The End of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 4) (33 page)

“
The Throne Room
,” Soo Jin thought out loud, knowing exactly which room he referenced. It was the room she trained in—the room where she lost her soul.

“I asked Ju Won what was behind that door.”

“What did he say?”

“He said that my future Queen was in there,” shared Tae Hyun. “He said that the one who will rival my throne—and the thrones of all the other Underworld Kings—was in there.”

“That must have pissed off your sixteen-year-old self when he said that.”

Tae Hyun’s lips curved into a confirming smile. “It did. I remember telling him that I would love to go in there and challenge you—that I could teach you a few moves.” He shook his head. “But he said that our battle would come in due time. There was no glory in two teenagers fighting. Glory only comes when Gods fight—when they battle one another for the supreme throne.”

Soo Jin let out a knowing breath. That sounded exactly like Ju Won. He would never allow two teenagers to battle one another, especially when the battle would be more historic if they fought as King and Queen of the Underworld.

“I forgot about you for a while after that, until you made your official debut in the Underworld.” A colder, more powerful breeze spread over the dock. “The Queen of the Underworld,” he murmured softly, letting the power of the epithet weigh over him. “Overnight, you took this world by storm, and I could not for the life of me understand why we had not crossed paths yet. I wondered if you were as awful as they said, as powerful as they said, and as beautiful as they said. They say that this world loves me, but you fascinate it. Even in death, you held more power than any King in Underworld history.” He let out a long sigh. “I remember being disappointed when I heard you were ‘dead’. I didn’t want to believe it. It didn’t make sense for you to die without us meeting, especially considering how small the Royal circle is.”

“It would have only been a matter of time before we met.”

“Aren’t you surprised that we had never met each other before?” he inquired, gazing into her eyes. “All those parties, and we never crossed paths?”

“We were too busy losing our souls,” Soo Jin offered offhandedly.

Another thought invaded his mind after he nodded. “Do you think we would’ve fallen for each other if we met as the King and Queen of the Underworld?”

Soo Jin did not have to ponder that answer. She shook her head. “I think we would have been too distracted with going to war with one another.”

Tae Hyun smiled in concurrence. “I agree. I think we both would’ve been too distracted with the influence of the Underworld.” His warm smile evolved into a playful smirk. “You just had to inject Yoori into our story, didn’t you?”

A smirk edged Soo Jin’s lips. Unlike Tae Hyun’s, her smirk was more bitter. “If I had known that I would’ve been ‘dead’ for three years, I would sooner murder Young Jae in his sleep than allow all this nonsense to occur.”

Silence descended over them at the acidity of her response.

“Were those three years that bad?” Tae Hyun finally whispered over the wind.

Soo Jin paused as she felt soft sprinkles drizzle over her. She was so riveted with their conversation that she did not even realize a storm had been brewing above them this entire time.

“Those three years complicated things,” she clarified, refusing to disrupt this conversation because of a light rain. Their conversation was too interesting. “If not for those three years, we would not be here right now. We would not be entertaining each other.”

Tae Hyun nodded, showing no signs of being affected by the light rain. He was also too engrossed in this conversation. “You’re right, Soo Jin. If I had met you in your current state as a Queen, it is unlikely that I would have fallen for you. I would have been fascinated by you, I would have been physically attracted to you, but none of those would have stopped me from bringing war upon you.”

“But you fell for Choi Yoori.”

“The human in me fell for her,” he amended swiftly. “The part that I thought died long ago somehow came to life without me knowing it. By the time the King in me realized what was happening, everything was shot to hell.”

“But the King in you fell for her too,” she supplied, watching as small ripples formed in the dark lake from the droplets of rain.

“Just like the Queen in you fell for Kwon Tae Hyun.”

A self-deprecating smile outlined Soo Jin’s lips. At this stage of the conversation, it was counterproductive to lie about her true feelings. The Queen in her did fall for Kwon Tae Hyun. She fell for Kwon Tae Hyun, but not for the King of Serpents. Not for the one she was destined to battle.

“The humans in us fucked us over,” she stated wearily, truly loathing the chain of events that took place in her life.

If not for Choi Yoori and Kwon Tae Hyun, their lives would be much simpler.

Tae Hyun chuckled. “The ironic thing about all of this is that, as the King and Queen, we are the perfect match.”

She agreed with his statement. They understood each other, knew what the other went through, and shared the same status in life. This was why Yoori and Tae Hyun fell in love; this was why the King and Queen had to go to war with one another. In other worlds, they would be considered the perfect match. In the Underworld, they were considered the perfect duel.

Soo Jin gazed at him as a torrent of rain started pouring. Unlike the gentle nuzzling of the drizzle a few breaths ago, this downpour was powerful and unforgiving. It demanded that they seek shelter before it washed them away.

As amusing as this topic had been, she was suspicious of his motives. 

“What do you hope to achieve here?” she asked bluntly. She did not find it necessary to beat around the bush. With this storm ravaging them, it was better to get to the point than to linger any longer. She could ignore a small drizzle, but not a torrent of rain.

“I want the Royals in us to get to know each other.”

Her laughter became muted under the growing storm. “Haven’t we already established that we would go to war with each other?”

“That’s only if Yoori and Tae Hyun had never met.” Despite the presence of the storm and Soo Jin’s critical expression, Tae Hyun did not let this dissuade him from his objective. He was too determined, too hopeful to give up. “Let’s face it. No matter how inconvenient it is, we can’t deny that they fell for each other.” His measuring eyes fixed on hers. After a meaningful pause, he bluntly said, “Are you afraid of falling for me?”

Soo Jin’s eyes narrowed at the accusation. “I’m afraid of you distracting me,” she corrected tightly.

“I
am
a pretty distracting guy,” Tae Hyun proudly concurred. His face brightened with optimism. “You asked me what I hope to achieve. What I want is to woo you, make you fall for me, and have a grand ole’ time here.”

“Is that the King or the man speaking?”

He flashed her a breathtaking smile that made her heart jump. “Both.”

Soo Jin swallowed uneasily. “This will not end well.”

“Really?” Tae Hyun humored, never looking more eager to pursue something in his life. “Because I see a very happy ending if it goes according to plan.” 

Soo Jin swayed an agitated head as rainwater began to drench her clothes. Having enough of this, she rose to her feet and began to walk away.

“Where are you going?” asked Tae Hyun’s entertained voice.

“It’s raining, and I’ve had enough of this absurdity for one night. I don’t need to get sick before I become the Lord of the Underworld.”

His laughter accompanied the pouring rain. Soon after, she felt the wooden dock rumble with footfalls. The rumbling stopped when he reached her.

“The absurdity is just beginning,” Tae Hyun assured. He extended his hand out, smiling at her as he said, “I still have a surprise planned tonight.”

She glared at the outstretched hand that was moist from the rain. “What?”

“I want to hold your hand,” he stated charmingly. He leaned down and playfully nipped his rain-kissed nose with hers. “Or do I need to come up with another excuse to hold your hand?”

Her eyes expanded at the prospect of walking around handcuffed to him. There was no way in hell she would allow that.

Bitterly, she took his hand. She blinked rainwater from her eyelashes and scowled at him. “I will make you pay for this.”

Tae Hyun grinned. He gently tugged at her hand and began to pick up the pace. “I’m counting on it.”

“Where are we going now?” she asked as they raced from the dock and ran off the commonly traveled path. She looked over her shoulder. They were headed in the opposite direction of Tae Hyun’s lake house.

“To find shelter from this rain.”

“Your lake house is in the other direction.”

“We’re not going home yet,” he answered, his pace never slowing down.

Soo Jin angled her head down to keep the rain from submerging her eyes. “Where are we going then?”

From the corner of her eyes, she saw him point at something in the distance.

“There.”

She lifted her gaze and followed the direction he pointed her in. Through the growing rain, she saw a lighthouse.

“What’s there?” she asked.

“The next part of our date.”

“Yet every one of us continues to seek that forbidden fruit . . .”

16: The Lighthouse

The lighthouse resembled a masterpiece from a whimsical painting. It was approximately one-hundred-and-fifty feet tall and made completely of bricks. It was surrounded by tall trees, lush green grass, and a well-manicured garden. Unlike other lighthouses, there was no safety reason involved when the people of this town decided to construct this tower. It was built purely for aesthetic purposes; it was built solely for enjoyment.

“It looks closed,” Soo Jin observed when they reached it. The windows at the top of the tower were pitch dark, and there was not a soul in sight. Despite its beauty, it was not a place she wanted to seek shelter in.

“It’s open,” Tae Hyun easily assured, guiding her to the front steps. He withdrew a set of keys from his pocket and unlocked the door.

A burst of cool air hit Soo Jin when the door opened. It was chillier inside the tower than outside in the rain. Soo Jin assessed the world inside the lighthouse. There was nothing that greeted her on the ground level but spiral stairs leading up to the peak of the tower.

“You own this lighthouse?” Soo Jin asked, still assessing the building from the outside. She was not eager to go in.

“Don’t be silly,” he said with a laugh. “Everyone who owns a lake house here has a key.”

“Do we have to go in?” Soo Jin asked wearily.

Tae Hyun pocketed his keys and gazed at Soo Jin with playful eyes. “Afraid I’m going to lock you up in the tower and never let you go?”

“I’ll push you off the tower before you can even try,” Soo Jin retorted gravely.

Tae Hyun chuckled. “Then there’s nothing to worry about.” When he sensed her hesitation, he lightly said, “Remember the third ground rule you agreed upon.”

Soo Jin sighed when she recalled that the third ground rule was to keep an open mind. With no more to say, she simply nodded her acquiescence.

Tae Hyun smiled favorably. Holding her hand, he led her up the spiral stairs. After navigating their way through the darkness, they reached the room at the top of the lighthouse. A canvas filled with indiscernible shadows greeted Soo Jin’s eyes as they walked into the shadowy room. The darkness dispersed when Tae Hyun lit the various candles throughout the room.

As he brightened the room with more candles, Soo Jin approached the window seat at the north side of the room. She settled on the soft white cushion and stared out the rain-streaked windows. From this angle, she could see the lake and the lake house community. The lake rippled like fabric in the wind as the rain poured over it. The lake houses illumed with bright white hues, indicating that all the residents were safely inside their homes for the night. A tranquil sensation coursed over Soo Jin. The fact that the weather outside looked so uninviting made her feel safer in this lighthouse.

She was initially reticent about entering this building. Now that she was inside, she had to admit that the last thing she wanted to do was leave.

“What do you think?” asked Tae Hyun from behind her.

Soo Jin could not take her eyes off the hypnotizing scene. She always loved the rain. “It’s beautiful.”

“It’s one of my favorite places,” Tae Hyun shared.

He took a leisure seat to the right of her and gazed admiringly out the window. After offering his respect to the view, he vested his full attention back on her.

“You must be freezing,” he noted, lightly grazing his warm fingers over her cold cheek.

Soo Jin did her best to not appear affected by the sudden attention. She was doing a valiant job—until he started to unzip her leather jacket.

She firmly gripped his offending hand. “What do you think you’re doing?” she growled menacingly.

“Your jacket is wet,” he pointed out, unfazed by her reaction. “You shouldn’t wear it indoors. You might get sick.”

“I can take off my own damn jacket.”

Tae Hyun chuckled, raising his hands in surrender. “I was just trying to be a gentleman.”

“More like a pervert,” Soo Jin griped, taking off her jacket. She tossed it to the ground and stared back out the window. Goose bumps formed over her body now that she was only wearing a black tank top. She was tempted to shiver from the cold, but refused, as she did not want to compromise her indomitable façade. Tae Hyun did not need to see how cold she was. She did not need to give him any more ammunition to be a “gentleman”.

Tae Hyun kept a pleasant expression and reached down to pull a drawer out from beneath the window seat. He withdrew a purple throw blanket and proceeded to wrap it around Soo Jin like a cloak.

Soo Jin held her breath. She did not know if the newfound warmth she felt came from the blanket or from Tae Hyun’s chivalrous gesture. Countless suitors had wooed her numerous times in the past. This type of gesture should not cause her pulse to race, but it did. It evaded her understanding as to why Tae Hyun’s simple actions affected her so much. Was it because of the romantic setting? Was it her human counterpart? Or was it truly her who was smitten?

“I have a question for you,” she launched, wanting to eradicate the perturbing emotions roiling inside her. The only way to do that was to discuss subjects that a Queen would bring up.

“Shoot.”

“Do you ever wonder why Ju Won decided to preside over the 2
nd
layer as opposed to the 3
rd
layer?”

Tae Hyun looked at her with piqued interest. He pondered the question before admitting, “I’ve been curious about that my whole life.”

Soo Jin nodded. She, too, had been curious about this her whole life. It seemed only fitting that she discussed this with a fellow Royal. Since they were stuck on the uppermost part of a tower for the night, they might as well discuss topics relating to their Kingdom.

“He had Dong Min and Jung Min by his side,” she went on, voicing her train of thoughts. The pitter-pattering of the rain played in the background as she spoke. “They could’ve formed their own gangs, and in turn, served under him. Ju Won could’ve easily been the Lord of the Underworld himself.”

Tae Hyun leaned his head against the wall behind him. His expression told her that he had also reached this conclusion. “Why do you think he decided to become an Advisor instead?”

Soo Jin tried to conceal her nerdy smile. She had harbored this theory her whole life and was excited to finally verbalize it. “Do you ever think that there’s another society that is more secretive than ours?”

She could see that he was trying not to laugh at the earnestness exuding out of her. It was clear he thought her theory was a bit far-fetched. “We’re as secretive as they come.”

“We are,” she agreed. Her voice then became lower, more enigmatic. “But sometimes, I can’t help but think that there are more secrets about our world that even we aren’t aware of.” She measured him with critical eyes. “Why did Ju Won decide all of a sudden that there should be a Lord of the Underworld to preside over all three layers? The Underworld had been ruled over by multiple crime lords for decades. That is what keeps the power balance in check—that is what keeps our world vicious and powerful.”

“You think there is another layer to our secret society, like a secret society within a secret society?” Tae Hyun folded his arms and gazed at her in a doting manner. “That is an urban legend, Soo Jin. A story told to young Underworld Royals to keep them in line.”

“Maybe,” Soo Jin conceded, recalling the stories she heard when she was younger about “Titans” who came before the “Gods” of the Underworld. According to the stories, these Titans controlled the inner workings of their society from the shadows and would not hesitate to take out Gods who were unfit to rule. “But it should not be discounted that we are one of the youngest new societies. There are many others that have existed before ours.”

She briefly stared out the window. Her eyes involuntarily charted over the grassland overrun by newly formed mud puddles. “Maybe we have grown into power too fast. Think about how powerful our Underworld is. Think about the Underworld in America, in Japan, and even in Germany.” She turned back to him with a dark glint in her eyes. “What if Ju Won is part of that secret society? What if he has been charged to pick the new Lord because this new Lord will be inducted into their society?”

Tae Hyun tilted his head in understanding. “Is that one of the reasons why you want the Underworld throne so badly?”

A ghost of a smile adorned her lips. One shoulder lifted in a coy shrug. “I believe that there is power beyond the Underworld throne. Whether it be entrance to a more powerful society or governance over several Underworlds at once, I do not know. All I know is that I can think of no greater life purpose than to pursue this boundless power.”

“If these Titans exist,” Tae Hyun began as he shifted closer to her, “do you think they know our story?”

“It is likely,” she whispered, wrapping her blanket tighter around her at his growing proximity. “It is likely they are taking bets on who will win the Underworld throne.”

Tae Hyun nodded with light amusement. While he did not believe that this secret society existed, he was clever enough to use its possible existence to further his own agenda.

“They will not know the continuation of our story here, not in this part of the world. This part of the story is ours and ours alone.”

A genuine smile brightened her lips. It was so genuine, so unexpected that she didn’t even think about concealing it. “You are very lucky to have found this place. No one from the Underworld would be able to find you here—at least not for a very long time.”

A bittersweet light shrouded his visage. “Unfortunately our time here is limited. It may be difficult for them to find, but as long as it’s in this country, they will find it sooner or later.”

Soo Jin released a concurring sigh. “I know.”

He reached his hand out and gently held her cheek in his palm. His eyes held hers in a hopeful manner. “What do you think would happen if we both disappeared from the Underworld?”

“Disappeared?”

“What if we both left everything behind and started a new life somewhere else?”

Soo Jin smirked to herself. Perhaps being up on this tower was too much of a fairytale experience for her fellow Royal. “No one can get away from the Underworld.”

“I can’t think of two better people to defy the rules than us.”

Her next words burst out before she could stop them. “You were more realistic when someone else begged you to run away with her.”

A morose light flickered in his eyes at the mention of this “someone else”. When he posed his next question, she knew that her openness had been contagious and transcended onto him as well.

“Can you tell me what she was feeling?”

Soo Jin furrowed her brows as the rain continued to pour outside. “What she was feeling?”

The poignancy in his eyes became more powerful. His next words were not spoken by a King, but by a man who missed the love of his life.

“When did she fall for me?”

An ache surfaced in her heart when she registered what Tae Hyun was asking. He wanted to know what the love of his life was feeling when she fell for him. There was no denying the pain in his voice or the longing in his eyes as he looked at her. Since Yoori no longer existed, all he had to hold on to were her memories. His only connection to his love was Soo Jin.

“When you brought her here,” Soo Jin answered. She was surprised herself that she was granting him this allowance. She had spent weeks trying to forget about Choi Yoori and Kwon Tae Hyun. The fact that she was willingly reliving Yoori’s memory for Tae Hyun was unbelievable. Yet, she could not refute his earnest need. She did not want to talk about Yoori, but for Tae Hyun, she felt an intrinsic obligation to do so.

“She loved it here,” she forged on, meaning every word. Her eyes wandered over the beauty of the lake house community. “Everything was magical. She felt safe. It was the first time she felt like you let your guard down, if only slightly.” She peered at him perceptively. “But you know that. That is why you brought me here.”

Now that she had given him this boon, it was only right that he gave her something in return.

“You never answered me.”

He looked at her in curiosity. The sky above them darkened as little specks of the town’s streetlights birthed into life. “Answered what?”

“What made you fall for her?”

Tae Hyun smiled. After quickly admiring the rainy scene, he started to enlighten her.

“When I asked her if she’d tell me what it feels like when she finds Paris.” Warmth suffused his eyes as Soo Jin relived this very moment with him. “I had been so consumed with the quest for power that I had forgotten what it felt like to want something other than my throne. I remember being utterly captivated when she spoke of Paris. Despite the fact that I had been raised to never seek ‘Paris’, I still found myself enticed by it.” He let out a weary laugh. “I was so envious of the lucky bastard who would get to take her to Paris. I remember harboring so much resentment for this nonexistent bastard. The fact that he would get the honor of being by her side when she finally found what she was looking for triggered every animosity inside me.” He shook his head. “That was when I realized that what I was feeling wasn’t simple jealousy, but human emotion. For the first time in my life, I realized that there was something I wanted more than power. Her. I wanted her. I wanted to be the one she found Paris with; I wanted to be the one to show her Paris.”