oneshot: All's Fair in Love and War

Ae Young (OC), Kim Jonghyun and Kim Kibum Key

Kim Jonghyun and Kim Kibum have always been true siblings, looking out for each other, backing out of things to let the other take part in them; of course they have had arguments before, but all siblings have those right? Recently, though, Jonghyun turned eighteen and Key turned seventeen, and both of them have fallen in love with a girl by the name of Im Ae Young.

Ae Young’s the school eleventh grade Student President, as well as the Vice Principal’s daughter, only daughter. She’s a very confident girl but also is a very warm one who gives back to society. She thinks before she speaks, looks before she leaps and isn’t a close-minded individual. She doesn’t judge people by what she thinks they look like. She opens her eyes to those who needs help and puts them before herself. Ae Young believes that if somebody doesn’t like the way she acts then screw them. Because of this, her uniqueness, her confidence, many guys make her their ideal woman. Girls are jealous of her looks, and aim to have her flat stomach with the occasional abs and thin but healthy frame, but honestly, Ae Young doesn’t care. She doesn’t pay much attention to the love she’s getting, but rather what she’s giving. Of course, she’s had a boyfriend or two, but never anything remotely serious.

But then, there’s Jonghyun and Kibum, the two brothers – Kingkas of Seoul Academy, who’s eyes have been laid on her since she rose to the top of the school food chain as Student President, gaining her a jumpstart on the social ladder of academic and popularity success. Now, both of them adore Ae Young – a lot – to the point that she doesn’t know what to do. At this stage of adolescence, she’s a single lady looking for love. As much as she appreciates her admirers, these two boys are her favourites. See, both of them love her differently.

Jonghyun, the proud, handsome and charming dinosaur, showers her with compliments and knows her soft spots very well. Occasionally his scandals bring about trouble and harm, but none too horrifying as of yet. Key, the loving, fashionable and caring diva, gives all his heart into loving Ae Young, and is willing to put off his own private time to spend it with her. He’s the sincere one between the brothers, or should I say, more sincere. She, towards Jonghyun, is okay with his Casanova ways, but sometimes they have fights over it. For Key, however, it’s a romantic love – the kind where both puts in equal love into the relationship. You could call Ae Young a two-timer, but really, they’re just best friends – at least, according to Ae Young, that is.

“I’m going out with Ae Young this weekend.”

“No Key, I am. Stop arguing, we already settled this last week.”

“But Ae Young – she already said yes first!”

“Whatever, it’s my turn this week.”

“SHUT UP!” The brothers’ friend – Choi Minho exclaims in frustration. He’s sick of them two’s constant arguing over this, every Friday he suffers this kind of crap. “You guys should really be more organized about this, if not Ae Young will definitely not date any of you and take this BGR thing seriously.”

“That’s it! We’re going to have a fair competition. You know what? We’re going to have it right now. For the next month, two of us are going to engage in a competition with each of us asking her out in our own time.” Jonghyun suggests.

“Fine, but the rules are: one, no playing dirty. Two, no badmouthing the other competitor and three, no boasting about dates. By the time of this month, I’m pretty sure Ae Young’s smart enough to notice this, and we’ll let her choose. But first, a contract that I’ll get typed up by tomorrow and we’ll both sign, arasso?” Key says.

“It’s a deal.”

Minho looks at them having a furious glare-down and snickers by their side, focusing on his own girlfriend that he’s texting. Hey, he’s got his own matters, and according to him, his love life is way better handled than those two boys. Minho. Choi Minho. What does that name remind you of? Ah, right, the ultra-hot, mega-superstar jock. And, you’re right. Choi Minho is a muscular (very), charming (absolutely) and witty (definitely) boy. His black locks of hair emphasize his facial features to the brim. His eyes, those black deep-set eyes that give you a killer gaze when you happen to piss him off. What? Of course he’s taken. None other than Im Yoona of the school takes him, and they’re regarded as the ‘social on-again-off-again couple’. Honestly, the two of them can be really close one moment and distant the next. And he thinks his love life is controlled.

“YAH! Choi Minho!” Jonghyun snaps angrily in front of his face and snatches the phone out of his hands. Minho, as usual, works his killer gaze. “Uh-uh, that doesn’t work on me Choi Minho, you know that. The only thing that works is Taemin’s puppy-dog eyes. You know you can’t beat it. Anyway, we’ll be off now.” As soon as he says it, he drops the phone into Minho’s lap and (fortunately Minho catches it) leaves with Key by his side. “Aish.” Minho mutters and starts calling Yoona.

Ae Young opens her locker and looks in the in-built mirror on the side of it. It’s not that she’s vain – because she’s not – it’s just that she has to be constantly prim and proper. Then she empties her backpack’s contents into the locker. Thump. Buzz.She takes out her phone from her pocket and checks it.

Ae Young, want to go out later?

- Key

She checks her schedule book.

Yeah, why not? Come by and pick me up at about six. Where are we going?

- Ae Young

We’re going ice-skating! After that then dinner, or the other way around?

- Key

ICE-SKATING FIRST! ;D

- Ae Young

Arasso, my lady :)

- Key

Aish, this boy always sends shivers down my spine with his way with romance.Ae Young finds herself smiling foolishly at her phone screen. She scrolls through all their texts while closing the locker and walking down the halls, expertly avoiding the oncoming student traffic. The buzz that fills the halls is all blocked out. But then she feels someone tapping on her shoulder. Once, twice, three times then she gets mad. She looks up, and it’s Jonghyun. Oh. That’s all she thinks.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing, of course I’m going to walk you home.”

“Okay then.”

Jonghyun intertwines his fingers into hers, and they fit comfortably. He winks at her and asks, “Are you going out tonight?” She starts fidgeting, the guilty feeling coming back a little. Yeah, she thinks. “Yeah…” She says uncertainly. “Key?” “Yeah he kind of beat you to it, actually.” She finally says, giving up and completely revealing the truth. “We’re going ice-skating, and after that a dinner. So yeah, I won’t be free tonight, mianhae.”

“Kwenchana, I don’t mind.” He puts on a smile, but inside, of course, he’s thinking of a way to get back at Key when he gets home, and think of another way to snatch the next few dates.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“Bye~” Ae Young smiles, sending Jonghyun a flying kiss.

“You know that’s never acceptable for the King of Skinship.” He waggles a finger at her then walks towards her, pulling her close, them two less than an inch, no, even a centimeter away. He, before she can even notice, crushes his lips on her beautiful ones, brushing her thighs as he did so. She lets herself enjoy the sensual kiss, allowing his tongue to play with hers, fighting for dominance. Jonghyun, as usual, wins, and they pull apart soon after. “Bye!” He exclaims as he walks away. Ae Young blushes, her finger touching her lips.

Checking her watch, Ae Young realizes it’s 4PM and she still isn’t ready yet! She quickly sets out on her mission to look good. Opening her closet furiously, she takes the best outfit she can find for ice-skating and a decent dinner.

She decided to wear the hat as well since it completed the outfit perfectly. I still remember this hat – Key gave it to me. He’ll love it, I’m sure! She smiles, rushing into the bathroom and wearing it on. It still fits! Ae Young settles in front of the mirror and puts on a little bit of make-up. A little bit of blusher, her mother told her. It’s meant to be a subtle yet natural looking make-up by its nature, so she picks dusty rose over the warm plum colour. Then some mascara will do the trick, the lengthening kind and the curling kind. She puts both of them on quickly and then the final touch – lip stick. Parisian, her favourite. She smacks her lips together, making her lipstick spread easily across them.

All done! Now, bag and shoes. She picks her only (and fairly new) black bag and white flats. Simple and elegant, that’s the key.

“Ae Young-ah!”

Oh, and 10 minutes early too! “Coming yeobo!” She yells from her room, dashing through the door and quickly locking it, tripping down the steps. “Crap!” She stumbles and loses her balance but before she falls, Key’s there to catch her. He smiles, looking at the panting and puffing Ae Young, starts laughing a little. “Kwenchana, Ae Young-ah?” “Neh, I’m fine, let’s go.” She gulps and says.

Key opens the door of his car and lets her in, closing the door for her. Then he gets into the driver’s seat and pulls out something. “Here.” He gives her a small present. The thing about Key is that he loves to give presents on any occasion and because he knows this absolutely surprises her. “What did you buy this time Key?” She opens the small box quickly, unwrapping the exquisitely adorned ribbon and in it contains a pair of earrings that the pair saw but didn’t purchase on their previous date at the nearby shopping mall.

“It’s the pair of earrings we didn’t buy! Omo, Key!” She smiles and closes the box before hugging him warmly. “I would do anything for you! Do you like it? Here let me put it on for you, it goes with your outfit today, trust me.”

“Of course I trust you!” She laughs while trying not to fidget as he puts on the earrings for her. Click! Click! Both sides are locked half a minute later. “It’s beautiful! You look so gorgeous!” He moves backwards, attempting to see from afar. “Thank you, Kibum!” She lets his real name slip out when she becomes affectionate. Key would usually freak, but because it’s his yeobo his doesn’t mind at all. “You’re welcome… Let’s go now, we’ll be late for our booking session, I booked our own section of the rink!”

“Crap I can’t tie this properly!” Ae Young mumbles, struggling to knot the laces of her shoes. “Here, let me do it for you.” Key, who’s already finished minutes ago, bends down on one knee and ties her shoelaces quickly. In seconds, one shoe is done. She smiles at Key, “Komawo, Key.” “Come on.” He takes her hand and leads her towards the rink.

Both of them, for the next two hours, skate together round and round the rink at least twenty times, but of course, time flies. “It’s been two hours already! My stomach’s grumbling…” She groans inwardly, skating towards the side of the rink. Key catches up quickly, and takes her hands once more and leads her back to the stands. “Aw, my little baby’s hungry now, isn’t she? Okay, let’s go eat. I’ve got a restaurant in mind, come on!”

Jonghyun sits on his bed, flapping his blanket over and over again. Key never finished his contract, so that doesn’t mean I can’t play fair, haha! “Ae Young, you’re going to be mine, but how?” He starts to think up a million possibilities and settles for playing dirty. Key’s too kind to mind, anyway. He considers spreading rumors about Key’s old Casanova ways then letting the word go around, or even setting them up for a fake date and letting Ae Young think that Key never showed up. “That’s brilliant, Jonghyun, that’s brilliant!” He finally settles on the latter. A fake date…

“So Key, why the sudden date? Don’t you and Jonghyun –”

“Nah, we didn’t plan today, I asked you first, remember? Plus anyway we’re in a competition now.”

“Ooh, sounds fun! Let me guess, you guys are fighting over me again?”

“Yeah, but this time it’s not so simple. We’ve decided to let you choose who you want after one month, and we’re supposed to ask you out in our own time, so it’ll be fair.” Key explains.

“Well, well, well. All’s fair in love and war Key, sometimes things don’t work out the way everyone wants it to.”

“Are you implying something here, Ae Young?” He mocks.

“Nothing. Nothing. Just telling you.” She doesn’t have the slightest inkling how that certain phrase will kill Key’s chances in the next thirty days of their brutal brother battle.

Later

“Well, thank you for the date, Key. I hope you had as much fun as I did.”

“I did.” Then he leans over for a quick peck on the lips, and then pulls her in for a warm embrace. “This time next week as well?” “I’ll see first.” She replies, teasingly. “M’am yes m’am!” He salutes her cutely, and they go their parting ways.

Key drives back home, not the least bit anxious and all ready to brag about his date, but then he realizes that no bragging is allowed in the rules, so he keeps his mouth shut when he enters the house. Jonghyun’s already asleep on the couch with the television on and the blanket half-covering him. Key sighs and switches off the television before putting the blanket over him fully. He doesn’t feel like bringing the heavy Jjong over to the bed, because he’s already exhausted.

“Jjong, I trust you. Play fair, alright? And, I love you, my wonderful brother. I hope we’ll never fight over any girl other than Ae Young ever again. But even so, for this battle, I will try my best to win Ae Young over.” Key says absentmindedly. Jonghyun doesn’t stir, but he hears what Key’s saying as he’s only half-asleep, actually. When Key leaves and switches off the living room light, a tear slips down his cheek. Pabo, Key. He thinks before he drifts off to sleep.

“Ae Young, let’s go on a date today!” Jonghyun calls Ae Young at about eight in the morning because he knows Ae Young’s an early riser but Key’s not. “Fine. Come by in about an hour or so, where are we going?” “Movie theatre.” “No way!” “I know right, now hurry!” “Neh!”

Ae Young hangs up and quickly goes to her dressing room and picks out a proper outfit.

It is a beautiful short dress that’s perfect for the occasion, because it isn’t too short nor too long. Casual yet sophisticated, just the look she was going for. She quickly gets a bag from yesterday and sits in front of her laptop on the bed.

She switches on her laptop, half an hour left. She opens Internet Explorer and goes to her favourite online shop called To February, which sells all the cutest things she can find. She sees the perfect item for Key, in future dates. It’s a key necklace, with a pink-purple rhinestone in the centre.

She smiles, clicking to “Add to Cart” and logging in to her account on the website. Perfect, Key’ll love it! Ae Young, smiles at the thought of Key seeing the necklace. Then, another thing for Jonghyun to be absolutely delighted to see on their next dates. A Bear Hood Jacket!

“Add to Cart!” She exclaims, excited at her new find, then she realizes its about time already, and quickly switches off her laptop and exits the house. She runs outside, almost crashing into a waiting Jonghyun. “What were you doing in there, Ae Young?” He asks. Then he glances at his watch, “You’re five minutes late! You’re never late!” “I’ll explain on the way! We’re going to be late for the movie! Oh wait, what are we watching?”

Jonghyun leads her to the car and says, while turning on the ignition, “We’re watching Finding Mr. Destiny. I heard it’s a really good movie, plus you like romantic comedy don’t you?” “Yeah! Gosh I’ve always wanted to watch that show ever since it came out! I’ve seen the director’s movies before, they’re really good, I swear!” She grins widely. “Great!” Jonghyun smiles back, glad that he chose the correct movie.

Throughout the movie the two of them snuggle up next to each other. Jonghyun can afford Gold Class seats, so they’re seated in couple seats, just the perfect size for relaxation for two. The movie is a hilarious one, and Jonghyun loves how Ae Young laughed the whole way through. At the end she is hugging Jonghyun so tight he couldn’t breathe. “Thank you so much for bringing me here today! I loved the movie!” She beams brightly, face practically glowing in the sunlight. “You’re welcome. Let’s go grab a bite now, arasso?” Jonghyun pinches her cheeks cutely and holds her hand as they walk down the steps.

“What do you want to eat?” “Sushi!” “Why?” “Because fish is nice to eat.” Jonghyun laughs at her strange reply, and shakes his head as he takes her into a restaurant he is a member at, so he has the privilege of a VIP room. He already knows she likes sushi, of course. “VIP room!” Ae Young jumps happily and settles down quickly onto the comfy sofa. “WAHHH!” She smiles. “You’re the best Jjong! JJANG!” She ‘thumbs up’ him and Jonghyun gives a smug smile in return.

They order quickly, with Ae Young eating the Sushi Assortment Set A and Jonghyun eating the Pork Cutlet with Rice Set. Waiting doesn’t take long, and they finish in half an hour.

“That tasted wonderful! Jong, you’re really impressing me with all this. You’re so sweet!” Ae Young thanks him gratefully and declines his offer on dropping her back home. “Aniyo, it’s okay. I have to go somewhere anyway, so you can go first.” “I’ll drive you there then.” “Aniyo, really. I have to settle some administrative stuff down by our school, so it’s going to be a great hassle and all, so I think it’s better if you don’t tag along, plus I’ll have the whole department there and the faculty as well. It’s a quick discussion and meeting, I wouldn’t want you to wait for me there, neh?” “If that’s the case… then okay. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? Take care.” “Neh, kamsahamnida!” She smiles, appreciating his understanding in her commitments.

Over the next month both of Jonghyun and Key battle for Ae Young’s love, while Ae Young herself, apart from being stressed out from her daily busy schedule, is trying to juggle dating both boys at once. But of course, there was this one-day, where Jonghyun, nearing the end of the month actually, carried out his scheming plan.

flashback

Ae Young’s Point of View

“Hey Ae Young? Key just told me that he’d like to set up a date with you, like today, later, at somewhere really special, and he told me to tell you that he’ll be busy for the whole day so don’t bother asking him. Just meet him at the front of the school gate at 7pm and be prepared for a special occasion.” Jonghyun came up to me and said. “You are helping him?” I asked, curious at his spontaneous outburst of helping Key – his opponent – score a date with me.

“Oh, he, ah, begged me to, so I had no choice but to help him. Plus he kind of …” He mumbled the last part of the sentence. “Come again?” I asked. “Nothing, anyway, don’t forget to meet him alright?” “Okay. See you around!” I replied, wondering what the curious date would be about, plus I was supposed to ‘shun’ Key, which I never did before, so I was exceptionally suspicious and alert, but Key never came up to me and he seemed to be rushing everywhere. I supposed that he was preparing for our special secret and confidential date later on, so I kept mum.

Basically, for the rest of the day in school I was bored for all my lessons, doodling in my notebook, unusually. I guess I was really psyched about the date, and I didn’t give a hoot to the other classes that totally drained my energy for later. I had to be quick in dressing up, because school ended at 5.30pm that day due to a Student Council meeting from three to five. Then I also had to speak to the head of the faculty for a little bit before rushing off home. By the time I actually did reach home, it was already 6pm. I almost freaked out, because I only had half an hour to finish. I scrambled to get my dressing first.

I picked a khaki coloured dress along with a simple black sling pouch that could contain everything that I needed for the night.

Then I moved on to the make-up section. I curled my hair quickly, then tying it up to the side, letting my fringe drop to one side. Perfect! Ten minutes left. I quickly put mascara, blusher and lipstick, before adding the final touch – ‘Key’s necklace’, the one I aforementioned, that I ordered. Yes, I was a VIP member, so it arrived within a week of my purchase.

I hurried to call a taxi and it came in less than five minutes. It started to drizzle a little, unfortunately I forgot my umbrella and I couldn’t turn back if not I would’ve been late. Fashionably late is fine, but a tip? Never be more than ten minutes late, not all guys appreciate that. Anyway, when I got out of the taxi, I quickly ran to a small shelter in front of our school. Sadly, the rain started pouring mercilessly. I watched the droplets fall.

For the next thirty minutes or one hour (I didn’t keep track), I stood there, waiting. It wasn’t Key’s nature to be late, but he was probably busy with something. Then I considered calling him, but it just went to the Answering Machine. I was a little frustrated, but I still waited. For the next one hour. It’d been two hours already and Key still wasn’t there. I felt lonely, sad, and the rain hadn’t stopped. It just fell, and as I waited, the time ticked by agonizingly, my happiness fading along with it. Key never did that to me before. Suddenly I found myself crying. A tear slipped down my eye. Then two more, then I felt my face stained with tears. The rain didn’t stop; it became worse.

Water made my whole dress wet. I saw a silhouette running toward me. It was Jonghyun, I realized. It wasn’t Key. Jonghyun. He didn’t have an umbrella either, so he was soaked, completely drenched. He slowed to a stop before me, and pulled me into a hug. A really warm one, and he said, “Ae Young-ah, cry, its okay, cry! I had a bad feeling so I came over, cry… cry it out!” I burst into tears, them wetting Jonghyun’s already cold shirt. But I could feel the warmth shared within us. A flood of tears gushed down my pale cheeks. I was shivering, and his whole body vibrated along with mine. Eventually it stopped, but Jonghyun didn’t let me go.

Thank you Jonghyun, thank you.

flashback end

The next day of course, Jonghyun was chosen over Key, this was how it happened.

flashback

“Jonghyun, I choose you. Key, you didn’t show up for our date yesterday. How can I trust you then? For our future dates? You won’t be able to even turn up? You didn’t even care, not texting or calling me. So Jonghyun is the one I want.” Key’s face showed an expression of confusion. “Don’t lie to me Key.” Ae Young said, clearly upset. Jonghyun on the other hand, was delighted, but was guilty as well for what he did to betray his own brother, his own kin, his closest friend and buddy for life. Key was absolutely confused. “Ae Young, will you be my girlfriend?” Jonghyun asked the killer question, leaving Key dumbfounded. “Of course I will.” Both of them left Key standing there, Ae Young smiling with Jonghyun. They locked arms and walked away.

Jonghyun shot one last parting glance at his brother, wondering how he’ll ever face him again. Maybe he’ll move out. But he thought that it didn’t matter anymore now that he won the competition. Key smiled at him, surprisingly. A weak, vague smile of mixed expressions and feelings. That somehow relieved the naïve, unfeeling Jonghyun. But Key wasn’t smiling inside of course, he was tearing apart.

Jonghyun, you betrayed me. Jonghyun, you betrayed me. Jonghyun, you betrayed your very own brother. How will you ever live with the guilt? All’s fair in love and war? Scratch that. Nothing’s fair. That’s what I want to say Jonghyun. But it’s been quite fair until this. Jonghyun, you betrayed me, but I cannot blame you for it. It’s the only time you’re ever sacrificing yourself for anything. And if it means losing your own brother’s trust in you, I guess it’s fine. But I care for you Jonghyun, and so, I’m still going to act like nothing’s wrong. Jonghyun, take care. Jonghyun, make sure you guard Ae Young with your life.

Or I’ll never let you off.

So, how did you like it? I hope your unnie did okay? Dongsaeng did you like it? Do leave your feedback below~