We're Not Dating, But Please Think We Are

Given that things had already gone all the way, there was no real reason for Ajeong to go home.

Beep-beep~

The alarm announcing Monday morning jolted me awake, and I scrambled for my phone to shut it off.

Thankfully, Ajeong only stirred for a moment before settling again without fully waking. Even after we'd spent the night devouring each other like animals and fallen asleep without washing up, her beauty was undiminished.

"..."

At least I'd managed to put my little plan into action.

A two-year dating ban.

As long as we weren't officially dating, anything else should be fine, right?

There had been a time when I'd daydreamed about fresh, romantic love — precious memories and all that — but the moment I saw this Balance Game option, every last scrap of that fantasy went up in smoke.

No.

Looked at another way, chasing after raw, primal beauty was its own kind of romance, wasn't it?

Anyway, the method I'd come up with wasn't exactly a masterstroke of strategy. The idea was simple: do the kinds of things only couples do together, and just never confess. If Ajeong brought it up first, I'd have no choice but to turn her down — ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but if she didn't, I could muddle through indefinitely.

I knew full well it was a shitty thing to do. Still, if I just thought of it as a two-year situationship, maybe it was manageable. Whether Ajeong would understand was another matter entirely, but for now, I could skate by. Knowing her personality, I might even buy myself a few months.

And the whole "gym-only couple" arrangement — not dating, yet somehow able to stake a claim on each other — was a uniquely helpful setup.

"Mmh..."

"..."

"Hff... Woohyun, sleep well?"

"Yeah. You?"

The second she opened her eyes and found me there, Ajeong smiled. I brushed her bangs aside and stroked her hair gently.

"Mmmmh..."

She pulled my body in close and buried her face against me. I indulged her clinginess, patting her back in slow circles.

Even if I hadn't been under a dating ban, confessing right this second would still have been a stretch. The ideal scenario now was for Ajeong to naturally assume we were together, and for two years to simply pass that way. At the same time, I planned to act as if I already believed the same thing.

"We're working out together later, right?"

"Mhm."

I couldn't tell if she was nodding or just nuzzling her face into my chest.

"What about food?"

"Mmmh... just a little longer like this."

"Alright, alright. We'll eat later, then hit the gym together."

Ajeong had always liked sticking close, but now she showed zero interest in peeling herself off me.

"Mmph..."

"That tickles."

With her face still buried in my chest, she took a rather sensitive spot into her mouth.

"Hehe... you did it first, Woohyun. Mwah..."

The look on her face was half playful, half pure provocation. There was no way I could hold back.

"Hyaaaah—!"

Breakfast before the gym. Same as always — chicken breast and microwaved rice. Since Ajeong was a gym rat herself, this part of living together was surprisingly easy. Of course I'd be using my taste-altering ability, but I couldn't make it too obvious, so I threw in a fried egg as well.

If the day ever came when I couldn't maintain this ambiguous arrangement anymore... that would probably be when I laid out everything about the Balance Game and tried to convince her. I'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠told myself I'd never tell a soul, but with Ajeong, it might be okay. Even if she found out, I couldn't easily imagine her doing anything to hurt me.

"Whoa! Why does this taste so good?"

"...Because I made it for you."

"Hehe... that must be it!!"

"Eat plenty. You'll need the energy."

"Woohyun, you pervert..."

"Huh?"

"You can't do that kind of stuff at the gym..."

"Just eat your food."

"Eheheh..."

Even while eating, Ajeong stayed glued to my side. It was a little inconvenient, but my heart had never felt lighter.

Bzzzzzt—

We stopped by Ajeong's place before heading to the gym. She needed her workout clothes, and she had a shift at the gym afterward, so a quick pit stop was unavoidable. I didn't see any reason to go inside, so I decided to wait outside. I also had something to check.

I unlocked my phone and opened KokoaTalk. The vibration earlier hadn't been the Balance Game — thankfully, it was just Jin Hayun.

"Whew..."

I'd been half-afraid that my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠relationship with Ajeong had automatically been classified as dating. Apparently not. From the moment I'd left the house, I'd been tense, half-convinced I was about to get re-enlisted with no say in the matter.

A pointless little KokoaTalk from Jin Hayun. We weren't officially dating, Ajeong and I — but I still needed to keep some distance. I read the message from the notification without opening the chat, and decided not to reply.

I wasn't planning to ignore her forever. I just needed to make sure we didn't get any closer than we already were. Though maybe it was already too late for that.

After spending the night at Woohyun's place, Ajeong stopped by her own apartment. The moment she stepped inside, everything from yesterday felt like a dream.

Flump—

She threw herself onto the bed.

"Haaaaah..."

Woohyun — the guy she'd spent so much time with over the past two months. Lately she'd gone past imagining a future where they dated and started wondering if they weren't already together.

"What do I do... was that really what it was...?"

Ajeong had always been so popular with guys that she'd deliberately cut down on contact with them.

"I heard she's two-timing Kim Jaehyun from Class 3 and Lee Jinseop from Class 6?"

"She was flirting with a second-year soccer senior too...!"

Back in school, the number of guys who supposedly "dated" her had multiplied without her knowing, and in the end she hadn't managed a single real friendship — with anyone of either gender. College had seemed to cut down on that childish nonsense, but by then Ajeong herself had started refusing to get close to people too quickly. Things were better than high school, sure, but her resolution to make actual friends still failed, and she took a leave of absence after freshman year.

For more than half a year after that, her life had been nothing but workouts and part-time jobs — until she met Jung Woohyun. His good looks had caught her eye first, but it was the way he focused purely on training, never on her appearance, that put her at ease.

She'd thought maybe, finally, she'd made a friend.

Apparently she was just destined never to have one.

One handsome, well-built, sweet boyfriend who was also good at... that... was worth a hundred clumsy friendships.

"Ah — he's waiting for me!"

So much had happened all at once that she'd lost track of time sorting through her thoughts. Remembering belatedly that Woohyun was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠waiting outside, she hurried to get ready for the gym.

...

"Woohyun!!"

She'd kept him waiting longer than expected, but he just smiled like it was nothing. If this was the perfect first boyfriend she'd been saving herself for, then those miserable school years suddenly didn't feel like such a waste.

We'd never actually agreed to date, so what exactly had I been expecting?

Daily life after that night barely changed at all. Maybe the routine Ajeong and I already had was close enough to a normal couple's that it didn't need to.

Ah.

Thankfully, Ajeong showed no particular urge to pin down exactly what we were to each other. Maybe she was content with things as they stood. Or maybe — just as I'd hoped — she already believed we were dating.

"Heheh... well?"

Ajeong held out her phone screen for me to see.

Apparently that was how she'd saved my name. Looking at something like this, it really did seem like she already thought we were together.

"How did you save me?"

"Ah."

Showing me hers first had probably been a setup to check my phone all along. And if she didn't like what she found, she'd want it changed.

"...Cold."

The name I'd saved was, of course, just Kang Ajeong. I'd never saved anyone under a nickname in my life, family aside.

"Want me to change it?"

"Mhm!"

Even as she answered, her eyes never left my phone. She already knew exactly how she wanted it changed.

"Changed it."

"Why is the heart empty??"

"Huh?"

"Can't you make it a red one like mine?"

"Ah."

A red heart. Unfortunately, I'd never had a reason to use special characters like that, so I had no idea how.

"Got it. Give me a sec."

I stalled for time and started scanning the keyboard.

"..."

"Woohyun, do you not know how?"

"..."

"Are you a grandpa?"

"No. I just suddenly can't remember."

"Phone illiterate?"

"..."

"Just plain illiterate?"

"A tool?"

"Stop listing every insult that pops into your head and help me."

"Eheheh... gimme!"

I handed her the phone and watched how it was done. Ah, so that's where they all are. Holding down the # key next to the space bar brought up a whole menu of options. Tapping the ☺ icon unfurled a cascade of special characters. If I'd tried to find it alone, I probably would've ended up searching online.

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap—

"Huh?"

"You asked me to help, so I can't change it back, right?"

"..."

"You don't like it...?"

"No, I won't change it."

Nobody else was going to look at my phone anyway, so it didn't matter how the name was saved. If anyone was going to see it, it was Ajeong — and only Ajeong. Thinking about it that way, leaving it exactly like this was the best possible outcome.

"Want to hang out a little longer today?"

We'd finished our workout and been chatting at the front desk for a full hour already. Normally I'd be heading home around now, but today I didn't feel like it.

"Mmh... no! We'll see each other tomorrow!"

"That so?"

"Mhm! Plus this is where I work, so if I just play around the whole time it looks bad... eheheh."

"Ah, right. We mess around so much I keep forgetting you're actually on the clock."

"Hey..! I work super hard once you leave!"

"I know~ Alright, I should get going."

"Mhm.. tomorrow—"

"I'll text you when I get home."

"...Mhm!"

It was only a short walk, but Ajeong came out from behind the counter and saw me all the way to the door.

Squish-squish—

Right before I stepped outside, she grabbed both of my ass cheeks with both hands. I was startled for a second, but it wasn't exactly unprecedented, so I just turned around and waved.

Ajeong waved back with a bright smile. Even mid-grope, she was standing at an angle carefully calculated to stay out of the CCTV's view. She kept standing there watching until I was completely gone, so I waved hard the whole way out.

"Hooo..."

From yesterday afternoon until now, nearly twenty-four straight hours stuck to Ajeong's side. At this point, maybe I'd managed to skate past this Balance Game after all.

Ajeong almost certainly believed we were dating. And honestly, if it weren't for that bolt-from-the-blue two-year dating ban, I figured we would have been. We both thought of each other as a couple — but strictly speaking, we weren't actually dating.

The clock was still ticking. Still, the fact that this hadn't been flagged as an active relationship and triggered my military re-enlistment was, I decided, a hopeful sign.

I'd already locked in my choice on KokoaTalk. All that was left now was to wait.