a Nameless Fan @anamelessfan - Tumblr Blog

FREE FALL – eom seonghyeon.

SYNOPSIS. you've vowed to never touch short-track speed skating again after your breakup with canadian skater george shim, but your boss is hellbent on making you cover it for the olympics. in an uncharacteristic outburst at the fourth world tour event, you tell hajun that you're dating someone now so he can get off your back. the first person your eyes land on is eom seonghyeon, the pride and joy of south korea – and george's archnemesis. much to your surprise, seonghyeon goes along with it. but as the olympics inches closer, you think that you might be actually falling in love.

or alternatively, eom seonghyeon is way too good at being your fake boyfriend.

GENRE. fluff, crack, some angst, speed skater! seonghyeon x journalist! fem! reader

WORD COUNT. 20.5k (another long one sry yall)

WARNINGS. swearing, mentions of drinking (reader is hungover), george is a grade A asshole, reader is based/works in in seoul

AUTHOR'S NOTE. if u saw the original NO YOU DIDN'T... icb i missed out a whole section that i had planned but tbf i wrote all of this when i was half asleep LOL. anyways this is a late bday hyeon fic and i wanted to FINALLY write something about skating bcos i am sooo interested in it. i hope u enjoy <3

feedback and reblogs are much appreciated! <3

“ROUGH NIGHT?”

You look up from your desk to see Kyujin, who’s leaning on the side of your office cubicle with a grin on her lips. The lights in the Sports Daily office are way too bright, and Kyujin sounds way too chipper considering that she, too, was wasted at last night’s office party. You groan, shielding your face from her to hide how you feel like absolute shit.

“I don’t know how you’re not dead,” you grumble, your face pressed against your desk. “What’s up…?”

“Well first, I’m going to give you some water, and then some news.” Kyujin says, sliding over a cup of water to you in a mug. It’s some random one that you’re sure the office got as a gift from a sports team — you don’t pay much attention to the logo — and down the water all in one go. “Woah, okay. I was gonna tell you to drink it slowly. How much did you even drink last night?”

“Not much.”

“Oh, so you’re a lightweight.” Kyujin quips, and your eyes snap up to her in a glare, but you’re not actually offended.

“What’s the news, Kyu?” you say, rubbing at your head to try and cure your splitting headache. “Spit it out, please — or I’m just going to sit here and do some work… with my eyes closed and head on the table.”

“Sasha wants to see you in her office. She’s got some big news for you. Seems like something good — she was smiling. Which is, as you know, rare nowadays.” Her voice is a little too chipper for your liking right now, and you groan. You’re starting off the first day of work with a diabolical headache, the urge to puke and a meeting with your boss who had been in a bad mood for the last six months. Just great.

You begrudgingly get up out of your seat. “Cool… thanks for letting me know. I love today.” Kyujin gives you a thumbs up – she’s got far too much energy today for your liking. All you want to do is curl up in your bed and hibernate for the entire day.

“Fighting!” she tells you, pumping her fist in encouragement. You can’t tell if she’s making a joke at how fucked you are or if she’s being genuine about it all. Either way, you’re too hungover to care.

You stumble your way throughout the office, taking a deep breath before knocking on Sasha’s door.

“Come in.” you hear her say, and you walk into her office. You immediately sit down on one of the chairs in front of her desk, clutching onto it for some stability. Sasha eyes you oddly.

“Sorry, just… off balance. New heels.” you lie.

“It’s okay. I know most of the office is hungover after last night’s party.” she says, peering at you through her glasses. She flicks through her notebook, seemingly looking for a specific page.

“Anyways. I was going to tell you that I was really impressed with your coverage of the ice hockey season. Without your work, I’m sure the magazine and our online coverage wouldn’t be nearly as popular as it was,” she says, and you’re stunned. Compliments from Sasha were rare nowadays — the office gossip was that she had some issues in her personal life.

Yunah’s guess was that the Raya dates weren’t necessarily going too well. Kyujin thought it was cheating spouse, but there had never been a ring on her finger. Anton was convinced it was a breakup — specifically, a long-term, long-distance breakup.

You didn’t really care.

“Oh, thank you.” you say.

“I called you in here today because I wanted to give you a promotion to lead editor,” she starts, and you think the words ‘promotion’ instantly cures the hangover. You’re now wide awake, and that violent urge to throw up everywhere is miraculously gone.

“It’s not ice hockey, and it’s a little… short-notice and there’s not as much coverage about it, which may make things slightly difficult. But, it comes with a significant raise, and we’ll be sending you to the Olympics.”

You think you’re dreaming. You’ve been covering ice hockey for a while now, but all you really wanted was the role of lead editor. It was nice to work with Beomgyu to cover the sport, but really – it was time for a change. You don’t think this promotion could get any better.

“We want you to be our lead editor for our coverage of the remainder of the short-track speed skating season this year. Which means you’ll be heading to Dordrecht next week to cover the fourth event of the World Tour.”

Your optimism for the rest of the year immediately dissipates at the sound of ‘short-track speed skating’. Fuck. Not short-track. Anything but that.

“Sorry, what?” you stammer, eyes wide in alarm. Not short-track. And especially not this year, considering the circumstances. You did not want to see George Shim at all.

George Shim. Your ex boyfriend. Also affectionately known by fans as the Prince of Canada. You prefer to call him the Pisstake of Canada, because to you, he was an utter joke. But to everyone else, he was gold medals and glamour, rather than cheating, annoying sleazeball.

You think about George Shim and you immediately want to throw up. Maybe the hangover was suddenly back, you think.

The problem with George was that he was cocky, too good at skating, and he had cheated on you multiple times when you two were together. You had vowed to never touch short-track speed skating ever again after you’d found out, and you also genuinely considered throwing his very expensive skates into the Beaver Lake.

And although you told yourself that you were going to touch short-track again, you knew that George was very much in contention for the Olympic title. It was either going to be him, or Eom Seonghyeon.

You didn’t know Seonghyeon very well, but you wanted him to absolutely destroy George. You think you’ve talked to Seonghyeon once – at Junior Worlds, where he won. You had to secretly congratulate him, because if George found out that you were talking to his archnemesis, you’d never hear the end of it.

“Sasha, I… I couldn’t.”

She takes your words differently.

“You could. Don’t be shocked, you deserve this,” she hums. Your jaw is still slack with shock. “And this more so isn’t an offer, but rather an assignment. Riwoo… let’s just say he wasn’t exactly cut out to be lead editor.”

“You mean I kind of don’t have a choice to say no?” you ask, and Sasha looks at you like you’re insane.

“Well, yes. But why would you want to say no? You’re going to be travelling to the Olympics, there’s a pay raise, and we’re covering your accommodation for it all. The season isn’t particularly intensive, and to my knowledge, you have some experience working in short-track. It seems like a no-brainer for you, to be honest. Were you going to say no?” Her eyes narrow in that scrutinising, judgmental way, and you suddenly feel very nervous under her gaze.

“N-no, I mean… no. I was just more so shocked that I wasn’t given some time to contemplate it, but don’t get me wrong — I am so grateful for the promotion,” you ramble, trying to not seem like you’re unhappy. “It’s just… um…”

“George Shim, the Canadian skater,” Even saying his name leaves a bad taste in your mouth. “He was my ex boyfriend.”

“Was,” Sasha says, placing emphasis on the word. “Past tense. It’s fine. And to be completely honest, you’re the only one I trust to take on a lead editor role right now. Just get the articles out, and whatever’s going on in your personal life doesn’t really concern me.”

You furrow your brows. You didn’t expect her to be so lax about it.

“Oh,” you stammer out. “Like… so even if I was dating a skater or something right now – not that I am, but… it’d be fine?”

“Yeah,” Sasha shrugs. “How do you think I met my husband? He was a soccer player, I was a journalist, you fill in the blanks.”

You blink. Well, that seemed to rule out everyone’s theories of why Sasha had been grouchy for months. But more importantly, it seems that there’s no way that you’ll be getting out of covering short-track for the Olympics.

“Oh, I see. Well… alright.”

“Of course. Now go brush up on your knowledge,” she says, waving you off. “After you cure that hangover — go to the convenience store and get that hangover cure. I’m sure many others in the office need it too. Put it on the company card.”

You’re surprised by her generosity. “Oh, okay. Thank you, Sasha. For the hangover cure and the promotion.” She doesn’t say a word, just giving you a nod in acknowledgment before you exit her office quickly. You let out a breath that you didn’t even know that you’d been holding as you grip the doorknob like it’s a lifeline.

Kyujin’s standing outside, sipping a cup of tea. “Wow, you don’t look hungover at all anymore,” she quips, lazily leaning against the wall. “Must’ve been some important news. What’d she say?”

“Promotion,” you somehow manage to breathe out amidst your shock. “Lead editor.”

Kyujin’s eyes widen and a beam spreads across her lips, clearly happy for you. “Lead editor! Holy crap, that’s great! You’re going to kill it – for what sport?”

“This is not great,” you hiss under your breath. “Kyujin… it’s… short-track.”

“What?” she practically yells, and everyone in the office looks in your direction. You grimace, hissing at her to quiet down. Kyujin practically knows everything about yours and George’s relationship – after all, she was there when he asked you out. She also held you as you cried when you found out that he had a whole other girlfriend in Montreal.

“How the hell are you going to cover short-track when that sleazeball is… he might literally win the fucking Olympics!” Kyujin whisper-yells, and you shake your head. “I’m literally praying for you. You’re going to need it.”

“I know,” you groan. “I’m due to leave for Dordrecht next week too. I can’t believe I’m going to have to see his face.”

You’re already absolutely dreading it. On one hand, it was good that you were able to write about a sport that you were familiar with instead of starting from scratch. On the other, you really did not want to see George Shim and his annoyingly punchable face. This may be your worst nightmare, and you’ve got no way out – as Anton always said: the only way out is through.

A notification pops up on your phone, and it’s Sasha sending you your flight tickets for Dordrecht. It really was happening, you think, wincing at the prospect of having to face George again.

All you can do is hope that someone is nice enough to save you from that fate.

The cool air hits your face when you enter the rink.

The short-track and figure skating rinks are always a little different from the hockey ones. The last time you were here, you came to support George. Despite the daunting thought of having to see him today remaining in the back of your mind, you suppose that it’s time for you to also make some new memories and embrace this role… to the best of your abilities.

It totally wasn’t like you were thinking about what you would say to him on the entire 14 hour plane ride from Seoul to Dordrecht. Needless to say, you were sat in that seat filled with dread.

Your media pass dangles around your neck – you deliberately pull it out from your gray zip-up to make it clear to the officials that you’re a journalist. Wandering around as media compared to sitting in the stands as a mere supporter felt much better. You see a bunch of familiar faces that you haven’t seen in years.

Martin Edwards bounds up to you with the brightest grin on his lips, the red maple leaf on the Canadian flag brandished on the centre of his tracksuit. “Oh my god, is that (Name)?” he asks, and you beam immediately when you see Martin.

You liked everyone on Team Canada, with the exception of George. They were all awfully kind to you during your relationship with him, and even after your breakup. Martin had sent you a text message saying how sorry he was and that they all knew nothing about it. He even added a few carefully-worded insults that made you giggle, despite the heartache.

“Martin!” you say, and he gives you a hug. “It’s been so long – holy shit, you’re really tall now. How are you?”

“Good, good!” he says, fixing his helmet. “Won the 1500m in Montreal, so I’m feeling pretty good. Regardless, how are you? It’s a surprise to see you here, considering…” his voice trails off, not wanting to mention what you’d dubbed ‘The Incident’.

“Yeah,” you exhale, chuckling as you look around the arena. “I wasn’t really expecting to be back, but I got assigned to cover short-track for the Olympic season, so… here I am.” You look around nervously, trying to see if you can spot George. You need to know where the first exit is so you can bolt out of there, or at least try and find a hiding spot. The only door you see is the entrance to the men’s changing room, and you obviously could not go in there.

“He’s… still a dick.” Martin pipes up, as if he can read your mind.

“I’m not surprised,” you snort. “Always was, always will be.”

“Flattering.”

You freeze as that awful, grating voice enters your ears. Of course, George had to show up now. You clench your jaw, taking a deep breath as you prepare to face the devil’s incarnate. George gives Martin a pat on his back (because of course, he’s not tall enough to even reach Martin’s shoulders) as a sign for him to leave you two alone.

Martin, knowing your aversion to George, is adamant on staying until his coach calls him over. He gives you a sympathetic smile, but you can read between the lines. With one simple expression, Martin’s basically saying: ‘good luck, if you need me to beat his ass later, just send me a text.’

You finally look up from your shoes, and you’re greeted with the irritating smile of George Shim. Helmet securely fastened on his head. Maple leaf brandished across his chest. Skates on his feet that when clinked together, somehow still sounds better than his voice.

“George," you say, your voice monotonous. You nearly called him that nickname that you were so used to saying in front of Kyujin. It probably wouldn’t have gone down well if you called an Olympic favourite a ‘pisstake’ right in front of his face.

“(Name),” George chuckles. “Always lovely to see you.”

“I wish I could say the same to you,” you reply without thinking. Every ounce of professionalism you had is thrown completely out the window. You grit your teeth, reminding yourself that your job is on the line. You plaster a smile on your lips, one that is incredibly facetious, before choosing your next words carefully. “Anyways, I have somewhere to attend to.”

“Oh?” he replies, an amused lilt in his tone. He eyes your media pass, and his lips curl up into a smile that makes you sick to your stomach. “You wouldn’t care for an interview?”

“No, not right now,” you say with polite outrage. “Perhaps win a race, and we’ll see.”

“Oh, don’t worry. That will be happening,” He’s always been cocky, and you hate that you didn’t see all the warning signs when you two were together. He eyes you, up and down, and his eyes soften. “You look like you’ve been well.”

His tone changes to something laced with the slightest hint of guilt. As if to say sorry without needing to say the words. You two are way past apologies, not when he’d been dating someone else behind your back for six whole months. George could try and manipulate you as much as he wanted to, but you were not going to go back. Never.

“Thanks,” you say, gripping your notebook a little tighter. “I know.”

Silence falls between the two of you, and you take it as your cue to leave. You give George a curt nod, but the next few words he says stops you in your tracks.

“By the way, I broke up with Jane.”

You look at him, raising an eyebrow. You know George Shim, and there’s only one reason why he’d be telling you that he’d ended his relationship with the girl that he’d hid from you. His eyes shift, feigning nervousness, and your blood boils with rage – was George really going to try and plead for you back? Fat chance, you think. That look wasn’t going to work on you. Not again.

“Okay,” you reply. “Sorry, I guess?”

“I was just wondering…”

You don’t want George to be wondering anything, actually. You look at him, and you think about all the times he’s hurt you, all the times you’ve gone back to him despite your better judgment. You think about the weeks you spent curled up in your bed, your eyes raw and red from crying as you tried to get over the heartache and betrayal. You’re not going back to him — not this time, and you need to make that adamantly clear. You’ve learnt your lesson. Nothing good has come out of dating George Shim.

The best option would be for you to simply shut him down, or to walk away. But uncharacteristically, you do something that you would advocate against if it was anyone else in your position.

You lie, because obviously, that's the smartest thing to do.

“I have a boyfriend, George.”

You’re surprised at your own words too, and you glance at George, who looks like those words have struck him directly in the heart. It gives you some semblance of satisfaction knowing that he seemed devastated at the thought of you moving on.

“Oh,” George says, trying to pretend like he wasn’t affected at all by those four simple words. He grits his teeth before he speaks again. “How… wonderful for you.”

“Yeah. It’s been great. I’m much happier now. We spend a lot of time together, if I’m being honest,” you reply, emphasising the word. All you could do right now was pray that George didn’t pry and ask any questions, but you knew him a little too well.

“So… who is he?”

Shit. You didn't think this through, clearly. Now you had to come up with some random name that you knew George would search up immediately on his phone. You hear the door next to you open, and the clinking together of skate guards as one walks on the rubbery material of the bench area floors. Your eyes flick to the person that’s about to walk past you – you know he’s roughly your age, but you’re far too caught up in your panic to actually take a close look at who he is. Bad decision, you know.

“Oh, here he is!” you announce. The boy freezes hearing your loud voice, stopping in his tracks. His eyes flick towards you, and you try to hide the barely audible gasp that escapes your lips when you realise who it is.

George, who’s even more shocked than you are, looks at him in bewilderment. One thing’s for sure, you’re thankful that at least he isn’t looking at your expression.

“You’re… you’re dating Eom Seonghyeon?”

Oh, this really couldn’t get any worse. It just had to be Eom Seonghyeon who walked out those changing room doors, didn’t it? You’ve only spoken to him once, and that was more than three years ago. There was no way that he was going to help you – you’re screwed.

The only good thing was that you knew that George hated the guy, mainly because Seonghyeon was his biggest competition. You brushed up on your short-track knowledge, and the rivalry between Seonghyeon and George had only gotten fiercer after you’d left the sport behind. Every time you saw Seonghyeon come out ahead, you smiled – finally, someone was able to humble George.

But now? You’ve dug yourself an even worse hole – honestly, any person in Seonghyeon’s position would probably think you’re an absolute lunatic. In mere seconds, George would find out that you’re lying, and you’ve got no way to get out of it. Seonghyeon looks at you, blinking quickly as he tries to register the situation.

You look at Seonghyeon, hoping that he’ll go along with it just to help you out. But you honestly don’t think you have much of a shot, purely because the two of you don’t even know each other. You can’t read Eom Seonghyeon at all — which may be the worst part. You’re standing here with your fate in his hands.

Seonghyeon’s utterly confused. Who was he dating now? The thought of dating hadn’t really even crossed Seonghyeon’s mind in the last two years. He was chasing an Olympic gold medal, and that didn’t really leave much time for going on dates. Like Martin said, he was probably going to end up devastatingly single and married to the ice.

He looks at you, and it’s like a switch flicks in his head. He recognises that you’re George’s ex-girlfriend from a few years ago. The one that had congratulated him after Junior Worlds before scurrying off to try and console George. He remembers your bright smile and how rushed your words sounded – like you clearly weren’t supposed to be interacting with the so-called enemy.

He also remembers finding you quite pretty, but he had a podium ceremony to attend – so he pushed that thought to the back of his mind. When he tried to find you, he found out that you were in a relationship. So like any respectful person, he backed off. Martin teased him about it for a little bit, but time passed by, and Seonghyeon never saw you again.

But then, a few words from about a year ago, said by Martin, ring loud in his ears. About how George had cheated on a girlfriend of his, and that training was being increasingly difficult because of how he was moping over quote-on-quote, ‘losing the love of his life.’

“He doesn’t mean a word of it,” Martin had said. “I saw his new girlfriend sitting in the stands that same day.”

Now, Seonghyeon typically wasn’t one to get into drama – in fact, he prided himself on avoiding it at all costs. But George had been speaking poorly about him to the media, and it honestly made Seonghyeon’s blood boil with rage. He had been trying to figure out a way to get back at him, and perhaps this might be it.

It wasn’t like he wanted to take advantage of this situation, but looking at the desperation in your eyes… Seonghyeon figured that this might be good for the two of you.

He gulps, praying that he’s made the right decision before he takes your hand, lacing his fingers with yours.

His touch is warm, comforting and but honestly, completely shocking. The mere action makes your cheeks burn. He looks at you with a smile on his lips that looks a little too genuine.

“Baby,” he whispers under his breath, stealing a glance at George. You fight the urge to look at him like he’s crazy. “I thought we weren’t going to tell anyone yet.”

Eom Seonghyeon is holding your hand. He’s calling you ‘baby’. You’re stunned that he’s actually going along with it. George looks like he’s a second away from passing out.

Seonghyeon gives you a look, as if to tell you to respond. You gulp, plastering a smile onto your lips as well. You should be grateful that Eom Seonghyeon is saving your ass. “Right, sorry – I just…” you stammer. “I don’t know. I thought it was time.”

“Oh,” Seonghyeon replies, his smile growing wider. All you can think right now is how he’s actually ridiculously good at playing the role of ‘boyfriend’. “Perfect. I’m so glad you said that.”

His eyes turn towards George. “Shim,” he says, giving him a polite nod. “Keen to see you out there on the rink.”

“Eom,” George’s eyes narrow at him, before he gestures at the two of you with his hands. “This is how I’m finding out that my ex girlfriend is dating my fucking rival?” He’s seething, and god – you’re relishing in his reaction. Finally, George was going to get a taste of his own medicine.

“Well, it’s decently new,” Seonghyeon replies, the lie rolling off of his tongue ever so easily. You don’t even know why he’s helping you. “Which is why I was a little shocked that she wanted to tell people, but regardless. I’m happy about it.”

“You…” George seethes.

Seonghyeon shrugs, clasping his hand around yours a little tighter. “Look, Shim. It’s not my fault you cheated.” You blink, stunned that Seonghyeon knew that George had been unfaithful to you. How in the world would he know? Was that why he was helping you – because he pitied you for it?

Those words seem like the final blow, and George’s at a loss for words. He huffs, crossing his arms before he pulls on the chin-strap of his helmet. “Right,” he gulps, before looking at Seonghyeon with rage. “I suppose... I'll see you both around.” His tone is laced with anger as he storms off, and you finally let out the breath that you’ve been holding for minutes now.

“I…” you quickly let go of Seonghyeon’s hand, turning towards him. Your cheeks are hot with embarrassment, and despite feeling the smallest victory after seeing George storm off angrily, you’re hit with the realisation that George is going to tell everybody.

Which means everyone is going to know that you, Sports Daily reporter and George Shim’s ex, is dating South Korea’s pride and joy, Eom Seonghyeon.

You’re fucked. Completely and utterly fucked.

“Let’s talk,” Seonghyeon says, motioning at you to follow him. You’re completely astonished at how calm Seonghyeon seems to be. He pushes open the door to the Team Korea break room, and to both of your relief, nobody's in there. Seonghyeon motions for you to sit, but you don't notice.

“Seonghyeon – I am so sorry. Fucking hell," you start, taking a deep breath.

"George just… he irks me to no end, and I knew he was trying to just... sneak back into my life again, so I just did the first thing I could think of,” you ramble as you try to justify yourself. “What the hell, Anton and Kyujin are never going to let me hear the end of this..."

“Anyways, thank you so much for saving my ass – I am going to find a way to deal with this, because I don’t want you to get dragged into this mess any further. " You're spiraling at this point, your eyes blown wide as what you did fully sinks in. "You’ve got a competition soon, and oh my god, my job as well, and fuck, you and George hate each other–”

“Woah, woah, woah. Okay, (Name). Calm down,” Seonghyeon says, gently reaching out to touch your shoulder in an attempt to reassure you. “It’s alright, don’t freak out.”

You take a deep breath, trying to calm your nerves. “Wait. How’d you know my name?” you ask, stunned. You don’t ever remember introducing yourself to him, even when you were with George.

“I remember things,” Seonghyeon shrugs, casually. “Also, it’s on your lanyard.”

You look down at the plastic card attached to it, and you nod. “Right,” you say, looking back up at him. “It is. Sorry. And… um… how do you know that he cheated on me?”

“Martin was telling me about it one time,” he replies. “He didn’t say it was you, but the timing lined up. You stopped showing up to events after, and there was this new girl soon after…” his voice trails off when he sees you wince, and he understands why. It must still be a pretty sensitive subject.

You nod – that makes sense. You remember that Martin was quite good friends with Seonghyeon. But your main concern right now is that you’ve basically dragged Seonghyeon into a disaster.

“I just… need to figure out a way to get us both out of this mess, because – oh, this is a disaster. George’s going to talk, I’m covering short-track for the Olympic season – this is not looking good.” you say, the realisation hitting you like a ton of bricks.

“What if we just... go along with it?”

Your jaw goes slack at Seonghyeon’s proposal. Was Eom Seonghyeon seriously suggesting to become your fake boyfriend?

“Look, you clearly need George to leave you alone. You and I both know that guy’s relentless, and we don’t really want him to find out that it’s all fake and expose the two of us. I’ll… probably get into a bit of hot water for trying to fuck with him like that, but you? You’re probably going to get fired, or something. Unless you've got a lenient boss,” Seonghyeon says matter-of-factly. You gulp, shrugging. Sasha probably wouldn't care, as long as you didn't get Sports Daily in hot water.

“And look, there’s no way out of this now. The only way out is through, or whatever that phrase is. We can't really say, 'oh no, that isn't true!' after George saw what he did. I mean," his voice drops to a whisper. "I did call you baby."

The mention of the petname makes your cheeks heat up.

But really, it was great that Anton's words – only way out is through – followed you everywhere. You were unwillingly given the role of lead editor for short-track, and now you’re about to enter a fake relationship with one of the sport’s brightest stars. Only way out is through.

You nod, gulping. Seonghyeon did have a point, and you were starting to think that this was your best option, mainly because it was your only option. “And… what’s in it for you?”

“Getting in George’s head, I suppose.” Seonghyeon replies breezily. “Look, he’s been bitching about me to the press, and usually I wouldn’t respond, but he’s taking it a little too far now.”

You’re not surprised that George’s acting childish again. His comments about Seonghyeon when you two were dating weren’t the nicest anyways, and you often found yourself feeling guilty for not refuting some of George’s colourfully-worded claims about him.

“I’m not usually someone who’s bitter, but seeing the look on his face was gold, and… I don’t know – maybe it’ll knock him off his game or whatever in the races.. I bet he’s already spiraling over the fact his biggest rival is dating his ex-girlfriend who allegedly was the love of his life.”

You scoff hearing that. “Love of his life? He cheated on me. Really nice thing to do to the love of your life,” you grumble. Hearing that though, does make you want to rile George up.

“But… yeah. Okay. That sounds fair enough, the Olympics are coming up soon,” you nod, tapping your foot on the floor as you think of a plan. “Are you really sure, though? Like… this is okay?”

“More than okay,” he says, a kind smile on his lips. “I don’t really want you to face George alone after what happened out there. It’s also better if we go along with it for a little bit. Then after the Olympics, we say we went our separate ways, say that I was too busy with training or whatever. Everyone will understand, and if you’re only covering for the Olympic season, that means you probably won’t see George again after it. Then he’ll be forced to move on, and you won’t need to worry about him after that.”

You nod, registering his words. Everything Seonghyeon was saying did make perfect sense.

Your heart is racing as you consider the ramifications if this all goes to shit – but you were determined for it not to. You were going to make this the most believable fake relationship ever, and to be honest, Eom Seonghyeon seemed like the right guy to help you make it happen. After all, ‘baby’ did roll off a little too easily from his tongue back there.

“Okay,” you say, letting out a shaky breath. “I’m in if you are.”

Seonghyeon cracks a small grin. “Well then,” he says, giving you a nod. “Girlfriend.”

“Boyfriend,” you say, albeit a little awkwardly. You sigh, knowing that you haven’t exactly gotten the whole girlfriend thing pat down yet. After all, the last person you dated was George – and that went incredibly poorly. “I’ll get better at this.”

“I sure hope so,” Seonghyeon quips, and you allow yourself to laugh a little at his joke. You didn’t know him well yet, but you felt eternally indebted to him for helping you through this shitshow. “Um… I should probably get your number, but my phone’s not on me.”

“Oh, just put your number in mine. I’ll text you,” you say. handing him your phone so he can press the digits of his phone number into your contacts.

“There we go,” he replies, handing it back to you. “We can discuss this more after my races… unless you have any plans?”

You shouldn’t be surprised that your fake boyfriend is asking you to spend time with him, but you are. You look at him with a stunned expression on your face – you only snap out of it when Seonghyeon clears his throat. “Right!” you exclaim. “Sorry, I just… I’m not so sure how to manoeuvre around this fake dating thing yet. But yeah, sounds good.”

You plaster a smile on your lips, and Seonghyeon nods, mirroring your expression. “Great, just… text me later. I’ve got to go, but I’ll see you soon?”

“Yeah,” you say, gulping. “Good luck. You’ll kill it.”

Seonghyeon gives you a bright smile and a ‘thank you’ before he pushes past the door, disappearing from your sight.

When he’s gone, you immediately clap a hand over your mouth in horror.

What the hell did you get yourself into?

Seonghyeon wins all his races.

The 1500m, the 1000m, the 500m, and the relay. You watch from the media pen as Seonghyeon skates around the rink, a bright smile on his lips as he drapes the flag around him. Joy is positively spilling out of him, and you can’t help but smile too.

And much to your delight, Seonghyeon was right about the revelation getting into George’s head. He’d had poor starts for almost all of his races and could only scrape third for most of them. Martin had come in clutch to secure Canada second in the relay, but it still wasn’t enough to make up for George’s performance. You were a little too happy as you typed those words up into your Google Docs.

You saw the way he looked at Seonghyeon – eyes dark with rage, jaw clenched in frustration and his hands balled up into fists. You stifle a giggle at the sight, because George had never looked scary when he was angry.

Anton had accompanied you to one of George’s races a few years ago, and George was clearly unhappy with the fact that you had a male friend. Anton told you in private that he looked like one of those animated cartoon villains that tried (and failed) to intimidate.

Seonghyeon finds you after the podium ceremony and the press conference, which you manage to breeze through without anyone questioning your relationship status. There’s a bunch of medals draped around his neck, the hardware clinking together as he walks up to you.

“Hi,” he says, giving you a smile. His eyes scan the room, and George’s looking at the two of you with the most scrutinising glare in his eyes. “Don’t freak out, but he’s looking at us.”

“Oh,” you say, quickly putting your notebook into your bag. “Can I… um…” You reach out for his hand, and he nods before you lace your fingers with his. His hand is warm, despite the rink being awfully cold. Many of your fellow journalists and camera crew have left the room by now, all muttering about how they were excited for the food at the banquet later tonight.

“Just act normal,” Seonghyeon says casually – yeah, easier said than done, you think. You don’t know how Seonghyeon’s acting so calmly about this, and why he agreed so readily.

“I’m trying,” you whisper under your breath. “I don’t know how you’re so good at this.”

“I’m really not,” Seonghyeon replies, chuckling. “I think I was on autopilot back there when you first told George – I guess I just did what felt like needed to be done to make him… freak out. Anyways – since we’re together now, it’d be odd if you didn’t show up to the banquet as my plus one. It’s at 7 tonight.”

You gulp, nodding. You were going to go to the banquet anyways, but as press. But if you were going as Seonghyeon’s plus one, you’d be seated with Team Korea and they’d grill you to shreds over it. You and Seonghyeon needed a plan, and the two of you couldn’t just show up and wing it.

“Okay,” you say, letting out a shaky exhale to ease your nerves. “So we have a few hours. Do you happen to have any time to swing by my hotel room so we can… talk things out?”

“Yeah – I can actually go now,” Seonghyeon hums. “Just let me get changed, and I’ll call a car for us.”

Not long after, the two of you find yourselves lying down on your bed in the hotel, your laptop perched on your lap. Seonghyeon’s sprawled across the foot of the bed, staring at the ceiling. The two of you have to somehow craft a story of how you two met, how you started dating, and why you’ve been hiding it from… everyone.

You feel like you’re in To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before – you’re Lara Jean and Seonghyeon’s your Peter, trying to figure out your do’s and don’ts. Except, the two of you were trying to figure out a way to convince all your closest friends that you were madly in love. You've always wanted to know what it's like to live in a rom-com. Close enough, you think.

“Okay, so how’d we meet?” you ask Seonghyeon, who sits up straight. He shuffles over to look at your laptop, and you’ve got nothing typed up. “Yeah, I didn’t have any ideas.” you say, sheepishly.

“Um…” Seonghyeon trails off. “We met a few years ago at Junior Worlds, right? So we can say we knew of each other. You live in Seoul and I live in Seoul, right?”

“Yeah,” you nod, typing that into your laptop. “So… let’s just say we bumped into each other at a coffee shop and reconnected there?” Seonghyeon nods in agreement with your idea – sure, it was a boring way for one to meet their partner, but you two needed it to be believable. Sometimes the plainest of ideas were the most effective.

“Say I asked you out,” Seonghyeon blurts out casually. You nearly choke on air when you hear him say that – you weren’t quite used to how straightforward Seonghyeon was, and for some odd reason, those words make your heart skip. You’re looking at him, lips parted in shock. “It’s more believable that way – would you really willingly ask a short-track skater out after George?”

He did have a point. You weren’t even going to watch the sport after George had hurt you like that. Seonghyeon asking you out did seem like the most believable story. You nod, typing it into your laptop.

“Okay, and let’s just say we’ve been together for a little less than two weeks,” you say, looking at the calendar of the World Tour events. Seonghyeon came back to Seoul for two weeks just before the third round, which was last week — making it entirely believable that everything could have transpired in the time when he was in Seoul.

“If it’s that new… surely they wouldn’t ask that many questions – purely because there’s not much to ask about, right?”

“Exactly,” Seonghyeon replies. He looks at the document, eyes scanning over the words before giving you a satisfied nod. “Seems like we have a story. We just can’t forget it now.”

He grins at you, and you’re genuinely baffled that this guy isn’t fazed at all by the predicament the two of you are in. You clear your throat, closing your laptop.

“I… thank you, by the way,” you tell Seonghyeon. “You didn’t really have to put yourself through all this mess for me. I mean, we barely knew each other until today.”

“It’s fine, (Name),” he chuckles, the sound of his laughter soft and airy. It makes your heart flutter. “And speaking of that — we should get to know each other a little better. I mean, I do have to know some basic facts about my girlfriend.”

Girlfriend. Another flutter.

You’re technically Eom Seonghyeon’s girlfriend now. Well, at least to everyone else.

You gulp, trying to ignore how that word made you feel something. “Yeah, um… what’d you want to know?”

“Everything,” Seonghyeon replies. “Sorry, I know that’s probably not really helpful. Just… give me random facts about yourself, I guess.”

You find that the saying ‘time flies when you’re having fun’ is incredibly true. As you and Seonghyeon get to know each other, seconds turn into minutes, and minutes turn into hours. Seonghyeon is awfully easy to talk to, and you regret not doing so earlier.

You tell him small things about yourself at first. Like your favourite colour, your favourite movie, your favourite coffee shop that’s tucked away in the quieter streets of Seoul.

But then the conversation goes a little deeper. You tell him about your family and how your parents used to be big fans of ice hockey, which eventually got you into it. You tell him how when a hockey puck landed in your lap at an NHL game, it seemed like it was sealing your fate of being bound to this sport forever. You tell him a little bit about how you started working for Sports Daily as well – Anton said they needed an additional editor for ice hockey, and after one interview, the job was yours.

“So, what’s your favourite flower?” Seonghyeon pipes up.

“Hydrangeas,” you answer without thinking. “Blue ones, because it’s my favourite colour. Reminds me of snow, ice, winter… you get the gist.”

Seonghyeon asks you questions that you don’t think George has ever asked you in your two-year relationship. You don’t even think he asked you what your favourite colour, or favourite flower was. That realisation is utterly shocking.

He tells you about his first race, which he actually ended up wiping out in. “Never again,” he sighs, acting as if the memory of it still pains him. You find out that his favourite colour is green, he eats a lot of acai, and that he always brings a book with him to practice or a competition. He enjoys the same movies as you as well – the two of you spend at least half an hour talking about Chungking Express. You find that it’s delightful to actually have someone who shares the same amount of enthusiasm as you when it comes to the film.

He also reveals that his coffee order’s an iced Americano, 4 shots with no water – you proceed to call him a freak, and he gently hits you with one of your pillows.

“You literally like mint chocolate,” Seonghyeon says, wrinkling his nose in distaste. “My coffee order is nothing compared to that toothpaste flavoured monstrosity.”

“I don’t know what toothpaste you’re using, but it does not taste like the mint chocolate ice cream I eat,” you say, shaking your head. “And 4 shots is crazy, Seonghyeon – how do you not get the jitters?” you chuckle.

“The jitters keep you awake! And fast!” he exclaims, throwing his arms up to justify himself.

“Is that how you win all the time?” you ask, barely suppressing a laugh.

“Yeah, don’t reveal my secret,” Seonghyeon replies, a cheeky grin on his lips. He brings a finger up to his mouth as if to shush you. “The others might end up taking 5 shots, or 8 shots of coffee just to beat me.”

“8 shots would probably make them do a false start,” you chuckle. “Let’s tell George that.”

“8 shots of coffee and a little bit of mental manipulation is going to destroy him,” Seonghyeon laughs. “Perfect strategy – that gold’s going to be mine, (Name).”

Your shared laughter rings throughout the room, and at one point in the conversation, you’re doubling over and laughing so hard your cheeks hurt. With one conversation, the dynamic between the two of you seems to have shifted. You don’t really know exactly what to call it – chemistry, maybe? Or was that a little too intense, considering that you’ve only known each other for a day?

Seonghyeon checks the time on his watch, and his eyes widen when he realises that you both only have roughly half an hour to get ready for the banquet. “Shit, we need some time to get ready,” he says, jumping up from your bed. “Alright – I will come back in half an hour, and we can go there together.”

You nod, but you find yourself not really wanting him to leave. As if you wanted him to maybe skip the banquet so that the two of you could talk more. You shake your head to rid the thought from your mind, and you walk with him to your door. “I’ll see you then, Seonghyeon.” you say softly, and Seonghyeon nods, waving goodbye before he disappears down the hallway.

After tonight, everyone was going to think that you and Seonghyeon were dating.

You just hope that you can play the part well enough.

Oh, and to not catch actual feelings.

Seonghyeon knocks on your door 30 minutes later, just like he’d said.

The banquets were never a really formal event, but Seonghyeon likes to put a little bit of effort in anyways. You open the door to greet him, and he's wearing a soft cashmere sweater over a dress shirt with a pair of black jeans. He’s got a black blazer folded around one arm, and he’s fixing the sleeves of his sweater when you open the door. His eyes snap up to look at you when he hears the door open..

“Hi,” he says, grinning. You’re wearing a flowy black dress – it’s simple, but you’ve dressed it up slightly with a necklace and some bracelets. “You look nice.”

The compliment is simple, and really, it shouldn’t make your heart jump as much as it does. After all, this was your ‘boyfriend’. And Seonghyeon was a nice person at the end of the day – you should’ve expected him to say something sweet.

“Thank you,” you say, closing the door behind you. “You look really nice yourself.” You knew that Seonghyeon did have a bit of a reputation in the short-track world for always having really nice outfits if he wasn’t in the racesuit.

The two of you make conversation when you’re on your way to the banquet hall, and you’re trying to forget about how you two are supposed to act like you’re madly in love. This was essentially going to be your first test – your entire plan hinged on making everything believable tonight. Martin was undoubtedly going to grill the two of you, considering that he was one of Seonghyeon’s best friends, and you hadn’t made any mention about dating Seonghyeon.

In fact, you’d told Martin verbatim that you didn’t think you were ever going to come back here just today. You don’t know how you’re going to get around that at all – you just hope that Martin’s gullible enough to believe you when you say that you two wanted to just keep it quiet for a bit.

“Okay, running through everything again,” you pipe up. You think it’s better that you blurt everything out loud before you go in. To you, this was like a test. Perhaps even more important than your finals.

“We met at a coffee shop. You asked me out roughly two weeks ago. We wanted to keep it quiet because it was so new. Your favourite colour’s green, we bonded a lot over Chungking Express, you’d pick acai over any other food… am I right? Or am I missing anything?”

“Well, everything you said was correct,” Seonghyeon hums. “Just… don’t stress too much. I can do more of the talking if you want – we don’t want to sound too rehearsed, right?”

“Yeah,” you exhale, your nerves evident. “I’m… I’m just thinking about how first impressions matter, and this… this is a pretty big thing that we’ve got to get right.”

“We’ve got this,” he tells you, his voice reassuring. “Don’t worry – if we avoid George for most of the night, I’m sure we’ll be fine.” The driver lets the two of you know that you’re here, and you thank him politely before stepping out of the car.

The cool winter chill hits the two of you immediately, and Seonghyeon drapes his jacket around you when he sees you shivering. Wow, you think. Eom Seonghyeon was really good at being a fake boyfriend. You’re almost shocked at how gentlemanly he’s being.

“Oh, thank you,” you stammer, and he gives you a soft smile. He holds his hand out for you to take, and you lace your fingers with his. He gives your hand a soft squeeze in reassurance before the two of you walk towards the banquet hall. “You’re not cold?” you ask.

“Used to it,” he says, grinning when he looks at you. “I spend all my days in the rink – this is just regular temperature to me.” He pushes open the door, and the first thing you notice is that it’s incredibly busy. There are tons of tables set up in the space, and Seonghyeon’s eyes scan to see where the Team Korea placard is.

“Ah, over there,” he points out. He leads you towards the table, and when you pass by Team Canada, Martin’s eyes bug out of his skull.

Was that… you and Seonghyeon… holding hands?

You quickly look away, following Seonghyeon to the table before Martin can rush up to you and bombard you with questions. “Martin saw us.” you say in a hushed whisper.

“Oh,” Seonghyeon replies, glancing towards Martin. “We can explain later. But… just over there is my team. They’re all really nice, as I’m sure you’re aware. But Yuna may tease us a little bit. If she brings up George, I’ll shut it down.”

You gulp, taking a deep breath. “Alright,” you say. “Let’s do this.

The two of you walk up to the table, and everyone’s eyes are immediately on yours and Seonghyeon’s hands.

Yuna’s jaw drops, and Soobin points at the two of you in surprise. You know Soobin – he trained with George once, and you understand why he’s so shocked. Another teammate of his, Jungwon, is completely baffled at the sight.

“Hi guys,” Seonghyeon says. He gently takes his jacket off you, draping it over your chair. He pulls out your chair first, gesturing for you to sit down before he slides into the seat next to you. “What’s for dinner?”

Everyone is surprised at how casual Seonghyeon’s being, as if he hasn’t just hard launched the two of you out of nowhere. They didn’t know that Seonghyeon was even talking to or dating someone, much less it being George Shim’s ex.

“Hi,” you say, greeting Seonghyeon’s teammates politely. “Nice to see you guys again.” They all greet you back, but they’re still not over the initial shock of seeing the two of you holding hands.

“You… and you…” Soobin splutters. “You two are dating? How come we’ve never heard about this?”

“It’s kind of new,” Seonghyeon speaks up before you, and you’ve never been more grateful. You nod in agreement as Seonghyeon rests his hand above yours. Your heart flutters again, but it does help you ease a little bit of the nerves that you’re feeling as you’re faced with an interrogation. “It’s why I didn’t really mention it to anyone, but she’s here as media, and I figured that it’d be kind of hard to keep it much of a secret after this.”

Jungwon’s stunned. “I… wow. Okay – we just didn’t think you even had the time to talk to anyone, much less date. You spend half your time at the rink.”

Yuna looks at you, a glint in her eye. “How did you both even meet?”

“We met at Junior Worlds a few years ago, but we didn’t talk properly. More so greeted each other after the results were announced, and… you all know. But we bumped into each other again at a cafe two weeks ago, and we’ve just been talking since,” you say, and you’re surprised at how easily that lie rolls off your tongue. You think that you’re getting the hang of it now – perhaps it really was just nerves. “So… super recent.”

“Yeah, no – we’re just sort of surprised,” Soobin says, trying to mask his shock. “But I’m happy if you two are happy.”

“Very happy,” Seonghyeon affirms, grinning at you. “She’s great.”

“He is too,” you beam. You clear your throat before attempting to change the topic – everyone’s eyes were on you two, and you didn’t particularly like the attention. “So! Enough about us – I just wanted to congratulate you all on the wins today, you all did amazing.”

“Yeah, thank you – so how did he ask you out?” Yuna pipes up. “Sorry, this is quite literally the most interesting thing that’s happened to any of us in months. Our Hyeonie dating? Especially since you’re that douchebag’s ex?” She gestures towards George at the other table, who’s eyeing you two with hawk-like concentration.

Seonghyeon clears his throat. “Let’s not talk about him,” he says sternly. “But if you must know, I asked her out at the coffee shop where we met. It was just a few days after we reconnected. I liked talking to her a lot, and I didn’t want to waste much time since I already just… kind of knew.”

“Whipped,” Juhoon quips, and Seonghyeon shoots him a look. “What? Look at you two.”

Juhoon saying that meant that the plan was going incredibly well. Or at least, Juhoon believed it. Seonghyeon was awfully good at coming up with things on the spot – and why was every word of his somehow so romantic?

“Our Hyeon’s growing up,” Soobin jokes, fake sniffling. “First girlfriend.”

“Look at how cute they are.” Yeji coos. Well, it seems like the two of you had sold it to perfection. You grin, glad that yours and Seonghyeon’s acting chops were good enough to make his teammates not suspicious.

Seonghyeon groans, and it’s only then when you see the pink flush on his cheeks. “Ignore them,” he mumbles. “They love teasing me.”

“I can tell,” you muse, a smile on your lips. “It’s okay. It’s kind of cute.” Those words slip past your lips before you think, and your eyes widen ever so slightly. It’s normal for someone’s girlfriend to call them cute, you tell yourself. Seonghyeon lets out a chuckle, seemingly unfazed.

“Aww, you think I’m cute.” You can’t tell if he’s teasing you as a friend, or saying it to keep up the act. Regardless, the table breaks out in whoops and cheers. Although you’re embarrassed, you remind yourself that this means that they truly think that you two are dating. You let out an exhale in relief – the first test was over, at least. The most daunting one tonight… was going to be Martin Edwards.

After the food’s arrived, most of the skaters walk around to talk to their competitors. The second Martin gets the chance to, he jumps up from his seat and makes a beeline for the two of you. “Explain.” Martin says, arms crossed and his eyes fixated on you and Seonghyeon’s hands laced together.

“Um…” you start.

“We’re dating?” Seonghyeon says, finishing your sentence. Martin’s so shocked, he nearly collapses.

“You two… are what now?” he nearly shrieks, his eyes wide in disbelief. “When the hell did this happen – you didn’t even mention it to me this morning or when I saw you! What the hell guys, I thought we were friends!”

“Chill,” Seonghyeon looks at Martin oddly. “We’ve been kind of quiet about it because it’s so new. It’s literally only been two weeks – I wanted to give us some time to you know… get to know each other better, get used to dating, that sort of stuff.”

Martin eyes the two of you suspiciously, and you feel awfully nervous under his gaze. You’re almost scared that he’s going to call bullshit on the two of you. But then, his lips break out into a wide grin, and he pulls the two of you into a huge hug. You’re startled, an awkward sound escaping past your lips as you hear Martin laugh giddily.

“Oh, I just knew this was going to happen,” he exclaims, as his arms wrap around the both of you, squeezing you two tight. You furrow your brows – what did he even mean by that?

He sees your confusion, and Martin opens his mouth to speak and clarify what he meant, but Seonghyeon elbows him in the ribs to shut him up. He looks at the Canadian, eyes signaling: ‘not a word’. Martin obliges, albeit he is a little confused as to why you wouldn’t know that Seonghyeon had always found you pretty.

“That guy’s not going to be happy though,” Martin says, gesturing towards George. “Don’t tell him.”

“He already knows,” Seonghyeon says, trying – and failing – to hide the smile on his lips. He holds your hand a little tighter as he turns to look at you. “He saw us just before the 1500 meter, actually.”

“Dang, okay!” Martin says, grinning. But then something seems to hit him, and his smile drops. “Wait, is this why he was skating like shit today? Oh, come on! He cost us the gold in the relay!”

Seonghyeon chuckles. “It’s not like you guys were going to win anyways,” he quips, and Martin shoots him a joking glare. “Sorry! Friendly fire.”

“Anyways,” Martin says, gaze returning back to yours and Seonghyeon’s hands. A teasing smile spreads across his lips, and heat immediately rises to your cheeks. You’re sure he’s going to taunt the two of you endlessly about this now. “You guys look cute together.”

You’re not quite sure how you’re supposed to feel about that. Those words, combined with him saying that he ‘knew that this was going to happen’ was awfully confusing. You barely knew Seonghyeon before today — why would Martin think that?

“I need you guys to tell me everything, by the way. You best believe I’m third-wheeling the two of you every chance I get.” Martin’s eyes are gleaming with mischief, and Seonghyeon groans in response.

“Usually people don’t want to be a third wheel,” you say wryly, and Martin shrugs.

“I want to third wheel you two,” he coos at the two of you jokingly, and you raise an eyebrow at his words. “What? God forbid a guy wants to support his best friend and his girlfriend.”

“You can support us by letting us go on dates alone, like a normal person,” Seonghyeon replies, letting out a laugh. “You’ll see enough of us at competitions.”

Martin pries just a little bit more, asking Seonghyeon how he asked you out – he regurgitates the same response he said to Yuna mere minutes ago. He pulls you closer, his hand against the your waist to feign affection, looking at you like a man that was hopelessly in love. You mirror his expression, leaning into his touch. Martin’s silently gawking at the blatant display of affection as he listens to Seonghyeon talk.

You start to think that Eom Seonghyeon really could consider a career in acting after he retired from short-track, because it was quite literally impossible for you to deny the spark that you felt just from his words.

The rest of Martin’s teammates somehow catch wind of the conversation and they barge in – with the exception of George, who’s sulking in the corner. They bombard the two of you with questions once again, because they all know what went down between you and George. Seonghyeon manages to seamlessly dodge the questions under the pretense that ‘the two of you are tired of saying the same thing over and over’. You’re grateful enough that Martin, who is completely deceived, is more than willing to recount everything.

The two of you finally get a moment away from the incessant questions from everyone, and Seonghyeon lets out a deep breath. “I think that went well,” he says, picking up an empty glass from the table. He fills it with coke, handing the glass over to you. “You told me you didn’t like fruit punch earlier today.”

He remembered. You blink, taking the glass from him thankfully as he pours himself some water. “Thanks,” you murmur, and Seonghyeon nods, giving you a soft smile. “Well, I’d say that went pretty well.” Your voice drops low into a whisper before you say your next words, leaning in closer so only Seonghyeon can hear you. “Martin’s a little more gullible than I thought.”

Seonghyeon chuckles, his laughter bubbly in your ears. “Martin’s kind of been begging me to get into a relationship for months, so he’s probably too excited over that.”

You grin, but then your eyes flick to a figure standing behind Seonghyeon. George’s glaring daggers at the two of you, his stare unforgiving and cold.

Anxiety flares through your entire body. The room is suddenly too loud, the banquet suddenly too busy, and George’s gaze is a little too intense. Your palms start to sweat, and your heartbeat races.

Without thinking, you quickly move to stand beside Seonghyeon, looping your arm around his. He takes a second to register the fact that you’ve probably spotted George before he takes your hand, entwining your fingers with his.

Your anxiety immediately dissipates just from his touch, and the room quiets down. It’s like Seonghyeon can feel your nervousness – likely from how sweaty your palms are – and he gently traces circles on the skin of your hand with his thumb. You give Seonghyeon another grateful smile.

It’s odd, considering that you two haven’t been acquainted until today, but he just always knows the perfect thing to either do, or say. Your heart is still racing, but not out of anxiety. Something a little different, something you can’t quite put your finger on just yet.

“Seonghyeon! (Name)! They’ve got ice cream!” you hear Mark, another one of Martin’s teammates say. Seonghyeon glances at you, giving you a soft smile before tilting his head.

“Do you want some?” Seonghyeon asks. “Although I’m not so sure that they’ll have mint chocolate…”

You chuckle, nodding. “You don’t have to tease me about it every time, you know. I can eat other flavours.”

To your delight and Seonghyeon’s disdain, there is mint chocolate. He hands you the bowl, nose wrinkling as he sees the artificially coloured green dessert. You take a spoon, scooping some of it out of your bowl before holding it out to Seonghyeon.

“No,” he says, shaking his head. He pulls away from you for the first time tonight. “Absolutely not.”

“Aw, come on!” you pout, and Seonghyeon sighs. “Just try it.”

“Fine,” he says begrudgingly, taking a bite of the ice cream. He winces as it hits his tongue, brows furrowing in disgust. He reaches over to grab a cup of vanilla ice cream for himself, shaking his head as he swallows the ice cream. “God, I don’t know how you like this.”

“Did our Seonghyeon just try mint chocolate?” Martin gasps, and Seonghyeon practically scarfs down the vanilla to try and rid the mint chocolate taste from his tongue. You nod, grinning triumphantly.

“Only for (Name),” he grumbles, taking a bite of his own ice cream.

Your heart leaps to your throat.

You silently eat your ice cream, with Seonghyeon’s shoulder lightly brushing yours every now and then as you let those words sink in.

Only for you.

You’ve never particularly liked plane rides, especially not long-haul flights.

You’re about to spend 14 hours on a plane, sitting there in a stuffy aisle seat in economy as you try to ignore the wails of a baby nearby. You try to think of the positives – at least you weren’t paying for the flight.

You pull your book out of your bag before shoving it under the seat in front of you, trying to tire yourself out so you can at least sleep a little on the flight. You’ve already sent your articles to Eunchae, the copy editor, so you’re practically done with all your work.

You didn’t quite like having to type out George’s name, but fortunately, you didn’t have to praise him at all – thanks to his poor performance. One page into your book, you hear a familiar voice. “(Name)?”

Your eyes flick up to see Yeji, and the rest of the team. Seonghyeon’s standing near the back, his headphones plugged into his ears as he scrolls through his phone.

“Oh, hey,” you beam. “I didn’t know that we were on the same flight.”

“I thought you’d be sitting with Hyeon,” Yeji replies, tilting her head towards him. “Since you two are you know… dating?” Shit. You blink, closing your book to give yourself a little bit more time to think of a reply.

“Right! Right, of course,” you chuckle, trying your best to not sound awkward. “Um, my boss actually booked my flights for me and this trip was honestly quite last minute – you can ask Hyeon about it. So as much as I’d like to, our seats aren’t next to each other.”

“Oh, I see – I’m sitting next to Hyeon on one side, so let’s swap after takeoff,” she says, beaming at you. You’re about to protest before she stops you. “We’re just two rows back, so it’s fine. Trust me!”

The line keeps moving, and Yeji walks away. When Seonghyeon reaches you, his eyes meet yours. He immediately takes out his headphones, smiling at you.

“Hey, I didn’t know we were on the same flight,” he says, grinning. “If you mentioned it earlier we could’ve headed to the airport together.”

“Yeah, I didn’t know either,” you reply. “Um… Yeji told me she’s swapping seats with me after takeoff so we can sit together. Just wanted to let you know beforehand, because… you know.” You suppose that you’ll also have to play the role of boyfriend and girlfriend on this 14 hour flight as well. You just hope most of his teammates are the type of flyers who immediately fall asleep on takeoff.

“Oh, okay,” Seonghyeon replies. The line up ahead moves, and he quickly glances at the line before looking back at you. “That sounds good. I’ll see you in a bit then?”

You nod, and Seonghyeon walks to his seat. Waiting for takeoff feels like forever, but you keep yourself busy by reading your book. When you’re three chapters in, you feel someone tap you on your shoulder, and you know it’s Yeji.

“Hey,” she says, holding her neck pillow and her bag in her hands. “Your boyfriend’s waiting.” There’s a teasing lilt in her tone, and you fail to stifle a small laugh. The two of you really did have everyone convinced, and you feel a small sense of pride in that.

You get up from your chair, gathering your things. “Thank you, by the way,” you say, and she waves you off.

“Oh, anything for you two lovebirds,” she grins. “Look, Hyeon’s schedule is always packed, and the Olympics definitely isn’t going to make that any better. The two of you should spend as much time together as you can.”

Her words ring loudly in your ears as you walk down the aisle to find Seonghyeon, who’s sitting idly in his chair. He looks up when he hears your footsteps, and you swear you see his eyes light up when he sees you.

“Hi,” you say, sitting down next to him. Soobin and Yuna seem to notice how you’re now sitting in Yeji’s seat, and you’re a little too aware of their eyes on you. When you’ve placed your bag under the seat in front of you, you reach out for his hand. It’s just because Soobin and Yuna are here, you tell yourself. You definitely thought about it beforehand.

Seonghyeon clasps his hand around yours, using his free hand to drape the blanket he’s got covering his knees over you as well. “So… what do you usually do on long-haul flights?” you ask him, and he chuckles.

“Gosh, I don’t know. Try my best to sleep, and fail miserably.” he replies, eyes darting at the small television screen. He’s flown to multiple countries for competitions, but one thing that he still truly would never get used to was long flights. He dreaded them, really. Sitting there idly in a seat for hours was practically Seonghyeon’s worst nightmare. He could never sleep on planes either – he doesn’t know how Jungwon knocks out immediately the second he sits down in the chair.

His words get a small laugh out of you. “Yeah, I’m the same. I haven’t flown long-haul in a really long time, to be honest.”

“Really?” Seonghyeon quirks a brow. “I thought the whole ice hockey thing would’ve had you flying to the States and Canada a lot more often.”

“Oh, god no. I haven’t been back to Canada since the breakup. And the travelling – that’s Beomgyu’s job, since he’s the lead editor. I mainly stay here to cover the local leagues and provide backup from the office,” you huff. “I guess that’ll change now, though. Not that I’m mad about it, but I guess I’ll just have to get used to it.”

“Well, it’s always fun to explore new places,” Seonghyeon hums. “I’ve never been to Milan before. The first time will be for the Olympics, which is… pretty cool. I’m just dreading the flight. Non-stop is 13 hours. That’s like… six movies.”

Even the excitement of going to the Olympics probably wouldn’t ease Seonghyeon’s boredom on the flight. He often tried to watch movies to make the time go by faster, but he’d often just find himself staring at the clock on the side of the screen, praying desperately that it would just say ‘0 minutes until landing.’

Your eyes light up hearing him say ‘movie’. Airplanes didn’t usually have the best selection of movies, but there was one that was always your go-to on a flight. “Hey, let’s watch Crazy Rich Asians,” you pipe up. “It’s like… the best plane movie ever.”

“You’ve got a favourite plane movie?” he chuckles, his fingers tapping his screen to try and find the movie.

“Of course!” you chirp. You let out a sigh of relief when you see that the airplane did actually have the movie, and Seonghyeon taps on the movie. He plugs in his earphones, handing one end of them to you.

“Oh, wait,” Seonghyeon says. He suddenly realises that you need to move closer so you can actually watch the movie on his screen.. He lets go of your hand briefly, moving the armrest up so that it doesn’t block you from moving closer to him. “Come closer so you can see.”

You blink. Right. You shuffle closer to him, a little hesitant because you’re far too aware of the proximity. You feel like you should – and a little voice in the back of your head says that you want to – rest your head on his shoulder. Soobin and Yuna’s eyes are still on the two of you, and you quickly glance at them.

“Can I…?” you ask, your voice a little breathless as you tilt your head, gesturing towards his chest. Seonghyeon blinks, before nodding quickly. You rest your head against his chest, Seonghyeon shuffles slightly so he can wrap his arm around you. You swear you hear his breath hitch the second you get closer.

“This okay?” he asks, his voice soft. The movie’s already started, the loud music of the introduction blaring in your ears. You try to ignore how out of the corner of your eye, you can see Soobin and Yuna whispering and pointing in your direction.

“Yeah,” you gulp. “More than okay.”

The movie does keep the two of you entertained for a little bit. Seonghyeon sticks his tongue out in disgust when he sees the dead fish in Rachel’s room, and you chuckle at his expression. The two of you burst into fits of laughter at the entire montage when Peik Lin and Oliver are choosing an outfit for Rachel. You suddenly forget about how close you are to him, and how awfully in love the two of you look to everyone else on this plane.

He also tells you that there’s going to be the World University Games next week, and some of the Canadian skaters would be competing. “I think you’ll probably have to come,” Seonghyeon whispers. “Martin was telling me that they’d all be there to compete, so… let’s get in his head?” There’s a coy smile on his lips when he says the words.

“I feel like we’re kind of evil for this,” you say, your voice just as low as his. “It’s fine, though. He fucked with my head, this is… payback.”

Seonghyeon laughs, nodding. “Exactly. And he deserves it anyways. Not like I can’t win on my own merit – I’d beat him regardless.”

Sometime after dinner service, the lights dim, and you’re faced with listening to the soft buzz of the airplane. Your hand is still in Seonghyeon’s, with his music playing in your other ear. When you turn to face him to ask what movie he wants to watch next, you realise that he’s fallen asleep.

“Shit, sorry,” you mumble. You cover him a little bit more with the blanket using your free hand, watching his chest rise and fall. Your eyes flick up to his face, and you realise that Seonghyeon is awfully pretty.

You’d be blind if you said that Eom Seonghyeon wasn’t gorgeous. After all, this is the boy who went viral a few months ago for being one of the ‘best looking athletes’ that would be at the Winter Olympics. But looking at him now, his lashes fluttering as he sleeps, you seem to feel something that you’ve never felt.

Instinctively, you rest your head on his chest once again, and you only freeze when you realise it seconds later. But, you don't move. You tell yourself it's because Soobin and Yuna have still got their eyes on the two of you.

The soft sounds of Seonghyeon’s breath, the low buzz of the airplane’s engine and Chet Baker’s I Fall In Love Too Easily playing in your ears is practically the perfect combination to lull you to sleep. Mere minutes later, you find yourself falling asleep as well, your head on his chest, your knees brushing his.

Somewhere along the way, in his sleep, he wraps his arms around you. The blanket covers the two of you as you doze off, and Soobin finds that it’s the perfect opportunity to snap a photo of you two, showing it to Yuna like it’s a medal that he’s won.

And when you wake up, you realise that a plane ride has never felt… that enjoyable.

You step into the Taereung International Skating Rink roughly a week after you land back in Seoul.

You’d told Anton and Kyujin everything the second you’d stepped foot into that office. Kyujin had squealed and said that this was the perfect romance movie storyline, while Anton had been a little skeptical about how well you could pull this off. After all, acting was not your strong suit. You tell him to have a little bit more faith in you.

The articles that you’ve written have all gone out, and Sasha gives you a nod of approval when she passes by your cubicle. Martin sends you the link to the interview that you did with Seonghyeon, with a message that reads: “getting to glaze your boyfriend for work is crazy.” You send him the rolling eyes emoji in response.

Your eyes immediately search for Seonghyeon, who’s sitting in one of the spectator seats as he watches pairs’ figure skating. He’s got a puffer jacket on and an iced coffee in his hands – odd, but after spending some time with him over the past week, you’ve learnt that he refuses to have any hot drinks.

You make your way over to him, and he beams the second he sees you. “Hi!” he says, gesturing for you to sit down. You can see that he’s wearing his tracksuit underneath – you assume that he’ll be going on to skate in a bit as well. “I got you a mocha. Hot one too – the barista was so shocked that I ordered something hot until I told her it was for someone else.”

You're pleasantly surprised that he remembered your order. George never did.

He hands it over to you, and your fingers brush when he does. Your heart flutters again.

“Thank you,” you say, taking a sip of the coffee. “So… what’s our strategy for today?”

The two of you hadn’t really needed to amp up the affection for the last week, since you’d mostly spent that time getting to know one another. You found that you really enjoyed Seonghyeon’s company, and you’ve grown more comfortable around him. You’d call him a good friend too, even if the acquaintance was developed relatively recently.

“I don’t know, honestly,” Seonghyeon chuckles. “Act sickeningly cute?”

You laugh. The two of you had actually practiced it too – but most of the time, the two of you would just end up bursting out in laughter. You did, admittedly, feel that flutter in your chest a bit too much, despite trying to hide it by laughing.

“Oh, George’s down there,” Seonghyeon says. He looks at you, as if to ask if he can wrap his arm around your shoulder to sell it. You nod, and he does, the fabric of his puffer jacket brushing against the cashmere of your sweater. You lean in closer to his touch, resting your cheek on his chest. You were fine with this, despite your heart seemingly telling you otherwise with how fast it was beating.

You and Seonghyeon had practically spent the whole 14 hour flight back like this – 15 minutes would be nothing.

And it just so happens to be the perfect moment, because George’s eyes are scanning the stands, and they immediately land on the two of you.

“He’s looking,” you whisper under your breath. “He looks really angry.” You giggle at George’s expression, eyebrows furrowed in anger as he watches you and Seonghyeon talk to one another.

“Good.” Seonghyeon says, leaning in closer to you to feign intimacy. You lace your hand with his, and you’re surprised how his hands are somehow still warm, even if he’s been drinking iced coffee in a skating rink. George seems to clench his jaw even tighter at the sight.

“How are you not cold?” you mumble into the fabric of his jacket. “You’re drinking iced coffee in the rink and your hands are somehow still warmer than mine. It’s crazy.”

“I’m used to it,” he shrugs. He gently places down his coffee on the empty chair next to him before unzipping his puffer jacket. “One sec.” He takes off the jacket before draping it over your shoulders carefully, adjusting it so you’re warm. Your hand finds his again – this time, it’s on instinct, and you lean your head on his chest once more.

“Thanks,” you say, eyes flicking up to look at him. His lips curl up into a sweet smile.

“Of course. If you need anything just let me know,” he says softly. At those words, somehow you feel like you’re not even cold anymore.

The two of you are awfully good at being sickeningly sweet, you suppose. Yuna and Soobin pass by and coo at the two of you, teasing both of you until your cheeks burn with embarrassment. You bury your face in Seonghyeon’s chest at one point when Yuna tells you to just get married already. But what really sells it is when you press a kiss to Seonghyeon’s cheek – not without a bit of hesitance though – as a good luck charm, and you suppose that really sells it.

Because when Seonghyeon’s getting ready for his race, George rushes up to him, practically seething. “Do you think you’re funny?” he asks, and Seonghyeon looks at him innocently.

“I didn’t say anything,” he replies. George rolls his eyes, crossing his arms across his chest.

“Not that, Eom. Do you think you’re funny, flaunting your relationship with my ex in front of me like I’m invisible? The nerve that you have, genuinely – you’re trying to get into my head, aren’t you?” George hisses, and Seonghyeon has to suppress an incredulous laugh.

Well, George got one thing right – Seonghyeon was trying to get into his head.

“God forbid I want to be affectionate with my girlfriend,” Seonghyeon chuckles. “I didn’t even see you, George. It’s really not that deep.”

“She’s my ex!” Seonghyeon isn’t sure if George is hearing himself right now, because he sounds absolutely crazy. The expression on his face is laughable too – thinly-veiled rage that makes him look rather… constipated, rather than angry.

“Ex,” Seonghyeon replies, fixing his helmet. “Ex. She’s my girlfriend that I’m dating right now. Need I remind you that you’re the one that fucking cheated? Now – excuse me, I’m going to prep for the race. Don’t let me get into your head – it’s not worth it, is it?.”

Oh, it was so worth it, Seonghyeon thinks.

“I won’t, Eom.” George says, but he doesn’t sound convinced.

Seonghyeon wins the 1500 meter, and George finishes fourth. Not even on the podium. Despite what he was saying to Seonghyeon, the thought of you and Seonghyeon dating was most definitely getting in his head. You fail to hide the joyous smile on your lips when you see George miss the podium.

You rush down towards the boards, grinning as you see Seonghyeon high-five Juhoon. “Hyeon!” you call you, and he beams, skating towards you.

George exits the rink just as he makes it to you, and Seonghyeon pulls you close to him in a hug. “Thanks for the good luck kiss,” he says, loud enough for George to hear. “Do you think it worked well?”

“I think it did,” you beam. Without a second thought, you lean in to press a kiss to his helmet. “That’s a congratulations kiss.” You hear George mutter something under his breath – probably nasty, but you don’t quite care right now. The smile on Seonghyeon’s lips is absolutely infectious, and your heart skips a beat at the sight.

When George is out of earshot, Seonghyeon tells you about the whole ordeal before the race. You scoff, shaking your head at the audacity that George has. “He’s unbelievable,” you shake your head as you walk beside Seonghyeon to grab dinner. “What a fucking joke.”

“I know, right?” Seonghyeon chuckles. “Anyways, I think we did good today. We… really sold it.” He pauses before he says the last three words, almost as if he didn’t really like the way they sounded. You don’t think much of it.

It’s not until you go home when you realise you’ve kissed Seonghyeon twice today. They weren’t on the lips, but they were kisses nevertheless.

And you don’t quite know why it feels right.

Pretending to be in a relationship with Eom Seonghyeon is awfully easy.

You’re not quite sure if that should be a good thing or not.

Even you had to admit that it was awfully convincing. His name in your phone was ‘baby’ with a blue heart emoji. Your lockscreen was the photo of you two sleeping on the plane, courtesy of Soobin – it was an adorable photo, in all honesty. You also saw Seonghyeon practically every single day.

When the two of you landed back in Seoul, you knew that your fake relationship would demand you to see each other more often. But seeing Seonghyeon started becoming less of an obligation to sell the fake relationship, and more so something that you genuinely wanted to do. You liked seeing Seonghyeon and spending time with him, even if part of the time was spent behind the plexiglass and watching him run laps around the rink while you worked on an article. You liked hearing his laughter as he recounted stories about training from years ago, or when you told him about something stupid that happened in the office today.

The hesitancy you first felt whenever you had to be close to Seonghyeon is long gone. It’s instinct by now to just have his hand in yours, or for him to have his arm around your waist. The fluttery feeling in your heart just feels normal now – they’re always there. There’s small moments of intimacy between the two of you that come so naturally, like you two are genuinely a couple in love.

Like when Seonghyeon swipes the frosting off your lips with the pads of his thumb instead of using a napkin, giggling as he does so. Or when you pull him into a tight hug even when he’s all sweaty after setting a new personal best in training, your head against his chest as you hear the loud thumps of his heartbeat. Or when he kissed your temple like he’d done so a million times before after he’d treated you to mint chocolate ice cream, despite saying that he’d never spend money on it.

The craziest thing was that you didn’t even flinch when he did. You just beamed at him like you were used to it. It wasn’t until you got home when you realised that Seonghyeon had basically kissed you. On your temple, but it was still a kiss of sorts. Usually you were the one kissing his cheek, or his temple. Never him.

All of these things were awfully romantic, and you realise that nobody’s ever done anything quite like this for you before. Not George, and not any of the dates that you’d gone on after that. Eom Seonghyeon was quite literally the perfect boyfriend, but you weren’t really dating him.

You’re typing away in your office, waiting for your lunch break so that you can head to the rink and grab a bite with Seonghyeon at the nearby cafe. Your groove on writing the article is interrupted by Anton rushing towards your cubicle, a worried look on his face.

“(Name)!” he hisses, his eyes wide in alarm. You look at him, concern evident on your features. He grabs your shoulders before taking a deep breath. “George is here.”

You jump out of your seat, and your expression now mirrors his. Your heart is pounding incredibly fast in your chest, and dread washes over you like a tidal wave. You haven’t faced George alone since… that day when you’d lied about Seonghyeon being your boyfriend. “What?” you gasp. “Why?”

“I don’t fucking know,” Anton replies, shaking his head. “He came into the office, remembered me as the guy you brought along with you to watch a comp of his and then glared at me like I killed his family. He’s still not intimidating and looks a little bit like a cartoon villain, but that’s not the point — you didn’t ask him for a feature, did you?”

“No, I would never!” you say hurriedly, and Anton looks back to see if George’s nearby. “I thought he’d stay away now that he knows I’m with Hyeon.”

“Do you wanna… I don’t know? Call Seonghyeon? Surely, if he’s here, he needs a rink to train, and there’s only one rink – and Seonghyeon literally lives at the rink. Maybe he’d know,” Anton suggests, and you nod, grabbing your phone.

you | 11:43pm hyeon why the fuck is George STILL in seoul i thought team canada went HOME

baby 🩵 | 11:43pm something about staying to visit family before the olympics martin’s here too (thank god) but he has unfortunately been training with us today how’d you find out oh btw minho gave us early break today!!

you | 11:43pm HE’S IN THE OFFICE im gonna hide in the bathroom I WASN’T GOING TO WRITE A FEATURE ON HIM EITHER WHY IS HE HERE

baby 🩵| 11:44pm what. okay what the fuck i was on my way anyways to take you out for lunch but give me 10 i’ll be there hang tight

“Hyeon is coming,” you say to Anton. “I’m just going to go to the bathroom, and… I’ll come back when he’s here. I really don’t want to face George alone.”

Anton nods, gulping. You rush off to the bathroom, praying that you won’t bump into George on your way there. Anton retreats back to his desk, keeping his head low. He didn’t like George at all – he still remembers when he and Kyujin had to come to your apartment every day for two weeks after the breakup to check up on you. You were an absolute wreck, and Anton wanted to avoid the douchebag who had hurt you at all costs. He didn’t want to waste his breath on even speaking to him.

10 minutes feels like an eternity, and when you get that text from Seonghyeon saying that he’s here, you feel a little lighter already. You leave the bathroom, your footsteps careful as you walk back to your desk.

However, you’re not greeted with Seonghyeon. You’re unfortunately greeted with George Shim, who grins at you like he did all those years ago. This time, you don’t swoon – you look at him with hatred and pure anger in your eyes.

Where was Seonghyeon? Fuck. You could deal with George for at least a few minutes.

“(Name),” George says, his voice sickeningly sweet. Discomfort settles in your stomach, his voice sending awful goosebumps up your arm. Your shoulders tense up, your heart racing with anxiety. “I wanted to just talk.”

“Unless this is about an article, which I haven’t reached out to you for, we don’t have anything to talk about,” you tell him, trying your best to remain calm. This was your workplace, after all – you didn’t want to have any uncharacteristic outbursts that would alarm Sasha. “Please leave, George.”

“I was at my Mom’s, and I was just thinking about how poorly I treated you and how I’ve been acting. She asked me how you were, and I… I don’t know, I just really wanted to apologise,” George pleads, and you look at him like he’s insane – because truly, you think he may be.

“You realise now how poorly you treated me?” you seethe while still trying to keep your voice low, anger and bitterness laced in your tone. “George, I wasted two years of my life on you. The only good thing you’ve done for me is made me realise my self worth, so I won’t waste my time on other people like you.”

“Please, (Name),” George begs. “Let me make it up to you, please. Just give me one chance.”

You think George’s officially lost it. “You’re crazy,” you breathe out.

“For you,” George says, and those words genuinely make you want to throw up. You look at him, distaste evident on your features. The poor intern whose desk is situated next to yours also cringes, and you just know she’s going to ask you who he is tomorrow. For her sake, it’s probably best if she didn’t know.

“No, George. No.” you say, shaking your head. “I’m in a relationship. To you, it won’t matter, because you don’t care about being faithful to your partner, but I care. I’m with Seonghyeon – there’s nothing you can do to change that.”

“You want to be with him?” George groans, almost in disbelief. “He’s– he’s not even–!”

“What’s going on here?”

Seonghyeon’s voice cuts through the tension, and you let out an exhale in relief. But you’ve never heard this icy tone in his voice before – he’s only ever been monotonous whenever he’s spoken to George, but this was something different. It was thinly veiled anger, and you’re quite sure that Seonghyeon could snap any instant.

He walks towards you, and you notice that he’s holding a bouquet of flowers in his hands. Blue hydrangeas. Seonghyeon hasn’t really done any big romantic gestures like this, and your heart leaps to your throat at the sight of the bouquet.

He remembered. You hadn’t mentioned them to him since the first day you two met.

You’re stunned at the grand romantic gesture. The fact that he’d bought them, remembered your favourites and delivered them to you himself makes your heart bloom with warmth. You almost forget that your annoying, cheating ex-boyfriend is standing right here and about to ruin the moment.

“Hi,” he beams, pretending like George’s not here. He hands you the bouquet of flowers, which you happily take. Seonghyeon presses a kiss to your temple before his arm snakes around your waist, pulling you closer to him. You don’t miss how this time, it’s done with a little more possessiveness. Your shoulders immediately relax at his touch, and you let out a breath that you didn’t even know you were holding. “Saw these on my way here and had to get ‘em.”

“Thank you,” you grin. “They’re beautiful.”

George clears his throat, interrupting the moment. The two of you glare at him, but he still isn’t backing down. One thing about George Shim was that he had zero shame. The apologetic, nice guy facade that he had just mere moments ago is gone, and he’s gone back to who you know he truly is. A snake.

“You know what? Fine. You don’t want my apology. But rebounding with my rival is a new fucking low, (Name).” George tells you, pointing at the two of you.

George aims, and he shoots for the heart. You can’t believe he’s trying to make himself seem like the good guy, but you still freeze at his words, clutching onto the bouquet in your hands as if it’ll ground you. Your chest twists with discomfort – you hate that George still knows what to say to get under your skin.

You hear Seonghyeon huff, curling one hand into a fist. His jaw clenches with anger, and his eyebrow twitches ever so slightly. Seonghyeon was practically fighting the urge to lunge towards George. His blood was practically boiling with rage, but he knew that this was your workplace and that he couldn’t cause a scene. That would reflect badly on you.

“Cheating is infinitely worse, George,” Seonghyeon retorts, barely able to conceal his anger. “Stop trying to win her back. It’s clear that it’s not what she wants. Anyways, I think we’re done here,” Seonghyeon says, glancing towards you. “Are we?”

“We’re done,” you say, trying your best to strengthen your resolve. “Us, and the conversation. If it’s regarding work, you can email me. But please don’t show up in my office again and do whatever the hell this is.”

The moment the two of you leave the office, the cold winter air hits the two of you, and you practically crumple into Seonghyeon’s arms. “Fuck,” you exclaim. “That was horrible – why did he have to come in and do that? Who does he think he is?”

Seonghyeon holds you as you clutch onto him like a lifeline. “I’m sorry, I got lost – I should’ve messaged you when I was at your desk or something. I’m sorry,” he whispers against your hair, and you shake your head.

“No, it’s not your fault,” you say, still clearly shaken up. The thing that George said about Seonghyeon being a rebound – it hit you right in the chest. Because though it wasn’t necessarily true, the truth was worse. You and Seonghyeon were faking it. “I just… I’m just shocked at the nerve that he has, actually. Thank you for coming and… defending my honour.”

“Of course,” Seonghyeon replies. “I’m your boyfriend.”

Those words roll off his tongue far too easily. There’s nobody else around, no one that you have to put on a show for – just the two of you, and Seonghyeon still says it like it’s the truth. You find that you don’t hate how it sounds.

“Well, fake one, at least,” he exhales, but you hear this sort of bitterness in his tone. As if he doesn’t like how it sounds at all. “But regardless, I would’ve said something. Even if I didn’t know you.”

Your heart warms at his words, and the fluttery feeling in your chest that’s all too familiar returns. “Thank you,” you whisper gently. Seonghyeon nods, hand resting on your waist. He presses a gentle kiss to your temple, glancing at you to make sure you’re okay. “Okay,” you exhale, trying to shake off your nerves. “Lunch?”

“Of course,” Seonghyeon beams. He laces his fingers around yours, thumb drawing circles on the skin of your hand. “We can go to that noodle place that you’ve been talking about recently?” He asks, tilting his head.

You nod. Seonghyeon always remembers the small things – you don’t even remember when you brought up that noodle place. He notices how your hands are still shaking slightly, and he figures that he should probably distract you with something funny.

You let Seonghyeon’s voice fill the air as he talks to you animatedly about training, telling you about how Soobin uncharacteristically slipped the second he stepped foot on the ice today. As he talks, your nerves dissipate, and you allow yourself to finally relax. Seonghyeon always knows the right things to say, the right things to do – he just knows you.

Everything suddenly just feels easy again.

The realisation fully hits you in Milan.

It’s Team Korea’s first official practice at the Olympic rink, and you’ve shown up to his practice with a tray of coffees – one for each member of the team. Seonghyeon’s the only one who’s got an iced drink, because somehow, he refuses to order hot coffee. You knew that he was committed to the whole winter sports bit, but you were still surprised that he liked everything cold.

Yuna’s the first one who spots you – she squeals when she does, skating up to you and hugging you tight before she takes a cup from the tray. “Oh, you’re the best!” she says. “Seonghyeon, she’s a keeper!” His eyes immediately snap towards your direction, and he beams, skating over to you.

“Hi,” he grins, and you hand him his cup of coffee.

“Iced Americano, 4 shots, no water for you,” you say, our fingers brushing his as he takes the cup from you gratefully. “Like the lunatic you are.” Your lips curl up into a teasing smile as he chuckles, taking a sip of the coffee.

“Just the way I like it,” Seonghyeon grins. You move to place the tray down on the bench, while Seonghyeon places his coffee against the plexiglass. He grabs his skate guards, putting them on so he can step off the rink and sit down next to you. “Gonna take a bit of a break.”

His hand reaches out, closing gently around yours. You let him as you take a sip of your own coffee. The two of you sit there silently for a brief moment, basking in each other’s presence as you hear the loud clinks of skates against ice as Soobin starts a lap.

Your knees brush his, and it’s these quietly intimate moments between you both that that you adore so much. Seonghyeon’s company is grounding, comforting, and you feel right at home, no matter where you are. His hand in yours is a constant reminder that you’ve always got someone quietly in your corner, there for you whenever you need him most.

The fact that this is all pretend rarely flickers in your mind when you’re lost in the moment with him – it only ever strikes when you’re back at home, and you take an hour or two to reel over the fact that the lines between what’s real and what’s fake have become a little too hazy.

You were accustomed to the type of love that came in fiery, overwhelming bursts of affection – it was all you knew with George. The kind of love that would send sparks across your entire body before it left you reeling in confusion at the sudden coldness when he pulled away. The kind that made you fall so hard to the point where you perhaps forgot who you were.

With Seonghyeon, there was this quiet, intimate understanding. There was affection, of course – but this time it truly made you feel loved. The soft brushes of skin, his lips pressed to your temple, the way his hand felt in yours – all of it felt right. You didn’t have to worry about this feeling of being cared for to be fleeting, because you could feel that Seonghyeon did everything with this intention of truly staying.

But then that thought strikes you in your chest. Truly staying. You gulp as your hand remains in Seonghyeon’s, his eyes fixated on Soobin skating laps around the rink. This was all a ruse, and the two of you were able to seamlessly play your roles to perfection. It’s odd, because everything felt all too real.

You shouldn’t truly be catching feelings for him, but you think you were. That realisation clicks, and it’s like slotting the final puzzle piece into the missing space. You don’t think you were pretending anymore.

You start to wonder when everything changed, when you forgot you were simply playing a part – and you can’t even quite place it. The lines between illusion and reality had been blurred for far too long now, and it’s only completely hitting you now.You never pulled away when he pressed his lips to your temple – you leaned in closer. You would reach out for his hand instinctively, and he would welcome it.

Eom Seonghyeon was far too good at being your fake boyfriend, and by playing that part to perfection, you’d fallen for the lie that you’d so carefully tried to curate and sell.

You were in love. That realisation nearly knocks you off your feet, because it’s the truth.

You gulp, trying to act like you hadn’t just realised your own feelings right then and there. The silence doesn’t feel as comforting anymore, but it’s no fault of Seonghyeon’s – it’s because you’re trying to cope with the realisation that you’re in love with your fake boyfriend.

When he invites you to his hotel room later that night, the two of you curl up together on his bed to watch 10 Things I Hate About You. His arm is draped over your shoulder as you rest your head on the crook of his neck, and for the first time in a long time, you care too much about the proximity.

You’re too fixated on the thought that you love him. You think you may have loved him quite possibly at every single turn – it’s why the flutters in your chest feel like they belonged there, like it was just normal. It’s why you always leaned into his touch whenever he held you. It’s why suddenly, it got so easy to lie and play the part that you’ve given to yourself as Eom Seonghyeon’s girlfriend.

You needed to make everyone believe that you were in love with him, and you were successful in doing so. You even made yourself believe in it.

Near the halfway mark of the movie, you’re barely even watching anymore. You’re just looking at Seonghyeon, admiring his features. His long lashes flutter when he blinks, the corners of his lips curl up in that delightfully sweet way when one of the characters makes a joke.

“Do I have something on my face?” he asks you, noticing your gaze on him.

Heat rushes to your cheeks, and you shake your head. “No, no – I just…” your voice trails off, and subconsciously, your eyes flick to his lips. But Seonghyeon notices, and his breath catches in his throat. The room suddenly fills with tension, and you’re engulfed with the overwhelming feeling of just wanting to pull him towards you and close the distance.

The two of you gravitate towards each other like magnets, but you don’t notice that Seonghyeon’s eyes are on your lips as well. The movie is completely forgotten about, and you can hear the soft sound escape past Seonghyeon’s throat when he shifts a little closer, his fingers tingling with nerves.

You gulp, just about to lean in and press his lips to his before that feeling of fear strikes you right in your chest. This was all fake. What the hell were you doing? You both were alone in his room – there was nobody that you had to put a show on for, nobody that you had to convince, nobody that you had to push away. The fear engulfs you like a tidal wave, and although subconsciously, you knew that Seonghyeon would never do anything to hurt you, the mere thought of it is far too much to bear.

And you don’t quite think you can play pretend anymore, not when your feelings were overwhelmingly real. You don’t think you’ve felt this way before, and you don’t think you ever will with anyone but Seonghyeon.

You jump away from him like you’ve just touched fire, and Seonghyeon’s face immediately flashes with worry. “Are you okay?” he asks, eyebrows knitted together in alarm. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to–”

“No,” you gulp, your heart hammering in your chest. You’re scared because of just how much you wanted to actually kiss him, but the fear of heartbreak is just all too much. What if Seonghyeon didn’t feel the same way – what if to him, he was still playing pretend? What if he didn’t fall for your own ruse like you did?

You quickly scramble off his bed, gulping as you try to avoid eye contact. “Um… it’s my bad,” you hurriedly say. “I… I should go.”

Seonghyeon calls out for you, but you run out of the room like your life depends on it. When you get back to your own hotel room, you slump against the wall, hand pressed against your mouth as you process everything that just happened.

You wanted to kiss Eom Seonghyeon – overwhelmingly so, and you very nearly did.

But as you sit there on the floor, back pressed against the hotel room door, you can’t help but think that you’ve made a massive mistake.

You’ve been avoiding Seonghyeon for three days.

Everyone notices the shift in your demeanour – how your shoulders tense up when his name’s mentioned, how you quickly make up a lie about how ‘you’re not free’ when Yuna invites you to lunch with the entire team. You glance at Seonghyeon and you see the flash of disappointment and worry on his face when he hears you turn Yuna’s request down, saying that you were invited to a media lunch that you couldn’t say no to. He just swallows the lump in his throat as he watches you scurry off.

He doesn’t know why you left that night, and all he wants to do is ask you why – but you’re always nowhere to be seen. He sees Anton sit in on his practices too, and the boy looks at him with a look that Seonghyeon could only describe as pity. He knows there’s something a little more complicated with the whole ordeal, but his coach tells him to focus – and he does, but you’re still stuck in the back of his mind.

You know you’re not doing your job properly when you send Anton in for their practices, but you’re far too scared to face him. How could you, after you nearly kissed him that night? It wasn’t for the cameras, it wasn’t for show, it was something genuine. And that was perhaps the most terrifying part.

Your heart, still fragile from the heartbreak of two years ago, told you that you had to run. So you did, even if you can’t help but regret it. You don’t know what you’d do if Seonghyeon didn’t end up feeling the same way as you did, but something tells you that the ache in your chest would be ten times worse than the one you felt years ago.

Every moment you shared wasn’t meant to be taken to heart – it was all pretend. You, much like everyone else around you, had fallen for your own fake relationship. You were in love with Eom Seonghyeon, and you don’t know what the hell you’re supposed to do about it. All you knew was that you couldn’t bear playing pretend when you truly felt something real.

You sit in the media break room, your hands wrapped around a paper cup filled with coffee. You’re watching ice hockey to try and distract yourself from the thought of Seonghyeon, but even the commentator’s loud shouts that fill your ears when James scores a goal isn’t enough.

“I thought I might find you here.”

The voice of Eom Seonghyeon nearly makes you jump out of your seat. Lo and behold, the guy you’ve been trying to avoid for three days is standing behind you, and of course he looks perfect.

He’s wearing his tracksuit, holding his helmet in his hands. The 1500 meter is in a little less than an hour, and you’re due to head to the media pen too so you can actually do your job. Anton can’t cover for you this time.

You look at Seonghyeon, your breath strangled in your throat. There's something in his eyes that tells you that he’s drained, and you feel awful that it’s because of you. “I need to talk to you,” he says. “Please.” His words are desperate, pleading – and you can’t say no.

You nod, getting up from your seat. You lead him out of the media break room, finding a quiet corner away from everyone else. When the two of you are finally alone, Seonghyeon lets out a heavy exhale. You’ve been avoiding him for three days, and Seonghyeon finally can’t bear it anymore.

He can’t stand Anton looking at him with pity, Yuna asking him where you are, and George looking at him with that smug look on his face when he notices how Seonghyeon’s demeanour has changed lately.

“You left,” he chokes out, his voice cracking as he says the words. Hurt is evident in his tone, and you feel horribly guilty. It’s the fucking Olympics – the biggest event of his life, and you just had to hurt him. “Why did you leave?”

“I…” you don’t know how to respond. Why did you leave?

The truth that he wanted was that it got far too real – you actually felt something for your fake boyfriend. It was consuming your very being, and in complete honesty, the days you spent separated from him felt like hell. All you wanted to do was to reach out for him, to feel his hand in yours, to feel like you were home again.

You don’t know when you weren’t faking it anymore. Maybe it was after the plane ride back to Seoul, or when he delivered blue hydrangeas to your office, or simply when the two of you had planned this whole fake relationship. Perhaps you’ve loved him even since the very beginning when he’d first slipped his hand in yours, tangling your lives together in the most beautifully messy way.

“Please say something,” Seonghyeon pleads. “I… I don’t know what happened, I don’t know what I did, but I just don’t understand why you’ve been avoiding me for the past few days. I don’t think I can go on out there, in less than an hour, and deliver the skate of my life when this is making me go crazy, (Name).”

“I can’t,” you stammer. “I can’t do this anymore.”

“Do what?”

“This!” you exclaim. “All this – the relationship, everything. I can’t do it. I’m sorry I dragged you into this mess, but… I can’t… I can’t be near you and pretend that I’m fine with this when this is all fake.”

A beat of silence falls between you two.

“It’s not fake. Not to me,” Seonghyeon exhales. “I… it was always something real.”

You look at him, shock evident on your features. “What?”

“I wasn’t faking,” Seonghyeon repeats. He steps a little closer towards you, and you notice that he’s shaking. “I… from the first time we met at Junior Worlds – when you congratulated me. You were in a rush, you sounded like you shouldn’t be speaking to me, really, but—” he looks at you, eyes shining with sincerity. “It was then when I fell for you. For the first time.”

You blink as you process your words, and Seonghyeon continues. “And then of course, I had a podium ceremony to get to, and then I found out that you were with George, so… I kept my distance,” he gulps, his voice shaking and raw with emotion. “Then a few months ago, you grabbed me by the sleeve and said that I was your boyfriend. I had to take a few seconds to really process what was going on, and then I saw that it was you.”

“I saw how much you wanted George to believe you, so… I put my hand in yours, and everything just… came back to me, and I fell for the second time. But this time it was absolutely hopeless – like… a total wipeout.” he chuckles, shaking his head.

“And all I could think about was that I wanted to hold your hand again. Then you explained everything to me, and I figured that I could help you with whatever you needed to get George off your back, and that I could also finally get to know you better. I didn’t… really care about getting in George’s head, I know I’m good enough to beat him on merit alone. I guess it was just my excuse of making it seem like I wanted something out of it too, or whatever. Or just convincing myself that I didn't fall in love all over again instantly."

"And quite possibly the reason why I was so good at playing my part, like you say, was because… I wasn’t faking anything. Everything I did or said – I meant all of it.”

He looks at you, searching your eyes for any sort of reaction. You’re so stunned that you don’t even know what to say or even do.

Seonghyeon lets out a deep breath after his confession, fidgeting with the chinstrap on his helmet. “I have a race soon, but… you know what?” He takes another deep breath to try and calm his nerves. He’s laid bare all his feelings in front of you, and all he can do is hope that you feel the same.

“You don’t have to say anything, you don’t have to accept it, but I think you must know it. I love you.”

Eom Seonghyeon loves you. The revelation makes your heart swell. You gasp hearing those words – it’s barely audible, but Seonghyeon hears it.

“You love me.” you gasp, your voice laced with disbelief.

“I do,” Seonghyeon replies. “I love you.”

“Oh,” you manage to choke out, before you burst into a sob. Seonghyeon immediately drops his helmet, rushing towards you to hold you in his arms, and you’ve missed his touch. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry for leaving.”

“Shh, it’s okay,” Seonghyeon says, thumbs swiping at your cheeks to wipe away your tears. He kisses your temple gently, holding you in his arms as you sob. You feel so guilty. You thought he didn’t feel the same, but he did – all this time, you’ve been running from the boy who’s always loved you.

“I just… after that night at your place, everything got too real,” You’re an open book now once you’ve let the dam break, and your voice is shaky with emotion. “I didn’t think that you felt the same way, so I had to leave because I didn’t want to get hurt. I got scared because we started this with remotely zero intention for something real to get involved.”

“I don’t know when it happened, but it was when I was at the rink, and I’d just gotten you coffee and we were sitting there quietly. And then I… I just knew. Everything just made sense,” you exhale, shaking your head as the words spill past your lips.

“My heart fluttered far too many times when we were supposedly faking everything – when you sent me that giant bouquet of blue hydrangeas – you remembered, of course you did. When you draped your jacket over me that first night at the banquet, hell, even when you just asked me basic questions about myself. Nobody’s ever… cared for me like you do. I think maybe I even felt something when you first held my hand, too.”

“I shouldn’t have run away that night, but… I just… I really don’t think I would know what to do with myself if you didn’t love me back.”

Seonghyeon hears those words, and his eyes immediately widen. “You… love me too?”

“Yes,” you chuckle, swiping away at your tears. “So much so I don’t even have the words.”

Seonghyeon lets out an exhale in relief, one hand cupping your cheek and the other around your waist. He looks at you like you’re the brightest star in all of the cosmos. “You don’t know how happy I am to hear you say that,” he beams, eyes crinkling into crescents as he does. “Happier than winning a Worlds’ title, really.”

“Oh, please,” you reply, giggling. Tears are still pricking at your eyes, but they flick towards Seonghyeon’s lips. “Can I?”

You don’t even have to ask twice before Seonghyeon slots his lips against yours – finally. He kisses you gently and slowly, like he has all the time in the world. His thumb stroking your cheek as he does so, his touch delicate.

The feeling of his lips pressed against yours allowed every single feeling that you’ve been keeping locked away for months resurface.

All the flutters that you’d deemed as normal, all the brushes of skin that you’d dwelled on for far too long, all the romantic lines that you’d taken to heart. It's overwhelming, but in the most beautiful way.

You melt against him, your body pressed flush against his as Seonghyeon’s hand gently presses against your waist to ground you.

When you pull away for air, Seonghyeon’s eyes are practically shining with love. His lips crack into the widest grin you’ve ever seen, and he kisses you again. Seonghyeon doesn’t think he ever wants to let you go, even if one of the most important races of his life was about to come up.

“Hyeon,” you giggle against his lips. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he replies, breathless from the kiss and his expression matching yours. He presses his lips to yours again, and you let him. “I’ve wanted to do that for so long.”

You grin, lacing your fingers with his like you always do. You don’t know how much you’ve missed it until now. “Well… safe to say that it’s all real now?” you quip, and Seonghyeon chuckles.

“I just told you I wasn’t faking anything,” he says, his tone sincere. “But yes – if you’ll have me, of course.”

You press your lips to his cheek in a kiss, and you don’t think you’ve ever been this happy. “Of course,” you tell him, beaming. You hear the footsteps of another journalist down the hallway, and it snaps you out of the moment. You check your watch, and you’re supposed to be heading down to the media pen soon. “As much as I’d love to stay, I think we have someplace to be.”

Seonghyeon peers over your shoulder to look at your watch, and he nods – he has to go line up in five minutes. “Okay, I’ll see you soon then?” he asks. Seonghyeon doesn’t want to let go of your hand at all, pressing a kiss to your knuckles before he lets go.

“Of course, Hyeon,” you beam. You stop him briefly before he leaves, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips for good luck. “You’re going to do amazing.” He smiles back at you, chasing your lips to sneak in another kiss before he heads off.

Less than half an hour after you and Seonghyeon truly make things official, he wins his first Olympic gold.

His public declaration of love for you comes not long after.

The crowds roar Seonghyeon’s name as you watch him skate around the rink, the South Korean flag draped over him. A bright, shiny, gold Olympic medal hangs around his neck as he beams, one hand covering his mouth in disbelief. Your hands are clasped together as you watch him, your eyes shining with pride.

Seonghyeon’s eye catches yours, and he immediately skates towards you. You rush towards the boards of the rink, leaving your notebook and microphone at the media pen. When he reaches you, without a single thought, he pulls you in by your lanyard and captures your lips in a kiss.

The crowd somehow roars a little louder, and despite your flushed embarrassment, you press your lips to his a little more insistently. When you pull away for air, you look at him like he’s the only one in this rink, giving his helmet a little pat. “You did it,” you say, beaming brightly at him. “Olympic champ.”

“Your Olympic champ,” he quips, a lovesick smile on his lips. You giggle at his words, shaking your head as heat rushes up to your cheeks. Martin, who’s taken silver, calls for his name with a teasing smile on his lips. "I think the good luck kisses did wonders."

“Hyeon, come for a photo! You have all the time in the world to hang with your girlfriend!” His voice booms across the arena, and some of the fans sitting in the front row erupt with laughter. Laughter bubbles past Seonghyeon’s lips, far too in love with you to even be embarrassed that everyone knows.

“I love you,” Seonghyeon says, beaming before he presses his lips to yours once more amidst the cheers of the crowd.

“I love you too,” you tell him, before he skates off happily, gold medal around his neck. You watch him smile for the cameras with your heart so full you think it could burst at the seams. And when he skates back to you and kisses you again, you just know one thing:

Whether it be in Milan, Seoul, or Dordrecht, all you knew was that home was wherever Eom Seonghyeon was.

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