kim jongin imagines (hiatus)

catfish

this is set in korea but with the hosts of the american catfish hosts just because

i've been talking to a guy named john on tinder for a while and we are really connecting but something doesn't feel quite right about him. it's been almost 6 months and he still refuses to FaceTime me or even talk on the phone. we text a lot but i want more and he doesn't seem to.

so i decide to get in contact with the tv show 'catfished'. i don't want to be on camera so they agree to help me and not air the episode. we meet up for the first time about a week after i contacted them to discuss what information they've found.

"so, basically, we contacted some of his friends who had absolutely no idea about you," max says.

"oh," i say, slightly disappointed. i mean if he is catfishing me then that makes sense but the fact that he didn't really makes me think he is a catfish.

"but," max adds, "one of them agreed to talk to us." i perk up at that and max pulls his phone out to dial the number of the friend.

"hello?" a man answers.

"is this chanyeol?" max asks.

"yes," 'chanyeol' answers.

"it's max with the tv show catfish. is it okay that i'm calling you?"

"oh, yes, of course."

"good. would you be willing to talk to us about your friend john?"

"well, first off, his name isn't john. it's jongin." my eyes widen at that. 'john' told me he was american but by his real name he sounds korean.

"okay. what can you tell us about him?"

"he's 26, 5'11", and against what you might think, he's actually a really sweet guy. there's a reason he's been lying to you about his identity."

"what's the reason?" i ask, voice soft.

"we're famous," chanyeol replies. "dating isn't something that's widely accepted for us but jongin really liked the look of you so he created a fake account to talk to you. he's told us how much he likes talking to you and he wishes he could be himself but it isn't something we can do."

"is that the only reason?"

"it is. i promise you he's really nice and if you finally get to meet him i'm sure you'll like him."

chanyeol gives us some more information before hanging up with a thank you from our end. i look at max and nev and i can't help but smile.

"you don't seem upset at the news," nev says.

"if he's telling the truth then i can see why 'jongin' had to do what he did. and i want to meet him now."

"well we have an address so let's go and find him."

we know that chanyeol was letting jongin know about us so when we get to his house and knock on the door, it opens almost immediately. my jaw drops when i get a look at the guy standing there. he is absolutely gorgeous, so much more than the pictures he was using.

"hi," jongin says, staring straight at me.

"hi," i reply.

"it's nice to meet you," he says.

"uh, yeah, you, too."

"are you angry?"

"no. if what your friend told us is true then i understand."

"it is. i really wish i could have told you earlier but it's not okay for people in my industry to date. i really like you, though, so when i got the call about this show i was okay with it."

"the episode won't air," max interrupts.

"oh, okay," jongin says. he looks a little relieved which makes me chuckle. "would you like to come in and talk?"

"i would," i reply. i thank max and nev for their help then they leave so i follow jongin into his place.

"what do you do?" i ask.

"i'm a kpop idol," he replies. "from a group named exo."

"i've heard of you," i say. he smiles as he sits on his couch, patting the space beside him for me to join.

"i'm sorry again for lying."

"no, i understand. would you show me some of your songs?"

"of course." i believe what he says about being famous but i still want to make sure he is telling the entire truth. he pulls up a music video on his phone and i'm relieved to see him on the screen. the song sounds really good, too, so i'm glad i actually enjoy their music.

"so, if you're not allowed to date, how is this going to work between us?" i ask.

"we're allowed to it's just the fans don't accept it," he says. "but i want to try. it'll have to be in secret, though."

"i can probably handle that," i say. he grins and i can't help but grin back. we talk for the rest of the day and i find myself beginning to fall hard for him. i'm so lucky the real guy i was talking to turned out to be just as amazing as his fake profile. if not more.