The next morning, Seulgi felt like she was in a bizarre dream. She got dressed on autopilot, and tried her best to not have a crisis because she would now have to pretend to be someone’s girlfriend. To pretend to be Jaebum’s girlfriend. 

 

After saying goodbye to their father, Junmyeon, Seulgi ushered Yerim outside and towards the curb. Her younger sister turned to her. “So… I think I’m going to bring my helmet today.” Yerim was just about to walk towards her bicycle, and unstrap the safety garment when Seulgi held up her hand.

“That won’t be necessary, I’m not driving.”

“Really? Then how are we getting to school?”

“There’s this guy, Jaebum, he’ll be our new ride to school.” Seulgi revealed, pointing to the car that turned down their street. “There he is now.”

“Did you manage to actually get a boyfriend??” Yerim questioned, bouncing in excitement. “This is so great!”

“Yeah, yeah. Play nice okay?” Seulgi pleaded as Jaebum’s car stopped in front of them. He quickly got out, running over to open the doors for them, starting with Yerim.

“Hi, I’m Jaebum, and you must be Yerim.” Jaebum greeted, a cheeky smile on his face.

“Nice to meet you, and thanks for taking me to school too! I hope you’re a better driver than unnie.”

“Well… I’ll let you judge, go ahead, hop in.” Yerim giggled as she climbed into the backseat, Jaebum closing the door once she was seated and buckled in. He then looked over at Seulgi, opening the passenger door. “Ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Seulgi admitted, getting in.

 

 

The drive was so far, so smooth. The radio playing to fill up the silence, until Yerim couldn’t take it anymore. “So, Jaebum-oppa? What made you ask unnie out?”

“Well… after reading her confession letter, I realized I had similar feelings. We’ve been friends for a bit, so I figured, why not just ask her out. We spent all yesterday together, and now we’re an item.” Jaebum answered, making eye contact with Yerim using the rearview mirror. Yerim seemed satisfied with that answer, nodding her head in acceptance.

“Amazing. I hope you know that unnie is a horrible cook, so don’t expect her to bring you lunch unless dad makes extra.”

“It’s fine, Yerim. I can cook, maybe I’ll start packing lunches.”

“And she really needs to get out during the weekends. She usually spends them reading cheesy romance books, or watching old movies. She also dresses in baggy, unflattering clothes, and doesn’t bother brushing her hair sometimes.”

“Yerim!”

“It’s true!”

“There’s nothing wrong with romance books and old movies, but I will take her out on the weekends, don’t worry, Yerim. Plus, I’m sure she’s still as cute with unkempt hair and baggy clothes.” Jaebum teased, reaching over to pat Seulgi’s knee.

“We’re almost to Yeri’s school.” Seulgi announced, trying to break up whatever was going down.

“I can’t wait to brag to Chaeyeon that I have a new ride to school! She’s going to be so jealous!”

 

After dropping Yerim off, Seulgi thought it would be a good opportunity to discuss their arrangement, “So… how is today supposed to pan out?”

“We get to school, I’ll walk you to your locker and class, we carry on with our classes as normal, and meet up before lunch so we can walk together. You can sit with me.”

“Or you can sit with me. My usual table is much less crowded than yours.”

“True, but I will have to introduce you to the guys.”

“And you to my friends as well.”

“I also have basketball practice after school… so if you want to come and study in the gym, you can.”

“Okay, sure. I can do that.” Seulgi agreed. She was a little nervous, wondering if they would be a believable couple, but it couldn’t be that bad right?

 

Once Jaebum’s car was parked in his assigned spot, it all came crashing over Seulgi. He quickly got out, jogging over to her side to open the door again, extending a hand to help her out. Seulgi grabbed hold of it briefly, before dropping it in favor of holding her books close. Jaebum locked up and they began walking side by side towards Seulgi’s locker. “Don’t you have things you need to put in your own locker?” Seulgi questioned as they walked down the hall.

“Not really, I tend to leave my textbooks at home, and I just have one big notebook for all the subjects.” Jaebum admitted, “The only thing I use my locker for really is my gym bag, which is mainly for after practice. My practice clothes are in my gym locker.”

“Do you want to put it in there?”

“… I mean; I could just do it after I walk you.”

“You don’t have to walk me to class, I wouldn't want you to be late.”

“I’m not going to be late, plus, I kind of have to. It’ll get people talking.”

“Oh…right…” Seulgi bit down on her bottom lip, “H-how about you just put your bag in my locker? I mean, I’ll be at your practice, especially if you don’t need it before then.”

“Okay, sure.” Seulgi put in her combination, opening the door and putting what she didn’t need into her locker, she then moved to the side, allowing Jaebum to place his gym bag down at the base of her locker. He then closed the door, and locked it back for her. “Shall we?” He extended his arm towards her, making Seulgi giggle slightly as she hooked her own through his. This was a start, in her opinion, not as intimate as hand holding and she appreciated it. It was all so fresh, so it was a great idea to ease into everything.

 

 

When they arrived at Seulgi’s first class, Jaebum surprised her by pulling her into a hug, whispering that he’d see her later right into her ear. Seulgi blushed bright red, and waved him off as he made his way down the hallway towards his own class. She was too busy watching him to notice Seungwan’s reaction. “Yah! What was that?”

“Uh… Im Jaebum?”

“I know who it was! Why were you two so close? And why is everyone talking about how you arrived together?”

Seulgi looked around, “I can’t tell you here.”
“Why?” Seungwan pouted, and Seulgi sighed, pulling her best friend into their classroom and to their seats.

“You can’t tell anyone…but we’re dating… or at least pretending to.” Seungwan’s mouth dropped, and Seulgi hid her face behind her hands briefly. “Don’t give me that look! I know it’s sounds bad, and we’re just helping each other out.”

“This could go horribly wrong. I thought he rejected you!”

“He did, at first, and then we talked it over…and it’s only temporary.”

“I don’t understand…”

“I know, it’s complicated.”

“I just don’t want you to get hurt, Seulgi.”

“I won’t get hurt. I don’t have feelings for him like that.”

 

 

By the time lunch came around, everyone was talking about Seulgi and Jaebum. Seulgi wasn’t used to be the talk around school, Jaebum however, was. They met up with each other at Seulgi’s locker so they could walk together to lunch and make a grand entrance as a ‘couple’. “How’s your day so far?” Jaebum questions, extending an arm out to Seulgi who quickly hooked her own through.

“Fine… I didn’t expect news to travel as fast as it has.”

“Welcome to high school.” Jaebum sighed, “No one’s…being mean to you or anything right?”

“No…why? Has anyone said something to you?”

“No, no, I just want to make sure no ones bullying my girl.” Jaebum teased, “So what’s for lunch?”

“Do you ever bring your own food?”

“Not really. I usually mooch… and I think I got used to Nayeon always feeding me.”

“You know that I can’t cook, thanks to Yeri… but I’ll try to keep you fed too. Though, since you can cook, I do expect you to treat me every now and then.”

“How nice of you… and I can arrange that.”

“Wouldn’t want the captain of the basketball team to starve.”

“Don’t you mean you wouldn’t want your boyfriend to starve?” Seulgi didn’t bother dignifying that with a response, and instead she tugged on his arm. Jaebum laughed off her silence opening the door to the cafeteria, Seulgi pulling him in right after her. “So your friends today, and then mine tomorrow?”

“Uh…” Seulgi trailed off, scanning for her usual table. Seungwan was already there, along with Sooyoung and Sungjae. Her eyes then trailed to Jaebum’s usual table, where some of his basketball teammates were. “Wouldn’t your teammates miss you? You sure you don’t want to sit with them?”

“I’ll see them later.” Jaebum explained, “They’ll be okay for a lunch without me.”

“Okay, I’ll introduce you to my friends then.” Seulgi led the way to her lunch table. “Hey! Jaebum is going to sit with us today.” Seulgi announced as she took a seat next to Seungwan, Jaebum plopping down next to her. “Jaebum, these are my best friends. Seungwan, Sooyoung, and then Sooyoung’s boyfriend Sungjae.” Jaebum smiles at each of Seulgi’s friends, though it falters slightly at Sooyoung. Sooyoung also happens to be Nayeon’s cousin, so he’s met her before. Though he’s not the one who ended his relationship with Nayeon, who knows what the other girl told her cousin, and now discovering that Sooyoung is also one of Seulgi’s closest friends, he could easily be painted as a bad guy. He’ll just try and stay on her good side.

“What brings you here?” Sooyoung asks, sipping her water as she watches Seulgi unpack her lunch. Today’s menu is japchae, and Sooyoung’s eyebrow raises when Seulgi offers Jaebum the first bite.

“These two are dating now, didn't you hear?” Seungwan questions.

“Oh? What about Nayeon?” Sungjae directs it to Jaebum, though Seulgi is quick to reply instead.

“She broke up with him over the summer, she’s seeing someone else too.”

“I hope you’re not a rebound, unnie.” Sooyoung states blatantly, and Jaebum feels a bit guilty.

“I can assure you, she’s not.”

“We’ll just have to see about that, won’t we?”

“So how long have you two been dating?” Sungjae then asks.

This time, Seungwan comes to their rescue, “They’ve been talking for a month or so, and they became official last night. Seulgi called me about it. It took him six dates to actually man up and ask her to be his girlfriend.”

“Yeah, I was so nervous.” Jaebum played along.

“I know what you mean! I remember when I asked Sooyoung out, I almost threw up from the nerves.” Sungjae admitted, laughing heartily. It relaxed Seulgi and Jaebum, because the conversation quickly changed to Sungjae and Sooyoung’s relationship. Day one of pretending was at a half-way point, and it was going well. It gave Seulgi reassurance that she could pull this off.

 

 

After her last class of the day, Seulgi received a text from Jaebum, explaining that he was already at the gym, changing for practice and she was free to come in and sit on the bleachers. She took her time, putting what she didn’t need in her locker, and packing what she would need. She then looked down at Jaebum’s gym bag, and decided to bring it with her, that way they could leave right after instead of walking back here. The bag was heavier than she thought, but she managed, making her way to the gym.

 

When she arrived, she slipped in as quietly as she could, noticing Jaebum right away as he lead the warm-up drills. She felt a little silly, being there at first, and then she noticed a few other girls sitting on the bleachers, studying. It made her feel at ease, and she looked back over at Jaebum, finding him looking at her too. He told the team to continue before jogging over to her. “Hey, let me help you with that.” He stated, reaching for his gym bag along with her backpack.

“I just thought I’d bring it with me since I was already at my locker.” Seulgi explained, allowing him to carry the bags.

“Good idea, I’ll show you where you can sit.” Jaebum stated, placing an arm around her shoulders as he escorted her to the bleachers, ignoring the hoots from his teammates. A few rows up from the floor, Jaebum placed their things down. “You can sit tight here, and I’ll check up on you during our first break. I have snacks and drinks in my bag in case you get thirsty or hungry…and the restrooms are over there in case you need to use them.” Seulgi nodded her head, thanking him before he left her be.

 

She sat back, watching for a bit before getting bored and pulling out some of her homework to work on. After completing an easy math assignment, she gave up on homework in favor of working on some art. A few minutes after that, she was starting to feel a bit hungry and she ped Jaebum’s bag to look for the snacks that he mentioned. He had a few sports drinks, and granola bars, along with a mix of nuts and dried fruits. She munched on a bit of the trail mix, and stuck to drinking water, saving the sports drinks for him since he would need them. She pulled out her sketchbook and then her phone, pulling up a picture she wanted to try drawing. She was so lost in her art, she didn’t hear him approach. “Wow, that’s amazing, Seulgi.” He complimented, making her blush.

“Thank you. Are you on break?” She questioned, sitting up and stretching slightly.

“Yeah… we’re done with all our drills, so we’re about to start a practice match against each other.” He explained, rummaging into his bag for a drink, gulping half the bottle down in seconds. “You’re not too bored are you?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“That’s good.”

“Hey, cap! Who’s your friend?” One of Jaebum’s teammates questioned.

“That’s Mark,” Jaebum explained to Seulgi, “And this is my girlfriend, Seulgi.”

“Girlfriend? Wow, I’m sorry.” Mark teased, “He’s a handful, how do you put up with him?”

“I don’t know…” Seulgi joked, laughing at the offended look Jaebum gave her.

“I’m hurt.”

“So are you two going to the party this weekend at Amber’s? It’s going to be crazy, a huge back to school bash!” Another teammate questioned from where he was seated next to one of the other girls sitting in on practice, Jaebum introduced him as Jackson and her as Youngji.

“Yeah, we’ll be there.” Seulgi answered.

“Awesome! The more the merrier.”

 

 

As the days carried on, Seulgi found playing the part as Jaebum’s girlfriend extremely easy. They alternated between eating lunches with her friends and his teammates, though Jaebum was subtly trying to merge the two. Seulgi also made friends with some of the other basketball girlfriends, now that’s she’s been to at least three practices with Jaebum, in the four days they’ve been ‘dating’.

 

It was now Friday, and the party would be later tonight. Jaebum was finishing up a final recap with his team, and talking about the upcoming game before practice was dismissed. He jogged over to Seulgi, climbing his way up the bleachers effortlessly. “Do you mind if I skip my shower and just take you home?”

“No, I don’t.” Seulgi shared, grabbing a hold of the towel he usually kept in his bag and dabbing at the sweat sticking to his face. Jaebum silently thanked her with a smile.

“I’ll pick you up for the party around seven? We can get dinner before.”

“Sure, it’s a date.” Seulgi teases, using this as an opportunity to remind herself that this was fake.

“Alright, lovebirds! Break it up! No kissing in the gym!” Mark hoots, and Seulgi hides behind her hands.

“Shut up.” Jaebum calls out, grabbing his towel from Seulgi in favor of tossing it at Mark. “You ready to go?”

“Yes.” Seulgi stood to her feet while Jaebum quickly gathered their bags. He then reached out, grabbing hold of her hand and leading the way down the bleacher stands. Once on level ground, Seulgi expected Jaebum to let go of her hand, but instead he continued to hold it until they got to his car.

 

He dropped her off at home, with the promise to be back at seven sharp. She waved him off, entering her home with a pep in her step. “I’m home!” She called out, removing her shoes and placing them in the closet by the front door.

“Hi unnie!” Yerim greeted from where she was doing homework in the living room. “Where’s your boyfriend?” Yerim then teased.

“He’s headed home.”

“Boyfriend? When did you get a boyfriend?” Her father, Joonmyun asked as he came from the kitchen with an apple sliced on a plate, handing it to Yerim.

“Oh...uhm…we’ve been together for a week now.” Seulgi admitted, forgetting that she never told her dad that she was ‘dating’ Jaebum.

“Who is he? Do I know him?”

“Im Jaebum.”

“Ahh! Jaebum! I didn’t know you still talked, you haven’t mentioned him since middle school.”

“Well yeah, you know…things change.”

“You know, I went to college with his mother, Yeeun… yeah, we shared some undergraduate courses together before we went into separate fields. I went into pediatrics, and she went into dentistry.”

“I did not know that.”

“Yes, she was a good friend. I’m sure her son is just as nice and good to you.”

“Yeah, he is… so I’m going to go do homework for now. I’m going out tonight, so I don’t need dinner, thanks!” Seulgi made her escape and quickly locked herself into her room.

 

At seven sharp, Seulgi was finishing her makeup when Yerim announced that Jaebum was there. She grabbed her purse, and quickly made her way down the stairs. Upon reaching the last step, she found Jaebum greeting her father, and Seulgi groaned. “Okay, we’re headed out.”

“Whoa, not so fast! I was just having a polite conversation with Jaebum here.” Joonmyun stated.

“I’m sure you were.”

“I was telling him what I told you earlier, how his mother and I went to school together…and how she was nice, so I expected him to be just as nice.”

“Yes, I understand.” Seulgi commented, doing her best to subtly push Jaebum closer and closer to the exit.

“You know, Jaebum, I love each one of my daughters dearly, and I don’t ever want anything bad to happen to them.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I also want Seulgi home before midnight.”

“No problem, sir.”

“Can we go now?” Seulgi asks, practically shoving Jaebum out the door.

“Yes, you may.”

 

 

 

“You look pretty. Yellow is a good color on you.” Jaebum commented on the drive. Seulgi had a crisis over her outfit earlier, and decided to go casual with a yellow t-shirt tucked into some light wash jeans, with a black belt and black boots. Jaebum himself was wearing dark jeans, a gray t-shirt, with a black bomber jacket and some Nikes.

“Thank you and you look handsome.”

“You’re just saying that.”

“No! I mean it.” Seulgi laughed, “So… I’ve never been to one of these parties before. What’s it like?”

“Just a bunch of teens drinking and dancing. I don’t usually stay for long, just long enough to be seen, talk to people and appear in enough photos to were it seems like I stayed long enough.”

“Is that still your plan tonight?”

“Pretty much, if that’s okay with you.”

“Yes, that’s fine with me.”

 

 

For dinner, Jaebum chose an Italian restaurant, which Seulgi found cute. It was almost like a real date, but they both knew it wasn’t…just two friends getting dinner before a party, ignoring all romantic ambience. They were seated rather quickly and were soon looking over the menu. “What are you going to get?” Jaebum questions and Seulgi shrugs.

“Cream pasta? Or carbonara? What about you?”

“Lamb with risotto? We can share.”

“Okay!” Seulgi smiles, waiting for their server to come over and take their order. Once they ordered and were given their drinks, they fell into silence.

“Are you having your movie night tomorrow? With Yerim?”

“I am… why do you ask?”

“I have no plans tomorrow…maybe I’ll just skate or something.”

“Well, you can join us, if you have nothing to do.”

“I’d love to.”

“I’m sure Yerim won’t mind, she likes you.”

“She does?”

“Yep! She wants to introduce you to her favorite jelly candies too.”

“Awesome.”

 

By the time their food came out, they were back to small talk. When it did come out, Seulgi took some time to arrange their plates to make it easier for them to share. “Do you mind if I Snapchat you?”

“Like right now?”

“Yeah… we can start a streak… since we’re dating and stuff.”

“Go ahead.” Seulgi teases.

“I also want to post this to my story, make everyone jealous of our spread.” Jaebum reveals, taking his phone out of his pocket.

“I wouldn’t have pegged you as the type to do that.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, I mean your insta is well thought out aesthetics.”

“True… but Snapchat is different for me. I probably snap too much of my day. And your insta is mostly of your art… with the occasional selfie.” Jaebum said unlocking his phone, “You should post more selfies.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, you’re really pretty.” Jaebum tells her, going silent as he takes a quick snap video of their food and then of Seulgi giggling at his compliment. He then posts it to his story with the caption ‘date night with my girl’.

“I’ll take more selfies if you stop hiding half your face in your posts.” Seulgi promises, taking her own phone out and snapping candid photos of Jaebum.

“Deal. Let’s shake on it.” He reached a hand out and Seulgi met him in the middle, giving it a firm shake. “Now, let’s eat!”

 

“Do those people even go to our school?” Seulgi asks as Jaebum leads her through the entrance of Amber’s home.

“I don’t think so.” Jaebum laughs, “Are you thirsty, do you want a drink?”

“Sure. I’ll wait here.” Seulgi takes a seat on a nearby couch.

“I’ll be back in a flash.” Jaebum states before disappearing in a different section of the house. Seulgi takes in her surroundings, this is definitely new to her. She usually never goes to parties, but she is expecting to have a good night. As she waits, she pulls out her phone, looking over some of the photos she took of Jaebum earlier at dinner.

 

She wasn’t lying when she told him earlier that he was handsome, and the photos she took of him tonight reinforce that statement. Without really thinking, she set her favorite photo of him as her lock screen. After realizing what she did, she used the excuse of making their little act more believable. Girls used photos of their boyfriends as their backgrounds all the time, she justified to herself.

 

When Jaebum came back with a drink, Seulgi took a tentative sip, surprised that it was cola, and then felt bad that she thought he’d try to get her to drink alcohol. “I don’t drink liquor, mainly beer, but since I'm driving and responsible for you, I’m not drinking tonight.” Jaebum confesses.

“Oh…” Seulgi trailed off, scooting over to make way for him to sit.

“Yeah and I just assumed you didn’t drink either.”

“I usually don’t…just occasional sips of my dad’s wine at dinner.”

“Good to know.”

“JB!” Mark called out once he noticed the other. Jaebum waved him over, reclining back and causally putting an arm around Seulgi’s shoulders. “My favorite lovebirds.”

“Shut up.”

“Did you two just arrive?”

“Yeah, we’ve been here for ten minutes or so.”

“And you didn’t come find us immediately? I’m hurt,” Mark faked, “Actually, I’m surprised you actually came. I saw your dinner date on snap and I figured you’d spend the evening alone together.”

“Kind of, we’re not staying for too long.” Jaebum admitted.

“No shame in that. Come on! I’ll show you where Amber is so you can compliment the party to her face, you know how she loves validation.” Jaebum nodded in agreement, standing to his feet and then lending a hand to Seulgi. She took it, standing up as well. Jaebum tightened his grip on her hand, and held it as they made their way through the crowds in search for Amber.

 

They found her and exchanged pleasantries. Seulgi kind of just stood there, close to Jaebum as Amber went on and on about how happy she was to see them. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Nayeon and tensed slightly. It must have been noticeable by Jaebum, because he turned and whispered if she was okay. She nodded her head, and tried to remain calm. She and Nayeon weren’t on the best of terms after a dumb fight back in freshmen year that Seulgi doesn’t even remember what the cause was. Nayeon hasn’t gone out of her way to be mean, but she hasn’t tried to be all that nice either. Jaebum didn’t seem to buy into her fake smile and looked around briefly. He noticed Nayeon too, and his expression changed when he saw her new boyfriend, Brian, was with her. “You okay, man?” Jinyoung questioned soon after, he and Mark were breaking away from the conversation with Amber and now focused their attention on Jaebum.

“Yeah… it’s nothing.”

Mark followed Jaebum’s line of sight, “Yo, remember, she broke up with you…and now you have Seulgi. She’s moved on, and that’s okay, because you have too.”

“Y-yeah. Should I say hi or something though?”

“No way!” Jinyoung stated, “I doubt she’ll go out of her way to say hi, so why should you?”

“We dated for two years, it just seems right.” Jaebum tried to rationalize. Seulgi was starting to feel bad, and she didn’t want this night to be ruined by Jaebum falling into low spirits.

“Jaebum?” Seulgi calls out, “Let’s dance.” She gives him a small smile, ignoring the thumbs up his friends are giving her before pulling him away and towards a crowd of fellow classmates dancing.

 

“Thanks for that. I was probably becoming a buzz kill, huh?” Jaebum asks as Seulgi takes both of his hands into her own and begins swaying to the beat of some catchy pop song.

“No, I mean…like you said, you two were together for a couple of years, I don’t expect your feelings for her to just go away. Plus, isn’t that why we’re doing this? So you can ultimately show her what’s she’s missing and win her back?”

“Y-yeah… you’re right.”

“So cheer up! If we’re going to be successful, you have to seem like you enjoy my company.”

“I do enjoy your company.”

“Prove it.” Seulgi teases, giggling when Jaebum pulls her a bit closer as they continue to dance. It doesn’t take long for Jaebum to forget about Nayeon as he gets lost in Seulgi’s giggles and the sway of her hips to the music.