Jimin stared fixedly at Taehyung, drunk on the joyous feeling of seemingly having been confessed to, unable to believe his own ears.
He really wanted to ask if Taehyung was serious, but his rationality reminded him not to forget that the other was a straight male, and if he slipped up, there will be irreversible consequences...... Even if the other's tone didn't sound like he was making a joke.
Perhaps because he stayed silent for too long, Taehyung began to explain: "Senior Jin did tell us before that whether we find a girlfriend or not, people will still suspect our relationship, so why don't we make the lie real......"
"Make the..." Jimin couldn't resist interrupting, stunned, "...lie real?"
A
"What I mean is, since neither of us want to find a girlfriend in college, we can tell everyone else that we're together and use each other as a shield... But only we know that it's fake." Taehyung carefully observed Jimin's expressions as he elaborated earnestly yet apprehensively, afraid of saying something wrong and making Jimin mad.
"Of course, you're getting the short end of the stick. After all, even if you don't want to find a girlfriend, you don't have to choose me." Taehyung paused. Some of his weariness from earlier returned, making him seem helpless and distressed. "But for me, it's different. I've already told Jisoo that I'm dating you, and although I don't know if she's given up yet, but either way, I needed to give you this heads up in case she does anything even more extreme......"
Jimin nodded to show he understood. After hearing this, he also slowly calmed down and realized Taehyung's intentions.
Taehyung wanted to use him as a shield to conveniently repel unwanted suitors; just like what KiBum said earlier, find an official girlfriend to put an end to potential troubles.
It's just that Taehyung couldn't find a girl at present, and thus came to ask him for help.
......Of course. Taehyung's "confession" held a different aim.
Jimin rejoiced that he didn't act on impulse and say something he shouldn't have earlier.
Seeing Jimin nod, Taehyung continued, " I know this might make things difficult for you, but this was the most suitable plan I could think of......"
Jimin heard "most suitable" and asked uncertainly, "You wouldn't mind being mistaken as gay?"
Taehyung replied indifferently, "I don't care."
Jimin's eyes bulged: Never expected you would be this kind of...straight guy!
Taehyung honestly didn't care, but he was afraid that Jimin would. Despite knowing that the other was quite tolerant, Taehyung was still afraid of being scorned/rejected. Thus, he added, "If you agree to play along with me and act as my fake boyfriend, then I'll owe you a big favor. In the future, no matter what you need help with, I'll definitely use all my power to fulfill your wish."
Jimin: "......"
Although this was different from what he originally wanted, but being a fake boyfriend wasn't disadvantageous to him. Actually, it could be considered "more than he wished".
And Taehyung, afraid of him refusing, had even anxiously offered a "compensation"...... Gods above, Jimin was so close to throwing his head back and laughing in glee!
For a split second, he almost wanted to confess to Taehyung that he was gay!
But if he did, then all of his previous fake acting would be exposed, and he might even come off as having used the rumors to take advantage of Taehyung. Therefore, he immediately discarded that thought, deciding to continue his straight guy act until the very end.
Thus, he couldn't agree too quickly.
In order to fully portray a straight male's hesitation and reluctance, Jimin forcefully repressed his excitement and feigned reservation: "Let me think about it."
After this convo, they didn't stay at Loverbirds Lake for much longer and went back to the dorm.
That night, neither Jimin nor Taehyung slept well.
Jimin was very excited, rolling around on the bed while digesting Taehyung's proposition, feeling that he really lucked out. He couldn't wait for tomorrow so he could find an appropriate time and tell Taehyung that he agreed.
On the other hand, Taehyung was very nervous. He heard the soft rustling coming from the adjacent bed and knew that Jimin was still awake. His heart thumped again and again as he tried to recall if any of the things he said might have revealed his true, ignoble aims.
Thus, the two of them suffered in their own ways through the night, and when they woke up the next morning, they both saw the other's panda eyes.
Jimin looked at Taehyung and the joy he repressed for an entire night bubbled up, causing him to let out a short laugh.
Taehyung: "......"
Jimin: "......"
Seeing Jimin laugh, a light flashed across Taehyung's eyes— Does this mean that the other agreed?
Jimin immediately schooled his expression and climbed down from the bed first.
Taehyung followed and they both walked into the bathroom one after another. Jimin scooted over to give Taehyung some space.
As they both brushed their teeth, Jimin stared straight at the mirror while Taehyung kept glancing at him. Spitting out the foam in his mouth, he asked, "Why do you keep looking at me?"
Taehyung: "What were you laughing about earlier?"
Jimin: "I just felt......a bit awkward."
Taehyung: "Awkward in what way?"
"Just, that, fake boyfriend thing......" And then, Jimin couldn't resist smiling again.
He really wanted to slap himself. What's with this, he couldn't even control his facial muscles anymore. Where did his usual deadpan go? This was unacceptable!
But soon, he no longer cared about this because an extremely brilliant smile bloomed across Taehyung's face: "Does that mean you're agreeing?"
Jimin blinked and pretended to give a grudging smile: "What else can I do?"
That's right, whether or not he liked Taehyung, he was the other's friend right now. Taehyung had genuinely requested for his help, and it's not like he could find a reason to refuse.
But to the Taehyung whose head was entirely filled with romance, Jimin's reply sounded more like a very spoiled and indulgent, "What am I going to do with you, neh~", making him so happy that he might as well have glowed!
Embarrassed, Jimin quickly washed his face, and just as he was about to put away his towel, Taehyung grabbed his hand.
Smiling at him, Taehyung softly said, "Let me," and then personally hung up Jimin's towel for him......
Coincidentally, KiBum, who had just gotten up, witnessed this entire scene.
After seeing Taehyung and Jimin leave the room together, he cried out in alarm towards Sung Hoon's bed, "Hoon Bro Hoon Bro! Hoo—"
"......Fuck!" Sung Hoon blinked his weary eyes to look at the time: 7:15am.
Last night, he stayed up until one writing a report. Classes start at 8 this morning, so he originally wanted to sleep an extra 10 minutes and had set his alarm for 7:30, but now, he was actually woken up 5 minutes earlier than usual!
Sung Hoon angrily sat up and roared, "The hell you yelling about! What is it?"
...If KiBum doesn't give him a proper excuse, he'll kill that punk if it's the last thing he does!
KiBum had been caught up in the shock and wanted to gossip, but hearing Sung Hoon's tone, shrunk back. Thinking that jumping to such a far-fetched conclusion about his roommates was too hasty, he rubbed his chin and meekly replied, "...It's nothing."
Sung Hoon's raging snarl boomed out from room 412: "...Lee! Ki! Bum!"
Jimin already felt that Taehyung's actions were a bit off back at the dorm, and now that they reached the cafeteria, that feeling became even stronger.
Taehyung insisted on paying for him, and although it was just a ₩5-6 breakfast, but the smooth way he pulled out his card and said, "Let me," was a mirror copy of earlier in the bathroom, using a tone so gentle he was practically radiating holy light......
And when they sat down across from each other to eat, Taehyung kept looking at him.
Breaking out in goose bumps, Jimin couldn't resist and asked, "Uh, can you not to look at me like that?"
Taehyung: "How am I looking at you?"
Jimin: "......" Alright, perhaps it's just his misconception? Because he's gay, thus he's seeing things through a gay lens?
After finally getting through their morning classes and eating lunch, the two of them found an empty classroom.
Jimin: "Let's discuss what we need to pay attention to as fake boyfriends and how far we should take the act... I think, other than if we meet someone like Catherine again, we should behave as we usually do."
Taehyung nodded. Even real gay couples wouldn't act too obvious about it, and sometimes people couldn't even tell that they were dating.
Jimin's suggestion made sense so Taehyung didn't oppose. But after thinking a bit, he then suggested, "However, in order to make it seem more natural and real when the time arises, shouldn't we do some couple practice?"
"Uh...... What kind of practice?" Jimin's heart started to wildly beat.
"Things that normal couples do." Taehyung thought for a bit. "Like, going on dates, hugging, kissing... Stuff like that?"
"......" Ki-kissing!!?? Jimin's heartbeat instantly jumped to 180 bpm!
After saying that, Taehyung also felt it was somewhat inappropriate and added, "These are just random suggestions. If you think that's going overboard, we don't have to do it."
Jimin: "......"
Taehyung: "But if we don't get used to this quickly and meet a troublesome girl who won't believe that we're gay unless we kiss in front of her, then at that time, if we don't act convincingly...things will get more awkward."
Jimin nodded to show he understood: "Ah."
......What else could he say?
Taehyung looked at him somewhat embarrassed, and as if aware that this request might be too much, appeased, "Of course, we don't have to go that far immediately. I don't want to gross you out...... How we are currently is already quite good."
Jimin: "......"
He really felt like his heart was on the verge of collapsing!
Taking in a deep breath, he took out a notebook and pen, then said with knit brows, "Ok, let's write down the terms. What we need to get used to doing, what we shouldn't do, we should write everything down."
Taehyung looked at Jimin as the other solemnly and earnestly wrote down the words: "The Code of Conduct for Being the Campus Idol's Fake Boyfriend", and with a shrug, chuckled, "Aren't you...taking this a bit too seriously?"
—
[A small interlude]
Taehyung: "Be my boyfriend."
Jimin: "......" Holy fuck! For real? No, it can't be. Isn't Taehyung straight? But his tone sounds dead serious, so maybe I can raise my expectations...and hope that he's for real!
Taehyung (nervous): Ah, why isn't Minnie saying anything? Don't tell me he doesn't want to? That's right, he's straight, so he definitely wouldn't want to...... I probably scared him off asldjf;oidkj...
Taehyung: "What I mean is, let's make the lie real. When I need the help, cooperate with me and pretend to be my boyfriend."
Jimin: "......Oh."
[System]: Player Taehyung lost (1) chance to attack.
Taehyung: "???"
—
Taehyung: "Like, going on dates, hugging, kissing......"
Jimin: "???"
Taehyung: "If you think that's going overboard, we don't have to kiss."
Jimin: "......" No no no, I'm definitely willing!
[[Fake dating start~ you can see it now, it goes from hand holding, to hugging, to kissing, to feeling each other up, to totally going all the wa— I mean *cough* (>.>) (<.<) (>.>) (<.<)
...]]