"Excuse me?", Zhang Hao questioned while letting go of Hanbin completely.
"I need you to-"
"No I heard you... you just have a lot of audacity right now"
That was when Hanbin realized him saying that made Zhang Hao genuinely upset. Zhang Hao most definitely thought he meant date him for real and it was even more obvious that he wasn't going for it at ALL.
"Love... listen to me and listen clearly when I say- I would never on this Earth or the next one, tell you to date someone else and actually mean it", Hanbin reassured, "I definitely wouldn't tell you to date HIM if that was the case... I need you to do this for the plan"
Zhang Hao didn't know how to feel and Hanbin could tell because his face read no singular emotion. He just seemed lost about it all and just the idea of leaving Hanbin even for fake didn't sit right in his soul.
"So date Jiwoong?", Zhang Hao asked softly.
"At least for a few weeks... when he starts to target Jiwoong. I need you to be completely away from me so that he doesn't suspect the people around me. That's because I'll have Yujin secretly collecting what he does to you guys like his little personal anonymous, since Jiwoong isn't a public figure I doubt he will take it to the internet."
Zhang Hao only nodded, now understanding what Hanbin was trying to do. However, his eyes still read that it's not necessarily what he wanted to do. Hanbin could now see genuine hurt in Zhang Hao's whole being and he just embraced the boy in his arms holding him really tight.
"It's all going to work out love", Hanbin said softly.
"Isn't there another way... why do we have to be apart-"
"I don't want to be apart from you either baby... this is hard for me too baby believe me", Hanbin said giving Zhang Hao kisses on his forehead, "This is the last time..."
"What if it doesn't work? What if it's not the last time-"
"I'll sacrifice everything again and again then baby but I promise you I'll make this the last time... I don't want to be apart anymore", Hanbin said and with every word he spoke, Zhang Hao only held him tighter.
"Then let's not be apart babe... there's another way-", Zhang Hao tried to beg but Hanbin only pecked his lips cutting him off and giving him silent reassurance. Zhang Hao was silent for a little bit after that before he silently spoke, "... then promise me this won't last long"
"It won't... I promise"
Even though, Hanbin said that nothing was guaranteed and that broke everything in his soul. The only thing he could do was hope that what he was selling Zhang Hao wasn't a lie because right now neither of the two could handle not one more heartbreak.
•••
It was now a week later since the surprise meeting and the rekindling of Haobin, and one would say the plan was now understood amongst all of the friend group and Jiwoong. Hanbin and Zhang Hao spun a significant time apart and kept up the act that they were arguing whenever a phone was around.
It was heartbreaking to see because it was clear they were longing for each other. However, they had no contact with each other in the slightest outside of the arguing and the words they used towards each other felt all too real at times. The space they were taking, even if it wasn't willingly, only added to the hurt the words gave them.
Meanwhile, Kuan Jui was having a feast. He was feeling like he was ruining the both of them and he was getting ready to swoop right in and take over. However, that was until another obstacle came his way. He had just so happened to be listening to a phone Zhang Hao and Hanbin were having from Matthew's phone and the mention of another name really interested him.
