by Con Template
“Sir,” Ju Won’s right-hand man said tentatively, nervously handing him a silver cellphone, “you have a phone call.”
“Can’t you see that I’m busy?” he snapped. Ju Won wasn’t a crime lord who appreciated being interrupted, especially when he was in the middle of a conversation with the Kings of the Underworld.
“It’s the King of Scorpions,” his right-hand man replied timidly, holding the phone out. His body shifted uncomfortably under his suit. Despite his trepidation, he stood in his stance. He was aware that Ju Won hated being interrupted, but he was also aware that the eldest Advisor would not ignore a phone call from the elusive King of Scorpions.
Vigilance met the eyes of Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon. Both alertly tensed up while Ju Won stared at the phone for a few lingering moments. After a few breaths, he grabbed the phone, motioned for his right-hand man to leave them, and put the phone on speaker.
“Young Jae?” Ju Won asked carefully, his voice tightly guarded.
The crowd around them chattered happily in the background as the celebratory music continued to grace the air. They were all blissfully unaware of the tense phone call that was about to take place.
A soft chuckle resonated from the receiver. Soon after, the familiar voice sauntered out. “It’s good to hear your voice again, uncle. It’s been a while.”
Ju Won closed his eyes in aggravation when it was confirmed that it was indeed the King of Scorpions on the phone. Tae Hyun shared this aversion while Ji Hoon simply held a mask of curiosity on his face.
Unwilling to lose his composure, though it was blatant that Young Jae was Ju Won’s least favorite person, Ju Won continued to diplomatically speak into the phone.
“Young Jae, your presence would’ve been appreciated here,” he said with forced warmth, concealing the hatred he harbored for Young Jae. “You’ve been out of our world for quite some time. I would’ve appreciated a little reunion of the Titans here.”
“I would be there, but some . . .” A pause lingered for a few pregnant seconds before he said, “favorable things are occurring in Japan, and it requires my presence. I’m sorry that I can’t be there for your party. I’m even more apologetic that I can’t be there to see which of my fellow Kings would become your crowned heir.” He laughed again and casually added, “They are standing beside you, aren’t they?”
A jolt of surprise coursed through the three at his statement.
The edge of Tae Hyun’s lips lifted into a smirk. He stared lethally at the phone. “You can see us, Young Jae?”
Young Jae chuckled as Ji Hoon and Ju Won’s eyes roamed around the crowded rotunda room for signs of the King of Scorpions. While their eyes scoured the room, Tae Hyun kept his eyes solidified on the phone. He knew that Young Jae wasn’t in attendance tonight.
“Tae Hyun,” Young Jae greeted as if he was a long lost friend. “Some of my associates are in attendance. They are giving me a live feed about what’s happening over there. I was told that you and Ji Hoon made some impressive speeches—congratulations on that. It is a rarity to impress anyone in our world.” Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon did not bother to express their thanks to him, and Young Jae did not wait for it. He brought everyone back on to another topic of conversation. “In any case, I apologize for not being able to see you again, uncle, especially when I made an appearance for the masquerade ball a few weeks ago and ran into Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon.”
Much to his own dismay, Ju Won’s eyes enlarged at this revelation.
He looked at Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon. Both were staring at him without an apology in their eyes for withholding this information from him.
He veered his attention back to Young Jae. Although his hardened expression betrayed his emotions, Ju Won kept his voice even. “You were in Korea?”
“Very recently,” Young Jae confirmed haughtily, undoubtedly aware that it was pissing Ju Won off that he didn’t realize Young Jae crashed a party that he threw. “I was there for a couple of days, had a small errand to run, but unfortunately, it was veered off by the King of Serpents. Regardless, I’m in the process of working things out now. This reminds me . . . why isn’t my baby sister there?”
“Apparently she’s on the run, Young Jae,” Ji Hoon shared blithely. His eyes teemed with amusement as he gazed at Tae Hyun. “Tae Hyun wasn’t particularly fond of the fact that she killed his mother.”
Young Jae let out an amused laugh. “Of course he wouldn’t be.”
While Ju Won’s face displayed alarm at this information, Tae Hyun looked livid. Anger shot through his eyes when Young Jae’s taunting laughter rolled over him.
Tae Hyun looked at Ji Hoon with elevated hatred. “You were working with Young Jae?”
Young Jae answered in Ji Hoon’s place.
“Ji Hoon and I may not see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, but we have always been the types to put things aside and work together towards a similar goal. I didn’t want you with my sister, and he didn’t want you with my sister, so we worked it out.” Another pause came before a woman’s voice was heard murmuring in the background. Young Jae’s voice came through again. “In any case, it’s great to hear that everyone is having a wonderful time. My wife and I have meetings to attend now. I’m glad I got to catch up with all of you before I make my return to Korea. Happy birthday, uncle. I look forward to seeing you soon.”
Click.
The fury that spilled out of Ju Won was transparent, especially when the phone shattered against the expensive tiles. Though there was steam coming out of his ears, he made sure to keep what was left of his cool while addressing his advisees.
“Both of you didn’t think it was necessary to tell me he was at my party?” Ju Won asked through gritted teeth.
“Slipped my mind,” Tae Hyun provided, unwilling to apologize. Using this moment as his leeway, he added, “You hate him, I hate him. Make the right choice tonight, give me that throne, and I’ll kill him for you.”
Interest lit Ju Won’s eyes at the proposition.
Ji Hoon swallowed tightly, shifting closer to Ju Won. He did not hesitate to make his own proposition. “I may have gone to Young Jae briefly to gather suitable information to break them up, but I assure you he doesn’t have any loyalty from me. Give me the throne, and I’ll be happy to give you his head on a silver platter.”
Ju Won’s mouth curved into a calculating smile. He openly considered their promises. “I’ll consider everything,” he said, his fury subsiding substantially. “Thank you both for your attendance. I’m sorry to one of you that it’s not going to work out tonight. Now please go enjoy the night while I try to forget about the bloodsucking bastard who has raised my blood pressure with his simple existence.”
Kicking the broken cellphone as he walked away, an irate Ju Won immediately found Jung Min and Dong Min, leaving Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon alone in his wake.
If the atmosphere was tense before with Ju Won as the buffer between the two of them, then the tension was multiplied a million times over as the two Kings stood parallel to one another. Both were staring quietly at each other, neither saying anything for a long time.
It was Tae Hyun who decided to finally break the silence. “Young Jae was the one who told you about Soo Jin killing my mother?”
Always to the point. That was always Tae Hyun’s personality.
“He confirmed it,” Ji Hoon clarified with no hint of remorse or shame. “Soo Jin had bragged about it once, but I didn’t take her seriously. Yet, when Ju Won requested that I do him this favor and when it was clear that I couldn’t sway Yoori with my own charms, I decided to play another piece on the chess board.”
“You weren’t afraid that I’d kill her after finding out?” Tae Hyun asked disbelievingly, his eyes still wondering how much this girl meant to Ji Hoon—if she even meant anything other than a possession to him.
“Why didn’t you?” Ji Hoon asked instead, genuinely curious.
Unable—or unwilling—to answer it himself, Tae Hyun allowed the silence from his lips to answer f
or him.
Ji Hoon laughed sardonically, shaking his head at Tae Hyun. “Of course, how could you kill your innocent Yoori when it was the bitch Soo Jin who caused all this chaos?” Ji Hoon mocked with amusement, feeding on the fact that Tae Hyun was visibly upset over the loss of the one who stole his heart.
Ji Hoon, much like Tae Hyun, was a cunning and observant King. He knew what buttons to push in order to force his enemies over the edge.
“And to answer your question,” Ji Hoon said tauntingly. “I trusted that you wouldn’t kill Yoori. Even if I was wrong and you did, then it would’ve been no harm to me because it would only mean that in the end, you would never get to have her just like I didn’t get to have her.” Ji Hoon laughed with hilarity at the livid gaze on Tae Hyun’s face. He dramatically peered up at the dark sky swimming over the glass ceiling. He feigned a despondent sigh. “Poor thing. She must be crying her eyes out. Maybe after this, I should find her again and—”
Bam!
Ji Hoon didn’t see it coming.
The punch that Tae Hyun threw was as quick as a lightning bolt, and the strength he imparted was a force to be reckoned with as his iron-like fist rammed into Ji Hoon’s nose.
Blindsided by the sudden attack, Ji Hoon was left reeling when Tae Hyun, who wasn’t satisfied with a mere punch, drew his left leg high in the air, stopped above the apex of Ji Hoon’s head, and then with supreme strength, drew his leg downward and executed a powerful axe kick down on Ji Hoon’s face.
Boom!
“Augh!”
Ji Hoon was left stumbling into the crowd. Sounds of drinks being spilled and screams emitted at the sudden cargo falling onto them. Ji Hoon’s nose was already bleeding from Tae Hyun’s punch, but with the added blow of Tae Hyun’s merciless kick, what was left of Ji Hoon’s nose was ruined as blood poured like a waterfall from his nostrils. It also didn’t help the situation when the drink he was holding spilled on him as he fell to the floor. His face was utterly drenched with champagne and blood.
“Damn, did you see the fist and axe kick boss executed?” a couple of Serpents announced to one another while they watched the scene from the balconies.
“He didn’t even see his fist coming!” cried a 1st layer heir to his friends. He craned his neck, laughing with his fellow heirs as they enjoyed the scene before them.
“Oh shit! Did that just really happen? I thought they were going to fight when this night ended?”
“Crap! I missed it!”
All around, the commotion from the audience surrounded them. Everyone was surprised by the unexpected violence from the typically composed King of Serpents.
The fire raging in Ji Hoon’s eyes came from the depths of hell. He glared at Tae Hyun, his fury growing by the second. “You fucking—”
Unafraid of the anger he elicited, Tae Hyun inclined his head challengingly as if saying, “Talk about Yoori again, and I’ll break every bone in your face.”
“Tae Hyun! What the fuck did you just do?!” Jung Min shouted, staring from the side in horror. He pushed past the crowd and ran over to his newly assaulted advisee in disbelief.
Behind him, Dong Min, along with several other Advisors, stifled chuckles of pure amusement.
“Bad reflexes,” Tae Hyun replied innocently, unabashed by the stares he garnered from the attendees.
Hiding a satisfied smile, he sighed before shaking his punching hand off and grabbing a champagne glass off the silver platter held by a passing waiter.
Tae Hyun smirked mockingly, raising his glass towards Ji Hoon, who was spitting out a thousand curses. He tried to push past his Advisor and his Skulls, all of whom were trying to help tend to his wounds, and charge at Tae Hyun. He wanted to bestow him with a nose-breaking assault of his own. His Advisor kept him at bay, telling him that he had to clean himself up instead of making matters worse.
“It was nice talking to you,” Tae Hyun said nonchalantly, smirking one last time at Ji Hoon. He turned on his heels and casually walked away from the scene as if nothing took place.
“If Yoori was here, you wouldn’t have exploded like that,” Hae Jin whispered coolly, veering through the crowd and walking alongside him. She glanced over her shoulder and saw a dozen people, girls included, fighting to help tend to Ji Hoon’s wound. She grinned to herself. She kept her pace with her brother while laughing at the hilarity of the scene. “But boundaries of politics aside, it’s nice to see you show that bastard who the Alpha King is. How did that feel?”
“Satisfying,” Tae Hyun answered contently, drinking from his champagne glass. “Like I just wiped shit off the soles of my shoes.”
“At least you did one thing right tonight,” said Hae Jin as they strolled through the crowd.
Smiling at her approving words, Tae Hyun held his little sister close to him for the next hour as they socialized with the powerful elites of Korea and thoroughly ignored the violent tension that had infiltrated the room.
“And if Yoori was here,” he added to his sister, unknowing to himself that he was not only speaking freely about his ex-girlfriend with warmth in his eyes, but he was also unknowingly predicting a potential event that was likely to occur in the near future, “she’d slap the shit out of him.”
“You can hide . . .”
02: The Return of the Queen
The evening was quite peaceful as it lingered on.
Ji Hoon had retreated to the back room with some of his Skulls and a couple of 1st layer Princesses, all of whom were more than willing to help nurse his wounds. Meanwhile, Tae Hyun had traveled up and down the grand staircase to converse with his Underworld associates. Despite the attention of some young ladies who were intent on flirting with him, Tae Hyun paid no mind to them as he walked around, ignoring their advances as though he was a taken man.
It wasn’t until near the end, when he noticed a familiar heavenly aroma from the bar, did he finally show some strain in his normally composed face. He recognized the scent as the heavenly tea that he and a certain girl loved so much.
Looking around the rotunda ball that was filled with people who revered him like a God, Tae Hyun couldn’t have looked lonelier as he drank the last of his champagne, gave up on the wearisome duties of conversing with people, and ordered a cup of the famous Underworld tea. He quietly walked up the steps leading to the platform and sat down on his throne. Around him, the party continued animatedly. The lights were dimmed, and the area he was sitting in was considerably dark. Few could see him, and no one was looking in his direction in that suspended moment in time.
The brief concealment liberated him, for he was lost.
Lost while drinking his tea, lost while touching his lips, and lost while his thoughts took over his reality. He was on the verge of being completely adrift when the party finally reached its climax. The moment everyone had been waiting for had finally come to fruition.
“Ladies and gentlemen, may we have your attention, please?”
The volume in the rotunda ball began to die down under the microphone-enhanced voice of Shin Jung Min. Once he garnered the attention of the room, he handed the microphone to his brother. Dong Min was standing beside him on the same platform, facing the entire Underworld in attendance. Behind them, the speckles of the city night glowed like a picturesque mural in the backdrop.
“Please gather around because I think this will be a moment in time that we all want to treasure,” Dong Min said proudly, smiling at the crowd.
Everyone murmured in excitement and agreement. They all knew what was about to take place.
While Tae Hyun was already in his seat, Ji Hoon had emerged from the back room, completely washed up. Even if it was clear that his nose was killing him, the King of Skulls was intent on sitting through the ceremony—something he did with angry pride after he sat down on his throne and looked up at the stage ahead of him.
With his seat still empty, Ju Won stood proudly on the platform with the Shin brothers. All eyes were focused on the stage as the lights dimmed almost com
pletely. The spotlight was firmly focused on Ju Won, who was accepting the microphone from Dong Min. He thanked the brothers for their help before they took their places on either side of him. Albeit the Shin brothers had become respected crime lords in their own rights, when in the presence of Ju Won, they would always be his loyal soldiers.
An undulation of cheers and applauses rang through the colossal estate once Ju Won took the stage.
“You’re all very kind,” Ju Won voiced humbly, nodding at all the applause. He motioned his hand up, wordlessly asking for silence as he continued to deliver his speech. “As we all know, the reason for this big celebration is not only to celebrate my humble birth, but to also celebrate the birth of someone else: the new heir to my throne and quite possibly the new Lord of our world.”
The room grew silent with anticipation.
The moment everyone had been waiting for had arrived, and they were all giving Ju Won their undivided attention—all except the King of Serpents, who was merely staring off into space, utterly lost in his own thoughts as Ju Won continued to make the speech that others had spent years waiting for.
“The decision between our two Kings has been a difficult one for me—as I’m sure it’s been for the rest of our world seeing as that the distribution of power for our two Kings has been about the same.” His lips stretched into a prideful smile. “But all of that will change tonight. In announcing my new heir, I am in high hopes that because of my years of service for our society, the entire Underworld will heed my support, trust my judgment, and support this chosen King as the new Lord of our world. I only want the best for our society, and I trust that this King will be a force to be reckoned with in the outside world. I trust my future in his hands, and I trust our entire livelihood under his governance.”
Ju Won’s smile grew wider as the eagerness in the room intensified.
“Without further ado,” he said, staring directly at Tae Hyun, who wasn’t even paying attention to the speech. “I’m pleased to announce the heir to my throne—”