The Fall of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 2) (8 page)

Yoori squeezed the last drips of water off of her newly showered hair and expelled a tired sigh
after she threw her purple towel onto a nearby chair. 

Picking up her blue and white plaid pajama pants so the hem wouldn’t get in her way, she descended out of her bedroom and down the glass stairs. Yoori smiled wryly when she spotted Tae Hyun. With the recollection of the “almost kiss” purposely hidden in the depths of her memories, she inverted her brows in
curiosity when she approached him, wondering what he was doing. Normally, Yoori would be more adamant about having a talk with Tae Hyun about what happened, but a big part of her was too scared. She was afraid he would simply laugh at her for being a silly girl. 

Yeah
, Yoori thought decidedly.
It’s no big deal. Don’t think too much of it.

Her decision set, she drew closer to Tae Hyun.
 

Her wry smile graduated into a cheery one when she saw that Tae Hyun stood behind the bar. He took several bottles of alcohol out of four brown bags.
 

Her spirits lifted like a hot air balloon.
 

The awkwardness of wanting to forget the “almost” event aside, it was also no secret that she was left feeling pretty shitty after the unannounced wet t-shirt incident. As her cheeks turned red at the reminder, Yoori was grateful that Tae Hyun held the ticket to her sanity in his hand.
 

The brands of the alcohol ranged from the likes of Hypnotic, Jack Daniels and her two personal favorites: Grey Goose and Southern Comfort –
two much-needed friends to help alleviate the pang of embarrassment and shame she was being tunneled through. 

“Is this our late night snack?” she asked cheerily, approaching the bar after Tae Hyun pulled out two shot glasses. He looked just as excited about their newfound alcohol “buddies.”
 

Nodding proudly, Tae Hyun smiled at Yoori. His hair, face, and entire body were still misty from his shower. A bout of perverse daydreaming overtook Yoori. She found herself ready to float in another staring stupor.
 Luckily, having learned her lesson from earlier, she quickly snapped herself out of her unwarranted reverie. She kept her eyes firmly on the curves of the alcohol bottles. It was a tough show of restraint on her part because her eyes were swayed by the wonders his black muscle shirt was performing for his body. She hated that it accentuated the curves of his sculpted chest and did little to cover the scintillating muscle on his arms. 

She inwardly shook her head in disapproval. Damn this Kwon Tae Hyun! He was so promiscuously dressed. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he was trying to seduce her.
 

“I figured we could make good use of this with the day we’ve had,” he shared casually, oblivious to the fact that Yoori was ready to gauge her eyes out because they were getting ready to succumb to perverse temptation.
 

He picked up the Grey Goose and poured the drink into two shot glasses. Once the vodka filled to the rims, Tae Hyun handed one to Yoori. She took it without hesitation.
 

Ah yes, she definitely needed this.
She was feeling too 
tense and too awkward
 (more so than usual). She needed something to loosen her up and this little glass of holy water was going to do the trick. 

Tae Hyun raised his shot glass in preparation for a toast. His face was beaming with a virtuous quality. It was an expression so righteous that Yoori couldn't imagine anything offensive coming out of those innocent lips.
 

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 downpo
ur 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 hesitation to play.
 “New rule. You can’t lie and you only have five seconds to answer. If you lie or you surpass your five seconds, 
you have to take an article of clothing off
.” 

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…” h
e 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
 
un
wanted.” 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.