picture the bright and sunny field of the campus; with the fluffy clouds springing on the bluish blemish of the sky. the grass is green, the water fountains were(miraculously) working, and most of all, the ambience of the four-in-the-afternoon shenanigans fill the place.

 

"aeri uchinaga of the track varsity team, please accept my undying love!"

 

an enthusiastic shout was heard from almost halfway of the field as there knelt lee donghyuck with all his glory, arms wide open, and the freckles on his face accentuating his wide smile. the rest of the soccer team was behind him, holding banners that spelled out aeri's name in hangul. 

 

it seemed like everyone, even the awkward breeze was witnessing this very moment right now, and aeri could only facepalm in her head. she has her eyes closed and her lips pursed in embarrassment, the sweat on the side of her forehead trickling down her cheekbones.

 

haechan has been doing this for days. weeks even. aeri could no longer count the amount of times she had to encounter letters, gifts, even the admirer himself! out of all the boys who're probably still in line to make their way into aeri's heart, he's the most eager among them all. 

 

she heaves a sigh. "look, haechan... i appreciate—well.. this—" she makes circular hand gestures to describe the whole thing going on. "... but isn't it too early to call it love?" 

 

"well, my dear," haechan stands up, dabs his knees to push some dirt away, and proceeds to look back at her. "time doesn't measure love. you see, i can say i love you even during the first time we met!" 

 

he's so insufferable. 

 

and aeri is in a really tight spot here. sure, she could keep running away from all those other haechan was pulling but this... where almost everyone even the gods could see this stupid proposal or whatever it is—

 

"there you are, aeri! here's the decaf you wanted, extra creamy, and—" 

 

aeri feels all the relief coursing through her veins as she turns to the voice of minjeong, who was frozen in place as she realized this was probably not the perfect time to in and ruin what's going on. 

 

aeri continued to back away from haechan's view as they watched the noirette walk her way towards the woman who was holding her coffee. 

 

minjeong was confused, but nonetheless, she handed the cold plastic cup to aeri and the next thing that happened changed the trajectory of her life forever.

 

"neat! just like the way i wanted my coffee to be. thank you so much, babe!" 

 

minjeong felt the contact of aeri's lips on her cheek, and suddenly, the air went dramatic. crowds were whispering. the soccer team slowly shunned the banners down, and aeri's admirer, who was still standing in the middle of the field, mouth agape.

 

"what are you—" 

 

aeri cuts minjeong off with a stern stare as she mumbles. "just follow along, i'll get us out of here."

 

she snakes her hand along minjeong's arm, gently leaning her head onto her shoulder. they casually strut away like nothing happened.

 

surely, this'll be a big headline. nothing new to aeri, of course. she's always been the talk of the campus. minjeong, however..

 

"are you out of your mind?! suddenly calling me some term of endearment and even more diabolical: kissing me!" minjeong croaks out in a panic-stricken voice. 

 

they were back in aeri's dorm, which is even worse, because apparently, someone whom aeri uchinaga just called babe and kissed her on the cheek was seen entering the place, and most people know about it. heck, even the juniors know where aeri lives. creepy, but that's what the popular girl has to endure, right?

 

"it was on the cheek, dumbo. don't act like you didn't want it!" aeri snickered, causing minjeong to make an attempt to throw a pillow at her. instead of throwing the said cushion, she falls down with it, casually screaming in silence as her   voice gets muffled. 

 

"relax, hotshot, you're cool. i just needed to set something up because god, i can't stand him anymore." aeri rolled her eyes. minjeong rises up, resting both her palms on the mattress. 

 

"haechan? he's literally only head over heels for you. i don't think there's anything wrong with that."

 

"he's being so incredibly obsessed with me, do you not see the problem?!"

 

minjeong shrugs. "well... obsession is a part of infatuation...? which then turns to love—"

 

"oh cut me with that love bull, minjeong. i need your help." 

 

minjeong doesn't realize how aeri was already leaning close beside her. she looks so alluring like this, with her curled lashes and the light tint of her make-up succeedingly starting to fade because of all the frustration she had gone through with all this admirer fiasco.

 

"be my girlfriend."

 

and that had to be processed twice—no, thrice, by minjeong's brain. she nearly fails to catch her breath as soon as the words register in her head. 

 

"wh-what?" minjeong wanted to smack herself for turning out like a fool, stuttering like that.

 

"i don't have to ask you twice. you heard me. let's fake this relationship thing until haechan's out of my hair."

 

minjeong blinks. "i'm sorry, you want me to 'fake' date you just to drive him away?" 

 

aeri only nods. minjeong feels hopeless. 

 

"well would you look at that. you bagged the wrong person. aeri, i've only ever experienced this dating on like—the simulator apps i downloaded on my phone as a kid. don't blame me, i was next level delusional. but the point is," 

 

she stands up and gestures to her whole body. "you don't want this."

 

"minjeong, everyone literally thinks we're together like, by now."

 

"maybe just tell them you suddenly 'broke up' with me and then all's good?" minjeong shrugs sheepishly, urging out a groan from the noirette. 

 

aeri stood up as well, pacing back and forth the room as she places both her hands on her waist. minjeong could sense the tension in the air as she chewed her lip out of worry. 

 

"look, aeri, i really want to help you. honest. it's just, i don't know how this works. i can't even make a move on the person i like!"

 

aeri pauses with her back facing minjeong, and her head tilts as if a lingering light bulb appears out of nowhere. 

 

"if i told you i could set you up with jimin once you seal the deal with me, would that change your mind?"

 

and minjeong never furrowed her brows as fast as ever now. "what does j-jimin have to do with this?" 

 

bingo. aeri crept up a cunning smirk on , watching the gingerhead blush like a disaster at the slight mention of her best friend's name.

 

"duh, i could help you with your about dating stuff and grab you a date with jimin by the time we're done with the setup. win-win, don't you think?"

 

minjeong couldn't stress how preposterous aeri was at the moment. to think her crush was at the stake of this puerile little game, it was just hard to chime in all at once.

 

she sighs and gazes at aeri with her most apologetic eyes. 

 

"i'm really sorry, aeri. i don't think i can do this." 

 

the last thing aeri sees is minjeong's figure fading out of her room's door.

 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

 

it was the end of the weekend, which means today marks another week of uni. aeri stays at her home during weekends because she always gets homesick whenever she spends her days at her dorm. 

 

luckily, she wasn't that far from the university, so she gets to spend time with her family as soon as the weekday finishes. 

 

aeri hears the subtle barking of cooper around the garage as she gets ready. 

 

"something bothering you, sweetie?" she loses her trance as soon as her mother speaks from the driver's seat. 

 

"none, mum. everything's fine." she responds with a smile. eventually, she arrives on time. the hallway was busy with chatter as usual, not to mention the scene she caused last friday was still fresh on people's minds. 

 

she reaches out for the knob, pulling her locker open. there goes a small envelope with haechan's initials on it. of course. aeri barely checked her locker last week, so probably this was from long ago. ignoring the scented set of papers, she grabs her make-up kit and jimin appears in her view as soon as the metal door closes. 

 

"jesus, you ing scared me!" aeri shrieks, earning a laugh from the ravenhead. 

 

"you seem worked up today. woke up on the wrong side of the bed?" jimin asks.

 

"are you going to at least say something good if i answered yes?" aeri heaved a weary sigh.

 

jimin chuckles, handing out a folded piece of paper. aeri raised a brow, wondering what it was and so she took a peek. the gloom on her face promptly transformed into a rush of joy.

 

"no. ing. way." aeri whispers, containing the excitement inside her. she bites her lower lip, grinning widely as jimin shrugs and imposes a cheer. "well, what can you say? not only you're miss popular, but you're also miss revolutionist." 

 

"correction: we're miss revolutionists. i can't believe they actually let us do this..." aeri kept examining the admin letter by her hands, as the words kept ringing inside her head.

 

it was her pride and joy to build the representative track and field team for the university. since it was mostly overshadowed by more prominent(as per the admins) sports such as volleyball, soccer and basketball, it was a tough trek to break into their walls and finally have their thoughts heard.

 

so, having the initial approval from the admin of aeri and jimin's proposal about upholding track and field as one of the preliminary lectures in physical education classes, this is just the beginning. surely, the notion was good—but the admin requires some sort of petition from the students in order to fully bring their proposal to life.

 

"i guess we'll have to start soon enough on grabbing those signatures, eh?" jimin nudges aeri with her elbow and she nods.

 

"this'll be easy. we can even start today, if you'd like?"

 

"i'd be more than willing." jimin replies.

 

aeri was more than thankful to share her first class with jimin since they have separate ones for the rest of the day, which is also why aeri hates mondays. surprisingly, the professor was quite late today, and the room eventually filled up with noise. 

 

at lunch, aeri hangs out with their established friend group from the varsity team, though it was just mostly her, jimin, mark, renjun, and chaeryeong.

 

aeri didn't feel like eating at the moment, and now she's stuck on her notebook scribbling. she's always resorted to doodling whenever there's nothing else to do. it's some sort of aeri's comfort hobby.

 

it was long until her fourth doodle on the notebook before she notices jimin's head leaning close in her space. 

 

"so, you and minjeong, huh?"

 

the tip of the pen freezes, and so is aeri's hand. she stares at her scribbles for a while.

 

right. it's been two days since her and minjeong talked. she hasn't even seen the gingerhead all morning. it's as if she literally didn't exist within the same universe as her all of a sudden. perhaps aeri was too pushy? she contemplates it thoroughly. 

 

"yeah, girl, we literally weren't expecting it! i thought you'd be more into, i don't know, jeon somi or maybe hwang yeji from the cheerleading squad." renjun blurts out from across her. 

 

"there he goes again with the cheerleading squad tattling. we know you want to imply something about it, jun!" mark regarded, the mischief in his tone settling a good time for the group to tease renjun again.

 

"what, no? i was just saying!"

 

"oh, really? are you sure there's no hidden agenda of your enticement for ning yizhuo—ow! hey!" mark rubs the back of his head from renjun's powerful smack, shutting him up. the whole group laughs at the two's antics.

 

"since when though? you and kim, i meant," and just when aeri thought she was free from the topic, chaeryeong drops her query. 

 

what is she even supposed to say? she couldn't just make up considering she had not heard from minjeong since, also, why hasn't she seen her yet?! 

 

"er.. um.. it just happened?" aeri tried her best to sound as believable as she could. the four look at each other and then back at aeri, nodding in unison.

 

"what happened to haechan, then?" renjun asks.

 

"are you prehistoric? she's told us many times that she's not interested in him! right, aeri?" chaeryeong asked.

 

"not even a slight tinge," aeri emphasizes her words. "plus, i don't think the guy likes me. he's just.. obsessed."

 

"i second the motion. atleast minjeong's a different kind of pace. i'm pretty sure you two are sailing things just pretty right, hm?" jimin adds, and aeri's shoulders slump from the remark. they really have to stop bringing minjeong up because she's honestly running out of excuses to say!

 

"of course! we're.. we're doing really great at the moment. yeah, good things," aeri swallowed because she was so almost going to crack her voice.

 

"well, we're happy for you, bro!" mark asserted, and the rest went on to finish their meals. aeri quietly sighs in relief, feeling glad it was over.

 

after a few minutes of silence, jimin casually brought up the admin letter they received this morning, and how they would need a required number of signatures for the petition, to which the group instantly agreed on signing with, also offering to help. 

 

eventually, the day ends at aeri's last class dumping tons of submissions for this week. she gets a text from jimin saying she's with some of the dance club members, implying that she couldn't be able to meet with her by dismissal. aeri assures her that it was alright, and now she's walking by the corridor as she exits the campus building. 

 

with a few more taps on her phone, the suggested contacts appeared from her screen as the name kim minjeong illuminates within her sight. aeri shakes her head before swiping it off, now deciding to walk her way back to the dorm.

 

"aeri, hey, wait up!" 

 

oh hell no. 

 

aeri quickens her pace, blatantly ignoring the voice calling out for her but unfortunately, haechan was able to catch up. 

 

just be cool, aeri. she thinks to herself.

 

"hi! what's up, dude?" okay, maybe too cool.

 

"i heard you led a petition to have track and field in the phys ed curriculum. great move, by the way."  haechan raises his thumb up, followed by the sheepish smile on his lips. 

 

"thanks, i guess?" aeri grins. 

 

"are you going somewhere? maybe i could hang around with. not that you'd mind, right?" haechan has this smug look on his face and it only irked aeri more. he just has the nerve.

 

"actually, i'm going back to my dorm. i need some beauty rest. maybe another time?" 

 

which is never, aeri thinks, but she's more concerned about how she's going to get out of this situation. 

 

"then let me walk you back. who knows, we might learn new things about each other on the way." haechan chuckles and aeri just wants to slam her sling bag at him. 

 

"no, not really, i'm good by myself. i have to go, haech. see you around!" 

 

and just as she was about to turn her back, aeri yelped upon haechan's sudden grip on her wrist. 

 

obviously, the exchange caused a scene, as always. aeri sensed the notorious gazes from the people around her, making the tension more uncomfortable.

 

"please, i really can walk you back, if you let me—"

 

"i said i'm good, haechan. now can you let go? i'm kind of in a hurry." 

 

"technically, i can, but i may not, so—"

 

they both halt their banter as a loud blare of what seemed like a car horn comes from a distance. the vehicle abruptly stopped in front of aeri, and lo behold minjeong who came out of the driver's seat. 

 

aeri felt haechan's grip loosening as her eyes followed minjeong who was already facing her in flesh. she took aeri's bag, leaning forward to plant a peck on the side of her head. she jolted upon the contact.

 

"hey, baby, sorry i'm late. how long have you been waiting?" 

 

oh. 

 

aeri couldn't help but flaunt the cheekiest grin ever as she looked back at the gingerhead with adoring eyes. 

 

"not that long. you're just in time."

 

minjeong chuckles, heading straight to the front door, pulling the handle to open the passenger seat. aeri struts inside as minjeong gently closes it. she shoots haechan a nod before leaving the dumbfounded brunette, heading back to her seat, changing the gear to drive.

 

with minjeong's eyes still on the road, she knows how wide aeri's smirk is from the corner of her vision. she playfully rolls her eyes at the thought.

 

"so, what pushed you to do it?" aeri asks, fiddling the hem of her vest. minjeong shrugs.

 

"let's just say, one, i'm going to get that date with jimin. and two, you will teach me how this actually works."

 

aeri beams at her with an assuring grin. 

 

"oh you are going to learn a lot from me, kim."

 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

 

aeri drops her notebook and a set of pens by the table as minjeong shoves the used food tray aside, placing the cheeseburgers they ordered on the now cleaned surface.

 

"okay, let's settle some ground rules!" aeri exclaims.

 

"jesus, you're so cliche." minjeong mumbled.

 

"and i know you'll love me for it. also, what's a fake relationship if there's no contract? ultra mega cliche!" 

 

"just get on with it!"

 

aeri took her time to write on the empty page, and minjeong just watches her as she chomps on her food. 

 

there aren't many rules to tinker with, actually. aeri only wants minjeong to be her usual self with her, except that when there are times that their romantic facade should be presented, minjeong has no choice but to follow along aeri's antics. also, the most important thing: nobody should know.

 

"from now on, you're going to hang out with us. and by us, that means you're breathing on the same spots as jimin." 

 

aeri snickered, anticipating a reaction from the gingerhead. however, her mind was boggling from the delightful taste of the cheeseburger in . aeri frowns, tapping minjeong to bring her back from her trance. she momentarily chokes, grabbing the closest drink from the distance, which turned out to be one of the old customers' iced tea that tasted so bland minjeong had to cough after. aeri busted out a laugh at all this, leaving the poor girl striking her chest to recover.

 

"here, you dork." aeri hands her passion fruit drink. 

 

"wow, very helpful now that i've nearly died. very helpful." minjeong takes it anyway, and she asks aeri to repeat what she said before.

 

"maybe except during wednesdays and fridays? i have lunch with yizhuo during those times." she remarked.

 

"you're friends with ning yizhuo from cheer squad?! since when?!"

 

minjeong's brows meet. "why? disappointed that i'm not just some boring loser that hangs out at the library?" 

 

"no, no, it's perfect. tag her along too. i'm sure we'll be delighted to have her around." aeri smirks to herself, already amused about renjun's reaction once all this commences. "and no, i'm not disappointed. haven't i told you i'm into losers? let alone your kind?" 

 

minjeong's lids squint, hanging slightly open as she looks at the noirette. "flirting now, huh? didn't know we're already starting the show."

 

from the corner of their position, two tables away, sat some familiar faces to which belonged to the soccer team. which means, aeri's light bulbs blink uncontrollably, these are haechan's friends. it was no doubt that they were stealing glances from time to time, which is even better. upon processing minjeong's question just now, she closes her notebook, turning to the gingerhead. 

 

"good riddance, because the first part's rolling. now kiss me so we can seal this once and for all." aeri whispers before minjeong leans in, taking her lips befittingly.

 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

 

the door slams open to reveal SMU's latest headlines, hands intertwined, zero s given. 

 

the rowdy hallway began to pause for a moment to meticulously watch the two lovebirds walk their way through. 

 

to be frank, minjeong isn't used to the—well, attention. if she remembered correctly, the last time she had received so much looks was when she beat up a second grader because he bullied her friend. and that was way, way back. still, a good memory though. atleast she knew she was sticking up for something that is right.

 

this time, however, she wasn't so sure. if intertwining your hands with the hottest girl in school as you both walk towards your designated lockers, catching all stray stares and winces would be for the good of at least something, then who was minjeong to judge?

 

"g'mornin, ladies!" 

 

minjeong turns to jimin's voice as she waves to them from afar. aeri notices the panicky body language minjeong was showing with how she was tapping her fingers on the side of her pockets and her tensed gaze. 

 

she does minjeong a favor by pulling her locker open, hiding them both from jimin's sight.

 

"look, ms. obvious, if you don't want to blow this up, at least act a little normal when jimin's near."

 

"geez, i'm sorry, i-i'll try?" minjeong sheepishly smiles. she is, indeed, really hopeless.

 

"good, now back on cue."  

 

and just in time, jimin was already in their space, gleaming a smile. "hey, minjeong! nice to see you. felt like it's been awhile."

 

minjeong laughs nervously. "yeah m-me too! since summer camp, right?" 

 

the two start to converse well, and behind them was aeri momentarily keeping herself busy with her locker. in time, she trusts that jimin and minjeong would get along eventually. this is going to be too easy.

 

as soon as jimin bid her see you later's, minjeong accompanies aeri to her first class. today was a wednesday; in which haechan was in the same class as hers. minjeong realized this and she knew what she had to do. she grabs onto aeri, planting a fluttery peck on the back of her hand. minjeong leans closer as she whispers into aeri's ear, secretly flashing a playful snicker.

 

"see you later, uchinaga." 

 

aeri smirks back, pursing her lips as their fingers slide off from contact. 

 

"as you are, kim."

 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

 

yizhuo blinks. 

 

"you lost me at dating. and did you say aeri? like aeri aeri from track and field? shut up! what happened with jimin?" 

 

she tosses to face minjeong who was sitting on the corner side of the bed. minjeong invited yizhuo over to her place for a little chat, though this was not what yizhuo was expecting to hear at all.

 

minjeong scratches her nape, eyeing yizhuo awkwardly. "uh.. let's say my type changed?" 

 

as if she'd believe that. for all it's worth growing up with minjeong since they were seven, this was absolutely not very minjeong of her. yizhuo doesn't realize that she was staring at minjeong in disbelief for so long.

 

"what? she's nice! she's really pretty and.. and she really makes me feel .. well.. appreciated." minjeong conceals the gritting of her teeth out of cringe. she'd better be scoring that ing date with jimin. 

 

"okay, whatever makes you happy. i'm glad you're exploring this whole dating . not that it's good, though." yizhuo whispers the last sentence. 

 

"look, just support me on this one? aeri said she'd love to have you around. give it a shot!" minjeong pleads, flashing yizhuo with her usual puppy eyes. 

 

yizhuo groans, shoving minjeong's face out of her sight. "fine! i'll go. just so you know, i was very much rooting for jimin. but, i can't blame you. i'm happy as long as you're happy, min." 

 

minjeong just grins.

 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

 

remind aeri on why she's in a milkshake shack in the middle of the night with minjeong when supposedly, she's at her room doing her evening skincare routine. 

 

"i've only known how i should always hold your hand when we're in public, accompany you whenever you invite me to something, sleepovers, sending texts.."

 

"minjeong.."

 

"i don't know, i feel like i don't get the hang of this, maybe i can't really—"

 

"minjeong!" aeri yelps alarmingly, silencing the gingerhead. she sighs, putting her palm against minjeong's wrist. "you're doing fine. god, stop overthinking it."

 

"o-okay.."

 

minjeong slumps back on her seat, her sulky aura impeding the glowy mood of the shack. aeri feels as much as bad because really, there isn't much to do when you two are just pretending to be together. 

 

"except maybe..." aeri mumbles, catching minjeong's attention. "screw my dating lessons. let's start with you. what would you do? what's the minjeong way?" 

 

aeri hopes this would work. she watches the gingerhead think, contemplating upon aeri's question. 

 

light bulb.

 

"you were almost gonna hit em!"

 

"slow down, slow down!"

 

"kim ing minjeong!"

 

aeri sees her life flashing before her eyes. who would've thought that her own idea could possibly bring her to her own death?

 

"relax, i'm an expert. just sit tight, we're almost there!" minjeong remarks as she steps on the gas, the smile on her face never leaving.

 

"yeah an expert on killing me, that's what you are!"

 

"you're such a drama queen. we're here, your excellency," 

 

aeri failed to realize that the engine stopped because she was sure her heart was first to. minjeong opens the door for her, and she takes a moment before she moves out of the seat. she spots the night sky painted with stars. 

 

"i guess stargazing works. it's very you," aeri muttered.

 

"who said we're stargazing? barn's over there, idiot." 

 

"huh?"

 

and just like that, aeri tips her head up, looking at the red farm building. what on earth are they even going to do in a barn?

 

wait, scratch that. "you own this?" 

 

minjeong nods. "i mean, my great grandparents did. so technically yes?" 

 

this was totally not in aeri's impression of minjeong. aeri gawks in confusion, earning a big cackle from her. "disappointed yet again that i'm not just some big loser who hangs out at the library, is best friends with one of the cheerleaders, and a longtime secret farm owner?" 

 

"whatever."

 

aeri rolls her eyes. minjeong clasps her hand with hers, carefully making their way in. aeri takes her first step inside, her foot occasionally meeting the soft hayed floor. she feels the edges of the hay poking her legs, causing her to shriek. minjeong quickly puts her finger on aeri's lips, signaling her to pipe down.

 

"shhh. you're going to wake the snakes.."

 

"THE WHAT?" aeri shout-whispers. 

 

she panics then and there, trying to find an exit. minjeong pulls aeri back, wrapping her arm around her quivering body as she giggled mischievously.  

 

"i'm just playing. there aren't any snakes in the barn, genius."

 

"i-i know that! now quit goofing around or i'll shove you into one of those water boxes." 

 

"yes ma'am."

 

minjeong lets go and rushes to a wooden door with a hole in the middle. she gestures to come closer as the noirette hesitantly followed. 

 

"don't worry, you'll love him!" minjeong assures.

 

"who's him?" 

 

as soon as aeri drops the question, a muzzle appears on the hole, startling her. minjeong raised her hand to stop her from scre