The Fall of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 2)

by Template, Con

  She was…kissing…Tae Hyun?

  Her eyes widened.

  She was kissing…Kwon Tae Hyun?

  She gasped for breath and immediately untangled her arms from Tae Hyun’s neck.

  No, no, no! This wasn’t supposed to happen.

  Tae Hyun, who had the same look of disbelief on his face upon returning to reality, breathed heavily and untangled his arms from around her waist.

  Identical, “Oh crap…” expressions were plastered over each of their faces.

  Panting in shock, they began to back away from one another, their eyes lost in an unblinking stupor.

  The kiss with Tae Hyun was mind-blowing for Yoori. It was amazing beyond all words. But much like the spinning of the world around them, Yoori found herself dizzy with uneasiness when she realized the repercussions of what just occurred.

  They weren’t supposed to go this far.

  How did she let herself come this far with Tae Hyun? How could she actually believe that something would work out between them? It couldn’t. It wouldn’t. It was impossible. Tae Hyun and her…they could never be. Kwon Tae Hyun doesn’t fall in love – he refused to. He told her himself.

  She scolded herself for her stupidity. How could an innocent night turn into this?

  Yoori looked at him uneasily.

  Tae Hyun’s shock-filled eyes told the same story. She could tell he was asking himself the same questions. How did he let it go this far? How did he allow himself to be this tempted? How did he lose his composure?

  Inhaling the last breath of air, Yoori found her lips stuttering when she spoke. She still had a chance to make this right.

  “I’m sorry,” Yoori uttered, her lips quivering. “I had too much to drink tonight.”

  It was a lie.

  She was drunk, but not on alcohol. She was drunk on her desire for Tae Hyun. But they couldn’t go there. She couldn’t allow herself to go there. She’d only get hurt. It was one thing to crush on him from time to time, but it was another to get lost completely. She couldn’t allow herself to get lost completely.

  As the vulnerability pulsating in her heart yearned for him, Yoori gulped fearfully, already beginning to build back the crumbled walls around her heart.

  Please don’t fall for Tae Hyun. Anyone but Tae Hyun…the core of her mind – her very instincts – begged as she backed away from him.

  Tae Hyun nodded, his eyes lost in a trance of confusion. “I had too much to drink too,” was all he said as he ran his fingers through his hair, a gesture to slap himself back to reality.

  Yoori nodded slowly, vaguely relieved that they were on the same page. Yet as relieved as she was, she could no longer handle being outside with him. She cleared her throat. While doing this, she felt her heart drop to her stomach. She didn’t want to leave but she had to. It was for her own good.

  “I’m really tired. I’m going to go to bed.”

  Before giving him a chance to answer, Yoori’s bare feet took off in an unmatched frenzy. She stepped onto the dancing grass, the toes of her feet aching to revert back to Tae Hyun as she ran further and further out of sight.

  Yoori sprinted straight to the lake house without looking back. She was too preoccupied with trying to shake off her desire for Tae Hyun. As she disappeared into the shelter of her weekend home, her breathless heart was very afraid of accepting the fact that someone almost took possession of it.

  She never looked back that night.

  She never looked back to see Tae Hyun sitting on the railing of the gazebo, his head sunk low while he ran his fingers through his hair. Unleashing his face from the captivity of his hands, Tae Hyun’s eyes were wide from shock while he touched his lips and recounted what occurred.

  He shook his head, not wanting to believe that the impossible happened. Yet as a gleam of comprehension penetrated his bewildered eyes, the next words out of Tae Hyun’s lips were a telltale sign of what he realized as the inexplicable truth.

  “Holy fucking shit,” he groaned out loud.

  With his jaw tightening in anxiety, a look of doom clouded over Tae Hyun’s pale face. He desperately returned to burying his face within the confines of his hands.

  It was official; the impossible had occurred…

  The King of Serpents had stumbled into a foreign country – a foreign emotion – that he once promised himself that he would never venture into.

  “No world can be unjust for so long.”

  06: Friends and Lovers

  A grim winter dawned over the city of Seoul and the menacing weather proved that fact. The presence of the sun had been overshadowed by dark, gray clouds that hung over the city like poisonous spiders.

  There was a sense of urgency as people walked the streets, each desperately clinging onto their coats and umbrellas as the relentless rain showered them with spiteful chills – chills that left them shivering to no end. No one wanted to be outside with the unforgiving weather. No one wanted to be outside as sounds of roaring thunder resonated over the dark sky. No one wanted to be outside when the tornado-like winds arrived.

  The only ones unaffected by the treacherous weather were those who found themselves warm havens within the confines of homes, offices, and stores littered across the rain-infested city.

  Inside a grocery store, where bright lights and warm heat shrouded over its customers, two gang members and a personal assistant walked side by side, unaware of the callous weather taking form outside. They were too preoccupied with catching up on the happenings of each other’s weekends – and confronting a certain someone about a cloud of awkwardness that hung over her and a significant other.

  Walking at the further left hand side of the aisle, with the arms of his brown hooded jacket folded across his chest, Jae Won darted his curious eyes over to Yoori.

  “What the hell happened on your little getaway trip with the King of Serpents?” he confronted, taking a sideway glance at a cookie box that caught his eye. Only momentarily distracted, he returned his focus to Yoori and continued. “The tension was so damn thick that I was surprised Kang Min and I didn’t suffocate from being in the same room with the two of you.”

  Yoori scowled in response to Jae Won’s straightforward observation.

  Blunt much?

  Yoori couldn’t deny that Jae Won’s statement was accurate.

  Since returning from the lake house, it was no secret that there was awkwardness between herself and Tae Hyun. They hadn’t spoken that night after the “unfortunate incident” took place. To further lengthen the tension, on the drive back to Seoul, both shared that they were too hung over from the alcohol to talk. This equated to a long car ride that resulted in Yoori pretending to sleep and Tae Hyun pretending not to know she was actually awake.

  If that wasn’t enough, after returning to the apartment, both announced that they were too tired from the car ride to talk. This led to a whole day of “catching up on work” and completely ignoring one another. The trend of pretending to not notice each other was also carried out in the days that followed. Tae Hyun immersed himself with his Underworld duties and Yoori occupied herself with her assistant activities. Both parties threw out forced conversations concerning official Underworld business to alleviate some of the anxiety, but both Yoori and Tae Hyun adhered to total avoidance of other matters as the days went on.

  Despite the evasion of a certain topic, Yoori knew that although they didn’t speak of it, both were consumed with the one issue that started all of this awkwardness.

  Yoori had no doubt that Tae Hyun was still trying to wrap his mind around what occurred under the gazebo. She, too, hadn’t been able to think of anything else but the kiss they shared. It was one of those kisses that was too mind-blowing and monumental. You couldn’t forget it – no matter how hard you tried.

  In any case, it certainly came as no surprise to her that Jae Won and Kang Min must’ve felt the unbearable tension when they came to pick her up for grocery shopping. Normally, Tae Hyun would insist on going with her. On thi
s day, however, he stated that he was too busy with “Underworld duties” and immediately called for the brothers to come and accompany her instead.

  Though Yoori admitted to herself that such actions hurt her feelings, she knew it was best if they kept their distance for the time being. Hurt feelings aside, she couldn’t imagine having a conversation with Tae Hyun that wouldn’t tempt them into talking about “the kiss.” It was a topic that Yoori wanted to avoid talking about for as long as possible.

  She blew out a dejected sigh.

  Still, it bummed her out that it had been more than a little while since she and Tae Hyun had a proper conversation. Though he drove her crazy half the time, Yoori couldn’t deny that she missed him a lot. Not that she liked him or anything! She just missed him…as a friend.

  Yoori pursed her lips at the predicament she found herself in.

  All because of a stupid kiss, she thought bitterly.

  She returned to reality and quickly thought up an answer to give the brothers (one of which wouldn’t go into the specifics as to what happened).

  She clumsily fiddled with the teal crocheted beret that sat on her hair. Pushing her non-prescribed, stylish black-rimmed glasses higher up the bridge of her nose, Yoori feigned distraction and kept her inattentive gaze on the vast aisle of junk food that lined the shelves.

  “We had a little misunderstanding,” she provided vaguely, thinking the white lie was appropriate.

  Indeed the kiss was a big misunderstanding between both of them.

  She tucked her hands in the pockets of her black jacket and cleared her throat uneasily. Her black Uggs, which she had tucked the hems of her dark blue jeans into, thumped while she walked down the store aisle. It was as though her own shoes were scolding her for being such a terrible liar.

  Jae Won narrowed his eyes at Yoori. A frown of disapproval shadowed his countenance. It was clear that he knew there was more going on than what she shared. When it looked like he was about to say what was on his doubtful mind, another voice swam through the aisle.

  “I’m sure whatever it is, Yoori and Tae Hyun can work it out themselves,” Kang Min provided understandably, walking in between Jae Won and Yoori.

  The back of his black leather jacket straightened when he hunched himself forward. He rested his arms on the metal railing of the shopping cart and continued to push the half full cart. He smiled reassuringly at Yoori, who gave him a small smile in return. She appreciated his non-probing ways.

  She hated that she was being secretive around the brothers. However, despite how much she trusted them, the event that took place with Tae Hyun was an uncomfortable conversation for her to have with them. It was more of a “girl talk” that she needed. She couldn’t imagine the brothers being a good outlet to help “analyze” her feelings and confusion. If anything, she was certain they would scold her for kissing Tae Hyun. After all, they did warn her that they weren’t sure if Tae Hyun was trustworthy.

  “Have you thought further about what we talked about in the limo?” Jae Won asked suddenly. His eyes still displayed curiosity about what happened between Tae Hyun and Yoori during their weekend away. In spite of this, he was ready to move on to more important topics.

  Jae Won’s gaze on her was cautious and attentive. It mirrored that of Kang Min’s, whose own curiosity dwelled in his unblinking gaze on Yoori. Yoori sensed then that the brothers had been meaning to ask her this question since they picked her up from Tae Hyun’s apartment.

  “I haven’t really,” she answered, instantly feeling a rush of uncomfortable emotions surge through her.

  It was a half-truth and half-lie. She hadn’t given much thought about the “untrustworthiness” of Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon because she trusted them wholly. In the same token, she had given much thought to the terrifying possibility that she was the notorious Queen of the Underworld. The reminder continued to send chills up her spine.

  “Anyway, can we not talk about this stuff?” she asked, already feeling the prelude of a migraine form in her head. The last thing Yoori wanted to talk about was Soo Jin. “I haven’t been feeling too well and I want to leave that stuff alone.”

  Yoori expected the brothers to counteract her request with a rebuttal. What occurred next was a pleasant surprise for her. Instead of insisting on having the conversation, the brothers acknowledged the immense discomfort on her part and smiled reassuringly at her. Saying no more, they continued to walk down the aisle. Their white sneakers tapped on the tiles while the shopping cart creaked along with them.

  Relieved with their understanding, she blew out a relaxing breath. She followed them down the aisle.

  “How was your weekend?” Yoori chirped out merrily, wanting to shift the spotlight to someone else. She grabbed several boxes of cookies that she knew Tae Hyun liked and threw them into the moving cart.

  “Kang Min and I hung out together…with our girlfriends,” Jae Won shared blissfully. A happy grin livened his bruised face.

  Such a pleasant reaction was not shared by Yoori – who was stupefied with his response – or by his little brother.

  Hung out with their girlfriends?

  “What?” Yoori squawked out, not believing her ears.

  “She’s not my girlfriend!” Kang Min shouted at the same instance.

  All three had stopped walking. They wore three different expressions on their faces. Jae Won smiled, Kang Min frowned, and Yoori was confused.

  “Wait. Time out, time out, time out!” Yoori shouted, bouncing both her hands together to make a capital “T” shape.

  Her curiosity spiked to its apex. She had always viewed Jae Won and Kang Min as her dorky little brothers. The thought of them having girlfriends was enough to bring a great big smile onto her face. For a moment, she placed her frustrations concerning the unexpected kiss with Tae Hyun (and the strong possibility she was An Soo Jin) aside.

  In between the glare on Kang Min’s face and Jae Won’s smug expression, they turned to her and gaped at her strange hand motions.

  Yoori ceased with the “time-out” hand gestures when she registered how silly she must’ve looked. “You guys have girlfriends?” she asked, bringing her hands down.

  “She’s not my girlfriend!” Kang Min blurted out again. His cheeks flushed in the tone of a tomato.

  “She’s his on-and-off girlfriend,” Jae Won corrected, rolling his eyes at his brother’s sudden bashfulness. “And yes, boss. There are other girls in our lives besides you.”

  Yoori growled quietly. She wasn’t trying to be territorial. She quickly relinquished the bitterness and got right back on topic. “You guys had a double date this past weekend?”

  “Something like that,” confirmed a happy Jae Won.

  “We’ve been off for awhile, which means she’s not my girlfriend,” Kang Min clarified, still trying to clear the misunderstanding about him and his “girl.” “We’re just friends.”

  Yoori grimaced. Uh oh, where had she heard that before?

  “Uh huh, ‘friends,’” Jae Won repeated skeptically. He turned to face Yoori. “My girlfriend and I are having another dinner date with him and his ‘friend’ tonight.”

  Feeling naughty, Yoori giggled and teasingly said, “Oooh, what a good friend you are, Kang Min.” She playfully nudged his arm.

  Kang Min, who was blushing immensely, sighed in disbelief. “Not you too, Yoori.” He brought a frustrated palm to his forehead. “Can we move along from this conversation?”

  “Yes, one last thing,” Jae Won said in an understanding voice. It would’ve been genuine if there weren’t mischief in his eyes when he turned to Yoori and revealed, “His ‘friend’ is Kwon Hae Jin!”

  At that moment, three things happened: Yoori’s mouth formed into the shape of a capital “O”, Jae Won, as if being pulled away from an oncoming semi-truck, dodged out of the aisle as Kang Min’s angry fist buried a hole into a nearby cereal box – the exact position Jae Won’s head would’ve been had he not moved in time.

  Streams of Cheeri
os flowed out of the listless box after Kang Min withdrew his irate fist. He scowled at his older brother like an angry lion.

  “You just had to tell Yoori, didn’t you?” Kang Min asked indignantly, resting his hands back on the railing of the shopping cart.

  When he saw that the coast was clear (polluted Cheerios aside), Jae Won returned to the aisle with a satisfied grin on his face.

  “Oh come on, baby brother,” Jae Won said thoughtfully, standing beside a shocked Yoori. Her eyes and mouth were still agape from bewilderment. “This is Boss Choi we’re talking about. She’s not going to tell anyone.” Jae Won turned to Yoori to confirm. “Right, Boss Choi?”

  “You – You’re Hae Jin’s boyfriend?!” Yoori finally asked, her voice so high-pitched that it would’ve cracked glass. Her mind was spinning. Before giving Kang Min a chance to answer, she posed another highly anticipated question. “Does Boss Kwon Tae Hyun know?”

  Her question was answered when Kang Min started to worryingly scratch the back of his head. He avoided eye contact.

  “If the almighty King of Serpents knew, do you think our Kang Min would be standing there with all his bones intact?” Jae Won answered for his brother. He pointed at the crumpled cereal box that still had Cheerios falling out of it. “His head would be like that Cheerios box.”

  Yoori briefly blinked in agreement. Punching a hole in Kang Min’s head did sound like something Tae Hyun would do for his baby sister.

  “Good point,” she breathed out.

  Kang Min groaned in agreement before eyeing the Cheerios box.

  “Great,” he complained regrettably. He pouted and grabbed the Cheerios box he assaulted. He bitterly placed it into the cart. “Now we have to buy this.”

  Jae Won continued to speak. “But boss, they’ve been ‘on-and-off’ for 3 years now. Don’t you think it’s time for Kang Min and Hae Jin to officially be ‘on’ for longer than 2 weeks?”

  As he said that, Jae Won’s phone began to ring. He looked at the screen.