[LEVEL 3: THE FALL]

Dinner. It's just a dinner, right? What's there to worry about? Jonghyun tugged on his shirt as he placed a jet black leather jacket on. He then looked at his reflection on his room's vanity mirror. He was wearing his favorite dark skinny jeans and black combat boots. He also had his favorite batman dress shirt on.

"As handsome as ever, Jjong. You look like a dashing modern dark knight." He told himself, wearing a smug expression on his face and fixed the collar of his dress shirt.

"Yah. Hyung. Stop talking to your conceited self. Your egoistic head might blow up because of all the praise you feed your brain." Taemin, out of nowhere suddenly told the elder, showing a face of disgust. Jonghyun didn't even notice the kid entering his room and taking a seat on his bed.

"Shut up, kid." He muttered then threw a tie at Taemin, hitting him square on the face.

"I'm just telling the truth, okay? I speak only the truth and nothing but the truth." Taemin said while wiggling his eyebrows at the older man.

"Truth, my . You're the greatest liar I've ever met. If you speak of the truth, then how would you explain the box of banana milk you keep in your room? And also let's not forget, the money you secretly took from Minho and Onew-hyung?" Jonghyun eyed the younger boy, satisfied at how the boy nervously shuffled his feet.

"W-what are you talking about? I don't keep a stash of banana milk in my room! And if I were, how would you know? You sneak into my room, don't you? You sly thief! You watch me sleep, don't you? I knew you were a dirty erted geezer!" Taemin threw the tie back at Jonghyun.

"A-and about the money, I didn't steal it! They gave it to me! I-I may have gotten a little bit of extra aside from what I asked for from their wallets, but I still asked permission first, so it technically wasn't stealing!" Taemin continued defensively before throwing a pillow at Jonghyun and frantically running out of the room.

Hmph. Lame kid excuses. He really talks too much for his own good. Jonghyun chuckled at how naive and talkative the youngest resident of their dorm was.

"Jonghyun! You're taking so long! We were supposed to leave fifteen minutes ago!" He heard Key's nagging voice.

"Coming!" He screamed back at the fox that was probably waiting in the living room, slightly tapping his right foot on the floor and impatiently blowing his hair out of his face.

I'm the one who's paying for dinner and yet he's the one who's nagging. Jonghyun thought as he placed his phone and wallet in his jean's pockets. He hurriedly went out of his room and scurried off towards the living room.

"Finally." Key was standing in the middle of the room, his arms crossed and was indeed tapping his foot impatiently, just like how Jonghyun imagined him upon his arrival.

"What took you so long to dress up? We aren't going to any sophisticated place. And you're just wearing a simple dress shirt and jeans; how is it so time-consuming to wear those?" Key nagged on, causing an annoyed face out of Jonghyun.

Wow. To be quite honest, he looks dashing and mysterious. I like the dark aura he gives out. Key's thoughts were unconsciously taking a different course from his nagging.

Wait. What? No, Kibum. It's a game. Get your fabulous head in the game. There's no time to be the awesome fashion critique you are. Key shrugged his slightly disturbing thoughts off.

But actually, little did he know that Jonghyun was also thinking the same way he was.

He looks amazing. His sense of style is so different from everyone else and it seems like he's the only one who could carry out those choice of clothes. Jonghyun thought as the stunning creature stood in front of him. Key was wearing a pair of red skinny jeans and a loose graphic shirt that accentuated his elegant collar bones. And to complete the outfit, he was wearing his spiked thick-soled shoes, giving him a tougher yet still cheery look.

Why is does he seem so different when he's utterly normal to everybody else's eyes? Why does he look so special even if he's wearing such normal and common clothes? Both of them had the similar thoughts, sparing a few seconds of silence looking at each other's appearances.

"Come on now, guys! Are you leaving or not? Get out of the dorm now so we can have a nag-free night!" Onew broke the silence, sending the two back to reality. He pushed both of them out of the dorm and waved them off.

"Have fun! We sure will have fun here! And actually, don't come back, if you want! I'm sure it's alright! Nag-free dorms are way better!" Onew told them, implying the things that were normal to the two. Nagging, for one was a regular thing they do. They were like a bickering couple and that's how their dorm-mates saw them.

"Hmph. Stupid Onew-hyung." Jonghyun muttered breaking the awkward silence between him and Key. They were walking along the busy streets of the city. It was a Friday night and everyone was hurrying to go to their planned activities since it was a holiday the next day. 

"Ugh. Why do we have to walk?" Key whined, making Jonghyun turn to take a good look at him.

"Because we're going to a club you wanted to go to for dinner, Kibum." Jonghyun stated as he messed up the fox's fluffy hair. They're back in the game, alright.

"Yah. I took time fixing that, you idiot." Key huffed before bumping Jonghyun's shoulders with his. 

I'll win this, Jonghyun. I've already planned this night out. Key smiled to himself.

"Why did you want to eat in a club anyways?" Jonghyun asked out of curiosity.

"Nothing much, really. I just thought it would be fun." Key answered, smirking a bit at the thought of his plans.

"Then why didn't you go with Minho then? He's your age." Jonghyun raised the question.

"He's a bore, Jonghyun. We both know that idiot's no fun. Besides, you'll be paying for this, right?" Key sheepishly smiled at him.

"Yah. So I look like money to you now?"

"Maybe. Maybe not." Key moved closer to Jonghyun, causing their shoulders to bump while walking.

"Well. It's good that you think I'm fun. At least I know I'm not like Onew-hyung, who's an old man and Minho --as you said-- is a bore." Jonghyun placed his hands in his pockets, warming it up from the chilly weather.

After walking and chatting for almost half an hour, they've finally arrived at the club. They entered it, finding themselves in a crowd of college people like them. They got seated at a small table at the far corner of the place. It was a mix of a club and a restaurant and it had a modern and light atmosphere. A waiter handed them menus and waited to take their orders. 

"I'll get these and a bottle of beer, please," Key pointed at several items in the menu.

"Oh. And please add lots of ketchup." He added before closing the menu. Key loved ketchup. He loved it enough to be a ketchup enthusiast, if there was such thing.

"I'll get this and two bottles of beer." Jonghyun plainly stated and pointed at the food he had chosen.

"Two?" Key asked as the waiter walked off with the menus and their orders.

"Yeah. I'm used to drinking. Why?" Jonghyun cocked his head at the sudden question.

"Oh. Nothing." Key muttered. He doesn't drink often, but that's okay. He needed to play along, so he decided that he'll be ordering more beer later. All that mattered now was that he'll be able to accomplish the plan he had in mind.

The food came after a few minutes of talking and looking around the club. It was a nice place to go to. Of course, as expected for a place chosen by the Kim Kibum.

"After eating, let's go dance, okay?" Key raised his eyebrows before extracting a yes from the older man.

"Sure. Mhm. The food here sure is good." Jonghyun replied with a sweet smile, after munching on a small bit of the meal.

He looks so sweet. Why does he look like an adorable puppy, sometimes? The thought ran through Key's head as he glanced at Jonghyun.

Wait. No. You can't think this way. It's. A. Game. Kibum forced himself to drink one bottle of beer, hoping the silly thought would be flushed along with the liquid travelling down his system. He felt a bit of buzz shuddering through his body since he wasn't used to drinking.

"Hey. Take it slow. Do you really want to get drunk in front of all these people?" Jonghyun told him as he placed the now empty bottle of beer down.

"Yeah. I-I was just thirsty." Key mumbled and then ate a mouthful of his order.

"Here's your order, sir." A waitress said before she placed the meal but spilling some of the content onto Jonghyun's batman dress shirt.

"Yah! Do you know how important this shirt is?" Jonghyun slightly yelled before even seeing the waitress. He then turned around to see the beautiful petite woman, wearing a scared expression.

"S-Sorry, sir. I-I really didn't mean to." The woman nervously lifted her head.

"Oh. N-no. It's okay. N-never mind." Jonghyun returned to his seat abruptly, making Kibum scoff at the boy's action.

"Wow. She got away so easily. Tsk. Tsk. Kim Jonghyun. You have such a weak spot for women." Key told him while shaking his head. The waitress had already left after saying a small thank you.

"Yah. I-It's not like that." Jonghyun defended, but that just made Key scoff at him more.

He looks dazzling when he laughs. It's much better than his cute expression while nagging. Jonghyun thought as he got distracted by Key's smiling expression.

No, Jonghyun. You're playing a game. You cannot waver. Jonghyun stopped his thoughts and went back to eating and removing the food from his shirt.

They stayed in the club, finishing their dinner in an hour and went to the dance floor to have some fun. They had a few drinks, but Key who wasn't used to liquor, got a little tipsy after a few hours. Jonghyun, on the other hand, just flirted with the women in the club like the usual coquet he was and didn't notice Key's weakness to alcohol until they talked in the bar.

"One bottle of beer here, please." Jonghyun told the bartender and got his beer right away. He took a sip and noticed Kibum standing beside him, drinking from his own beer.

"Jjongie. You've been so far all night. I've missed you," Key blurted in a slightly drunk tone.

"You've been flirting with different women tonight. I think I'm getting kinda jealous. Aren't I your yeobo?" He continued as he tipsily scratched Jonghyun's chin like what he usually did when he teased the puppy-like boy.

"Are you drunk, Kibum?" Jonghyun asked liked the idiot he was. Of course Key was drunk. Anyone would know that.

"Jjongie~ I'm going to win~ I'm going to win~" Key told him while singing and dancing. He then drank another big gulp of beer.

My plan's a failure. Ugh. It's because of you, idiot. You made me drink so much because you look so attractive tonight. These silly thoughts are caused by you and alcohol is the only way to flush them out of my system. Key's mind was filled with such thoughts as he went closer to Jonghyun and poked him on the chest.

"Your. Fault." Key continued stabbing Jonghyun with his index finger.

"Yah. Kibum, wha--" Jonghyun was cut off because Key suddenly flung himself onto him.

"I'm your yeobo, right? Then what are you doing with those women?" Key whispered, his voice slightly hitching. His reeking alcohol breath reached Jonghyun's nose.

He's drunk, alright. Jonghyun thought as if it wasn't obvious enough.

He paid the bartender for the drinks and dragged Key out of the club. It was really cold outside since it was already past midnight.

"We'll go home already, okay?" He told Key as if the drunk fox would reply anything sensible at that time. Idiot.

"No! Let's dance more, Jjongie~ You only flirted with other people tonight. You were supposed to have fun with me. And I was supposed to seduce you," Key wrapped his arms around Jonghyun's neck, invading the personal space of the shorter man.

"That was my plan for tonight, Jjongie. I was sure that I'd get you already and win. But what happened? You just left me there. You're so mean!" Key started lightly slapping Jonghyun's chest and Jonghyun just scrunched his nose at the strong alcoholic smell Key had.

That was his plan? Huh. This silly fox. Jonghyun thought as he shrugged Key off. He started pushing and supporting Key down the street. There were no taxis nor any means of transportation nearby so they had to walk back to the dorm.

After a few minutes, Jonghyun noticed Key shivering from the cold. He removed his leather jacket and placed it around the younger boy's body.

"Why do you wear such thin clothes during night-time, Key?" He muttered under his breath, not expecting any response from the only half awake boy. He started dragging Key back to the dorm again.

"Jjongie," Key said in a soft voice. Jonghyun remained silent, waiting for the other's words.

"I-I think I really might be falling for you." Jonghyun stopped in his tracks. It almost sounded like Key really was sober. He looked down at Key's face and saw his eyes closed and his cheeks and nose both red because of the cold.

Are you really serious, Kibum? Jonghyun mentally asked the boy.

"It's just a game, silly." Jonghyun answered back, denying his own feelings and as if also reminding himself. His heart was beating rapidly and he wasn't sure why. It was a game. It was only a game and he wasn't suppose to feel anything.

"You must be kidding. You're just doing this so you'll win, right?" Jonghyun voiced out his thoughts. They were already outside their dorm.

"Tell me you're not saying the truth, Kibum." Jonghyun whispered as he stood the other up properly, looking at his wonderful features. He gazed at the younger's face, his stunning feline face, highlighted by the rosy blush coloring his cheeks. He was undoubtedly astounding. He may be drunk, but the calm sleeping expression he had on was a rare sight for Jonghyun. He usually saw Key's nagging expression or the fierce and competitive look plastered on his face. This made his heart waver. Could they still end up really falling for each other?

Please tell me you're lying, because I think I'm falling for you, too.

Please tell me that's not the truth, so I could just end up losing and instead, just try to sincerely win your heart with my own sincere feelings. Jonghyun thought of it as if he was pleading. He still had his pride, but maybe he could let go of that and just admit defeat in order to win Key's heart. He was in a state of confusion and this was what he got for playing the crucial game of the heart.

 

Level 3: The Fall, loading completed.

Hi guys~ So I'm back after a week OTL Sorry for making you guys wait so long ;_; I was so hyped up for SHINee's Why So Serious?, I couldn't focus on writing >< Did you guys see it already? If not, here's the link for the MV: CLICK HERE ^^ Please follow me on tumblr: minhoink (Sorry for my shameless promotion ;u;) I swear guys, thank you for the support! I was really overwhelmed at how many subscribers I got; I usually got only a little amount of subscirber and getting over 10 is really an achievement for me (OTL Am I shallow? sob) Anyway, thank you so so much! I love you all~ I hope you'll continue supporting my fic and please do comment! ^^

Here's Key from Why So Serious? if you haven't checked it out ^^ (GIF made by yours truly OTL)