Seulgi wishes she could go back in time, that way she would be able to rip up all those love letters she’s written when her emotions got the best of her, and she was stuck at home crying over stupid crushes. She sure as hell wouldn’t be in this predicament now if she was able to change the past.

Yerim was only trying to do her best, as a caring younger sister who hated seeing Seulgi so alone. She also was tired of her sister being her new ride to school (she was a horrible driver, seriously how did she pass her drivers’ test) and she just wanted to hangout with her friends on the weekend instead of being stuck babysitting. If Seulgi had a boyfriend, Yeri would have a more reliable ride to school, and she would get her weekends back. It was supposed to be a win-win!

Seulgi knows that real life isn’t like the love stories you read, which is why those letters were never supposed to be sent out. It was just one of the many ways she put her feelings into words so she could carry on in life. But now the secrets out, and she just wants to run and hide.

She discovered the mishap when Sungjae came up to her before homeroom. It caught Seulgi off guard for sure when she saw the other blocking her locker. “Hi…” She greeted, holding her books tight to her chest.

“Seulgi! Just the person I wanted to see!”

“Why?”

“Look… I’m flattered, I really am, but you know I’m dating Sooyoung, right?”

Seulgi was confused, of course she knew that, the entire school knew. “Yes, I do… and I’m happy for you…?”

“I just don’t want your crush on me to develop more, because I’m just not interested.”

“My c-crush?” Seulgi flushed red immediately, “I haven’t had a crush on you since… grade seven!”

“Oh? When I received your letter, I thought it was more recent… that makes me feel a lot better.”

“My letter?” Seulgi questioned, and Sungjae nodded, fishing it out of his backpack and handing it to her. Seulgi snatched it out of his grip, panicking. “You weren’t supposed to receive this! I’m so sorry! Please, just forget you read this.”

“…Okay… I’ll see you around then.” Sungjae waved goodbye before turning to disappear down the hall.

Which led to now, Seulgi banging her head against her locker in the girl’s changing room before her physical education class. She’s trying to knock some sense into herself… maybe figure out how she can get her hands on any other letters that may have been sent. She’s only written four in her life. One to Sungjae back in grade seven…another to Taeyong after a summer of being in the same hip hop class (which she’s confident he didn’t receive… she smartly never put it into an envelope). There was another for her freshmen crush Jaebum, who’s also in a relationship, so she’s not too worried about that one. And then….. Bogeum. Park Bogeum is her older sister’s boyfriend, well ex-boyfriend, and neighbor. It was the most recent of her love letters, and it was one she meant to destroy immediately after sealing it away in an envelope. She was having a hard time adjusting to the fact that Joohyun is now off to college on the other side of the country. She and Bogeum had been friends forever, since they were always neighbors, and right when she was about to confess that her feelings might be slightly more, he was confessing to Joohyun. They dated for a year, only breaking up because Joohyun was off to college while Bogeum was staying local to help out his parents. Seulgi was definitely worried now. She was content locking her feelings for Bogeum away, to save not only herself, but to save Joohyun. Joohyun wouldn’t be happy if she found out her younger sister has feelings for someone she still cares and is in love with. It would start a whole mess that Seulgi would rather avoid. She had to get that letter.

With new determination, she left the locker room to do laps around the track, hoping that the exercise will help blood flow and give her some ideas on how she could destroy the letter before Bogeum had a chance to read it and confront her about it.

As she ran around the track, she noticed Im Jaebum headed her way… great just what she needed. She and Jaebum weren’t as close as they used to be, that relationship growing stagnant the minute he started dating Nayeon and hanging out with her less. She sighed, and slowed down, giving Jaebum the opportunity to jog beside her. “What do you want, Im Jaebum?”

“I read your letter, thought we should talk about it.”

“There’s nothing to talk about, I don’t like you like that, and you shouldn’t have even received it.”

“But I did… so I think you should hear me out.” Jaebum explains, “I’m not really trying to jump into a relationship right now, not with my break up being so fresh.”

“Your break up?” Seulgi questioned, taking a second to spare a glance at him.

“Yeah? You didn’t hear? Nayeon and I broke up over the summer, she found someone else. Some guy in a band named Brian, and he goes to another school.”

“Oh… I’m… sorry to hear that. I know how much you liked her.”

“It’s whatever. It’ll take time to heal, which is why I’m going to have to reject your confession.”

“Trust me… that’s totally fine.” Seulgi assures, turning to look away. She spots Bogeum walking towards the direction of the track in her peripheral view, and she panics. He starts to wave, probably trying to flag her down, and she reacts by tackling Jaebum to the ground.

“What the—” Jaebum is cut off by the feel of Seulgi’s lips against his. He kisses back, before he could stop himself and Seulgi tries not to think about that. She waits for a second, glancing over to see Bogeum frowning and walking away. Good. She stops kissing Jaebum, pushing him away. “--the hell?! What was that about?”

“Nothing, don’t worry about it… I have to go now.” Seulgi states, getting to her feet and running away as fast as she can.

Her actions dawn on her the minute she’s changed out of her gym clothes and walking to her next class. She finds her best friend Seungwan standing outside her locker, and she pulls the girl into the nearest bathroom without words. “Uh? What’s going on?” Seungwan questions.

“Someone, probably Yerim, sent out all my love confessions, and it's coming to bite me in the .”

“What?!”

“Yes! First Sungjae, and then Jaebum, rejected me… and then I saw Bogeum, and he was trying to flag me down so I panicked and kissed Jaebum, and now I’m a mess.”

“Seul, slow down!”

“If Joohyun finds out, she’s going to kill me! Not to mention how will I ever talk to Bogeum or look him in the eyes! I don't even have a crush on him anymore, because I truly gave up on all my feelings when I saw how broken he and unnie were when she had to leave for university, and I feel horrible because I’m just going to make everything worse.”

“Seulgi!” Wendy calls out, grabbing her face to get her to stop talking, “It’s going to be fine. This will all blow over. You said you were rejected by Sungjae and by Jaebum, and Bogeum will probably just do the same. Seeing as you don’t have feelings for any of them anymore, it’s no big deal. It’ll all be okay.”

“But I’m not strong enough, Seungwan. Rejection is still rejection.”

“Yes, but that’s why you have me! We can movie marathon, eat junk food, and veg out. I’m here for you.”

“You’re right… thanks.” Seulgi smiles, pulling her best friend into a tight hug. Everything is going to be okay.

Her talk with Seungwan helped calm her down, but she still didn’t feel ready to deal with Bogeum. That being said, she was content eating lunch alone in the courtyard. At least she intended on eating alone… and then Jaebum came over, taking a seat on the table, while she was seated on the bench. He was smiling at her, and it concerned her. “Yes?”

“Aren’t you going to eat lunch with your friends?”

“I want just want to be alone today.” Seulgi admits, digging through her bag for her lunch. Her father made kimbap for Yerim’s lunch, and kindly packed the leftovers for her.

“Do you mind?” Jaebum questioned, pointing to a roll. Seulgi shook her head, offering him one and watching him eat it quickly, “So… I won’t keep you long, but I was thinking.”

“About?”

“Why did you kiss me earlier? Especially after making it clear that you don’t like me in such way?”

“If you must know… I was avoiding someone.”

“Another receiver of your love notes? How many did you write? I thought I was special for a moment.”

“Sorry to disappoint, but you were not the only letter, and it’s also none of your business who it was for.”

“Fine… but if that’s the case… maybe I can help you out.”

“What makes you think I need help?” Seulgi asks, holding her kimbap out for him to grab another piece. It wasn’t because she had a soft spot for Jaebum and their old friendship, it was because her dad had a lot of leftovers and she couldn’t possibly eat them all. Jaebum happily accepted more food.

“If you want to keep avoiding someone, I can help you. Pretend to be my girlfriend.”

“Did you hit your head earlier? You’re not making sense.”

“Surprisingly no, I didn’t hit my head when you tackled me. Which, you also did not apologize for, but I’m willing to overlook that if you accept my offer.”

“Why do you need me to pretend to date you?”

“If people think we’re dating, whomever you’re hiding from will give up pursuit, and I also might be able to make Nayeon jealous.”

“So that’s what this is about.” Seulgi chuckles, “And here I thought you genuinely wanted to help me.”

“I do! It just so happens that this can also help me! It’s like you scratch my back, I scratch yours. Are you intrigued?” Jaebum questions, leaning back on his hands a bit. Seulgi watches him carefully. It’ll get Bogeum off her back for sure…and pretending for a little bit can’t hurt. Plus, it’ll make Yerim feel good if she’s the one who orchestrated all this.

“I’m intrigued.”

“Awesome!”

“We’re going to have to set some rules though… if we’re falling through with this plan,” Seulgi stated, pulling out her notebook and flipping to a clean page. “First rule…no kissing.”

“No kissing? If my memory serves me correctly, you were the one who kissed me first.”

“That was in a moment of panic!  We’re not going through this again.”

“Fine.”

“Do you have any rules that you want to include?” Seulgi questions as she lists no kissing on the page.

“Skinship has to be a thing, I’ll honor our no kissing rule for now, but we have to at least hold hands, you know, sell it.” Jaebum says, confiscating the notebook and crossing out ‘no kissing’, and replacing it with 'skinship but limited kissing', “And you’ll have to go to my games.”

“I know nothing about basketball.”

“You don’t have to know anything about basketball to be there. It’s a thing. Girlfriends all sit together and wear our jackets. It’s tradition.”

“Fine. You have to be my ride to and from school… and if you don't mind, my little sister’s ride to school, my dad picks her up after.”

“Sure, makes it easier and more believable anyway. We have to attend parties together…”

“Okay, but we’re not going to parties every weekend. I have movie nights on Saturdays with Yerim.” Seulgi jots down their rules, “And you have to help me with my art portfolio. I like doing portraits… and it’s easier if you have a model. I can only draw my sisters and Seungwan so many times.”

“Deal, and if we’re still together by the ski trip, we have to go together.”

“That’s five months away!”

“It's a precaution. I’m not missing out on the trip this year if I don’t have to.”

“Fine… I doubt we’ll still be dating by then anyway.”

“Same, I should be back with Nayeon by then.”

“Sign here please.” Seulgi demands after signing the bottom of the page. Jaebum scrawls his name quickly and hands the notebook back to Seulgi. “So… we’re now a couple.”

“Yeah, so… I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning, babe.” Jaebum winked, stealing her last kimbap before leaving her alone.