Ever since you accidentally spilled your lunch on Im Youngmin, the popular chaebol senior with money and fame, he’s seemed to hate you. However, when some odd photos of the two of you arguing appear in a tabloid, he has a solution as to how you can make up for it– pretend to be his girlfriend.
read chapter one here | read chapter five here
high school au + fake dating au
same universe/basic timeline as let me love you
multichaptered for all you youngmin stans!
reader is a second-year in high school; youngmin is a third-year
“I can’t believe I let you drag me into this,” you grumbled from your position next to Youngmin, standing awkwardly in the entrance of one of the fanciest hotels in Gangnam.
“Free food,” Youngmin whispered back playfully, making you nudge his side. The gesture made a thousand cameras flash, and you did your best to not roll your eyes. You, Youngmin, Youngjae and Hyemi (who was carrying a sleepy Daehwi) were standing at the entrance of the Lai gala, thrown to celebrate the opening of another strip mall in Busan by the Lais. Lai Guanlin, another student at your high school, though a year younger than you, was the nephew of the family throwing the event. Youngmin had pleaded for you to attend, explaining that these types of events were usually extremely dry and boring, even with Daehwi there.
“(y/n), is this your first gala?” Hyemi asked, not unkindly, as she glanced over at you. You hurried to nod, smiling at the sweet woman. “Well, Youngmin, keep her close, I don’t want her getting overwhelmed or worried.”
Youngmin nodded, hand immediately going to your waist. You froze in fear, realizing how familiar the position had gotten for the two of you. The two of you had gotten through the night so far without getting into a single argument, setting a definite record for ‘most time without yelling’.
“You ready to head inside?” Youngmin asked you quietly. You nodded your head mutely, letting him lead the way. The four of you had gotten there fairly late, and there was already a good number of people milling around the space reserved, either dancing, mingling, or sitting at the tables that were arranged on one side of the room. “Food?”
“Yes, please,” you nodded, heaving a sigh of relief at the thought of having something to keep you busy. There were so many incredibly important people in the room, and you were terrified at the thought of making even one wrong move.
“Wow, they got some really fancy meat,” Youngmin whistled, impressed, “the Lais really went all out with this event.”
“I guess so,” you shrugged, not really able to tell the difference. “So, how are you enjoying the feeling of recently graduating?”
Youngmin grinned, loading food onto his plate, “not much different. It’s summer, so I guess the feeling of freedom hasn’t really set in yet.”
“Noona, can you help me get food too?” Daehwi asked, tugging on your pant leg. Apparently, Hyemi had set her son down and let him loose.
“Sure,” you smiled down at the adorable boy, grabbing a plate for him as well, “what do you want?”
“Beans.” Daehwi said firmly, nodding his head. Youngmin looked over at you in amusement, clearly trying to suppress a laugh. You glared at him.
“Just beans?” You asked, raising a casual eyebrow. From her seat, Hyemi sent you an embarrassed smile. Clearly, this wasn’t a new thing.
“Yes. Beans,” Daehwi said serenely, “with a bit of salt, please.”
More upbeat music started up as you carefully spooned some beans onto Daehwi’s plate, and slowly, couples began filling the dance floor. One couple in particular caught your eye—Lai Guanlin and Kim Hyojin, both juniors at your high school, who were dancing slowly. You smiled at the sight.
“They’re cute,” you commented to Youngmin, who hummed in agreement.
“Guanlin’s had a crush on her for ages,” he replied, chuckling at the sight, “I guess fate decided to bless him.”
“Really?” You looked up at Youngmin before looking back at the couple, “that’s adorable.”
Youngmin grinned, patting you on the back. “Hey bub, you got all the food you need?” He asked Daehwi, holding his hand out for the younger to grasp. Daehwi nodded, following Youngmin to the table where his parents had sat, you right behind them.
“(y/n), you should live with us,” Daehwi said abruptly, through a rather large mouthful of beans. You had been sipping some water when he said that, and started coughing, eyes watering as you wheezed.
“Daehwi-ah, I don’t think that would work too well,” Youngmin said, eyes playful as they met yours. You were still coughing, trying to suppress the tickling in your throat.
“Why not?” Daehwi pouted, “I like (y/n), you like (y/n), Mom likes (y/n).”
“Well, (y/n) has their own family that they need to take care of,” Youngmin explained carefully. You nodded with a smile.
“Oh,” Daehwi nodded, clearly thinking about this new revelation.
“So, Daehwi,” you looked down at the adorable child, who was slowly spooning beans into his mouth. “Do you have any plans for the summer?”
Daehwi perked up, looking up at you with a wide smile, “yeah! I’m going to lots of summer camps!”
“Oh, really?” you smiled, silently handing him a napkin after seeing how much sauce had gotten on his face. “What camps?”
“I’m going to one for science, one for reading, and one for space!” Daehwi nodded proudly, grinning toothily, “I really like science, and I wanna be an astronaut.”
“Wow, that’s a hard job,” you said, grinning at his enthusiasm, “are you excited?” Daehwi nodded, mouth full once more.
The three of you sat in relative silence, Daehwi occasionally commenting on someone’s dress or the song. Youngmin ate through two plates and had started on a third when Daehwi announced that he needed to go to the bathroom. Youngmin had started to get up, but you got up instead.
“I need to go as well, I can go with you,” you said, holding your hand out for Daehwi to take. Youngmin nodded up at you with a small smile, and the two of you set off for the back of the venue where the bathrooms were.
“Are you gonna be okay going by yourself?” You asked Daehwi, who just nodded, trotting off into the bathroom. You headed into the other bathroom, quickly going before washing your hands. As you checked your reflection in the mirror, you recognized the person standing next to you—your junior, Kim Hyojin.
“Oh! Hi!” Hyojin smiled widely, waving at you.
“Hey, Hyojin,” you waved back, looking over at her.
“I didn’t realize that you’d be here,” Hyojin commented, quickly straightening her hair a bit.
“Yeah, I’m here with Youngmin,” you replied, “you’re here with Guanlin, right? Are you guys dating?”
Hyojin blushed, smiling shyly at you, “yeah, actually, he just asked me out.”
“Really?” You brightened, smiling widely, “congratulations! You guys are super cute together.”
“Aw, thanks,” Hyojin grinned, “you and Youngmin are super cute as well.”
You mentally winced, but made sure to thank her.
“All of my friends have been talking about how adorable you two are,” Hyojin laughed, “my whole grade was totally freaking out when we heard about the dictionary thing.”
“Wait, even the underclassmen heard about that?” You asked, pausing in shock. Youngmin’s popularity really was no joke.
“Yeah,” Hyojin nodded, “we heard about the dictionary thing, how he helped you with the English final, and it’s so cute how he went to support you at your dance competition.”
Oh, if only you knew, you thought to yourself grimly. “Well, it was nice seeing you,” you patted Hyojin on the back, “congratulations again.”
Hyojin nodded as you headed out of the bathroom, Daehwi waiting patiently outside.
“Ready to go?” You asked cheerfully, holding your hand out once more. Daehwi nodded, grasping your hand tightly. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired,” Daehwi sighed as the two of you walked back out to the main room. “Sleepy.”
You took your seat next to Youngmin, Daehwi climbing into your lap instead of his own chair.
Later that night, as you sat awkwardly in the car between Youngmin and Daehwi, Youngmin looked over at you.
“So, do you have any summer plans?” He asked curiously, hand going up to loosen the tie around his neck.
You shrugged sheepishly, “dancing, working at my parents’ grocery store. Nothing super interesting. How about you?”
“He has an internship! At Samsung,” she began, obviously very proud, “it was a super competitive scholarship, but our Youngmin managed to get it.” Youngmin smiled, obviously a bit embarrassed as Hyemi cut into the conversation.
“Wow, that makes my summer sound so boring,” you laughed, grinning over at Youngmin, who smiled back in embarrassment.
“I don’t think it sounds boring,” Youngmin replied, looking at you thoughtfully, “just different.”