and he finally spat at me.

‘You have no talent in there.’ He pointed at… me. He pointed at my whole body and it really hurt, cause the people from the previous audition told me I wasn’t that bad. But then again, this is Byun Barkhyun we’re talking about.

‘Thanks. Umm I need to go. Lay’s waiting for me.’ I smiled at the thought of two hours spent with a friend of mine. The only friend I had here.

‘Like I care.’ Baek shrugged and passed me by, sparing me one last glance, before his face turned into a grimace. Am I this disgusting? I thought about it on my way to the bathroom to change into my black sporty bra, dark grey tank top with big arm holes and black sweats and then to the dancing studio. I entered the room and ignored smiling Lay. I approached the mirror and stared at it for a minute or so.

‘You looking for some answers in there or simply admiring your beauty, eh?’ He finally spoke, his lips twirled into a gentle smile, that had the power to