“Hyunmi, I need your help,” Kibum declared first thing in the morning, banging his hands loudly against her desk that caught others’ attention.   “What?” She grinned, ready to make a deal in exchange for her notebook, a sought after commodity containing the homework’s most recent answers.   “I need you to be my girlfriend.”   This, she had not expected—no one did. Nearly the entire class stopped what they were doing to stare in disbelief. Even Woohyun turned from his seat, giving his friend an ‘are-you-out-of-your-mind’ look.   “I don’t know what nonsense you are talking about, but no,” Hyunmi rejected. For someone who knew she was crushing on someone else, Kibum’s request was too absurd.   “In case you didn’t notice, that wasn’t a question. It was a statement,” Kibum continued.   “One which I decline.”   “Except that you still owe me a favor,” Kibum reminded. “Remember that time when Woohyun was sick and you asked me to stay over at his place to accompany him?”   “That’s something any good friend with the right conscience would’ve done anyway. You did it for Woohyun.”   “Yes, but I made the deal with you,” Kibum said, crouching down on his feet so he could lean his arms and head on her desk. “You don’t get to say no.”   “Hold up,” Woohyun interrupted. “Why do you need her to be your girlfriend anyway?”   Kibum looked at his friend and smirked, as if he had been waiting for this commentary to happen. “My grandma is coming over since the school’s semester is almost over and we’re getting ready for Summer holidays. She has always liked Hyunmi and said it would be wonderful if I ever ended up dating her. So to make my grandma happy, I need you to come over for dinner and be my girlfriend.”   Hyunmi curled her lips into a smile, not the slightest bit appalled by the idea anymore. “Well, if it’s for your grandma.”   “Wait, it’s wrong! You’d both be lying to her!” Woohyun said.   “Oh, she enjoys your company too, Woohyun. You can come along,” Kibum said, that dark amusement entering his tone again. “Might even keep me in line so I don’t go too far.”   “I’ll go,” Woohyun immediately agreed.   Now Hyunmi began to panic for another reason. It was bad enough having to pretend to date someone like Kibum when she absolutely had no idea how to act like a proper girlfriend, but now she was going to flaunt all her flaws in front of Woohyun. What if he’d be appalled by her inability to be a competent girlfriend? Wouldn’t it be more wrong for him to see her act all lovey dovey with some other guy? She was supposed to give Woohyun subtle hints about her feelings, not direct them to Kibum.   She grabbed Kibum by his sleeves and drew closer to lower her voice in suppressed annoyance. “What are you doing?”   “Helping you,” the boy shamelessly replied.   “How is this helping? This is making it worse.”   “You’ll see.”   Hyunmi was not looking forward to seeing it at all.   ***   The three of them stood in front of Kibum’s house where his mother had prepared a special meal to welcome the grandma.   “Hand.” Kibum held his hand up to Hyunmi who scrunched her eyebrows.   “Don’t talk to me like I’m a dog,” she replied, slapping his hand away. But Kibum took that opportunity to clasp his fingers around hers anyway.   “Is that really necessary? I don’t think your grandma will pay attention to it,” Woohyun said, the smile immediately fading from his face.   “She will, trust me,” Kibum said, about to step to the front door when he turned to Hyunmi. “Why’s your hand so sweaty? It’s not very attractive.”   “Shut up.”   Hyunmi would’ve slapped him for saying something so embarrassing in front of Woohyun, but Kibum already opened the front door. She shut her eyes and desperately hoped Woohyun hadn’t caught any of that.   “Oh, Kibum you’re home!” The elderly woman who was wearing an outfit better suited for someone in their thirties spoke. Her gaze fell on Kibum and Hyunmi’s hands, and her eyes widened instantly. “You were right. You are dating!”   Instead of hugging Kibum, the grandma immediately went to Hyunmi, cupping her face in awe. “Such wonderful news. I always thought you and Woohyun liked each other, but I’m glad my grandson won you over.”   Hyunmi was at a loss for words, feeling herself stiffen a smile for formality’s sake. Inside, she was panicking and excited at the same time. Kibum’s grandmother had only met them several times, but she judged Woohyun to like her back. How wonderful it would be if her feelings weren’t one sided.   “You’re not the only one who thought that way,” Woohyun commented.   Hyunmi could almost feel her heart stop, even more so when she caught Woohyun openly staring at her while making that blunt confession.   “Woohyun was too much of a coward and never made a move on her, so she got snatched away by me,” Kibum said, grabbing Hyunmi from his grandma’s hold. He flashed Woohyun a look, as if his remark was supposed to be an important life lesson.   “When you like someone, you should go for them before it’s too late,” the grandma told Woohyun, sympathetically patting his cheeks. “Don’t worry, Kibum will take good care of her.”   Hyunmi obediently followed to the dining table. The only reason she acted so polite was because they were in front of Kibum’s family, but also because she was afraid to see Woohyun’s expression.    Deep in her thoughts, she didn’t realize Kibum had seated her in the middle between the boys. She was going to punch Kibum for this tomorrow.    “It’s great to have both of you over for dinner today,” Kibum’s mother said as she laid out the plates on the table. “Though I am surprised Kibum never told me about his relationship.”   “Hm, almost sounds like a last minute decision,” Woohyun said, the chide clear in his tone.   “Almost sounds like you’re mad she chose me over you.” Kibum propped his chin against his hand and smirked. Just to fuel his friend more, he decided to take Hyunmi’s hand and openly hold their intertwined fingers on display. Best part was that Hyunmi had no way of refusing since the elders were watching.   “Curious,” Woohyun spoke, the annoyance flashing in his eyes when he took in the hand holding. He angled his head in a way to obstruct the vexing sight from his gaze. “So Hyunmi, what is it that attracted you to Kibum in the first place?”   “Huh?” She did not expect Woohyun to turn against her, not knowing how she was supposed to respond to this. Was he trying to expose their act? But seeing how excited the grandma anticipated her answer, Hyunmi had to think of something.   “I-I’m not even sure of it myself, but one day I realized I no longer saw him as my best friend, but as something more.”   Kibum’s jaw dropped open, not expecting her to be for