Song : Aragaki Yui - Heavenly Days

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“Hyeomin ?”

Silence had filled the table while all eyes landed on the two. Did he just propose? But that was impossible! They weren’t even dating! What exactly was he thinking in that messed up head of his?

“Jong-In ! Do you really think proposing is a good time right now? I wasn’t even aware that you two were dating,” Sehun stated, shock lining his every word. His gaze was juggled between Hyeomin and Jong-In, obviously looking for proof that the two had become an item in the last few months. Baekhyun had his eyes focused on Jong-In briefly before looking to Hyeomin, as if to see whether she would accept the offer or not. Luhan looked utterly caught off guard and was looking to the girl as well for answers.

What did she know? She just came to sit down at a table filled with people she knew. Never in her dreams did she think the bad boy of Goyang High School to propose to her.

She couldn’t speak at first, but merely looked at Jong-In. He obviously wasn’t really anxious about her reply, seeing as he was half turned away with his head down and his gaze upwards to her. It looked like… he was shielding himself. Did he already expect a rejection?

Well, he should! That came out of nowhere!

“Why would you ask something like that out of the blue,” Hyeomin finally said. She didn’t sound as condescending as she would have liked to, but it would have to do. Sehun’s face moved to look dead at Jong-in, obviously ignoring the fact that his question had been ignored.

The dark haired, bad boy looked up at the girl. Letting out a sigh and clenching his fist, Jong-In proceeded to explain. “I’m scheduled to see my grandmother tomorrow after class. I’m going to be driving over to where she is. She’s always doted on me, unlike the rest of my family. I wanted her to at least see what she’s always been bugging me about.” He folded his arms as he glanced around the cafeteria, obviously noting whether people were looking or not. When he was satisfied, he turned to look back at Hyeomin. “She’s always wanted me to find the woman I’m going to marry. And if I show her that I’m engaged…”

So… he thought showing that he would be happy in his life would be enough. It was… thoughtful. But he couldn’t seriously be getting married to someone just for that.

“But getting married to someone just for that reason is stupid! What-“

“I’m not talking seriously. It would be a fake engagement until my grandmother…” He sighed and clenched his fist even harder to where his knuckles remained white.  It was almost saddening to see him struggle with this alone. But a lie? Was that even right? “We wouldn’t have to do anything crazy. Instead, I just need you to pretend to be my fiancée until then. For all we know, you might need to only act that way until tomorrow night.”

Hyeomin felt herself gulp as she looked over at the other boys. The shocked group had turned into one of contemplation. All heads were down and eyes were that of those thinking. It made the girl feel outnumbered in a way. And Baekhyun decided to make it worse.

“I remember doing a session at your house a couple years back and your grandmother coming to visit. Even if she was on a walker, she was sweet enough to bake us cookies and make fresh lemonade.” He smiled from the memory before Luhan decided to join in the reminiscing. “Yeah, when I came to pick Baekhyun up one day for a buisnes dinner, she made me sit and eat one. They were amazing.” The two young men laughed lightly while Sehun shook his head. “You should have seen how proud she was at one of Jong-In’s games. She sat on the other side of the court to throw popcorn at the opposing coach whenever he made a call she didn’t like.” He laughed nostalgically. “She was asked to leave but she found a way back in to watch Jong-In.”

The boys at the table laughed lightly, even Jong-In. Perhaps remembering the good times helped him ease up a little. Still, that didn’t take her mind off of the proposition of her becoming a fake wife. Still, as she looked at Castiel, thinking of all of the times he’d helped her and how many times she couldn’t pay him back.

Shaking her head, she pushed her tray away. It was no use eating anymore. “It’s just for one day, right?”

All of the boys’ smiles left their faces as they looked to her. They looked like they didn’t believe she was serious. After all, this was quite a big lie. Not to mention, it might add more to her plate now that she had classes to deal with. It was a stressful situation that she was bringing on herself, though rejecting it was an option.

Jong6in nodded slowly, as if cautious of her mind changing from being eager. But as she looked up at him to gauge his reaction, she saw a warm smile on his face. It was… odd and misplaced. “Thank you, Hyeomin. You don’t know how much this means to me.”

Something in her chest caught the moment she saw that smile. Why did she suddenly feel like that one choice was the only right one she made all day? Why did she feel so good about this when it was a lie? Looking away from him, she merely muttered a “you’re welcome” before grabbing a piece of paper from her binder. She wrote down her contact information and her class schedule, tearing it in half so he could write down his.

“Alright. If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it right. This is how you contact me and this is how I contact you. I would rather we go over some things that are crucial to know we see her tomorrow. So, text me when you want to meet up somewhere and we can exchange information there. Okay?”

Hyeomin said it so matter-of-factly, the boys were thrown off guard. “You… do know this is supposed to be a fake engagement. Not a fake business proposition…” Luhan had chosen his words carefully, but still showing his alarm toward her serious tone.

“On the outside, that’s what it looks like.” She looked to Jong-In, who’s expression had turned thoughtful yet serious. He merely nodded as he folded her information and put it in his jacket pocket. “I’ve got homework to do, so let me know by six.” She waved before getting up to leave. She stopped as someone’s hand quickly grasped her wrist and held her back.

“Thank you. I mean it.” The heat around her wrist seemed to carry into her face and all she could do was grab her things and go to toss her tray away.

What would it be like to act like she was married to a boy she merely graduated with?

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Hyeomin found herself dressed down. Her hair was pony-tail attached while her clothes  were slightly ruffled. She put her glasses on after removing her contacts as to not strain her eyes too much while she finished up some school work. Most of her homework was from her Chemistry and History classes, the others merely telling her to study for now. That only meant more work was to come later.

Still, after finishing the work, she was able to sit outside of a small café located on the campus. The students around her didn’t seem fazed by her attire, seeing as many other upper classmen dressed the same. Only the freshmen that were too worried about boys had dressed up for classes. She was here to make her future more prosperous, not to get married.

But that seemed to have happened anyway.

Sipping a delicious Cappuccino, she sat with a book in her hand. It was a thin book, something her senior teacher had advised her to read during college. So far, it was quite boring. She almost found herself thankful to see Jong-In approaching her table.

The dark haired boy seated himself without as much as a greeting. Instead, he leaned back and folded his arms. His face was no longer endearing or worried. No, it was twisted in an almost angry fashion. Wasn’t she the one that was being put through this crap?

“I hope you’re not wearing that tomorrow.”

And back to being Mr. Grumpy. “Keep your snide remarks, Jong-In. I’ve seen through it already. Let’s get to business.” She bookmarked her page and looked directly at her “fiancé” before asking a question that had been bothering her.

“If I remember correctly, you had plenty of girlfriends in high school. What happened to them? Why did you pick me?”

Perhaps it was a question made out of convenience? If that was the case, she really didn’t want to know the answer.

“I was focused on basketball senior year. That’s how I got my scholarship here. I’m on the basketball team.” He shrugged it off. What? Was that his way of saying all of those girls were broken off because of basketball? It was true that he buckled down near the end, but did he truly give them all up? “And as for you, you are actually the type of person my grandmother likes. You are fearless, care little of what others think of you, smart, and sweet.” His eyes met hers, and they were serious and intense.

“Oh… Um, I see.” She cleared and tried not to think of it as her face started to heat up. But he seemed to have caught it.

“What? Did I say something untrue, honey?” The pet name stuck out more than she would have liked. Looking to him with a glare, she was also caught off guard by the smirk he held now. It didn’t soothe the heat rising in her face.

“Anyways, do you have any siblings? Allergies?” She started listing off the things that she found crucial to know. It might make things seem more realistic if she knew him better than however much she already did.

Actually, now that she thought about it, she didn’t really know him well at all. He really wasn’t one to open up very easily. He never volunteered that sort of information either. If she knew anything about him, she had to practically yank it out of him.

“I have a younger sister. Her name is Mari. And I suffer from a shellfish allergy.” So… he couldn’t eat things like shrimp?

Hyeomin looked at him to see what his expression was to handing out such information. It didn’t look to be a happy one. He looked strained, actually. Perhaps it was hard to just spit this sort of stuff out.

“Why do we need to go through all of this,” he finally asked, seeing that he wasn’t asking any questions dealing with her. Did he care or did he just want to pass this fluke off half assed?

“I don’t know you. Hard to believe we’re engaged if we don’t know each other.” She glared at him while stating the obvious. Unfortunately, all that did was earn her a smirk. “Do you want to get to know me? I know a few ways that might help out. It’ll be a lot easier than this.”

Her eyes grew wide before she shook her head violently. This… this ert.

But time soon flew by them. The sun had disappeared and the amount of students had decreased.  The first day of classes was over and her last time to get to know Jong-In before the big day was finished. All she found out was that he had a sister and he was allergic to a type of seafood. How productive…

“Ugh! I got nothing!” Leaning back with exasperation very apparent on her face, Hyeomin gave up with trying to ask Jong-In with a straight forward answer. She had no idea why she thought it’d be different this time around. It wasn’t like he was very direct in high school. “I give up, Jong-In. You win. We’ll just go in and act all lovey-dovey tomorrow and part ways. Got it?”

“And you finally see what I was trying to get at. Can I go now? Demon needs his walk and I still have a night shift to get to afterwards.” Oh… So Jong-In had a job?

Of course he did! It was only natural for a guy his age to be working. And if he had his own ride, it made even more sense. For the first time all day, Hyeomin looked at him as a man and nodded to him. “Alright. I’ll see you after classes. Should I dress up?”

“More than today? Yes.” After that, the boy disappeared . It had grown since she last seen him. It was no surprise and yet, it was to her. How many things about him did she not even pay attention to? What else was there about him that she had no idea of?

As she put her things away and started walking toward her dorm, she felt someone’s hand wrap itself around and their strong arm across her waist. They began pulling her back into a small walkway between two buildings. It was dark in there and Hyeomin couldn’t see her assailant. What was going on?!

“Don’t scream.”

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