As much as Hoseok loved being the reason that Yoongi Min's life would fall apart, he didn't want to be a witness to Yoongi publicly breaking up with his girlfriend, Minseo Kang, especially when Hoseok would inevitably end up looking like the bad guy.

What was Yoongi supposed to tell Minseo other than the truth?

Hoseok's parents had driven them back to campus with the expectation that Yoongi would break up with Minseo after school. They had wanted visual confirmation as well, so they'd sent Hoseok in to ensure that Yoongi would follow through. As an added precaution, they alerted the Kims too, who were more on the outer sides of the hall, far enough to not be seen, but close enough to hear the chaos ready to unfold.

"Everyone's going to take this as a blessing."

Hosoek scoffed at his best friend Jungkook Jeon's words. Turning towards him, Hoseok frowned, not failing to notice the humorous expression on Jungkook's face. If this were any other situation, Hoseok would be acting like him— leaning against the lockers, looking smug at the drama. However, the drama involved him this time, so Hoseok wasn't too fond of the events.

"Who do you think is going to be the first one trying to get her?" Jungkook asked, eyes flitting towards Hoseok's momentarily. "My money's on Seokjin."

"My money's on you," Hoseok retorted, casting Jungkook a dirty look. "I can practically smell the hormones coming off you. It's appalling, by the way."

"Hey, it all comes with being a jock," Jungkook grinned. "Come on, Minseo and me? It'll be like one of those teen high school movies everyone's all over. Jock and cheerleader? Boom, what a pairing."

Hoseok shook his head, smiling a little. "And Seokjin was the It-Boy. He'd look well with Minseo, so what's your point?"

"You're right," Jungkook nodded gravely, thinking for a couple of moments. "Got it. Threesome. Boom."

Hoseok wrinkled his nose. "I didn't know you were into polyamorous relationships."

"Let's face it, Seokjin Kim?" Jungkook let out a low whistle. "His looks are out of this world. I'm sure he could have the straightest guy questioning themselves. I think the abroad thing he did made him even more good looking."

"To each their own," Hoseok murmured, rolling his eyes. "Is it just me, or are there more people than I expected there to be?"

Jungkook looked around, lips parting in surprise. "You're right. I knew they were popular, but come on now. It's just a breakup."

Hoseok nodded in agreement, watching as Yoongi and Minseo appeared from the corridor. Minseo was picking up her pace, leaving Yoongi to trail after her. It was a sorry sight to see Yoongi fumbling to make decent conversation with his soon to be ex-girlfriend. From Minseo's expression, it seemed that she had a hint of an idea about what was coming. Was she trying to stop Yoongi from saying anything that could signal their end?

"Why would you lie about us being in a relationship?"

"It's starting," Jungkook whispered, "What did you say this was for exactly?"

"My parents told him to break up with her," Hoseok answered, keeping his eye on Minseo and Yoongi. "It would look bad for the press if anyone were to discover he has a girlfriend when he's going to be engaged to me."

Jungkook's eyes widened. "You're going to marry that guy? Woah, I know I've missed a couple of chapters, but why am I just finding out about this now? And why are you so fine with it?"

"I'm not fine with it," Hoseok snapped. "I hate this idea. Quite frankly, I'd rather die. Yoongi's the last person I'd date, but my parents liked him, so here we are. Which reminds me, you'll come, right? To the dinner?"

"Well, yeah, obviously, but this is so sudden," Jungkook said, laughing in disbelief. "Like you're engaged to Yoongi. The Yoongi. The one that you constantly complain to me about because he gets you in trouble."

"Not yet," Hoseok said, frowning. "I guess it's more like boyfriends right now? He's going to ask me, though, so that should be fun."

Jungkook smirked. "You gon' cry?"

"Something like that," Hoseok chuckled, earning a playful shove from Jungkook.

"But you hate Hoseok!"

Jungkook let out a low whistle as everyone turned to look at Hoseok. He crossed his arms, glaring at them, and they began looking away, though it didn't stop the whispers from starting. If they hadn't been looking at Yoongi and Minseo, they were now, with Hoseok added into the mix. Hoseok knew that Yoongi wouldn't have been able to keep Hoseok's name out of his mouth. Leave it to Yoongi to drag him along in a breakup that had little to do with him.

Sure, Hoseok's parents instructed Yoongi to break up with her, but it didn't have anything to do with Hoseok. It's not like he was the one who told Yoongi to do that. Hoseok just knew it was going to have to happen.

"Minseo, you have to understand I—"

God, of course, Yoongi was making a fool out of himself. Why would he not be? He wasn't trained in the art of speaking. Being able to let people down in the best possible way without making yourself seem terrible, yeah, Yoongi knew nothing about that. But, Hoseok didn't want to intervene just yet. Call him an asshole, but Hoseok wanted to see how much of a fool Yoongi could make himself in front of everyone.

It wasn't every day that the all perfect Student Body President made a fool out of himself. Hoseok had to relish at the moment as much as he could. Who knew when he'd get another chance to see Yoongi like this?

"You lied about our relationship for someone you hate, and now you want to actually end things?!"

You could already see the tears in Minseo's eyes as she clutched her books. Hoseok could almost laugh at the scene, double over in amusement at how ridiculous this all was. It was as if he was in a teen high school movie, with Yoongi being the asshole guy breaking up with the main character.

Wait.

Did that make Hoseok the side piece?

Maybe this wasn't the best scenario to imagine.

"You're not going to help him?" Jungkook asked, sounding concerned. "He'll probably get ambushed if you keep letting it escalate. There are plenty of people who will happily gang up on Yoongi for Minseo."

"Eh, he seems fine," Hoseok shrugged. "Minseo's just crying. Not too big of a deal. It's not like she'll come after me."

"Mm, that's why everyone turned to stare at you the moment your name was mentioned," Jungkook pointed out. "Don't forget, people don't like you either."

"Look, it's not that I want to break up with you; I have to—"

And now Hoseok had to step in.

At times like these, the entrance was key. Hoseok could just go there and drag Yoongi the same way he'd done earlier before. He could drag them all into a private conversation, but these things did not concern Minseo. Minseo wasn't a part of the scheme, and if someone that wasn't supposed to know knew about the arrangement, it would be incredibly terrible for business. Hoseok couldn't have that.

"He has to break up with you, Minseo, because he's with me now."

Hoseok smiled brazenly as he slung his arm over Yoongi's shoulder. Yoongi's face whipped towards Hoseok's shocked, and Minseo looked at both of them more confused than anything.

"I'm sorry you're hurt," Hoseok said, though his voice portrayed anything but. "If you want, I can give you some consolation money. You're a catch, Minseo. I'm sure you already have hundreds of men ready to take your hand."

"You're going to give me money because Yoongi broke up with me?" Minseo asked incredulously. Hoseok shrugged, pulling Yoongi closer. "You're ridiculous."

"Money can't fix everything, but at least you can do some retail therapy," Hoseok responded, taking his wallet out with his free hand, pulling out a couple of hundred dollar bills. "Here. Treat yourself or whatever."

He pushed the bills onto Minseo's hands, the girl too shocked to fully process what was happening. Minseo looked at the bills before looking back at him in disbelief, though she didn't move.

"It's not you, Minseo, or Yoongi, for that matter. It's me." Hoseok continued. "I know this is so sudden, but you'll get over Yoongi. I promise. Don't worry! I'll take good care of him for you."

"You two don't even like each other," Minseo scoffed, crossing her arms. "You expect me to believe this? Something's weird about this. Yoongi. What were you saying before Hoseok came?"

"I h—"

"Does it matter what he says?" Hoseok groaned, making a show of interrupting Yoongi. "I'm telling you everything you need to know."

Minseo glared at Hoseok before saying, "He's the one breaking up with me, not you."

Now, Hoseok didn't want to appear to be the asshole. He was already projecting it, but solidifying the stance wasn't one he was too fond of. If Yoongi was in love with Minseo, which he undoubtedly was, he'd cave in for her in an instant. But, he knew that Yoongi would spill everything as soon as Minseo gave him that one puppy eye look (the one supposed to make said person irresistible).

That would be catastrophic for business.

Even if Yoongi were to not say anything now, there would be a chance that he'd try to contact Minseo outside of school time. Hoseok had to make sure that this, right now, would be the last time that Minseo and Yoongi could ever have contact. For that, he had to sever the relationship fully. He had to take extreme measures.

"Come on, darling," Hoseok turned to Yoongi, making sure to smile affectionately. He brought his hand up to Yoongi's cheek, softly caressing it. "Stop hurting her. It's over already. We're together now."

Without waiting for Yoongi to respond, Hoseok leaned in, bracing himself as he let their lips connect. Gasps erupted from the scene, and from the sound of the cameras clicking, Hoseok knew that he had everyone where he wanted them. He angled himself to make it seem like Yoongi was kissing back, just enough to confirm to Minseo that everything was over.

When he heard Minseo's shape intake of breath and her running, he let Yoongi go, resisting the urge to wipe his lips off with his sleeve.

Hoseok wasn't expecting Yoongi to be red. Angry, sure, but with cheeks flushed? He already had naturally pale skin, and he was caught blushing like an idiot— and everyone could see it. Hoseok chuckled, taking Yoongi's hand before leading him promptly out of the school. He opened the door to the car, and as he noticed the students peeking from the doors, he pressed a kiss to Yoongi's forehead before helping him inside. After he climbed in, he signaled to the driver, who quickly pulled out of the school.

Things remained silent for a few moments— Hoseok pulling up the divider between the driver and them before turning towards Yoongi, who was still red in the face.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were already in love with me," Hoseok snickered. "Who the hell blushes like a madman when kissed? You really sold that one for us, Yoongi."

"You caught me off guard," Yoongi snapped, looking away. "You had no right to do that."

"Of course I had the right," Hoseok responded, smiling. "We're going to get married, Yoongi. We're going to be kissing more often now. Comes with the press photos. Besides, you were two seconds away from telling Minseo that this is arranged. I can't have that."

"It's the truth," Yoongi muttered. "Why wouldn't I tell her the truth?"

"Because other people can hear?" Hoseok scoffed. "Because it's bad for business? Everyone knows that it's arranged, Yoongi, but people don't care about that. They want to see us acting like we're a pair of lovebirds two seconds away from fucking each other into oblivion. That's what they want. Arranged marriages are a big thing in our industry. You have to go all out. The more people eat up what we give them, the more revenue we get."

Hoseok pulled up his phone, pulling the photos and videos that were already circulating on social media. He clicked on one and showed it to Yoongi, who only stared at it in disbelief.

"Looks real, doesn't it?" Hoseok zoomed into the picture, laughing. "You even closed your eyes! How cute. Mom's going to be happy once she sees the pictures of us on the internet. Creates buzz. Anticipation."

Yoongi only glared at Hoseok in response.

"Your glares do nothing to me, Min," Hoseok pointed to his phone. "Not when the pictures show you head over heels. Well, they show Minseo too, but she's not that important."

"You didn't have to kiss me!" Yoongi hissed. "Did you not see how you fucking broke her?"

Hoseok raised an eyebrow. "Yoongi, that was the point."

The rest of the ride was spent in silence, with Yoongi looking angrily out the window and Hoseok scrolling through his phone, smug as he continued to scroll through social media. It would only be a matter of time before the tabloids got their hands on the pictures. They wouldn't care about the context of the situation. All they'd care about is what's happening in the picture. He could already see the headlines.

Hoseok Jung, son of the wealthiest family in America, caught kissing Yoongi Min, son of a new and upcoming family.

It was perfect.

The car stopped in front of Yoongi's house. Hoseok climbed out first, holding the door open for Yoongi to get out. Once Yoongi did, Hosoek climbed back inside, rolling down the window. He watched as Yoongi hurriedly began climbing up the steps to his home. Smiling, Hoseok called out, knowing Yoongi would hear him perfectly well.

"Hey, Yoongi!"

Yoongi stopped mid-step, turning to Hoseok, suspicious. He still had blush to his face, but it had faded to pink, deepening under the sun's light.

"What?" Yoongi asked, irritated. Hoseok chuckled, winking at him.

"Your lips are soft."

Without waiting for a response, he pulled the window up, letting the driver know he could leave. He watched Yoongi's lips part in surprise, immediate shock and anger replacing the suspicion he'd once had. Hoseok burst into laughter at Yoongi's expression, etching it into memory.

Right now, Hoseok had all the power. He was going to enjoy it while it lasted. Something told him that the second he'd return to school tomorrow, he'd land himself another ticket to detention. But today, he was untouchable.

Hm. Maybe Hoseok did enjoy being the reason Yoongi's life fell apart, regardless of the situation he'd been put in a few moments ago. Seeing Yoongi's face was priceless.

Hoseok couldn't wait to see more of it.