Coffee And Violets (SUGA) CH6 - Spilled Milk

Coffee and Violets (SUGA) CH6 - Spilled Milk

[Warning: One swear word!!! :(]

(Yoongi POV)

 I bite my pen in frustration. Hoseok comes in as I close my lyric book.

"What's wrong? Writer's block again?"

"Worse. I can't stop writing." I reply.

Hoseok shuffles over to where I sit, "How's that a problem?"

"I just started writing and it just started being about her"

He glances over the lyrics, "These are good. You should use these in your next song"

"No!" i slam the book shut again, "If I do, then she'll know how I feel!"

"And..?"

"C'mon Hoseok, she doesn't feel the same. She doesn't want me." I sigh.

"I don't thin-"

"Yoongi!" A girl yells, walking into the storage room, "I haven't seen you in forever!"

"Minsoo?" Hoseok asks.

Minsoo walks over to where we're sitting. 

"What's that?" She asks, grabbing at my lyric book.

"Nothing!" I pull it away and hide it behind my back.

Sensing the awkwardness in the room, Hoseok tries to lighten things up.

"Minsoo! I haven't seen you since, what, high school? How've you been?"

"I've been so good! I've missed you guys though. Especially you, Yoongi" She passes a smirk my way.

The memories come flooding back. She was Hoseok's friend, and always was trying to get close to me. She asked me out several times, never quite getting the point. She would always bully others, putting them down to lift herself up. I had hoped she grew kinder since then, but apparently not.

"Sooo," She taps her acrylic nails against the table, "Do you guys want to go hang out? I heard the coffee shop next door is good."

"Actually, I'm sorry but I can't" Hoseok states, "I have to work the counter. We also have an important shipment coming in later today, but Yoongi can go!"

"No no no!" I whisper to him, "I'll watch the shop. You can catch up with her or something! Don't make me go!"

"Yoongi, you never watch the counter. Besides, the shipment is under my name and they need me to sign for it. Just entertain her for a bit."

"But don't you remember how she treated me in high school? I don't wanna go through that again!" I sneer.

"I'm sorry, Yoongi." He says before flashing a grin to her and leaving. 

We walk over to the coffee shop, me dreading the entire thing. When we walk in, everything blurs as Y/N's smile greets me. Looking to my side, it falters for a moment before returning to me. 

"Hi, what can I get you today, Yoongi?"

"Oh, you know him?" Minsoo jeers.

"y-yeah. Well, kind of." Y/N stutters. Cute.

We place our orders and head to a table, Minsoo practically clinging to my arm. 

(Your POV)

I watch as Yoongi and that girl walk to a table. She's hugging his arm the whole way. when they sit down, his back is to me and all I can see is the glares she sends my way.

I try to focus on making their drinks, but my hands are shaking a bit the whole time. Focus, Y/N! You knew you weren't his type! you knew he probably had someone better! you knew not to get attached, so there is no reason to feel heartbroken now.

I call out their drinks, her name is bitter on my tongue. As I hand it over to her, I accidentally drop it. The lid falls and her coffee spills all over the ground and her heels. 

"Oh...my... god." She yells.

"I-I'm so sorry, I'll remake that immediately, It was just an accident" I apologize as I try to clean the spill.

"You should be sorry. We are leaving right. now." She says, "You can't even get a little coffee order right, can you? People like you don't even deserve to know people like Yoongi"

He surely can't hear her over the loud pop music playing. The music you were going to change together. The music that I'll probably never hear now. Without another jab at me, she grabs onto Yoongi and drags him out of the shop.

(Yoongi POV)

"Why are we leaving?" I ask.

"That bitch spilled the coffee all over my new shoes, so I gave her a piece of my mind."

"You what?" I rage.

"I just told her the truth. You shouldn't be friends with someone like her, Yoongi. You can do better." She elaborated, "In fact, I'm still open if you want to-"

I run off back to the cafe. Which wasn't too far, seeing as Minsoo had managed to drag me just a block away. When I get there, I pull the door open. Except I can't. Because it's locked.

"What the..." I mumble.

Looking up, I see the sign on the door reading closed.

"Damn it!" I yell.

I try to open my phone to call her and apologize, but just my luck, the battery's dead. Going next door into my store, I try to find Hoseok. 

Fluttering on the counter is a bright yellow sticky note:

Hi Yoongi! 

There was an issue with the shipment so I had to go to the warehouse to confirm things. I'll be back soon! Don't miss me too much

-Hobi

"Ugh!" I wail. How can this get any worse? I made a mistake and I can't even fix it. Now she probably hates me and I've already lost the one person that makes me feel this way.

I've lost the only girl I've ever loved.

Just Pretend (BEOMGYU) CH2 - Ivory Petals

"Can I go to prom this Friday?"

My mom drops her bag by the door, "Prom? Do you have a date?"

"Well, yes!" I say, "I do. Can I go?"

"But... aren't prom dresses mostly sold out now?" She asks.

Shoot. I forgot about that part.

"I'm sure it'll be fine"

-----

"Well, you still have that dress from your 6th grade recital"

I sigh, "this is a disaster."

"Let me check my closet and see if I have anything," My mom says as she leaves the room. We just got back from the mall, empty-handed. It turns out you're supposed to buy your prom dress a few months in advance, not a few days before. Who knew?

"Y/N! Y/N!" My mom calls as she rushes back into the room, "You'll never believe what I just found!"

"What?!"

She shows me a stunning red dress, sequins sparkling, even in the dim light of our living room.

"Where did you find that?" I shriek.

"I found it in the back of my closet from an old friend's wedding. It's your size too! Isn't this a miracle?"

I smile.

"Thanks, mom"

----- 

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The rain falls around me as I wait in the driveway. I protect myself with an umbrella as I hope to see a pair of headlights pulling onto our street.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon" My mom reassures.

"I hope so," I sigh. Soon enough, a black car turns onto the street and stops in front of our house. Beomgyu jumps out of the driver's seat and runs up to us.

"I'm so sorry I'm late!" he gasps, "there was a lot of traffic getting here"

"It's fine" I laugh.

"So this is your date" My mom muses, "it's lovely to meet you..."

"Beomgyu" He answers, water dripping down his bangs and onto his face.

"Beomgyu," she repeats, "well, you two better get going if you want to make it in time!"

He lifts his sleeve to check his watch, "You're right! We're already late"

"Bye mom" I whisper as we hurry to his car.

He opens the door for me, smiling, and I slide into the passenger seat as he closes the door behind me. He then gets back into the driver's seat and starts up the car.

It's a quiet drive to the venue. I try and think of something to say or some way to thank him for agreeing to go with me. Maybe it would've been better to just confess to him... that way, wether he agreed to go or not, I wouldn't feel indebted to him.

"Thank you for doing this, by the way" I mutter.

"Of course!" He grinned, "to be honest, I'm kinda looking forward to going"

I laugh, "me too"

Soon enough, we've arrived at the location. We can see people filing into the venue through a small set of double doors.

"Wait!" He exclaimed, "I forgot something!"

He quickly parks the car and turns to the back seats, searching through various papers and receipts for something.

"Found it!" He displays a small, clear box. Inside is a delicate arrangement of ivory flowers, so bright that they seem to glow.

"Wow, it's beautiful" I admire.

"I wasn't sure what color your dress was going to be, but I figured white would probably match it, right?"

"Absolutely," I continue, still in a trance from the dream-like petals, "Beomgyu, I-"

"Here," He gently takes it from the box and adjusts it around my wrist. His warm hands graze mine as he traces my skin. He looks back at me, "perfect"

The corsage was pretty, yes, but it paled in comparison to his eyes. They had this depth to them, warm and sweet that seemed to spark a million emotions in my chest. He looked at me like he could see right through all my disguises. A cinnamon-tinted gaze that felt like coming home. 

"We should go inside, huh?" He murmured.

"Probably"

The car door pops open as he walks over to my side, opening the door for me once again.

I laugh, "Y'know, you don't have to pretend when no one else's around"

"I'm not pretending," he drawled, "it never hurts to be a gentleman"

I giggle. We walk towards the venue, only centimeters between us. As we inch closer to the doors, we're welcomed by someone I only vaguely recognize.

"Beomgyuuu~" He calls, "I thought you said you weren't coming?"

"Yeonjun!" Beomgyu greets, "I wasn't planning on it, but then Y/N asked me, so I agreed"

"OoOoh," Yeonjun teases, "Good for you, man. I'm glad you could make it"

"Oh, I should introduce you two. Yeonjun, this is Y/N, my date. Y/N, this is my friend Yeonjun"

My face heats up as he calls me his date, even though I know it's just pretend.

"It's nice to meet you," I call.

"You too. I have to say though, you're too pretty to be with someone like Beomgyu. Wanna be my date instead?" He flirts. If I wasn't blushing before, I definitely was now. "I'm kidding, just a joke. So, you two got your tickets, right?"

We both pause in unison, hit with the same haunting realization. We turn to each other.

"By any chance, did you..." He asks. I shake my head no.

"Damn, I'm sorry" Yeonjun laments.

My first time going to a school dance and I forget to buy the tickets. Just great. Beomgyu's going to think I'm such a fool and never talk to me again.

"What should we do?" I ponder.

As we reach the front of the line, Yeonjun apologizes, "I'm sorry guys, it's my turn so I really should go. I hope you figure something out though!"

We thank him and choose to exit the line, walking back into the parking lot. The rain decided to take a pause, so we sit on the curb in silence. 

"This is all my fault, I'm sorry. I ask you to go with me and fake this whole thing only to not plan enough to buy the tickets"

"Hey, it's okay," he comforts, "It was an accident. I didn't think of it either."

"Yeah," I mumble as I rest my head in my hands. 

"Besides, you were just doing this so your mom stopped bothering you about it, right?" I nod. He continues, "So, if we just kill time for a few hours, she'll have no idea that we didn't actually go to prom"

I chuckle, "yeah, but... I don't wanna waste your time on something like lying to my mom"

"I already agreed to go with you, didn't I?" He jumps up and walks over to the car, "let's go somewhere. It'll be fun"

Just Pretend (BEOMGYU) CH4 - The Group Project

Prom went way better than I thought it would. Don't get me wrong, I was stoked to be going with Beomgyu. But knowing that the whole time, he was doing me a 'favor'? I thought it would be super awkward. Especially when I realized that neither of us had tickets to the dance, I thought I blew it right then. But I didn't.

It's harder now. It was easy to have a crush on him when I figured that was all it would be, and maybe that's the same. However, now I know so much more about him. And I feel like there's a connection between us, like he's not as unreachable as he used to seem to me.

And when I said that I might understand him, he said maybe!!! Maybe! And that he had a good time! But... that doesn't mean that it'll mean something after that. He could've just been responding.

Despite that, I don't want to think that way. As I walk into the classroom and sit at my desk, I find myself getting excited for class. I grab my notebook and pencil case, thinking what my color scheme should be for today's notes. Well, it's raining today, maybe blues? I grab a dark blue pen and match it with a light blue highlighter. And maybe... a bright red! Red like the vibrantly colored umbrellas and raincoats. I title my page and add the date. Mesmerized by the notebook in front of me, I'm pulled out of my trance the second a certain someone walks in.

It's Beomgyu. And he looks perfect. He always does to me. His long hair is fluffed up as he saunters into the room. What do I do? Should I wave, or is that too much? Should I pretend I don't see him? Is that rude??

He looks over and meets my eyes. He brightly grins and waves. My heart skips a beat, eyes widening. I give a short wave back and stare down at the paper facing me.

Why do you have to be so awkward, Y/N! You're losing your chance!

----------

When the bell rings, I stroll over to his desk. I hesitate, but we're friends now, right?

"Hey" I greet.

"Hi" he grins, "how was your weekend?"

"Mine was good! What about you?"

He starts, "Mine was-"

"How's the new couple doing?" Yeonjun says a bit too loudly.

But it's fine, because most of the class had already left, right?

...Wrong.

I turned in horror as the rest of our classmates stared from the door. I guess I took for granted how small our class was. They all were much more invested than I feel they should be.

"YOU TWO ARE DATING?!" Someone yelled.

"Um, uh.." Beomgyu stutters.

Yeonjun interjects, "Yeah, they went to prom together. Did none of you know that?"

As he's talking, he turns to us. His face gets confused as he whispers, "What's wrong? Are you two trying to keep it low key or something?"

I grimace as Beomgyu finally answers the other students, "Um, yes. This is my uh, girlfriend, Y/N" The students that remain in the class seemed shocked, but most of them fled the classroom quickly.

Once they'd all left, Yeonjun asks, "What's up with you guys?"

"We aren't actually dating," I answer, "Beomgyu was just pretending to be my prom date, 'cause my mom wanted me to go, and.. yeah"

"Ah, I'm sorry.." Yeonjun apologizes, "you're a super bad liar though, Beomgyu"

He laughs as Beomgyu glares at him, I look down at the ground in guilt, "I'm really sorry Beomgyu. You're in this mess because of me. I'll help you fix it"

"Oh, It's not your fault! It's his," he glares at Yeonjun, "besides, I don't mind. We're friends, right?"

I nod. Friends...

He puts his arm around my shoulders and grins, "C'mon, girlfriend, we gotta get to our next class!"

I, however, am a fantastic liar. Because as we laugh together about how "we're just friends", my heart tears itself apart.

------

Rain pours from the sky, dripping down the window panes and onto pedestrians passing. A selection of patterned umbrellas shower the streets. I watch from the table on the second floor as people walk past.

It was our second class of the day now, history. And I'm feeling even more tired than this morning when I woke. I can't seem to focus, my mind cringing at the former scene and how my peers now know of my crush on Beomgyu, in a way. And yet, he still doesn't.

"-and you'll be choosing your own groups for the project"

What did the teacher say?? Choosing groups? This is the worst part of my classes. If I could just do the project on my own, that'd be easier. Now, I have to awkwardly glance at acquaintances and hope that someone partners up with me. If not, we'll have to do the whole "everyone without a partner raise your hand!" And I've had just about enough attention from my classmates today.

(BEOMGYU POV)

I turn to my friends, "should we all group up together?"

They aren't listening, they're talking about something else. Without me. It might be nice to work with someone else for a change, instead of having to nag them to do the work and feel like such an uncool friend.

"Oh! You all weren't in our first period, were you? Everyone knows about Beomgyu's girlfriend now, it was hilarious" Yeonjun laughs.

Huening Kai just gives him a blank stare, "Beomgyu has a girlfriend?"

Yeonjun stops, "yeah, they went to prom together? Y/N?"

Huening gasps, "YOU AND Y/N ARE DATING?!"

"It's not-" I begin.

"Shouldn't you work with her then?" Soobin questions.

"Yeah, yeah! You can get closer with your girlfriend" Yeonjun teases.

It feels like they're trying to leave me out again, like they dont want me in their group. I attempt to join back in, "but, aren't we always a group?"

"Well, yeah, but the groups can only have four people, so it just makes sense for you to work with her" Taehyun reasons.

Before I know it, they've pushed me in front of Y/N. And now we've made eye contact, and I'm making a fool out of myself in front of a pretty girl.

"H-hi"

"Hey" she says.

"Can uh, can we work together?"

"Sure!" She replies.

The class settles as everyone sits down with their group. However, the teacher notices our group of two and questions, "what's going on here? I said groups of four"

"W-well sir, we are going to work as a group of two" I stutter.

"It's gonna be a lot more work as just a pair, but if that's what you want"

I gulp as I turn to look at Y/N. She's turned away from me, staring out the window. I might be wrong, but I can't help but notice a faint blush on her face.

Just Pretend (BEOMGYU) - Series Masterlist!

Here's all the chapters so far of my Beomgyu fan fiction, Just Pretend!

Y/N meant to ask her crush to prom, but ended up in a fake-dating situation. As more people find out about their "relationship", they find a true friendship. But is that all it'll ever be?

Chapter One - Promposal

Chapter Two - Ivory Petals

Chapter Three - New Moon

Chapter Four - The Group Project

Chapter Five - Favorite Color

Chapter Six - Another Faded Polaroid

Chapter Seven - Back at It Again

Chapter Eight - I Need You

Chapter Nine - Star

Chapter Ten - Define Love?

Chapter Eleven - The Moment I Knew

Coffee and Violets (SUGA) CH7 - Yeongsun

(WARNING: A bit of angst.. not too bad but uh yeah you can skip that part! I'll write where it starts :])

(Your POV)

You curl up on the couch as tears spill from your eyes. I can't get anything right.

You closed the shop early today. There's no point in making coffee if it'll only taste cold. Rain patters against the window and you can't help but think it's the only one that cares. 

A knock on the door interrupts your thoughts. You slowly open it.

"Hey Y/N!"

"Yeongsun? Why do you know where I live?"

"Your mom told me. She actually wanted me to drop this off," He holds up a bag with containers of food in it, "she wanted to give it to you herself, but she has been so busy."

"Ah. I missed mom's food." You take the bag from your old neighbor.

"So, how's it goin'? Living on your own."

You shrug, "Fine. I assume you still live next door to my old house?"

"Yep!" He chirps, "you look like you've been crying though. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, just... lonely."

He thinks for a moment, "Well, it's late out now. What do you think of having lunch together tomorrow?"

You smile at his happy energy.

"That sounds good."

And that leads you to now. He took you out to eat for lunch. As sweet as he was, he kept slipping flirts into the conversation. He was a good guy, your mom certainly wanted you to date him, but you weren't interested. 

But then again, what are you waiting for? Who are you waiting for?

I don't think he's coming.

"C'mon Y/N! Let's go into the flower shop! I'll buy you something pretty" he smiles.

"Huh?" You snap out of your daze, "Wait.. wait NO!"

(Yoongi POV)

"I'm sorry, Yoongs" Hoseok says. 

"And her cafe is closed again today. She probably thinks I'm dating Minsoo or something, and I can't even tell her I'm not."

"I'm sure she'll be back soon enough." He comforts, "Besides, if she closed early and is gone again today, that most likely means it did hurt her. Meaning she did like you back."

"Yeah... maybe you're-" I'm interrupted by the ringing of the bell.

A guy comes in, pulling a girl with him over to the daisies. Y/N.

"You really don't need to buy me anything, Yeongsun! Let's go somewhere else" She awkwardly urged him.

Jealousy burns into my skin. All this time I thought she was upset at me. She wasn't even thinking about me. She was off with this Yeongsun guy, and to be honest? How could I even be mad? He seems to love her. He seems to treat her better than I could.

"Of course I'm buying you something! But I have to say Y/N," He pauses and meets her eyes, "I can't find the flower I'm looking for."

"What flower are you looking for?" She stammered.

"One prettier than you."

My hands grip the counter, knuckles turning white. "There isn't one" I mouthed.

"What was that?" Yeongsun turned to me.

"Nothing."

"Hmm," He picks up a bouquet of red roses, "This one is so pretty though. I love roses. What do you think?"

"It's pretty," She shrugged, "I've always loved more... unique flowers."

"What's the point in that? Roses are popular because they're pretty. And you deserve the best." He quipped. Her gaze flickers to me.

She gulps, "Yeah"

--------------

"That'll be $14.95!" Hoseok smiled.

"and can we get that packaged up?"

"Yeongsun, it's fine. We don't need to."

"No no! I think we should." He grinned.

"Yoongi? Can you go get this wrapped up for them?" He passes me an apologetic look. I take the bouquet to the back, wrapping it in the plastic sleeve and the tag.

I always write some sort of poetry on the tag, for situations like these? Usually something lovey-dovey. And that seems like what Yeongsun asked for.

Once it's finished, I pass the roses to him.

He turns the tag over, reading it, "Aw, You belong with me, that's perfect! You do belong with me, Y/N!"

"I uh, I don't-"

"Let's go! We have more places to go on our date!" Yeongsun cheers. He hands her the roses and rushes her out the door.

(Your POV) [If you don't like angst you can skip to the next chapter :D]

"Yeongsun! Yeongsun!" You call as he drags you through the crowds, "slow down!"

"What? We have so many more places to go!"

"No.. I don't want to." You sighed.

"Why? Don't tell me it was because of that guy back there," He groans, "He was totally eying you"

"Yoongi?"

"Yeah, was that what his name was? You shouldn't talk to people like him. He seems like trouble." 

He grabs your hand again and continues to lead you away from the flower store. Again, you force him to stop.

"Yeongsun, what is this all about? Why do you keep taking me places, or telling people we're on a date?"

He turns to you, "Isn't that what this is? You agreed to this."

"I agreed to hang out with you," you stumble back, "that didn't mean I wanted to go on a date with you. I don't like you that way, Yeongsun" 

"C'mon Y/N, you don't have to pretend. I've heard what your mom tells me. You don't have a boyfriend, you hardly have friends, you spend all your time trapped up in that dumb cafe or writing your book. You keep living through old memories of your childhood, of us."

"I,.. what..." you murmur, "you thought that way?"

"We can all see it. You're afraid to try anything new because you don't want to see it fail," He brings a hand to your chin and forces your eyes to meet his, "I've loved you for a long time, Y/N. I know you love me too. Stop pretending"

"No I don't Yeongsun. Cut it out." You pull yourself away from him, stepping back a bit.

"You really don't like me?" He scoffs.

"No! I never did! I thought we were friends.."

"Oh..." He looks down, "W-We can still be friends, then?"

"I don't know. I don't... I don't think we can anymore" You drop the flowers and walk the opposite direction.

Just Pretend (BEOMGYU) CH5 - Favorite Color

"So, do you want to start on chapter five and I'll do chapter six?"

Me and Beomgyu sit alone in a corner of the library. It's fairly quiet where we're sitting, a snug corner filled with books.

"Yeah, then we'll start on the slideshow?"

"Sounds good!" He says.

We both open our textbooks and begin reading. It's silent, but a soft silence. The kind that's easy to fall into, forgetting how long it's been since someone spoke.

It's hard to think that someone who I'd only watched from afar is now my boyfriend. Even harder to remember it's only pretend.

However, I'm still proud of myself. All this time I've spent, closed-off, not connecting with anyone around me. Look at me now. I have a friend. And I think it might last this time. Even if I never tell him how I feel, having him here is enough.

I think back to what he said at prom: "I don't know if they'd like me if they really knew me." I wonder if no one's ever tried to get to know him. He has friends, but maybe he's never felt like those friends got to know the real him. Maybe he never let them. Maybe he's scared. Maybe I am too.

"Hey, Beomgyu," I start.

"Yeah?"

"What's your favorite color?"

He looks up from the textbook.

"Why do you ask that?" He questions.

"Just curious"

"Hmm" he pauses in thought, "pink"

I gasp, "pink? Really?"

"What's wrong with liking pink?" He grins.

"Nothing, it just surprised me. You only ever wear black"

I turn back to my book. It's true, he's always in dark colors. I figured that's what he liked, but apparently not. Such a bright color for someone so reserved. Like he's always trying to mask something.

"What's yours?"

"My favorite color?" He nods. "Yellow!"

He lights up, "wow, I figured your favorite color would be blue or something. Yellow isn't a common favorite, is it?"

"Not common, no," I reply, "but I like it. It doesn't try to make itself palatable for others. I respect that"

"I never thought of it that way," he said.

All of a sudden, Beomgyu's group of friends is walking up to us. I recognize Yeonjun, but the rest? I'm not sure.

"How's it going, you two?" Yeonjun asks.

I stay quiet. Beomgyu answers, "it's going well. What about you?"

"We haven't started yet," Soobin says.

They sit by us and we try to get back to our project. Their group is chattering on and on. Beomgyu lifts his head occasionally, but he mainly continues reading his chapter. Something Yeonjun says catches my attention:

"So she said one of her friends actually has a crush on Beomgyu"

Huening Kai jumps, "but he's dating Y/N?!"

"Well, they're not really dating, right?" Yeonjun turns to me.

My thoughts are racing, I guess there's nothing stopping Beomgyu from dating someone. Is it stupid to feel like we have something even though we only went to prom together?

"No, we aren't" I mutter.

"What do you think then, Beomgyu? Wanna give her a chance?"

I look to Beomgyu, but his smile has faded.

"Wether me and Y/N are actually dating or not, the rest of the school thinks we are. So, no. I'm not interested"

"I'm sure the school is not that invested," Taehyun states, "you can go on a date with someone else if you want"

"I'm not interested" Beomgyu repeats.

"Why not? Please, just give her a chance! What am I supposed to tell Minji, her friend will be so upset" Yeonjun insists.

"I've got a lot going on right now, I don't have time for something like that"

Soobin spoke, "like what?"

Beomgyu shuts the book closed, "I have a ton of schoolwork. No time for a girlfriend"

"That didn't stop you from going to prom with Y/N"

"That's different"

"How is it different?" Yeonjun commands, "honestly, I'm starting to think that you and Y/N are actually dating with how you're overreacting"

"I'm not overreacting," Beomgyu groans, "I'm just not interested. Why can't I say that? I'm allowed to not want to date your friend"

"Fine" Yeonjun says.

It goes quiet. Everyone is now doing their work, or at least staring at their laptops pretending to. Beomgyu taps me on the shoulder.

"Wanna go work somewhere else?" He whispers. I nod.

We stand and leave the library without a word to his friends. Silently, I follow him past the classrooms and out the doors. We find an area with few students. Sitting down on a bench underneath a large oak tree, I speak.

"I'm sorry. The whole fake dating thing is turning into a problem, isn't it? I can break it off, if you want. I don't want you to be fighting with your friends because of me"

"No, they're always like that" he says, bringing his knees to his chest.

"Really? It seemed like it was getting kind of..." I hesitate, "aggressive"

"They just-, don't listen to me. And will try to persuade me into doing stuff for them, or questioning stuff like why I don't want a girlfriend"

"Haven't you told them about your dad?"

"No" he states, "they wouldn't listen. If they did, it's not like they'd get it. Not like you would"

It makes me happy that he trusts me, though it shouldn't. He's talking about his problems with his friends. I add, "I'm okay if you want to date that girl. If you're worrying about my feelings, don't"

"I don't want to date her," he clarifies, "I'm not interested in dating right now. Everything in my life is already a mess, I don't need more... more things to feel like I'm messing up"

"Well, we've been pretend dating for a few days now, and you haven't messed anything up yet!" I joke.

He laughs, "you're funny"

"Oh, I know, Beomgyu."