The End of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 4)

by Con Template

  Soo Jin’s eyes narrowed at the accusation. “I’m afraid of you distracting me,” she corrected tightly.

  “I am a pretty distracting guy,” Tae Hyun proudly concurred. His face brightened with optimism. “You asked me what I hope to achieve. What I want is to woo you, make you fall for me, and have a grand ole’ time here.”

  “Is that the King or the man speaking?”

  He flashed her a breathtaking smile that made her heart jump. “Both.”

  Soo Jin swallowed uneasily. “This will not end well.”

  “Really?” Tae Hyun humored, never looking more eager to pursue something in his life. “Because I see a very happy ending if it goes according to plan.”

  Soo Jin swayed an agitated head as rainwater began to drench her clothes. Having enough of this, she rose to her feet and began to walk away.

  “Where are you going?” asked Tae Hyun’s entertained voice.

  “It’s raining, and I’ve had enough of this absurdity for one night. I don’t need to get sick before I become the Lord of the Underworld.”

  His laughter accompanied the pouring rain. Soon after, she felt the wooden dock rumble with footfalls. The rumbling stopped when he reached her.

  “The absurdity is just beginning,” Tae Hyun assured. He extended his hand out, smiling at her as he said, “I still have a surprise planned tonight.”

  She glared at the outstretched hand that was moist from the rain. “What?”

  “I want to hold your hand,” he stated charmingly. He leaned down and playfully nipped his rain-kissed nose with hers. “Or do I need to come up with another excuse to hold your hand?”

  Her eyes expanded at the prospect of walking around handcuffed to him. There was no way in hell she would allow that.

  Bitterly, she took his hand. She blinked rainwater from her eyelashes and scowled at him. “I will make you pay for this.”

  Tae Hyun grinned. He gently tugged at her hand and began to pick up the pace. “I’m counting on it.”

  “Where are we going now?” she asked as they raced from the dock and ran off the commonly traveled path. She looked over her shoulder. They were headed in the opposite direction of Tae Hyun’s lake house.

  “To find shelter from this rain.”

  “Your lake house is in the other direction.”

  “We’re not going home yet,” he answered, his pace never slowing down.

  Soo Jin angled her head down to keep the rain from submerging her eyes. “Where are we going then?”

  From the corner of her eyes, she saw him point at something in the distance.

  “There.”

  She lifted her gaze and followed the direction he pointed her in. Through the growing rain, she saw a lighthouse.

  “What’s there?” she asked.

  “The next part of our date.”

  “Yet every one of us continues to seek that forbidden fruit . . .”

  16: The Lighthouse

  The lighthouse resembled a masterpiece from a whimsical painting. It was approximately one-hundred-and-fifty feet tall and made completely of bricks. It was surrounded by tall trees, lush green grass, and a well-manicured garden. Unlike other lighthouses, there was no safety reason involved when the people of this town decided to construct this tower. It was built purely for aesthetic purposes; it was built solely for enjoyment.

  “It looks closed,” Soo Jin observed when they reached it. The windows at the top of the tower were pitch dark, and there was not a soul in sight. Despite its beauty, it was not a place she wanted to seek shelter in.

  “It’s open,” Tae Hyun easily assured, guiding her to the front steps. He withdrew a set of keys from his pocket and unlocked the door.

  A burst of cool air hit Soo Jin when the door opened. It was chillier inside the tower than outside in the rain. Soo Jin assessed the world inside the lighthouse. There was nothing that greeted her on the ground level but spiral stairs leading up to the peak of the tower.

  “You own this lighthouse?” Soo Jin asked, still assessing the building from the outside. She was not eager to go in.

  “Don’t be silly,” he said with a laugh. “Everyone who owns a lake house here has a key.”

  “Do we have to go in?” Soo Jin asked wearily.

  Tae Hyun pocketed his keys and gazed at Soo Jin with playful eyes. “Afraid I’m going to lock you up in the tower and never let you go?”

  “I’ll push you off the tower before you can even try,” Soo Jin retorted gravely.

  Tae Hyun chuckled. “Then there’s nothing to worry about.” When he sensed her hesitation, he lightly said, “Remember the third ground rule you agreed upon.”

  Soo Jin sighed when she recalled that the third ground rule was to keep an open mind. With no more to say, she simply nodded her acquiescence.

  Tae Hyun smiled favorably. Holding her hand, he led her up the spiral stairs. After navigating their way through the darkness, they reached the room at the top of the lighthouse. A canvas filled with indiscernible shadows greeted Soo Jin’s eyes as they walked into the shadowy room. The darkness dispersed when Tae Hyun lit the various candles throughout the room.

  As he brightened the room with more candles, Soo Jin approached the window seat at the north side of the room. She settled on the soft white cushion and stared out the rain-streaked windows. From this angle, she could see the lake and the lake house community. The lake rippled like fabric in the wind as the rain poured over it. The lake houses illumed with bright white hues, indicating that all the residents were safely inside their homes for the night. A tranquil sensation coursed over Soo Jin. The fact that the weather outside looked so uninviting made her feel safer in this lighthouse.

  She was initially reticent about entering this building. Now that she was inside, she had to admit that the last thing she wanted to do was leave.

  “What do you think?” asked Tae Hyun from behind her.

  Soo Jin could not take her eyes off the hypnotizing scene. She always loved the rain. “It’s beautiful.”

  “It’s one of my favorite places,” Tae Hyun shared.

  He took a leisure seat to the right of her and gazed admiringly out the window. After offering his respect to the view, he vested his full attention back on her.

  “You must be freezing,” he noted, lightly grazing his warm fingers over her cold cheek.

  Soo Jin did her best to not appear affected by the sudden attention. She was doing a valiant job—until he started to unzip her leather jacket.

  She firmly gripped his offending hand. “What do you think you’re doing?” she growled menacingly.

  “Your jacket is wet,” he pointed out, unfazed by her reaction. “You shouldn’t wear it indoors. You might get sick.”

  “I can take off my own damn jacket.”

  Tae Hyun chuckled, raising his hands in surrender. “I was just trying to be a gentleman.”

  “More like a pervert,” Soo Jin griped, taking off her jacket. She tossed it to the ground and stared back out the window. Goose bumps formed over her body now that she was only wearing a black tank top. She was tempted to shiver from the cold, but refused, as she did not want to compromise her indomitable façade. Tae Hyun did not need to see how cold she was. She did not need to give him any more ammunition to be a “gentleman”.

  Tae Hyun kept a pleasant expression and reached down to pull a drawer out from beneath the window seat. He withdrew a purple throw blanket and proceeded to wrap it around Soo Jin like a cloak.

  Soo Jin held her breath. She did not know if the newfound warmth she felt came from the blanket or from Tae Hyun’s chivalrous gesture. Countless suitors had wooed her numerous times in the past. This type of gesture should not cause her pulse to race, but it did. It evaded her understanding as to why Tae Hyun’s simple actions affected her so much. Was it because of the romantic setting? Was it her human counterpart? Or was it truly her who was smitten?

  “I have a question for you,” she launched, wanting to eradicate the perturbing e
motions roiling inside her. The only way to do that was to discuss subjects that a Queen would bring up.

  “Shoot.”

  “Do you ever wonder why Ju Won decided to preside over the 2nd layer as opposed to the 3rd layer?”

  Tae Hyun looked at her with piqued interest. He pondered the question before admitting, “I’ve been curious about that my whole life.”

  Soo Jin nodded. She, too, had been curious about this her whole life. It seemed only fitting that she discussed this with a fellow Royal. Since they were stuck on the uppermost part of a tower for the night, they might as well discuss topics relating to their Kingdom.

  “He had Dong Min and Jung Min by his side,” she went on, voicing her train of thoughts. The pitter-pattering of the rain played in the background as she spoke. “They could’ve formed their own gangs, and in turn, served under him. Ju Won could’ve easily been the Lord of the Underworld himself.”

  Tae Hyun leaned his head against the wall behind him. His expression told her that he had also reached this conclusion. “Why do you think he decided to become an Advisor instead?”

  Soo Jin tried to conceal her nerdy smile. She had harbored this theory her whole life and was excited to finally verbalize it. “Do you ever think that there’s another society that is more secretive than ours?”

  She could see that he was trying not to laugh at the earnestness exuding out of her. It was clear he thought her theory was a bit far-fetched. “We’re as secretive as they come.”

  “We are,” she agreed. Her voice then became lower, more enigmatic. “But sometimes, I can’t help but think that there are more secrets about our world that even we aren’t aware of.” She measured him with critical eyes. “Why did Ju Won decide all of a sudden that there should be a Lord of the Underworld to preside over all three layers? The Underworld had been ruled over by multiple crime lords for decades. That is what keeps the power balance in check—that is what keeps our world vicious and powerful.”

  “You think there is another layer to our secret society, like a secret society within a secret society?” Tae Hyun folded his arms and gazed at her in a doting manner. “That is an urban legend, Soo Jin. A story told to young Underworld Royals to keep them in line.”

  “Maybe,” Soo Jin conceded, recalling the stories she heard when she was younger about “Titans” who came before the “Gods” of the Underworld. According to the stories, these Titans controlled the inner workings of their society from the shadows and would not hesitate to take out Gods who were unfit to rule. “But it should not be discounted that we are one of the youngest new societies. There are many others that have existed before ours.”

  She briefly stared out the window. Her eyes involuntarily charted over the grassland overrun by newly formed mud puddles. “Maybe we have grown into power too fast. Think about how powerful our Underworld is. Think about the Underworld in America, in Japan, and even in Germany.” She turned back to him with a dark glint in her eyes. “What if Ju Won is part of that secret society? What if he has been charged to pick the new Lord because this new Lord will be inducted into their society?”

  Tae Hyun tilted his head in understanding. “Is that one of the reasons why you want the Underworld throne so badly?”

  A ghost of a smile adorned her lips. One shoulder lifted in a coy shrug. “I believe that there is power beyond the Underworld throne. Whether it be entrance to a more powerful society or governance over several Underworlds at once, I do not know. All I know is that I can think of no greater life purpose than to pursue this boundless power.”

  “If these Titans exist,” Tae Hyun began as he shifted closer to her, “do you think they know our story?”

  “It is likely,” she whispered, wrapping her blanket tighter around her at his growing proximity. “It is likely they are taking bets on who will win the Underworld throne.”

  Tae Hyun nodded with light amusement. While he did not believe that this secret society existed, he was clever enough to use its possible existence to further his own agenda.

  “They will not know the continuation of our story here, not in this part of the world. This part of the story is ours and ours alone.”

  A genuine smile brightened her lips. It was so genuine, so unexpected that she didn’t even think about concealing it. “You are very lucky to have found this place. No one from the Underworld would be able to find you here—at least not for a very long time.”

  A bittersweet light shrouded his visage. “Unfortunately our time here is limited. It may be difficult for them to find, but as long as it’s in this country, they will find it sooner or later.”

  Soo Jin released a concurring sigh. “I know.”

  He reached his hand out and gently held her cheek in his palm. His eyes held hers in a hopeful manner. “What do you think would happen if we both disappeared from the Underworld?”

  “Disappeared?”

  “What if we both left everything behind and started a new life somewhere else?”

  Soo Jin smirked to herself. Perhaps being up on this tower was too much of a fairytale experience for her fellow Royal. “No one can get away from the Underworld.”

  “I can’t think of two better people to defy the rules than us.”

  Her next words burst out before she could stop them. “You were more realistic when someone else begged you to run away with her.”

  A morose light flickered in his eyes at the mention of this “someone else”. When he posed his next question, she knew that her openness had been contagious and transcended onto him as well.

  “Can you tell me what she was feeling?”

  Soo Jin furrowed her brows as the rain continued to pour outside. “What she was feeling?”

  The poignancy in his eyes became more powerful. His next words were not spoken by a King, but by a man who missed the love of his life.

  “When did she fall for me?”

  An ache surfaced in her heart when she registered what Tae Hyun was asking. He wanted to know what the love of his life was feeling when she fell for him. There was no denying the pain in his voice or the longing in his eyes as he looked at her. Since Yoori no longer existed, all he had to hold on to were her memories. His only connection to his love was Soo Jin.

  “When you brought her here,” Soo Jin answered. She was surprised herself that she was granting him this allowance. She had spent weeks trying to forget about Choi Yoori and Kwon Tae Hyun. The fact that she was willingly reliving Yoori’s memory for Tae Hyun was unbelievable. Yet, she could not refute his earnest need. She did not want to talk about Yoori, but for Tae Hyun, she felt an intrinsic obligation to do so.

  “She loved it here,” she forged on, meaning every word. Her eyes wandered over the beauty of the lake house community. “Everything was magical. She felt safe. It was the first time she felt like you let your guard down, if only slightly.” She peered at him perceptively. “But you know that. That is why you brought me here.”

  Now that she had given him this boon, it was only right that he gave her something in return.

  “You never answered me.”

  He looked at her in curiosity. The sky above them darkened as little specks of the town’s streetlights birthed into life. “Answered what?”

  “What made you fall for her?”

  Tae Hyun smiled. After quickly admiring the rainy scene, he started to enlighten her.

  “When I asked her if she’d tell me what it feels like when she finds Paris.” Warmth suffused his eyes as Soo Jin relived this very moment with him. “I had been so consumed with the quest for power that I had forgotten what it felt like to want something other than my throne. I remember being utterly captivated when she spoke of Paris. Despite the fact that I had been raised to never seek ‘Paris’, I still found myself enticed by it.” He let out a weary laugh. “I was so envious of the lucky bastard who would get to take her to Paris. I remember harboring so much resentment for this nonexistent bastard. The fact that he would get the honor of being by her side w
hen she finally found what she was looking for triggered every animosity inside me.” He shook his head. “That was when I realized that what I was feeling wasn’t simple jealousy, but human emotion. For the first time in my life, I realized that there was something I wanted more than power. Her. I wanted her. I wanted to be the one she found Paris with; I wanted to be the one to show her Paris.”

  Soo Jin laughed quietly after she digested his answer. She could not help but display her judgmental view on his answer.

  “How precious,” she remarked sardonically.

  He regarded her with soft eyes. He did not take her sarcasm to heart. “I know that you’re not her—not exactly. I know that you must think I’m weak to permit myself to be this vulnerable. I know what you’re thinking because I used to be just like you. I despised what this world had turned me into, and I used to believe that the only way to make things right was to rule over the world—just like the God they raised me to be.” He leaned forward, his eyes never once wavering from hers. “What you should know is that all of this does not make me weak. On the contrary, I am the strongest I’ve ever been. I no longer fear the repercussions of my choices; I no longer fear turning my back on the throne.”

  A resentment Soo Jin did not know she harbored burst at that moment. His foolish and idealistic words were too much for her to bear. Considering everything that led up to this moment, he was the last person who should speak so idealistically.

  “Do you remember what happened after she revealed to you that she was me?”

  Silence claimed his lips.

  For this, she became angrier.

  “You left her,” she reminded. Her voice was a soft lilt that rumbled with fury. “Even when she begged you not to, you left her.”