Chapter 6 — Fake Kisses with My Ex's Best Friend

They arranged to meet on Sunday night, when the office was empty and neither of them worried about being seen sitting together. Bách Nhân chose a small restaurant away from the central area, where company colleagues rarely frequented, a caution that Khả Tâm secretly appreciated from the first moment.

"Before we start," Bách Nhân said, his hands on the table, his serious eyes different from his usual calmness, "I want you to understand clearly, I don't do this because I want to harm Thành Kiệt. I do it because I think he needs a shock strong enough to look back at himself, and because I feel guilty about what you are having to endure."

"I know." Khả Tâm nodded, "And I also want to make it clear, I don't force you to do anything that goes against your principles. If there's anything you're not comfortable with, just say it straight, I'll respect it." Bách Nhân nodded, then began listing the things he had thought about all night, his voice calm as if he were presenting a project plan. "First, we only act in front of others, without any intimate actions when it's just the two of us, to avoid either side misunderstanding the other's feelings. Second, we need to agree on a clear ending time, not letting this continue indefinitely. Third, if there are any signs that the plan is causing real harm to either of us, or to an unrelated third person, we must stop immediately, without hesitation." Khả Tâm listened to each thing, nodded in agreement, but when it came to the first thing, she couldn't help but smile slightly, "You planned it more carefully than one of my campaign presentations."

"Because this is no joke," Bách Nhân replied, his voice still serious but the corners of his mouth slightly relaxed, "If you do it, you must do it with principles, otherwise it will only make things more confusing."

"What about the level of 'acting' in front of everyone?" Khả Tâm asked, feeling a bit shy about having to talk about this but knowing it needed to be made clear from the beginning. "I mean, holding hands, hugging, or even... kissing, how do we handle those things?"

Bách Nhân was silent for a moment, it could be seen that he was considering carefully before answering. "I think holding hands and holding shoulders is the minimum necessary to create persuasion. As for further things, we only do them when it's really necessary, when the situation requires it, and we have to discuss it with each other in advance, not arbitrarily."

"Okay." Khả Tâm nodded," I agree with everything you just said," they continued to discuss more specific details: where should they make their relationship public first, should they let anyone know first, how should they react if Thành Kiệt asked directly, and most importantly, to what extent should they keep it a secret from Nhật Hạ and Gia Kỳ. In the end, the two agreed that Nhật Hạ knew from the beginning, so there was no need to hide it, but Gia Kỳ should let him naturally discover it through observation, to avoid the information being leaked too early than necessary because of his straightforward personality.

"One more thing," Bách Nhân said, his voice slowing down, with a rare hesitation, "I want to ask you a direct question, and hope you answer honestly."

"You just ask."

"Are you sure, after all this, you won't regret turning your pain into a revenge game? I don't want to see you suffer again, this time because of the plan you created."

That question surprised Khả Tâm. She didn't think Thành Kiệt's close friend, who she had only really talked to seriously a few times, cared about her feelings so deeply. She was silent for a moment, then answered honestly.

"I don't know for sure if I will regret it or not. But I know, if I don't do anything, just sit still and suffer, I will definitely regret it more. At least, by doing this, I feel like I am regaining control of my own life, instead of just being a passive victim in someone else's story." Bách Nhân nodded, his eyes softened, "Okay. Then we'll start next week, as soon as there's a suitable opportunity."

"There's one more thing I want to ask you again," Khả Tâm said, her finger lightly tapping the rim of the glass of water, "After everything is over, no matter the outcome, how will we stop so no one is humiliated? I don't want to turn this into a joke for the whole office when it ends."

"I think the simplest thing is to let things calm down naturally," Bách Nhân replied, "There's no need to make a big announcement at the beginning, and there's no need for a big explanation at the end. People will understand, or forget, depending on how skillfully we handle it," Khả Tâm nodded, feeling more reassured with the pragmatic yet thoughtful way of thinking of the other person. She realized that the more she talked, the more she saw that Bách Nhân was a completely different person from her original image of "Thành Kiệt's best friend". She originally assumed that he would be somewhat superficial and show off like her friend. But in him, she saw a calmness, a deep way of thinking, and a clear sense of responsibility for every promise she made.

"Thank you," she said, her voice more sincere than at the beginning of the evening. "I know this isn't an easy request, and I really appreciate your willingness to listen, instead of judging me from the start."

"You have no right to judge anyone," Bách Nhân replied, his voice softening, "Everyone has their own reasons for acting the way they do when they are hurt. I just hope that no matter how this plan turns out, in the end you still find something that makes you truly feel relieved, rather than sinking deeper into resentment."

That sentence made Khả Tâm quiet a bit, feeling an understanding that she did not expect to find in the man sitting across from her, whom just a few weeks ago, she barely knew other than a few social greetings.

At that moment, the right occasion came sooner than both expected. That weekend, Lâm Bích Thủy announced via general email, inviting all employees of both Communications and Sales departments to attend a month-end exchange meeting at Gió Sông main restaurant, an annual internal engagement activity of the company to promote coordination between departments before entering the peak campaign season.

"Here it is." Khả Tâm texted Bách Nhân as soon as he read the email, "At the month-end exchange, both departments will attend, Thành Kiệt will definitely be present."

"I see." Bách Nhân texted back, "Then we start from that day," During the remaining days before the exchange, Khả Tâm continued to "act" in front of Thành Kiệt as usual, pretending her memory was gradually recovering, and even deliberately acting more affectionate to not make him suspect anything. There were nights, after Thành Kiệt returned, she sat alone in her room, feeling disgusted with herself for being able to act so smoothly, no different from the person she was blaming.

Nhật Hạ, who was always by her side to encourage her, sometimes could not hide her worry. "Tâm, have you noticed that lately you and Nhân have been texting more than I thought? I don't mean anything by it; it's just... be careful not to let yourself get tangled up between two men at the same time."

Khả Tâm smiled and dismissed that thought, "You're thinking too much. Nhân and I are just discussing plans, nothing else."

But deep inside, she couldn't deny that every time she received a text message from Bách Nhân, even if it was just a short line about a plan, she felt a strange peace of mind, a feeling she hadn't had for a long time when texting with Thành Kiệt.

As for Bách Nhân, he was also not completely comfortable with his decision. He still kept in regular contact with Thành Kiệt, still had lunch together, discussed work together, but in his heart, an invisible distance had begun to form, a distance that only he could feel, stemming from the fact that he knew he was about to do something that could cause pain to his best friend, even if for a reason he believed was legitimate.

The night before the exchange, Bách Nhân lay in bed, looking up at the ceiling, wondering if he was doing the right thing. He thought about Khả Tâm, about her straightforwardness and determination, about her steady eyes when she said she wanted to regain control of her life. He also thought about Thành Kiệt, about the ten years of friendship that might be broken because of this decision. But in the end, he still told himself, sometimes, true friendship is not about covering up each other's mistakes, but about forcing each other to face the truth, no matter how painful.

The next morning, when he woke up, he received a text message from Khả Tâm: "Are you ready? Today is the starting day."

He looked at the text for a long moment, then typed again, "Ready."

Just a short word, but enough to mark the beginning of a journey that both of them, no matter how carefully they tried to plan, still could not foresee how far it would lead them.