♫ : style - taylor swift

You didn't think one slip-up would cause a goddamn wildfire.

But apparently, trusting both your ex-best friend and your ex-boyfriend with one lie, one tiny on-the-spot life-saving lie, was the biggest mistake of your summer.

Because now everyone knows.

That you're dating Jake.

Not just "talking" or "seeing each other" or "hanging out again after years" but full-blown, kissing-under-streetlamps, riding-on-the-back-of-his-bike, Jake-Sim-is-my-boyfriend dating.

And Heeseung knows.

Yes. Lee fucking Heeseung. Your older brother.

You knew something was off when he called earlier in the day while you were at the convenience store, his voice way too calm for a man who just found out his baby sister was dating his childhood best friend.

"Come to the porch," he said.

That should've been your first red flag.

You found Jake already sitting on the porch swing and Heeseung standing near the railing, arms crossed, face blank.

"I'm only gonna ask this once," he said slowly. "How long?"

Jake blinked. "How long... what?"

Heeseung's jaw tightened. "How long have you two been dating?"

And that's when the absolute novel began.

You don't know which of you started it, but the next ten minutes turned into the most detailed performance of your entire life.

You said you kept in touch after he moved away. That you used to message sometimes. That one time, four months ago, you even had a late-night call that lasted five hours.

Jake picked it up from there, saying he messaged you on your birthday last year and that's when things really changed. He said he visited once for a weekend and you added that you got coffee and sat at the café and just talked.

Heeseung looked like he was going to throw up.

But you kept going.

You didn't stop. You told him Jake confessed first. Jake said you kissed him first. You argued. You laughed. You agreed it didn't matter.

By the end of it, Jake was holding your hand, Heeseung looked genuinely freaked out, and the lie had turned into a goddamn movie plot.

"I mean," Heeseung finally muttered. "I'm not... mad, or anything. I'm just... surprised."

"You don't believe us," Jake said.

"No, I-I do. I mean, you guys made it sound like..." He paused. "Well, like a real thing."

Heeseung seemed convinced. Or at least, he didn't press further. And that stupid, detailed, novel-length story started making its rounds like wildfire.

Apparently, Heeseung told the pretty ice cream shop worker he was seeing, who told her co-workers, who told their customers, who told their friends, and now the entire town knew about the fake, slow-burn, star-crossed romance of Jake Sim and You.

And two hours later, your old friend, Mina texted you:

minanana: [heard about you and Jake 👀]

minanana: [finallyyyyy]
minanana: [so cute!]

Then Ryan, some random guy from your high school's soccer team.

ryan: [wait this true?? bro you and jake??]
ryan: [I KNEW IT]

Apparently, your story had made its way across town. Told, re-told, probably exaggerated in all the worst ways. "They've been dating in secret for years." "They're childhood soulmates." "He wrote her love letters when they were nine."

What the hell is happening.

Eventually, you had to sit down with Jake on a park bench, both of you holding ice cream and staring into the chaos of your own making.

"This is insane," you said.

Jake nodded solemnly. "It's like we wrote a fanfic and now we're stuck living in it."

"I hate you."

"You don't. You fake-confessed to me, remember?"

You threw a straw wrapper at his head. He caught it with a grin.

Then he added, "I think we need to do some of it. For real."

You blinked. "What?"

"All that stuff we said. All the activities. The dates. The little things we 'remember', like that picnic in the park? Or that time we cooked together and burned the rice? People ask for details. If we don't do it, we're gonna slip up and look like liars."

You gave him a flat look. "So you want us to go on fake dates to make our fake relationship look more real."

He shrugged. "Exactly."

You groaned. "This is so messed up."

But of course, you ended up doing it. Because Jake dragged you into it with that stupid logic and that stupid charming smile and the fact that he offered to pay for your ice cream.

So now, you were stuck playing along. You two cooked (he did burn the rice). You went on a picnic (which was ruined by ants). You strolled through the weekend market with him holding a bag of lemons like it was romantic.

And everyone loved it.

Your neighbors said that you balanced each other out perfectly, that he was sunshine and you were quiet calm. Your old classmates gushed over how "opposites attract" and how they always hoped you two would end up together.

People waved at you like you were a celebrity couple. You once overheard someone say, "It's like watching a romance novel in real life."

And then Mina begged you both to come to her birthday dinner and Ryan said that he wanted to see "the way Jake looks at you in person." And even your mom? Your mom said she was "happy you finally told her" and that "she always knew Jake would be the one."

You were screwed.

Now you couldn't back out without looking like a liar, without breaking people's trust, and without looking pathetic in front of Kyle and Eva.