Pretend Girlfriend

Sitting on her small dining table, Anton Yeong crossed his arms against his chest before scolding Yanmei, "Excuse me, Yanmei. Just because I have allowed you to become associated with me, doesn't mean you can casually talk to me like that."

Anton was still unsettled at being occasionally addressed as "girl."

Yanmei bit her lip, recalling how he did not want to be known. Yet, she could not help but roll her eyes before responding, "Sure, sure, but you know… You have to be honest with yourself."

She stood up to put the hot chocolate in front of him and said, "the truth will set you free."

Anton was now speculating that she might have taken alcohol, resulting for her to talk non-sense. He was about to react, but her actions completely caught him off guard.

Yanmei cupped her breast saying, "gosh, I think I'll have my period soon."

If it were any other woman, Yeong would instantly think she was seducing him, but not Yanmei. He remembered well how she appreciated women more than men.

'Maybe, she just did not care about my opinions at all that she allows herself to be too comfortable around me?' He thought to himself.

It was late in the evening, and the storm was getting worse. Yeong's clothes have already dried, but if he left for home, he would again be soaked in the rain, having parked his car a block from Yanmei's apartment building.

"Yeong, just stay here for the night. It's impossible for you to leave in this condition. You can take the couch," said Yanmei.

He did not like the idea. The fact that she offered a sleepover, it made him wonder if she was really into women. The words of Beak Hei-ran sneaked into his mind. 'What if she climbs on top of me as I sleep? I would end up killing her for sure.'

Yanmei handed extra pillows and a blanket before leaving him on his own in the living area. "Goodnight girl! See you in the morning."

Yeong's eyes narrowed as he saw her enter the room and shut the door. She did not even look back.

He stood there with his arms folded, expecting Yanmei to come peeping or checking on him, but minutes passed and he got tired of waiting.

He laid on the sofa and tried to get in touch with his mother instead. He could only send a message, unable to make a call. The signal was becoming really bad. "Mom, I'm at Yanmei's apartment. I'm stuck here due to the storm. I'll wait an hour or two and if the rain slows down, I'll head home."

"Son, just stay with Yanmei. We don't mind. Make sure she is safe for the night," replied Yeong Soon.

"What is going on? This is not like you at all," he probed further.

"Anton, I don't want you to get into an accident driving in the rain. Please, just stay there. Goodnight."

Yeong was in disbelief. Earlier his foster mother would not stop nagging about how he had abandoned her, not having been home for a very long time. Since a storm was coming, she demanded that he stay with them as she would feel assured, knowing he was safe.

Yeong remained awake for another hour, worried that the Yanmei may have actually set a trap for him. Again, he was reminded of the words of Hei-ran Beak, "She will seduce you to bed! She will then announce that she got pregnant with your child and force you to marry her!"

However, to his dismay, Yanmei never came out of the room. He immediately concluded that she was truly gay. He finally closed his eyes after two hours of waiting to be seduced.

Morning came yet it still rained. Although not as heavy as last night, Yeong was not in a hurry to leave. Instead, he went to the kitchen and made breakfast.

He was not a good cook but he could whip up a good omelet and he found a frozen ham to go along with it.

When Yanmei woke up, Anton was once again taken aback. She came out wearing merely her nightgown, revealing a cleavage and morning nipples on top and slender legs below. He immediately complained saying, "Will you get some clothes on? Don't you even have a sense of awareness?"

Yanmei's eyes moved from left to right and realizing how he was reacting. She placed both hands on her waist and posed like a model. She said, "Jealous much?"

She quickly went back to her room without waiting for an answer to get her robe.

Yeong could not understand her responses. The pieces did not seem to fit, but once again, he went back to the conclusion that Yanmei simply did not care about his presence.

Yanmei was used to just being herself with her gay friends, not minding their actual gender because they were never really interested in her romantically. She was acting the same way with Anton, knowing he would never see her as a woman.

The two had a peaceful breakfast, and it was then when Anton asked for her help. He had been pondering while chewing his food. Yanme would be a better choice compared to Junsu's list of desirable bachelorettes. In his head, he weighed the pros and cons and eventually concluded that Yanmei was far better.

He started with a clarification, "Yanmei, you are not interested in me, are you?"

"Pfft! What kind of question is that? You're -" She stopped herself realizing the word gay was about to come out of her mouth.

She paused for a second to gain her composure and continued, "Yeong, you know very well that you are not my type… and we both know I'm not your type either!"

She winked at him during the last part of her sentence, leaving Anton with another confusion. Nevertheless, he dismissed it and went to the point, "Can you pretend to be my girlfriend so Mommy Soon can get off my back and stop bothering me at the office?"

"What?!" Yanmei almost fell off her seat after being asked. It was the very last thing she expected to hear come out from Anton's mouth.

"I'll give you a raise, courtesy of my company."

"What? No!" Objected Yanmei.

"I'll give you a car."

Yanmei's eyes thinned at the thought of driving herself instead of taking a cab. "Hmmmm..."

They carefully discussed his proposal but what he said next made her consider the idea.

"Also, I badly need to make Hei-ran Bake realize, I will never be hers," added Anton. "Her family has been asking for a marriage alliance. It worries me that my father will like the idea, knowing I am not seeing anybody."

She suddenly felt sorry for him. After meeting the actress, she knew she was a horrible person. Baek Hei-ran absolutely did not match Anton Yeong.

Yanmei knew she was about to regret her decision but she ultimately said, "Okay. Fine."