Day one

Yixing laid on his bed staring at the ceiling. He had scrolled through his phone, reading and replying the juiciest tweets, Instagram comments, and whatnot. So, now he just rested there, doing nothing. It was the midday, the morning of lamentations had passed long ago. But because his mom didn’t need any help at the hair salon, his dad dealt with his job, his little brother no longer required a babysitter, there were no house chores left to do, and he had finished editing his new video, he didn’t have anything better to do. It wasn’t as if he could do many exciting things either. Life in this town could be serene but dull at times, especially if one’s best friends had gone to the city or were occupied with part-time jobs. He regretted not searching for another job. He was supposedly going to help Kyungsoo to clean and sort the storage at the bookstore. After yesterday, that wasn’t possible anymore.

When he thought about it, the happenings of yesterday seemed like the reminders of sundry dreams. Getting rejected by ‘the love of his life’ and then becoming Kim Joonmyeon’s ‘boyfriend?’ All in the same day? Yes, it seemed too dreamlike to be real. The rejection part being a bad dream, and the boyfriend part fragments of an absurd dream.

However, it was true. More so when Yixing’s phone rang, notifying him of a new text message. He reached his nightstand to grab the device and opened the application and text.

Hi love 😘 😘 😘 😘 What are you up to? Let’s meet  💖😘

“What the heck?” Yixing frowned staring at the screen, blinking repeatedly. The number was unknown, but it had to be Joonmyeon. Who else would send him this… Silly message? After all, they had agreed their ‘relationship’ would officially start today. Yet it still felt weird, Joonmyeon calling him his ‘love’ and everything else. Maybe it was because they had skipped the whole ‘I have a crush on you’ phase or because none of them really knew the other well. For Yixing, although he had realized Joonmyeon was more than what he showed, he still slightly thought of him as ‘the perfect boy who goes in my class.’ So being Joonmyeon’s boyfriend, actually being anyone’s boyfriend, felt strange, unreal.

However, in between that oddity, Yixing was also amused once he re-read the text. “Who uses so many kiss emojis?” he asked before laughing. And Joonmyeon had actually sent him a text, asking him to see each other, just like any other boyfriend would have done. It seemed that Joonmyeon was taking this thing seriously, well it had been his idea after all. Yixing hadn’t expected this was the approach he’ll take to initiate things. Yet it could be the answer to Yixing’s boredom. He wrote down a reply and also saved Joonmyeon’s number.

Texting with Joonmyeon involved silly and witty remarks, lots of emojis, and pet names here and there. The latter came from Joonmyeon, Yixing only called him ‘Joonmyeon.’ He wondered if all that was part of the ‘boyfriends’ experience, or if it was due to Joonmyeon’s character. Was everyone like this on relationships? How did Joonmyeon manage to behave as if they had been together for ages? And at one point, Yixing asked himself if Kyungsoo would even text like that? Something told him that was certainly not true. Still, talking with Joonmyeon was a tad bizarre and humorous at the same time. Besides, Joonmyeon was one of those few people who actually replied quickly.

Eventually, Yixing got off the bed. Apparently, he and Joonmyeon would meet downtown to do something. What would they do? Joonmyeon had said they’ll figure it out once they were there. Either way, this was officially his first date, even if it involved a fake boyfriend. And well, Kyungsoo’s bookstore was near downtown.

He changed his clothes for something more appropriate for a casual date. Before walking out the door, he stared at his calendar hanging on the door and crossed over the previous day. Today’s date was marked ‘Day One.’ “Only twenty-nine more to go, Yixing,” he said. And so, he went off to meet his ‘boyfriend.’

It was a hot and sunny day, the sun shone brightly in the blue sky. And when Yixing arrived at the meeting spot, Joonmyeon was already sitting there, fidgeting with his phone. Yixing cleared his throat, and Joonmyeon raised his head. Smiling, Joonmyeon stared at him up and down. “Yixing, love, you look beautiful.”

“Oh god,” Yixing muttered and rapidly looked at the floor. It was different to hear him say that. And Yixing felt embarrassed. Why? It wasn’t as if Joonmyeon made him flustered, it just felt strange to hear him say that. Very strange.

Joonmyeon laughed. “What’s wrong? Can’t I compliment my beautiful boyfriend?”

He said it again, so easy as if Yixing and him being together was the most normal thing ever. His chillness about it was incredible. Perhaps Joonmyeon had more experience in this field than what everyone at school knew. “It just hasn’t sunk in yet.”

“What? That you’re my boyfriend?”

“Fake boyfriend, but pretty much, yeah.”

Joonmyeon giggled again, shaking his head. “Well, today is all about letting that digest. We have only just started.” He winked and stood up. “Shall we go?” Joonmyeon held out his hand for Yixing to take it. Yixing didn’t do anything, only stared at that hand in wonderment. Should he take it or not?

“I said you draw the limits, Yixing. If you’re afraid to hold hands, it’s okay,” Joonmyeon said.

What the hell, Yixing thought. That was the simplest, harmless task ever, holding hands. Decisively, he took Joonmyeon’s hand, and when they began walking, Joonmyeon interlaced their fingers. The warm day made their hands sweat too much, or maybe it was because Yixing was a little nervous about being seen like that. But Joonmyeon had a firm, confident grip, or the whole he was full of confidence as if the world was at his feet with every step he took. That had always been what Yixing thought of Joonmyeon when he saw him walking in the corridors in school. Now as they strode around the town and people encountered them, watching them in astonishment, he felt a part of it.

“Where are we going?”

“To the ice-cream shop.”

“Oh, why don’t we go that way?” Yixing asked, pointing at the street to their left. It was also where Kyungsoo’s shop was located. If they’d walk past the store’s glass windows, there was no way they’d go unnoticed.

“Yeah, but this one’s faster,” Joonmyeon answered, dragging Yixing straight ahead. There went Yixing’s first chance of flaunting his new ‘relationship.’ Maybe on the way back, he thought.

The ice-cream shop was not empty. Some of their schoolmates sat there, and all eyes were on them when the chiming doorbell announced their arrival. Joonmyeon nonchalantly took them to the counter, ignoring the mumbles.

“Do you want anything in mind?”

Yixing shook his head. “You choose. Anything is fine.” Trying to avoid the not-so-subtle glaring eyes, he went to get a table. He found one in the corner of the room. When Joonmyeon returned, he held a tray with a strawberry parfait in a large glass. He sat in front of Yixing.

“You’re not eating?” Yixing asked.

“I am. Honey, we’re sharing.”

“But there’s only one spoon.”

“Then I guess you’ll feed me and I’ll feed you.”

Yixing rolled his eyes. “Man, you’re really embarrassing. Are we gonna be one of those overly clingy couples that do everything together?”

Joonmyeon laughed. “We share one dessert, and you’re already assuming that? But hey, at least you called us a couple, see? We’re already progressing,” he said, smirking.

And Yixing realized he had said that. How odd.

“Here,” Joonmyeon said. He held the spoon in front of Yixing’s face. When Yixing looked around, people were staring at them, but they rapidly looked away. Well, doing this kind of stuff might make their relationship seem more real in the eyes of others. So, Yixing opened his mouth and tasted the parfait. It was delicious, sweet and tasted vanilla. This was his favorite dessert. “I’m not gonna feed you, Joonmyeon. Do it yourself,” Yixing said after noticing that Joonmyeon had been staring at him.

“I figured,” Joonmyeon said, taking a bite of his own.

Yixing put his elbows on the table and rested his face on his hands. He soon forgot about the others in the ice-cream store. Instead, he was engrossed in a conversation with Joonmyeon about topics such as the TV-series they both apparently like to watch. It seemed they had quite some things in common. They spoke all the time while Joonmyeon fed himself and Yixing the parfait.

“That was delicious,” Yixing said once they had finished the dessert. “I love parfaits.”

“You do?”

Yixing nodded.

“Me too… How about we come here each day during the upcoming twenty-nine days?”

“What?”

“So, we’ll have something to look forward every day. And it could be like our little couple’s thing we do together.”

Yixing laughed. “For as much as I love them, I don’t think is worth the risk getting cavities or diabetes.”

 “Always thinking of risks, my love. Is not as if we’re gonna eat two parfaits a day.” Joonmyeon said before chuckling. “But if it’s cool with you, then how about every odd-numbered day? It’ll only be fifteen-times total.”

After thinking it for a few seconds, Yixing answered, “I guess that doesn’t sound that bad. Next time I’ll pay, though.”

“Okay,” Joonmyeon said, grinning warm-heartedly.

“So… What are we gonna do now?” Yixing asked. They had finished eating, so there wasn’t any reason to keep sitting there.

“I don’t know. Wanna walk around town and find out?”

That sounded better than going back to bed and lie there doing absolutely nothing. Besides, the more people that saw them together, the higher the chances Kyungsoo would know about it. Small town folk liked to talk and keep up to date. However, that meant his mom might already know about it too, especially because they had bumped into Yixing’s neighbors on the way here. He’d have to deal with it later. So, Yixing said yes, and he and Joonmyeon walked out of there, holding hands yet again.

When they stood outside, Joonmyeon exclaimed, “Oh look! There’s a photo booth,” pointing at the street on the other side. “Let’s take some pictures! This will be a day to remember.”

“Su-sure.”

Joonmyeon pulled them to the photo booth. Once inside, Joonmyeon tapped on the monitor, reading the instructions and selecting the options. Yixing stood against the wall. While Joonmyeon took care of the settings, he said, “You know, sweetheart, for the first photo, I was thinking, how about a normal photo with a straight back and no smiles? You know like when you take a picture for your id?”

Yixing lifted an eyebrow in bemusement. “What? That’s a weird request. Why?”

“It’ll be like a transition? You know, like from bored to extremely happy, just like how our days used to be before we got together,” Joonmyeon said and turned around, smiling. “Ready?”

That excuse sounded ridiculous. Yixing felt suspicious for a bit. But this was Joonmyeon, and the more time Yixing spent with him, the more he found out these odd ways of him. It might be the truth. So, once the countdown began Yixing did that pose Joonmyeon had wanted.

“Now smile!” Joonmyeon said for the second take. He tilted his head a little to Yixing’s side, almost resting it on his shoulder.

The rest of the photos were silly poses, like them doing an L-sign and thinking those were guns, or them giving each other bunny ears, or them making funny faces, or Yixing laughing at Joonmyeon’s attempts to pose dramatically. When they had finished, and Yixing saw his copy of the photo string, he thought it looked rather cute. He might actually keep those pictures. Carefully, Yixing saved the strip in his pocket.

After the photo booth, Joonmyeon suggested they should rent a movie to see for another time. Yixing argued why they should do that when they could just as well stream it online. But Joonmyeon had defended his standpoint, saying that what was the point in watching a movie if one can’t hold its DVD in one's hands? Apparently, that was more valuable. In response, Yixing rolled his eyes. He didn’t care to answer back because he figured Joonmyeon must be one of those people who still bought CDs to listen to music.

It had been a long time since Yixing had set foot in the video store, probably since he was a child. Meanwhile, it seemed Joonmyeon frequented this place often. He had a club membership card. And Joonmyeon was the one who guided Yixing around, giving him many recommendations, naming out the best movies, the ones worth winning this or that price, the ones not worthy of their success, and so much else. One might think, Joonmyeon actually worked there.

“So, Xing Xing, which movie? Or which genre? Maybe you have a director in mind?” Joonmyeon asked once he had finished talking.

‘Xing Xing,’ it felt uncanny to hear Joonmyeon say that. Of all the nicknames he had for Yixing, that one felt the most intimate yet. It was only his best friends and family that he allowed using that nickname. He had always wanted Kyungsoo to call him that, but Kyungsoo had never done it. And now Joonmyeon was saying it, so carefree. Still, Yixing couldn’t understand why he didn’t mind that.

“Yixing?”

Yixing shook his head a little. “Yeah, whatever is fine Joonmyeon. Except maybe those long sagas. I can never keep up with the plot, characters, and all that hassle.”

Joonmyeon chuckled. “Okay.” He ended up renting twelve DVDs. A variety of genres and well-acclaimed movies, he had told Yixing. They were going to watch them all before the end of the thirty days.

The rest of the afternoon, they continued wandering around town. Joonmyeon held their hands together and was the one in charge of directions. But not once had they passed by the bookstore. And Yixing didn’t realize it until somehow, they had ended up walking all the way to the bridge, at the same spot they had encountered only twenty-four hours ago. Supposedly, he was going to show Kyungsoo he had ‘moved on’ and make him jealous. Yet the conversation with Joonmyeon had been distracting enough that Yixing hadn’t even remembered it. Maybe that crazy plan was working, somehow. But that memory also brought the notion of what he was doing with Joonmyeon in the first place. They were on a date. Yixing’s first date ever had been with Kim Joonmyeon, eating ice-cream and going for a walk. However, could a date with a fake boyfriend even be considered one?

“A penny for your thoughts,” Joonmyeon said. Yixing stopped watching the river flowing beneath them to look at Joonmyeon, who was tilting his head to the side, looking expectant.

“I was thinking I wasn’t expecting it to be like this.”

“What?”

“This date.”

“What? Are you disappointed? Because I could do better you know. Today was more-”

“That’s not what I mean, Joonmyeon,” Yixing interrupted, “I guess I always expected my first date to be something like the cliché night at the movies or candlelight dinner at a restaurant, or I don’t know something like that.”

“Well, the only theater in town is closed for renovations. So, we couldn’t do that. And the only two fanciest restaurants here have a dead atmosphere, not romantic at all, at least in my opinion.”

“I see. But this was sweet too, and I admit it, it was kinda fun. You can actually be fun to talk to and be with.”

That made Joonmyeon laughed tenderly. “What a compliment. The nicest one I’ve ever gotten. But did I succeed? Did I manage to distract you from ‘your life’s biggest pain?’”

“Honestly, I think you did. I thought about it a lot this morning, but then I got that weird text from you, and well, yeah, I think so. Although, now I’m thinking about it and-”

Joonmyeon put his finger to cover Yixing’s lips. “And nothing! Sorry, I brought it up. Let’s forget about it. Redirect your thoughts to me, love,” he said before withdrawing his hand.

No matter how many times he had heard it, Yixing still wasn’t used to Joonmyeon’s terms of endearment. Things seemed to have moved on too quickly, at least for Yixing. He had thought they wouldn’t call themselves that kind of pet names. Nothing of it was real anyway.

“Why do you keep flinching when I say that?”

“I don’t know. Doesn’t it feel strange for you to say it?”

Joonmyeon shook his head.

“How? How are you doing it so nonchalantly? Isn’t it a little embarrassing? How do you make everything seem so real?”

Joonmyeon remained quiet while he thought of something. And when he had, he said, “Yixing, for this thing to work you have to start thinking it as real. It’s an act that will end in a month, yes, but that shouldn’t stop you from staying in character. Pretend this is our reality and live within it. At least for a while, act as if this was the real thing.”

Yixing was confused.“I’m not an actor.”

“You don’t have to be one, you can still pretend.”

“How?”

“How do you usually pretend you’re happy with something when you’re not?”

How did he do it? He didn’t know, he just did it, thinking that it was better to be like that instead of hurting someone. Maybe that was what he had to do here too. “Fine. I’ll try being more open-minded about it. But I’m not calling you any pet names or do overly clingy stuff.”

“So, you won’t call me ‘love?’” Joonmyeon asked, doing his best to mimic puppy eyes and pouting his lower lip.

Yixing shook his head.

“How cold.”

“I told you, it’s kinda embarrassing.” With Joonmyeon yes, on the other hand with Kyungsoo? Would he have felt the same way? It was confusing.

“How do you know that? You have never even said it.”

“It is.”

“Say it once, you don’t know what you’ll feel unless you do. Just once.”

Yixing sighed. There was something about Joonmyeon showing that sad expression, that it pursued Yixing to compel. He closed his eyes and said, “Love.”

“Not good enough.”

“My-my love?”

He heard Joonmyeon chortling. “Try harder.”

“This is ridiculous.”

“Come on, honey. Please? For me?”

Why am I doing this? Yixing asked himself. But it was contradictory because he still muttered under his breath, “Joon-Joonmyeon my love?”

“What? I didn’t hear it.”

“Joonmyeon my love?”

“Say it louder. The more and the louder you say it, the faster you’ll adjust to it.”

Seriously, the sugar had affected Yixing’s brain. That was the only reasonable explanation he could find for what he was doing. “Joonmyeon my love!”

Yixing still kept his eyes closed. But if he had opened them, he would have seen Joonmyeon grinning happily while he told Yixing to go on. Until Yixing basically was screamed things out loud. And at some point, even Joonmyeon was shouting along with him things like: ‘Yixing, my sweetheart!’ Anyone who saw them would think they were idiots, idiots in love, perhaps.

Later, when Yixing was back at home, he pasted the photo strip on his mirror. He thought about how Kim Joonmyeon was a versatile guy. Going from the quiet and respectable star-student to this ‘boyfriend smitten with Yixing’ act was impressive. But outside that fraudulent behavior, he was someone Yixing could have interesting and amusing conversations with, someone fun to be friends with. Hopefully, after this whole month of craziness, they would remain friends.

If Yixing could summarize today’s happenings, he’d say everything had been strange. It had been bizarre. Things between them had seemed to escalated way too quickly. But compared to sulking and crying in his room, eating a parfait, talking together, taking silly photos and shouting a bunch of nonsense with Joonmyeon, it hadn’t been all that bad, actually fun.