Happiness (Jackson Wang x Reader)
Pairing: Jackson Wang (GOT7) x Reader
Genre: Fluff, enemies to lovers (kinda), fake dating AU
Summary: When your familyâs yearly gathering was coming up, you didnât want to go really. Not wanting to end up going alone again, you happen to tell your parents that Jackson is your boyfriend. The problem was that Jackson didnât really like you. Oh, well.
You were happy with your life. Anyone hearing this sentence would think different things. Think about things that make you happy. Some people might say itâs their family, their friends or even their pets. Others might say even trivial things such as ice cream or just a sunny day. For some people, true happiness means a perfect life. A great family, a job you loved and someone in your life who loved you more than anything in this world.
Your life was far from that perfect world. But that didnât mean that you werenât happy. You really were. You were a regular university student who studied arts. Something that your family didnât really approve of. They wanted you to study something sophisticated like your sister, Yuna, who was two semesters away from becoming a doctor. Your family was wealthy but after hearing your plans to go after your dream to have an art gallery with art from all around the world, they decided to not pay for your tuition for college.
It didnât matter to you. You said that it was fine. Your mother was a bit more accepting than your father but they werenât really proud of telling their friends about you. They preferred to talk about your future doctor sister and gloated about it.
Remember the perfect life that was mentioned earlier on? Perfect family, perfect boyfriend and all that. Your sister did have that (even though you thought that her boyfriend was kind of a douche). You didnât have a boyfriend or a degree that could make you rich. You didnât want to cut your family off though. You still went to the annual family gatherings they arranged every year. It was a pain in the ass, honestly. Everyone judged you for what you were doing with your life. But you didnât care about their opinions. You were still a part of this family.
You could say that you were kind of the black sheep in the family. But at least you were doing something that you loved. Your university was a few hours away from home, so you werenât always reminded of the fact that you were a disappointment to the family. Your friends in university did not judge you. No one really did. There were a few exceptions but doesnât every university have those kinds of people?
You also were close to graduating. You mainly focused on arts in your studies but you also took a few courses about business strategies. If you wanted to become successful, business sure helped with that. You were pretty confident when it came to mathematics and numbers so the course was really easy for you. You took it with business majors and even they were confused. How could an art major be so smart? Their words, not yours.
Jackson Wang was the best in all of his courses. He was smart, handsome and bound to be an amazing businessman, taking after his father. He was the heir to his fatherâs company and he wanted to do a perfect job when he took over. He studied for all of his exams like crazy and aced every single one of them. But then you happened. An art major who took a business class just because you felt like it. Jackson didnât usually have any competition in his classes but in this class, you seemed to be a natural in. The professor liked you and he didnât understand why.
In every test, you were better or as good as him. It annoyed him. He made sure you knew that. You were always trying to stay positive but Jackson made it hard for you to do so. You knew about his reputation, the rich heir of the Wang Empire. Everyone knew him and his goals. His future was written for him by his dad.
Your family was, as earlier mentioned, wealthy too but not like his family. He could even buy this university if he wanted to. You heard that he wasnât that stuck up as a person. Apparently, he was a really nice person towards everyone and he was fun to be around. He wasnât only popular because of his money. It was really confusing because seemed to hate you for some reason.Â
He liked to tease and make fun of you. You tried not to really think about it too much. You honestly had more important things to think about than stupid Jackson Wang. Your mind was completely somewhere else. This yearâs family gathering was soon and you were already preparing yourself for some huge headaches. Another year of your family telling you that you should at least find a boyfriend. You were tired of this. You sometimes wished that you had a boyfriend just to shut them up.
Why were they even so interested in your love life? A reason for that was for sure your sister. Since she had everything your parents wanted, they expected you to have that too. They gave up on convincing you to change your major but they at least wanted a good boyfriend for you.
You liked seeing your family but you didnât want to hear the same things over and over again for the next 10 years.
You were on campus. It was a sunny day and you sat down on the grass and breathed in the fresh wind. Then you noticed two people sitting down a few meters away from you. Jackson and Jinyoung. The two of them were best friends and studied the same thing. Jinyoung was a chill guy but Jackson was kind of an asshole. Not kind of. He was an asshole for sure.
âYo, Y/N. What are you doing here all alone? Where are your friends? Do you even have friends?â, Jackson said and laughed.
Jinyoung laughed along. âStop it, Jackson.â
You rolled your eyes. âHa. Ha. So funny, Jackson. Didnât hear that one before!â
Just for your information, you did have friends!
Suddenly your phone rang. âHello?â, you said after picking up. You noticed that Jinyoung got up and walked in the direction of the cafeteria. So, you sat there, alone with Jackson.
âHello, dear!â, you heard your motherâs voice from the other side of the line. âYou know our family gathering is this weekend, right? Iâm expecting you to come!â, she said in a cheery tone.
She was always so enthusiastic about these gatherings, you didnât even understand why. âYeah, I will be coming.â
You then heard your sisterâs voice in the background. âAre you coming alone again? Alex will come again this year, maybe you should bring your boyfriend.â, she said and laughed. âOh, I forgot you donât have one!â
You were mad. You hated her sometimes. She was such a bitch when it came to showing her perfect life off. âWhat do you know, huh?â, you said in an angry voice. You felt Jacksonâs eyes on you, clearly hearing your conversation.
âWhat? Are you bringing someone with you this time?â, you could hear her smirking.
âYuna, will you stop now? It doesnât matter if she brings someone, even though it would be nice! Just bring yourself, dear.â, your mum interrupted you.
âWhat if I am bringing someone?â, you said, slightly panicking. You didnât even know what you were saying. You did not have someone to bring with you!
âOh, really?â, your mother said in a surprised tone. âDo you have I boyfriend?â, she asked you in an excited voice.
âWhat?â, Yuna said, clearly annoyed.
Donât say it, donât say it, donât fucking say it! âYes. I am bringing my boyfriendâŠâ, you looked around full of panic and found Jackson, again staring at you. âJackson!â, you said and Jackson jumped a little in surprise, looking at you with a confused expression. âYeah, my boyfriend, Jackson! Iâll see you on Saturday, bye!â, you quickly hung up.
You said Jackson! Out of all people. You looked at him in horror as he got up and sat next to you. âDid I hear that right? I am your boyfriend now?â, he said, still confused. âWhy the hell did you say that? Do you want to get popular or something? Are you spreading lies?â
You rolled your eyes. âDonât flatter yourself. Why would I tell everyone that weâre dating? I panicked, okay and you were the first guy I saw.â, you then sighed.
âOkay, will you explain the situation to me then? Because it involves me, I think I deserve to know why you said that.â
You sighed again and looked down, a little embarrassed. âMy family has this yearly family gathering. We meet, talk, have fun and catch up. My sister has this annoying boyfriend and she is about to be a doctor. Sheâs the daughter my parents always wanted. I study arts as you know and itâs not something to be proud of and every year I go alone.â, you now looked at him, still feeling hot from embarrassment. âThey kind of accepted the fact that I wonât be a doctor or something like that. But I didnât want to listen to them talking shit about me for not having a boyfriend again. My sister made fun of me on the phone and I panicked and said your name.â
Jackson didnât know what to say. He thought his family was thoughtless but yours seemed to be worse.
âIâm sorry. I will call them and say that it was a joke.â, you said and gave him a little forced smile.
âYour family really does that? Every year?â, he asked you curiously.
âThey make fun of me, every. Fucking. Year.â, you rolled your eyes. âBut Iâm sorry about that.â
âNo! You know what? Itâs next weekend, right? I will help you⊠If you help me!â, he quickly said, waiting for a response.
âWhat could I possibly help you with?â, you said, with a confused expression.
He smirked. âFail the next test in our business class. It boosts my ego.â
âWhat? Why?â, you didnât know why he wanted that.
âWell, I am usually the best in all of my classes. I cannot have an art major take my spot.â, he smirked again. ââŠOr you could at least tell me what your secret is?â
You laughed a little. âThere literally is no secret. My brain just understands business things, I guess?â
Jackson sighed. âWhy didnât you choose a business major then?â
You looked up to the clear, blue sky. âEveryone asks me that. I just enjoy drawing, painting. Everything that lets me be creative. I dream to open a gallery someday. Maybe you can visit my gallery one day. I know it might not be that easyâŠbut I will at least try.â, you said and smiled.
You looked way more approachable when you were smiling, thought Jackson. âYouâre doing something that a lot of people are afraid to do. Youâre following your dream. You should be proud of that.â
He didnât even know why he said that. Why was he so nice to you? Maybe he pitied you, for having such a horrible family. Your life didnât seem as easy as his life was. From a young age on, Jackson always knew that he would take over his fatherâs company. Itâs like there was no other thing. He never thought about doing something else. Seeing you made him think about that more.
You were in your own little world but you still were realistic. You didnât care about other peopleâs opinions. Thatâs what made you interesting to Jackson.
âYou know what? Okay, I guess I can fail that test if it makes you happy. Will you pretend to be my boyfriend next weekend, please?â, you asked Jackson and gave him a sweet smile.
He cracked a smile too. âOkay. I will be your boyfriend. I will be a great one too!â
You held your hand towards him. âDeal?â
Jackson smirked. âCouples donât shake hands.â, he said and put his arm around you.
âWow, you really have no boundaries, huh?â, you said and laughed.
âWe need to plan our relationship though. It has to be believable⊠My parents would like you anyway. You have money and a good family name. These are the only things that matter to them.â, you speak out the sad reality.
âOkay, letâs do this!â
According to your plan, you have dated for 7 months until Jackson finally asked you to be his girlfriend on your 4th date. You met in your business class, which was technically not a lie and he was immediately interested in you. He kissed you on your 3rd date and after that everything went smoothly. You just hoped that the story was believable. He was ready to meet your family. You warned him about every single one of your family members. You had some cousins that were after men all the time. Jackson had to stay away from them, even though it might be hard for him. You noticed that he was very affectionate and touchy.
He thought that it was a good idea to go on a fake date before, just to see how far you could go as a couple. You told him that hand-holding and hugs were fine. If it were up to him, he wouldâve kissed you the whole time. He told you that he thinks that kissing was way more believable.
You said no. At least not when it wasnât necessary.
He surely did not shy away to touch you. You went to an indoor ice rink for your fake date. He held your hand, helped you up and he even held you close when you were about to fall.
You noticed that your cheeks were getting redder every second. You blamed it on the cold air. Letâs be real, you were a total noob on the ice. He had amazing balance and looked very good on the ice.
âJackson, will you stop doing those cool tricks? I feel like a loser next to you!â, you said and laughed when he nearly fell on his face.
âGuess my attempt to impress you failed, huh?â, he said and skated close to you and grabbed you by your hips, softly. You noticed some girls looking at you two with jealousy in their eyes. They probably thought that your âboyfriendâ was very cute.
Your breath hitched for a second. âUh, yeah!â, you said, too quickly. âYou donât need to impress me, though!â, you assured him.
âI want to!â, he smiled and then took your hand. âI am your boyfriend, after all!â
âFake boyfriend.â, you corrected him. âYou donât need to do that much.â
âYeah. Right.â, he said. You swear you saw his smile falter. Maybe it was your imagination.
The second fake date was just an evening in Jacksonâs apartment. He had rented a very luxurious apartment close to campus since his father was rich as hell. Why would he live in normal student dorms? You didnât feel uncomfortable though. Jackson opened a movie on Netflix. You didnât really concentrate on the movie.
âIt must be a shitty feeling⊠to be the next heir to a huge company, right? Well⊠I mean the people judge you pretty quickly.â, you said and pulled the blanket Jackson gave you close to your body.
âI got used to it. They think that I do nothing. But Iâm working towards my degree. My father didnât just hand me the company. Iâm working on business strategies and ways to be a good CEO.â
After getting to know him better you admired how he handled judgment. You were, in a way, really similar. You never thought that you would ever say that. He handled judgment different than you. He was judged for being âspoiledâ, a ârich kidâ. You did think that of him too. But he works harder than anyone else for his dream. You didnât listen to anyone either and did what you thought was right and so did he. âYou are really inspiring, Jackson. Never change and always follow your dreams, okay?â, you smiled at him and put your head on his shoulder.
Jackson tensed up a little but then slowly put his arm around you. âWe both should do that and prove everyone else wrong.â, he whispered.
You slowly dozed off on Jacksonâs shoulder. âMmm, yeah, that sounds good.â Before you knew it, you were asleep.
Jackson noticed and put the blanket over properly. He slowly pressed a kiss on the top of your head. âGood night, Y/NâŠâ, he whispered before closing his eyes too.
Before you knew it, the dreaded weekend arrived. You felt closer to Jackson after accidentally spending the night at his place. It wasnât that awkward anymore but there was still a certain tension from Jacksonâs side. You didnât really know why.
You got out of Jacksonâs fancy car. You walked up to him. âWait, let me-â, you walked closer to him and fixed his tie. âArenât you handsome?â, you grinned at him. âAre you ready to meet them?â
Jackson smiled at you and took your hand. âYeah. Letâs do this.â
His hand felt warm in yours and you became conscious of how your heartbeat quickened. You shouldnât feel this. Itâs not like you were dating for real.
Your mom opened the door, full of excitement. âY/N, dear!â, she said and hugged you tightly. âAnd you must be Jackson! Welcome to the family.â, she hugged him as well. âCome in!â
You introduced Jackson to everyone (even your annoying cousins). Everyone was very positively surprised that he was your boyfriend. More like, they asked themselves how Jackson would date someone like you. It was clear that he was more popular than you were in your own family. Your sister seemed to be very annoyed. Alex, like the douchebag he was, didnât even sit next to her. He was too busy talking to important people on the phone. He was a lawyer, that was the reason your family never said anything about him.
Jackson on the hand was by your side, the whole night. He held you close to him and always spoke highly of you. His touchiness seemed to be helpful for once. You liked the feeling of his arm around your hip. He made you feel protected and special.
Now that your parentsâ interest was for Jackson, your sister was frustrated. You didnât give her any attention. You just enjoyed the time with your family. For once no one said anything about you.
Until now. âSo, Jackson, why would a guy like you date an artist like Y/N?â, one of your annoying cousins asked him. With an artist, she actually meant loser.
âWhatâs wrong with being an artist?â, Jackson said and looked at her. âI like her the way she is.â
âIt just⊠doesnât seem to fit for a man of your caliber.â, she added. âHow long were you dating again?â
â5 months.â, Jackson said at the same time you said, â7 months.â
Why did Jackson mix it up now? Was he nervous?
âI meant for 7 months. Time passes quickly when you spend it with the woman you love.â, he said and gave you a genuine look that made your heart skip a beat. At the same time, you wished that this was real.
You heard a few âawwâsâ. Your sister didnât seem to believe anything. She seemed to be skeptical of every single thing you said.
âAnd you know what? Y/N is doing something she loves. I support her no matter what, as long as sheâs happy.â, he added with confidence in his voice. You looked at him with gratefulness in your eyes. You couldnât be happier to have him by your side right now.
After dinner, you and Yuna helped with the dishes. As you washed the dishes, she dried them. âSo, how did you arrange this? The relationship is totally fake, isnât it?â, she said while smirking.
You rolled your eyes. âAre you jealous that my boyfriend actually gives me attention?â, you said in a monotone voice.
âI will expose you. I didnât think that you were this desperate to lie, just to get validation from mom and dad.â, she fired back.
âShut up.â, you said quietly.
âI said, SHUT UP!â, you said louder. âYou donât even know whatâs going on in my life. Who are you to tell me that my relationship is fake?â, you washed and dried your hands. âYou are telling me that I am trying to get validation? What about you, huh? You didnât even want to become a doctor and you are dating an asshole just because he is a lawyer! So much for validation, huh?â, you finally said and leaving your sister speechless.
Before she could answer, you walked out of the kitchen to the garden, just to run into Jackson. âHey, I heard some things⊠Are you okay?â
You took a deep breath. âI just told Yuna what I think of her. I should do that more often. Thank you for worrying, Iâm fine.â, you said and put your hand on his cheek. âYou have been nothing but kind to me. I donât even know why youâre doing all of this.â
Jackson looked in your eyes. âI donât know either. I guess I just like to see you smile. Iâm here to make sure that you never lose that smile of yours. Never doubt yourself. You are better than all of these people in that house. You stayed true to yourself.â
You smiled even more. âThank you.â, you whispered.
âDonât. Donât thank me for this. It should be self-evident. You know what? I donât even want you to fail that test.â, he grinned.
âGood, I wasnât planning on failing anyway.â, you laughed.
Jackson knew that he loved your smile but he liked your laugh more. âYouâre a cheater.â, he laughed too.Â
Then there was a comfortable silence. You turned to Jackson.
What you did then, felt right. You didnât even know how it happened. Itâs like there was a force that pulled you two together. You put your hands on his cheeks and pulled him close to you. Then your lips met with an incredible force. It was like you were aching to feel his lips on yours. His lips felt soft and he was an amazing kisser for sure.
He then pulled you closer by wrapping his arms around your hips. It felt like your heart was going to stop any minute. Jackson knew what he was doing.
For the first time in forever, Jackson felt like this towards a woman. It was supposed to be fake but it sure as hell didnât feel like it. His last few relationships didnât even feel like this. As you stopped kissing, he looked at you with an expression that said: What now?
âI donât think this was for showâŠâ, you said with a quiet voice.
âI like you.â, Jackson finally confessed. âI like you a lot and it honestly scares me a little.â, he said in a shaky voice. He did it. He told you.
Your eyes started tearing up. âSorryâŠâ, you wiped the tears away. Oh noâŠ, Jackson thought.
âI like you too, Jackson⊠It wasnât only scary to you.â, you said and took his hand. âWhy donât we try this out? And if it doesnât work out⊠thatâs fine too. But I cannot pretend like nothing happened after that kiss. I want more of those!â, you said with a huge smile on your face.
Jackson grinned. âI can give you as many as you want!â, he smiled at you and gave you another kiss.
After that family gathering, you brought Jackson to the next ones as well. Yuna told you that she broke up with Alex. You talked it out. She confessed that she was jealous of you, not because of Jackson, but because of the fact that you were brave enough to follow your dreams in a family like yours. You handled the judgment and heard shit all those years but you simply did not care. She admired that about you. 2 years later, she found another boyfriend who later became her husband. He wasnât rich, he was just a normal office worker with an average salary. But she loved him more than anything in this world. Just like you loved Jackson.
On campus, a lot of people were surprised that you and Jackson were dating. People got used to it quickly and your fake relationship became a real one. You never regretted kissing him that night. Â
âJackson!â, you shouted. âPlease help me hang this up, this piece is super heavy!â
âOf course, baby!â, he quickly walked to your side and you hung up a painting that you have bought from an artist in Italy.
You might ask yourselves now what happened in these six years? Well, you did struggle after graduating to find a job at first. Jackson still supported you. You decided to travel the world for a year with Jackson. You met a lot of amazing people along the way and you found a lot of inspiration. You painted a lot and met different artists as well. That led to the day you opened your own gallery. You cried a little when you finally opened the gallery. You bought a lot of paintings for your gallery and now it is a modern art gallery that had a decent number of visitors every day.
âThat painting looks great.â, Jackson said and looked at it with an impressed expression.
âYeah, I got it from Massimo in Italy! He finally sold it to me.â, you said proudly and turned to your, now, fiance.Â
Jackson gave you a long kiss. âYou deserve all of this...â
4 years after you and Jackson became a couple, Jacksonâs father stepped down as the CEO of the Wang Empire. Jackson was more than ready to become the new CEO. He came with a fresh mind and had plans for the company. He made more profit in two years than his father made in 4 years. He was awarded with numerous prices for his innovations as a CEO. Sometimes you wondered how you were so lucky to find a man like that. It must have been some kind of destiny. If you didnât say his name out of panic that day, this would have never happened. Your family was good for something for once.
He asked you to marry him 2 years later and your wedding was soon. It felt like a dream but it wasnât. What once was a dream for you became a reality.Â
Oh, by the way. After opening your own gallery, you never heard any negative comments about your job ever again at the yearly family gathering. Thank god you never gave up.
And suddenly, that perfect life you have described earlier was your life.