Facebook.

That was how Jonghyun came across the picture. However, Minho did not find this out from Jonghyun himself. Instead, he knew this because he had rather unfortunately been tagged by a person he didn't even remember accepting on Facebook. It turned out that the photo was uploaded onto the unofficial fashion showcase event page which the students themselves had created to share behind the scenes photos which included the after party ones. And well, as Minho browsed through the photos, he realized that his photo with Key was not the worse (there were photos of others in more suggestive positions and even one that had a model clad only in boxers) but it surprisingly garnered the most number of likes, this Minho noticed.  

Truth be told, Minho was highly amused with his and Key’s apparent popularity but that wasn’t the point. He also didn’t give a damn about the photo being available for the world to see (haters to the left). His concern was and had always been Key, ever since he met him. Minho stared at the photo on his MacBook screen and sank into his thoughts. Stuck at a crossroad, not knowing if he should charge forward or take a turn, he needed to figure things out before he did something else impulsive. It wasn’t in his usual character to act irrational. He was normally the sensible one so one kiss on the pretext of being drunk was enough for now. Minho decided that taking the time to reason exactly why Key did funny things to him would do him some good. Quote-unquote, it's a little bit funny this feeling inside, Minho was experiencing ever since he met Key.

God knows how long it passed before a voice suddenly sounded from behind him.

“Hyung, I think it's unhealthy for you to stare this long.”

Minho jolted out of his chair and whipped his head around to the source of the voice. There, he found his roommate grinning teasingly at him.

“Holy Taemin, how long have you been creeping on me?!” Minho was especially pissed off with the smug look on his roommate’s face.

“Long enough to know the guy in the picture with you is no ordinary person since he made you stop and stare.” Taemin sniggered. “Anyway, nice shot you got there!”

“What do you mean?” Minho rolled his eyes as he settled back down on his chair and questioned Taemin who was sitting like a boss on his bed.

“I mean, the person who captured this photo really got you and whoever in such a nice moment and-“ Taemin had to force himself to stop with the rubbish talk since Minho was now glaring at him. Nevertheless, he still had the guts to laugh out loud because it was certainly fun having this control over Minho.

“Okay okay, I’ll be serious now. What I really mean is, you, the great Choi Minho, have feelings for that guy… whoever he is.” Taemin said matter-of-factly.

“Was I... thinking out loud just now?” Minho held his breath, because indeed, the conclusion he had come to when he had been caught up in his thoughts was that he could place Love and Key in one sentence.

Taemin blinked twice. Just when Minho decided to quickly change the subject (for he had realized he didn’t think before he spoke), Taemin burst out laughing. He was seldom, if not never, in a position to tease Minho since his hyung was always confident of himself. Boy oh boy was today Taemin’s lucky day. For once, Minho in a way seemed so vulnerable and helpless. This was a side of Minho he was seeing for the very first time. Taemin wanted so badly to continue making fun of his hyung but when he caught the (not so well hidden) lost look in Minho’s eyes, he knew he had dongsaeng’s duties to fulfill! Besides, outsiders usually see things more clearly than those involved…

“No hyung, you weren’t but… it's the look in your eyes that reveal everything.”

Minho kept silent and waited for Taemin to explain more.

“I should have taken a picture of you when you were staring at the photo.” Taemin sighed. “You were practically worshipping it like a lovesick puppy.”

“Weren’t you behind me all the way?” Minho was visibly confused. “So how did you see what I looked like?”

Taemin shook his head. “There was a moment when I was actually at your side! You see how absorbed you were?”

“Wow, this guy is seriously no ordinary person.” Taemin pointed at the direction where Minho’s MacBook lay.

Minho turned back to look at his MacBook and a smile tugged at his lips. “He’s really nowhere near ordinary…”

“Seems like you aren't going to be single anymore, hyung!” Taemin grinned. “Or are you in a relationship with him already that I should know of? Since after all, I am your roommate and you gotta let me know if you want to have him over and you know...”

Accompanied with his words were some obscene actions Minho never knew Taemin could do.

“Taemin!”

“What hyung! There's nothing wrong with having a life!”

Minho shook his head at the ridiculousness of the situation. He so did not need the boy who he treated as a younger brother to talk about with him.

“We’re not talking about this.”

“At least tell me who is he and if you two are already together?” Taemin pouted.

“He’s none of your business and right now, we’re nothing more than friends.” The words that Key had said in the morning were haunting him but he wasn’t letting Taemin in on that fact. And anyway, he wasn’t going to let Key’s words turn to a fact since he was now determined to gladly prove the fashion student wrong and make him eat his words.

“You’re just friends with him and you’re already getting so protective that I can’t even know who he is?” Taemin whined like a spoilt brat who couldn’t get what he wanted.

“Tae, don’t test my limit.” Minho warned as he shut down his MacBook and stood up from the chair.

“Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.” Taemin shrugged and instantly went back to his normal self, watching Minho as he wore his jacket. “Hey, where are you going? Are we not having dinner together?”

“Sorry Tae, not tonight, I gotta go get my Key.” Minho quipped as he opened the door of his dorm. It wasn’t in his character to say something so cheesy like that (not that Taemin understood anyway) but he just wanted to play with Taemin and get the younger all confused. And true enough, just before he stepped out of their shared dorm, a satisfied Minho caught the adorable puzzled look on Taemin’s face. Though Minho had to admit, that wasn’t entirely a joke. In a way, he was really going to get his Key.

“Hey, where are you?”

“Nowhere near you.” A hostile reply sounded from Minho’s Blackberry.

“What happened to this morning when we were friends?” Minho questioned with a low laugh. Key never failed to amuse him.

A pause on the other end of the line before an audible sigh was heard. “Look Minho, the both of us know things between us are… complicated. So can we not make this anymore of a mess and just stay away from each other?”

“Mess?” Minho stopped in his footsteps, not that he knew where he was going anyway. “What do you mean, mess?”

“You know what I mean.”

“Actually, I don’t. Because yes, I do agree that we’re in a complicated situation but I don’t see this as a mess.” Now Minho’s mood had changed from playful to serious.

“What exactly do you want from me, Minho?” Key had enough. The last thing he wanted to deal with was Minho’s persistence (again). “I’m not interested in arguing with you on the phone over this.”

“Just tell me where you are.”

“I’m not interested in seeing you either.”

“But I’m interested in you.”

The phone line went dead.

Minho stared at his Blackberry and in the next second, redialed the number he last called. Yet now, instead of hearing the dialing tone, the call went straight to voicemail. Minho shook his head and snorted a laugh. Key obviously didn’t know how determined and competitive he could get. Fine, if Key wanted to put him up to a challenge, he would gladly accept it with open arms. Minho was definitely not going down without a fight.

Author's Note: another short chapter because it's about time i update! :) a build up to the next chapter which was originally supposed to be here but it was getting too long i had to break it. i promise you won't have to wait long for the next one though. thanks for reading this story! ^^ and yes, HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!