The Fall of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 2) by Con Template
Unable to keep her cheeky smile contained, Yoori happily raised her shot glass. Man, she was excited to drink!
“Here’s to Choi Yoori,” Tae Hyun began exuberantly, his smile growing wider as he held his shot glass toward her.
Yoori smiled prematurely at his prepared toast.
“—the only girl I know who got attacked by a duck and lived to tell the tale.”
What the –
Yoori’s smile melted under the scorching fire of her cheeks. Her eyes narrowed into slits and she shot Tae Hyun the dirtiest glare she could muster. She was beside herself. How dare he tease her about something that horrible? Just like that, her memory of their awkward “almost kiss” was erased. She was too distracted with his teasing nature.
Tae Hyun smirked proudly and took a swift gulp, emptying the alcohol contents into his stomach without a second’s notice.
Yoori, although very bitter with his stupid little speech, made herself feel better by taking a swig as well. The results were instant. She could feel the warmth of the vodka bubble in her stomach. It felt good!
Tae Hyun placed his shot glass down in satisfaction and emerged from behind the bar. He didn’t make it out two strides before they gaped at one another in shock.
Up and down their eyes went, the similarities of their pajama clothes freaking both of them out – Yoori more so than Tae Hyun.
Yoori wore a black tank top and Tae Hyun wore a black muscle shirt. In addition to the similarities of their upper garments, they both sported nearly identical looking bottoms. Both wore a mixture of blue and white plaid pajama pants.
Soon after, an uninterested Tae Hyun dismissed the gaping fest.
“What are we…modeling for a Macy’s catalog?” Tae Hyun asked curtly, taking the words right out of Yoori’s mouth.
Paying no more mind to the unusual likeness of their nightwear, he marched out, holding a Grey Goose bottle in one hand and his shot glass in the other.
Though she scoffed along in agreement, Yoori secretly admitted the obvious: they looked like a very cute couple when they matched. She laughed for a second before she ran over to the bar counter and grabbed her alcohol of choice, Southern Comfort. All the necessities in hand, Yoori followed Tae Hyun into the living room, boredom already holding her prisoner.
Because of their eventful day and the fact that they were leaving in the morning, Tae Hyun had informed her that he didn’t have anything planned for them to do that night. Recalling this, Yoori knew the only thing that would help entertain her and her bored self was the alcohol and more “getting to know each other” activities.
“Hey, we should play a game,” Yoori suggested, sitting down on the silver tiles just as Tae Hyun was about to take a seat on the couch. She was very excited for an excuse to drink and frankly, the lake house ambiance was so tranquil that she really wanted to hang out with Tae Hyun a little more before they left for Seoul in the morning. She doubted he would be as easy going and open once they returned to the confines of the Underworld. She might as well take advantage of the undisturbed time they had and pry some more information out of him.
When she saw the uncooperative look in his eyes, she hastened to add, “You know…so we don’t seem like alcoholics…”
Tae Hyun chuckled at her excuse. “You’re not considered an alcoholic if you drink with someone else, assistant,” he reasoned. “You’re only an alcoholic if you drink alone. If you drink with someone else, then you’re a ‘social drinker.’”
Yoori laughed at his witty reasoning. “Okay, social drinker. Get your ass down here and socialize with me by playing a drinking game. Let’s have some fun before I die of boredom.”
“I know a couple of vengeful ducks willing to help get you out of your boredom,” Tae Hyun teased, hiding back a playful smile.
Yoori’s eyes sizzled with unrelenting fire. She held back a chain of curses. Instead, she grouchily held up three fingers (her index finger and two middle fingers on her right hand) in a sequential line toward him.
Tae Hyun regarded her, puzzled as to what she was doing. Unable to hide his curiosity, he said, “What are you – ”
“Read between the lines, buddy,” Yoori enlightened tersely, holding her three fingers higher in view.
Tae Hyun’s eyes lit in amazement. He laughed in astonishment when he realized that she was subtly flipping him off.
He nodded, giving credit where credit was due. “Nice.”
“I’m glad we understand each other,” Yoori said proudly. She was pleased that she got her point across in not wanting to be reminded of her arch nemesis—the stupid ducks. “Now hurry up and play!”
Tae Hyun expelled a sigh and drew himself over to Yoori. As he walked, a swell of inspiration glazed over his eyes. Almost instantly, his bored demeanor transformed into an excited one.
“I call the name of the game,” he announced, rushing to sit down when he realized he could get something out of it. His eyes were already twinkling with sneakiness.
Yoori regarded him with open suspicion. “What’s the game?” she cautiously asked before allowing herself to concur.
“‘Never Have I Ever.’” He smiled innocently at her before adding, “By the way, it’s this game or no game at all. So please choose between your many options wisely.”
Yoori twiddled her fingers uncertainly. She took a second to think things over and then nodded slowly. Whatever. She wanted to have some fun. The game sounded harmless enough.
“Okay, okay. Let’s play it,” Yoori conceded, wanting to spice up their night. They each began to pour alcohol into each other’s shot glasses. Still feeling a bit bitter from his teases about her and the ducks, Yoori found herself absentmindedly adding, “Mine would’ve been more fun though.”
“What would’ve been your game of choice?” Tae Hyun asked uninterestedly, clearly expecting a mundane answer from her.
“Body Shots.”
The smug smile that adorned Tae Hyun’s lips disappeared when he heard this. He gazed at her. His eyes were ready to form tears of regret. His visage was reminiscent of a child who got his favorite toy taken away. He held his confused eyes on her while he poured the vodka into her glass. His shocked expression asked her if she was serious.
When all she did was shrug with a crooked smile that could easily be seen as a tease, she could’ve sworn she saw a downpour of regret crawl in his eyes when he thought about the alternative game that would’ve brought the biggest smile to his face.
She scoffed inwardly, highly amused and not surprised with Tae Hyun’s show of regret. As the old saying goes, boys will be boys.
He emerged out of his daze when he realized that the drink he was pouring her had spilled onto the tiles. Lost in a state of mystification, Tae Hyun lowered the bottle slowly and parted his lips, ready to suggest a flexible alternative. “W – We could – ”
It took all of Yoori’s willpower to suppress her giggles. It was comical to see him so confused and sad.
“No, Kwon Tae Hyunnie...” she started in a mocking and teasing tone. “You said it yourself. It’s your game or no game.”
Tae Hyun scoffed when he finally, amid his confusion and regret, caught on to the fact that Yoori was just messing with him.
“Ohhh,” he voiced, shaking his head at her. His eyes rippled with the need for vengeance. “This is war.”
Yoori giggled proudly, ready to have some fun.
“Okay, let’s get some rules straight," she began, not wanting “sex” to be the main topic of their game. "We can’t ask any personal questions pertaining to se – ”
“– Never have I ever not had sex,” Tae Hyun interrupted promptly, a challenging smile apparent on his face.
Yoori gawked at him disbelievingly. The first question and he was already going personal?
“Uh…” She stared cautiously at their shot glasses. As she had anticipated, he didn’t hold his shot glass up to drink.
His challenging gaze on her grew stronger when he noted her hesitatio
Yoori’s eyes nearly fell out of her sockets. “What?”
What the hell was this?
“Starting…now!”
“Ahhh!” She hastily grabbed her shot glass and drank from it, inadvertently agreeing to the rules of the game in her state of panic.
Tae Hyun raised his brow in interest. He happily poured her another round of vodka. He was very pleased that he got back at her for teasing him about the “Body Shots” game.
“Oh goodness, there’s a virgin being dangled in front of me. This is terrible…just terrible…” he muttered to himself. He placed the Grey Goose bottle down and looked at her. “Great. Now I’ve lost interest in the game. The only thing going on in my mind is that I want to teach you.”
Teach?
Yoori shook her head wildly, knowing very well that he was messing with her now. “I don’t need you to teach me,” she combated sternly.
She didn’t need anyone to teach her!
Tae Hyun laughed, very much amused. His eyes became sinfully sultry. “Babe, if I teach you, you won’t ever want to learn from anyone else. Remember that.”
Yoori dropped her mouth in shock. Anger rose through her. Her patience was kicked out the door. “Oh God, you love making things awkward, huh? You and your stupid sexual innuendos. This is seriously sexual harassment. Watch out next time, or I’ll sue you.”
“Haven’t we already established that only ‘unwanted sexual advances’ counts as sexual harassment?” he replied calmly, unfazed by her outburst.
“Are you saying you’re not making sexual advances when you, even under joking pretenses, clearly are?” she retorted, unwilling to lose this battle of wits.
She had to be wittier.
She couldn’t keep losing to this guy.
“No, I’m saying that the sexual advances, even under joking pretenses, are not unwanted.” He finished that statement with a sly wink that left Yoori with her mouth agape.
Her mind spluttered with blankness. Whatever the reason, she actually took that statement to heart. Feeling rushes of anxiety rummage through her, her eyes widened in shock. Did she want him to make advances on her? No. No, of course not! She may have thought he was cute and all but she didn’t want to have sex with him. She accidentally bit her tongue when she thought this. Damn him for tricking her into thinking that she wanted him to hit on her!
Tae Hyun shook his head and moved the topic along. “Plus, you were the one who started it with the 'Body Shots' comment. Do you know how awkward that made me feel? I could sue you for sexual harassment.”
Yoori was outraged. “It was a joke because you had such a one-track mind with this game,” she said angrily. She waved her hand at him as if she was swatting a fly away. She was done with this senseless argument. She would never win anyway. Damn thug was too witty for her.
“Anyway,” she dismissed. “Continue! My turn!”
“Okay, okay,” Tae Hyun uttered, clapping his hands in anticipation. He was ready to continue with the game.
Yoori started out slowly, unsure of what to say. She mustered out the first thing she could think of. “Never have I ever…had more than one girlfriend at once!”
“Crap…” he mumbled sourly, reaching out for his shot glass. He drank out of it.
A knowing smirk tugged at her lips. Why wasn't she surprised? “When and how many?”
“College and four,” he muttered, staring awkwardly at the ceiling while he uneasily scratched the back of his head.
“What was that?” Yoori asked, not hearing it the first time since he said it under his breath. Why was he acting all shy now?
“Hurry up and fill up my shot glass!” he shouted, obviously trying to move the game along.
“You didn’t answer my question!”
“I did and it’s not my fault you didn’t listen. Anyway, my turn,” he said without giving her a chance to answer.
“Wait, no – ”
“Never have I ever…fallen for someone I shouldn’t have fallen for.”
Without thinking, both Yoori and Tae Hyun took a swig from their respective shot glasses. In that instant, Tae Hyun was the person that popped into her mind. She shook the image away. She surmised it was only because he was sitting right in front of her. She immediately dismissed it as nothing.
“Who?” Tae Hyun asked when they poured another round into each other’s glasses.
Uncomfortable and not keen on telling him that he popped into her disordered mind, she kept her mouth sealed. She was ready to move the game along. She felt beads of sweat form on her forehead. This game was getting intense.
“Eh, eh! Who?” he asked when he saw that she wasn’t planning on answering.
“My turn!” she shouted decidedly.
“No, wait – ”
“Never have I ever…had my heart broken by someone.”
Both of their drinks remained as they stared at each other. It was palpable that they had never fallen in love – much less had their hearts broken. Yoori frowned at herself. It was the first statement that popped into her mind in her state of panic and it couldn't have been a more boring question for the game.
She sighed, allowing her harsh gaze to fall on Tae Hyun.
“Your day will come, Kwon Tae Hyun,” she voiced decidedly, referring to getting his heart broken. She tried to sound dangerous and scary as she gave him a dirty look. She was extremely disgruntled that he turned this into such an uncomfortable game.
“As will yours, Choi Yoori,” Tae Hyun countered, his voice feigning equal sternness. His glare was just as dirty.
They took another second to glare evilly at each other, their eyes unblinking. Soon after, sounds of snickering evaded their lips. It was probably the alcohol or because they were so comfortable around each other, but they couldn’t take each other seriously at all.
Finishing her last bout of laughter, Yoori stared down at the shot glasses uneasily. Playing “Never Have I Ever” was definitely more intense when played with Tae Hyun.
“This game is making me slightly uncomfortable.”
Finishing his last bout of laughter as well, Tae Hyun said, “I would think that the alcohol would’ve started loosening you up already.”
He was clearly amazed that Yoori was still sober.
Yoori quickly caught on to the fact that he probably assumed she was a lightweight because she was vertically challenged (compared to his tall self).
“For your information, I can handle large consumptions of alcohol,” Yoori shared, her voice proud. It was a random and true fact. She got a kick out of showing people how “talented” she was.
Tae Hyun gazed at her suspiciously. He didn’t believe her. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
“How large?”
“Large,” she answered confidently. She knew her next statement would get a rise out of Tae Hyun. “Probably more than you.”
Tae Hyun tilted his head at her answer. The look he gave her was pure male challenge. “I’ll take you up on that challenge later.”
Yoori nodded, ready to accept any future challenges. A light bulb went off in her head when she realized they could sit there and share random tidbits of information without playing dangerous time sensitive, stripping-games.
“What about you?” she began sternly. “Random fact.”
“I hate band-aids,” Tae Hyun said at once, taking a swift drink out of his shot glass. He appeared to still be thinking about Yoori and her so-called high alcohol tolerance.
“You…hate…band-aids?”
Tae Hyun nodded unabashedly. His expression scrunched in distaste at the reminder. “Yeah, I can’t stand them. They look disgusting and I hate seeing people take them off after using them. There’s always little pieces of lint and hair and blood and goo stuck to the – ”
“Thank you for the mental image
“I have another question for you,” she went on after drinking from her shot glass. She held it up and waited as Tae Hyun poured her another round. “What is the one thing you haven’t done in your life that everyone else has done – that you want to try?”
Tae Hyun deliberated while he poured her drink. Judging by his countenance, he was impressed with her good question. After a couple minutes of awkward thinking, he finally answered.
“Go on a date with a girl,” he muttered quietly, his cheeks turning a bit red.
Yoori nearly choked on the vodka when she heard Tae Hyun’s innocent answer. Dramatically spitting the vodka out to the side, Yoori slammed her hand against her chest to get the excess liquid out from her throat. She didn’t know what she expected Tae Hyun’s answer to be, but she would never in her life think that Tae Hyun had never gone on a date with a girl.
Clearing her throat, she smiled apologetically and returned her gaze to him. He took another swig from his shot glass and he did not look amused.
“Sorry about that,” she said clumsily, picking up the Southern Comfort to pour into his shot glass. “My throat clogged up.”
“Uh huh,” Tae Hyun replied blithely. He held up his shot glass while she poured the drink in. The expression on his disapproving face said it all: he didn’t believe her lie about why she choked.
“Anyway, wow. Never been on a date, huh?” she started casually, filling up her own shot glass. “I would’ve thought you’d have dozens of girls hanging off of you.”
Hearing this, Tae Hyun gave her a defensive look. “I do.”
Yoori bunched her brows in confusion. “But you said –”
“You’ve got it all wrong, Choi Yoori. I don’t need to take girls on dates to successfully court them.”
Yoori gave him a strange look. “Well, what do you do to successfully court them?”