by Con Template
“Just compliment me,” Kang Min huffed back. “I’m sure it’ll hurt more.”
“Why you little—!”
“Are we at a family reunion or something?” Tae Hyun’s voice thundered over the brothers, causing them to shut up immediately.
He was standing beside the dinner table, his face shrouded with impatience. It appeared that he had been ready to eat for quite some time now and was only waiting for everyone to finish their greetings.
“You two.” He pointed at the brothers. “You were the ones who requested the most food. Now it’s all here for you. Get your asses over here and start eating before I toss both of you out the window.”
That was how dinner got started, with Tae Hyun berating Kang Min and Jae Won like they were his younger brothers and everyone happily taking a seat at the dinner table. The girls sat on one side and the boys sat on the other. They were all excited for the great company and the amazing feast before them.
As dinner progressed, there were a couple of interesting things that Yoori learned. In the amount of time that she had spent separately from Tae Hyun and the brothers, she never once thought they would be as close as they were. When Tae Hyun told her they were “close enough,” she couldn’t have imagined the scene before her. They didn’t look like close friends – they looked like brothers.
With Tae Hyun sitting in the middle, he looked just like an older brother as he laughed, joked, and picked on Kang Min and Jae Won. It was actually entertaining for her. She was silently praising the Lord for a break from all of Tae Hyun’s teasing.
Yay for Kang Min and Jae Won getting the sharp end of Tae Hyun’s mean wit instead of her!
The relationship was the same way with Hae Jin, Chae Young and herself. Like long lost sisters, Yoori and the girls would whisper things amongst themselves. Such an act would have the boys leaning in to eavesdrop. Yoori was elated with how good dinner was. In her 3 years worth of memories, she had never experienced a dinner like this. With all the bickering and laughter included, Yoori only realized now how blissful she felt. She actually had friends now. Good friends.
“We were sitting on it, amongst all the rose petals that Kang Min and Jae Won happily spread around, and then the bridge started falling apart!” Tae Hyun shared in disbelief, reliving the events of the night at the park. Of course Tae Hyun, being the gentleman that he was, edited out all the flirting, making out, and questionable use of handcuffs – basically anything incriminating from that very eventful night.
The brothers laughed boisterously.
“I prayed for that to happen!” Jae Won shouted proudly.
“Me too!” Kang Min shouted, high-fiving Jae Won.
“We didn’t fall in the water though,” Tae Hyun said mockingly. “Unlike these two idiots I know.”
Jae Won and Kang Min reddened and shut up immediately.
“So did anything productive happen after we dropped you guys off?” Kang Min asked subtly, drinking from his champagne glass.
Everyone grew quiet to listen to the answer.
Damn him! Yoori knew someone was going to be nosy and start snooping around for more naughty answers. Who knew the first nosy kid was going to be Kang Min?
“We slept,” Yoori assured them as Tae Hyun bit into his sushi, his bored face somehow not corroborating her lie. He seemed bitter at the reminder that nothing happened for him that night.
Jae Won furrowed his brows while he bit into his lasagna. “A whole gang of Serpents were climbing on trees and drowning in water and you guys just slept?”
“I…I…” Yoori assumed that Tae Hyun would jump in to save her. To her indignation, he merely took another careless bite out of his sushi. His eyes were glued on her. He, too, was awaiting her answer.
“I—I—Don’t talk with your mouth full, you rude person!” Yoori spluttered out at Jae Won.
Jae Won sulked at her command. He looked away, stuffed another sushi into his mouth and went silent.
“Oppa, you should host more dinners like this. It’s so fun!” Hae Jin exclaimed from the side, smiling at her brother from across the table.
“Yeah, you throw one hell of a feast, Tae Hyun,” Chae Young agreed, stuffing herself with lasagna.
Tae Hyun smiled at the girls. “Yes, I do enjoy throwing dinner parties the two of you invite yourselves to before I even knew I was throwing it.”
“You don’t share Yoori enough,” Chae Young explained. There was no guilt in her smile as she patted Yoori’s shoulder with adoration.
“Which reminds me…excuse us,” Hae Jin announced suddenly, standing up and grabbing Yoori’s hand.
A look of knowledge spread across her face and Chae Young stood up too.
“Wait, where are you three going?” asked Kang Min. His mouth was still stuffed with chow mein.
“The bathroom,” Chae Young stated simply.
“There’s only one toilet in the bathroom,” Jae Won ingeniously proclaimed.
“So?” Hae Jin replied blankly. Her hand was still on a confused Yoori, who didn’t know why the hell she was being led to the bathroom. “We’re going to have girl talk.”
“Since when is it appropriate to discriminate against genders?” Kang Min stated. His face was cloaked with worry as to why the girls were sequestering themselves.
“What are you, a baby?” Chae Young asked jokingly, clearly unhappy that he was bringing gender discrimination into their “girl talk.” “Are you going to cry now?”
Kang Min grimaced. “No, that was just a question. Damn, Chae No-Fun, that was mean.”
Chae Young smiled apologetically. “You know I was just kidding.”
“Uh huh,” Jae Won voiced with approval, smiling uncontrollably at the sight of his girlfriend picking on his younger brother.
“Just let them go,” Tae Hyun said in a brisk tone. “They’ll be much nicer to us if they can complain about us in the bathroom.”
“But that’s why we shouldn’t let them go in there!” Jae Won protested.
Kang Min was about to agree with Jae Won when their Blackberries sounded off, interrupting any intentions of keeping the girls from the bathroom.
It happened instantly – just as it did when Tae Hyun’s phone rang in their bedroom the other day. A cold chill ran over Yoori’s skin as she watched their faces read the text on the screen. They looked troubled.
“We’ll be out on the balcony,” Tae Hyun announced, already rising to his feet and approaching the balcony. He slid the door open and the brothers followed. They instantly dialed a number and got onto the phone.
“What’s going on?” Yoori asked, watching worriedly as the boys stood outside.
“It’s nothing,” Hae Jin said with a reassuring smile, though even her smile wasn’t too certain. “Tonight is the five-minute initiation for the new recruits that are joining the Serpents. The only ones not there right now are my brother, Kang Min, and Jae Won. It’s a big event. There are about 130 being initiated tonight alone. Everyone is at the Serpents estate right now, setting up. We’re all just here for dinner before we go back and get things rolling.”
“Serpents estate?” Yoori asked, never hearing Tae Hyun speak of any Serpents estate before. She was never even introduced to it…
“It’s where we have our meetings. It’s one of the biggest estates in the country, very secluded. It’s a secretive place. You’ll only know where it is and be able to go inside if you were an actual Serpent,” Hae Jin explained, noting the curiosity in Yoori’s eyes. “Oppa has never introduced that place to you because he didn’t want to directly initiate you into the gang. He wanted to keep you away from all of that.”
Yoori nodded absentmindedly before asking, “So what do you guys do for the five-minute initiation?”
130 people in one night? Yoori was certain something more drastic took place for anyone who wanted to join Tae Hyun’s gang. As Yoori recalled, the Advisors said that her chances of survival were higher if they initiated her. She couldn’t imagine how much more vio
lent things could get if any other gang initiated her.
Hae Jin bit her lips. “Sorry Yoori, I would tell you, but we’re all put under oath.”
Yoori nodded, realizing that although she had known Tae Hyun for quite some time, she really only knew him as Tae Hyun – not the Underworld King, who was so connected that he was deemed as one of the most powerful men in the country. This realization hit her like a splash of artic water. She had always known this but to realize it to this degree was staggering. Tae Hyun, with all intents and purposes, was going to become a God in this world. If forced to make a decision, why in the world would he choose her over being a revered Lord in the Underworld? This knowledge stung her. It stung her badly.
“Yoori, did you hear what I just said?” Hae Jin’s voice came rippling into her ears seconds later.
Yoori snapped out of her stupor and gazed at Hae Jin questionably. “Wh – What did you say?”
“It’s something Tae Hyun doesn’t want you to know,” Chae Young said with a smile. The content of the statement should’ve sounded cryptic, but there was eagerness in Chae Young’s voice. It made Yoori curious.
“What is it?”
“It’s his birthday tomorrow.”
“What?” Yoori wanted to screech out, only to have Chae Young and Hae Jin cover her mouth.
“Shhhhh!” they whispered together, nearly causing her to fall backward.
She pulled their hands off her mouth and then craned her neck in Tae Hyun’s direction. He was still on the balcony, leaning against the wall and speaking to the brothers. As though sensing her eyes on him, he met her gaze briefly. Yoori panicked and turned back around to face Chae Young and Hae Jin.
“Why am I just finding out about this now? Why didn’t he tell me?”
“Oppa hates celebrating his birthday,” Hae Jin explained after a sigh. “Every time we try to do something for him, he either kicks us out or doesn’t go out to dinner with us.”
Chae Young nudged Yoori suggestively. “But I’m sure if it’s just the two of you, you can make something special out of it...”
Chae Young was right. Yoori had to do something special for it. There were no ifs, ands, or buts. Bad things happening aside, Tae Hyun’s birthday was still important.
“But what am I going to do for him?” Yoori thought in horror. She felt like she was under pressure to throw the biggest party of all time. She focused her eyes on Chae Young. “Cake! I wanna bake him a cake. Will you help me bake him a cake?”
“I’ve never heard ‘cake’ and ‘bake’ so much in a request, but yeah! I’ll help you.”
“Great, thank you,” Yoori said efficiently before whipping her attention back to Hae Jin. “What’s his favorite cake?”
“Red Velvet,” Hae Jin answered at once.
Yoori looked at Hae Jin blankly. “What the eff is a ‘Red Velvet’?”
“It’s a red cake,” Hae Jin explained. “Oppa loves them. If you give it to him, he’ll be putty in your hands.” Hae Jin paused. “Well, more so than usual.”
“Will you help me bake it too?” Yoori asked, her eyes blossoming so wide that she felt like Bambi.
“Aww, I would but I’m hanging out with him during the day. I’ll have Kang Min come help. He knows how to do all that baking stuff better than me anyway.”
“He won’t be busy?”
“I can talk Jae Won into taking over some of his duties,” Chae Young assured. “Don’t worry, Yoori! Just tell Tae Hyun you want to hang out with me all day. You can shop for him with Kang Min and just come into the diner to bake the cake. Afterward, you can surprise him when you go home.”
“Ooooh, that sounds good,” Yoori voiced gratefully. An uneasy inkling settled within her. “But will your dad not kill me, since you know…I quit without giving a valid notice?”
Not that it was her fault, of course. It was Tae Hyun’s fault. And now she was going to bake him a birthday cake…in the very same diner he stole her from. Go figure.
Chae Young waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry, my dad’s mean to you, but he still loves you. I told him that you just had emergency stuff to take care of and he understood. Plus, he’s out of town so it won’t be an issue.”
Woot, woot! Yoori cheered in her head. “Okay, that sounds good. We’ll reconvene tomorrow.”
“Aye aye, Captain,” Hae Jin and Chae Young joked with a salute before the sound of the door opening caught all their attention.
The boys were back.
“Is everything okay?” Yoori asked, seeing the boys pile back in.
Kang Min and Jae Won were shaking from the cold while Tae Hyun was as composed as ever. Yoori wondered if the guy ever got cold. It didn’t seem like it.
“We’re leaving a bit earlier than expected,” Tae Hyun shared, stuffing his Blackberry into his pocket.
“Aw, so dinner’s over?” Chae Young complained sadly.
“We’ll do it another time,” Tae Hyun assured her. Walking into the dining area with Jae Won and Kang Min, he stopped the brothers as each of them grabbed an empty plate to place in the sink.
“I was kidding,” he told them amiably. “I’ll clean up myself. Just take the girls home and do what you need to do. I’ll see you guys there soon.”
The brothers smiled appreciatively at Tae Hyun and set the plates down.
“Thanks for dinner, boss,” the brothers chimed at the same time.
“Thanks for letting me know and thanks in advance for your help,” he responded to them just as Hae Jin walked over to give her brother a hug. Yoori wondered what it was they informed him of and what they were helping him with.
“Aww, thanks for dinner, oppa.”
“I’m still seeing you tomorrow, right?” Tae Hyun asked while pulling his sister into an embrace.
Hae Jin laughed merrily and faked a careless shrug,
Tae Hyun pointed at Kang Min when she did this. “You’re her best friend. Remind her to hang out with me tomorrow.”
“I will,” Kang Min confirmed with an amused nod. It was evident that he was always the one Tae Hyun counted on to remind Hae Jin to keep her appointments.
“It’s going to be a long night, isn’t it?” Jae Won asked wearily, already looking tired. He rubbed his temples in woe.
As Kang Min nodded, Hae Jin said, “After tonight, oppa will lead the single largest gang our society has ever known. So yes, it would be a busy night. We have our work cut out for us.”
Perching herself against a nearby wall, Yoori watched quietly while the four official Serpents members grew lost in their conversation about how long the night ahead would be. Yoori watched in utter stillness, her attention focused exclusively on Tae Hyun. He was standing at the other side of the room, laughing while he perched himself against the wall. He was speaking and nodding intently with his sister, Kang Min, and Jae Won. It was a simple sight that was the catalyst for a landslide of emotions that inundated Yoori.
“He may love you now, but he won’t love you for long. Tae Hyun is just like any other man who has ever walked the earth. He only seeks things that are untainted. He only seeks things that aren’t damaged. He would never love you. He would never love Soo Jin…”
It was funny how life worked. For months now, she threw her attraction for Tae Hyun as mere lust – physical attraction if anything. She knew that she liked him, but she was sure the attraction didn’t go past anything physical. Yet as she watched Tae Hyun, realizing how easily he could be taken away from her due to circumstances she couldn’t control, she realized something she couldn’t deny to herself anymore.
She had fallen for him…hard.
Yoori swallowed tightly and fought against the impending sobs that threatened to escape from her dry throat. Realizing that you’ve fallen for someone shouldn’t have this effect on a girl. Yoori was aware of this. Still, she found it difficult to ignore the pain that ripped through her when it was clear that, despite all that was against her, she still cared about him with all her heart.
&nbs
p; The air stilled inside her and she acknowledged her stupidity. Out of everyone to fall for, out of all the times to fall out of denial, she chose this time to admit that she had fallen for Tae Hyun. Of all people, she had to fall for Tae Hyun…the one who was about to lead the Underworld and the one she was standing in the way of.
“Yoori, are you okay?” Chae Young’s voice came over her delicately.
Chae Young stood in front of her and rested a worried hand on Yoori’s shoulder. From the angle the other group was in, if they had turned in their direction, it would seem like she was having an intimate conversation with Chae Young. It was a vantage point that she took advantage of. She was so consumed with emotions that she didn’t even answer Chae Young. She just continued to peek over in Tae Hyun’s direction.
Her eyes ran over his striking features. Her ears bathed in the sound of his laughter vibrating across the walls. He laughed a lot with her and she liked that. Whenever he laughed, he’d make her laugh too. Even when he was teasing her, deep down, she didn’t mind it at all if it made him happy. He had the most amazing laughter that would make anything in her world appear brighter.
“I think…I’ve fallen for him.”
Yoori didn’t say anymore while she stood there with Chae Young. She didn’t delve deeper because she knew Chae Young could read what was going on in her eyes.
There were no more ifs, ands, or buts. After denying it for so long, the truth was finally there for her. There were no fireworks, trumpets, or stopping of worlds. It was just the simple realization that she had fallen for Kwon Tae Hyun. That simple realization was also the most complex thing she’d ever felt in her life. It was overwhelming and exhilarating for Yoori, who had never felt this way about any other man in her life. How ironic that it was only when she feared that he would be taken away from her did she realize how much she had fallen for him?
Life was cruel.
Her heart clenched.
She realized now what he meant when he said, “I’m not giving it back to you.”
It was her heart.
He wasn’t giving her back her heart.
Her breathing grew shallow.
There was so much working through her body…so much she wanted to cry about. The emotions were overpowering. She was standing in a dining room with her best friends in the world, never feeling happier and now, she felt the need to cry. All of this happiness, all of this love only existed for Tae Hyun’s Yoori. It didn’t exist for An Soo Jin. No matter how hard she tried to separate herself from Soo Jin, Yoori knew in the end, it was an impossible separation. Soo Jin would always haunt her. If not through memories of her past, then she would haunt her with the prospect of ruining her future. Tae Hyun loved Yoori, not Soo Jin. And when the time comes, he’ll leave Yoori because she’s An Soo Jin.