It all started because of a stupid bet. Jimin and I were both competitive people. We each liked to be the best and often challenged each other to silly staring contests or whatnot. We got pretty intense about it; we even had a score chart on the fridge. On that particular day, I decided to make breakfast for the two of us and checked out my ranking on the chart.

“Hey…Jimin,” I said slowly. He looked up at me from his place at the kitchen table.

“What’s up, babe?” He came over into the kitchen and examined the chart over my shoulder. I painstakingly counted the tally marks.

“Jimin, we’ve got a tie!” I cried excitedly. “What do we do?!”

He put his hands on my shoulders and leaned over to double check my counting. “You’re right," Jimin said finally. “Okay, let’s have a tiebreaker. Loser has to clean the bathroom.”

“Ugh, fine. But let’s have a prize, too.” I thought about it for a second. “Winner gets to eat whatever they want for dinner.”

“Sounds great. I’m looking forward to some barbeque tonight. Now hurry up and make breakfast. I’m starved.” Jimin smacked my and headed out of the kitchen with a smug smirk on his face.

“That’s fine; you can act all tough now,” I said. “But when I win, I’m ordering chicken and beer and I’m not sharing.”

“What should the bet be?” Jimin wondered. He propped his elbows up on the table and afforded me a generous view of his deliciously muscular arms.

“It’s gotta be something good.” I wiped my eyes. Cutting onions wasn’t something I enjoyed doing first thing in the morning. “Jimin, please be happy that I’m cooking for you for once. If this is what you go through every day, I’m really glad that I’m not you.”

Jimin laughed. “It’s hard to be me. But it’s fine for me. I don’t want to be you. What would I even do all day? Be mean to my nice and kind boyfriend? Read books all day? Forget to eat?”

“Excuse me.” I shot him a warning glance from the kitchen. He just raised his eyebrows and grinned at me. “I’m great. And what would I even do as you? Irritate my girlfriend? Try and get her into bed all day? Plus, you’re so nice. You’re like as sweet as a rainbow covered in cotton candy. You tell me you love me like every other second and you’re always buying me things and kissing my forehead. You couldn’t be as cool as me even if you wanted to.”

“Fine!” Jimin slammed his hands on the table, irritated. “Sorry for being so perfect. Let’s be each other for a day. Maybe then you’ll be nice to me for once. Loser cleans the bathroom and winner gets to eat whatever they want for dinner.”

“Okay," I agreed easily. “I can be nice for one day. First person to give up loses. When do we start?”

“After breakfast,” Jimin decided. “I’m so hungry.”

“Wait,” I said. “Let’s make up some goals. If you’re gonna be me, you have to do me-like things. If you smile or play along with me when I’m acting like you, you lose.”

“Great. Then you have to try and seduce me.” Jimin grinned suggestively.

“Fine. Then if you’re seduced, you lose,” I challenged, smiling triumphantly. Jimin’s grin disappeared instantly. Ha. This was going to be easy.

“Okay! I can handle it. Then you have to tell me you love me and kiss my forehead and be generally mushy with me at least three times an hour. Whoever can make it to dinnertime without breaking character wins.”

“Fine!” I agreed, slamming down his breakfast in front of him. It was on.

As soon as we scraped the last bit of food off of our plates we got into character.

“Jimin, let me do the dishes. It’s fine if you just relax for now,” I smiled sweetly. I had this in the bag. I could almost taste the delicious fried chicken now.

Jimin leaned back in his chair and sighed. “Yeah, you should do the dishes. If you cooked, you should also clean. Finish what you started, you know.”

Hmm…so this is what Jimin really thought of me.

As I did the dishes, Jimin yawned and stretched. “I’m gonna go read a book. Don’t bother me for a while, please. Seriously, baby, don’t bother me. I mean it.” He glared at me a little before getting up and walking away to the bedroom.

Tch. Two could play at this game. Once the dishes were finished, Jimin was going to understand what I dealt with every day.

As soon as I finished washing up I skipped into the bedroom, yelling “Jimin!! Come play with me!” Jimin looked up from his book, annoyed at the interruption.

“Please, not right now. I’m at a really good part and you’re ruining it.”

I ignored him and jumped into the bed and snuggled up next to him. I poked his cheek.

“Jimin! Jiminieeee. Jimin. Jimin. Jimin!!” I reached over and pulled both of his cheeks into a distorted smile. “Jiminnnn…pay attention to meeee.”

I could tell that Jimin was trying not to smile. If this had been a normal day he would have probably been playing with me as soon as I called for him.

I smushed both of his cheeks together so that his lips looked like a fish’s. “Hehehe, you’re so cute.” I giggled at him.

“Hey!" Jimin tried to sound angry through his squished lips. He held his book in one hand and roughly tried to free himself from my grasp. “Would you leave me alone? Can I not have a moment to myself without being interrupted by an overgrown child?”

I flushed. I must have said that to Jimin at least five times a day. I’m not surprised he could quote it to me.

Jimin was good. I underestimated his stubborn side. It didn’t come out very often, but when it did he always got what he wanted. I liked barbeque as much as the next person, but I was not about to clean the bathroom. It was time to step up to the plate.

“Jimin…” I tried whispering seductively. Jimin’s eyes lit up. I could tell he was trying not to laugh.

“I-I love you,” I said quickly before kissing him on the cheek. How embarrassing.

He basically melted into a puddle of goo before my eyes. That was definitely not a me-like reaction. Time to move in for the kill. Could I even manage to be as greasy as Jimin? Could my mentality handle it?

I gently took his book out of his hands and climbed onto his lap. I cupped his face with my hands and stared into his eyes for a moment before going in for a kiss.

Jimin’s hands reached up and tangled in my hair. Nice. I was definitely going to win. I scooted closer to his chest and deepened the kiss. Jimin’s hands moved down to my waist. I started to wonder how far we had to go before we could decide that he was adequately seduced.

He broke the kiss and I reached down and began to pull his shirt up.

“Not so fast.” Jimin’s hands gently pushed me away. “Nice try, buddy. Better luck next time.”

I froze. This was a new experience for me. Jimin never pushed me away. I so rarely initiated anything between us (usually because he beat me to the punch) that Jimin always jumped at the chance.

If I wanted to have chicken and beer tonight, I needed to seduce Jimin. But damn, it hurt when he rejected me so coldly like that. Is this how he felt when I did it to him? Nah, I decided. He wouldn’t always do it if it felt like this.

After a short pause, I mustered my strength and looped my arms gently around Jimin’s neck. I leaned in and nibbled his earlobe. This was so embarrassing to do all on my own. Jimin wasn’t even responding.

I left a trail of kisses along his jawline, slowly working my way towards his collarbone. I could feel his heart beating against his chest, but he wasn’t even moving. How was this not working? Normally Jimin would have been all over me by now. It was kind of hurting my feelings.

I felt him sigh. His hands wrapped around my waist and he lifted me off of his lap and onto the bed. I stared at him blankly, unsure of how to react.

“Really, babe, can’t you just lay off of me for one day? I’d really just rather read my book right now.” Jimin gave me a slightly cold glance and picked up his book.

What the . Rude. Did I really act this way? What did Jimin do in these situations? I racked my brain trying to remember the ways he’d responded to my rebuffs. He was normally so sweet about it. I probably should try to just brush it off, but I felt like crying. Even though I knew that he was just trying to win the bet, it felt like he didn’t want me.

“O-Okay,” I stuttered, feeling shaken. I had to get myself together or else I was going to lose this bet. Did Jimin actually think I acted this way to him? I was never this harsh.

I snuggled into Jimin’s side and tried to think of something cheesy to say. “Is it okay if I just snuggle with you? I’m just happy to be next to you.” That was definitely something Jimin would say.

“Whatever,” Jimin snapped. “Just make sure you’re quiet.”

The …I was not this mean. Jimin was just being a jerk on purpose to make me angry and cause me to break character. That had to be it.

It was silent except for the sound of pages turning. Jimin didn’t even like reading. What book was it? It was probably one of mine he was using for show. This kid. So stubborn.

“What book are you reading?” I asked, craning my neck to try and get a look at the cover.

Jimin sighed. “Can you not? I really just want to read right now. Why don’t you go and do something else? Stop bothering me, seriously.”

That was the last straw. “What the , Jimin?” I sat up and glared at him. “You are being so rude! I do not talk to you this way!”

Jimin laughed. “Um, yeah, you definitely do.”

“Why the hell are you laughing? I’m not this mean. Damn it, Jimin. You can have your ing barbeque. I don’t even want to talk to you right now.” I started to climb over him so I could get off the bed and stomp dramatically out of the room, but he grabbed my arm.

“Babe, relax. I don’t understand what you’re getting so upset about.” He still had an amused smile flickering on his face.

“ off, Jimin.” I tried to escape his grasp.

“Excuse me,” Jimin replied calmly. “Just sit down. I am not even exaggerating you a little bit. This is literally how we interact unless you’re in the mood to be around me.”

Tears sprang into my eyes. “That’s the meanest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

Jimin stared at me, startled.

“No, seriously. Do you really think of me like this? Like I’m this huge who treats her boyfriend like crap?”

“No, no, no, baby.” Jimin rubbed my arms soothingly. “Of course I don’t think that way. I honestly don’t understand what you’re getting so upset about. I thought you knew that you were like this? I thought it wasn’t a big deal.”

“So you do think of me that way. You thought I knew I was like this? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Jimin looked so confused and helpless. I didn’t take pity on him.

“Sorry for being such a jerk,” I muttered. I quickly jumped off the bed and ran from the room before Jimin could see me crying for real.

“Baby, wait.” Jimin ran out of the room and grabbed my arm. I spun around.

His face softened when he saw me crying. Jimin couldn’t handle my tears.

“I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I was just doing the bet.”

“That’s the issue!” I cried. “That’s why my feelings are hurt! That you really think I act like that!”

“Babe, you do act like that,” Jimin said quietly. “That’s how you treat me every single day.”

. Was he serious?

“Jimin, do you really feel that way?” I asked him in a small voice.

He shrugged. “It’s not a matter of how I feel. It’s just a fact. You say these kinds of things to me every day.”

“U-Um. Okay.” I stood there awkwardly. I felt incredibly hurt. Did I really act that way to Jimin?

“Baby, I’m sorry. Don’t take it personally.” Jimin moved to hug me. I put up my hand.

“Just…just give me a minute. I need to think for a little while.”

Jimin studied me apprehensively, but stepped back. “Okay, babe, do your thing. I love you!” he called to my retreating figure.

I went into the bathroom and closed the door. I stared into the mirror. “What the ?” I whispered. “Am I really this kind of person?”

I knew I could be sarcastic and rude and also that I rejected Jimin’s advances pretty frequently. But, jeez, Jimin’s portrayal of me made me seem like a . I studied my reflection in the mirror. Was I a ? To that sweet little baby child of a boyfriend?

I heard a knock at the door. “Uhh…babe. Sorry to interrupt whatever you’re doing, but I really need to use the bathroom.” Jimin sounded decidedly uncomfortable.

I threw open the door and threw myself into Jimin’s arms.

“I’m sorry!” I cried, burying my face in his chest.

“That’s fine...but what are you sorry for? And can this wait for like fifteen seconds?” Jimin tried to wriggle free from my vice-like grip.

“No, it can’t wait!” I exclaimed. “I’m sorry for being such a to you all of the time. I really like hanging out with you and also that you come on to me like 24/7 and that you snuggle with me while I’m reading books.”

“Wow, such honesty.” Jimin raised his eyebrows. “But seriously, it’s fine. Just let me pee. I’m dying.”

“Fine, fine.” I let go of him and Jimin shot into the bathroom. I went and sat on the couch, impatient to continue our conversation.

After a minute he came back out and kneeled in front of me.

“What are you sorry about?” Jimin asked, tucking my hair behind my ear. “What could you possibly be sorry about?”

“I’m sorry for being mean to you,” I whispered. “You’re like the sweetest boyfriend ever. Why do you have a mean girlfriend like me?”

“Probably because I don’t think you’re mean,” Jimin replied. “Guarded? For sure. Sarcastic and prickly as hell? Definitely. But I don’t think you’re mean.”

“Wow, you’re so nice., I sighed dreamily. “What a delightful boyfriend I have.”

Jimin laughed. “Shut up. Just be yourself. But maybe a little bit more affectionate?”

“Sorry,” I shook my head. “Not gonna happen. Too embarrassing.”

Jimin sighed. “At least I tried. So…barbeque for dinner?”

“ no. We’re having chicken and beer.”

Jimin gave me a look.

“Uh…I mean, sure, honey. Whatever you want.” I smiled sweetly.

“Bleh. I think I’m going to throw up.” Jimin grimaced.

“Now you know what I have to deal with on a daily basis,” I laughed.

“We’re still getting barbeque for dinner,” Jimin said.

“Chicken,” I disagreed.

“Barbeque.”

“Chicken!”

“Barbeque!!”

“Fine, barbeque. But just this once.”

I kissed Jimin’s cheek. “Just cause I love you,” I whispered.