The War of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 3)

by Con Template

  He shrugged with apathy. “And of course, I framed Jin Ae because she was the obvious suspect. If I had known that Tae Hyun’s Cobras were scattered around Seoul, then I would’ve never shown my face at the alley to check up on those gang members. The plan got fucked up when you came later that morning to find your friend and became even more fucked up when Ace apparently spotted me.” He leisurely canted his head to the side to stretch his neck. “I suppose it’s for the best. I was getting tired of playing the lovesick puppy.”

  He elicited a sigh, lowering his hands and placing them on her hips.

  Yoori wanted to throw up once he started to touch her, molest her.

  “It’s pretty amusing to see you attempt to come at me, as if you had the physical capabilities to fight me.” His laughter ridiculed her. “You’re no match for me, baby. The only reason why your head isn’t ripped off by now is because I still have hope that you’ll remember everything soon and that Soo Jin will come into play.”

  “You wanted . . .” Yoori started brokenly, not believing how cruel this person in front of her was. “You wanted me to regain my memories the entire time?”

  “I didn’t want you to in the beginning, when I thought for sure that it was going to be an easy task to pull you away from Tae Hyun.” His voice grew angrier while he tightened his grip around her throat. His eyes became more menacing. “You fucking bitch. I hate losing anything and I hate it even more when I lose to Kwon Tae Hyun. It fucking killed me to see you with him when all I wanted to do was take you back for myself. I spoiled you rotten with affection, yet even with all the charm I threw at you, you never once faltered from him.” Scorn poured into his voice. “You were so resilient, so in love with Tae Hyun that you didn’t even give me the time of day. I didn’t want you to remember in the beginning because I didn’t want to deal with that stupid plan of yours.” He shook his head. “But after it was clear that I’d be losing you for good if I didn’t pull some other tricks out of my sleeve, I knew what I had to do. I had to bring Soo Jin back and what better way to do that than to piss Choi Yoori off and bring out that little killer instinct that you keep locked away?”

  His disgusting words dispensed over her, but Yoori couldn’t hear most of what he was saying. Her mind was only on Chae Young now. She still couldn’t believe it.

  “You had them rape her . . . one by one . . . while she begged for death . . . so you could get me back in the end? You ruined her life . . . just so Soo Jin would come back . . . just so you could reclaim your prized possession?”

  It was when she peered into his emotionless eyes did Yoori grasp how wrong she had been. What a fool she had been. All these months, she felt sorry for him because she felt guilty that he had lost the one he loved. But as she stared at him, disgust heaved in her stomach. Lee Ji Hoon may think he loved Soo Jin, but he never truly did. He merely saw her as a possession and a trophy. What human being would send eleven gang members to rape an innocent girl for their own selfish needs? And why did he do that? So he could continue to play the part of the brokenhearted prince and steal her away from the only one who mattered to her? Just so he could resort to “Plan B” and provoke Soo Jin to come out of her?

  “You bastard. You fucking bastard,” she gritted out, repulsed that she was in the presence of someone so revolting. Yoori could not fathom how she allowed him to fool her for so long. “I should’ve known. I should’ve known you were a fucking bastard when we were on that roof. I should’ve known how morally fucked up you were when you spoke ill about Tae Hyun’s father and continued to taunt Tae Hyun about what you did with his sister!”

  “This is all your fault,” Ji Hoon told her with conviction. “With any other stupid bitch, all I had to do was smile and they would eat up everything I say. All I had to do was speak and they would get on their knees and worship me like I walked on water.” He glared at her. “But you . . . all you see is fucking Kwon Tae Hyun. I’m twice the man that bastard is and you can’t even spare a fucking glance in my direction whenever he’s around!”

  Yoori shook as she thought about him and Tae Hyun. For so long, this world had tried to embed in her mind the difference between the two—that Ji Hoon was the brokenhearted Prince Charming while Tae Hyun was the sadistic monster who would sacrifice anything for his own benefit.

  She saw it all clearly now.

  She recalled all those moments where Ji Hoon played his part well, where he pretended to be heartbroken, like he was the innocent one in all of this. Tae Hyun was right. Ji Hoon was truly more ruthless than him. Instead of being the type of man that Tae Hyun was, Ji Hoon resorted to pretending to be weak, pretending to be human so that people in the Underworld would underestimate him. It was a genius plan because he had the element of surprise. When he finally showed his true colors, the ones deceived would never see it coming.

  Ji Hoon was the best actor there was, and judging by the lack of regret in his eyes, he really didn’t care about the well-being of Chae Young. He didn’t care that he would’ve been “kinder” if he killed Chae Young instead of allowing eleven men, one after the other, to rape and torture her. He didn’t even care about breaking Yoori. He didn’t care about anyone but himself.

  He was unlike Tae Hyun, who had to endure all the bullshit because he saw Ji Hoon’s true colors. He had to endure Yoori being stupid and constantly giving Ji Hoon chances. He had to endure her listening to Ji Hoon’s instigations and alienating herself from him. He had to endure being labeled as the “other guy.” He had to endure taking care of her while Ji Hoon broke her soul apart. He had to endure so much, and it was all because of Ji Hoon.

  It was all because of that fucking monster.

  She replayed all those times where Ji Hoon spoke ill of Tae Hyun, and she lost it.

  How dare he? How dare he compare himself to Tae Hyun? How dare he say he was twice the man that Tae Hyun was? How dare he even put his name and Tae Hyun’s name in the same sentence?

  “You disgusting pig!” she shouted at the top of her lungs, leaning down to grab a big alcohol bottle from the table beside her. She whirled it into him with brute force. “You’ll never be half the man he is!”

  Bam!

  “Fuck!” Ji Hoon cried once the weight of the alcohol bottle broke over the side of his head.

  He looked at her in scorn.

  “You stupid bitch!” he snapped, slapping her face with the back of his hand.

  “You’re nothing compared to him!” Yoori screamed, fighting against his hold and slowly losing under his strength. Her cheek stung from the slap.

  “Shut up!” he growled.

  “Why do you think I can’t even look at you when he’s around?” she went on, shouting hysterically. “All this time, you’ve played the victim when I should’ve seen your true colors all along. But I was fucking blinded because of my stupid girl mentality that everything you do should be excused because you were in love with Soo Jin. I felt sorry for you because she was taken from you, but all along, you were never the victim you played. You’re nothing but a sick bastard. A girl doesn’t want you, and you go to such lengths as to having her friend raped so that you could continue to appear like Prince Charming and save her? You disgust me. You’re fucked up in the head! You need help! Do you think Tae Hyun would ever resort to any of this? No, because he doesn’t have to! Because he’s better than you in every way! He’s twice the man you are!”

  “Shut the fuck up!”

  “Everyone in this world knows how great he is. That’s why he is so revered. If Soo Jin was here, do you think she would even look at you? You think your precious Queen wouldn’t be infatuated with him?” Seeing the pain in his angry eyes, she continued to taunt him. “Soo Jin never loved you. If she did, do you think I’d even fall for Tae Hyun? You’re a monster, Ji Hoon! Nothing but a disgusting monster!”

  “You’re one to talk,” Ji Hoon sneered, grabbing her by the collar and literally lifting her up the wall. “You’re the disgusting one who was ready to betray her own brothe
r to become a gang leader herself. You were the one who killed thirty-four innocent people, including a mother and her twins.”

  He broke into a sadistic smile.

  “We’re one of a kind, baby,” he continued mercilessly. “You and me, we’re alike in every way. That was why this world loved us when we were together, because we were the epitome of what an Underworld couple should be. That’s why they hate the relationship you have with Tae Hyun, because you make each other human while Soo Jin and I made one another Gods!”

  “Shut up!”

  Ji Hoon grinned at the pain that immersed her face. “You think your King is so great, but you’ll rethink that when you’re on the other side, when you’re the one who is fighting him.”

  He laughed before finally adding something that stopped her cold.

  “Does he even know that you killed his mother?”

  The blood pumping in Yoori halted. “I didn’t—”

  “You killed her,” Ji Hoon told her with much amusement, enlightening Yoori with her worst fear. He fed on her anguish. “She was drunk and miserable, yes, but you were the one who snuck into the Serpents’ mansion. You were the one who bypassed all the security, and you were the one who pulled her into the bathroom and proceeded to kill her.”

  “Stop it! You’re lying!” she shouted, but deep in her heart, she knew he wasn’t.

  “Broken bottles, baby,” he told her proudly. “That was how they found her. She ‘committed suicide’ in the bathtub with the water running. She slit her wrists with the jagged edges of a broken alcohol bottle.” He laughed. “And as I recall, killing people with broken bottles is your signature move.”

  Ji Hoon smirked at her stunned silence upon realizing how Tae Hyun’s mother actually died—that it was Soo Jin who had murdered her all along.

  “That’s when I knew I had to have you. You were a fucking genius. You didn’t take the credit for it. You allowed the family to think she committed suicide because you knew it would break them and fuck them up even more as a family. If you took credit, they would unite against you. If you allowed them to think she killed herself, they would disband and hate each other.” His taunting smile broadened while his voice lowered in gravity. “How do you think your precious King will react when he finds out? Remember, Yoori . . . Kwon Tae Hyun hates me more than life itself because I was the one who killed his father. How do you think he’ll feel about you when he finds out that it was you who killed his beloved mother? Do you think you’ll see him as the perfect man then? Better yet, do you still think you’ll be in love with him when you regain your memories?”

  “I won’t—”

  “You will. I can see it in your eyes that the time is near.” Hatred saturated his eyes. “I love Soo Jin, but I despise you, Yoori. I know that you’re the one keeping Soo Jin locked in there so you can fuck around with Tae Hyun. But the one good thing out of all of this is that I can’t wait for her to come out and trap you in your own body. Isn’t that how it works, Yoori? You’ll be powerless, and I’ll love it because you know that Soo Jin is coming back to me. She won’t give a damn about what I did to Chae Young and she’ll come back to me because she belongs with me. Doesn’t that kill you, Yoori? The fact that no matter what happens tonight, you’ll eventually be mine again?”

  “I’ll never be yours!” Yoori shrieked, dreading the day she may cease to exist in this world, dreading the day she may possibly fall back into Ji Hoon’s arms, and dreading the day Tae Hyun finds out the truth about his mother.

  With tears of rage concealing her eyes, her migraine worsened. It was only when she started to shake uncontrollably did Yoori realized that she had been holding a jagged edge of the broken bottle the entire time.

  Hope glittered in her path. She had to get away. She had to kill Ji Hoon, and she had to get away from here. She wasted no more time.

  “Go to hell, you son of a bitch!”

  She stabbed the jagged edge into his arm and used all the strength she had to pierce it as deep as she could. Then, she twisted it.

  “Ahhhhh!” Ji Hoon roared when the glass buried itself into his arm.

  When he released his hold on her, Yoori used this opportunity to sling the broken bottle across his face, intending to cut his skin apart. She was deterred when Ji Hoon raised his leg. The ruthless kick that was delivered to the side of her face caused Yoori to fly to the other end of the room.

  She crashed into a clutter of barstools.

  Yoori groaned as pain coursed through her. She blindly reached around and felt something cold underneath her fingers. Hope surged through her when she realized what it could be. She looked down and sure enough, there was her gold gun resting beside her.

  In the background, Ji Hoon was still groaning. He clutched on to his arm, applying pressure to keep blood from pouring out of the deep wound.

  Without fear, hesitation, or anymore doubt in her mind that he should be killed, Yoori seized her gold gun and aimed it at Ji Hoon.

  His eyes bloomed at the sight of her gun.

  She pulled the trigger.

  Boom!

  He tried to run, but he wasn’t quick enough. Her first shot was a through and through.

  “Ahhh!”

  The bullet went into his arm, causing him to groan louder while rivulets of sweat formed on his forehead. His eyes blazed with knowledge that he wasn’t just dealing with Yoori’s fighting instincts; he was also dealing with the killer instincts of Soo Jin.

  Satisfaction hummed in her chest, and Yoori’s eyes became merciless. She wanted more. She wanted his blood and she wanted Ji Hoon to die on the floor beneath her feet. She pulled the trigger again and the hungry bullets flew out, exploding into the bar.

  If Yoori were shooting at a normal gang member, the shots would have gone into her prey’s head every time. Unfortunately, Ji Hoon was a skilled Underworld King. Though her shots were impressive, it didn’t match his speed as he ran across the room, jumping on tables while sending chairs flying in her direction to distract Yoori as he ran straight for the back exit.

  Undeterred, she stalked across the room and followed him.

  Just as she was sure the last of her bullet would finally land in his head, Ji Hoon gave her one last venomous look that promised her she hadn’t seen the last of him.

  Then, he did the unthinkable . . .

  He smiled.

  It was a smile that sent chills up Yoori’s spine.

  His face was pleased that she was fighting him, that she was more than ready to kill him.

  “I guess Soo Jin is more alive in you than the both of us could imagine, right, Yoori?” he groaned, blood secreting from his arms while the grin remained. He sighed in pleasure. “I’ll relish the moment she comes back and shoots Kwon Tae Hyun down like this. What a great day that’ll be.”

  Before Yoori could pull the final shot, she realized that she had run out of bullets. There was no time to reload because, just then, Ji Hoon jumped out of the back window, breaking through the glass while leaving a trail of blood behind him.

  He was gone.

  Yoori wanted to chase Ji Hoon down and kill him with her bare hands.

  It was the groaning in the background that jolted her back to reality.

  Oh no.

  Horror struck her when she remembered that Kang Min had been buried underneath the shelf and was badly hurt.

  She whirled around to help him.

  “Kang Min!” Yoori called, sprinting to where he was. Her hands latched on to the shelf that hung above him. “Kang Min! I’m here! I’m here! I’ll get you out soon! Hold on!”

  Yoori lifted the enormous shelf with all the strength she had, nearly straining her muscles as she did so. It was heavy, but the power and adrenaline pumping through her was more than a match for the shelf. Groaning, Yoori dug her feet into the floor to help push against the shelf.

  She could see Kang Min lying underneath, blood and glass pooling around his body.

  Frantic with the need to get him to a hospital,
Yoori groaned again and exerted one final push that did the job. The shelf collapsed onto an open space beside Kang Min with a loud, thundering crash.

  Yoori placed a hand above his chest. She was thankful she could feel his heartbeat. Determined to get him help, Yoori grabbed Kang Min, sat him up, placed one arm over her shoulder, and used all the power left in her to carry him out.

  “Boss . . .” Kang Min croaked out, his swollen and bloodied eyes trying to make her out. It was obvious to Yoori that he was fighting between being conscious and unconscious. In spite of his grave situation, his main concern was her. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, and you’re going to be okay as well,” she told him, wanting to tear up as she examined his assaulted state. It broke her heart to see him like this.

  “Everything hurts . . .” he murmured, his face contorting in pain.

  She struggled to walk out of the bar, holding him tight against her.

  “I know,” Yoori told him faintly, kicking down the entrance of the bar door. They struggled to walk into the cold winter darkness. “It won’t hurt for long, Kang Min. I’ll get you to the hospital soon. Just hold on, okay? Think of Hae Jin and hold on!”

  Kang Min bobbed his head; his face grew more determined at the thought of his girlfriend.

  It was only when a cold thrash of wind hit her did Yoori realize there was someone else breathing in their presence . . .

  Sometimes in life, there are no ways to explain where we gather the strength in our deepest cores when it feels like the end is near. In the morning, Yoori woke up and gathered the last of her strength to live her life as happily as she could. Yet, there were also times in life where we realize that there is no more strength for us to gather because all the hope that we had in life had been vanquished.

  For Yoori, all of her hope in life vanquished the moment she stepped outside with Kang Min and caught sight of someone who had more than enough power to turn her world upside down. He had more than enough power to mend her and more than enough power to break her.

  Yoori’s heart stopped beating at the sight of him.