The War of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 3) (44 page)

“Boss, I don’t understand—”

“Just do it,” Tae Hyun commanded, resolution and urgency fixed in his eyes. “Now.”

“
Morals cease to exist here.”

18: The War of Scorpions

“Hi Anna!” Yoori happily greeted after she and Young Jae hurried into the quiet restaurant.

The heavy snow outside
was deluging like rain, and she was grateful to be out of the storm. Her teeth chattered as she made her way into the restaurant. She could feel the residual coldness from the weather outside linger on her sensitive skin. Her only solace was that being in the restaurant meant that she would be able to eat soon. Yoori was also elated to be in the company of her family. Though her guilt was still present, it did not overshadow the joy she received from being with Young Jae and Anna.

“Yoori!
” Anna greeted, rising from the table she was sitting at. She straightened her black blouse and pants before raising her arms up in a welcoming hug. “Where have you been? Young Jae and I have missed you. We came here for you and couldn’t believe how hard it’s been just to get a hold of you.” Anna embraced Yoori tightly. “You’re not pissed at Young Jae for blabbering on about Tae Hyun, are you? He can get annoying.”

“Thanks, baby,
” Young Jae remarked bitterly.

Yoori cracked up at Anna’s blatant insult.

“But he means well,” Anna added with adoration. She gave her husband a playful wink. “He’s always been overprotective when it comes to you.”

“No, no
. It had nothing to do with Tae Hyun!” Yoori assured, pulling out of the embrace. “I’ve just been really busy, but I’ve missed you guys too.”

A
wave of apprehension swept through her, causing Yoori to smile halfheartedly. Why was she feeling so
. . .
uneasy all of a sudden?

The restaurant, which was named Bada, was a
lot bigger than Yoori had anticipated for a sushi place. She assumed that since it was such a new restaurant, it would be hip and swarming with patrons. It was surprising to her that the place was pretty empty. As far as she could see, it only housed herself, Young Jae, Anna, PC, and two of her brother’s bodyguards. The guards, who were all dressed in suits, were standing near the bar, smiling at her when she walked in. She didn’t see any workers, but she imagined they were in the back or on break.

“Good,” Anna approved
, pulling out a chair for Yoori, and dragging Yoori from her thoughts. “Let’s enjoy ourselves and eat then. I’m starving.”

“Yes!" Yoori
concurred, quietly chastising herself for her unwarranted paranoia. She was with her brother and his wife for goodness’ sake. What was she getting nervous for?

“
I’m so excited for sushi,” she shared, taking her place beside Anna at the big round table.

Young Jae
gave Anna a quick peck on the lips before he took a seat on the other side of Yoori.

“God, I’m starving,” Young Jae breathed out.
“Anna sucks at trying to make sushi so I always have the worst cravings for it.”

“Me too,
” Yoori chimed.

She was
scooting her chair closer to the table when the melodic sound of her Blackberry sang into the restaurant. She pulled it out from the pocket of her jacket and glanced at the screen. The glowing caller ID revealed that it was Tae Hyun calling. Her heart leapt in joy while a gush of happy thoughts entered her mind. Perhaps he was finished with his Underworld duties and could finally hang out with her. She would normally ignore any calls if she was with her brother, but given all the avoidance from Tae Hyun as of late, she couldn’t bring herself to disregard his call. She wanted to hear his voice again.

“Excuse me for a second,” she told her brother and Anna.

They
nodded and smiled at her when she left the table to privately speak to Tae Hyun.

“Tae Hyun? Yoori answered happily, meandering to a private corner
. She pressed the phone close to her ear. She was ecstatic to be speaking to him.

T
he anxious voice that came over the other line squashed the euphoria inside her. “Yoori, where are you? Kang Min just got to the apartment and he said that you’re not there.”

His voice
pulsed with worry and it scared her. It did not help that the uneasiness, which twisted her insides, was worsening while speaking to him.

“With my brother,” she answered, pressing one hand against her tummy
in an attempt to diffuse the restlessness barreling out of it.

“Fu
ck!” she heard him curse, tripling the panic she felt.

“What?” Yoori asked, unknowingly
trembling where she stood. What the hell was going on? “What is it?”

“Where are you right now?” he asked, not yet divulging in why
there was worry in his voice.

“At a sushi place.”

“What’s the name?”

“
Bada. It’s new. It’s on Jade Street. Why? Are you coming?”

“Yes
, I’m coming for you. But Yoori, what I’m about to say, you can’t react to this message.”

A paralyzing fear took hostage of her
.

T
his definitely wasn’t good.

“What
. . .
What is it?”

“When Kang Min called and said that you weren’t at the apartmen
t, I called the Serpents I had shadowing you to see where you were. They didn’t answer, and I had Kang Min look for them. It turned out that they had been murdered—their necks were snapped apart.”

Yoori’s heart started to pound
feverishly while he went on.

“I’m sorry to tell you this
, but Young Jae’s been lying to you. He hasn’t been doing any legit business in Japan. He’s actually a shadow Underworld King in Japan. He’s garnered so much power over the past three years that he’s at the top of the Japanese Underworld now.”

The blood drained from Yoori’s face
while the eerie dread she felt skyrocketed.

“I think he’s up to something. Y
ou’re not safe with him, Yoori. But don’t act like you’re afraid. Just act normal with him. I’m coming right now. I’ll be there soon—”

The phone was
snatched from Yoori’s hand. Soon after, a loud crack permeated the air. The phone was thrown against the restaurant tiles and shattered into several unrecoverable pieces.

Flustered, Yoori
whirled around.

Shock stamped her face.

It was Anna who snatched the phone out of her hand.

Yoori took an unsteady step back. She was thunderstruck by the vicious look on Anna’s face. It was a complete opposite to the
kind visage Yoori was used to seeing. There was a dangerous glint in Anna’s eyes. Her stare on Yoori was cold, unforgiving.

The
doors to the restaurant suddenly slammed close, and the nerves in her body went cold. From the corner of her eyes, she saw PC and the two bodyguards move from where they were. They went over and stood behind her brother. Young Jae was still sitting at the table, his face void of emotions as he gazed at her.

Yoori knew instantly that she had walked into a trap.

All eyes were on her and they were all shrouded with rage.

After
a long oppressing silence, her brother finally imparted words that had her blood freezing in her veins.

“
Your betrayal has been disappointing,” he stated solemnly, staring at her with daggers forming in his eyes.

There was no more love, comfort, or protectiveness
that radiated from him.

All that existed was
wrath and the yearning for vengeance.

Yoori shook and
continued to back away from Anna.

She
helplessly looked over to her brother. Her eyes pleaded for him to help her. “Oppa, I—”

“
Anna,” Young Jae prompted, interrupting Yoori by looking over to his wife. He was clearly uninterested in what she had to say. He had business to take care of. He was ready to get to it.

Yoori’s eyes averted to Anna.

Fear encased her when she saw Anna nod after her brother’s prompt.

She
knew what Anna was about to do.

“I’ve always wanted to do this,
” Anna said with satisfaction.

Before Yoori could back away or avoid the attack, a powerful kick was delivered across her face.

Pain exploded inside Yoori as she fell to the floor.

The last thing she remembered was the feeling of someone
grabbing her ankles and dragging her across the tiles before she lost all consciousness.

■
■
■

Yoori jolted to consciousness when icy water splashed across her face.

The
pain of the stinging kick from Anna continued to throb on the left side of her face, causing Yoori to take several long seconds to lift her eyelids. It also took her several long seconds to remember the grave situation she was in.

Young Jae kn
ows about Soo Jin’s betrayal
, she reminded herself.

She took in a sharp, painful breath and
lifted her gaze from the ground she was sitting on.

In the far corner of the room,
her eyes landed on the two male Scorpions. Both held a bowl that she knew was once filled with cold water in their hands. Their icy eyes teemed with hatred. It was the polar opposite to the warm smiles they gave her when she walked into the restaurant. Her eyes roamed the restaurant. She quickly discovered that the hatred for her wasn’t confined to the two Scorpions in the corner of the room; it also spread across to all the other inhabitants. PC was standing beside Young Jae and Anna, both of whom were sitting at the table she was once at. All three wore the same icy look on their faces.

A nasty chill crawled
throughout Yoori’s quivering body when she recalled Tae Hyun’s cautionary words. He was right. It was indeed her own brother who was now the biggest threat to her. The guilt she felt was now coupled with despair. Young Jae knew about Soo Jin’s betrayal. He planned on making Yoori pay for what Soo Jin did.

“
How does the old Underworld saying go, Soo Jin?” Young Jae mused short moments later, sitting comfortably beside his wife. He sipped from his champagne glass. His mouth curved into a light and dangerous smile. “Oh, yes,
‘you can never forgive the ones who betrayed you. You have to make an example of them by reminding them what you’re capable of.’”

He narrowed his eyes onto her, feeding on the fear
that emitted from her body.

“You are
a smart one, little sister,” he complimented in a careless tone. “I almost fell for it
. . .
your little ‘I’m human again’ act.”

Yoori paused. “You knew about Soo Jin’s plans?”

It was a mindless question that she already knew the answer to. Regardless, she couldn’t stop herself from voicing it. She did not know how to interact with him now. Yoori knew she wasn’t just speaking to her older brother; she was also speaking to a renowned Underworld King. And just like any other Underworld King, he was an asset to have on your side and a force to be reckoned with if you were against him. It was obvious now that he wasn’t on her side, and it was excruciatingly obvious that he was looking to remind her of who she was dealing with. He was a King in this world and Kings punish people by beheading them.

“Of course he knew,” Anna voiced with distaste, scaring
an already terrified Yoori with her overt loathing. “Do you think he became the King of Scorpions by merely blood right?”

Yoori clamped
her mouth shut. The venom in Anna’s voice disconcerted her. She was so different from before. What did Soo Jin do to her to have Anna hate Yoori so much?

“Anna,” Young Jae whispered firmly, his eyes
gentle on her.

At his stern whisper, Anna, very bitterly, pressed her lips together and glare
d at Yoori. Silence claimed her lips. Though it was evident she had more to say, she kept quiet for her husband.

Yoori swallowed past the tear
s that were rising through her. She cursed the misery that was her life. She was so excited to eat lunch with her only family and now, she was being stared upon like she was the incarnation of the Devil. Even then, Yoori knew that her blood was going to be shed for Soo Jin’s sins.

Young Jae went on,
taking stock of Yoori’s quivering state. “I would’ve never anticipated your betrayal if Anna hadn’t told me of the secret orders you gave to your gang members, for them to separate and infiltrate other gangs.” His dangerous smile darkened. “And you even had the audacity to lie to them and tell them that it was all done under my covert plans?” He shook his head at her, unimpressed with the flaw in Soo Jin’s plan. “It didn’t take me long to piece everything together.”