A/N: I've wanted to try writing a fake-dating story for MiShu, so here's my half-assed attempt at one while also trying to keep a consistent plot. Hope you'll enjoy anyway.

Special thanks to: Mooza (doodleheadmooza) for the Ko-fi, it's hella appreciated :D

**edits/revisions made as of 1/05/2021.

᠁

Shuhua has a problem: she needs a date for her cousin’s wedding.

Another problem: Her grandparents weren’t helping either.

In fact, they had even bugged her to go out on dates with multiple people—such as the cool and charming Jung Jaehyun, the eldest son of their close friends-slash-neighbors—in hopes that Shuhua would eventually find someone she’d want to settle down with in the future, and they wouldn’t have to worry about their only granddaughter living the rest of her life as a single, celibate mother to two dogs. A future plan that Shuhua herself didn’t find an issue with at all.

(Why are people so pressed about getting a partner, anyway? She really can’t understand this world sometimes.)

And although she’s not as sociable or extroverted like her best friend Yuqi, Shuhua isn’t a total sociophobe. But while she’s open to meeting new people and forming a potential bond with them, she’s also pretty ing gay.

So, the Taiwanese still needed to find a date that isn’t a guy (Shuhua cannot emphasize strongly enough how disinterested she is when it comes to the entire male populace) and not having to settle with the only, semi-logical solution: Cho Miyeon. The university’s sweetheart, and her longtime rival since they both started breathing the same campus air.

It’s not that she hates the Korean beauty. But, well… it’s kind of complicated.

See, they were more or less pitched against each other when it comes to everything—visuals, popularity, academic standing, extracurricular participation—by most of their fellow batchmates. Sort of like a peer pressure thing to see which of the two can surpass the other in the pursuit of success and recognition. One that Shuhua finds to be an absolute folly, though she still ended up getting roped into the race she never signed up for.

But if she were being completely honest, something about Miyeon just… rubbed off the wrong way. Like her quiet aloofness, the supposed “innocence” she carries around that has people thinking Miyeon is some angel-reincarnate, “can do no wrong in my eyes” gift from the Heavens, how impossibly delicate and soft-looking she is that you just want to protect her without question, and the indecipherable, almost piercing stare she’d constantly give to Shuhua for literally no reason whatsoever—

Well, okay. That last one is pretty much why the sophomore didn’t take a liking to Miyeon when they first met because:

a. It always made Shuhua feel uncomfortable every time she caught those honey-brown eyes boring deep into her very soul, and

b. It’s almost as if the senior was silently judging her under the weight of their gaze, and she hates feeling threatened.

So, yeah. Shuhua just couldn’t seem to vibe with Miyeon. At all.

That being said, it’s a wonder how they’ve managed to remain civil in the same friend group with four other girls as mismatched as they are (at least, when it comes to their personalities). But they still clicked anyway, even if the two didn’t voluntarily spend time with each other. Shuhua, especially.

“And that’s why I can’t go to the wedding with her!”

She concludes aloud, much to the annoyance of Soojin having to keep her water from spilling all over her food. Shuhua had slammed her palms down so forcefully, most of the table’s contents have rattled on its surface.

“Jesus, here we go again…” Soojin mumbles with a roll of her eyes, just as Minnie yelps next to her.

“My spaghetti!” The Thai exclaims, grabbing for her plate to save it from the impending doom that is the dirty cafeteria floor, while an exasperated Yuqi looks between Soyeon (who’s calmly reading off the Nutrition Facts on her juice bottle like it’s the next Good Omens) and Miyeon helplessly.

The senior, however, just nods in agreement.

“Shuhua’s right, Yuqi. I can’t exactly argue with her.” Miyeon concedes, and the Han girl sighs at that.

“Yes. Thank you, unnie.” Shuhua huffs. This is probably one of the very scarce moments wherein they actually saw eye-to-eye without it getting too tense or awkward.

“I just don’t see the problem with the two of you going together…”

Yuqi mutters as she pokes at her half-eaten Shepherd’s pie with the prongs of her fork, eyes flitting up and darting between them briefly.

“I mean… you’ve kinda been friends for almost two years already, so you have to tolerate each other to an extent. Right?” She explains in a mediated voice. “Plus, enemies to lovers is an extremely common romantic-comedy trope. Like in The Proposal, or something.”

Shuhua stares at her incredulously. She’s at a dilemma here, and Yuqi has the naught to bring up “The ing Proposal” right now? What does that have to do with her getting a date?!

“Come on, Shu. Miyeon-unnie is your only hope.” Her best friend tries to reason once more. “The rest of us are way too busy with school stuff to help you out on this.”

“Yuqi has a point too.” The Korean pipes up again, and Shuhua has to force back a groan.

“Whose side are you on, really?” She grunts, clearly frustrated with how Miyeon is switching sides faster than K-Pop stans during an alleged scandal. The three other girls don’t know who Shuhua is referring to, so they just share a few glances at one another before shrugging.

Miyeon suddenly gets up from her seat and slides into the empty space beside Shuhua, pressing against her in a way that has the sophomore eyeing her suspiciously.

“I’d make a good fake date, I guess.” She starts, which makes Shuhua roll her eyes. “And besides, it’s only for two—maybe three days? I’m sure we can last that long without it getting too weird for us.”

Despite her own judgment, Shuhua does see a point in Miyeon’s stance as well.

Even though most of the campus sees them as “sworn enemies”, there’s no denying that they know each other well enough to be on somewhat decent terms. They’re not very close in general, but it’s not like the two have a personal vendetta against each other either. Perhaps, to the untrained eye, they could pass off as a legitimate couple—as absurd of a thought as it is for her.

“Ugh, fine… But only to get my grandparents off my case.”

Shuhua grumbles reluctantly, but is taken aback when Miyeon squeals in excitement. The last time she checked, the older girl had been very lukewarm and pliant around her. What the Hell has gotten her so giddy all of a sudden?

(That being said, seeing Miyeon this unabashedly ecstatic is quite… adorable. Not that the Taiwanese would actually admit it out loud, of course.)

“I promise I’ll do my best, don’t worry!”

Miyeon is grinning from ear-to-ear, and Shuhua already thinks that this is a bad idea.

“A thousand won to see which one of them caves in first?” Soyeon decides now would be the best moment to insert herself into the conversation, sharp eyes darting between the three other spectators with a lazy, yet knowing gaze behind her rounded spectacles. “I’m betting on Miyeon-unnie.”

Out of nowhere, Yuqi slaps down two of the exact bills. “Double the price, and it’s a deal.”

Shuhua couldn’t believe this. “Are you guys seriously going to bet on us?” She asked in disbelief, glancing at Miyeon right after to gauge her reaction. Surely, the senior would react in some way. Right?

Nope. Nothing, except for the small tug on the corner of her lips.

“I’m betting on Myun too!” Minnie interjects and throws in her share of money into the growing pool on their lunch table.

Soojin, who is silently watching their antics with a placid look on her face, heaves out a long sigh. “This is so dumb.” She said, then reaches over to add another two-thousand won with the rest. “You better not let me down, Shu.”

“Hell yeah! Team Shuhua for the win!” Yuqi declares loudly and raises her hand for Soojin to high-five, while the group just laughs at her energy. Miyeon included.

Shuhua can’t help but feel utterly betrayed.

“Unnies!”

᠁

It’s Friday before the weekend, and Miyeon (being the only one in the group with both a car and a license) drives them towards Shuhua’s house that’s a little further beyond the city. The ride is painfully quiet, save for the Bluetooth radio playing music from her Spotify playlist—the sound of Beyoncé’s voice filling up the palpable silence so they wouldn’t have to.

Frankly, Miyeon is surprised that they haven’t gotten on each other’s nerves yet. About her terrible skill of parallel parking when they were at a rest stop for a quick bathroom break, or the crumbs Shuhua was leaving on the leather seat as she snacked away on a bag of Honey Butter chips from earlier.

The two aren’t exactly the best conversationalists. But even Miyeon, who normally tries to get even a bit of small-talk going on between them, hasn’t uttered a single word since she asked what kind of toy Shuhua wanted in her Happy Meal at the McDonald’s drive-thru. And that was nearly twenty minutes ago.

Miyeon, however, had stolen a few glances ever since they left the place and smiled every time she caught the happy expression on the sophomore’s face. Who knew Shuhua could look so cute and wholesome just rolling the tiny vacuum attached to Ice Bear’s paw across her palm? If it weren’t for the ambiguity of their current status, the Korean would’ve leaned over and pinched her cheek while cooing.

As they wait in line at a crowded checkpoint, Miyeon watches as Shuhua—having put aside her toy in favor of eating the rest of her food—picks at a cold fry for way too long and decides to speak up.

“Are you okay, Shu?” She asked tentatively, bracing herself for the dismissive scoff that comes whenever Shuhua decides to ignore her, but glances back to find the latter mulling it over with a thoughtful look.

“Just a bad day. Not really in the mood.” She mumbles at the window without meeting her gaze, and Miyeon frowns. Worried.

“I see… Do you want to change the music, at least? It might make you feel better.”

A dumb suggestion, Miyeon believes, though she chalks it up to her trying to be more sincere around her former enemy-turned-distant acquaintance in hopes to make this road trip a little more bearable for them both.

Shuhua nods wordlessly and grabs her iPhone from the center console. “What’s your passcode, unnie?” She says after pausing the music.

“Um, 1-2-3-4.”

Perhaps Shuhua was only acting nice in return for the senior driving them, because she just gives her a questioning look before punching the numbers into the lock and auto-playing a Melanie Martinez album. K-12, if Miyeon remembers correctly, since she remembers listening to one of the songs when it first came out.

The Taiwanese turns back to the window again, and Miyeon leaves it at that—until a hushed voice mutters: “I failed my Contemporary World exam today.”

Oh.

“I’m… sorry to hear that.”

All she receives is a shake of the head, as if telling her “don’t worry about it”, except Miyeon isn’t the type to brush off her concerns so quickly.

“Can you drop the class and switch it with another? You like Philosophy, right? Maybe you can take that instead.”

She offers politely, knowing that it’s one of Shuhua’s newfound interests. The younger girl didn’t enjoy studying about social and political changes around the world, simply because it never really appealed to her.

“I guess, but… I don’t know. They might’ve picked my schedule and everything, but the thought of dropping a minor class over a failed mark just doesn’t feel good on my conscience. If anything, it makes me want to do better next time. Even if I don’t like the subject all that much.” Shuhua explained, and Miyeon finds herself marveling at her steadfast determination.

While most people would’ve considered it pointless and a waste of her time, the senior thinks it’s admirable that Shuhua doesn’t give up so easily. She looks at her mistakes, tries to improve from them, and faces the challenges head-on. Something Miyeon has always respected about her.

“If that’s what you want, then go for it. You know what’s best for you, Shu. I won’t get in the way of that…” She trails off, unsure where to go from there, until Shuhua faces her with an unreadable gaze in her deep, black eyes—although there’s a ghost of a smile tugging at her lips.

Too bad it disappears after a couple seconds.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Is all Shuhua replies with, before her expression automatically reverts back into one of flat indifference. And Miyeon realizes how much she doesn’t like it either.

Weren’t you the slightest bit friendly just a few seconds ago? What happened to it? She laments, slightly disheartened by the immediate shift in her demeanor.

“We probably won’t be at your house for another hour. Two, depending on the traffic.” Miyeon attempts to change the topic after seeing how their conversation has come to an end. “You can take a nap, if you want. I have some pillows at the back that you can use, and a blanket if ever you feel cold.”

“Thanks, unnie.”

Shuhua reaches behind them to grab a small bean pillow and a fleece blanket from the backseat, then adjusts her chair to a reclining position so she can curl up comfortably in the passenger side.

“You better not kill me while I’m sleeping.” She half-heartedly warns, which draws out a cute giggle from the older girl.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Miyeon jokes in spite of the glare that was thrown her way.

Half an hour into the trip, Miyeon had turned down the radio volume so that Shuhua can sleep undisturbed and looks over at the resting form of her dongsaeng. A soft, almost affectionate smile on her face as she gently tucks a rogue lock of raven hair behind Shuhua’s ear.

Maybe they’re starting to become friends. Slowly, but surely. Or maybe it’s just Miyeon thinking that way.

“Sleep well, Shu-Shu.” She whispers quietly, before turning her eyes back to the road ahead.

᠁

When Shuhua wakes up, the car is parked in her house’s driveway and Miyeon was just about to rouse her awake. “Rise and shine, Snow White.” The senior calls out teasingly, earning a grunt from the drowsy girl as she rubs at her tired eyes.

“Uh-huh, very funny…” Shuhua deadpans, her voice coming out a bit slurred and raspy. “What time is it, unnie?”

“It’s like a quarter past seven already, so it’s pretty dark outside.” Miyeon tells her as she shuts off the engine.

“Ah, that’s fine.”

They get out of the car shortly after, with Shuhua rolling her shoulders a bit to ease away the knots and kinks in them. Hearing a few joints pop as she does so, before she cranes her neck slightly. That three-hour ride must’ve really made it stiff.

“I feel like my arthritis is coming a few decades too early.” It’s a poor joke, and one that doesn’t really make much sense. But somehow, Miyeon ends up laughing anyway.

“Dramatic as always, aren’t you?” She says in a playful tone, to which Shuhua responds with a light scoff.

“It’s one of my many skills, besides burning water for my noodles.” The sophomore flatly states, but doesn’t suppress her grin when Miyeon chuckles at that. “I have a special talent, you see—"

“Hey, you two coming in or what?” A male voice interjects from afar, and their laughter promptly dies off. Shuhua looks up and smiles though, before moving forward to embrace her older brother.

“Hi, Kuanlin.” She said, just as he squeezes her in a tight hug before walking over to greet the Korean beauty.

“Nice to see you again, Miyeon.” He grins warmly as they hugged each other. The two had interacted a few times when he used to drive Shuhua to her classes, so they got along quite well in spite of her supposed “rivalry” with his younger sister. “I gotta admit, this is kinda unexpected. I didn’t think you’d get our little Shu-Shu in the dating scene so soon.”

A realization dawns on Shuhua and she instantly freezes. Shoot, we haven’t made up a story yet!

Her eyes drift to Miyeon, who (thankfully) catches on to her panic and hastily draws up a half-baked reply.

“O-Oh, yes! Well—” She flounders. “It’s still pretty new in the grand scheme of things, you know? Four months and counting, but I do what I can.”

Miyeon’s voice has gone a couple decibels higher, so Shuhua can tell how fake she’s sounding right now. Fortunately, her brother just eats it up without question and simply nods like it was the most reasonable explanation he’s heard in a while.

“Still, it’s mad cute. I’m happy for you two.” Kuanlin grins at them. “Anyway, I’d better get going. The boys and I are heading to the pub tonight, but I’m sure you’re both ready to crash for the day.”

Shuhua can only laugh semi-nervously as she waves him off. “Totally, yeah. See ya, Kuannie!”

The man takes his leave, and they start unloading their luggage from the back of Miyeon’s car. Carrying their bags and other things into the house in silence, until Shuhua breathes out a sigh of relief.

“Thank God you’re good at making stuff up on the go, unnie.” She says gratefully when they’re climbing up the stairs to her bedroom, careful not to wake her father up and face yet another obstacle between them.

“Why do you think I can beat you in Mafia a lot better?” Miyeon winks, just as Shuhua groans.

“Don’t bring that up.” She grumbled, but smiles nonetheless. “At least I don’t bluff as much as Yuqi does. She’s a horrible liar than all five of us combined.”

Miyeon hums. “Fair point. No wonder Soyeon likes to target her the most.”

Once they’ve set their bags down on the carpeted floor of Shuhua’s room, the Taiwanese flops down onto her bed with an arm thrown over her eyes. Now that she’s being forced to deal with Miyeon, she starts to actually enjoy the older girl’s presence. It’s… a weird feeling, but not unpleasant by any means.

There’s a dip in the mattress next to her, and she lifts her arm slightly to find Miyeon sitting down. Her eyes glued on the screen of her phone as she scrolls through her Instagram feed.

“So, uh…” Shuhua begins awkwardly. “Do you want to come up with the story first, or…?”

Miyeon shrugs before putting aside her phone. “Sure. I mean… it doesn’t have to be super involved, does it?”

“Nope.” Shuhua said. “And besides, this isn’t The Proposal where I might get deported if you answer a question wrong.”

The Korean snorts at that.

“We can just say that we met a club orientation during my freshman year, but we didn’t really click until our friends got us to hang out together. Then the rest is history.”

It’s the single, most half-assed effort Shuhua has ever put into making a white lie, but there’s not much for her to really work with outside of their last-minute “partnership” for this wedding plan.

“Guess that works too.” Miyeon laughs, moving to lie down on the bed with Shuhua so that they’re both staring up at the ceiling. “When’s our anniversary, honey? You better take me out to a nice, candle-lit dinner by the riverside, or you’re sleeping on the couch for the next week.”

Shuhua purses her lips. And she calls me dramatic? Please.

“You’re the romantic one, unnie. Why don’t you set up the date for us?”

Miyeon ponders for a moment. “October 17^th maybe? That’s a good four-month window for our relationship to be real enough for the wedding, and also recent enough that we’re still adjusting and learning more about each other as we go.”

“Sounds good. But how do I explain the fact that I never mentioned you to my grandparents back then? Especially when they were trying to set me up with some random girl at that time?” Shuhua asked.

“Hmm… you can say that we were only coming to terms with our feelings then, except neither of us had confessed yet.” Miyeon supplies helpfully. “And we only became official like a week or two later.”

“Okay, but what about not taking you home to my family’s Christmas reunion?”

“We were keeping our relationship hidden, because it felt more special that way.” She concludes with a proud smile, which has Shuhua chuckling.

“A secret, fake relationship? This is some Wattpad-worthy stuff right there.”

“What?” Miyeon pokes a finger in her side, grinning at the loud yelp she receives from a ticklish Shuhua. “You’re the one who said that we should come up with a story. I think I deserve some credit for the help, or your family is going to be suspicious about us.”

Shuhua grabs her wrist before Miyeon can poke her again and fixes her with a look. The senior just laughs again (a pretty one at that) and returns to her conquest of annoying Shuhua. This time, by using her free hand to poke her instead. The sophomore deflates with a sigh, while Miyeon crows with victory.

Just who is the older one between them again?

“Idiot.” Shuhua calls her.

“Dummy.” Miyeon replies back.

Yeah, they’re definitely becoming friends now.

After they’ve gotten off her bed, taking turns in the bathroom and changing awkwardly in the same space, they’re settled back under the sheets with their bodies facing each other. And that’s when Shuhua decides to speak up.

“You know, unnie… I don’t know why I was so against being friendly with you in the first place. You’re actually pretty fun to have around.”

Her voice is quiet as she says this, and Miyeon’s gaze turns soft and understanding.

“Well…” She considers her next words carefully. “With everyone seeing us as rivals because of how similar we are, it’s not like we had a choice but to play along to their beliefs. It’s all we ever knew how to do, wasn’t it?”

A pause.

“To be fair, I wasn’t helping much either… even though I really wanted to get this stupid rivalry behind us and get closer with you.”

“You did?” Shuhua asked, dumbfounded, and Miyeon nods sadly. “I-I’m sorry, unnie. I didn’t know…”

“Don’t be. I’m just glad that things are working out between us this time.” Another pause. “Honestly, I like it here. It feels… nice.”

If it weren’t for the darkness of her room, Shuhua would’ve noticed the faint blush on Miyeon’s cheeks when she admits this. But that’s okay, her dongsaeng doesn’t need to know about it.

“Yeah, I like it here too.”

Shuhua’s hand then moves on its own accord, fingers reaching out to gently push away the hair from Miyeon’s face. It makes her blush even harder, while the Taiwanese feels like something has opened up within her. She doesn’t dwell on it for too long though and slowly retracts her hand, much to Miyeon’s disappointment.

They exchange a couple smiles and “goodnight’s” before finally settling down to sleep. Miyeon is the first to get knocked out, her little snores being muffled by the pillow beneath her head, as Shuhua watches her. Eyes drinking up the sight of her peaceful state, and the subtle rise and fall of her body with every soft breath that she takes.

Shuhua might be Snow White, but Miyeon is a literal Sleeping Beauty.

“Oh, God…” She mumbles, rolling onto her back with a hand clasped over her forehead. “What did I get myself into?”

Her plans have never been foolproof, after all.

᠁

The next morning, Shuhua wakes up to the sight of Miyeon on her iPad. Her left hand clasped around a carrot pen, with which she’s using to draw on its wide screen.

“WhattheHell…?” She mutters, her words jumbled together as she blinks away the remnants of sleep from her dreary eyes. Miyeon is wearing glasses and a loose t-shirt over some pajama pants, looking entirely too much like she belongs here on Shuhua’s bed and waking up next to her every day.

Or maybe it’s just Shuhua thinking that way.

Miyeon then peers over the screen to give the younger girl a sweet smile.

“Good morning, Sunshine.” She greets warmly, and Shuhua finds herself enjoying this kind of set-up. There’s something in her chest that she can’t quite put a finger on, but it’s nothing unpleasant or unbearable. “It’s actually a little earlier than you’d like. Sorry for waking you up.”

“You didn’t, don’t worry.”

Shuhua swipes her phone off the nightstand and stares blearily at the digital numbers on its lock screen. 9:21 AM, it read.

“Geez, unnie. How long have you been up?” She can’t help but ask.

Miyeon answers her, but Shuhua barely hears it. Her mind is more focused on the fact that she feels comfortable, it’s strange. Just last night, things were a tad awkward between them. But now, it’s like they’ve been friends since forever.

Contrary to what most people believe, Shuhua can be very observant of her surroundings—even if she does pose herself as an airhead sometimes—and that includes a certain Cho Miyeon. Her supposed “rival”, according to popular belief.

She knows that the senior wears glasses outside of the campus. She knows what the senior likes to do in her spare time, knows what ticks her off (and not just the petty annoyances, but actual things that really irk her), knows the kind of music she listens to and the food she loves to eat, knows her little habits when she thinks that no one notices them, her family, her struggles… and Shuhua bets that Miyeon knows the same about her, if not more.

Surely, knowing these small, but meaningful details is enough foundation to build a friendship on. Right?

“Shu-Shu?” Miyeon breaks into her train of thought and waves a hand in front of her. “Are you okay? You zoned out for a moment there.”

“Sorry.” Shuhua shakes her head, a bit embarrassed that she’d been caught sort of staring. “Guess I'm still out of it.”

The older girl just smiles again before going back to her work—whatever it is. After a minute or two, Shuhua becomes curious. “What are you doing, unnie?”

“Hm?” Miyeon asks, distracted.

“Like what are you drawing exactly?”

“Oh, this?” She turns her iPad around so that Shuhua can see its screen. “I’m working on a storyboard for my AniGraph class. It’s for a midterms project.”

“Ah…” And Shuhua finds something she didn’t know about the Korean beauty. “What course are you majoring in anyway?”

“Animation and Design.”

Okay, now that really throws her for a loop. Miyeon and “art major” didn’t seem to go together. If anything, Shuhua would’ve assumed she’d take a degree in business or HR management. The technical, big-brain stuff.

Her bewilderment must’ve been obvious, because Miyeon glances back at her and giggles softly. “I know most people don’t expect it from me, but I love it.”

“No, no! I mean, like—that’s really cool!” Shuhua adds lamely, and she’s rewarded with another giggle. “It’s cool that you enjoy what you’re doing.”

“Yeah.” Miyeon said, saving her work and then turning off her iPad, before removing her glasses and placing them aside. “I’m happy with my course.”

She stuffs the tablet and her carrot pen back into her bag, before shifting around to face Shuhua once more. That everlasting smile on her face as she asks: “So, what’s the itinerary for today?”

“Nothing of significance, I think.”

Shuhua pulls up the calendar on her phone and gestures for Miyeon to come closer, which she does enough for their bodies to be somewhat touching. Her front being pressed against Shuhua’s back, while the Taiwanese has to remind herself how to breathe. Especially when she feels Miyeon’s head resting atop her shoulder so that they can look at the screen together.

“We just have the rehearsal dinner tonight, but the rest of the day is free.”

Miyeon hums quietly at that, and the sophomore turns to look at her. “What is it, Shu?” She asked.

“Do you want to go out for breakfast?”

The offer makes her stomach rumble, and Miyeon’s cheeks flush in mild embarrassment as Shuhua bursts into laughter.

“I’ll take that as a yes then.” She grins afterwards, before feigning a cry of pain when Miyeon lightly smacks her arm.

“Brat.” The latter scoffs, but smiles easily. “I’m going to take a shower first. Is that okay?”

“Sure, unnie. Go ahead.”

As Miyeon disappears into her bathroom, towel and clothes in hand, Shuhua drops back onto her bed with a long huff. Somehow, she feels dizzy. And the slight disorientation blocks out the sound of her bedroom door creaking open.

“Morning, princess.” Her father pops in unexpectedly. Shuhua jumps a little at the sudden voice, but relaxes again when he comes inside.

“Hey, dad.” She smiles and moves to sit up, only to frown at the knowing look on his face. “What’s up?”

“Cho Miyeon, huh?” He asks, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiles, and Shuhua blushes. “Kuanlin texted me about you two last night. I have to say, I’m pleasantly surprised.”

Oh, right. Not only are they going to have to sell this to everyone at the wedding, they’re also going to have to sell this to her father too. And Mr. Yeh has always been able to catch his daughter in a lie. “Parent’s intuition,” he’d often tell her.

“Well, yeah. I mean… I was pretty shocked too. But, um, we’re managing.” Shuhua fumbles with her words in hopes that he’d buy it somehow.

The man just chuckles heartily. “Miyeon’s a sweet girl. Always has been.” He said. “I’m glad you finally worked through whatever problems you’ve had with each other. I figured you’d both get along well if you gave it a chance, and that she’d make you really happy if you let her."

Her cheeks grow warmer at the thoughtful expression on his face, not knowing what to say—or if she should say anything, for that matter.

“Guess we’re a little bit more than good friends now, dad.” She ends up replying anyway, and he pats her back. Oblivious to how Shuhua is kicking herself from how bad she’s faking this without Miyeon around to save her .

“I know, princess. I’m just… proud of you, that’s all.” He’s wearing that fatherly smile now, which makes Shuhua feel even terrible for lying to his face. “Don’t forget about our rehearsal dinner at five. Ask Miyeon if it’s okay to drive yourselves there. Kuanlin has the car with him, and I’ll be joining your uncle later."

“Got it, dad. Thanks.”

They go in for a hug, and Shuhua feels homesick. Granted, she’s technically home right now—but the young girl missed this. Moving into a dorm doesn’t provide the same comfort and familiarity as coming back to the house she practically grew up in since leaving the Taoyuan County back in Taiwan.

Not long after her father had left, Miyeon comes out from the bathroom. Already dressed in a new set of clothes as she dries off the dampened ends of her lustrous, dark hair. Shuhua is trying not to look like a ert by gawking at her long legs, which were left bare in those tight-fitting denim shorts that complimented her Tommy Hilfiger crop top.

Holy Christ.

Flustered, she blindly snags her own change of clothes from the dresser and makes a beeline for the bathroom. Passing by Miyeon, who smells like fresh citrus and dandelions from her own shampoo, while also forcing herself not to peek at the Korean’s exposed midriff.

The senior has always been very beautiful, even Shuhua acknowledged that from day one. It’s one of the reasons why Miyeon is dubbed “The University’s Sweetheart” by most of their peers because of her stunning visuals.

But since when did looking at her become a challenge?

Regardless, she doubles back slightly when her foot reaches the doorway. Catching the older girl’s attention as Shuhua turns to face her. “What’s wrong?” Miyeon asked curiously.

“I realized that relationships involve more than just telling others that you’re together.”

Shuhua explains rather slowly, for lack of a better way to put it, and Miyeon raises an eyebrow. Clearly amused by her obvious struggle, while the Taiwanese exhales loudly to try and keep her momentum.

“I mean, like… w-we’d probably have to kiss at least once, you know? And we’re going to have to act out the whole touchy-feely couple stuff that people do with their actual significant others, and—"

“Shu? Shu. It’s okay, I get it.” Miyeon stops her with a dainty laugh, then takes her by the shoulders gently. “You need to calm down. I promised I’d do my best, remember? You can trust me.”

And once again, Shuhua is thrown in another loop because—

“Huh? No, I wasn’t… I’m not doubting you, unnie.” She said, feeling grateful when Miyeon gives her an understanding nod and encourages her to continue. “I just—I want to remind myself, in case I forget. I trust you, of course, but I don’t trust myself with this. I’m not very good at pretending and improvising on the spot.”

“Good thing I am.” Miyeon replies softly, which makes Shuhua tilt her head at the underlying meaning of her words. However, she falls silent upon meeting her piercing gaze and looks away almost instantly. Her stomach doing the flips as she clears .

They’re both so close, the sophomore can just lean forward and… wait, what?

She blinks, trying to gather her thoughts as they scattered around her mind—but the moment ends there. Miyeon isn’t staring at her anymore and had promptly withdrawn her hands, head turned to the side as she says: “Go and get ready, Shu. I’ll just wait for you here” in the quietest voice Shuhua has heard from her that morning.

The girl can only nod before heading off to shower. Her heart racing at the thought of what the actual had just happened back there?, and why she’s starting to feel nervous around her unnie.

Shuhua groans in dismay. “What’s wrong with me?”