Rental Boyfriend ; Meanie

Chapter 2

"Y-yeah, I mean, no. I don't mind," Wonwoo stutters.

Can you take off your shirt?

Wonwoo stares at the words, the meaning barely registering in his mind. He's suddenly aware that there's another person on the other side of the camera, watching him gawk at the instructions. Soonyoung's words resonate in his mind. It could be anyone .

He's come so far already, there's no point in shying away now. Wonwoo has already sacrificed his dignity for the sake of quick cash, so he might as well go all the way.

Wonwoo maintains eye contact with the camera as he unfastens his buttons and slips the shirt off his shoulders. He's completely unaware of how seductive he looks, which is why the next message catches him by surprise.

Stunning. Thank you.

His pulse is racing, his imagination running wild with what he might be asked to do next. But to Wonwoo's faint disappointment, the next message that pops up just says, That is all for today. I will be in touch.

The green light next to Wonwoo's camera turns off, and the video call ends. For a few minutes, Wonwoo just sits there at his desk, reeling from the experience, deconstructing it in his mind. It sounded like the other person wanted to continue their correspondence, but at the same time the messages sounded too polite, detached. He could spend all night turning over the words in his mind, trying to make sense out of the vague messages.

Wonwoo only resurfaces from the depths of over-thinking when he receives an email notification. An unnamed sender transferred fifty dollars to Wonwoo's PayPal account with a message that reads, Thank you for your time today. Enjoy your tip .

"A fifty dollar tip?!" Soonyoung asks incredulously when Wonwoo recounts the experience to him later. "Who has that kind of money just to hand out?"

"Apparently Min does," Wonwoo says, but the name feels strange on his tongue. Doesn't feel right.

"Okay, there is definitely something weird going on here if you didn't see their face or hear their voice. I don't think this person is named Min. You might want to be careful, if they're being this secretive."

Soonyoung, who is easily the more reckless of the two of them, is suddenly cautious and it's a little alarming to Wonwoo. Maybe Wonwoo should be more suspicious too, but he's in too deep already. He's itching to find out who this person really is.

"Who cares," Wonwoo shrugs. "I've made fifty bucks already, and I haven't used the website for more than a week."

"Yeah okay, what the fuck ?!" Soonyoung says, returning to his usual self. "I can't believe you got paid for sitting there and doing nothing? I could do that! It doesn't matter how tall you are when you're using a shitty webcam!"

They laugh about Soonyoung's indignation before Soonyoung has to leave for a late night lacrosse practice at the rec center. Wonwoo doesn't tell Soonyoung about stripping half-naked in front of an unseen stranger. It's shameful, sordid. He's not afraid of Soonyoung judging him; he's more afraid of Soonyoung worrying about him.

Over the next few days, Wonwoo is too busy to even think about his business as a rental boyfriend. Between classes, homework, and driving to Junhui's house to take care of Minghao, Wonwoo doesn't think to check for any updates from the website until Friday, when his week has finally slowed down. He finds in his inbox a handful of messages and requests from interested clients, but only one truly captures his interest. It's from Min.

I would like to arrange a face-to-face meeting. Please meet me at the bar at 17 Carat on Saturday, 7 pm. I look forward to seeing you soon .