Hate To Date You ➤ Jake

|| The Worst Possible Outcome

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Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now -

. °⋆𖥔 "Two lovers entwined pass me by
And heaven knows I'm miserable now" ˖๋ ࣭ ✩

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The gym hallway buzzed with anticipation. My pulse pounded in my ears as Jungwon rattled the bowl of names like a game show host, stretching out the moment just to torture me.

I stood there, hands clenched into fists, sending every desperate prayer into the universe.

Please, let it be anyone else. Literally anyone but me.

Jungwon finally reached into the bowl, stirring the slips of paper with unnecessary flair. The group leaned in, tension crackling in the air. Finally, he pulled one out, unfolding it with excruciating slowness.

Then, his eyes lit up.

"The first victim..." He grinned, pausing for effect.

" Park Sooah."

My heart stopped.

The group erupted into chaos.

Minji let out an ear-piercing squeal and immediately grabbed my arm, nearly shaking me out of my skin. "OH MY GOD."

"No," I muttered, my brain short-circuiting. "No. No, no, no, no, no."

Jungwon ignored me and reached into the bowl again, fishing out the second slip of paper. He took his sweet time unfolding it, dragging out the suspense while I stood there, locked in a state of pure existential dread.

And then—he smirked.

"The lucky guy is..." He paused for dramatic effect, clearly enjoying this way too much.

"Sim Jaeyun."

I blacked out.

Not literally, but I might as well have.

The hallway exploded into noise. Someone whistled. Sunghoon let out an exaggerated gasp. Ni-Ki literally collapsed onto the floor laughing. Meanwhile, I stood frozen, staring at Jungwon like he had just sentenced me to a lifetime of suffering.

"No," I said, shaking my head furiously. "Nope. Absolutely not."

Jungwon only grinned. "Sorry, Sooah. You know the rules. No backing out."

"This is rigged," I accused, pointing a shaking finger at him. "You planned this, didn't you?"

Minji clutched my sleeve, her entire body shaking with suppressed laughter. "Sooah, I think I'm actually crying. This is the funniest thing I've ever witnessed."

"I hate all of you," I declared.

Across the hallway, Jake leaned lazily against the lockers, arms crossed, watching my reaction with far too much amusement. His uniform jacket was slung over his shoulder, tie loose around his neck—effortlessly cool as always. And, of course, his signature cocky smirk was in full effect.

"Don't look so excited, Sooah," he drawled. "You're making me blush."

I turned my glare on him, wishing I had laser vision. "I'd rather get hit by a bus."

Sunoo snickered. "Ooooh, this is gonna be fun."

"You mean fun for all of you," I snapped. "Because I'm suffering."

Jungwon clapped his hands again, bringing back order. "Alright, lovebirds. The challenge starts tomorrow. You have exactly one month to convince everyone you're madly in love." He grinned like the devil himself. "Good luck."

I turned to Minji, eyes wild. "What do I do?"

Minji wiped away fake tears. "You suffer."

Jake straightened up and strolled over, stopping way too close for my liking. He was taller than me, so I had to tilt my head up to glare at him, which only made his grin widen.

"This could be fun," he mused.

"For you," I shot back. "Not for me."

Jake hummed thoughtfully, tapping his chin. "Think about it, Sooah. We get to spend time together. Hold hands. Act all lovey-dovey."

I gagged. "I'd rather die."

"Now, now," he teased, leaning in slightly. "That's no way to talk to your boyfriend."

I recoiled so fast I nearly tripped. "NOPE."

The group erupted into laughter again. Sunghoon wiped tears from his eyes. "I can't believe this is real. Jungwon, you are a genius."

Jungwon gave a dramatic bow. "I try."

I turned to my so-called best friend. "Minji. Help me."

Minji, the traitor, was too busy giggling. "I mean... you did say you wanted a distraction this year."

I gaped at her. "Yeah, like a new hobby! Not a fake relationship with my worst enemy!"

Jake placed a hand over his heart in mock offense. "Enemy? That hurts, babe."

"Don't call me that."

Jake only smirked.

I groaned, rubbing my temples. "There has to be a way out of this."

Jungwon gave me a deadpan look. "There is."

I perked up. "Really?"

"Yeah. You can back out." He smiled sweetly. "But then you'll have to do the loser's dare."

I froze.

The loser's dare.

Last year, the loser had to wear a bright pink chicken costume to school for an entire day and dance in front of the cafeteria. The year before that? The loser had to stand on a cafeteria table and confess their undying love to our school's gym teacher.

This year's dare hadn't been announced yet. But knowing my friends, it would be soul-crushing.

Minji saw the realization dawn on my face and smirked. "Oh, right. I forgot about the dare."

"You did not forget," I gritted out.

She shrugged. "Well, I guess you're stuck with Jake for a month."

Jake slung an arm around my shoulders. "Looking forward to it, sweetheart."

I immediately shoved him off. "Touch me again, and I'll rip your arm off."

Jake just laughed.

I exhaled sharply, already mentally preparing myself for the month of suffering ahead.

Fake dating Sim Jaeyun.

I was doomed.

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A/N:  OOOOO sillybillys i went to a cas concert. i don't think i've ever wanted to do something more than go back. kay kay bye sillybillyssss