boomerang

Chapter 1

Chaeyoung dragged Jennie out of the cab they took with struggle, swaying as the latter almost fell to the ground. She swore that if her friend wasn't the most stubborn person she knew apart from herself, she would make Jennie move out of her apartment and move to a place where it would be easier to drag her drunk ass back home. Getting a drunk Jennie to the elevator alone consumed so much time, and Chaeyoung had to apologize multiple times to the elders who she bumped into while trying to stop Jennie from kissing her on the mouth.

As soon as she successfully got Jennie on the bed, Chaeyoung heaved a sigh and grabbed the water bottle from Jennie's nightstand, downing it in one-go. This is like the third time of the month that Chaeyoung had to get her drunk friend home.

"Chaeng please..." Jennie whined softly, her eyes still closed.

Jennie had cried and drank at least three bottles of soju as she poured her dissatisfaction over her controlled love life. It wasn't the first time that Jennie's mom tried to set her up for a blind date and being someone who was never fond of being controlled especially in the aspects of love, Jennie had refused each and every one of the men her mom chose for her. Jennie was firm with her decision, that when she gets married, it is with someone whom she's in love with.

Unlike Jennie, Chaeyoung didn't think too much of the idea of arranged marriages. She didn't hate it nor did she like it. Her parents were the products of arranged marriages, and so were Chaeyoung and her sister. Almost every couple in her family were together because of arranged marriages. She always knew that somehow one day, she would be involved in an arranged marriage too. Just like her parents. Just like her grandparents. And most probably, just like all her direct ancestors.

Chaeyoung sighed heavily as she stared at Jennie, her mind taking her back on their conversation a few hours ago.

"There's a reason why you passed that audition back then even when you did it for fun..." Jennie's lips slowly spread into a cautious smile.

Chaeyoung's brows furrowed momentarily. "What audition?"

"Oh, you know. The audition you went to for fun that got you into that acting club back in college."

She watched the elder female for a few more seconds, her breathing calm yet her instincts kicked in. "Go straight to the point."

Jennie displayed a couple seconds long of a sheepish smile. "I need you to help me."

Chaeyoung stopped chewing on the rice cake and her eyes snapped toward her friend's. "Please tell me you're not asking me to replace you for the blind date."

When Jennie said nothing in return and an obvious surprise expression flashed across her face, Chaeyoung shook her head. "No, don't get me involved."

Jennie stared at her blankly before she sipped on her coke. "Wow, what other talents do you have that I didn't know of? Not only can you play almost any musical instrument that exists in the world, you can sing beautifully, you can draw so damn well, you got into an acting club because you're a freaking natural. And holy moly, you can read minds too?"

"Oh wow, thank you for all the compliments," Chaeyoung feigned being touched over all the praises before she switched her face back to being serious. "But none of that is gonna work."

"Chaeng, please..." Jennie clasped her hands together. "I beg you... You don't have to do anything much about that guy. I just need you to make that dinner as the worst ever for him. To the point that when he hears Kim Jennie, he'll shiver in disgust or even kill people for even mentioning my name."

"That bad?" Chaeyoung chuckled. Then, she stared at her friend suspiciously. Jennie had never asked for her involvement to drive her past blind dates away until now. "Why do you need help with this?" Chaeyoung raised a brow. "You had no problem doing the same thing to your other dates. You did it all on your own."

Jennie hesitated, her teeth digging her bottom lip. "I'm seeing someone..." she finally said. "It's still in the early phase, but... I like him a lot."

Chaeyoung's eyes brightened up at Jennie confessing that she's currently dating someone. "Oh my gosh, I'm so happy for you but —"

"But?"

"But can't you just... tell this guy your mom chose for you that you're already seeing someone else? Just go on that date with him, and tell him the truth."

"I have a date on that day. I don't want to tell him at the last minute that I can't make it. What if I told him I'm busy and he saw me on a dinner date with some random guy? He's gonna think that I'm not serious with him!" Jennie said, her eyes filled with panic and she poured herself a glass of soju, downing it with struggle. "I can't imagine losing him over some stupid stranger."

Chaeyoung leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest as she mulled it over. People said she could act, but she wasn't sure if she could even do a decent job acting as her friend being the worst human being ever. She'd say yes in an instant to any kind of help Jennie would need, but this...

"I need time to think," Chaeyoung said and though Jennie relented, her restlessness over the blind date hadn't settled as she kept on drinking until sobriety dissipated.

Just like what Jennie explained, she just needed to act and drive the man crazy and her task would be done once the man loathed Jennie. It was that simple. Chaeyoung covered her friend with the blanket and switched the lights off. On her way out, she texted Jennie, "I better get something good in return."

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a/n: 

+ having a major writer's block on DUAL but i miss rosekook so bad, so here i am. 

+ very loosely inspired by business proposal. 

+ chapters would probably get longer later on