Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“And this is why this is probably the only decent pizza we can find in Seoul. Boo Seungkwan, are you even listening to me?” 

No, he isn’t. He should, really. Mingyu is one of his best friends, probably one of the few people in the world nice enough to be friends with him. So really, he should be listening to Mingyu. 

But he isn’t. 

Even though he might have a good reason for not listening: a letter. 

All Seungkwan can think about is the stupid letter he received in the mail that same morning. 

A letter bearing horrible news. A letter destined to change his life forever. Followed by a phone call that bore even worse, if possible, news. 

Jeon Wonwoo, his kind, nerdy, funny, loser, lifelong best friend is getting married. And he is getting married to Kwon Soonyoung, a guy Wonwoo allegedly met only three months ago, and decided that he’s the love of his life in this short amount of time. Hence why it led to a proposal. Three months into dating. For a second, Seungkwan wonders if he has ever known Wonwoo at all. This is rather unlikely of him. 

The point is: Wonwoo wants to marry that guy, when Seungkwan is right there. Single. Hot. With an amazing job, a nice apartment, a good fashion sense, and an awesome personality (okay, maybe not that awesome, but Mingyu says so and Seungkwan has decided to believe him).

Seungkwan shouldn’t have the right to be this mad. Wonwoo and he aren’t as close and don’t meet as much as they used to. They have naturally drifted apart without any hard feelings between them. Wonwoo lives in Busan, Seungkwan lives in Seoul, it’s only natural. 

Well, maybe natural isn’t the exact word to use to describe the situation. There is a little more to it, the little more that might explain better why things have unfolded in the way they did. Why it’s a little weird for the two of them to talk on the phone. Why they don’t talk that much to begin with. Why Wonwoo doesn’t come back to Seoul like he promised he would have. Why Seungkwan avoids Busan like the plague. Why things changed even if they promised they would have never changed. 

Four years ago, before moving to Busan for work, Wonwoo confessed his feelings for Seungkwan, asking him to move there with him. Four years ago, Seungkwan apologized. 

Back then, he didn’t love Wonwoo. There was nothing he could do about it, just like he couldn’t know that four years later, the roles would have been inverted. How ironic life is, right? He could have had it all, dating the perfect guy and living by the coast. But he was stupid. 

He was 24 and stupid. He’s now about to turn 28, and he is probably even more stupid, considering that only now he has realized that he likes Wonwoo. 

“He’s getting married, Mingyu.” 

Mingyu first tilts his head, and then sighs. “Is it about him?”

Mingyu has definitely had enough. Ever since Christmas, when Wonwoo came back to Seoul for a couple of days to celebrate the holidays with his family — which is when Seungkwan realized he has feelings for him — their conversations have been rather monothematic. Wonwoo this. Wonwoo that. Mingyu is the kindest and most supportive friend, but he’s probably reaching his limit. 

“Five minutes. I need five minutes of complaining and I need you to be supportive. Then I will do the same thing for you and I promise I’ll listen to you talking about your favorite restaurants. The food here. Anything you want, and I’ll listen without thinking about anything else.” 

Mingyu steals a slice of pizza from Seungkwan’s plate, which is basically still full. With his brain too busy thinking and his heart too busy crying, he couldn’t even touch his delicious, at least according to Mingyu, pizza. 

“All right, you have my attention,” Mingyu puts his elbows on the table, intertwines his fingers, and rests his chin on top of them. “Okay, getting married, you said. To you? Didn’t you two make that contract like 10 years ago? The due date is coming, right?” 

Contract. Yeah. What contract? Easy. When Wonwoo and Seungkwan were 18, both young and recovering from break-ups, Seungkwan proposed that, if by the age of 28 they still had been single, they would have gotten married to each other. 

Wonwoo turned 28 last year. Seungkwan is about to turn 28. Seungkwan is single and in love with Wonwoo. And Wonwoo, well. Seungkwan thought that Wonwoo was single too, and maybe in love with Seungkwan, counting down the days until his birthday so he could propose. Apparently, instead, Wonwoo is 28 and engaged.  

“And weren’t you waiting for your birthday to confess to Wonwoo by reminding him of that promise you made as children? You realized your feelings for him this Christmas, right? You have been waiting ever since.”

Oh, Mingyu really listens to him and he also remembers the abnormal amount of things he blabbers about. Seungkwan realizes that he doesn’t deserve him one bit.  

“You did your homework.” 

“It’s basically all you have been talking about for the past few weeks.” 

Seungkwan gulps down the last drops of beer he has in his glass. “He’s getting married. To someone else. A guy he met like three months ago and that apparently is his soulmate or something. I don’t even know.”

“Isn’t that nice?”

“Nice?” Seungkwan stops his hand right before it becomes a fist and hits the table. “Nice? Nice, you say? Have you heard what you said? I like him, he should be in love with me, not with that Kwon Soonyoung guy.” 

“I’m sorry, you usually like that soulmate stuff. I thought maybe this was the case too.” Mingyu is lucky both that they are in a public space and that there’s a whole table separating him from Seungkwan, preventing him from jumping on him. “Of course I do, but not when it is my soulmate being soulmate with someone else!” 

“Maybe you should use this experience to write—” There might be a table, but Seungkwan suddenly remembers that he can kick Mingyu’s leg under the table, so he does. Not too much though. Hey! Why did you hit me, I was still supporting you!”

“I was counting down the days, Mingyu. I thought he was waiting too. At Christmas he told me he couldn’t wait for the new year and that he might have a huge thing to tell me. I didn’t expect this to be the surprise. He called me earlier today —right after I read the letter, as if he knew — asking if I got the invite and he sounded so… excited talking about Soonyoung. The wedding is this early because there was an opening for their favorite place, so they thought why not? This is hell, Mingyu. Hell. That should be me. I should be the one making stupid decisions with Wonwoo, not Soonyoung.”

Seungkwan dramatically sighs and takes Mingyu’s glass to drink his beer too. “He has never been that spontaneous. In his previous relationships he didn’t even want to get married. What does this Kwon Soonyoung have?” 

“He’s such a dick,” Mingyu says. Definitely lying just to support Seungkwan, but he still appreciates the effort. “He should be in love with you. He should be on his knees proposing to you. Right now at this table. At this restaurant that makes the best pizza.” 

“Yeah!” 

“Look at you! You’re such a catch, he has no idea what he has lost by not proposing to you. He better break off that engagement to get you instead. Someone should appear in his dreams telling him to dump Soonyoung for you. I would definitely do that myself if I could.”

“Exactly!”

Wait. 

Mingyu is exaggerating to make Seungkwan happy. He doesn’t really mean that. Neither he nor Seungkwan are the kind of people to go after people who are engaged, married, or in relationships. They aren’t the kind of people to make engaged people break off engagements either. That’s awful, and very low. 

Unless…

Unless it’s for a good cause. 

Seungkwan smirks. 

This is a good cause. Even Mingyu thinks so!

“Don’t you dare.” Mingyu says, worried, as if he's perfectly read Seungkwan’s intentions. “You are not going to win Wonwoo back. He’s engaged. He’s in love. It’s time for you to let him go. Move on. Let him get married.”

“You promised me your undivided support for five minutes.”

“I did, but not for things this stupid,” Mingyu seems exasperated, brushing his hand through his long hair and then fixing his glasses. Seungkwan, instead, has finally gained back his appetite. “Seungkwan. You can’t do that. You can’t go to Busan to make Wonwoo fall for you. You have to promise me. You are better than this. You can move on. I— There are plenty of fish in the sea! You are hot, you can get anyone you want!” 

Seungkwan shrugs. They might be engaged, but they are not tied to the duty of marriage yet. Wonwoo and Soonyoung have known each other for less than three months, they are in their honeymoon phase, they don’t really know each other yet, they don’t really know if their relationship is strong enough to last forever. On the other hand, Seungkwan perfectly knows Wonwoo, just like Wonwoo perfectly knows Seungkwan. Seungkwan perfectly knows how their relationship will unfold. Seungkwan perfectly knows that they are perfect for each other.

He has to do it. He has to break off their engagement and prevent their wedding from happening. 

“But I want that one. I want that engaged and unavailable fish. He’s the love of my life, Mingyu. No one is as perfect as him.”

Mingyu shakes his head, defeated, and Seungkwan, who has found his full appetite again, finishes his slice of pizza. And then another one. And then another one. Maybe Mingyu is right, this is a delicious izza. Mingyu, on the other side of the table, keeps shaking his head as he watches Seungkwan devouring his pizza, without saying a single thing. The five minutes must not be over yet. 

“I want to put this out there for the records. I do not support you. I will not support you. You are alone in this madness. Promise me I won’t get involved further than this.”  

Okay, they must be over now. 

“I can’t make any promise,” Seungkwan hums satisfied. “So, it's your turn now. What’s about this place that makes it so special and your favorite Italian restaurant? And the premises are good, this pizza is the most delicious one I have ever had.”

𓍯𓂃𓏧♡

“You are completely out of your mind.” 

Hansol scoffs, trying to focus on finishing writing the review of one of a movie he has had the opportunity to watch a preview of. He wishes he could write, but he can’t seem to focus with a little radio going off in his ears. Seungkwan has been at his cubicle for the past few minutes complaining, once again, about Wonwoo involuntarily breaking his heart, like the broken record that he has become. 

“I know, thank you.” 

“No, really, Seungkwan. This is crazy even for you,” Xu Minghao, their colleague and Hansol’s (not so) secret boyfriend, joins them. “You can’t just do that. How are you even planning on doing so?”

“What are you doing? Don’t ask him that!” Hansol groans and, at his boyfriend’s reaction, Minghao realizes what he has asked and regrets it immediately. He even tries to take his question back, but unfortunately, it’s still late. Seungkwan is quicker and starts to explain his plan. 

“Thank you for asking. First of all, I’m going to be the perfect boyfriend. I’ll be so disgustingly kind and perfect that everyone is going to think why on Earth is Wonwoo marrying that guy and not me, his perfect best friend,” Seungkwan sits on Hansol’s desk. “And you know how much his family loves me and that they have all hoped for the two of us to date? I’ll make sure to remind him of that.” 

Hansol and Minghao exchange a look. “Is that all?” Minghao asks, masking a laugh, which deeply hurts Seungkwan. 

“Yeah, I mean, you’re planning on breaking off an engagement and this is all you have thought of? Being someone you’re not and hoping that Wonwoo’s mommy and daddy will tell him to choose you instead?”

Probably, being shot in his heart and then being thrown off the cliff of a mountain would have hurt way less than his friends’ words. 

“What do you mean someone I’m not? I am kind and nice! And selfless! And lovable! Maybe not perfect but–” 

“Are you actually kind and nice and selfless if you are planning on breaking off an engagement for selfish reasons?” Minghao inquiries. 

“Of course! I mean, they just believe they are soulmates because they have been dating for only three months. We all agree the three months aren’t nearly enough to get married. Their marriage will surely end and I, selflessly, don’t want them to make this mistake and I want them not to waste their time.” 

“Are we talking about Wonwoo again?” Mingyu joins them, as his cubicle is right next to Hansol’s. 

“So, did our annoying boss like your article about the best Italian places in Seoul?” Hansol asks, taking the article from Mingyu’s hands, definitely dreading to change the topic. Unfortunately for them, the Seungkwan’s show isn’t over yet, it’s only a quick intermission Seungkwan himself doesn’t mind. He loves talking about work, and in particular he loves when Mingyu talks about it. 

“She liked it. Maybe too much. She’s thinking about turning it into a Top 10 by the end of the month to publish it on the physical copy of that week. And also to make it a periodical feature, not only online but in the magazine too. Even though I have to go café hopping to the newest most viral places for the article on the site this week.” 

“Isn’t that awesome?” Seungkwan asks rhetorically while clapping his hands. He has to be honest, he is somehow sad that he isn’t the center of the conversation anymore, but he’s genuinely happy for Mingyu. “You should be way more proud of yourself! You should be cocky and flash your success more! This is huge Mingyu!” 

“Let’s go celebrate later,” Minghao proposes and everyone agrees enthusiastically. Everyone except Seungkwan, who has to finish an article about Why not to despair if you’re single on Valentine’s Day and What you can do as a single person on Valentine’s Day . He’s been a journalist for 4 years at this editorial and for 4 years he has been posting about Valentine’s Day from mid January until mid February. 

Maybe it’s his fault for choosing to write about love, heartbreaks, and being the agony aunt alongside writing about sports. Maybe it’s his fault he chose to do both in high school, defining his career from his early days. Maybe it’s his fault that he became fairly known for those love articles that eventually got him into that journalism program. Maybe it’s his fault for enjoying it a little too much, definitely more than talking about sports at times. 

“Thanks,” Mingyu smiles shyly, throwing himself on the chair. “Seungkwan-ah, can you help me later at finding all the newest cafés? I know you’re usually well informed and you know where to look.”

“Only if I can come with you. And if we use the company card to pay,” Mingyu shrugs but ends up agreeing, a big smile on his face. It’s cute when he smiles, his curly hair and his big glasses. He wonders if he’s secretly Superman. “Nice! Now, back to my problem—”

“Sorry, I have to go. I need to finish writing this, the movie comes out in two days and I have to challenge my inner Shakespeare because all I wrote is Meh. ” Hansol excuses himself out of this insufferable conversation and picks up his portable computer. It doesn’t escape Seungkwan’s ears when he whispers a “Good luck” towards his boyfriend and Mingyu. “You too.” Is what Minghao says, brushing Hansol’s buzzcut. 

“Seungkwan,” Minghao places a hand on Seungkwan’s shoulder. “I love you. Hansol and I love you. Hansol, Mingyu, and I love you. But this is crazy. You need to drop this. It won’t work. And even if their marriage will eventually end, it will end. But it’s not your problem. You have to let them make this mistake.” 

“Hao, I like him though.”

“Why couldn’t you like him when he was available? When he liked you back and confessed years ago?” 

Wonwoo, Seungkwan, and Minghao all took the same journalism classes, so Minghao has known the two of them long enough to know every little detail about their relationship. In particular, he has known Seungkwan enough to perfectly read him. 

Initially, Minghao’s plan was to stay in Seoul to study abroad for just one year. To his fortune, or misfortune, he ended up sitting next to Seungkwan on his first day of classes, and he couldn’t escape him after that. The one year became two. And then three. And then a visa for work reasons.

The two of them stuck together until the end of university, and they’re now still stuck together since they have found a job at the same place. They inevitably bonded and it’s probably thanks to Minghao that Seungkwan was able to push through all those years in the first place. Wonwoo, one year older, didn’t bond with Minghao as much, but since he was also extremely connected to Seungkwan, they all used to hang out a lot. 

“You know why! I didn’t feel anything for him!”

“You had like 23 years to fall for him and you realize only now? That he’s engaged? Isn't it maybe because you know that he isn’t available anymore and it’s much more fun and simpler for you to go after unavailable people and then back out the moment they are available again?”

Maybe Minghao knows him a little too well. Seungkwan shouldn’t have let him inside his life. 

“It happened just once!” Minghao raises his eyebrow. “Okay, it happened three times. But that’s different for Wonwoo! I realized I liked him before knowing he was engaged, so your point doesn’t stand.”

Seungkwan pouts and decides to take Hansol’s place on his chair, spinning around in desperation. 

Maybe Minghao is right, Seungkwan has a little problem at committing and maybe this is why he turned Wonwoo down when he confessed years ago. But this doesn’t mean that his feelings aren’t true now. Right? There’s a precedent but it’s a singular event, not a rule. He isn’t afraid of commitment anymore. He wants to fall in love and live happily ever after. 

“I like Wonwoo, don’t get me wrong. But is he really right for you? Is he really worth all this trouble and you touching your absolute lowest? I’m sure there’s someone who’s more perfect for you, who can support all of your bullshit,” Minghao stops Seungkwan’s chair from spinning and looks straight into Seungkwan’s eyes. “And maybe this person is even closer than you think. You know, maybe just a few steps away. Someone who knows you, likes you, and can perfectly put up with you.” 

A loud thud comes from Mingyu’s desk followed by a shit coming from Mingyu’s mouth instead. Seungkwan quickly stands up to help him, but the situation seems irreparable. The coffee has already spread all over the desk, even if luckily Mingyu was able to save the keyboard from a horrible destiny – he was also able to save himself from many hours at the IT guy's office begging for a new one. 

“Are you okay? Did you get burnt?” Seungkwan asks, looking at Mingyu’s drenched pants and taking Mingyu’s hands into his to check for eventual burns. 

“I’m fine, I made it before the meeting. It’s practically an iced americano.” Mingyu chuckles embarrassed. Seungkwan gives him a reassuring smile. It’s part of Mingyu’s personality being this clumsy, there’s nothing they can do about it. And honestly, Seungkwan finds it adorable. It makes Mingyu so Mingyu. 

“I can take you with me to the fashion department. Maybe we have some pants and a new shirt you can wear.” 

“I’ll go and ask for something to clean up,” Seungkwan finally lets go of Mingyu’s hands. 

“I can go and ask for it,” Mingyu says, but Seungkwan is already making him stand up so he can follow Minghao to the fashion department. 

“You two go. I can handle this. It’s not the first time you spill or break something, they already know me.” 

“See,” Minghao looks at Seungkwan. “You are a nice person, after all. Don’t go and taint your reputation by trying to ruin a marriage.”

“I can’t hear you!” 

Seungkwan screams back, trying to ignore Minghao’s words as much as possible. He has decided already, at this point, he has to try. 

𓍯𓂃𓏧♡

“What do you mean you haven’t told your parents that you are getting married?” 

Wonwoo is standing right out of Seungkwan’s door, holding a little bag in one hand and Soonyoung’s hand in the other. 

This isn’t exactly what Seungkwan expected to open the door to. He expected Mingyu, dinner in a bag, asking him for help to write something or to just cook together. Not Jeon Wonwoo and his fiancé Kwon Soonyoung asking him for a favor. 

Wonwoo briefly introduced Soonyoung to Seungkwan – and Seungkwan tried his best to smile and be complaisant – and then Wonwoo didn’t lose time e dropped the bomb. 

“You can come to dinner with us to tell them.” 

Seungkwan is already wearing his house clothes after an exhausting day at work in which he had to reply to many love letters asking for help, while also helping everyone else in the office. He shouldn’t love his job this much. 

He was dreaming about having the marinated crab his mom dropped him at work today, paired with his favorite beer, and Too Hot To Handle , his newest obsession. 

“Why?” 

“My parents can’t get mad if you’re with me.”

“Has it occurred to you that we aren’t 9 anymore and that it won’t work?” 

“But they love you, I’m sure they’ll be way more accepting if you are with us. You know, if you show your support for the wedding, I’m sure they can’t say no to you.” 

They love you . 

Wonwoo is right. His parents love him, they always have. They have always thought Seungkwan is the right match for their Wonwoo.

This is the perfect opportunity to show them how perfect he is. How Wonwoo chose a guy he has known for only three months over Seungkwan, the perfect guy they have known and loved their whole lives. 

“All right. I’ll come,” Seungkwan forces a smile when the couple excitedly kiss in front of him. “But you owe me one. Big time. I’ll go and change, wait for me.” 

“Seungkwan-ah, we love all of your articles. They keep getting better and better. Our Wonwoo has taught us how to save them, right honey?” Wonwoo’s dad nods in agreement to what his wife has said. “We even subscribed to the physical copy of the magazine, the site, and the newspaper you write for occasionally so we have full access. We are so proud of you.” 

The three of them are owned by the same bigger company, but if the newspaper comes out every day, where usually Seungkwan freelances and writes about sport, the magazine, where Seungkwan instead holds the love letter space instead alongside other articles here and there about sports, comes out once a week. On the site, instead, he is used as a wild card, writing about different topics, depending on where his intervention is needed. It’s a stressful job, but the reward he gets is worth every sleepless night. 

“Wait, really? I don’t think my parents are subscribed to all of them either! You’re way too kind.” 

“We would do even more if we could,” Wonwoo’s mother turns her head towards Soonyoung. “What is that you do Soonyoung?” 

“I’m in between jobs. I used to work at a tech company, but I got tired. The work environment wasn’t exactly nice, it was overly competitive and toxic.” 

“So you’re a quitter hoping on relying on Wonwoo’s kindness and money?”

“Dad!” Wonwoo scolds his father, but Soonyoung tells him that’s okay and he’s the one following up in the conversation. Seungkwan, instead, bites his lips to hide a chuckle. 

“My father owns a big company. I don’t dream of working for him or to replace him eventually, but for the time being I’m working there. I don’t want to be a burden to Wonwoo. Even if I don’t like the idea of working for my father and I prefer working in a place where they actually want me for my skills, it’s still better than my previous company.” 

That seems to work pretty well on changing the atmosphere, but maybe it’s not the effect the couple was hoping for. Seungkwan would say that the atmosphere at Wonwoo’s parents' side of the table has gone from smugness and disappointment to extreme mortification. Either way, the overall atmosphere remains pretty tense. 

Seungkwan should say something to defend Wonwoo, and by extension Soonyoung too, but he doesn’t really want to. He isn’t doing anything and the impression Wonwoo’s parents have of him keeps improving, he shouldn’t ruin that. 

“I think a friend of mine wrote an article about your father’s game company. I helped him, it’s pretty impressive. Are you sure you don’t want to take over?” Seungkwan doesn’t wait for Soonyoung to actually say anything. “What you’re doing is impressive, but I think that if I were born with a silver spoon, I would have enjoyed every last drop.”  

Seungkwan should have stayed quiet, but he could sense that Wonwoo was plotting something that would have made the situation even worse. As much as he doesn’t like Soonyoung, he likes Wonwoo too much to have him destroy his relationship with his parents for this guy. 

“I’m not a big fan of the gaming industry and games. Unlike my Wonwoo here,” Seungkwan has to keep trying to keep his facade. Is this what he’s being rewarded with to help Soonyoung? My Wonwoo? Really? “And I also really like to challenge myself, but maybe because I know that if I fail I have a safety net I can come back to. If I were you, I would probably think the same way.” 

The conversation dies down after it, but it lasts just a couple of seconds. This time, before Seungkwan can do anything, it’s Wonwoo the one who talks. He intertwines his fingers with Soonyoung’s. Soonyoung’s left hand, where his engagement ring is sparkling. 

Seungkwan is regretting not ordering that red wine to go with the meat that Mingyu told him is amazing at this place. Honestly, he has no idea how he even thought about going through this night sober. 

“Mom, dad,” Wonwoo squeezes Soonyoung’s hand. “Soonyoungie and I are getting married next week.” 

Maybe Wonwoo was right. Maybe it’s Seungkwan’s presence that doesn’t send Wonwoo’s parents into complete rage. Maybe it’s also the fact that they are in a public space and they have never been the type to make a scene in public. Still, they seem fairly calm. Not too happy like the parents would be upon hearing the news that their oldest son is finally getting married, but they aren’t too sad or mad either. 

“Next week?” Wonwoo’s mom reaches out to grab the wine glass. Yes, maybe Wonwoo made the right call when he thought about telling them on this occasion. If it was just the three of them, without Soonyoung or Seungkwan and all the other people around them, this conversation would have taken a completely different turn. 

“It’s in Busan. We have found this perfect place in a garden for the ceremony. We booked it almost as a joke because they told us they have almost a 2 to 3 years waiting list. As soon as they escorted us to the office to book, right at that moment, they got a call for a cancellation. Since we were there, they offered the place to us. We thought it was a sign of the universe, so we said why not? ” Wonwoo and Soonyoung chuckle, looking disgustingly in love, but no other person at that table chuckles with them. “I know it looks a little rushed, but it’s not for us. We love each other. We want to do it. We want to get married.” 

Wonwoo’s parents, like they agreed with their minds, turn towards Seungkwan, who has probably found himself in the worst position ever. Why the hell has he even agreed to something like this? 

“You know Wonwoo better than us. What do you think?” 

Seungkwan has found himself with much more power than he ever expected to, like Wonwoo expected instead. Seungkwan could cut it off now. He could say: I think Wonwoo is rushing too much. They should wait. No sane person would marry someone they have known for only three months. 

However, he’s hit with a wave of rationality and critical thinking. If he says that he doesn’t think it’s a good idea, he believes that not many things will change: Wonwoo and Soonyoung would still get married in secret, with or without their approval. And, judging by the hopeful eyes Wonwoo is giving him, saying the truth would make Seungkwan lose Wonwoo, maybe definitely. 

No. This isn’t the right time. 

“I think it’s a great idea. No one knows Wonwoo better than he knows himself. If he thinks it’s right, then it is. From what I have seen, they love each other. I can’t wait to go to their wedding.” 

Seungkwan is, once again, being such a selfish person. Once again proving that he should be the one with Wonwoo. 

“All right then. It’s not like our opinion would have changed anything,” Wonwoo’s father says, confirming Seungkwan’s train of thoughts. “But we’re happy you told us and that you want us there. We’ll make sure to come.” 

The atmosphere is suddenly back to a relaxed one, where Soonyoung and Wonwoo explain everything about their wedding in extreme detail. The theme, the location, the catering, the cake, the flowers. Everything. Every single detail, most of them chosen by Soonyoung. 

What Seungkwan will never admit though is that his choices are fairly good, so he stays quiet for a while. He has already been in this restaurant with Mingyu a couple of times when he had to write a review about it, so he knew exactly what to order and how to perfectly taste it. 

“See, you have to take all the ingredients together and wait for every single flavour to explode in your mouth,” Mingyu said, while creating the perfect bite on his fork for Seungkwan to taste. He then fed it directly to him. It was rather intimate, it almost made Seungkwan’s heart flutter. Whoever is going to date Mingyu will be extremely lucky. 

“It’s good. Very good! I love it.” 

Seungkwan said, more about Mingyu being excited about this place and the dish he ordered rather than the dish itself.  

Seungkwan wonders if Wonwoo read Mingyu’s review and that’s why he decided to bring his parents here. It’s a rather new place with a small but loyal clientele. 

“And you Seungkwan, is there anyone special in your life?” Wonwoo’s mother asks and all the focus suddenly shifts on him, again. When did it even happen? How did they even end up talking about his personal life? 

“Me?” 

“Honey,” She chuckles. “Is there any other Seungkwan at this table?” 

“As far as I know, you’re one of the few people who still hasn’t replied to our invite about a plus one.” Soonyoung comments. “I’m personally taking care of the seating, and I still don’t know if I need to add a chair at your table.” 

“Oh, well…”

Technically speaking, Seungkwan doesn’t have anyone because the only person he is interested in is sitting at this same table engaged to someone else instead. There shouldn’t be anything wrong with being single. Seungkwan loves being single. 

Most of the times. 

And, even if he wanted a relationship – beside the small commitment issues that he is working on – he is too busy in a situationship with his job to be fully focused on an actual relationship. He needs someone who can understand him and how he feels about his job, but at the same time someone who makes him want to leave work and take a break. Someone who loves Seungkwan as he is, but that also makes Seungkwan want to be better (and less obsessed with his job, to be healthily obsessed with his partner instead).

In Seungkwan’s head, Wonwoo would be the perfect, and maybe only, person for this role. 

“He isn’t dating anyone, except his job, of course. Right? You would tell your hyung , right, Seungkwan-ah?” 

He should tell the truth. He should say that he isn’t dating anyone, there is nothing wrong with that. He has a successful career that he actually really likes, so this should be enough. There’s nothing embarrassing about it. 

And yet. 

It’s the pitiful look Soonyoung is giving him paired with Wonwoo’s smug one that makes being single suddenly mortifying and humiliating. There are two couples in love at this table while he’s the only single, who ditched his open relationship with marinated crabs and Too Hot To Handle to be here. 

But he has to resist, he has to tell the truth before he digs himself into something he can’t escape from. 

“I have been dating someone actually. For a couple of months now.”

Well, he fucked up. This isn’t exactly the truth. But it’s not like there is the possibility of turning back now. 

“I have asked him if he wants to come to the wedding. He doesn’t know if he can come because of work. That’s why I still haven’t replied, I’m sorry.” Seungkwan adds, mentally cursing at himself. 

Soonyoung seems genuinely happy for him. Wonwoo, on the other hand. Well. Wonwoo seems shocked. He is definitely the most shocked one at the table. 

So wait. Perhaps he didn’t actually fucked up. Is this perhaps making Wonwoo jealous, hence contributing to the success of his plan to make Wonwoo break off his engagement? 

“Why didn’t you tell me during Christmas?” Wonwoo asks, a little hurt. 

“It’s not like you told me about Soonyoung either.” 

“Why didn’t you tell him?” Soonyoung is the one that seems a little hurt now, so Wonwoo tries to reassure him. Seungkwan didn’t even think deeply about what he’s just said and the consequences of it. He shouldn’t be happy that it hurt Soonyoung. 

So he won’t be. From the outside, he's just a little happy on the inside.

“Because I was planning on asking to marry you already and I was too afraid to jinx it,” He kisses Soonyoung’s temple and Seungkwan feels like puking this perfect meat Mingyu waxed poetry about. “Can you forgive me?”

“Okay, I accept it. You’re forgiven,” Soonyoung kisses Wonwoo on the cheek. Seungkwan isn’t happy on the inside anymore, so he finally gives up and fills his glass with some wine. “So, back to Seungkwan now.”

“Oh, right!” Wonwoo claps his hands. “Who is it that you’re dating? Do I know him?” 

I mean, as of now, even Seungkwan doesn’t know whom he’s dating. 

“No. Yes. I mean. You met a couple of times.” 

The real question here is whom the heck is Seungkwan talking about. Why is he digging his grave this further down? Seungkwan doesn’t have many friends, and even fewer are the friends Wonwoo has met. What is he thinking? And he isn’t even drunk. 

“So is someone from work?” 

“Come on, Seungkwan! Tell us,” Wonwoo’s mom vibrates on her seat. “We’ll see him at the wedding anyways! We’re curious, you’re usually pretty picky with the guys you date. He must be the perfect guy for you to invite him to a wedding.”

“I’m not sure he’ll–”

“Well, we’ll surely have other occasions to meet if he won’t come to the wedding,” Wonwoo remarks. “We can even go on double dates when we’re back in Seoul.” 

He takes a bite of his meat to buy some time. A bite of the delicious meat Mingyu strongly suggested he should order every time he comes to this fancy place. Paired with a wine Mingyu adores. 

Oh.

“Mingyu. He’s a colleague. A dear friend first, actually.”

Well. Fuck. It’s all Mingyu's fault though. It’s him and all the praises he sang about this restaurant. If it wasn’t for him… Well, if it wasn’t for him, Seungkwan probably wouldn’t have found a way out and would have had to admit that he was lying. No one else in his office is good enough to, and maybe eventually willing to, pretend to be his boyfriend, and the only two that might be, are dating each other already. 

“Tell us more!” Wonwoo’s father says instead. 

“More?” 

“Yeah! Like how it started, when did you realise your feelings for each other?” 

“It’s never easy realising you feel something for a friend,” Wonwoo adds, with any reference to past events purely random. 

“Isn’t this night about Soonyoung and Wonwoo and their wedding?” Seungkwan, for the first time, tries to switch the focus on the people in an actual relationship. “Shouldn’t we know more about those two?” 

“We already know everything. But you,” Wonwoo’s mother says. “You being in a committed relationship to the point of bringing him to a wedding is huge news.”

Seungkwan inhales. He deals with love problems for a living. Okay, they are for other people, but he still does. He reads dozens of them every day. He replies to some. He laughs at many. He archives others because they are just too absurd. He can invent something romantic on the spot that is credible but that will also make everyone jealous. Right? 

𓍯𓂃𓏧♡

“Can you promise me you won’t get mad and that you won’t scream at me?” 

It’s been less than 24 hours since the most embarrassing dinner ever with Wonwoo’s family. It’s been three days since he’s received that damn invite to his best friend’s wedding. There’s a week left until the wedding. Time is running away from Seungkwan’s hands. 

Mingyu has asked Seungkwan to accompany him in one of the newest and trendiest cafés in Seoul, where everyone goes for the pictures for Instagram rather than to enjoy the food itself. And Seungkwan, with his heart heavy with the lies from the previous night, couldn’t even dare to say no (not that he would have anyway). 

Mingyu has taken the occasion to offer to snap some pictures for Seungkwan, who loves curating his spam Instagram account down to the detail. And Seungkwan has gladly taken the opportunity, he loves Mingyu’s eye for pictures. 

Seungkwan has also taken the opportunity to snap a few pictures of their two drinks with just one dessert and two spoons and also a couple of boyfriend pictures of Mingyu —even if he has enough already— to make his Instagram more credible for the story he invented. After all, he’s going to hard launch him soon, if Mingyu accepts, of course. 

Let’s also add, Seungkwan has taken the opportunity to finally talk to Mingyu and ask him to be his fake boyfriend for the wedding, taking inspiration from Wonwoo and doing it in a public place. 

“This doesn’t sound promising. I’m actually kind of getting mad already.” 

“I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t a life or death situation.” 

“Do you need me to help you write an article? Do you need me to ask Minghao for a favor so he will do it without complaining first because you don’t have time to lose?” 

“No,” Seungkwan looks down at his hands. His drink is half gone already just like the cake in between them, mainly eaten by Mingyu, the one who doesn’t have to ask his best friend, probably, the biggest request ever. “Are you free next weekend?” 

“Isn’t it the wedding weekend? I am free but I don’t think you are. Wait, are you planning on skipping the wedding to behave like a mature person and not ruin it?” 

Seungkwan wants to roll his eyes, but he can’t. He needs to have Mingyu on his side, ready to agree with him and his stupid plan he has found himself trapped in. 

“Nope. I still think Wonwoo is the love of my life and that he shouldn’t marry that Soonyoung guy, who was pretty mean to me, by the way.” 

Mingyu, instead, has the possibility to roll his eyes, so he does. “What is it?” 

“Do you want to come with me to the wedding? As my plus one, I have heard they splurged on the food, and you’re a food critic and maybe you can get a good article out of it.” 

And when Mingyu says: “That doesn’t seem like a bad idea I need a weekend off—”

“And can you also pretend to be my boyfriend? You do? Thank you! You are the nicest person alive!” Is what Seungkwan says instead, pretending that the affirmative reply was to his insane request rather than the sane request instead. 

Mingyu, who was just about to taste another bite of the cake, lets the spoon go and the sound echoes in the jellyfish themed café. 

“What did you say? You want me to … what?” 

“To be my plus one!” Seungkwan replies, innocently. 

“What you said after.”

“That you are the nicest person alive,” Seungkwan says, again, very innocently. “But it’s a little egocentric of you to want to hear the compliment again.”

“Boo Seungkwan.” 

“Kim Mingyu.”

They hold their gaze for a few seconds. Usually, that’s an easy win for Seungkwan, because for some reason, Mingyu can never look him in the eyes for too long. This time though, Seungkwan can’t hold up his gaze, guilt eating him from inside. It’s not like he can avoid the topic for much longer, he needs to ask Mingyu properly and then he needs to convince him in case of a negative response. 

“Okay, I did something stupid! But if you were in my position, you would have done the same thing! They were all assuming I was going to stay single for life and that I didn’t have any love in my life and that I would have never had it!” 

Seungkwan might be overselling his point of view of what happened, but he needs Mingyu to pity him for this to work. Unfortunately, Mingyu doesn’t seem to believe him. 

“I… Okay. I was put on the spot. Wonwoo kept saying that I’m married to my job and that I can’t have a serious relationship. And Soonyoung said that I’m the only one who didn’t cross for a plus one. I don’t know, I think I wanted to come out as the winner so I lied and I said that I was dating someone,” Seungkwan stares down at the slice of cake. “And you know, we were in that fancy restaurant you took me some time ago for the opening and I kept thinking about how you told me to order the steak and how to perfectly savor it. I couldn’t stop thinking about you—”

Seungkwan lifts his eyes only when he hears someone coughing. Soon enough, he realizes it’s Mingyu. A little crumb must have slipped down into his throat because he doesn’t look sick but has started coughing out of nowhere. Seungkwan, all worried, hands him his iced coffee, which he gladly accepts and chugs it down. 

“Are you all right? What happened? Do you need me to bring you some water? I can go and ask.” 

“I am all right, really. Thank you Boo. Go on, please.” 

Seungkwan isn’t fully convinced, but he complies to Mingyu’s request without further questioning. “As I was saying. I kept thinking about you so your name slipped out. Wonwoo, more than everyone, couldn’t believe it. Then everyone started asking me questions about where we met, how it happened, and everything.” 

“And what did you say? How did we start dating?” 

“Really is that what you—” Mingyu raises his brow. “I said that I have been feeling something for you for a while. I said that you are hot, funny, smart, a great cook, kind, everything really. Everything the perfect guy for me has –with a couple of flaws just to make it more realistic. Because of that I was too scared to confess because I was sure you would have never reciprocated my feelings. Furthermore, since we were friends, things were even more complicated, since you would talk to me about your other crushes. Wait, now that I think about it. You haven’t talked to me about your crushes after Seokmin two years ago. Do you have a crush on someone?”

“Seungkwan, you better continue with your story if you want to have the remote possibility that I’ll accept.”

“Okay, okay,” Seungkwan takes a sip of his drink to rehydrate his throat. “As I was saying, I have always felt like you were out of my league. Until the company retreat happened, and that’s where things changed. On the last night we got drunk and kissed, a full make-out session by the way, but I was scared you would have regretted it, because you know, you are out of my league, so I told you to forget it happened in the first place.” 

It’s funny, Seungkwan thinks, because at their company retreat Mingyu and Seungkwan actually got drunk, but didn’t kiss. Seungkwan got too drunk and Mingyu had to take care of him the whole night, even drinking the shots for Seungkwan when he lost some drinking games.
This proves that another part of Seungkwan’s made-up story is right: Mingyu is actually out of Seungkwan’s league, everyone will probably wonder how he managed to get him. 

“You– you really invented quite the story there, I almost forget it didn’t even happen,” Seungkwan smiles and takes the compliment. If it can be classified as one. “But how did we end up dating from that?” 

“See, this is where giving love advice for a living comes in handy,” Seungkwan giggles, Mingyu doesn’t, so Seungkwan starts explaining. “You ‘ anonymously ’ left a love letter to me for my column explaining the situation and asking me for advice, telling me that you were secretly in love with this secret colleague and that I kissed him at the company retreat but that he told me to forget him, but I have now realized that I love him. What should I do? Does he actually like me back, or was he just drunk ? You asked me to meet you at the rooftop of the building, and we kissed. Nice story, right?” 

Judging by Mingyu’s expression, he might agree with Seungkwan. However, he’s being a little difficult to fully decipher. Seungkwan can still decipher the most important thing though: Mingyu isn’t fully convinced and Seungkwan needs to do more. 

“I’m begging you, Mingyu,” Seungkwan grabs Mingyu’s hands and holds them tightly into his own. “Help me, please. I’ll do whatever you want, if you need a hand with your articles. If you need me to fake date you for whatever reason. Anything. I would do anything.”

Mingyu thinks about it for a while. He frees his hands from Seungkwan’s hold. He takes a bite of the cake. He takes a sip of his drink first and then of Seungkwan’s second. “Isn’t saying that you would do ‘anything’ a little too much?” 

“It proves that it’s that important to me,” Seungkwan flaunts his innocent face. “And I think you are a very honest and rightful guy. I have high respect for you and I know that you wouldn’t take too much advantage of it.” 

“I hope you are aware that you are one of the most annoying and insufferable people on the planet.”

“Totally.” 

“And I hope you know that I might also be a very annoying and insufferable person taking advantage of your ‘anything’ .” 

“You aren’t insufferable or annoying. Minghao and Hansollie are, you are way too good to be hanging out with us. And me in particular. We are all annoying in different ways, maybe mine is the worst kind, but you, Mingyu, you are way too good.” 

Seungkwan isn’t overdoing it, what he is saying is the pure and simple truth. In their little group one thing is sure: Seungkwan is the most annoying and Mingyu is the one that puts up with it the best. Hansol and Minghao have been doing for much longer, Minghao since university and Hansol since high school (but not during university since he studied abroad), so maybe this is why they are full of Seungkwan and his endeavours – but they still love him to death at the end of the day. 

Mingyu, on the other hand, sweet and nice Mingyu, tries to support Seungkwan and to take his side as much as possible. On his part though, Seungkwan never takes advantage of it. Mingyu just does it, and Seungkwan is grateful for it. This is why they have a special and different bond, and this is why it grew quicker than ever. Mingyu joined the office and, one week later, Seungkwan called him his best friend. Mingyu joined the office, and in four years, the two of them have created a bond Seungkwan has never experienced before. 

They get along in a way Seungkwan hopes he will never lose, so he really hopes this request isn’t going to weaken their friendship. Seungkwan is already mourning three of the best years of his life spent being friends with Mingyu. 

“I think you are flattering me way too much, I’m not as good and selfless as you want me to be.” 

Seungkwan struggles to believe what Mingyu’s said, but he knows that this would just open a conversation leading to the exact same outcome every time they have it: nowhere. Mingyu will still undermine himself and Seungkwan would get too flustered and kind of mad at him. 

“Well, I will stand by my point. It’s Saturday now, I promised Soonyoung I would have given them an answer before the end of the weekend because you were still unsure due to work matters. You can think about it and let me know.” 

Mingyu smiles, for the first time in a while. 

“I’ll do it.” 

“Are you sure? I can invent an excuse why you couldn’t come but I need you to sign the money card with me–”

“I’m sure. I’ll do it. It will be fun. You chose a cute story for us, in which you described me pretty well,” Mingyu’s smile gets even bigger. “And I’m also curious. How will Seungkwan ruin the wedding? How is Seungkwan as a boyfriend? Why not? It can be fun! And then it’s only for one day.” 

Seungkwan clears his throat. 

“What? What is that?” 

Seungkwan chugs down the rest of his iced americano. 

“I don’t really like the food and the drinks here. I mean, the location is aesthetically pleasing but I don’t think the food is worth the price.”

“Boo Seungkwan.” 

“Kim Mingyu.” 

“You’re hiding something. You still have something you have to tell me, don’t you? Tell me, now. Or I won’t help you.”

Seungkwan hasn’t considered that from now until the wedding, Mingyu has the upper part of the knife. 

“You know, Busan is far away. We need more than just one day.”

“The whole weekend? That’s doable.” Seungkwan clears his throat again. “From Friday to Sunday?” 

“Well…”

“Boo Seungkwan.” 

“It’s from Thursday. I was planning on leaving work right after lunch to go there. I have that important meeting in the morning I can’t skip, not even to ruin a wedding.” 

“Thursday? You’re crazy. Thursday? That’s four days, Seungkwan. They aren’t rich CEOs, his wedding shouldn’t last this long.” 

“Well, technically Soonyoung’s father is. But the main reasons why I accepted are two. I am weak. And a loser. I’m a weak loser.” 

“Care to elaborate?” 

Seungkwan is still embarrassed thinking about it. Embarrassed of himself because he had no reason to agree to that. 

Wonwoo and Soonyoung escorted Seungkwan right in front of his door. Thanks to the wine, the ride back home was enjoyable and Soonyoung became slightly more tolerable to Seungkwan. But again, it was all solely because of the alcohol. 

“You didn’t need to.”

“We did,” Wonwoo said, looking down. “I kind of have another small favor to ask you. But it might be good for you too.” 

“Should I be scared?” 

“You know, since it all happened in a rush we still have a few things to take care of and well. All the other guests will join us on Saturday, but would it be a problem for you to join us on Thursday? We need all the possible help, I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t desperately need you. You’d be perfect for the job. I also know you probably haven’t used your paid leave and that you have accumulated a lot from previous years too.” 

“And Mingyu can join you too! Wonie told me that Saturday is your birthday, you can consider it as a getaway. It will be everything at our expense, of course.” 

Right, because what’s better than celebrating your birthday with your fake boyfriend at your best friend’s, who is also probably the love of your life, wedding all paid by said best friend and his fiancé? 

“I don’t think… Mingyu too, I don’t know if with work he can come to the wedding in the first place.” 

“Come on! This might be a nice experience for the both of you! I bet it’s the first occasion you get to have a little vacation and spend time with your boyfriend that isn’t in Seoul.” 

“I–”

And then, it hit Seungkwan. Being there longer would have meant having more time to show Wonwoo how amazing Seungkwan was. Being there longer would have meant showing everyone how much better and more loved he is compared to Soonyoung. Being there longer would have meant more chances to ruin the wedding. 

“I’ll ask Mingyu, and I will let you know. But you can count me in.” 

“You are batshit crazy and insane.” Mingyu shakes his head when Seungkwan finishes telling him the whole story. “I can’t believe you’re actually planning on going through with it.” 

“I know, thank you.” 

Mingyu exhales, loudly.

“And I think I’m even crazier and more insane,” Mingyu extends his hand. “I’m in. I think a trip to Busan is also a good excuse to try restaurants in that area. I haven’t had time to go there since I started working. Plus, I’d never say no to a vacation, in particular if it means you’re taking a break too. So yes, I will help you, I’m going to pretend to be your boyfriend. Your perfect boyfriend that Wonwoo will be jealous of to help with whatever plan you are planning in that odd brain of yours.” 

“Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Seungkwan ignores the hand and gets up to hug Mingyu, placing a quick kiss on his cheek since he’s already at it. 

Wow, have his shoulders always been this wide? Why do they feel wider than Wonwoo’s? 

“Slow down with the PDA, we’re not fake dating yet,” Mingyu inhales and turns around to look at Seungkwan. “You’re paying today. And you will also help me write the article. But once we’re there, promise me you won’t work.” 

“But the company’s card…” Mingyu doesn’t need to say anything for Seungkwan to get the message.

“I can promise I’ll pay today and you can even order a second or third round, even if everything is way too expensive for what it is. I don’t know how much I can promise about not working once we’re in Busan, but I can promise I’ll try my best.” 

“As your future pretend boyfriend, I think I should be allowed to take your phone and computer and tablet away if I see you working too much while we’re on vacation.” 

“As your future pretend boyfriend, I think I would never allow that. You have a lot to learn about me.” 

“As your future boyfriend, I think I know you enough already,” Seungkwan can’t really rebut to what Mingyu has said because he quickly asks him the perfect question, as the journalist that he is. “So, what are you planning? How are we going to act? How will it make Wonwoo fall for you?” 

Seungkwan, who at first was sitting in front of Mingyu, now takes the chair and places it right next to him. 

“Okay, first of all…” 

Chapter Text

Thursday, January 14th 

Schedule of the Day

8:00-9:00: ask Minguu his opinion on the presentation

9:00-11:00: meeting and presentation

11:00-12:00: tell Hansol to please stop by Minguu’s house to water his plants + early lunch with Minguu

12:00-16:00: road to Busan 

16:00-16:15: check-in

16:16-19:00: unpack and rest 

19:00–: try and survive dinner

When the navigator finally announces that they have reached their final destination, right before Mingyu can escape from the car, Seungkwan promptly locks it. 

“What? Why did you lock my car?” Mingyu asks, trying to open the door but obviously failing to do so. 

Seungkwan never drives, it’s not that he can’t – unlike some people who like being carried around by their boyfriends (Hansol). He just never feels the necessity to.

He mainly moves by public transportation, and the few times he is forced to take the car, Mingyu always has the same schedule as him. And since Mingyu has way more experience and also actually enjoys driving, he ends up doing a favor to everyone by always being the the designated driver. Mingyu has had his driver’s license for way longer than Seungkwan and it was Mingyu who, in fact, has taught Seungkwan how to drive in the first place. Yes, Seungkwan took his driver’s license at 25, fight him for that.  

This time though Seungkwan offered to take turns. It’s a four hour drive to Busan, longer than the other average drives, and he would have felt bad if he made Mingyu drive all the way there when he is also perfectly able to. So they arranged that Mingyu would have driven for the first half of the trip and Seungkwan for the second one. All to Mingyu’s delight, who was dreaming about the time he could finally nap and get some of his sleep back. 

“One last rundown.” 

Unfortunately, things didn’t exactly go like Mingyu was hoping for. The nap did not, in fact, happen.  

“I’m not doing a last rundown. You promised me I could have slept while you were driving, but all we did was talk about our fake relationship and how we should act. Which we could have done while I was driving, but you yapped about today’s meeting.” 

“Mingu. My love. My soon to be pretend boyfriend. We have to be prepared for anything! Wonwoo’s parents are the nosiest people on Earth. Soonyoung and Wonwoo too. We have to be perfect.” 

Mingyu sighs. “I know how to be a nice boyfriend, Seungkwan.” 

“I don’t doubt that,” Seungkwan turns towards Mingyu. “But I need you to be the perfect boyfriend. For me . And if you are and if you know me, you know this means—”

“One last rundown. Okay,” Mingyu sighs, again. “Test me.”

“My favorite color?”

“Navy blue.” 

“My favorite cocktail?”

“Soju. The peach one, the one you chug down so easily when you're sad. And when you’re happy. And when–” 

“I said cocktail, not a free pass on explaining my love for peach soju.” 

“Oh, I see. My bad. Aperol Spritz, then.”

“Where was our first date?”

“Mini golf because you are extremely competitive and I know you would have enjoyed it. And you won too.” 

“When was it?” 

“In October, the 26th. And I confessed to you on the 23rd.” 

Seungkwan is very proud of Mingyu. And he is also very proud of himself for befriending someone as amazing as Mingyu. Mingyu never complains too much and always ends up matching his energy for this arrangement, but also for anything else that sees Mingyu’s involved against his will, but involved because of Seungkwan’s will instead. 

Seungkwan, beside Mingyu, is also proud of another thing he did. He has spent a few of sleepless nights, ignoring a couple of articles, drafting the Full guide to perfectly date Boo Seungkwan instead. He gave it to Mingyu, telling him to read and to make sure to memorize everything, giving more attention to the parts highlighted in green. He also gave one to Minghao and Hansol, both guests at the wedding who could ruin their undercover mission. They didn’t seem very pleased nor happy to discover about this arrangement, and I will let you imagine their reactions upon discovering it. 

“Mingyu and I are dating!” 

“What?” Minghao asked at dinner on Monday, a few days before leaving for Busan. A dinner obviously offered by Seungkwan because of the weight of the news he was going to announce to his friends. 

“Fina–ouch!” Hansol was about to say, before he stopped to look at Mingyu, a big question mark on his head, about why the heck Mingyu had kicked him in the shin. 

“We’ll pretend to be boyfriends,” Mingyu explained. “Our Seungkwanie lied at dinner the other day with Wonwoo, Soonyoung, and his parents. He said the two of us are dating.” 

“You are crazy. Have I told you that already?” 

“Yes, many times.” Seungkwan replied to Minghao’s question. 

“I was talking to Mingyu. I thought he was the normal one,” Minghao pointed his chopsticks at him. “Why on earth did you accept and didn’t let him drown in his own lies and misery?” 

Seungkwan cared to answer before Mingyu. “Because he’s nicer than the two of you.” 

Mingyu smiled. “I think if you two were in my positions you would have done the same thing,” Hansol and Minghao exchanged a look. And then nodded. “I think it’ll be fun and I’ll have a free weekend in Busan too. Seungkwanie also promised to cover any expense–” 

“I did not–” 

“You do now, sweetheart,” Mingyu, who was already sitting next to Seungkwan, took his hand and kissed it. Seungkwan’s heart did that same thing it did when Mingyu fed him some time ago. “Also, I’m a journalist. I want to know how things unfold.” 

“Are you sure? Are you going to be okay?” Minghao asked, staring straight into Mingyu’s eyes. 

“Hey!” Seungkwan put on his best pout. “I can be a nice boyfriend!” 

“I bet your last three exes would like to disagree.” Seungkwan rolled his eyes at Hansol’s comment. 

“You sure can honey. I can’t wait to be your boyfriend.” Mingyu said instead, patting Seungkwan’s back. 

“See, this is why I chose him.”

The next day, Mingyu already knew everything down to the detail. 

“My favorite kind of date?” 

“Basketball by the Han River. Arcade. Karaoke. Anything competitive when you are in a good mood,” Seungkwan nods in approval, ready for the next question, but Mingyu isn’t done talking. “When you are in a bad mood, you like staying home and watching questionable TV dating shows. Eating comfort food, and usually calling me to cook for you and because you want company.” 

“This wasn’t in the guide.” 

“But this is what usually happens,” Mingyu smiles, “I know you, Seungkwan. We’ve been friends for some time now, I’m not a stranger, I don’t need an extensive guide about you.”

Seungkwan smiles too, touched by his words. 

“Everything needs to be perfect, Mingyu. There might be things you don’t know about me. We have to make Wonwoo jealous and also be credible.”

“You are crazy, I can’t believe I’m in lo–” Mingyu stops and sighs. “I can’t believe I’m involved in this. It’s beyond me.” 

“I’ll be grateful forever. And I will also make sure to send you a postcard from Wonwoo and I’s honeymoon.”

“Yay! I can’t wait! A postcard! From you and Wonwoo! On your honeymoon! What more could I ask for in life?” 

Mingyu is definitely sarcastic, but Seungkwan doesn’t care. He will succeed in his plan. He will make everyone believe that he’s dating Kim Mingyu. He will get his man back. 

𓍯𓂃𓏧♡

“Well, this is unexpected,” Mingyu says, staring in front of him. “You told them that we were dating, right? Don’t tell me I’m here doing you a favor when it’s not needed.” 

Seungkwan is also staring in front of him. They are standing inside of their hotel room, suitcases still in their hands, looking at the cute in front of them in disbelief. 

The room is bright, very modern and with a spectacular view of the sea. Honestly at first sight, it doesn’t even look like they are still in South Korea. It looks like a room of a luxury business hotel in any part of the world, with the sea of course. It could totally be one if it wasn’t for small details you notice upon further observations, that instead make clear that they are still, in fact, in their home country. 

It’s a suite. A very big suite. There’s one first ambient with a couch, a small dining area, and a small kitchen equipped with the basic necessities for a short stay. There’s a door leading to the bathroom. And then there’s the second ambient, with the bed. 

Or better, with the beds. 

Two french beds. 

“This has to be a joke.” Seungkwan comments under his breath. “Why were we given two separate beds? Do Wonwoo and Soonyoung think that we aren’t together? Do they think our relationship isn’t strong enough because we aren’t getting married three months into it?”

Seungkwan thinks back about his performance up until now. He’s a great liar, he knows he did a great job when he explained at dinner how he and Mingyu got together. And he knows he did an even better job when he called Wonwoo to confirm that he would have brought a plus one. 

“I’m sure they don’t think that,” Mingyu places his hand on Seungkwan’s shoulder, squeezing it to console him. “It’s okay, it’s not a big deal.” 

“It is a big deal! They aren’t taking our relationship seriously and have given us two separate beds.” 

“Isn’t this better? We can enjoy our spaces, it’s not like we are in an actual relationship.” 

“But they should think we are,” Seungkwan exhales. “Maybe I should have told them we got engaged in secret.” 

Mingyu places his small trolley next to the bed further away from the window. 

“If you had lied about us getting married to be more credible, you would have been here alone. I don’t think I would have accepted your request to be your fiancee this way. It’s not exactly how I’d have pictured it.”

Seungkwan quickly turns to look at Mingyu, not completely sure he’s heard that right. “What do you mean?” 

Because. What the hell does he mean? Pictured what? Them getting married? Them as in Mingyu and Seungkwan? Or just getting married in general? Now that Seungkwan thinks about it, getting married to Mingyu don’t sound too bad. Only pretending to be married to him to eventually get Wonwoo in the end, obviously. 

Mingyu sounds like the perfect husband on paper: he’s generous, kind, smart, funny, an amazing cook, has a big body. Everything good, really. Seungkwan didn’t have to lie when he first described him to Wonwoo, his parents, and Soonyoung. 

Mingyu blushes. “My wedding I mean. A wedding, in general. I hope that my first, and hopefully only, marriage will be real.” 

Seungkwan nods. Somehow disappointed. Why disappointed though? “It makes sense. Well, I’ll call Wonwoo now to complain.” 

“There’s no need,” Mingyu stops Seungkwan by stealing his phone away. “We can sleep in separate beds, it doesn’t mean we aren’t dating. Also, it’s not like they’ll know about it.” 

“Mingyu. We are a couple three months into our relationship. We are in our honeymoon phase. We are in the clingy stage in which we take every occasion to be together. Sleeping in the same bed is the bare minimum. If Wonwoo or Soonyoung enter to check up on us, they are going to take our relationship even less seriously.” 

“Don’t say they don’t take it seriously. It’s obviously just a simple mistake.” 

“Wonwoo doesn’t make mistakes like these. He has been wary about our relationship, maybe he is jealous already,” Seungkwan scratches an imaginary beard. “Or maybe he doesn’t think I can be in a relationship and I’m pretending.” 

“Which is not too far away from reality, by the way.” 

Seungkwan would like to find a rebuttal, but he can’t. Mingyu isn’t lying. He’s just stating an uncomfortable truth. Seungkwan is known for his short-lived relationships. He is furthermore known for being the problem in all of them. He even manages to break the hearts of the greenest flags everyone would envy him for. 

He just so wishes he could be interested in people that are available or that he could commit to a relationship for longer than one year. Unfortunately, he can’t. Yes, again, even with the greenest green flags who are very patient and understanding with him. 

He can’t do much about it, he loves his job, he is dedicated to it, and it’s always a priority. And it’s even more ironic when he thinks that he gives love advice for a living. “Coaches don’t play” is usually what Mingyu tells him when Seungkwan complains and whines about said situation he constantly keeps putting himself into. Again, Mingyu’s statement is not too far away from reality. But he is tired, at least he thinks so. 

Seungkwan feels like he’s finally ready to commit. Seungkwan feels like he’s ready to change. He sees Hansol and Minghao disgustingly in love every single day. The way Minghao leaves a cute candy on Hansol’s desk when they can’t meet for a break. The way Hansol prepares tea exactly the way Minghao likes it the most. The way the two of them always sit next to each other, loving each other's presence, but always attentive to the conversations around them. 

A couple that doesn’t feel like a couple. Two best friends who confessed and reciprocate their love. Seungkwan wants that too. It’s probably the only kind of relationship that will work for him. 

And well, Wonwoo is the answer. Right? No one else could fit the role that well. 

“I’m actually offended.” 

“Wait,” Mingyu grabs Seungkwan’s wrist, stopping him from angrily stopping inside the kitchen to snoop what the mini bar fridge offers them. “Is that our first fight as a couple?” 

Seungkwan tries to hold in a chuckle. “You are extremely annoying, do you know that?” 

“They say you take after the people you hang out with. I guess dating you has made me insufferable. Awww, aren’t we the perfect couple? We should send Easter Cards.”

This time, Seungkwan can’t help but laugh out loud. Just a little. He can’t let Mingyu know that he won and managed to make Seungkwan feel much better.

Mingyu is magical. No one would have been as perfect for this role as Mingyu is. No one gets Seungkwan like Mingyu does. 

If only a few seconds ago Seungkwan was a step away from falling into despair, moping about the fact that he can’t seem to keep a boyfriend and that he will probably never experience being loved and, most importantly, loving back, Mingyu has come to rescue. 

“We are! And we have to show everyone at dinner tonight.” 

Seungkwan searches in his backpack and takes out a colorful piece of paper. 

“What is that?” Mingyu questions, as he scans through it. “Is this a scheduler? Did you make it?” 

“Yeah! Do you like it? I sent the template to Wonwoo too so he can better organize his wedding. Between meetings, articles, and thinking about our pretend relationship, I didn’t have time to help him more than that.” 

“Look at my boyfriend, thinking about, first of all, his job, then our relationship, but still ending up helping his childhood best friend. Should I be jealous?”

“I know you’re joking,” Seungkwan sits on the bed Mingyu’s claimed for himself and Mingyu sits right next to him. “But you shouldn’t. It’s part of your perfect boyfriend role to be supportive and understanding. You don’t feel threatened by Wonwoo and I’s friendship and you support it. Even if Wonwoo confessed to me.” 

“I mean, why should I not support your friendship? He’s getting married to someone else now.” 

“Don’t remind me of that!” Seungkwan smacks Mingyu’s thigh. And oh have Mingyu’s thighs always been this muscular? Particularly when compared to his. Wow. “Look. Tonight at 7 pm we have dinner with him and Soonyoung. We have to—”

“Be the perfect couple. I know. I studied, I’m prepared, don’t worry about it.” 

“I was thinking that we should hold hands. You can kiss me on the cheek if you want. Is that okay for you too? Can I hold your hand or kiss you on the cheek too, if needed of course?” 

Mingyu seems taken aback at first, but he nods. After all, everything is already written in the guide Seungkwan has given him. He just wanted to properly discuss it with Mingyu to make sure that he was fine with the arrangement in its every single part. 

This is new for them. Yes, sometimes they find themselves holding hands and generally being touchy with each other, but this remains something new as it carries a whole new meaning. 

“I haven’t seen Soonyoung and Wonwoo making out, so I don’t think it’ll be necessary for us either. It’ll be enough pretending to be disgustingly in love and I’m sure they’ll surely believe us.”

“Do I really have to come tonight?” Mingyu whines, exhaustedly letting himself fall on the bed. “Is my presence really needed? Can’t you pretend I’m not feeling well or something?” 

“Not really, but I would love for you to come. They’re also offering dinner, it would be silly not coming. Last, but not least, I need your support, I can’t go four days without you.”

No, Seungkwan isn’t trying to convince Mingyu by lying. Seungkwan has simply realized that he actually needs Mingyu. No, not only for the fake dating part, that’s probably the smallest part of it. If he wants to remain sane during this wedding, he needs his best friend by his side. 

“It would be just for tonight. Not for the whole wedding weekend, you’re so dramatic. And also a little manipulative.”

“I will admit I’m a little dramatic. But I won’t take the manipulative. This time. I really need you there with me. Beyond the fake dating, I swear. The last time I was at a table alone with those two is what brought you into this situation. Are you sure you want to leave me alone?” 

“This has to be a little manipulative,” They look at each other. Seungkwan sitting on Mingyu’s bed, Mingyu instead is still laying on it. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it and I’ll come.” 

“Thank you, babe,” Seungkwan sends him a flying kiss. “We can rest now though, there are still more than a couple of hours left before dinner. We can also arrive fashionably late to imply that we were having sex.”

Mingyu starts coughing, Seungkwan smirks and gets up to get his laptop. “You really are something else, Boo Seungkwan.” 

“I know, that’s why you’re dating me,” Seungkwan winks. “Are you sure you want that bed? Don’t you want the one next to the window? You usually get pretty hot, maybe this one is better.” 

“I’m good here, really, thank you,” Mingyu stretches and settles on the bed better. “I’ll nap a little. You should too. If I haven’t slept much in the past few days, I can’t imagine how much you haven’t.”

“I have slept,” Seungkwan doesn’t even need to look at Mingyu to know the look he’s giving him. “Like 8 hours in three nights. But it’s fine. I think I have done worse in the past.”

“But that doesn’t mean you have to keep–” They briefly look at each other. “It’s a lost battle trying to discuss this with you, right?” 

“Pretty much,” Seungkwan brushes Mingyu’s hair before heading to his bed, laptop in his hands. “I’ll wake you up in a couple of hours. Sleep well, Mingu.”

To Seungkwan’s surprise, before he can even ask Mingyu if he remembers where to find the hotel’s Wi-Fi password, Mingyu is fast asleep. He sleeps so cutely and peacefully that Seungkwan doesn’t want to take the risk of waking him up with his typing on the laptop. So he grabs it and makes his way to the lobby of the hotel. 

Mingyu isn’t a particularly sensitive sleeper, but he can be when he is really tired. Seungkwan hasn’t let him rest in the car while it was his turn to drive, so it’s the minimum to let his boyfriend have the best nap of his life. 

Now that he thinks about it, pretending to date Mingyu won’t be too hard. Seungkwan already knows his sleeping habits because, from time to time, they sleep at each other’s places. He knows his favorite foods, his favorite restaurants, his favorite movies, his favorite hobbies. He knows so much about Mingyu. He knows everything, but one thing he doesn’t know is how he is in a relationship. 

As far as Seungkwan knows, he has only had one boyfriend in all the years they have been friends, and he has only had a couple of crushes that ended where they started: nowhere. Which is pretty weird for a guy like Mingyu, who seems like the perfect guy everyone would fall for and who is into serious relationships rather than short-lived flings. 

Seungkwan orders an iced americano at the hotel bar and, before he can even open the browser to check his mail, there’s an incoming FaceTime call from HaoHao . 

“Hey Hao, why are you calling me? Is everything okay?” Seungkwan asks, putting on his headphones. “How are things in the office?” 

“You and your obsession with work. You are on vacation, we’re going to be fine without you. Tomorrow is Friday anyway.”  

“What I’m getting is that everything is falling apart.” 

“I’ll tell you on Monday. I can spoil you that it doesn’t directly involve us though. Luckily,” Seungkwan lets out a sigh of relief. That same morning he could sense that there were some problems arising, but for once he has decided to ignore them. What’s surprising is that it didn’t take much for things to worsen. “So, are you enjoying Busan? Where’s your boyfriend?” 

“Don’t you dare treat him badly! He’s already doing you a huge favor.” Hansol appears on the screen, right next to Minghao. Seungkwan can recognize their kitchen in the background. It’s only 5:30 pm, pretty early compared to the time they usually get off work. Seungkwan, once again, decides not to investigate further. 

“Don’t worry, he’s napping. And I would never treat him badly, I’m offended you even think I would.” Seungkwan puts on his biggest and most dramatic pout so the camera can fully catch and report it. 

“We’re just teasing you,” Minghao singsongs. “We know you’d never treat your boyfriend badly. You loooove him so much after all.” 

“I want to remind you two, that you were basically insulting me three days ago when I told you two about this. You kept telling me that it’s my worst idea to date and that I was a coward for not telling the truth.” 

“We still stand on that ground,” Hansol says from behind Minghao. “I have known you since middle school and this is the worst I have ever seen you at. But that doesn’t mean I can’t have fun with it.” 

“Also, how’s Mingyu as a boyfriend? Is he nice? Is he dreamy?” 

“We arrived like half an hour ago. I have got yet to experience it.”

“I think he could be better than Wonwoo. To be honest, I can’t really see you with Wonwoo.”  

“Do I need your approval for the people I want to date?” 

“In an ideal world, yes. I mean, right now you wouldn’t be after an engaged man and lying about your relationship with another.”

“Minghao, I want to go through with this plan. I like Wonwoo, no one is better for me than Wonwoo. We are destined to be together, two childhood friends, perfect for each other.”

“The two of us are also childhood friends,” Hansol observes. “And you don’t think we are perfect together.”  

“We are, platonically. Romantically, you and Hao are perfect.” 

“I know. And as the platonic love of your life, I do agree with Hao. I think Wonwoo isn’t as perfect for you as you think he is. Hypothetically speaking, Mingyu would be a better match for you.” 

Seungkwan crosses his arms. “Don’t you two always say that I don’t deserve Mingyu? That was also one of the things you kept repeating when I told you that he agreed to help me with my plan. So even if we had feelings for each other, which we don’t, you wouldn’t approve either. And don’t say these things, that I’ll start thinking weirdly about Mingyu.”

Hansol murmurs something and gets out of frame, but when Seungkwan asks him to repeat it, Minghao talks instead. 

“We’re arriving on Saturday, right after lunch. Maybe we can go to a café before dinner, what do you think?” 

Seungkwan isn’t surprised at the quick change of topic, but he accepts it. He really doesn’t want to think about Mingyu in weird ways, like Minghao and Hansol make him do instead. All the time. Voluntarily or not. 

“I thought you were arriving early in the morning?” 

“My car broke, it’s ready Saturday morning and not at 4 am, when we planned on leaving initially. So I guess we’ll arrive later. Goodbye nice weekend in Busan, it was nice dreaming about you. It’s only one and a half days now.” 

“It’s still a lot of time! And you can get a full night sleep on Saturday. How long has it been since you weren’t woken up on a Sunday morning at 3 am by Kira?” 

Kira is the kitten Minghao and Hansol have recently adopted after they found her alone and crying near their apartment building. In Seungkwan’s rather biased opinion, she is the cutest and sweetest cat, and Hansol has to take his allergy medication from time to time, but he keeps saying that it’s more than worth it. He thinks it’s less worth it when she wakes him up early in the morning because she wants to eat. Or cuddles. Or to play with them. Thankfully, they are both night owls, also in love with their job who can work from home from time to time and with a completely messed up sleeping schedule, so it bothers them but not too much.

“I have her on my legs and she’s purring,” Seungkwan doesn’t even need to ask for him to be met with the beautiful view of the little black cat sleeping on Minghao. The microphone even catches some of the purring. “I could never admit that I’m happy to stay away from her.”

“Very valid, she is way too cute,” Seungkwan looks around, to check if  Mingyu hasn’t already woken up from his nap. “Can we go back for a second to the Mingyu topic? Do you know if he has had any boyfriend, aside from Jihoon, in the past few years?” 

“Why? Are you jealous?” Hansol asks in the distance. 

“Okay, I’m hanging up.” 

“Don’t be this prickly,” Seungkwan coincidentally changes his mind and doesn’t click on the red button to end the call. “And Seungkwan, you know Mingyu way better than us. If you don’t know, I guess we can’t help you either. We know nothing about him that you don’t already know.”

“Are you sure? Sometimes it looks like you three hide things from me.”

It doesn’t happen often. Actually, it rarely happens. Seungkwan can’t even count the times it has happened on the fingers of one hand, but it still happens. It’s a weird feeling, mostly bad, and his journalist bring up pushes him to be way too curious. Which is just a fancy way to say he’s extremely nosy.
His friends are allowed to have secrets. On his part, Seungkwan shares everything with them, but it doesn’t mean they have to do the same. They still reassure him in those moments, they also always tell Seungkwan they aren’t hiding anything from him and that he knows everything. And still, sometimes he feels like he’s missing a big piece he can’t quite place. 

“You know everything you need to know, Seungkwan. We’ve told you already not to worry about it,” Minghao seems very honest while reassuring Seungkwan, so he smiles. “All I know about is Jihoon, his ex. And then the crushes, Seokmin, and that other guy, what was his name?”  

“Lee Chan.” 

Hansol shouts the name, still far away, but close enough for the microphone to catch it. “Thank you Sollie-yah. He’s like you, he enjoys his job and friendships. He always says that he isn’t actively looking for a relationship. Maybe that’s why.”  

“I guess so, yeah,” Seungkwan looks down. “You’re right. He would have told me. It’s just that it’s weird that he doesn’t have a boyfriend, he’s the dream man.” 

It’s normal being a little jealous of your friends and their potential partners, isn’t it? The way you want them to be in love with someone who loves them back and treats them well, while you can’t help it but being jealous because it means that they’ll spend less time with you. Seungkwan feels like this every time he thinks about Mingyu in a relationship, it’s a very common feeling, right? It’s normal feeling like a demon is biting directly into your heart when you think about your best friend in a relationship, right? 

“You’re so stupid,” Seungkwan doesn’t have time to ask what he means by that because Minghao carefully stands up and welcome Kira in his arms. “I’ll go now. Time for my very deserved nap. You should too. Bye Kwan, keep me posted.” 

The bye Seungkwan whispers probably doesn’t make it to Minghao. 

Seungkwan should definitely nap too, he can feel his eyelids getting heavier and heavier as he skims through an article about South Korean baseball he has to finish writing. He can also feel his heart getting heavier when he thinks about Mingyu and a potential partner he might have. 

He’s just tired, these feelings will go away soon. 

𓍯𓂃𓏧♡

Holding hands with Mingyu feels weird. 

What’s even weirder is that it’s not the first time they have held hands. They do sometimes as a joke. Some other times they naturally do so, and don’t even realize they’re holding hands until one of the two points it out, usually Mingyu. 

This time it carries a different meaning. They are holding hands as boyfriends . 

Okay. 

Fake boyfriends. Still boyfriends. 

And it feels weird. 

They are sitting next to each other, Seungkwan in front of Wonwoo, and Mingyu in front of Soonyoung. And they are holding hands under the table, which Seungkwan would consider disgusting and unnecessary if it was Wonwoo and Soonyoung doing the exact same thing. But since it’s Mingyu and him, it becomes suckingly cute and adorable. 

“So,” The dinner is reaching its end and everything has been going smoothly, to Seungkwan’s surprise. But when Soonyoung is done talking about his job, answering Mingyu's question about it, Seungkwan takes charge since the conversation seems on the verge of becoming a little dry. “What did you need me here 2 days before anyone else for?” 

“Yes. So, finally down to business. I thought you and Mingyu could go for a cake tasting tomorrow morning. Soonyoungie and I have some other commission and the bakery could only meet us at that time,” Wonwoo hands a business card each to Seungkwan and Mingyu, both of them take the card with the free hand. 

Seungkwan tries to remember when exactly they started holding hands after taking off their jackets inside the restaurant. It was Seungkwan the one who proposed holding hands before entering the restaurant to show off their amazing relationship. However, he doesn’t remember when they started holding hands again.

It came scaringly naturally. 

“No way,” Mingyu’s eyes widen. 

“What?” 

“Look at the card.” 

Seungkwan does as Mingyu’s told him and his eyes widen too. 

“Isn’t this?”

“Yes.” 

“It really is.”

“What is going on?” Wonwoo turns towards Soonyoung who is just as confused as him. Seungkwan and a mingyu both ignore them.

“Isn’t that the bakery you keep telling me about?” Seungkwan almost jumps out of his seat. “The one that you would have walked here if it was the only way for you to taste a custom made dessert from them? ” 

“Exactly!” Mingyu stares at the couple, in utter disbelief. “How did you manage? They have like a few months waiting list for personalized cakes.” 

“I tried to book one for Mingyu’s birthday last year but I didn’t manage to. How did you two even do that with such short notice?” 

This infamous bakery offers only a few limited spots for custom cakes each month. It’s just a matter of seconds: when midnight strikes on the first of each month, the book your cake part of their site to take prenotations for the following month opens. Again, with just a few spots available. It’s all a matter of minutes, or even seconds. 

This bakery has been Mingyu’s obsession for the past year, he was obsessed even before it became extremely viral, so Seungkwan had to try everything in his power to give him the best birthday surprise ever. 

Seungkwan was awake at midnight at an internet café on March first of last year, trying to secure one cake for the weekend of Mingyu’s birthday. And no, they don’t do deliveries, so he would have had to drive to Busan to pick it up himself and bring it to Mingyu for his birthday party that same night. And yes, it would have been totally worth it. He even recruited his sisters, Minghao, and Hansol to help him get a spot for a custom cake. He had even begged them to go to a place with the best internet connection they could think of. Obviously, each one of them at  different locations, just in case. 

And they all still failed. 

“Really?” Mingyu turns towards Seungkwan, eyes a little teary. “I didn’t know about it.” 

“I wanted to try again this year,” Seungkwan admits, blushing a little. “I should have kept it a secret.” 

“You don’t need to, you know that celebrating with you is more than enough. And how do you even know which cake I want?” 

“You drew it on my iPad some time ago,” Seungkwan takes out his phone and he immediately opens the notes app, where every note he has ever written or drawn on any of his devices is synchronized through the Cloud. It’s the first pinned one there, titled Minguu’s dreem bdat cake . “You drew it while drunk and described it in extreme detail. How could you not remember?” 

It isn’t a difficult cake. Honestly, Seungkwan was almost tempted to join a baking course to learn how to make it himself. Mingyu loves blueberries and lemons. Mingyu loves cheesecake. So it’s a simple blueberry and lemon cheesecake. But apparently the one he drew should be the best blueberries and lemon cheesecake ever made, with specific techniques, ingredients, decorations, and flavors only that one specific bakery in Busan can do perfectly like he wants to. 

Mingyu stares at the phone. “I can’t believe you actually remember that.” 

“Of course I do! I care about you! You’re my fri—” Seungkwan clears his throat. “My boyfriend. And beside the crush I had on you when you drew it, we are best friends. Of course I remembered.” 

What has just said is basically a statement that makes Seungkwan look like he actually had a crush on Mingyu. And he didn’t. He’s only a decent friend. 

“You don’t need to. Really. You would also have to drive here to pick it up. I just can’t let you do that. I’ll keep you busy this year so you won’t have time to book it.”

“Try me.” 

“Okay, we get it. You two are in love,” Wonwoo rolls his eyes. “We are the couple that is about to get married. We should be the annoying ones.”

Seungkwan is too busy staring into Mingyu’s eyes and trying not to put too much weight into the fact that they are still holding hands to notice whatever Wonwoo’s said. 

“Wonwoo-yah, let them be happy,” Soonyoung says softly. “They are also in their honeymoon period. We should get them more than anyone else.” 

Wait. 

Seungkwan is brought back to reality in an instant. 

Is Wonwoo jealous? Is this plan actually kind of working? 

Seungkwan smirks. 

“So I guess you two are in for the cake tasting,” Soonyoung says, looking between the fake couple. “Mingyu, I can trust you, right? You’re a food critic after all.” 

Mingyu places his free hand on his heart. “I promise I’ll choose the objectively best cake. Even if I am a little jealous. I’m still wondering how you manage to book an appointment with such short notice to begin with.” 

“I guess having a rich family does have its privileges from time to time.” Soonyoung explains. “We have known the bakers since I was little. My dad invested some money into their business as well. I guess they kind of owe us.” 

Now that Seungkwan thinks about it, maybe he should let Soonyoung and Wonwoo get married, have Wonwoo accumulate a small fortune, and then push them into a divorce. 

It’s not like Seungkwan doesn’t make decent money, but he isn’t contrary to some easier ones.  

“Do you need us to do something else? Is this all?” Mingyu asks, on behalf of both. 

“If you could pick up the wedding rings in the afternoon you would do us a big favor,” Wonwoo hands another business card. “And then Seungkwan?” 

Seungkwan lifts his head from the little cards. “Yes?” 

“Can I steal you Saturday morning? I need your opinion on a couple of suits.”

Finally. A moment for him and Wonwoo to be alone. More or less. 

“I guess so,” Seungkwan tries to hide his excitement behind a cough, trying to act cool instead. “Yeah. I can accompany you.”

“I’ll send you the details then. Do you remember when was the last time you helped me pick out a suit?”

“Was it when we did that classy welcome back party for Hansollie?” 

“Not exactly. It was after, at that dinner with my parents where I told them I got the job in Busan.”

“Right! The one where I spent the whole night consoling your mother and telling her that you were just a train ride away. She was crying so much.”

“And do you remember my father? Trying to act all cold and detached about it but ended up ordering so much wine he couldn’t drive back home.”

Seungkwan turns towards Mingyu. “Do you remember? We had known each other for only a couple of months then and I called you asking if you could pick me up.” 

Mingyu claps his hands, breaking their hand holding. “When you sent me the address of that fancy restaurant! I remember I was wondering why you were there getting drunk and not at a poncha as usual. You were so drunk on the drive home you were singing with your heart out of the window,” Seungkwan misses the warmth of Mingyu’s hand interlocked with his. “So it was Wonwoo’s father who got you that drunk.” 

“That wine was so good Mingyu, I can still taste it if I think hard enough.” 

“It’s not the only time Seungkwan got drunk in a fancy restaurant. With my parents. Do you remember?”

“No,” Seungkwan says, faking innocence. “I don’t remember.”

“Too bad, because I do. My whole family. My graduation. When you stood on the chair to make a speech and it broke—”

“Listen,” Seungkwan defends himself, holding in a laugh. “It’s not my fault your parents have great taste in wine. And it’s not my fault I was emotional about you graduating from university. And it’s even less my fault that I didn’t notice the chair was kind of broken already.”

“You don’t even like wine that much,” Mingyu tilts his head. 

“I know, and that’s the worst part. But Wonwoo’s parents are always so welcoming and convincing, I end up giving up and accepting. They also have great taste.”  

“You and Wonwoo are really close,” Soonyoung comments out of nowhere. Seungkwan almost forgot he is even at the table with them. “My Wonwoo kind of undersold the bond you have.” 

“He hasn’t told you all of our stories?” Seungkwan’s eyes land on Wonwoo, who is looking a little worried and guilty. “I told Mingyu everything about our adventures back in the days.”

“He did tell me he had a very close best friend growing up. I didn’t imagine this close. And I didn’t imagine you had so many stories together.”

“You have your whole life to listen to those two talking about them,” Mingyu reassures Soonyoung, and that seems to make him smile a little. The same happens with Wonwoo. 

“We have been friends since we were five years old,” Seungkwan joins the reassurance committee. He doesn’t know why though, he should let Soonyoung and Wonwoo suffer from the embarrassment. “Our families are close as well. We kind of are close, but we have been drifting apart ever since he moved to Busan, maybe that’s why he hasn’t talked about us this much.” 

The reason why Seungkwan finds himself defending Wonwoo in an attempt to reassure Soonyoung escapes him. He should be riding on this wave, saying instead something along the lines of “So your sweet Wonwoo didn’t tell you? Are you sure you know him well enough to marry him? We are very very close, I think we’ll never have this same bond with anyone else in our lives.” 

Maybe Seungkwan isn’t the bad person he has always thought he was. Or maybe he’s just stupid enough not to think before speaking so he missed this wonderful occasion. 

Either way, he’ll go with the first option. 

“When we were younger we used to meet basically every day, now we talk to each other once or twice every two weeks,” Seungkwan tries to reassure Soonyoung further, but still underlining that they have a special connection. “And I bet you kept his mind and heart too busy to talk to you about me. He’s trying to build a future with you that he forgot to tell you about his past” 

Seungkwan smiles politely and Soonyoung reciprocates, genuinely. 

“That might be it. I’m glad you’re here then, he was really hoping you would come. And I’m glad I can finally meet such an important part of Wonwoo’s life.” 

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” 

Seungkwan can’t really catch full truthfulness and candidness in Soonyoung’s words. It feels like he’s trying to convey something in between the lines, something that Seungkwan doesn’t really want to catch. 

Is Soonyoung maybe acting petty and jealous of Seungkwan’s bond with Wonwoo? He should have no reason to, Seungkwan is literally there with his boyfriend. And he’s the one about to marry Wonwoo. 

“And I’m happy you’re here with your boyfriend,” Wonwoo says. “I would have never thought you would have gotten into a serious enough relationship to bring him to a wedding. I still remember when you made the sweetest guy on the planet run away. He was even willing to stay with you after you said ‘thank you’ to his ‘I love you’.”

“And it’s not even as awful as it can get,” Mingyu speaks when he really shouldn’t, and Seungkwan tries to stop him, throwing himself on top of him. Unfortunately, for Mingyu it’s nothing: he simply moves away Seungkwan’s hand, which is trying to cover his mouth in vain, and kisses it instead. Seungkwan almost shivers, he has to get used to it. Quickly. Soonyoung is staring at Seungkwan, he has to pretend that a kiss from Mingyu on the hand is routine for him, not something that makes his heart skip a beat — for whatever reason. “There was this guy, one of the greenest green flag alive, who was also way too rich, you know those two don’t always go together, invited Seungkwanie to have dinner at his house with a private chef ready to cook all of his favorite dishes, and Seungkwan almost said no because he had to write an article.” 

“I had to get ready for a big interview to our fencing team after the Olympics! I needed to study.” 

“He hired a private chef specialized in all of your favorite dishes. And he was so into you that he even lent you his computer so you could do your research and write during dinner.” 

“And you still managed to make him run away at the end?” Soonyoung asks towards Seungkwan, but it’s Mingyu who nods and speaks. 

“Not exactly. That wasn’t the guy’s last straw, he didn’t have it to begin with. He was willing to push through all of this bullshit. It was Seungkwan that broke things off.”

“I wasn’t ready and he needed better. Even if I do miss his private chef.” Seungkwan says and Mingyu pats his head. 

“Woah Seungkwan, you must be a God in bed to keep them all wrapped around your finger like this.”

Soonyoung says nonchalantly. Seungkwan is thankful that he isn’t drinking nor eating anything, but both Mingyu and Wonwoo, who are enjoying their beers, start coughing instead. Seungkwan has decided to just let his cheeks get a little red, while trying to contain himself from jumping on him. Soonyoung instead takes a sip of his beer and smiles. “Right Mingyu?” 

“What kind of—” Seungkwan really wants to strangle Soonyoung. 

“Yeah, he’s amazing,” Mingyu is blushing. Seungkwan is blushing too now, harder than before. “But it’s not all. Even though I can’t lie, it’s a card in his favor that would definitely keep me wrapped around his finger.” 

“How did you manage to make him commit then, if the rich greenest flag didn’t?” Soonyoung asks, intrigued. Seungkwan tenses up, and Mingyu places his hand on his thigh, trying to calm him down. It partially works. “From what I have collected, he isn’t the serious relationship kind of guy.” 

“I was wondering the exact same thing.” Wonwoo says, backing up his fiancée, both looking at Mingyu. 

Mingyu is looking at Seungkwan instead. Sweet smile, definitely thinking about a lie to tell. Definitely thinking that he should be the one answering on behalf of Seungkwan, having his back in this difficult situation. However, Seungkwan can’t ask him that. He is already doing too much. 

“I don’t—” 

“He didn’t have to do anything. I realized that he was everything I was looking for,” Seungkwan interrupts Mingyu. He has a strand of his hair, freshly cut shorter right before living, in the middle of his forehead and Seungkwan fixes it. “After every failed date, every after failed relationship I realized I always ran to him. And not just that. He’s always been there for me. I realized he’s the first person I call when I have good news and when I have bad news. He’s the only person I want to celebrate and cry with. He’s there when I’m hungry and I’m craving something from the convenience store at 3 am. He’s there when I need to write a difficult article and he helps me. He’s there to make me take a break before I even know I need one. I just had to realize that all I have been looking for was standing right next to me the whole time. It took me a while to realize it because he’s been my friend for so long. And maybe I ruined all of those relationships because I have always known where my heart belongs.”

Seungkwan takes back Mingyu’s hand into his, wraps his arms around Mingyu’s (very muscular and big) one, and lays his head on his shoulder. A series of gestures that in this moment feels way more intimate than a kiss. 

Seungkwan’s heart, which was beating loudly just a few seconds ago, can finally relax in his chest. Or maybe, it’s still beating loudly, but it isn’t because of Soonyoung’s words irritating him or because of the anxiety of finding a truthful reply to his question. It’s for another reason, mainly the residual adrenaline. Yes, nothing else. 

“I’m really glad I have Mingyu in my life.” 

Seungkwan says more to himself than anyone else at the table, but Mingyu must have heard that too and kisses him on the top of his head, sending another shiver down Seungkwan’s spine. 

Seungkwan doesn’t want to investigate and discover why Mingyu touching him has this weird effect when they have always been this close to each other. 

Thankfully the conversation becomes light again, focusing back on the soon to be married couple, and Seungkwan doesn’t have to think about it. 

At least for the time being. 

𓍯𓂃𓏧♡

“Being on vacation is exhausting, worse than working.”

Seungkwan dramatically lays on his bed, but not before going to the bathroom first to carefully brush his teeth and do his meticulous skincare routine. 

“Usually people on vacation don’t lie about dating their best friend at the person they have a crush on’s wedding weekend. They usually just go to a resort in Jeju or something.” 

Seungkwan didn’t even expect a reply to come, he is complaining just for the sake of it, Mingyu knows it for sure. Also, Mingyu is currently in the bathroom, so really, an answer wasn’t expected at all. 

Mingyu’s voice is muffled by the closed door dividing the hotel bedroom from the bathroom. Seungkwan can’t see Mingyu, but he can perfectly picture him stealing every single item from Seungkwan’s skincare set. 

“You just can’t let me have it.” 

“Minghao and Hansol told me to make your life a little hellish to have fun.” 

“You know it was more of a suggestion than an obligation.” 

“I know,” The door of the bathroom opens and Seungkwan doesn’t pay much attention to it, his eyes closed trying to erase the memory from the dinner. 

“Then why are you acti–”

And then, after just a few seconds he decides to open them. And well, he shouldn’t have opened them again. Horrible idea really, he can’t focus on a single thing Mingyu is saying. 

He knows damn well that Mingyu is hot. Beside his wittiness and intelligence paired with his incredible kindness, with just a bit of his astonishing cooking skills, all playing a huge role in making him very attractive, he is overall very hot, physically speaking too: he is a regular at the gym, with a particular interest in arms and abs day. He also doesn’t joke about his leg days. And cardio. Honestly, he loves going to the gym in his free time and never jokes about his commitment to it.
His face can also be considered a reliable asset to define his beauty — not too long ago he was even mistaken for a model at their company. Lastly, he has recently cut his hair a little shorter, to Seungkwan’s despair, but it’s still at a length Seungkwan enjoys. A lot. And all because he looks a little like Clark Kent, but that’s honestly beside the point. 

And still, knowing damn well that Mingyu is hot doesn’t help Seungkwan being unaffected by the view unfolding in front of him. 

Since when didn’t Kim Mingyu wear the pajama t-shirt in the middle of winter. Since when has he decided to just wear some sweatpants? Some loose sweatpants that let Seungkwan see the waistband of his grey Calvin Klein boxers. And, lastly, since when does Kim Mingyu wear glasses? 

Seungkwan wishes he could react more normally about it, but he can’t seem to take his eyes off Mingyu, who also makes his way on his own bed. Seungkwan doesn’t even give himself time to blink. His heart is pounding loudly in his ears. 

This isn’t the first time you sleep in the same room with Mingyu. This isn’t even the first time you see him without a shirt. Get a hold of yourself, Boo Seungkwan. 

“Were you saying something?” 

Seungkwan blinks.

“Do you wear glasses?” 

Mingyu chuckles and picks up a book from his night stand, Seungkwan’s heart vibrates at the sound. “Kind of. My eyesight has worsened a little, so I use them to read at night so I won’t tire my eyes out too much.” 

“Oh, I see,” Seungkwan sits better on his bed to look at Mingyu. In the eyes. Not at his abs. Maybe a little peak, from time to time. “Since when? I came to your place a couple of weeks ago and you didn’t wear them.” 

“What’s it with you fixating on my glasses? Do I look bad?” 

“What?” Seungkwan laughs, a little embarrassed, to stop himself from saying things that he might regret saying, but that he actually thinks. “You just look a little different, that’s all. I’m not used to it.” 

“So I look bad. I know I shouldn’t have listened to Hao when picking them.” 

Mingyu is about to take off his glasses. Seungkwan doesn’t want that. He really doesn’t want Mingyu to think that he looks bad in them. The best solution for the best outcome is very simple: just say that. “No no Mingyu, you look hot. Very hot. Minghao has given you great advice. Maybe too great. You look really stunning. Don’t doubt yourself. Don’t take those off.”  
That would be enough. Unfortunately, Seungkwan isn’t currently in the right mindset to be able to think straight. So he, rather impulsively, jumps up from his bed to land on Mingyu’s. On top of him. All of this just to stop him from taking his glasses off and to stop him from thinking he looks bad in them. 

“I never said that,” Mingyu’s back is touching the bedrest, the book he had in his hand for just a brief second is now on the bed next to him, the bookmark gone too. Seungkwan is sitting on top of him, and Mingyu’s hand, yes the one that was holding the book just a few seconds ago, is on Seungkwan’s hip. It burns a little. “You look good.” 

They are close, so close that Seungkwan notices again Mingyu’s small mole on his nose. So close that Seungkwan can smell that Mingyu has put on Seungkwan’s night lip mask. So close that Seungkwan’s brain and heart seem not to work anymore. 

“I mean, they look good on you,” Seungkwan gives one look at Mingyu’s lips. And then at his abs. And then he realizes how close they are and that they have never been like this before. In particular with Mingyu half naked. They are close friends, but not to the literal sense of the word. 

“Buddy.” 

Buddy. 

Buddy?

Buddy???

“Buddy,” Mingyu laughs. “Did you just call your boyfriend buddy?” 

Mingyu jokes and Seungkwan reacts the only way he can react when he’s embarrassed: he lightly punches Mingyu. For the record, Mingyu’s skin is burning hot. “My fake boyfriend.” 

“Just a heads up so you won’t do it in front of Wonwoo and Soonyoung. Now that I think about it, since you wanted a recap every day about our performance, I was thinking…” Seungkwan can’t bother to try to listen to Mingyu’s yapping when he’s this close to him. Even if he’s talking about something Seungkwan had asked him to talk about. Even if Seungkwan loves Mingyu’s non-stop talking. Yes, despite all odds, he can be a good listener, but oh God. Not now. This isn’t good. This can’t be good. He has to get up, but he doesn’t want to. He doesn’t know why. 

“... so in the end I’m sure we kind of did a great job tonight. Maybe not so much when I almost choked to death when Soonyoung brought up that you’re good in bed. But it was a natural reaction, Wonwoo did the same. And I think you made Soonyoung a little jea–” 

“You should wear these every day,” Seungkwan fixes Mingyu’s glasses (they don’t need fixing). 

“You know,” Seungkwan hurries to explain himself. “To make Wonwoo even more jealous.” 

Not because Seungkwan wants to look at Mingyu with glasses again. 

“You’re fixating on my glasses way too much. They’re just glasses, Seungkwan-ah.” Mingyu tries to say confidently but still blushing a little, Seungkwan finds it a little cute. 

Yep, he has to get up and go back to his bed. And he has to stop fixating on the glasses too now that he’s at it already. 

Seungkwan likes Wonwoo, he’s doing all of this fake dating just because he likes him and wants to win him back. Seungkwan just hasn’t had sex in a while and Mingyu looks objectively hot. It’s just natural. Mingyu’s whole persona being extremely beautiful and him acting like the perfect boyfriend for Seungkwan and him knowing every little detail about Seungkwan and him being so kind and gentle with Seungkwan and them holding hands and hugging and being overall extremely clingy to one another and lastly Minghao and Hansol insinuating that him would be an actual good match for Seungkwan earlier that day also don’t affect him in any way. Damn, this was a long thought. Anyways, again, it’s just natural, he’s slightly attracted to Mingyu only because he’s hot and he hasn’t had sex in a while. That’s it. 

He has to go to sleep and focus his mind back on the right tracks. He has to think of Wonwoo and how to win him over. 

“I’ll go back to my bed then,” Seungkwan gets up and he immediately misses the warmth of Mingy’s hand on his hips. Just because it’s winter and he’s cold, cut him some slacks. “Just, wear them more? If you’d like of course. Always for Wonwoo, to make him jealous.”

“Yes, to make him jealous, okay.” 

“Good.” 

Seungkwan stares a little longer into Mingyu’s eyes and his hand itches to run through his soft dark hair. 

“Didn’t you… didn’t you want to go back to your bed?” 

“Right. One last question though,” Seungkwan moves a little and gets off. “Is that my night lip mask? Did you use all of my skincare again?” 

Mingyu touches his lips and Seungkwan’s eyes follow the exact movement. “Since I have never tried it before I was curious to, but I can take it off if you want.”

“No, no. It’s okay, don't worry about it,” Seungkwan snuggles under the covers, a little cold. “So, what are you reading there?” 

His heart finally catches a break as he listens to Mingyu talk about the book he’s reading, and soon enough he falls asleep to Mingyu’s soothing voice, leaving all of his problems to the Seungkwan of tomorrow. 

Chapter Text

“I know that you’re planning on ruining their wedding, but this is too much even for you, don’t you think?” 

“All I did was say that the vanilla flavored cake would have been a good option.”   

“That seems more than enough to me.” 

Mingyu and Seungkwan’s whole morning has flown by in a blink of an eye. The appointment at the bakery was scheduled for 10 am, too early to plan something to do before that and too late to plan something to do after. Hence they decided to enjoy a slow morning, waking up without an alarm, wasting some time chatting in bed (beds. Their respective beds), enjoying their breakfast at the hotel, and then going to the bakery. 

Now, done with the first appointment, they are heading to their second one scheduled at the jewelry store to pick up the wedding rings. 

What we are looking at is just a couple of friends, fake dating, walking side by side doing commissions for the wedding of one of said friends’ crush, who is about to get married and doesn’t reciprocate the love. Nothing special, nothing weird about it. 

“Look who’s being dramatic now.”

“I’m not being dramatic, you just can’t honestly think that out of all the options they had, the plain vanilla one was the best.” 

“It was to me, I’m sorry if I don’t have your refined and niche taste.” 

“Imagine if we were the ones getting married, we wouldn't agree on anything.” 

Their hands keep brushing rhythmically as they walk. It’s a brief second every other brief seconds. It means nothing, except reiterating the fact that they are extremely close to each other, even when it’s not exactly necessary. 

“I think we would agree on that fact that I would let you make all the choices. Beside the fact that I would hate organizing a wedding, I like your taste. At the end, we still kind of agreed on the same flavor after you vetoed the vanilla.” 

Seungkwan takes a bite of a jumbo sized apple and cinnamon muffin he has bought from the bakery, which is going to be his lunch — he knows it’s not exactly healthy, but he is on vacation so who cares. Mingyu does the same thing, but with his lemon and blueberry muffin. Seungkwan is on the right, Mingyu is on the left, the side that is directly on the sidewalk. They’re both eating, Seungkwan is right-handed and Mingyu is left-handed. That’s why their hands keep brushing. That might be why they always walk like this. 

Seungkwan realized how easy it is to hold Mingyu’s hand, even when he’s busy doing something, at dinner the previous night. He could easily intertwine his hand with Mingyu’s or play with it, without either of them stopping from enjoying their food. It was cute, even if Mingyu’s hand was sweating a little after a while. 

Seungkwan realized how perfect dating Mingyu would be. No. How perfect fake dating Mingyu is. There it is, what he actually meant to say. 

“You? You would hate organizing your wedding? Don’t you love being in control, making decisions, having everyone granting your wishes?”

“I do, but at work. And maybe in bed, but—” Mingyu coincidently trips and almost falls face down on the concrete. His muffin would have also faced the same unlucky destiny if it wasn’t that Mingyu can manage to keep his balance. “Are you alright? Have you always been this clumsy or is it a recent thing? Do I have to take you to a neurologist or something?”

“Nothing to worry about, I lost my balance a little,” Mingyu clears his throat. “So you were saying, you wouldn’t be controlling in a wedding? Imposing yourself in every decision? Knowing that everything is like you want it to be?”

“First of all, even if I could organize it how I want it, I know things still wouldn’t go as I planned them to go, and that would infuriate me. Secondly, I don’t care much about the wedding per se, maybe only the ceremony, that I would love. I don’t care much about the wedding reception, I’m not a big party person anyways. Like take us for example. I know you love weddings and parties. I also know you would love to organize it. It’s simple. You’d be totally into it and I would be more than glad to simply stick by your side while you make all the decisions.” 

“You’re right, I would enjoy organizing our wedding,” Their hands brush again, and now Seungkwan feels a shiver. It must be because he’s a little cold. “But I would enjoy it much much more if you were involved in the decision making process as well. So you would accompany me and help me choose.” 

Trying not to put too much weight on Mingyu’s words has become extremely complicated for Seungkwan. Partially it’s those glasses’ fault and the weird behavior they made Seungkwan have. The images of the previous night, of Seungkwan sitting on top of Mingyu, and Mingyu’s hand on his hip, and their faces so close to each other. Yes, partially it’s for that reason that he can’t look at Mingyu normally. The rest is all Hansol and Minghao’s fault, everyone agrees on that. The fact that they keep insinuating that Wonwoo isn’t a good match for Seungkwan and that Mingyu is instead. They say he is his perfect match, even. The thing is, Seungkwan agrees with what they say. 

Well, maybe not that Mingyu is a perfect match for Seungkwan, but on another thing they always say: Mingyu is way too good to be with him. 

And they are right. 

The more Seungkwan looks at Mingyu talking about possible cake flavors for their imaginary wedding, the more Seungkwan can’t help but kind of imagine it. Them walking together down the aisle. The two of them cutting the cake together. Seungkwan trying to be pleasant with Mingyu’s friends from middle school that he just can’t tolerate for longer than one minute. The two of them dancing together. Mingyu being the life of the party because he’s the biggest extrovert. The two of them sneaking out of the reception and kissing in a storage room. 

This is something he isn’t supposed to feel. For many many reasons, the first, and most important one, is that he is in Busan with a clear objective: getting Wonwoo back. Seungkwan likes Wonwoo, Seungkwan has to make Wonwoo like him back and run away with him. 

Mingyu isn’t in this picture, at all. 

And then Seungkwan looks at Mingyu again, at the crumb on his chin and how adorable he looks. And then Seungkwan thinks about what Minghao says, that he likes Wonwoo this much because he is unavailable and that he refuses to acknowledge a love that might actually happen. 

What if … what if this love might be Mingyu? 

No. 

No. He can’t. They’re friends. Best friends even. It can’t happen. 

“So, what do you think?” 

“No. Wait. What did you ask? Sorry I got lost on my train of thoughts.” 

Seungkwan should start listening to Mingyu more. He already does, but maybe he should start doing it more instead of imagining their wedding. 

“Were you thinking of ways to ruin the wedding?” 

“Not really, no.” 

More likely, he was thinking about how to have the perfect wedding. For himself. With Mingyu. 

Mingyu. Mingyu. Mingyu. 

Seungkwan shakes his head. “So, what did you ask me?” 

“Are you sure you don’t want to brainstorm your next move on how to get your man? Or on how we have to act to be the perfect couple?” 

“It’s all fine, really. You were perfect last night. Maybe I could be a better boyfriend for you though.”

“What do you mean better? I think you were more than perfect.” 

Mingyu seems so deeply offended by Seungkwan’s words that he stops walking. Seungkwan stops right after, using the occasion to remove that little crumb from Mingyu’s chin. And to also calm down his thoughts about the two of them together. 

That’s his best friend for God’s sake. His best friend that is always there for him when no else is. His best friend who gets him so well when no one else does. He can’t feel– He can’t feel whatever he’s feeling. 

“I mean that you studied a lot, you were so natural with PDAs and your words, and I think that you did extremely well on every aspect. While all I did was stand there all awkward.” 

“Don’t think that. I’m sure they didn’t suspect a thing,” Mingyu reassures Seungkwan, and to emphasize his words, his actions accompany him. He puts his phone, that was used as a navigator, in his pocket and with the now free hand, he caresses Seungkwan’s head. “Even that baker was convinced that we were a couple.” 

Which is fun, because they never agreed if they should have acted like a couple in there, they just acted like they always do. It’s not like the bakers would have cared, and it’s not like it would have cared for their lie with Soonyoung and Wonwoo either. Still, somehow, everyone believed that they were a couple. 

And now that he thinks about it, Seungkwan might even know why. 

Seungkwan couldn’t stop staring at Mingyu. The way his eyes sparkled in front of all the different types of cakes was more than enough to fill Seungkwan’s stomach. 

If Seungkwan thought that he loved his job, Mingyu might have loved his even more. Mingyu loved eating, baking, cooking, trying new flavors, watching cooking programs from the best ones to the worst ones, to the famous ones to the ones with just a hundred views, to the one in languages he could understand to the ones where he couldn’t understand a single thing. He was born to do this, and Seungkwan had his nth confirmation with those sparkly eyes and the way he would talk to the bakers, asking them thousands of questions and giving them even more compliments. 

“I think that even if it’s a bit unconventional and maybe too summery, they should go for coconut and lime. Don’t you think? It’s extremely well done and the lime flavor doesn’t overtake the coconut too much. It’s perfectly balanced. But I could say the same about the carrot cake and the red velvet and the earl grey one, this was was so good too. Try it again, you barely ate them earlier.”

“Aren’t you giving away too many compliments? I mean, you are one of the most wanted and feared food critics, you should be more strict.” Seungkwan asked the moment no one was at their table, since it was time for Seungkwan and Mingyu to make their choice.

“I’m not that feared. Nor wanted.”

“You are! Last time at that Italian restaurant I overheard the staff whispering to the chefs what you were saying about the dishes. And they were all nervous trying to give you the best service.” 

“That is not true, you’re just making that stuff up. Open your mouth, try again this red velvet cake. Isn’t it amazing?” 

Mingyu waited for Seungkwan to open his mouth, fork up in the air between them. “Why are we still doing this? I told you I like the plain vanilla one.” 

“And this is why I’m making you try the other flavors again. Now, open your pretty mouth.” 

Seungkwan felt his cheek heating up, Mingyu didn’t seem to realize what he actually said. “All right. But I’m still going for the vanilla as the best one.” 

Mingyu stared intensely at Seungkwan as he tasted the red velvet again. And then the carrot cake. And then the chocolate and banana one. And then the earl grey one.

“So?” 

“I still think that you’re way too kind with compliments to be a critic. But I understand what you mean, they are all really good,” Seungkwa smiled. “And I think that you’re the food critic. You’re the one they gave the role to. So you should be the one choosing.”

“Didn’t they ask you too? If I hadn’t been here, the choice would have been yours.” 

“And if I had been alone, I would have chosen a vanilla flavored cake, with a vanilla frosting.” 

“Maybe we can compromise. Vanilla and lime. Not too summery like vanilla and coconut, but not too plain like simple vanilla.” 

“Do you know that’s not our wedding?” 

“Don’t worry, if it was our wedding, I would fold for the full vanilla to make you happy.” 

“So, has the substitute couple chosen for the actual couple?” One of the bakers, Jiwon was her name, appeared from the laboratory, saving Seungkwan’s messy train of thought about Mingyu talking about their wedding from leaving its station. “I’m sorry if I sound indiscreet, but you two really look good together. The way Mingyu-ssi fed you, it was very cute. I really wish I had a relationship as sweet and good as yours.”

“No, really I– we are–”

“He’s a sweetheart, isn’t he,” Seungkwan interrupted Mingyu. “If your cakes are perfectly well-balanced, he surely is in a sweetness overload.”

Jiwon chuckled, and Mingyu gently slapped Seungkwan’s thigh, embarrassed. Now he knew how Seungkwan felt when he had been spoonfed in front of strangers just a few minutes earlier. 

“So, what’s the chosen flavor?” 

“We’ll go with the chocolate and vanilla swirl,” Mingyu said, taking the lead.”It was a perfect combination. It wasn’t too stringy nor too sweet. I can’t stop eating it.”

“Perfect. As for the decorations?” 

Mingyu chooses an image from the ones proposed in a little book. It’s simple, a few flower flowers here and there and many subtle but complex decorations that make it look very fancy. “This one is pretty nice. Is it possible to have the flowers in yellow and purple? Soonyoung and Wonwoo say those are their favorite colors.”

“We will try. If we can’t we’ll make sure to incorporate them in the best possible way,” Jiwon signed everything on a little notebook. “Thanks for the pictures of the location and the overall theme of the wedding.”

This time, she was looking at Seungkwan. “No problem. I thought they would have helped.” 

Seungkwan had had an epiphany that same morning, so he hurried to call Soonyoung to ask him to send Seungkwan everything about their wedding that could help with the decoration of the cake. Luckily, Soonyoung was still home and managed to send everything immediately. 

“Thank you again. You can tell the grooms that it will be ready on time, but if we encounter any problem we will call them.”

“Can you call me instead?” Seungkwan asked, already writing his number down on the little notebook he was given to take notes on the flavor — he only wrote ‘vanilla, very nice’. “They’ll have so many things to deal with and they gave this task to us. I’ll tell them only when we reach an extremely urgent situation where their help is absolutely needed, but for minor problems call me first please.”

“You’re a good friend, I like how you think. Okay, we’ll call you in case of an emergency,” She looked at Mingyu. “Can I please have your number too, in case we can’t reach Seungkwan-ssi.”

“Oh, of course.” 

She took the little piece of paper. “Thank you so much. I hope we’ll see each other at the wedding without any prior problems. We’ll pack a box with the leftovers and a couple of free samples. What are your favorite muffin flavors?”

“Chocolate and vanilla swirl, really? Didn’t you like the vanilla and lime option? The earl grey one too.”

“Well, I am your best friend before anything else and I have to support you in your stupid endeavors,” Mingyu put on his coat. “You want to ruin their wedding, there’s no way I’m giving them my actual favorite flavors. They’re already getting my favorite bakery, which I’ll probably never have for my wedding, there’s no way I’m giving them those as well. The lime or the earl grey will be for ou—my wedding.” 

“Look at you, accepting to come today so you could eat your favorite sweets and cake tasting for your own wedding. Maybe you aren’t as nice as I make you out to be.”

“I owe to remind you that if I didn’t accept to fake dating you, I wouldn’t be here in the first place.”

“You just can’t let me have it once. Just once.”

“I fear I just can’t. I want to keep those good flavors for our wedding.”

“What—”

Our what?

“You know. If we have to keep up this fake dating thing even more and we end up getting engaged or something,” Mingyu chuckled, Seungkwan stented to believe him, but he still did, for his own sanity mainly as well. 

“I see. Well, I think the lime and vanilla would be a perfect flavor for our wedding cake. Or earl grey and vanilla.” 

“I think so too,” It was gentle, and almost sad the way Mingyu said those words. Seungkwan would have loved to ask more, talk more, but he couldn’t really pinpoint how to do that. Did he really want to know more? And if he did, what would be his reaction to it? 

Thankfully, Mingyu was quick to change the subject. “By the way, can you give me the address of the jewelry store so I can guide us there?”

“Oh, yeah, let me look for the card. I can’t believe you refuse to bring a purse or a backpack with you.” 

“I mean, you’re supposed to pay for everything, it’s already more than enough that I’m bringing my wallet.”

Seungkwan rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t really hide his smile. 

“Would you prefer a meat-based menu or a seafood-based one?” 

“What?”

“For our wedding. They thought we were a couple, and couples discuss about wedding stuff.”

“They don’t usually discuss about it three months into the relationship.”

“I think we know a couple who talks about it three months into a relationship.”

“You really always have to go there. Sometimes I’m tempted to think that you don’t like me one bit.”

“I love you,” Mingyu leaves a quick peck on Seungkwan’s forehead. They both seem really surprised at the action and the three heavy words, even if said in a joking tone, that came out alongside it. “My sweet lovely little Seungkwanie. The love of my life. The apple of my eyes.” 

“Let’s keep walking, or we’ll be late to the appointment. And the sooner we finish, the sooner we can go back to our hotel room. I desperately need to take a nap, I think I’m relaxing way too much so I want to sleep all the time now.”

“Your desire is my command, my lovely Boo. Boo. Cutie Boo. Bootiful. My Bootiful Boo.”

“Are you going crazy? Did the alcohol in that zabaione cream get to your head?”

“I’m just happy to be here. It’s a weird situation, but I’m having fun. I think we have never spent this much time away from home together. It’s nice seeing you in a different place other than in Seoul, mainly in the office, and all the responsibilities correlated to it.”

Mingyu’s right. In all the years they have been working together, they have never gone on a vacation — they did if they count the company retreats, but they can’t be considered actual vacations if your whole office is coming with you and most of the talk is about work, in a way or another. 

Actually, Mingyu did propose to go on short vacations from time to time. There was even this one time in which Mingyu and Minghao managed to organize a long weekend away for their little group. Unfortunately, Seungkwan had to forfeit last minute because of a family emergency. Even if everyone thought that it was just an excuse on Seungkwan’s part to work instead, it was an actual emergency that kept him constantly busy. It was so serious that Seungkean couldn’t even open his laptop, a thing that he could have easily done at the beach or by the pool of the house they rented for that weekend. 

Seungkwan can’t help but wonder why he never proposed to go on another vacation to begin with. Mingyu is delightful, and he knows they would be perfect travel companions, like they are perfect together in any other aspect of life. After this is over, they should start organizing their summer vacations. 

“And by the way, I think that a meat-based with a plant-based one as an option would be the best choice. For our wedding, I mean.” 

Mingyu chuckles. “Good to know.” 

“Welcome,” The jewelry salesman greets them with a warm smile. He’s probably around 60 years old, he must be the owner, Wonwoo anticipated them that the owner himself might have been the one handing them the rings. Seungkwan feels a little out of place there, every tag he sees is more expensive than the previous one. “Can I help you?” 

Mingyu and Seungkwan have been walking side by side, their shoulders and hands brushing the whole day. And now Mingyu has decided to hold Seungkwan’s hand. 

“Hello, yes please,” Mingyu speaks up while Seungkwan is too attracted to all the sparkling around him. “We are friends of Kwon Soonyoung and Jeon Wonwoo, we’re here to pick up their wedding rings. They should have called this morning.” 

“Oh, right. Can I please have your names and documents to check if they correspond with the ones the grooms have sent us earlier today?” Seungkwan and Mingyu nod and start rummaging for them. It was just a second the time Mingyu’s hold his hand, and Seungkwan already misses it. He tried his best to keep holding hands, but his wallet is deep inside his bag that two hands were needed. 

“Nice. Thank you so much,” He starts looking on the computer and then checking their IDs, not sparing them from some small talk that Seungkwan is sure Mingyu appreciates. “Are you close friends with the grooms?” 

“We are. Or better, with one of the two. I am childhood best friend with Jeon Wonwoo, we have known each other for almost 25 years.”

The man smiles and nods. “I’ll go in the back and pick them up. Be right back.” 

Seungkwan takes the occasion to look around some more. “I didn’t think Wonwoo would make this much money to afford rings from this place.” 

“Soonyoung-ah has told me that these are gifts from his father,” Mingyu explains. “Apparently he didn’t react too well upon first meeting Wonwoo, and this is a way for him to have Soonyoung forgive him.”

“Why?” 

“Apparently since Wonwoo isn’t rich his father didn’t approve. Soonyoung and his mother were able to make him change his mind though and now he adores Wonwoo.” 

“See, if Wonwoo was dating me, he wouldn’t have this problem to begin with.” 

“But he wouldn’t have the rings from this place either.” 

“Okay, you’re right. You and I might have the best flavor for our wedding cake, but we’ll never have the rings from this place.”

Mingyu’s giggles are a beautiful sound to Seungkwan’s ears. “But I’d have you, so that would be enough.” 

Oh. 

It’s easy for Seungkwan to remind his brain that Mingyu is just joking, that those words don’t carry much meaning. Another thing is making his heart understand it. The way it speeds up, the way it makes his cheeks burn, and the way it tricks his eyes into making all the sparkles from the jewels surrounding him shining brighter than ever make him think that his heart hasn’t received the message. Mingyu is just joking, acting a role, playing a game that Seungkwan himself has started. Seungkwan’s brain knows that, but it doesn’t know how much and how playing this game would have actually affected his heart. 

“You’re a funny guy, have I told you that?” Seungkwan tries not to make his voice tremble too much, but he knows he’s failed miserably. Thankfully, other than being funny, Mingyu is also kind and lets it pass. 

“I’m just being honest. Wonwoo would be lucky to marry you. Anyone would.”

“I’m an absolute mess, in love with my job and definitely selfish and intolerable.” 

“That’s not true. At least not entirely, you are a mess and a workaholic, and intolerable at times. You’re also very sensitive,” Seungkwan is about to spit out his rebuttal, but it would just reinforce what Mingyu’s just said. “But you’re selfless, kind, always ready to help us when we need. You’re here, and even if to ruin the wedding, I have seen you trying to reassure Soonyoung and Wonwoo. Plus, cats, dogs, and babies love you, and that says enough.”

“I don’t know if I should thank you or still feel slightly insulted.”

“Again, a little sensitive, but everyone loves you for that,” Mingyu makes Seungkwan turn to watch him. Once again, Seungkwan feels like looking at Mingyu’s  eyes is an impossible challenge. “No one is perfect, Boo Seungkwan. We love the people we love and all of their flaws. That’s what makes them special.” 

Seungkwan would love to reply to Mingyu that he is perfect. That if Seungkwan tries and think about something he doesn’t like about Mingyu, he just can’t. Thankfully, or not, he’s interrupted by the salesman returning with a little box.  

“Here are the rings,” He opens the box to reveal two beautiful wedding rings. They are simple and yet perfect for them. They are both in yellow gold with a little band of diamonds in the middle. What’s particular about them is that there is a bigger stone, a purple one in the first ring and a yellow one in the second one. 

“They are beautiful.” 

Seungkwan can’t help but say, too scared to actually touch the rings. 

“Thank you sir,” The man smiles and takes out the ring. “Inside the one with the purple diamond there is written Soonyoung and Wonwoo in the one with the yellow diamond, alongside the date of the marriage of course. Everything is just like they asked. If there’s anything wrong, please come back tomorrow morning as we won’t be open in the afternoon.”

“If they don’t like these rings, they might as well call off the entire wedding.” 

Mingyu and the salesman seem to agree to Seungkwan’s joke. Even if he shouldn’t be joking, he should hope for that to happen. After all, isn’t his goal to ruin this wedding?

“And what about you two, any ring in mind?”

“Us?” Seungkwan asks, his finger incredulously pointing between him and Mingyu. 

“You are a couple, right?”

“We are, but we haven’t been dating for long,” Mingyu takes the reins of the situation. As per usual. “He’s too obsessed with work, it might take a while before I pop the question.”

“Wait, do you think I wouldn’t?” 

“I guess so, you aren’t exactly the most romantic person I know. You wouldn’t even want to organize our wedding.”

“I could still propose, you don’t know that! I know it’d make you happy so I would definitely think about doing that. And the fact that I don’t want to organize the wedding doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like helping you doing it. And the day I marry you will be the best day of my life.”

Seungkwan could have honestly just played along. He could have said “Ahahah yeah, one day I can’t wait for him to propose to me”. However, he let his heart speak before consulting with his brain, a thing Seungkwan has found himself doing a little too much in the past 24 hours. The thing is, he still remembers when Mingyu told him how much he would have loved being proposed to in a way that means something just for him and his partner. Or that he doesn’t want it to be big, he just wants it to be special for them. And well, the thing about Seungkwan is that he loves making Mingyu happy, and even if he also wished to get proposed to, he thinks that he would get down on his knees to propose to Mingyu. If they were actually dating, which they aren’t, by the way. 

“So you’re saying you would propose to me?” 

“Of course! Even if I’m sure you’d still ask me first, but I know I’ll have the ring ready to ask the same question back to you. I remember when you told me that you’d like being proposed to.”

“Are you sure you two haven’t been dating for long?” 

Seungkwan is glad that the guy has interrupted them, but Mingyu might be even more grateful, it was taking him an awfully long time to find something to say to Seungkwan. 

“Yes. Just three months, why?” Seungkwan is shocked at how easily lying about dating Mingyu flows out of his mouth. Like being his boyfriend is something he is supposed to be. 

“You two seem like you have been dating for much longer. You seem to know and understand each other. The way you look at each other too, your eyes are full of love. I hope I still look at my wife with the same eyes you two look at each other. And the stolen glances too,” The guy smirks. “This gentleman— he says with his eyes pointing at Mingyu — couldn’t take his eyes off of you while you were looking at those rings. I bet he was already thinking about how yours would look like.”

“That’s not—”

“Really?” Seungkwan isn’t sarcastic or smug. He’s surprised and flattered, almost excited about this revelation. His heart jumps in his chest, and it jumps even more when he turns towards Mingyu only to find him blushing. A set of feelings he shouldn’t really feel, at least he thinks so. He needs to call Minghao, as soon as possible. 

“Oh absolutely. You have found someone who clearly loves you deeply, and cares for you.”

“It might be because we have been friends for a long time before realizing our feelings for each other. I’m lucky I fell in love with my best friend.”

Mingyu is oddly silent for being someone who usually loves talking to strangers and making friends with everyone and everything. 

“My wife also used to be my best friend before we fell in love. I remember she was scared because she thought it would have ruined our friendship if it didn’t work out.” 

“And how did you find the courage to confess?” The man laughs without replying immediately and Seungkwan realizes that he might have overstepped. “I’m sorry for intruding. I didn’t mean to…”

“Don’t worry young man. I have to be honest, it has been a while and I was trying to recollect my memories,” He laughs and puts the ring back in the box and closes it. “It wasn’t too much, I simply realized I couldn’t spend a second without her. I wanted to love her every second I was awake, loving her in my dreams wasn’t enough. The thought of never properly loving her was scarier than the possibility losing her through confessing.”

“It’s hard though,” Mingyu finally speaks up. “Confessing, I mean. In particular when there’s a beautiful friendship at stake.” 

Seungkwan turns towards Mingyu, trying to read the thoughts behind his eyes. Does he have a crush on a friend? Why does he look so interested? Does he want to confess to a friend and he is scared of losing his friendship? Seungkwan feels a crippling feeling tugging on his heart. 

“Didn’t you two go through the same thing?” 

“I guess so,” Mingyu eventually smiles, putting his act back on. Seungkwan smiles too. He doesn’t care if Mingyu has a crush on someone and wants to confess to them, for now Mingyu is his. Wait. What has Seungkwan just thought of? Mingyu? His? “I’m lucky I have the opportunity to love Seungkwan, I hope I can love him in every life and in every universe.” 

Yes, at least for now, Seungkwan can feel how it would feel being loved by Mingyu. And he plans to enjoy every moment of it. 

For whatever reason. 

“Here are the rings. And thank you for the talk, I wish the best for you two,” He bends down and then hands two cards to them. They smell musky, it’s a nice detail. “These are for when you two decide to get married, this is my personal business card. If you come here, show this and ask for me, I’ll make sure to give you a discount and a special treatment. I think you two are a beautiful couple and you deserve the best.” 

They thank the man and walk out of the shop right after. Mingyu holding the bag with the rings in his right hand, the other one holding Seungkwan’s. 

“There’s no way we can afford those rings even with a discount,” Mingyu says, as soon as the doors close behind them. “Have you seen those prices? He should give me a 90% discount for me to afford it.”

“Haven’t I told you I would be the one proposing?” Seungkwan doesn’t want to remind Mingyu that they can stop holding hands now. Holding hands with Mingyu feels natural and spontaneous, he can’t seem to let go. “It’s not your problem. I might decide and splurge on the ring. You’d deserve the best ring.” 

“How would you propose?” 

“For starters, with a very beautiful ring.”

Mingyu lightly pushes Seungkwan. However, he actually uses a little too much strength and Seungkwan almost falls down. Thankfully they’re holding hands, and in a heartbeat, Mingyu keeps Seungkwan steady with his hand and pulls him closer to saves him from falling. 

Now Seungkwan is right in Mingyu’s embrace, their height difference makes Seungkwan’s face rest close to Mingyu’s heart. 

“I’m serious! You tickled my interest. I would have never thought of you as the kind of person to propose.”

“Why, did you think about you proposing to me?” 

“You wish.” 

Is it bad if Seungkwan wants to say that yes, he kind of wishes. 

“But I’m serious, how would you propose?” They’re still in the same position. They’re close, very close. They are always close, but never like this. Seungkwan kind of wishes he could read Mingyu’s heart. 

“I’m not saying. I want to keep it a secret.” 

“What do you mean?” 

It’s weird, it’s the first time he has to justify himself, he’s usually the one asking Mingyu what he means with his ambiguous sentences. 

“I mean that I might give some ideas to your future partner, you deserve a perfect surprise,” Seungkwan clears his throat and changes the subject. “So, are we going back to our hotel? I desperately need to nap.”

“You? Napping? Aren’t you scared it might ruin your night sleep?” 

“I have accumulated more than 700 hours of sleep to catch up to, I don’t think a nap is going to make that big of a difference.”  

“All right. For our safety, I’ll be the one driving back to my hotel.” 

Seungkwan gets on his tippitoes and gives back the kiss on the forehead Mingyu has given him earlier. 

“Thank you, I promise that one day I’ll be the one carrying you around.”

“After the car accident we almost had today, I think I’ll decline.”

“Just one, you can’t let me have anything.” 

𓍯𓂃𓏧♡

“I have a huge favor to ask you Hao.”

“Good afternoon to you too. I’m fine thank you, I had a pretty rough day at work, and I’m finally at home ready to take a bath and relax with my sweet and nice boyfriend, whom I love very much. Thank you for asking.”

“Yeah, yeah, all that crap, sorry. I’m glad to know you’re fine and I’m so sorry you got an awful day at work, and say hi to Hansollie from me.” 

Hansol actually says hi to Seungkwan, informing him that he’s drawing a bath for him and Minghao. To which Seungkwan automatically reacts with a disgusted grunt. Not because he dislikes baths or that he disgusts his friends, he hates that he isn’t the one taking a bath with a significant other. At least he thinks so.  

“What do you want? Please be quick.” 

“I need you to bring me the hard drive I left home, I need to work on those articles.” 

“I don’t have time to do that. I leave tomorrow morning and I don’t want to go to your house to pick it up. Plus, you should be relaxing and not thinking about work. Our boss was happy you finally took a vacation leave, you don’t have urgent deadlines.” 

“Okay then call Wonwoo and tell him to stop the wedding.” Seungkwan tries again, smiling innocently, like he’s asking Minghao the most simple task in the world. You know, something that he can do and can actually happen. 

“I obviously can’t do that." 

“Okay, okay. Then can you please drop Hansol and find a plus one to bring me to the wedding. A plus one that I can fuck?” 

“Hansollie, I think I need more than a moment. You start the bath without me.” 

Minghao seems to finally understand the urgency of Seungkwan’s call. He should have understood it the moment Seungkwan called out of the blue on a Friday afternoon when he should be on a relaxing vacation. 

Yes okay, this trip to Busan was never supposed to be relaxing to begin with, but Minghao has known Seungkwan long enough to immediately get the clues. Seungkwan’s emotions can be clearly read from his eyes alone, how did it even take Minghao three questions to finally come to that conclusion. 

“What is going on Seungkwan? You have been in Busan for like 24 hours, what the hell happened?” 

“It’s all your fault.” 

Because, let’s be clear. Seungkwan is the victim in all this. He’s the victim of his heart for making him think he likes Wonwoo. He’s a victim of Minghao and Hansol's bullying, which made him think that he likes Mingyu. He’s a victim of Mingyu and his boyfriend behavior, and his pretty lips, and the cute mole on his nose, and his big body, and their stupid perfect height difference that Seungkwan notices every time he sees them reflected in a mirror. 

“For what exactly?” 

“What’s with you and all your talk about Mingyu and I being a better match than Wonwoo and I? And that he is right for me? And that love is closer than I might think? Now I should simply be fake dating him to get the man I actually like and because of you I have all those weird thoughts.” 

“Seungkwan-ah.”

“Don’t ‘Seungkwan-ah’ me! I was living more than fine alone, in love with my job, trying to ruin a wedding in my free time. And now I think about my best friend in ways I shouldn’t think of. Like just ten minutes ago we were in our bedroom and Mingyu was there, on his bed, reading a book with those stupid glasses you helped him pick and I imagined him doing the same thing with our daughter and a dog on the bed with him. And we don’t have them. We aren’t even dating. I don’t even like him like that.” 

“Hey…”

“And that’s not all! Everyone thinks we’re dating, we don’t even have to pretend anymore. And again, it’s all your fault.”

“Can I speak now?” 

Seungkwan can feel tears forming inside his eyes. Tears of frustration, probably the worst kind. He has so many things he wants to say, and yet all of those words condense and come out in form of tears. And he doesn’t want that. 

“What am I supposed to do?” 

“Everything is going to be okay, Seungkwan-ah. Take a deep breath,” Seungkwan is reluctant, but does it anyway. A deep breath won’t save him, but he’s glad Minghao is there to help him. “And let it out. And now maybe try and explain what happened without saying that everything is my fault.” 

“I don’t even know, that’s the thing. I don’t know what’s going on.” 

“You don’t know or you don’t want to acknowledge it?” 

Yeah. Maybe being a person who can be easily read and having friends that can just as easily read you isn’t exactly the best combination. 

“I just. I like Wonwoo, don’t I?” 

“Do you?” 

Seungkwan is kind of thankful he can’t see Minghao’s expression. “I should.” 

“Why?” Seungkwan stays silent. “Do you want me to tell it to you or are you going to say it yourself?” 

Tough love, exactly what he needs right now, just because he isn’t two sentences away from crying in the middle of the hall. “Can you say it please?”

“You want to like him because he’s unavailable. Because thinking about a relationship that will never happen is easier than to accept that you might feel something for someone actually close to you. It’s way easier losing something you will never have rather than losing everything you’ve got.” 

That’s it. There’s the first tear running down on Seungkwan’s cheek. 

“I don’t like Mingyu.” 

“Okay.” 

“Aren’t you going to get mad at me?” 

“Take your time Seungkwan.”

“I should be thinking of ways on how to ruin Wonwoo’s wedding, trying to spend as much time as possible with him, pissing off Soonyoung. Instead I’m here not thinking about it, not caring either. Tomorrow morning I should accompany Wonwoo to try on tuxedos, that should be the highlight of my day, the perfect occasion to make him change his mind. Instead I’m jealous that I don’t get to spend it 

with Mingyu. Wonwoo invited me for dinner tonight because Soonyoung is busy with his family, and I declined because Mingyu was non-stop talking about this one restaurant and I wanted to keep listening to him.” 

“The solution is easy.” 

“Taking a plane and fleeing the country?” 

“I guess that can be it. Or you can spend time with Mingyu and understand your feelings better. And maybe you can confess once you do.” 

“What if he doesn’t reciprocate? Or worse, what if he does, we start dating, and then I screw it up and I lose him forever?” 

“And what if it all works out and you two end up with a daughter and a dog?” 

Seungkwan stops and thinks about it for a second. About his past with Mingyu. And their present. He doesn’t think about the future because his brain has been doing it way too much and it doesn’t really help his case. 

“I don’t like Mingyu.”

They’re friends. Best friends even. And Mingyu is annoying. His annoying smile. His annoying kindness. His annoying hands. His annoying voice. His annoying way of making sure Seungkwan is always okay. His annoying texts out of nowhere when he sees something that reminds him of Seungkwan. His annoying caring personality that makes him actually answer Seungkwan’s call in the middle of the night when he’s drunk. His annoying supportive behavior ready to bash on Seungkwan’s exes even if it’s his fault. 

“All right.”

“I mean it.” 

“I know.”

He knows. 

“Please don’t say anything to Hansol.” 

“I’ll try,” There are a few seconds of silence. “I love you. Call me again if you need me.” 

“Love you too. See you tomorrow.” 

It’s also very annoying of Mingyu that when Seungkwan gets back from his call, Mingyu is still there on the bed, his glasses still on, still reading, still looking way too hot for what he’s doing. And it’s also annoying that he immediately pauses the book, his finger used as a bookmark, to ask Seungkwan about his call and if Minghao is okay. 

It’s also very annoying when Mingyu drags Seungkwan out of their hotel bedroom to go and enjoy some street food in one of Busan’s most famous markets. It’s even more annoying that Mingyu chooses all the perfect food and that he insists on paying for it, despite Seungkwan keeps on insisting. The definitely most annoying part is Mingyu feeding him from time to time with a couple of older women thinking they’re dating, and Seungkwan enjoying every second of it. 

“I miss the ocean.” 

This is the first time today that Seungkwan can actually allow himself to relax a little, trying to enjoy the cold air and the sound of the waves, instead of dwelling too much on what is going on inside his brain. It’s just him and the ocean. 

“We can come here more often in the future.”

Just him, the ocean, and Mingyu. The two are sitting on a bench, way too close, enjoying a fuming hotteok and the show the winter ocean is putting on for them. 

“To Busan?”

“It’s quicker than going to Jeju,” Mingyu scoots a little closer to Seungkwan. “I’m cold.” Seungkwan welcomes Mingyu, enjoying the warmth.

“My family lives in Jeju, we wouldn’t have to pay for the accommodation.”

“I mean, if you let Wonwoo’s marriage go through, we’ll have his and Soonyoung’s huge villa, I bet they can welcome us. You’ll lose the love of your life, but you’d gain a connection in Busan. Lots to think about.”

A stabbing pain runs through Seungkwan’s heart. Up until now, his contorted brain — indulged by Minghao and Hansol— has made him think that Mingyu likes him (back?). But what if he doesn’t? What if Mingyu actually roots for him and Wonwoo? Did he or did he not just call Wonwoo the love of Seungkwan’s life?

“Do you think Wonwoo is the love of my life?”

“I think you should go for what makes you happy.” 

“You make me happy,” is what Seungkwan would have said if he had the balls to do it. 

“That doesn’t answer my question though.” 

“You’re a good person Seungkwan. Yes, you may be trying to ruin a wedding, but that doesn’t take away from all of your good qualities.” 

“You’re still not answering my question.”

“I don’t think it’s my place to.”

Somehow, this is an answer that satisfies Seungkwan. It makes a grim bloom on his face. It even gives him hope, for some reason.  

Mingyu, the friend who has always been supportive through everything, is finally saying no to Seungkwan. And that makes Seungkwan happy. It might mean nothing on Mingyu’s part not agreeing with Seungkwan, it might mean ‘I like someone else but I can still tell you that I don’t think that Wonwoo is the love of your life’ but Seungkwan’s best likes to think otherwise. What it actually likes to think still isn’t fully developed by Seungkwan’s brain. 

“Even if I managed to ruin this wedding, I don’t think a relationship with Wonwoo would last. I would be an awful boyfriend, like I am now with you.”

“You aren’t a bad boyfriend, what are you saying? What makes you think that?”

“It’s just that, you are so good, you know me so well, you act so well, and I’m just,” Seungkwan turns towards Mingyu to find out that Mingyu is already looking at him. “There.”

“Has it ever occurred to you that in the guide you gave me, you didn’t need to add anything about me? My favorite color? My favorite drink? My favorite bakery and my favorite cake? You can name almost every single article and column I wrote.”

Of course he didn’t need to, he knows everything about Mingyu. They’re best friends, of course he remembers everything. 

“That doesn’t make me a good boyfriend, maybe only a partially decent friend.”

“It makes you someone attentive, someone who listens to me, despite all the amount of words I can say in a few minutes. And that is being a good boyfriend to me. You’re sweet, kind, always looking out for me. You’re being amazing, and people will never know that just from what they see in a few minutes.”

Mingyu’s hand reaches out to Seungkwan’s. Their hands intertwine once again. For no one, except for themselves. They don’t have to pretend, they can be themselves and this is what being themselves is. Seungkwan’s hand in Mingyu’s. Seungkwan’s head resting on Mingyu’s shoulder. Seungkwan’s leg on topo of Mingyu’s, to feel even closer than what they already are. 

“Thank you.” 

“You don’t have to thank me.”

“I have to. I don’t think I have ever thanked you for accepting to do this. So thank you, it means a lot.”

“Well, I gained a free vacation and a trip to my favorite bakery out of it. If anything, I have to thank you.”

Their bodies chuckle together. “I mean it. Thank you, and thank you for being in my life too.” 

“I don’t know if you’ll still thank me when I redeem your promise to do anything I want.” 

“Please, kind sir, be merciful.”

“I don’t know, I’ll have to think about it.”

Just as easily as they came to him, all of Seungkwan’s worries disappear into the ocean. It’s a Mingyu’s prerogative being the comfort space Seungkwan needs to let himself go. It’s easy laying your head on Mingyu when he’s always so close. It’s even easier to do it metaphorically when he’s always there, strong, kind, trusting. 

Unfortunately, his worries decided that it wasn’t time to leave Seungkwan yet as they took a turn and met him again in their hotel bedroom. 

“Is everything okay? You’ve gone a little pale.” 

Mingyu is in the small living room area of their suite, sitting at the table, and Seungkwan could hear from the bathroom that he was on the phone with someone, judging by the tone it was either Hansol or his mother. 

Seungkwan, instead, is fresh out of the shower, every skincare step completed, in his pajamas, and ready to go to sleep. Or at least he was before checking his phone. 

“Yeah. It’s okay. It’ll be okay.” 

The truth is easy to understand. It’s not okay. It won’t be okay. Because as long as Seungkwan’s mother doesn’t text him saying that the previous message was a joke, things won’t be okay. 

Message from: Mom
Hi Seungkwan-ah! I hope your time in Busan is going well
I can’t wait to see you tomorrow and finally meet Mingyu,
as your boyfriend this time, your sisters and I can’t wait 

He reads the message again. 

“No, it won’t be okay.” 

“What is going on?” Mingyu gets up and takes Seungkwan’s phone into his own hands. “Your family is coming too?” 

“How could I be so stupid to forget that? I thought about Wonwoo’s family, but why didn’t I think that my family would be invited as well? We grew up together, Wonwoo calls my mother ‘mom’, of course he would have invited her. How could I not think about it?” 

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. Do you want a cup of tea?” 

“Do you think tea will calm me down?”

“Maybe not an English breakfast, but a chamomile tea with melatonin they put in our welcome package might.” Mingyu tries a smile, Seungkwan lets it pass. “Okay, I’ll put the kettle on.”

Everything was going according to Seungkwan’s plan – if we ignore the fact that he still hasn’t won Wonwoo over and that whole Mingyu and feelings connected to him situation. Let’s try again, everything is already not going according to Seungkwan’s plan, and the non-calculated family meeting worsens everything.

“Is it too late to pretend I got sick?” 

“No, not really. But did you really not think about your family joining the wedding?”

“I thought Wonwoo and Soonyoung were going to do something small and I kind of hoped that in the rush Wonwoo forgot to invite them.” 

“And how was your original plan to deal with your family? You were never going to introduce me to them as your boyfriend? Your mom already loves me.” 

Seungkwan attentively follows Mingyu’s movements as he prepares one cup of tea for him, adding sugar just like Seungkwan likes it. “Not really, no, I didn’t want to get my family involved. I have never brought anyone home, I didn’t want you as my fake boyfriend to be the first one. I just thought of telling them we broke up but decided to stay friends.”

“Wait, so you really have never been in a serious enough relationship to bring someone home?” 

“No, of course no. Wait, you have?” 

“Yes, of course yes. With Jihoon.” 

Another one of those weird feelings stab Seungkwan right through his heart. 

Is it Seungkwan’s impression or did the air in the room get a little weird? Tense almost. Seungkwan dares a little embarrassing. Mingyu clears his throat. 

“There’s nothing much we can do about it, we’ll deal with it. You will introduce me to your family as your boyfriend and when you run away happily with Wonwoo I’ll pretend to be hurt and then I’ll move on. Here, drink this.” 

“But if I run away with Wonwoo it would lead to a bad break-up between us so who would I bring to my family dinners?”

Mingyu chuckles. “I guess Wonwoo?” 

Oh. Yeah. Wonwoo would be his boyfriend, right. 

“But he wouldn’t find perfect ways and excuses to get me out of them quicker like you do.”

“I think your mother liked me less after that one time.”

“No, she still loves you. A lot. If we ever break-up, it might break her more than us.” 

“Good thing we aren’t actually dating right now. You can tell her we were pretending after you get your man and she won’t be hurt.”

“I think she would be hurt because I lied to her.” 

Seungkwan stops himself before he adds ‘and that I don’t actually date you’. Seungkwan still remembers how much his mom fell in love, platonically, with Mingyu the first time she met him. She immediately texted Seungkwan: are you sure you don’t want to date him, instead of the guy you told me you’re dating. Okay Seungkwan doesn’t remember the name of the guy he was dating back then, but he does remember what Mingyu ordered that night at the restaurant, it’s funny how his brain works. 

“You’re overthinking everything, Seungkwan. Drink the tea and go to bed, we’ll deal with what happens tomorrow, tomorrow. And on Sunday what happens on Sunday. We can do it,” Mingyu caresses Seungkwan’s head, gently, cak. “Can I leave you alone to finish this? I’m sorry, I have to annotate what we ate tonight for future articles before I forget.” 

The herbal tea is still burning hot in front of Seungkwan. So he waits a little as he listens to Mingyu taking out Seungkwan’s laptop, tucking himself into bad, and then typing sounds on the keyboard of the password to unlock it. And then a lot of typing meaning that Mingyu is writing every single thought down. 

The images of the two of them at the market run through Seungkwan’s brain. How once again they were confused as a couple by a couple of vendors and other customers like them. But what sticks with Seungkwan the most is how Mingyu effortlessly pretended like it’s true. There no one knew them, in that market there weren’t any sort of connections to either Soonyoung nor Wonwoo, they could have corrected all those strangers and said ‘we’re just friends’. It never occurred to them to do so, instead they pulled each other closer and acted even more like a couple. 

At this point Seungkwan wonders if it can still be called acting. At least on his part. His hands aren’t acting when they instinctively move to reach Mingyu’s. His cheeks aren’t acting when they burn when Mingyu orders for him exactly what he wants without asking, feeds him, and showers him with compliments. His skin isn’t acting when goosebumps cover it when Mingyu whispers something in his ear. His ears aren’t acting when they turn redHis heart isn’t acting when it speeds up every time Mingyu says the words ‘yes, we’re dating’, or every time Mingyu looks at him, or when Seungkwan steals glances at him. Seungkwan doesn’t think he’s acting anymore.  

Seungkwan gulps down both the chamomile tea, perfectly sweetened to his taste by Mingyu himself, and all of his feelings, perfectly messed up by Mingyu himself, all in one go.

“I don’t see you writing notes for your article, if you didn’t want to listen to me commiserate about my situation you could have just said so.”

“I know, but I felt bad.” 

Mingyu is now phone in hand under the blanket in his pajamas. Or better, his bed attire that consists of sweatpants, glasses, and that’s pretty much it. 

“You’re getting funnier and funnier, I might break-up with you if you keep this up.” 

“Don’t please. I have pretty pictures of you I took tonight.”

“They aren’t pretty,” Seungkwan whines, moving the blankets to get inside his bed. “I was just eating and freezing to death.”

“Come here and look at them, they’re pretty. I think they will go well in your photo dump after this trip.”

“Do you have many of us together, or just with me?” They look at each other. “You know, to post them now so I can make Wonwoo jealous and prove our lie even more.” 

All lies. Seungkwan wants more pictures of him taken by Mingyu. Still lies. He only wants Mingyu to send him a couple of specific pictures, and they’re of the two of them together. And he also kind of wants to brag about the beautiful day they had together. Still, he drops his blankets and turns towards Mingyu’s bed, accepting his invitation. 

“I have the one that girl AirDropped to me. And a selca. And also all the ones of our dishes with two sets of chopsticks.”  

About that picture the girl sent Mingyu. Let’s just say that yes, that picture is the main reason Seungkwan is currently sneaking into Mingyu’s bed to look at his phone and all the pictures. 

They were together on the bench, Mingyu’s head resting on Seungkwan’s shoulder making himself smaller, and Seungkwan making himself taller so Mingyu could be more comfortable. And Mingyu was talking, again. There hasn’t been a day in which Seungkwan hasn’t loved listening to Mingyu talking. It was peaceful, a moment to enjoy the ocean and the company and warmth of his favorite person. 

It was until a girl came up to ask for Mingyu’s number and Mingyu said, voluntarily, rather voluntarily. “I have a boyfriend.” Which is stupid, and embarrassing, because Seungkwan shouldn’t have been that happy. He shouldn’t have been happy at all. That’s the thing. He should encourage his best friend to find a relationship, he should want the best for him, and yet he finds himself giddy about being called Mingyu’s boyfriend. 

At the end, the girl already thought the two of them were boyfriends and wanted to send them the pictures she secretly took of them on that bench admiring the sea. It would have been less embarrassing on both parts Mingyu didn’t turn her down that way, but Seungkwan is still grateful things unfolded the way they did. Should he be though? 

“You could have told me I put on too much blush!” 

It’s not new for Mingyu and Seungkwan to be in the same bed together, going through pictures — or articles, or books. It’s easy for Seungkwan to find his spot right into Mingyu’s embrace. What’s new is that Mingyu isn’t wearing a shirt. Or a t-shirt. Or a tank top. That’s weird. Seungkwan tries not to get his cheeks too hot as he feels Mingyu’s bare skin. 

“You looked cute. Like here, while you’re drinking that beer.” 

“You should stop searching for inspirations for aesthetic pictures and use it on me, I’m not like those pretty girls on Xiao Hong Shu.” 

“You still look pretty and cute. And my amazing photography skills make up for what you lack.” 

“So you managed to uplift yourself and tear me down in one sentence. Good job, Kim Mingyu. I want to break up with you.”

Mingyu doesn’t let Seungkwan escape, instead he drops his phone and wraps him into a warm and tight embrace. Seungkwan can’t breathe, and not because of the hug. 

“Are you sure? I thought we had to keep the act up tomorrow too, will you be able to convince everyone without a boyfriend? I thought you desperately needed me to the point of doing anything to have me be your boyfriend.” 

Mingyu has to be fully aware of his power and that he can play with Seungkwan however he wants, because if he isn’t he’s just insane. There was no need to whisper that in Seungkwan’s ear, as if it’s a secret, when it’s just the two of them. There was no reason for Mingyu to tighten his grip with one arm while his other hand strokes Seungkwan’s hip. There was no reason for him to do all that without wearing a t-shirt either. 

“I- I don’t- what I want to say is.” 

It’s so stupid that Seungkwan can’t even manage to put a single complete thought together. Or at least, a thought that can be said out loud without making him sound like a complete crazy person. The current main thought spinning through his brain is that he wants to turn around and kiss the hell out of Mingyu to make him shut up and put him back in his place. 

…

Okay, what if he wants to kiss Mingyu just for the sake of it because he looks very hot and smells very nice? It’s just a kiss, right? 

No. 

Seungkwan likes Wonwoo. Seungkwan needs to ruin his wedding. Seungkwan has to run away with Wonwoo and destroy Soonyoung’s life. There is no place for Mingyu in all of this. 

“What are you trying to say?” 

Seungkwan can’t see Mingyu, but he can perfectly picture his expression. 

“We should sleep together.” 

Mingyu’s arms loosen and this would be the chance for Seungkwan to run away and go to his bed. However, now that he thinks about it, he likes it better on Mingyu’s bed. It seems way more comfortable and Mingyu is a human heater, perfect for cold South Korean winter nights. So Seungkwan enjoys his win, turns around, and looks at Mingyu. Cute. He’s blushing. 

“I’m really not in the mood to go out with Wonwoo tomorrow morning and I’m trying to avoid it as much as possible, so if he comes and looks for me in our room, he can’t find us asleep in separate beds,” Seungkwan snuggles into Mingyu’s embrace. “And I love when back home we sleep in the same bed and I fall asleep listening to you talk. And you’re warm, and I’m cold. Lastly, I’m way too tired to move. I like it here.” 

Seungkwan closes his eyes, scared to even catch a glimpse of Mingyu’s reaction to his words. Why should he be scared though?

“I thought you couldn’t wait to go and use that as a way to convince Wonwoo that marrying Soonyoung isn’t right for him.” 

“I know, I…” Seungkwan keeps his eyes closed. “I just want to sleep in.” He murmurs in Mingyu’s chest and he can perfectly feel how it vibrates when Mingyu laughs.

And he wants to spend more time with Mingyu. Better, he wants to spend every second of free time he can get with Mingyu.

“Just try not to kick me in your sleep.” 

“I never kick you in my sleep, what are you trying to insinuate? I’m the perfect bed companion.” 

Mingyu laughs again, and doesn’t bother to defend his sentence, he just lays on his back and brings Seungkwan closer to him, so they can both keep looking on the picture on Mingyu’s phone. 

Action that turns into them scrolling through their Instagram profiles, realizing that they already look like couples’ ones since they are together a lot in their free time. And that turns into looking through Mingyu’s reels. And that turns into Mingyu reading out loud the news of the day. And that turns into Seungkwan falling asleep into Mingyu’s embrace. 

Seungkwan believes that this night is the perfect way to conclude his, already perfect, last day of his 28th year of life. He wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.