The End of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 4) (3 page)

Finally!
Soo Jin exclaimed in her mind, pleased with herself that she had gotten rid of her brother.

Anxious to continue her pursuit before she was interrupted again, the determined little girl fought her way through the crowd and commenced the search for her hunk. To her dismay, this particular search was becoming more arduous. The lights had dimmed substantially, and there were a greater number of people on the dance floor now. Everywhere she turned, she was pushed from side to side, making it difficult for her to spot him. He was no longer in the place where she first saw him and with the happy chattering, lively music, and affluent people in masks everywhere, Soo Jin was disoriented with the pandemonium.
Where was he?

A dejected Soo Jin was ready to give up on her quest when she reached the other side of the ballroom and felt her world pause in enthrallment.

Standing at the further end in a more secluded part of the ballroom, there her crush was, pouring another cup of tea while the world around her began to fade into the background.

Finally,
Soo Jin thought in relief. She debated on whether or not she should run to the corner and hide so that she could stare at him from afar. However, a smaller and braver part of her urged her to go talk to him.
You don’t meet someone like him every night,
that squeaky ten-year-old voice encouraged, giving Soo Jin the bravery she needed to disregard her shyness and approach him.

After fixing her dress so that she wouldn’t appear unkempt, Soo Jin did her best to fight through her nervousness. She took one step forward, finally drawing closer to the one who had gotten her so smitten all night.

Here goes nothing . . .

“Hi . . .” Soo Jin timidly greeted, stepping close to the table where the boy was standing, drinking from his teacup.

At the call of her soft greeting, the boy turned. His captivating brown eyes settled on her with inquisitiveness, and Soo Jin felt her breath hitch. She took in his perfectly sculpted face, his short dark hair, his smooth skin, and the charisma that emanated effortlessly from him. He was even more handsome up close.

His curious eyes scanned her up and down, his gaze taking inventory of the pink dress she wore, her pink shoes, her curled black hair, and then her face. There was an air of guardedness to him. He was looking at her with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion—curiosity as to her identity and suspicion as to her motives for talking to him.

At the sight of this guardedness, Soo Jin offered him a sheepish smile, wordlessly telling him that she came in peace and that she wanted to be friends.

As if that sheepish smile from Soo Jin had melted the caginess he had, the once serious expression on his striking face thawed. He parted his lips and tentatively returned the greeting. “Hi.”

So far so good
, Soo Jin thought optimistically. Her face brightened with hope. Their relationship was already making progress. Unable to control her nervousness of being around someone as good-looking as him, Soo Jin unknowingly found herself swaying from side to side, her legs kicking air while she continued to talk to the boy.

“What are you drinking?” she initiated, attempting to appear super shy as she moved closer to him.

“Tea,” he answered, his eyes inspecting her with interest, “but it’s disgusting.” His voice maintained its dry neutrality. He was still trying to figure out her motives for approaching him.

“Oh, okay.” Soo Jin nodded and hoped that he would continue the conversation. She was disappointed when an awkward silence befell them. He still said nothing; he simply stared at her with his unreadable expression. It was as though he expected her to entertain him because she approached him first.

“So . . .” she initiated again, uncomfortable with the silence deluging over them. She was determined to get to know this cutie. It did not matter how hard he was making it for her. She had to persevere and steal his heart! They might well be on the road to being boyfriend and girlfriend if it all worked out, and she refused to give up. Hopeful with the prospect of that blossoming relationship, her mood perked up. She knew what to ask to move their relationship to a more friendly level. “What’s your name?”

He didn’t say anything. He merely took another moment to tilt his head and silently observe her like she was a new species of zoo animal he had come across. He was quiet for another lingering second before Soo Jin urged him to answer her with another one of her sheepish smiles.

Peering at her with calculating and sly eyes, he cleared his throat and casually said, “
Boss
.
”

“
What?
” Soo Jin’s composure disintegrated at the oddball answer from the cutie. She stopped swaying from side to side and stopped kicking air. She gaped at him in shock. Soo Jin knew it was complete bull
s
hit. No one in their right mind, especially in the Underworld, would call their kid that name.

“What?” he asked, unperturbed by her outraged response. Though his voice was untroubled, his expression changed. There was now a poorly hidden expression of amusement on his face. It was evident he was proud of himself for breaking through the “I’m-a-nice-shy-and-soft-spoken-girl” act that Soo Jin was fostering. It was obvious that he found entertainment in seeing her for the sassy girl that she was. He hid a smile while he continued his efforts to provoke Soo Jin to show her true colors. “My dad’s bodyguards call him ‘Boss’ and I want to be called that too, so I’m telling you my name is Boss.”

Soo Jin gaped at him like he was the strangest person she had ever met. Then, she began to shake her head judgmentally. She was utterly disappointed. It would make sense that the beautiful boy she was crushing on would wind up to be dumb and strange. Why couldn’t he be a gorgeous genius?

“Well,” she replied, unable to conceal the meanness in her judgmental voice. “My daddy calls me ‘Princess’, but you don’t see me introducing myself as ‘Princess’, do you?”

“Yeah,” the hunky one agreed, inspecting her up and down. “You look more like a maid anyway—like someone’s assistant or something.”

Two pink circles formed on Soo Jin’s cheeks. “An
assistant
?”

She was beside herself. And to think she thought this mean boy was cute!

Biting her lips to keep from cursing at him, Soo Jin felt her eyes twitch in anger. She was feigning niceness when she first met him because she wanted to impress him. However, everything had shot to hell because he brought the worst out of her. And unfortunately for him, the worst out of Soo Jin was a spoiled little brat who wasn’t polite to anyone who made fun of her.

Unable to resist some form of retaliation, her small hand raised up and with much resentment, she bestowed him with the middle finger that did all the cursing for her.

The hunky one frowned. “Wow, you’re a little brat, aren’t you?”

“You were the one being a snob first,” she retorted, bringing her hand down. Her face was molded into a scowl. So much for finding her future hubby in this guy. He was such a jerk! No longer keen on being around the disappointment that was her failed relationship (or could-have-been relationship), Soo Jin let out a scoff and turned away from him. She didn’t have time for this. If he didn’t plan on being nice, then she would return the favor. “Whatever. Peace out,
jerk-face
.”

“Okay, no, I’m just kidding. I’m just kidding!” he swiftly amended, wrapping his hand over her wrist when he saw that she was leaving. The hunk had seemingly found himself interested in little Soo Jin. He wasn’t about to let his newfound distraction get away. “I wasn’t serious about you being someone’s maid. You look too cute to be someone’s maid.”

Soo Jin wasn’t having any of it. She knew he was lying about her being cute. This made her angrier. “No! Let me go, you liar!”

“Okay, okay,” he appeased, irritated and overwhelmed by her. His demeanor showed that he wasn’t the type of boy who compromised with anyone too easily. Despite this, he was willing to negotiate with her. “How about this, how about this,” he proposed quickly, trying to calm her overdramatic tantrum. “I’ll call you Princess, and you can call me Boss. Can we do that?”

This caught Soo Jin’s attention. She had always wanted to be called Princess by someone other than her dad, and being called Princess by this cute boy would fulfill that desire. She glanced at him, her mind churning with what she should do.

He was quiet, staring at her expectantly.

Despite the arrogance streaming out of him, it did look like he was genuinely apologetic. It wouldn’t hurt to forgive him, right? She regarded him with sneaky eyes. Her face lit up when she deduced that he was willing to do anything to make her stay. That thought in mind, it wouldn’t hurt if she—

“Say Princess is better than Boss,” she ordered suddenly, wanting to punish him for upsetting her.

Mystification stole his visage. “
What?
”

He was confounded. She knew the guy was prideful and snobby. He’d rather pound his head against the wall than admit someone was better than him. This was why she insisted on him saying that. She wasn’t going to let him get away with calling her an assistant. She planned on making him eat his words.

“Say it,” Soo Jin commanded firmly, her voice unbending. When he refused, she proceeded to shove him as an added threat that she would leave if he didn’t. “Say it!”

“Okay!” he conceded, exasperation marked all over his face. “Princess is better than Boss! Are you happy now, you little brat?”

Soo Jin nodded happily, pleased that he was letting her win. Though she was annoyed with him and his crass personality, she had to admit that there was a certain charm about him that she really liked. He was cute and despite his jerkiness, she still wanted to hang out with him.
There was something about his personality that completely complemented hers.

“Lift your dress up,” he ordered, snapping her out of her reverie.

Soo Jin’s eyes widened like saucers. “Huh?”

The boy rolled his eyes at her reaction.

“Oh, come here, smart one,” he muttered softly, pulling her with him. He guided her hands to the sides of her dress and showed her what he meant when he lifted the first layer of fabric on her multi-layered dress.

“I’m bored,” he said, motioning for her to hold the top fabric of her dress up, “and you’re going to help get rid of my boredom.”

“By doing what?” she squeaked out, watching in amazement as he began to gather an assortment of tea packages, cups, and sugars. He started to deposit them all onto the top layer of the fabric she was stupidly holding up.

Soo Jin was mystified. She had planned on telling him that she wasn’t going to help him carry all this stuff like she was his lowly assistant. However, when he suddenly cupped her face and stared into her eyes, Soo Jin felt those strong convictions fade away.

“I want to hang out with you, but I have to hide so we have to go somewhere else, okay?” he whispered, eliciting another round of butterflies in Soo Jin’s tummy at the feel of his touch.

She melted like butter on hot toast.
He’s so hot!

“So in a bit,” he continued, “we’re going to run really fast and not have anyone spot us, okay? Are you with me?”

Soo Jin nodded vehemently. This guy was as strange as strange could be, but she couldn’t deny that she was enthralled with him and his peculiar ways. If he had to hide—and if she could only hang out with him if she hid too—then she would gladly hide with him.

“Okay,” he said, bringing his hands down. He turned to retrieve two huge teapots from the table. He smiled at her and motioned his head for the escape plan to commence. “Let’s disappear.”

With shifty eyes, Soo Jin and the boy poked their heads out from around the corner. They stared at the swarm of people occupying the ballroom and with the speed of two little cheetahs, made their flight through the distracted masquerade crowd.

Huffing and puffing, they swept across the room, their faces shrouded with determination. They skidded past little Lee Ji Hoon as his father and Shin Jung Min were introducing him to other Advisors in the 2
nd
layer. They ran past Ju Won as he spoke to Soo Jin’s father. They flew past the King of Serpents and his wife as they spoke to Shin Dong Min, and they dashed past Young Jae as he introduced himself to Kwon Ho Young.

All around them, their world continued to move forward, unaware that the two ten-year-olds were scampering away, slowly disappearing into their own world.

“Hurry up,
Princess
!” the hunky one coaxed from behind Soo Jin. He struggled to maintain the steadiness of the teapots after they made a turn for the outdoor patio.

“I’m
trying
!” she cried, finding difficulty with balancing all the cargo on the fabric of her dress. As they bounced towards the doors that led out to the outside world, Soo Jin’s eyes broadened when she observed that the heavens had opened up, bringing forth rain that was splashing every which way.

“Hey!” Soo Jin announced, stopping before she reached the outside patio. She peered up at the downpour of rain in amazement. “Hey
Boss
! It’s raining outside!”