The War of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 3) (52 page)

With no warning, he pulled her to a quiet corner, placed Chae Young’s bouquet on the ground, and cupped her face into his palms.

Her heart palpitated in anticipation as his soft lips covered hers. His kiss was slow and sensual. It pressed against hers with perfect pressure. It had her so weak in the knees that she would’ve fallen over if he hadn’t held on
to her with care.

Cars whizzed by, people sauntered past them, and bicyclists fluttered past, yet the only one left in her world was Tae Hyun, the one giving her the kiss that was overflowing with hope, promise, and love. She would die a happy woman if she could kiss him like this for the rest of her time on earth.

“I wish,” he began tenderly, resting his forehead against hers while they breathed in the cool night’s air. “I wish I could’ve introduced you to my parents. They would’ve loved you.”

A terrible sense of guilt splashed over her when she was reminded of his parents
—or more specifically, his mother. The entire day was spent ignoring her problems. Tae Hyun did a fantastic job of not mentioning anything else, but he didn’t realize that the biggest problem she was trying to avoid was the one he brought up. Yoori was horrified, yet she couldn’t deny the happiness that reigned over her to hear Tae Hyun speak such words. How odd it was to be simultaneously happy and depressed at the same time.

“Really?” She stared deep into his eyes for assurance. “You really think they would’ve liked me?”

He nodded, his eyes softer than she had ever seen it when he thought about his deceased parents. She could see the love he had for them and it broke her heart.

“My dad always told me that the only woman who would be capable of stealing my heart would be the type of woman who would put me in my place and humble me so much that I would feel as though the sun rises only when she appears.” He chuckled warmly. “He would be so damn happy to know he was right.” His smile grew wider. “And my mom
. . .
God, she would’ve loved you. She had the exact same personality as Hae Jin, and my baby sister is completely in love with you. I can only imagine how enamored my mother would’ve been with you. If anything, she would’ve encouraged your little spunky attitude and spoiled you rotten with affection.”

“I wish
. . .
I wish I could’ve met them too,” Yoori told him honestly, feeling the air expel from her chest. “I wish that both of them were alive now
. . .
”

A looming sense of remorse choked her chest. In that instant, as she stared up at her boyfriend, Yoori knew she could no longer keep the fact that she had something to do with his mother’s death a secret. She was afraid to tell him, but she did not want any secrets to fester between them, especially after all that he had done for her. She could no longer keep this to herself.

“Tae Hyun, I—”

Yoori was interrupted by the sound of boots hitting the floor.

Thinking that her brother had finally come for her, Yoori jumped in her stance while a vigilant Tae Hyun protectively held her against him. His cold eyes locked onto the two intruders.

The vigilance in his eyes diminished.

It was his two Cobras: the blonde girl by the name of Sue and the eye-patched guy by the name of Rae. They were kneeling on one knee with their heads bowed down before Tae Hyun and Yoori.

“Boss,” they greeted with the respectful tone they always gave to Tae Hyun. Even to an outsider like Yoori, she knew that these Cobras would give up their lives for him without hesitation.
That was how far their loyalty went.

“Have you found her?” Tae Hyun asked at once.

Beside him, Yoori’s blood pumped in exhilaration.

If they appeared, then that meant that they must’ve found
. . .

“We have her,” Sue confirmed, quelling the anxiety running through Yoori.
“We have Seo Jin Ae.”

Finally,
the vengeful demon in the core of Yoori’s gut breathed out, pushing the innocence in Yoori aside.
Let’s give Chae Young the vengeance she deserves.

And just like that, the heavenly fragment of Yoori’s day ended while the beginnings of hell bega
n.

“
In our society, parasites must be punished. . .”

21: Bloodlust

Fresh from being kidnapped, Seo Jin Ae was kept prisoner in the one place Yoori had never anticipated to return to: the warehouse where Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon had battled one another and the place where she first met Ji Hoon. It was ironic because all of that also happened on the same day Jin Ae and her bodyguards had attacked Yoori. Yoori never thought she’d revisit this warehouse, but now that she had, it felt like a homecoming of some sort. Everything was coming full circle in Yoori’s life, and she looked forward to bestowing Jin Ae with the same cruelty she had shown Yoori and her loved ones.

Darkness draped the warehouse like an ominous shadow, yet it elicited no fear from Yoori. All she felt was eagerness and excitement. She wanted to evoke misery from Jin Ae; she wanted to torture the girl. The tightness that once beleaguered her heart was liberated at the prospect of
finally being able to destroy the last of the monsters that tormented Chae Young. Tonight was a long time coming. She looked forward to being the one to bring all this vengeance to fruition.

“I get to be the one who deals with her,” Yoori declared to Tae Hyun.

After stepping out of the black SUV that Sue and Rae drove, Yoori and Tae Hyun marched toward the towering warehouse, the air between them drastically different from the blissful smiles they enjoyed earlier. Their handcuffs had been taken off, and for whatever reason, Yoori unknowingly distanced herself from Tae Hyun as they walked side by side in the cold night.

Her earmuffs and white coat were no longer present. All she wore were a black long sleeve sweater and black jeans. She could feel this foreign energy spread through her, bringing the deepest parts of her to life. She felt untouchable; it was as though she could take on the world.

Tae Hyun turned to her without saying a word, something setting off in his eyes. Since he caught the murderous flare in her eyes, he had been giving her cautious looks throughout their car ride. Yoori did not deign to return his gaze. Instead, she kept her eyes solidified on the door that led into the warehouse. Although she did not make eye contact, she could feel the unease emitting from him. She sensed that Tae Hyun was looking at her quite differently, like he heard someone else’s voice when she spoke to him. And truthfully, if the uncomfortable coiling in her gut was any indication, then she could also surmise that Tae Hyun was deeply unsettled by it.

Regardless of what Yoori may have detected from Tae Hyun, she was too distracted to trouble herself with the myriad of emotions that flashed in his eyes.

All that mattered to her at that moment was Jin Ae.

The bloodlust that coursed through her veins pulsated with impatience; it was an eruption of hunger that could only be extinguished by the feel of Jin Ae’s blood on her hands. The recollection of Chae Young, Chae Young’s father, and Jae Won suffering surfaced in Yoori’s mind, acting as the fuel to ignite the fire that roared like a lion in her chest. She could not wait to annihilate Jin Ae.

As they drew closer, Yoori could scarcely make out the Cobras that guarded the door. They blended in with the darkness, which meant that Yoori couldn’t identify their faces. All she could discern were their silhouettes bowing to Tae Hyun and opening the door for him, allowing a speck of light from the warehouse to sprinkle into the murky night. Sue and Rae stood guard with the other two Cobras while Tae Hyun and Yoori walked in, both very tense for very different reasons.

Lights embroidered the ceilings, yet the warehouse was considerably dark. The cold winter breeze continued to move through the room, intermixing with the dust that hovered in the air. It was an ominous, imposing space that held no hospitality for what was about to take place.

In front of her, Yoori could see Mina and three other Cobras lingering in the shadows. The three Cobras surrounded a black figure that kneeled on the ground while Mina stood a little further out, her arms crossed together as she supervised the scene before them. The only Cobra missing was Ace, who was given the task of keeping them updated on the whereabouts of Ju Won. Tae Hyun had told Yoori that they should anticipate Ju Won’s response. After finding out that his niece had been kidnapped, there would be no doubt he would send out his soldiers to find Jin Ae.

“Let me go, you fuckers! How dare you do this to me? Don’t you know who I am?”

The fury within Yoori boiled like lava once she heard the unmistakable voice of Jin Ae.

Sensing new presence in the room, Jin Ae lifted her face in Tae Hyun’s direction.

Jin Ae’s anger dissolved when her eyes found Tae Hyun. She sat up a little higher, her black pants, red silk top, and long black hair sullied from the dust. Regardless of such offending maladies, she still looked gorgeous. Her brown eyes held his. Whether it was love or infatuation, the adulation that Jin Ae had for Tae Hyun was the one thing that soothed her nerves as she stared up at him. Yoori recalled quickly that Jin Ae and Tae Hyun were an item before she met him, and that remembrance only pissed her off more.

“How could you do this to me?” Jin Ae asked Tae Hyun, her voice melancholic when Tae Hyun and Yoori stopped a few feet away from where she kneeled. Her beautiful face was marred with hurt.

Instead of answering her right away, Tae Hyun gave a stiff nod to his Cobras, a silent command for them to stand in the back. Their work was done for the time being. The Cobras bowed, understanding the wordless order and stood in a sequential line behind Mina.

Now, the stage belonged to Tae Hyun and Jin Ae.

Yoori’s patience was deteriorating, but she would let Tae Hyun and Jin Ae have their moment. Although it enraged her that they were even speaking to one another, Yoori remained composed. Jin Ae would feel her presence soon enough.

“I told you after Yoori’s initiation to stay away from her or I’d have your head,” Tae Hyun finally voiced to Jin Ae, his eyes boring down on hers. “I wanted to kill you for tasking your men to try and rape Yoori—rape
my
girlfriend. I let you go because she forgave you, but you went too far this time.”

The ire in his voice was subtly eclipsed by the regret streaming from his stance. Yoori could sense then that although Tae Hyun did not want to kill Jin Ae, he knew there was no other choice.

“You can’t go unpunished for what you did, Jin Ae,” he continued heavily. “You have to pay for what happened to Chae Young. You have to pay for the hell you put her through.”

“What
. . .
What did I do? Who the hell is Chae Young?” Jin Ae cried with confusion. She narrowed her eyes onto Yoori. The adoration she once displayed for Tae Hyun evaporated.

They glared at one another, despising each other’s existence.

“You bitch!” Jin Ae seethed to Yoori. Her voice amplified with raw, unfiltered hatred. “I knew you were just hiding behind that innocent act when you ‘forgave’ me after my uncle made me kneel before you. I should’ve known it was you who tricked Tae Hyun and set this whole thing up!”

That was all Yoori needed to convince her that patience was no longer her virtue. The despicable accusations that Jin Ae hurled at Yoori lit her fuse. Her awaiting monster burst out and nothing but the thirst for blood blinded its existence.

“You’re a waste of life, you disgusting whore!” Yoori screamed, speeding toward her and kicking Jin Ae right in the nose with all the force that she had.

Crack!

The sound of Jin Ae’s nose breaking rang into the dusty air as her neck snapped backward.

Blood trickled down Jin Ae’s nose as she cursed at Yoori. “I’m going to kill you, you fucking bitch!”

“Untie her now,” Yoori ordered to one of the Cobras.

The Cobra with the pixie haircut carried out her commands as if Yoori were Tae Hyun.

“I’ll punish you fairly. I’ll
kill
you fairly,” she spat at Jin Ae while the female Cobra sliced Jin Ae’s rope with a single cut and retreated back to the other Cobras.

“Yoori—”

“Stay out of this,” Yoori snapped at Tae Hyun, who was regarding her with unease in his eyes. She did not acknowledge the disquiet in his gaze. All she knew was that he was trying to stop her from punishing Jin Ae. For this, she was furious with him. “I listened to you when you told me to wait, but now this arena is mine.”

“You must think you’re so special,” Jin Ae interrupted, standing up and glaring at Yoori. She mopped the blood from her nose with the back of her hand. Her fists clenched together in a fighting form. “Just because you have Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon in the palm of your hand, you think you can take away what’s mine?”

Yoori’s taunting laughter reverberated throughout the warehouse. She canted her head, moving away from Tae Hyun and approaching Jin Ae like a predator in the night.