Let's Play Pretend: Chapter 1
Title: Let's Play Pretend - Chapter 1
Genre: Romance, fluff, slight angst
Pairing: YunJae
Rating: PG-13; (NC-17 overall)
Summary: Jung Yunho finds himself stuck in a fake relationship with another man when he is very much straight and is secretly dating a very famous actress.
The Sourpuss
***
Yunho rolled over his side when an endless buzzing under his pillow jolted him out of unconsciousness. Lazily, he cracked one eye open looking at the blinking digital clock on his bedside table. And upon seeing that it was only 6:30 in the morning, he cursed under his breath while he rubbed his temples with his fingers to ease the throbbing pain in his head.
He was exhausted after 10 straight hours of shooting for a magazine; so whoever interrupted his much needed sleep better have a pretty good darn excuse.
Without checking who was calling, his eyes squinted as he groggily reached for the phone under his fluffy pillow, hissing a slur of words that sounded like ‘what is it'.
“Someone saw us.”
It was a soft, worried voice of a female.
As soon as the information sunk in, his eyes snapped wide-awake in recognition. His brain immediately started to function as it finally started making sense.
“Hold on,” Yunho sat up and immediately reached for his laptop on the other side of his bed. As expected, photos of them together from last week were all over the Internet. He skimmed over the website with a grim expression on his face. They were caught leaving a quaint restaurant with hands held together.
“Shit.” He was pretty sure they were careful and kept their date extremely low profile.
“Yunho, they aren’t happy about this. My manager talked to Mr. Seo,” there was a pause on the other line.
She could not be seen in a date with another guy when she was supposedly dating her co-star as stated during her exclusive interview with a famous magazine.
With her voice trembling a little, she continued.
“They will cut me off the project if this goes on and will try to find another actress who is not currently involved. If… If word gets out that I agreed to this kind of arrangement just to make it big, it’d destroy my image, Yunho.”
As a means to promote an upcoming movie, the big shot producer deemed it was good publicity if both lead stars were to act like they were together. It was a move to catch the attention of the public and build a fan base for the new ‘it’ couple before they launch the project.
Yunho pinched the bridge of his nose; somehow, his headache was getting worse.
He was aware of how much this meant to her… and it scared the crap out of him because he knew that as much as she cared for Yunho, her career was always top priority. But he wasn’t going to entertain the thought that she may even choose fame over his own boyfriend if she were given the choice.
“Don’t worry, I’ll fix this.” He ended the call with a soft I miss you hoping for the same words to be muttered back to him. Instead, “I’ll call you back later” was all he heard before a soft click cut their connection.
He sighed, fingers gripping his hair in frustration.
***
Yunho marched his way to the elevator, stunningly dressed in a business suit. He looked breath-taking but his eyes were that of a zombie, lifeless and zoned out. He just had a talk with his manager, and they both agreed that an interview was needed to clear out the rumor. He declined to hold a press conference, because it was too chaotic and unnecessary. He didn’t want to make it seem bigger than it already was. He thought a private interview was more fitting.
As the elevator chimed announcing its arrival, the metal doors revealed a man around Yunho’s age. He was striking. Sharp nose, expressive eyes and a complexion that was in complete contrast with his jet black hair.
An earphone was attached to his left ear, while the other was left hanging over his shoulder. His humming was cut off when he noticed the man standing at the elevator entrance.
“Aren’t you getting in?” the beautiful man smiled looking pleased while Yunho, was far from feeling the same.
Yunho sighed in exasperation. Out of all the people in this building, it just had to be Kim Jaejoong in the freaking elevator.
‘This day could not get any worse’, he thought.
Yunho went in and kept his distance by standing at the remotest corner. He was determined to ignore the other completely.
Jaejoong and Yunho knew each other since they were kids. They lived in the same neighborhood and attended the same school. However, they did not hang around the same crowd because of one rumor that broke out when they were 16. Apparently, Jaejoong was gay and was crushing on Yunho.
He guessed it was maybe the reason why Jaejoong tried to talk to him before, but never gave the other a chance because his friends always warned him against the other.
Not that he had something against homosexuality; Yunho was just not comfortable and had low tolerance towards stuff involving that. And aside from the fact that he was straighter than a ruler, he thought, it was easier to just stay away from trouble. Coincidentally so, he had a hunch that Kim Jaejoong was one big trouble.
It was after they graduated high school that their paths have finally taken different directions. Yunho went to America while Jaejoong was accepted in one of the prestigious Music schools in Japan.
5 years later, Yunho was then scouted by a modeling agency and became a sought-after model in Korea, while Jaejoong enjoyed the attention of being hailed as among the top music lyricist/composers of his generation.
Surprisingly, by a twist of fate, they met again to the shock of them both.
Yunho was surprised to find Jaejoong living in the same building when he moved in last year. He didn’t actually mind, and was even glad to see a familiar face because he had matured and wanted to let go of his past issues about the guy. But as much as Yunho wanted to be civil about things, Jaejoong was really making it hard for Yunho to like him. Not even a day after Yunho moved in, Jaejoong had been pestering him and drove him crazy every freaking day.
Jaejoong would knock at Yunho’s door early in the morning for a cup of sugar, or ask if Yunho had maybe seen his cat. And it was always when Yunho had a girl over his place that Jaejoong would show up.
There was one time when Jaejoong knocked incessantly that Yunho thought a lunatic was out to get him. Seeing it was just Jaejoong again upon checking the peephole, his stupid self opened for the guy out of courtesy. He had hoped Jaejoong would leave him alone if he noticed that he had a friend over.
To Yunho’s dismay, Jaejoong thought it was necessary to get acquainted with Yunho’s date. He stayed until the wee hours of the night to talk with the girl who looked a bit freaked out and eventually left without even saying goodbye.
What a shame. She was hot.
It continued on during the first few months, and only lessened when Yunho finally snapped at him that one time.
“Stop fucking annoying me!”
“oh…”
He actually felt guilty there, because the look on Jaejoong’s face when he yelled at him made him feel a little sorry.
“…Okay.”
Yunho promised himself to apologize the next day. But Jaejoong proved to make things difficult again as he acted like nothing happened. It was understandable however, that after the incident, he didn’t bother Yunho for a cup of sugar anymore. Or asked him about his cat-whatever its name was. Jaejoong became a little distant but still continued to annoy him nonetheless.
So now you see, he had been avoiding Jaejoong like a plague ever since.
“What are you thinking about?” Jaejoong chirped, raising one hand to remove the earpiece.
Yunho remained silent.
Jaejoong inched closer, but seeing the other still wouldn’t budge, he stood right in front of him.
“I’m not in the mood to talk.”
“Okay, let’s get you in the mood then,” Jaejoong teased.
“Cut it out.” Yunho mumbled, not slightly amused. Not today especially.
“See, you’re talking now,” a soft chuckle resounded from Jaejoong’s lips. He was obviously enjoying every bit of Yunho’s attention-even it was not the good kind.
“Bad day? Want me to kiss it better?”
“No, but punching the wits out of you will surely make me feel better.”
“That’s mean.” Jaejoong whined, but then started to burst out laughing. He was clearly mocking Yunho, which of course infuriated the taller man even more.
“I’m serious, I said stop it.” Yunho snapped, with a look of contempt on his face. He moved to the other side, needing a breath of air in that confined space.
“So,” Jaejoong hummed as he faced Yunho again but thought it was best to remain at the opposite side. “I heard you’re dating an actress. You’re all over the news, you know.”
Yunho stiffened, but he refused to say anything about the issue, especially not to Jaejoong. Instead, he glared at the metal doors cursing at it for being so damn slow.
There was silence.
“Yunho,” his voice was softer this time.
Yunho even turned at the sudden change of atmosphere but the other wasn’t looking at him anymore. His head was slightly bent low, and busy fiddling with his mp3 player.
He then continued to speak, still in a much calmer voice.
“You might want to take the back exit. There’s a bunch of reporters camping outside the building waiting for you.”
Yunho didn’t say anything. Instead, with his brows furrowed, he continued to stare at the side of Jaejoong’s face and studied the contours of it in mild curiosity. It took him a short moment before his mouth started to move as if to say something-like a small thanks maybe, but the tiny shake of the elevator snapped him out of his reverie. He was a little surprised his breath hitched; and that caught the smaller man’s attention.
Jaejoong had let his gaze wander back to Yunho in confusion only to chuckle at the look on the model’s small face.
It was almost comical how Yunho quickly marched out when the elevator finally came to a halt and opened for them. He was determined to get out as quickly as possible, because being stuck in that tiny space with only the two of them was suffocating him.
Jaejoong’s voice, to Yunho’s opinion, was even more annoying than that feminine face of his.
“What a sourpuss,” Jaejoong grumbled.
There was a twinkle dancing in his eyes as they followed Yunho and watched him leave without even saying a word. Happy, yet still looked a little sad.
On the bright side, Yunho said more than two words to him today. And so, putting back the earphones to his ears, he walked out of the elevator with a small grin on his face.
To him, it was more than enough.
- Next [ 02 ]
A/N:
I'm still finalizing the extra characters so I don't have names for them at the moment. Please leave comments and tell me what you think. It'll help me know what to work on the following chapters.