“MIIIIIN!! YOU’VE GOT TO HELP MEEE!!!” I wailed as I borrowed deeper into my blankets, trying my best to dig my way away from reality and just pretend nothing happened this morning. I buried my head under the pillow, flailing my arms about and attempting to make snow angels in the sheets. I just knew pretending to be twins was a bad idea from the start; this was bound to happen one day. And it’s supposed to be this coming Saturday. If you said I was freaking out, it was definitely the understatement of the year. I think I was about to lose my head.

“Come on, man up,” Sungmin sighed, yanking off my covers and exposing me to the harsh reality. I flinched from the room lights and fought for my covers back. However that jerk of my bestie somehow managed to throw all my stuff across the room and I scowled at him.

“You’re the entire reason I was in this mess in the first place. I hate you,” I grumbled. Sungmin rolled his eyes and dragged me out of bed making me land with a ‘plonk’ on the floor.

“Okay, you can hate me all you want, but you also went along with it so I don’t think I’m entirely to blame here. You could also have just told them the truth,” he huffed, sticking his tongue out at me. “Or maybe it’s because you like the both of them and couldn’t choose just one so you went along with it?”

I bit my lips and contemplated his question. It hit rather close to home; too close in fact, and I felt guilt overwhelming me again. I did like both Eunhyuk and Hyukjae each for entirely different reasons – Eunhyuk made me feel loved and treasured especially when he left me little notes and gifts nearly every day, spoiling me to no end with his daily thoughtful gifts or perhaps just a simple shoulder massage at the end of a long school day; meanwhile Hyukjae brought out my sassy side and he just loved teasing me at work. He’s made me laugh on absolutely horrible work days and I always cheered up a little whenever he sent me winks and glances if he came into the café. I felt like he could just bring out the other side of me that I haven’t explored yet.

“I hit the nail on the head, didn’t I?” taunted Sungmin with a smirk on his lips. I let out a huge sigh and planted my face onto the bed.

“I don’t know I don’t know I don’t know…” I wailed. “But you have got to help meee this Saturday!!!”

“And I don’t even know why you said yes to both of them at all. You couldn’t have suggested a better alternative?”

“I’ve gone insane, okay? This idea was insane from the start. I was insane for playing along… and now I’m facing the dire consequences…” I added dramatically. “Stop judging and help me out, please Min…”

“What makes you think I know more about double dating than you?” Sungmin asked, climbing onto my bed and slapping my in the process. I let out a yelp and glared at him. “Seriously though, you still need to tell me what happened exactly,” he continued. “You just dragged me all the way to your house as soon as the last bell rang, and I didn’t even get to say goodbye to Kyu before we left. All I heard was that you’re going on a double date with the twins?”

“Yes!!” I exclaimed, feeling suddenly accomplished that Sungmin finally got it. “It’s impossible, I tell you. I can’t be Donghae and Aiden at the same time to the both of them!! What am I going to do…??”

He just shrugged me off his arm and landed another slap on my . I swear he has a with hitting my . “I want the full story. How did you even end up in this mess in the first place?”

I sighed. “It was Eunhyuk’s idea. He asked if I wanted to go to the beach with him this weekend, and I said I’d think about it. Then Hyukjae came up and asked me if my ‘twin’ liked hiking because he was planning to take me hiking this weekend too; apparently they didn’t want to stay at home knowing the other was having fun with me so they planned everything on the same day… Of course it couldn’t happen at the same time… I tried telling them no but they got me wrong – I think they thought I was afraid to date without my ‘twin’ beside me so they compromised and made it a double date at the mall instead…”

Sungmin’s eyes were as round as balls when he heard that. “Whatever in the world possessed you to agree? You just dug a hole in your own grave, my friend,” Sungmin said, patting me on the shoulders. “You’ll be missed, Hae. I love you, always. And then when you’re gone can I swap lockers with you at school?”

“Aish, you’re not helping at all!!” I whined, kicking him off my bed. “YOU NEED TO HELP ME OUT BECAUSE ALL OF THIS WAS YOUR FREAKING STUPID IDEA!!”

He pouted and clutched at his heart. “Ouch, Hae, that hurt. And you know what; it’s not nice to insult people if you want to engage their help. Just saying.”

“Well you’re not being very helpful at the moment,” I groaned, covering my face with my hands. “I can’t possibly pop around from one place to another, now can I?”

The sudden silence stunned me and I peeked out to see Sungmin with a glowing look on his face. “You’re a brilliant genius, Hae!! See, you solved your very own problem already!! You didn’t even need my help.”

“Wait what?” I blinked twice. “No!! I didn’t mean it literally, it was just a figure of speech!!”

“But it could work, so why not?” challenged my best friend. “Unless you could come up with another better idea besides telling the twins the truth.”

I thought for a long time and finally shook my head. “I can’t do that… I don’t know, just why is this all so messed up?? Ugh!!”

“So it’s settled then!!” Sungmin cheered, jumping off my bed and heading towards my closet. “We’ll just need a couple of different outfits for each twin and you’re good to go!!”

I tuned out from Sungmin’s non-stop babbling while he went through my wardrobe probably looking for something decent for me to wear for my ‘dates’; meanwhile I just sank further back into the soft mattress, wondering why in the world was I even putting up with this entire charade at all.

This weekend was going to be a disaster.

* * *

“Are you sure this is going to work?” I asked again and again, driving my best friend bananas. I twirled in front of my full-length mirror checking out my appearance, appreciating the outfit Sungmin threw together for me. I was dressed normally in a baby blue checked button-up shirt and black jeans with a few accessories on my arm. I looked decent, not exactly outstanding but also not too drab – most importantly, I matched my own personality when I was around with Eunhyuk: a little shy, a little reserved, and a little playful but not too much – or so Sungmin told me.

“It’s not going to work if you keep talking like that,” Sungmin said, approaching me with a can of hairspray. “Now sit down and don’t move until I tell you you can.”

“But what if they think something smells fishy when I keep running off in the middle of things? This is a bad idea, I think I’ll just cancel the date—”

“Lee Donghae, stop fretting, you’re going to jinx up the whole act!! Just be yourself and don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. You only have to do as I say. I even dragged Kyu into this so if you somehow or other mess this date up I’m going to deal with you personally, and you know it never ends pretty,” he half-threatened me while cracking his knuckles.

I coughed sheepishly and he threw me a glare before giving me a sickly sweet smile.

And to think I was just about thinking how much of a reliable friend Sungmin could be if he wanted to be one. Aish.

As soon as the doorbell rang, I was there to answer it. I didn’t want my parents to greet him just in case they let slip that they had an only son and not twins. I hadn’t told them about my two ‘boyfriends’ yet anyway, and it might just turn out rather awkward.

The door opened and I came face to face with a single red rose without thorns. The rather trembling hands holding the flower was connected to a slightly blushing Eunhyuk. “For you,” he said. I gave him a shy smile and accepted the rose.

“That’s so sweet of you,” I said, feeling my face grow a little warm. “But aren’t roses connected to dinner dates instead? I thought we were just going to the mall…”

“Oh no, I just wanted to give it to you. And well, technically we’re going out on a lunch date but the food counts as well, right?”

I beamed and linked my arm in his. “Yep,” I answered. “Where’s Hyukjae, by the way?”

The plan Sungmin thought up in his head was that Eunhyuk showed up to pick me up for our date but have Hyukjae waiting for ‘Aiden’ who was supposed to be running some errands before meeting him at the mall. Then, everything would be up to Sungmin and his perfect timing – if this fails, at least I know I get to blame somebody… or not.

“He’s in the car, waiting. Pity your twin couldn’t be home though; Jae is a little jealous because he doesn’t get to pick up his date like I get to…” Eunhyuk said, giving me a wink and a soft smile while leading me to the car. I waved at the pouting Hyukjae in the backseat – maybe because Eunhyuk’s fingers and mine were interlaced – and he waved back with a half-hearted grin. I felt bad for him immediately because it was mostly my fault they were involved in this mess in the first place – I just hoped that Sungmin’s plans would just go on smoothly so at least I could justify myself a tiny bit.

* * *

“So uhh, hyung you and Donghae go on ahead, I’ll meet Aiden myself later on,” Hyukjae said, pausing at the entrance of the mall where we’d just stepped in.

I was slightly surprised at the arrangement and wondered if Hyukjae was in on the plan at first, but it didn’t make sense. It only then dawned upon me that maybe Hyukjae didn’t want to see us together being lovey-dovey and all that without his ‘date’, who was actually none other than me. But of course he didn’t know that, and I was planning to keep it that way although it was kind of eating away at my conscience. I gripped Eunhyuk’s hand harder to stop myself from fidgeting.

“Are you sure?” Eunhyuk asked, gripping my hand back and giving me a smile that didn’t go unnoticed by Hyukjae.

“Of course, now you two lovebirds go have fun with each other. I’ll keep myself company in the meantime.”

“If you say so,” the elder twin smiled, before pulling me away in the direction of the restaurants and cafés, leaving Hyukjae behind. I stole back a glance at him and he smiled at me before walking off in the other direction.

I turned around. “So, where are we going to eat?” I asked my boyfriend,