101 Ways to Pretend│Taegyu

Chapter 3

Taehyun walked into the office on a Monday morning, hand tightly wrapped around his briefcase, rage hanging over his shoulders and dripping all over the tiles of the company building.

He sat down at his desk, slamming his briefcase down onto the table with a loud thump in the process. Several heads turned his way, with a few weird looks and hushed whispers accompanying them, but Taehyun could not care less about what other people thought of him at the moment.

He had almost been mobbed by reporters on his way to work, endless clicking and baseless chatter blocking his vision, along with an insane amount of audio recorders shoved in his face. It had gotten so bad to the point where security guards had to clear his way for him, and it was his first time encountering such an experience since he was only a news anchor after all. Why did everyone care so much about a news anchor anyways? Oh right. Choi Beomgyu.

"So... you and The Choi Beomgyu huh? Never took you for a romantic," his intern, Kai, popped up from the divider next to him. Hearing the name itself made Taehyun fume, and thinking about the actor made his blood boil.

They were the same age, but in situations like these Taehyun really wished Kai was younger than him.

"We. Are. Not. Dating." Taehyun emphasised each syllable as if it would make the fact any more real than it already was. Kai raised his eyebrows unimpressed, and opened his mouth to continue. Taehyun clenched his fists.

"The whole nation's obsessing over it y'know? The public's reaction is surprisingly way better than we thought it would be- in fact, we got some fan mail this morning," Kai lifted up what seemed to be an array of bright pink gift hampers, teddy bears and letters, before dumping it all on Taehyun's desk without a second thought. He smiled at the clearly distressed anchor, before sitting back down to continue playing games on his work laptop.

Two identical teddy bears caught his eye, and Taehyun grimaced at the fact that their faces were printed onto the bears. This was a slight bit too far wasn't it? Besides the bears laid a note, which read:

Wishing you a long-lasting relationship! Stay in love ^-^

Taehyun visibly gagged at the bright pink piece of paper, before tearing it up and throwing it into the trash.

He had to do something about this.

--

Unknown Number

We need to talk. - Taehyun

Beomgyu would be lying if he said the message on his phone screen wasn't the slightest bit daunting. In all honesty, he kind of feared Taehyun- the other would most definitely beat him in a fight, whether it was physical or verbal. And he definitely didn't want to cross him more than he already did.

He had to say though, the anchor was kind of hot. And that he maybe wouldn't mind dating him. And maybe that he slightly wanted to date him for real.

He didn't know how he was going to explain himself to Taehyun, or how he was going to prepare himself for the other's reaction- all he could do is hope that there would be some miracle bestowed upon him so that Taehyun would actually agree to his ridiculous plans when they actually met.

He pulled into the basement car park, immediately spotting Taehyun's ominously tinted black Range Rover and parking next to it. His car choice was quite dull, Beomgyu thought, though it wasn't surprising considering his personality. He had expected nothing more from such a 'cold' man.

Well then, it was time he met the man he was supposed to be dating.

--

Taehyun wanted to meet Beomgyu in a car park instead of a public space in order to stay hidden from the reporters that somehow lurked everywhere. What he did not expect, however, was for Beomgyu to pull up in the most obnoxiously red sports car to exist.

So much for staying discreet, huh?