You worked at a retail store in the heart of Seoul. This meant you worked with all kinds of customers from the mean ones who don’t make any sense with their requests to the customers who are so sweet and just easy to work with.

“Wow, she’s gorgeous!” You whispered to your friend and coworker.  Today was two weeks away from Christmas so the store was packed with customers trying to finish their Christmas shopping or getting an idea on what to get their family and friends. One customer had caught your eye, a girl with an impeccable fashion sense and a young man attending to her bags. The man seemed to be in his early twenties with a cute smile. Okay, maybe you weren’t as interested in the girl as you were in the boy. He was beautiful. You walked towards them in case they needed your help.

“Hello, can you help me find something?”

“Of course! What can I help you find?” You answered enthusiastically.

“Well I found these pants on your website and they are blue with pink hearts… I think. I can’t find them!” She told you a little angrily. You gave her a soft smile.

“Oh, well let me check if we have them in the store. You can come with me.” She huffed a little and you let out a small sigh. She was so pretty, yet she was going to be a difficult customer, you just knew it. You walked over to the counter with a computer and searched for the product she described.

“I’m so sorry, but we don’t have any more in stock at this store.”

“Are you kidding me? Fine, could you see if the gold stuff is here then?”

“….The gold stuff? I’m sorry, but I don’t know what you’re referring to.” You spoke clearly. She rolled her eyes and gave the guy she was with a look. He sheepishly smiled at you, he knew she was being difficult.

“You know! The gold outfit that was featured on the website.” Oh, that ‘gold thing’. You internally rolled your eyes and smiled at your customer.

“Right this way, we can find the gold pants there and over there is the shirt while the jewelry for the outfit is downstairs.” You pointed to the areas where the clothes were. You could see them so you felt you didn’t need to walk them anywhere.

“Aren’t you coming? I don’t know where they are!!” She almost screamed. My eyes rounded as some people looked at her.

“Miss, the pants are there and the shirt is right there. The jewelry is downstairs.” You spoke again calmly. You again pointed to where the items are.

“NO, you have to come with me!” She stomped her foot and the cute guy with her dropped the bags he was holding.

“That’s it! I’m so done with you Hee-Jin!” He spoke quietly. I guess this is normal then. What a snotty girl.

“B-but Oppa! You love me! You can’t break up with me!!” She yelled with tears coming. What a drama llama. You rolled my eyes and crossed your arms. The manager walked up to me and began to whisper in my ear.

“I’m sorry, but could you get her to leave? She’s freaking our customers out. I have to go back and help another customer and you’re the only one that’s strong enough to talk to her.” Your manager was right. You could walk up to anyone and just strike a conversation, while the other girls that worked here could just stare and watch in awe. You nodded and your manager clapped your shoulder before moving to help her customer.

“Miss, can you please leave? I know you’re in a difficult situation right now, but you’re disrupting our customers.” You spoke quickly, hoping she would get the clue. Her jaw dropped and she slapped you. Ow, now that was unnecessary. You touched your cheek and you saw that your situation had everyone’s attention. Great. The boy stared at you and he seemed to get really angry.

“Get out. She didn’t need to get slapped. Now, I don’t ever want to see you again. And I did love you, but now I hate you.” He spoke coldly and the timbre of his voice sent shivers down your back. His voice is y. Oh god what is wrong with me?! You shook your head a little and came back to the real world. She slowly picked up her bags and sank a little from the weight. She wiped at her tears and with a small huff, she walked away with the little dignity she had left.

“Are you okay miss? I apologize for her behavior. I can’t believe she slapped you. Does it still sting?” He extended his palm and lightly touched your red cheek. You blushed but luckily he didn’t seem to notice.

★★★★

Two months passed by and you found out that the boy’s name is Xiumin. He had apologized and given his number to pay you back with dinner. You hit it off at dinner and became fast friends. You had developed feelings after meeting him and you wanted to confess, but the boy still seemed to have feelings for his old girlfriend. He would talk about Hee-Jin with you and you tried to help him move on.

“________-ah, I need your help!” Xiumin entered your apartment and sat on your couch. You looked to the door. Was it unlocked? You went and locked it and walked back to the kitchen.

“Hello to you too, Xiumin-ah. And what help do you need?” You proceeded to mix the cake batter and poured it into the pan. Seeing as you weren’t going to leave the kitchen, he came in and sat on the counter. You scowled at him and started to clean the mess you had made on the island.

“I kind of made a mistake and did something stupid….” You stopped and threw the towel you were using at him. He picked it off of himself and threw it to the kitchen floor.

“What did our Xiumin-ah do now?” You teased. He turned red in embarrassment and looked away from you to look around the kitchen.

“Well, IwentandtoldHee-JinthatIhadagirlfriendwhenIobviouslydon’thaveone.” He said it all in a rush but you hear every word.

“It was to get her jealous, right? So what’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is that she asked to go on a double date with her really cool boyfriend and I don’t have a girlfriend.” Your eyes widened, this was a problem.

“….Why did you come here then?”

“…Could you be my …fake girlfriend then?” He looked you straight in the eyes as he said it and you blushed.

“Xiumin, this is your problem! Don’t drag me into this!” You realized you hadn’t put the batter in the oven so you took the pan and put it in the oven. As you were taking your hand away, you slightly hit the side of the oven and burned your hand. You closed the door of the oven when you felt a hand on your injured hand. Xiumin quickly walked you to the sink and put your hand under cold water. You blushed from the contact and your insides melted.

“Pabo~ Be more careful.” A silence fell as he checked your hand and you just went quiet. You didn’t want this moment to end. After your hand was less red, he grabbed a towel and dried it off. He made you go sit down at the table and walked to go find a first aid kit. As he found it, he came back to you and started to wrap your hand. After it was done, he held your hand and asked you.

“Please, could you be my fake girlfriend?” You blushed again. Dammit, I can’t say no.

“Fine! When’s the date?”

“Later tonight! I’ll come pick you up at 5:30.” He kissed your cheek in gratitude and got up to leave.

“Thank you, and see you later~” He walked out the door just like that. After you were completely sure he was gone, you checked how he had wrapped your hand.

“You at wrapping people’s hands. And how do you even do this to me?” You sighed and got up to figure out what to wear.

★★★★

You wore a beautiful knee length dark red dress, and you looked good. You put on a cardigan to make your outfit more casual. You took your purse and sat on the couch. You had had your best friend, Krystal come over and explained everything to her. She already knew of your crush and felt that this whole situation could lead to more. You had shrugged it off, how could it happen to you? She helped you find the perfect outfit and had let your hair be done and slightly styled.

You leaned back on the couch, you were kind of nervous. You jumped when the doorbell rang. He’s here. You checked your reflection in the mirror and went to open the door. Xiumin stood wearing jeans and a shirt that showed his muscles. His eyes widened a bit at the sight of you and you internally freaked out.

“Do I… look okay?”

“Y-Yeah, you l-look g-great!” He stuttered and he smiled at you warmly. He took your hand and you closed the door behind you. He opened the door for you and you stepped in. He’s nicer to me. Weird.

“Soo, what movie are we watching?”

“Uhh, I think it’s Frozen. Is that okay? It seems like a cute movie.”

“I wanted to watch that movie! I’m excited~” You hummed slightly to the song playing on the radio and soon you reached the movies. You stepped out and Xiumin took your hand into yours.

“W-what are you doing?”

“We are dating, remember?” You nodded and looked away, you blush all the time it seems.

You reached the front and saw Hee-Jin with some guy. You looked him up and down, yup, he looked like a douche.

“Annyeong, so you’re dating Xiumin?” Obviously, I mean we are holding hands.

“Yeah, this is _______-ah.”

“Oh, well this is my boyfriend, Kang Jung-Hwa.” She curled her arm around his and she smiled at me and kissed her forehead. Xiumin fell silent and you squeezed his hand in support. Xiumin and Jung-Hwa went to pay for the tickets when Hee-Jin walked to you and crossed her arms.

“So, Xiumin’s standards dropped a bit, now didn’t they?”

“Excuse me?”

“Well, he went from someone like me to someone like you. What a drop!” She laughed and walked to her boyfriend. You wanted to hit her, but you held it in. You had to do this for Xiumin and causing a scene would help no one. You swallowed your anger while walking with Xiumin inside to watch the movie.

You were in between Jung-Hwa who was on your left and Xiumin who was on your right. As the movie went on though, you felt Xiumin peak around you at the other couple. As Jung-Hwa put his arm around Hee-Jin, you felt Xiumin snake his arm around as well. Next thing you knew, you felt someone touch your left side and you jumped at the contact. Xiumin looked at you and you just gave a small smile and he went back to the movie.

You on the other hand looked to Jung-Hwa who smirked at you. You gulped and leaned closer to Xiumin. He noticed and offered his ear. You gave him a lame excuse of being kind of cold, when you just wanted to be away from the creep.

You again felt his hand on your side and you jumped again. You excused yourself and went to go to the bathroom. You walked inside and looked at your reflection; you had never felt so violated in your life. You took some deep breaths and retouched your lipstick. You hummed your favorite song and walked out, only to find the creep waiting.

“Annyeoong~” He sang slightly. You looked to the people around you for help when you felt someone take your hand. You looked to the person to find that it is Xiumin.

“Yah, what are you doing?”

“Ah, nothing, I was just worried is all” He looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. He winked to you and walked back to the movie theatre. You let your jaw drop and took your hand out of Xiumin’s. This night and you just wanted to leave. Xiumin followed and stopped you slowly.

“…Did he touch you? Is that why you shook a couple of times?” He looked furious and your looked away.

“…yes. Only my side! So it’s not like it was anything big…” You tried to play it off, even though it had freaked you out so much.

“It is a big deal! It’s your body, if you don’t want other people to touch you, you don’t let them then! Or at least tell me. Please.” He leaned his head on your shoulder and wrapped his arms around you protectively.

“I care about you, okay? I won’t let any other man touch you like that again. But promise me that when you need help, you’ll come to me. Okay?” He raised his head and looked to you. Damn, with his eye brows scrunched up like that, it makes me want to kiss you idiot. Temptation won and you went out and kissed him tenderly, massaging your lips onto his. As he didn’t respond back, you pulled apart and a tear fell.

“Ah, you- I mean, I’m so sorry!” You turned and left the theatre. You didn’t hear steps behind you and your heart fell. You ran to the bus stop and thanked the gods that you hadn’t wore really tall heels. Luckily the bus arrived and you sat in one of the seats.

★★★★

You stepped into your apartment and threw your purse onto the couch. You groaned and walked into the bedroom to take all of the makeup and clothes off. You stepped into the shower and let the warm water cascade on you. You stepped out and toweled your hair off, walking stark to put some clothes on. You braided your hair and walked to the kitchen to take out a tub of Ben and Jerry’s. You got a big spoon and plopped in front of the TV. You called Krystal over and explained what had happened. At first she was really worried over what the creep had done but then slowly clapped.

“This is why everyone in high school totally thought that you would be a daredevil. You would kiss a boy even though you think you had no chance with him. For this, I applaud to you.” She bowed a little and continued clapping. You scowled and shoved another spoonful into your mouth. You onto the chocolate and tried to not dwell too much on what you had done. You sighed and Krystal took a spoonful herself.

“By the way _____, why are you dressing like a girl who just got dumped?! You should look good especially now! Dress strong, here turn around and I’ll fix your hair.” You sighed and sat on the ground so she could freely play with your hair. You started watching your drama and for just an hour, you forgot your troubles.

★★★★

You opened your eyes to find Xiumin on the couch and Krystal nowhere to be seen. You got up and found that the mess was gone and your ice cream was in the fridge. You looked around your apartment but Krystal was really gone. You walked back to the couch to find Xiumin on it. You tried to think back on how he could ever end up there. You plucked your phone from behind Xiumin’s pillow and called up your best friend.

“Yah, what the hell?!”

“Is that how you greet someone? Try again.” She replied.

“I’m sorry, how are you Krystal?”

“Now that’s better. I’m fine how about you?”

“I have Xiumin on my couch and I have no idea for one. You mind explaining this to me?”

“NOPE. I’ll let him do the explaining.” She hung up and you heard groaning. You looked and found Xiumin rubbing his eyes and pushing himself up from the couch. He took the pillow into his lap and looked sleepily at you.

“Annnyeoong~” He sweetly sang out. You blushed and the balls of your feet to leave to your own room. I can’t take this in the morning. I mean, is he asking to be kissed?!

Xiumin pulled you around and kissed you softly. He pulled apart and kissed your nose, then your forehead and back to your lips again. You just stood there in shock. What the hell?

“You’re beautiful even when you wake up~ Good morning.” He took your hand and sat you on the couch with him. He yawned and you giggled. He smiled warmly at you.

“Krystal called me yesterday night. You had left before I could figure out my feelings for you. I was shocked when you kissed me but you ran away before I could figure it all out!” He tapped your nose and gave you a mischievous smile.

“I went home and really thought about my feelings. I knew that they were more than friends, but I realized that I was happy to say you were my girlfriend. And when I told her that I had a girlfriend, your face came to mind. Every time I went anywhere cool, I thought of you and how I wanted to take you. Sometimes, when you smile I feel like planting kisses on you. I’ve been pushing these feelings away because I thought I could never have a chance but I guess I was wrong. Will you be my girlfriend? Real this time, not fake.” He smiled at you and your heart melted. You leaned in slowly and kissed him. His arms wound around you and your hands went up into his hair. The kiss turned passionate and the both of you knew the answer. You were his and he was yours. The two of you parted for air and you rested your forehead on his.

“Thank god I didn’t become a daredevil~” You whispered and Xiumin looked at you innocently.

“Daredev-” You didn’t want to explain, kissing was better.