The War of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 3) (60 page)

The foundation of the little strength she stood on fractured under his question. How he asked this and how he looked at her, every part of her knew then that this was going to be the start of the worst conversation she would ever have in her life.

Swallowing uncomfortably, refusing to allow any tears to form in her eyes, Yoori stared at his impassive eyes and said, “I
. . .
I had a suspicion that she did, but I didn’t know for sure until Ji Hoon told—”

“Why didn’t you say anything to me?” he cut her off, not even remotely interested in what her excuse was. It was evident he was reminded of how he found out this information when she mentioned Ji Hoon’s name; this recollection only made him angrier. “For the days that followed,” he persisted scornfully, hints of fire blazing in his eyes, “all those times where I stayed by your side, held on
to you, embraced you, and took care of you
. . .
you didn’t deign it was necessary to let me know that there was a possibility that Soo Jin had something to do with my mother’s death?”

“I wanted to tell you two weeks ago,” Yoori responded in a quiet voice, wilting like a dying rose under the wrath of the unforgiving sun. Little by little, her hope that he would understand her quandary faded. She had never felt so small and vulnerable when she stood next to him. But now, as he towered over her, his strong body emanating so much power and control, she truly felt like she was in the presence of a God, not her silly and teasing boyfriend who gave her piggyback rides in the park and berated her for making a cute fat kid cry.

“When we were walking in the street, I wanted to tell you after you mentioned your parents and how you would’ve loved to introduce me to them
. . .
I wanted to tell you then
. . .
”

“But you didn’t,” he finished for her. “You didn’t tell me anything. Instead, you waited it out until I found out everything from the one bastard I hate the most. I was at my wit’s end, worried for my girlfriend’s safety, and before I could even run into the bar, I had to
casually
find out that the girl who I was willing to give up my life for
. . .
was actually the one who took my mother’s life?”

The control on her strength faded when he broke her with this.

“I’m sorry
. . .
” Yoori apologized sorrowfully, knowing that Tae Hyun had every right in the world to be angry with her. He had every right in the world to be tired of her and hate her.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I wish I listened to you. I wish I stayed in the apartment. I wish it was me who told you instead of that heartless bastard.” Her voice suppressed the tears that were fighting to get past the lump in her throat. “I didn’t know how to tell you, Tae Hyun. How was I supposed to tell you something like this? How was I supposed to gather up the courage to tell you that I think I had something to do with your mother’s death?” She inhaled painfully. “I was afraid
. . .
I was afraid of losing you.”

There was no empathy in his eyes for her dilemma, and he made no effort to assure her that she wasn’t going to lose him. It appeared that over the course of the last two weeks, Tae Hyun had already concluded that there wasn’t anything Yoori could say to excuse her from her faults—or Soo Jin’s faults. This fact alone chafed like coals to her skin. She couldn’t help but take a step forward, her desolate eyes imploring his cold ones for a sense of warmness. He wasn’t looking at her like she was Yoori; he was looking at her like she was Soo Jin, and this realization was the breaking point for her.

“You told me once that Soo Jin and I are completely different people and that you don’t see us as the same person, that what she did has no reflection on me
. . .
” She gazed at him despairingly, wondering how it was possible that the eyes that used to gaze at her with so much love could be so cold and hateful. “Do you not remember saying that to me?”

Tae Hyun shook his head to himself, smirking but never once allowing any warmth to seep into his eyes.

“I’ve been telling myself that for the past two weeks,” he told her, his handsome face morphing into a look of hurt. “Yet the memory of my mother, lying dead in the bathtub overshadows any justification I could make.”

He eyed her, erasing the once pained expression on his face with resolution.

“I can’t be with you,” he went on uncaringly, leaving Yoori to press her hands into her stomach to mitigate the pain that was beginning to unravel in the core of her gut. Like cancer, the pain was spreading everywhere
. . .

“I can’t be with the one who took part in helping to destroy my family, and I can’t be with the one who killed my mother.” His face was now paled with unreadable emotions. “I owe my parents
—
my mother
—too much to put my needs above my respect and love for her. The simple fact that I’m doing what I’m about to do is already spitting on her grave. I can’t do more than that.”

Yoori’s lips trembled while puzzlement filled her gaze. “Do what?”

What was he about to do?

And at last, a speck of emotion flickered in Tae Hyun’s eyes. “I kicked Kang Min and Jae Won out of the gang.”

Her eyes widened with incredulity. “What?”

“They’re out of the gang,” he repeated simply. There were finally pained emotions in his eyes and she knew that the emotions he felt weren’t due to kicking the brothers out of his gang.

“Why?”

Tae Hyun stared at her poignantly. “
. . .
You will leave the country tonight.”

His words acted as a sledgehammer that pummeled every nerve in her body into smithereens. Subconsciously, a part of her knew it would come to this, but that didn’t mean it was easier to listen to it. It didn’t mean it was easier to fight through the unrelenting need to fall to her knees in agony and experience it.

Her heart clenched while he continued to speak. Yoori tried to shut him out, but she heard and felt everything. She heard him and she felt every part of her body shatter upon hearing him speak about her leaving for good.

“I’ve arranged everything for you
. . .
all three of you. I’ve transferred all the money you’ll ever need into your accounts. I’ve placed calls to my contacts all over the world as a favor for them to watch over you. They can’t protect you, but they’ll do what they can for you so you have to be smart about where you go and where you are seen.”

Yoori shook her head, unable to contain the cancer-like flood ravaging within her. “Tae Hyun, don’t do this—”

“By the time I return from Ju Won’s party, I expect every shred of your existence in my life to be gone,” he persisted, ignoring her plea. “Never come back to Korea, and wherever you choose to go, if you hear that I’m near, then you’ll be smart to keep out of my sight. Because the next time I see you, I’m bypassing the courtesies and I’ll take care of you as I should take care of you.”

Yoori knew what he meant by that and despite all the coldness and hatred he was shooting her way, she was certain he would never be capable of even laying a finger on her. It was clear to her what he was trying to do.

“Could you really kill me?”

There was skepticism in her voice. It was a skepticism that Tae Hyun caught and one that pissed him off.

“I’ve killed my own brother for raping my baby sister,” he told her coldly, his eyes overflowing with hostility. “What makes you think I won’t kill you for killing my mother? What makes you think that you’re worth anything to me that I won’t pump bullets into your skull?”

“Why are you having me leave the country then? Why not kill me now?”

His posture stiffened at her question. “I once promised to protect you with all that I had.” There was regret in his voice. “This is the first time I’m eating my own words, and I’m doing what I can for you. Take advantage of this moment and get out of my sight before I change my mind.”

Breathing past the aches in her chest, Yoori approached him, her eyes never straying from his. He didn’t move from where he stood, but she could feel his body go rigid in her near presence. It was as though he was bunching his muscles to keep from reaching out to her, perhaps to hold her in his arms like he always did. She ignored this hopeful thought and kept approaching him.

When she reached him, Yoori felt the warmth radiate from his impassive and hard body. Gathering her breath, she reached behind him, lifted his suit up, and pulled out one of his silver guns. The dangerous coldness of the weapon frosted her skin.

“Kill me now,” she urged, placing the gun in the palm of his hand. She gazed up at him challengingly, calling out his bluff. “Finish it now and make it easier for the both of us.”

“You think I wouldn’t?”

With lightning reflexes, Tae Hyun grabbed her shoulder and pushed her up against the wall, holding the barrel of the gun underneath her chin. His face contorted with rage that she was stupid enough to even dare him to kill her.

“You think you have me in the palm of your hand, don’t you? That I could never hurt you because you mean something to me?” He smirked and then laughed cynically to himself. “Guys make idiotic girls believe that, Choi Yoori. When they want to fuck you senseless, they make you believe that so they could get into your pants. I’m no different from Lee Ji Hoon; I’m as much of a ruthless bastard as he is. You were stupid enough to believe he was a good person, so what makes you think you won’t make the same mistake with me?” His words stabbed her like knives. “What makes you think that none of this is an act and that I’m not lying to you like I lied to you the last time, when I used you because of your ‘resemblance’ to Soo Jin? What makes you think I’m not making a fool out of you again?”

Seeing the sting that enveloped her eyes at the reminder of how he broke her the first time around, Tae Hyun went on, pushing the gun tighter against her chin to show her how serious he was being. Though the force of his hold on her was strong, she could feel Tae Hyun straining his muscles and using all the willpower he had to
not use his full strength on her. Despite the threatening tone in his voice, she could still sense his unwillingness to hurt her. She could still sense his instincts to protect her.

“Don’t push me,” he growled. Rage tormented his irises while he stared down into her brown eyes. “You have no idea of the things I’m capable of. I’m letting you go now, and if you’re smart, you’ll stay away from this world, and you’ll stay away from me.”

Yoori was silent while she searched his eyes with hers. “This is all I’m worth to you?”

“You’re worth
nothing
to me,” he corrected tightly, his body for some reasoning stiffening, as if in disagreement with what he said. “You’ve been nothing but a distraction for me, but I’m seeing things clearer now. The only thing that matters is my throne in the Underworld. Fairytale endings with a stupid, naive girl didn’t mean anything and will never mean anything to me.”

“Prove it,” she challenged,
unfazed by his words. Yoori pressed her chin onto the barrel of the gun underneath her. She didn’t believe a single word he said. “Show me how worthless I am to you.”

Confliction marred his eyes while the muscles in his jaw bunched up with tension. His breathing grew heavier, yet he didn’t allow any outward expressions to betray how he felt.

“Close your eyes,” he finally said. “Close your eyes now, and I’ll take care of it.”

Yoori did as she was told and closed her eyes.

The last sight of Tae Hyun’s cold eyes became imprinted in her mind.

Soon, silence cascaded over them.

Yoori felt him press the gun closer against her skin. The coldness of the weapon stole any warmth within her, and she could hear his finger trailing over the trigger, as if counting down the seconds to finally shoot her.

Then, she heard him curse at himself for what he was about to do.

In a swift instant, the coldness that canvassed over her was replaced with warmth, blissful warmth that rocked every cell in her body. A bang occurred, but it wasn’t from the gun. It came from an impulsive Tae Hyun who relinquished his control and finally allowed his emotions to run free as his lips nipped hers with indisputable love.

He pulled her tight against him, holding her with such care that Yoori knew he only threatened to kill her so that she would leave him. Tae Hyun was angry, there was no denying that. He was angry at Soo Jin, but he was angrier at himself for not being able to hate Yoori. She had broken him and she knew that. He may have wanted to hate her, but that didn't mean he truly did.

In a fluid motion, his strong hands framed her jaw and then feathered over her cheeks. Yearning filled him and enraptured her. His caresses soothed her while his sensuous lips pressed against hers, mending all the pain she felt while white-hot flames riddled over her body.

They kissed like lovers once separated; they kissed like lovers about to be separated.

It was so heavenly that she wanted to cry. Breathing felt like a waste of time as she nipped his delicious lips with hers, seeking to make their moment last forever.

Pain became intermingled with bliss while they kissed. If she ever had any doubts in her mind about how much he loved her, then it was all squashed by the ecstasy he scattered over her in his kiss. A man wouldn’t kiss the way Tae Hyun kissed her unless he was in love. Yoori knew, despite how he tried to fight it, that Tae Hyun was unquestionably in love with her, just as she was with him.