My Fake Boyfriend is Actually a Demon Prince

One thing I have learned in the past twenty-one years of my life is this: breakups never occur when you are ready. Mine occurred on a Monday morning. At 8.02 AM. In front of the university cafeteria. So, to make things even worse, my now-ex-boyfriend, Kang Min-joon, chose to dump me whilst holding hands with his new girlfriend. Yep. Broad daylight. Two witnesses: the breakfast crowd and my half-chewed tuna sandwich. "I want us to separate, Soo-ah," he said, as though he were returning the book. I glared at him with my sandwich in my hands as my only moral support. You are literally holding the hand of another girl right now, Min-joon. The girl, whose face was visible to me by one of his study groups only, had the audacity to smile at me pityingly. As though I were the poor little first wife in a historical drama of polygamy. Min-joon sighed and said, "Do not make it difficult. It just… it is not working anymore.” I felt like hitting his face with my sandwich, but dignity (and mayonnaise) got in the way. Very well. Be happy with your study partner.” And just like that, Min-joon left with her, leaving me in the middle of the cafeteria with my pride falling faster than the bread in my hands. … The rumors had reached me before I even got into my first lecture. The news in my university was faster than Wi-Fi. “Did you hear? Min-joon left Soo-ah, over to that girl in Economics!” “Tragic. She was such a devoted one to him also.” “To be honest, I did not like her bangs.” Pardon me? My bangs are not at fault here I sat down, feeling like a melodramatic heroine whose good name had just been publicly tarnished. My friend Yoon Hye-jin leaned over with her iced coffee and said, "Girl, everybody is talking about it. But you need not worry—I will see you get up again.” “I do not want to bounce back. I want to keel over,” I answered, sinking lower in my chair. Hye-jin was not listening. She was already scheming like some general making a counter-movement. You should have a diversion. A rebound. Someone so hot that Min-joon will come to regret everything. I rolled my eyes. “Where am I supposed to find a rebound on short notice? sss Prime Boyfriends?” She grinned. “Funny you should ask.” — That was when it happened. The door of the classroom opened and in entered the new transfer student. He was not only handsome. He was... unearthly. Tall, broad-shouldered, and sharp-featured, like the work of angels or devils. His hair was black and a bit rumpled to appear irresistibly casual, and his eyes darkly bored through the room as though he was already in the process of getting tired of us. All the girls in the class gasped. Hye-jin brought out her elbow so harshly that I almost bit my pen cap. “That one. Here is your rebound. Perfect.” I scoffed. “Yeah, right. He looks like he bites people to make it a joke.” “Better still.” The professor referred to him as Raven Azrael, a foreign transfer student. He hardly nodded to anyone but took the seat in the rear like it was his own. He had that air of an unattainable bad boy, and yet somehow every girl in the classroom turned to give him a glance five times during the lecture at least. I did not belong to them. No (okay, maybe twice). And only because his eyes had that strange glowing light upon them in the sunlight. Not normal at all. At lunch there was a second mishap. Min-joon was displaying his new love in the cafeteria as though they were auditioning each other to advertise toothpaste. People were gossiping and I was this near crawling under the table to escape them. "Take it easy," Hye-jin said, taking a drink. “This is your opportunity.” “Do what? Choke on cafeteria noodles in peace?” “No. Do this to get him jealous.” She smirked. “Talk to the transfer student.” I froze. “What? No! He looks as though he could eat girls like me up for breakfast.” That is the point! Min-joon must see you move away with someone hotter, taller, and way more dangerous. Look at him; he is fanfiction walking around! Hye-jin stood up and waved before I could protest. “Hey, new guy! Raven, right? Sit with us!” And I almost fainted dead. To my dismay, Raven walked over. He sort of filled the room like a storm cloud rolling into the cafeteria. He returned his tray to the table, sat down beside me and looked at me with those dark, inexpressible eyes. I squeaked. "Yes," squeaked. As frightened as a mouse “OK, so this is my best friend, Soo-ah. Poor girl, she was recently dumped. She wants a pretentious boyfriend. Interested?” I kicked her under the table so that she was nearly choked. “Ignore her. She is crazy.” Raven was looking at me with curiosity. One horrifying moment I thought he would stand up and walk away. Rather, his lips turned into the merest smile. “Fake boyfriend?” His voice had a deep, smooth, and grim quality. “Why not?” I was shocked. “What?” “Sure,” he said, as though we were talking about the weather. I will be your fake boyfriend. The cafeteria fell still in a moment. Min-joon was standing there in the middle of chewing a bite, and his girlfriend was glaring murder at me. Whispers broke out at once I wished I could have crawled into a hole. Hye-jin was as happy as a winner in a lottery. Raven? He was perspicaciously amused, as though he had contrived a trap at which I might not even have looked. Great. I now had a pretend boyfriend A fake boyfriend who was too hot A pretend boyfriend who could hardly be called normal.