Boyfriend for Hire [minsung]

Chapter 3

LEE KNOW POV

Since Han already thought that I was dating Hyunjin, I made him go home so that I could speak to Han privately. I didn't want to bombard Han again with Hyunjin beside me. He'd sulked but eventually agreed to let me go see him on my own.

I walked into the coffee shop and glanced around trying to find him. He wasn't in the front where he had been last time.

I peeked into the back when someone walked through the doors and saw him at one of the tables frosting cupcakes for the display case. His cheeks were red, and he looked like he'd been crying.

It clearly wasn't a good time, so I turned to leave but made eye contact with him as I did so. He set his piping bag down and headed out from behind the counter right away. His eyes never left mine as he untied the apron from his waist and set it on a table near the door. He looked determined to say something to me, so I waited for him to do so.

"Hi," his voice chimed. I stared at him, confused since the opening line's simplicity contrasted with the harsh look on his face.

"Hi?" I replied.

He took a deep breath, "Is there a reason you keep bringing your boyfriend here to flaunt him in front of me? Did I do something wrong on our date?"

I was stunned. "No, no!" I told him immediately. I wouldn't have been so rude even if he'd done something wrong.

"Then why do you keep bringing him here? I have enough going on without some guy I went out with trying to make me feel bad."

I recalled his conversations about rent money that I had overheard. He did have a lot he was dealing with. "He's just my friend. We're roommates, not boyfriends."

"Oh..." he looked around awkwardly, clearly not expecting his accusation to be unfounded.

"Yeah," I mumbled.

"Sorry. I guess I've just...I've had a bad week..." he apologized. He reached to pick up his apron, but I stopped him.

"Umm, I accidentally overheard you on the phone when you were walking up earlier," I confessed.

He shifted his weight to his other leg, seemingly uncomfortable by my bringing it up. "It's none of your concern," he answered with a guarded tone.

A spark of an idea rushed into my head though, and I needed to see if he'd be willing to agree. "How much do you owe?"

"What?" his confusion was palpable.

"How much do you need?"

"That's a bit personal," he hesitated, reaching for his apron again.