Chapter 4
AFKsorry for the late update! this chapter is kinda longer so hdhfhbfdhbfbfg
no mood-setting music for this chap tho lol sry
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Jihoon sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair, a confused and expectant Seungcheol staring at him from across the cafe table.
After Seungcheol's sudden declaration of love for his 'girlfriend', Jihoon knew he had screwn up big time.
Jihoon continues to ponder the perplexity of his existence, but is interrupted by the vibrating of his phone just as he was about to open his mouth to discuss some aching questions he had for Seungcheol.
Said person sipped his foamy kid's hot chocolate (all Jihoon had enough to afford,) generously, patiently tapping a foot to the bustling ambiance of the small cafe. Eyes of certain nosey strangers were still on them, but the disgruntled and agitated look on Jihoon's face warded off most people's ...assumptions.
Jihoon picks the phone up to his cheek when he sees Soonyoung's caller ID.
"JIHOON-" An unfitting voice blares energetically from the other side.
"Shut up, I need your help. I'm going to hang up, and I'm going to text you the details." Jihoon grits through his teeth, suspiciously watching Seungcheol munch on a chocolate chip muffin as the young man glances at the cars driving by outside.
"What now, Jihoon? You've been acting crazy for the last few weeks. I don't know whether it has anything to do with me neglecting our friendship or whatever, but this needs to stop."
Jihoon exhales for what seemed like the millionth time that week, bringing his phone closer to his mouth, cupping it away from Seungcheol's line of hearing.
"Now listen here, you help me- and I explain. Now's not the time. I need your help. No buts."
"But-"
"No buts."
Jihoon was fuming. After all the things he had done for the ungrateful bratty elder in the past, he can't even get one favor done in return. Sure, he sort of dropped off the planet for a while. And maybe he forgot to contact Soonyoung every now and then to tell him he was okay. But that was all in the past, so what was the big problem now!?
He wouldn't even be needing to do this if Seungcheol weren't so persistent on finding his stupid "girlfriend"! As soon as he had revealed the said girl's name, he proceeded to drag Jihoon down the street by his tiny wrist, squealing about how he'd 'eventually find her', because 'if he's here, then Woozi-jagi should surely be out there too.' If that wasn't bad enough, Seungcheol had the balls, the audacity to tap on the shoulder of every girl he passed, just to once-down their face and move on. Jhoon spent the last half hour mumbling "sorry"s to shocked, star-struck and embarrassed girls of all shapes and sizes everywhere. Why Seungcheol couldn't just focus on looking for pink haired-Woozi shaped girls were beyond him. Jihoon bitterly assumed it was because Seungcheol just wanted to elicit other girls' reactions to how pretty he was. Jerk.
Needless to say, this had to stop, and there was only one option left for Jihoon until he manages to either get the game-siblings to put Seungcheol back into the stupid CD, or beat them both up (mainly Chanhyuk) into a matching pair of bloody pulps.
Jihoon breathes deeply, trying to regain his calm.
"Listen here, fettuccine, You're going to help me out, because you're my friend, and that's what friends, do, right?" The shorter growls into the speaker of his cellphone, watching people stare wide-eyed at his hunched figure, a stark contrast to the big man across from him that was poking at a ladybug which was stuck on the other side of the giant glass window.
The line goes silent, but quickly picks up.
"F-fine. But I need all answers-"
"Thanks, I owe ya' one."
Jihoon quickly taps the end-call button, and presses in the details at a rapid rate.
"Where's the trashcan?"
"By the counter with the cashier, use the green one..." Jihoon mumbles, continuously typing, as Seungcheol's seat scratches against the mauve tile, the other probably wandering off to dispose of his trash.
Hoon 71: ok jerk read closely and only ask questions if necessary
Hoon 71: so basiclly tht Seuncgehol guy I was talkin about earlier , i met him. on the computer
Hoon71: seungcheol*** if i misspell his name its bc im typing fast, anyways,
Hoon71: i met him, and he thot i was a girl
Hoon71: and uh
Hoon71: we ended up being bf and gf i guess.. but he dusnt know that his gf is me?
Hoon71: bc i look different in his mind. basically he thinks im some tiny twinkle fairy girl when in reality im...
Kwon1010: ugly?
Hoon71: SHUT UR UP I WILL ACTUALLY CUT UR FOF U DONT UNDERSTAND HOW STRESSED I AM SOONYOUNG I ACTUALLY MIGHT CRY OVER THIS
Kwon1010: cry? you? it's that bad????? the way u describe it makes it sound like u just catfished this guy and had the misfortune of meeting up with him irl
Kwon1010: dude just ditch him if its really that bad. or if ur rly feeling generous just tell him the truth. im sure he wont care that much
Kwon1010: well i mean he should but im sure give it some time and yall can still be friends...
Hoon71: no soonyoung its not that simple. he kinda has to stay with us and he doesnt have any way of getting home rn and he cant stop whining about wanting to see his gf. i cant handle this, what if this goes on 4 a rly long time?
Kwon1010: ok well first of all how the did you catfish a homeless man on the internet and convince him ur some stupid little girl, and why cant he go home?
Hoon71: itll take too long to explain i swear, once this is all over, i will tell u the whole truth
Kwon1010: lmao as if that will happen you
Kwon1010: its always "kwon soonyoung my best friend do this, do that, you owe me you dumb jerk!!!" but as soon as i ask for some ing answers you get pissy at me and tell me it comes later
Kwon1010: you never tell the truth with me yet u expect me to do all this shady crazy for u without asking questions
Kwon1010: im not as dumb as u think i am lee jihoon
Jihoon's eyes flicker across the screen, and his palms start to tense and sweat. Soonyoung has never stood up to him before, at least- not like this...
Hoon71: come on man dont be mad i know im a jerk i rly do and i get that i always come to u to be my lackey
Hoon71: but I REALLY NEED YOUR HELP my actual life is at stake right now
Kwon1010: sure, and my dad's a trained acrobat
Kwon1010: screw u jihoon im so done with you worrying me to death one minute and then flinging me around like some fool the next
Hoon71: nononononono soonyoung listen listen listen pls please
Hoon71: I NEED UR HELP U COULD EVEN GET a LAUGH OUT OF THIS SOONYOUNG PLEASE
Hoon71: please
Hoon71: please soonyoungie imssorry
Hoon71: ill be nicer to you from now on i really need you
Kwon1010:...you shouldve been nicer to me from the beginning
Hoon71: i know and i will be extra nice from now on just please hear me out
Kwon1010: ...ok
Kwon1010: but once that songchoi guy is out of the way, u and i need to talk about this
Kwon1010: theres this new bbq chicken place my sister wants me to check out with her.... u kno she'll bring all her prissy friends, so the least u can do is come with me to bear the pain.....
Hoon71: sound good :) thx soonyoungie
Kwon1010: no problem.... im only doing this out of the kindness of my heart… even tho im still rly angry...be glad that im soft…
Hoon71: i sure am rn
Kwon1010: so whts the plan tho
Jihoon peeks around, relieved. He’s surprised not to see Seungcheol back in his seat. Maybe the guy was drooling over the pastry displays at the front, or maybe going to the bathroom. Did hyperrealistic digital men really even need to pee? Does Seungcheol have any vital organs in general....?
Hoon71: ur sis does makeup and stuff with wigs rte...
Kwon1010: i already kno what ur getting at. i dont approve, but i cant say no. so yes
Hoon71: bring a wig in the dullest shade of pink she has, makeup (especially eyelashes and all that contour-y powder ), socks, a bra, razors, the cutest and frilliest clothes you can find- which im leaving up 2 ur judgement so dont bring ing grannies’ clothes, accessories, and shoes (preferrably with heels) to my house in a black trashbag. if my parents ask make up a bull excuse like "its snacks" or "its props for a play jihoons helping out in" or something idc just prepare it quick and come here immediately after i call u. ...pls
Kwon1010: ...ok...
Kwon1010: if my sister catches me and beats my , i will /actually/ press charges on u
Hoon71: lol u cant i spent all the money i had on a stupid video game and snacks for my hobo fake boyfriend
Kwon1010: ur life is an absolute mess and that is the only reason why im helping u
Hoon71: i kno
Kwon1010: ill get 2 work
Hoon71: thx. c u soon
(seen 12:48 pm)
Jihoon quickly grabs his jacket from the back of his seat, the legs rattling as he bounds off to grab Seungcheol.
- Seungcheol. How would Jihoon even execute this plan? If Seungcheol just flat out encounters Woozi in Jihoon's house, that'd raise enough suspicion that even his shriveled up, pea-sized AI brain would detect something. If he got Soonyoung to distract him and form a plan on bumping into Woozi, Seungcheol may spout weird things that would get Soonyoung even more suspicious. The only option Jihoon had would be to think about what to do right as he's doing it.
Perhaps there would be something that could distract Seungcheol for long enough to set everything into its perfect place.
Jihoon scans the semi-crowded cafe for Seungcheol, noticing some girls look at him with interest. A mixture of flattered and surprised, he didn't expect this type of positive attention towards someone like him. The shorter wasn't that ugly after all, he was quite the looker in highschool back when he actually bathed frequently and didn't have eye bags that were the same color as bruises, but his general appearance was usually seen as lazy and off-putting.
Maybe his natural aegyo still worked?
Jihoon looked at the girls, now alert of his sights on them. He pretends to act embarrassed at their attention, and cups his cheeks. The small and fluffy young man feigns shyness, as he gives a meek wave and toddles away.
Hiding around a pole quickly, he peers back to see the girls squealing about how cute mystery-boy from just now was.
Smirking, Jihoon now knows he can utilize this skill to his advantage later, with Seungcheol.
Jihoon didn't even know he still had it in him.
Basking in his newfound self-confidence, he catches a conversation going on at the cashier.
"So, are you free later tonight?"
Realizing that the man he was looking for was leaning against the counter, speaking flirtatiously with the cute register girl at the register, the inner girlfriend that was left dormant in Jihoon’s heart was awakened with burning passion.
Who was that and why is his Cheollie talking to her with obvious heart-eyes!?
Wait, no. This was the perfect opportunity. A whole night without Seungcheol.... that he could use to his advantage. It was flawless, nothing could possibly go better. Jihoon grinned devilishly as he rubbed his hands, bubbles of ideas stirring around inside of his devious brain as he pushes his girlfriend side back into a cranny in his brain.
Leaning closer into the conversation, he catches the details of the date.
To the neighborhood park, and then that icky Italian place. Girl has got no taste, such a shame.
Nodding to himself, Jihoon files every single piece of information into his mind as he mumbles to himself deviously.
Mwahahaha... yes... yes....
"Uhm, do you mind?"
Jihoon flicks his head to see a reasonably pissed cafe worker, and Seungcheol who was generally more happy to see his friend.
"Oh, this is Jihoon! He's my roommate. Jihoon, meet my new friend!" Seungcheol mumbles some incoherent string of sounds for a name, and forcefully grabs Jihoon's hand and the girl's hand to mash together into a handshake, ignoring the strained smile she raised at ‘new friend’.
Jihoon shakes hard in an attempt to rip the teen’s arm off, and the girl grimaces at him sourly.
"I guess you have to go, oppa?" Seungcheol nods as the girl speaks sweetly to him, batting her eyelashes with every word.
Unbelieveable. Jihoon never understood girls, was this type of kid some kind of subspecies? A rare kind that is so nasty that they deserve to be locked up for being so annoyingly fake? Not even the snobby rivals from Kissy Dreamboat High School Paradise 3 could compare to this girl. At least those women were smart and snarky, with fun and evil personalities, unlike this ugly, stale toenail clipping who grew lips.
Calm, Jihoon- calm. No overreacting. You’re the adult. She’s just a girl.
"I'll see you hopefully never, and ~you~ later, on our date!"
Jihoon really wanted to ignore first-time formalities and ask this brat how old she was. Not only was he most likely her senior, but she, who looked like only a freshman in highschool, thought she was hot enough to play in the big leagues which were considered Seungcheol's love-life. Despicable. This type of behaviour should be listed as a felony crime. 10 years in jail for striving to be with someone who one obviously can never have- only if subjected person have a bad personality. Oh, the irony of Jihoon being the one to think this.
Slowly receding to the front door with a happy Seungcheol in tow, Jihoon can't help but let go of his tongue for a brief second. He had to at least defend his pride, right?
"See ya, alfredo, have fun on your steamy Italian date! Don't get your ugly hopes up enough to believe he'd get anywhere that alfredo, though, sweetie!" Jihoon flips his head just enough to get a glimpse of a fuming girl gripping a pot of fresh, steaming black coffee in her fist. Jihoon - 1, Whatever Girl, - 0. The cringiness was worth it.
Needless to say, Jihoon ran home while dragging Seungcheol by his big, sweaty palm, to avoid getting scorched by cheap-yet-premium french roast.
"That was a rude thing to say, Jihoonie." Seungcheol later mutters as the two folds his new clothes, organizing them into the cleared-out bottom drawer of Jihoon's dresser.
Jihoon pretends he didn’t just flinch at the criticism. He pretends he hasn’t been overly-extra this entire rendezvous, really.
"S-she had it coming... did you hear the way she spoke to me?"
Seungcheol huffs as he pats down a graphic v-neck.
"Maybe if you stopped presenting yourself as such an abrasive and rude jerk under first impressions, and acted just a little bit more friendly, you wouldn't get as many bad responses as you do in the first place." Seungcheol's sudden tone shakes Jihoon, but the brutal honesty of the statement can't help but get the smaller quickly fuming.
"Oh, so now you all-of-a-sudden have a masters degree in life?" Jihoon childishly attempts to slam the half-folded jacket in his hands onto the ground, instead having the article of clothing flutter to the floor gently as his mini-fuse crackles and blows. "You can't even mutter a single word to anyone at the beginning of the morning, but now that you've been here for what; less than a day, with people wetting their pants over you and falling to your feet with every action you make, you think you can reprimand me for my "ty personality" when all I'm trying to do is keep you safe from grubby losers like that probably-youtube-obsessed preteen?"
Jihoon plops himself on the bed and crosses his arms. He knew he was being a loser about this, letting the childish side that came with his small stature get to him, but he always took criticism personally. Being unable to stand the looks of disappointment he would get from his professors and peers whenever he did something in his desired way rather than theirs, that was what led him to being a shut-in and taking online classes in the first place. He still didn't take negative comments well, but at least with online classes, he couldn't see the sadness or anger in people's eyes when he threw his temper tantrums- unlike now.
"Well I'm sorry I'm not a perfect highschool jock from some ‘Kissy McDreamland Paradise’ unlike somebody here! I'm sorry! I'm not the one who's leeching off some jerky 20-year-old recluse because he's just a hobo science-experiment gone wrong! At least I'm not the one who thinks it's okay to cheat on his girlfriend while sleeping with some strange guy he doesn't even know! ! In the same bed, !"
The room goes silent, this time being the first that Jihoon has ever seen Seungcheol with a bitter frown, as not even the pixelated in-game sprites have ever illustrated Seungcheol as upset. Sure, there was an exaggerated teary-eye look that would pop up every now and then for comedic effect, but this was the first time Seungcheol ever had a weary expression on his face... and it threw Jihoon off greatly.
“You’re not trying to protect me, you just don’t like it when I talk to anyone else...” he mumbles under his breath, but loud enough for the other to hear him.
Jihoon watches as Seungcheol slowly places the folded t-shirt in the drawer, sliding it in before getting up from his knees.
For a second, Jihoon wants to take it all back, because what he said really was inappropriate, but that would only be something a reasonable person would do. Not an unnecessary loser with bottled up anger like Lee Jihoon.
"Well, I surely must've said something out of line if it could make you act that upset, and I'm sorry, but don't ever call me a cheater. Ever. If it makes you feel any better, I'll just stay out of your way from now on until my date." Seungcheol says stiffly as he grabs his change of clothes for later, trudging out the door. No, Jihoon wants to say, but doesn’t have the guts to.
"You never know, maybe that girl- the one who I just want to go out on a friendly outing with- might like me enough to take me in. Like me more so than you, even. Then I'll be out of your hair for good." The tall man closes the door all-but-gently, probably going off into the living room to make better relationships with his parents than Jihoon ever did for himself.
The young man balls himself up on his bed. When he was little, he would always cry his frustrations out after exploding, but now he would just sit and fume while breathing heavily until he fell asleep.
He didn't want Seungcheol to stay with that girl; with anyone other than him for that matter. It was mostly because he was the only one other than the vg-kids who knew about his true life, and if the possibility arose to take Seungcheol back, he needed to be there at all times to take him over to the store. There was also the sentiment that Jihoon himself was the one who discovered Seungcheol- and essentially brought him to this plane of existence- that made the small man feel somewhat entitled to the other's attention and company. In some twisted, technological sense, Jihoon owned Seungcheol- although it was not like he thought of it in that way. He thought of it more as an assurance that Seungcheol would have to stick with Jihoon no matter what, but now that Jihoon had gone and blown that for both of them, he can't expect to feel the other's presence near him anytime soon.
At least, as Jihoon, that is.
After half an hour of cooling down- only 3 more hours until date night, Jihoon trots down the stairs to grab himself a cold drink of water before calling Soonyoung over. At least he didn't have to worry about Seungcheol snooping on the two anymore.
He glances over at Seungcheol expectantly, hoping that maybe, just maybe the other would pay him at least some mind. Express to him through a just look that he knew Jihoon was just being hyperbolic, and that not everything that he said was really what he meant.
He only gets a cold shoulder as the tv drones about “Increasing loneliness rates between the youth and elderly”.
Downing the water, placing the cup in the sink, and clomping up the stairs determined, Jihoon is ready to put “Plan: Woozi is Real, For Now” into action.
Sending the ready text, Jihoon curls onto his bed in nervousness as he waits.
Minutes pass, and there's a knocking at the door. Could it be Seungcheol, coming to mend their singed relationship out of the kindness of his heart….? It was kind of early for Soonyoung to get here so soon……
….No, it was just Soonyoung.
The brown-haired, cat-faced man dumps the costume items onto Jihoon’s bed roughly, and looks at Jihoon, not with the normal, friendly grin he usually donned.
“What did you do this time, ‘hoonie…?” Soonyoung asks as he shuffles through the feminine goods.
“What?” Jihoon pretends to fake a casual look, but Soonyoung expresses that he doesn’t buy it with a smack to the younger’s wrist.
“You know what I mean, what the hell did you say to that poor Seungcheol guy to get him and you all like this?” Soonyoung finds the wig cap he was searching for and starts stretching it onto Jihoon’s head.
“He was nice to me when I came in, even had the decency to say hi, but….”
“I…might’ve lashed out at him.”
Soonyoung looks disapprovingly, but still sympathetic as he straightens out the summer dress he picked from his sister’s closet.
“I don’t think you need to add me to the long, extensive list of people who’ve callen you a .”
Jihoon wriggles as Soonyoung smacks the elastic against the other’s skull, and yelps.
“Shoot- be more gentle… and no, I really don’t, just help me get pretty and stuff. I already have a plan on making all of this right.”
So Soonyoung does, honestly just tired of his friend. He tries to stay quiet through most of the makeup, knowing the other won't appreciate him breathing on his face, but he really can't help but get a word in.
“Jihoon… I don’t really think this’ll necessarily make anything right.”
“Hm?” Jihoon looks at Soonyoung questioningly, through squinted, fake-lash covered eyelids.
“From an outsider’s point of view, this is all seems so… wrong. Not the woman-clothes or anything, like, sure you can run around in dresses all night if you want, but-” Soonyoung mutters while fluffing Jihoon’s chalky, pastel wig.
“Tricking this nice guy, sabotaging his date… it’s low, even for you.”
Jihoon just listens in silence.
“I know you’re desperate, but like…”
Soonyoung wavers at the now-transformed young man’s obvious lack of response to his advice.
“Go on.”
“If this goes horribly wrong, and even you know it will, this poor guy won’t ever forgive you.”
“I know that. Just leave me alone, I asked you to make me hot, not old from all your nagging.”
Soonyoung lets Jihoon sit up from the bed and wander towards the mirror.
“How’s it?”
“Something’s missing.””
“Wait, really?”
Jihoon nods as he sifts through the pile of makeup products, shoveling out the socks he had asked Soonyoung to bring. He ventures over to his dresser, and grabs even more socks.
Combined, Jihoon shoves the piles of socks into each groove of his bra.
“Oh my God,” Soonyoung slaps his knee, finally cracking a smile again.
“Finally. Your dead expression was killing me. You look better with an eye smile.” Jihoon deadpans as he twirls in front of the mirror, trying to grow accustomed to the breeziness and flow of a dress. He was wearing the odd combination of a sundress over a turtleneck, with a sweater to top it off. When asked, Soonyoung explained that the turtleneck was to hide Jihoon’s adam’s apple. No complaints there.
Bringing his face closer to the mirror, he fixes some strands of faux hair as he looks over his makeup.
“I’ll give it to you, Soon. Not half bad.” The younger clasps his friend’s shoulder. “Guess those facepaint classes we did in the seventh grade really did pay off.” The two chuckle, but Soonyoung stops Jihoon short,
“There’s still one more thing, though.”
“Huh?”
“These.” Soonyoung runs his fingers across Jihoon’s forehead.
“What, my brows?”
“Yeah, we need to fix them. If you run around with those monsters, you’ll surely raise suspicion.” The brown-haired man dug through the pile of makeup to find a clean set of tweezers.
Jihoon didn’t have any idea how beauty worked, Soonyoung could be right, for all he knew. He did have sorta-bushy eyebrows.
Self-consciously tracing the hairs through his mirror, Jihoon looks at the other’s pointed metal tool.
“...Will it hurt?”
Soonyoung gave an earnest smile as he clicked the tweezers together.
“Only the first time around.”
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“!” Seungcheol hears a wail from upstairs.
It was hard giving Jihoon the silent treatment, especially when he knew that the other had probably not meant the mean things that he said, but he needed to stand his ground. Especially after the accusation of cheating on Woozi.
He really wanted to see her again. Have his arms around her petite waist, his lips against her cheek. Just thinking about her made him gush, but alas, she was probably still back at home.
He just wanted his girlfriend back, but since that was most likely impossible at the time, he decided making some new friends wouldn’t hurt. The girl who invited him to dinner certainly seemed interested in him, but it was probably just puppy-love that could disappear after explaining to her that he was taken.
Maybe after Jihoon apologizes, all three of them could even hang out together sometime.
“Y-yeep!”
Jihoon and his friend were certainly being loud, up there.
“Quiet! This is weird for both of us!”
“It h-hurts- !”
“Don’t be a baby, just take it! It only hurts in the beginning!”
Seungcheol searches for any reaction on Jihoon’s parents’ faces, but all they do is stare blankly at the tv. What, was this normal for Jihoon?
“THEN DON’T BE SO ROUGH WITH ME, JACKASS!”
“I’M BEING AS GENTLE AS I CAN, JERKFACE!”
“GO SLOWER, AT LEAST-”
“IT’LL HURT LESS IF I DO IT QUICK, OKAY!?”
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-”
Seungcheol coughs into his fist to garner the parents’ attention. Instead, the two turn to each other and just share a tender ‘kids-these-days’ smile.
“It’s been quite a while since Soonyoungie came over to play with Jihoonie!” Jihoon’s mother fawns.
“You’ve got that right. He’s grown up to be a fine and handsome man. Jihoon can learn a few things from him.”
Seungcheol awkwardly excuses himself to go the the upstairs bathroom, where he hears Jihoon release another blood-curdling scream.
He contemplates checking simply out of curiosity, but also wants to take into consideration the two’s privacy.
Oh, screw it.
Seungcheol knocks against the shut bedroom door, and all noises from inside stopped immediately.
“May I come in? I forgot to grab a jacket.”
“NO,” both muffled voices say simultaneously.
“Why? Are you guys busy?”
“N-no - I mean, what? Busy doing what?” Jihoon’s friend- Soonyoung, was it, stuttered.
“Nothing, I just assumed-”
“NOTHING IS GOING ON. We’re just play-wrestling.”
“Oh, okay. In that case, I’ll just let myself in.” Seungcheol manages to open the door a crack before Soonyoung wedges his leg into the space.
“Um, excuse me?”
Seungcheol moves to open the door some more, but a disheveled-looking Soonyoung slides in front of him as to block him from stepping in.
The brown-haired man’s hair twisted and turned in every direction, and there were scratches on his neck, as if an angered cat had gotten at him.
“Which jacket do you want? I’ll get it for you.”
“... The jean one.”
Soonyoung hollers into the room, ordering Jihoon to pass it to him, and a jean jacket is soon sloppily tossed at Seungcheol’s face.
“Thanks, I-”
The door is slammed into Seungcheol’s face, doorknob twisting and locking soon after.
...It’s not like it’s his business what Jihoon does- or doesn’t do with his friend, but it seemed to Seungcheol that he should take a just a little bit longer before forgiving the young man.
Seungcheol huffs as he walks down the stairs.
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“Now that... was a close one.” Soonyoung says, wiping off stray hairs as he drew thinner and more delicate eyebrows onto Jihoon.
"You’ve got that right…”
Jihoon sighs as he makes space on his bed for Soonyoung.
The two sit in silence, as the clock ticks down to the time Seungcheol leaves for his date.
Hearing Seungcheol announce his leaving to the adults downstairs, Jihoon grabs his purse- courtesy of Soonyoung’s sis- and dusts down his dress.
“It’s time.”
Soonyoung grips Jihoon’s shoulder reassuringly.
“I’ll be waiting here to make sure your parents don’t get suspicious, you can always call me if things go wrong. Good luck, ‘hoon.”
“Thanks.”
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Following Seungcheol and his date around was surprisingly easy, the girl being too into Seungcheol to notice anything, and Seungcheol having too much fun to care. Once they have gotten into the restaurant, it was time for Jihoon’s plan to be put into action.
Waiting for the couple to be seated, Jihoon opens up his compact mirror, once again courtesy of Soonyoung’s sister, and checks his appearance. Not bad, although the foundation on his forehead was starting to run because of all the excessive sweating he did. Don’t run around stalking people while wearing wigs and turtlenecks. It’s not worth it.
Huffing, he strides up to the waiter in charge of seating with confidence. Voice lessons- don’t fail him now. He was called dolphin back at school for a reason.
“Table for one, please.”
The (notably handsome) waiter seemed shocked for a split second at the sight of Jihoon, and Jihoon assumed it was because of his striking beauty as Woozi.
“Right this way, miss.” Snapping back to reality, the waiter beckons with a mellow voice.
Miss! He said miss! This is working!
Noting where Seungcheol and his date were sitting, Jihoon nudged at the waiter and again mustered the highest pitch he could.
“E-erhm… could I please be seated over there…? By the windows…?”
Jihoon timidly pointed at the table across from Seungcheol’s, right behind his date. Right where he could see him.
“Of course.” The server smiles cordially, nodding while placing a menu on the linen tablecloth.
Jihoon smooths his dress and sits, checking the time on his phone. 7:00. Perfect.
Now was time for the test. Ordering whatever was the cheapest on the menu- (bread and soup, for the record,) it suddenly occurred to Jihoon that Seungcheol didn’t even have any ing money. At all. How was the guy supposed to pay for dinner? Was that girl paying? Jesus Christ.
‘Don’t get side-tracked, ‘Woozi’.’ Jihoon in his breath as he pretends to look around, avoiding eye contact with Seungcheol. Hopefully, he had some semblance with whatever Woozi actually looked like. If not, that meant Jihoon had just wasted an entire night of his life parading in a flowy dress while wearing a pink wig for nothing.
Soon, he feels eyes on him, and he takes a while before peering back toward Seungcheol, shock and surprise obvious on his features. Bingo.
Pretending to be surprised as well, he daintily gasps as he covers his mouth, and before he knew it there was a thumping of silverware as Seungcheol shot up, hands on the table.
“O-oppa…” Seungcheol’s date worriedly turns to see what he was gaping at, only to see a surprised (but secretly celebrating,) girl sitting across from her.
“Woozi!?”
Jihoon clears his voice and puts on his best act of the night.
“Cheollie…? Who’s that girl….?”
Things were just getting started.
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