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Title: He Doesn't Know I Know He Knows I Like Him
Episode 2: "The Fake Girlfriend Rulebook (Step One: Panic)"
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Minami Aoi had survived many things in her academic career.
Math tests. P.E. relay races. That one time she accidentally replied "Love you too" to a teacher's "Have a good weekend."
But none of that prepared her for Fake Dating Kaito Riku in front of the entire school.
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đ± After the Lunchroom Bomb
Word spread faster than fire on oily ramen. By sixth period, their names were trending on the school's gossip account:
> đ„ @SakuraLeaks
đšBREAKING: KAITO X MINAMI FAKE-DATING??
Who knew the quiet girl and the human disaster would become the it couple? đ„đ #DareWeekDrama
Minami stared at her phone in horror.
"This is fine," she whispered into her sleeve. "This is totally fine. I'm not melting. My lungs just... forgot how to air."
Even her best friend Yuka couldn't stop grinning.
> "I mean, if you're gonna spiral emotionally, might as well do it with the hottest boy in school."
"Can we not?!"
Yuka sipped her bubble tea and smirked. "So... do I call you 'Mrs. Riku' orâ"
"YUKA."
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đȘ And Then Came the Knock
She opened the classroom doorâand of course, there he was.
Kaito. With that stupidly handsome smirk. His uniform was slightly crooked in that 'I-don't-care-but-it-works' kind of way. He looked like a walking problem.
"Ready for our first fake date, girlfriend?"
Minami blinked. "I'm not emotionally prepared for this."
"Then it's gonna be even more fun."
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đž The Walk and the Talk
Dare Week required couples to spend at least an hour a day togetherâpublicly. They had to do "couple things." Talk. Hang out. Laugh. Act cute. Gross.
So here they were: walking through the sakura-lined courtyard, as people not-so-secretly snapped photos behind bushes and pretended not to stare.
"I'm just saying," Kaito said, "if we're gonna be fake dating, we should get fake matching keychains."
Minami stared at him. "You are taking this way too seriously."
"Nope. I take fake love very seriously."
She laughed. She didn't mean to, but it happened. And he noticed.
Then he tilted his head slightly and asked, "So, why do you think I picked you?"
She nearly tripped over air.
"What?"
He looked amused. "You haven't asked. Most people would."
"Well, I... figured you just randomly panicked and said the first name you saw."
"Hm." He smiled but didn't confirm or deny.
> That smile was suspicious. Suspicious and illegal and slightly charming.
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đ The Notebook Incident
At the end of the day, Minami returned to her locker to grab her chemistry notesâonly to find something else inside.
A folded slip of paper. Same clean, blocky handwriting as yesterday.
> "It's not just him. Someone else knows too."
She looked around. No one. The hallway was mostly empty. Just the low hum of fluorescent lights and her rapidly increasing heartbeat.
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đ That Night
She lay in bed, eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling like it had answers.
"Kaito can't know. No way. I've been careful. Have I been careful??"
She reached for her phone and re-read the note for the sixth time.
Then her screen lit up.
Text from Kaito:
> Did you get home safe, fake girlfriend? đ
Don't let the internet get to you. You're pretty great, y'know.
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard. Should she respond?
Instead, she threw the phone onto her pillow and covered her face.
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đ Minami's Secret Thoughts (Scribbled in her Journal)
Kaito is definitely hiding something.
I am also hiding something.
Someone else knows everything.
Yuka is a terrible wingwoman.
I am going to combust before midterms.
WHY IS HE ACTUALLY NICE?? STOP.
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đŹ Meanwhile...
Somewhere in a dark room, a screen blinked with grainy hallway camera footage.
Two figures talking.
A note being pulled from a locker.
Someone whispered, "She doesn't even realize she's already involved."