The music thundered so loudly he could hardly hear the words, as he pushed himself through the sweaty, stuffy crowd of dancers. He made his way to where his friends sat, and tossed himself casually into the empty space, reaching out to take a sip from the glass of wine on the table. He cast his eyes about, “Where’s Woohyun?”

JB pushed aside the girl he’d been kissing to answer, “You’re late, Myungsoo. Haven’t you heard? Another one of our number has been stolen.”

Myungsoo raised an eyebrow as he waved to a couple of girls he recognized, “Namstar has fallen in love? You’re kidding me, right? Isn’t he the biggest playboy out of all of us?”

“That’s what I said.” Jr replied from the other side of his table, “We’re the only three left, after Hoya and Minho dumped us for Eunji and Sulli.”

“Eunji’s not that bad. Sulli’s a mean , though.” JB waved a hand airily. Myungsoo shot him an amused look, “You’re just saying that cos she rejected your advances last time.”

JB rolled his eyes, while Jr chortled at the older man’s words, “Truer words never said.” He paused for a moment before continuing, “By the way, your parents came by my place yesterday.”

Myungsoo’s body tensed for a moment, “What did they say?”

“They want me to help you get a girlfriend. Like, a girlfriend whom you’ll settle down with and marry. According to them, and I quote, ‘Myungsoo’s not getting any younger now. All his peers, Dongwoo and Sunggyu for example, are starting to settle down with their families and he’s the only one who hasn’t even got a girlfriend. He has to learn to grow up and settle down.’”

Myungsoo bit back a curse, “I’ll do damn well what I like, thank you very much.”

Jr raised his hands defensively, “Woah, hold it there. Tell that to your parents, not me. Don’t kill the messenger. I think your parents are serious though, especially after they’ve gone through Sungyeol’s wedding with your sis. The kid’s, what, four years younger than you? Somewhere there, I remember.”

Myungsoo scowled as he gulped down the rest of his wine, “Just because Taeyeon wants to get married to a kid doesn’t mean I have to do the same.”

It was JB who pointed out the obvious, “If they arrange an engagement for you, you won’t have any choice, will you?”

There was a long silence. Then Myungsoo leaned back, closing his eyes in frustration, “God, why can’t they just leave me to do want I what? Love is a stupid thing, it messes up the mind! It makes you a romantic idiot like Dongwoo and Sunggyu are now. This is ridiculous.”

“Um…they aren’t telling you to fall in love, they’re just asking you to settle down. Two very different things, buddy.” Jr responded. Myungsoo shot him a cold glare, “Just help me think of a way out of this instead of talking so much.”

Another silence, this one longer than the first.

It was JB who spoke first, “Why don’t you find a girl to act as your girlfriend?”

Myungsoo considered this suggestion for a moment, “That’s not half a bad idea. But who can I get? I mean, almost all the girls we know…well, you get what I mean.”

“You mean, almost all the girls we know have professed an interest in you before and you’ve rudely and cruelly rejected all of them? Yeah, we know.” Jr replied.

“There is one girl, though…a new girl in my class. She’s quiet and timid and always listens to authority, so she’s probably the kind of girl your parents will like. And she doesn’t have any friends, so she isn’t likely to tell on you to anyone.” JB suggested with a playful smile on his lips, “Just make sure you don’t fall in love with her for real, and I think you’ll be fine.”

 Myungsoo rolled his eyes, “Please, I will never be stupid enough to fall in love. What’s her name?”

“Park Jihyun or something, I think.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re Park Jihyun?”

Myungsoo stared down at the girl sitting at the desk, towering over her as he pierced her with his icy gaze.

“…yeon.”

“What was that?” Myungsoo frowned, barely hearing what the girl had said.

“It’s Park Jiyeon…”

Myungsoo raised an eye and shot JB a glare. JB shrugged nonchalantly from the other side of the room.

Biting back a sigh, Myungsoo continued, “Well, Park Jiyeon, can I talk to you for a minute. Privately.”

It wasn’t a request, and the girl knew it. Slowly, she rose from her desk and followed Myungsoo out of the class.

He brought her to a deserted area behind the school before turning around to face her, his eyes running over her. She was obviously quiet and timid, like JB had said, or else she wouldn’t have followed him all the way here without saying a word. She was pretty enough, he supposed, but her looks were obscured by the thick, round spectacles she wore and her messy, casual hair.

Jiyeon waited nervously, not sure of what to say. Thankfully, Myungsoo spoke first, “I need you to do something for me.”

Jiyeon waited.

“I want you to be my girlfriend.”

This time, Jiyeon’s head shot up in amazement, and she couldn’t stop herself from gaping, “I’m sorry?”

“You heard me. I want you to be my girlfriend.” Myungsoo repeated impatiently. Before Jiyeon could ask, he continued, “My parents want me to ‘settle down’, which frankly I have no intention or inclination to. If I expressed that to them, though, they’d just trap me in an engagement, which clearly I don’t want. The only way to stop them, then, is to find someone to act as my girlfriend. And that person is you.”

Jiyeon deflated. Who did she think she was? How could she have thought, even for a moment, that the famous Kim Myungsoo would want to date her for real? She mentally slapped herself, then looked up as she realized Myungsoo was waiting for her to speak. Hesitantly, she asked, “But…why me?”

Myungsoo waved a hand impatiently, “It doesn’t matter. Just do it. If you do, I’ll grant you one wish. Any wish. That’s within my power, of course.”

Jiyeon had to stop herself from staring open-mouthed at him, “Any wish? Really? What if…what if I asked for a sum of money?”

Myungsoo’s eyes narrowed, and his face became colder, “A materialistic woman. I wouldn’t have thought it, from your appearance. But all the same, I’ll grant it if it’s within my power. Meaning you don’t get to ask me for a billion dollars or anything like that.”

There was a pause as Jiyeon stared down hard at her feet, thinking. Then she nodded, “I’ll do it.”

“Good. There are some conditions, of course. Well, one condition, actually. You cannot fall in love with me. Once this is over, I don’t want to have you clinging to me, telling me you love me and begging me not to leave. If that happens, you won’t even get your money. Understood?”

Jiyeon shivered slightly from his cold tone, “Yes.”

For the first time, a slight smile barely crossed Myungsoo’s face, “Excellent. I’ll pick you up at your home tomorrow at twelve. Give me your phone number and address.” He held his iPhone 4 out to her.

Jiyeon took the phone from him; her eyes ran over it, and for a moment, Myungsoo recognized the flash of envy in her eyes. He almost sneered. She was a materialistic woman indeed.

Jiyeon quickly typed in her phone number and address before handing the phone back to her. Myungsoo took the phone, then held out his hand expectantly. Jiyeon stared at him in surprise.

Myungsoo snapped, “Your phone. So that I can give you my phone number.”

“…I don’t have a phone. Only my home phone.”

Surprise registered in Myungsoo’s eyes; he glanced down at his phone, only to see that she had, indeed, given him the number to his home phone. He raised an eyebrow, “Which teenager today doesn’t even own a phone?”

“…Goodbye, Myungsoo-sshi.”

Before Myungsoo could stop her, Jiyeon was out of sight. He glanced down at the address she’d given him, and could barely stop himself from groaning, “God. She lives in one of the most rundown places in Seoul. How can I be seen going to that sort of place?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun was already in the west when Myungsoo arrived at the park. He strolled leisurely towards Jiyeon, “You haven’t been waiting too long, have you?”

Jiyeon glanced at her watch. Two-fifteen. She swallowed the retort that she’d been waiting to deliver for two hours and fifteen minutes and just breathed in deeply to calm herself.

Myungsoo was completely oblivious to this, “I had something on earlier that took longer than expected, so I’m slightly late. I’m sure you don’t mind.”

Jiyeon struggled to find the words to express herself. In the end, she just gave up, “So why meet here? I thought-”

“You don’t seriously think I could go to your house, right? Your neighbourhood is practically the slums of Seoul. It’d totally destroy my reputation for me to be seen there.” Myungsoo raised an eye, “Anyway, I was thinking we could have lunch at a restaurant nearby. It’s quite good.” Without waiting for her, he led the way to the restaurant.

Jiyeon wanted to ask herself why all rich guys seemed to be such jerks, but she knew that she wouldn’t get an answer. Instead, she forced herself to swallow her pride and trudge after Myungsoo.

Before long, they’d reached the restaurant. The waiter clearly recognized Myungsoo, for he led them to a seat next to the window right away before handing them two menus.

Jiyeon stared at the dishes in awe, “Wow, I’ve only seen such good food on display before…I’ve never eaten them in my life!”

That comment drew a glare from Myungsoo. He glanced about the restaurant to make sure no one was looking at them before warning angrily in a low voice, “Don’t display your ignorance any further, or you’ll just be embarrassing the both of us.”

Jiyeon’s eyes flickered to him. She bit her lip, then nodded as meekly as she could manage.

Myungsoo bit back a sigh before asking impatiently, “So what do you want?”

“…is there anything that’s cheaper? All this food is really expensive and I-”

“For god’s sake!” Myungsoo snapped, “This is a restaurant, not one of those peasant places you go to!”

And that was it.

Jiyeon slammed the menu down and stood up to leave. Myungsoo blinked, startled, before reaching out to grab her hand, “Hey, what do you think you’re-”

“Shut up and get lost, Kim Myungsoo. I’ve met jerks before, but I think I’ve never known someone who’s as much of an as you are!” Jiyeon shot at him angrily.

Myungsoo rose as well, “What did you just call me? Who do you think you-”

“Yes, I called you an and a jerk, which you are. Just because you’re rich doesn’t mean you can do anything you want. Now leave me alone. If I spend another minute in your presence I’m probably going to choke.” Jiyeon shoved Myungsoo’s hand away roughly.

Myungsoo’s temper flared and he grabbed her roughly by the shoulder, “I didn’t say you could leave yet-”

There was a resounding crash as Jiyeon’s palm met his face.

Myungsoo stood rooted to the ground, his expression stunned. Jiyeon glared at him, “Now I’ve given you what you deserve.”

With that, she spun around and strode out of the restaurant. 

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Here's the first chapter!

I usually add an Author's Note at the end of every chapter, but I'll put it at the end of the entire short story instead. 

Next chapter will be up within the next two days, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter though!