Jisung couldn't stop glaring at Hyunjin. The only thing keeping him from wringing Hyunjin's neck was the cheering crowd in front of them. "You've got to be kidding me," Jisung muttered through gritted teeth, his smile painfully forced. Hypothetically, he could have slapped Hyunjin's arm away and run off the stage, but he didn't. Correction: He couldn't. Why? Because a pair of familiar eyes were watching him from the crowd. It put him in a situation.

Hyunjin, who was still clutching Jisung's arm, leaned in closer. "Just play along, okay? I really need that laptop."

God, why must he be stuck with this moron? Jisung narrowed his eyes, ignoring the analytical gaze fixed on him. "And what do I get out of this?"

He could see Hyunjin's mind racing. He was really desperate for that laptop, huh? Not that Jisung didn't understand—he'd seen the disaster that happened to Hyunjin's laptop a few days ago. Only Hyunjin was capable of that monstrosity. "Uh, I'll do your laundry for a month?"

"I can do my own laundry," Jisung scoffed. Hyunjin and his lack of thinking. That was the best he could come up with in a few seconds?

It really rendered Jisung speechless the way Hyunjin was giving him an irritated look although it was him who dragged Jisung without his consent. "What the hell do you want then?"

Jisung considered it for a moment. He had plenty of ideas; some involved turning Hyunjin into his slave for a month and others required Hyunjin to shout that he was a sore loser in the middle of campus. The possibilities were endless. Why would Jisung rush into it now when he could think of a better one later? "That's to be discussed as long as you agree to whatever I want."

"Fine. Now, just smile." Against his will, Jisung pulled the sincerest smile he could muster. In the old classic way, the smile didn't reach his eyes. Asking for more could physically kill him.

The host, oblivious to the tension between the two, continued hyping up the crowd, saying something along the lines that the couples joining were diverse. Jisung was not having it. Obviously, the thing making this whole contest diverse was them being the only gay 'couple'. "Alright, couples! The first round is a simple quiz to test how well you know each other. Are you ready?"

Hyunjin nodded enthusiastically, while Jisung's smile remained strained. The host handed each couple a small whiteboard and a marker. "Before that, let's choose who will guess the answer and who will reveal the answer. Those who guess, please use the pink board; those who reveal the answer, please use the purple board."

Jisung snatched the marker from Hyunjin's hand, glaring at him. "You will guess. I don't want to do the hard work."

"Trust me, I know you better than you probably think. I will match your answer. So, just answer comfortably." Jisung doubted that, but if Hyunjin was that confident, he just had to answer comfortably without much thought. "Sure you do," Jisung muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes as he covered his face with the board. It was a weak attempt to avoid the crowd's gaze and the person he was trying to evade.

The host clapped his hands, gaining everyone's attention. "Alright, let's start with the first question! What is your partner's favourite food?" Jisung quickly scribbled something on the whiteboard, shielding it from Hyunjin's view. He agreed to join but it didn't mean he was going to let Hyunjin get what he wanted easily. Hyunjin wrote something just as fast. It was time to see if he was bluffing. Jisung didn't even know what Hyunjin liked—why would Hyunjin know what he liked? "Are all couples ready?! If you are, reveal the answer!"

They both held up their boards: Cheesecake. Jisung glanced at Hyunjin's board and refrained from rolling his eyes. "Correct! All couples got it right!" To be honest, it would be weird if Hyunjin didn't know because Jisung always ordered cheesecake whenever their friends hung out together. Hyunjin exhaled a sigh of relief. They might actually stand a chance. The next few questions were similarly simple, and to Jisung's surprise, Hyunjin managed to answer most of them correctly. Maybe he knew Jisung better than Jisung thought.

The final question was posed: "What's your partner's biggest fear?" Hyunjin hesitated. Jisung was pretty sure Hyunjin had no idea what his biggest fear was. Mainly because Hyunjin had the ability to filter out things related to Jisung. His food preference? Hyunjin had to know because he was in charge of writing his friends' orders. The other things he knew were also because he had an obligation to know if he didn't want their other friends to be mad about singling Jisung out, but Jisung's fear? That was something he hadn't taken time to consider. Spiders? Heights? Commitment? Since there were only two couples left, Hyunjin was ready to lose this one anyway. He wrote down his best guess: Getting lost.

Jisung peeked at Hyunjin's board. The answer on his board was Running out of snacks. Hyunjin read his answer aloud and snorted. The host laughed. "Well, it looks like you two still have some learning to do! But great effort!"

Hyunjin shot Jisung a judgmental stare. "Running out of snacks? Really?" Jisung shrugged. "It's a valid fear." Whenever he was studying, he got hyper focused on his work and ended up not getting up the entire day. He also needed to eat to function like a normal human being, no? If he ran out of snacks while doing his work, he probably would pass out. " Let's see! Because both couples get it wrong in the final question. We will continue with the next game but before we move on, let's ask our unique couple here. The both of you wrote different things. Can I ask why you wrote differently?"

Jisung had a premonition that the host was either homophobic or taking advantage of them to hype the contest because what the hell was with that tone he was using or the way he called them unique? Neither was alright. Hyunjin took the mic, "Ah, I thought hard on it, but I figured he'd be afraid of getting lost considering how much he gets lost. He once drove all the way to a different county."

Seriously, Hyunjin had an obsession with that particular moment. Jisung snatched the mic from Hyunjin, "It was only one time, and I had just gotten my driver's licence back then. I wasn't used to the road yet." He thought it was appropriate to clarify and defend himself. Hyunjin took the mic back from him, "It was one time, but you also got lost in the mall today." Jisung wanted to kick Hyunjin. He wasn't lost. He might have looked lost, but he was just looking for someone.

"Hahaha! What a lovely couple," the host said, taking the mic from them by force as they started to get heated up. Despite their bickering, they moved on to the second round of the contest. Again, screw the host. Sure, they were competing in a couples' contest, but the way the host focused on them felt off. The other couple didn't get nearly as much scrutiny.

"Alright, couples! Next round is the balloon popping game! You need to pop as many balloons as you can by hugging each other. The couple with the most balloons popped wins!"

Hyunjin grabbed Jisung's hand, pulling him to their station. Jisung shot him a warning glance, but Hyunjin just smiled innocently. "Remember, we need to make this look real," Hyunjin whispered.

Jisung's eyes darted to the crowd, noticing the familiar pair of eyes watching him intently. "You don't need to remind me. I'm not an idiot" he muttered. Hyunjin scoffed, "Really? Almost fooled me with that one."

"Oh, shut up and get on with it."

The host blew the whistle, and the game began. Hyunjin and Jisung moved awkwardly at first, their motions stiff and uncoordinated. They managed to pop a few balloons, but it was clear they weren't going to win unless they stepped up their game— not that either was eager to win.

"Come on, Jisung, we need to work together. We can't appear too lousy. They might catch on to us." Hyunjin whispered urgently.

Jisung narrowed his eyes. "I know, but you're the one who keeps stepping on my feet."

"Well, I can't help it. It's like your feet are just annoying as you are. I can't help but step on it."

"Screw you. You're the one with big ass feet."

"I have got no time to argue with you now.We need to focus."

Jisung grumbled but he complied, wrapping his arms around Hyunjin more firmly. They moved in sync, popping balloons more efficiently. From the outside, it looked like they were sharing a tender moment, their heads close together and bodies pressed tightly but only they knew the nature of their conversation.

"I'd rather eat stones than do this with you," Jisung hissed through his smile.

"And I'd rather throw rocks at you rather than doing this with you," Hyunjin shot back, his own smile not faltering.

They continued to bicker quietly, their whispered insults masked by the crowd's cheers. To everyone else, they appeared to be a couple deeply in love, exchanging sweet nothings as they competed.

"Hey, I think it's fine to slow down now. We're far behind them anyways." Jisung said, his voice strained from the effort.

"Just a few more," Hyunjin replied, glancing at the other couple who were ahead. "We need to look desperate."

Jisung groaned but focused on the task. They popped balloon after balloon, their movements becoming more synchronised with each pop. Despite their constant bickering, they made a surprisingly effective team.

Finally, the whistle blew, signalling the end of the game. The host tallied the scores, and Jisung and Hyunjin held their breath. "And the winners are...Couple number two!" the host announced, pointing to the other couple. "And in second place, our unique couple!"

The crowd erupted in applause, and Jisung let out a sigh of relief. It was finally over. It really felt like he was there for over an hour. The host handed Hyunjin the shiny new laptop, and he could hardly believe his luck.

"No thanks to me?" Jisung asked as they both walked off the stage. Hyunjin looked up from his new laptop and his grin dimmed. Even so, he still expressed his appreciation. "Thank you! I really need this." He hadn't expected Hyunjin to really thank him. Jisung hummed, "I don't really need a thank you from you. You still owe me one."

"You know, I'm not even upset that I owe you one. I would do absolutely anything but be your slave for a month or yell that I'm an idiot or something like that in a crowded place." Jisung felt shiver down his spine. Even from the game earlier, Hyunjin seemed to know him well. He pointed his finger at Hyunjin, "Be honest with me, you're actually my stalker, aren't you?" It was rich of Jisung to say that, knowing what he was doing at the mall. Hyunjin wasn't amused, he flicked Jisung's hand away. "I don't even want to see your face when we hang out with Seungmin and Jeongin. Do you think I would want to stalk you?" Jisung put his hand away and nodded. True enough, Hyunjin always looked disgusted whenever they made eye contact.

"So? Have you thought of what you want me to do?" Whilst Jisung was buffering to think of an answer, someone walked up to them and his eyes widened. Hyunjin hadn't realised who was approaching as he was facing the other way but the look of shock in Jisung's eyes sent him enough information that he needed to check who was behind him. "Han Jisung!" and when he did, he saw a furious looking Minho trudging forward with Chan in tow. Jisung swallowed his saliva, frozen in place.

He looked up to Hyunjin who was raising an eyebrow at him. "Hyung, it's good to see you here!" Jisung laughed awkwardly as if previously he hadn't been following Minho around while the latter was on a date with his boyfriend. "You said you were going to the library to study. What are you doing here?" Jisung's heart raced, his mind frantically trying to come up with a believable excuse. "I, uh, I finished studying early and ran into Hyunjin here. We decided to join the game for fun," he stammered, forcing a grin.

Minho crossed his arms, not buying it. "Really? You just happened to run into each other and decide to participate in a couples' quiz? with Hyunjin out of all people?" His eyes narrowed, and Jisung could feel the weight of his suspicion. Hyunjin, sensing the tension, stepped in. "It's true, hyung. I needed a partner, and Jisung was just being a good friend." He flashed his most convincing smile, trying to defuse the situation. Was Hyunjin an idiot or something? Since when did Jisung ever become a good friend of his?

Chan, who had been quietly observing, finally spoke up. "Minho, maybe they really did just run into each other. Let's not jump to conclusions." He placed a calming hand on Minho's shoulder. Jisung frowned, what conclusion did Minho jump to that he was that furious? It was normal to go to the mall when you just finished studying, right? Students hang out here all the time. It's not some sort of new discovery or something.

Even Hyunjin was confused by the fury because Minho was usually laid back. He didn't care much of what Jisung did during his free time. "Really? Do you expect me to believe in this?" Jisung laughed, rubbing his nape and looking elsewhere but Minho. "What's there not to believe?"

"That guilt in your eyes is saying otherwise, though?" Jisung cursed internally. Why was Minho so perceptive? He was the one who always showed no interest in the world but had a scarily sharp eyes for things like this but what he said wasn't a lie either. He did run into Hyunjin here and he did help Hyunjin although not out of kindness. It was more of a diversion from being caught by Minho of his secret endeavour. "Minho, I really think Jisung just met Hyunjin by accident." Chan added once more. Why was Chan so obsessed by the fact that they met by accident anyway? Was there any importance if they met by accident or not? He was missing a few cues here. Something's off.

Minho hadn't had his fill yet and continued, "Jisung, have I been giving you some sort of wrong message?" Even Hyunjin flinched when Minho's voice lowered. He tugged Jisung's sleeve and sent him a questioning look. "What is going on?" his gaze said and Jisung responded with a shake of head. Watching this interaction, Minho went on. "You can tell me that you're dating Hyunjin. I won't judge you."

"Ah, ye-What?" Jisung choked on his saliva. What the hell did he just hear come out of Minho's pretty lips? Who's dating who now?! Hyunjin, equally stunned, almost dropped his new laptop but he quickly caught it. "Excuse me? Dating? Us?" He laughed awkwardly, looking around to see if anyone else had heard Minho's ridiculous accusation. "We're not dating."

Minho raised an eyebrow. "Really? Because it sure looks like it. Aside from joining a couple contest, the both of you were extremely chummy on the stage. Jisung, you don't even look at the crowd and only look at Hyunjin all the time." Well, that was because he didn't want to look at Minho and Chan!

Hyunjin snapped his neck towards Jisung as if to ask if it was true but Jisung ignored him. He had to resolve this ridiculous misunderstanding somehow, "Hyung, it's not like that at all! We were just helping each other out." He shot a pleading look at Hyunjin, silently begging him to back him up.

Hyunjin nodded fervently. "Seriously, hyung. We're not dating. We're just friends. Well, sort of," he added, catching Jisung's annoyed glare. Hyunjin was not helping at all. "I don't think friends stare at each other like that." Minho was so firm with his accusation. Almost like he was so sure of it. Chan tried to mediate the situation again, "Min, it looks like they're telling the truth." Minho turned to Chan and scowled, "Are they? because I know Jisung likes someone."

Jisung's heart raced again. How did Minho know about that? He thought he had hidden his unrequited love well enough but apparently not. Minho was right about that. Except, his target of affection was not Hyunjin like he was accused of. Ironically, it was the accuser.

"...and if what they're telling is true then who else would Jisung like? Surely not me as you suggested." Minho had whispered it to Chan but Jisung could hear it well. Looking at Hyunjin, it didn't look like he heard as he was still staring at them with a confused face. He felt his blood draining out from his face. Jisung was about to die if someone didn't get him out of this situation. It was dangerously nearing the truth.

The reason why Minho was so mad was because Chan had suspicion that Jisung liked Minho. Minho was trying to prove him wrong. He was mad because he was uncomfortable with Jisung liking him, wasn't he? "Minho-" Before Chan could finish his words, Jisung said something overlapping his. "We are."

The air was sucked out of the moment. Minho, Chan, and even Hyunjin stared at Jisung in shock. "Really?" Minho's voice was barely a whisper. Even though he was the one who first accused them, Minho was also shocked.

Jisung's heart pounded in his chest; he didn't even know why he said that. It was supposed to be a joke to deflect Minho's accusation, but now the words hung heavily in the air. Hyunjin recovered first, laughing nervously. "Yeah, right. We're dating. Very funny, Jisung." He nudged Jisung, trying to get him to play along. But Jisung's serious expression didn't change. "Jisung?" he asked, his voice tinged with confusion.

Jisung took a deep breath. If he was going to get out of this, he needed to commit. He grabbed Hyunjin's hand and squeezed it, looking up at Minho with as much sincerity as he could gather. "We've been dating for a few weeks now. We didn't know how to tell you guys."

When Hyunjin tried to interject him, he squeezed the taller one's hand harder. "There's no need to cover it up anymore, Hyunjin. I told you Minho hyung won't mock us." Oh, he could look from the way Hyunjin was glaring down at him, he was mad. Really mad but touché, douchebag. He was also mad when Hyunjin dragged him to the stage. Hyunjin seemed to forget that fact. He will remind him of it later. He pulled Hyunjin's hand and excused himself from the couple. "I need to talk to him for a second."Jisung didn't wait for a response before dragging Hyunjin away from the prying eyes of Minho and Chan. They rounded a corner, and Jisung finally let go of Hyunjin's hand, his chest heaving.

Hyunjin crossed his arms, he was feeling both anger and bewilderment. "What the hell was that? Dating? Really?" Jisung ran a hand through his hair, trying to steady his breathing. "I'm sorry, okay? I panicked. Minho was pushing, and I had to say something to throw him off."

"By agreeing with him that we're dating? Do you know how insane that sounds?" Hyunjin snapped. "I know, I know! But it worked, didn't it? He backed off."

He really shouldn't be doing this but the situation escalated way too quickly and he couldn't think of anything right of the bet other than this. "Didn't you say you will agree to anything as long as I don't make you my slave or make you shout something in a crowded place?" If Hyunjin had any fight left in him, he threw it all away because a promise is a promise. "You owe me one." Jisung leaned against the wall, pointing at the laptop as the weight of the situation crashed down on him.

Hyunjin also calmed down. He didn't want to end up in a brawl in the mall here with Jisung. He thought about it for a few minutes, maybe three. Rubbing his face with his palm, Jisung turned to Hyunjin, "Can you just pretend to be my boyfriend?"

"Are you crazy? I know we pretended for a while on the stage just now but that was for like 20 minutes?! If I agree to this, I have to pretend around Minho and Chan hyung all the time and I don't want to be your boyfriend!" Jisung held one hand in the air and corrected Hyunjin, "Fake. Get your facts right. I asked you to be my fake boyfriend and not all the time! We can pretend to date for a while and plan a break up later. Say we argue too much or something. You can even tell them I'm the jerk. You said it yourself, you will do everything because you owe me."

He eyed the laptop Hyunjin was holding. Jisung took a deep breath. This was it. He had to convince Hyunjin. "Listen, Hyunjin, I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out."

Hyunjin raised an eyebrow, sceptical.

"I know it sounds bad, but it's just a harmless lie. I have my own reason even if you're not interested in it because for obvious reasons, you don't like me but I know you care for those two. Do you know why they rarely talk about each other or post anything after they dated? It's because they feel guilty about me third-wheeling them. No matter how much I say I'm fine, they won't believe me. So, can you do this for them and not for me? No one gets hurt, and I won't hold onto that 'you owe me one' thing."

Hyunjin frowned, looking conflicted. "And what about Minho? He'll see right through it."

Jisung bit his lip, unsure how to counter that. "Maybe. But if we play it right, we can fool him. We just need to act natural, like it's the most obvious thing in the world."

Hyunjin sighed, running a hand through his hair. "This is crazy, Jisung. Completely insane."

Jisung nodded, feeling the weight of Hyunjin's words. "I know. But we've done crazy things before and pulled them off. Remember when we convinced everyone there was a ghost in the library? This is just another challenge."

Hyunjin's eyes softened at the memory, a small smile tugging at his lips. "I didn't want to be involved in that. You and Felix were the main instigator."

"So?"

"Fine, for how long?"

"How long will it take you to collect money to afford this?" He pointed at the laptop. Hyunjin glanced down at the new laptop in his hands. "That could take months. I don't know, maybe four to five months.," he muttered, counting with his fingers. He looked back at Jisung, a mix of resignation and determination in his gaze. "You're really serious about this, huh?"

Jisung nodded, his expression firm. "As serious as I can be. I need you to play along, Hyunjin. We'll fake dates for 4 months max." Hyunjin let out a long sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. "Alright, fine. I'm doing this for them and I also don't want to owe you anything but I have a question."

"Shoot away."
"Does that 4 months include the break?" It was something to consider. In December, the fall semester will end and they will only return in March. If they 'break up' during that break, Hyunjin didn't think it would be a problem for him. Jisung pondered Hyunjin's question for a moment. "Let's say we break up during the break. That way, we won't have to keep up the act while we're away from the university. It'll be easier for both of us." He glanced back toward where Minho and Chan were still watching them. "We need to make this convincing, though. If Minho or Chan suspect anything, it'll all fall apart."

They rejoined Minho and Chan, who were still standing where they left them, looking puzzled. "Is everything okay?" Chan asked, eyeing the two. Jisung hummed, he stared at the couple apologetically. "Yeah, uh. Sorry about that."

"You're really dating?" Minho asked once again but this time with a softer voice. As if afraid he would make Jisung and Hyunjin cower again. "Yeah, for three weeks now." Minho turned to Hyunjin, "Were you afraid we would mock you guys?" Hyunjin cleared his throat and nodded. He gestured towards himself and Jisung, "Isn't it weird that we're dating? We're always fighting and stuff. I thought people that know us would not be alright with it."

Chan raised an eyebrow at Hyunjin's explanation. "Well, sure. You guys are always arguing with each other but everyone had been waiting for the day that you two would get along. This isn't exactly what we were expecting. But if you're happy, then we're happy for you." His tone was genuinely supportive, and Minho, still looking a bit unsure, nodded in agreement.

Minho glanced between Jisung and Hyunjin. "Nobody should have a say on your relationship, Hyunjin. Jisung, you too. It's not a sin to like someone. I'm happy for both of you." Good for this couple to be happy because Jisung wasn't the slightest happy with what he just got himself into. Hyunjin was putting on a restrained smile. Seeing that, he stepped on Hyunjin's feet. A small yelp escaped his mouth, "Ah, Hyunjin must be so emotional that he cried out." Jisung said, his eyes narrowed dangerously at Hyunjin.

"Right,I'm so grateful." Jisung didn't know what was going on in Hyunjin's brain. However, from the way he was grimacing, Jisung had an idea that Hyunjin must be thinking that he had signed up a deal with a devil.

₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊

What do you guys think of this chapter? I'm not really fond of it but I revised it a lot. 

This is random but actually I'm a Minsung shipper but I seem to only have the capability to write a Hyunsung fic for whatever reason. Do tell me if you want a Minsung fic though. I will try to come up with something although I will not promise anything because I know I have the tendency to not own up to my words. 

Oh, yeah. As for updates. I really don't have a certain schedule for when I do updates because I suck at time management and my brain is getting slower. I could write a lot back then but it takes times now for me to write. I guess it's hard for me to get back to my original pace with how unproductive I had been for two years. I'll just try to update as often as I could. Maybe 2 updates in a week? (AGAIN, NO PROMISES! let's just see how productive I can be while I'm on my break.)

Anyways, I hope you have a wonderful day and that you enjoyed this! Do drop comments and vote this if you love the chapter. - Hunny