A/N: Thank you thank you to dear EdnaMode101 for edits!
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The Subway restaurant next to VAST headquarters is always bustling at lunchtime, a line of employees and patrons snaking out the door. Jeong-hyeok has personally avoided the restaurant since his run in with the paparazzi. Se-ri knows this, and it's why she'd picked this place for a last-minute lunch meeting with her four favorite VAST employees, of which only three are already present.
She bends her head down on the table and sighs loudly. Across from her, Pyo Chi Su leans nervously towards Eun Dong and Gwang Beom.
"What's wrong with the woman?" he asks. "Why did she call this meeting?"
"I don't know," whispers Eun Dong. "She said she'd tell us when Ju Meok comes. She wants all of us to be here."
Pyo Chi Su's eyes narrow. "Do you think perhaps Daepyonim broke up with her? Is that why she wants us? So we can help her get him back?"
Park Gwang-beom shakes his head firmly. The memory of how he'd seen them kissing outside her apartment after Cho Cheol-gang's party is still vivid in his mind, even though he'd never spoken about it to anyone.
"I don't think our Daepyonim would do that," he says simply.
Se-ri sighs dramatically again. The three boys look towards her with alarm.
"What could it be?" wonders Eun Dong again.
At that moment, Ju Meok bursts through the Subway door, a smug grin on his face and a new swagger in his step. He waltzes over to where they are sitting.
"Hello, gang!" he says, happily. "Sorry I'm late. I just came from sleeping in a tent outside the arena to get BTS tickets."
Se-ri lifts her head up from the table at last, her hair slightly awry.
"Did you get good seats?" she asks grumpily. Ju Meok nods.
"Was your girlfriend happy?" Another hearty nod from Ju Meok.
"Well good for you, lovebird!" Se-ri exclaims. She pouts and taps the back of her feet against her chair. "What about me though, Ju Meok? Aren't you worried about me at all?"
The grin fades quickly from Ju Meok's face, replaced by wide-eyed concern. He pulls over a chair and quickly sits down next to her.
"What's wrong, Se-ri-ssi?" he asks, leaning over towards her. "If it's a love problem, then I can help! I've seen every K-drama from 1991 to 2020 onwards. I know every possible solution to any romantic problem. What is it? A conniving stepmother? Forced cohabitation? Amnesia? "
Gwang Beom rolls his eyes. Se-ri just squints at Ju Meok in confusion.
"Is Daepyonim breaking up with you, woman?" asks Pyo Chi Su, leaning towards Se-ri. It's a mark of how concerned he is that he only adds "woman" as an afterthought. Se-ri shakes her head glumly.
"No, it's not that," she mutters. She doesn't know how to tell them exactly what the problem is. Because this problem wouldn't really be a problem in a normal relationship, would it?
They're all looking towards her, waiting for her next words. Se-ri clears her throat.
How is she supposed to explain to them that she's discovered that she's in love with her fake boyfriend, and she'd very much like him to not be fake anymore? And that, as per their agreement, she might have to pretend to be his fiancee, just in time for the VAST shareholder's meeting?
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Fanfiction"Jeong-Hyeok," his father says in a tired voice, "This is how it's going to be. The general shareholder meeting is in five weeks from now. If you are not firmly engaged by then - I am going to recommend that the board make someone else the Chairman...
