Beomgyu Just Pretend - Tumblr Posts
Just Pretend (BEOMGYU) CH2 - Ivory Petals

"Can I go to prom this Friday?"
My mom drops her bag by the door, "Prom? Do you have a date?"
"Well, yes!" I say, "I do. Can I go?"
"But... aren't prom dresses mostly sold out now?" She asks.
Shoot. I forgot about that part.
"I'm sure it'll be fine"
-----
"Well, you still have that dress from your 6th grade recital"
I sigh, "this is a disaster."
"Let me check my closet and see if I have anything," My mom says as she leaves the room. We just got back from the mall, empty-handed. It turns out you're supposed to buy your prom dress a few months in advance, not a few days before. Who knew?
"Y/N! Y/N!" My mom calls as she rushes back into the room, "You'll never believe what I just found!"
"What?!"
She shows me a stunning red dress, sequins sparkling, even in the dim light of our living room.
"Where did you find that?" I shriek.
"I found it in the back of my closet from an old friend's wedding. It's your size too! Isn't this a miracle?"
I smile.
"Thanks, mom"
-----
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The rain falls around me as I wait in the driveway. I protect myself with an umbrella as I hope to see a pair of headlights pulling onto our street.
"I'm sure he'll be here soon" My mom reassures.
"I hope so," I sigh. Soon enough, a black car turns onto the street and stops in front of our house. Beomgyu jumps out of the driver's seat and runs up to us.
"I'm so sorry I'm late!" he gasps, "there was a lot of traffic getting here"
"It's fine" I laugh.
"So this is your date" My mom muses, "it's lovely to meet you..."
"Beomgyu" He answers, water dripping down his bangs and onto his face.
"Beomgyu," she repeats, "well, you two better get going if you want to make it in time!"
He lifts his sleeve to check his watch, "You're right! We're already late"
"Bye mom" I whisper as we hurry to his car.
He opens the door for me, smiling, and I slide into the passenger seat as he closes the door behind me. He then gets back into the driver's seat and starts up the car.
It's a quiet drive to the venue. I try and think of something to say or some way to thank him for agreeing to go with me. Maybe it would've been better to just confess to him... that way, wether he agreed to go or not, I wouldn't feel indebted to him.
"Thank you for doing this, by the way" I mutter.
"Of course!" He grinned, "to be honest, I'm kinda looking forward to going"
I laugh, "me too"
Soon enough, we've arrived at the location. We can see people filing into the venue through a small set of double doors.
"Wait!" He exclaimed, "I forgot something!"
He quickly parks the car and turns to the back seats, searching through various papers and receipts for something.
"Found it!" He displays a small, clear box. Inside is a delicate arrangement of ivory flowers, so bright that they seem to glow.
"Wow, it's beautiful" I admire.
"I wasn't sure what color your dress was going to be, but I figured white would probably match it, right?"
"Absolutely," I continue, still in a trance from the dream-like petals, "Beomgyu, I-"
"Here," He gently takes it from the box and adjusts it around my wrist. His warm hands graze mine as he traces my skin. He looks back at me, "perfect"
The corsage was pretty, yes, but it paled in comparison to his eyes. They had this depth to them, warm and sweet that seemed to spark a million emotions in my chest. He looked at me like he could see right through all my disguises. A cinnamon-tinted gaze that felt like coming home.
"We should go inside, huh?" He murmured.
"Probably"
The car door pops open as he walks over to my side, opening the door for me once again.
I laugh, "Y'know, you don't have to pretend when no one else's around"
"I'm not pretending," he drawled, "it never hurts to be a gentleman"
I giggle. We walk towards the venue, only centimeters between us. As we inch closer to the doors, we're welcomed by someone I only vaguely recognize.
"Beomgyuuu~" He calls, "I thought you said you weren't coming?"
"Yeonjun!" Beomgyu greets, "I wasn't planning on it, but then Y/N asked me, so I agreed"
"OoOoh," Yeonjun teases, "Good for you, man. I'm glad you could make it"
"Oh, I should introduce you two. Yeonjun, this is Y/N, my date. Y/N, this is my friend Yeonjun"
My face heats up as he calls me his date, even though I know it's just pretend.
"It's nice to meet you," I call.
"You too. I have to say though, you're too pretty to be with someone like Beomgyu. Wanna be my date instead?" He flirts. If I wasn't blushing before, I definitely was now. "I'm kidding, just a joke. So, you two got your tickets, right?"
We both pause in unison, hit with the same haunting realization. We turn to each other.
"By any chance, did you..." He asks. I shake my head no.
"Damn, I'm sorry" Yeonjun laments.
My first time going to a school dance and I forget to buy the tickets. Just great. Beomgyu's going to think I'm such a fool and never talk to me again.
"What should we do?" I ponder.
As we reach the front of the line, Yeonjun apologizes, "I'm sorry guys, it's my turn so I really should go. I hope you figure something out though!"
We thank him and choose to exit the line, walking back into the parking lot. The rain decided to take a pause, so we sit on the curb in silence.
"This is all my fault, I'm sorry. I ask you to go with me and fake this whole thing only to not plan enough to buy the tickets"
"Hey, it's okay," he comforts, "It was an accident. I didn't think of it either."
"Yeah," I mumble as I rest my head in my hands.
"Besides, you were just doing this so your mom stopped bothering you about it, right?" I nod. He continues, "So, if we just kill time for a few hours, she'll have no idea that we didn't actually go to prom"
I chuckle, "yeah, but... I don't wanna waste your time on something like lying to my mom"
"I already agreed to go with you, didn't I?" He jumps up and walks over to the car, "let's go somewhere. It'll be fun"
Just Pretend (BEOMGYU) CH5 - Favorite Color

"So, do you want to start on chapter five and I'll do chapter six?"
Me and Beomgyu sit alone in a corner of the library. It's fairly quiet where we're sitting, a snug corner filled with books.
"Yeah, then we'll start on the slideshow?"
"Sounds good!" He says.
We both open our textbooks and begin reading. It's silent, but a soft silence. The kind that's easy to fall into, forgetting how long it's been since someone spoke.
It's hard to think that someone who I'd only watched from afar is now my boyfriend. Even harder to remember it's only pretend.
However, I'm still proud of myself. All this time I've spent, closed-off, not connecting with anyone around me. Look at me now. I have a friend. And I think it might last this time. Even if I never tell him how I feel, having him here is enough.
I think back to what he said at prom: "I don't know if they'd like me if they really knew me." I wonder if no one's ever tried to get to know him. He has friends, but maybe he's never felt like those friends got to know the real him. Maybe he never let them. Maybe he's scared. Maybe I am too.
"Hey, Beomgyu," I start.
"Yeah?"
"What's your favorite color?"
He looks up from the textbook.
"Why do you ask that?" He questions.
"Just curious"
"Hmm" he pauses in thought, "pink"
I gasp, "pink? Really?"
"What's wrong with liking pink?" He grins.
"Nothing, it just surprised me. You only ever wear black"
I turn back to my book. It's true, he's always in dark colors. I figured that's what he liked, but apparently not. Such a bright color for someone so reserved. Like he's always trying to mask something.
"What's yours?"
"My favorite color?" He nods. "Yellow!"
He lights up, "wow, I figured your favorite color would be blue or something. Yellow isn't a common favorite, is it?"
"Not common, no," I reply, "but I like it. It doesn't try to make itself palatable for others. I respect that"
"I never thought of it that way," he said.
All of a sudden, Beomgyu's group of friends is walking up to us. I recognize Yeonjun, but the rest? I'm not sure.
"How's it going, you two?" Yeonjun asks.
I stay quiet. Beomgyu answers, "it's going well. What about you?"
"We haven't started yet," Soobin says.
They sit by us and we try to get back to our project. Their group is chattering on and on. Beomgyu lifts his head occasionally, but he mainly continues reading his chapter. Something Yeonjun says catches my attention:
"So she said one of her friends actually has a crush on Beomgyu"
Huening Kai jumps, "but he's dating Y/N?!"
"Well, they're not really dating, right?" Yeonjun turns to me.
My thoughts are racing, I guess there's nothing stopping Beomgyu from dating someone. Is it stupid to feel like we have something even though we only went to prom together?
"No, we aren't" I mutter.
"What do you think then, Beomgyu? Wanna give her a chance?"
I look to Beomgyu, but his smile has faded.
"Wether me and Y/N are actually dating or not, the rest of the school thinks we are. So, no. I'm not interested"
"I'm sure the school is not that invested," Taehyun states, "you can go on a date with someone else if you want"
"I'm not interested" Beomgyu repeats.
"Why not? Please, just give her a chance! What am I supposed to tell Minji, her friend will be so upset" Yeonjun insists.
"I've got a lot going on right now, I don't have time for something like that"
Soobin spoke, "like what?"
Beomgyu shuts the book closed, "I have a ton of schoolwork. No time for a girlfriend"
"That didn't stop you from going to prom with Y/N"
"That's different"
"How is it different?" Yeonjun commands, "honestly, I'm starting to think that you and Y/N are actually dating with how you're overreacting"
"I'm not overreacting," Beomgyu groans, "I'm just not interested. Why can't I say that? I'm allowed to not want to date your friend"
"Fine" Yeonjun says.
It goes quiet. Everyone is now doing their work, or at least staring at their laptops pretending to. Beomgyu taps me on the shoulder.
"Wanna go work somewhere else?" He whispers. I nod.
We stand and leave the library without a word to his friends. Silently, I follow him past the classrooms and out the doors. We find an area with few students. Sitting down on a bench underneath a large oak tree, I speak.
"I'm sorry. The whole fake dating thing is turning into a problem, isn't it? I can break it off, if you want. I don't want you to be fighting with your friends because of me"
"No, they're always like that" he says, bringing his knees to his chest.
"Really? It seemed like it was getting kind of..." I hesitate, "aggressive"
"They just-, don't listen to me. And will try to persuade me into doing stuff for them, or questioning stuff like why I don't want a girlfriend"
"Haven't you told them about your dad?"
"No" he states, "they wouldn't listen. If they did, it's not like they'd get it. Not like you would"
It makes me happy that he trusts me, though it shouldn't. He's talking about his problems with his friends. I add, "I'm okay if you want to date that girl. If you're worrying about my feelings, don't"
"I don't want to date her," he clarifies, "I'm not interested in dating right now. Everything in my life is already a mess, I don't need more... more things to feel like I'm messing up"
"Well, we've been pretend dating for a few days now, and you haven't messed anything up yet!" I joke.
He laughs, "you're funny"
"Oh, I know, Beomgyu."
Just Pretend (BEOMGYU) - Series Masterlist!
Here's all the chapters so far of my Beomgyu fan fiction, Just Pretend!
Y/N meant to ask her crush to prom, but ended up in a fake-dating situation. As more people find out about their "relationship", they find a true friendship. But is that all it'll ever be?

Chapter One - Promposal
Chapter Two - Ivory Petals
Chapter Three - New Moon
Chapter Four - The Group Project
Chapter Five - Favorite Color
Chapter Six - Another Faded Polaroid
Chapter Seven - Back at It Again
Chapter Eight - I Need You
Chapter Nine - Star
Chapter Ten - Define Love?
Chapter Eleven - The Moment I Knew
Just Pretend (BEOMGYU) CH7 - Back at It Again

(BEOMGYU POV)
It was time for me to go back to school. I'd stayed home for a while, but I have history again today, and I can't leave Y/N to do all the work on her own. At this point, I can no longer avoid my old friends. I have to go. I have to be brave enough to try.
I throw on a baggy gray sweatshirt and shove my phone into the pocket. Then I grab my backpack and walk out to the doorway, tying the shoelaces of my yellow converse.
"Ready to go?" My older brother asks.
"Yeah" I open the door and we leave. The jingle of his several keychains can be heard as he unlocks the car door and we hop in.
He turns up the volume of some rock song. We drive in silence to school. As we wait to turn into the school parking lot, he speaks.
"So, finally going my back?"
"Yeah, can't hide from my ex-friends forever" I say.
He nods, "I think you'll be okay, Beomgyu"
I look to him in confusion, "Really?" I ask.
"Yeah, you're pretty tough. You've been through a lot, but you always pull through. I mean, look at your music. Even with everything else, you can work really hard when you want something"
I look away as a smile forms on my face, "thanks"
We slow as he parks the car. I grab my bag and close the door behind me.
"Hey," my brother says as he pats my back, "you got this"
I smile, "thank you, bro"
Then I walk to my class. When I go with my brother to school, I'm always a little late. The halls are empty, just the other late kids rushing (or not) to class.
I gently open the door to the classroom and walk in. I try to be quiet, but even the lightest of footsteps seem loud. I notice Yeonjun first, a dark glare from the seat next to mine. Then I see Y/N. She gives me a happy, reassuring smile. And I smile too.
------
The bell rings. As my old friends walk past, most of them ignore me, or give me a cold gaze, or even pretend to be happy and distracted. But Yeonjun... the look in his eyes is different. I knew him well enough to know.
It was forced, it wasn't even mean. It was almost, pained. Lonely. He looked sad. Like he was trying to seem cool and unfazed, but the shock in his eyes and the bags under them proved otherwise. I drop my head back down to my desk.
Once everyone had left, I pulled my backpack over my shoulders and walked out, alone. Except as I exit the room, I'm met with someone else.
"Hi!" Y/N greets.
"Oh, hey" I say.
"You've been gone a while, I was worried"
"Yeah, I'm sorry. I'll catch up on the work for our project, I just-"
"Not about the project!" She stammered, "about you"
I look into her eyes. My shoulders slump down at her expression.
"You were?"
"Y-yeah," she blinked, "so, is everything okay? are you feeling any better?"
"Well, It's still been rough," I sigh, "but I'm doing better"
Her eyes light up, "that's good! While you were gone, I-"
She stops as her eyes widen, "n-nevermind" her expression falls flat and she purses her lips, "I should get to class"
"What? Is something wrong?" I grab her shoulder.
She turns to me. Her face has significantly paled, "no, everything is fine. I have to go"
I watch as she runs away. She isn't even moving in the direction of class, just away from me. What's going on with her?
------
After school, I head to the library to meet Y/N and work on our project. I set the table with my laptop, textbook, everything we need to get to work. Then I watch the clock and wait.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Minutes go by as I sit alone. My mind wanders, has she stood me up too? Did Yeonjun spread some mean rumor while I was gone? And I flinch as I think, does she hate me now, too?
But... she was worried about me. And I know she was. Her feelings emanate from her like an aura, so genuine, you'd be stupid to doubt them. She's my friend, probably my best friend these days.
So I open her number on my phone, typing out a quick message:
Me: Where are you? We're still working after school today, right?
I wait even longer. But it's been 40 minutes now. I even try calling her, but no one answers. Panic builds in my stomach, did something happen to her?
I decide to pack up my things and try going to her house. Something's up, she's been weird all day. I need to make sure she's okay.
Just Pretend (BEOMGYU) CH10 - Define Love?

(BEOMGYU POV)
It finally came, the day of the group project. Me and Y/N had prepared our slideshow, and also got some practice in. We had to present in front of the entire class, but I didn't find myself feeling super nervous. We were ready!
Having told my mom about the big day, she ironed out my shirt for me and made sure everything was all set.
"Mom, I told you. It's just a slideshow for history class"
"I know sweetie, but I just want to make sure you have everything you need" she said.
I continued, "no one's even going to notice what I'm wearing! They're just going to wear what they always do"
She called as I got ready to tie up my yellow sneakers, "Beomgyu, wear the new converse I got you! The blue ones"
I whined, "Why? I haven't broken those in yet"
"You need to look crisp!" She yelled.
-----
She also drove me to school, insisting that if my brother took me, I'd be late and miss the whole class and get a zero. Which, isn't too far off. Except now I'm 20 minutes early.
"Bye honey, I love you!"
"Love you too," I mumble.
I take the long way to my classroom. If I show up super early and it's just me and the teacher for a quarter hour, it'll be awkward.
I stop by the tree that me and Y/N sat at that one time. After the fight with my friends. The leaves shake and flutter above my head. I never noticed in winter, but it must be a cherry tree. The petals are now blooming a sweet bubblegum color, floating down in the dewy morning breeze.
As the ringing of the bell creeps up on me, I start to make my way to the classroom. As I'm reaching our hall, I see Y/N before me. She waves and jogs over.
Oh no. Oh no no no.
She smiles at me. Don't smile at me like that. Don't look at me like that. Her eyes glitter as she runs over. Her hair is curled slightly, and she's wearing a long, navy dress. Her mom probably also told her to dress nicely.
"Hey! Ready for our presentation today?" She greets. And her voice is so soft and kind. And she smiles, gosh, her smile. My heart aches for the love and comfort I feel with just a grin from her.
Don't make me fall for you. What am I supposed to do then? How can I recover from that? Don't make me fall for you just to be rejected. Don't give me another thing to pretend to not care about.
"Hello?" She waves her hand in front of my face, "Beomgyu?"
She says my name and it's like I've never heard it before. Like it's my first time hearing my own name. Like it was made for her to say it. Like every moment, every memory from my life was only a prologue leading up to me meeting her. Like the story starts now, and I've never known myself until I've found who I can be with her.
She grabs my hand, "Beomgyu, are you okay? You're just standing there"
Finally, I snap out of my daze as I feel the warmth of her hand in mine. My face heats up too.
"Y-yeah. Just nervous about the presentation"
"Aw, don't be! I'm sure you'll do fine" she reassures.
But in my mind, I can't stop thinking about her. And if I have a crush on her. And if she likes me the same way. And if she doesn't.
"What if I don't?"
She laughs, "well then, just mess up in a funny way. At least it'll be entertaining"
The bell rings loudly through the hallways, but my ears zero in on her laugh. And for a moment, I think that I'll be okay with her loving someone else. It's enough just to make her smile. If I can make her laugh even once, it'll be enough for me.
"Should we get to class?" She asks, leaning in while keeping eye contact.
My breath catches in my throat. I just barely get out, "yeah, let's go"
-----
The presentation went well. I was able to calm down enough to present with Y/N, though my heart was racing the entirety of our slideshow. It still hasn't really stopped.
My last class ends and I begin to leave the building. As I reach the school gates, I see Y/N standing off by herself. Her hair is blowing so gracefully in the wind, her eyes gazing down at the sidewalk. Suddenly, she catches my eyes on her and grins.
"I keep forgetting that we don't need to work on our project after school today," she jokes.
"Y-yeah" I gulp. She's making eye contact with me. What do I do? Why do I suddenly feel so weird around her?
She fidgets with the straps of her bag, "so, got any plans for the weekend?"
"Nope" How am I still going to see her if we're not working on the project together?
"Then, uh.."
She looks at me. I feel my face flush scarlet. I turn away and hide my face with my hand, pretending to be deep in thought about something.
"Then, I guess I'll just see you around"
"Mhm" I nod, still facing away from her.
I hear her footsteps as she pats off. Once she's farther away, I turn back to her and stare.
Oh, Y/N. Look at me, pretending to be just friends. In reality, I'm already so far gone. My definition of 'love' was never complete, because the missing piece was always you.