You’re not sure how it happens. One minute you’re standing next to Soobin in the snacks aisle of the convenience store, half-listening as he debates between honey butter chips and shrimp crackers. The next minute, a nosy senior from his department strolls up with a smirk that says he’s ready to make things weird.

“Oh? Didn’t expect to see you here, Soobin,” the guy says, too loud, too curious. “On a date?”

Soobin doesn’t miss a beat. Doesn’t hesitate. Doesn’t even blink.

“Yeah,” he says, slinging an arm over your shoulder casually. “This is my girlfriend.”

Your brain stutters. Wait, what?

The senior raises an eyebrow, clearly surprised. “Really?”

Soobin just smiles, tight and polite. “Really.”

You catch the flicker in his eyes - the quiet plea. He’s not trying to fool anyone to be funny. He’s just… trying to get out of an awkward situation. You know that look. You've seen it when someone corners him after a lecture, trying to get too personal. When he’s too nice to walk away, too polite to tell them off. This is his escape.

So you roll with it.

“Hi,” you say, reaching out to shake the senior’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”

It’s the right move. The guy falters, mutters something about how cute you two are, then eventually wanders off to the drinks cooler.

Only when he’s out of earshot does Soobin exhale and let his arm drop.

“Sorry,” he murmurs. “He’s been asking if I’m single for months now. Not because he’s interested - just because he likes to pry.”

You shrug. “I’ve had worse fake relationships.”

He chuckles at that. “Guess I owe you snacks.”

And that should be it. Just a one-time thing. A silly cover story in a convenience store. But it isn’t.

Because Soobin mentions it again -jokingly, when your friends walk past you two sitting together in the cafeteria and raise their eyebrows. “Don’t look at us like that. We’re dating, remember?”

He says it again when you both show up late to movie night and Yeonjun teases you: “What, did you two walk here holding hands?”

“Of course we did,” Soobin replies, without missing a beat. “We’re committed.”

He says it so often that eventually people start believing it.

And the weirdest part? You start believing it too.

Not because you’re pretending. But because Soobin is easy to fall for.

He remembers your matcha order before you ever say it out loud. He keeps tissues in his bag because you always forget yours. He teases you when you’re grumpy, but never crosses a line. When you have a long day, he notices - and doesn't ask questions. Just hands you your favorite drink and sits beside you in silence until you're ready to talk.

He’s the kind of person who walks on the outside of the sidewalk. The kind who laughs at his own bad jokes, but always makes sure you're laughing too. The kind who listens. Really listens.

And slowly, without meaning to, the “pretend” part starts to feel… blurry.

Then one day, after someone jokes about how long you two have been “together,” you laugh it off like always - but Soobin doesn’t. Not this time. He doesn’t say anything. Just looks at you for a beat too long.

Later that night, when you’re walking home and it’s quiet, he reaches for your hand.

You glance at him, surprised. He squeezes your fingers.

“We’ve been faking it for so long,” he says softly, “I kinda forgot where pretend ended.”

He doesn’t let go.