Jongin glances at you, and if you didn’t know any better, you’d say he looks spooked. 

Spooked, he is. For you to deduct such information from such a short interaction, paired with what are obvious devious tendencies, it’s difficult to ignore that you’re loading yourself with ammunition for a war he wants no part in, but has evidently been written into against his will. So he knows that whatever it is you’ve come up with, whatever it is you’re going to say, he has to hear it out, at the very least.

“This is not to say I’m confirming your theory.”

You snort to yourself. “Theory.”

He ignores this. “But in the instance you’re Lee Taemin’s best friend,” you try to ignore the emphasis on friend, knowing it’s the worst kind of dig; that even if you’ve got him in a corner he can’t weave his way out of, he’s still able to mock you. In plain sight. “And rumors spreading like the aforementioned are the very last thing I need in this godforsaken school…”

And it’s a win-win for you, seeing as he just solidified the fact that he cares about his image and reputation. For the right reasons, obviously, he has the perfect track record, astoundingly good grades, and is all set for a ride straight into the elite, no matter which path he sets his sights on.

“I’ll listen to whatever it is you’re about to suggest." 

You’re feeling kind of disgusted at yourself for so blindly trying to seduce this same man a day ago. Maybe instead of sensual whispering, he was a fan of blatantly insulting you to your face. Yes, you were Taemin’s friend, and in no way would you deny so, but he didn’t have to be so biting about the fact that you were ‘only’ Taemin’s friend. It wasn’t like it was a bad position to take, maybe in your situation of unrequited love sure, but a best friend was an integral part of someone’s life, and they’d be there when relationships began and ended. You were more of a staple in Taemin’s life than his current girlfriend. 

Rather than get aggressive, you smirk to yourself, because even with you being "just friends” with Taemin, it’s still a whole lot closer than he is with his object of affection. “At least I have a defined relationship with my object of interest. Yours on the other hand doesn’t want anything to do with you, something she showcased moments ago. Now tell me, Jongin, how does one up so badly?”

He barely even blinks, holding fluent eye contact with you. “Hilarious how you think you’ve one upped me,” he says. “Even more so that you think you’re in control of this situation. Maybe you’re right, to a degree. There’s something tying me to Taemin’s girlfriend, sure. But it’s not half as serious as you’re presuming.” He blinks at you. “I care more about my reputation in this school and my academic future than I do petty love games, and the only reason I’m listening is because something about you tells me you’re capable of jeopardizing everything I’ve worked for. And I can’t risk that.”

“What is it that ties you to Taemin’s girlfriend?”

He avoids direct eye contact, knowing you’ll figure it out eventually, so why not tell you from his own mouth. “We have… history, for lack of a better term. History she doesn’t seem to be all that proud of, something that was cut short, and out of nowhere.” 

You blink. He’s making it seem like they were friends but is that to deter you from having leverage over him? As talked about as he was, barely anyone knew him. They’d probably be tailed after and hounded if one of the ‘gossipers’ in school found out a classmate had befriended Jongin, much less dated or been on a date with him.

History could mean anything from befriending to romance. Was he simply trying to protect Taemin’s girlfriend? You were quite sure he knew you didn’t gossip to anyone, probably besides Taemin, but he didn’t know how easily that could change. 

As much as he rarely interacted with others outside of what was expected in class or projects, romance was a lot more scandalous for Jongin of all people, so you decide you’ll settle on that for now. 

“It might be a lost cause, but I’ve always felt there’s more to her and my story and I’d like an explanation of what went wrong.”

You glance at him, peering at him. 

But he doesn’t flinch at your gaze. "This all happened before her and Taemin were together, yes.”  

“Ah,” you say, drawing the word out, tasting it. “So she left you for Taemin? Interesting.”

He doesn’t reply to this, but by not replying, he’s confirmed an answer for you. 

“Does that hurt, oppa?” If you know anything about Taemin's girlfriend, she's polite, fond of honorifics. Has a way of making the boys in your school want to be called oppa. With you, you know it's expected of you, but it's not a word you overuse and if you can avoid using it, you will. Hearing you say it, you're sure it sounds like it has a devious undertone. Which is your intention... could he be one of aforementioned boys, who dreams of the school's sweetheart calling him 'oppa'?

“Don’t call me that,” he says, crinkling his nose, sighing when he hears your hearty chuckle. 

Maybe. But it's certainly not you he's hoping to hear the term from. 

“To just be pushed aside like you mean nothing, for some random newcomer, after you’d built such a strong and genuine basis. Strange how similar our situations are at the heart of it, hm?”

He shrugs. 

“Well if that will be all…” You trail off, turning on your heel.

“Wait, _____?”

You blink, turning back around to face him. 

You watch him hesitate, debating whether or not he should proceed. “Don’t go out tonight.” 

You freeze in your tracks, wondering if you underestimated how well he truly can read people. Or if he’s realizing you may actually be useful to him in the long run.

“This new habit, whatever it is you want to call it, it’s not good for you. And they’re not going to morph into Taemin, no matter how hard you try.” He edges closer, chewing at his lip.“So instead,” he says. “Come out with me, I have an errand to run. There’s a party coming up in the distant future that she and I have been invited to, and I know for a fact she’ll be attending. It’s only logical she’ll bring Taemin as her date. 
  Go as my ‘date’, dress yourself up to the nines, be the star of the show. Once we’re seated on the same table as them, or within close vicinity, we can engage in conversation, until we drop our bombshell and announce that we’re ‘together’.   Something neither will be expecting. Which will at least get his attention focused on you in the way you’re hoping, as I assume that’s what your scheme is, and if not, it’s what I’d recommend. 
  If he sees you romantically involved with another man, spending time with said man in a way that used to be used solely for him, it’s going to nab his attention. Romantically, he’ll see all the aspects of you he previously missed out on and maybe will open his eyes to you in that sense.” 

You smile to yourself. "So is this your way of saying you’re agreeing to my deal? –That a thirst for love and revenge wins you over into these 'petty love games’, especially as it may have the same affect on his girlfriend in terms of yourself?”

“Rather I’m worried of what will happen to me and my reputation if I wholeheartedly disagree to this scheme of yours, I fear of what you’re capable of conjuring up.” He shrugs to himself. “And I guess at the heart of it, I need some excitement in my life, seeing I’ve been glued to the pages of my books and the confines of school and my… apartment for months, and you’re surely on the opposite end of the spectrum these days. So I might as well see how this pans out.”

“Sly digs don’t become you,” you grumble. “No matter how eloquently they’re worded. Besides, I study just as much and as often as you. I just allow myself to have an active social life whilst I’m at it.”

He raises an eyebrow. “As the meetings with the best friend go down in number and the random encounters with strange men go up. Guess it doesn’t count in your mind if you’re pretending they’re your pretty little best friend.”

Your eyes narrow, tone almost icy in temperature. “You know if you’re like this with everyone, no wonder she doesn’t want to be with you.”

And though there’s no visible reaction, you know you’ve hit a cord within him.

There’s a suffocating atmosphere in the classroom you’re both situated in, in the after hours of class where the vast majority have already left, neither saying anything. You’d thought you got off on the wrong foot initially, but it seems you’ve tied it with shackles and chains after your last interaction with this all too elusive male. 

Who’s too smart for his own good, it seems. You’re not usually one to judge on first impressions – though admittedly you have with Jongin to a degree, even before the interactions, but he’s only proving those impressions correct. The insults he gives are not only entirely uncalled for, they’re not even blatant insults, they’re insults you have to look closely at, dig about and decipher, stuff he can so simply hide behind a 'I’m just stating facts’ rhetoric, and as much as you can’t deny it’s the truth, what he’s said, he doesn’t know you, nor anything about your personality from any previous interactions. 

He’s simply reading you like a book, and hitting the nail on its head, even without knowing you.  And it’s frustrating. Yes, you’ve done it back, but for some reason, when Jongin says the things he says, particularly about Taemin, it really does hit a cord within you. 

But for some reason, you’ve been brought together. And it seems like the most opportune time,  so you don’t want to mess this up to the point of no return, especially if this scheme you’ve concocted could result in Taemin seeing you the way you’ve always dreamed he would. 

Less of a friend, more of a lover.

You’d never resort to pulling Taemin and his girlfriend apart, nor coming between it; you’re just h