Sunwoo just smirked at her annoyance. Already, she was getting annoyed with him. She wanted to reach up and slap him, slap the smirk off of his face. 

"I guess so," he said, shrugging. "I'm not too fond of being your brother," he said, wrinkling his nose at her. "They'll probably expect us to actually spend time together. You'll hate that, won't you?" he drawled. 

She just glared at him, and he laughed. 

"Seriously, I don't see why you hate me so much," he said, shrugging. "Most of the other girls at school love me. Why don't you? Is it because I got you in detention that one time?"

She blew at her bangs, which were beginning to stick to her forehead in the heat. "I'm not that petty," she grumbled, crossing her arms and glaring at him. 

"Is it because I got the whole school to call Eric 'shorty' for a year?" he asked, his smile widening as he remembered. 

"You're seriously awful," she grumbled. "He's not even short." 

Sunwoo shrugged. "He's shorter than me, which makes him 'shorty.'" He looked at her, tilting his head at her as he studied her. "So are you. Should I call you 'shortcake' this year?" 

She balled her hand into a fist. "Don't you dare." 

Too late, she realized her mistake. Of course, saying that would only make him more determined to do it. She watched the mischievous smile spread across his lips, and he leaned towards her. 

"Is that a dare?" he murmured, his gaze piercing into hers. 

Seolhee took a step backward, her back bumping into the doorframe. They'd never quite made it into the garden and had just been bickering on the threshold of the door. She sighed, "no, but your pea-sized brain probably thinks it is, doesn't it?" she snapped.

That just made him laugh, and her anger flared. She set her jaw, glaring at the ground. He leaned closer to her, one hand on the doorframe behind her. If their parents came in, it would look like they were having an intimate conversation. 

"Shortcake, I know you hate the idea of our parents getting married. Especially after your dad died so recently," he said, his voice taking on a hint of sympathy. She looked up at him in surprise, but when her eyes met his, they were already filled with mischief. "But I have a plan." 

"A plan?" she murmured, her brows creasing as she thought about what it could be. 

"You know what would stop this marriage? If we date." 

Seolhee stared at him for a long moment, certain that he'd gone insane. "Are you kidding me?" she finally said. "We don't like each other. Our parents know that too. How do you plan-" 

"It might even get you out of your engagement." 

She blinked at him in surprise, for a moment too stunned to speak. Secretly, she'd been trying to figure out ways to get out of her stupid engagement. 

Last year, her mom decided that it would be beneficial for the company if she married Jaehyun, who more often went by Hyunjae. Her mother was probably right, after all, their stocks shot up as soon as the engagement was revealed. 

At first, she'd tried to make it work. Hyunjae was very handsome, and she couldn't help having a small crush on him. 

But he'd made it very clear that he didn't care about her. Not one bit. Their marriage would be for business, and that was it. 

She knew he went around dating tons of other girls. People at school talked. Even Sunwoo had teased her about her fiancé, multiple times. It was yet another reason that she didn't like him. 

She'd been trying for months to convince her mom not to make her go through with the marriage. But her mother was set on it. After all, they wouldn't even marry until she graduated, her mother figured they had plenty of time to get acquainted and maybe fall in love. Her mother always argued that her own marriage was arranged, and she'd been very happy. 

Seolhee had always thought her parents were in love. But it had only been a little over a year since her father passed away, and her mother was already remarrying. It hurt. 

"So?" Sunwoo prompted, seeming to sense her shift in mood. 

She swallowed, closing her eyes and considering. "Okay," she said softly. "To stop their marriage, and mine... let's do it. Let's fake date."