faking you │ B.I.

► 15

I close my eyes and continue to try to get away, while he glares at me. I keep my eyes closed so that I don't have to see him and say, "Jooheon and I are dating, what do you expect?"

I hear him chuckle. "Okay, fine. Since you don't care, how about I give you another?" Suddenly, I feel his lips on the other side of my neck. My eyes shoot open, and I gasp as he starts to kiss my skin softly. My stomach twists in knots.

"Hanbin, no, you can't!" I try to push him away with all of my strength. 

Suddenly, I feel the grip on my wrists loosen. His face isn't close to mine anymore. Instead, he just stands in front of me, looking down at my face, seemingly disappointed. He sadly shakes his head. "What will people think if they see that, Soojin? Don't you realize what kind of rumors will go around about us?"

I try to think of something to say, but I can't. I just look up at him sadly, my mouth slightly open. A million words sit on the tip of my tongue, but I can't think of how to phrase any of them together. Instead, the words travel up to my eyes and become tears. They rush all at once and I can't hold all of them back. They start spilling over and suddenly my cheeks are wet. 

Hanbin looks surprised. "Soojin? Why are you crying? I didn't mean to make you cry.." He immediately starts trying to wipe my tears away, but I push him back.

Without a warning, there's a bright flash. And then another. And then twenty more follow that. Hanbin and I look up in surprise. At the end of the hall are a slew of paparazzi, taking photos of us. They rush towards us, questions already being thrown at us. I immediately look away and try to look for an exit. 

"Min Soojin, are those tears?"

"Were you two having a fight?"

"Did Hanbin cheat?"

"Did Soojin cheat?"

"Why was Soojin rumored to have been in the hospital? Is she pregnant?"

"Are you still a couple?"

"Enough!" Hanbin shouts, exasperated. "Stop following us!"

He grips my hand and starts pulling me back down the hall. The paparazzi clear a path for us, but they still follow us with questions. They surround us, keeping us from leaving. Fortunately, a few of the restaurant staff come to our rescue and push the paparazzi away from us. The manager helps us to the door so that we're not blocked again. 

We thank the manager and he smiles in recognition, before going back to the paparazzi. "Leave my restaurant or I will call the police!"

Hanbin and I rush to his car so that the paparazzi can't catch up to us. Once we're both in the car, Hanbin speeds down the street, away from the restaurant. I grip onto my seat. "Hanbin, slow down! And did you pay for the meal?"

He nods but doesn't slow down. "Yes, I paid before I talked to you."

"Oh, okay. Well, can you at least slow down now?" I try asking again.

He sighs and rolls his eyes. I notice the car start to gradually slow down. Hanbin huffs in his seat. I bite my lip and look out the window. I think back to the scene in the restaurant, about Hanbin's hands gripping my wrists. I think about the hickey on my neck and the flashing cameras.

Once we reach my apartment's parking garage, I hesitate for a moment. Hanbin sits back in his seat, zoned out. I decide it would be better if I just left, so I reach for the door handle. As I do, Hanbin suddenly snaps out of his trance and lightly grabs my arm, pulling me back for a second.

"Soojin, wait. I really didn't mean to hurt you today. I'm sorry."

I turn back to look at him. For the first time since our fake relationship began, Hanbin looks more genuine than I've ever seen him. I sigh and look back at the apartment building. I think about the night once more. Then, I look back at him and give him a small smile. 

"How about you come inside for a drink?"

He looks at me confused for a moment, but nods. "Sure, I could go for a drink."

Hanbin turns the car off and gets out, with me following. We walk towards the entrance to my building, Hanbin staying at least three feet away from me. I sigh quietly, thinking about the events of the night. He seems lost in thought as well as we make our way toward the elevator. Even in the elevator, Hanbin stays on the other side, as far away from me as possible. 

Once we reach my apartment, Hanbin hesitantly enters and looks around. "You know, I've never really checked out your apartment. It's really...hipster-like."

I raise an eyebrow and laugh. "Hipster-like? How so?"

"You have paintings and plants everywhere. It just looks really peaceful and laid-back in here." He sits on a bar stool, leaning onto the counter. 

I smile and look through my cabinets for tequila. "Do you want any mixer to go with this or do you want to drink it pure?"

He thinks for a moment. "Do you have orange juice?"

I go over to my fridge and start looking through the food, finding a carton of orange juice towards the back. I pull it out and take it over to the counter that he's leaning on, along with the tequila. Then, I go back to the cabinets and grab two small glasses, setting them down on the counter as well. Hanbin pours two shots of tequila in each glass before adding the orange juice. 

I raise an eyebrow. "Will we be able to handle these shots or will we be drunk like last time?"

He chuckles. "I wasn't drunk. You were. And yes, we should be able to handle these. At least I can. Two shots will get me tipsy. Five shots and I'll be feeling it. I can handle my liquor."

I roll my eyes and start drinking the mixture. The tequila is hardly noticeable from the orange juice. Within a few minutes, I've downed the whole glass. Although it was small, it still seemed like I drank a lot. Hanbin looks down at my glass and then back up at my face, raising an eyebrow. "Well, you'll definitely be feeling it."

I pour myself more to drink. Hanbin finishes his first glass after a minute and pours himself some more as well. We go through a few more glasses before I'm slurring every word. Hanbin hysterically laughs, falling off of his bar stool. I laugh as well, trying to stand up. I stumble and fall onto my carpet, right next to Hanbin. We lie on the ground for a second, laughing hard for absolutely no reason.

"Soojin, hey, Soojin!" He taps my arm. 

"Yeah, lover?"

He laughs again. "I want to say, you are the coolest person to hang out with. You're funny and kind and I love you a lot."

I burst out laughing again at his words. "Wow, thanks. I love you a lot, too, you're the best fake husband."

He sits up, pouting. "Husband? I didn't sign up for marriage!" He draws out the last word. "I'm a free man, baby!"

I sit up as well, my head heavy from the alcohol. I sluggishly hit him in the shoulder. "No, no, we are! We're fake married! You're my fake husband! Oh my God, what if we told everyone we were married? Wait, what if they know already?"

"What! They can't know!" Hanbin gasps and places his hands on both of his cheeks. "Wow, I'm so hot."

I wink and whistle a little. "Yes, you are."

Hanbin smiles and pretends to be shy. "Oh my God, Soojin, you can't just tell me things like that. It embarrasses me."

We stumble around my apartment a bit, trying to make our way over to the couch. Instead, we make our way to my bedroom. Hanbin runs and jumps onto my bed. I pout and cross my arms. "Hey, that's my bed!" 

He pats the space next to him. "It still is. Let's go to bed, I'm tired." He whines, emphasizing 'tired.'

I shrug and walk over to the bed, lying down as well. Hanbin turns off the lights before returning to the space next to me. After a few moments of silence, I whisper, "Goodnight, husband."

He replies back a moment later, "Goodnight, fake lover." Then, we both pass out, exhausted from the day.