Welcome to the Underworld (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 1)

by Con Template

  Ignoring her insult, he quickened his pace toward the limo.

  "Jae Won," he called out once he reached the vehicle.

  Jae Won swiftly opened the door. Carefully, Tae Hyun got in. Gently placing Yoori on her side of the seat, Tae Hyun reached for the door and pulled it closed.

  "But what about Jae Won and Kang Min?" Yoori asked when they threw her luggage into the trunk of the limo.

  Couldn’t they come too? She didn't want to be alone with Tae Hyun.

  "They have other things they need to get done tonight," Tae Hyun said simply, the engine of the limo igniting. Smoothly, it drove off.

  "What other things?" she asked suspiciously.

  "Confidential stuff.” The limo picked up pace. “Stuff you shouldn't concern yourself with."

  Yoori grimaced at his reply. He never fully answers her questions. Instead of picking at that point, she decided it was best to keep quiet and let it go.

  She nodded absentmindedly as her reply to him. She was getting anxious. She hadn't been completely alone with Tae Hyun since their morning together when he cooked breakfast.

  That episode felt like a lifetime ago, she thought with unexpected grief.

  She turned her attention to the shifting scenery outside her window. So much had happened since that morning and the only thing that lingered in her mind were Ji Hoon's words about what Tae Hyun did.

  She honestly didn’t know how to act around Tae Hyun right now. What was she supposed to say to the guy?

  I know that you told me that you're a monster, but I never believed you could be an actual monster and kill your own brother, she thought solemnly. That was what she wanted to say to him, but her mouth remained shut. She didn't have the courage – or the heart – to say it.

  "You know," he finally uttered, breaking Yoori from her train of thoughts. "It's probably just me, but if I didn't know better, I'd say you were angry at me." He assessed her. "More so than you usually are."

  "I'm just really tired." She felt his gaze on her but she didn't turn to face him. She didn't want to. It was easier to give someone the cold shoulder when you didn’t have to look at him directly. She wanted to tell him to get the hint and move on. Wasn’t it obvious that she didn’t want to have any further interaction with him?

  To her surprise, Tae Hyun didn't say another word for the majority of the car ride. She didn't know what was running in his mind but she could sense his growing irritation.

  "Choi Yoori," he finally spoke out again.

  No longer able to ignore him, Yoori drew her attention to Tae Hyun. She eyed him with anticipation, expecting him to say more than her name. For the first time since she had known him, she could’ve sworn there was an ounce of confusion within his eyes. It was as if he didn't know what to say to her either. The thick silence lengthened. After several more seconds, he parted his lips, finally ready to articulate his thoughts. But almost immediately, he stalled.

  A sudden speck of life appeared in his blank eyes when they settled onto Yoori's lips. Whatever Tae Hyun had wanted to tell Yoori became second priority to the blood coating her lips. Distracted by the malady, Tae Hyun reached for a tissue box beside him. After pulling out several strips, he grabbed a water bottle and dabbed the tissues with it. Placing the water bottle aside, he moved closer to her.

  "Stop," she breathed, knowing what he intended to do with the moist tissue. “I can do it myself.” She reached for it but he eased it away from her.

  His eyes still gentle, he lifted her chin with his left hand. The touch caused tingling sensations to run over her body. For a nanosecond, all the pain within her body vanished.

  "I can do it," he whispered, delicately wiping the dried blood off the side of her mouth.

  Yoori flinched at the coolness exerted from the tissue. It was really cold.

  As a response to her unpleasant reaction to the moist tissue, Tae Hyun leaned in closer. Stopping mere inches from her semi-quivering lips, he began to delicately blow warm air on the bloody corner of her mouth, a mechanism used to offset the coolness of the moist tissue.

  "What am I going to do with you, assistant?" He lifted her chin a little higher, effectively leaving her with butterflies fluttering around in her stomach.

  He continued to dab with care.

  Her eyes became dazed as she sat rigid in her seat, her heart hammering at a rapid pace.

  Why was he being like this? Did he really not realize how much she despised him? Didn’t he realize that she hated him more than anything right now? She hated him for the simple fact that he was a monster and for the simple fact that he made it so much harder for her to hate him – especially when he exerted so much kindness to her.

  Yet, she knew all of this was fabricated reality.

  The truth was…he was a monster.

  A monster that killed his own brother.

  Resentment coiled inside her like a snake while she felt each careful dab.

  Her firm gaze narrowed onto his distracted eyes.

  Her lips parted. She was finally ready to ask the most anticipated question of the day. "Did you really kill your own brother?"

  If there had been music playing in the background, then it would have stopped when Yoori asked that dreaded question. The dabbing immediately ceased as a muscle worked in Tae Hyun's jaw.

  He lifted his eyes up to meet with hers, his left hand drawing away from her chin.

  She knew the answer from his reaction.

  Guilty.

  Without a doubt, Tae Hyun killed his own brother.

  Every iota of vulnerability that was once present within his eyes vanished. He smirked knowingly. "This is what you and Ji Hoon talked about?"

  Now it was Yoori's turn to stiffen her jaw. "How did you know – "

  "I ran into him while I was on my way to find you," he interrupted, his voice suppressing his obvious anger with her. He tossed the moist tissue on the floor and turned away from her. He focused his eyes on the changing scenery outside the limo window.

  "Ran into him? You mean you saw him after the warehouse?"

  He ignored her question.

  "Tae Hyun." Her patience, the little amount she had left, was wearing thin. Now was not the time for him to ignore her.

  "He told me that the two of you had an informative chat," he shared calmly, his back turned to her. "I should have known that bringing up my brother would’ve been in his bag of tricks."

  Her mind was boggling. They talked. They talked? Right after she left Ji Hoon? What the hell? She wanted to know more about the content of their conversation. Obviously it concerned her but to what degree? Though her curiosity about the two gang leaders’ run-in was momentarily sparked, it didn't hold a candle to the confrontation that was about to ensue with Tae Hyun. She could care less what they talked about. The only thing that mattered now was Tae Hyun and his unforgivable sin.

  "You didn't answer my question."

  Tae Hyun laughed. He gazed back at her. "Why should I? You already know the answer."

  "You're right, I do know the answer. But what I want to know is do you really have no remorse for what you did?" Her anger heightened. "He's your brother."

  She resented that she still hoped that he could still be a better person. All Tae Hyun had to do was show some remorse. All he had to do was show a bit of regret and show that he wasn’t hopeless after all. That was all he had to do.

  "I know who he is," Tae Hyun snapped back, no longer able to hold his composure. His dark eyes narrowed onto hers. "And yes, to answer your question, I really have no remorse for what I did. If given the chance, I'd kill him again without a second thought."

  That was all it took for Tae Hyun to annihilate any shred of hope that Yoori had for him and his humanity.

  The limo came to a slow stop in that very same second.

  He blinked down at her. "What else do you expect me to say?"

  Yoori narrowed her cold eyes onto an equally frustrated Tae Hyun. She simply scoffed at him. To her, he said more than
enough.

  "Congratulations Kwon Tae Hyun," she said through gritted teeth. She shoved the limo door open. She no longer cared about making an effort to be civil with him. "You really are the bad guy in this story."

  Stepping out of the limo, she slammed the door in disgust. She began to limp away to his apartment. She was bound and determined to never allow herself to get any closer to him. She may have to be his assistant for the next couple of months, but that didn’t mean she had to talk to him.

  "Yoori!" she heard him scream after her.

  She ignored his call and picked up speed.

  "Choi Yoori!" he shouted again before slamming the limo door closed. “Damn it! CHOI YOORI!”

  Without an acknowledgment for his calls, her pace accelerated.

  "What a way to end a horrible day," she muttered bitterly, stepping into Tae Hyun's apartment complex.

  She just wanted to sleep. Her body needed to rest. Nothing else mattered anymore. Kwon Tae Hyun, that monster, no longer mattered.

  She was done with him.

  “Make sure they will never betray you again.”

  21: Trust

  The next three days flew by without Yoori uttering so much as a word to Tae Hyun.

  At the offset, it worked out well. Tae Hyun respected (more or less) the cold shoulder she was giving him and was even adamant on giving her the cold shoulder too. After the second day, however, he was overtly becoming displeased with the entire situation. The cold shoulder was starting to get to him.

  Though her anger had subsided since that night, Yoori was still angry enough about the entire situation to keep the cold treatment going. Rational or not, Yoori hated being disappointed. Whether Tae Hyun realized that he disappointed her or not was not the issue. The only issue was that he disappointed her, and now she really didn't want to be around him. In addition to the disappointment, there was something else that she was angry about. Something about Tae Hyun's situation sparked a nerve within her – a guilt-filled nerve. A guilt-filled nerve that remained a question mark for her. A nerve that stupendously aggravated her. If she had it her way, she’d continue the cold shoulder for the rest of her time with him.

  Unfortunately for Yoori, Tae Hyun had never been a fan of getting the cold shoulder and he was not intent on hiding that fact.

  "We have to talk," he verbalized, grabbing her wrist and leading her into the bedroom after she walked out of the bathroom.

  She bit her freshly washed lips in irritation as he tossed her onto the bed. She tipped slightly to the side when she made impact with the mattress. She had just woken up and was still feeling somewhat fatigued, but this assertive conversation starter really woke her up. She sat upright and glared at Tae Hyun.

  "I don't have much to say to you," she replied bluntly, smoothing her pajamas before repositioning herself in her seat.

  He cleared the distance between them and placed both of his hands on the bed, on either side of her body. Still standing, he leaned in closer to her, stopping only when his face was inches from hers. This particular action caused Yoori's heart to beat rapidly, a sensation that was becoming vastly common nowadays.

  She swallowed slowly.

  It baffled Yoori that even when he wore casual black pajamas, he still exuded so much power. Where could she bottle some of that power?

  He studied her intently, his eyes leveling with hers.

  "Choi Yoori," he began diplomatically, the minty freshness of his newly brushed breath assailing her nose. "It's been three days. I've been considerate enough to sleep in the living room because I knew you wanted to be left alone. I've been patient because I realize that you need to blow off steam from what happened the other day." His tone signaled the beginnings of an eroded patience. "But this is getting ridiculous. You of all people should know that I hate being ignored."

  "I'm not ignoring you," she retorted. She manufactured a look of disinterest. "I'm giving you the cold shoulder. There's a big difference."

  "Oh yeah,” he replied sarcastically. “The difference does make me feel a whole lot better."

  "I don't care about making you feel better," she snapped back at once.

  A look of exasperation colored his countenance. He grew quiet for some time before his lips parted again. "What can I do to make things better?" It was evident in his demeanor that he never had to ask that question in his life. "Just tell me."

  Yoori snorted. "Am I hearing right? Is the King of Serpents begging for forgiveness?"

  "I'm not begging for forgiveness. I'm compromising. There's a big difference," he replied, mimicking Yoori's previous retort.

  Her irritation with him intensified.

  He closed his eyes as if to reprimand himself for accidentally mocking her. He opened his eyes once more. "I don't like that you're giving me the 'cold shoulder.’ So whatever it is that I need to do to make things right, just tell me."

  "There's nothing you can do." The verity of her statement disappointed her.

  He tilted his head, suspicion rousing his expression. "Is all of this really about my brother? I get that you're upset about the news, but he's my brother, not yours. Why are you so upset?"

  Tae Hyun really should’ve shoved her instead of asking her that question. How was she supposed to respond to that?

  “I expected more from you. I thought you were a better person. So I'm sorry. Sorry for thinking that you were a better person than you really are. Sorry for not being able to see you for the scum that you truly are. Sorry for being stupid and having hope and disappointing myself in the end. And sorry for allowing the news to affect something deep within me – something I can't figure out. It's killing me. All of this is killing me.”

  No. She definitely wasn't going to tell him all of that. Absolutely not.

  "No, this isn't just about your brother," she speedily lied. "I'm sick and tired of being handcuffed to you."

  He looked at her incredulously, not believing her line of reasoning. "Are you serious? I've left you alone for the last couple of days. I haven't even taken out those cuffs."

  "That's not the point," she argued, the factualness of her “lie” surprising her too.

  Now that she had the nerve to bring it up, she realized that she was pissed off about the cuffs. She was frustrated with her entire situation with him in general. She looked at him harshly. She might as well let it all out now.

  "I feel like a caged bird. I can't go anywhere without being by your side. I'm suffocating here."

  Tae Hyun took a moment to process her words. He nodded in understanding. A charming smile kissed his lips as he leaned in closer to her. "You know, some girls count their blessings when they're around me as much as you have been."

  Yoori inverted her brows in aversion. "I count my curses," she said, even though it was only half true.

  He smirked. "Fair enough."

  Perplexity milled into her eyes. Needless to say, she was taken aback as she watched him nod in understanding.

  "Go,” he said briskly.

  Her bafflement escalated. "Huh?"

  "Go," he repeated. "Go ahead and go out today. See whoever you need to see. Do whatever you want."

  "You're joking," she spluttered, still surprised by the words emitting from his mouth.

  "No, I'm serious. This is my compromise. Today is your day. Do whatever you want. I won't interfere."

  She ogled him. This was so unlike him. "Are you completely serious?"

  He simply nodded to confirm.

  "So that's it?"

  "That's it."

  "It's not that easy, you know,” she said warningly, a big part of her already set on still giving him the cold shoulder – even after her day off. “It's going to take more than one day of freedom to make all that's happened go away."

  He smiled at her less than promising premise on what the future may hold. "The goal right now is to make my assistant happy. We'll worry about the rest of the compromises later."

  Yoori nodded distractedly, perplexed as to why she
wasn't as excited about her "day off" from work as she should be. She peered up guardedly. She was instantly reminded of her unfavorable position in the world now that she was associated with Tae Hyun.

  "Should I bring Jae Won with me?"

  "He's on assignment right now."

  She blew a maddened breath. "So much for being my bodyguard."

  His smile remained. "These next couple of days was supposed to be me by your side. He's not your only bodyguard, you know?" There was humor in his voice as he easily held her gaze. "I could always go out with you to watch over you today..."

  She made a rude noise. "Won't that defeat the purpose of my ‘day off’ then?"

  He shrugged, fabricating cluelessness. However good his acting skills were, she knew what he was trying to do.

  She raised her chin up. "I'll be fine by myself."

  He chuckled and straightened up. "If you insist on going out alone, I suggest you go somewhere that's packed with people. There will be less Underworld activities there."

  He turned on his heels and set off for the door.

  "I’m seriously going," she cried after him. It was more of an act to get confirmation than anything else. She still wasn't sure if he was really serious.

  His next response gave her all the confirmation she needed. "Have fun out there."

  With a wave of the hand, he turned the doorknob and left the room, leaving a dazed Yoori in his wake.

  ■ ■ ■

  As pathetic as it may sound, Yoori was actually becoming bored with her "day off.” Treading around the mall for about 4-5 hours without buying anything wasn't exactly her idea of a fun day.

  The truth was, she'd much rather call up Chae Young and hang out with her. However, even though she missed her friend, Yoori was also cautious of the repercussions of her company. The last thing she wanted was to put Chae Young in any danger. Moreover, the road leading to the diner was infested with Underworld activities. Given what she had been put through with Jin Ae, she decided it was best if she stayed in an area where Underworld activities were scarce.