by Con Template
He stayed quiet.
She smirked, becoming more incensed with his mounting silence. The more she relived those memories, the more furious she became. “She was in so much pain. I don’t think she had ever felt that much pain in her life.”
He gazed at her with pain of his own. Although she was reliving those memories with anger, he was reliving them with agony.
“I was in pain too,” he whispered at long last.
“But you were the one who chose to leave,” Soo Jin corrected spitefully. Her smirk became colder, more merciless. “I would’ve never given you a second chance. I would’ve never forgiven you,” she said truthfully. For the first time, she was not resentful of Choi Yoori. She was protective of her—she was angry for her. “But she loved you so much, even when she didn’t know it.”
“What happened during her last moments?” Tae Hyun asked now that they had ventured into Yoori’s world. Soo Jin had lifted the veil for him into the inner workings of Yoori’s mind. Now he wanted to know what the love of his life went through before she departed from this world.
“She held on to a hoodie that you had given her and embraced it like she was embracing you,” Soo Jin shared, staring at him with emotionless eyes. “She apologized that you had to meet her, and she said that she’d make things easier for you. She’d leave.” She tilted her head and measured the anguish on his face. Her next words were mocking and spoken with the sole purpose of hurting him. “Are things easier for you?”
He shook his head and verbalized what she knew he was feeling: immense regret.
“She would never know the things she does to me,” he whispered, disclosing feelings he had never shared with Yoori. “She would never know that being around her makes me want to be a better man—that being around her makes me want to renounce everything I’ve been given in this life so I could give her the life she deserves—a safe and happy one. But I am not a better man. I am the bastard this world raised me to be. I should’ve let her go when we first met. I should’ve never kept her with me for so long. I should’ve put her needs before mine, but I was too selfish. I wanted her too much.”
Soo Jin did not want to voice her next question, but her masochistic heart beat her to the punch. “You wish she was here now, don’t you?”
He nodded as the anguish magnified on his face—as the anguish increased in Soo Jin’s heart.
“I wish I could tell her that I never wanted to leave her—that walking away that night was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I wish she was here so I could tell her how much I miss her.”
His beautiful eyes held hers, and when he spoke, he was no longer referring to Yoori as a separate person. He was addressing her personally.
“I think about you everyday,” he uttered brokenly, holding Soo Jin prisoner to his words. “There is not a moment that passes where you don’t consume my mind. I wake up yearning for you, wishing that you were beside me. I go to sleep longing for you because I know that no matter how awful life is to me, you are the only one who could make things right.” His aggrieved eyes searched hers. “I miss you, more than you will ever know.”
Soo Jin’s smirk became venomous. While she could not deny that his words touched her, she also could not deny how much she resented him. She did not hesitate to verbalize this.
“Isn’t it funny that you left her because you knew that An Soo Jin would return one day?” She leaned back against the window and laughed mockingly. She assessed him up and down with judgmental eyes. “Now look at you . . . chasing after the Queen of the Underworld like a lovesick puppy. Look at how far you’ve fallen, King of Serpents.”
He offered her an expectant smile. He was unfazed by her cruel words. Resolution teemed in his once aggrieved eyes. “Things are different this time.”
“How so?”
“Because of our past.”
She was mystified with his answer. “What are you talking about?”
His warm eyes held a secret that he planned to only unveil when the time was right.
“You do not remember me,” he began enigmatically, “but I remember you. It was so long ago, but I remember now where it all started. I also know now where I want things to end up.”
She continued to stare at him in utter confusion.
“I fucked up with Yoori—I know I did,” he continued. Regret vibrated in his quiet voice. “I allowed my upbringing to cloud my relationship with her, but I will not make the same mistake with you, Soo Jin. I will do things right this time.”
“What will you do differently?” she asked doubtfully.
“The humans in us fell in love, but not the Royals within us.” The familiar expression of a determined King overtook his face. He no longer held the demeanor of a man who had fallen in life. He now possessed the demeanor of a King who would permit no obstacles to keep him from what he wanted. “Like I said, you will fall in love with me, Soo Jin. Not as a woman, but as a Queen. After that, I will take you far away from here. I will take you far away from the shadows of the Underworld, and I will give you the life you’ve always dreamed of. ”
“The Underworld is everywhere,” Soo Jin stated firmly. Considering the cacophony of emotions that were tormenting her, it was a miracle that she was able to keep her voice so controlled. “You can never escape it. You know better than that.”
“There is no Underworld here.”
“What do you call us?”
“We are not the Underworld. In this place, we are just humans.” He extended his arms out to demonstrate his point. “Look around. No one knows who we are here. We do not have to reside over anyone here. All we have to do is exist; all we have to do is enjoy our lives.” He moved closer to her. The heat from his body blocked the night’s chills. “I have everything set up. All you have to do is say yes, and we can leave tonight. We’ll leave this country and never look back.”
Disillusionment threatened to break her tight smile. No matter how pretty his words were, she knew there was no substance to them. They would never hold up to the reality of their world.
“Ho Young gave me amnesia, tucked me away in another city, and I still managed to come back,” she reminded him. “Our society spreads far and wide. Wherever we go, we would never be able to escape for long.”
Her doubtful words did not rupture his confidence. “You said it yourself. This world loves me. Even when I killed my own brother, it rallied together to protect me.” His eyes searched hers. “Can’t you trust that I have everything worked out? That if I’m finally asking you to run away with me, it means that I truly believe that the Underworld will never find us?” His gaze implored her to trust him. “I would never ask you to do this unless I know that you will be protected. I would never risk your life.”
She shook her head mockingly. The ridiculousness of this conversation was too much. “Don’t you think it’s comical that you’re so confident? Especially given the fact that I’m not even that fond of you?”
His boyish grin told her that he did not believe her last statement. “No, because the first hurdle has already been completed. You already like me.”
“Oh, really?”
His broad shoulders lifted in an innocent shrug. “I don’t imagine you hold this much patience for anyone else. There must be a reason why I’m so special.”
She smirked. He had her there. “I admit that I do have a fondness for you, but that will not cloud my better judgment. Yoori was a fool, but I am not. I will not fall for you. I will never allow that.”
And she meant it.
She meant every word.
His visage lit up with elation. This was a challenge he was up for. “Which is why I know this will be a fun trip.” He regarded her with a silent promise in his gaze. “A battle of the wills between the King and Queen of the Underworld. I wonder who will come out triumphant in the end.” He shrugged playfully. “Whatever the answer may be, I think it’s only right that we continue our fun here.” A sneaky grin graced his lips. “Kiss me.”
; Soo Jin did a double take. “Excuse me?”
“It is my will,” he answered softly. “It is what I want.”
Fire enflamed her cheeks. She was tempted to wrap the blanket around him like a noose. “I didn’t think you’d stoop so low.”
“I did not think so either,” he whispered. “But I can’t help it.” He touched her hair while staring at her lips. “I can’t control myself. When I look at you, all I want to do is kiss you.” He slanted his head. “Just once,” he negotiated, his voice a melodic lilt against the rain outside. “Just once to sate my need; just once to put me out of my misery—”
Soo Jin kissed him before she could think twice. The effect was instant—electrifying. Once their lips met, a bomb detonated inside her. She should have pulled away, but every time she tried, her yearning lips would lean in for more. Next thing she knew, she was lying across the window seat. Tae Hyun leaned on his arms above her, showering her with kisses that she could not get enough of.
She felt like she was being put out of her misery.
Her hands roamed over his bare back. She had wanted to touch him all night and could barely contain herself when she was finally able to do it. It was a good idea to stop, but who the fuck cared about good ideas when you were in paradise?
Boom!
Soo Jin awoke from her stupor when a clap of thunder rang through the night. She could’ve sworn she felt it shake the lighthouse. Or was that the shaking of her own disbelief?
“You bastard,” she voiced breathlessly, abruptly tearing away from their kiss.
“Aw, shit,” Tae Hyun groaned. It was clear that he did not get enough of their kiss—not even close.
“You planned for that, didn’t you?” she accused pointedly.
“I hoped for it,” he admitted sheepishly. He bit his lower lip in need. “I never thought it was possible to want someone as much as I want you right now.”
Her face went bright red. It infuriated her that she felt the same way. She could no longer entertain this ridiculousness.
“Keep dreaming, asshole,” she growled, pushing him away while throwing the blanket at him. With heat cloaking her cheeks, she propelled from the window seat, grabbed her jacket, and shot down the spiral stairs.
“Where are you going?” Tae Hyun shouted behind her. “It’s pouring rain! You’re going to get sick.”
“I’d rather get sick than be here with you.”
He let out a disbelieving laugh and chased her down the stairs.
“It was just a kiss, Soo Jin,” he uttered, bursting out into the rain with her. He broke into an easy jog beside her. “We’re adults here. We can kiss if we want to.”
“It is on my bucket list to kill you,” she reminded stiffly, covering her head with her jacket. It was a piss-poor attempt to manufacture an umbrella. The force of the wind was tossing the rainwater every which way. Her jacket helped block the rain, but only slightly.
“You are still allowed to kiss me if you want.” He smiled, looking devilishly handsome in the rain. “What are you afraid of?”
“Getting herpes.”
Tae Hyun faked an injured hand to his heart. “I would take offense to it, but let’s keep in mind that the only one I kissed before you was Yoori. If there’s herpes involved, it’s from someone else who kissed Lee Ji Hoon when she made her dramatic homecoming.”
That witty comeback would have been funny had she not been so pissed at the absurdity of her current state.
“Fuck off,” she retorted instead.
His amusement remained. “How can I when you’re going the wrong way?”
Soo Jin stared back at the lighthouse like it was her north star. She was indeed going in the opposite direction of the lake house.
“You know what?” she prompted, returning her attention to a smug Tae Hyun.
“What?”
Boom!
She charged at him like a bull and rammed him into the ground. Mud splashed all around them as she wrapped her hands around his neck.
“Still think this is funny?” she snarled, tightening the chokehold she had on him.
“You know . . .” he laughed in between words, “if you slid just a little further south, this would be the perfect position to make my pain go away.”
“Ugh!”
Furious that she couldn’t scare the shit out of him (and instead unknowingly turned him on), she childishly grabbed a handful of mud and flung it at his face. If she couldn’t scare him, she might as well temporarily fuck up his face.
Tae Hyun groaned dramatically. He began to rub his eyes in surprised pain. “You got my eyes!”
“You’re lucky I didn’t gouge your eyes out,” she muttered before getting up and high tailing it out of there like a scared kitten.
“What about the first ground rule?” he bellowed behind her.
When all she did was flip him the middle finger, she heard Tae Hyun utter with a laugh, “Oh, it’s on, Princess. It is on.”
“Because it’s the only thing that makes us human . . .”
17: Further South
Soo Jin was enraged when she kicked the punching bag the next evening. She had avoided Tae Hyun like the plague the entire day: she hid out in Yoori’s old sleeping quarters in the morning, she distracted herself by enjoying a day out on the town during the afternoon, and she only continued to avoid him by barricading herself in the lake house’s workout room that evening. If she could not be productive at home, she might as well be productive and train here.
Soo Jin continued to brood as she attacked the punching bag. She did not understand why she was entertaining him. Why the hell was she still here when she could be doing more useful things at her Siberian Tigers’ estate?
“Is that punching bag supposed to represent someone?” asked a familiarly infuriating voice.
She turned to see Tae Hyun leaning against the doorframe. He wore an all black attire that made him look more harmless than he was. He was smiling as he gazed at her with doting eyes.
“Your corpse,” Soo Jin stated in an annoyed voice.
Like water coursing over steel, Tae Hyun let her hostility roll off of him. He strolled into the room and handed her a water bottle. “Truce?”
She took it without saying anything. Ignoring him, she downed the drink, tossed the water bottle to the side, and continued to hit the punching bag.
Undeterred by her chilly treatment, Tae Hyun persevered with his advancement. He went to the other side of the room and stood across from her. The punching bag was a few feet between them.
“Can I train with you?” he asked innocently.
“I prefer to workout alone.”
“Afraid I might show you up?”
Soo Jin ceased her workout and glared at him. “You really want to go there? Especially after what happened last night?”
“When we kissed?” he reminded sheepishly.
“When I rammed you into the ground. I could’ve choked you to death.”
He had a faraway look on his face as he recalled that event.
“I went easy on you,” he mused out loud. “Both last night and that homecoming night.”
Considering that she didn’t strangle him the night before, it was safe to say that she showed him the same courtesy. “As did I.”
“If we’re going to have our once-in-a-lifetime duel soon, then we might as well see what the big deal is.”
Soo Jin paused to consider his words. It intrigued her that he would want this. It would be entertaining to get a prelude to what their war would be like.
Her lack of response—and by default, her agreement—triggered Tae Hyun’s smile to broaden. When he started to slowly unbutton his shirt, Soo Jin’s breath became lodged in her lungs. She did her best to maintain a cool expression as he stripped his shirt off, revealing the muscled body beneath it.
“Were you a stripper in a past life?” she inquired pointedly, getting sick and tired of him disarming her with his provocativeness. It was obvious he was the most handso
me bastard in the world. He did not need to use that as his ultimate weapon against her. “Is it that difficult to keep a shirt on?”
His soft chuckle permeated the workout room. “Apparently I’m a stripper in this life too.” He winked suggestively at her. “Maybe you should give me a good tip later on.”
“I’m out of dollar bills.”
“I accept other forms of payments.” His eyes did not conceal his carnal need for her. “Especially when it involves stripping for you.”
She rolled her eyes.
He released a thoughtful sigh. “But this is not about stripping.” He pointed a reproving finger at her to get them back on point. “I’m mad at you.”
Now this was a new and interesting development. Curious, Soo Jin folded her arms. She slanted her head and decided to humor him. “Why?”
“You fought dirty last night.”
Her lips threatened to edge up in a grin. “You gonna do something about it?”
“Yes,” he stated solemnly, his stern voice holding an edge of seduction. “You are going to be punished tonight.”
“How?”
“I’m going to do what you hate most: show you up.”
With no warning, he took one powerful swing at the punching bag. The bag vibrated from the impact, nearly falling off its hinges.
Soo Jin glowered at him as the punching bag swung like a pendulum between them. “You have some gall to say that.”
His lips stretched into a serene smile. He easily retained his charisma while simultaneously pissing her off. “I did not become a King because of my good looks alone.”
“I think I just swallowed my own vomit.”
Tae Hyun pleasantly shrugged off the acidic remark. “Truth hurts.”
Soo Jin tightened her jaw in controlled rage. The constant swaying of the punching bag lured her like a bull to a red cape. It was taking everything she had to not unleash the monster inside her.
“This is a change from your charming personality last night,” Soo Jin noted, wondering why he was deliberately pissing her off.
“You’re mean to me when I’m charming,” he voiced with a slight pout. He shrugged again, his expression becoming more mischievous. “Now I’m mad at you, and I think it’s more fun to piss you off.”